The Clockwork Locket || SIRIUS BLACK

The Visitor

The man with the red eyes smiled at them—a serpent believing itself to be charming when it just came off as hungry.

Cassie's knees knocked together, her whole body going numb.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The Dark Lord. Standing in front of her fireplace, hands clasped behind his back and looking as if he were the true owner of Alderfair Manor.

"Please." Cassie shivered when he spoke, his voice high and cold to her ears, like the biting wind that struck at you if you were standing on the peak of a tall mountain, waiting for it to rip you from the top and throw you back to the ground. He gestured with a pale hand to everyone in the room. "Sit."

The assembled Death Eaters and Alderfairs sank into seats around the room, angling themselves so they could see the Dark Lord from where he still stood in front of the hearth. Cassie nearly collapsed onto the small sofa with her father and mother, her heart pounding. Her hands were trembling, and she shoved them between her knees to hide them, her throat parched as she took in the people around her, looking everywhere but to the fire.

Directly across from her sat a young couple, their hands entwined and their platinum hair gleaming in the light of the room. She recognized the man—who was only a few years older than Will—as Lucius Malfoy, who had been a fifth-year and a prefect when Cassie first started Hogwarts. She'd been terrified of him her first three years of school, for his status of being the strictest and most power-hungry prefect had made him reputable amongst all the houses. A delicate woman sat next to him, and though Cassie didn't remember seeing her at Hogwarts at all, her features were distinctly familiar, yet she couldn't quite place them on her face.

Her eyes traveled next to another man and woman, the man displaying a narrow face and pointed chin, with a gleam in his black eyes that made her look away hastily, her stomach churning. The woman next to him was darkness incarnate: wild black curls piled messily around her head and shoulders, and heavy-lidded eyes that seemed able to penetrate even the deepest of shadows. She was terrifying, to say the least, with an aura of smug arrogance that seemed to roll off her in waves, and Cassie started when she realized that her demeanor remarkably resembled that of the Blacks, meaning that the woman had to be Bellatrix Black—or, Lestrange, if the man next to her was her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange.

The rest of the people gathered were younger adults, and though she had a nagging suspicion that she knew some of them, she couldn't remember their names or faces—or perhaps her fear was making her memory cloudy. They all bore the same disposition, however; one of arrogance, and eagerness, and a blind loyalty that shone in their eyes as they gazed to the Dark Lord, their faces basked in the golden glow of the flames. They were his followers, and Will's comrades, she realized. Killers and torturers, their beliefs rooted in supremacy and elitism, and they were all sitting in her drawing room as if they had gathered for afternoon tea.

"Before we begin, I would like for us to extend our gratitude to the Alderfair family for allowing us to take residence in their home for the evening," You-Know-Who said, nodding to the three Alderfairs seated on the couch. Cassie could feel everyone's eyes swivel to them, murmurs of thanks passing around the room.

"As most of you know, the Alderfair family has been around for generations," he continued. Cassie kept her eyes trained on her feet, fighting the urge to flee. "Wealthy, esteemed, and not a drop of Muggle blood to taint the roots of their purity—an unfortunately rare condition in our society today."

A ripple of agreement swept through the crowd. Cassie's eyes darted to where Will stood by the liquor cabinet in the room, swirling some amber liquid in a crystal goblet. The square of his jaw was thrown into deep contrast, his face shadowed and hollow in the firelight, making his eyes disappear into his skull. He appeared not to be listening, but she could tell he was deep in thought, his mouth pulled into a frown as he mulled over his drink.