Lilith was a demonic figure in Jewish folklore. In Greek mythology, she is also known as a 'Lamia', a child-killing demon who was largely feared for her wickedness. Lamia was described as having a human body from the waist up and a serpentine body from the waist down.
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Two years ago, after our wedding, Draco had taken me to Sweden, just as he had promised me. And he complained. A lot.
We had taken a Muggle plane. The first class cabin was too small, and the height made his ears hurt. We landed in Sweden. It was too cold. We trudged across the frozen tundra, trying to get a good spot. The ice was too slippery, he could have fallen and died.
It absolutely did my bloody head in.
But all that stopped the moment the sky split open. Fantastical ribbons of light danced across the open space in brilliant shades of green and purple. Pinpricks of stars dotted the sky, peeking through their curtains of colour. There was no sound, but the heavens have never sung louder than they did that night.
Draco had grown exceptionally quiet, and I remember stealing a peek at him. His irises were so clear they reflected the celestial display above, emerald and amethyst. His cheeks were ruddy pink with cold, lips parted slightly in wonder.
Aurora, I had thought. She will be a girl, and her name shall be Aurora. And every time I looked at her, I would think of this exact moment under the iridescent sky with Draco.
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The tip of Amora's wand burned the skin on my stomach where it rested, just to the side of my belly button. My baby squirmed within me, as if she knew what was happening outside of her little bubble. Hush, I thought to her. Hush, Aurora. Mummy is trying to think.
"He's right, Angel, darling," said Codrus. "Four lives... for one, singular moment of selfishness? You know you're are smarter than that!"
I looked around the room. Everyone's eyes were on me, peeling my skin apart with their anxiety. Their stares were so loud I could not hear myself think. I needed them to shut up, to stop looking.
But what semblance of control I had over the situation completely disintegrated the moment Hannah decided to attack the unarmed Amora.
"Reducto!"
Erebus jumped between them, meeting it with the Blasting curse. And just like that, we were plunged into chaos once again as spells were fired left, right, and centre.
The sounds were deafening as spells ricocheted, tearing off chunks of the ornate walls and filling the hall with dust.
Both sides had fractured into opposite ends of the room. Draco and Lorcan were battling the Death Eaters, while Hannah took on both Codrus and Erebus by herself. I was not worried about them yet - they could hold their own. Amora, however, had barely turned eighteen and never had to fight like this before, so amidst the commotion, my first thought was to return her wand.
I found her and the other girl backed into a corner by Susan, who was slinging a flurry of spells at them with such an enraged passion I was surprised they had not already fallen dead.
The girl was bravely shielding Amora, and for a second, her charcoal glare locked with mine over Susan's shoulder. This distracted Susan, who turned to follow her gaze. It was enough time for her who blow Susan's wand out of her hands. Then, she aimed at me.
"Lilith, DON'T!" Amora's cry fell on deaf ears as a jet of green fire roared towards me. I barely managed to duck, the Killing Curse singeing my ears as it whizzed past.
Lilith. Amora had told me about her. Peter Pettigrew's daughter. When Lucius approached the Death Eaters' children with the offer of world domination, she had been the first to jump at the opportunity. She was a snake in the grass; luring people in with girlish guiles and honeyed words. One might find it easy to think her a friend at first, not realising they were dinner until they were already halfway down her oesophagus.
I struggled to keep up with her speed, but Amora's wand felt strange in my hands. The shields I conjured were weak, cracking upon contact with each of Lilith's curses. She cackled wildly, a high-pitched screeching that sounded too much like Bellatrix's. "Where're your blood traitor friends now?" she jeered. But Lilith was so drunk on bloodlust that she had quite forgotten about Susan.
"Right here, you bitch!" a voice called.
Liliths head snapped around in surprise, and she hesitated for a heartbeat to recalculate her next move. Susan, however, did not. Her wand flashed, and with a thunderous explosion of blue light and smoke, Lilith disintegrated into a cloud of black ashes.
Susan spun around to Amora, before shaking her head and lowering her arm. "Why can't you kids just stay in school?" she groaned. The young girl could only stare back in a wide-eyed stupor. I tossed the wand her way, and she caught it deftly despite her shock. "Morie," I called, just before she slipped away.
"Whenever you're ready, okay?"
We both knew what I meant. Her worried gaze lingered on me for only a moment longer before she was gone.
"You're going to regret that," Susan panted. "I don't think so," I replied, with no inkling of how wrong I would be. Hannah, Susan, and I would never attack to kill, but we would rue the day we did not eliminate all the Death Eaters here at the Manor while we had the chance, as we would soon come to know.
Susan and I prepared to jump back into the fray, but it was only then we noticed the shouting and rumbling had died down. There was now only a strange, unnerving silence. We squinted through the thick cloud of dust as it began to settle.
Reality faded into view, and the breath caught in my throat. Hannah and Lorcan were bound, gagged, and kneeling on the ground in front of the fireplace. The Death Eaters presided over them, wands to their prisoner's necks. They had been watching us silently all this while, waiting. Amora stood with Erebus and Lucius, her head bowed to the floor.
Susan sent the Expulso Curse towards them, but Codrus blocked it with a wave of his wand, the shield so strong it knocked Susan's wand out of her hands once more. "You've really got to work your defence, darling," he mocked. His next attack would have found its target had Draco not leapt in with a shield charm of his own.
Susan dove for her wand, but Erebus' Incarcerous spell was faster, and within seconds, she, too, was bound like the rest of them.
Draco faced Codrus again, and with an unspoken countdown, they began to battle. They hurled spells at each other with equal determination, their movements nothing but a blur of arms and bright lights.
Draco's duelling skills were unquestionable, but Codrus had not chided Susan's weak defences for nothing. Each time it seemed like one of Draco's offences would hit him, he would flick his wrists and block it at the last second.
It soon became clear what Codrus was doing. Draco started to tire out. His movements slowed, and his spells grew weaker and weaker with each shot. That was when Codrus decided to switch tactics. Now, he began to attack, unleashing all the unspent energy back at his opponent. He grinned, enjoying every second of this; a wolf playing with its food.
Draco was forced backwards as he desperately parried Codrus' spells. "Lucius, he'll be killed!" I saw Narcissa hiss to her husband. But Lucius seemed content to watch his son flounder - proud, even. I could almost hear him chastising Draco as a child. Pain builds character.
It was only when Codrus raised his arm with flourish, about to perform the finishing move, that Lucius finally cut in. "Enough!" he barked gruffly. His command over them was inexplicably undeniable, for they both ceased fire at once, Draco looking surprised at his own subconscious obedience.
Lucius twirled around to address the room, his voice now devoid of any playfulness. "You children have come here, to my house, to take what is rightfully mine - as per the prophecy - and thought you could get away with it? I really don't know how you think your little heist could have ever succeeded. Let's go over the facts once more, shall we?" He stacked his hands on the head of his cane and leaned forward coyly.
"I have an army; our forces gather as we speak. This isn't even a quarter of it," he gestured to the Death Eaters present, then back at us. "What do you have? The Ministry doesn't even know you're here. I could kill you all right now and no one would notice, let alone mourn your deaths. Miss Dawson," he leered at me, punctuating my name with certainty. "Let's stop wasting each other's time. You and your friends are playing a game you cannot win. You're not heroes. You are... nothing. You all are nothing! The prophecy will come true, and we will have your baby. All you have to do is obey us like the good girl you are, and I just might let your friends live. How about that?"
I remained silent, and Lucius took that as an agreement. He smiled, mightily pleased with himself. "Now, Codrus, if you would be so kind as to bring Miss Dawson back to her room."
Codrus sauntered over to me, sizing me up as he did. His lecherous gaze made my skin crawl, but I met it anyway. "It's time to let go, Angel," he sighed mockingly. "Remember who you will belong to when all this is over."
"Fuck you," I spat to his face.
I heard the strike before I felt it. It cracked like a whip as the back of his hand came into contact with the side of my face. My vision went black for a moment as I hit the ground, too shocked to even cry out. Draco must have tried to do something, because I heard Lucius warn him - "one move, Draco, and they all die."
Codrus hunched down, regarding me in silence with his ice-blue eyes. They traveled from my eyes to my lips, down my throat before finally landing on my necklace. With one swift motion, he grabbed the pendant and pulled. The chain broke with a snap. He inspected it in his palm for a moment before placing it carefully under his shoe. The little orb of stars shone from under the black soles, and in the middle of it, Polaris flared brighter than ever, as if it were calling for help. "No!" I screamed.
He stomped.
There was a sickening crunch. The silver rings splintered and the orb shattered into a dozen pieces. The glow of Polaris extinguished, and the shards of glass faded to a dull, lifeless grey. My friends' muffled protests ceased, and even Hannah stopped vocalising her contempt, all of them dumbfounded as they looked on in horror.
I stared at the mess. A grief welled within me, so immense I could not even summon the energy to sob. I knew in my heart that it was over. It was time to surrender. "Alright!" I gasped in anguish. "Alright, Lucius. You win."
"As I thought, Miss Dawson," Lucius replied. "Draco, my son. Join us, and we shall rule the world - as is our birthright."
Draco ignored him, and instead, crossed the room towards me. He only paused to address Narcissa, uttering a remark so cutting it dissolved the tautness in her expression. "You disappoint me, Mother."
He dropped to his knees before me, obscuring Lucius from my view. He took my head in his hands and brushed back my veil of hair. "I won't stop fighting if you won't." The words came from under his tongue, low and just loud enough for me to hear.
I thumbed his cheek. His skin felt smooth under my sore palms. It was only then that I looked at him. I mean, really looked.
The boy in front of me was no longer the same one I had met in the Tower four years ago. He had grown into his features. His jaw had squared out more, the indentations on the side of his mouth more prominent. The skin under his lower lashes were hollowed; fine rivets of lines, almost undetectable, against the grey-tinged skin.
And yet, his hair was still the sun, his eyes still the colour of smoke. The corners of his mouth twitched downwards, as they had always done. In his chest, the same familiar fiery ember still lived, flickering undyingly in the bleak mid-winter.
Draco remained the same. I had not.
"I can't," I whispered. "I'm not strong enough." He held my wrists, pressing my hands to his cheek. "You are. You're Angel Dawson."
I shook my head. The back of my throat stung as tears began to cloud my vision. "I don't even know who that is anymore."
He lifted my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. Black onyxes in molten silver. "Then I will tell you again. You are Angel Dawson-Malfoy, daughter of Jacob and Grace Dawson. You are a Hufflepuff. You are beauty, and strength, and everything I am not. You are a best friend. You are my wife. You are Polaris. You are my home. And you are Angel Dawson-Malfoy. You don't need a necklace to remind you that."
Suddenly my chest did not feel so empty anymore.