Funeral Address
Voldemort watched with interest as his Heir stood in Nevra's way. Draco was showing weaknesses….weaknesses he could use to keep his unruly son in check. Maybe Nevra would be worth more than Narcissa in Draco's mind. Maybe he could get rid of Narcissa and create the partnership of two of his best Death Eaters…only time would tell. Finally his Heir stepped out of the regal redhead's way and he watched her move towards him.
Nevra conjured a pedestal a foot below the Dark Lord and elevated herself onto it.
He spoke addressing himself to the entire crowd, "Well, Nevra?"
She took a deep breath and began slowly, thinking about every word she spoke before she uttered it. A mistake would be deadly here. Especially with Draco's strange behavior. Something was at stake here, something was wrong…something that she just couldn't place her finger on. Caution was best in this case.
"I did not know Pansy Parkinson very well. But from what I have heard of her, she had her good traits and her faults, like any other human being. She was a powerful witch and honest, although sometimes harshly so. She had a sense of humor, and she was courageous. In fact, she saved my life upon occasion and that of several others within this gathering. She was a shrewd manipulator and did what she had to do in order to survive. She made it to the top of the young Death Eaters on her own talents. And for those things, I respect her."
She paused to take a breath and whispers filled the air. The Dark Lord looked at her with carefully blank eyes through his formidable mask. Tread carefully, for you know not where you step was the only thought running through her head. She could not think…her mind in a numb void. She merely spoke, letting the words run in a smooth flow, and hope she was saying the right things.
"She was loyal, but her loyalties misplaced. She placed herself above our Master. She betrayed the Cause for which we all live. She deemed another Cause greater. And for that, I condemn her." She paused again, letting the words sink in to the minds of the audience.
"This aberration could erase all the deeds she did for the Cause in her life. But she paid the price for it. She paid, and now the debt no longer remains. Because she killed for us, would have died for us, I deem her worthy." The whispers became a roar, until Voldemort gazed around with eyes that promised death.
"I deem her worthy of a warrior's burial. Not of a traitor, in an unmarked grave. But not of royalty, either, in a regal coffin with elaborate ceremony. I deem her worthy of a warrior's passage, because she fought for something to the very end. Because she fought for us with her life." Nevra raised her wand, and elevated Pansy's body out of the coffin. "Incendio," she whispered under her breath, and the body turned to ashes in the air and fell to the ground. Then Nevra transfigured the coffin to a black gourd with green slashes across it and swept the ashes into it. The gourd full of ashes now flew to Nevra's outstretched hand and she held it high in the light of the hall.
Her voice clear and steady, she said the final words. "To a warrior. May she be given the fate she deserves."
The hall murmured behind her, "To a warrior," raised their glasses and drank. She turned towards the Dark Lord and held the gourd up to him.
He looked down in amusement. "I said address, Nevra, not ceremony."
She looked down respectfully. "My Lord, I should not have done that."
"Notice you never apologized." He said.
"Because it would be a lie. I am not sorry for what I did. I only know I shouldn't have done it."
"Careful, Nevra. Your voice borders on impertinence." He looked out at her upturned face and lifted her mask, trying to read her facial expressions and covering it with an excuse. "The ceremonies are done. You don't need to wear this anymore." Her eyes were full of fire, her features taut with feeling. But he couldn't tell what…she was as skilled as his own Heir as hiding her emotions.
Without a reply, she bowed and floated off the platform onto the ground. The platform disappeared when she reached the ground. When she got there, Nevra looked back up at the Dark Lord and made the salute of the Dark Side (a fist to the chest) as she lowered her mask back over her face. Then she turned and disappeared in the crowd milling about aimlessly, her stride purposeful.
Hmm, he could find a use for this fiery follower of his…he appreciated her courage - as long as it didn't get out of hand.
Hidden Powers
Draco inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when Nevra finished her address. She was taking all sorts of risks…but you could never advance without risks. What scared him was she was seemingly taking them without calculation or forethought. She had been lucky so far, but when would her luck fail? And her mistake could affect all of the Trio.
The Dark Side had been whispering about this redhead, suddenly coming into the spotlight from the shadows. No one knew anything about her, except that she had (and maybe still was, it wasn't known) the leader of the student Death Eaters - merely a step below the famous Dark Trio. Turns out that no one but the Dark Lord, the Inner Circle, Blaise, and Draco knew her real name. Draco secretly thanked the gods that he had never casually mentioned her name to someone else. It could doom her now. After all, even the Dark Trio wasn't immune to assassination attempts.
He could see her striding towards him, her red hair standing out like a beacon. Really, the girl should dye it if she wants to remain inconspicuous, his mind thought. But red looks so good on her, a voice replied. He was startled by the thought. Since when had he looked at fellow Death Eaters as attractive? That could kill him if he started thinking like that! So many females used their bodies to get up into the higher ranks…yet he had never been taken advantage of like that. He quickly shoved the stray thought to the back of his mind as she approached.
As she brushed by him, almost roughly, her hand slipped into his, squeezing for an instant than pulling away. He knew better than to stop her, or to even show the fact that he knew her. Instead he looked away at a Death Eater (Millicent Bulstrode, maybe) that was calling for him and began to walk to her, slipping the scrap of paper Nevra gave him into a hidden pocket in his robes.
After he got away from the funeral and the many females who wished to be noticed by the Heir, he Apparated to a flat he owned in Bahrain (one of the more rugged places in the world, and therefore a place no one expected a "pampered prince" to be) and pulled out the note. It said cryptically:
We and B need to talk. Safe place. Find me. G
Virtually incomprehensible to anyone else but him. Nevra knew how to guard her back. He smiled briefly. She must have something good to risk contacting him in a place full of Death Eaters. He picked up a pendant (gift from Blaise) that moved him directly to Blaise's location on command and looked at it. It was green, meaning that Blaise was okay with visits. They had programmed that into the pendant after several embarrassing incidents on both sides. "Regresa," he commanded the pendant and Blaise appeared in front of him in pajamas making tea at his Bristol mansion.
"What's up, Draco?"
"Ginevra needs to see us." Draco replied as he handed Blaise the note. Blaise's sapphire eyes quickly scanned it.
"How'd you get it?" Blaise asked.
"Must be important because she slipped it to me right at Pansy's funeral." Draco said with a chuckle.
"Good thing she pulled off there. Smart girl. Any idea on how to find her?"
Draco shrugged. "Well, the Binding, I guess."
"It didn't work with Pansy."
Draco nodded impatiently. "And Nevra isn't Pansy."
"Got that right. Totally in a different ballpark." Blaise said bluntly.
Draco's jaw tensed. "Pansy is - was - our best friend. Don't be comparing this girl to her." Blaise sighed.
"I wasn't…not emotionally at least. But you have to admit, Nevra is better than Pansy mentally…quicker, smarter, that sort of stuff."
Draco nodded, and his mask cracked. Tears came to his eyes. "God, Blaise, I miss her. Her dying…it's my fault. I should have gone after Mum alone. I hate him. I really do. How could he kill a girl that pledged her life to him?" There was no need to specify which "he" Draco was talking about.
Blaise placed a hand on Draco's shoulder…briefly. Any show of pity or sympathy would break him. Draco was never as strong as he looked…but his mask was made of iron in public. He would only let it slip in front of Blaise and Pansy - and Narcissa Malfoy.
"Draco, I miss her too. It's like a constant pain in my chest. But it wasn't your fault. And the Trio was a Trio for a reason…we shared our problems. And now Nevra's part of the Trio. Our problems are hers as well…and vice versa."
Draco nodded heavily. "Let's see if we can find her, then." They turned and walked to Blaise's workroom and conducted the spell. A glowing magenta marker raised above a place in - of all places - Denmark.
Blaise gasped. "It worked! Nevra's a heck of a lot more powerful than Nevra. Definitely more powerful than me. Maybe even as powerful as you."
Draco nodded, then laughed. "Did you know the Weasley's family color was magenta?"
Blaise shook his head. "Draco! There are only four people currently alive that have that kind of power: you, Dumbledore, Potter, and the Dark Lord! If Nevra's that powerful…the Trio is more powerful than the Light…and the Dark!"
Feeling Safe In Denmark
Nevra waited anxiously for the rest of the Trio in a cottage deep in the countryside of Denmark…one of the most non-magical places in the world since the Extermination in World War Two. Few people knew that Hitler had once been a Mysticus extremist…and since Jewish wizards had a tendency to marry Muggles…well, the Aryan concept came about. Purification of the wizarding world was the real reason Hitler killed Jews, and in Denmark he had succeeded, even though his feat was not publicized in the Muggle world. There were very few Danish Jews - so there was none of the mass murders of Poland and Germany - but the few killed here in Denmark were among the most powerful of their race (the Jews). Since the Extermination, there was very little magical blood in Denmark…which made it safe for the kind of conversation about to occur…as soon as the boys got here.
Finally they appeared. "It can't have taken that long to use the Binding Spell to locate me!" Nevra snapped, her voice curt.
Draco scowled. "No…it took us that long to cover our tracks so no Death Eaters would walk in on this lovely conversation. Let's get down to business. The longer we stay, the easier we make it for Voldemort and the others to find us. What do you need to talk about?"
Nevra hesitated. "The Bind…of the Trio…comes first to any other - even family?"
Draco and Blaise both nodded hurriedly. Nevra took a deep breath, steeling herself to take a risk that could kill her - literally. She slipped the letter from Elenia Parkinson out of her robe. "Revalo Secreto." She spoke. A light flashed from the letter (magenta of course) and Elenia's flowing script appeared on the blank paper.
"You charmed it so it would only reveal its contents to you? Wow, this must be big," said Blaise sarcastically. There was no need for a reply. The letter would show them. Ginny handed it to Draco.
Draco and Blaise (reading over his shoulder) quickly scanned the letter. Draco's eyes turned stormy grey, and Blaise's sapphire eyes widened as his brow furrowed.
"When did you get this, Nevra?" Draco asked, his voice low and husky with some emotion.
"It was enclosed in the funeral invitation. I didn't know whether it was a trap - I tested it with the Verdena Spell (truth-seeking spell) and it says it's genuine. But the Verdena Spell can be fooled."
"You are right. We can't trust this…not fully, not yet. It would risk too much. But how to figure out whether it is true?" Blaise said worriedly.
Draco said quietly, "A word of power?"
Nevra shook her head. "Every time you use one, there is an equal reaction in another place. We will be forcing someone to lie about something important, which could ruin their life."
Blaise said, "But with the Power of Three…which we could implement as the Dark Trio…doesn't that neutralize the reaction?"
Draco broke in, "No. We can only force the reaction to come to one of us. But we have no control over where or when or how."
Nevra's eyes filled with fire. "I will do it. I can't let someone else take the fall for something I need to do."
Blaise shook his head. "No, I will. Listen, Nevra, we couldn't find Pansy using the Locator in the Innocuroso Spell. She wasn't powerful enough. In fact there were only four people powerful enough to be located in the world: Dumbledore, Potter, Voldemort…and Draco. But now, you can be. You are more powerful than I am by far - even though I am probably the second most powerful wizard behind you two and the Dark Lord in the Dark Side. Anyways, you are more powerful than me. Maybe even more powerful than Draco."
Draco made a noise of disdain here. Blaise ignored him. "Therefore, your life is more important - you can influence more change than I can. That's not an opinion, it's a fact. I will take the reaction, because I am more expendable than you are."
Nevra grabbed Blaise by the shoulders hard, her fingers digging into his flesh. "NO! You are not going to risk your life because of me."
Draco's eyes, for once, were unmasked. They were filled with empathy. He reached out and pulled her away from Blaise. "Yes, he is. We are a Trio. We share our problems. And in this problem -that is all of ours - what is best for the group is that Blaise take the reaction…however it comes." Nevra turned in his grasp to look up into his eyes…for once soft with emotion.
"No. NO! Draco, please. I can handle it." Draco stared at her, then past her at Blaise.
"Maybe you can. But we won't let you." Nevra's eyes pleaded with him.
"Draco…"
"No." She went limp in his arms, and her shoulders shook with sobs. Tears ran down her face. Not being able to bear her brokenness, he crushed her to him, trying to ease her pain.
She mumbled into his chest, her tears soaking through his satin shirt. "He may die for me, Draco. I can't let that happen."
He whispered in her ear the same words she had spoken to him a few days ago. "Don't you dare take the blame for it. He made the choice and he deserves the honor of the choice."
The fight went out of her and her tenuous grip on her emotions disappeared. She sobbed into his chest as he held her against him (her knees were too weak to hold her). Blaise was long gone, but neither one noticed his leaving. The last thought she remembered thinking before the grief and pain she had pushed away for so long overtook her was, I feel safe with his arms around me. No one has ever given me that.