Heart Scars

Forty

Adhara apparated to Lestrange manor just after 10:00. She walked through the gates, her dark robe trailing behind her.

Narcissa was there to open the door. She went to throw her arms around Adhara, but she held up a hand to stop her.

"I need to see the Dark Lord." Her voice was cold, emotionless. It was practiced, it was the voice of a girl—no, no longer a girl. A woman. Adhara wasn't a girl anymore, she wasn't the child she used to be. Her voice was that of a woman who had been left for dead by people who were supposed to be her allies, people who she had once called family.

Narcissa led her to the dining room, where a meeting was taking place. The death eaters looked up at her in shock, their eyes wide.

"Miss Black." Even the Dark Lord was surprised to see her. She let her eyes scan over the table, to Amycus, who was sitting in her seat. She quickly whipped out her wand, and blasted him backwards. Alecto stood, her wand in hand. Adhara disarmed her with an eye roll and a flick of her wrist.

"They told us you were dead." Severus's voice was raspy, and his eyes were bloodshot. He thought she was dead. He thought Lily was dead. He thought he had lost his two best friends, and he blamed himself for both. But he didn't know yet that the muggleborn girl still lived.

"They're fools. Weak. Undeserving of the dark mark, undeserving to be in the presence of the Dark Lord." She says coldly, her eyes scanning over Amycus, who had not yet risen from the floor.

"Tell us what has happened." Bellatrix orders, her voice a low hiss. There was something in her eyes, something like pride.

"We went to the house; Amycus killed the father, I killed the mother. The girl ran, I chased after her. The ceiling fell in. Amycus and Alecto did not attempt to help me track the girl; they instead set the house on fire and left me to die. They abandoned the mission." She snaps, her eyes burning into Alecto, who was staring at the ground in shame. Alecto. The girl who she had once considered a sister. Alecto, who used to do her hair and talk about boys with her. Alecto had just left her for dead.

"The mudblood wasn't in the house." She says gently, and Severus's eyes snap to look at her.

"Not in the house?" The Dark Lord's voice is a hiss, an angry one at that. He had failed. His one goal had been to assassinate the popular mudblood who openly opposed him. And even worse, the girls sister had escaped.

"No. I was pulled out of the fire by members of the order. I was taken to the Potter house, where the girl was staying." She says quietly. She could feel his anger, his dark magic bubbling to the surface.

"Crucio!" He screams, and Adhara is not surprised when Amycus begins to let out pained yells. She stands still, watching as he writhes in pain and Alecto's eyes fill with tears for her twin.

"Miss Black." Voldemort turns to her as he lets up the curse. Amycus whimpers from his spot on the ground, and Alecto rushes to his side. Their father watches them from the table, disappointment clear on his face. They had failed their first mission, and would forever look weak in the eyes of the Dark Lord.

"Yes, my Lord." She turns on him, her eyes stony and her face blank. Her mind was locked away, but her heart pounded in her chest.

"Who saved you from the fire?"

The question scared her. She couldn't say it was Regulus; he was supposed to be at school.

"Dumbledore, the mudblood, and James Potter." She says, not exactly a lie.

"And why would they save you?" His voice was angry, suspicious. He suspected she was defecting. Her insides twist and her heart plummets into her stomach. This was it. They should have left her dead in that fire because it would be so much sweeter than whatever fate he would condemn her to.