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Crabbe and Goyle were two great hulking mountains designed purely for the purpose of protecting those that were smaller than themselves. They seemed fit enough to be bodyguards, bulky enough to be bouncers, and neither of which said more than they ever should, making them silent enough to be able to kill and not tell. They could not be used for stealth. They were there as back-up normally. The Heavies. The muscle.
That Crabbe and Goyle knew their place did not seem to bother them. Rather, it aided them greatly in the scheme of things. There were very few people who truly knew why they were offered positions within the Inner Circle. Most of them thought of the duo as Lucius' main set of bodyguards. A foolish assumption since Lucius normally did not travel with them, nor was often seen in their company.
Voldemort knew the truth. As did Lucius. Crabbe and Goyle had been friends together since they had been born. Their mothers had encouraged their sons to play in the sandbox and to shove down the little kids and take the few sickles their parents had given to them to buy a few sweets.
It was at this point that Crabbe and Goyle learned that their muscle did not have to be used for defending the meek and mild. The weak would be looked down upon, as would all who catered to their needs. Crabbe and Goyle existed as two people who shared the same mindset. It was the way of their life and they enjoyed living it. They did not care to be looked down upon by anyone.
There was a slight flaw in their plans, however. One that was minor but could get them into trouble later on in life. Their muscle seemed to come to no good save for getting them what they wanted. It was Crabbe who had finally spoken up about it, stating that they could not go through life stealing a few sickles here and there, and it was Goyle who first created 'the purpose.'
The Purpose, a very unique perspective on things, came about on a regular day at a regular hour while Crabbe and Goyle were smoking in an alleyway outside of Knockturn. The Purpose came to Goyle just as the old woman who lived ten stories up dumped out her laundry water onto their heads. After much cursing, Goyle stated those few choice words to Crabbe that would forever change their lives.
"We need to apply ourselves."
Strange words to hear from a ten year old's mouth. But Crabbe and Goyle were rather unique in their own way. The application of themselves yielded very few favourable results. They tried using their bulk to get money the honest way. A few labour jobs here and there but nothing that amounted to much.
The Purpose was a taxation on themselves and they longed to find their place in life. Preferably something comfortable, something with money, something so they wouldn't have to work for the meek and mild.
They found their Purpose at Hogwarts. Not so strangely, it was in the defense of another. Lucius, Walden, Mulciber, Severus, they weren't weak. But they were smaller than Crabbe and Goyle. They didn't have as much muscle. The duo soon fell right into place with the crowd, learning how to apply themselves to extort things from others, learning how to intimidate with a single grunt, learned how to break a few bones without it getting too messy.
Like true Slytherins, they stayed around the source of the power, the light that they obeyed. Lucius rewarded them greatly for their troubles, sharing in the wealth they provided him with courtesy of a few knuckle-crackings. More than that, though, Lucius learned their little secret.
Crabbe and Goyle were intelligent people.
They said little because it was not demanded of them. They did not problem solve because that was not where they were needed. The brains were divided up between the other people of the Circle. They were needed elsewhere. The Purpose guided them, told them when to apply themselves, told them where they would be needed to glean the most rewards.
They became idiots only because they could be looked at as nothing else. It was alright for people to think of them as lesser than the others, for that was their place. And it helped them immensely. No one would think of them as anything but fools who tagged along with Lucius simply because he needed them as back-up in case a victim got a bit out of hand.
Each Death Eater had their calling, their place. Crabbe and Goyle knew their own. Lucius brought them into the fold to act as they did back in Hogwarts, but they got into the Inner Circle because Voldemort had seen within them and knew their little secret.
So it was that they stayed loyal to Lucius first, for he needed them not just for brawn, but because he could count on them, assuming they were alone, to have a decent, civilized conversation with them. Neither Crabbe nor Goyle questioned why Lucius found this so amusing, but they were glad of the attention.
They were surprised when Severus Snape re-entered the picture, but seemed not to care. That was not what they were there for. He was not covered with blood as he was before, they noticed.
"Has Malfoy been down?"
The tone of Snape's voice struck Goyle as odd. Indifference, but there was something else there. Something he couldn't identify completely. Something that sounded nervous. Crabbe opened his mouth to say that Lucius had just been down here, but was beaten to the punch by Travers.
"You just missed him. He was here before, outlining his plan. I'm assuming he already told you everything." Goyle detected a hint of bitterness in the younger man's voice. Always so jealous.
"Said that Dumbledore's been released and is around the castle somewhere," Macnair continued.
A snicker from Mulciber. "Dumbledore's a prisoner in his own castle!"
He laughed uproariously and Crabbe and Goyle moved themselves so that
both were on either side of the man. It would not do to have the red-
haired psychopath going into one of his more disturbing moods and
launching himself at anyone.
"Malfoy said that he would be going by Gryffindor Tower. Going to look for some Mudblood chick or something. Said that Potter was supposed to be here too," Avery concluded for the rest of them.
Crabbe and Goyle simply stood there. They had listened to Lucius speak and could have answered, but, like always, were treated as though they were mute. No bother. They had gotten too used to the treatment to want anything different. Better the mountains not speak, after all.
They grunted in affirmation.
Let the killer go, don't let your mother know,
Don't go out tonight, don't even try to fight,
'Cos I can see, I've got the thing you need,
And I'm here to stay, it's gonna be that way,
Don't try to run, don't try to scream,
Believe me, The Hammer's gonna smash your dream
I'm in your life, just might be in your wife,
Could be behind your back, I might be on your track,
And it might be true, I might be onto you,
I'll scare you half to death, I'll take away your breath,
Don't try to see, don't try to hide,
Believe me, The Hammer's gonna make you die
There ain't no way, you'll see another day,
I'm shooting out your lights, bring you eternal night,
And your eternal tricks, begin to make me sick,
The only thing I know, is that you've gotta go,
Don't try to hide, don't look around,
Believe me, The Hammer's gonna bring you down,
Believe me, The Hammer's coming down!