Chapter 60
ALDER EVANS
The trap had been set, and now all they could do was wait for Voldemort to spring it. In the meantime, they all made their preparations for the final bout. Much like him, the Headmaster had begun to look into the matter of Horcruxes and how to deal with them on his own as well.
His information had been critical to the formation of the plan, and though destroying the Horcruxes was one solution to the problem, the man had found a second solution as well.
Tom was not the first person to have the idea of making multiple Horcruxes. A few had tried to cheat death in this way before as well, and yet the very existence of magic was a miracle and proof of the fact that there were greater forces at play in this world.
And as these great forces saw the trickery of men, they acted and offered the world avenues to deal with such menaces. It was a way of balancing the scales.
And the weapon they had chosen was one of the Department of Mysteries' most well-kept secrets.
The Veil.
For two centuries now, wizards and witches had wondered about the purpose of the enigmatic archway, but now it all made sense. Many called the veil the gateway to Hell itself, and until now, no creature had ever returned from its grasp.
Three such passageways existed, exactly the same as the number of wizards and witches who had ever tried to cheat death by splitting their souls. The oldest one was in the British Isles, for the first wizard to perform this heinous act was none other than Herpo the Foul.
The names of the other two wizards were lost to history, but the headmaster had found proof of their existence in the records of the Flamels.
As far as he was aware, Voldemort had five Horcruxes. They cup, the ring, the tiara, the diary, and the locket. But these were the five he was certain had been made, and while three of them were in their possession, the trickery was that the locket was yet to be located.
Alder had searched the caves around Tom's old orphanage and had found no trace of the locket or the cave, and that was when his troubles had begun. His mere presence had changed much, and with the momentum and direction of the war shifting, it was difficult for him to predict where Voldemort might hide the locket.
It could be the same location. It could be a different one.
Would he still make seven, or would he change the number?
Would he choose the same objects?
These were all the fallacies of his plan. But now they had a plan, and they intended to make the best of it.
Alder stared at the ring infront of him, and he could sense evil oozing out of it. The compulsion charm still whispered in his mind, asking him to reach for it. To touch it.
But Alder had bettered his occlumency shields, and through the use of a potion, the compulsion charm remained ineffective. Still, the time drew near as Alder looked at the little knife to his side, and though it seemed simple, it was anything but.
The knife was goblin silver, given to him by Arcturus so that he might exact his revenge. The blade had been coated in basilisk venom, making it extremely lethal, and as he looked up at the clock, he prepared himself for what was about to come.
Slowly, he picked up the knife, as he steadied the ring, and then he took a deep breath and plunged it at the ring infront of him.
SWOOOOOOSH!
And the wave of magic that came out pushed him back a few inches as the entire clearing was filled with a cloud of darkness, as the Dark Lord's face rose out of the smoke and shouted.
"NOOOOO!" and then a gust of wind rose and blew away the dark clouds, as Alder found himself staring at the broken ring, with the dark stone over it separated.
The game was on now.
Voldemort would know that they had struck, but he was not thinking about that.
No. His mind was busy with a different matter entirely as he found himself staring at the dark rock that had been separated from the ring. He gazed at the symbol on it as his heart thumped in his chest.
He had been waiting for this moment for some time now. This moment was the one reason why he had chosen to take the ring for himself, while leaving Dumbledore to collect the rest.
He took a deep breath as he grabbed the stone and put it in his palm, and slowly turned it three times as he closed his eyes.
He did not need to whisper her name, and even without opening his eyes, he could feel her presence.
"Open your eyes," and that familiar voice struck him hard as his eyes began to water, and his breath grew heavier as he slowly opened his eyes to look at that familiar face.
She looked the same as the day she had died.
"Narcissa," he whispered weakly, as the half-blonde girl smiled down at him.
"It has been some time, Alder...."
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ANDROMEDA BLACK
Andromeda Black knew that she was wrong in blaming Alder for her sister's death. But it was easier to blame him. Easier to hate him.
Even though she knew the truth in her heart, that if there was anyone in the world who was suffering more than her, it was him.
She knew who to blame, who to curse, yet Ted had made her promise not to involve herself in the war, and she did not have the heart to break that promise, but still, when she learned that her own sister had been brought to St. Mungo's in secret, she knew that she had to confront her.
That she had to see her.
Very few people knew about Bellatrix's presence here at St. Mungo's, and it took her a great deal of investigating and legwork to find out her exact location. Afterward, it took a handsome bribe and a few shed tears to convince the Chief Med Wizard to let her see her.
But in the end, she found herself outside her room and wondered truly if this was the right thing to do.
But at that moment, it did not matter. She had to see her. She had to see the bitch who would kill her own sister for a half-blood cur.
So, she hardened her heart as she pushed open the door and walked into the room reserved for the worst of Death Eaters. Her sister's crimes were rather extensive, and if a fair trial were to be held, she would not be able to avoid the kiss.
And she would deserve it. If there was anyone who deserved it, then it was her, and as soon as she walked into the room, she felt those eyes snap towards her.
Her hair was disheveled, and her entire body was bound completely, making it impossible for her to move at all.
"I knew you would come," Bellatrix snickered as she saw her, and Andromeda grit her teeth. Andy said nothing as she simply walked up to her bed and stared down at her.
"Have you come to kill me?" Bellatrix asked as she broke into a laugh.
"Have you come to avenge our sister?" Her patience ran out at the mention of Narcissa.
"SHUT UP!" she roared, as her hand twitched, and she wished that she were the kind of person who could commit murder in cold blood, but she was not that person, and what a sad thing that was.
"Or what?" Bellatrix challenged, and when she said nothing, she began to laugh.
"Look at yourself, you don't even have the courage to draw your wand," she taunted her.
"Even that mudblood is better than you in that sense. He can at least gather the courage to hit me with a Cruciatus curse," and that was Alder.
"But even he lacks the courage to kill me," and now she was frowning.
"They think pain can make me betray my Lord," and then she began to hackle.
"HAHAAA! Those fools!" Bella was mad.
"I cherish that pain. Love every second of it. The only regret I have is that I could not serve the Dark Lord more, that I could not meet his expectations! That is my only regret!" and then those eyes met hers.
"That and letting you slip out of my fingers," and a shiver ran down her spine at those words.
"But your days are numbered, dear sister! Numbered! You will suffer for your betrayal, just as that bitch Na..."
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Andromeda could hear no more of her madness.
"Do you have no heart at all?" she begged.
"She was your sister! YOUR SISTER! Yet you killed her! For what! WHAT!"
"BETRAYAL!" Bellatrix roared back.
"To love a Mudblood! That is a betrayal to all of us born of pure blood lineage!" Andromeda could not believe her ears.
"Alder is a stronger wizard than you will ever be," she countered.
"He is a thief! A charlatan!" and she scoffed.
"And yet he defeated you, twice," she countered, and Bellatrix snarled.
"Yes, and if he does not kill me himself, then I will have my revenge on him as well. I will make his death a thousand times more painful than Narcissa's. I will torture him for eternity. I will make him beg for death, and then deny him that mercy!" and in that moment she realized that her sister was gone.
The Bellatrix of their youth was gone, and only the madness remained. She wanted to hate her, yet she could not.
"HAAAAHAAAAA!" and as she saw her laugh, she could not help but pity her as a tear slid down her face.
"What happened to you?" she whispered, and Bella's eyes narrowed as her laughing stopped.
"What the hell do you mean..." but before she could finish, an explosion from the side sent Andromeda flying.
BOOOOM! BOOOOOM!
.
.
.
.
And the Dark Lord flew into the room, as Bellatrix watched him in awe.
"I knew you would come for me, my lord! I knew!" she spoke in reverence, as the red-eyed wizard flew in and looked down.
"I always believed in you!" she said, but the Dark lord did not free her from her bindings.
"The cup, Bella," he whispered, and her eyes widened.
"Yes! They asked me about it! Even tortured me, but I offered them nothing! Nothing, my lord! I would never betray you!" she answered, but the Dark Lord offered no sympathy.
"Where is it?" he asked.
"It's in a safe house..." and those red eyes gleamed as he raised his wand and whispered.
"Legilimens!" Bellatrix Lestrange screamed out in agony as her mind was ripped apart.
"AGHHHHHH! HAAAAAAA!" and the screaming stopped a few minutes later, as she whimpered weakly.
"I said nothing. Nothing," she repeated as the Dark lord nodded.
"I know," and he did not lower his wand.
"And you never will," and then the wand glew once.
"AVADA KEDVARA!"
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