The Beginning of the End

Chapter Eight: Turncoat

Lucius sometimes wondered if he made a wise choice in becoming a Death Eater. The fact that it dealt with dark magic had lured him into the group, but it was the new power he possessed that kept him there. It was no secret that in this world of technology and office buildings power was hard to find. That was why joined the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures and donated so much--to gain power and respect. When that wasn't enough, he became a Death Eater.

He smirked as he recalled how refreshing it was to exhibit his dark magic without fear. It was his secret activity; the thing that made him feel alive after the monotonous years at the Ministry. However, he was prohibited from mentioning it to others. The days would pass by in a rapid blur, quickly turning into weeks, and sometimes even months before he realized it. After a while, his job and family became obsolete as his occupation as a Death Eater became more addicting, more real than his actual job.

Narcissa had quickly realized that he was slowly, but surely slipping away from her. Cold, beautiful Narcissa... She had demanded to know what made him forget her. She pestered him at night about his where abouts and sprung it up on him at random moments until he had to let her know. He immediately regretted not telling her sooner. Narcissa was actually quite fond of the dark arts and became so outraged at his secrecy that she insisted on being brought to the next meeting.

At the time, Lord Voldemort wasn't recruiting new members, and was quite surprised to see Narcissa standing near him. But she had swiftly proved herself worthy to be a member. Needless to say, she was initiated into the group that night. Lucius allowed a proud grin to appear on his face. She was definitely something, that Narcissa. Cold, but violently hot-tempered once you got her mad enough. And her skills of the dark arts were almost on par with his own.

When she had their son, they both decided that he would grow up to join this occult when he was strong enough. Truthfully, Draco was strong enough already, but the Dark Lord did not want any current student of Dumbledore to bear his mark. While Lucius was against it, Narcissa fully approved, claiming that she understood where the Dark Lord was coming from. However, a short debate with her changed his mind about it.

But it still irritated him that he had to take orders from someone. He preferred making his own decisions, but to speak out against Lord Voldemort was blasphemy. If he wasn't a Death Eater, he would be able to make his own choices without worrying about getting killed. But if he wasn't, then his life would've taken a very dull turn.

"Thinking about something?" a soft voice asked beside him.

He shook his head. There was no point in getting his wife involved with this. "Nothing."

Narcissa placed a cold finger under his chin. "I don't believe you. Now, Lucius... I can tell from your look that it has something to do with the Dark Lord."

Lucius smirked inwardly. How she managed to figure out what he was thinking, he would never know. "Perhaps. Do you think -you'll- be of any help?"

"When am I not of any help?" She smiled as she ran her finger to his cheek.

"What would you do if you were ordered to kill the Minister of Magic?"

Narcissa looked at him, her dark blue eyes serious. "I would kill him, of course."

"And how would you go about doing that?" Lucius motioned for her to sit down on the cushioned chair in front of him. "I've already tried the barging in at work tactic. Unfortunately, he had a surprise guest at the time."

She sat down. "Do the next best thing."

"Which is?" He casually wrapped his arms around her shoulders, nuzzling the back of her neck. God, he was thankful for her advice.

She smirked maliciously. "Go to his house."

-----------

Hermione eyed the students in the Great Hall carefully. Somewhere out there was her mystery man. One of the guys...but who? Try as she might, she couldn't get him out of her mind. His identity had taunted her endlessly in her dream, but he had refused to remove his mask. She shook her head. She really shouldn't be thinking of him.

"'Mione, you look a bit out of it still. Are you sure you don't want anymore sleep?" asked Ginny as she poked at the roasted chicken on her plate.

Hermione turned her head towards Ginny, waving her off. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Besides, I don't want to waste my Saturday sleeping."

"What's wrong with sleeping in on a Saturday?" Ron asked, grinning. "I happen to enjoy it very much."

She laughed. "You're such a sloth, Ron!"

"Yeah, well. There's nothing wrong with being a sloth," he countered, holding the chicken leg. "Just laying around all day, eating... I wouldn't have to worry about exams or anything. -That's- the life."

"It sounds pretty boring to me," Harry said. "Before you know it, you're going to be sleeping your life away. And you would probably be too lazy to even play quidditch."

"Never!" Ron exclaimed. "I will -never- be that lazy."

Ginny giggled as she leaned over towards Harry. "You should see him the first week of summer. That's exactly how--"

"Shut up," Ron said good naturedly. "Harry doesn't to hear about my life, now do you?"

Smirking, Harry said, "Go on, Ginny. What does he do?"

The red haired girl whispered something under her breath and Harry looked at Ron with mirth in his eyes.

"Really, Ron? I had -no- idea--"

"She's lying!" Ron shouted, his ears already turning a brilliant crimson. "Whatever she's saying, she's lying. Be quiet, Ginny! Otherwise I'll tell him of your, ahem, night time tendencies."

"That's blackmail," Ginny pouted.

"'All's fair in love and war'," he quoted, giving his sister a large grin. "I have enough blackmail to make the Daily Prophet want to write an entire paper about you."

Hermione stared blankly at the two siblings. "You guys are giving me a headache."

"Sorry," Ginny said. "Maybe you need some fresh air, let's go outside for a while."

"She needs some more sleep," Ron said.

"Air."

"Sleep."

"Air."

"Sleep."

"Enough, you guys!" proclaimed Hermione. "I think I'll go outside for a while," Ginny shot Ron a winning smile, "but maybe you guys should leave me alone for a bit. Too much arguing already..."

Harry nodded. "All right. See you in the common room in an hour?"

"An hour sounds good to me," Hermione agreed as she got out of her seat.

------------

"Lucius," Macnair said. "That -does- sound like a good plan, but still... If somebody saw you, they would immediately report you back to the Ministry, and you'd be put in Azkaban in no time."

Lucius stared silently at the burly man. "It's either that, or I'm dead. Now, do you think I wish to give in to death so easily?"

Macnair shook his head. "But I think you should lay low for a while. Everyone's going to be--"

The silver-haired man snarled. "If you think you can do a better job than me, go ahead and do it. In fact, I have half a mind right now to go to Lord Voldemort and tell him that -you- want to do this."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," Lucius dared. He looked over his small group of Death Eaters threateningly. "Does anyone else object?"

"Lucius," a voice called out. Everyone turned to the source. It was Jullien Zabini, a lanky middle-aged man with black eyes and hair. "I thought you were in this for the power."

"I am," he said.

"The way I see it, you're just a puppet," Jullien sneered. "He's pulling your strings, telling you what to do, and how to carry out his orders. And you call this power? It is nothing," he waved offhandedly at the group, "nothing at all. So he gives you a little group, maybe to make you feel better. But how long have you been in here, Lucius? How many years did you give up to get where you are?" He didn't wait for an answer.

"And look, you aren't any higher than when you first started. I must say...Voldemort is quite clever. He has tricked you into thinking that you've attained a higher position by killing those that were before you. Do you see any of the old members that were here when we first joined? Do you? I certainly don't. And do you want to know why? Because he has succesfully disposed of them! The only old wizards and witches we have now are -new-, have you realized -that-?" He observed the group. "Have -any- of you realized that?"

"Blasphemer," Cristella Winchent hissed. "Lord Voldemort will do away with you."

Jullien merely laughed malevolently at her threat. "This need for power has blinded you all! And what about your calculating wife, Lucius? Has she figured it out, or is she as blinded as you are?"

Lucius gave him a hard stare. "We are not blind. What has gotten into you, Jullien? Have you been talking with Dumbledore?"

"Dumbledore?" chortled Jullien. "Why, me? Never. I simply want more power, you see."

"Blasphemer!" Cristella hissed again as she stepped away from the man. "You dare betray Lord Voldemort? I will certainly tell him of this news."

"Shut up," Jullien snapped at her. "Petrificus Totalis."

Cristella fell down, making a loud thud on the basement of Malfoy Manor. The other five other Death Eaters had their wands pointed at Jullien in a second.

"Now, now, just listen to me," Jullien said. "I know you all crave power--that's what made you join. But what power do you have?"

"We will be able to control countries when Lord Voldemort takes over the world," offered a wizard.

"If he decides to share. He never -did- make that into a promise," he countered. "Anything else? Lucius, how about you?"

Lucius sighed to himself. He didn't know what to do, really. His need for power over his loyalty to the Dark Lord? He began to speak quietly. "You -do- bring up some interesting points. However, to go against Lord Voldemort, you must be mad. He can kill us in an instant, do you realize that?"

"You know, you're showing more proof that he has power over us. He can kill us at the slightest whim. And did he not, Lucius, threaten to kill you if you failed him? He's starting the cycle over and over again just to trick the new members like her that they're going somewhere," he spat, gesturing at the petrified witch.

Macnair stepped forward. "I have to agree with you, Jullien."

The two other witches stepped forward as well. They were old members of the Death Eaters and after Jullien's heated speech, they feared that they would soon be threatened with death.

"No," the unnamed wizard said. "I wonder how much Lord Voldemort would reward for treachery, seeing as most of you have gone--"

"Crucio," Macnair said.

The man began to walk to the wall with slow, jerky steps.

"It's up to you, Lucius," Jullien said softly. He looked over at Macnair. "I understand that you particularly enjoy drowning. I give you full permission to get rid of her." He turned his gaze back to the man and watched him begin to bang his head against it violently. A gleeful smile began to spread on his face. "You see, Lucius... -this- is power. Who do you wish to be? Him?" he pointed at the man, "or us?"

The silver-haired man watched the other man coldly. "Turncoat I am."

---------

When Hermione almost reached the base of the lake, she sat down on a large rock and leaned against a willow tree.

"Maybe the giant squid will make an appearance today," she murmured. Lately, the giant squid seemed to be in hiding. None of the students had seen it since the start of the term.

She stretched a bit before settling into a comfortable position. She closed her eyes, feeling wonderfully relaxed for the first time in weeks.

"I really need more alone time," she said.

Then she heard footsteps behind her. Great, it was probably Harry, Ron, or Ginny checking up on her.

"I'm okay, you can go back," Hermione called out absently without opening her eyes.

The footsteps continued.

"Harry? Ron? Ginny? I'm perfectly all right."

"What are -you- doing here?"

Hermione opened her eyes to see Draco leering at her. "Why shouldn't I be here?"

"Because this is -my- spot," he stated.

"I don't see your name on it. Now leave me alone. I don't want to be bothered by the likes of -you- right now," Hermione said. She peered up at him menacingly. "Go sit somewhere else."

He walked a few feet away from her and sat down on the ground. She could hear him muttering something rather vulgar under his breath and she grinned triumphantly. Malfoy wasn't going to be getting any special treatment from her. She narrowed her eyes at his back. His family name meant less than shit to her now. Not that it ever meant anything to her before.

She turned her glance back to the lake. It was as still as ever. Really now, where was the giant squid? She then saw something at the other side of the lake. Squinting her eyes, she wondered if it was the giant squid. If it was, she knew that Dennis Creevy would be delighted to see his old friend swimming around lazily again.

Hermione watched as it unexpectedly crashed on the shore. What happened? She stood up quickly. Was the giant squid hurt? Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Draco standing up as well. The brunette sprinted to the other side without saying a word. She heard his footsteps behind her.

When she reached the other side, she froze at the sight that greeted her. It -was- the giant squid, yes, but...

"It's dead," she heard him say softly.

Hermione stared at the carcass. The giant squid wasn't -that- old...was it? No, it was only twenty years old, and since the giant squid lived at Hogwarts, it certainly was bound to have a long lifespan. Ignoring the smell of the rotting carcass, Hermione stepped closer to it.

"What are you doing? Get away from it!" Draco exclaimed. "Someone did something to it... And I don't think the spell's wearing off."

She looked at him. "What do you mean?"

He pointed at a spot. "It's turning purple. That is -not- normal. And the smell...it's not normal as well."

"I suspect -you- would know, wouldn't you?" Hermione closed her eyes as she stepped next to Draco. She felt sick.

"What's -that- supposed to mean, Granger?" he snarled.

"Figure it out for yourself," she said. She really didn't feel so well anymore... He was right, there -was- something wrong with this. As she turned back to walk to the castle, she suddenly fell. What in the world?

"Now's no time to be clumsy," Draco growled. "Come on, let's go."

Hermione tried to stand up. "I... I can't."

He turned back to look at her. "You -can't-?"

"I'm stuck," she explained. "My legs won't move! I don't know why, but it feels like I'm paralyzed!" Her voice became shriller as she became hysterical.

"Locomotor Mortis?" he whispered to himself. "It must be the carcass."

Hermoine screamed suddenly as she saw two rope-like things pop out from the carcass. "OH MY GOD! MERLIN! HELP ME, HELP ME! BLOODY HELL, DRACO, HELP ME!"

Without any hesitation, Draco picked her up and raced back to the castle.

"It's still coming," she yelled as she turned her head to look back at the carcass. She closed her eyes and pressed her face against his shoulder, not wanting to see the two ropes. At the moment, she didn't care that he was Malfoy, or that his father had killed her parents, she just wanted to make sure that the both of them got out of it alive.

"Is it still following us?" Draco asked as he almost reached the castle.

She peeped out again. "Oh, yes! It's going faster!" She then pressed her face against his shoulder again. He smells...like Gentleman Death, she thought suddenly. What a thing to think about now! But it made her feel a bit calmer. Whoever Gentleman Death was, he probably was rich, if -Malfoy- has the cologne, she thought.

Draco reached the castle and set her on the ground before closing the doors with a loud slam. As soon as he closed it, two thunks were heard as the ropes hit the door. Draco stared at the door, panting heavily. The ropes actually made dents in it! He dropped to his knees near Hermione in disbelief.

"What the hell was -that-?" he whispered as he tried to catch his breath.

"How am -I- supposed to know?" she shot back. She was still trying to get over the entire incident.

"I feel -sick-," Draco muttered. He looked at her. "You do too, right?"

She only nodded.

Then, without warning, Draco began to fall foreword. Hermione quickly slid her hand on the ground and winced as his head fell on her hand. What made him suddenly fall? And he wasn't getting back up either...

"Hermione?" Harry said as he, Ginny, and Ron stepped out of the Great Hall.

"Get Dumbledore," Hermione instructed hurriedly. "Tell him that the great squid has been killed by a spell, and that no students should be able to go out until they get rid of the carcass." She was starting to see black spots...

"I'll go get him--"

That was the last thing she heard before she passed out.