The Eagle and The Snake: A Tragic Love Story

72. A Guilty Conscience

Carly and the others apparated straight to Malfoy Manor, after they collected their belongings from the shack, where Voldemort was waiting for them.
Snape and Bellatrix recited all the events of the night to Voldemort, while Carly, Luna, and Draco just stood in silence.
One of his death eaters had been killed, but Voldemort seemed to think that was worth it, to have Dumbledore gone for good.
Carly still couldn't quite believe that she had killed Dumbledore, right in front of Harry.
Her own brother now hated her and possibly wanted her dead, which was a hard thing for her to come to terms with.
She knew she should feel more guilty about killing an unarmed man. But she assumed that the full weight of her actions wouldn't hit her until later.

"So, the children were successful in their missions?" Questioned Voldemort.
"Yes, my lord" answered Bellatrix, who had to restrain herself from jumping up and down in excitement.
Carly felt like being referred to as a child, was a little demeaning, especially as Draco was about to turn 17.
And after killing several people, Carly certainly didn't feel like a child anymore. She'd lost her childhood innocence the moment she'd gone to Hogwarts and discovered that the world despised her.

"Draco fixed the Vanishing Cabinet and lured the old man to the Astronomy tower, before disarming him and allowing Carly to deliver the final blow. Together, they put an end to the great Albus Dumbledore" continued Bellatrix.
"They have all done exceptionally well" agreed Voldemort.
"I told you that you could count on them. I knew you'd be pleased with their performances tonight" replied Bellatrix.
"I am. Tonight, we celebrate the death of the biggest thorn in our side; Albus Dumbledore! No more, will people call him the only person I have ever feared. No, from now on, the world will know that I have no fear, and that Lord Voldemort cannot be challenged".

"Does this mean you will be taking over the world soon, my lord?" Asked Carly, hopefully.
"Don't you worry child, I will have overthrown the Ministry by September, so that the three of you  can return to Hogwarts, without being arrested for murder" answered Voldemort.
"Thank you, my lord" replied Carly.
"Not only will I be true to my word  and change the law that you so despise. Tomorrow, I shall break my death eaters out of jail, for I think they have been punished enough. And we shall throw a huge party, that will make the rest of the world tremble with fear. Then, with my army back to full force, I will be strong enough to take on the Ministry".

"You're breaking my father out of Azkaban, tomorrow?" Questioned Draco.
"Yes, Mr Malfoy. For your success tonight, you will soon be reunited with your failure of a father. I shall bring him and his fellow death eaters back here to the manor, in your honour" promised Voldemort.
"I will forever be in your debt, for returning my father to me" replied Draco.

"Good... However, since you weren't able to complete your mission without help, I will be keeping a close eye on you this summer. It seems clear to me that you aren't able to use Unforgivable Curses, like your cousin and her lover. As you were unable to kill Dumbledore tonight. So, I will have you work for me over the holidays, to ensure that you can use the Cruciatus Curse, and the Killing Curse, with ease" informed Voldemort.
"I will do whatever it takes to please you, my lord" mumbled Draco.

****

Once they had been dismissed, the three of them headed upstairs to unpack their belongings into their rooms.
And despite the hour, Luna still made her way to Carly's room, once she had finished unpacking, to check on her friend.
She entered Carly's room and found her lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Are you O.K?" Whispered Luna, as she climbed under the covers into Carly's bed, and placed her arm around her.
"I could have lost you tonight. One of the death eaters named Gibbon died. And that could have been you" Carly said nervously, as she placed her hand on Luna's face.

"I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me. I wasn't in any real danger, and neither were you" insisted Luna.
"A death eater died, and the dark lord does not seem to care... I guess I didn't realise just how disposable we are to him. If we died, he wouldn't even bat an eyelid" mumbled Carly, as she lowered her hand, and rested her head onto Luna's chest.
"I think he is just very excited that Dumbledore is finally dead, to think about anything else. He will mourn Gibbon in his own time, when he's alone"
"I don't think that the dark lord has ever mourned anyone, in his entire life".

"Carls, is the way you are feeling, really about the dark lord? Are you sure you're not mad or upset about something else?" Quizzed Luna.
"I don't know... Maybe, maybe not... There is something worse than the dark lord's lack of empathy, and that's my brother... I can't get Harry out of my head. The way he looked at me, and shouted at me, calling me a traitor... It's worse than anything he's ever done or said to me before" admitted Carly.

"I know it hurts. But we both knew that by joining Draco tonight, we would end up exposing ourselves as death eaters. You knew that Harry was going to find out the truth" Luna said softly.
"Yes, but I didn't expect him to be in the tower, presumably under the Invisibility Cloak, as I committed murder. I did not want him to find out that way" sighed Carly.
"No, that wasn't the best way for him to learn the truth. But at least you didn't have to have an awkward conversation with him about it, where you revealed to him that we are death eaters. And he just cried and shouted at you for ages... Maybe him just seeing us with the death eaters, was the easiest option for everyone" replied Luna.

"Nym was there tonight too. Fighting in the tower, alongside the rest of the Order. And she had no idea that I was a death eater... I didn't see her, as there was chaos all around us, but I heard someone call out her name. I could sense her watching me, as we emerged from the top of the tower, but I didn't dare turn around to face her. I couldn't bare to see the shock and hurt on her face. So, I just kept on running, like a coward" revealed Carly.
"You are no coward" insisted Luna.
Carly carried on, as if she hadn't heard her, "Nym will be heartbroken when she puts all the pieces together. Especially when she tells Andy what she's learned, and finds out that her own mother knew about me all along. And if she was fatally injured tonight, I will never forgive myself, for doing that to the person I once called my sister".

"Bella said that there were no fatalities in the Order, aside from Dumbledore. So, I'm sure that Nymphadora is fine... But remember, you haven't had any contact with Nymphadora since Andy kicked you out. You lost them both at the same time. And if Nymphadora really loved you, she would have found a way to see you, behind her mothers back... Dwelling on what they now think of you, will do you no good. You have to think about the future, and what is to come next. The dark lord has promised to take over the wizarding world before September, and that's only a few months away. Very soon, we won't have to hide who we really are anymore. And this, will be completely normal" said Luna, as she hugged Carly tight.
"We will never be normal. Even if our love is legalised, we will still always be killers" mumbled Carly.

"Yes, but the sacrifice of our souls and morals, will pave the way for other little girls and boys to be able to love who they want, without prejudice and discrimination. We're not just doing this for us, but for all the other people like us, who also want their love to be made legal... And if we have to kill a few people to get the law changed, then I'm O.K with that" informed Luna.
"It was me that had to kill Dumbledore, not you" reminded Carly.
"You didn't have to do that. Draco or I could have done it instead. Or, you could have just allowed Snape to kill Dumbledore, as he intended to do" replied Luna.

"I didn't want Snape to get the credit for all our hard work. And we both knew that Draco could not have killed Dumbledore. He didn't have it in him. Draco was lowering his wand, before the others arrived. I didn't want anyone to think he was too weak to do it, which is why I stepped in. If Snape had killed Dumbledore, people would have thought that we were incapable of doing so. Which is why I had to do it. To protect all of us... But you're right. If killing Dumbledore is the price I have to pay, to get us the world we want, then it's one that I will gladly pay, over and over again. To sacrifice one life, for our future, will be worth it in the end. And when we are living in paradise, my Atlantis, I will no longer feel guilty about killing Albus Dumbledore" admitted Carly.