Of Doves and Dragons

Chapter Forty-six: The Art of Necromancy

"I won't just survive. Oh, you will see me thrive. Can't write my story, I'm beyond the archetype. I won't just conform, no matter how you shake my core, cause my roots they run deep. Oh, ye of so little faith..."

-Katy Perry, Rise

Ember transported herself back to the manor. Only when she landed did she realize that her reasoning behind the location had been none, except for that it was where she was being kept and supposedly still ran as the main hub for the Death Eaters.

She opened the front door quietly and stepped across the threshold to hear shouts sounding from the dining room. She entered quickly to see Macnair and O'Dell still held Ron by his elbows and were in a heated debate with Lucius and Narcissa, who looked to have been in the middle of dinner. Why they still insisted eating on fancy china in a fancy dining room when the literal world was on fire was beyond her.

"Ember!" Lucius snapped when he saw her standing in the doorway. "Is it true?"

She froze, still taking in the room. Macnair and O'Dell had turned slightly, just enough for that Ron could look up at her blearily, while Atkinson stood behind them, her eyes terrifyingly still. Ember opened her mouth but was unsure what question was actually being asked.

"Is my sister dead?" Narcissa asked, much more calmly than should have been realistic, but her eyes- her eyes were black pits of potential destruction.

"Yes," Ember answered carefully. "Bellatrix is dead. She died in her vault."

"Is she still there?" Narcissa whispered.

Ember nodded.

"Why are we bloody talking about Lestrange when we should be calling the Dark Lord here?" Atkinson announced shrewdly. "We have fucking Harry Potter."

"That's not Harry Potter," Both Ember and Lucius said at the same time.

O'Dell narrowed his eyes, thrusting the sleeve of Ron jacket up, "Whatdya mean thisisn't Harry Potter?"

"That's Ron Weasley." Ember answered, giving Ron only the passivist of glances.

Macnair and O'Dell shared a deeply concerned look as Atkinson glared at Ember. "You couldn't have mentioned that before?"

Ember looked at them incredulously. "You mean the split second before you stole him? Sorry there wasn't time, with my head being smashed to the ground or anything. Not that I would hand Harry Potter over to you anyway."

Lucius rounded the table. "Tell me that you didn't already call him here." He demanded, knowing that somehow the responsibility of this mistake would ultimately fall onto his shoulders.

"Of course we did." O'Dell answered shrugging his shoulders hotly.

"You fools!" Lucius spat, throwing his goblet against the wall.

"We had Harry Potter!" Atkinson argued.

Lucius's face blanched angrily at their idiocy. "But you didn't, did you?!"

Just then, Voldemort strode through the dining room, with Wormtail trailing after him, spooking Ember enough to move out of his way. He gave her a curious look before ignoring her altogether and striding towards the three Death Eaters he was thoroughly prepared to promote.

Ron glanced up at Voldemort and saw him clearly for the first time in his life. His heart sped up in his chest and his mouth dropped open. Harry had vaguely described what the half man-half monster had looked like but his descriptions could never have prepared him for the real thing. And as the Dark Lord looked at him, he saw recognition in his eyes that he was in fact not Harry Potter.