ᴅɪsᴘᴇʟ ᴍʏ ʙᴏʀᴇᴅᴏᴍ | ᴍᴀʀᴀᴅᴇᴜʀs' ᴇʀᴀ

Chapter 52: Entertainment For A Pureblood

Emily didn't register how much time had passed.

Anthony Mulciber came often without warning, with an unchanging smile on his face.

"How are you, Emily?" Mulciber knelt on the carpet in front of her.

Parker was silent. She promised herself to be silent and she will keep her word.

"You must understand, Emily," Anthony sighed sadly. "I need to know what you know. Pleasures like sex or torture are just petty delight compared to the power that knowledge can give us. Here, for example, Lucius is so eager to see you. There must be a reason, right?"

Mulciber rocked from side to side, his eyes half-closed.

"Little-little Emily... We will find you, we will overtake. Little-little Emily... All alone in a dark-dark forest and no one will save you when a whole flock follows your trail, when wolves bare their teeth, when wolves smell, when they are so close, and you are so afraid..."

His purring became quieter and gradually faded away. Emily saw in front of her only black branches, swollen roots and a white moon that covered the entire world. She didn't immediately notice that Mulciber stopped talking, and almost screamed, meeting his mocking eyes.

He sat with his head bowed and with obvious pleasure observed fear on her face.

"We gave your piece of the recipe to Snape," Mulciber breathed. "And baby Severus will figure it out. At this time Malfoy will deal with you personally. Well, after that... after that, we'll have fun."

The idea that Severus might have been involved in all this penetrated into her brain and gnawed furiously the last flimsy supports of her mind. Imagine that an old friend could be involved in this... It was impossible. But it was impossible to not believe Mulciber either. There was genuine confidence in his words that had nothing to do with bluffing.

A small, clumsy Severus with long spider fingers, smelling of herbs and heavy dope of the underground lab. Severus with his black eyes moving back and forth...

Mulciber' face flowed, changing and becoming paler, his hair grew at wild speed, in an instant reaching his shoulders. It was greasy and stuck together, hanging in heavy strands.

Severus Snape' black eyes looked at Emily Parker.

Emily thought she was screaming, but she didn't have enough strength to say a word.

"Emily," Severus said hoarsely, with a terrible smile, clasping his hands uncertainly in front of him. "Emily, it's probably weird for you to see me here... But it so happened that I joined the Death Eaters. You may know it already."

Severus was replaced by Lucius.

"You were waiting for me, Emily? Do you remember the fun we had that wonderful night?"

Lucius was replaced by Regulus.

"I saved you once, but times change, and you have to choose. You're left alone. Face it, Emily, face it..."

Regulus was replaced by Remus.

"We can't save you, Mel. We can't, it's too much. We can't endanger ourselves; we need to think about others..."

Strangers and familiar faces swam around, they smiled differently, squinted their eyes differently and spoke in different voices. It was madness. Like the universe had conspired against her in its persistent, relentless attempt to drive her crazy.

Emily knew that all these faces belonged only to Mulciber, but when Remus grabbed her hands and said she would never get out of here, and after a moment Severus proudly rolled back his sleeve, showing his dark mark, and his hand suddenly became Regulus' hand, she ceased to understand what to believe in.