Where Dark Meets The Light

Chapter 16: Dinner and Moving

Jay was nervous, and rightfully so. On her left stood Severus, stiff as a board, no expression visible. If Jay didn't know the man like she did, she would assume that he wasn't worried at all. She did know better though.

The way he was standing, how forcibly relaxed his usual glare was... the man was just as nervous as her.

For the last few weeks, the dark lord had barely been at the manor, but now he had returned. And they were about to have dinner with him.

The death eater who had come to invite them had said that she was invited because of her help with the Azkaban escapees. But at the same time, Draco had helped as well. And he received no invitation.

It was now that she was thankful for those long hours spent on etiquette, forced by Lily. Today, they could save her life.

Who would have thought that? Certainly, not Jay. It was the first time in years that she'd thought back on those lessons.

The doors opened and revealed the long table with the best dining set money could buy. Jay thought all the gemstone covered goblets, gold inlayed cutlery and plates were a bit taky, to be honest. But she knew it was all a show of status and power. Look at what I have. It always left a bitter taste in her mouth; she didn't care for the bragging one bit.

She silently moved to her seat, next to Severus and Nott. She looked every bit out of place at the table, in between all the grown men. Of course, the only exception was Bellatrix Lestrange, the notorious only female death eater.

The Lestranges were seated in front of her and Severus. And for one horrible second, she and Bellatrix caught each other's eyes. Bellatrix grinned like a Cheshire cat, exposing her still rotting teeth. Jay adverted her eyes. It had shocked her that a Lestrange of all people would be allergic to Skele-gro. It left her with the horrible teeth gained by being in Azkaban for so long, unlike the other escapees, who all either had their teeth mended or regrown.

The woman had really drawn the short straw there.

"Please, sit my dear friends," Rasped Voldemort. His voice had grown stronger since the graveyard, but it still didn't sound right. It left her with goosebumps that were thankfully hidden by her long-sleeved robes.

At once, everyone took their seat.

She noticed mister Malfoy on her right and felt slightly bad for him. Not only had the dark lord taken over his house, was inviting people to dine at his table, but he'd put a child higher on the table. It was a fuck you, if she'd ever seen it.

Voldemort waved his hand at the terrified house-elf standing trembling. The small creature bowed deep and snapped his fingers. At once, the dishes appeared at the table. Rich smells washed over the table and with that dinner began.

No one dared to break the silence. Jay kept her head mostly to herself, only sometimes glancing up at the men on the opposite side of the table.

It wasn't until the main course had been eaten that Voldemort broke the silence and started to tell his loyal followers about his new allies he'd gained while gone.

Several werewolf packs were now allied with the death eaters, as was a vampire clan and they were still tracking down the giants.

She idly wondered if the light was taking any action. Most likely, even if they were, they wouldn't really have much success anyways. How would one convince a populous that had been treated like trash by the current government? If Jay were a werewolf, or any other 'humanoid creature' she wouldn't want to fight for them either.

All was going well until Voldemort mentioned a captured blood traitor. As he did, a lower ranking death eater came in with a woman floating in the air. He carefully levitated the woman so that she was dangling over the table with her back bent in a near unnatural angle. The woman looked to be in pain and she was red in the face, most likely from being suspended the way she was. Dirt and tears streaked her face.