Power ▸ Ron Weasley [1]

XXXII. ANATOMY OF A FAMILY DOWNFALL

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO:

ANATOMY OF A FAMILY DOWNFALL

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      Nova could do nothing but stare silently as the Death Eaters surrounded them. They were covered in their normal garb, that of black robes and an aura of fear and destruction. Nova had never seen her father in the ceremonial black costume he and his fellow Death Eaters seemed to wear, but it didn't make him look any less frightening. If anything, the black contrasted starkly with his pale skin and made him seem even more nefarious. 

      "To me, Potter," Lucius Malfoy instructed, holding out his hand with the palm up. Nova's lips trembled, for once at a loss of what to do. If there was one thing she was certain of, it was that she wasn't getting out of this scenario alive. She knew what kind of magic her father could pull off. Would a few measly lessons with the D.A. possibly be enough to save her life if her father decided he wanted her dead? Nova wasn't sure. 

      But she would try. For Theo, she would do anything.

      "To me," Malfoy repeated, his drawling voice sounding so much like his son's in that moment that Nova shivered. 

      "Where's Sirius?" Harry asked, suddenly regaining the power of speech. Nova heard the guffaw of her father from somewhere behind Lucius, the same cold and cruel laugh she had heard all her life. The same laugh he had used when she had finally learned Occlumency and had been on the floor in pain, screaming at him and begging for it to be over. He had laughed at her then, in the same laugh he was using now. She despised the sound of it.

      "The Dark Lord always knows!" She heard her godmother's voice announce triumphantly. 

      "Always," Malfoy answered, his voice soft as if Harry was a baby deer they didn't want to scare away. "Now, give me the prophecy, Potter."

      "I want to know where Sirius is!"

      "I want to know where Sirius is," Bellatrix mocked. She was close enough to Nova now to reach out and twirl a lock of Nova's hair around her fingers. "I bet you didn't fall for that, eh Konstantinova? I bet you were smarter than all of them." Ron stirred beside her, ready to defend her if needed, but Nova squeezed his hand tighter to try and let him know that pissing Bellatrix off was not the best course of action at that particular moment. "You had so much... potential," Bellatrix continued. "So much wasted."

      "Wasted? Would you have me as one of you? A Death Eater?" Bellatrix sneered and gave Nova her answer. "Be honest, Aunt Bella. You didn't want me. You never trusted me. But you knew you needed me to get to Theo. Did you have to promise him my protection?"

      Bellatrix simply sneered again, but didn't answer. A tell that Nova's words were correct. Nova felt like some of the weight from her shoulders was lifted. Theo had joined the Death Eaters in the promise that Nova would remain safe. She didn't know if his promise would ring true if a fight did break out at that very moment, but previously, his intentions had been the same as Nova's herself. Keep their twin safe.