Chapter 20 - Preparations And Revelations

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All canon characters belong to JKR.

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

Chapter 20 - Preparations And Revelations

The morning of December twenty-second was full of both activity and much retrospection. Lucius woke up only to find his Dark Mark burning. He kissed a worried Ginny and assured her that it was most likely Voldemort wanting to give some last-minute instructions regarding tomorrow's planned attacks on Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and Hogwarts. He dressed and walked to the edge of his property and Apparated to the Riddle home.

Severus, who had also woken up early, was having breakfast with Hermione in their study, when he noticed the skin of Higgenbottom's Dark Mark vibrating.

"Do you think he's calling?" asked Hermione.

Severus nodded. "I have no doubt."

Hermione now looked worried. "You said you weren't going back. You're not going back, are you? Please say you aren't?" she asked as she took hold of his hand.

"Calm down, Hermione." He kissed her trembling hand and soothed back the hair that had fallen against her cheek. "There is no reason for me to return again, even as Higgenbottom. It is likely that he is giving final instructions for tomorrow, but Lucius and Rodolphus will be there to hear them. Today is just for you and me."

Severus wanted to spend as much time as possible with Hermione alone. He didn't know if these would be the final hours he would spend alive on earth, and he wanted to take the memories with him wherever he wound up.

At the Riddle home, Lucius stood next to Rodolphus. They, along with the other Death Eaters summoned, waited for their master.

When he emerged, Voldemort had the female prisoner from St. Mungo's once again dragging behind him, but he also had someone else.

Lucius strained to get a good look at the new prisoner who was obscured by the shadows. When she finally emerged from the darkened corner, Lucius realized it was Lynnette, Neville's new girlfriend.

Rodolphus noticed the color drain from Lucius' face, and immediately grabbed his arm.

"What is it?" Rodolphus looked back at the woman. "Do you know her?"

Lucius nodded slightly. "Yes, she is Neville Longbottom's girlfriend."

Rodolphus' eyes grew wide. He knew Neville was the young man who Bellatrix had died to protect. He knew what the young man had lost in his past, and now it seemed Longbottom was about to lose his future.

"She looks unharmed. I do not think he has physically assaulted either of them, at least not today," assured Rodolphus.

Lucius noticed the same the few times he'd seen this particular female prisoner. Perhaps the Dark Lord was sparing these two until he had more prisoners from tomorrow's attacks.

"I need to speak with you after the meeting," whispered Lucius.

Rodolphus nodded. He was about to speak when Voldemort clapped his hands, calling the room to order.

"Tomorrow is the day, my followers. We will begin when the morning sun begins to rise over the horizon." Voldemort looked around the room now. "I fully expect to be victorious. But, I must be prepared for the possibility that this fight may last more than a day. You are to transfer all of your property, investments, and funds to me. There is an account at Gringotts, under the name of Jack Whitechapel. I expect it to be full by tomorrow morning."

Lucius watched Lynnette closely. She was clearly frightened. She could not recognize him in the crowd as they were all dressed in their Death Eater masks and robes. He hoped to be able to get a message to her to remain calm, but it would be difficult. Both women prisoners had chains around their necks, and it was clear that they were being held in the Dark Lord's room.

After giving out the final assignments to the roomful of Death Eaters, Voldemort went back to his room, followed not only by his prisoners, but by Wormtail.

Lucius looked to his side, but Rodolphus was already walking away. The last living Lestrange briefly turned his head and, with a subtle glance, nodded for Lucius to follow him.

Many of the other men were leaving, while others were quietly discussing the plan in small clusters. Rodolphus used this opportunity to duck through a dark narrow hallway unseen.

Lucius looked around to make sure the others weren't paying attention to his actions, and then followed Rodolphus. He quickly walked down the hallway, following the sound of Rodolphus' footsteps, until they stopped. He continued on for several feet, and then felt a tug on his arm.

"Stop, we're safe here. No one comes this way other than Wormtail when he feeds Nagini, and she has already been fed today."

Lucius shivered, knowing how close he was to the serpent.

"Why have you not contacted me?" asked Lucius, after casting a silencing spell around them as a precaution.

"It has been difficult. I have been here much of the time. He is having me prepare the home for the battle."

"Why is he protecting his home so intently, if Voldemort is planning on taking the fight to the wizarding world in general?" Lucius wondered.

"He has not said outright, but I suspect that this home has regenerative qualities for him. There is something here that he fears losing. He comes here every night after his outings. He spends much of his time with Nagini before he goes to his room." Rodolphus sighed heavily. "The two are connected in a far more intricate way than any of us ever realized, I'm sure of it."

"Then what I am about to ask of you will be of the utmost importance." Lucius looked down the hallway, thinking he'd heard something move.

"She's in her room. What you heard was most likely rats; this place is infested with them," spat Rodolphus. He did not like Nagini either.

"We will not be attacking the home. It's been decided that we will wait for him in the designated attack locations. Everyone is prepared. But, the model of this house will be used to raze it."

"How?" asked Rodolphus.

"Albus will burn it when the fighting begins. Instead of your going to Hogwarts with the rest, we need for you to make sure Nagini is here when the house burns. We also need to get those women prisoners out of here," said Lucius.

"Nagini will be easy enough, but the women will most likely be taken with him to Hogwarts in the morning, if he doesn't kill them tonight."

"I can't allow that," said Lucius.

"Don't you think I've tried to get that woman out of here?" answered Rodolphus, clearly agitated. "He's always in his room with her, and the times when he is not, he has that idiot Wormtail in there. I am not beyond suspicion, Lucius. I can't just walk in there!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you hadn't tried," said Lucius, hoping to calm the other man down. He should have realized his friend was fearful of the madman's temper; he and Severus had Ginny and Hermione to comfort them, but Rodolphus had no one left in the world.

"I will do my best to get past Wormtail tonight. At the very least I can try to prevent anything happening to them," promised Rodolphus. "I will stay behind tomorrow, and make sure that Wormtail and Nagini are both taken care of. Rest assured, when this house comes down, they will both go down with it."

"Good enough then. I will ask Dumbledore to send you a signal before he starts burning the house." Lucius bid goodbye to Rodolphus and left. He could do no more. He hoped that nothing would happen to either woman today or tonight. If Voldemort took them with him to Hogwarts tomorrow, then their chances of being rescued were good. He did regret having to tell Neville that his girlfriend was now a prisoner of Voldemort. As he carefully walked out of the hallway and back into the ballroom, he briefly wondered if Neville was all right. He knew that Lynnette lived in a flat just outside of Yorkshire, but he wondered if Neville had been with her when she was taken. Now even more worried about the young man, he started walking faster.

Once safely away from the Riddle home and curious eyes, Lucius Apparated to Neville's home. He knocked on the door but there was no answer. He then walked around to the garden, and heard the voices of his son and Harry.

"Neville, are you sure she didn't have some appointment this morning you might have forgotten about?" asked Harry.

"No, I told her to come here after she woke up. I don't want her alone. Even though the attacks won't be in Muggle areas, I know tomorrow is going to be hard because she might worry about us, but I thought she would be safe here."

Just then, they noticed Lucius coming in through the French doors.

"Father? What are you doing here?" asked Draco.

Lucius looked somberly at Neville. "I need to speak with you."

Neville immediately stiffened. He hadn't heard from his girlfriend since he dropped her off at home the night before. And now, Lucius was at his home.

"Something's happened to Lynnette, hasn't it?" asked Neville as he stood and approached Lucius.

Lucius sighed and nodded. "I don't know how it happened, but...she's a prisoner of the Dark Lord."

Neville stood in shock, as did Harry and Draco.

"No," whispered Neville in disbelief. "She's all I have. Not my Lynn...not my Lynn too." Neville fell into Lucius' arms and began to cry.

Lucius held the inconsolable young wizard, as he felt his own tears forming. He'd grown fond of the young man that Bellatrix had died to save, and he felt his pain.

"It's all right, son," Lucius said softly as he patted Neville on the back. "She is being held in the same house as you were, with the last remaining prisoner from your group. She has not been harmed; at least she didn't appear to be. There is a very good chance that we can get to her before anything happens."

Neville continued to cry, not hearing Lucius' words of consolation. Lucius took hold of his shoulders and shook him slightly.

"Neville, listen to me. Must I remind you of that Gryffindor bravery your house boasts of? You need to be strong. You'll do her no good losing control of yourself. I know this is difficult, but you need to remain calm. Tomorrow is the day we have all been dreading. There will be many who will not come out of that fight with their lives."

Neville wiped the tears from his eyes. "What can I do? I can't go on without her...she's my life."

"Do not mourn her, Neville. She is not dead," said Lucius.

Harry placed his hand on Neville's shoulder.

"Come on, Neville. You can't stay here alone tonight."

Draco nodded. "You can stay with us this evening."

Neville walked outside with Draco, while Harry looked over to Lucius.

"Was she really all right?" he asked.

"From what I could tell, yes. She was frightened, but I truly don't believe he's harmed her. There wasn't anything Rodolphus or I could do, Harry. Not without compromising our position."

"I know," said Harry, knowing that if either man had done anything to try to save Lynnette, he would most probably have paid with his life and hers.

They all Apparated back to Malfoy Manor, where Lucius immediately called both Albus and Severus with the details of the meeting. Severus did not respond to his Floo-call, so Lucius ended up writing him a note.

When Severus received the note from Lucius, he was visibly upset. While Neville had been the bane of his existence during the years he taught the young wizard, he couldn't help but feel for him. Like Neville, he had thought himself alone in the world until a certain woman came along; if Hermione had been captured, Severus would feel bereft just as Neville did. Hermione had happily told him about the new young woman in her friend's life. Even though she was a Muggle, Lynnette seemed to be very interested and accepting of their world – and in love with Neville.

"Hermione," called Severus. Hermione was dressing in the bedroom. They'd spent their morning in bed making love, and decided to have a walk around the school before lunch.

Hermione walked out of the bedroom, with her cloak draped on her arm.

"I'm coming, Severus. I wasn't taking that long." Thinking he was rushing her, she now looked at the concerned look on his face. "What is it?" she asked.

Severus handed her Lucius' note.

Hermione gasped. "This is terrible!"

Severus took the note from her and threw it into the fire.

"It is, but I don't want you to be upset. There is still hope; we should be able to help her and the other woman prisoner. I don't want this to affect you, Hermione. Tomorrow is going to be difficult enough without me worrying over you," said Severus as he held her face in his hands. He kissed her lightly on her lips and leaned his forehead against hers. "How I wish you would listen to me and leave."

Hermione took hold of his wrists and kissed each pulse point. "I've told you, I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I'll be in the castle with some of the others."

He sighed heavily, knowing that even though she said she would be inside the castle, it was very probable she would at some point make her way onto the battlefield. He would need to keep a lookout for her.

"Let's take our walk," said Severus as he kissed her cheek.

They put on their traveling cloaks, which were thick and warm, and walked out onto the snowy grounds. Severus was still officially "dead," but covered by his cloak and its hood, it was almost impossible for anyone to know it was him. They stepped outside, and looked at the newly fallen snow. It was midday and both knew that by this time tomorrow, the snow would be tinted red with the blood of the injured and dying.

When Lucius arrived home at Malfoy Manor, Ginny was taking a nap. Not wanting to disturb her, he decided to spend some time in his study. Lucius was now standing at the window, staring out into the white snow-covered gardens. He heard a sound behind him and turned.

"Master, are there any instructions you have for me?" Emil asked.

Emil knew about the impending war. Many of the house-elves at the manor did. They also knew that there was a possibility that their master would not live past tomorrow.

Lucius approached Emil and looked down at him. He'd truly regretted treating house-elves so badly in the past. During the seven years he'd known the small elf, Emil had proven to be a great friend to him, always understanding and never judgmental. Lucius bent down on one knee and put his hand on Emil's small shoulder.

"You have been a great friend to me these years, Emil. You have taken care of my home as though it were your own, and you have kept me company. If I am to die tomorrow I want you to know that this is your home, to stay in for as long as you wish. You are a free elf still, but I would like for you to remain here, and take care of Ginny."

Lucius knew that Draco had Harry; his son would be taken care of emotionally if anything were to happen to him. But Ginny – she'd been hurt many times in the past. She loved him, and he wondered how strong she would be if died.

Emil placed his hand on Lucius' and smiled.

"I will, Master. I will take care of the Mistress, and your child."

Lucius smiled. "Draco will be all right, Emil. He has Harry to turn to."

Emil shook his head. "No, sir, I meant your child with Mistress Ginny."

Lucius lost his balance and fall back against the edge of the couch. He looked at Emil in shock. "How do you know this, Emil?"

Emil smiled sadly. "I have felt his presence within her for several weeks now. Mistress doesn't know herself yet."

Lucius felt the burning of the tears now filling his eyes. He covered his face with his hands and fought to hold back the emotion that now filled his entire body. Ginny was pregnant with his child, and tomorrow he would be in the middle of the battle of his life. Finally, he allowed his emotions the upper hand; he felt defeated, as if he had no fight left.

He cried because he might never see Ginny again after tomorrow. He cried because he might never see their unborn child. He cried because after seven years he was finally starting to feel alive, and now he felt as though Voldemort were walking over his grave.

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I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I should have more by this coming weekend.

Thanks for reading.