Addictive Conflict

It was just nearing the end of dinner, and Peter was starting to feel the uncomfortable grip of worry set in. About fifteen minutes earlier, they had witnessed an incensed Snape bursting in through the tall wooden doors at the end of the hall, his face twisted in an ugly scowl. None of them had seen any sign of Remus since he'd run off earlier, and ever since Peter had haltingly described the state of Malfoy's mood when he'd given him the message -- that is, annoyed and impatient -- they had not been too sure whether or not they should be concerned.

"Nah," Sirius waved a hand dismissively, picking up a fork and poking at the contents of his plate dubiously, "he'll be fine...Malfoy's a Prefect; he wouldn't dare do anything to Remus," he helped himself to more apple crumble, smirking at James' uncertain expression.

"Well...I'm not so sure, Sirius. You know what the Slytherins are like...and I don't care what you say about Malfoy -- Prefect or not, he's still one of them, and I don't trust him. Why isn't Remus back yet? And look -- Malfoy's not here either."

"And what about Snape?" Peter piped up, poking Sirius in annoyance for his complacency, "he's just come in -- and doesn't look too happy..."

"Exactly --" Sirius countered, "surely if they were getting up to their delightful Slytherin games up there, he'd be looking a lot more cheerful. He's an evil little bastard -- he'd want to be right there in the middle of it I bet... You know how much he's fascinated by the Dark Arts..." he trailed off ominously, his gaze flickering over to where Snape was taking a seat at the long table across the hall.

"True..." James seemed a little happier in the face of this reasoning, some of the tension disappearing from his face, "but you know, I worry about him -- especially with his...condition," dropping his voice to a murmur, he skirted around the unmentionable, "after all, maybe Malfoy's found out something -- what if he's blackmailing him!" Sirius rolled his eyes and leant back casually in his chair, the candlelight glimmering softly in his hair.

"Look, James, now you're seriously overreacting -- Remus is more than capable of taking care of himself. Maybe he just didn't feel like eating? He was probably just caught doing something he shouldn't, and had to go and see Mr I'm-such-a-trustworthy-Slytherin-Prefect Malfoy -- oxymoron though that is -- and he didn't have time for dinner. Just leave it; we can ask him later." Sighing, James shrugged and looked resigned, and after a moment of internal debate, Peter appeared to drop it also. The chatter seemed to be dying down in the busy hall, and it soon became apparent that Dumbledore was standing up and making clear his intention to make an announcement now that most of the students had finished eating. The air fell silent at last, row upon row of curious faces gazing towards the front.

"Now," Dumbledore began, his expression uncommonly serious as he surveyed those before him, his eyes seeming to linger slightly on the long Slytherin table, "as most of you will know, though we may currently be isolated and secure here at Hogwarts, the outside Wizarding Community here in Britain can no longer afford to be complacent. There has recently been a steady string of disappearances and outright murders -- and it is Muggles and those among us of Muggle birth that are being targeted. We do not know who is behind all of this yet, so I must ask all of you to be on your guard. As of now, all visits to Hogsmeade are strictly forbidden until further notice, and you must not walk around the outer perimeters of the school grounds. This is not meant to alarm you, just to make you aware. I would prefer for you all to be informed and on alert, rather than be kept in ignorance. If you have any questions about the situation or restrictions pertaining to it, please feel free to talk to your Head of House."

With that, Dumbledore took his seat once more, a troubled frown upon his face. Excited yet fearful conversations sprung up through the heavy silence, becoming louder as the students started to rise from their tables and file out to return to their Common Rooms and dormitories.

"Did you see the way he was looking at the Slytherins?" Peter squeaked nervously as they walked, "it's almost like he suspects them! You don't think they've got anything to do with it...do you?" James shrugged and tugged absently at the neck of his robes, and then linked his arm with Peter's to try and assuage the other's fearful expression.

"I doubt it, Peter; Dumbledore wouldn't let them stay here if any of them did -- though I wouldn't put it past some of them to support what's going on, " he added darkly, as Sirius nodded in agreement, "they wouldn't do it themselves - they're too cowardly - but they're generally rather bigoted and elitist, it seems." Glaring hatefully at Snape who was hurrying past them, Sirius suddenly noticed a familiar russet-haired head among the sea of students crowding the corridors.

"Hey, Remus! Where've you been!" Sirius waved enthusiastically and tried to make himself visible among the people around him, and grinned when Remus appeared beside them.

"You finally managed to escape?" James looked at him sympathetically, "so what did Malfoy want with you, anyway?"

"Escape?" Remus looked momentarily blank, "Oh -- ah, yes," laughing nervously he reached up and thoughtfully rubbed at his cheek, "he'd seen me sneaking down to the kitchens earlier -- just wanted a chance to exert his Prefect-ly powers, you know," he looked down at the floor as he said this, not quite certain how to go about admitting he'd just been having an almost friendly chat with a Slytherin. "Although you know --" he continued cautiously, glancing between his friends' faces as they approached the portrait hole of the Gryffindor Common Room, "-- he's not... not really so bad once you talk to him." One look at their incredulous faces made his heart sink.

"Not so bad?" Sirius echoed, looking at Remus in disbelief, "Remus -- he's a Slytherin. They're about as close to evil-incarnate as they come. I'm not saying they're all murderers or anything, but really -- they're not decent."

"Yeah," Peter added, following the others through the portrait hole, "and you know about that rumour -- that some of them learn and actually practice some of the Dark curses and hexes," he paused dramatically, and Sirius and James both wore slight expressions of disgust in response to the statement. Remus felt his insides twist sickeningly as he watched their reactions nervously, trying to appear as though outwardly he agreed completely.

Sirius inclined his head as they found their way to a sofa large enough to seat them all. "I've heard that too -- though it seems hard to believe... I mean, who'd actually be stupid enough to do stuff like that here? Surely they'd sense it or trace it or something?" he promptly sprawled on the sofa, managing to take up nearly the entire thing by himself. James considered the subject for a moment, before casually sitting on Sirius' stomach and ignoring the loud protests as he answered.

"Well... I don't know, actually. I mean -- there must be wards and barrier spells you can cast beforehand to shield what you're doing, right?" Peter looked uneasy at this, and sat down without warning on Sirius' ankles while Remus took his knees. Sirius struggled weakly for a moment before giving up, muttering at them while the others looked deep in thought.

"This is depressing," Sirius announced from underneath them all, waving his only free arm energetically to distract them, "we should talk about something else... like... oh, hey James! Not long until the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff match, eh?"

Remus remained uncomfortably quiet, lost in thought as he watched the fire fiercely blazing behind the grate. He felt almost like he was betraying his friends by not telling them what he was doing -- but what he had said to Lucius was true; they wouldn't understand, and wouldn't want to, either. 'I'm not doing anything wrong,' he told himself firmly, 'I'm not going to hurt anyone -- I don't have to feel guilty about any of this.'

But that still didn't banish the persistent ache which seemed to have taken up permanent residence in the back of his mind.

- - - - - -

Watching the bleak winter sky moodily, Lucius leant forward onto the windowsill and laid his head on his arms, his eyes scanning the horizon carefully for any sign of a familiar owl. The clouds were billowing darkly, the undersides shot through with pale silvery light as the sun attempted to break through. A faint rumble of thunder sounded, and gradually the wet pitter-patter of rain upon stone began. He sighed, moving away from the window as the wind picked up. It appeared as though in all likelihood there would be a storm -- and no owl would be travelling in weather like that.

"...Lucius?"

Sinking tiredly down onto his bed, he turned to face the door where the quiet enquiry had come from. "Evening, Severus," he forced a smile onto his face, beckoning the younger boy over, "what is it?" Snape moved towards him, his expression placid and surprisingly un-malicious for once.

"Well...nothing, really," he sat beside Lucius, gazing up at the Prefect worshipfully, "but... I was wondering if you'd heard anything from him recently?" Lucius shook his head regretfully, and he frowned, forehead furrowing in thought.

"No... I haven't. I suppose he must be busy with the -- cleansing --" at this point he glanced away and felt his stomach tighten; his feelings towards the activities going on were mixed, though he understood the necessity, "-- so I suppose he doesn't have time for us at the moment."

"Mm," Severus tilted his head on one side, looking thoughtful, "if only he'd let us help him! We've improved so much recently..." his tone was wistful, and he had a faraway look in his eyes.

"True..." Lucius rubbed at his face wearily, still feeling somewhat alone and deserted, "but then I suppose he only wants us once we're fully qualified." He didn't even try to keep the bitterness from his tone; ignoring the scandalised looks Snape was shooting him.

"Lucius! You know how valuable our position here at Hogwarts is to him... and in the mean time we just have to keep our eyes and ears open, on the lookout for anything that might be useful to him." Severus was staring into the distance, his eyes somewhat glazed over as he contemplated their purpose.

"I know, I know..." Lucius answered tetchily, slightly annoyed with the other's attitude, but letting it go all the same.

Despite the typically Slytherin views Lucius held in regard to Muggles and half-bloods, that was not the sole -- indeed, hardly even the main reason -- that he had become involved with him. No -- for Lucius, it was all about power; and this was the reason that he couldn't comprehend Severus' unswerving loyalty and unquestioning nature when it came to what they had been asked to do. Lucius liked to have a specific purpose or goal -- he hated all this vague information gathering, and was anxious for the next phase to begin. And naturally, since he would be leaving Hogwarts next year, he fully intended to have made his way into his inner circle by then. The killing, however...well, he didn't really think about it often; he forced himself not to. It certainly wasn't something he looked forward to, but he had always supposed that it was inevitable - he knew that if he wanted to reach his goals, he'd have to be prepared to do anything.

"Well, I should go - I have some Potions work to finish off for Guin," Severus pulled a face, displaying his distaste for the subject. Rising, he headed for the door and flashed a brief, shy smile at Lucius before leaving. The door swung shut with a heavy click, and Lucius' expression became brooding as he sank back into his thoughts. He stayed like that for several minutes, before something moving in the corner of the room caught his eye, and he glanced up, recognising it as a small dormouse.

"You..." he breathed softly, "what are you doing in here? Dirty animal..." Standing up, Lucius slowly reached out and grabbed his wand from the bedside table, keeping his eyes fixed on the tiny rodent. "Obexicis," he muttered impatiently, as always casting the initial blanketing ward spell which would enable him to perform his other magicks undetected.

He crept forward a few steps, his pulse quickening and his breath catching in his throat as he advanced upon the creature, a new vivacious gleam in his pale eyes. The tension grew in the pit of his stomach; an agitated feeling of anticipation, on the verge of reaching its zenith.

And then ever so quietly raising his wand, fingers quivering; "Imperio." The release of the word was bliss.

The shining beady eyes slowly dimmed, and only a faint involuntary twitch showed that any change had taken place. Lucius jerked his wand, and as though attached with an invisible thread, the mouse scuttled towards him. A rapturous smile secured upon his face, Lucius then proceeded to run the mouse around in circles, weaving it in and out of the chair legs and underneath the wardrobe.

Having something perform his every whim; bow to his commands... this, for Lucius, was the culmination of what he was working for. The Imperius Curse had been the first Dark Art to catch his attention for this very reason; and it was only this year that he had finally succeeded in performing it correctly. The other Unforgivables he had not yet mastered -- but he was in no hurry, as he would not get tired of the power Imperius granted him for a long while.

Gradually growing disinterested in his ability to make the mouse dodge between obstacles, Lucius violently swung his wand and caused the rodent to run head first into the cold stone wall. It fell, stunned for a moment, but didn't make a sound. He felt the sick, glorious power course through him as he denied a living creature the right to even involuntarily respond to such a base feeling as pain, and made it back away before hurtling it forwards again and again. He felt his control finally snap as the mouse fell to the floor, dead; a small smear of dark liquid left where it had cracked its skull on the wall.

Lucius drew in a shuddering breath and the adrenaline ebbed away, leaving him feeling drained. As he backed away and rested himself back on the bed, a loud crack of thunder sounded, drawing his attention to the darkened view through the leaded window. The black silhouettes of the bare winter trees were dark cracks on the translucent glass of the dusky horizon; the clear sky low down soon giving way to the storm clouds above. With a gesture of his wand he lit the surrounding candles, and a warm glow suffused the room. It suddenly struck him that none of his roommates had returned yet -- and then realised that Severus had probably been keeping them away for him. Lucius smiled to himself, and absently unlocked the door so the others could return when they felt it was appropriate.

His thoughts soon returned unbidden to his strange Gryffindor acquaintance; how far would he be willing to go with the Dark Arts...? None of the Slytherins were willing to be a subject for his practices, even Severus -- though on reflection he supposed he didn't seem very trustworthy... and his gaze flickered to the corpse of the tiny dormouse.

- - - - - -

"Hey, you -- Lupin," Remus turned in surprise as he heard his name, and saw Snape beckoning to him sullenly from the Arithmancy classroom which they had just left. He had just motioned his agreement and begun to approach the other boy when he felt a firm hand on his arm, restraining him.

"Don't," said Sirius urgently, his expression humourless and slightly wary, "you can't trust him. What would he want with you anyway?"

"Sirius!" Remus frowned and nudged off his friend's hand, "nothing bad will come of it; he only wants to talk to me about something..." he glanced over at Snape, who was glowering impatiently at them both -- and at Sirius in particular.

"And what does it matter what he wants to talk to you about? Just leave it, Remus," he was beginning to sound exasperated, gesturing expectantly for Remus to follow him and frowning when the other boy stood motionless and hesitant.

"It'll... just be a minute, Sirius -- don't worry. Go on ahead." After watching them both darkly for a moment Sirius turned and stalked off, muttering venomous things under his breath about untrustworthy Slytherins. Remus sighed in a pained manner, and then made his way over to where Snape was waiting. "What is it, then?" he asked curiously, half-certain what the answer would be considering only one thing -- or rather, one person -- would cause Snape to overcome the usual hatred he felt for Remus.

"Malfoy wants to see you again," came the almost petulant tone, "but after dinner, this time. Tomorrow, as he says he has Prefect Duty this evening." Snape was studying him bitterly. "Though why he feels the need to justify himself to you I don't know."

And with that, Snape swept away down the corridor leaving Remus looking thoughtful. A brief thrill of anticipation ran through him -- tomorrow evening, it seemed, he would be getting his first demonstration of the forbidden Dark Arts...