The Legacy of the Dark Lord

Chapter Severus (Seven)
Midnight in the Garden
By M.M.G.C

The real world vanished before my tired eyes. One moment I watched the candle flicker on the bedside table, the next moment I fell into a thick fog. Shrill laughter pierced my thoughts, resounding through my body, and putting me on the verge of inhumane madness. A whirlwind of disembodied faces from the past danced malevolently inches away from my face.

I did not wince in fear. I did not shudder in pain. I did not linger, but rather, I turned away from them. I shut them out of my thoughts. I plagued my mind with thoughts of Severus. I would not see the Death Eaters again. I would not let them belittle me. I was not a child!

As Severus did appear in my dreams, I think he was actually there to check on me. He seemed relatively concerned about my state as we went to bed that morning. In my dreams, he walked out of the shadows, as he had in actuality that day. He failed to be a mere desire any longer. He became the physical, touchable, man of my tangible world.

Having seen me, Severus raised his eyebrows and tossed a sympathetic smile in my direction. Behind him, the fog cleared. His mother lay on his bed, knocked unconscious just as she had been in his memorut hut he had left her there in order to reach me.

“We must leave those memories behind if we are to move into the future—our future. It depends on this,” said the dream Severus while embracing my chin tenderly. “I looked for you when I saw my blackest memory come back to me tonight—and you were here… for me…”

“I saw the evils of the past too,” I said as I turned to the faces over my shoulder. He glanced in that direction, and then turned his head to mine again. “I too, chedched for you—and you came for me. When I almost thought I had given up, I thought of you and you brought me hope again. I know I have you…”

I awoke soon after to the smell of lavender fogging my senses. As my eyes opened, I found his eyes gazing dreamily back at me in the blackness that surrounded us.

“You are beautiful to behold as you sleep,” he uttered. “I found myself waking from a dream to see an angel lying next to me. I thought I had died, and dared not move for fear it was only a dream.”

“Such sweetness when I wake? How did I happen to chance by such a charming lover who wakes and comforts me whist I dream?” I pondered.

His eyes locked deeply onto mine. They shone with subtle radiance in the night that surrounded us. The heavy lids arched in points toward the center, almost as if he were silently begging for this moment not to end.

We lingered in a savory kiss for a moment. His soft lips barely pressed to mine. It held, in my mind, the gentility of porcelain and the tenderness of first love.

A moment later, though, it came to a screeching halt—literally! An ear-splitting screech wailed through the hallway, coming towards us. I sat bolt upright in the bed, clutching the silken sheets to my exposed parts.

Severus sighed with annoyance. “Alright, Artemis! Come in, then!” he shouted down the hall. A beautiful brown, horimmeimmed owl burst into the room, carrying a roll of parchment on its leg. It swooped down upon the bed and nuzzled her head under Severus’ arm, while eyeing me curiously.

“No need to be jealous, Artemis! You’re my one and only messenger. Now, then, what is it you have for me tonight?” he said patiently, while untying the parchment from its leg.

I reached out to stroke her feathers and show her I didn’t mean any harm but as I did, she gave me a sharp nip. “No, I wouldn’t try to touch her if I were you,” Severus advised. “She tends to be quite protective and is subject to fits of jealousy at will.”

As he unrolled the parchment from the red ribbon, he glanced at it and set it in my hands. “It is for you, dear.”

The following message appeared on the parchment:


“To my dearest niece, Michele:
You have been carefully avoiding my numerous attempts to contact you of late. Your ‘mum and pop’ have entrusted me to assure your safety and I do not take that position lightly. As it seems you do not wish to respond to my previous requests, I have decided that if I have not received a response from you by midnight tonight, I will be paying a visit to your new little ‘love nest’ shortly thereafter. If you should choose not to answer, then you will need to meet me in the rooftop garden at shortly after midnight. Rest assured that I will not disappoint your parents, (as you obviously have) but would rather not need to interrupt your little ‘jaunt’ with Severus.
Please respond very promptly—and I do hope you actually receive this letter, as I am certain your ‘new interest’ has afforded much of your time, thereby paying no attention to the need for your expedient response.
Best Wishes to My Favorite Niece,

Uncle Lucius

Uncle Lucius’ words spat at me like raw venom from the neatly curled parchment. Severus watched me with wondering eyes. Every movement seemed like it was being evaluated and calculated.

I looked up at him, frowning slightly. “What time is it now?” I asked him flatly.

“About a quarter past midnight—why?” he pressed.

“We should get dressed—Uncle Lucius should be here any moment now,” I droned with utter contempt.

“I suppose he’s checking on you—playing favorites with your pop?” he hissed.

“I need to have been on your rooftop garden at midnight tonight or he’ll try looking for me and that won’t look veryd tod to pop,” I panicked scavenging my trunk for clothes.

“Well, we have no time to dress then,” he said. He pulled his wand from his cloak on the floor and tapped my shoulder. “Resemblium creatus” he said squinting in concentration.

Suddenly, I magically appeared fully dressed. My hair swept itself into a loose bun on the back of my head. I donned a white blouse with a ruffled collar that dipped low enough to reveal my H’tao Doolb pendant. An ankle-length black skirt stopped just above black-strapped sandals. He even painted my toes in glistening white to match. I was quite impressed.

Then he tapped his own shoulder with the same great concentration. A black silk shirt, cropped tightly at the wrist draped itself over his shoulders and buttoned itself neatly. Charcoal black trousers appeared out of thin air, fastening them snuggly at his waistline. His usual black shoes appeared on his feet, shining from under the hem of the pants.

“Now, shall we?” he said with his usual nonchalant finesse.

We apparated in the center of the castle’s rooftop garden. Severus tucked his arm loosely around my taut waistline. A moment later, Uncle Lucius apparated next to Severus’ fountain directly ahead. He bent down on his cherry wood serpent cane, and smiled politely.

“Ah Severus! I see you have decided to join our little rooftop chat… How thrilling,” he said maliciously. “My, how kind love can be, Michele,” he said with a nod. “I hope Severus has kept his hand out of the cookie jar…” He gave us both a severe assessment and curled his lip in disgust. “I suppose not. Severus looks too… happy. Severus is never ‘happy’… You just might be worth your name, niece.”

“Uncle Lucius,” I purred with a false sweetness. “I would honestly think you would temper your behavior a little more. Severus is my fiancée, after all. He will be part of our family soon, Uncle Lucius. We all know how… close… family needs to be, now don’t we?” I batted my eyelashes innocently in his direction.

Severus looked between Uncle Lucius and myself with bewilderment. Uncle Lucius shot a warning look at me, as he gritted his teeth under a cross smile.

“Well, I see Severus hasn’t sweetened you any at least. Mum and Pop will be so thrilled that you have not lost your…eloquence. So, you are happy and healthy I take it?”

“Of course, Uncle, I would not have it any other way. Would I Severus?”

We both turned to Severus. I smiled with rapt attention and Uncle Lucius sneered menacingly. Poor Severus just stood there in thought.

“I am at your every whim, of course,” he muttered. Without letting his eyes leave Lucius, he gave a small bow at the waist. He curled his lips in a half-sm Th The laced fingers curled around each other tighter. Standing on my tiptoes, I gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. As I pulled back to the ground, I cocked my head wistfully in his direction. My eyes still peered up at him with a love-struck sheen.

“That will be just perfect for when mum and pop come to visit next Saturday. Oh! I must have forgotten to mention it! Yes, well, now you know. I suppose you know that they will expect you to be prepared for their stay,” said Uncle Lucius.

“How come this is the first mention of it, Uncle? I would have thought you would have told me sooner. Or do you love it when you think you’ve got the better of me?” I snapped.

“Now let’s not get overly emotional, dear. Draco and I will be there to smooth things over for you. I wouldn’t let Severus here have all the fun, now would I?” He inched closer to us.

Only a foot away from my face, he stopped. Uncle Lucius put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. I released Severus’ hand and let him lead me away a few feet. After a couple paces, he paused to look back at Severus, while still holding my shoulder.

“I would be careful with him if I were you, niece. He has a sordid past, which your parents are well aware of, and I daresay he is not in good graces with the Dark Lord these days. Although I am sure you are quite happy with his… prowess, you should not seriously consider marrying him for libido alone. Either one of your fathers would surely not hesitate to kill to protect you. If you really love him, do not marry him—I can assure you, they will kill him…” he said with satisfaction.

I arched my eyebrows in polite astonishment. “Surely you have realized the precariousness of the situation, haven’t you, Uncle? If they kill Severus, I will die alongside him. There is nothing they can do if they wish to keep me alive. I am much smarter witch than any of you give me credit for. You think me a silly little girl but you need to think of who my parents are. Did you really think I was that stupid, Uncle?” I asked shrilly.

“No… I knew you were very sharp, Michele. I figured you would find a way to protect your lover. You are more like us than you know, sweet niece.” He curled his lips in a knowing grin as if he were almost proud. “I would have done the same, given the circumstances. It would appear that we must all get used to Severus being around.” Uncle Lucius put his cane hand on my stomach, pursing his lips with disdain. “Are we with child yet, niece?”

“Of course not, Uncle! Why do you think I am even speaking to you?” I griped.

“Testy, testy! Are you sure? It would seem to be the kind of
thing that would keep Severus around long enough to marry you. Why would he, though? I mean, what better way to be recognized than to be married to the Dark Lord’s spawn?”

Lucius had crossed the line this time and knew it as soon as he said it. I glared at him with utter malice. My nose scrunched, eyes flashed, wand at the ready.

“Do not cross me, Uncle! I will send you to Hell in a pile of ashes if you dare speak to me like that again! Be warned!” The wand was now only inches away from his face. He stared bravely at my wand.

Severus scrutinized the scene playing out in front of his eyes. He could not overhear any of our conversation up until my last words of warning. His hand hovered near the edge of his wand pocket, ready to draw, if necessary.

Uncle Lucius did not waver his eye contact. “Now, Michele, you really don’t mean to use that, do you? Put the wand away before someone gets hurt. I mean, if you kill me, your fathers would of course blame Severus and we would not want anything to happen to him, would we? You see, dear child, they do not know of the Blood Oath yet and I think they would be mighty disappointed if they knew. Didn’t they always say that you should not delve in magic you don’t understand?” He looked me straight in the eye.

He thought he had talked me out of it. He thought I was making to put my wand down. There was now considerable tension and Severus was looking very nervous.
I turned, as if to leave but assailed my wand in the air. “Crucio!” I called, thrusting my wand forward.

No one was able to stop me. Severus had drawn his wand. Lucius had drawn his wand but the words were out of my mouth before either could speak. Severus managed to shout, “Expelliarmus!” just after the initial spell but I rounded on him with “Finite Incantatem” before my wand could shoot out of my hand.

Uncle Lucius stood at my feet, barely able to breathe. His body twitched in pain. He howled for me to stop. Severus even looked concerned. He ran to my side to see Lucius. His eyes resembled huge black orbs at the first sight of them.

Severus turned to me in awe. “You do know that you can be sent to Azkaban for using the Unforgivable curse, don’t you? Umm… how long are you going to let him suffer?”
I could feel Severus looking at me but the only t I c I could think of was the pain Uncle Lucius felt. I wore a horrifyingly evil smile as I stared blankly at him.

Severus glanced at me and then at Lucius. Lucius was now on his back, screaming in agony. If he could have begged for mercy, he would have. “Finite Incantatem” he said, dolefully pointing his wand at Lucius. He then bent down to Lucius. “Lucius? Can you move? Lucius?” He glanced up at me, his skin turned ghostly white. “We’ll have to talk about this later,” he said, tending to Lucius again.

“No, Severus… We used to do this all the time. Only usually, Lucius got there first. He knew what was happening. He just didn’t know he would get hit this time. Those were the games we played—isn’t that right, Uncle?” I said, as Lucius lifted himself back to his feet.

“Right you are, niece, right you are. You certainly had come to make me think you had turned soft. What, with running off with Severus, I figured you would never do such a thing again. I thought the fun was all in the past. It’s good to see you have gotten better at it. Your fathers will be proud—you have talent and a quick draw. I’ll make sure to tell them …,” he said, as he looked slowly at Severus, “that Severus is just fine to marry. I will give my personal approval.” He straightened the cuffs on his dusty jacket. “They do hope that you take over the Death Eaters at some point, dear. I hope I am on the right side of you when you finally do duel again—that was some powerful magic, niece!”

“Do you mean to tell me,” Severus questioned slowly, “that you give your permission for Michele and I to marry? You believe me to be… suitable now?”

“Severus, old man, I am delighted that you have brought out such a tiger in my niece. I would have thought that you would make her go soft but she never used to put up a fight with Draco or myself—you have truly made Michele her father’s daughter! Spoken to any snakes lately? I wonder if you are gifted at Legilimency and Occlumency also. You wouldn’t know yet, would you, Severus?” he asked with curiosity.

“No, I’m afraid there are many things I don’t know about Michele,” he spat. He stood, unyielding, between Uncle Lucius and myself. Other than the slight furrow to his eyebrows, he made no expression.

“Well, I believe my work here is done. I shall give your name good favor with the Dark Lord, Severus. He will, of course, be quite impressed with the ‘effect’ you have on his daughter…” Uncle Lucius flashed a sinister sneer in his direction and spun around to face me again. Tapping my shoulder with his gloved hand, he consoled, “Now, now, Michele—I wouldn’t worry about it. We all have our skeletons to account for. Our family just has more than most.”

His blue eyes flashed at me, almost as if flashing a warning. “You will marry your Severus, dear.” Leaning into my ear, he continued, “Don’t worry, dear! Severus will accept your family eventually—he would not dare give up the touch of your hand for the sins of your wand. His wand is more important to him than such trivial attributes!” He tossed his head back, whipping his wild blonde locks behind him, and gave a deep-hearted chuckle. “I think he’ll bring you to your legacy, after all! Good day, niece!” he said, disappearing right before my eyes.

There was an awkward moment when Severus stood, squinting his eyes at me. A distressed frown twisted his handsome features in a way that appeared he had swallowed a rattlesnake.

“I think we need to talk…,” he suggested. His voice maintained the level monotone of shock.

“Come,” I appealed. “Show me to your favorite place in the garden. We can talk there.”
Dazed with muddled thoughts, Severus hesitantly placed his fingers through mine and started slowly down the garden path. Although he poised himself with his usual grace, his mind was clearly lost in thought.

As we trudged down the trodden dirt path, we came to a small stone bench lined with blooming white lilies. Severus eased my hand to his lips, kissing it dispassionately. He dropped down on the cold bench, yanking me down with him.

I sat near him, feeling I could not be farther from him. The disappointment and despondence that haunted hice nce nearly drove me to madness and tears. I had never meant to drive him away. I could not stand to see his eyes prosing so much angst and worry—and it was all because of me!
“Severus I—I,” I could not even fathom what he was thinking or feeling. I did not know how to explain my sudden reversion to the Dark Arts that haunted my past. “I’m so sorry. I just… I guess I should explain…”

“I felt what you felt before you performed the Crucius Curse. I know the emotions involved in the correct casting of the curse. I saw the side of you that I always had known existed but never thought I’d see,” he enunciated slowly. “You could have killed him just then. It is commendable that you resisted the impulse. However, I believe we both know what you are capable of… The Dark Lord has those abilities, you know.”

“I have thought, through many years,” I sighed, “that the Dark Lord is, in fact, my real father. I have fought the urge to become like him. I have only played along all these years to satisfy my family. However twisted and malevolent they may be, they are still family. I do not want to estrange the only persons who are acceptant of my… abilities.”

“I have accepted your abilities. I find them quite formidable, actually,” he doted. “I just do not know of your… boundaries yet. I cannot see what lines are drawn in the family. It is rather unlike any other wizarding family I have known. It seems a warped world of honor, malice, and dominance. Yet, it has rules—rules that I do not yet understand.”

“It is my belief that thek Lok Lord is my true father. I have long investigated the rumors. All the Death Eaters hold the Dark Lord above them. They had once… they tried to lure me into a precarious situation before. It was a situation that I could not have possibly thought my way out of… but he came. He brought his wrath on them for attempting to ‘overpower’ me.”

At this point, I jerked away from Severus. I tried to calm my rising anger and disgrace. “He would let no one h meh me… He gave no pause when he told them what he would do if they spoke so much as a sour word to me again. He became like an overprotective father at that point. That is how the rumors got started and I thought they were most likely true. I have never kept a lover before you. I have never felt the beauty of love’s first kiss before I loved you. I had never wanted so much to keep anything before I held you. At the same time, I knew he would not approve—he had never approved of me being with anyone before. I used that to my advantage. I knew you were with the Death Eaters but I loved you even so. In taking the Blood Oath with you, I protected you the way he had protected me for so many years before…”

Strained tears burned my eyes. I wanted to hold them back but as I sought Severus’ eyes, I felt on the verge of a total collapse. Burying my face in my hands, I rolled myself into a tight ball and wept.
Soon I felt Severus’ steady hands on my back. The gentle embrace of my lover surrounded me, now tender and loving once more. The soft lips I had just begun to know graced my head with his divine compassion.

“I love you, Michele, and not even the Dark Lord himself could change that,” he lulled softly in my ear. “I have never known the devotion you have shown me. You are courageous and fear nothing. It is that which had attracted me to you first. I could not explain it then but I identified it just now. I saw your love written in your eyes, and then the fearless devotion in your actions. Simply the fact that you would risk the wrath of the Dark Lord, just to be with me, confounded me. You render me speechless.”

His words hung in the air, like the stars up above. They shone in the dark of the night, as an enlightening path among Heaven whist arrested in Hell.

“Neither of my ‘fathers’ would object now to our marriage. That is, if you would still have me…” I trailed off in uncertainty. “They had the image of you being a coward and a fool. If I had not taken up for you today against my own blood, they would have seen it fit to ‘extricate’ you without hesitation. Since I subjected my own Uncle to torture in your name, they will now believe that I will eventually use my abilities to assume the Dark Lord’s legacy. I was weak before—they will not think that of either of us any longer. To them, you have the ability to make me show my strength. To them, you are a true Death Eater. To them, you are worthy of being a son…”

“‘Worthy of a son’ you say? The son of the Dark Lord? I do not know about that… I have teetered too far from the Death Eaters of late,” he said pensively.

“No, in this simple act of allowance today, you have shown your loyalty by not interfering. He would have wanted the same from any man I would marry. Of course, he will be angry concerning the Blood Oath but—he will have a renewed confidence in you. I can also assure you he will want a child from us—it would assure him that his legacy is not forgotten…”

“A child? I haven’t really thought much… I mean, I do not know… We have never discussed the issue,” he stuttered as if caught completely off-guard.

I looked back at him finally. His face fell white with shock. Trying to gain his eye contact, I gave him a simple peck on the cheek, nuzzling my nose affectionately against his. He gave in to my eyes, but with great hesitation.

“Severus… I would know if I were already with child. I am a witch, of course. We know when we are seeded. We just know. There is no need to worry about our… consecration. We are not yet parents. I do know about that which worries you but I do not think you will have anything to fear. You didn’t complete it, so you are still… capable. Besides, I believe you would make a great father,” I smoothed. “There is always time to talk about it later. We have our entire lives to ponder children. Either way, I love you. You are the soul keeper of my heart, my sexy Sevy!”

The color poured into his face again. A blushing grin eased its way along his fine lips. Instant glitter shone from his clouded eyes. I very much wanted him to take my soul from my chest to keep it from bleeding too much. This love, this simple, gentle, accepting love, snipped at my heart and ensnared my soul. This was the reason I lived every taunt, every heartache, every minute. Without this, I would cease to breathe. I was addicted to his touch, and for that, I would gladly die.
We kissed, softly, sweetly, passionately, and with an ache that could crush the world. Our tongues danced to a slow, winding ballad. Within our fingertips we held tightly to the only thing that mattered to us in the entire universe—each other. Time knew no limits and the world ceased to press against us.

As we pulled away from each other, I took in the rising of the sun. A breath-taking dawn had just broken free from the night but the stars still gleamed against the twilight. Radiant red, pumpkin orange, purple-blue, and smoky gray fanned out from the vibrant, magenta orb protruding from the horizon.

“I must get to Hogwarts. It’s getting early and I have many studies to prepare for,” I told Severus as we held each other.

“Yes—it is Monday and you have to complete those O.W.L tests that I worked so hard to get permission for you to take,” he said brightly, donning a proud grin.

“Accio books” I said sadly. Out of the sun, it seemed, the books flew at me one by one. “Accio book bag!” The bag flew at me, dropping neatly into my lap.

“Well, now that you mention it, I do have some business to take care of at Hogwarts—shall I join you for the ride?” Severus rose to his feet.

“Accio brooms” he hollered at the morning sun. Both of our brooms swooped down, stopping at a hover right beside us. They waited as we mounted them sidelong so that our cloaks would not get in the way.

“Oh! I forgot my uniform! Resemblium creatus!” I uttered as I concentrated on the way my uniform would look. When I opened my eyes, I saw Severus snickering at me. “What?” I said, annoyed.
“That was good, but next time try to leave the hair alone. You have gray streaks that look like skunk stripes, running down the back of your hair. Other than that, you look really good!”

“You’re kidding! Can you fix it?” I said self-consciously. I pulled my hand through my rough hair and flung it in front of my face. Gnarly gray hair stuck up in awkward places among the shiny black tendrils.

“Reversus Incantatum!” he blurted while still chuckling to himself.

I meekly watched my hair change back to black. “Thank you, dear! I did not want to go back to Hogwarts looking like I had aged thirty years! Guess I need to work harder on my transfiguration! You wouldn’t mind helping, would you?”

“No, not at all! I would hate you to turn Professor McGonagall’s teacup into a skunk. Though I think she would have quite a good laugh!” he said jovially.

“Well, let’s go before I’m late!”

End Scene Seven