The Arcs of Destiny

Chapter XIII:

El Ligero del Fin

(The Light of the Ending)

*

'I'm gonna wake up, yes and no

I'm gonna kiss some part of

I'm gonna keep this secret

I'm gonna close my body now.'

~ Madonna, Die Another Day

*

It was a long trip but the group finally made it to Jason's cell without getting attacked by demons. Several times, Ginny had led them down the wrong hallway and they had to turn back. And even though they weren't attacked by demons, it seemed that the demons were more on the move than when Ginny had escaped her cell. Each time they turned back from the wrong hallway, they had to hide from a passing demon.

Ginny quickly opened the heavy door and ushered the group inside. Galan was gone already, but it seemed she had tortured Jason before leaving. He was lying on the floor of his cell, out cold and blood coming from his nose. Ginny looked meaningfully at Draco before he stepped forward and inspected the lock. He raised his hand to wave it over the lock, but nothing happened. Shocked, Ginny looked back up to Draco but saw that he wasn't finished. He was staring intently at his hand as if it held all the answers. White-ish mists appeared a centimetre above his palm and disappeared to reveal a large, brass key.

"Wow," Hermione muttered, eyebrows raised. "Check out Draco Malfoy helping the common good." She chuckled. "Me without my camera."

Draco ignored her and inserted the key into the lock, turning it once before opening the gate. He gave the key to Ginny and held open the gate as Ron and Hermione dragged Jason out of his cell.

"Unconscious," Draco muttered to Ginny who was standing beside him. "Right when we needed him immediately."

Suddenly, Ginny couldn't see anything. The key clattered to the floor and she felt a pair of strong arms grab hold of her just as another vision hit her:

"Molly, Percy, you will be our guides for the rest of the morning. I would like you to show us where you were made into demons. Can you do that for us?" Molly nodded while Percy looked unmoved. "Very well, then. Let's go."

Molly and Dumbledore reached the front door first, with Snape, who was still holding Percy, and McGonagall next, Arthur after them, and everyone else following him.

The scene around her suddenly came back to her at once and she gasped for breath, holding onto Draco's arm. "The Headmaster is coming!" she exclaimed.

"What?!" said three voices in unison.

"Headmaster?" said a voice from the floor. Jason was waking up, although he was still a little groggy. Ron and Draco looked at Ginny meaningfully and she shrugged back at them.

"Headmaster of Hogwarts," Ginny explained to Jason.

Hermione sighed and pulled Jason to his feet. She turned to Ginny and asked, "Is that what you meant about your sending visions? That you're a Seer?" Ginny nodded. "And you just had a vision?" Ginny nodded again. "Was that all you saw? The Headmaster, I mean."

Ginny shook her head this time. "Dumbledore asked Mum and Percy to show them around the place where they were made into demons. I also saw Snape, McGonagall, Dad, and a couple more wizards following them out the door."

Hermione turned back to Jason. "A friend of ours has been kidnapped by this 'Master' person. Do you have any idea where he could be keeping our friend?"

Jason nodded. "It's very hard to find, because it has magical protection on it, so we can't use magic to find it. Although, it's a cave directly beneath the Master's main chamber in the main building. Both places are where he turns people into demons and performs other rituals which is why it's so hard to get to. The Master was coronated as one of the Kings of the Underground there as well.We'd have to get into the tunnels near the main chamber to get to it."

"Are you sure you're okay to come with us?" Ginny asked, bending down to pick up the key. "I mean, it looks like Galan tortured you pretty badly."

"I'll be fine," Jason told her with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Realising that there hadn't been proper introductions, Draco held out his hand, saying, "Draco, Draco Malfoy." Ginny could hear a bit of mistrust in his voice as he said his name and knew there might be trouble between the two men.

Jason shook his hand, not showing any fear. Ginny looked worriedly between the two as Jason said, "Jason Casselini. So, she found you alright."

"Yes, she did," Draco said flatly. He took the key from Ginny and locked the gate as Ginny shot a look to Ron.

"Oh, Ron Weasley." Ron got the message and held out his own hand towards Jason. "I'm one of her brothers."

Jason shook his hand as Hermione said, "I'm Hermione Granger."

"Nice to meet you all," Jason said politely. Ginny could feel how tense Draco was and looked at him, but he was looking as if this was the most boring moment of his life.

"We should be going," Ginny said, cutting the silence. Jason nodded and led the way out the door. Ron and Hermione followed behind him, and Ginny pulled on Draco's arm as they went out into the hallway, muttering, "Be nice" to Draco, who wasn't looking at her. She followed his gaze to Jason who was upfront and said, "Okay, Draco, you know what? People usually listen to other people when they're talking. That's what people do. They listen to others."

"I'm listening," Draco muttered absentmindedly. He was still staring ahead. Ginny turned so that she could walk backwards to look into his eyes. Deciphering Draco's eyes was very hard as he always kept his emotions under cover.

But Ginny could see that he was jealous. Startled, she turned back around to walk normally, going over what she saw. What did Draco have to be jealous of? And Malfoys could be jealous? She shook her head. Ever since he came to Canada with Harry, there had always been something odd about him, something different than what she was normally used to. One minute, she was comfortable hating him, and the next minute, they were friends. And now he was jealous of Jason because Jason had been the one to help her out of her cell and he was the one who was leading them to where the Master could be holding Harry.

Ginny looked back at Draco and smiled. He caught her looking at him and smiled back uneasily. Then, they walked on as if it never happened.

****

I'm gonna break the cycle

I'm gonna shake up the system

I'm gonna destroy my ego

I'm gonna close my body now

Harry sighed. This just couldn't get more boring.

The Master was talking about everything in his personal life, from his first toys(which were shackles) to his favourite Muggle band(and this was Ozzy Osbourne, by the way). He seemed very proud of the accomplishments that he had achieved, and he also seemed very proud of desserts he had created. Apparently, you shouldn't ask this guy who he is.

"You know, I like chocolate chip cookies, but they don't cut it for me when I'm really hungry for dessert," the Master was saying. Harry looked at him exasperatedly, but he never caught Harry's look. "So I invented a recipe where you put chocolate chip cookies in cake. It's very delicious. What do you like? Chocolate chip cookies plain, or when they're in a cake?"

Harry thought about it for a second and then said, "When they're in the cake."

"Exactly!" the Master excalimed, shaking his finger. "In the cake, they are more fulfilling. I tell you what, if you're not dead the next time I make chocolate chip cookie cake, I'll send some over for you." He chortled at this, thinking it would never happen.

"No, thank you," Harry told him. "But you can send over the recipe. I'll make it myself."

Suddenly, an entourage of demons clad in animal skins and armour strode into the room. The Master didn't answer Harry, but watched in silence as the demons positioned themselves around the room. The head of the entourage, an actual head floating in mid-air, beckoned the Master to come over and talk to him. Harry looked around at all the demons with a sinking heart as the head and the Master spoke quietly before the Master turned back to him.

"Very well, it was nice talking to you," the Master said. "But I cannot stay. Galan bids me get ready for the Dark Lord's arrival as she has already contacted him and he is on his way. You'd better say a prayer, because you're not going anywhere. Well, until the Dark Lord takes you."

With that, the Master was engulfed in a wreath of flames in which he disappeared. The floating head gave Harry a toothless grin before taking a position by a door, and Harry was left to think in his cage.

****

I think I'll find another way

There's so much more to know

I guess I'll die another day

It's not my time to go

Jason led the group through the hallways, which twisted out of sight. Down flights of stairs, into numerous rooms, along various hallways until they came to a door. It was wooden with iron hinges and a lock. Jason backed the group up so they were a couple feet away from the door before going to stand in front of it. Hermione looked on confused. He was just standing there, doing nothing and nothing was happening. She supposed that this was some sort of identification test, but then, he wouldn't be able to get by because he's suppose to be locked up in a cell.

At last, the door opened slowly and Jason ushered the group through before returning to the front.

"Jason, wouldn't that door know you are suppose to be in your cell?" Hermione asked and Ron nodded.

"Nope," Jason answered. "Some doors have different tests than others. This door is farther away from where the Master does his rituals, so it only recognises if you're a demon. Closer to the site, the tests become more complex. It keeps the intruders out from the building and keeps them down in the labyrinth where they are bound to be noticed by other demons somehow. But I don't think they intended for another demon to escape the holding cells to lead intruders around the building." He smirked at this.

"Ah, I see," Hermione said. They were in a dark hallway now with only candlesticks around in the air for light. Suddenly, Jason began to go downwards and Hermione realized that they had reached yet another stairwell. The stairs twisted around the corner and out of sight and Hermione held onto the wall for support since the stairs were a litle slippery. The wall was damp too, and more than once, she accidentally put her hand in some cobwebs.

Beside her, Ron wasn't having anymore luck than she was. In fact, the minute his hand touched a cobweb, he would jump to the side and into Hermione. Both would nearly go tumbling down the stairs if Hermione hadn't been clutching at the wall so tightly. The others would have to stop and wait for them as they straightened up before continuing.

Jason and Draco looked like they weren't having any problems at all with the stairs, while Ginny was being held up by Draco every step. It seemed that demons were immune to slipping on stairs, which Hermione found curious. After all, they had to have at least one flaw, didn't they? Well, at least another flaw besides being made by evil.

Finally, the stairs ended and Jason led the group into a tunnel where they had to bend over since the ceiling was low. This didn't go over so well with Ron, who felt that spiders could be crawling on the ceiling, and the fact that he couldn't bend properly because he was so tall meant that his back would be brushing the ceiling made him even more afraid than he was when they were in the stairwell.

He ended up crawling, but by that time, they were already in another tunnel that was larger and more bright. The candles followed them wherever they went, illuminating objects in their way like boulders they could trip on. Then suddenly, the candles vanished into thin air and their light was replaced by the light from torches hanging on the wall.

"Shhh," Jason said quite suddenly. He began to walk so slowly, it resembled creeping. Hermione's ears pricked up as she thought she heard something, but the sound didn't continue. The tunnel opened up onto another one and Jason directed them to the right. The noise started up again as they came closer to an opening in the wall. It sounded like talking.

"...has already contacted him and he is on his way. You'd better say a prayer, because you're not going anywhere."

The voice stopped talking. Jason reached the opening in the wall first and peered around it. Hermione joined him and did the same. Inside was a large cave with demons standing guard around the walls. There was a cage near the back of the room with iron bars and somebody inside. Somebody familiar. Someone who was-

"Harry," Hermione whispered. Jason put a finger to her lips and pulled her away from the opening and turned to the group.

"Alright," he whispered. "The Master just left and it looks like your friend is in there, but a lot of demons are standing guard. It's better to fight the demons than the Master though, but we need a plan. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny will get your friend and fight anyone who tries to stop you. Draco and I will cause a distraction."

Hermione nodded, but felt that she would be better as part of the distraction since she was a Slayer. But no one else in the group knew about this and she didn't feel like telling the story right before rescuing Harry.

"Alright, let's go," Jason said. He and Draco trooped into the cave while the three left crept to the opening to watch for a path to Harry. They watched as wave after wave of demons went after the pair.

"Take it to the side," Hermione whispered worriedly. There was a large clump of demons in their way to Harry's cage. Suddenly, as if he had heard Hermione, Draco broke free and ran to the other side of the cave and a couple of demons followed him. The middle was being cleared of demons.

Beside Hermione, Ginny was hiding her eyes every time Draco was bashed up against the wall. "He's going to be alright, Gin," Hermione said calmly.

"Oh, I hope so," Ginny said worriedly, wincing as Draco was hit severely in the jaw. Hermione noticed that Ginny was only looking at Draco and not at Jason. Well, that guy was probably a little too old for her anyway, she thought.

****

For every sin, I'll have to pay

I've come to work, I've come to play

I think I'll find another way

It's not my time to go

"How close are we?" Dumbledore asked Molly.

"I think we're almost there," she said. She had calmed considerably along the way. Now, they were walking along a tunnel with torches in brackets lighting their way.

"This wasn't where I was turned," Percy muttered from behind them.

"How much farther?" Snape asked irritably.

"Not much farther, Severus," Dumbledore told him. "Maintain your patience. We're almost there."

They turned a corner. At the end of the tunnel was an opening to another chamber. Standing in front of the opening were three teenagers, all recgonisable even from this distance: Ron and Ginny Weasley, and Hermione Granger.

"Looks like we found them," Dumbledore said.

****

I'm gonna avoid the cliche

I'm gonna suspend my senses

I'm gonna delay my pleasure

I'm gonna close my body now

Ginny cringed again as Draco was hit in the stomach. He doubled over and fell to the ground and was being beaten up by the five demons around him. Ginny whimpered as she watched him lie there and she so badly wanted to go in there and do something.

"Ginny!" someone was saying. She tore her eyes away from Draco and looked up to see Ron beckoning to her. A path had opened up between the demons and he was already going inside. "Come on."

She and Hermione followed Ron in and they ran towards the cage, but were only half-way there when they were attacked by a couple demons. Hermione began fighting them too and told the others to get Harry. They did as she told them, although a bit reluctantly. Ginny took out the key Draco had made for Jason's cell and, on a hunch, she fit the key into the lock. Harry watched on, overjoyed, as she twisted the key and the lock came open. Beside her, Ron hexed a demon coming for him and gave a shout of joy as a shadow came into the room from the corner of Ginny's eye. Harry jumped down out of the cage and hugged Ron and Ginny, as if he figured he was actually going to die.

The room suddenly became quiet. Ginny looked around and found that Draco and Jason had conjured themselves a sword and axe respectively, and a pile of dead demons around them. They were both bleeding but it looked as if Hermione had fa red better than them. She hadn't a scratch and was standing, staring at the couple of demons she successfully killed, pleased. Behind them, Molly and Percy had their own dead demons around them and the group of wizards standing in the opening of the cave had stunned demons in front of them.

Ginny exhaled and ran to Draco, hugging him tightly. The arm that wasn't holding the sword hugged her back and they broke apart. He looked even worse close up. Bruises were forming on his cheeks and his lip was cut. His eyes looked deserted as he looked at the dead demons on the ground, but he smiled at her appreciatively. She looked away quickly and at the others. Hermione was hugging Harry, and the teachers were talking with Molly and Percy. She looked at Jason. He was already looking at her, but turned away before Ginny could say for sure.

But she knew it wasn't over yet.

*

Tell me just what you want me to be

One kiss and boom you're the only one for me

So please tell me why don't you come around no more

Cause right now I'm crying outside the door of your candy store

Now, everybody was back at the house talking about recent events. There was still the threat of the Master and now Harry was under extra protection since it seemed that Voldemort was coming to Mellowside. Ginny looked around at the crowd in the living room. Before leaving the Underground, Dumbledore had suggested that they try to rescue anybody else that was taken by the demons and now these people were filling the house.

Molly and Percy had regained some of their humanity from helping the good, but they weren't totally out of the clear yet. Jason explained that there were flaws in the method the Master used to turn people into demons, such as fighting another demon for good would bring back some humanity permanently, and that staying with people of the past for prolonged periods of time also added to this. Jason had helped a witch, which brought back some of his humanity. He also said that this method was a faster way of turning people and that was why the Master chose it. Dumbledore announced that this method was reversible with a potion which meant that Molly, Percy, and Jason would be able to return to their human state. Except Draco.

Ginny had been beside him all the way home, but now he had disappeared. She couldn't see him amidst the crowd. She had this bad feeling that he was going to do something, but whether this was her Seer self telling her this, or if was just instincts, she couldn't tell. When she had looked into his eyes after the fight with the demons, a wave of nausea had washed over her. She thought she had lost him, and now she thought she was right.

She slipped away unnoticed. She wouldn't really have been noticed anyways, what with that crowd in there. Closing the front door, she stepped out into the hot sunshine and walked down the path to the driveway. She let her feet carry her away and found herself walking through the forest to the lake. That's where she found him. He was standing on the beach close to the water, looking in, as if it held all the world's secrets. She had a flashback to when she had been the one to stand there, looking at the waves roll in and out.

She was the first to speak. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

Draco didn't bother to turn around. Ginny walked up and stood beside him. His gaze was distant. Finally, he spoke. "You won't need me here. Besides, the summer vacation is almost over. I won't be long."

"But Draco..." Ginny began.

"I need some time to myself," he said, cutting her off. "You heard what Jason said on the way back to Paradise Manor. Lunacy is one of the stages of becoming a demon and I don't want you to be around me while it happens. It's already starting."

"But Dumbledore said that you can turn back from being a demon," Ginny told him. "You can be a wizard again."

But Draco was shaking his head. "But being a wizard won't be enough if I'm going to keep running from my father. I need these powers, and they are already a part of me so might as well just get used to them."

He kept looking out over the water. "But you shouldn't be alone during the transformation," Ginny persisted. "The potions will take over your system and make you all demon." She paused, realising finally that he acted like he still had humanity left in him. "Wait a minute, how come you still have humanity left in you?"

It was a simple question, but after a moments's silence, Ginny decided that he probably wasn't going to answer and started to turn away until he spoke. "I never finished my last potion. I hid the rest behind a plant. That saved my humanity. And that's another reason I have to go. I have to separate the human in me from the demon more than it already is."

Ginny looked over the water now and felt him turn to her finally. He seemed to be deciding something. Then, he reached up and turned her face towards him. He was taller than her and she had to look up at him in surprise, rather than down. Then, he bent down and, in that instant, she knew what was coming.

His mouth met hers and they kissed gently. He pulled her towards him more and she leaned into the kiss, bringing her arms up around his neck. She closed her eyes, savouring it. It didn't last long though. With one final kiss to her bottom lip, he pulled away. He turned and, with a last look back at her, disappeared with a whistling sound. Ginny was left, shakily touching her bottom lip and looking out over the water.

****

It just takes a little bit of this

A little bit of that

It started with a kiss

Now we're up to bat

A little bit of laughs

A little bit of pain

I'm telling you, my babe

It's all in the game of love

Hermione was sitting on the couch in front of the television when she noticed that Ginny and Draco weren't there. The living room was pretty crowded and the stereo was blasting out 'The Game of Love' by Santana and Michelle Branch. Hermione twisted around to see if she could see anyone with curly, red hair. There wasn't, which meant that if Ginny was gone, then Draco was off with her. A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see Jason standing above her, a drink in his hand.

"The Slayer," he said simply.

"What's it to you?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"I saw your performance in the Underground," Jason told her, sitting down on the couch beside her. "That's pretty good for a witch from the Wizarding World."

"I only got my powers recently," Hermione said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Yes, I noticed," Jason said, taking a sip from his cherry coke. She had a feeling he was going to say that.

"Look, what do you want?" Hermione asked, irritably.

"To warn you," Jason answered, looking out the window. "These powers brought on a large responsibility, larger than you know. Couple them with the Arcs of the Unknown and I'd say that your life may be disastrous. Demons are drawn to the Arcs, and they are drawn to Slayers as well. You will face constant demon attacks when you go home. Are you sure you're ready to face that?" He looked at her then, and she leaned forward, leaning on her knees.

"How do you know all this?" Hermione asked.

"Slayers are famous in the Underworld," Jason said simply. He began to get up. "That's why many want to steal their powers. There's a spell in the Arcs of the Unknown that transfers powers from one to another. Is that what happened to you?" Hermione nodded and Jason stood up to look down at her. "You can rid yourself of those powers if you do not wish to take on the duties of a Slayer, but you must decide."

"Jason, wait," Hermione said as he turned to head back into the crowd. He turned around to look at her. "I wanted to ask you a question about the turning process. What are the stages?"

"First, you are turned," Jason began, "by magic of course. Then, you are given potions that seal the transformation and also act as memory erasers. They erase anything of the family a demon previously had and anything of being human, or they can just erase the good emotions of the two, like love and caring. That is a long process in which the demon is left alone to brood. This destroys the humanity in them eventually, and the only way a demon can be turned back is if that humanity is restored."

"Like you," Hermione commented.

"Like me," Jason said.

"So it's important to remind a demon of their past and their good emotions while they go crazy?" Hermione asked. Jason nodded and headed back into the crowd, thinking that answer was good enough. She looked around for Draco and Ginny again, but instead came face to face with--

"The Master," she gasped and got up quickly as he made to push the sofa she was sitting on away. He was wearing the usual black clothes and human face, but this time a chain was hung around his neck. The charm at the end of the chain was glowing a dull red. There were shrieks and someone turned off the stereo. Then, silence followed as everyone in the room backed up.

"I have come for what is mine," the Master spoke. "I have tried many times to snatch up Harry Potter to give to the Death Eaters, but each attempt has failed. Well, it won't fail now. Collect him," he said to something behind him and two people appeared out of black smoke. One was Harry's look-a-like and the other was Hermione's look-a-like. The two look-a-likes came forward with their hands raised and started chanting a spell.

Someone suddenly yelled, "Stupefy." He had tried to stun the Master, but the charm on the Master's necklace became a bright red and a protective shield opened up around the Master. The spell bounced off the shield and back into the man who had cast it, who then fell to the ground, stunned by his own spell. That was when everyone decided to step back further when the realisation that the charm protected him against the Wizarding World's powers.

"Yes, my dear enemies," the Master said, chuckling. "This is an ancient relic forged by demons older than myself to ward off medieval wizarding powers. I didn't think it would work too well since today's generations of wizards are stronger in their magic than medieval wizards, but I guess it still works."

"Excuse me," someone from inside the crowd said. Everyone turned to see Harry and Ron make their way out of the crowd from behind two tall people. Ron was holding the Arcs while Harry was holding three crystals. Harry beckoned Hermione to him, and as fast as she could, she slipped away before the Master could do anything.

"What's this for?" Hermione whispered as Harry handed her a crystal. He pointed to a design in the Arcs Ron was holding. It was of a triangle of lines made by three crystals, and under the drawing the inscription read, 'A traingle or pentagram shape made by crystals induces the maximum effect of a spell'. Harry motioned for her to wait, and she did, although somewhat tensely.

Aloud, Harry said, "If you want me, come and get me."

The Master just rolled his eyes. "Do you think I'm that stupid? I know more about basic magic than you do, so I know what those crystals are for. You are going to try to kill me with that book of yours. Well, guess what, Harry Potter! It's not going to work if you don't have your friends to help you!" Several people screamed as the Master produced a fireball in his hand. The two look-a-likes stopped what they were doing and the Hermione look-a-like produced her own fireball.

"Now!" Harry yelled. Hermione threw her crystal through the Master's legs to the other side of the Harry look-a-like while Harry threw the two crystals in his hand to behind the Hermione look-a-like and to in front of the Master. A triangle of white light sprung up, blinding everyone around. Hermione looked away until she felt Ron grab her hand and looked down to see a book in front of her nose. A spell loomed up at her from on the page. With Ron and Harry, she chanted:

'Time could tell this ancient's past,

But death will be his memory last.

From the depths of your own Hell

Let Death take you with this spell.'

"You will pay for this!" the Master yelled. Then, from inside of the triangle, fire sprung up and enveloped the Master and his demons. Screams erupted from the three until they were blasted into smithereens and the light of the triangle was sucked back into the crystals. In the silence that followed, Hermione bent down and removed one of the crystals, holding it in her hand. It was hot to the touch, but she collected the rest.

Hermione straightened as a voice said, "Aw, I was looking forward to the vanquish." Everyone looked towards the hallway where Ginny was standing. She was quite pale and her hair seemed to be wet, but she was smiling. Everyone relaxed and laughed, some were even clapping. Hermione smiled too, but caught Jason's eye.

The stereo was turned back on, playing a song from the James Bond Die Another Day soundtrack: 'Die Another Day' by Madonna.

*

I guess, die another day

I guess, die another day

I guess, die another day

I guess, die another day

Ginny went back to the lake after the party ended to swim like she had before the Trio had vanquished the Master. She stood at the edge of the water, listening to the waves splash against the shoreline. She looked out over the water and watched as a kingfisher skimmed the surface, then came up with a tiny fish in its beak. The water was a deep, dark blue that Ginny imagined could fit the whole universe underneath its surface.

She recalled the conversation she just had with Hermione. It was about Draco being alone during the period when he'll go crazy. Now, she worried that the demon in him would swallow what shred of humanity left. This made her angry that he should think of going somewhere else when he should be with her. She kicked at the edge of the water so that it sprayed upwards.

"Come on, Draco, come back to me," she said aloud.

*

I guess, die another day

I guess I'll die another day

I guess, die another day

I guess I'll die another day

But Draco was already in another part of the world. He had knelt down at a grave. The name Angel O'Connor was etched onto a tombstone, along with the date of birth and date of death. Draco sighed and took out a tin filled with some soil he had gathered. He took off the lid and gathered some of the soil into his hand. Then he sprinkled the soil above the grave, saying, "Rest in peace."

This ritual was tradition for his family to do if someone that they really did care about died. Of course, not many people died that the Malfoys cared about, so the tradition was a bit foggy in Draco's brain. He closed the tin and got up. The soil had blanketed the luscious green grass.

"You have disgraced this family, Draco," Lucius had said, his eyes livid. "You disgusting little piece of shit."

Angel would have been nine years old that August. She was a beautiful little girl with long, blonde curls and bright blue eyes. The night Draco had found her, her body was nearly mutilated, but she was still alive. He had taken her limp body to his mother to see if she could help the little girl. Narcissa told him that Angel had been a sacrifice to the gods in exchange for Harry Potter's death, and that if she lived on, then the ritual wouldn't be finished and the Death Eaters would know about it. Once Narcissa had fully healed Angel, Draco tried to hide her, but Lucius found them trying to escape the Manor. Both Angel, Draco, and Narcissa had paid the price, but Angel most of all.

"Okay, now I don't care about Harry Potter," Draco had yelled. "But do you really need to kill Angel?"

"Yes," came the reply.

"You worthless bastard," Draco had muttered.

"Repeat what you just said, boy," came Lucius' booming voice.

"Why should I?" Draco asked defiantly.

"If I acted the way you do to me towards you, then maybe you would get a taste of your own medicine," Lucius had said. Then he turned around, grabbed Angel and snapped her neck. She fell to the floor, dead.

He had failed Angel then, but she had given him a blessing. He had learned that he didn't want to follow in his father's footsteps any longer and turned from that path.

"Thank you, Angel," Draco said," for what you gave me through your death. I hope that you're in a very good place somewhere."

He turned away from the stone and began to walk to the fence of the Malfoy estate. Narcissa had given Angel a proper burial in the forest by the river before she and Draco had left Malfoy Manor. Now, Draco had used his powers to veil his visit to the grave so that Lucius would never know that he had been there. But since he was leaving, he held up his hand and wiped away the veiling spell before coming out of the forest to set fire to one of the towers on the mansion.