The bright moon rose above the heads of the three on the terrace, but beneath its glow, Malfoy Manor had lost its usual elegance. Instead, it was as eerie as a vast graveyard; even the pleasant breeze drifting by carried a chill of desolation.
"Ah, the task. Of course, I'm sure you can accomplish it. After all, you only had to deliver a message, didn't you, Lucius? If you could even botch that up, I'd be rather surprised—"
The Dark Lord made a witty remark. Lucius and Narcissa had no choice but to smile along, though the expressions on their faces looked more like tears than smiles.
"The question is—"
Voldemort smiled coldly.
"Dumbledore. Oh, and Breen. They didn't suspect why you suddenly paid a visit to Hogwarts, did they?"
"No, my master—"
Lucius remained on his knees.
"I didn't see Dumbledore. It was Breen who let me into Hogwarts. I told him I was going to Hogsmeade to discuss a business deal and had stopped by Hogwarts on the way to bring Draco the pastries Narcissa had prepared for him. Then, using the excuse that I wanted to know how Draco had been doing at school lately, I asked to see Severus. After Breen arranged for Severus to meet me, he went off to teach his class. That gave me the perfect opportunity to deliver your orders to Severus."
Sniff. Sniff.
The Dark Lord listened quietly to Lucius's account. He asked no further questions, merely widening his narrow nostrils and sniffing the air, which carried a faint stench of blood.
"Very good, Lucius. Though your wisdom cannot compare with the Dark Lord's, your... your cleverness and little tricks do occasionally come in handy—"
Voldemort said with a soft laugh.
"Get up, Lucius. We can have a chat. To be