A/N: Well hello there everyone! I have been feelign guilty for not updating but ...that damn block is till in place and the creativity trickled with the speed of a stalagmite being created in a damp cave.

But this is a small-ish chapter as a Happy Christmas from me and hopefully it is up to your standards. Maybe I will even manage to surprise you ;) Have a good time reading!

Viper

Chapter 17: Endings…and Beginnings (Rage)

"You know," Viper started walking around the three figures, leisurely flicking a knife over his hand," I've dreamt of this moment for so long I'm not even sure where to start."

He kept his pace, not even looking into the pale faces, the wide eyes, trembling shoulders. Though, admittedly Evan's eyes were just on this side of icy, narrowed and hateful. He'd have to remedy that.

The lights from the street flittered trough the lowered blinds, playing across the gray walls, painting the figures on the floor shades of greenish – yellow shadows. Not even the light could withstand the taint of the promise of evil to come, evil present, evil…watching.

Viper paused and cocked his head to the side.

"Yet, I think I would manage", he said distantly then finally stopped in front of the woman and with a swish of his hand that started them and elicited a whimper from her he removed the binding spell on her.

He stood unnaturally still, as she realized she could move again, saw the thoughts racing trough her head. What to do? Did she dare try and tackle the boy? But he was Viper…he was a demon…

She ended up simply clutching her child tighter. Probably thinking to comfort the terrified girl and protect her in some useless, misguided understanding that there was still something to do that would save them.

They stood like that for a while that to the captives must have looked like eternity – Viper watching, not blinking cruel green eyes, not a muscle shifting, and the woman looking back with the wild look of a trapped animal.

Slowly Viper's mouth quirked, a smooth, malicious stretch that excluded the rest of his face, turning it into a mask.

"I like you", he stated simply at the woman.

There were very few other things he could have said that would have managed to horrify them worse.

When he moved it startled them, it had seemed he had become inanimate.

"In fact I like you so much I'll grant you one wish", he steeped closer leaning into the woman's face, studying the shades in the small ring of iris still visible around her enormous pupils.

She flinched away and the girl in her arms whimpered, burying herself deeper in her embrace. How…cute.

"Well come on then. I don't have all day", he prodded with an incline to his head that brought associations with a bird of pray observing the blind and deaf wiggling bodies in some rodent's nest.

Her lips trembled but she didn't make a sound.

Sighing Viper started to turn away.

"See Evan? Even your wife is stu…"

"I…", the word sounded trough the air in a choked up, breaking voice.

The reaction was instantaneous as Viper turned around sharply to the woman who seemed in equal doses deathly afraid, surprised by the sound that had left her mouth and …was that a spark of hope Viper saw there? How delicious was that idiotic feeling that humans favored, again and again confirming his standing over his own race once more.

Gazing at her expectantly he corrected himself, as he was not exactly a part of 'their' race. The least of all he was a wizard.

The woman seemed to gather her courage and spoke again – hushed and trembling but deciding to plead before the demon all the same.

"I…I only wish you let Lily go. Please, I beg you. We will do anything you want if you would only let her go. My baby…", the words came lower and lower until she was whispering as her arms clutched at the huddling figure in a way that looked painful. The child didn't protest. In fact she'd frozen, tiny arms fisted in her mother's gown, breathing shallowly, in a chopped up pattern. Viper studied them again. It had always fascinated him – this unconditional trust, this…love, between parents and children. It was something he didn't really understand.

He smiled at her and by her reaction he knew she didn't find it reassuring at all. Still she hoped. He wondered.

"Ok", he said turning back around to see Evan's face and oh, the look in his eyes was exquisite. The man knew, knew Viper a little better than most, knew his wife was playing into his claws, his Game, and he couldn't even blink his eyes to communicate to her that she was making deals with the devil.

"What are you prepared to do if I grant your wish, then? Hm?", he kept his gaze on Evan's' delighting in the shifting shades of hate and despair there.

There, there Evan, you're getting there. Viper smirked at him – the real expression, showing him all the hate, all the smoldering sadistic delight he was about to take from this experience and just how much they will HURT before being granted death.

"I….I…anything..", she sounded defeated.

Viper wiped his face of all expression and turned back to Mrs. Evans.

"Very well then. Give me the girl.", he walked over and almost had to wrestle the girl from her mother's grip.

Suddenly the child was wailing, calling to her mother, her father, trashing in his grip. Mrs. Amon was having a hard time letting go as well, despite her claims.

It took only about twenty seconds of the drama from Viper to grow tired of it.

One hand fasted on the girl's throat, choking the screams out of her as she clawed at it, gurgling, teary, red eyes bulging on a sweet baby-face. At the same time a blade flashed in his other hand and there was an abrupt scream.

The woman was clutching her bleeding arms to her chest, sobbing.

The blade disappeared and he transferred his grip around the girl's shoulders, pinning her arms to her sides as she choked on air.

"Now that isn't very nice – you say you want me to let her go yet you try to stop me? Make up your mind.", he said lightly, contrary to his actions.

The woman continued sobbing but was nodding her head frantically as well.

"Please, please, I'm sorry. I just… please…"

Viper's mouth quirked again.

"Well, since I do like you I will let her go"

He dragged the almost limp girl to the side of the room and with a flick of his wand and before either Amon could understand what was happening the window was open and little Lily once again choking in Viper's grip. Only this time she was dangling over the edge of the window, tiny feet kicking over a couple of stories of London air.

"See Mrs. Amon – I always keep my promises" , he smiled at the woman and Evan's side, at his straining terrified eyes. Smiled like a thing of evil, smiled for Sow and most of all he smiled for himself.

Then he let little Lily go – just as he'd promised her mother.

"I'm here to see minister Fudge", Albus Dumbledore said to the Ministry guard who looked back in a way that made it clear he was questioning the old man's sanity.

"Minister Fudge is not here"

Dumbledore frowned and took out the letter.

"I received this missive tonight, so if you would be so kind as to check once again? Perhaps he has not yet alerted the whole guard to his presence?"

The man at the desk seemed skeptical but shrugged and motioned for the old wizard to follow him.

The Ministry was absolutely silent, only the faint trickle of the Fountain of Magical Brethren filling the cavernous space as their steps echoed.

The ding of the elevator seemed particularly loud to the old Headmaster's ears as he felt that same nagging feeling of wrongness ever since he'd read the urgent message from the Minister.

They made their way to the minister's floor in silence where the guard patiently listed to their question then looked at the old man the exact same way the previous guard had before explaining that the Minister had not been at his office for the last three days and that they must be mistaken.

So there in the empty Ministry, with the two night guards looking at him with suspicion for his senility he understood what had been nagging him all that time.

The letter, the time…

It was the Holidays, the Castle was empty, even the teachers were celebrating privately, and he was gone …

He Castle was defenseless…the Stone!

He didn't care for the guards' looks as he turned on his heel and hurried, almost running for the elevator, knowing he had been played the fool.

"Are you alright Sir? Sir? Sir? Sir, you can't…!"

"Shut the fuck up!" , Haze snarled at the medic who was trying to make him sit down in the back the ambulance , as he pressed the padding over his forehead to stop the blood.

Ignoring further protest from the man he went to the car and started rummaging around the front seat for his phone. Finding it he cursed again seeing the cracked display. It had switched off and it took a few minutes of cursing and pressing angrily on the power button and a good old bang against the side of the car but it finally blinked to life.

Feeling the vibrations of the cell as it switched on he knew when to type in his codes thanking everything and anything it worked.

He pressed speed dial on 5 and was answered immediately.

"Report"

"We had a little accident but we're alive. We lost the presents though"

"Please wait"

He waited staving off the paramedic who was still hovering around him with a fierce glare.

"A clean-up team is on the way. ETA 4 minutes"

Then there was the dial tone and Hazi slumped, allowing the haggard man to finally move him to the back of the ambulance.

He was tired, he was so tied and almost as angry.

Ten of their men plus most of the people that had been present at the party. Probably more than a hundred victims all together.

God, he didn't care who was responsible for the death of those teams but he was going after that fucker and he was going to make him suffer, if it was the last thing he did.

"You're not Snape"

The cloaked figure tuned from his perusal of the mirror to look at the boy, seemingly neither surprised not interested in his presence.

"No, but he does seem to fit the part of the villain , does he not ?"

The red-head looked scared but determined.

"What…what are you doing here Quirrel?"

The defense Professor seemed to study the wand that was pointing in his direction with some detached curiosity before dismissing it and its owner.

"Isn't it obvious? I want the Stone", he turned his back to the boy as once again studied the mirror, muttering more to himself than anyone else " But I do't understand, I can see it, see myself give it to my Lord. How do I get it out? Master? Master please help me!"

The red head was trembling , wondering what he was doing there, but readied himself to cast a curse.

She screamed. Oh, how sweetly she screamed. She screamed as if her heart was being torn out, as if he was killing her, maybe even sweeter.

She tried launching herself after her daughter but Viper caught her by the upper arm and wretched her away from the window, throwing her in the wall with a malicious glee and more power than a small body as his own should have had.

She was dazed by the collision but it didn't deter her she tried moving again and finally, finally Viper could let out the laugh that had bubbled in his chest. Let himself start to feel his revenge.

She screamed more, incoherent screams of rage and pain and grief and convinced her child was dead tried launching herself at him.

'Crucio!"

And he laughed some more as the screams continued in that sweet note of unbearable, maddening, inhuman pain as she writhed on the floor. Her body snapped in arcs , muscles pulling taught and tendons screaming with the pressure. Her hands curled into claws , distorted by the clenching muscles then released only to twitch spastically and clench again.

Viper laughed, enjoying her pain, and met Amon's eyes to the side, reveling in the cracks he could see in them. People said the eyes were the window to the soul and Viper could trace those cracks down, down into that hated body, to the very depths of it , into his that tainted soul. Could see it writhe like a wounded animal, just like his wife was under his curse.

He released the woman and she panted, barely taking painful gulps of precious air and twitching with the aftereffects of the Cruciatus.

He studied her, taking a step closer and toeing her with his boot. She twitched as if his mere presence were causing her more agony and he laughed again. It felt so good. He had waited so long.

He kicked her on her back from her sideways position. Admittedly she was a beautiful woman, although her hair had partially fallen out of the carefully arranged style and her gown was disheveled , her face wet and splotchy , her make-up having run into dark streaks down her cheeks , her beauty was still obvious.

Viper cocked his head, considered that new piece of observation .

He squatted over her so he was facing Amos and ran a mockingly gentle hand over her cheek smearing the darkness over it more as the woman twitched.

"You know Evan. You wife really is beautiful. I wonder how much you had to pay to have her ", the hand lifted and descended , vicously slapping the woman out of her half-aware state. She moaned in pain and tried to roll away but Viper held her in place.

"Now, now Mrs. Amon. There's still fun to be had. I was just telling your husband that you are indeed a very beautiful purchase of his. Do you know why I'm doing all this to you Mrs. Amon? Has your husband warned you why Viper is out for his skin?"

Her eye had been opening trough Viper's words and she was looking at him with absolute fear, even the death of her child forgotten after the agony of his curse.

She was frozen in fear. Viper's hand descended again in a blow that threw her head violently to the side.

She gave a little scream and lied there before Viper, with an annoyed growl grabbed her by the hair and standing dragged the barely struggling woman up and threw her seated against a wall.

"Answer me" , he said and the 'or else ' was blindingly obvious in its overwhelming reality that it prompted her into action and she shook her head no.

Seemingly satisfied Viper stood from his half-crouch over her and shot a loathing look at Amon.

"Really now. Well let me tell you then as it would not do for you to die without knowing the reason. Don't you agree?" , he asked in such a bland conversational tone that it frightened the Amons even more by the abrupt switch from insane sadistic delight and burning hate to this cool ambiance.

"I suppose being his wife you would know who Sow was, correct. Nod your head."

She nodded.

"Good. And you know who I was?"

She nodded again shrinking away, eyes wide on him, not daring to look away lest the demon take that moment to attack her again.

"You perhaps know he'd taken me under his wing , that I was his errand boy, no? Nod."

She nodded.

"But that wasn't right you know. Most people think I started killing only after he died but that's not so. We were partners of a kind. He trained me and when I proved I could I started helping him on jobs. Do you know Mrs. Amon how much that man meant to me?", a hint of that scorching rage, that insanity peaked at these words.

The woman who had regained some of her wits froze again.

Viper glared at her and he felt those acidic eyes were eating trough her very soul.

"Nod your head Mrs. Amon"

She nodded, not even remembering why she was nodding anymore. Just doing what she was told in a useless bid to stave off the pain he was ready to dish out.

"But you don't", he snarled and she couldn't prevent a small cry leave her lips in terror.

"How could you? He was everything to me Mrs. Amon. EVERYTHING!" , his voice reached a shout and she curled up tighter against the wall, trying to burrow into it , to get away from him.

"He was my father, he was my brother. He was my lover. My lover. The one man, the one and only human I had ever felt anything for. That I needed, that needed me. That wanted me, that knew me. Do you know Mrs. Evans what it meant to me when he was murdered on that scum that you call your husband's, orders? Hm?" , by then he was crouching , his face just inches away from hers.

"No, Mrs. Amon. You don't and that is why I am making you understand tonight. I'll make you understand what it means to have your chest ripped open and your heart bleed , have the pulse ripped out of you. I'll show you how it feels to die, because I died that night Mrs. Amon. I died and so shall you and your husband will watch you die. He will lose everything like I had and then I shall show him too. What real pain is."

His voice had been growing quieter as he talked, colder and colder. So cold the woman shivered, a full-body shudder of soul-deep terror.

Goff was sitting in the large leather armchair in front of the TV , watching without blinking as he footage of the enormous explosion rolled along with some inane commentary he had muted.

He was reading the band of information scrolling underneath the footage Survivors.

There were survivors.

Something had gone very wrong indeed. He felt he should be panicking but strangely he wasn't. He should be sweating in fear because there was only one reason why he had not yet been contacted by the Bird and why there were survivors to an attack planned by Viper and supposedly executed by one of the best mercenary groups in Europe if not the world.

Briefly he thought about running but it would be useless. While he had the advantage of the magical world's secrecy and power to rely on before he didn't anymore. He was an average wizard in power and was never the best in combat. His security would not last before the Demon. Of course he had a few disgraced or retired Aurors as part of it but he knew Viper. He knew him better than the hell spawn probably realized but that was not an advantage for him. On the contrary – it simply went to show him that running would, in the end, be a fruitless exercise.

Viper would find him, like a hound on a blood scent he would sniff him out of any hole he managed to hide himself in. He would smell his fear countries away.

It was, after all that same fear that had made him plan this. Made him try and release himself from the weight of it for it had been ever-present since the first time he had seen the abomination of a child kill.

His very soul was saturated in his fear.

A hand reached for the bottle of scotch on the table beside him.

He tried not to notice the tremble that barely sloshed the amber liquid in the tumbler.

The girl was is shock when he summoned her from the charm that had kept her hovering outside the window.

He had put the charm in place in case any of the Amon had managed to free themselves in any way and tried suicide but it had worked brilliantly anyway.

He caught the small body roughly against him and almost sensuously hissed "Imperio"

The already shock-glazed eyes emptied of all thought and the grimace of fear on the smooth little face eased away to a blank expression, a small absent smile hovering over her lips.

Viper, though the haze of his anger, and the thirst for pain and blood and screams noticed the child was beautiful, almost exceptionally so.

It was a fleeting thought before he gave her his orders and presented her with one of his razor-sharp knives.

He smiled at the mother that had finally broken , insanity in her eyes, so deliciously mixing with the fear and pain.

He kissed the child's cheek, such a beautiful child, and let her go.

He didn't scream. He couldn't. Oh Gods, he couldn't, couldn't do anything for them, for his baby. His little girl, his wife. He felt his chest constrict as if a metal claw had latched onto his heart and was tugging it, dragging it as it boomed in his ears.

Demon! Demon! Why had he not believed it? Why had he let his arrogance blind him? And now they were dieing, suffering, being torn from the inside out because of it.

God, please, let them die, please let them die! No more! Let them die…

"Use the boy!"

Ron watched helpless – frozen with a spell even before his own had left his lips as a sinister voice echoed over Quirrel's confused mutters

The Professor looked at him and Ron was afraid. Use him? Use him for what?

"Of course…Of course! Come here boy!" , and with a wave of his wand Ron flew before him and felt his lips able to move again.

"Look in the mirror boy! Tell me what you see?"

Ron looked inside and for a second he didn't see anything but his won reflection then it changed. He was himself holding the Quidditch Cup , a Head Boy badge on his robes and people around him looking on adoringly.

He was confused but then suddenly it changed again, and he saw, something moving, and he was afraid, so very afraid so he screamed as a blaze of green stretched out of the mirror and engulfed his mind.

Behind him Quirrel stepped back as suddenly the mirror's surface turned matte black and the boy screamed then slumped over as much as the spell holding him allowed him.

"What…"

" You fool! Take the mirror and run!"

"Master?"

Quirrel gave a short scream as suddenly he was wrestled out of control over his body.

Lord Voldemort looked coolly at the drooling boy then with a wave of his want had the mirror following him, tearing the wards around it with most of the vestiges of his power, as he left the chamber, and soon reached beyond into the chess room where he wasted no time in using his one trump card as the Heir of one of the Founders and for a second he opened the wards enough to portkey away.

And just in time for had he waited just a few seconds longer he could have met the fierce battle-ready gaze of one Albus Dumbledore as he flew in the room at a run.

The fire inside him burned bright and hellish. It was like nothing, nothing else he had felt, except perhaps those nights, those little slices of a dream when he had had Sow to himself. Had felt him a part of himself, someone for whom he was everything.

He could feel the molten feeling wrap around is stomach , his heart and he nearly moaned as he saw their eyes – so broken. Devoid of humanity. Being of fear he had created and was going to destroy.

They had been looking at the child with hope, such needless, useless, hope. So he took it and used it to get behind the last debris of strength left in them and deliver the punishment he had been craving like a fish craved water.

The little girl's hands were so small she had to clutch at the still pulsing organ in them. Her mother's heart looked big in them, such sweet irony.

Viper was laughing, he didn't remember when he had started, or had he even stopped? It didn't matter.

He released the Imperious so the dying mother could see the devastation of the one truly good thing her accursed family had managed to create.

Little Lilly came to confused, as if she had slept too long and looked at the odd slippery thing in her hands, the scary laughter barely registering.

She was frowning then, barely remembering what happened after those cruel hands had let her go out the window. Then there had been that very pretty voice telling her it was alright, that it would be alright if she listened to it. And she had wanted it to be alright, because she didn't understand and everything had been so scary that evening and she had listened!

She was confused about what it had told her to do bu surely mommy would know! So she looked up to ask her, beautiful, innocent blue eyes shining out over smears of bright red blood.

"Mommy?"

But her mommy wasn;t answering and she was moving strangely and ..and there was blood coming out of her mouth and her face was wet.

Lilly …thought… that that was because her mommy had cried…but…

She looked down.

Lilly creamed and the heart slipped with a wet plop to the floor.

No she heard the laughter that had been there the whole time, as she looked at the open ribcage of her mother.

She was looking into the pool, darkness her only company – the only company she needed, for the only light she had was stolen, a brief flicker so the shadows may grow stronger before devouring it.

The pool was smooth , smoother than glass, once again.

As it should be.

She turned away, she knew everything the pool would show her,

She didn't see the second ripple to grace its surface since its creation in a time before there humanity populated the Earth.

If she had history would have changed.

The girl was still screaming, he was still laughing.

He went closer to Amos. It was time, he could sense it.

His gun was suddenly in his hand and the binding on the man released. He would see his triumph before he died just like Sow had.

Amos didn't move but only slumped, face twisting in a grimace of utter desolation. He was broken. At last!

Viper was chuckling now.

His gun pointed unerringly at Amos', his finger was curling against the trigger, savoring the seconds.

He was pressing on it when Amos finally looked away from the screaming child and the cooling corpse that was his wife.

"Sow hired us. That attack was to kill YOU"

Viper's finger spasmed. The bullet flew. Amon's head jerked back, a cloud of red hit the wall.

Green eyes stared at the falling body. Laughter frozen.

There had been truth in Amon's face, in his broken, broken eyes.

The room was silent in the wake of gunshot that had taken so much more than a life.

A/N: Muahahaha! I bet you didn't expect that! And so the plot thickens!

I won't be making any promises about next chap but I can promise it'll be the last of this installment and I am already full of ideas for the next one. On that note - I'm open for suggestions on the next part's title - keywords for it will be demons and war so anything that that word connects to in your minds - throw it at me :D

Of course do review! I need to hear what you think - constructive criticism welcome!