Bravery
Chapter 8 of 21
baylor713Witches and wizards have always carried the burden of their allegiances to the dark or to the light. The choice to follow one or the other dictates a person's character. Attica Flamel pays fealty to neither. When grief morphs into an irrepressible need for vengeance, Attica will stop at nothing until the debts are paid.
Leaning gingerly against the jagged rock of the watchtower, Attica absently ran a hand down her fine silk robes. She kept her eyes trained on the courtyard and waited for the Dark Lord.
She watched with rapt interest as Voldemort approached the castle. As she had expected, the Boy Who Lived was not far behind. Hagrid the groundskeeper was carrying the boy’s lifeless body in his arms. Attica had been able to hear the half-giant’s sobs long before he came into view.
There was a long, tense moment of silence before the magically amplified voice of Lord Voldemort pervaded the air surrounding the castle.
“Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you, his loyal followers, were sacrificing your own lives for him and his cause. I bring you his body as proof that your hero has perished,” Voldemort proclaimed.
He continued his homily with what she knew he intended to be a gentle voice. Attica turned toward the Dark Lord, searching for the best angle of attack.
Too many people were in her way. She didn’t have a clear shot. If she sent a curse to push them out of the way, she would surely be spotted and executed before she could bat an eyelash. She was not dense enough to lose this opportunity to end the Dark Lord. Besides, if and when she defeated Voldemort, she wanted there to be no shadow of a doubt in his mind as to who had delivered the blow that ended his life. She wanted to be staring into those blood-red eyes as the life left them, leaving them vacant. She needed that satisfaction, but the waiting was painful.
“…Your parents and your children, your brothers and your sisters, your friends and your loved ones will live and be forgiven. You will join me in the new world that we will build together. I know that you have been misguided, and that is why I have decided to be so gracious. I also know that many of you think me evil. But I am here to tell you today that the right side has won this fight. I am giving you this opportunity to join me in my quest to rebuild the world. I wish for a return to the splendor of days past. My purposes are not ones of malevolence, but ones of purity. And I wish for you to join me in this endeavor.”
By the time he finished speaking and the echoes of his sinister speech dissolved into the crisp morning air, the large group of Death Eaters had reached the castle doors. Attica could hear the clamor inside the large stone edifice. Bellatrix cackled menacingly as she waved her wand and the heavy wooden doors that had always seemed to offer Attica so much protection swung open without protest. The open doors revealed the pathetic remnants of Dumbledore’s Army gathering in the entrance hall. They warily began to straggle out of the castle and into the burgeoning sunlight. The swarm of Death Eaters was only yards away.
Someone, McGonagall, Attica thought, screamed. A flood of despairing cries followed her exclamation as one by one, each remaining soldier for the Light took in the sight of the still form in Hagrid’s arms. Comprehension dawning, the wails of anguish grew louder.
With a shout and a flash of sparks from his wand, Voldemort silenced the crowd, which was now almost completely filling one side of the large stone courtyard. Hagrid was instructed to place Potter on the ground at Voldemort's feet. The weeping man refused and only after multiple death threats from Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix did he relinquish his grasp on the boy. His wails grew louder as Malfoy dropped the body at the Dark Lord's feet. Attica felt an unexpected wave of gratification roll through her. She wanted to laugh at the sight. So many faces were contorted in despondency as they took in the spectacle before them.
In her effort to suppress the laughter that was once again threatening to bubble to the surface, she almost missed seeing the tall figure breaking away from the mass of Hogwarts students and making its way into no-man’s-land.
Neville.
~~~
Forgetting that she did not want to be discovered, Attica audibly gasped. This is no time for bravery, Neville, Attica thought. The thought of seeing her best friend crumpling in front of her was almost more than Attica could endure. She had grown up with him. He had taught her so much about love and loss. He had been an island of lucidity in the sea of her instability. She suddenly found herself stuck between her desire for vengeance against the man who had destroyed her happiness and her need to rescue the man who had brought it back. She had taught herself to adopt the detachment needed to witness almost any other person's death, and she had on many occasions looked on as Voldemort tortured and killed innocent people, seemingly for the entertainment of the Death Eater circle. But she couldn't watch Neville be discarded so easily. She grasped at the stone wall before her and felt tears, real tears, well up in her eyes. She waited with bated breath, looking for her opportunity to intervene.
Neville, of course, was quickly disarmed. She knew he had been practicing defensive spells for months in preparation for this moment, but she also knew him well enough to know that he would never be able to accurately cast any of those spells when his emotions were running so high. He had always floundered at the slightest hint of frustration.
The Dark Lord began sizing the boy up. "You show spirit and bravery," he decided. "And you come from noble stock. Pureblood, even. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom.*"
She knew how he would react to the mere thought of joining the assemblage of people who had sent his parents to a permanent stay at St. Mungo's.
He was infuriated.
"I'll join you when hell freezes over," Neville spat. It was just like Neville, Attica noted in the back of her mind, to give such a clichéd retort. Raising his wand, he bellowed, "Dumbledore's Army!*" The battle cry caused roars to issue from the crowd behind him.
With a flick of Voldemort's wand, Neville grew still and something flew from one of the high windows of the castle. Attica watched with unease as he caught the dark object in his pale hand. The Sorting Hat.
Attica could only look on as Neville attempted to struggle against the binding curse that held him unnaturally still as the Sorting Hat was dropped unceremoniously onto his head. She briefly glimpsed the determination in his eyes before they disappeared under the hat. She also detected something else she had hoped she wouldn't see. She was remotely thankful that she couldn't see his face clearly because it grieved her to see such intense fear mar his usually calm features. She knew that seeing the terror and sorrow in his eyes would break her like nothing had since the night she had fled from her childhood home. Years of planning her revenge and her interactions with Voldemort had left her calloused and steadfast. But nothing in this war had prepared her to witness the pain she had, for an instant, seen reflected in the eyes of the person she loved most in the world.
A/N: *These lines were taken directly from JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 36, "The Flaw in the Plan." I make no money from the writing of this story. These characters (with the exception of Attica) belong to JK Rowling. She built this beautiful world, and I find myself supremely lucky to have the honor of visiting it from time to time.
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Latest 25 Reviews for The Alchemist's Agenda
45 Reviews | 7.56/10 Average
So much progress has been made since Attica wrote her goodbye letter to Neville, and much more needs to be made before all is said and done, I think. I happy that Neville will not give up on her and will be with her from now on.
Now I find myself wondering what Severus is doing and whether he has found peace.
Thank you for this very intricate and well plotted tale.
Beth
sad that attica been wearing a horcrux all this years.. that her thought were evil in nature.. hope they can destroyed it.. great narrative of her thought, imagines..
the evil emerald is like controling attica.. onward to find what severus on this new dilemma..
weird that attica's drak mark is darker, but not severus! onward to see if answered will be shown...
why didn't the curse work! what going to happen to attica, now? happy that voldie was killed.
She not afraid of Bellatrix! Now, she apart of the inner circle of voldmort's followers! She feel what voldmort's emotion, wonder has she share with severus or albus.. love learning the background of attica..
maybe attica is spy like severus..
onward to see what next...
Lovely chapter, with this turn of, or rather, arrival of and realization that his act of kindness has reverberated and affected her on levels unknown during all this time.... Hmm... the depth and profoundness of Severus' effect on her and in her life seems to have been underestimated and still to be fully revealed--although, a part of me is a bit wary about how such an intertwined horcrux could be destroyed without destroying the vessel *biting nails* Baylor, I know you could take this tale one way or another, so... Can't wait for the next chapter!!!
'The force that had convinced her that it was necessary to kill an innocent person was dark and savage and absolutely evil, but it had been bred in her own heart.'.. so powerful and provocative and profound are her torturous thoughts she is continuously being berated by--both she and Severus have had their paths guided by forces beyond their control and carried along on the currents of events... but this truth that is controlling and guiding her? Whose truth will it be, hers or alone, or shared with another? Lovely, lovely work!
Love this memory of the past, a rare glimpse and insight into a shared exchange between Attica and Severus that she is able to have her own connection with unhindered or untainted by Voldemort. There is a profound connection and understanding between Severus and Attica that is captured, and which seems to accentuate both's emotional wounds and hesitancy and delicateness--lovely, lovely work!
The narrative is so full of concise, poignant and powerful moments and realizations, such as (one of many) 'Feeling like she was someone other than the person she had been all her life, someone dark.' I just love experiencing both Attica's and Severus' revelations and inner-thoughts--the heaviniess, horror, sympathy and empathy is so very moving... Lovely, powerful work--looking forward to more and more!
There are four entities in that study, and only one of them deserves to die— and he entombed himself in the emerald. I hope Vlodemort is experiencing many times the agony that Attica, McGonegall, and Severus have felt over all the years that the Dark Lord has been terrorizing the world.
I very much hope that the remaining three of them will be left alive and well!! Pretty please?
Thank you for this wonderful chapter. I'm looking forward to the next update.
Beth
My heart is breaking for Attica. I'm glad that Severus was able to talk to long enough for her to recall some happy memories–he had drowned out the whisperings of Voldemort.
I hope Minerva arrives with Gryffindor's sword soon!
Beth
Plausible and well-written. Particularly without a beta. Any more? Unpredictable and fresh.
Great chappie! ;)) nice opening shot!
I think Severus and Attica have a long, hard slog ahead of them as they try to make things right– individually and together. I hope he will try to discover more of her memories. It would be a very uncomfortable thing for Attica, and I can envision her trying to stop him simply because of the lasting effects that harboring Voldemort's Horcrux for so many years has caused, but I'm afraid she will fall back into trying to do the Dark Lord's will instead of what her own unaffected heart would choose to do.
Hopefully Minerva will be able to quickly arrange for the destruction of this remnant of Voldemort's soul. And hopefully it is the last remnant.
I can't wait for your next update.
Beth
Brilliant chapter in revealing the state of things and poor Attica's dilemma... Love Severus control and Attica's struggle. Looking forward to more of this intriguing, original tale!
I enjoyed reading about Attica's memories of her first class with the Potions Master. Her bravery to stand her ground with him in class made me smile right along with the Professor.
The extracting fluid had begun as a pearly ivory liquid but had changed to a pale red by the end of the third week. Perhaps the the fact that they got a convoluted, murky brown color by treating that last test tube with sap from the juniper bush doesn't mean that they hadn't learned anything from the test. Although Attica was disappointed that it hadn't turned red like the ruby or blue like the sapphire she had written on her list of possible components, maybe the emerald stopper had reacted with the liquid. If you mix red and green in the right ratios you can create various shades of brown. Perhaps ruby is one of the components, after all. And with amber being another ingredient, that could have further influenced the formation of a muddy color tending toward brown.
Did she neglect to roll up her sleeves because she didn't want him to see that her Dark Mark was turning darker? He did comment that she seemed quite attached to the vial– I wonder what Severus was thinking when she replied only that she needed it as she left the room.
Hummmm... lots of clues here, but I'm not quite sure what is what and how they fit together. Thanks for a wonderful chapter!
Beth
There is something so poignant, and yet, harrowing about Attica's grandmother's rhymes--it stikingly contrasts her childhood innocence with the dire reality of what has happened to her when older...
Loved her first day in Snape's class and that his lips turned upward--HA! So Severus is aware of how she must have the vial with her at all times... Looking forward to more!
It's a truly horrid realization that her Dark Mark has only darkened... One can feel her level of distress as she compares Severus' mark to hers. Brilliant writing, brilliant story! Looking forward to more!
Bloody hell! The emerald is another one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, isn't it? If that is so, then in trying to recreate the Stone, they may actually be bringing the Dark Lord back...
I did NOT see this coming. Well done, baylor!
Beth
Reading this chapter gave me the shivers and made me sad at the same time. I don't know if the voice Attica hears is really Voldemort's or just a cruel figment of her imagination, but I'm hoping like the dickens that it is Severus who has broken the wards. Please let it be him!
Beth
OMG! I'm glad Attica's curse didn't kill Harry, but I'm not sure why. What's going to happen to her now? Please let Neville or Severus or McGonagall find her before something horrible happens to her.
I hope the next chapter updates soon!!!
Beth
I was glad to see Attica show her emotions when Neville stepped forward to stand up to Voldemort. When the Sorting Hat settled over his eyes and she just caught the look of utter fear on his face, it gave me hope for her that she allowed the tears to fall.
If she were to try to kill Voldy now, he wouldn't really die, would he? Nagini is a horcrux, too. I guess she doesn't know that yet.
Good chapter!
Beth