Obsidian Eyes

Obsidian Eyes

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"The eve of destruction is here. All shall be down to one. The sleeping dragon can be the bearer of light or the bringer of shadows. He will be an anchor to the one who holds the power the Dark Lord knows not of, thus turning from all he knows or turning to all he shall be..."

Narcissa's day started out like any other. She went from one store to the next buy new clothes, furniture and anything else she desired. After all she was the wife of a prominent wizard. She had to keep appearances up. It was on a mere whim that she ventured into Madame Trencher's shop in Knockturn Alley. She normally did not hold with any form of divination. She had surprisingly received a bevy of knowledge from this supposed charlatan. If pained her to kill Madame Trencher's but she could ill afford others to hear this prophecy. She knew that she must act quickly before the ceremony took place. Getting home as quickly as possible she began to construct her plan and her hopeful deceit of Voldemort.

The cave was one of his favorite places to call together his minions. Having them all here, crowded into this cold dreary place, made him feel almost at peace. He inwardly laughed at his own insanity. Yes, tonight would be interesting for the Dark Lord. He received no greater pleasure than seeing his subjects squirm under his gaze.

"My Lord, I beg you for my son's life. I do not want him to take the mark yet. He still has an opportunity to enter into the Ministry. He could be of great value to you," the voice pleaded.

"Yes, I do see how that could be an advantage to my cause, however, you lie, my friend. Have you forgotten that you cannot lie to me? You merely seek a way to keep Draco from my grasp; however, I am not a cruel Lord. I shall offer you a chance to get your wish. Here is my proposition-- if you beat Bellatrix in a simple duel, than your son shall not receive the mark. Fail in this task and your life is forfeit."

The Death Eaters pushed and shoved one another to get a better vantage point of this rare occasion. They all watched silently as Narcissa looked pleading to Lucius for his counsel. With a small nod she pulled her wand and advanced towards her fierce sister. After bowing to Voldemort and then bowing to each other, it began.

Bellatrix was determined to put her sister through the pace, though little did she know that Narcissa had been prepared for this moment. With razor sharp precision she launched a reductor curse just in front of Bella, successfully knocking her to the ground. As Bella went flying to the ground Narcissa seized the opportunity to launch a series of Praecido curses that slashed into her sister's flesh.

"You stupid bitch, you will pay for that," Bella screamed has she regained her footing. "My baby sister has been preparing for this. What are you thinking? You know that I am the superior witch. After all I learned the arts from our master."

With a quick swish of her wand Narcissa was sent flying back into a wall. As she slumped to the ground she muttered a quick healing charm to stop the bleeding from her head. In that brief moment Bella had sent another curse hurtling towards her sister. Narcissa quickly disapparated, away reappearing behind Bella. As she landed, she fired off another spell, trying to bind Bella in leather cords.

"I will not be outdone by you this time. You might be more powerful but I am the more cunning. That is your problem you never employed any subtlety, and that dear sister will be you undoing," Narcissa said through clenched teeth.

"What is this, Narcissa? I am not Lucius and I do not care for your bedroom tricks," Bella shouted as she spun out of the way. Bella quickly sent another curse towards Narcissa that knocked the breath out of her. As she lie there panting, Bella advanced on her and shouted, "Crucio!" Narcissa was no stranger to the curse but she screamed out in agony. Bella laughed manically as she held the curse on her sister. She thrived on inducing that kind of pain in people. She even amused herself with the thought of driving her sister to the brink of insanity.

Somehow, Narcissa was able to summon the strength to send a Fracta Ossis curse at her sister. Her aim was off, but she managed to hit Bellatrix's left arm, shattering several bones. She seized her opportunity and summoned her sister's wand to her. Momentarily caught off guard, Bella began to advance on Narcissa, pulling her katana out. She made several slashing motions but Narcissa dodged her attempts. Ducking what would have been a fatal blow, Narcissa aimed her own Cruciatus curse at her sister. This was the first time that Bella looked truly afraid, realizing that as mother protecting her child, Narcissa was driven to the point of killing. As Narcissa stopped the curse, Bella knew what was coming next. She quickly jumped to her feet prepared to dive, as Narcissa issued the death curse. Bella had mere moments to make her decision. She dove to the right, just escaping death. Unprepared for the draining effect of the curse, Narcissa lost her balance. Bella took the opportunity to retrieve her wand. They both stopped to gaze up at Voldemort as he began clapping.

"Why this is most impressive. Narcissa, I never knew you had it in you," Voldemort hissed. Not listening further, Narcissa shouted "Petrificus Totalis!" Bella was rendered immobile on the ground. Unable to gather the strength to cast the killing curse again, she did the next best thing. Taking careful aim at the cavern wall above she cast a reductor curse on it, causing a mountain of rock to fall on her helpless sister. Bella was barely able to cast a Cushioning charm around herself. Badly hurt, she Disapparated from the debris and lay panting on the ground.

"What in the hell does it take to kill you?" Narcissa shouted.

"More than you have, sister," Bella spitted. "Barely just barely," she thought to herself bitterly.

"We shall see about that, you filthy bitch," Narcissa said coldly. "You have not tasted my full anger yet, this night."

For what seemed like ages they continued to duel with deadly intent. The crowds of Death Eaters were going crazy at the display the two sisters put on. It seemed that neither of them could gain a clear advantage over the other. Bella was shocked to see that her sister was such a fierce competitor. Narcissa was shocked to see that Bella was her equal. Narcissa had managed to slash at Bellatrix with such a quick succession of curses that the blood freely poured down her arms and legs. As Bellatrix wiped the blood from her eyes, she stopped to listen to her master.

"Enough of this, I want you to finish this now!" Voldemort commanded. Fearing his wrath she quickly gained the advantage in the duel. With one look at her master, Bella cast a levitation charm at her sister. Once she had her sister successfully incapacitated she cast the Cruciatus curse again. Narcissa shrieked in agony. She could feel herself slipping away. The pain became a dull numbness surrounding her. As she slammed into the ground, she knew it was over.

"Draco, I love you," she whispered as she prepared for the deathblow. With one final look at her husband she closed her eyes and prayed for the safety of her son. "Lucius we loved each other once; I hope you can remember those times."

"Avada Kedavra!" Bella shouted. At the same time, Lucius emerged from the crowd and shouted his own killing curse at Bellatrix. Bella quickly dropped to the ground spread eagle-like, avoiding the curse. As she looked up, she realized that her own curse missed the target. She looked from Narcissa to Lucius with a vehement gaze. The Dark Lord slowly made his way through the crowd of Death Eaters towards Lucius. With a final look of disgust he pointed his wand at Lucius and said, "Avada Kedavra". Lucius fell to the floor dead without uttering a sound.

In all of the commotion no one noticed as Severus Snape made his way to Narcissa and activated his emergency Portkey.