True Believer

This vignette was written for the Yahoo group Raising_Quality_HP_Fanfiction. The prompt was to tell the story of one Death Eater upon the resurrection of Voldemort.

This story is un-beta'ed please excuse any excess commification or mispellings.

True Believer

Lucius stumbled only once as he re-entered Malfoy Manor. He leaned heavily on his cane, not merely a prop, but a necessity after the nearly endless bouts of Crucio administered by the Dark Lord. He still had stringy wads of vomit in his hair and on his robes. If only he had not eaten such a filling meal...

It wasn't everyday the Dark Lord made a return.

He closed his eyes as he contemplated making the long trek from the foyer to his suite. It had been years since he had felt so ill in spirit as well as body. He placed his foot heavily on the first step, steeling himself against the images that erupted in front of him...

Nott screaming in agony... Pettigrew, the loathsome beast, cradling his amputated arm.. . Goyle and Crabbe, stalwart in their acceptance of their punishment.. Severus coming late and...

Lucius hid his nausea at the memory of Severus' special treatment behind a yawn. It would not do for his family to see his distress. Lucius had learned from Severus during the lull in his punishment that Draco had Flooed home. The mundanity of the conversation made the context horrific. Lucius yawned again. He had read somewhere that animals in distress would yawn repeatedly to dispell the effects of stress...

He shook his head to collect himself and made his way up the stairs to the top of the landing. Narcissa awaited him as she had in the early days of their marriage, her face pale in the gloom of the gallery. Lucius heaved a sigh. This nightmare was supposed to be over...

"Lucius." Narcissa approached him, concern giving an edged to her voice. "Is it true that he's returned?"

Lucius merely nodded as he heard the door to Draco's room open with a nearly silent pop. He leaned on his cane, his limbs still aching. Narcissa stood before him now, the transitory concern on her marble-smooth features replaced with fear and anger. "He killed the Diggory boy?"

"Yes." Lucius' tone was dull. "Now is not the time, Cissy."

"When will it be?" she spat back at him. "When he's gone after our son?"

"Narcissa." His words exited his mouth a sibilant hiss in the darkened gallery. "Enough. You know how he monitors everything that is said."

"But Lucius, the boy was a pureblood, not some halfling like that Potter whelp," Narcissa nearly screeched in her outrage. "How dare he..."

Lucius reacted before he thought, striking her across the face several times until she fell to sobbing silence. He had sworn he would never raise a hand to his wife or his son. His father had abused enough people under this roof.

He looked at his hand, as if it were not part of him, as if it were acting under its own volition. He turned to his room, seeking the only escape left to him; the bottle of spirits secreted away in his armoire.

The man Abraxas Malfoy had forced Lucius to follow had returned and Lucius once more had to assume the mantle of the true believer, no matter how he truly felt. This time he would ensure he was on the winning side. His family was at stake.





Okay, thanks for reading. Please take the time and let me know what you think.