Riptides (Fred Weasley Fan Fiction)

Chapter 24

All three of them stood in an entry hall with a tall ceiling. In front of them, there was a wide staircase with marble stairs.. On both sides of the room, there were huge wooden doors, both closed. Lyssie was looking around curiously. She has never seen a place like this one. She was examining the pattern on the ceiling, when she felt Malfoy's father shaking her hand off his forearm. She completely forgot that it was still there.

"This way," he ordered and all of them walked through the door on the left.

Lyssie's heart started beating faster as she was looking around the room. Probably, it was a living room, but it looked nothing like the one in her house. The room itself was huge. There wasn't much furniture, which made it look very empty. There were two black sofas, a coffee table, and a fireplace which lit up the room. On the walls, she noticed some portraits of confident-looking people, mostly blond.

Then, she looked at the armchair near the fireplace. There he was. The murderer of her father. The person everyone in the wizarding world feared the most. Lord Voldemort.

He was sat in the armchair and looked small compared to it. For a second, Lyssie thought that it was nothing she expected from him. They walked closer, and she saw his face. It was pale and shapeless. Voldemort didn't look like a normal person. Something in his eyes made Lyssie's body shake. She felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Lysandra Black," he said in a deep, gloomy voice, which didn't match his appearance at all. "What a pleasure to finally meet you. Please, have a sit."

Lyssie obeyed his order and sat down on the sofa which was the furthest away from him. Both Malfoys still stood next to the entrance, as if they were afraid to come closer.

"Lucius, you are being impolite," Voldemort said looking at Mr. Malfoy. "Sit with us. You and Draco."

They looked at each other first, but quickly decided to take their seats on one of the sofas.

"May I see your wand?" Voldemort turned to Lyssie. He reached his hand out towards Lyssie and waited.

He wanted her wand. Did he know that she's been practicing the protection spell? She fought with her thoughts. Giving him the wand would leave her defenseless, but, on the other hand, was she able to protect herself either way?

"It would be an unjust battle if didn't have my wand," she said bravely.

"A battle?" Voldemort laughed. It was the most fake and frightening laugh Lyssie has ever heard. "Do you think I want to battle you?"

"Killing me without giving me a chance to defend myself would be unfair," she replied. Draco gave her a terrified look.

"Why would I want to kill you, stupid girl?"

Lyssie looked at her feet. Suddenly, she felt stupid for saying anything. If Voldemort wasn't planning on killing her before, now, he definitely changed his mind.

"If I killed you, I would kill a part of myself, Lysandra," Voldemort said. "You're one of my Horcruxes. I assume that nothing changed and they didn't teach you about them at Hogwarts?"

She though deeply but couldn't recall hearing this word ever before. She shook her head.

"In order to live forever," he started. "A wizard has to divide his soul in parts. Those are then placed inside of the objects of his choice. You may wonder why I wanted to see you, Lyssandra. I need you, you see. Accidently, fifteen years ago, you've become one of my Horcruxes."

At first, Lyssie looked at You-Know-Who in shock. Then, she glanced at Draco to see if he knew about that. He was looking at the floor, so she wasn't able to read anything from his reaction.

"I want you to be on my side," Voldemort continued. "Together, we can achieve great things, believe me."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then, I will have to force you," he gave her an evil smile. "First, by killing this boy." He pointed at Draco, who didn't dare to move. "He seems important to you. But if it won't be enough, then, I will kill this Weasley of yours."

How did he find out about Fred?

"You know I'm able to do it."

She knew.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked through her teeth.

"Let's start easy."

He stood up and walked towards Lyssie. With his hand, he ordered her to get up as well and roll up her left sleeve. As she did, Draco looked at her frightened. She saw that he wanted to stand up and say something, but his father stopped him by grabbing his forearm. She saw Draco frown with pain.

Voldemort took his wand and touched Lyssie's hand with it. She knew exactly what he was doing. She felt burning pain in her arm and started to shake. Voldemort ignored that and pushed the wand harder on her arm. He started casting a spell and a snake appeared on her arm. First, the tail. Then, its body. Finally, the skull right below her inner elbow. Voldemort took his wand back and touched Lyssie's arm with his finger. She felt that the burning sensation is slowly disappearing, but she still felt something on her arm that shouldn't be there.

"Very good," he said.

Lyssie wanted to cry, but she managed to stop herself.

"Now, may I see your wand?"