The Curse of Power
The alarm spells go off as I am about to kiss Ann. They are near. ‘Bloody hell!’ I hiss under my breath and give Ann one last squeeze and a quick kiss. ‘In the morning you must take Dean and leave; trust me darling,’ I say and spin around, heading for the door.
‘What’s the matter? Where are you going?’ she says, her voice rising in reaction to my badly hidden panic.
I turn back to her and, while holding her shoulders, look into her eyes. ‘Ann, there is no time. I’m sorry, I can’t explain.’ I shake my head and silently modify her memory somewhat, making her more susceptible to my arguments. ‘Ann, you must leave in the morning and take yourself and Dean as far from here as you can. You have a sister in Norfolk, do you not?’
Ann bites her lip for a second, thinking, and then slowly nods.
I pull the rest of the Muggle money I have out of my pocket and stuff it into her hand. ‘You must go there. Go and stay there; do not remember me,’ I say firmly and whip her memory of me, leaving only my instructions and their importance. I turn and run through the door”pulling my cloak on as I do”hoping that I have not spent too much time there.
As I dash down the streets, I try to understand why and how the Death Eaters need me. I have always been powerful, but I have also always hidden my power. My grades at school were decent, but I was outshone by many, especially by Potter, Black, and Evens. I was but a measly Hufflepuff that only received a handful of OWLs and very few NEWTS. Why do they want me?
I do not support their ideals and I have not let my power show...at least not to my knowledge. I am Pureblood, but so are Diggory, Potter and Longbottom, the last two performing better than myself in school. They are protected by some Order of the Phoenix Dumbledore started, but I do not want to join them either. I do not wish to pick a side in this war.
I am in love with a Muggle woman, a dangerous “crime” in these times, but that does not explain why they have become so desperate for me to join their ranks. I only know that I have been running from them for months now and I might have just made a fatal mistake. I can neither put Ann’s life, or our child’s, in .danger; and so I flee
I take a swift look behind me and see that nothing and no one is following me, yet. I can imagine, probably all too accurately, what will soon happen, my only hope being that I will not lead them to what I hold most dear. If luck is with me, no Legilimens will be with them, and my secret dies with me. But now, I must run, before I am found far to close to Dean and Ann.
I slip around a corner, into an alley and Dissapparate with a POP! Knowing they will follow the noise and have a method of following Apparators, I quickly move. I hurry away from the corner I Apparated to and on to the lamp-lit street. My cloak trails behind me as I swiftly move away.
My heart is pounding and my breath ragged as I take another look behind me. I was stupid and dawdled with Ann longer than was smart and now they’re close behind me. The hard knot of fear in my stomach is telling me that I can no longer prolong the inevitable. I can only pick my battleground.
Franticly my mind thinks of possible areas, somewhere that no one else will get hurt and with something that could offer protection to my back. I cannot think of any, so I satisfy myself by Apparating to the deserted end of Diagon Alley. I back myself up against the wall of a far building and draw my wand, prepared for them. A thought flicks through my mind. This is the curse of power, being forced to choose a side.
I do not have long to wait. Not much time elapses between the arrivals of the first one to the arrival of the last. They appear in a ring around me, blocking off any escape route and I ten figures. Long black cloaks drape from their shoulders too the ground, hoods covering their heads as skull masks peer out at me through the gloom.
In one motion they aim their wands at me and the one directly in front speaks. ‘You have been asked by the Dark Lord to join our ranks, and instead of answering, you fled. The Dark Lord was not pleased. Oh no, he was not pleased at all. But he has decided to be kind; he commands us to ask you one more time. Will you join the Dark Lord in his quest to purify Our World?’ The last sentence echoes with power, as all in the ring around me ask that fateful question.
As I straighten my back, I silently cast the shield spell. ‘No, I will not.’
‘Then you will die,’ the leader says simply and all then figures shout the same spell at me.
Though my shield spell is strong, ten simultaneous spells break it. I shout a few stunning spells before the green light envelops me and-
The Curse of Power by Guchi_kouhai
Chapter Notes: I really like the way this turned out, but it's wouldn't be any good without my beta: Ashley. I hope you like this, and comments are loved!