A/N: Okay kiddies...it's time for some super-action and dramatic romance. This is the war...the war that will determine the fate of the wizarding world. It's pure good against pure evil...or maybe not. Expect twists, affairs, and of course...super-sexy Draco...all rolled into one huge action story. And this is more than just wandwork, this is some serious ass-kicking action. Enjoy!
Soundtrack: To enhance this story, I recommend listening to Staind's Outside (light version) until the first asterisks, and for the second part, Moby and Gwen Stefani's Southside.
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by: AquaMaxis
Chapter One: Golden antipathy
It was night. Dead night. The moon was reduced to a single sliver of light, giving enough only to see a few feet ahead of you. Noises were extinguished by the eerie silence that was running through the halls. Even Filch had retired for the night.
But two hadn't.
"Draco..." Hermione whispered. Her heart skipped a beat. He was silhouetted against tapestries drained black in the darkness.
"They did it to me, Hermione. Look." He extended an arm. It was hard to make out in the purity of the night, but she could see...a skull and a snake, entwined within another. The mark was red and swollen from recent burning.
Hermione let out a gasp that echoed through the halls, awaking a few sleeping jesters from a large courtroom painting.
"It's over. It's all over. Tomorrow I will be gone. We will be enemies." A dull, tired voice came from Draco. "Again."
Hermione shook her head. "I will never lose sight of you. We took this long to find each other..."
"And it was pointless."
Tears stung Hermione's fiery eyes. "No. I will not let them get to you."
He placed a hand on her cheek. "Sweet Hermione. The only one who would take a chance at me...the only one who loves me." He stared into her eyes, gathering her fear and anxiety. "This is the last time we will see each other."
She could say nothing. This was her Draco, the one she dug out of the hole, only to find him crawling back in...crawling from daylight into the revolting underworld once more.
"I am warning you of this. Tomorrow there will be an outrage. Here. I will be gone along with many of the other Slytherins."
"No!" Hermione choked, not caring if anyone heard them.
He put his other hand to her mouth. "Listen! I am trying to save your life!"
She took his hand off her mouth. "The only saving that will be happening is me and you." Her brown eyes, red with anger and frustration, burned into his steely gray pair. Draco narrowed his.
"There is going to be a war. A real war. And we're on opposite sides." A smile crept on Hermione's flushed face. A flint of evil was caught in her mysterious aura.
"Not if I can help it."
* * *
"Today is going to be great!" Ron yelled enthusiastically into his plate of sausage.
Harry looked at him curiously. "Why?" His tone was flat and rather forced. Ron didn't seem to notice.
"Today is the first quidditch game of the season!" Ron said, waving his hands. "You haven't forgotten, have you?"
"Of course not!" Harry said with a bit more spirit. Actually, he had indeed forgotten. Another scar dream had visited his bed last night, pouring sweat over his body and branding his forehead. Ron seemed delirious, however. This was his first game as the new Keeper.
Fred and George, the new co-captains, had insisted on the team waking at dawn. The fairly young team was a little less than fresh and Harry doubted that their season would be anything as spectacular as the previous three.
"It's against Ravenclaw, it shouldn't be that bad. You should watch out for Cho though, I bet she's improved a lot. And with Seamus and that other girl as the new chasers..." Ron droned on. Harry's mind wandered back to the dream. He barley noticed he was eating jam straight from the jar until Ron whacked him on the head.
"Wake up, Harry!"
The next quarter hour was made fairly pleasant by Fred and George's humorous pep-talk. Most of the Slytherin's must have decided today was the perfect sleep-in day, as only a handful were eating. A quick glance to the ceiling told Harry that in fact it was a great Saturday to bury yourself under pillows. As the rest of the school filed in sleepily, Harry couldn't help but notice how very subdued the Slytherin table was.
"Hey...where's Hermione?" Harry asked Ron as they made their way to the Quidditch field. The day was gray with hints of rain here and there. In fact, there were pitch black storm clouds rolling in the south. They were a few hundred miles away though, nothing to worry about...yet.
"Dunno. Probably in the library," Ron joked, but even he had a smudge of uncertainness in his voice. "She usually never misses games though..."
Harry glanced around. The seats were all being filled, but Hermione was seen nowhere. Dean had made another spectacular drawing that was plastered against the walls of the stadium. This one had all of the new Gryffindor players zooming around on it, and the detailed scorebox in the corner was torturing Ravenclaw with a score of 500 to zero.
"I'm sure she'll get here though..." Ron said. A grin crawled on Harry's face. Ron had gotten more worked up over Hermione than himself. He knew all too well that Ron had a somewhat obvious crush on her.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure she can't wait to see you play." Ron flushed the same color as his hair. Now he 'ought to play well, Harry thought mischievously. Nothing like playing matchmaker to lift your spirits.
"Okay you nutters," George said in the thick of the huddle, "We've got a game to win. Now we've got plenty of extras just waiting to come in, ("I'll say," muttered Fred [George had allowed nearly every person who tried out on the team]) so if you get tired, just give me the signal!"
The huddle broke and Harry went onto the field, his Firebolt tucked dearly under his arm. He caught Cho's eye and she winked at him. Harry blushed. Ron gave him the thumb's up signal and Madame Hooch sounded her whistle.
Harry soared. The gigantic group of Gryffindor substitutes were cheering beneath him, representing a huge firecracker of scarlet and gold.
There was no mistaking the nervousness of the new players on the Gryffindor team. While Ron was putting forth an excellent effort, Seamus and the rest looked almost ready to fall off their broomsticks. Fred and George shouted encouragingly at the players, but only one really stood out.
Harry had only talked to her briefly, but her talent as Chaser was very apparent. Her name was Natalie McDonald and she was a second year. Being very tiny and thin, she could easily dart away from Bludgers and also had nice coordination. Harry was so happily surprised at her talent that a Bludger nearly knocked him off his Firebolt.
His attention refocused on the game. Cho was circling beneath him. He knew that she could beat him from her position, so Harry would have to keep a very accurate watch over the field.
"Gryffindor leads, 40 to 20," Lee Jordan yelled gladly. He has reassumed his position of announcer (to all of the Gryffindor's delight) after a few wild rumors rampaged that McGonagall had forbidden him after a few minor mishaps.
The roar of the crowd was mixed with a boom of thunder. Harry whizzed along the bridges of the place, when he spotted it...
He swerved directly right, straight to the location where the Gryffindor's were waiting to go in...a few screamed and ducked to the ground.
Quickly he pulled up. Stupid third year was waving a minuscule golden flag around like an airhead. Cho seemed unharmed by this as she eyed Harry suspiciously.
Feeling a hot surge of anger, Harry bolted up. He watched...for 15 minutes...20...30....
Where was the Snitch? A glimpse of it had not even been seen. "And Ravenclaw ties, 130-130," Lee announced boredly. "We might be here awhile, folks...wait a minute!"
Cho was racing toward the west end of the field. Harry was a good ten yards away when he noticed. Adrenaline higher than a skyscraper brewed within him, his insides churning and a sudden wash of energy overtaking him. He could hardly hear Lee screaming at him to hurry up as he gathered more and more speed.
He put the outstanding magic of the Firebolt to use. The snitch was barely visible to him and he was approaching Cho so quickly...too quickly. She was behind him, almost as if she had stopped. But Harry didn't care. Before the snitch ducked out of sight he closed his fingers around it and rammed into the wall.
A sudden uproar from the crowd rushed upon Harry. He had slid to the ground, but nothing hurt except his right elbow, but even the pain was sparse. Rain stared to pour over him. Harry turned to grin at the crowd, holding up the snitch in his hand.
Except they were all running the other way.
-Kel