Chapter 18 ? Burials, Plans, and Wizardopoly

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All canon characters belong to JKR.

Thanks as always to the wonderful June for all of her help and suggestions.

Chapter 18 – Burials, Plans, and Wizardopoly

Neville was moved inside number twelve, Grimmauld Place where he was examined by Ginny in the study. Bellatrix's body was taken to the bedroom nearest to the top of the stairs; Lucius asked Hermione, Tonks, and Molly to prepare her body for burial.

Ginny determined that Neville had suffered little damage to his nervous system, thanks mainly in part to the fact that Bellatrix hadn't applied the Cruciatus Curse on him with the same passion and hatred she'd used on his parents. Also, she'd stopped Voldemort from doing more harm to Neville by pushing the Dark Lord away and making him lose his balance. Neville suffered few bruises, and for the most part was lucky compared to the others who were now most probably suffering for his escape. After about an hour, Ginny told him to rest in the living room.

As Neville sat on the couch, he noticed those around him staring, almost waiting for him to say something. He saw Lucius Malfoy across from him, talking to Headmaster Dumbledore and Ginny and Ron's father, Arthur Weasley.

"Neville," said Hermione as she sat next to him. "What were you doing at St. Mungo's?"

Neville drank a bit of lemonade that Molly had handed to him, and then cleared his throat, which was still sore after screaming from the torture.

"I've been making some herbal teas and elixirs. St. Mungo's buys them from me," he said. "After my Gran and parents died, the house was mine, so I decided to use my knowledge of plants to do something useful. I grow the plants and herbs in my own garden."

He looked nervously around the room, as if he was looking for someone. "After I graduated from Hogwarts, I took my knowledge of plants and herbs and realized I was actually a very good botanist."

Everyone in the room guessed he always had a difficult time with potions in school because he was scared shitless of Professor Snape.

"I was able to put that knowledge together with the bit of potions knowledge I had," Neville said. "I am now able to make a good living for myself selling herbal elixirs, which serve as substitutes for people who are allergic to certain potions as well as for people who don't like going to see healers."

"I never knew you did that, Neville," said Ginny, who smiled as she sat on his other side.

Neville blushed; he'd never quite grown out of the crush he had on Ginny.

This, of course, was noticed by Lucius. He approached the couch, where Neville was flanked by Hermione and Ginny.

"How are you feeling now, Mr. Longbottom?" Lucius asked as he placed his hand on Ginny's shoulder.

Hermione and Ginny looked at one another and rolled their eyes.

"Fine, sir," answered Neville, realizing that something was going on between his friend and the elder Malfoy, who was a major donor at St. Mungo's. Thinking it best to move away from Ginny, he moved slightly towards Hermione.

As Neville did so, Severus – now looking like himself again, instead of as "Higgenbottom" – stepped through the Floo. Hermione immediately went to him and hugged him.

Now Neville was truly confused. He'd read the newspaper; wasn't Professor Snape supposed to be dead? He looked at Ginny and Lucius, then to Hermione and Severus.

Severus and Hermione spoke in hushed tones, then Severus moved towards his former student.

"Mr. Longbottom. I'm glad you see you are out of danger," said Severus, as he wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist.

Neville swallowed hard and simply nodded.

Severus looked down at Hermione and smiled at her. "You continue attending to Mr. Longbottom, I need to speak with Lucius."

Hermione nodded and sat down next to Neville, as Severus and Lucius walked away and moved towards the corner of the room.

"Her...Hermione, you and Snape?" asked Neville. He then turned to Ginny. "And you and Draco's father?"

Both young women nodded.

"You had better check me for a concussion, Ginny, I have to be imagining things. I swear I just saw Professor Snape's ghost, and it talked to me. But shouldn't his ghost be at Hogwarts?"

Hermione and Ginny sighed. They would have to convince Neville that he neither had a head injury or was seeing things, and that his old Potions master was truly alive.

In the corner of the room, Severus and Lucius began to speak of Bellatrix.

"I know I probably don't need to ask, but she didn't make it back here alive, did she?" Severus asked.

Lucius shook his head. "No, she didn't. The women prepared her body, which I just moved into the library." He motioned towards the door just behind him. "Did you speak with Rodolphus? Was he there?"

Severus nodded. "Yes, he was. He saw everything. He was also punished for his wife's insolence."

"The Dark Lord is digging his own grave," hissed Lucius.

"There is dissension, and it is growing every day. I revealed my true self to Rodolphus, and he is now on our side completely. He is willing to do more. Anything we ask of him, he is prepared to do." Severus looked ran his fingers through his hair, clearly bothered by all that had gone on that evening. "He asked me to bring her body to his home. I gather he wishes to bury his wife in his family's cemetery."

Lucius nodded, "That is understandable. She was his wife, and there was nothing left of his brother's body to bury."

The two men joined Albus and Arthur, and informed the two other men that they would be taking Bellatrix back to her husband. Lucius went ahead, to make sure that Rodolphus was alone at his home. Then Lucius went back to Grimmauld Place. He and Severus took Bellatrix's body and returned to the Lestrange home. As they floated her body through the house and out to the garden, where Rodolphus stood, a storm beginning to form. The two wizards reached the somber man at the farthest end of the garden, and placed the body of his wife gently on the ground.

Rodolphus fell to his knees and took hold of his wife's cold limp body. He caressed her cheek softly, and kissed her forehead as he sobbed.

"My girl, my sweet sweet girl." He rocked her lifeless body as he whispered words in her ear, that neither Severus or Lucius could make out. Rodolphus then looked at both of them. "I know what she became, but there was a time when she was so gentle and caring." He then looked at Bellatrix's face and smiled. "But you showed us all, didn't you, love. I knew that beautiful girl I married was still in there."

Severus and Lucius let him grieve over his wife's body, until the rain started to fall. The rain began slowly, but by the time the three wizards finished burying Bellatrix Lestrange, it was an all-out downpour.

"How many more will he kill before he is satisfied?" shouted Rodolphus.

"He will never be satisfied," answered Severus.

"Come, we need to get inside. The winds are getting stronger; we need to discuss some things before Severus and I leave here, Rodolphus." Lucius motioned for the other two to follow him indoors. Upon entering the Lestrange home, Rodolphus instructed Geddy, one of his house-elves, to bring them some tea.

They all dried themselves quickly and sat around the fire. After the house-elf set the tea before them and left, they began to speak.

"I can't take much more of this. It's just...too much," said a weary Rodolphus. "How can I avenge my brother and wife? Where do I start?"

"We can finish this soon, but we need to prepare properly." Severus drank his tea and looked at the others. "I will not go into a battle unprepared. But I don't want to spend the next ten years of my life waiting for it to occur."

Lucius smiled. "I have an idea. I believe we have a better chance of winning this war quickly, if we catch the Dark Lord off-guard." Lucius looked at Rodolphus. "Using our knowledge, Albus Dumbledore is making a model of Riddle's home and surrounding grounds – vulnerable spots, layout, his rooms, that sort of thing – to help the Order when they are ready to attack."

Rodolphus nodded. "A training and planning tool. Makes sense."

"Yes, but not only that. What if we can somehow enter the home through the model? There is no way anyone will be able to Apparate there, but..."

"Perhaps we can use the model as a sort of Floo type device," added Severus.

"I will be there again tomorrow," said Rodolphus. "He is having me move some of the prisoners. I can send you a piece of the home's structure. Would that help? To have something connected to the house structurally?"

Severus smiled. "We can use that. A spell must be created to activate the model, and I know just the person to create it."

Hermione was an accomplished spells maker. Severus knew that she could create a spell using what Rodolphus sent them.

"He has been lax in calling his weekly meetings. Do you know the reason for this?" asked Lucius, wondering why Voldemort was no longer calling their meetings as regularly as he once did.

"As I told you, he has been venturing out in the evenings, to the Muggle world," said Rodolphus as he stood and walked to a desk that was against the wall. "Bella used to tell me that he would be exhausted whenever he came back from his outings. I began going to Muggle London a few times a week myself to see if I could find any news of strange things happening. I found these." Rodolphus opened the drawers of the desk and took out several Muggle newspapers, dropping them on the coffee table in front of his guests.

"These are all his doing?" asked Lucius.

Severus sighed and shook his head.

Rodolphus nodded. "Yes. I followed him one night. I lost him at one point, and was unable to save the woman." He turned and sat heavily on the couch. "He is responsible for every one of those murders, and I am sure there are others."

In the past weeks, while out on his travels to the Muggle world, Voldemort had been responsible for at least eighteen brutal murders. The police had dubbed him "the Mutilator." It was a ridiculous thing to call him, but sadly, very descriptive. The Dark Lord was so meticulous in his work, that the bodies of three of his victims still remained unidentified.

"May I keep these? I would like to show them to Albus," said Severus.

Rodolphus nodded and put the rest of the papers into the desk drawer.

The men spoke for another hour, discussing Voldemort's activities and also remembering Bellatrix. When they noticed Rodolphus' exhaustion, Severus told him to sleep, as his body needed more time to recover from Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse.

Then Lucius and Severus Apparated back to Malfoy Manor. The two men stood in the living room silently for a few moments.

"I am so tired, Lucius. I'm tired of all of this death that surrounds us. Not long ago, I felt as though there was no future for me." Severus turned to Lucius. "But now, I truly have something to live for."

Lucius smiled. "I know how you feel. Go to your lady, Severus. I shall go upstairs to mine. And we will both make our plans. This war will end soon, and we can get on with our lives."

Severus used the Floo to go directly to his chambers, where he immediately noticed a light streaming through the closed door of his bedroom. He knew it would be Hermione waiting up for him.

When he walked into his bedroom, she was sitting up in his bed reading. She placed her book on the nightstand and looked at him.

"How did it go?" she asked, knowing that he and Lucius were at Rodolphus' home helping the other Death Eater bury his wife.

Severus walked towards her and sat on the bed, then took her hand. He caressed it gently as he spoke to her.

"I never realized how much he loved her." He looked into Hermione's eyes. "You should have seen the way he held her body, as though she was a delicate china doll that could break at the slightest touch. He cried against her cheek, knowing he would never see her face again."

Hermione felt her eyes begin to tear.

"I don't ever want to be in a situation where I would hold you like that, Hermione. I would die if anything ever happened to you." Severus pulled Hermione towards him and held her tightly against him.

"Severus, nothing is going to happen to me," said Hermione, trying to reassure him as she stroked his hair.

"Promise me." He pushed himself away from her slightly and held her by the shoulders. "Promise me, Hermione, that when the battle begins you will be far away, perhaps in the Muggle world."

"Severus, I can't promise you that. I could never leave knowing you are still here and will probably be in the middle of it all." Hermione's parents knew of the danger now unfolding in the wizarding world, and often tried to convince her to come back and live with them. As many times as she had explained it to them, they refused to understand –or perhaps just didn't want to understand – that when Voldemort finished taking over the wizarding world, he would turn his attention to the Muggle world, and that war would be won much more easily.

"Don't be stubborn with me, Hermione," said Severus in his best Potions master voice.

Hermione chuckled and placed her hand on his cheek. "You don't scare me anymore, Severus Snape." Her voice now took on a serious tone. "I am not going anywhere, do you hear me? You are stuck with me, like it or not."

"I don't deserve you," he said quietly.

"You probably don't, but you have me regardless." She kissed his nose. "Now, take your clothes off and make love to me."

Doing what every man in love does, he listened to his lover.

Upon Severus' leaving, Lucius walked to the window. He noticed soft lights on in the guesthouse across the gardens. He smiled, knowing that his son was safe and loved. After burying Bellatrix tonight and seeing Rodolphus' grief at being alone, he suddenly felt a need to see Draco and reassure himself all was well in the guesthouse.

He walked to his son's home and knocked on the door. "Draco? Harry?" he called out. No answer. Worriedly, Lucius returned to the main house.

As Lucius walked up the garden path, he saw Ginny from the window. She was laughing and talking to someone. As he drew closer, Lucius noticed that there were other people in the family room with her. The family room – no one had been in there for years; after he sent Draco to Spain and Narcissa went to Voldemort, he'd had no family left. He hurried over to the house and stood at the family room doorway, and smiled at what he saw.

Ginny was sitting on the floor, playing a board game with Emil, Dari, Draco and Harry. The boys weren't in the guesthouse after all.

Lucius stood outside for several moments, watching everyone play their game. There was so much laughter and happiness in the family room, just like a real family. There were times in the past when he'd wondered if there would ever be joy in Malfoy Manor again. He then decided that he'd been standing on the outside of happiness far too long, and walked in.

Ginny immediately looked up

"Lucius!" she called as she walked to him. "I've been wondering if you would be home early. Was everything all right? How is Rodolphus?"

Lucius kissed her on the cheek. "Yes, everything is fine." He smiled and looked at the others sitting on the floor. "Well, it looks like you have a very interesting game of Wizardopoly going on." Lucius looked at the game board and noticed there were six players on the board, but only five in the room. As he wondered who the sixth person might be, a newcomer walked into the room.

"Here's my special hot cocoa. I've added a bit..." Neville, who was carrying a tray of mugs filled to the brim with hot cocoa, stopped dead in his tracks. He was so surprised at seeing Lucius, he lost his balance and the tray flew from his hands, heading straight towards Lucius.

Thankfully, Lucius had always been quick on the draw. The tray, mugs and hot cocoa all landed quite comfortably on the floor. Not one mug lost a drop.

"Mr. Longbottom," Lucius said as he nodded slightly, and looked at Draco and Harry.

"We asked Neville to stay with us for a while. He told us what happened with Aunt Bella after we arrived at Order headquarters earlier," said Draco."It's all right, isn't it, Father? He can't go back to his house alone; it might not be safe for him there."

"And he's not completely recovered," added Harry.

"You are correct, it would not be safe for him. The Dark Lord doesn't like to lose prisoners. No doubt he would search Mr. Longbottom out and finish the job. It's perfectly fine with me if your friend stays with you for a time." Lucius knew too well what it was like to be alone and without family, and Bellatrix had just died saving this young man. He looked back to Neville who was standing as stiff as a board. "Oh for goodness sake, do loosen up, Mr. Longbottom. I'm not a real Death Eater, you know."

Lucius took off his cloak and took a place next to Ginny on the floor. "Emil, I see you have quite a stack of Galleons there," Lucius said amusedly.

Emil smiled proudly. "Yes, sir, one more house, and I will own all of Hogsmeade."

Emil as banker gave Lucius his starting Galleons. The seven of them spent the next two hours playing. Draco and Harry lost most of their Galleons. Emil continued racking up real estate, while Dari, Ginny and Neville barely kept themselves afloat. Lucius, of course, kept winding up in jail.

"Damn," he said, as his carriage piece landed in the small Azkaban. "Not again."

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll be moving things along a bit in the next chapter. I'll see you then.