Year V

Chapter Eighteen

"Lucky Day in Hell...A Slytherin's View"

Severus Snape didn't bother hiding the fact that he enjoyed intimidating the students in his classes. In fact, he was certain that intimidation is what motivated most of his students to succeed, except for Longbottom whose concoctions were either total failures or unstable mixtures that were on the verge of blowing up half the classroom. In his mind, the Gryffindors, with one exception, were the worst when it came to potions. The Hufflepuffs weren't that much better, but at least they weren't cursed with an incompetent like Longbottom in their ranks. However, Snape discovered that teaching Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs was far less entertaining than the double sessions with the Gryffindors and his own Slytherins. For the most part, the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs were cordial with each other. Though there were a few minor incidents, they got along.

However, today, Severus could sense the tension in the class room. Apparently, some students, mostly the Ravenclaws, were looking forward to seeing their potions master tear apart the Yank in Hufflepuff. When the lesson started, he could sense that there was going to be trouble, especially when he noticed the McCade boy was obviously working on something else other than the Draught of Peace. In addition to the cauldron on the table he was working at, the boy had placed a small glass beaker and poured various ingredients into it while working on his actual assignment.

"Mr. McCade," he said as he walked up the table.

"Hold on..." said the boy as he held up his hand, not even paying attention to the fact his teacher was standing in front of his table and glaring at him. Most of the other students looked up, wondering what was going on while others were silently snickering. McCade, to his credit, didn't seem to be paying attention to this. Instead, he was counting off to himself. "Three...two...one...." He quickly poured the powdery on contents of a small bowl into his cauldron, though he managed to save just enough of the powder to put into the beaker. He then stirred the cauldron a few times before looking up at the potions master. "Sorry about that, sir. Didn't want my timing thrown off."

Severus wasn't sure if he should be angry or impressed. So far, the young man seemed to know what he was doing. But that shouldn't surprise you, he thought. After all, look at who his parents are. He felt a tendril of fear ripple through his body as he remembered the boy's parents. He managed to hide his worry by glaring at the beaker. "What is that?"

"Powdered moonstone, hellebore syrup, doxy venom, and a couple other things," said the boy as he carefully picked up the beaker and shook it gently. The dark earthy colored liquid inside started to glow slightly before shifting to a burnt-orange color. "Just in case."

"Just in case of what, Mr. McCade?" Severus kept his voice as neutral as possible. He suspected what the boy was doing, but he didn't want to betray any emotion.

"In case something goes wrong, sir." McCade began to add some shavings of a unicorn horn into the cauldron, then checked a pocket watch and started counting off again. "Four..three...two...one..." He dumped the last of the horn shavings into his cauldron and stirred it a few more times before backing off. A silvery vapor began to rise from his cauldron. "YES!" he crowed in triumph.

Then the silvery vapor thickened into gray smoke and the cauldron started to shoot off silver sparks.

"NO!" shouted McCade in the same tone he had only used moments before in his cry of triumph. He quickly reached over and dumped the contents of the beaker into the cauldron, a defeated look on his face. Most of the students closest to McCade panicked and ducked for cover. From previous experience, when a potion looked unstable, they learned very early to get as far away as possible. Seeing him suddenly dump the unknown contents of a beaker into the unstable potion was more than enough reason to take cover. But the expected explosion never came. Instead, the sparking cauldron spewed out a small cloud of orange smoke which quickly dissipated before going dormant. "Damn...that was not supposed to happen."

Severus shook his head disapprovingly. "No, Mr. McCade," he said icily. "And do you know why it happened?"

The boy shrugged. "Not sure...either I put the shavings in too soon or I put too much in there."

"Very good, Mr. McCade. I guess you're not that incompetent after all." He reached down and dumped the contents of Jesse's cauldron, smiling as he watched the multi-colored ash mostly dissipate before it the ground. "Impressive, you actually developed an effective counter-mixture. I'm surprised that someone from Hufflepuff was capable of accomplishing that. Five points to Hufflepuff for a rare display of resourcefulness."

McCade seemed to smile a little, but Severus made sure his next few words would quash that smile. "However, you get a zero for today's grade, McCade and in addition to the homework assignment, I want another twelve inches on the properties of unicorn horn from you."

Severus wasn't sure, but he swore the boy made a noise that sounded like a "Du-Oh!" He allowed himself a smug grin as he addressed the rest of the class. "For those of you who have successfully completed this assignment, fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name, and bring it up to my desk for testing. Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and it's uses in potion making, to be handed in on Thursday. Mr. McCade, I expect your Unicorn Horn assignment as well at that time."

The bell rang and the students started to leave. Severus waited until McCade was finished putting things in his schoolbag before speaking. "Mr. McCade, I wish to talk to you."

The boy stopped and turned, a look of minor annoyance on his face. But it was his eyes that caught Severus' attention...cold, calculating, sizing up the situation. "And what can I do for you, Professor?"

His mother had that same look when studying an enemy.

"I don't think I appreciate that tone, McCade."

The other boy shrugged. "I've been having a bad day," he said. "It seems I've become everyone's favorite target today. So...what are you going to do to me, professor?"

"Excuse me?"

"I have a Divinations instructor who thinks I'm a 'disturbance to the natural order' and my cat is a harbinger of evil, the Defense Against Dark Arts professor is probably thinking of ways to either expel, deport, and/or kill me, and I'm not sure what Professor Binns thinks because I spent most of that class sleeping. And then there's the legendary Professor Snape, the one I was warned about." The boy flashed Severus a defiant grin that instantly reminded him of the his father. "So what's it going to be, professor? Is this the part where you take points from me, threaten me with some poison or another, or threaten to break my hands," McCade changed his voice into a malicious and exaggerated whisper as he made a fiddling gesture with his arms, "so I'll never play the violin again?"

Oh yes...the boy is very much like both his parents.

Severus wasn't sure if he was amused or frightened by that thought. Obviously, the boy had been warned by Potter and the others about him, but the defiant attitude and arrogance were obviously there long before that. This was a boy who didn't break under the usual pressure of threats and intimidation...at least not in the normal sense. Unfortunately for Jesse, Snape knew that his usual approach of threats and intimidation wouldn't work on the boy.

"'An angry enemy is an irrational enemy, and therefore easier to defeat'...is that what you're trying to accomplish, Mr. McCade?" Severus didn't bother hiding his smile. "You've been reading too much Sun Tzu and Machiavelli."

"Yeah, well...mom made me read a lot of that crap when I was younger."

"Really? And you didn't end up in Slytherin?"

The expression on McCade's face darkened. "I may have low standards, but they aren't that low."

Severus felt his anger starting to get the better of him. Yes, the boy definitely possessed his father's sharp tongue. "Careful, boy...I am head of Slytherin House."

"Ah, I suppose you're the one who sent those two Slytherins to threaten me this morning," said the boy. "So I guess I was right, you are going to threaten me."

"Actually, McCade, I was hoping that we would reach an understanding," said Severus.

"Oh I think we reached an understanding," chuckled McCade. "If your house wants to protect Draco Malfoy, it's their mistake."

"Pucey and Montague might have been a bit, shall we say, over-zealous and I will talk to them, but I strongly suggest you don't include the entire house in your vendetta." Severus put as much venom in his voice as he could. "Because you don't want me to get involved."

McCade was silent for a moment, meeting Severus' icy glare with one of his own. There were a few more seconds of silence between them and then the boy laughed at him. "Oh yeah...you're good. You're way more menacing than what Potter described." Then the smile faded from his face to be replaced by a look of bitter hatred. "But I think I can take whatever you or Malfoy's little fan-club can dish out."

"Oh, I have no doubt of that, Mr. McCade and I know that threatening you with the deduction of house-points or a detention really won't have an affect on you."

"Well, in that case, I guess we should call it a day."

"Oh, I'm not done yet," said Severus, a thin smile on his lips. "I know that you don't care what happens to yourself, but what about your housemates...or your friends in Gryffindor? Do you care what happens to them?"

"What do you mean?"

"The Slytherins are a very vindictive lot, McCade. You target them, I'll look the other way when they seek retribution and you can be certain that they will hit targets that you care about...like the Weasleys. I understand you're rather fond of the girl, I'm certain Draco and his friends will pick up on that soon enough." He paused for a moment, letting that threat sink in before moving in for the kill. "And what do you think your new friends would think if they learned the truth about you? Or how do you think Umbridge would react if she learned you were an Elemental?"

McCade shook his head in anger, hate burning in his eyes. "You son of a bitch..."

"Language, McCade," said Severus. "I don't think you want to test my concept of a penalty. However, I am aware of your vendetta with the Mafoy family. All I ask is that you keep your vendetta out of my sight and leave the rest of Slytherin house out of it."

McCade seemed to hesitate for a moment. "You can't be everywhere, professor."

"Ah, I see that you've picked up on that, McCade...it's good to know you're not totally dense like the rest of your house. What happens outside this school and out of my sight between you and Malfoy is not my concern, but you will leave the rest of my house out of it. Is that understood?"

The boy thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Fine," he grumbled as he grabbed his bag and started to walk away.

"Oh...and McCade?"

The boy turned around to glare at him. "Yeah?"

"The money you lifted off of Pucey in the corridor this morning, I'll take that back."

Defiantly, McCade pulled out the small bag of coins and dropped them on the table. "It's all there," he said.

"Thank you, you can go now."

As Severus watched the boy leave the room, he knew that this was not over. While he was certain McCade would honor their agreement, he would not put it past the boy to find loopholes to exploit. He had warned Dumbledore that bringing the boy here was not a good idea, but reluctantly agreed that desperate times called for desperate measures.

But the boy is unstable...even Albus must see that.

He couldn't help laughing at the bitter irony of it all. If Lucius Malfoy had not tried to murder the McCades, Jesse McCade would probably not be the threat that he posed now.

However, if Lucius hadn't betrayed them, Simone McCade and her husband would still be loyal to the Dark Lord.

He shuddered involuntarily at that thought, because he had seen Simone's handiwork. Though she and her husband were not actually Death Eaters, Simone was someone the Dark Lord called upon if he wanted to kill a particular target but not be directly connected. Her husband, while not an assassin, had been responsible for acquiring many artifacts for the Dark Lord. Severus always wondered how Voldemort had acquired their loyalty, but didn't dare ask how. Then Lucius had gotten power-hungry and betrayed them. If that hadn't happened, they would not have changed sides and Severus was certain that several members of the Order of the Phoenix, including himself, would be dead by now. All things considered, perhaps Lucius' betrayal was a good thing.

Except his actions unleashed an Elemental and now that teenaged menace seems intent on carrying out his vendetta regardless of who gets in the way.

However, Dumbledore had assured Severus that the boy did have control of his ability and Severus reluctantly had to admit the old man was right. If McCade truly didn't have control, Severus was certain the boy would have burned him to a cinder when they had their confrontation, even with the safeguards in place.

No, like his parents, McCade is waiting for the right time to strike. He will honor our arrangement for now, but he'll find a way around it eventually.

"Hem-hem."

Severus looked up and saw the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Dolores Umbridge, standing in the doorway. He knew that she was nothing more than a political appointee sent by the Minister to spy on Dumbledore, but he hid his disgust behind a mask of cold neutrality...not really hard to do since it was the face he showed to the other faculty members. "Professor Umbridge," he said with a nod. "How may I help you?"

"Professor Snape," she said. Though her smile was meant to be friendly, it was obvious to Severus that there was a devious mind behind that smile. He also found it amusing that some of the more malicious individuals in the world were not allied with the Dark Lord but with the bungling Minister of Magic instead. "I would like to discuss certain things with you."

"Of course," said Severus as he sat down behind his desk. "I will help you in anyway I can."

Umbridge stared at him for a moment before nodding in approval. "Very well then." She paused for a moment to close the door to the classroom. "I wish to discuss the way this school is being run. I've talked to Lucius Malfoy and he, along with some others, have expressed concern at the quality of education the children are receiving."

Severus allowed a smirk to form on his lips. "Indeed," he said. Oh what a tangled web we weave...

"He feels that since he was relieved of his duties as a school governor, the school has declined in its ability to provide a well-rounded education."

"Hmmm, I was not aware that there was decline in the quality of education with maybe the exception of Divination, but I doubt people take that field of study seriously."

"Actually, it's not so much the teaching I am concerned about, though I do agree with your assessment of Divination," said Umbridge. "I am more concerned with how the school is run under the current headmaster." She lowered her voice slightly as if she was concerned that she might be overheard in the empty classroom. "The Minister is concerned about recent actions taken by Dumbledore and has sent me to here to investigate."

And that explains why you so enthusiastically took the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, thought Severus. "Really?" he said, keeping his tone neutral and indifferent. "And which actions are we talking about? I'm sure you've got quite a list."

Umbridge smiled at him again. "That would be an understatement, Professor. First this nonsense about You-Know-Who returning, believing the ridiculous claims made by that Potter boy, and now allowing this Colonial hooligan to attend. These are severe lapses of judgment and the Minister has given me the power to deal with these errors in judgment as I see fit. I intend to thoroughly investigate how this school is run before making my final report to the Minister."

"I see...and why are you telling me this?"

"Because I feel that you are one of the few teachers I can trust," said Umbridge. "Mr. Malfoy spoke highly of you and when the changes are made, I will need your help to implement them."

"What kind of changes?"

"Let's just say that if things go according to plan, Albus Dumbledore's senility will no longer be a problem."

Severus thought about it for a moment before he spoke again. While he questioned some of Dumbledore's decisions, he never considered the man senile. And judging from Dolores Umbridge's comment, it was obvious that she, and the Minister for that matter, still didn't believe the Dark Lord had returned. He wasn't sure if he found her enforced ignorance amusing, disgusting, or a little bit of both. However, he forced these emotions back and simply stared back at her. "Well, if you require assistance, you can count on my support."

"That's good to know, Professor," said Umbridge as she opened the door to the classroom to leave. "And just so you know, we at the Ministry reward people for their loyalty. Your assistance will not be forgotten and when the time comes, we'll clean up the mess Dumbledore has made and prepare Hogwarts for a brighter future."

* * * * *

"So anyway, Potty apparently lost it in Umbridge's class, screaming that the Dark Lord has coming back and she knocked several points off Gryffindor for it," Draco laughed as he, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson made their way toward the Great Hall for dinner. A few feet behind them, Crabb and Goyle followed, flanking the group on either side. "So now he's got detention with her for a week."

Pansy Parkinson laughed as well. As far as she was concerned, Harry Potter was an arrogant git who reveled in his celebrity status. She was glad that the famous "Boy-Who-Lived" was finally getting his ego knocked down a few notches. "Hmmm...a whole week of Potter doing detention, what a good way to start off the year."

"Yeah," said Theodore Nott, "and to top it off, the damn Yank cost Hufflepuff thirty points in that class as well."

Pansy saw Draco flinch when the American was mentioned. For a moment, his cocky sneer faded, but he managed to recover it a second later. "Good...maybe he'll cause too much trouble and they'll throw him out."

"Well we could make his life more miserable," said Pansy. "We could always put him in detention."

Nott chuckled at that comment, but Crabbe and Goyle were a little more hesitant in their reactions before nodding and snickering in agreement. Then there was Draco's reaction...a mixture of hatred, disgust, and fear...yes...fear. That struck Pansy as odd...sure, she had seen Draco frightened before, but it had taken Dementors on a train to do that. This was something different...this was the first time Draco showed fear of another student. Curious, she thought, what is it about this Colonial that has him so scared?

"He's not worth it," said Draco finally, his arrogance sliding back into place. "Besides, I think he'll back off since Pucey and Montague talked to him this morning."

Ah, so that's why you were talking to them during breakfast this morning.

"I did see them earlier today," said Pansy. "Although they seemed angry about something. Pucey was saying someone had robbed him of his money."

"The damn Yank probably lifted it off them," snickered Nott.

"Now what a rotten thing to say," echoed a voice down the corridor. The whole group stopped and Pansy saw a panicked look on Draco's face while Crabbe and Goyle immediately tensed up as if they were preparing for a fight. That's when he came around the corner. There was a cold smile on his face as he looked at them. Pansy felt his gaze fall on her for a moment and felt as if she was being eyed by a predator preparing to move in for the kill. "Then again," the boy said, "it is the truth. I did lift Pussy's gold off him while he walked by me after he delivered his little threat."

"That's Pucey," snapped Nott. "And he's a Prefect."

"Whatever," said McCade as he took another step towards them before stopping a few feet away. "And you can relax, Draco, I'm not going to hurt you...again. But it wasn't Pucey and his boyfriend that stopped me. You can thank your Professor Snape for that. So long as you're in this building, I can't attack you."

"Well that's too bad, isn't it?" said Nott as he reached into his robe and pulled out his wand. "And you all by yourself."

McCade didn't move. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I can still defend myself."

"Then I guess I'll have to hit you with something hard...Stup-ARRRRRGHH!!!!" A furry blur jumped out of the shadows and attacked Nott, growling and hissing as it buried its claws into his leg. "GETITOFFME!!!! GETITOFFME!!!" Nott screamed as he tried to grab the calico cat that viciously snapped at his hands.

Crabbe and Goyle moved in to help when it happened, Theodore Nott disappeared in a flash of white light. They both stood there for a moment, looking on in disbelief before charging McCade who tossed something at them.

"Wait," hollered Draco as he reached in his cloak for his own wand. "It might be a-" He was cut off as purple smoke suddenly engulfed the area. Pansy felt her eyes begin to burn and her nose starting to run. She heard the sound of a fight and something breaking as a body hit a wall followed by a cry of pain from Goyle. She tried to move forward, trying to blink the tears that were forming in her eyes, but felt someone run into her, pushing her to the ground.

A few moments later, the purple smoke dissipated and Pansy was able to make out shapes. When she wiped the tears out of her eyes to get a better view, she saw Crabbe lying in the remains of a trophy case that was previously hanging on a wall. Goyle was a few feet away, rolling around on the ground and moaning in pain.

"Wow," she heard McCade say. "Talk about a sense of deja-vu."

Pansy turned and saw McCade shoving Draco against the wall, wand pointed at his throat. Before she even realized what she was doing, Pansy had her wand out and pointed at the American's head. "Let him go."

McCade looked in her direction, an amused expression on his face. "Hmm...not bad," he said. "A little more forceful and you might sound like a Prefect."

"I AM a Prefect!"

"Really? That can't be right," said McCade, tilting his head to the side. "You don't strike me as a bossy know-it-all type...you wouldn't happen to know Hogwarts: A History word-for-word, would you?"

"What!?!" That comment caught Pansy off guard. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, really...it's just that the Prefect I've had to deal with this last month seems to have this stuck up 'holier than thou' attitude."

"Well, I'm not Hermione Granger," said Pansy after realizing who McCade was referring to. "Now lower your wand."

"Or what?" snapped McCade. "You'll hex me?" He shook his head and snickered as he returned his attention to Draco. "Believe me...after knowing what his father can do, I doubt you can seriously hurt me."

"Wh-what-are you talking about?" choked Draco.

"Shut up," said McCade as he shoved Draco away and put his wand back in his coat. He then looked back at Pansy who still had her wand pointed at him. "I have to give you credit, you have a lot of guts even though you have no idea of what you're up against."

"An arrogant Yank?" replied Pansy. "I should hex you."

"Yeah, maybe you should...after all, cursing an unarmed person seems to be a Slytherin standard." Jesse glanced over at Draco for a moment. "Like father, like son, right Malfoy?"

"When my father hears of this-" started Draco, but McCade cut him off.

"What's he going to do, curse me again?" McCade shook his head and laughed at him. "Been there, done that, got the scars to show for it."

"Again?" asked Pansy, lowering her wand. "What do you mean by 'again'?"

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"

Pansy silently cursed under her breath when she recognized that voice and noticed McCade rolling his eyes. "Damn...now this feels way too familiar," he said. "Hello, Hermione."

Hermione Granger, flanked by Ron Weasley and Harry Potter approached them. "McCade, I warned you about fighting here at the school."

"Fighting?" said McCade with feigned look of confusion on his face. "I wasn't aware there was any fighting going on."

Pansy had to suppress a snicker at the annoyed tone in McCade's voice. Apparently, the Yank didn't care much for the Mudblood prefect in Gryffindor. "This is none of your business, Granger," she said. "Nothing happened."

"Really?" snapped Granger. "And I suppose Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy simultaneously tripped all at once."

"Wow, I'm impressed, Hermione. That's exactly what happened." McCade flashed the Gryffindor a smug grin which seemed to irritate Granger even more. "You must be psychic."

"Shut up, McCade!"

McCade looked back at Pansy. "See what I mean?" He turned and started to walk away, but stopped in front of Draco. "You're a very lucky boy, Malfoy," he said. "It must be nice to have all these people to hide behind."

To his credit, Draco was able to conjure up a sneer. "I'm still a prefect, McCade. I can give you a detention."

"Go ahead and try it, Malfoy."

"That's enough!" Granger stepped between them. "McCade, walk away or I will give you detention."

"I don't need your help, Granger!" snapped Draco, shoving Granger out of the way which made Potter and Weasley step forward to help their friend.

As much as she wanted to send a few hexes at Granger and her friends, Pansy knew that the odds were not in her favor. She and Draco were the only Slytherins still standing, Crabbe and Goyle were down, and Nott was missing. They were outnumbered by Granger, Potter, and the Weasel. Then there was McCade who, while he may not care much for Granger, would probably side with the Gryffindors or, more likely, target everyone involved. No, she decided, better to cut our losses now and regroup. "Like I said before," she said, "this is none of your concern, Granger." She hoped there was enough edge in her voice when she spoke. "It was a simple misunderstanding."

"Yeah," said McCade as he backed away from the group, "just a misunderstanding."

"Well, I'm still going to report this incident to McGonagall," said Granger. "And where do you think you're going, McCade?"

"Um...I do believe you told me to walk away...so I'm walking away."

"I'm not through with you, yet."

Pansy saw the Hufflepuff flick his wrist slightly. "Oh, I think you are, Hermione," he said. He suddenly threw something at the ground and Pansy brought up her arms to shield herself from the blinding blue-white flash of light that followed. A few moments later, the black and blue blotches faded and her vision returned to normal. McCade was gone, though his laughter was still echoing off the castle walls. Granger, Potter, and Weasley stumbled around for a few moments before recovering and took off down the corridor, chasing after McCade's fading laughter.

"Well, that was interesting," said Pansy. She saw Draco looking down the corridor, clenching and unclenching his fist. "Draco, are you all right?"

"No," said Draco. "It is not all right."

Pansy wasn't sure what to do. Draco was angry, but this was a side she hadn't seen to him before...a cold rage that was looking for an outlet but had nowhere to go. "Listen," she said, "help me with Crabbe and Goyle, then we can tell Professor Snape what happened."

"No."

"What?" Pansy couldn't believe what she just heard.

"No," repeated Draco, "not a word to Snape about this."

"But-"

"He's right, you know...it's convenient to have others to hide behind."

"Draco, you're not a coward," said Pansy. "Granted, you sometimes get in over your head when dealing with Potter and his little band of friends, but there's nothing wrong with being prepared and having others to back you up."

"But this is not Potter. You heard what McCade said, 'like father, like son'." Draco leaned against the wall and fell silent for a moment, apparently lost in thought. "You were right, Pansy," he said. "He is targeting me and he's doing it because of something my father did to him."

"Like what?"

Draco shook his head. "I don't know, but I'm not going to spend the rest of the school year paying for whatever my father did. As soon as we get back to the common room, I'm going to have a little chat with him."

* * * * *

As DeBoer entered the Victorian-style house, he had no doubt that the citizens of Lynden thought it beautiful. After all, it looked like a small mansion that sat on the outskirts of town. Small walls surrounded the entire estate which included well kept gardens and a large fountain that sat in the main courtyard in front of the entrance. However, the dimly lit and sinister looking interior of the Covenant's main base of operations shattered the tranquil illusion that was projected outside. In many ways, it resembled the type of haunted mansion that people would read about in horror novels or see in the movies which was deliberate, because DeBoer had always been a fan of those old Muggle movies. However, there were no cobwebs, broken windows, or dust...of course not, that would be unsanitary and a dirty environment was not to be tolerated.

And like any other "haunted" mansion, it had monsters...two of which oozed out of the shadows in front of him, coalescing into demonic forms and hissing as he walked by, ignoring them. When he reached the end of the main hallway, he kept walking, stepping through the wall and descending down the uneven flight of steps that led down to the containment chamber where two guards stood in battle-armor. One of the guards opened the door and DeBoer stepped into the large cavernous space. In the middle of the room Elle, DeBoer's secretary was standing over a young man who was curled in a ball, murmuring to himself.

"The dragon's awake...the dragon's awake..." the boy's voice echoed off the walls of the chamber, and DeBoer involuntarily shuddered.

Elle looked over at her employer. "As you can see, sir, this warrants my interrupting your tee time at the golf course."

"How long has he been like this?" asked DeBoer.

"The last hour," replied Elle. "And according to the doctors, he's been muttering gibberish ever since."

"The eyes...red eyes everywhere...red eyes nowhere...they see...they hunt...they kill..."

"Quiet!" snapped Elle. She walked over to where her employer was standing. "It would seem he's aware of the Shaders above the place."

"Indeed," said DeBoer as he studied the boy for a moment. "Davey!"

"The serpent calls me..."

DeBoer walked up to the boy and knelt down next to him, causing the boy to flinch and move a few feet away from him. "What do you see, Davey?"

Davey's eyes widened in horror as he looked at Deboer. "The serpent...it's here!" he shouted, trying to back away.

He sees me, thought DeBoer in amusement. Not my human shell, but what I truly am...curious. "What is it, Davey? What did you see?"

"The Burning Boy...the Burning Boy woke the Dragon..."

"The Burning Boy? Are you sure?"

Davey nodded fearfully. "The Burning Boy hates the Dragon...blames Dragon for pain."

"Well, isn't that interesting..." DeBoer glanced back up at Elle. "The last time he mentioned this 'Burning Boy', our sourced led us to Jesse McCade."

"The uncontrolled Elemental?" Elle frowned. "But our intelligence lost track of him in London."

DeBoer shook his head and chuckled. "You haven't been reading the news from over there, have you?"

"No."

"The reason we've lost track of the McCade boy is because he's currently located in a place that is unplottable, and while there are a quite a few of those places, the Daily Prophet gave me a pretty good idea where he might be."

"I never really thought highly of Daily Prophet, sir. They seem so ignorant of the world around them...as if they are superior to everyone else. That almost seems to be a flaw among all mortals, both muggle and magical."

"Yes," said DeBoer. "It does seem that way, doesn't it? On the other hand, I have to admit it's nice reading all the various magazines, newspapers, and other stuff that's available today...so much different and more informative than the old days."

"Yes, I suppose it is a step up from message by runner or carrier pigeon. Did you eat them if they brought you bad news?"

DeBoer arched an eyebrow at that comment. "Sarcasm, Elle? That's new coming from you. Then again...that's not too far from the truth." He turned back to face the boy. "What else is there, Davey?"

"The Dark Lord...he comes back."

"Well, I already know that part, Davey. You can do better than that."

"The Serpent doesn't like the Dark Lord...sees Dark Lord as threat." For a moment, the boy's eyes suddenly became lucid and he looked directly at DeBoer. When he spoke, is voice almost took an icy calm. "The pieces all fall into place now...." Then Davey did something completely peculiar...he laughed.

"What's so funny?" demanded Elle as she took a step forward.

"Yes Davey," said DeBoer, giving the boy a patronizing smile. "What is it that you find amusing?"

Davey brought himself back up to his knees and glanced at Elle before focusing his attention back on DeBoer. "Kill the messenger...won't stop it from happening."

"Stop what from happening?"

Davey rocked himself back and forth and giggled. "You're all gonna' die," he said in a sing-song voice. "You're all gonna' die...you're all gonna die...." He collapsed to the floor, rolling around in a hysterical fit of laughter.

"Elle," DeBoer said simply, not even looking at his secretary. Elle nodded, pulled a small gun out of her jacket, pointed it at Davey, and pulled the trigger. The boy was still laughing as the dart hit him squarely in the chest. A few moments later, his laughter faded as the drug took effect.

"Tell the doctors to keep him drugged for the time being," said DeBoer as he stood up again. "If he starts talking again, I want everything he says written down, understood?"

"Yes sir."

DeBoer took one last look at the half-conscious boy on the floor. For a moment, he was tempted to order Elle to kill the boy, but almost immediately dismissed that idea. The boy may not be all there mentally, but he had never failed in a prediction.

No, he thought, killing him would deprive me of a useful tool. In the seven years we've had him, he's never made a false prediction and he's one of the few tools I have that can help me prevent the Trelawney prophecy from happening. He will lead me to this "Dragon" and when I destroy them, then I'll get rid of him and be done with this prophecy nonsense once and for all.

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