illicit affairs || lemongrab x small saverus

Chapter Eight - Nothing Else Matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

Today was the day.
Saverus stood nervously outside of The Three Broomsticks, waiting for Lucius Malfoy to come and apparate him to Malfoy Manor.

He'd done a lot of thinking about this day, just like Lily had suggested. He'd come to the conclusion that she was right, something big was coming - Sav had known that all along - but Saverus had to play his cards right. If this side was the victor (which was where things looked to be heading) then Sav would do well to join them. It wasn't completely against his beliefs -in fact, it agreed with them quite nicely. Just because he was a bit scared of them didn't mean he couldn't use them to his advantage.

Crack
Lucius Malfoy appeared 2 meters in front of him.

"Ah, good. You're here. Let's get going then, might as well make it a quick turnaround." Malfoy held out his arm for Small Saverus to take. Saverus did so.

Seconds later they were standing at the gates to Malfoy Manor. Saverus needed a moment to catch his breath after apparating, but they soon headed inside - Saverus keeping his head held high.

Malfoy knocked on the great wooden doors, and a woman Saverus recognised as Narcissa Malfoy opened the door. She was only a few years older than he was.

The walk inside was one of the most daunting moments of Saverus's entire life. The walls were made of black tiles, lined with lanterns that were lit with green flames. Luckily, the Grand Foyer was one of the first rooms in the house so he didn't have to walk far.

In the foyer, Saverus was faced with 6 chairs, 4 of which were occupied. He was instructed to sit in the chair second from the left, so he did.
Most of the other chair sitters looked just as terrified as he did, and Saverus figured they were there for the same reason. They waited in silence for what felt like 7 minutes before they were joined by another... Saverus recognised this kid from school. Barty Crouch Jr, he was in the year below Sav and his father was a politician who famously backed the other side.

Crouch sat down in the empty chair next to Small Saverus, and the moment he did so, a rumble echoed through the foyer. Saverus held his breath as the noise came closer and closer until

Bang.

The doors flung open. Nobody seemed to be standing there at first, but after a couple of seconds Saverus saw a tall, dark haired man walk through. He seemed to command the room, Sav knew instantly who this was.

He was wearing this:

"You." The man commanded, pointing at the girl next to Small Saverus and then moving his finger to indicate she should move towards him.

The girl stood up, confidently and took a few steps towards the man. She looked completely prepared and fearless - the opposite of how Small Saverus felt - but Sav could see that her hands were shaking.

"Hold out your arm." The man stated.
The girl looked as if she had been expecting this, and held her arm out, eagerly.

The man took out his wand and placed it on the inside of her wrist. He dug it into her skin and moved it around, as if he were trying to scrape it to draw a picture. She winced. While there were no scratch marks, a picture did seem to be appearing on her skin. First there were just a few spots of black, but these spots twisted and extended until they formed a mark. Saverus had seen this mark before. It was known in the Wizarding World as "The Dark Mark". It had appeared in the sky over almost every sight where muggles had been murdered. Saverus knew their articles in the paper had referenced these attacks, but Saverus never thought they were responsible.

The man pulled his wand away, and the girl sighed in relief, as if she had been holding her breath the whole time.

The man spoke again. "Miss Alecto Carrow earned this mark. She proved her worth."

'Miss Alecto Carrow' looked like she was going to pass out from the pain.

"Now you must do the same," he went on. "Prove your loyalty to me. Prove your loyalty to this organisation. We wish only to help you, but we cannot do so until you help us."

The two men standing by the door didn't look like they wanted to help Saverus, they looked like they'd strangle him if he tried to run.

"There are a group who have wronged us, a muggle family with a mudblood daughter posing as a witch. They have been attempting to stop us, to hurt us. We need them gone."

Saverus froze.

"We need them dead."

***

Saverus had received crystal clear instructions from the man he now knew as Lord Voldemort. An address, a wand that could not be traced back to him, and a hit list. There were 5 of them and 5 targets. Barty Crouch had been told to kill the family's youngest daughter; Saverus tried to ignore how pale Barty looked. They had been told that the "mudblood witch imposter" was not home, so she wasn't included in the tally of 5. Just 5 muggles.. how could 5 muggles be threatening to take down a wizard organisation? Saverus tried not to think about it too hard, it made him feel sick.

The five of them apparated outside the house and stood waiting for the signal. Once it was given they unlocked the door with Alohomora and ran inside. Saverus grabbed the mother as he had been instructed, another boy grabbed the father and two others the grandparents, but Barty Crouch had nobody to grab... the daughter was nowhere to be found. Barty threatened the parents as best he could to tell them where she was, but they refused. Saverus realised Barty was in hot water here and used the Cruciatus Curse on the woman he was holding, screaming at her to tell him the location of the child while she screamed in agony just as loudly.

"Mommy?" Came a scared voice from upstairs. Saverus had stopped using the curse, but somehow the woman was screaming even louder now having seen her child's location compromised. Saverus wanted desperately to offer her mercy and killed her right that second. A flash of green and she was on the floor.

Barty wrapped bonds around the poor child and pulled her towards him. He used these bonds to push her against the wall and keep her trapped, no matter how much she cried and kicked and screamed. The other group members followed Small Saverus's lead and killed the others, but Barty's wand was shaking. He couldn't bring himself to kill a kid. Saverus stood behind him, white as stone. Saverus couldn't bear the idea of watching a child die, but he knew the act would torture Barty into insanity. Saverus was stronger.

"Give me your wand." Saverus requested.

"What?" Barty whispered, his whole body shaking.

Saverus grabbed the wand and the bonds fell instantly... but it didn't matter. Small Saverus could cast a spell faster than a 7 year old girl could get to her feet and run.

A flash of green.

Silence.

***

Barty and Saverus returned to Hogsmede together, newly bonded by the experience. They both wore long sleeves to hide the black skull and snake tattoo on their wrists. They walked back in silence, not daring to acknowledge the scene they had left behind. When they got out of the village, Saverus ran into the forest and hid behind a tree. Barty didn't follow him and pretended not to hear the sobs that followed. In turn, Saverus pretended not to notice how bloodshot Barty's eyes were when he returned.

They must have deserved it. Saverus couldn't have... he wouldn't.
They told everybody Barty did it, anyway.
Barty killed the innocent seven year old girl.
Saverus would never kill somebody who didn't deserve it. He killed the mother. She deserved it.

For what? Did they ever tell you why?

She just did. She had to.

A/N: sorry for two heavy chapters in a row, the next chapter will be much lighter to make up for it, some nice Lemongrab x Sirius fluff :)