The Immeasurable Marauder

Fiendfyre

Darkness enveloped me and the vacuum sucked me in, pushed and pulled me in all directions. I was keenly aware of the hand gripping my shoulder like a vice.

 As always when I apparated, there was an intense pressure like being too deep underwater. After an uncomfortable moment, I felt ground beneath my feet and a cold wind blow life back into me. I looked around trying to fathom where I was. I looked out at a familiar hillside that faded into a dense forest, lit by a half moon, and turned to see the palatial residence that had belonged to my family for generations. It stood stark white against the black sky behind it. If I was a stranger I might have been impressed, but I knew better. 

I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to find inside, no doubt, it wasn't the home I had run from nearly a year ago, but I knew there would be some kind of imprint left by Voldemort. How deep the stain ran was yet to be seen. I wasn't even shocked about our destination; I always knew I would have to come back here again even if I didn't want to admit it to myself. Voldemort stood at my side not speaking, simply looking down at me, his handsome face blank. He was pale, his features sharper than I remembered them. If you could manage to override your consciousness and see past the nefariousness of him, he was attractive and alluring. 

The whites of his eyes were slightly bloodied now in a way they hadn't been when I first met him but I looked back at him unflinching even though I could almost feel his power crackle around him. I knew I was going to die here but instead of filling me with dread as it should have, I felt resolve. I straightened my back, and set my mind to the task at hand. I knew my chances, but I also knew that I had nothing to lose and I would fight like it too. Voldemort did not look away but a small smile tugged at the edge of his mouth.

"If you're going to kill me," I spoke my voice steady and strong, "just do it already."

"Why do you think I want to kill you Yves?" He asked, his voice smooth, amused, "I have other plans for you. Come with me."

I stood still for a moment, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Yves," he began angling his body to face mine, his voice still smooth and calm, "I was not asking. This is not the time to dig your heels in." 

The threat was plain. Behave or else. We walked up the stone steps and into the entrance hall. There was a flickering light shining down one of the passages. Otherwise, the house was dark and silent. The hairs on my arms stood on end. I was completely aware that I had a viper at my back and I was about to walk into something more horrific than I could fathom. My body was telling me to run, adrenalin pulsed through me and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. 

I walked towards the flickering light determinedly despite my body telling me to do the opposite. There were scorch marks running the length of the wall, the opulent wallpaper warped and peeling. I ducked into the room with the flickering light, Voldemort at my back and stood stock still for a moment taking in the scene. 

On the drawing room table, there were a few pathetically flickering candles but I didn't need more light to see what was happening here. The room looked as though it had been ransacked, chairs lay on their sides, cushions strewn carelessly, curtains were torn exposing the grounds and the figure like trees lurking on the boundary looked more ominous than they ever had before. The portraits hung torn, skew on the blood-smeared walls, glass littered the floor, and there was a strong smell of alcohol and something else, something metallic. My mother and father were suspended in the air as though hung from hooks, their bodies limp, black bruises covered their faces, arms and legs, their clothes were ripped and bloodied but their chests rose and fell almost imperceptibly. 

They were still alive for now...In a chair looking out the window was Alec. He looked emaciated, pale and haggard, quite unlike the handsome young man I used to know and much less than the man I had seen at the New Years Party. His eyes widened with surprise when he saw me but he gave an awkward bow, lowering his head but his eyes watched Voldemort.