The Dragon, The Lion and The Serpent

The Dragon, the Lion and the Serpent

Chapter 1: The Dragon and The Lion

Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy family, was Voldemort's new hope. Ever since Draco's initiation among the Death Eaters, the Dark Lord kept a close watch on the young Malfoy, hoping to make him the most feared Death Eater ever.

Draco was willing to go further and someday even succeed to Voldemort's throne.

As he arrived at Hogsmeade he hid the Dark Mark under his clothes carefully. He had always despised the fact that he, a Pureblood, had been branded to serve the twisted dreams of a Half-blood. It had only been a couple of months now, and he hated it. He hated all the pathetic Death Eater meetings, where whole families of Muggles, Mudbloods or even Aurors were tortured, raped and eventually killed. He could not escape participating in these savage acts, as the Dark Lord had a watchful eye over Draco, but he loathed it.

It did not mean that he pitied the victims; no, after all they were only filth, but Voldemort had also murdered traitorous Pureblood families, and that, Draco would not oblige to.

After the last meeting, which involved torturing a powerful witch into madness, Draco had sworn to himself that someday he would be his own master and would restore the pureblooded families' authority and power over the Mudbloods and Muggles.

The world would no longer fear the name of a Half-blood but learn to respect his: Draco Malfoy.

Walking down a back alley, spotting less and less students, Draco arrived at The Hog's Head. The Hogwarts students which passed by him were too scared to look up at his face. They had reason to be scared of the Slytherins since their return to school, especially those suspected to have joined the ranks of the Death Eaters.

After a year of fear and waiting an attack from Death-Eaters, the moment finally came as the students left Hogwarts for summer vacation. It was the perfect moment and Voldemort had patiently waited for it.

At that precise moment, none of the teachers, not even Dumbledore, had been around and the students were at their most vulnerable as they waited by the Hogwarts Express, saying their goodbyes.

Many students had died instantly as Voldemort's followers struck them.

The Dark Lord had wanted the attack to be quick and violent and indeed it was, Draco thought. His now fellow Death Eaters had killed the most Mudbloods they could in a minimum period of time, before Aurors apparated within the massacre. It had become a real carnage and most Death Eaters had managed to run away after the blood bath.

Crucio spells along with their counter curses had been called simultaneously, as well as the Death curse from all directions, and many students were caught in the cross fire. A lot of students had died that day and those who had helped and survived had been traumatised forever.

Harry Potter was one of them, along with his two friends Mudblood Granger and the Weasel. Since that day, after seeing so many of his friends die, Saint Potter had lost confidence in his magic and once again he became scared of Lord Voldemort.

Draco entered the pub cautiously, looking out for any of the Ministry's agents, but instead noticed the pub hardly had any customers this afternoon. As he passed through, several wizards and witches bowed their head discreetly at him but Draco pretended not to notice them and walked straight through to the back room.

The bartender had lent the Malfoy heir, in return of a favour, a room for the Slytherins to gather and enjoy themselves during weekends at Hogsmeade and sometimes even during school time. Draco had found it necessary to find a space, other than the common room, for his friends, where he could talk business without nosy first years or prefects.

In that room, he was in control.

His intention today was to start the mission Voldemort and his father had ordered to him the night before his return to Hogwarts.

*****

(flashback)

"Draco, come closer my boy," Voldemort hissed.

The blond-haired boy, who had looked away from the usual ceremonies, turned to face his master.

Lord Voldemort had been whispering all night long with his father and Draco rightly guessed that the two men had planned yet another mission for him.

"Your father and I have a new mission for you Draco," Voldemort hissed once more, before pausing dramatically.

"Tell me, have you any knowledge of the Serpent books?" he asked, his beady red eyes lighting up with excitement. Draco hadn't seen the Dark Lord so enthusiastic about something since the attack last year.

"Only through rumours, my Lord. I was told that they are legendary books, which have been hidden by their author due to their incredible powers. Every wizard who hears about them wishes to possess them," Draco answered, intrigued by the question.

"Of course everybody wants the books boy! They contain more power than you could ever imagine!" Lucius shouted back at him.

Draco glared at his father angrily. He knew perfectly well that his father's insult had brought the assembly to a halt and every head had turned in their direction.

"Our Lord requires these books Draco, and your mission is to find them and bring them back," his father continued.

Draco's quick thinking told him not to question the real reason behind Voldemort's interest in the Serpent volumes. His curiosity was satisfied for now.

"Power is given to whoever seeks it Draco. One must only know where to look. And I know that these books are the key, the key to my victory over Dumbledore and his boy!" Voldemort's shrill resonated throughout the hall.

"I have already invited the owner of the books to the manor," his father continued, "And I shall expect the same sort of - seduction from you towards the heir of the Serpent family."

"I'm guessing the heir attends Hogwarts then."

"Exactly."

*****

Draco had spent his first week at Hogwarts mostly in the library, looking up information about the Serpent books, but had hardly found anything useful. He had only learnt that Albatorus and Alexia Serpent were among the first wizards ever known, and throughout time, their descendants had invented new spells, found new properties to herbs and plants and developed different sorts of potions.

The Serpents were known to be friends with many of the Ministers of Magic, but lately they were forced to exile abroad. No information about their present whereabouts or any of their first names was given.

Draco was confused by such secrecy around the family, and also suspected his father and Voldemort to be purposely hiding further information from him. In case he couldn't discover the heir by his own means, Draco was determined to search Filch's register of students or preferably ask Professor Snape, who might have some information on the subject.

After a week of research, he was ready to discover this mysterious heir and put his plan in action.

Draco pulled away the drawn curtains, hiding the backroom door of The Hog's Head and entered. He quickly noticed the unusual excitement among his fellow Slytherins, and making his way towards the center of the room, he saw her.

She was the thorn in his thigh, the bone stuck in his throat and the dirt under his shoes.

"Granger!"

*****

(Hermione's POV)

Hermione Granger, Head Girl at Hogwarts, was Dumbledore's only hope this year. She was even more persistent and enthusiastic to learn and practice magic since last year's attack and had not, like many other students, given up her courage or faith in Dumbledore.

Indeed, since Voldemort's attack, most Gryffindors and other students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff no longer believed that they were safe at Hogwarts, or that Dumbledore could stop He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had once again sacked Dumbledore within the first hours following the attack, but he had soon realised that no other wizard had a chance against Voldemort and so he was forced to reemploy Dumbledore as Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Though her faith in Dumbledore was unshakeable, Hermione felt herself crumble inside. The Death Eaters attack had broken both students and teachers' spirits. Among the survivors, some students had left Hogwarts too traumatised or scared to return again, whilst others came back containing even more fear and nightmares than the previous year.

As for Harry, well, she didn't know what to do. The Boy Who Lived nowadays preferred to die rather than confront his fears. Harry was already psychologically and physically frail after Sirius' death but, ever since the last attack, which caused the death of Seamus Finnigan, Colin Creevey and his brother, Cho Chang and also members of the Order, it was even worse.

Harry Potter had become a frightened little boy, who never spoke for himself anymore and dreaded his encounters with Dumbledore or anyone else who reminded him of his destiny. His friend Ron, on the contrary, had become bitter, desperate and violent ever since the death of his brother Charlie. The loss of a brother had torn Ron inside, along with the rest of the Weasley family.

This summer Hermione had been the first to witness and bear these changes amongst her two best friends, and now her only rest and peace was back home among the Muggle world, which still ignored the very existence of magic.

Hermione had also spent her summer worrying about another student at Hogwarts. She had tutored him in certain subjects on Snape's and Dumbledore's orders and unwillingly she had become closer to him.

Draco Malfoy had accepted these lessons, however outrageous they were, not for his own good but because he thought he might be able to get his own back at Harry through Hermione.

His father had ordered him to break up Dumbledore's Golden trio in any possible way and Draco had believed the Mudblood whore to be the easiest to manipulate and corrupt. However, he had underestimated Hermione and after spending so much time with her, he finally let himself be influenced by her faith in him.

Hermione remembered painfully the last day she had seen him before the end of term and Voldemort's attack.

She had begged him to come with her to Dumbledore, where she swore he would be safe from following his father's path. Her obstinate stance had caused him to tell her the real reason behind his interest in her, and why he had allowed her, a filthy little Mudblood, to even look at him.

His words had cut Hermione deep, and she had walked away from him before he could see her tears.

Now it was a week since she was back at Hogwarts, and she preferred to ignore Draco rather than let her curiosity get her. He was Head Boy and like her, he had his own dorm but they shared a common room together. Not once did Hermione see him in the common room, nor did she ever hear him in his bedroom.

They both kept as far away from each other as they could, but today Hermione had had enough and was determined to talk to him.

She was Head Girl after all and had the right to worry about her fellow classmate.

You keep telling yourself that, Hermione thought angrily at herself.

What she would tell him she had no idea, but she knew she had to see Draco. Her heart was desperate to see the Slytherin, who she had spent so much time with before, who she had learnt to respect over time and who, though she would never admit it, had got under her skin.

Her plan was to hang around The Hog's Head, where she knew he would come.

Unfortunately for her, as she hung around the entrance to the pub, Draco was not the one she faced.

"Well, well, well, some say the Gryffindors are brave but to come all the way over here; that's just plain stupid," a voice whispered in her ear.

Hermione whipped around to find Blaise Zabini accompanied by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Get her!" Zabini snarled.

Hermione hardly had time to pull out her wand before Crabbe caught her by the shoulders, whilst Goyle snatched her wand out of her hand.

A devilish grin appeared on Zabini's face as Hermione realised she was in trouble. They pushed her into the pub and although Hermione hoped that someone might notice she was being restrained, the few customers present chose to ignore her instead.

"Like playing at being Malfoy do you, with these two baboons?" Hermione asked, as she was pushed harder into a backroom.

"Shut up Mudblood!" Zabini barked. His face had turned a different shade at her question, but he soon rejoiced when Goyle closed the door.

"So, you thought us Slytherins wouldn't notice your presence Granger?"

Both Crabbe and Goyle sniggered at his comment, whilst the others sitting around turned their heads to watch the scene.

The room was bare except for tables, chairs and the dozen or so sixth and seventh year Slytherins who were present. Overall the light was quite dim and Hermione could not recognise most of the faces, especially those hiding in the corners of the room, but she could hear them.

"You know if Malfoy were here, I'm sure he'd agree with me that you deserve a punishment Granger. Something that will make your tiny pea brain think twice before ever assuming you are more cunning than any of us."

At Zabini's words, a general hum of agreement followed. Hermione became more and more nervous, twitching under Crabbe's grip, desperate to find an escape.

"Don't use Malfoy as an excuse for your twisted fantasies, Zabini!" she answered back.

"Don't ever say his name again! You aren't worthy enough Mudblood," Zabini's voice suddenly dropped to a menacing tone Hermione had never heard before.

She gulped nervously, but it wasn't going to stop her now.

"Malfoy isn't such a sick fuck as -"

WHAM! Before she had finished, Hermione felt a hand smash into her face.

Zabini had hit her hard and it took her several moments to recover. Her lip was cut and bleeding but she didn't care.

She was furious.

How dare that idiot hit her, the Head Girl? But she soon realised Blaise's face was fuming with the same intensity as hers. It angered her even more.

She inhaled deeply, ready to spit out her own venom, when the back room door opened again and Draco Malfoy entered.

"Granger!" he shouted.

Zabini spun around quickly, while Crabbe loosened his tight grip on Hermione. She also looked up, as did most of the Slytherins around, to find the Malfoy heir looking at her intently from the door.

He was standing quite majestically among the others, his white-blond hair forming a kind of halo above the black robes he wore. His hair framed perfectly his pale white skin thus making his appearance almost angelic.

But Hermione knew perfectly well that he was no angel and trouble had really started for her.

"Malfoy, look who we found," Zabini quickly said. "She was spying on us outside the Hog's Head. What do you want us to do with her? Surely she should be punished -"

"Everyone out! Now!" Draco announced. At his order everyone got up; the bows Draco received before the Slytherins left were not unnoticed by Hermione.

Then her gaze dropped on Draco and she watched how his eyes darkened with anger as he approached her and noticed her bruised cheek and cut lip. Furious, he grabbed Zabini by the collar.

"Don't you ever touch her again! Do you understand?"

Zabini hesitated but as Draco tightened his grasp, Hermione saw him lower his eyes in fear before Draco, nod and leave.

Left alone with Draco Hermione looked at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to defend her, but nonetheless, she was determined to give the ferret boy a piece of her mind.

Draco, on the other hand, seemed to be using every ounce of energy to contain his wrath.

"Sit," he ordered and before Hermione could protest, he took out his wand.

"Accio chair!"

A nearby chair came zooming behind Hermione and forced her to sit.

"I thought I'd made myself quite clear that I had nothing left to say to you," Draco hissed, holding up her bruised face and examining it. In his other hand, he held Hermione's wand that Goyle had given to him before walking out.

"I needed to see you," Hermione replied.

"And why is that?" Draco answered looking down at her.

She paused.

"Tell me," he barked at her.

"Because - because I still believe in you."

Draco's face fell. He looked utterly confused and not expecting her confession.

"Please, don't you see? Becoming a Death Eater will destroy you! Following someone else's dream has never been your intention! Promise me you won't swear allegiance to Vol- Voldemort but instead accept my help, for once. We can protect you from your father and him. Draco, please, I know you were willing to accept my help last year-"

Hermione felt her face flush after she fell silent and impatiently waited for Draco to be angry with her, to hate her even more, but, beyond all expectations, he started to laugh.

"My poor naive Granger. Did you ever stop one second to think that I chose to follow this path?"

As he spoke he revealed the black mark, which scarred his pale white skin.

"But -" Hermione started but felt herself being dragged from the chair as Draco grasped both her wrists and pulled her up.

"It's too late!" he shouted at her, as he gripped her arms and shook her vigorously.

"Of course I chose to be initiated! Of course I chose to follow Voldemort! What else was I to do? Drop my dignity and follow you and your precious Potter? Bow to your beloved Dumbledore? Tell me Granger, what exactly did you expect me to do!"

His voice rang in her ears as she restrained herself from crying. She tried to push him away from her, but she knew perfectly well it was useless. She had dreaded such a revelation and she had still risked hearing it.

And now, all she wanted to do was run, but she couldn't, it was too late; she had to face it.

She was now confronted with the nightmare, which had tortured her emotionally all summer. How could he have done it?

"So that's it! You've become one of them? A Death Eater?" she spat out. "And I thought you only took orders from Purebloods!"

Her words hit Draco harder than she thought. She had touched a nerve and she knew it.

She watched his eyes run through a mixture of emotions. His once mysterious soft grey eyes, she had looked into last year intrigued, were now hard and darkened.

They had given her the answer she had sought straight away. The initiation had hardened Draco's features and given him a darker composure.

As the new Draco Malfoy, Voldemort's new Death Eater, stood before her, the resemblance with his father, Lucius, was striking.

She was sick with disgust, but Draco was not finished with her. His grip on her was still firm and Hermione knew that he was deciding what to do with her next. She dreaded the worst and could no longer restrain the tears pouring down her face.

It was over; she had come too late.

However, against all hopes, the back room door opened and a sixth-year Slytherin, who Hermione recognised immediately, ran in, breathing heavily.

"Malfoy! What the fuck do you think you're doing!"