The Black Prince

Chapter 16

The elite paced nervously, each of them wondering why they had been called so late with the war cry. They nervously clutched their silver masks, knowing that they were going into battle. They turned eagerly to the door, pleased to see Severus and Lucius enter, followed by Remus, Ginevra and Draco.

They knew that their leaders would follow shortly. The war cry was used for nothing short of all out battle and they knew that neither leader would send them out to a true battle without their assistance.

"What is going on? What are we raiding?" Cassandra asked anxiously.

Severus stared at the assembled group for a moment before responding. "Our Prince and our Lord have decided to raid the Ministry—more accurately, the Department of Ministries. Our Prince expressed a desire to have all of the elite accompany them as well as his sister Ginevra and his godfather Remus Lupin."

The elite turned in shock to stare at the two non-elite who had been mentioned. They had long since grown accustomed to Draco joining them in their work and weren’t terribly surprised to discover that Remus was actually their Prince’s godfather, particularly after the way the two acted together. They were all floored by hearing the young Weasley girl referred to as the Prince’s sister.

They were not left with any chance to ask questions though as the Prince and Voldemort entered the room, the temperature immediately sinking from their combined anger and fury.

They walked as one to the front of the room and turned to face those assembled.

"Tonight we attack the Ministry of Magic," Voldemort announced without preamble. "The Ministry and the Order have decided to destroy the Veil at precisely 1.20 am. This will not happen. We will enter the Ministry, kill any who oppose us and collect the Veil to bring back for further study."

A quiet murmur filled the room. "What use has the Veil, my Lord?" Avery asked.

Dorian turned to him in a fury, the magic crackling off of his fingers. "Dare you question Our order, soldier?" he asked softly, his voice betraying his fury.

"No my Prince," Avery rushed to assure him. "I did not mean to be impertinent. Forgive me."

Voldemort glared at Avery, his red eyes narrowing in anger. "You walk a fine line soldier. Do not anger your leaders. Neither of us has the patience for you."

Avery nodded eagerly, his pale face bobbing up and down in panic as he tried to placate his leaders. Typically their questions and concerns were welcome. Evidently this was not such a situation. It was only in the most serious of circumstances that they were required to keep their mouths shut. He felt like a fool for not recognizing this as such earlier. He should have known immediately by the sheer fact that every single elite was present.

Dorian turned his eerie green gaze to Bella. "You will protect my sister," he ordered. "She will stay by my mate’s side for the duration of the evening. It is your duty to protect her so he does not need to do so."

She nodded her understanding and stepped closer to Ginevra, glad that they had spent the afternoon together. She felt a true affinity for the young witch rather than a simple order to protect her. She smiled softly as she felt Rodolphus step closer to her as well, offering both witches his added protection.

Dorian paced for a few moments, his black robes swirling around him sensuously. The elite fought to keep their eyes off of him, knowing that now was definitely not the time to be checking out their leader.

Voldemort continued speaking. "The Veil must be removed by physical means. It is hung as any curtain is hung. You will pair up in groups of four. One will levitate another up to untie any ropes that hold the Veil up that are near them. The other two in the group will provide protection."

Dorian cut in, finally stopping his restless pacing. "All records indicate that the Veil is harmless when it is no longer hung up. Once it has been completely removed it will be safe for you to touch. Ava: your team is in charge of carrying the Veil from the building. Although it is large it is nearly weightless and will collapse into a very small space and should be able to be carried by you alone. Questions?"

"What are we to do with those we come across?" Mancur asked hesitantly.

"Kill them," Dorian said coldly without batting an eye.

"Tonight we make a statement. Tonight we show the world that we will not abide the wholesale destruction of our magical past and our magical relics simply because the Ministry does not understand their purpose and their value. Tonight we defend our very history," Voldemort’s voice rang out coldly.

"Tonight we take back what has been stolen from us. Tonight we move to defend our past in order to protect our future. The Ministry is determined to destroy all that we come from in order to bring about a new World in which we exist peacefully alongside muggles. We are Wizards and Witches and we have reason to take pride in our heritage. All but Nature herself bow to us. We were not made to live as muggles. The Ministry is destroying our past in an attempt to make us forget ourselves but we will not let them!" Dorian’s voice sang triumphantly as the Death Eaters cheered loudly.

"Go and save your culture! Fight for your forefathers, for your children! Fight for yourselves, to protect all that you cherish from the destruction of the Ministry!"

The elite cheered again at Voldemort’s words, heartened by the promise that they held within them. By saving the Veil, a seemingly useless artifact, they would be saving a bit of their past, their culture. They would do this as just respect for their ancestors and in promise for their children.

Just before they apparated they saw their Prince’s features alter themselves slightly, his scar disappearing completely. He grew an additional three inches and his skin became more olive rather than the golden sheen that they were accustomed to, although the unnatural shimmer remained. He still looked like a Black but he was no longer the exact image of what the world believed to be Harry Potter.

No one dared speak a word about this new power. They pulled on their silver half masks, covering their faces from prying eyes while leaving their faces uncovered from the mouth down to facilitate communication and spell casting.

The elite apparated as one to the Ministry, blending in with the shadows immediately.

They fanned out around the two leaders who stood in their center, their eyes glowing and magic pulsing around them as the two magnificently powerful men gathered their full reserves of strength and draped it around themselves.

A foolish Ministry guard raised the cry, announcing their presence to his fellow guards. His life was ended with a swift cutting curse by one of the masked elite. The curse had nearly ripped his head from his soldiers. Death was immediate.

Dorian didn’t bother to differentiate between his soldiers anymore. So long as he could sense his mate and his family near him he didn’t particularly care who did what that night.

The group made their way quickly through the nearly deserted halls, small groups splitting off occasionally to pursue Ministry employees they saw or heard, rejoining the phalanx when their jobs were complete. Bodies began to litter the side halls. Not a single elite had been touched.

They approached the doors to the Chamber of Secrets, Voldemort and Dorian moving as one to the correct door, knowing instantly through a sort of sixth sense where they needed to be. The Veil called to them mentally as though it were a sentient being and aware of what was happening. It too craved survival.

The door opened onto a small group of terrified wizards who were trying desperately to destroy the Veil before the Dark army reached it. When they realized that they did not have the time to utter the proper incantations one foolish wizard attempted to light it on fire, hoping to destroy it before the Dark Army was able to take it.

Dorian’s tremulous hold on his temper snapped and he let loose his power with a scream, watching dispassionately as it swept over the assembled wizards and pulled the life from their bodies where they stood.

The elite watched in shock and horror. Their Prince had just killed nearly twenty men without even using a spell. They each one sent up silent prayers of thanksgiving to the gods that they had chosen the right side in the war.

Dorian turned his eerie gaze onto the assembled soldiers, his impatience and his barely restrained fury clear.

Voldemort spoke for him, knowing that he was seconds away from inflicting a horrendous punishment on their soldiers for their lack of movement. "Move. More guards are coming. The floos have been activated."

The elite didn’t bother to question how he knew this, they simply moved up to the Veil quickly, each group sending a member up with heart stopping speed to begin to untie the Veil. It fell quickly to the ground as the soldiers frantically undid the tight knots, cursing the fact that they could not use magic to loosen the ancient ropes.

The Veil fell fully to the ground with a soft ripple of a sigh as the last rope was untied. Ava quickly reassembled her team to gather the now harmless material. She held it protectively in her arms and took up a station behind her Lord and Prince, knowing that no one less than the leaders themselves would be protecting this remarkable relic.

Just as she got into place and the group was ready to make their way from the room they were alerted to the presence of a small army of guards and Aurors.

Severus took a protective step closer to his pet, fully knowing that he could do little to actually protect the powerful young man but feeling better anyhow knowing that he was close by. Whether Dorian needed it or not, he would do everything in his power to protect him.

He turned slightly when he felt Ginevra press in closer to him, obviously scared. He glanced behind the girl and spotted Bella standing so close to Ginny that they were touching along the entire length of their bodies. He nodded his approval to Bella and patted Ginevra’s hand lightly, the only comfort he would offer her. Everyone’s first true raid got to them in one way or another. He knew that Ginevra was in no danger of switching sides or panicking after the brutality she had seen. Even in her terror she was practically throbbing with energy and pride. The girl was made for the Dark arts.

The Prince and Lord Voldemort reached out their bare hands toward the guards, sending spells quickly and ruthlessly. The elite quickly joined in, using their wands to direct spells at the best of the guards, taking them out as quickly as possible.

One faceless elite dropped, clutching his chest tightly in an attempt to still the slow of blood from a nasty curse that had literally torn the skin from his body. The elite simply stepped around him, offering him the protection of their bodies but not offering to heal him.

Voldemort and Dorian hissed in fury as they realized that one of their own was injured. They moved toward the front of the group, the elite parting before them immediately.

The guards all paled immediately upon seeing whom they faced. "It’s him!" one said in a bare whisper, his words reaching over the entire hall. "It’s You Know Who!"

"Sweet gods," a young man who was barely nineteen said in terror, dropping to his knees. "He’s got the Prince of Hell himself at his side," he said, remembering well the old books his Mother used to read to him before bedtime, stories about the Prince of Hell who would slaughter the just and good and bring about a reign of terror unparalleled to anything the world had ever known.

Dorian smirked evilly at him, his white teeth flashing. The eerie smile remained on his face as he and Voldemort slaughtered the remaining guards ruthlessly, delighting in the screams of terror and the pools of blood that spread further and further throughout the enormous room.

Bodies dropped to the floor covered in boils, bones melted, sculls caved in, throats slashed, intestines were pulled out, hearts crushed. The mutilated corpses could no longer be identified as the bodies were twisted and destroyed beyond recognition.

The guards were no longer able to identify what spells were being used. The two Dark Lords’ repertoire was greater than anything they had ever heard of, much less studied in their Auror school or examinations to take simple guard positions at the Ministry for those who had never qualified to enter Auror schooling.

It was as though they were lambs lined up for slaughter, the Ministry conveniently providing the slaughterhouse and weapons for the Dark Lords. Although the Ministry guards should have had the advantage of being near the single door it instead worked against them as many of them turned their backs to the Dark Lords in an attempt to run away.

Finally, only the young guard who had given him the title of the Prince of Hell was left. He hadn’t found the will to move since he had recognized the new leader for what he really was.

"Thank you for my wonderful introduction," Dorian said with a terrifying kindness, making the guard shudder. "It was sweet of you, really, to do so for me. Here I was all worried about my coming out party. You must do these things properly, you know. Wouldn’t want people to get the wrong idea." He patted the shaking guard on the cheek leaving behind a splatter of blood.

The guard promptly wet himself.

Voldemort’s nose wrinkled at the sight. "Pathetic," he muttered.

Any trace of Dorian’s earlier kindness was wiped from his face. "I am the Black Prince and I have begun my reign. No more will we tolerate the Ministry destroying our past in an effort to cover their misdeeds. The Dark Lord and I will stand firm as we defend that which made us what we are."

"You will deliver this message to the world or you will regret walking out of here with your life," Voldemort said, his red eyes boring into the young man, reading his intentions. He smirked when he realized that the boy was terrified and had absolutely no intention of editing the story at all. Good. Now they would get the word out about his alliance with a Black as well as their creed to defend their culture and way of life.

"Well, I believe we’re done here," Dorian announced cheerfully, kicking a disembodied head aside and chuckling as it bounced off the wall with a solid thunk.

"I do believe we are," Voldemort agreed amiably. "Soldier—do you still carry our artifact?"

"Yes my Lord," Ava answered proudly. She had ignored a large part of the battle in favor of protecting the Veil with her body, shielding it from the blood as well as she could. It appeared to her that she had succeeded.

Dorian turned to Severus and grabbed him tightly, pulling him down for a brutal kiss, biting his lip savagely. He licked at the trickle of blood that escaped, humming in delight at its warm deliciousness.

He reluctantly released Severus and started out of the hall with Voldemort at his side. "Nothing quite like a good battle," he remarked cheerfully.

The guard knelt in a terrified silence while the elite filed out quickly.