Semper Atqui Nunquam

Semper Atqui Nunquam

Chapter 1: The Lexine

The family Zaviera appeared on the dock in Valencia. Therese and Nicola immediate released the golden ring that was the Portkey. They marveled at the great sight before them. Guillermo looked at his eldest daughter. Giovanna was staring directly ahead of her, seemingly at nothing in particular; her eyes were out of focus and glassy.

"Giovanna?" he said.

Giovanna blinked out of her own little world. Her clouded mind cleared as her father's voice came into range. She raised her head, her straightened brown hair covering her left eye.

"Giovanna?" Guillermo repeated, pulling the golden ring forcefully out of her tight grip. Giovanna looked shocked; she had not realized how tightly she had been holding it. "You should catch up with your mother. You know how she gets," he said, shrinking the ring and putting it in his robe. Giovanna scoffed.

"Para qué (What for)?" she asked, crossing her arms. Guillermo chuckled as he turned to talk to some of the baggage handlers. It was then that Giovanna saw her mother turn around and cast an evil eye upon her.

"Giovanna Kamala Avarielle!" Therese yelled. Giovanna shook her head. Why did she always have to yell her entire name?

"I think you should go, Vanna," Guillermo said. Giovanna sighed and nodded. She stood up straight. She knew she had to put on what she and her friend Blanca called the "Rich-Girl Persona."

As she approached her mother and sister, she examined the gigantic cruise ship she was about to board. Of course, no one would see the ship when it left. The ship would dive, traveling in an air bubble. Giovanna looked for the name of the ship. It was painted in beautiful white letters on the port side.

"Lexine," she whispered as she stopped in front of her mother. Giovanna looked into Therese's stern face. Her narrow blue eyes bore holes into Giovanna.

"Stop daydreaming so much. Come, both of you," she said. Therese turned on her heel and began walking up the ramp. Nicola winked at her sister and followed closely behind her mother in the same fashion of walking. Giovanna wondered to herself how Nicola could fake it so much. She mumbled a few choice words in English and reluctantly followed.

~~~~~~~~~~

Elsewhere, the door to a large suite in first class was opened. Five people in dark cloaks entered.

"Señor Agostino, this is the sitting room. The other rooms are connected through this room. Is there anything else I can get you?" the man asked. Enzo Agostino shook his head. "Señora Agostino?" Enzo's wife, Vera, looked around.

"Well, is it to your liking Vera?" one of the other men asked. Vera turned her head, narrowing her eyes. She nodded and the man left. She then set her eyes back on the one who had spoken.

"Quite, Tino. Alas, I am the last person you need to be asking this question." Vera turned towards the lone figure in the room. "My lord, are you comfortable in this suite?" she asked. The Dark Lord looked around.

"It will serve its purpose until I return to Britain. All I require is peace and quiet. Right now, I want sleep," Voldemort said. Vera nodded.

"Follow me, my lord," she said.

~~~~~~~~~~

Giovanna sat at the dinner table that night, listening to the mindless chatter of her parents and other socialites. She knew she was being watched by the older men who her father talked to. They were always looking for someone to be their mistress while they were on their business trips and their wives were at home with the children. The dress she wore did not help the situation, either; her chest was practically rolling out of it.

Perverts, she thought, while cutting roughly and angrily into the steak on her plate. I wish I could just jump off this damn ship, she thought blandly. Therese noticed her daughter struggling and rolled her eyes. Nicola and Guillermo exchanged worried looks; they could sense an argument coming.

"Qué desea (Can I help you)?" Therese asked. Giovanna quit cutting and looked at her mother. Their end of the table quieted as she dropped her silverware loudly. A piece of the plate broke off and fell on the table.

"Sírvete! A mí qué me importa? (Help yourself. What do I care)" she said loudly, gesturing towards the plate. Therese frowned. Guillermo sighed.

"Come on, you two," he said in English. Therese looked at her husband.

"I asked a simple question, Guillermo. Fuss at her," she said. Everyone was listening now. Giovanna shook her head and stood up roughly. Therese looked back over at her. She grabbed her wrist. Giovanna shot her a look that would make even the most feared man crumble. "Giovanna, sit."

"No." Giovanna yanked her hand out of her mother's grasp.

"Giovanna, don't..." Guillermo stopped as Giovanna started to walk off. Giovanna turned her head for one final insult.

"No tiene la culpa de ser tonto (She can't help being stupid)," she said. Therese sat with her mouth open for a moment. Nicola just started laughing. Tino Baldasarre was first to say something.

"Well, that was interesting. Now, who is she marrying?" he joked. Guillermo shook his head.

~~~~~~~~~~

Giovanna continued to walk briskly to the outside of the ship. She walked to the starboard side of the ship. Taking hold of the railing, she pulled herself closer to the protective bubble. She put her hand out to touch it.

"You'd do better jumping off the other side. The water is much rougher," a cold voice said. Giovanna blinked and turned her head.

~~~~~~~~~~

Voldemort looked at the girl standing about six feet from where he sat. She had marched right past him without even noticing him. At the moment, Polyjuice Potion shielded his true face. When she faced him, he almost gasped.

She's beautiful, he thought. He frowned for a moment and looked away, wondering where that thought had come from. He looked back at her. Her hair was hanging in her face. She had a questioning look on her face.

"Qué?" she asked, looking at him with wild brown eyes. She obviously spoke Spanish. He shook his head.

"Never mind," Voldemort said. The girl kept her hand on the rail and took a step towards him. If Voldemort did not know any better, he would think she was angry with him.

"What makes you think I wanted to jump?" she said quickly and in a thick accent. Voldemort looked back over at her. She was eyeing him suspiciously now.

~~~~~~~~~~

"How many people test the bubble surrounding the ship?" the man asked. He seemed a bit surprised that Giovanna could even speak English. "Plus, you haven't let go of the railing yet. I'd say you're pretty intent on doing it."

"And you're not even going to try and stop me?" Giovanna asked.

"Why should I? Then I'd be involved. I don't want to be INVOLVED," he said. He looked her in the eye. His gaze sent chills down Giovanna's spine. It was so piercing. "Jump off." Giovanna frowned and looked into the bubble. She leaned further, her fingers grazing the water.

"Las aquas son poco profundas (The waters are shallow)," she whispered mostly to herself.

"Are you sure?" she heard in her ear. Gasping, she turned. As she turned, she felt a small blast of air. Giovanna fell backwards, screaming. The bubble opened a bit, letting in a sliver of water. Giovanna clung on to the railing for dear life.

~~~~~~~~~~

Voldemort chuckled at his little trick. He was not going to kill her. At least, he was not going to kill her today. Instead, he was going to save her from killing herself.

One so beautiful should not die, he thought. His eyebrows furrowed again as he wondered where the random thought had come from. He rose from his perch and walked over to where she was hanging. He looked down at her.

"Socorro (Help)!" she yelled up at him. Voldemort smirked. She raised a confused eyebrow.

"I lied to you. At night, the ship dives deeper, so this is as deep as it gets. The water pressure outside of this bubble would be enough to kill you. I said what I said to prevent you from jumping. You seemed to have your heart set on it, though. So, I decided to teach you a lesson," Voldemort said. He flicked his hand and Giovanna slipped down to the middle rail. She screamed again.

"Socorro, por favor!" she screamed. Voldemort shook his head.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Not until I finish my story. If you die before then, too bad, so sad. Now, where was I? Oh yes. So, I basically pushed you with a little magic like I just did. Now, do you really want to die? I can definitely arrange it now," he said. Giovanna shook her head fervently. "You're not going to try anything like this again, are you?" Giovanna shook her head again. She slipped down again as she did it. She screamed as loud as she could this time.

~~~~~~~~~~

"What was that?" Nicola asked.

"It sounded like a scream," Vera Agostino said subconsciously. Guillermo stepped forward. He had not seen his daughter in a while.

Giovanna, he thought. He started walking towards the source of the screams.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Give me your hand and pull yourself up. I'm not using magic to help you. Show me you want to live," Voldemort said. Giovanna nodded and took his hand. She started climbing. Voldemort was a bit shocked; the girl was pretty strong. When she made it over, he held her close and she looked up at him; height was something she lacked.

"Casi morí (I almost died)," she whispered, a bit shaken. Voldemort stared down into her brown eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Era su intención, no era (That was your intention, wasn't it)?" he asked. Giovanna blinked.

"You speak Spanish," she said.

"I never said I didn't." Giovanna continued to stare at him for a moment.

"What is going on?" Guillermo Zaviera boomed. Giovanna turned her head to face her father. It was then that she noticed she was soaking wet and in a suggestive and compromising position. A crowd began to gather around them. Giovanna cursed her father's unfailing ability to attract one.

"Papa," she said, wriggling hastily out of the man's grasp. She had not realized how tightly he was holding her. Therese stepped between Nicola and Guillermo, giving her a very nasty look. Giovanna pretended to ignore her.

"What has happened here, Giovanna?" Guillermo asked.

"Um, I was leaning over the railing when I..." Giovanna paused and looked at her rescuer, her eyes begging for him to help her out.

"...slipped over the edge. I was passing by, so I was able to help her," he said. Guillermo eyed him suspiciously, and then looked at his daughter. Giovanna was blinking at him with the look that made him believe anything she said, even he if knew it was a palpable lie. He knew that she had just lied to him, but he was going to let it slide this time. Therese, however, was not.

"That does not explain why you are wet, Giovanna," Therese said.

"She's right, you know," Vera said, looking at Voldemort. Voldemort gave his servant a look that would have melted a glacier. Vera lowered her head and pretended to find the deck very interesting.

"The bubble has a small rip in it from my heel. The captain may need to repair it. It's not serious," Giovanna said. Guillermo nodded, still knowing she was lying. Giovanna also realized her father knew she was lying. Her eyes pleaded with him though. He nodded slightly. Guillermo instead walked towards Voldemort.

"Well, I'm Guillermo Zaviera. Thank you for rescuing my daughter. I am truly grateful..."

"Tom Franklin, sir."

"Well, Tom, gracias. Come, Nicola." Guillermo gestured towards his youngest. Nicola smiled. She handed Giovanna her wand. Giovanna snatched it out of Nicola's hand, sending her sister an evil look. Nicola gave a mischievous smile and followed after her father. Therese stayed behind a moment longer.

"Don't be long, Giovanna," she said. Giovanna nodded. Therese disappeared with the Agostinos as the rest of the rest of the crowd dispersed. Giovanna faced Voldemort.

"Tom Franklin? Come on. You're a better liar than that, I'll bet," she said. Voldemort blinked. He watched her dry her hair with her wand. She dried her clothes as well.

"How do you know I'm lying?" he asked. Giovanna laughed. She looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

"No lo sé (I don't know)," she said, running a hand through her hair. Voldemort had to blink the uncharacteristic thoughts out of his head again. "But, you just proved me right. I don't think Franklin is your real surname. Tom might be your real first name, though."

"And how might you know that?" Voldemort asked, curious at her deductions.

"Well, for starters, Tom rolled off your tongue so much easier than Franklin did." Giovanna noticed he was looking at her like she was crazy. She shook her head, giggling. "My father's the Supreme Judge at the Spanish Ministry. He's not allowed to use Legilimency on a person to see if they're lying, so he learned other methods. For instance, one says something that is true with subtle differences in their voice than when it is false. He taught me what to look for. You had a bit of a tone variation when you said Franklin. Other than that, you're a good liar," she said.

Voldemort continued to stare at the beautiful brunette. Of course, he was lying to her. But, even "Voldemort" was not his real name. As he was thinking of what to say next, she sat down on a bench.

"So, Tom, do you think I can get that actual name of yours?" Giovanna asked. Voldemort shook his head.

"Tom will suffice for now. You never told me your name. It was said, I believe. I didn't quite catch it, though," Voldemort said. Giovanna smiled, and the artificial wind blew through her hair. She put her eyes on Voldemort's again.

"It's Giovanna," she said. Voldemort nodded. Suddenly, he felt the Polyjuice Potion begin to wear off. He turned around, pulling the hood of his robe over his head. A confused look spread over Giovanna's face. "Is something wrong, Tom?" she asked.

"I'm going now," he said. Giovanna stood as he began to walk off.

"Wait!" she yelled after him. He did not turn around. Frowning, Giovanna turned and stalked off in the opposite direction.

~~~~~~~~~~

Voldemort walked into his room. Tino and Enzo were smoking cigars. They looked up when they saw their master walk in, winded and in his true form. Voldemort sighed and looked away from them, not really caring to converse with them at the moment.

"Pardon my inquiry, but, you SAVED Guillermo Zaviera's daughter?" Enzo asked. Voldemort set his narrow eyes on him as he sat down. Nagini slithered around his feet.

"She was contemplating suicide," he said. Enzo and Tino looked at each other.

"And that's a bad thing?" Tino asked. Voldemort looked at him.

"The story that you heard was a lie in the first place. I pushed her over the edge to frighten her from killing herself. I pulled her back. Wait a minute. What the hell am I doing explaining myself to you imbeciles? I did not want her to die. Therefore, she lived. And I did not know she was Zaviera's daughter until after the fact," he said.

"Will you kill her?"

"I don't plan on it. One so beautiful should not die," Voldemort whispered the last sentence. Unfortunately, Vera, who was directly behind him, heard every word of it. She walked around to face him.

"My lord, I do not think you should make any appearances on deck. They are entirely too risky. The incident today with Zaviera's daughter could have been a disaster," she said. Voldemort looked at Vera.

"Your concern is much appreciated, Vera. However, I am fully capable of taking care of myself. Make yourself useful and refill this flask with Polyjuice Potion," he said. Vera stared at him for a moment, her right eye twitching. She reluctantly took the flask from him.

"Yes, my lord," she said. She left the room. Voldemort watched her leave. He knew she did not like the situation, but it was not up to her to decide what was best. He would handle Giovanna how he saw fit.