“She was a student at Hogwarts,” Lucius replied.
“Someone you know?” the Dark Lord asked.
“I,” Lucius hesitated before continuing, “knew her. Yes.”
There was a short moment of silence that lasted longer than it was supposed to, before the Dark Lord spoke in a tone that was too friendly.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Lucius? We could have struck a deal.”
“I…” That was the only word that Lucius could think of at that moment. His head could not work quickly under the pressure of self-preservation. Before time could shove him into saying another word, Tanya’s voice echoed in the cold dungeon.
“I will never strike a deal with you,” Tanya spat. “You are a psychotic, cold-blooded murderer. A guiltless hypocrite who preach about blood purity but isn’t even a pure blood!”
Silence greeted them again, as though the dungeon had frozen from the cold air. No lips parted to utter a word, but all eyes were wide open.
“And what blood are you, child?” the Dark Lord asked Tanya rather calmly.
Tanya merely narrowed her eyes at him and glared boldly at the man so many people feared. The sorting hat must have placed her in the wrong house, because her bravery took Lucius by surprise.
With Tanya’s refusal to answer, the Dark Lord turned to Lucius instead. “What is her blood, Lucius?”
Lucius swallowed hard before he answered softly, “Muggle born.”
“I’m sorry, can you repeat that,” the Dark Lord said, as he and the death eaters waited for a clear answer.
“Mudblood,” Lucius quickly muttered.
The death eater Lucius loved to loath burst into a nervous laugh. “A Malfoy is friends with a mudblood? Wait till your father hears about this,” he said.
He was the only one bold enough to speak at that moment, but he immediately held his tongue when the Dark Lord surprisingly took Lucius’ side.
“We all make mistakes. I can even recall some of yours,” the Dark Lord said before turning to Lucius, “I’m sure you won’t make the same mistake again.”
Lucius was about to nod his head in reply when Tanya spoke on his behalf, “The only mistake is you, Voldemort.”
If one could die and resurrect as many times as they wished, Lucius would have done so uncountable amount of times in that very brief period. Having your heart constantly stopped by fear was the worst thing that can happen on your first day as a death eater.
“A fiery one, aren’t you?” the Dark Lord asked, still too calmly. His composure reflected a predator playing with its helpless dinner.
“I’m not afraid of you,” Tanya said with emphasis on all her words.
“You will make a great asset to my team,” the Dark Lord stated.
Tanya gave a false laughter before saying, “I would rather die.”
All Lucius could think of at that very moment was a dark hole, where he could climb into and stay hidden. He was afraid, afraid for his life and afraid for his parents’. He immediately regretted having met Tanya. The logic his brain could deduce was simple; if he had not befriended her, she would not be there, but even if she still ended up there, he would not know her. There would be no questions and death-defying answers, there would only be bodies and a warm bed to put Lucius to sleep after. Why did he choose to disobey his father? Lucius did not know. It was not intentional, but it happened anyway. Regret, that was all he had.
The Dark Lord chuckled in reply and began patting Lucius on the back. Lucius died and resurrected again as the Dark Lord reached into his coat and pulled out his wand. Everyone watched closely as the Dark Lord held Lucius’ wand in his hand.
“Lucius,” the Dark Lord said as he offered Lucius’ his wand, “it is only appropriate for you to grant your friend her final wish.”
Lucius wanted to ask if he had to, but his body worked in opposition to his want. As he took the wand, the Dark Lord gently guided his arm towards Tanya.
“Lucius, please don’t do this! This is not you!” Tanya urged.
“Go on, now,” the Dark Lord said.
There was so much hesitation, as Lucius tried to keep his arm up. He did not want to do it, but he had a feeling he had to. And when Lucius took too long to cast the curse, he heard someone shout, “Avada kedavra!”
Immediately, he turned his head to the right and saw a young auror at the end of the line slump dead to the ground. Tanya was in shock as much as Lucius was, and then it happened again. This time it was to his left, and another body fell lifelessly on the cold floor.
“It’s very easy, Malfoy,” the vocal death eater said. Lucius watched him as he did a stupid dance before shouting the killing curse at the boy right next to Tanya.
Tanya screamed in response as tears began streaming down her cheeks. “Please make this stop. Lucius, please make this stop!” Tanya pleaded.
Lucius knew he could not make it stop. He could either end her traumatizing experience or refuse to kill his only friend. The options he had were so limited, he wished his heart would stop and not beat again.
To Be Continued…
(Leave a comment or vote on whether Lucius should cast the curse or refuse to do so!)
Jeyna Grace 