The thin line...
"Avada Kedavra!"
Malevolent energy crackled all around, lighting the clearing with a vicious green glow.
Screaming inside, Valerius scrambled for the cover of the nearest tree, and leaned momentarily against the trunk, winded and suddenly horribly alone.
What had just happened? Had Padma reached her port-key in time? Or... The thought of that deadly green fire licking and crazing and burning across her body, consuming her as she was transported via the portkey, made his stomach lurch.
He couldn't face it. Not his Padma. Not yet. He put a hand over his mouth and swallowed down bitter bile, blinked back the tears that threatened to blur his vision and ruthlessly forced himself to quell the rising horror. I am stone.
The floo-stick... He could contact the war room. He could find out...
...Sounds of movement across the clearing snapped him back into focus. No time for that. Kill the bastard who might have just murdered your fiancée. Use the tree for cover and make sure that he won’t see you...
"Avada Kedavra!"
The ground on which the Death Eater had been standing erupted into a blaze of cold green energy. There was a flurry of black and the searing sting of ozone as a return hex reduced a nearby bramble to ash.
Valerius was lethally accurate.
This Death Eater was lightening fast.
And so it went. Deadly slices of power flew around the gloomy woodland, intense and hostile, one step out of place and life would end in an instant.
It had been a long time since Valerius had duelled like this. Six long months of slow recovery since he had killed his mother, and over two years since he had kidnapped his sister, facing Flavius with the absolute conviction that at the end of the fight there would only be one person left standing. Deep inside, part of him was enjoying this far too much.
I have been through too much to let it all end here. Toyah needs me. Padma...
Padma is dead.
The cold certainty hit him with a pain more intense than any curse, and he faltered, momentarily lost to grief.
NO! His mind rebelled, recoiling away from the thought. You don't know for certain. Don't think it! This is dangerous. This is where you lose, and if she is still alive... He struggled hard for control. Anger, desperation, despair - he could not afford to fall prey to any of them. Dark arts and passionate emotions were a lethal mix. Valerius knew this only too well. Another flick of his wand sent a small tree crashing towards his opponent, buying him enough time to gather his wits.
You are an Order member. You should not be using dark arts at all.
He quietly told himself what the Order could do with that thought and sent a cutting hex out across the clearing, shimmering silver and black threads, interwoven and sharp as a dozen throwing knives. A moment later the tree he had been taking cover behind burst into spontaneous flame, forcing him to dive for cover once again.
The was an unexpected break in the hostilities. Ah, you are calling my bluff, yes? I know all of the tricks that you bastardos might play. Even so, Valerius cautiously risked a glance across the clearing.
A slight movement caught his attention, a glint of light striking something pale. The Death Eater had pulled back his hood. Low visibility put you at a disadvantage, si? Valerius took careful aim, and then lowered his wand slightly, incredulous. Malfoy. It was Malfoy. That vile turncoat had sold them all out. Valerius had never wanted him in the Order in the first place and now...
And now you die, traitor.
...but wait. As he watched, the Death Eater removed his mask. Valerius swore under his breath. It wasn’t Lucius, but Draco, the one person that the Order had taken an oath not to harm.
Define harm.
Valerius smiled grimly.
"Petrificus Totalus."
*
The Italian wizard strode across the clearing and quickly disarmed his opponent, confiscating his wand. Then, drawn by a morbid fascination, he shoved the other's sleeve back, revealing the ugly twisted dark mark burned into the pallid skin, and stared long and hard. He'd seen the mark before, of course, yet this was different. This could so easily have been his own ruined flesh.
"Was it worth it? Was it?"
Unable to speak under the body-bind, Draco could only stare back through slightly glassy eyes.
"I never thought you would go through with it. Not for one second." Valerius jabbed his wand painfully up into Draco's throat. "Idiot. Even your father changed sides once he realised that the fight was hopeless. You did know that, si?"
Inside, Valerius was seething, and the dark intensity of his fury frightened him, more than a little. This was how he had felt when he had killed Alessandra. Clinical, cold, frenzied, and just a little bit unhinged.
"I do not want to kill you, Draco." He lied through a clenched jaw, unable to stop the raw hatred in his voice. "I value the past. We were friends once. Good friends. But.. I just watched you, without any second thought, you murdered..."
It took tremendous effort to focus on the Oath and not just kill Draco outright. Wild-eyed, Valerius took a moment to regain control. It was a real struggle. All of his instincts were screaming at him to give the bastard what he deserved.
Padma would not want him to break his oath. Padma would tell him that he was better than that. So would Severus.
There was such a fine line between light and dark, especially here, in no man's land. Valerius reached down and pulled a stout sharp-looking knife from his boot-sheath, noting with dark satisfaction the flicker of fear in the other wizard's eyes. This felt powerful. The blade glittered cruelly in the sunlight, its wickedly sharp point tracing over Draco's jugular. With a slightly flamboyant gesture, Valerius hacked off a lock of blond hair and carefully pocketed it.
If he could not break this Oath, perhaps he could bend it a little.
*
Blood rilled and pooled around the point of the blade. Valerius smiled coldly as he heard Malfoy's breath catch in his throat.
The cut was not deep enough to do any permanent damage, but it would be deep enough to leave a fine tracery of scars once it had healed, and in the meantime it would be very painful. A Flavius speciality.
After a few moments of intense concentration, the Italian carefully cleaned the blade on his robes, and sheathed the knife. Then he took up his wand and pressed it into the injury, admiring his handiwork.
"This is a reminder, Malfoy, and a promise. You owe me a life debt. You will never forget that I could have killed you, and I chose not to, out of honour for our past." A wispy tendril of magic crept from the wand and sank into the open wound, cauterising the flesh.
"However, if Padma.. If she..." Just say it, Visconti. "If she is dead. Then I will hunt you down, and I will kill you in cold blood. Sotto giuramento. This is my promise to you."
Valerius held Draco's gaze a few moments longer, close enough to be intimidating, his mis-matched eyes inches away from Draco's own. He could feel the other wizard's breath on his face. Uncomfortable with the proximity, he stepped away. Nonetheless, it had felt good, so very good, to speak that oath.
The bleeding had finally stopped, leaving the new scar raw and unbearably painful to touch; a dark bloody undulating serpent, unmistakable to any who knew the Visconti insignia. With a curt nod of satisfaction, Valerius yanked Draco’s sleeve down to cover it. "You are so keen to decorate yourself with snakes, that I thought you might appreciate a matching mark on your other arm."
Yes, it had been petty and cruel.
Yes, he had enjoyed every minute.
Truly, I am Flavius Visconti's son. I am not proud of it, but I cannot deny it.
It had been Padma's idea to transform his fob-watch into the portkey. Genius-girl. It meant that by pulling the ornate silver chain, Val could remove it from his pocket without activating it. He held it up to the light.
Smiling maliciously, Val gave Draco a considered look. "This is a portkey." He explained patiently, as though talking to someone who was five years old. "It could take you anywhere. For all you are aware, I could have made it location for the bottom of the lake, or over the edge of a cliff."
The body-bind should be good for a few hours yet, and Draco was unarmed. Safe enough to send back to the infirmary. Briefly Valerius considered travelling back with the Death Eater, handing him over and then finding out if Padma had made it, but no. His duty was to fight, while he still could. He owed it to Padma, to all of the victims of his father, and he would see this through to the bitter end.
Careful not to touch the watch himself, Valerius dropped the portkey down the back of Draco's shirt, and stepped away hastily.
*
"Veleno to Lotus. Please, respond." Valerius closed his eyes and sent up a silent prayer. Please please please, if any deity that might be watching over us might look favourably... She does not deserve to die. We do not deserve...
There was a cold sensation as the flames engulfed his hand. Surprised, Valerius hastily dropped the floostick and stared at it in disbelief as the greenish-purple fire cheerfully consumed all of his remaining supply of floopowder. It was gone, all of it. And now he had no way of finding out if Padma was still alive.
He swore violently and colourfully, in several languages.
The adrenaline that had been carrying him through finally left him, and he sank to his knees, broken and exhausted.