Chapter 264: Remnants of the Past

Disclaimer: 

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 264: Remnants of the Past

The sound of footsteps echoed over the stone tiles of the alleys as two individuals ventured further into Knockturn Alley at a brisk pace.

One of them was a woman with olive skin and amber eyes. She was wearing a discreet dress, but even then, she could not hide her extreme beauty from the few onlookers in the alley.

Had she been alone, many would have already approached her. The reason they didn't was because of her companion.

Those who had lived in Knockturn Alley long enough were able to develop a sixth sense to detect dangerous people who should never be offended.

Those who failed to develop this sense… did not live too long.

"This place hasn't changed," the one next to the beauty spoke with a mix of nostalgia and displeasure. No one could see their face because it was well covered under a black hood, but the little skin that could be seen was extremely pale, almost white. And by the voice, it was easy to tell this was also a woman.

"It didn't change much, My Lady," the beauty answered with utmost respect. She was usually aloof and arrogant, but in front of this person accompanying her today… she did not dare to try anything.

Lady Zabini did her best to contain her nervousness. Her life and her son's depended on her doing a good job and not making 'Her'... angry. And from what she had heard, that was not an easy job.

"Is it too far?" the black-robed woman spoke again.

"Just a little bit, My Lady. It is near the end of the alley. It's a very private place…"

The black-robed lady made a sound of annoyance but did not speak again and just continued to follow the figure of Trisha Zabini as she navigated through the narrow corridors.

After a few more minutes of walking, the two of them entered a corridor with no apparent exit. "It's just at the end, My Lady."

"Would you stop with the 'My Lady' already? It makes my skin crawl… I am done with all of that noble bullshit."

Lady Zabini started to panic. "I-I'm so sorry, Mi-, I mean… I have been told not to use your name or last name in public…"

She stopped and considered Zabini's words. "Ah… that's right. If the wrong person learns of my identity, it could be trouble… just call me 'Miss' then."

"As you wish, Miss. We are here." Lady Zabini indicated towards the old wooden door leading into a certain bar.

"What a shithole… that bastard Yaxley better have some compensation prepared for asking me to come here." The black-robed woman pushed the door open and went inside.

She then stopped after taking no more than two steps.

Lady Zabini almost collided with her. There was barely any light here, and the other woman had stopped all of a sudden. "Miss?..." Trisha peeked her head and glanced around the bar. "What happened here?!"

"That's what I was going to ask…" She pulled her hood off, freeing her long black hair. She did not look a day older than thirty even though she had been around for much longer. Her previously violet eyes were now completely yellow, even more so than Lady Zabini's, to the point of being her most distracting feature, only followed by how pale her skin was.

To the knowledgeable about dark creatures, those two features combined in such a young and attractive individual would be a clear indicator of her true nature.

Lady Zabini, however, had other worries at the moment. The meeting she had helped arrange appeared to have been ruined.

The bar was a complete mess. Broken bottles, chairs, and tables were everywhere.

She saw two large men lying on the ground, and they did not seem to be breathing. Another person had their head stuck inside the wooden counter. And the one she recognized as the barman was resting on top of the counter with his face down.

There was no trace of Yaxley, but as far as she knew, he could also be somewhere in the middle of all this mess. "Are they... dead?" she said in almost a whisper.

"Those three are dead…" Her yellow eyes moved to the barman. "That big boy is still alive."

"What about Yaxley? Could he be somewhere in here? Maybe he is injured," Lady Zabini said.

"No… there is no one else in here." She said with absolute certainty.

Lady Zabini knew better than to ask how she could be so sure. But it was easy to reach the conclusion that it was due to this person's unique skills. Or as some people called them… dark gifts.

"Go on… wake him up." The 'Miss' pointed at Marcus, the barman. "I need an explanation for this."

"Immediately, Miss!" Trisha hurried to approach the bar. Once she was closer, she could see that the two large men on the ground were lying in a pool of blood. They seemed to have been stabbed with something.

"Urgg." She had to cover her nose. The scent of blood and… death, was almost asphyxiating at this distance. And she had to literally walk over the two dead men to reach the unconscious barman.

Lady Zabini averted her eyes away from the man incrusted inside the counter. She would rather not think about how painful his death must have been.

Instead, she focused on the unconscious large man. By his clothing, it was evident that this person was the barman. "This must be Marcus, the owner of the bar." She had never been here but at least knew that this bar had no employees because the owner trusted no one. So this person could only be the owner.

Lady Zabini then realized something else. "I think this man has been hit with some powerful mind spell… perhaps an obliviation. I don't believe it is going to be possible to wake him up for at least a few hours."

The other woman made a sound of displeasure. "Fine… bring him. We'll take him with us."

"Huh?... you want to take him?... there?" Zabini asked.

"Do you have any objections?" She raised an eyebrow.

Lady Zabini felt her blood run cold. "No! I mean… I'm very sorry, Miss! I was just wondering how I can carry him… he looks very heavy."

"You are a witch, aren't you? Surely you know a spell for that."

"Right…" Trisha thought that it was better to be taken for incompetent than a traitor. She pulled her wand and cast a levitating charm on the man's clothes so she could move him with ease.

"Let's go outside. I'll activate my portkey there." The other woman said before walking outside by herself and waiting a few feet away from the door.

Lady Zabini struggled to pass the large man through the door but received no help from her companion. Not that she expected any. Despite not being someone used to physical labor, she did not speak a single word of complaint and eventually, she made it to the woman's side while hanging onto the floating man. "We are ready, Miss…" she muttered as she cleaned the sweat from her forehead.

"Yes…" The dark-robed woman pulled a white mask out and held it in her left hand. "Grab onto my arm, dear." She instructed.

Lady Zabini did so and then waited to feel the pulling sensation caused by the activation of a portkey. But instead, she heard the 'Miss' speak again.

"Before we leave… we better clean this place. I don't want to leave anything for the Aurors."

"Miss?" Lady Zabini did not immediately understand the meaning of her words. Not until she saw her pull a wand and point it at the bar.

"Fiendfyre."

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