The Dark Lord's Pet Princess

71. Wandless

Being wandless meant that Larissa could now sympathise with Lucius Malfoy, whom she had never cared much for in the past.
She was just glad that her wand was still in one piece and there was a chance she would get it back. But poor Lucius's wand had shattered during the battle of the 7 Potters, so he was never getting that back.
Since Larissa was unable to leave the grounds without her wand, she began spending time with the other person in the manor who was just as miserable as her; Peter Pettigrew.
Everyone treated him like a worthless slave, and called him Wormtail, reminding him of the friends he betrayed. Larissa was the only one who called him Peter.

"It's a pretty sunset" commented Larissa one evening.
Her and Peter were sat on the floor of one of the balconys, looking at the view, and staying away from the other death eaters in the building.
"Yeah, it is" agreed Peter.
"Although we have seen an awful lot of sunsets, since we've been here a very long time" sighed Larissa.
"You've been here longer than me, because I lived with Severus for a while"
"True. I can't imagine that was very pleasant for you, living with Severus, not that life here is much better"
"At least here I don't have to spend time with Severus, who openly hates me for the way me and the Marauders treated him at school".

A cold winter breeze hit the pair, but neither flinched or made any attempt to go back inside.
Larissa and Peter were used to being uncomfortable, as they led awful lives, and if they went back inside they would have to associate with the other death eaters.
"Did I ever say sorry?" Asked Larissa suddenly.
Peter frowned, "Say sorry for what?".
"Getting you into this mess. I'm the one who brought you over to this side of the war all those years ago" reminded Larissa.
"You don't have to apologise for that. You didn't force me to join you, I made my choice".

"But I manipulated you on the dark lord's orders. I played you, so that you would want to join us. Sure, the dark lord would probably still have recruited you without me, but I'm the one who did such a good job at convincing you to become our spy. Maybe if I hadn't, we wouldn't be standing here today, because you never would have betrayed the Potter's" admitted Larissa, saying the dark lord instead of Voldemort, so that she didn't frighten or upset Peter.
"There's no point dwelling on the past. We both did things we regret, but there's no going back now. We have to live with the choices we made" sighed Peter.
"Still, I strung you along, and flirted with you, keeping my real relationship with the dark lord, a secret. So, I'm sorry for doing that" apologised Larissa.

"You don't need to say sorry. But apology accepted anyway" informed Peter.
"Thank you. Your forgiveness means a lot" replied Larissa.
"You were just following the dark lord's orders, so it wasn't your fault. He would have killed you if you'd disobeyed him" reminded Peter.
"Yes, he probably would have done back then, because I didn't mean as much to him as I do now"
"I'm glad you're not dead. You're the only person who is nice to me"
"I'm only kind to you now, because I'm wandless and in the dark lord's bad books. I only sought out your companionship because I was lonely. That's the kind of selfish terrible person I am".

Peter shook his head, "No, you're not a bad person. You were kind to me before you had your wand taken away, when no one else was. You have always called me Peter, and you've never ordered me around or treated me as a slave, like everyone else does. It's I who should be thanking you for treating me like an actual human being".
"You shouldn't thank me for I am not a good person" insisted Larissa.
"None of us are good people, but you're definitely the best one here" replied Peter.
"That's not saying much, since the rest of the people who live here are psychotic murderers. But thanks for trying to make me feel better"
"You're welcome".

Once the sun had fully set, the pair were sitting in darkness, but still neither of them made any attempt to go back in side.
"The dark lord will forgive you, you know. He cares a lot about you" informed Peter.
Larissa scoffed, "No he doesn't. I think I pushed my luck too far this time. He came really close to killing me. And I'm lucky not be sitting in the dungeon with Ollivander right now".
"I don't think he could ever kill you" admitted Peter.
"I used to think that, but now I'm not quite sure. He doesn't really need me, since he has other ways of keeping himself alive without me. I'm not as important to him as I used to think" replied Larissa.

"You and him were alone together for 14 years. You share an unbreakable bond, so I don't think the dark lord could really kill you" admitted Peter.
"I hope you're right. But to be honest I don't really care if I live or die, since my life is a miserable existence" sighed Larissa.
"When you get your wand back you will be a lot happier" insisted Peter.
"Maybe. But I wasn't that happy here even with my wand. However, once I have it back I will be able to get out of this place again, which should improve my mood".

"I wish I could leave this place from time to time. You're lucky to have that kind of freedom" Peter said quietly.
"Yeah, I suppose I am" agreed Larissa.
The sound of hissing made Larissa spin around and come face to face with someone she despised.
"What do you want Nagini?" Asked Larissa, using Parseltongue to communicate with the snake.
"Master wants the worm to start making dinner. He is hungry" answered Nagini.

Larissa groaned and stood to her feet.
"The dark lord wants you to make dinner" she told Peter.
Peter jumped to his feet and headed inside before making his way down to the kitchen.
Without a house-elf, everyone at the manor treated Peter like a slave, and although Larissa hated it, she knew there was no way of stopping it.