Draco Falore

Draco Falore - Chapter 2

And Then I Saw Her Face

Hermione watched with horror as six wizards broke out of the forest. Their fine black robes, their hoods pulled up over their heads, and the white masks obscuring their faces left no room for doubt. Neither did the curses they began to cast as they drew closer. They were Death Eaters. On Hogwarts grounds. Only feet away from the castle. And Harry was out cold.

The first thing she did was fight back. Harry had taught her quite a number of active-defence spells during the last year.

He would go on his Death-Eater-hunting sprees, always returning with fresh wounds to attend to and a new stock of curses. At first, Hermione refused to learn any of them. She did not want to provide him with any added value to his nightly strikes. Instead, she spent months with Madam Pomfrey, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Ginny, adopting any healing spell she could master. Then, Hermione’s curiosity got the better of her. Harry wouldn’t halt his personal vendetta for anything, she reasoned. From that moment, she memorised every curse and hex he was willing to share. And those were many.

Her instinctive reaction was a simple energy-blast spell Harry was very fond of. As Sirius was busy casting a protective shield around them, her wand shot one blue spark after the other. Those exploded all around the charging Death Eaters. The blasts slowed down the attackers, but did not stop them. Hermione wished she had practiced the spell more.

She remembered Harry’s first demonstration. He wore a wide smile, and had one arm around her waist. ‘Glad you finally decided to learn how to defend yourself,’ he had told her. Then, he blew a large rock clear off the face of the earth. Didn’t even bother to use a wand. The ball of green fire flew right out of his fingertips.

Hermione wished they had that power on their side just then. Her eyes widened at the simplicity of the solution, and the shock of not thinking of it before. She stopped hauling her tiny blue energy balls and turned her wand to Harry. ‘Enervate!’

Harry lay on the ground, as motionless as before.

‘Enervate! Enervate!’

Still nothing.

In her desperation, Hermione dropped to her knees, pressing the wand into Harry’s stomach. ‘Enervate!’

‘That won’t work,’ Sirius said, managing to touch her shoulder lightly despite the heat of the battle. ‘Better get up and help us ward them off.’

‘There are six of them and three of us,’ Hermione insisted. ‘We need Harry.’

‘I didn’t stupefy him. He’s under an enchanted sleep.’ Sirius had to stop talking to deflect a curse that was about to hit the sleeping boy. ‘He’ll only wake up when the time limit is reached.’

‘How much time did you set the spell for?’

‘Six days.’ Sirius sighed. ‘I didn’t want him fighting any Death Eaters before the end of the year feast. Seems like I got my wish.’

‘Next time, better wish for a sack full of galleons,’ Ron said gravely. ‘We’re lost without Harry.’ As if to prove his statement, he was hit by a curse that Sirius’ ward was able to reduce, but not completely destroy. His left arm swelled to a size of a Graphorn’s leg, and his face twisted with pain.

‘There’s a potion!’ Hermione said, ignoring Ron’s passionate swearing. ‘I’ve read about it. It can wake Harry immediately.’

‘I don’t have it, though,’ Sirius said, magicking Ron’s arm back to health in between one hex and another. ‘I didn’t think there would be any reason for me to use the counter-potion, and I didn’t want to have it around you two.’ He looked from Hermione to Ron as an emphasis. ‘Anyway, even if I did have the potion, Harry wouldn’t have been able to help.’

Hermione wanted to ask why, but the Death Eaters began attacking them with renewed vigour. Three of them were concentrating their curses on Sirius, who showed an amazing ability to hurl the blows back to their casters. Still, the few curses that did manage to penetrate his defences were enough to force him to defend himself from an uncomfortable position on the ground. And the more he was hit, the less he was able to block the attacks.

Three bolts of lightning zoomed through the air, rushing towards him. Orange, yellow, and silver, coming from only a few feet away. Sirius could have rolled out of their range, but that would have meant that at least one would hit Harry, who was lying right next to him. With the full knowledge of what such curses could do to him, Sirius chose to stay where he was. He deflected the yellow fire, managing to hit the silver one with it. The two crashed in an explosion of colourful sparks. There was a satisfied smile on Sirius’ lips when he dropped unconscious, hit by the last curse of the three.

For a minute, Hermione forgot that she was fighting for her life. She wanted to rush to Sirius, who was lying unconscious on the ground, but something stopped her. More accurately, someone stopped her. One of the six charging Death Eater had grabbed her from behind, one hand on her mouth and the other restraining both her hands in a steadfast embrace. Hermione struggled to release herself. She kicked as hard as she could, twisting and wriggling in his black-leather covered arms; but the Death Eater picked her up lightly, making her legs flail futilely in the air.

His smooth white mask brushed against Hermione's cheek, and then it was gone. Hermione could feel his breath on the side of her neck. It was as cold as the mask had been, but it was soft, and tender, and while it was terrifying, it also made her shiver, and not with cold or fear.

Until that moment, she did not know if she believed Harry or not, but now she knew. Only one man in the world had ever held her like that. Draco was alive, and he was a Death Eater. Just as Harry had said.

Hermione renewed her struggle, rage reinforcing her motions. Still, she couldn’t break free. Her captor used both hands to hold her now, letting go of her face, but he didn’t need to pull her to him anymore. While she did her very best to get away from him, her entire body ached to feel his lips on hers, and while her legs kicked, her back arched to make it easer for him to kiss her ears and the hollow of her neck.

Her body heaving in one immense shudder, Hermione stopped fighting against the tightly embracing arms. She felt completely drained of energy, and if it weren’t for the tiny rhythmical trembles that went through her, she would have thought she was under Petrificus Totalus.

The Death Eater holding her took the invitation eagerly, letting her down a little, so her toes could touch the ground. His lips hovered over her skin, making the tiny hairs at the back of her neck stand up on end. His chilly breath froze the warm tears that began to pour down her cheeks.

And then, in an instant, it was gone. Where the soft, icy mouth had caressed her, she could feel only the stone of the white, deathly mask.

Hermione’s heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. All the fear that she couldn’t harbour before suddenly filled her. Her trembling increased, but she tried to focus her eyes, to see what made her old love stop so suddenly. Not that she wanted him to kiss her and hold her... she just wanted to know what changed his mind.

It didn’t take long before the reason for the reinstallation of the mask revealed itself before her.

Another Death Eater, slightly taller than the one who was holding her,walked towards them. Only then, Hermione realised that Ron had been brought down as well. The taller attacker walked briskly from his last victim and stopped only a foot away from her face.

The arms around her tightened their grip, as if they belonged to a child who was afraid his precious toy was about to be taken away.

‘We can’t take any more prisoners,’ the man in front of her said.

Hermione felt the mask brush her cheek, moving up and down as the Death Eater holding her nodded.

‘Make sure your pretty prey can’t follow us,’ the masked man added with an audible sneer. The dark mark that his wand shot up to the air was the last thing Hermione saw before the blackness took over her. As she fell, she could hear Draco’s voice echoing in her ears – ‘goodbye’.

***

‘Oh, yes. This one is perfect. A diamond this size is a wonderful reflection on the giver.’

Lee blinked at the witch behind the counter. That was the fifth compliment she had paid him, and he was beginning to suspect there was more to her honey-dripping words than a wish to make a sale. Still, it seemed unlikely that she would make a pass at him while he was shopping for an engagement ring. ‘I think I’ll take it,’ he said eventually.

‘What about the ring itself?’ the saleswitch asked. ‘Obviously, a tasteful man like you would go for gold, but what colour?’ She pulled out a tray with shimmering rings of all the colours of the rainbow. ‘The white, yellow and red are ordinary, but the others were magicked to achieve their colour. We can do combinations, of course.’ She picked up an azure entwined in indigo ring and slid it on her finger. ‘This one’s my favourite.’ She took Lee’s hand and placed it over hers.

‘It’s nice,’ Lee said, pulling back. He scanned the tray from a safe distance, and then, carefully, picked up a thin ring of dark magenta. ‘I think this one would look better on -’

‘What does her skin look like?’ the witch cut him off.

‘It’s smooth, and fair, and it has this inner glow -’ Lee took a deep breath to stop himself. ‘She also has freckles.’

‘Oh. Good pick then,’ the witch said with a slight sneer. She whisked away the rest of the rings, and for a minute, seemed very preoccupied. Then, she bent over the counter, resting her chin on her fist. ‘Would you like to choose a spell to go with it?’

‘Sure.’

‘Great. We have the very popular loyalty spell. It makes the ring shrink when you want the girl wearing it to come to you, and grow when you’re angry with her, so it falls off her finger.’

Lee creased his nose. ‘What happens if I want her to come because I’m angry with her?’ he asked.

‘In those cases, it grows to encircle her wrist, and then shrinks over it. Very effective. If she refuses to come, it’ll eventually slit open her wrist veins.’

Lee shook his head. ‘This doesn’t sound like a very loving spell.’

‘Oh, it’s the most sought for among the highest class. Just the other day I had a wizard here who bought it for his son. Very rich. Very handsome… Distinguished… Got a diamond even larger than yours. Lucky girl…’

‘Even if a rich wizard bought it, this really isn’t the spell I want to give to the love of my life.’

‘Love of your life, eh?’ The witch looked at him through narrowed eyes. ‘Want children? How about a fertility spell?’

‘Oh no.’ Lee took a step back, waving his hands in front of him, as if he was trying to banish a boggart. ‘Thank you very much, but I don’t think we’ll need that.’

‘You don’t want children? Are you sure she’s the one?’

‘I do want children,’ Lee said, annoyed. ‘I just want a reasonable number of them.’

‘Fine. I think I have just the thing for you. This spell would make her hand rise to touch yours every time you’re around.’

‘And it won’t hurt her, cut her finger off, nothing of the sort?’

‘No, no. She’ll only feel a slight tug. She will be able to resist it, if that’s her wish, but it’ll be a reminder to her.’

Lee smiled. ‘A reminder is good. Anything else you can offer?’

‘Nothing that doesn’t involve injuries, the prospect of having children, or both.’

‘I’ll take this one, then.’

The saleswitch took out her thin mahogany wand and pointed it at the ring. Then, she mumbled the enchantment in a low voice.

‘This ring will help thy hand caress

The one who fills thy heart and thoughts.’

She waited for the glow that engulfed the ring to die out before picking it up. Giving it one last yearning look, she slid it into a small velvet box and handed it to Lee. ‘Now, will it be coin or transfer order, sir?’

***

The lights flickered in the ready room, indicating that a forbidden spell had been used somewhere in Hogwarts.

Severus slapped the paper he was holding onto the desk. It was impossible to read when the students were constantly breaking the school rules. It was probably that annoying Potter. The boy thought he could do as he pleased. Of course he would think that, with the special treatment he was getting from every other staff member. Severus found his paper in the pile and engraved a large red ‘0’ on it.

Then, he remembered, and his smiled broadened. It couldn’t have been Potter. The insufferable boy was busy being stunned. Severus had seen the lights flicker when that spell had been cast.

But now, something was wrong. The smile was wiped off Severus’ face. The lights in the room no longer flickered off momentarily. They were blinking frantically, their colour gradually turning from soft blue to purple. Someone was using true dark magic somewhere in Hogwarts, and was doing so at a terrifying rate. Actually, this many dark curses couldn’t possibly have been the product of one wand.

Severus leaped from his seat, knocking it the floor. In two strides he was by the Hogwarts map, already mumbling the spell that would summon the emergency owls to him.

The school map took up an entire wall of the ready room, from the Forbidden Forest near the ceiling to the lake at Severus’ feet. Usually, it was useless to try and find the disturbance on this map. In the time it took to scan it for a tiny fleck of an illicit spell, there was no sign of it.

This time, finding the disturbance was not the problem. An area as large as a teacup was covered with dozens of sparkling points. Severus was a little relieved to find that it was outside the castle walls, although it was too close to the oak doors. There was no time to waste.

He grabbed the first owl that reached him. It was the one designated to Madam Pomfrey. He didn’t even bother to write properly on the parchment. In the blank square, he charmed the words, ‘By the main entrance to the castle. Possibly, hostiles on location.’ It was clear that the message was not personal, but he wasn’t worried about it just now. He tied the parchment to the owl’s leg and sent it away. Then, he turned his wand to the map.

The sparks were scarcer now, although the lights above Severus’ head still blinked quite madly. Their colour was alarmingly close to red, meaning that the curses used there leaned heavily on the Dark Arts. Touching his wand to the point just outside the castle, Severus muttered ‘Revelous.’

The touched point expanded, taking over the wall. Severus could see the shades of the trees of the Forbidden Forest. He saw the staircase to the castle, and by it, there were several people. It took a few more seconds before the image cleared, and he could see that four of the figures were cast to the ground, while six others were still standing, waving their wands at themselves and at one of the lying men. A cloud of smoke hovered above them, a reminder of the fight that took place there.

Severus hoped that this was just a stupid duel between seventh year students of rival houses, most likely Gryffindor and Slytherin. But his Slytherins were not this stupid. They used shrewd methods, not such messy fights.

The man they were lingering around rose into the air, obviously hung on levitation spells. As the image cleared some more, Severus saw the white masks on the standing wizards’ faces. He also saw the wizard they were levitating. Potter. As much as he disliked the boy, Death Eaters coming to get him was bad. Very bad.

Severus plucked three more owls from the air, still looking at the map. The last detail revealed itself to him, making him gasp. He felt weak in the knees when he magicked the message on the three pieces of Parchment: ‘Dark Mark by main entrance to Hogwarts castle. Hurry.’

***

Ginny could not sleep.

It’s been a while since the last time she slept well. She remembered the times when Harry used to toss and turn, awake in his bed, and wished she could go back to those times. He wasn’t happy then, but at least he was safe. These days he used his sleepless nights to chase Death Eaters around. And he wasn’t the only one. Lee was out there as well. He joined Sirius’ Auror team on her request, to try and find her brother. When Ron was back, Lee had decided to stay with the team. Said it was his ‘calling’. She wished she’d never asked for his help. But then again, it could have meant not seeing Ron alive ever again. She nearly lost him that time.

Madam Pomfrey had given the password to Ginny and Hermione months before. The two girls paid in labour for the lessons they received, and the nurse was almost used to waking up in the morning to be greeted by them.

When all the beds were made, Ginny sat down on one of them, holding three lists of ingredients in her hands. She had already brewed all three poison antidotes described in these parchments, but when she tried to mix them, the result neutralised fewer poisons than each of them separately. Well, at least they didn’t explode like last time.

It was obvious that some of the ingredients didn’t mix, but Ginny could not determine which ones. She raised her head to look at the door in anticipation. Maybe Hermione had found something, and it was keeping her in the library. She wasn’t in her dormitory when Ginny went to get her, and she quite evidently wasn’t here either.

A rapid knock on the other side of the infirmary drew Ginny’s attention. She turned her eyes to the window and saw a tiny owl fluttering its wings by it. For a minute, she thought it was Pigwidgeon, but it wasn’t. This owl landed on her wrist even before the window was completely open. No victory buzz over her head; no jumping up and down while she tried to release the message; no biting her finger in his excitement. It certainly was a different owl.

It wasn’t like any one she’d seen before, though. It wasn’t a school owl, and it did not look like the official ministry owls her father and brother often received, but the letter it gave her carried the seals of both the school and the ministry. She nearly broke them to read the letter when the owl pecked her finger. Maybe it was Pigwidgeon after all. Then, she saw Madam Pomfrey’s name between the seals.

Ginny hesitated for less than a second. Then, she decided that if someone went to the extent of sending such an unusual mail, and activated all the spells it took to make it override the morning delivery schedule, it must be extremely important. Quietly, but with urgency to her steps, she went to wake Madam Pomfrey.

***

The sign on the door read ‘No need for introductions, we already know who you are.’

Remus opened the door and entered the heart of the Ministry of Magic’s Final Frontier Intelligence Agency. FIAT, for short. They couldn’t really explain the ‘T’, except for the fact that it made the name easier to pronounce. The department was so secret that even the ministry had forgotten its original use. Everybody but the ones who worked there thought they were busy doing population statistics on the wizarding world. In a way, they were. Only they influenced those statistics rather dramatically. Especially when it came to the darker side of that world.

The Manager raised his eyes to Remus, a distant look in them.

Piles of papers were scattered about his desk and around the room, which otherwise resembled the Hogwarts Headmaster’s office. It was round, with several large shelves holding books with titles such as ‘Fighting Dark Magic’, ‘Irresistible Poison’, and ‘Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do’. Even the bird perched on its branch was shedding its feathers, just like Fawkes before his regeneration. Unfortunately, this bird was an owl. Pictures of past managers were hung on the wall behind the desk. The men and women in them seemed very serious, but the major difference between them and Hogwarts’ past headmasters was that these portraits were of much younger people.

‘You called for me, Sir.’

‘Yes, Professor. I’ve just received some very disturbing news.’

Remus smirked for a minute. One year he taught at Hogwarts, and half the wizarding world called him ‘Professor.’ Of course, the other half called him a man-eating werewolf, but that was beside the point.

His smile, however, didn’t last long. Percy had called him to his office for some disturbing news numerous times before, but never, in the two years since his former student was appointed FIAT’s manager, had Remus seen him so worried. ‘What is it?’ he asked, horrible scenarios beginning to run through his head. ‘Was one of our agents exposed?’

‘Worse,’ Percy said. ‘Someone at Hogwarts.’

‘You mean someone from Hogwarts,’ Remus corrected, wearing an apologetic smile. ‘You make it sound like there was an attack in the school.’

‘I know.’

Remus’ face turned instantly white, as if someone had poured alabaster powder on him. He leaned against the nearest chair and took a deep breath before starting to talk in a voice that was deeper than his usual. ‘I thought their assault on Hogwarts was planned for next week. I thought we’d be there to protect the students while it happened. How could we have missed this?’ he took one hand off the back of the chair and rubbed his face. ‘What a bloody huge negligence.’

‘I don’t think it was a pre-planned assault,’ Percy said, sounding calmer than he looked. ‘We don’t have the details yet, but it seems too small to be the kind of attack we’re still anticipating. We do know that the Morsmorde Spell was used during that assault, but only once.’

‘The Dark Mark,’ Remus mumbled, no longer controlling the shake in his voice. ‘Who?’

‘We don’t know. That’s what I need you for. Lee is back.’ Percy had a smirk that lasted less than a second. ‘Take him and go to Hogwarts to investigate. I want to know who was hurt. I want to know who else was there. I want to know what exactly happened. But mainly, I would like to know why Voldemort chose to strike now. I suspect that this wasn’t planned, so something major made him change his plans. Find out what that was, and that may well be the key to stopping him.’

‘What about Mundungus and Arabella? Are they coming too?’

‘No,’ Percy said, getting up to escort Remus to the door. ‘I need them here for another mission. You take Lee and get me some answers. And, as you know, you have less than six days to do that.’ After a short pause, he added something he usually didn’t say to his agents so as not to dispirit them before missions. ‘Be careful.’

***

For a moment, the headmaster of Hogwarts stood very still at the top of the staircase leading into his school. Then, he dashed down as fast as his ancient legs could carry him, calling out the names of his past and present students who were lying on the wet grass just below him. 'Ron… Hermione… Sirius…' A huge skull hovered over their heads, a think, sickening snake protruding out of its mouth. That meant that at least one of the three must be dead. The Headmaster didn't dare guess who that was.

Sirius groaned and moved his head to one side. Dumbledore released his breath momentarily, but then his eyes fell on the other two, and his heart fell again. Neither of them seemed to be breathing, and although there was only one fading Dark Mark in the sky, the Death Eaters may have well killed them both.

Ron was lying prone, his long nose stuck in the mud. Dumbledore turned him over and with mixed feelings watched his chest rise and fall in normal breathing rhythm. Ron had barely escaped the clutches of death the year before. The old headmaster still remembered the horrifying moments he had spent with the boy’s family, waiting for some news. He would hate going through that again. But then, there was Hermione.

His heart cringing in his chest, the old man kneeled heavily by the motionless girl. With gentleness he gained through years of practice ungluing ancient sherbert lemons, Dumbledore turned Hermione over. With one hand he eased the mud away from her face, while his other hand supported her head like she was a day old baby. And then he felt a soft whiff on his fingers.

Afraid to believe the sensation, Dumbledore took out his wand and muttered ‘probatur’. The examining spell immediately coloured the tip of his wand to radiant blue. Hermione was very much alive.

Dumbledore would have proceeded to use a reviving spell, but he knew Madam Pomfrey had received an owl similar to his own, and would be there shortly. He preferred the experienced mediwitch to take care of the wounded.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind that the school nurse appeared at the top of the staircase, followed closely by one of her more eager students, Ginny Weasley. The two turned completely pale even before they reached what was left of the battle zone, but they seemed to relax as they saw the headmaster’s reassuring smile.

‘Who’s in the need of the most immediate attention?’ Madam Pomfrey asked as soon as she was within earshot of the headmaster.

‘I have no idea,’ Dumbledore said. He slipped a tiny levitation spell underneath himself and got back to his feet, leaving Hermione to the care of those who knew what they were doing.

‘You go see what you can do for Mr Black,’ Madam Pomfrey ordered Ginny, pointing to the only one of the three who seemed to be coming round. ‘Or, you could see to Ron,’ she said half grunting as Ginny ran to her brother.

‘Is that the Dark Mark, Headmaster?’ The nurse pointed towards the fading cloud overhead. She bent by Hermione the same way Dumbledore had.

‘It was. But they are all alive. We can be considered very lucky.’

Despite her terrible tremble, Ginny was able to heal some of her older brother’s wounds. With her care, he began to moan and cough even before she used a reviving spell.

‘Unless there was someone else here fighting with them,’ Pomfrey said, moving her wand up and down Hermione’s body. From time to time, she stopped over tears in the girl’s robes, healing the skin and flesh under it.

Dumbledore suddenly seemed as old as he really was. ‘I hope you’re wrong,’ he said. Then, he strode towards Sirius and, ignoring the fact that he was making an inappropriate use of the man’s condition, extracted the Marauders’ Map from his pocket. To his relief, the map wasn’t wiped clean. As much as he knew about his students and former students, he never did figure out the password to activate it. Not that he ever needed the password. His students were always willing to reveal its secrets to him. That is, when they were conscious.

A thorough scan of the map showed exactly what the old headmaster was afraid of. Harry was nowhere around the castle. The dark wizards who’d dared commence an attack on the school grounds were most likely successful. They had taken Harry Potter. The one wizard who was the hope of their entire world. The Boy Who Lived, who by all signs was now probably dead.

‘But why would they take him if he’s dead?’ Dumbledore muttered half to himself.

‘Take who?’ Madam Pomfrey asked.

‘Harry,’ Sirius muttered out of his delusional state. ‘Harry…’

Madam Pomfrey turned her head to Sirius and then to the headmaster, looking dazed. ‘You don’t think…’

Dumbledore bowed his head.

‘Oh no,’ Madam Pomfrey said, clapping her hands to her mouth and shaking her head. ‘No. Not Harry.’

***

The trees opened up to a large clearing, in the middle of which stood a shabby-looking hut. For the first time in hours, the group of Death Eaters allowed themselves a rest. As one, they lowered their wands, letting Harry’s body drop three feet from the air onto the rocky ground.

Before a minute had passed Lucius raised his wand once again. ‘Levitate him,’ he ordered.

‘We’re completely drained,’ Pettigrew answered, not even getting up from the fallen tree trunk he was slouched against.

‘No. You will be allowed rest once Potter is with our master. Now is not the time to crack. Do you really want Dumbledore or his crowd to catch up with us after all the effort we put into this?’

‘They can’t even see the trail that we took,’ Nott laughed. ‘They can’t follow us.’

‘Do you want to count on that?’ Lucius said. ‘Because I don’t. I know what can happen when we underestimate that muggle-lover. Do you want to be the one to tell the Dark Lord that we had Potter, but lost him because we wanted to get some rest?’

‘That’ll never happen,’ Nott said, but scrambled to his feet all the same. He raised his wand with an exaggerated motion and muttered, ‘Wingardium leviosa.’

Harry’s body rose from the ground as the other Death Eaters did the same.

Seeing their destination only a few hundred feet away, the entire group body were smiling despite their weariness.

‘The Dark Lord will be most pleased with the results,’ Pettigrew said cheerfully as they slogged through the clearing.

‘I daresay he will,’ Nott agreed.

Lucius ignored his two smug colleagues and took a step forward, trying to get them to walk faster. His action did nothing except make him strain himself, trying to levitate the body from a longer distance. He slowed down as Draco caught up with him.

‘Father,’ Draco said. ‘Were you able to kill Sirius Black?’ The Auror, who was until recently considered by the Ministry to be one of them, was a real pain for the dark forces. Whoever killed him would receive great honour from their Lord.

‘No, son. I couldn’t afford the magic it would have taken. It would have meant not being able to levitate this prize.’ Lucius jerked his head towards Harry.

‘Then why did you project the Dark Mark?’

Lucius stopped to fix a long, penetrating look on Draco, making Pettigrew almost walk into him. The chubby balding wizard opened his mouth to say something, but Lucius turned his piercing gaze towards him. With his mouth still open Pettigrew stumbled a few steps backward and waited.

‘I used Morsmorde because I though there was a dead body there. I was under the impression that this time, you got rid of that little Mudblood who nearly cost me my son the last time you were around her.’

Draco bit his lip. Of course, he should have known that they would expect no less of him than to kill her. After all, he was ordered to do so once, and had failed. Not by much, but she was alive, and that was the final score. ‘I had the same thought, Father. I didn’t want to exhaust my magic.’

Lucius resumed his walk, the cabin only a few feet away. ‘You were close enough to her to use a more old-fashioned method. Why didn’t you do that?’

‘No daggers this time,’ Draco said, shifting his weight to hide the small bulge by his hip. ‘You said it was going to be a long walk, so I didn’t want to carry anything heavy.’

‘And a wise choice at the time,’ Lucius agreed, opening the cabin’s door. ‘I’m not carrying my sword either, for the same reason. Too bad. We could have killed two of our worst opponents, and had us a Weasley at the same time. Don’t worry. We’ll have our chance with all of them soon enough.’

He broke the levitation spell, as did the other wizards. Harry’s unconscious body rolled on the cabin’s floor, squashing a small family of spiders and stopping at a wall covered from top to bottom with shelves holding tiny jars.

[A/N: Alex - no offence meant. They were not the family of spiders on which ‘Redemption’ was based.]

Pettigrew took one of the jars off the shelves and brought it to the grate, where a perpetual flame was burning. He kneeled in front of the flames and waited until the others were kneeling behind him. Then, he drew a pinch of dust out of the jar and threw it into the fire.

With the impact, the flames soared high, turning fluorescent green. They shone off the faces of the expecting Death Eaters, making them look like a pack of pea-pods, ready to be plucked. No face appeared in the grate, but the voice that was carried through it was unmistakable.

‘What news do you bring?’

‘Master, we have Harry Potter. He’s here, stunned unconscious.’

‘Good.’ That single word enclosed an enormous amount of content. The kneeling Death Eaters smiled each to himself. ‘Send him through, and then come here as well. There is a reward byour wildest dreams waiting for you here.’

With his head still bowed, Lucius rose to his feet and walked to where Harry was lying. He kicked him forcefully again and again, making him roll on the floor until the boy was sprawled in front of the grate. Then, with one heave, he pushed him through it. The moment Harry was gone from sight, he dived into the flames after him.

***

Ginny dipped her cloth in the bowl of cold water, squeezed it slightly, and then put it over Hermione’s forehead. The other girl was still suffering from a high fever, and there was only this many anti-fever spells and potions a person could take.

‘How is she doing?’ a soft voice asked from behind her.

‘Ron! You’re awake!’ Ginny hugged him, tears of joy choking her throat. ‘And you’re out of bed. What are you doing out of bed? You should lie down.’

‘You know, you’re beginning to sound just like Madam Pomfrey. I just wanted to see how Hermione was doing.’

‘She’ll be fine,’ Ginny said with a sigh, knowing that Hermione would be fine, just not very soon. ‘She lost a lot of blood, and took a whole pack of other curses. Sirius is fine too, by the way.’

‘I was going to ask that next.’

‘I know you were. What happened?’

‘Is Harry here too?’

‘No. He was with you, wasn’t he? I overheard Snape and Dumbledore talking.’

‘Sirius wanted to make sure he didn’t run off to try and stop You-Know-Who all by himself, so he stunned him. Next thing we knew, there were a horde of Death Eaters… She’s moving!’ Ron pointed at Hermione with excitement.

‘Yes, she’s gaining semi-consciousness from time to time, but she’s completely delirious. Now go back to bed.’ Ginny tried to push her brother away.

‘She’s saying something!’

‘She’s not saying anything comprehensible. Please Ron, you’ve lost a lot of blood too, and you have a second nose growing on your forehead. You have to lie down and take your potion.’

‘No, Ginny. I want to hear what she’s saying. Stop pushing me!’ With extreme effort, Ron managed to shake his kid sister off him and sat on the edge of Hermione’s bed. He stroked her sweaty forehead, moving away a stray strand of hair.

The girl on the bed thrashed her had from side to side, mumbling in her sleep.

‘What is it Hermione? What do you want?’

‘Draco.’

Ron jumped off the bed as if she had bit him. ‘Did you hear that?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ Ginny sighed. ‘She’s been repeating his name from the moment we found you. I think she’s re-living the day Draco tried to kill her. Sometimes such traumas can be reawakened when something similar happens. She thinks she’s back in those days.’

Ron sat back on the bed and took the wet cloth from Ginny’s hand. ‘Maybe now we’ll know what happened there. She’s always refused to talk about it.’ A small shudder went through him every time Hermione mumbled Draco’s name, but he stayed by her side, wiping her brows and trying to make her more comfortable. Then, as she called for Draco again, clearer than before, she also opened her eyes.

‘You’re all right!’ Ron exclaimed, taking her hand and squeezing it.

‘Draco?’

‘No, it’s me, Ron. You remember, we went outside to try and stop Harry from going, and Sirius was there, and then Death Eaters attacked us…’

Hermione sat bolt upright, her face drained of blood. ‘Harry,’ she said. ‘Is he…?’

‘We don’t know where he is,’ Ron whispered, not wanting to tell her that they actually had a pretty good idea.

‘Oh, Harry!’ Hermione swung her arms around Ron and buried her face in the hollow of his neck. Her shoulders shook as she cried uncontrollably. Then, she suddenly stopped, detached herself from Ron and looked into his eyes. ‘Draco was with them. We need to find him. He may lead us to where Harry is kept.’

‘How can you tell he was there? They were all wearing masks.’

‘He came to me during the battle. He -’ she took a deep breath, another tremble going through her. ‘It was him. I know it was. We should go to Malfoy manor and blast the information out of him.’

‘You’re not going anywhere,’ Ginny said, giving the two a stern look that was a perfect imitation of the school nurse.

‘And who’s to stop me?’ Hermione said angrily, swinging her legs out of bed. ‘You?’ She stood up beside her bed and immediately fainted into Ron’s arms.

‘No,’ Ginny said, helping her brother get Hermione back into bed. ‘You’re doing the job just fine without me.’

***

The room Lucius reached was as wide as a ballroom. Heavy curtains covered all the windows, and although they were white, the room seemed completely black, especially near where his Master was standing. The temperature there was a good ten degrees lower than the cabin he had just left, and Lucius cherished the crisp air that engulfed him.

He stepped away from the grate and waited for his group to join him. Harry had already been taken away, and was tossed by the Dark Lord’s feet. A large snake slithered between the two, hissing and spitting. This one was even larger than Nagini; it was almost as big as a Basilisk.

‘Yes, Tinagi,’ Voldemort said. ‘You will eventually eat him, but not today. There are some things I still need him for. He is going to help me extort some Aurors.’ he moved his wand slowly over the boy’s body, his thin lips curled up in a satisfied smile. ‘Very good job you did on him,’ he said as Lucius stepped to his side. ‘Which one of you stunned him?’

‘None of us, Master,’ Lucius said, whishing he could take the credit to himself. ‘It was Sirius Black. We saw it happen, and then attacked.’

‘Why would he do that?’ Voldemort raised his scarlet eyes to the gathering attack unit. Those eyes could show no emotion. Not even surprise.

‘We don’t know, My Lord.’

Voldemort turned back to examining the unconscious boy. ‘That wasn’t just a stunning spell he used.’ He conjured large golden letters that arranged themselves over Harry’s head, reading, ’ninety eight hours,’ and faded from existence. ‘He’s under enchanted sleep for a little over four days.’ Then, the Dark Lord’s smile grew wider. ‘There’s another spell on him. You say Black did this? Impressive. Seems like we underestimated him. Watch your back when next you meet. This boy is deprived of all magical ability for the next five days. Even if he does wake up, there is absolutely nothing he can do. Extraordinary. I’m almost tempted to break the enchanted sleep.’

Voldemort pocketed his wand and turned to the returning Death Eaters. ‘Don’t look so terrified, Lucius,’ he said. ‘I said almost. This situation is much too convenient to change. Wormtail, throw Potter in the dungeon and put Tinagi to watch over him. Now, Lucius, about that reward of yours. Would you care to join me in my private chambers?’

Lucius’ breath was nearly taken away with anticipation. He walked one step behind his master into his office. Voldemort took his place behind a large leather-covered desk, pointing to a chair on the opposite side for Lucius. A small cauldron in the corner of the room spread dark purple fumes with a not-necessarily-pleasant smell. Other potions and potion-ingredients were lined on the shelves around the room, leaving very little space for books, which were also mostly about potions.

‘Do you want me to bestow my gift upon you,’ Voldemort began, ‘or do you have something particular you want to ask for?’

‘Actually, Master, I do have something I wish. It is not for me. It’s for Draco.’

‘What do you want me to give him?’

‘Saitaina.’

Voldemort rubbed his chin until a few snake scales fell off it. ‘She is Branford’s prize girl. If you want her for yourself, that is one thing, but Draco - she’s out of his league.’

Lucius jumped to his feet. ‘She certainly is not!’ he cried, and then remembered who he was facing. ‘I’m sorry Master.’ He kneeled, nearly grovelling. ‘I did not mean to contradict you.’

‘That’s an understandable fatherly response,’ Voldemort said in a tone almost forgiving. ‘Protecting your son’s honour is what is expected of a wizard. Unlike muggle fathers, who abandon their boys, letting them grow up in dirty muggle orphanages.’

Lucius, knowing his Master’s background, allowed the rant to blow over without a comment.

‘Why do you want Saitaina for him?’

‘Because she is Branford’s prize girl. She’s the most experienced seducer he’s trained. I fear that Draco still harbours feelings for that mudblood girl, Potter’s girlfriend. Saitaina can make him forget he ever knew her.’

‘That, she can do.’ Voldemort took another minute to consider, and then nodded slightly. ‘All right. Draco shall have her. Send him in.’

***