Chapter 13
Lily was awakened by icy water being thrown at her face, she stuttered as she sat on her bed, "What the hell?!"
Voldemort towered over her, an impassive expression on his face, and she noticed that he was wearing combat gear. It was all black leather and the second layer was a silver fabric that shimmered very discreetly and wrapped around his body, his collar and shoulder pads had bronze lines.
A tyrant shouldn't look this fit, she thought.
"We're going to duel outside today, so put on your own gear and join me on the Quidditch pitch," he left without another word.
She put on the gear she had bought with Narcissa, minus the top layer, and immediately joined Voldemort on the pitch. It had baffled her that the Malfoy's had their own Quidditch pitch, she remembered how at some point in her childhood they had run out of money at the end of the month and had to ration the food, it had only happened a few times because her father had soon been promoted and their lifestyle had improved greatly after that.
Voldemort stood in the middle of the pitch, his wand waving gently in the air, and she could faintly hear his voice muttering a series of spells, most of which she didn't know, and some of which she recognised as protective enchantments.
"Here I am," she said as she reached his level.
He looked at her, "Here you are," his gaze lingered on her and he raised an eyebrow, "This is some quality equipment you have, I can see the enchantments woven into the fabric."
Lily scratched the back of her head, "It's supposed to grow with me, and the enchantments are supposed to be reapplied in only seven or eight years."
"Very good," he murmured, and again Lily thought he looked extremely distant, as if hiding behind something invisible.
She shuffled to her feet, "So, uh, are you all right? It's been a while..." His behaviour really worried her.
His face did not change, "I saw you yesterday. We are going to do a proper wizard duel, from here we go ten steps further, we bow and then we fight."
Lily nodded, "Yes, okay, but before yesterday it had been a while, so I was wondering how you were..." Especially now that Abraxas was explaining the situation to her, she played nervously with her necklace.
There was a flash of red in his eyes and she tensed again, "I'm fine, now let's get started".
They took the obligatory ten steps, bowed and... Voldemort did nothing. He stood there, watching her, but did not cast a spell.
She cast a wordless shield and fired a stunner at him, but he just dodged, deeply confused, she decided to just walk towards him, nothing in the rule forbid it, her invisible shield still in place, she walked towards him until only a metre separated them, he tilted his head but again did nothing.
All right, she thought, let's provoke him, she whispered "Glacius trio" and a storm of ice left her wand, making it impossible to see, she cast a spell to make it impossible to find her, she apparated silently behind him, cast another spell to see human heat signatures and... he hadn't moved.
"Diffindo" The red spell came crashing down on his leg, but he didn't move. She took a big inspiration, he tried to make her lose her patience "In Carcerem".
As she got closest to Voldemort, now kneeling on the ground with ropes around him, she realised something was wrong.
"PROTEGO" she shouted as a sickly green spell almost hit her from behind, the fake Voldemort at her feet disintegrating and she saw the real Voldemort grinning and waving at her from the stands, she kept her composure and grinned before whispering in an excited voice, "Fiendfyre".
It had been her special project to master Fiendfyre, it was considered the most chaotic, dangerous and dangerous piece of magic, but she had succeeded after hours of training in the basement against automated dummies. She had burned herself a lot, almost given up a hundred times, but it was worth every second of pain and despair to see the alarmed face of Voldemort as he slowly walked down the steps to join her on the pitch.
The dark fire took the form of an enraged falcon, before turning into an angry eagle, before finally becoming a phoenix, the three fiery birds circling around Voldemort, leaving a bright yellow fire in their wake that burned everything, the wood of the stands where Voldemort had been standing was burned to a crisp. But Voldemort didn't even look at them, only at her, his expression intense and focused, then he slowly made a movement with his wand and his voice echoed in the pitch of "PROTEGO DIABOLICA".
Blue flames erupted around him, forming a perfect circle around him. She had heard of this spell, Grindlewlad had used it during his rally in Paris in 1927, she lowered her wand, her firebirds let out screams of rage, but she had them perfectly under control.
Voldemort grinned again, "This is very impressive Lily, now come with me"
He was testing her loyalty, he still doubted her. She scoffed, feeling offended, her life had only been revolving around him since she escaped Hogwarts. She walked straight towards him, the Fiendfyre still following her. When she reached the blue flames she stopped, they made no heat unlike her birds, cautiously she tried to touch one of the flames, it went through a ghost she thought and she continued walking towards him, when they were face to face she said "Still doubting?".
He raised an eyebrow, "Now kneel."
She took a step back and whispered, "No." Surprisingly, there was no trace of anger or displeasure in his expression.
Voldemort suddenly stopped his spell and the blue flames vanished, she did the same with her fiendfyre, who roared in anger at being banished: "I should kill you for this"
She scowled, "It's not like you didn't try." A boiling spell reached her wrist, "Ouch, why?"
His stoic expression seemed to crumple for a second, "You're tiring, Lily."
Lily suddenly remembered Remus' theory and fought to hide her rising panic. "Why?"
He dismissed her question with a wave of his hand, "Nothing. I was testing your loyalty because your werewolf disappeared, we theorised that he might have passed on information you would have told him to the Order."
Lily felt as if another bucket of cold water had been thrown in her face. "What?" She gritted her teeth, "They kidnapped Remus?" She wanted to crush them, burn them, make them choke on their organs...
"Or he decided to join them."
She glared at him, "You should have heard him talk about Dumbledore, no one can fake that level of hatred, plus Abraxas has introduced me to the wonderful arts of Legilimency and Occlumency.
Voldemort's eyes narrowed, "Why did he decide to teach you the Mind Arts?"
The redhead rolled her eyes, such a paranoid bastard, "So I can read your mind, steal all your brilliant plans and then Abraxas and I can rule the world together. Obviously" This time she saw a crack in his perfect composure and he seemed to be holding back a smile "No more seriously than I am able to know who is his friend or foe, so few people know Occlumency, so knowing Legilimency makes me almost impossible to fool".
"Indeed," he said, "as for your werewolf friend, I'm afraid we have no lead, but I'll send some of the Greyback pack to look for him."
She grimaced, "You are allied with Greyback?"
"Controlling Greyback is almost like controlling the growth of the werewolf population; he's responsible for many transformations. I would not be surprised if your friend was turned by him. He is a disgusting individual, but at least I have him on a leash," he explained as he walked towards the exit of the field.
She asked him, "What did you promise him?"
He avoided looking at her, "Some Order members... and Muggles."
Her impulsive brain overpowered her rationality and she punched him in the arm, "How could you?! Muggles aren't pieces of meat!"
He looked down at his arm in disbelief, "You have a mean punch, Lily, and I made that decision in a moment of... I lacked lucidity" Translation: he made the decision after making a Horcrux. "It was stupid to promise, giving him Muggles to turn would inevitably dramatically increase the number of werewolves until we're overwhelmed."
Lily scowled, he really didn't care about Muggles, "I hope you get rid of him. He's bad publicity for our side," she missed the burning look he gave her and continued talking animatedly, "Besides, I'm sure many werewolves would be willing to join you, but refuse because they hate Greyback."
They reached the inside of the manor, where Abraxas was apparently waiting for them, a small smile on his lips and his robes a deep green today, "I hope my Quidditch pitch has not suffered too much".
The two of them froze and Lily coughed, "Nothing irreparable, Abraxas," Voldemort just said, "Come with me, we need to finalise your mission with the Elves.
And Lily was left alone in the middle of the entrance, shrugging her shoulders and deciding to inwardly celebrate the fact that they managed to have a civil conversation.
But she was also worried about Remus, she hoped with all her heart that he had simply changed his mind and left the country, but she sincerely doubted it, for the Order had got their claws into him. Her only consolation was that, for all his faults, Dumbledore wasn't a murderer.
- - - ✦ - - -
The rest of the week went perfectly, Voldemort seemed to be coming to his senses, his erratic behaviour had abated and she was delighted with her training. She was learning new spells, and learning to spot illusions so that she would not be taken by surprise as she had been last time.
On the day Abraxas was due to leave on his emissary mission, she was informed at dinner by Lucius that he had gone to the Ministry early for his mission and that Narcissa was at her Aunt Zoleia's.
"Oh, I thought I was going to see him," she muttered, her mind fogged with sleep as she had been granted a lie-in, apparently Voldemort wasn't available for training if the lack of icy water being thrown in her face at 6am was any indication.
"I see you're getting on wonderfully with everyone," the man commented, she hadn't had much interaction with him, but they shared an interest in runes and arithmancy, and while Lucius seemed aloof most of the time, he was kind of funny with his tendency to be very first-degree.
Lily sipped her glass of water and ate her fried potatoes: "I've been squatting here for half a year, I've tried to be as sympathetic as possible".
Lucius chuckled, "And you have succeeded, something my mother cannot claim and she has lived here for twenty-seven years".
She choked on her orange juice and laughed, "Can you believe I've only seen her once in the corridor in the seven months I've been here? Once!"
The Malfoy heir nodded, "She only eats with us when you are not here, but yes, she has a talent for becoming invisible when she is overwhelmed and spends most of her time in Rhiannon Lestrange's house".
"I'm surprised she hasn't killed her yet," Lily muttered, Rhiannon Lestrange had struck her as a no nonsense woman.
Lucius shot her an alarmed look, "Do you think she could have? It's been three days since I last saw her..."
Lily gave him a wry look, "Don't tell me you'd miss her."
He sighed and sipped his coffee, the newspaper on his lap, "You're right, but there is the funeral to organise".
She chuckled, "Even in death she's a pain" He gave her an amused look.
"Who is?" It was Voldemort, who entered the veranda and took a seat beside her, promptly taking her glass of water for himself. Lucius tensed in front of her.
"It was mine," she said curtly.
He didn't even look at her. "Now it's mine. Abraxas was to return in the evening. Who cares about death?"
She took another potato, "Araminta, but she's not dead, at least we don't think she is".
Lucius spoke more carefully, "It's been a while since I last saw her"
Voldemort frowned as if trying to remember something, "She's alive, I think, I'll have to verify that, but you won't be terribly sad if she dies, will you, Lucius?"
Lily and Lucius shared a look of confusion, "No...?" He said hesitantly.
"Fantastic, I'll be in Abraxas' study if you're looking for me, we'll duel tonight, Lily" He left them to their breakfast.
"Alright," she agreed, but he did not hear her. She turned to Lucius, who seemed to be breathing more easily now, "That was strange, wasn't it?"
Lucius let out a shaky breath, "He is... mad. There is nothing coherent about his actions anymore."
Lily felt very confused, "What? He seems pretty normal to me, as far as normal applies to him."
The Malfoy Heir shifted in his seat, "During the meetings this week, he lost control of his magic several times, he killed two of us in a fit of rage".
"What?" She felt like she had been hit, she had really thought that he was getting better and that maybe Abraxas' plan would be useless... "But..."
Lucius took a deep breath, "You are his favourite at the moment, and don't get me wrong, Lily. I have learned to appreciate you as well, but I do not understand what makes you so special in his eyes. I think he wants to keep his worst faults hidden from you for a while longer, but I am really worried..." His tone faltered and he looked around, "His paranoia is growing, he kidnapped two members of the Wizengamot because he thought they were going to join Dumbledore, even though they are both notoriously neutral".
She felt the world was falling apart, she thought they had time! Why didn't Abraxas warn her? They had to set the plan in motion now, before Voldemort went too far! But without him there was little chance of it working, even if she had to try, who would be next to be killed by Voldemort in a fit of rage? Lucius? Abraxas? Aloysius? Bellatrix? Narcissa? Who would be the next to be kidnapped because of paranoia? "I... I have to go to Lucius..."
She could not lose Tom.
"Where are you going?!" She didn't answer him, hoping he wouldn't follow her.
Lily stumbled out of her seat and made her way to Abraxas' office, playing with her necklace, trying to find a way to twist Abraxas' plan so that it only worked with her, to make him feel remorse...
She burst into the office leaving the double doors wide open, he was sitting in Abraxas seat reading some papers, he looked at her in surprise "Lily? Do you need anything?"
She had no idea what to do. "You can't go on like this!" In her nervousness, she had broken her necklace and was now clutching it tightly in her fist. She only had a few minutes left.
"I beg your pardon?" His face grew angry and his eyes glowed red, but when she tried to answer him, his face contorted into pure rage and he shouted "GET DOWN!"
She obeyed without thinking and a bright orange spell came crashing down the window, she turned to find herself facing Alastor Moody, Emmelie Vance and Kingsley Shacklebolt and others, Dumbledore was right behind them, his piercing blue eyes staring down at her.
Lily summoned a shield to block the entrance to the office, "Hello Dumbledore, nice eyes Moody," she beamed at them. She felt Voldemort's hand on her shoulder.
"How dare you attack me?" he hissed, she could feel his anger in the air.
"Tom, Lily, it's over," Dumbledore said solemnly, "Lily, come with us, you'll be safe”
She laughed bitterly “Yeah, I’m pretty sure the spell you aimed at me a minute earlier is a bone breaking curse, not very nice”
Lily noticed that the Potters were also standing behind Dumbledore, and Lady Potter looked downright frightened, whispering to her husband, "He shouldn't be here already..."
"It was a mistake, my dear," Dumbledore said reassuringly to Lily.
She turned to Voldemort and whispered, "Can't you cast the Protego Diabolica?"
"It would hinder the reinforcements," he replied quietly, and quickly as a snake he cast a spell that Vance didn't even see coming, the Avada came crashing down on his chest and Voldemort snorted, "Quite pathetic, your Order members."
And all hell broke loose, her shields shattered and suddenly she found herself fighting the Potters, wonderful, she thought, smiling fiercely at them and casting her Stunners in quick succession, they dodged and they cast powerful spells together, but they stuck dutifully to light magic.
They were good fighters, but their strength depended on their combined strength. If one of them was injured, the other would struggle to keep up, so she devised a strategy.
She kept a half shield up at all times, blocking any spells coming from Fleamont's side and concentrating all her magic on Euphemia.
"Egestio Horrenda," she shouted, but Euphemia reacted quickly, casting a shield that deflected the spell, and she had to duck as the spell shattered the wall behind her.
Lily scrambled to her feet, only to see a streak of red light hurtling towards her. She turned, but it was too late - the spell had hit her left arm. She hissed in pain as blood began to flow.
With an angry slash of her wand, she sent out a series of cutting spells, and seeing how overwhelmed they both were, she cast a spell she had received herself, “Osseus Pulveris !”, and the yellow, deadly curse hit Euphemia right in the chest.
"Effie? Euphemia? What's happening?" Fleamont cried, his voice breaking as she coughed up blood. Her face was ashen and they could see the life slowly draining from her.
"It's a pity only Voldemort knows the cure," she quipped, a twisted smile spreading across her face. "You'll tell James who killed his mother, won't you? And tell him - this is for Severus."
Fleamont roared in anger, ready to lunge at her, but her attention was caught out of the corner of her eye as Dumbledore's voice rose above the chaos: "Avada Kedavra!"
Her heart stopped.
She turned, only to see a flash of green light, the same shade as her eyes, hurtling towards Voldemort, and she reacted purely on instinct, summoning an invisible shield around her and leaping between the Avada and Voldemort, using her body as a shield, and Lily knew no more.