Line Between Nightmare and Dream

Samantha sat with Lana in a small café sipping tea on a busy shopping strip

“So I didn’t realize you and Sara White were back on good terms” Samantha began

“We aren’t” Lana said crinkling her nose

“Oh, I just saw Amycus talking to her at the Opera House and thought things had been smoothed over” Samantha replied

“No things are still very much rough with her” Lana clarified

“and Beth Valrau?” Samantha knew that would start a fire

“Why in the world would you think I would make amends with Beth Vag-Raw?” Lana sneered

“Amycus took her to the wine tasting at our family vineyard last month” Samantha said

“No he didn’t. He was in Italy last month that’s why we didn’t attend” Lana clarified

“He was defiantly there. He bought an entire case of the seasons Sauvignon Blanc” Samantha was enjoying this immensely

Lana’s heart sank. She had noticed the addition to the wine cellar. She tried to remember Amycus’ exact words when he explained the trip and the wine.

“And I’m sure he showed up with Beth because they made a fuss when their rooms were in opposite wings” Samantha had to hide her smile behind her glass

Lana’s brows furrowed as she tried to remember back a month. It didn’t seem possible. Amycus owed her everything he had, his business, and his freedom were all due to her connections. She couldn’t imagine Amycus cheating.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to upset you. Let’s talk about the Opera. Don’t you think the tenors were a bit off?” Samantha said

“I thought they sounded fine” Lana was gone she was not in this room anymore.

“Lana it’s probably nothing. Amycus is probably trying to be nice” Samantha suggested

“Did they get rooms in the same wing?” Lana asked

“Well yeah you know Beth, she always gets what she wants” Samantha laughed

“How could you do that you know my husband has a history with her!” Lana yelled

“It wasn’t my decision! My father made all the arrangements and Amycus is an important business partner” Samantha defended

“And you waited until now to tell me!” Lana was quickly turning purple

“I thought you were taking the high road, or making a fair trade” Samantha said

“Trade?” Lana asked

“It’s a new age, and it’s certainly not unheard of for a woman to have a kept man” Samantha smiled

Lana took in a quick breath and tried to look appalled “No! there was no trade”

“Well maybe there should be” Samantha replied

She could see her work was done. Lana’s wheels were turning. All it would take is a few more pieces of evidence like the wine and Amycus wouldn’t know what hit him. Samantha enjoyed the rest of her tea watching Lana panic.

Meanwhile Amycus was running around his house collecting books and items for Jon to look at when he showed up.

There was a knock at the front door and Amycus waited for the added whistle to tell him it was Jon and not the Ministry. He relaxed with a sigh when it came quickly after the knock.

“Welcome Welcome! Thank you for coming! Please come in” Amycus said breathlessly

“Do you have everything gathered” Jon asked trying to sound uninterested. He had to make Amycus think this was an annoyance to him.

“Yes they’re in the den” Amycus escorted Jon into a nearby room

Jon had to catch his breath when he saw the display before him. A good 40 books and three boxes no bigger than a wand case sat on a table. Jon looked over the titles of the books slowly then moved to open the boxes.

“Don’t open them all at once” Amycus warned

“What’s in them?” Jon asked

“Souls. Mother, Father, and son” Amycus answered and pointed to each box as he mentioned who’s soul was in them.

Jon tried not to look horrified “What use do they have?”

“Spirits can go places and do things the living can not. If you posses the other two souls the one you release will do your bidding. They are kept here by each other; they won’t leave without the other two. So if you open all three at the same time you’ll lose them.” Amycus explained

“Who are they?” Jon ventured

“Does it matter!!!! The father has brute strength, the mother is a wicked curse caster, and the son can open any lock. That’s all you need to know” Amycus yelled

“No need to yell, I’m just trying to decide if I’m interested” Jon snapped back “Why don’t you just release the souls, instead of selling?”

“The art of capturing souls is almost lost. That would be like destroying an original work of DaVinci” Amycus said calmly

Jon ran his eyes over the books again and made a few calculations in his mind. He cut his estimate in half then rounded down to the nearest 100 and made his offer.

“WHAT!!! Do you know what these books contain!!” Amycus yelled

“Yes and I know the Ministry would love to see them” Jon answered moving to the door

“Wait! Ok fine” Amycus couldn’t say no. Any minute he could have the entire Auror force at his door.

Jon quickly packed the books and cases into a bag and handed Amycus a fist full of money.

“Pleasure doing business with you” Jon smirked and saw himself out the door

Amycus was furious. He had just given away his most prized possessions for a paupers pay. On top of that he had no guarantee he could get them back. He wished he could have gotten his wife’s help but she wasn’t answering his summons’. All he could do now was wait for the Ministry.

He didn’t have to wait long. There was a loud knock that nearly broke the door down. Amycus checked the den and his suit and walked slowly to the door.

“Mr. Potter! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit” Amycus smiled

Harry held up a piece of paper in Amycus’ face “I’m here to search your house for illegal objects” Harry said in a monotone voice

“Oh dear. Well come in” Amycus tried to sound surprised but his voice cracked “Can I get you something to drink?”

“No thank you. If you could just wait in the dinning room while I search” Harry replied

Harry waited till Amycus was in the other room before he pulled out a small compass from his pocket. The device was found in the possession of a death eater after the war and it pointed to any dark arts objects in a 100 foot radius. Harry walked around the house for awhile casting revealing charms as he went. As he walked into the den he got a strong pull but there wasn’t anything there. He shook his head. He figured the compass was picking up remnants of objects that had been there recently. He was too late. He pulled a book off the shelves. It was the defense against the dark arts book the Carrows used when they taught at Hogwarts.

“Mr. Carrows what is this?” Harry asked and pushed the book into his hands

“A text book” Amycus answered with shaking hands

“It explains how to cast very dangerous curses in very specific detail” Harry pointed out

“I think you would be surprised how many people have this book. I believe even Mr. Longbottom owns a copy” Carrows said

“Only because you forced him to buy it” Harry growled

“It’s a TEXTBOOK” Amycus said again through gritted teeth

“Mr. Carrows I know you had something in that den. I will find out what it was” Harry warned as he left.

Amycus swallowed hard and whipped the sweat from his forehead. He was just settling down when he heard the door slam and shoes stomping very loudly towards him.

“WHERE DID YOU GET THE SAUVIGNON BLANC?” Lana screamed

“What?” Amycus was seeing stars she flew at him so quickly

“The 20 or so bottles of Sauvignon Blanc that appeared in out wine cellar last month” Lana replied

“From the wine tasting in the country” Amycus answered

“We didn’t go last month” Lana pointed out

Amycus froze, he forgot he had taken Beth this last month. He tried to think quickly but the excitement of the day had left him uneasy. Lana’s eyes got wider and wider with every second Amycus delayed

“I must have had it sent back” Amycus ventured

“Samantha saw you with Beth” Lana said

“SAMANTHA! You can’t believe a word she says. She’s still bitter I married you and not her” Amycus replied

“Samantha has been a good friend to me and never showed a bit of jealousy. What were you doing with Beth?” Lana asked

“Nothing! And Samantha has probably been hanging around waiting to step between us” Amycus said

“I’m sure she’s endured pretending to be a friend to me just to ruin our marriage” Lana said sarcastically

“She’s probably even the one who called the Ministry” Amycus realized

“What about the Ministry?” Lana asked

“Oh you just missed Mr. Wonder Boy himself. He just stopped by to check out a tip he received that I was holding dark art paraphernalia” Amycus replied

“Did he find anything!!!” Lana said horrified

“No I sold it all” Amycus replied in a grumble

“YOU HAD SOMETHING HERE BEFORE?” Lana yelled

“Of course I did I was a DEATH EATER!!” Amycus snapped back

“I don’t think I know you as well as I thought” Lana said shocked and walked out of the room

Amycus didn’t have the energy to follow her. He would let her settle down while he re-gathered his nerve.


While all hell broke out in the Carrow household Lucius was busy with his third attack. He had a foot in the door to ruin Amycus’ personal life and freedom, but the thing he knew would blow the lid off everything was his business.

Amycus made money investing other people’s money. Unfortunately for Amycus his biggest clients were either close friends of Lucius’ or people with no sympathies to death eaters.

The calls to his friends were easy. All Lucius had to do was ask his friends to pull their money out of Amycus’ investments, with a few promises on the side. With the others Lucius made sure the rumor about the raid was spreading. His hope was that as more and more people realized Amycus could still have dark arts ties they would pull their investments. It would only be a matter of time and waiting.


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Heidi191976~ Thanks for all your comments!

Voracious Reader~ Plots are brewing and vengeance shall be had. Hopefully Lucius can keep his hands clean

Meankitty69~ I love how you all are routing for Lucius. It makes me smile