Death Eater and the Light

Chapter three

(Arrival)

"He rose through you Mr. Potter, but through my loins he will perish."- Ruby DeLuc Raines

** Means flashback or forward

*** Change of scenes.

The rain fell in sheets around the little village. Cold winds blew against fragile windows and houses, freezing the surrounds and turning whomever was unfortunate enough to walk outside into ice. Two houses stood in the middle of the downpour, their dark masses feeling strange and out of place. Each home contained a family secret, one that could destroy the lives of six people.

Inside the first house stood a man with short blond hair and the brightest blue eyes you have ever seen. He stood tall, about 6' feet give or take an inch; his build was lean and he had an air of sophistication surrounding him. His name was Felix, Felix Malfoy. Below him, holding their first born was his wife Samantha. Her own long dirty blond hair fell over her plaited dress down passed her shoulders. Her face was lit up from giving birth but was mostly bright from the little newborn that lay in her arms. Blond hair so light it looked white, gray eyes that changed to silver whenever the poor child did not get his way, and pale skin that looked so sickly but fit him nicely. They had been trying to decide on a name since he came home, but hadn't thought of one yet. Felix studied his new son with fascination, he seemed to look just like him, but he couldn't help but think that this was not really Samantha's son.

'Look at his eyes? How could I be so blind to their color? Of course this isn't her child,' Felix thought as he paced the floor.

"Oh Felix, I have finally decided on a name for our son. We shall call him Alexander. He looks so like my grandfather, so I shall name him after him. Felix? Where are you going? It is pouring and dark," Samantha asked from the chair by the fire.

Felix turned to his wife, regarding her. He knew that it would kill her to know that the child in her arms was not her own, and he would never intentionally try to hurt her, so he would talk to his friend and get advice.

"Never ye mind Sam. I only need to speak with Malik for but a second and then I shall return," Felix smiled at his wife before walking over to her and kissing her forehead.

Felix left into the night, his cloak wrapped tightly around his body, trying desperately to keep out the cold winds and freezing rain. It did not take him long to reach his friends house, all the lights were still on. Knocking only once he waited for his life long friend to emerge from the warmth of the house. Malik answered, his dark hair gave off a deep brown ting. His black eyes looked upon his friend and he shook his head.

"You noticed their eyes didn't you?" Malik frowned as.

"Malik, we've made a mistake, a terrible mistake." Felix leaned in to whisper into Malik's ear.

"Well we must keep them, or the village will become suspicious and find out that we were the fathers. But Felix, what of their origins?" Malik turned his head towards the sky, his face already wet from the rain.

"We will train them as our fathers trained us, in secrecy. No one must know that they are wizards."

"Do not forget they are Elves as well." Malik turned towards Felix a smirk planted on his face.

"No, as long as I live I can not forget that. But they must never know of Lade or Sanania. This town will kill us if they knew what we were. We must never speak of it. Agreed?" Malik was just about to answer when a noise from behind the door startled them both.

"Malik? Who is at the door?" A small voice emerged from the inside of the warm house. "Oh, hello Felix. It's so nice to see you, but why are you out so late, when you have a child at home in need of your warmth?"

A beauty walked up to the door, her eyes of black looked at him friendly. They too had been friends before she married Malik. If his dear Samantha had not come around, he would have wanted to marry this woman. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck, her long nightgown of thick threads showed no curve or body part, as it should. He smiled warmly at her before taking her into his arms for a quick hug. Holding her at arms length he smiled again, then let go.

"Ah, Elizabeth, you grow more beautiful by the day. I needed to speak to Malik, but now I must go, I indeed have a son waiting at home. Goodnight Potters," Felix bowed to his friends then turned towards the night.

"Goodnight Malfoy," Elizabeth waved at Felix's retreating form before disappearing into her home with her husband.

**

Madam Pomfrey arrived at the Infirmary with the two boys floating in front of her. Draco was still out; though the cut on his forehead was no longer bleeding. Poppy knew that when he woke she would have to check for a concussion. Harry had gone silent on the rush to the infirmary. His eyes were still open showing no life behind them. She had not been able to tell what language he was speaking, but she knew by the way the words or sounds came out that it was in fact a very old and very dead tongue.

She gently laid each boy down on a cot beside each other; grabbing her wand, she began healing the cuts and abrasions on their bodies. She walked over to her office and pulled out a light green potion, waving her wand over each boy she proceeded to pour the potion over their bodies, but the barrier she had placed on them only allowed the potion to get so close before it turned to vapor and was absorbed into the barrier. It dusted over the sleeping form of Draco then over the semi conscience form of Harry. The mist turned clear and disappeared, causing Poppy to frown.

'The mist should have turned blue and told me what potion was made. This shows no potion at all.'

Whispering a spell, the tip of her wand turned an orange color as she proceeded to run it over each of the boys. The tip stayed orange, never changing colors like it was supposed to. Shaking her head she walked back to her office to look through some research books. She sat down in her chair as she read, her eyes scanning for a way to check for absorbed potions that don't show up in a regular check-ups.

Then, she felt the breeze. It was cool and a nice difference from the hot air. Her hair slowly moved along her neck touching the tiny hairs and sending chills of horror up her spine. Her head shot up from the book and turned towards the Infirmary. She knew for certain that she had not opened any windows since she had heard of a coming storm. She grabbed her wand and walked cautiously towards the place where the boys slept. There they were, laying as if in a deep sleep. Harry had finally closed his eyes and lay peacefully; Draco as well was soundless and had a content look on his face. But they were not alone, beside each of them stood two shadows. They had no solid outline so it was hard to tell what they were doing or even what they were. They were different from the ghosts at Hogwarts. At least you could see the ghosts at Hogwarts and know what they were in terms of their gender.

"Who are you? Answer me!" Poppy shouted at the blurry forms with her wand pointed right at them. Suddenly, one of the forms seemed to blur a little, and then a female voice filled the air around Poppy.

'You know not what you have gotten into young Poppy Pomfrey. Turn away healer! Walk away because you cannot help them. It is their destiny! Born together as one, so shall they live as one and die as one. Two people made one from the past that made them.' The voice floated on the air before disappearing, leaving Poppy to wonder from what plane of existence it had come.

"What do you mean? Who are you? What do you want from them and what do you mean from the past that made them?" Poppy shouted towards the forms, her voice showing her scared demeanor.

Slowly, the misty forms leaned their heads down to touch the tops of both boys. As they rose, their dark misty forms slowly disappeared leaving Draco and Harry shaking hard. Poppy ran to their side, trying to calm them, her mind flooded with questions of what these two boys must do in the future. Slowly, they calmed, but not before Poppy noticed them both reach out and grab each other's hands. Her hand grazed the top of both boys' heads before she rose to go speak with Albus.

'What destiny awaits these two children? What destiny have we placed on their heads?' Poppy wondered as she rushed through the halls to find the Headmaster.

***

Diagon Alley wasn't as crowded as Adel had thought it would be. Her grandmother, Ruby Raines, would take them to another place like this when they went to their other school, so this was definitely new. Her grandmother got them all their books and robes, Ananisa got bright purple ones and she had settled on a deep blue. They also got pets for their new year. She had gotten this small black and white cat while her sister had gotten a gorgeous light jade colored adder snake. Around one, they all sat down to a quiet lunch in their room at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Grandma," Ananisa began, "What were Mom and Dad like?"

"I'm not too sure about your father," she replied, "your mother never told me who he was. She just gave you two his last name. Your mother was a lovely lady though. She was nice and quiet, a real delight. She was a Ravenclaw, very smart." A small smile crossed her face before quickly vanishing.

"Grandma what's wrong?" Adel whispered, not sure if their presence had brought back bad memories.

"Now girls, I don't want you to get into your heads that your mother was a saint. Trust me she wasn't. I've told you about the Death Eaters and the horror they afflicted on me and many other families, right?" The look of seriousness on her face told them that she would be telling them something unpleasant.

"Yes," Ananisa spoke gently from her corner by the window.

"Your mother was a Death Eater before you were born. She did everything that I ever said Death Eaters did and more. She was good at being bad, if I can say that. And...and your father was much worst. I... I just want you to know that your mother wasn't perfect and that she had done horrible things, but in the end, before she died, she tried to make up for it. I needed to tell you that because there will be children and teachers that remember your mother and I want you to know why they may be scared of you or think you're like her. Do you understand?"

"Yes Grandma," they answered. This was the first time that their grandmother had ever given them information about their mother's past, and they weren't sure how they should respond to her.

The rest of the meal was spent in silence, all three thinking of the woman that had died fourteen years ago. Despite all she had done, she was still a good person, but deep in their minds they harbored a type of hate, hate that someone could even do something as horrible as killing. And that made them feel even worst for the dead woman named Merrick.

Adel and Ananisa had opted for a nap before they would be arriving at Hogwarts, leaving Ruby to sit by the window as they slept. The sunny day began to change to a cool night. The moon shined inside the room, illuminating Ruby's face, showing the lines that had come with years of running from Voldemort and his followers.

Ruby stared out of the window of the room. Straight hair fell into dark brown eyes aged from stress and grief. Grief of a husband taken away from her by Voldemort; grief of her son killed in his prime by the Death Eaters; grief from the death of her daughter that followed Voldemort and last but not least her own granddaughters. Two little girls that have a destiny unlike any she had ever seen. Her poor granddaughters, she mourned for them because she would never see them grow to be women either.

Tears began to well up in her eyes. She had lost so much to this war, her whole family killed in the time of Voldemort's first reign. And she watched it all happen, not because she wanted to but because she had to. She was a Seer. A Voodoo doctor placed the Sight on her when she was just a baby, a fate that her parents had desperately tried to fix before they died. They had blamed themselves for the curse; it was they that the Voodoo doctor was angry with, but she would not dwell on how she obtained this gift; she would live with the consequences of its visions. She would close her eyes and see death and destruction, births and powers, evil and good battling for all eternity. She leaned her head forward onto the cooling glass of the window. Her head began to tingle which she knew by now was the beginning of a vision. But she would have none of it today! She had done as Fate had instructed and will be bringing the girls into position to fulfill their destiny.

Ruby turned from the window and gazed upon her children; both looked of innocence as they slept. They slept peacefully not once being stressed by nightmares of death or being plagued by the visions she had hoped would not be passed from her to them. No they just slept and for the life of her, she had wished that she could turn back the hands of time, hoped that she could tell Merrick not to board that train, tell Lucas not to go to work that day or even tell her dear sweet Daniel not to step from out of their shelter. But it was needed. Their deaths had to happen, just like her sweet Adel and Ananisa had to die. It would save mankind from a horror that should have never been born. But still it did not hurt less. Just as she wiped the last tear from her eyes they began to cloud over. And Ruby was sent to a field of flowers.

***

Ruby turned towards the light of the sun, an icon that was always in her visions. She saw the blurred figures of people walking by her as she stood to receive her information. This was how it always was, this was the vision she had gotten when Harry Potter had been born. This was the place she had gone when her dear Merrick was at Hogwarts for her first and last year. This was where she stood when that voice that always talks to her told her Daniel would die. Slowly she waited, trying to calm her emotions and stop from crying. She needed to be serious to accept the fate of yet another Human being.

'Ruby DeLuc Raines, watch the horizon.'

Ruby turned towards the horizon, as she stood on a cliff overlooking the sea. She had never seen this before and wondered if maybe there was a way for her to change what Fate had set in motion.

'After so many years you still think that you can change everything? You know of your own death and what entails that. You know that the Twins will be reborn and they will bring with them the coming of a dark entity. Why do you try to fix what is not broken?'

"Because, I don't want my granddaughters to die at the hands of that bastard! I don't care about the Twins! Let them come!" Ruby fell to her knees in a state of exhaustion. Her breathing was labored as she tried to calm her tears and aching heart. A warm light wrapped around her as she sat crying, its goodness slowly eased her heart of guilt. Now the voice softened allowing Ruby to take it in better.

'Ruby, the wheel has already begun to turn. The Twins have already shown themselves to both the descendant of the Potter line and the Malfoy line. Their story is being played in their minds as we speak. They have also shown their tale to the line of Slytherin. He is so puzzled by their dream that it haunts his waking thoughts. The potion has already been placed upon Potter and Malfoy. The symptoms will start no matter what you do.'

"But why can't I stop any of this? Why can't I just apparate the girls back home and forget all about this? I... I just want them to live. I don't want them to have to suffer the fate of their mother. I don't want them to have to sacrifice their lives like Merrick did. I just can't ask them to do that." Ruby leaned into the warmth that surrounded her, only to have it begin to take form around her. She was startled to feel the warmth of breath on her neck, and as she turned to look upon the person that held her.

It was a man of about forty. His hair had just begun to gray, but it still held that strong deep brown that it had held in life. Rich creamy brown eyes looked into her eyes, searching for a reaction to his coming. Strong arms that had fought many a duel and won just as many, held her close to a wide chest. The feel of the clothes against her skin told her mind that he was in fact real. So she clung to that fact and allowed soft sobs to escape her mouth.

"Daniel! I thought I'd never see you again. Why now?" She wrapped her arms around him, desperately trying to keep him close to her, but knowing he would disappear as the vision was completed.

'They thought that I should comfort you now. They believed that it would make everything easier for you in the end. Ruby, the girls must go to Hogwarts. They have to, just like the Twins have to be revived. The darkness that comes must come and everything will work itself out. We will be together soon, don't worry about it,' Daniel leaned in and kissed the lips of his wife. He then slowly brushed away her tears before continuing, 'the Serpent will rise to great heights. His followers will find a book for his power. Beware for the dark cloud is now upon us. But four shall stand in the way and all will perish in their wake from ancient sleep.'

***

The scene changed and she was back in her room. Her granddaughters were still asleep as she rose to finish packing. Her head hurt and the tears just wouldn't stop falling from her eyes. She had spoken to her Daniel, a cruel way to get her to cooperate. She had to agree with his words, but she still felt uneasy about her granddaughters. All the while she told herself over and over that it was for the best, she was sending her granddaughters into the mouth of fate because it was best. But she couldn't help but think what would happen if she defied fate this once, if she took them away to a far place and just waited.

'I can't do that. I sacrificed too much for them to fight. They must fight; I owe it to my husband, my son, the Wizarding World and of course to my dearest Merrick.' She wiped away the last trace of sadness from her eyes before she turned from their packed bags.

"Girls get up. It's time to go to Hogwarts."

***

Severus placed the bottle of Fire Whiskey to his mouth before taking a deep drink. The heat of the liquor burned his throat and mouth before flowing down to warm his stomach. Luckily the fifth year Potions class was the only one he had to teach today, or he would be getting ready for a bunch of yelling kids while his mind was obviously somewhere else. He took another swig before he sat down in front of the fire and weighed his options.

First of all he had to call Lucius, it was something that both of the overprotective parents had asked of him, if anything was to happen to Draco. They had demanded that they hear it from him and not anyone else. They had explained to him that the only reason they sent Draco to Hogwarts was so that Severus can watch him. And since he was Draco's godfather, he had to apply by their rules. But in the back of his mind a little voice shouted.

'You know they wanted to void their earlier decision. They didn't want to make you his godfather after Merrick died.'

But Severus ignored that stupid voice. Damn voice only made his mood sourer if it could, and the liquor was filling his senses. He didn't want to talk to Lucius drunk, so he put down the whiskey. Lucius was angry with him, had been for the last fourteen or fifteen years. Why? Severus wasn't really sure, but he figured it had something to do with Merrick. Lucius always blamed Severus for her death; he hadn't needed to say it because Narcissa had said it for the both of them.

**

"Severus, if not for the fact that we publicly announced you as the godfather of Draco I would have voided it a long time ago. You betrayed the trust I gave to you when you allowed them to capture and kill Merrick! And I cannot forgive you for that. I will respect you because you are my son's godfather and he seems to like you, but I do not trust you nor do I give a damn about you! Do I make myself clear?" Narcissa sneered at Severus, as they were about to sit down and eat. Lucius was in the dining hall already and she had pulled him to the side.

"Narcissa of all the people in the world I thought that you would be decent enough to not put her death in my face as a way to make me feel guilty. But I must have been wrong. You are a bitch and I stick to that observation. Feel what you want and say what you want. I did not capture and kill Merrick and you would do better not to ever EVER say her name around me again. If I even think you are about to say something about her, I will place upon you a hex so strong that even Dumbledore won't be able to lift it. Do I make myself clear?" Severus spit the words in her face before turning from her sneering form and entering the dining hall.

**

Severus glared at the fire as that thought faded into the back of his mind. That was the last time he sat in their home as a friend. Nowadays he couldn't even step in that Manor and stay for more than a second before the low insults began to fly between him and Narcissa. Who seemed to deem it polite to say whatever she felt about his lack of a family and dependence on their son. At every turn she would excitedly say how happy she is that she was married and with a beautiful son to that marriage, all the while rubbing in his face his past mistakes and glorifying in his uncomfortable demeanor. It got to the point that he wouldn't even go inside the House unless Lucius was there, who thankfully did not voice his hatred of Severus so openly.

A sigh escaped his lips; he was lying to himself again. He only went there to see Draco, the only thing that kept him alive. Draco was in a way a link to Merrick, Draco was like a portal to which Severus could see and make out Merrick's smiling face. So he would endure that shit that Narcissa found it necessary to speak of and the tension filled silence that remained between him and Lucius, just to see Draco's smiling face when he came down from his room. Or the hug he got whenever he would buy Draco something or help Draco with some advice. He would endure the world just to see his Godson smile, but that thought only reminded him the situation at hand. Draco's unconscious form was lying on the ground, blood seeping from some undiscovered cut on his forehead, the blinding white light or even the red flicker of light that surrounded him.

Severus turned his head to the open door of his room and could make out the picture on the wall. It was a picture of Lucius and Narcissa holding Draco with Merrick and him on the sides. This was the only picture he had of them together before Merrick was captured by the Aurors and given the worst punishment known to the Wizard World. He shook his head. He would not think of that, it would only give him nightmares and he already had to sleep under a Sleeping Draught as is. He turned back to the fireplace and stood. Reaching out for the powder he threw it in.

"Lucius Malfoy, Malfoy Manor!"

The fire turned green before Lucius' head appeared in the fire. His blond hair had a green tint to it from the fire and the sour look on his face told Severus that he had definitely called at a bad time. Secretly he had hoped that Narcissa had fallen down the stairs, but tried to hide the small smile that formed on his face as Lucius regarded him.

"Snape. What do I owe this honor to?" A smirk formed on his face as he looked around the room. They can never talk to each other in a more friendly way because people are always spying.

"Malfoy I am calling to talk about your son." Severus sat down in the chair across from the fire, while sweeping a Silence Charm around his chambers.

"What is it Severus? Don't tell me the boy has already gotten into trouble. I do say that he is under your care now that he is back in Hogwarts." Lucius' face relaxed a bit as he regarded his life long friend.

"Draco was in an accident today in my class. We were making the Open Eye and a bit of the missed up potion came in contact with him and Mr. Potter." Severus waved impatiently at Lucius before being interrupted.

"Potter? I should have known! Why do you pair them together Severus? You know they don't like each other and I'm sure Potter must have tinkered with Draco's potion!" Lucius sneered at Severus, his anger was showing despite his supposed calm Malfoy traits.

"Lucius will you be quiet! Draco helped Potter off of the ground after the potion fell on Potter. There was a light and both boys were thrown to opposite walls. Draco was knocked unconscious and is now in the Infirmary." Severus watched as the angry look drained from Lucius' face. He was the only person alive who knew the true feelings in the Malfoy household. The way they acted outside of the House was just a way to stay in power and be feared. They loved Draco dearly and worried as much as any parent would that something would happen to him.

"Is he alright Severus?" His voice was low and somber now; no more could you hear the irritation of being called or the anger that was harbored for Severus. Only the fear was heard in his voice, fear that his only child was badly hurt.

"I don't know. I'll keep you posted; I'm going to go see him now. I'll call you back and tell you how he is doing. Don't worry Lucius Draco will be fine. It's only a bump to the head and Poppy will certainly drain whatever potion is in his system out." Severus spoke out loud, but for some reason neither man believed the words at all.

"Severus I've a feeling that something isn't right, and that this accident is the first of many. I knew it was you calling before I heard my name. I just knew that something was wrong when I woke up this morning. You know that feeling, that you just walked into a room and could feel the wheels of fate rotating. Like you know that you just started something but for the life of you; you just can't seem to figure it out or try to stop it from happening. Tell me you feel it! That I'm not going crazy." Lucius looked at Severus his eyes full of concern, a look Severus had never seen in those eyes before.

"I've felt like that since I met Merrick in our fifth year. I've felt that ever since I took that damn Mark. I've felt it since I left the courtroom that day. That feeling that we are just pawns in a game of chess. Look Lucius don't fret about it. I'll call you later." Severus cut the call and watched the fire turn back to a bright orange. Picking up his crumpled robe from the floor and made his way to the Infirmary.

***

Harry knew the moment that Malfoy touched his hand that there would be trouble. He knew that from the pain that had entered his hand where Malfoy's hand had touched his. Looking on it now he realized that it had in fact been a very stupid thing to do, letting Malfoy help him up. But oh well now it was done and over with. Tenderly he rose to his feet having found himself lying on a bed of grass on the edge of a very high cliff. The cliff overlooked the sea. The blue waves and occasional whale and dolphin jumped into the air, birds flew by in every color that Harry could think of. A breeze that smelled of freshly bloomed flowers intoxicated his sense before running invisible hands through his hair. Smiling, he half turned when he heard a noise behind him.

"I thought you would never wake up. I'm pretty sure that you shouldn't have touched me, but thinking back on it now will do us no help. So where do you think we are?" Harry spoke not too sure of what a mood his companion was in.

"I am inclined to agree with you Potter, it wasn't something I was really thinking about. To tell you the truth it just felt like I was supposed to help you up, if you can understand that. And to answer your question, I'm not too sure where we are right now, but it is a nice view." Draco walked up along side Harry, his arms tight around his body. He turned once to Harry and then back out towards the horizon, which showed a wonderful sun-filled sky full of purples, blues, greens, reds and yellows. It was lovely to say the least.

Harry smiled again before deciding to sit down, only to find that he could not move. In a frantic way he tried to pry his unmoving limbs from the force that was sticking him to the ground. Finding that he couldn't move he turned his head, which seemed to be the only thing that was moving, towards Draco. Only to find the same look of fear on his face as well.

"I can't move! Why can't I move?" Harry had seen Draco's scared side, back when they were in first year walking through the Forbidden Forest. But this was a fear he had yet to witness, one of desperation to get away. The type you have when someone has done something to you that was against your will, the type of desperation you get when you just want to get away.

"I can't either but just calm down and think of a way to get out or why we are stuck this way." Harry tried to calm his companion, but just like first year, once Draco was scared it was hard to calm him.

"Stay calm? STAY CALM! How can I stay calm when I'm stuck?" Draco screamed his eyes filled with fear and utter terror. His head moved from side to side, trying to tear himself away from the force. Just as Harry was about to tell him to calm down again, a voice spoke behind them.

'You shouldn't try to fight it; it will tighten and break your bones in the process. So Draco I will tell you this once, calm down.' The voice of the woman was soft and pleasant. And Harry watched in silence as Draco's look of desperate fear turned to one of surprise and curiosity. 'I'm glad to see you again it's been too long. My little Dragon, turn and face me both of you!'

And like magic the power that held them lifted and they were able to move their limbs and doing as they were told, they turned towards the voice. The horror that beheld them was too much. The blue sky had turned to red and fire fell from the sky. The grass was burned leaving a scorched ground of black and gray. And in the middle of it all stood the woman the voice belonged to. Her skin was burned and peeling from the bones that was visible through the many holes that was formed from the bits of skin hanging from her body. Her mouth was in a horrible 'O' shape, the lips having begun to rot away from her teeth showing an eerie grin. The smell of burnt flesh and a decaying corpse made both boys stomach turn. They watched in horror as she walked over to them, leaving footprints of blood and gore sticking to the burnt ground.

'I had to come to you in the last form I had. This is what I looked like, burnt and wasting away. It is a horrible sight that I had wanted to keep from you my little Dragon. I wanted you to remember me like the pictures that I'm sure my dear Lucius has all over the Mansion. Or the picture of me holding you that Severus owns. I wanted you to remember me as Merrick and not as I am now.'

Slower she moved towards Draco, her stench becoming unbearable. But she continued to talk to him, her voice in a low and motherly way. She was patient and despite her look she was obviously trying to speak to him. So Harry watched in horror when Draco jumped from her as she reached for him, and he watched as he saw Draco moving closer and closer towards the cliff. But the world turned into slow motion as Harry tried to grab a hold of Draco as he began to fall. The corpse that called herself Merrick cried out before she too tried to grab a hold of Draco's falling form.

' Draco! Harry, you have to go save him! He must not go into the Darkness alone! Save him please.' The corpse that called herself Merrick begged. Harry noticed suddenly that the smell had receded and that her skin was looking more and more healthy.

Harry only took a second to think before he found himself plunging into the sea below, his face looking for any sign of Draco surfacing or a place that he was. Then Harry hit the water, it was cold and rough against his skin, pushing and pulling him along. He opened his eyes, thankful that his glasses had not been ripped from his face, and saw Draco falling deeper into the water. Swimming with all his might he grabbed a hold of Draco and swam towards the surface. A storm of waves and lightening met them as they floated. The sky had turned black and the cliff that was once above them was gone. Thankfully a shore was near them and Harry, carrying Draco, was able to swim over to it.

"Draco? Come on Draco wake up!" Harry shouted to the unconscious boy as he started to do CPR, which he hadn't wanted to do since Draco was his rival.

But Harry was a fighter and he would fight to keep him alive and if he had to do CPR then he would do just that. So timidly he placed his lips to Draco's. In an odd way as he breathed air into his lungs, he thought of how soft Draco's lips were. How they seemed to yield to his. He didn't have long to think of this before the breathing boy spit water into his face.

"Oh God Potter! Where are we?" Draco looked around wildly as his wet hair fell around his face.

"I don't know. " Harry moved out of the way to allow Draco to stand up. He watched Draco as he stood to make sure he was stable on his feet.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Draco turned onto Harry his eyes seemed to look right through Harry.

"Whatever. Look who was that woman? I mean I know she must have been important to you." Harry stood up beside Draco; he looked in every direction that he could think of to glimpse the cliff they stood on just a couple minutes ago. Only to find that they stood on an island that was nowhere near a cliff.

"I have dreamed of that voice. Been told stories of that woman and have even seen her picture. That was Merrick Raines, my godmother." Draco held his arms around him in an act of vulnerability.

"Merrick Raines? I've heard of that name before." Harry pondered aloud.

"I don't know where you would have heard of her name. She was a Death Eater and a good friend of the family. From the story I know she would probably be in the book of Punishments. She was the only one to experience the Forbidden Death." Draco looked out into the red sea, he watched, as the black sky would fall occasionally into its depths.

'The Forbidden Death you say? I did not know that was what it was called.'

Draco and Harry turned around to come face to face with a woman of her late twenties possibly her early thirties. She had brown hair that seemed to float on some unknown wind, and a dark red robe on that was partially open. Her pale skin was a lot different from the rotting flesh that they had encountered earlier, and it seemed to fit with her deep brown eyes. This was the woman that Draco had seen in his dreams, the woman with that bright smile that filled his nightmares with light and chased them away. So he watched as she walked over to them, staring intently at the both of them.

'You mustn't be afraid of me my little Dragon. I did not come to scare you, only to finish what has been set into motion. So I want you two to close your eyes. Think of the last dream you had and visualize it for me.' Both boys looked at her in distrust, but she waved away their doubt, 'I will not hurt you. Just visualize your last dream.'

And they did, the darkening sky over head, the crowd of people standing around and jeering, the two woman carrying their newborns, and last but not least the Twins. The twins that were about to be hanging stood on the platform with their hand tied behind their backs.

'Yes. The dream is the same, now they shall be connected. Born as one so shall they die as one. Connect their minds oh wise ones. The Potter line and the Malfoy line is one after two thousand years!'

***

"C'mon girls, the Headmaster will be expecting us." Ruby gently pushed the girls towards the gates of Hogwarts.

"Ok Grandma, you don't have to push. Anyway I read that the gates have to summon the Headmaster and then judge your character before you are let in. I think it said something about not letting in people with dark origins." Ananisa said in a small voice, turning and looking at her twin sister. "So I don't think they will let Adel in since she was born from the Devil."

"Ha ha. Very funny. If I was born from the Devil, then so were you. We're twins you dope. Grandma does the gates really not let you in if you have a dark origin?" Adel turned to Ruby her hazel eyes flashed that bright green again.

"Do. Adel. Do the gates really not let you in? Proper English next time please? Anyway what Ananisa says is true the gates do search you, but your origin does not matter, it is your intentions for the people that live in the castle. If by some chance you hate someone that lives in this castle, it will not allow you to enter unless the Headmaster says it is ok." Ruby looked at both of the girls before turning to the gates and waiting, she was pretty sure that neither she nor the girls wanted to hurt anyone so he figured the gates would open soon.

"Really Grandma? That is so cool." Both girls had a habit of saying the same thing as the same time. This of course would lead to an argument of sizable portions, so unless ruby cut it off now they would argue all night.

"Ok! Look girls, the gates are opening! C'mon." Ruby grabbed both girls and pushed them towards the door of Hogwarts.

***

"Albus they said something along the lines of two people made one from the past that made them. What could that possibly mean?" Poppy looked to Albus, her whole demeanor was of one searching frantically for answers.

"Hmm I can not be too sure, and you say that there was no potion in their system?"

"Yes, as if their body has absorbed it but will still show no sign of its entrance of presence in their bodies. I have never encountered a potion that erased its essence from a person after being absorbed. Do you believe that Severus would know of one?" Poppy paced the small office, her nerves were frayed and she could tell that Albus was trying to calm her.

"Ok Poppy, why don't you show me what you mean? I shall see for myself what the potion shows and make a judgment from that."

Just as Albus was getting up he felt the gates of Hogwarts summon him, telling him that someone had just arrived to the school and seeking permission to allow entry. He mentally searched for any appointments that he might have had but forgot and came up with none. Shrugging his shoulders, he told the gates to open and allow the person or persons to enter as long as their intentions were honorable. Turning back to Poppy, he began to follow her to the door of his office.

Before he got to the door he felt it. All the magic in the building was being drained. All the wards were destroyed, and the building itself seemed to be screaming. Albus had never felt this before, even when new wards were being put it, it never drained its magic so quickly. Turning to Poppy he noticed that she too felt the change, lose of magic. And with one look at each other they ran for the Great Hall to see whom had been allowed to enter and had effectively de-magic Hogwarts.

***

Severus made his way to the Infirmary, making sure to scare as many first years as he can on the way there. He glared at the upper years, which of course gained him an even scary look and a fleeing child. He loved to scare kids; it was something that he had wanted to do since he was a child. Something he saw his father do and had since thought it a cool thing to do. Being careful not to smile at the bonding that had happened unnoticeably between his father and him, he pushed open the doors of the Infirmary.

There in plain view was Harry Potter standing in a village if you can imagine. Draco stood beside him with a look of content on his face. It wasn't the fact that both boys were standing in a different scene from than the Infirmary, nor the Twins, with long black hair and different colored eyes hanging by a noose behind the two boys. But that wasn't what made Severus' heart stop. It was the woman that stood in front of them, a woman with deep red robes that was clearly open and rich brown hair that seemed to float on its own wind.

"Merrick?" Severus dare not walk closer to her; for fear that she would be a memory and disappear. But she was not. She turned to his voice and frowned.

'They're here!'

Then a flash of magic whirled around him before he was forced from the room and slammed up against the wall adjacent to it.

***

"I want you to tell me everything you may find out about Twin women who were killed. I want all information on Twins hanged in this area of the country. Do I make myself clear?" Voldemort stared down at his hooded followers, his cold red eyes trying to find any sense of disobedience.

"Of course M'Lord. Whatever you desire will be brought to you." An unknown voice rang out from the kneeling Death Eaters.

"Good. I do not want to be... What is that?" Before Voldemort could finish his sentence you felt the draining of power. A force was draining a very powerful building, but Voldemort could not figure out what was losing power and so rapidly.

"M'Lord, did you feel that? What is that?" Wormtail spoke out; his voice was easy to hear over the grasping of the room. It seemed that Voldemort was not the only person to feel the power drain.

Before Voldemort could even speak the power was restored although stronger than before. The draining was so swift that even if he had known where it was, they would not have gotten there in time. But what he did feel was four power points, four things that stood out of the powerful ward that had been placed back on the object that was drained. And in the back of his mind he could have sworn he heard Merrick's voice.

'They're here!'

"Lucius, I want you to go to the Ministry and see if anyone felt that. I'm very sure now that what we just felt was in fact Hogwarts. I want to know how, what and why did the magic of Hogwarts just get replaced by a stronger force."

"Yes M'Lord." Lucius stood before Voldemort called him back.

"And Lucius, find out why I feel two of the strong points of the new magic coming from not only your son but Harry Potter as well."

Lucius' mask almost faltered before being replaced. His son might have just been involved with the breaking down of Hogwarts' wards? How? Didn't Severus say he was unconscious?

"Yes M'Lord."

***

Albus ran through the corridors with Poppy right behind him. They had momentarily forgotten about the boys to deal with this possible new threat. Whatever had destroyed the wards could be working for Voldemort, and if they just felt it happen maybe Voldemort did as well and would be there in no time. When they finally made it to the Great Hall they noticed that groups of people were there already, it seems that the draining alerted all of Hogwarts and it seemed that at least half was there to greet them. Albus pushed through the crowd of teachers and students, only to find in the middle three women. One an older woman, whose face was very familiar to him, behind her were twins, two girls with black hair and different colored eyes. From where Albus could see one set was gray and the other flashed green.

"Albus, call off your students. We are no danger to them." She spoke in a voice that was very familiar.

"State your name stranger, and your purpose!" McGonagall called to her from her spot, her wand out as well.

"Ruby DeLuc Raines. And these are my granddaughters Adel and Ananisa Snape. They will be going to Hogwarts now." She pushed the girls out from behind her so that the group could get a better look.

Suddenly magic swirled around them. It felt like waves of magic was filling the whole of Hogwarts putting up new wards that read from an ancient tongue, a richer more pure magic flowed around the people of Hogwarts. This seemed to calm everyone down a bit, but still they stood staring for this woman just said she was Ruby Raines. Wasn't that Merrick Raines' mother, the Seer? And did she just say that those girls' last name was Snape? Professor Snape? Questions began to float on the air of these three people that just happen to walk into the school when the wards fell, questions of how the magic came back and why it felt so clean. But their Headmaster silenced them and extended his hand to Ruby.

"Ruby, I'm so glad you have finally come, and brought with you the Twins."