Omnia Mors Perimit

Frankly, who would have found a peaceful sleep in her place? She hadn't slept properly since Lucius' imprisonment - in more than twenty years of marriage, she hadn't slept without him. She didn't know how to lie, where to put her head, her hands, and without the steady rhythm of his breathing, she couldn't fall asleep either. Additionally, her anxiety was eating her up - when would she see him again, what was going to become of them all... And now this! Draco - join the Dark Order - be a Death Eater - it was ridiculous! What was he supposed to do, eh? Throw a leg-lock curse at an Auror in combat?! What if anyone saw the Mark? It was summer - he'd never be able to wear anything without long sleeves again in his life, which might be advantageous in matters of style, but after all he was just a teenager! And after Quidditch practise - should he take a shower in his robes to conceal the treacherous branding? She dearly loved her son and had the highest opinion of him and his gifts, but how he could be so incredibly short-sighted was unintelligible to her.

She tossed and turned in her bed in her usual insomnia this night, unwilling to take a sleeping potion though. Maybe her little angel would want to talk to her when he got home, perhaps the ceremony would make him realise after all what he was in for. She'd have to be fit then. But the minutes and hours ticked away, and no noise in the large house announced his coming home. Every ten minutes, she looked at the alarm clock - one o'clock - one thirty - two o'clock - two fifteen - how long did the ceremony take anyway? She had never asked Lucius. Good Lord, there were so many things that she had never asked him.

Eventually, she did hear steps in the hallway, low voices - Bella must have taken him home - and finally, at last, the long-expected, quiet knocking on the door of their bedroom. She sat up at once, ignited the candle on her bedside table and called him in. But it wasn't Draco - it was her sister, wearing an expression of enthusiasm mingled with something else. For a second, Narcissa wondered whether she was looking anxious, but anxiety really wasn't like her elder sister.

"You're still awake, Cissy?" she asked and grinned wryly. "You really should take your sleeping potions!"

"If I had, you wouldn't have been able to wake me up just now. Anything wrong with Draco?"

"No! No, he's fine. Blimey, he held himself good tonight, I must give him that. I've seen grownup men faint during the ritual, but he would not shrink away."

"I'm very pleased to hear it," Narcissa replied dryly. "But surely you haven't come to tell me that."

It was anxiety on Bellatrix' face, and with a slight sigh, she shook her head. "Perceptive as always, are you. No, as a matter of fact, I've come to talk to you... Strictly speaking, I shouldn't even be here, so don't you dare repeating anything of what I tell you now -"

Narcissa was torn between the natural sentiment of a mother who'd want to know whether there was anything wrong with her child, and her old reluctance to know more about the Dark Lord's dealings than she had to hear of. She waited for Bellatrix to go on, her heart beating a little faster.

"You see, Draco really is a very good boy, is he not?" she murmured after a minute. "He is very skilful, and once he's trained up a bit..."

"What then," Narcissa said sharply, straightening up some more. Bellatrix sat down next to her, avoiding her glance and stroking over the covers.

"You will be glad - nay, proud to hear that the master has great trust in your son's talents. Not only that he has given him the honour to become a proper Death Eater at such a young age -"

Narcissa's feeling of dark foreboding rummaged in her guts, growing to downright dread. Bellatrix' eyes were still fixed on some point in the corner of the mattress, the flickering light of the candle made her face appear like a skull.

"He's been given an assignment. A great, important assignment, that will obtain him fame and honour beyond words if he's successful..."

"Assignment?" Narcissa didn't bother for the shrill tone in her voice, her pulse began to race.

"Oh, yes. I was proud to be his aunt, I can tell you. He will be greater than any of us, honestly, I am even a bit envious for the honour he's been given -"

"Don't beat about the bush, Bella!"

"First you must give me your word, Cissy. You must swear that you will not speak to anyone about the thing I tell you now. I'd be in terrible difficulties -"

She didn't care for her sister's difficulties, she didn't care for anything, if only Draco wasn't in danger. Besides, whom should she talk to about Death Eater affairs, eh? Did Bella assume that she'd incriminate her own son, the next time she'd come across someone from the Ministry?! Impatiently she cried, "For heaven's sake, Bella, out with it! Of course I won't endanger you or Draco!"

"Good, good... It's just that - I was afraid that you might not see the magnificent prospects at first, but - you are always so hesitant... Anyway, your son has been distinguished to fulfil a very responsible task - it could appear dangerous to you on first sight, but -"

"Dangerous?!"

"Tone down your voice, Cissy! Draco must not hear that I am talking to you!"

"Dangerous?!"

"Well, it is, a little bit - oh well, it's pretty dangerous actually, but I will train him personally and -"

Narcissa caught her breath, unable to utter another syllable. Draco was supposed to catch or kill the Potter boy, she knew it - oh Merlin, oh god -

"And you know that I am vastly gifted with the Dark Arts. We will manage to make him a true proficient. I think he's been chosen for the job because none of us others - almost none - is as close to the target as he is -"

"I thought the Dark Lord wanted to kill off Potter himself," Narcissa whispered almost inaudibly, immobile with horror.

"Potter?" Bellatrix made big eyes, enhancing the similarity to a skull yet. "Who's speaking of Potter? I mean Dumbledore!"

"WHAT?!" If Narcissa Malfoy had ever lost all countenance, this was the very moment! Bellatrix hurriedly drew her wand and hexed the room soundproof, shushing her sister, but this one had already jumped out of bed and summoned her clothes with her own wand. "ARE YOU CRAZY?! HAVE YOU TOTALLY LOST YOUR MIND NOW, YOU MAD COW?!"

"Get a grip, Cissy!" Bellatrix shouted, too. "Bloody hell, keep your wig on!"

"I will not get a grip! If anything, you have lost yours! Trapping Dumbledore, I - I - oh Jesus, Mary and all saints! The boy is sixteen, how on earth is he supposed to lure Dumbledore into an ambush!"

Bella turned slightly paler and muttered, "We will see about that... However, you have mistaken me - slightly - because he's not - not supposed to lure him into an ambush in the first place -"

Narcissa calmed herself far enough to lower her voice from 'screaming' to 'crying'. "Now that's a relief! I had already believed to have you gone nuts -"

"Actually, he will have to kill him -"

For a split second, the world around her went black; Narcissa wasn't the type for faints, but everyone has their limits. She couldn't hear anything but the thunder of blood pumping through her veins, every muscle in her body was frozen with terror, she could not breathe, she could not speak, and perhaps she would have sunk to the ground at once, if Bellatrix hadn't jumped forwards and shaken her.

"Cissy? Cissy - you all right?"

She slapped her around the face twice, hard, and Narcissa regained some of her senses, enough to break free and point her wand at her sister. "Stay away from me! Get off! You - you - how could you let that happen! You! His aunt! If nobody else in the Order, you should feel responsible -"

"It is an honour, you silly twit! Salazar, I knew you'd overreact!"

"Overreact?! Oh, I haven't even started! I don't believe this! Killing Dumbledore! If that was possible, he'd have done it himself decades ago!"

She stripped off her night gown, put on some robes and put the wand into a pocket. Bellatrix goggled at her. "What are you doing? Why are you getting dressed?"

"Go home, Bella! You've done enough for one night, now you better leave me alone, or I will do something we'd both regret!"

"You're getting hysterical, Cissy. You must calm down -"

"Shut up and go! I trusted you! God, I can't believe I really trusted you! How could I be so stupid?! You and all your 'oh, I will look after my nephew, not to worry!' That is what you consider to be care?!"

"Pull yourself together, Cissy!"

"Leave me alone, Bella!"

"What are you doing?"

"I will go and save my son, you idiot!"

"Save your - what the heck are you talking about? Wanna go and kill old Dumbledore yourself or what?!"

Narcissa took a deep breath and glared at the other one. "Bella, just so we do not get each other wrong - what if - likely enough! - Draco fails to kill him? What then?"

Bellatrix broke eye contact and turned away her face. "You know that -"

"No, I obviously don't know that! Will he be punished? Tortured? What?"

"He will be executed, Cissy," Bellatrix murmured with a soft quiver in her voice, but straightening up in the next moment. "But that will not happen. I promise. Look, Cissy, I don't mean to flatter myself, but I am brilliant in the Dark Arts - I'd say only our master is better than me and I will make sure that Draco is prepared for the task. He'll be knowing everything he needs to know -"

"Don't talk such nonsense, Bella! Why did the Dark Lord never attack Hogwarts, back then, even though he knew that it was the only last bastion of real resistance against him, eh? Why, I ask you! Because he didn't dare to tangle with Dumbledore!"

"Don't you speak about the master like that!"

"I have long enough been silent! And you know that I am right!"

Bellatrix seemed to think it better not to answer directly, and asked again, "But where will you go now?"

"Can't you guess? I will go to the only other person in this world that does care for my son and is not imprisoned!"

"What?"

Narcissa stormed out of the room without another word, just groping her cloak and putting it on in running. Bellatrix rushed after her, trying to grab her robes and hold her back, but failing. Malfoy Manor was an uncommonly large house; in fact, it was a complex of several buildings, all of them Apparition-proof, with only one exception - some vaults in the dungeons underneath the ancient castle-part. But if any intruder should have ventured to give it a try and apparate inside there, they would have got stuck immediately. Only four living souls knew how to get in or out of the dungeons, without falling prey to the ghoul or the crups guarding the exits, or being hit by one of the many security curses. This was were Narcissa was heading for now, her loudly protesting sister close behind her.

"You don't think of going to Snape, do you? He's a traitor, Cissy! He -"

"Rubbish! He's not a traitor, or your master would have found him out by now!"

"He's not to be trusted, mark my words," Bella insisted, panting, running twenty feet behind her sister who had already reached the castle-part. "Don't be silly! You'll bring us all into trouble, me, Draco, and not at last yourself!"

Narcissa gave no reply, hastening on. Bellatrix caught up slightly when her sister had to stop before the entrance to the dungeons to undo some spells. "You are forbidden to talk about it! You've given me your word!"

"I've given my word not to endanger Draco, but what I'm about to do now is quite the opposite!"

"The Dark Lord will punish you if you go against his express wishes -"

"Then don't tell him!"

"I regret I ever mentioned it!"

"Now that's no one's problem but your own, is it? Reducto Infernalis!"

"What do you think Snape could do, anyway? He won't be as stupid as to disobey his orders!"

"None of your business - deflecto incendio - now shut up and leave me alone!"

They went on quarrelling all the way; Narcissa tried to shake her off, anxious to talk to their old friend by herself, but Bella was like dry rot - impossible to get rid of. Once, she even cursed her, without success though, for she was still hurrying behind her, simply a few steps further behind. Severus Snape's house had once belonged to his parents, or rather: to his father's part of the family. It was a muggle house in a muggle street, in the most unmagical town of Milton-Keynes; Narcissa hardly noticed the shabby surroundings, but so much the more did Bella, not concealing her disgust.

Severus was surprised to see them, and Narcissa wondered whether he really couldn't guess why she had come, but then again - it didn't really matter. Severus was her only chance. Lucius had said that she should turn to Snape if anything happened that she couldn't deal with herself. Unfortunately, that disgusting little man was with him, the rat-faced Peter Pettigrew - speaking of dry rot - but he dispelled him. What was he doing here anyway?

She drank the offered wine with one big sip; it didn't relax her as it should have, and she quickly drank her second glass, too. Still no effect, still the same burning fear in her stomach. While Bellatrix was arguing with him, possibly for the hundredth time, Narcissa couldn't say, she reconsidered her plan once more. Plan - now that was a bit of an euphemism - this wasn't really a plan, but an act of sheer despair, and if it didn't work out... The Lord might bless them all.

"Now... You came to ask me for help, Narcissa?"

She awoke from her silent reverie, shooting him an imploring look. "Yes, Severus. I - I think you are the only one who can help me, I have nowhere else to turn. Lucius is in jail and..."

Bellatrix gasped, but Narcissa's tears weren't as much a fake as her sister assumed them to be. She was desperate, she was out of herself, and even though she hadn't been shedding tears of grief in many, many years, even after Lucius' imprisonment, crying appeared like the only way to relief herself right now. Without looking over, she continued quickly, "The Dark Lord has forbidden me to speak of it. He wishes none to know of the plan. It is... very secret. But -"

"If he has forbidden it, you ought not to speak. The Dark Lord's word is law."

Her courage sank; why hadn't she managed to shake off Bella, without her, Severus would surely have listened to her... Indeed, this one cried in considerable satisfaction, "There! Even Snape says so: you were told not to talk, so hold your silence!"

Narcissa couldn't remember to have ever felt so horrible in all her life; the death of her parents, Lucius' imprisonment - it all seemed like a very soft warm-up for the bottomless grief and horror she was experiencing in this minute. He had been her only hope, and he let her down.

Severus Snape was flustered, to say the least. He hadn't expected to see Narcissa, and worse, Bellatrix, and he was in no mood at all to have another useless argument with the latter. Narcissa was out of herself - if only he knew why; it couldn't be the Dark Mark - she had known about this for quite some time, and even if he imagined her to be rather displeased with it, he couldn't believe that she would break down like this for that reason.

"It so happens that I know of the plan. I am one of the few the Dark Lord has told," he muttered, wondering whether anyone would buy this bullshit. Bellatrix was one suspicious bat of a witch, and she had never trusted him in the first place. He wanted to find out what this was all about though, and more, Narcissa's expression was simply too heartbreaking not to hear her out. "Nevertheless, had I not been in the secret, Narcissa, you would have been guilty of great treachery to the Dark Lord."

"I thought you must know about it! He trusts you so, Severus..."

While he was still thinking whether she meant the Dark Lord or her husband by that, Bellatrix blurted out, "You know about the plan? You know?"

"Certainly. But what help do you require, Narcissa? If you are imagining I can persuade the Dark Lord to change his mind, I am afraid there is no hope, none at all." He racked his brains what the hell the two sisters might be talking about, trying to conceal his confusion behind a mask of self-confidence. Once a liar, always a liar, and it was essential that he got trough with this tale.

Good lord, she was crying. Narcissa was actually crying - it really got the best of him, he couldn't remember to have ever seen her cry, apart from her wedding day, but these had been tears of joy and movement! "Severus... My son... My only son..."

Draco? What about him? He had no clue how to answer, but luckily, Bellatrix spared him the reply for the time being. "Draco should be proud. The Dark Lord is granting him a great honour. And I will say this for Draco: he isn't shrinking away from his duty, he seems glad of a chance to prove himself, excited at the prospect -"

Yes? The prospect...? They couldn't be referring to becoming a Death Eater, could they? Narcissa wouldn't be so out of herself if it were only that; the tears were streaming down her even cheeks in abundance. He couldn't bear to see her like this.

"That's because he is sixteen and has no idea what lies in store! Why, Severus? Why my son? It is too dangerous! This is vengeance for Lucius' mistake, I know it!" She was sobbing, gasping for breath - he might choose to look away, but he could still hear her. Poor Narcissa; he had almost waited for the straw that would finally break her back. It had been an awful lot for her lately. And even a woman like her could only take so many blows before breaking down.

"That's why he's chosen Draco, isn't it? To punish Lucius?"

No matter what that mysterious plan was that upset her so badly - yes, it most likely was meant as a punishment for Lucius' failure to retrieve that stupid prophecy, and for losing the diary, and for being the disloyal egoist that he was. No offence - Severus had always admired his older friend vastly, and not at last for his capability to stop at nothing. It took a certain nerve to be as determined as he was.

"If Draco succeeds, he will be honoured above all others," he muttered into the blue. Bellatrix had mentioned an 'great honour', he couldn't be too wrong with repeating it.

"But he won't succeed! How can he, when the Dark Lord himself -" She was interrupted by Bellatrix, who was hissing and shooting withering looks at her youngest sibling. Severus cursed inwardly - she was so close to speak out what the Dark Lord hadn't managed to do. Killing Potter? Could they be talking about that? "I only meant - that nobody has yet succeeded - Severus... Please - you are, you have always been, Draco's favourite teacher... You are Lucius' old friend... I beg you - you are the Dark Lord's favourite, his most trusted advisor - will you speak to him, persuade him -"

He could tell that she wanted to flatter him into agreeing in whatever it was that she was after. It worked - he was touched; Narcissa surely was the sort of mother that would stop at nothing to protect her child. He couldn't have helped himself. Of course, he would help her. He'd only have to find out with what. "The Dark Lord will not be persuaded, and I am not stupid enough to attempt it. I cannot pretend that the Dark Lord is not angry with Lucius. Lucius was supposed to be in charge. He got himself captured, along with how many others, and failed to retrieve the prophecy into the bargain. Yes, the Dark Lord is angry, Narcissa, very angry indeed."

Wasn't there any possibility to get rid of Bellatrix? He could drop this entire charade if he were to be alone with Narcissa, they had always been more or less open with each other. Well, more or less, really. Right now, he was trying to play for time, hoping that one of them would give away their secret between the lines. If it was really about finishing off Potter, he would have to battle down the urge to do the whole job himself instead of Draco - that kid was stealing his last nerve.

"Then I am right, he has chosen Draco in revenge! He does not mean him to succeed, he wants him to be killed trying!" Narcissa looked as if she would keel over with agitation in the next moment, only Bellatrix remained unmoved. Compassion was a foreign word for this lunatic! Severus himself was at a loss for words, for once because he still wasn't entirely sure whether they indeed meant Potter, and then, because Narcissa's final down-fall was too painful to look at.

If he had thought it couldn't come much worse, he had been wrong though. In the next moment, she had thrown herself at him, clutching his lapels and literally begging him, "You could do it. You could do it instead of Draco, Severus. You would succeed, of course you would, and he would reward you beyond all of us -"

Nope, they were not referring to Potter being killed - everyone knew that the Dark Lord had reserved the boy for himself. So it must be about capturing Potter instead - luring him into a trap so the Dark Lord could complete it. He grabbed Narcissa's wrists and forced them away from himself, struck by the expression in her glistering eyes.

"He intends me to do it in the end, I think. But he is determined that Draco should try first. You see, in the unlikely event that Draco succeeds, I shall be able to remain at Hogwarts a little longer, fulfilling my useful role as a spy."

"In other words, it doesn't matter to him if Draco is killed!"

Her voice was barely a whisper, she was as white as chalk and her dark blue eyes appeared almost black in the feeble light. Severus wasn't easily touched, but this was one of those rare occasions - he'd do anything to have her regain her countenance. He felt like a monster for continuing to torment her, but with Bellatrix present, he had no other choice. "The Dark Lord is very angry. He failed to hear the prophecy. You know as well as I do, Narcissa, that he does not forgive easily."

She finally did sink; she fell to her knees - Severus closed his eyes - he would never forget this sight - and he had partaken in bringing it about... "My only son... My only son -"

Bellatrix showed no sign of mercy; instead she gnarled, "You should be proud! If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the service of the Dark Lord!"

He believed it at once, glaring at her in something bordering on hate. Narcissa had begun to whimper by now, pulling her long hair in unspeakable pain. This was enough - he would endure this not a second longer - he lifted her up and almost carried her over to the sofa. He urged her to drink another glass of wine to soothe her poor nerves, he doubted that it helped much, but he needed half a minute to recompose himself, too. He had come to a decision, foreseeing that he was going down a very obscure way. Draco had been ordered to do something, something so serious that it caused Narcissa to get a nervous breakdown. It couldn't be killing Potter, so it was most likely to be something like luring Potter into a trap or so... Narcissa trusted him, Narcissa also trusted Dumbledore - Lucius would put up with pretty much anything protecting his only son - and Draco worshipped his parents, the kid would do whatever his parents told him. Yes. Yes, Dumbledore would help them, right? Of course he would.

"Narcissa, that's enough. Drink this. Listen to me. It might be possible... for me to help Draco."

"Severus - oh, Severus - you would help him? Would you look after him, see he comes to no harm?"

"I can try," he sighed, relieved to see her plucking up both courage and composure.

Or at least that's what he had thought, for in the next second, she was back on her knees, seizing his hands and kissing them. Good Lord. He really wasn't fit for this sort of thing, he'd face a whole bunch of dragons if only he could get away from this at once.

"If you are there to protect him... Severus, will you swear it? Will you make the Unbreakable Vow?"

"The Unbreakable Vow?"

Every fibre of common sense inside him protested - roared - at him to retreat. The Unbreakable Vow - she must be kidding! But of course, she wasn't. His mind was racing. It was his job for Dumbledore to keep track of the dealings of the Dark Order, and clearly, here was something that the old Headmaster would definitely want to know. On the other hand, making an Unbreakable Vow was the stupidest thing he could ever do, it'd bind him more effectively than any other enchantment. It'd kill him if he broke it, and since he still hadn't got much of a clue what exactly Draco was supposed to do - something that Narcissa feared to kill the boy...

'You've got one last chance to get out of this,' a voice in his head whispered urgently. 'Say no, no, NO , NO -'

"Aren't you listening, Narcissa?" Bellatrix jeered, with her usual air of complacency. "Oh, he'll try, I'm sure... the usual empty words, the usual slithering out of action - oh, on the Dark Lord's orders, of course!"

He wanted to slap her around the face, if that was enough, and in this very moment, the small voice in his ear had lost its battle. He would do it, yes, he would, and if only to affront Bellatrix. He couldn't let Narcissa down, he had once let someone down and regretted it for the rest of his life, and his own life was worthless ever since anyway. Perhaps he could at least save Draco's. Her gaze was eloquent with fear and despair and terror, all those natural sentiments that a real mother felt on account of her only child. Narcissa Black had never been from this world, it was just too ugly and brutal and wicked for someone like her. She rightfully belonged into some sort of fairy land, with the other saintly witches, like his own mum - like Lily...

"Certainly, Narcissa, I shall make the Unbreakable Vow," he murmured, his common sense screaming, but otherwise without the means for further resistance. "Perhaps your sister will consent to be our Bonder."

He knelt down opposite of Narcissa, unable to tear away his gaze for once, and took her right hand. 'You fool, you terrible fool, get up at once, throw them both out of your house' - to dispel the nasty pangs of remorse, he said with particular coolness, "You will need your wand, Bellatrix. And you will need to move a little closer."

To have this witch of all persons speechless, just once in her lifetime, should be worth all the rest, but it wasn't. He could feel cold sweat in the scruff of his neck, this was betrayal of everything that he was holding sacred. And if the Vow wouldn't kill him, either Dumbledore or the Dark Lord would do - why not take the easy way out? He could kill himself straight away and end his torments! 'Be sensible,' the voice in his head whimpered, 'sensible' -

"Will you, Severus, watch over my son Draco as he attempts to fulfil the Dark Lord's wishes?" Narcissa asked solemnly.

This wasn't as bad as he had dreaded. "I will."

"And will you, to the best of your ability, protect him from harm?" Her face was shining in the deep red glow of the spell work, rendering her to look a bit more like herself again, and not the paper-white bundle of despair that she had been only a minute ago.

"I will." Of course he would, it wouldn't have taken the Unbreakable Vow to secure this particular promise. He was fond of the boy, Lucius and Narcissa were the only people alive that he had ever considered to be his friends, and there really weren't many people in this world that Severus had ever been fond of.

"And should it prove necessary... If it seems Draco will fail -"

'This is your last chance, you moron, remove your hand now - it's not too late yet - idiotidiotidiot' - no, he would pull this through. For the first time in his life, he was acting against his better judgement, and he couldn't help it but think that it might also be the last thing he'd ever do.

"Will you carry out the deed that the Dark Lord has ordered Draco to perform?"

What in heaven or hell was the boy ordered to do?! Get Potter, probably, get hold of Potter -well, he could do that, and they'd take the necessary security measures then...

"I will," he whispered, unblinking. He had just done the most stupid thing of his whole life; he should feel down-cast, or desperate, or angry... He was no idiot, he understood very well that Narcissa's entire visit had been for one reason only, to hear these words, and he couldn't even blame her. She wanted to protect her child, that was more natural than anything he had ever done in the course of his life. She was a mother standing up for her child... The world would be a very different place if every child had a mother like her. The Unbreakable Vow's ember-red flames were reflected in Narcissa's eyes, and he smiled to himself with the sudden idea that, perhaps, the devil himself was no other than a beautiful, crying mother. Of course - 'nemo cum diabolo iocatur impune', as Narcissa would have said.

Not ten minutes later, both witches were gone - Bellatrix hadn't uttered another word after she had performed the spell - Narcissa would have thrown herself at him once more, but he had successfully prevented this by getting up at once and freshening up their glasses once more. He did need a drink now - as a matter of fact, he'd need an entire bottle, and it better be harder stuff than wine. He claimed he had something urgent to do and almost pushed them out of the front door; they weren't gone for more than thirty seconds when Wormtail showed his ugly face.

"What on earth did they want?"

"I'd tell you if it was any of your business, rat-face!"

"You think you were such a great guy, bat-man, but when it all comes down, you're nothing but a senti-"

"Silencio!" Severus had drawn his wand and hexed his unwelcome flatmate. "If you want to offend me, you really got to take up some pace - or talent, as it is. You keep forgetting that your great friends are no longer protecting you, rat-face. Now since you've been such a good boy, I will be generous and tell you why they've come - Bellatrix wanted to discuss once more what I am doing in Hogwarts. I think she's lost her grip in Azkaban, frankly. And as for Narcissa - she hasn't got over her husband's imprisonment just yet. Happy now?"

Wormtail was mutely glaring back, and to vent some of his bad mood, Severus cursed him and left him then, twisting and twitching on the floor.

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Amicus... The true friend is recognised in predicament.

Nemo... Nobody could play with the devil without punishment.