The Piano
It was meant for sport. Nothing more, nothing less. A sweet, little
pasttime that would keep a select few occupied for a few hours. Or a
day, depending on how long they decided to stay.
It shouldn't have meant anything, really. It was a small town,
comprised of Catholic Muggles, and it was on the way to their next
destination.
The six of them had mutually agreed to visit the town and have a bit
of fun before moving on to their next target.
The Death Eaters in the small group consisted of Lucius Malfoy,
Severus Snape, Walden Macnair, and three other young Death Eaters.
At the end of the war, the blame was placed solely on the three
nameless ones. But at the end of the war, there was no one left in
the town to stand witness.
A church. A few houses. A convenience store. The six Death Eaters had
walked in, unannounced, uninvited, and unimpressed. They had hit
harder places than this, taken bigger towns, murdered more than the
small population that resided there.
But what really got on their nerves was the faith of the town. It was
a faith placed solely in the church, in their God. Their faith wormed
its way into the Muggles hearts, making them know exactly which path
they should choose and having no doubt about their destiny in life.
It made Lucius sick. It angered Macnair. And Severus only scowled,
showing his marked disdain.
They walked through the town first, taking note of the houses, of the
location of the church and store, of the Muggles. There were no
Aurors here. There were no other wizards or witches. There was only
God and the townspeople.
"It shouldn't take long," Macnair noted, purchasing a twelve pack box
of beer at the convenience store. "Maybe a few hours."
The clerk rang up the purchase, smiling all the while.
This in turn made Lucius, who was purchasing a pack of cigarettes,
smile in return. It was a very thin-lipped smile.
"Will there be anything else, sir?" The clerk asked, noting the
stranger's odd attire.
"I would like your wife," Lucius replied pleasantly enough.
"I'm sorry?" The clerk asked, confused. It was a hot day and his fan
had been turned on at full power. Apparently air conditioning had yet
to be invented here.
"I said I am fine. That will be all, thank you." Lucius took the pack
and made his way back outside where Severus waited.
Macnair paid for his beer and soon joined them. "Definitely a few
hours," he muttered to his two companions.
The church cast a shadow over the town, shading the houses from the
scorching sun. Lucius, having felt his skin start to burn, had made
his way over to the nearest tree.
Macnair dropped his box of beer and sat atop it, as though guarding
it.
The three Death Eaters were standing around, looking a bit nervous
and out of place.
And Severus was watching the people walk back and forth. "Must be
church hours. All these people have is their religion." His tone was
curt and annoyed. He had wanted to get to his next destination and
didn't see why Lucius had chosen to stop here of all places. "Hardly
a challenge," he added dryly, turning back to look at the blond.
Lucius looked up, but failed to grace Severus with a look. Instead,
he turned his attention to the church. The Muggles were all going
inside of it, holding their children's hands, dressed in their best
garb.
Severus frowned, not liking to be ignored but not about to say
anything about it, and turned his attnetion to Lucius' point of view.
"It must be Sunday. They normally come to church on today. Or a
special occasion to them," he explained, knowing that none of his
companions knew all that much of Muggles and their proclivities. He
really couldn't care less just what the Muggles were intending to do.
"Ya lost your audience, Snape."
Severus turned to Macnair, then looked over to where Lucius was. The
blond had left the shade and was heading into the church, following
the Muggles and striking up a conversation with one of them.
"Should we follow?" Macnair asked, standing up.
Severus contemplated for all of three seconds. "No. Let him have his
fun. We have plenty to do out here."
Lucius entered the church along with an old Muggle woman he had been
talking to. The church was painted extravagantly and yet, lacked the
expensive tastes he was used to seeing. Devoted though these people
were, they hadn't the funds to put together an appropriate building.
More's the pity.
He sat at one of the pews and looked about him. The Muggles were
shuffling in, keeping their voices down, smiling at their children,
quietly sitting down in eager anticipation.
Lucius stood, already bored of sitting.
This was not a target. This had no motivation behind it. This was an
unmediated attack. No plan, no substance.
No reality.
Not without pain. He made his way up to where the vicar normally
stood. The man wasn't there yet and a few Muggles looked his way as
he went up the stairs to the altar.
Candles to his right where all lit up, glowing remarkably. He reached
out a hand to touch one of the flames, felt it burn against his skin.
Drawing his hand back, he looked over the congregation.
The trickle of Muggles flowing into the church was beginning to come
to a halt.
Perfect.
He made his way to the pulpit and cleared his throat. All eyes now
turned to him.
The three Death Eaters's antics had turned ugly. They were now trying
to draw and quarter a Muggle without horses or blades. Macnair
watched and chuckled a bit.
"Do you remember being that young?" He asked Severus who ignored
him. "No reason why we can't join 'em."
Macnair walked away from his guarded box and grabbed ahold of one of
the Muggle's arms, yanking it back harshly enough as to rip the limb
from its socket.
Severus rolled his eyes and then caught sight of a young boy walked
with his mother.
The boy caught sight of the black haired, black clad man with the
pale face.
And started wailing. Loudly.
Severus started making his way over to them.
With a wandless spell, the door to the church slammed and locked
itself shut.
"Today," Lucius addressed the congregation, "I shall show you your
God. We will play a game."
His eyes fell across the organ in the church, right in the middle of
the altar, gleaming at him. Lucius was not a fanciful man but he
could almost swear that the instrument was singing to him.
"We shall see just who is spared. And who is not. Who does your God
prefer? And is he more powerful than My God?" He left the pulpit and
made his way to the organ, seating himself down, fingers going onto
the keys.
Wordlessly, he began to play, his style of music almsot as erratic as
his words and movements. Impulsivity was they key word. And the tune
flowed out of him as though it was himself.
And really, that was all it was. The notes were harsh, the song
lilting and soft, played at a fast beat. The organ reverberating
against the church, the people mesmerized by the fluidity of the
sound. His fingers moved at an abnormal pace, first fast, then slow,
painfully slow.
The scales were then mutilated under his hands, the organ becoming an
instrument of passion, of pain, of hate, and of love.
The song was unknown and never would be heard again by human ears.
The notes were high then low, everything a contradiction in itself.
And then became forboding as the flames on the candles climbed higher
and higher.
Until the candles fell from their perch onto the wooden church floor.
Lucius played on, one hand reached back to undo the ponytail holder
from his hair, letting the silver wisps fly freely. His head moved
back then forth, in time to the music as his fingers moved more
quickly this time, more freely upon the keys.
The fire rose from the church floor, quickly spreading. The town had
suffered a heat spell and a drought. Everything was dry. Everything
but the music that nearly combusted from everything that was being
put in it.
And still Lucius played on.
The congregation had gotten up now, trying to exit the church and
panicking when they found the door locked.
A few people screamed which, Lucius found, added to the music.
Screaming at the right places, he composed the notes to include the
harmonious sounds made from the Muggles.
The higher they screamed, the higher he played.
Severus had been the first to see the vicar. He had also been the
first to hear the ungodly music coming from the church, and had seen
the flames start to shine from the windows. The vicar was tall and
lanky and brandishing a crucifix. A tall and silver one which Severus
found rather amusing. The man was going towards the church, then
stopped when he saw the flames start to engulf the building. His
sight moved to Macnair and the three Death Eaters.
The music sped up. Sounds jumping out of the organ as though it had
been created for just this purpose. So fast, so beautiful, so cruel
in its beat.
"Lord! Save us from these foul fiends!" The vicar screamed up at the
sky, holding his curcifix as though it had the power to destroy these
people.
The fire burned brightly still, consuming the pews one by one. Lucius
played throughout as the church got hotter and the flames danced to
his tune.
The three Death Eaters turned to stare at the vicar and laughed.
Macnair only grinned and spat on the ground. Severus dropped the
small boy he was terrorising and made his way to the vicar. If Lucius
gave them this town to have "fun" in, why then he would have his fun.
The first to go was the silver cross, plucked from the vicar's hands
and thrown away into the dirt. "Foul fiends?" He asked the vicar, his
voice moving up a beat from its usual tone.
The fire was starting to eat away at the people inside the church.
Still, they screamed on, burning alive, roasting in their own melting
flesh.
Screaming louder. The music was reaching an unbearable beat. Lucius
neither broke into a sweat or stopped his little number. His music
was his words, and in it he was screaming right back at the people,
daring them to call upon their God.
When it was clear just who's God was more powerful. The organ began
to feel hot to the touch but Lucius' fingers were moving so quickly,
they weren't burned in the slightest.
"But we are human. We are, biologically the same as you." Severus
stated, leaning down to talk to the vicar, as though trying to
rationalize their position to the Muggle.
The three Death Eaters didn't seem to agree with being compared to
Muggles, but they quickly shut up when Severus waved a hand
dismissively at them.
"We love and hate. And we hate you. You pathetic, god fearing little
muggle, who so boldly call upon your lord and call us fiends."
Severus rarely let his anger show, even though he felt it constantly
burning within him. But there was something else in the air that was
affecting him. And not only him, but also his companions, as well as
the townspeople.
Macnair smirked, enjoying seeing this side of Severus and then looked
towards the church. The building was almost entirely aflame.
Lucius was not facing the fire but he saw it in the reflection of the
golden pipes of the organ. He watched as it devoured another person.
Watched in delight as a child was consumed.
The music couldn't get any faster, but he made it go higher. He
paused for a pensive minute and then played on as the fire ate
another. Screaming, all around him, burning flesh, the stench of
roasted Muggle. So bright, everything was so bright it was blinding.
Severus caught the collar of the long religious gown the man was
wearing and threw him to the ground, making the man wallow in the
same dirt as his beloved crucifix resided. The townspeople who hadn't
gone inside the church could only stand there in amazement and watch
the scene before them, unsure of what to look at, the fire in the
church or their vicar whom they had placed so much trust in. It all
had the same surreal atmosphere of an accident.
Impossible to look away, impossible to ignore.
Severus moved gone down, and sat astride the shaking vicar, The vicar
looked abnormally small. "Where is your lord now? I'm going to rape
you, you disgusting little freak, and no one will save you. Because
there are no saviours, no bold messiahs any more."
And there never would be again. The vicar could only tremble in fear
at the demon in front of him. And listen to the insane music of the
demon in his church.
The church no longer resembled a church. Some people had tried going
out the windows but had found that they were unbreakable. Lucius
played on, moving in tune to the music, tilting his head back and
occasionally adding in his own screams to the rhythm. Behind him, the
roof of the church started to collapse as his music reached its
frenzied climax. The rafters fell atop the people, atop the women,
atop the men, atop the Muggles. The inferior Muggles, trapping them
underneath as the fire came closer to them, taking its time in
consuming and burning away every inch of their bodies.
Macnair, like the vicar, was torn between the two spectacles in front
of him. He watched Severus consume the vicar as the fire consumed the
congregation. He watched as the church started collapsing. "Lucius!"
He screamed out, knowing that his voice wouldn't be heard over the
music, over the screaming. "Get the hell out of there!"
Even if Lucius heard Macnair's screams, he wouldn't have budged. He
had to play on, had to see for himself just who was stronger. His God
or the Muggles. Who would be spared? The church collapsed around him,
the fire singed the bottom of his robe, coming for him now. Coming to
devour him.
And he didn't stop playing, needing the music now to sustain him,
needing it as he needed his words, his little games. There was danger
to be had here, danger, excitement, fun.
He had chosen this town.
He is never without purpose.
He would find out today just who would come out on top.
"Lucius!" Macnair screamed again. He was beginning to get frantic.
The man still had not emerged form the church. A quick look at
Severus told him that the man was busy with something else and the
three Death Eaters could only watch in horrific fear as to what was
going on around them. They weren't made for this, Macnair realized.
None of them knew what they would witness.
And Lucius should not have been the one to show them, Macnair
realized.
He screamed the man's name again as the music invaded his mind. He
needed to block it out, Voldemort would skin him alive if anything
was to happen to his crazed second-in-command.
Lucius heard the rafters fall closer to him, felt the fire against
his back. He moved his shoulders forwards, drawing his robe tighter
around him, feeling the heat sink into his skin.
He was screaming now. He was the one making the music, not the organ.
And still he played on.
Macnair was about to run into the church, battling the flames in an
attempt to yank Lucius out if need be when a crack of thunder rumbled
over head.
A few drops of rain started to fall.
Lucius lifted his head to see the heavens.
And only the dark clouds looked down. Filling the sky, creating
lightning and thunder and rain.
Gallons of water poured down upon them, the fire being extinguished
before it reached him. Screaming for the last time, he jumped up,
stretching out his hands to embrace the water, reveling in his life,
in his world he had just created.
Twirling about in the wreckage of the church, he laughed until he
cried.
The organ, now without its master, collapsed onto itself, the pipes
bending,the keys falling off.
And Lucius laughed, even as he got soaked by the rain, even as
Macnair reached him and hauled him into the safety of one of the
empty houses.
They had destroyed the entire town the next day. Leaving behind the
vicar who pleaded that Severus not leave him, leaving behind no
witnesses, and no church.
They exited on foot, exactly the way they had come in, and marched
onwards to their intended destination.
~Finis~