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((Writer's block. Still. Blech.))
//Bellatrix//
Rabastan and his sister-in-law were in the process of swapping theories as to the Patronus problem when the Dark Lord swept into the room.
"My lord," Bellatrix said quietly. Rabastan hastily swallowed a mouthful and copied her.
"You're awake," the Dark Lord replied. "Good."
Rabastan inclined his head in his master's direction, but was too busy trying to fill the void in his stomach to make any other reply.
"Does the Ministry know yet, my lord?" Bellatrix asked.
The Dark Lord sighed. "In all likelihood, but they would seem to be keeping it quiet. It wasn't in the paper this morning, at least."
"Potter's probably too embarrassed to admit they lost a high-security prisoner," Rabastan pointed out. "Again."
Bellatrix smirked.
"Wouldn't doubt it," muttered the Dark Lord. Then, after a moment, "You'll need a wand, of course."
"Yes, my lord," came the response.
"There's a couple of spares in the attic," Bellatrix said airily. "And if none of them work we could break into Mr. Ollivander's."
"See that you do," her master replied. "Soon."
He swept out of the kitchen without another glance in her direction.
-
((It's approaching 4:00 am, so we're even, I suppose… not that I'm tired exactly, just probably not at my most… intelligent.
Is Ollivander still alive? I thought he died, or would've of old age…))
//Wolfbar//
Coincidentally, while Bellatrix and Rabsatan were discussing Patronus theories, Wolfbar was trying to answer questions ((*coughplotholescough*)) of his own, in the library.
It was something he hadn't thought about in weeks, but having tired of the creaming at chess he'd decided to try his lot at shedding some light on why he hadn't gone mad when he'd touched the box, such a long time ago at the Garden ((run-on sentence…)). It didn't really matter to him, probably didn't make in difference in the long run, but he was mildly curious. He'd run his speculations past Oliver, but wasn't buying the younger boy's idea that he'd been too insane to begin with for it to make any difference.
There were many things Wolfbar could and possibly had said about Bellatrix, but one of her (few, in Wolfbar's mind) redeeming was her orgainzational skills. The dilapidated house and bare cupboards may not have reflected it, but perfectionalism was clear in the library.
Thus, then, it was simple enough to check and cross-check words like curses, defenses, countercurses, Y'Galle… any randomly related word that Wolfbar could think of ((dangling preposition…)). His subject choice was slightly obscure, though, so it took him some time before he had accumulated a big enough pile to peruse.
Not that Wolfbar minded, of course. He had nothing but time on his hands.
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((He might have a descendant who's continuing the family tradition or something… *shrug*
Also, your writing skills at four in the morning… um… *grin* yeah. Go to bed.))
//Bellatrix//
Leaving Rabastan still firmly ensconced in the kitchen, Bellatrix silently made her way to the library, hoping to find some hint as to the Patronus.
Instead she found Wolfbar, much to her displeasure. Judging from the stack of books he was surrounded by he was looking into the Garden- though why now, half a year later- and he was so engrossed that he didn't appear to notice her entry.
"Put those all back exactly where you found them, when you're done," Bellatrix said, aiming a kick at his side.
Wolfbar jumped and lost his place in the book he'd been reading. "Where…? Oh. Right."
Bellatrix snorted in disgust and turned to leave. She'd do her research later.
She turned towards one of the many staircases and went to get the spare wands from their hiding place.
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((Ah… was it that bad? *reads over* Oh, yes… yes, I definitely see what you mean…))
//Draco//
Hungry now, Draco went downstairs to the kitchen, where he found Rabastan sitting at the table. Draco took the chair beside him.
"So," he said cheerfully, folding his hands on the table. "You're the chap we broke out."
Rabastan nodded a bit listlessly, staring at Draco.
"Well." Draco make a sort of twitching motion with his wrist, apparently reconsidering the prospect of a handshake. "Hello then. I'm Draco Malfoy." He paused, then added emphathetically, "Lucius' son." And for good measure, "You know."
Rabastan looked up, smirking slightly. "You don't have to treat me like an invalid, boy, I'm as sane as-" He paused, trying to think of a god comparison, "well, I'm saner than at least half the people here."
"Oh," Draco said quietly, "well… that's reassuring."
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//Rabastan//
"Well…" Rabastan qualified after a brief pause, "At the very least, I'm saner than Bellatrix. Madness, rather fortunately, was not rampant in my family. Just, you know, sort of an annoyance on the side." He grinned.
"Oh…"
Rabastan extended a hand. "It is, however, nice to meet you… properly… When, you know, I'm not dying of pneumonia or whatever."
"Right." Draco shook his hand, looking a little nonplussed.
"You mind telling me how this all came about? The Dark Lord's return, the breakout… Bellatrix was a little vague on the details."
"Right," Draco repeated, shifting a little. "Apparently there was another, um, Horcrux, so the Dark Lord didn't die at the Battle of Hogwarts, and Bellatrix, uh, spent the next nineteen years searching for him. And then she found him- with Wolfbar's help, I think- and she brought him back- and meanwhile we've been attracting Hogwarts students like flies to honey."
"Oh?" Rabastan's eyebrows rocketed upwards.
"Mm. Dunno why, but there's Belinda and Oliver- fifth years, Belinda's become Bellatrix's, uh, protégé, I suppose, for lack of a better term, and Oliver'd be glad to see us all thrown in Azkaban or killed… And there's my son, who came looking for me… And two girls- first years- who wandered onto the property and… well… Bellatrix has been, um-"
"-doing what Bellatrix does," Rabastan finished dryly. "I'd imagine." He sighed. "And the Ministry…?"
"If they know he's back they haven't said anything."
Rabastan nodded slowly. "Any idea what he's planning?"
Draco shrugged. "Not a clue. He has been a bit… odd… though, he's more… abrupt, I suppose. Sort of… I dunno…" Another shrug. "Distracted, almost."
The door swung abruptly open and Bellatrix strolled in, a crate levitating in front of her.
"The wands?" Rabastan guessed.
"Mm-hm." She up-ended the crate over the table and twelve long, thin boxes clattered onto the wood.
Rabastan grinned wickedly and steepled his fingers together. "Won't this be fun?"
He chose a box at random and, after glancing cursorily at the label, opened it and flicked the wand in the direction of the cabinets. A couple of them swung open, and an apple rolled out. Rabastan clicked his tongue softly and muttered, "No…"
He repeated this procedure about eight more times; when he flicked the tenth wand at the cabinets, however, they swung open to reveal a veritable feast which definitely hadn't been there before. The Death Eater grinned.
Draco gaped at the now-full cupboards, then turned to Rabastan. "How did you…?"
Bellatrix answered for him, levitating the rest of the wands back into the crate as she did so. "It's a spell."
"Well, obviously," muttered Draco as his aunt swept out of the room. He turned to look questioningly at Rabastan, who was sorting through the newly conjured food.
"My, uh, great-great grandfather hexed the kitchen to provide abundant food only when directed to do so by a Lestrange… Handy little spell, really, though it's not commonly used nowadays because people move around so much more… And it's rather permanent."
"And she didn't tell us?" Draco began, furiously. "All this time we've been living off of- of- apples and moldy bread and eggs, and she could've just waved her wand and- and-?"
Rabastan shrugged. "Bellatrix for you, I suppose. Though it's entirely possible she forgot to tell you. Um, I don't know if you've noticed but she prefers to subsist on apples and moldy bread."
"I've noticed," Draco muttered darkly. Then, "D'you mind if I-?"
"Oh, no not at all," Rabastan waved a gleaming fork lazily in the air. "That's what it's for."
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((I still have writer's block for Wolfbar, so I'm not doing his POV, but consider him out of the library if Bellatrix needs to use it.))
//Scorpius//
Bellatrix hadn't been doing much torturing of Scorpius' ex-classmates for the past few days; indeed, she seemed to have forgotten almost that they were there with the arrival of Rabastan and all. It reminded Scorpius eerily of a child a few days after Christmas or a birthday, having tired of- or broken- her newest toys.
He wasn't sure that they'd been getting anything to eat, but had assumed that this had been because of the low food supply. Not that Bellatrix would have been too liberal with feeding them anyway, but surely she'd at least want them alive. Scorpius, of course, didn't know Bellatrix very well.
So Scorpius was surprised when he tailed his father to the kitchen and found him and the Death Eater Rabastan sitting happily around the table, enjoying the kind of meal that Scorpius hadn't seen since he'd left Hogwarts. His eyes widened.
Draco and Rabastan looked up. "I didn't know wizards could do that," Scorpius breathed in awe.
Rabastan shrugged. "It's a spell," he said.
//Albus//
Christmas decor was springing up around the castle almost overnight. It was still almost a month 'til the holiday itself, and far from being speechless with wonder at the beauty of it all, like some of his fellow first years, Albus found himself thinking what an obscene waste of money it all was.
Ginny, obviously feeling guilty about James and Albus having to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays, had been sending packages weekly, all labeled Not to be opened until Christmas! with little hearts dotting the "i"s. Albus found this embarrassing to no end.
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((Sorry; camp. I'll probably go back to have someone there.))
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//Felicitas//
LeeAnn and Felicitas crouched in their cells, surrounded by the unending darkness. Neither of them spoke, as if worried that a single sound would summon Bellatrix for another round of torture.
The Death Eater hadn't made an appearance in some time. It had been even longer since anyone come by with food; Felicitas, unused to such extended periods of starvation, felt dizzy and light-headed. The fact that she had found what appeared to be a skeleton of some sort in the corner of her cell didn't help much.
"She's going to let us starve," LeeAnn whispered suddenly. "She's not even going to bother keeping us alive now that she's…"
//Bellatrix//
Frost was crusted thick on the ground, and, very much to Bellatrix's annoyance, it crunched horribly underfoot. Scowling, she continued down the street until she came to a small, cheerily decorated cottage.
Bellatrix's scowl deepened. She didn't much care about Christmas either way, but she hated it when people felt the need to decorate all of a month and a half early. And tiny, coloured lights made inconspicuous movement almost impossible.
Ah, well. Life goes on. She marched up to the front door and, for a change, knocked.
Antonin Dolohov opened the door. His eyes widened with fear as he saw her. "Bellatrix," he whispered.
Bellatrix smiled almost pleasantly. "Cheers, Dolohov." She shook her head slowly. "Past twenty years I hear you've got the Ministry on your side, must be nice not having to run, eh? Still…" She slammed a shoulder against the door as Dolohov attempted to shut it, and forced her way into the house. "You don't call, you don't write… You claim to be 'reformed' so the Ministry will send you off to some filthy- Muggle- district-" she punctuated each word with a curse. "Crucio!"
Dolohov screamed.
"Please…" he gasped as she lifted the curse a moment later.
Bellatrix snorted. "-where you can hide from me. What, just because you used to be a Death Eater you think you're safe? Employment for life, Dolohov." Her wand came up and the other Death Eater whimpered. "You knew that," she snarled. "You were one of the first. Crucio!"
~
Two hours later she stepped back out into the cold air and Apperated back to Lestrange manor.
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//Draco//
"So she found him," said Rabastan through a mouthful of food. "How did that go?"
Draco scowled. He didn't want his son hearing this sort of thing. Luckily, he wasn't sure on the finer details himself. "Well, see, there was this garden. And that was where the Dark Lord was, in a, like, a box. With protective enchantments and stuff. So they got the box, and…" he trailed off. "And that was what happened."
"Ah," said Rabastan, his forehead knitting together. "I see. Well. That clears it all up, then."
"Yes…" Draco cleared his throat. "Yes, Bellatrix has been quite busy for the past nineteen years."
//Albus//
Albus was mulling things over. He hadn't really sat back and thought for awhile, too busy devouring the restricted section of the library. (He silently thanked Vikki for her less-than-diligent bookkeeping.) But now he was thinking, mentally going over his options.
At the risk of sounding like an idiot, Albus acknowledged that things had changed in him. Everything he'd read about, everything his father was against- it all seemed more and more appealing by the day, like the life of adventure that he'd always wanted but never had. It seemed as though his father had had all the luck in that regard, and made things pleasant and quiet for a good two decades.
But times were changing, Albus was changing, and he didn't want to be stuck at Hogwarts learning how to change a goblet into a rat. (Or vice versa, whatever they taught in Transfiguration- Albus admitted he hadn't been there in awhile.) Ill-prepared though he may be, Albus wanted to get as far away from the school as possible. But he didn't want to just… vanish… like all the other runaway students had of late. Oh no. Albus would have to think of something a tad more dramatic.
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//Voldy//
Bellatrix glided into the room and sank to her knees to kiss the Dark Lord's robes.
"Dolohov has been taken care of, then?" he murmured. Bellatrix nodded, unable to contain a smile.
"Three more to go," she said rather pointedly.
A flicker of amusement crossed the Dark Lord's face as he sat slowly in an armchair. "Patience, Bella. These matters must be handled with care."
The Death Eater sighed and leaned against the side of the armchair. "I hate waiting."
"I know," her master replied coolly. Absently he twisted a strand of her hair between his fingers and frowned. "But surely you haven't killed those two students yet?"
"Well, no, but they're no fun when they're broken."
"Suppose not," the Dark Lord agreed. "But you'll just have to be patient, I'm afraid."
Bellatrix sighed once more, but made no argument.
//Oliver//
The manor was unusually quiet, and Oliver decided to try his luck sneaking food into the dungeon. He found the door unlocked and the two girls slumped over listlessly in their cells. They flinched when he came in and blinked in the light of his wand, but when he silently handed them what food he'd managed to steal they devoured it with almost inhuman speed.
Poor things. He was just as much a prisoner as they were, but at least he wasn't just a… toy… for Bellatrix to play with until she got bored.
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((Excuse me? He twisted a strand of her hair between his fingers? *blinks* I really didn't realize just how obsessed you are with that pairing…))
//Albus//
Staring at the fire in the common room- the Hufflepuff common room- Albus got a sudden devious look on his face as one of the stories he'd grown up hearing came back to him. Now, that wouldn't be a bad way to leave…
//Draco//
Rabastan kept up painfully insistent questioning, much to Draco's vexation. It wasn't just the annoyance- he was trying to eat, and he hardly knew Rabastan- but rather that he was asking some questions that Draco wasn't entirely sure of the answers to.
"What about recruitment? I'm the only one?"
Draco sighed. This was the third variant of the same question. "There's me. Wolfbar and Belinda, for what they're worth. Bellatrix. You. And the Dark Lord was up north a few days ago. Testing the water, seeing if there's anyone willing to join up… or worth having, more important…"
"How'd you find me, anyhow, know where I was and all?" Rabastan seemed unfettered by the forkful of mashed potatoes in his mouth.
"Dear Aunt Bellatrix has ways of getting what she wants, as you know." Draco pushed back his chair, stood. "Well, lovely talking to you."
Up in his room, the stolen paperwork was still on the desk. The page dictating Dolohov's status was torn neatly in two.
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((Um… *slowly turns red* Yes. Obsessed is a good word. But- in my defense- haven't you ever caught yourself doing that? Playing with a loose thread/string/whatever or petting a dog without realizing it…? …?
…
I'll shut up now.))
//Rabastan//
The door swung shut with a loud bang. Rabastan raised an eyebrow, swallowed a mouthful of vegetables, and smirked. He turned to Scorpius with a quick grin. "Your father seems a bit on edge, if you don't mind me saying so. Potatoes?"
"Oh, please," Scorpius said, accepting a plate from the Death Eater. "And… well… He's worried. About mum 'n' I." A defensive note crept into his voice.
Rabastan shrugged. "I suppose. I wouldn't know… Never had a family of my own. Well, unless you count Bellatrix." He chuckled darkly.
"I wouldn't," Scorpius muttered before he could stop himself.
The Death Eater just laughed. "I'm not sure I would either. She's very, um, overwhelming isn't she?"
"Scary, more like," Scorpius said, smiling a little in spite of himself. "Or terrifying…"
Rabastan nodded emphatically, unable to speak around a large chunk of pork. He swallowed hastily and added, "She's insane. It's in her job description, I think."
"Job description?"
"Oh, you know," Rabastan waved a fork airily. "Run around England, mutilate, maim, destroy… She's the Dark Lord's pet assassin, really. And believe you me, you'd have to be insane to enjoy a job like that."
Scoripus shuddered. Rabastan, noticing this, hastily changed the subject.
//Bellatrix//
After reluctantly leaving the Dark Lord to his own devices, Bellatrix found herself in the library, reading through a book on Dementors, Lethifolds, and, most importantly, Patronuses.
It was an achingly boring read; the author had explored numerous rabbit trails and had apparently felt that the only way to get his point across was to ramble for page after page and repeat himself continuously.
At the end of it all Bellatrix had learned absolutely nothing helpful. Quite the contrary, in fact, since the book stated very clearly that anyone who had murdered without regret- thus tearing their soul- would be unable to summon a Patronus.
Which she very clearly had done in Azkaban.
Bellatrix let out a snarl of frustration and threw the book at the nearest wall; since this was a relatively frequent happening, she had long ago hexed the walls to slow the descent of flying tomes and the book settled onto the floor with a quiet thump.
She sighed and went in search of a more helpful book.
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Right. Strings. Dogs… Bellatrix Lestrange's hair… 😉 ))
//Scorpius//
After Scorpius and Rabastan had had a lengthy discussion about Quidditch, Scorpius filling Rabastan in on developments during his years of imprisonment, Scorpius stood up, grinning.
"The food was quite good," he said, and then blurted, "You're much nicer than Bellatrix, I'd never guess you're related."
There was a long second's silence, and Scorpius gulped, hoping he hadn't spoken too boldly. He had no doubt that Rabastan had other formidable magical abilities than the gastronomical ones. Then Rabastan laughed loudly. "Thank you," he chuckled. "Thank you. I guess I'll take that as a compliment."
//Albus//
Albus had stopped going to classes altogether at this point, but that didn't mean he'd stopped learning. The material in the restricted section, the spells he was practicing… well, it wasn't exactly the curriculum his parents had sent him to Hogwarts for, but certainly it was more practical. And a whole lot more fun.
He wasn't quite sure where he planned on going when he finally shook the dust of the castle off his feet, but that was unimportant as yet. It was the principle of the thing that mattered, Albus concluded.
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//Bellatrix//
The next book was equally unhelpful, as was the one after that. Bellatrix had very nearly decided to give it up as a bad job when the library door opened and Rabastan strolled in, considerably cleaner than when she had left him.
"You know," he said conversationally, "you've got the Malfoys dead scared of you?"
"I know," she replied, flipping open another book and skimming through the first chapter. "So?"
Rabastan shrugged. "Just wondered how you managed it."
She grinned up at him. "Can you guess?"
Her brother-in-law considered. "I suppose I could manage a hypothesis or two, when you put it like that."
"May I ask why you bring it up?"
"Well I was speaking to the boy… Scoripus, isn't it? …and he said- I quote- 'You're much nicer than Bellatrix, I'd never guess you're related.'"
"Did he?" Bellatrix smirked. "How very rude of him."
"For what it's worth I took it as a complim-" Rabastan broke off as Bellatrix swung the book at his head.
((Sorry it's so short…))
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//Draco//
"That's it, really." Draco shrugged. That wasn't it, of course. He'd edited the story of the trip to Azkaban a bit to tell it to his wife- left out some of the more grotesque details, such as Avery, and Bellatrix's Patronus, of course- but she needn't know that.
Pansy looked doubtful, but didn't press it. "And that's where this… unkempt… person sitting in the kitchen conversing with my son came from, have I got that?"
"Mm." Draco nodded. "He's actually rather nice, though, once you get past the fact that he spent decades in Azkaban… and is related to Bellatrix… and all that…" He coughed. "Well, he has good tastes in food anyway."
"I see." Pansy sighed. "Draco, your father hung out with the creepiest people…"
//Albus//
Albus was feeling a bit nervous. For all the wrong reasons, of course- he didn't give a whit over skipping classes or offending his parents and teachers- but nervous nonetheless.
For the past few weeks he'd been practicing spells. Not very nice spells, when he looked at the matter quite honestly, and he'd been messing a lot of them up, but eventually he'd gotten the gist of quite a few unpleasant curses and the like.
What he hadn't practiced were the Unforgivable Curses. He knew that it was very, very foolish to even try, but he was feeling more than slightly addicted to the sense of exhilaration he got from doing things he knew very well he shouldn't be. Trembling a bit as he sat on the floor of his dormitory, wand out and pointed at a small spider in the corner, he decided he'd start by trying out the Cruciatas.
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/Lillian
Lillian knew that when she opened her eyes, she would be at home in bed. Magic, hah. Some people's dream. It had become her nightmare.
Torturing each other, reading books on evil magic, and so on seemed to be keeping most of the people in the manor quite busy, so it seemed easy enough. Lillian was going to run away. Again. And she had no idea to where.
But she knew she had to go.
One night when the people in the manor seemed relatively occupied with whatever they were doing – probably thinking of more oppurtunities for torture, Lillian started to leave. She'd decided to go to Hogwarts, from where she would get in touch with her parents, come home, and forget all about her nightmare. Because that was all it had been… a bad dream.
At least, Lillian hoped so.
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((Wait, where's Lillian at?))
//Bellatrix//
A thorough search of the library yielded absolutely nothing helpful on the topic of Patronuses. Bellatrix closed the last book and leaned back in her chair, eyes closed.
"Nothing?" came the familiar voice. Bellatrix jumped and twisted around to see the Dark Lord materialize out of the shadows.
"Nothing helpful, anyway, my lord," she replied with a brief sigh. "Only the same thing the Defense teachers have been telling students since the class was invented… 'Patronuses can only be conjured by those with unbroken souls' and all variations of it."
His lips twitched slightly. "Well, either they're wrong or the entire breakout was just a deranged delusion of yours."
Bellatrix smirked. "Which, of course, explains why Rabastan has interacted with other people besides me… Including you, my lord."
The Dark Lord just shrugged. "For all you know, this entire year is nothing but a deranged delusion of yours, and none of us exist outside of your head."
"Oh, I hope not," she sighed. "Why do you bring it up?"
Her master shrugged once more. "Just exploring all the options. One can never be to careful…"
"And giving me nightmares about waking up to realize that your return was just a dream is a great way to 'explore all the options', as you put it," Bellatrix muttered darkly.
"But of course," the Dark Lord replied dryly. "Though- if it's any consolation- I rather doubt it."
The Death Eater smiled a little.
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((I thought LeAnn was the captive, with Felicitas, and Lillian was in Hogsmeade?))
//Scorpius//
"Stop moping around, darling." Scorpius' mother ruffled his fair hair as she passed him in the hallway. "Look, it's snowing! Go outside and build a snowman or something!"
"We're in Lestrange manor, with several known killers in the vincinity," said Scorpius dully, "and you want me to go outside and build a snowman. Is that what you're telling me?"
"It's infinitely preferable to discussing Quidditch with one of the aforesaid known killers," snapped Pansy.
"When you put it like that…" Scorpius shrugged. "Fine, if it'll make you happy… but you're the one who gets tortured when my dear old great aunt flies off the handle upon seeing that I've built a snowman in her yard."
//Albus//
Albus watched the small spider's spasms of pain for a full two minutes. Then, as the helpless creature finally collapsed onto the dormitory floor, unmoving, Albus felt a horrible, deranged grin creep onto his features.
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((I thought someone said there were three, and I thought I was the third. Sorry for the confusion.))
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((Absolutely fine, Lena. We could either disregard your post, or simply pretend that she was there all along… TNO (umlaut) would possibly suggest that we cover up this plot hole the way we do all others- MAGIC… 😉 What say everyone else?))
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((MAGIC!
Seriously, that joke will never get old.
I say we pretend she was there all along.))
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((All right then, let's do that; it seems to be consensus. Carry on.))
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((Also, the snowman thing made me laugh hysterically for a good five minutes.))
//Scorpius//
Rather than build a snowman Scorpius found himself absentmindedly packing small snowballs and piling against the wall of the manor. While he stacked he reminisced about the snowball fights he had occasionally convinced his father to participate in. The house elves would have hot tea waiting when father and son grew to cold to continue pelting each other with frozen balls.
Back before the Dark Lord had returned and this whole mess had started. Scorpius scowled and threw a snowball with all his strength, his eyes shut tight to keep in sudden tears.
((Ugh, block.))
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((Re: snowman: So glad. 🙂
Re: block: Yes. Of late this has been happening a lot… I blame the weather. So much sun makes me feel very uncreative. This'll be silghtly cliche.))
//Scorpius//
"Oi!" came a shout. "Careful there!"
Scorpius opened his eyes carefully. It hadn't sounded like a murderous Dark wizard… "Oh. Hi Dad…"
"I find snowballs to be a good outlet of emotion…" said Draco thoughtfully, "and God knows we've all got emotions to spare here. That hurt by the way," he added, and with that he spent a hard-packed snowball whistling through the air towards Scorpius. It would have been somewhat painful if Scorpius hadn't been grinning so hard.
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//Rabastan//
Several shouts from outside interrupted Rabastan's search for clean robes. He closed the trunk he'd been digging through and crossed to the window to see Draco and his son pelting each other with snowballs.
The Death Eater smiled a little and went back to the trunk.
//Bellatrix//
After another hour or so of fruitless searching in the library interspersed with worry about the possibility that this entire organization was nothing but a delusion, Bellatrix gave up trying to answer her questions and Apperated down to the basement. She wanted to torture someone, and the three girls would have to do.
She was very much surprised to see Oliver crouched next to one of the cells, apparently having fed the captives and now discussing ways of trying to leave Lestrange manor.
It was several hours before the screaming stopped.
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((Yes; magic. I like that. 🙂 And your snowman thing is wonderful.))
Lillian was surprised she gotten so far already. No one seemed to have noticed she was gone. Which was good, because when she'd left, Bellatrix had been on the warpath.
Now the only question was: where was she going?
Hogsmeade?
Hogwarts?
What were hogs, anyway?
As she turned a corner, she saw something up ahead, something so big she was surprised she hadn't noticed it further away. It was a castle. It looked like Hogwarts.
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((@ Lena: You're back! 😀 Please don't be scared off again…
@ TNO (umlaut): You have a talent for making screaming slightly amusing.))
//Wolfbar//
Wolfbar had learned that it was best to ignore the hair-rising shrieks that came from the basement on a regular basis. It'd sort of become part of the mental soundtrack he'd grown used to while at Lestrange manor- "Crucio," "Yes, my lord," "Crucio," "Checkmate," "Crucio," "Oh look it's another one of Bellatrix's deranged relatives," and "Crucio" were a few others.
He used the screams to his advantage instead, knowing that Bellatrix was ocupied for as long as they continued. It wasa good time to run down to the kitchen, grab something that wouldn't make the Department of Health curl up into a ball and die, and run back upstairs to his bedroom. On this particular day, he realized with surprise, there were mashed potatoes. He blinked. And turkey that hadn't died two years ago. He hurriedly reheated these and noted that as long as they weren't his, screams were perfecly okay.
//Albus//
Albus wasn't nervous anymore. In fact he was rather enjoying himself. His only regret was that he seemed to have done away with all the spiders that the dorm had to offer.
"Al…" The boy's voice sounded slightly alarmed, "…what're you doing…?"
Albus looked up. "Oh hi, Benji…" He followed the his roommate's gaze. "Oh, that white mouse? He was yours? These cats, honestly…"
-
(("Oh look it's another one of Bellatrix's deranged relatives"! Ahaha!))
//Oliver//
Some time after Bellatrix's sudden appearance, Oliver was left lying in the dungeons, blinking dazedly up at the ceiling. It had been his first sampling of the pain the Death Eater could dole out with the Cruciatus, and, unluckily for him, he had managed to make her extremely angry right before she cursed him.
Oliver blinked harder, trying to break out of the loop his thoughts had been running in for the past thirty seconds- "I hate Death Eaters, I hate Death Eaters, I hate Death Eaters, I-"
Eventually he sat up, shook his head slowly back and forth, and climbed unsteadily to his feet.
//Belinda//
As was becoming her habit, Belinda was curled in an armchair in one of the parlours with a large book of Dark magic when Oliver limped rather dramatically into the room. Belinda noted absently that she hadn't even seen her friend in some days.
"You look ill," she observed offhandedly. "You haven't been sleeping, have you? Or eating, from the look of it."
"We have to get out of here," he whispered hoarsely. "Now."
Belinda sighed, marked her place in the book, and balanced it carefully on the arm of her chair. "Number one, Oliver, I don't *want* to leave. I happen to like it here. And even if I *did* want to leave, Bellatrix has made… arrangements to prevent our leaving. Furthermore if one assumes we did manage to leave, the Dark Lord would send either Bellatrix or Rabastan out to bring us back, if we were lucky, or more likely just kill us."
Oliver scowled and sank shakily into a chair of his own.
"May I ask why you've decided that we have to leave?" Belinda asked brightly.
"Oh, I dunno, maybe because your dear childhood hero has been making both our lives miserable since we got here? Maybe because she just finished torturing me and those girls downstairs? Maybe because the Dark Lord'll more than likely just kill us? Or-"
Belinda glowered at him. "I haven't been miserable since I got here. And I didn't ask for you and Drusilla to follow me! You're just being melodramatic!"
"Melodramatic?" cried Oliver, rising to his feet. "Melodramatic?! I've just been tortured for the past- past-"
"Two hours or so," Belinda said calmly. "You know, she wouldn't have tortured you if you hadn't been conspiring with the prisoners."
"Conspiring? Prisoners? They're eleven year old girls-"
"-who were trespassing."
Oliver gaped at his friend, speechless. He suddenly remembered Wolfbar's comment; maybe she was always like that, and you just never noticed it… "What happened to you?" he asked softly.
Belinda just shrugged. "Nothing."
-
((Oliver cracks me up. "I hate Death Eaters, I hate Death Eaters, I hate Death Eaters…"
Chloe seems to have left… (which makes me feel slightly guilty)… can I do LeAnn's POV?))
"LeAnn," hissed Felicitas. "LeAnn, are you okay?"
LeAnn sat up, widening her eyes. "Guess."
"Look at the bright side," suggested Felicitas, "we're not hungry anymore."
"No," LeAnn agreed, "we're just cold, imprisoned, aching, lost, half-dead, and emaciated." She shrugged. "But at least we're not hungry. Honestly, Felicitas, how deluded are you? Or is it just the stress of being locked in a Death Eater's dungeon?"
"Well, it hasn't done much for your outlook either."
"Keen, Felicitas."
//Albus//
"What's going on?" Benji asked, looking mildly panicked. "Are you okay, Al?"
Albus' gaze fell to his wand. Just looking at it made him feel incredibly… well, he asn't quite sure, but he definitely liked it.
"Oh yes," he said with another manic grin. "Yes, I've never felt better."
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((Cannot wait for Albus to escape the castle…
Also… um… I have a question… would it be ok if, um, if Harry died? It's just… I want him to die. So Yeah. But it's ok if we don't kill him.))
//Harry//
Lately, Harry was worried about everything. About Albus, about whatever Bellatrix was doing; the Azkaban breakout, the Malfoy's mass disappearance, Dolohov's brutal murder (Harry couldn't help but suspect that the Malfoys, like Dolohov, would eventually found in a ditch somewhere in the middle of nowhere).
But Albus was definitely his prime concern. He'd been getting concerned letters from the Hogwarts staff, almost all along the lines of "Albus has been absent from class for the past week" and "Albus appears to be spending all of his time alone, either in the library or in his dormitory."
Much as he hated to admit it, something was definitely wrong with his youngest son.
So, feeling guilty, he got a record of Albus' library checkouts and was shocked to see titles such as "Magick Most Foul", "A History of Dark Wizards through the Ages", "The Dark Arts: an In-Depth Study", and, most worryingly, "Of Horcruxes and Other Dark Magicks".
So much for Horcruxes being a banned subject at Hogwarts, but even so; what on /earth/ was Albus reading about that for?
Come to think of it, Harry wondered, how did he even manage to check these out? Almost every title was in the restricted section.
He decided to have a word with the substitute librarian.
//Voldy//
Belinda had alerted Bellatrix to Oliver's desperation to leave Lestrange manor. Bellatrix, in turn, informed the Dark Lord.
Once again the Dark Lord and his servant found themselves discussing Oliver's fate.
"I don't think we should kill him," the Dark Lord mused, "as he might become useful at a later date. If only as a bargaining chip. D'you think Belinda would object much to, say, locking him in the dungeons?"
"Probably not. She's… changed… since coming here."
"And I wonder who's responsible for that," he said, glancing pointedly at the Death Eater.
Bellatrix merely grinned in response. "I can't change minds. I just pointed her in the right direction. The Dark Arts are a powerful corruptive force, or so I'm told."
"Indeed," the Dark Lord said with another smirk. "So. I'd prefer if he was out of earshot of the other prisoners. Can't have them plotting together."
"I think I can manage that," Bellatrix replied, mentally running through the layout of the bottommost basement.
With a grin the Death Eater bowed and strolled out of the room.
A thin smile flitted over the Dark Lord's face as he watched her go.
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((How about we can kill Harry under the condition that Albus has a hand in his death in some way? …Please? I think that'd be fair… if completely evil and devious…
Also, your CaC thread got me listening to music, so don't be surprised if LM makes a few cameos in this post…))
//Harry//
"So," Harry said, clearing his throat, "you're filling in, as Madam Pince has had a heart attack?"
He appraised the substitute librarian from across the desk. She had dark blond hair, spiked and with several pink streaks, and more piercings than Harry cared to count. There was a tattoo on her shoulder, and due to her skimpy dressings habits, Harry could tell it was a heart with her name and someone else's written on it. There were little hearts above the "i"s.
"Yeah, pretty much," said Vikki, "it's been, like, awesome to be back at Hogwarts after all this time-" Harry blinked, knowing that she'd just graduated "-and I've been having, like, a really good time." She nodded earnestly for emphasis. "Watching Quidditch matches and going to Hogsmeade and stuff."
"That's sheer abuse of power," said Harry with a hint of incredulity.
"Like, I know, right?" She looked a bit confused at his terminology, but decided it couldn't be too bad. "Anyway, you were here about… Alice?"
"Albus."
"Oh him," she said offhandedly. "Yeah, he's such a sweet child. I mean really," she added.
Harry could tell this was going to be slightly hard. He checked his watch… there was supposed to be a trial in an hour that he had to be at. But no matter how demanding it was going to be, he'd rather be a father to his young son than a faceless someone involved in all the Ministry's affairs, always having to rush to meetings and such. He could survive missing a meeting or two if it meant helping his son. And enduring the new substitute librarian for much longer than any sane person would prefer.
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(("So?" "-Ain't that what power's for?" ^_^ "…Or a father to his little girl…" and "Even drew a little heart above the i…" and sweet child…
Drat it all, now you've got me reading it over and over again to find the LM references. Thpbt.
Not that I blame you. I've probably done it left and right too… I know I did with the Sweeney Todd line… And a TotS adaption line… and several Merlin lines… and at least one Firefly line… So Yeah.
Also, re: Albus offing Harry: Yes, please. When? Whenwhenwhenwhen?))
//Oliver//
The cell was damp and frigid. Oliver's breath rose in tiny puffs of vapour, and his hands and feet were perpetually numb.
The worst of it was the darkness, though. This far underground it was unrelenting and broken only by the occasional flash of violet light that signaled a Cruciatus. Usually it was Bellatrix who was illuminated by the curse. Very, very occasionally it was Belinda.
Oliver shivered, coughed, and curled into a ball in the corner of his cell.
//Bellatrix//
Much to Bellatrix's disappointment, Rabastan was sent to deal with the two remaining free Death Eaters, and did so by blowing up a street as the two were meeting furtively to decide where they should run. She supposed it was necessary- the Ministry would guess that something was up if former Death Eaters kept disappearing one by one- but even so it was disappointing.
On the other hand the Dark Lord had managed to recruit a few people, most notably a young secretary in the Department of Magical Law enforcement who was proving a vital source of information on the current doings of the Ministry.
Things were going well, and right in time for the holiday season, too. The atmosphere at Lestrange manor had taken on an unnatural cheer, though the Dark Lord remained as sullen and withdrawn as ever.
Draco, on the other hand, was downright jolly. Bellatrix had even caught him humming.
All very well and good for him, but it made her want to throw things. Preferably large, heavy, breakable things that would make a nice crashing sound as they hit the floor.
Not that Bellatrix minded Christmas. She just didn't see the point in peace and goodwill toward men and the gift-giving was, in her opinion, just another opportunity to be self-righteous.
But everyone else seemed to enjoy it quite a lot, so the Death Eater merely smiled and went along with it. No one ever received presents from her, unless they counted not being tortured and verbally abused for hanging mistletoe in her hallways.
//Harry//
Two hours of trying to convince Vikki that she couldn't let his son check out books from the restricted section- especially not without permission- and Vikki insisting that Albus hadn't been checking out boks from the restricted section had worn Harry's nerves into a frayed wreck. He gave up and went to talk to Albus instead.
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Re: Albus offing Harry: I would say after he escapes the castle, probably? Also… as a bonus… could we drive Ginny slightly insane after Harry's death?…))
//Rabastan//
"It's all due to me," said Rabastan with a shrug and lots of self-assurance. "This great air of fellowship that's suddenly appeared. Before you break me out, you've got a handful of trembling kids ready to mutiny, then I show up and everything's wonderful. Recruitment's up too. It's plain to see."
Bellatrix aimed an only half-joking kick at him. "I see your ego hasn't suffered from nineteen years in Azkaban, you're just as self-centered as I recall. You're not the greatest thing since sliced bread, you know."
Rabastan raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. "Sliced bread? Sliced bread? C'mon, Bellatrix, surely you can think of better things to do with a knife than *slice* *bread*."
"I'm sure I could," said Bellatrix with a lazy smirk, "but I'm guessing you wouldn't want any demonstrations, yes?"
//Albus//
"Well…" Albus picked at a loose thread on the bed's quilt. "What would 'cutting classes' entail exactly?"
Harry explained very patiently about the letters he'd gotten. For the second time. Missed classes, library books, and all.
Albus shrugged. "But what's your point in telling me all of this? What do you want me to say?"
"Well…" Harry paused. "I guess I was sort of hoping you'd deny it, actually… Give me a valid reason to think that my son isn't doing all the things I'm told he is…"
Albus considered this. "You and your precious Ministry, and all of Hogwarts, are extremely delusional." He shrugged again. "Though I s'pose it's really all that can be expected."
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((As a bonus she goes insane?))
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LeeAnn slumped in her cell. Her pessimistic side had long since taken over the optimistic one; although it somtimes made a weak attempt at Well at least you're still alive. Suddenly, she stood. Think cleary, she told herself, think-. She had just noticed a small object in the corner of the cell and it occured to her that other people had been there before. When she looked closer she grinned. Silently, she picked up the wand.
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((The admin keep deleting the first part of my post. I don't know why. It's not the writing… but anyhow, that's why there're no double parentheses before "Re:" etc.))
Mary, we'd rather not have some of those topics mentioned—mabye too strong for younger readers. I hope you understand.
Admin
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((Albus is turning out to be quite the snarky little brat, isn't he? How soon is he going to escape the castle? And how? And where'll he go? *is very excited*
Also, Insane!Ginny would be AWESOME.))
//Bellatrix//
"Probably not," Rabastan said with a grin. "But c'mon! You know I'm right!"
"Keep that up and you will get a demonstration," Bellatrix replied sweetly. Though he probably was right, not that she'd ever admit it. He and his conversational skills.
Her brother-in-law's grin widened. "Aw, Bella, you wouldn't. Familial loyalties aside-" Bellatrix let out a snort of laughter and he plowed on bravely- "I'm too valuable to the Dark Lord."
Bellatrix laughed again. "Who said anything about killing you, Rab? And don't call me Bella."
"The Dark Lord calls you Bella," Rabastan pointed out reasonably.
She merely shrugged. "Yes, well, he's the Dark Lord."
"You call me Rab."
"Because Rabastan is a horrible mouthful," Bellatrix replied in a pleasant tone.
"And Bellatrix, you know, is a bit of a mouthful too."
"But I like it, and I'm not nearly as fond of Bella, so we've hit precisely the same dead end that we always hit whenever we have this conversation…" Bellatrix spread her hands in mock sorrow.
"A downright shame," Rabastan sighed. "And an awful waste of breath."
Bellatrix hit him- lightly- upside the head. "Hardly. It's one more syllable."
"Every little bit counts?" Rabastan asked, ducking as Bellatrix swung at his head once more.
//Harry//
Wonderful, Harry thought as he left the Ministry a few days later, this is just brilliant. Two more former Death Eaters dead, the Dementors getting restless in Azkaban- he'd have to have a word with Kingsley about finding backup guards, just in case- still no sign of Bellatrix or her brother-in-law, no word from the Malfoys, and the Aurors had just realized that a large percentage of their important, /top secret/ paperwork had vanished.
Then, as if that wasn't enough, Albus was still as distant and irritable as he had been when Harry had visited. Terry and Neville had both reported that the boy was now actively being avoided by his peers, though no evidence of wrong doing had yet been found. The only bonus was that Madam Pince had recovered from her heart attack and was back in control of the library, so Albus wouldn't be getting into the Restricted section any time soon.
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((Regarding Albus: When… Now that Madam Pince has recovered… probably pretty soon. Yay…! 😀 How… possibly something involving a stolen broomstick, and maybe fireworks, depending on how overly dramatic I'm feeling… Where… dunno yet. Probably eventually Lestrange manor, but not straight away.
Also, about Harry's death: Bellatrix- or Voldy, though Bellatrix is usually more interesting- can have him first, though, naturally, epecially beause I know you don't like Harry the character at all and you're probably more eager to see him die than I am. Yes?))
//Scorpius//
Scorpius had been in a considerably better mood of late. Ignoring the screams and all, it was almost easy to pretend that the atmosphere was slightly cheerful. His father was far less distant, and Pansy had been becoming minimally less reclusive. Of course, all this raised the question of when things would go back to the regular dreariness of life at Lestrange manor, but for now Scorpius had decided to enjoy it while it lasted. He wondered vaguely if he could get his father to persaude Bellatrix to get a Christmas tree.
//Albus//
Albus had briefly considered trying out a few of the new spells he'd learned, put Madam Pince out of commission awhile longer, but he'd gathered a lot from the few short months he'd had access to the Restricted section. Some animal denizens of Hogwarts were probably worse off for it, but as opposed to making Albus feel guilty it just gave him a really wonderful sense of power.
He'd be leaving Hogwarts soon, very soon. Within the month. There were a few more things he wanted to skim over- notes he'd made, the occasional page ripped out of a book- and just a few… experiments… that he wanted to try out, and then he'd begin making arrangements to take his leave. The talk with his father slipped out of his head unnaturally quickly.
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((*is watching A Very Potter Musical* "You're like this spare guy! You're such a spare!" "KILL THE SPARE! AVADA KEDAVRA!" XD I love the AVPM Voldy. He's so awesome, and also OCD, and also pretty, even with the creepy makeup.
Re: Bella gets Harry first: Wee! Only I'm assuming no blood, Admin? [Right]
@Lena: Aw, c'mon, crazy characters are fun! Why else would I be doing Bellatrix?))
//Bellatrix//
"You want me to put a *what* in the dining room?!" Bellatrix hissed.
Draco sighed. "A Christmas tree. It's very traditional."
"Look, Draco, darling, I haven't said a word about the holly… the mistletoe… the strange, shiny baubles your wife was hanging in the halls yesterday… the garishly wrapped presents… I even talked the Dark Lord out of tearing it all down… but no, you may *not* put a tree in my dining room." She folded her arms.
"Would it help if I said please?" Her nephew raised his eyebrows innocently.
Bellatrix snorted. "No. And tell Scorpius to stop building snowmen, will you?" She turned on her heel and strode out.
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((@ Lena: Yeah… as a bonus. Because I'm weird and would consider an insane Ginny enjoyable… you must admit in the books she had no dimension.
@ TNO (umlaut): That was very funny, I cracked up. 🙂 Your post, I mean, not AVPM, though that sounds… entertaining… as well.))
//Scorpius//
Scorpius shrugged. "But Mum told me to!" He paused. "In fact I distinctly remember telling her that if Bellatrix got annoyed then she w-"
Draco held up a hand. "All right. Thank you for trying to appease your mother… but please… use your head. Bellatrix's rules could be a lot stricter- she lets her house guests regularly torture each other, she's willing to let us eat decently now and then- it's really her perogative if she doesn't want snowmen in her yard. Okay?"
Scorpius assumed a sulky expression. "It's Mum's fault…" He stopped when his father glared at him warningly.
//Albus//
"You… you said you wanted to talk, Al?"
Albus looked up. He'd known Jim would drop by Albus' dormitory if he asked him to. They'd been good friends before, well… anyway, he'd come. "Actually I rather think I'll be doing the talking here," Albus said quietly, just loud enough for Jim to hear, and then cast a Silencing charm, followed by a simple immobilizing jinx, on Jim before his guest could blink.
"Now, this'll only take a few minutes, Jim, if you'll just stay nice and quiet," said Albus smoothly. "There are a couple little things I want to practice… I promise, you won't remember a thing when I'm done."
He smiled and raised his wand.
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@ Mary and TNÖ: True, she was kind of flat. In my own opinion insanity does not dimentionalize a person, but all right then, if you want to.
/Lillian
Lillian couldn't believe her luck. To escape from the manor and find Hogwarts all in one day! Now if only she could contact her parents, she'd be fine.
As she stumbled into the castle, ignoring the 'Where WERE you?'s from everyone, she decided that she would go up to the Hufflepuff common room and compose her letter before sending it off. Albus had an owl she could probably borrow; he'd been so nice to her before she left.
LATER
Lillian headed down the corridors to the Headmaster's office.
Something had to be done.
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Sorry Admins…
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((Albus, I believe, has just crossed the Moral Event Horizon, making him officially awesome.
Off Topic: I'm going to hunt down and strangle whoever thought up synthetic division. It's not that it's particularly hard, it's just that it ISN'T division, it's multiplication…))
//Terry Boot//
Terry was on his way to the Great Hall for dinner when a muffled groan from an empty classroom caught his attention. He pushed open the door and went in, drawing his wand slowly.
This turned out to be a largely unnecessary action, as the groan had originated in the throat of a half-conscious first year.
Cursing under his breath, Terry moved to kneel by the student. On closer inspection he recognized the boy as Jim Thrope, minus- disturbingly- half an ear.
"Jim?" Terry asked softly, reaching out to touch the boy's shoulder. Jim flinched at the contact and groaned again. There was a strange, vacant look in his eyes. Terry conjured a stretcher and levitated Jim onto it.
They headed towards the hospital wing, Terry grim-faced and Jim whimpering occasionally and flinching at sudden movements.
//Draco//
Christmas day dawned dull and gray, which, given that Draco and his family were imprisoned in Lestrange manor, seemed rather ironic.
Still, the poor weather didn't have much of an effect on the atmosphere within the manor. Bellatrix remained as prickly as ever and the Dark Lord had yet to make an appearance (Draco suspected that he had left the manor, being less than fond of holiday cheer); on the other hand, everyone else was in high spirits.
And high spirits meant there was a much smaller chance of the Malfoys being used as practice targets for various unpleasant curses.
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Hmmm… Draco's kid is turning out to be downright softhearted, whereas Harry's is a budding dark wizard.
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Yeah.
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((@ TNO (umlaut): I know… I love Albus… he's so awesome… <3))
//Scorpius//
Scorpius blinked. There was no tree, and he was quite sure Santa Claus hadn't been by, but there was no doubt that it was Christmas. He had to admit he was surprised; all things considered, he'd come to the vaguely illogical conclusion that Christmas simply didn't exist at Lestrange manor. He decided to believe it, though, when he walked downstairs and noted, grinning, that Rabastan had conjured up some pancakes.
//Albus//
Albus had wanted to leave when school was in full session, with more than a bit of a bang. But even though he had wiped Jim's memory- to what extent he wasn't quite sure, but he probably hadn't docked off more than six months or so… the spell had been more powerful than he'd supposed- there was still plenty of evidence against him. And with the Restricted section not available to him anymore, there was very little point in remaining at Hogwarts. On the bright side, if not everyone was in school, there would be enough first-hand witnesses to spread satisfying rumours when other students returned after the holidays.
He'd gotten plenty done. Other than the memory charm, everything else he'd done to dear Jim had gone quite well. Not for Jim, of course, but that was utterly beside the opint. He figured he knew enough to get by. And Christmas, Albus decided, would be a wholly suitable day to leave.
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((Albus is leaving! *does happydance*
Argh, tooth. X_X stupid infection.))
//Rabastan//
"Cheers, Scorpius," Rabastan said a moment later when he noticed the boy standing in the doorway. "Happy Christmas."
Scorpius' grin widened. "Happy Christmas. Though I would've thought Death Eaters wouldn't like Christmas."
Rabastan merely shrugged. "Fearsome and terrifying Death Eater though I may be, I'm not about to thumb my nose at an excuse to annoy Bellatrix. And besides that, there's the matter of presents." He grinned. "Honestly, what's not to like? Pancakes?"
"Please," Scorpius said, accepting a plate. "As to the 'what's not to like', well, personally I'd rather *not* annoy Bellatrix if I can help it."
The Death Eater laughed. "It's more fun after you learn how to tell whether she's joking or not when she threatens you. 'Course it's no fun when you're mistaken about whether she's joking or not- it's very difficult to tell, you see."
Scorpius chuckled around a mouthful of pancakes. "I s'pose," he managed.
//Voldy//
Not wanting to be bothered by the bizarre atmosphere of happiness that always accompanied Christmas day, the Dark Lord skulked in the lower regions of the house for most of the morning. Around noon he relocated to the library and buried himself in a dusty tome of Dark magic.
He was interrupted a few hours later when Bellatrix slunk into the library, looking a bit annoyed.
"My lord," she said with a quick bow as she caught sight of him. "Do you mind if I…?" She gestured vaguely towards one of the bookshelves.
"Not at all," the Dark Lord replied, "so long as you refrain from wishing me a happy Christmas." He felt a brief flash of amusement that she was asking him permission to read her own books in her own house, and he smirked a little.
Bellatrix smirked as well. "Wouldn't dream of it, my lord," she said smoothly, pulling a thin book off of a shelf and sinking into a chair. She curled around the book as she opened it.
They read in silence.
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((*accompanies in dance* Albus leaving gives me inner joy.))
//Scorpius//
After lunch, everyone sans Bellatrix and the Dark Lord were gathered in the parlour. Pansy had strung up some more of the shiny baubles Bellatrix so disliked, and there were occasional wreaths. Scorpius was not sure how his parents had managed to scrape up presents, but he'd been given two wrapped parcels. Certainly the gifts weren't as grand or numerous as those he'd received in past years, but he was far from complaining. The atmosophere was cheerful and Bellatrix and her master weren't there to dampen it. Draco and Rabastan had broken out wine, Oliver and Wolfbar were playing chess again, and Belinda had been persauded to come down as well, though she didn't seem to be enjoying herself quite as much as everyone else. Although Scorpius certainly was.
//Albus(!)//
Lunch was over. Albus hadn't eaten anything, or even made an appearance in the Great Hall until dessert. He was far too nervous- not guilty, or having second thoughts, just purely and absolutely excited. He tried not to grin. Grinning was not very intimidating unless done evilly.
As students began to trickle out of the Hall, Albus began rapidly clenching and unclenching his fists. Almost time… "Oh god…" he muttered, "oh god…" Stepping into an unused classroom outside the Hall, he pulled out his wand. "Accio James' broomstick…" A few seconds later his brothers' Nimbus 2022 was in his hand. He lightly touched one of the bags slung over his shoulder, the one containing what he'd need right now, and mounted the broomstick. Two minutes.
He grinned. This time he did it evilly.
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((Would it be impatient to ask where everyone is? …Yes, probably. Just way too excited about Albus…))
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((I'm actually not sure about Lillian. I think she might be talking with headmaster. Which is who, by the way?))
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