CHAPTER ONE.
CAN'T TURN BACK

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          The pristine girl with her hair free and outfit all black, sat in the middle of the table, across from the known Malfoy family and many chairs away from the mass murderer, Bellatrix Lestrange. There were about two dozen people sat at the large table, preventing her from seeing the most feared man in the wizarding world, Lord Voldemort.

Silence was found at the dining room of the Malfoy manor, which was now used as headquarters for the Death Eaters. The only light came from the illuminating fire which flickered every so often.

Just then, a man appeared inside the house from walking through the long, over exaggerated corridors of the manor, looking at the floating body of Charity Burbage. It pained the girl, Rosalie, to see her, since she had known the girl from her Muggle Studies class, which the floating woman used to teach at Hogwarts.

"Severus," the voice of Voldemort spoke to Rosalie's old Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, "I was beginning to worry you'd lost your way. Come. I've saved you a seat."

All eyes were on the figure of Snape, even Rosalie's, who watched to see what he would do. Everyone did, because none of them fully trusted Snape, not even after he killed Dumbledore when the youngest Malfoy could not. Rosalie, though, wanted to make sure he took his seat and continued the silence unless he would be spoken to again by their Lord.

"You know our hosts, of course, Severus." Voldemort spoke, only addressing the man who had just entered the manor, "Narcissa in particular has been most hospitable. Lucius, on the other hand, is, I fear, burdened by my presence. Are you, Lucius?"

Rosalie gulped. It was as if the haggard man was put on trial, which must have been what the feared man wanted from his words. Lucius looked up before asking, "My Lord?"

"Are you burdened?" Voldemort asked again, in the same strained voice which Rosalie had grown accustomed to over her two years of meeting secretly with him and others in the ranks.

"My Lord is always welcome here," Narcissa went to answer before her husband could speak.

This interested Rosalie greatly, yet she already knew the answer to all her questions. Years ago, she could remember Lucius standing tall, glad to be as wealthy and as known as he was, but now there was only a shell of that man. A sad, scared shell which Rosalie could not blame him for.

Before her thoughts could continue, Rosalie felt the slimy skin of a snake, Nagini, as she slithered over all who were presents' feet. Voldemort did nothing to stop it, and she could almost feel that he was smiling at this.

"You bring news I trust, Severus?" Voldemort brought the attention back to the man who once taught a young Rosalie Potions, which she could mention was one of her worst classes.

"It will happen Saturday next." Snape replied in the same bored, monotone voice that he always used, "At nightfall."

"And this information comes -"

"-from the source we discussed." Snape finished before Voldemort could give away a name, not that it mattered to Rosalie seeing as she knew that this would be the truth. She also knew it was better that the information of the one this informant stayed between only a few people, knowing that the Death Eaters could be ruthless if they knew anymore.

Another wizard, Yaxley as Rosalie had come to learn, leaned into the table, letting the flickering light lay upon him. "I have heard differently, my Lord. Dawlish, the Auror, let it slip that the Potter boy will not be moved until the thirtieth of this month, the night before he turns seventeen."

"This is a false trail," Snape discredited him quickly, but not so quickly it could be classified as a lie, "The Auror Office no longer plays any part in the protection of Harry Potter. Those closest to him believe we have infiltrated the Ministry."

"Well, they've got that right, then, haven't they?" a squat man cackled wheezily, as if cracking a joke. Others joined in as well, not loud enough to pinpoint one of them, but loud enough that all could be heard to some extent. But as soon as Voldemort raised his hand, all of the laughing seized.

"Rosalie," Voldemort took to looking at her, "is this the truth? Or a lie that Severus has told us?"

She gulped, "It is true, the original plan was for them to leave the thirtieth, but they changed it since they thought it would be safer..."

Voldemort nodded at her response, "And the mission? How is it going?"

"Very good, my Lord," she answered, "I believe that the boy will be going with that...that mudblood friend on the run, I will go with them if you see fit."

She hated that word, mudblood. But what else could she say? It was what she had to do, and she would never think it the proper term to be used to call out a muggleborn like Hermione Granger.

"Yes," Voldemort nodded again at her, as if proud of her in some way that made her stomach twist, "Yes...do that."

Then, he turned his attention to someone else, letting there be a pause before he said anything else, allowing Rosalie to have time to calm her heart. Fiddling with her fingers, she waited for another conversation to commence.

"Pius," Voldemort addressed another man in the room, "what say you about the original situation?"

Thicknesse looked up, not liking the attention he had gained, "One hears many things, my Lord. Whether the truth is among them is not clear."

"Spoken like a true politician," Voldemort said, "You will, I think prove most useful, Pius. Where will he be taken? The boy?"

There needn't be anymore explanation after 'the boy', seeing as everyone knew that only one person had been given that title. While Rosalie had grown accustomed to using Potter when she spoke about him, she knew exactly the moment he said it who Voldemort was talking about.

"To a safehouse," Snape took up answering, "Likely the home of someone in the Order. I'm told it has been given every manner of protection possible. Once there, it will be impractical to attack him. We may have compromised the Ministry, but there are those who remain loyal to him. As long as the Ministry stands, his allies within will have the means at their disposal to insure his safety."

"My Lord," Bellatrix spoke to him, breaking the silent rule that no one should speak unless he had spoken to them, "if I might, I'd like to volunteer myself for this task. I'd like to kill the boy."

A wail sounded from Charity Burbage then, releasing Rosalie's train of thought from the conversation between Voldemort and Bellatrix. She felt guilt rise in her, but she knew she was powerless in here, and it would be impractical to do anything at the given moment, since it would probably lead her to be killed instantly.

"Wormtail!" Voldemort yelled with red eyes, "Have I not spoken to you about keeping our guest quiet?"

"Yes, m-my Lord," Wormtail stuttered, "Right away, my Lord."

Pettigrew scrambled out of his seat to take care of their 'guest', and Voldemort returned his gaze to Bellatrix, whom his attention was on before.

"As inspiring as I find your bloodlust, Bellatrix, I must be the one to kill Harry Potter. But I face an unfortunate complication. It has recently come to my attention that my wand and Potter's share the same core. They are, in some ways, twins. We can wound but not fatally harm one another. Which means, if I am to kill him...I will have to do it with another's wand."

Everyone at the table stiffens, even Bellatrix who had been known to be the most loyal of all the Death Eaters. Rosalie knew she was safe, though, that she would need her wand to complete the task she had already been given by him and that he would not take her wand. But everyone else, she was not sure.

"Come now. Surely one of you would like the honor?" Voldemort spoke, and Rosalie wanted to roll her eyes because that would be no honor, at least not according to her. "What about...you, Lucius?"

Lucius peered up, allowing everyone to see how beaten and stressed he was. There was stubble on his chin and bags under his eyes, his hair was a slight mess as he swallowed.

"I require your wand," Voldemort requested again, but Lucius continued to be mute and paralyzed by his words. Give up his wand? That would make him less a wizard and more...a more a muggle, the thing most people there hated the most.

Lucius scanned the eyes of everyone else, but none met his, not even Rosalie, who was too paralyzed by fear. Soon, he rolled his wand slowly across the table until it landed to Voldemort's skeletal hand.

He lifted the wand up, "Do I detect elm?"

"Yes, my Lord," Lucius complied to give him the information, seeing no reason to fight anymore.

"And the core?"

"Dragon – dragon heartstring." Voldemort nodded, and Lucius felt himself stare at the wand of his Lord, which Voldemort caught him doing.

"My wand?" Voldemort questioned, "You can't possibly think I would give you my wand."

Lucius' eyes met the dark, soulless eyes of Voldemort, and for a moment he forgot how to speak. "No, my Lord," he bowed his head as a sign of loyalty.

Voldemort studied Lucius for a moment more before deciding that his time should no longer be spent over there. Raising his new wand, he pointed it up at the body, and with a flick, the body awakened. Charity Burbage began to twitch against her invisible bonds, but it was no use.

"For those of you who do not know, we are joined tonight by Miss Charity Burbage who until recently taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her specialty was Muggle Studies. It is Miss Burbage's belief that Muggles are not so different from us.

"She would, given her way, have us mate with them. To her, the mixture of magical and Muggle blood is not an abomination but something to be encouraged. I, of course, take a contrary view. But we're all civilized here. All adults. We can agree to disagree."

Charity, with tear-stained cheeks, turned to see Snape. And with a hoarse voice from fear, let out, "Severus, please. We're friends..."

His face remained impassive, and Rosalie silently gulped in anticipation for the worst to come. Voldemort's eyes narrowed, and hissed, "Avada Kedavra!"

And then, her body lifeless and heavy, plummets to the center of the table. Voldemort looked at the wand once more, satisfied with how it worked with him. And with one last comment, he said, "Nagini...dinner."