A/N: This idea came to me a while back, so i decided to take a crack at it. For those of you who aren't familiar with Borderlands, it takes place on alien worlds and involves Sirens, which are like elemental witches, and lots of cool technology. This will be told mainly from a Draco/Hermione point of view, with other characters once in a while. I will make sure to explain everything that exists from the Borderlands universe clearly for the Harry Potter only reads. Let me know what you think. - Wolf
Chapter 1: The Vault Hunters
Lilith, Maya, Zer0 and Brick were huddled behind a Hyperion shipping container, hiding in the shadow of a tall cliff that over looked the shipping yard.
"I don't know about this one, Lil. Ever since this morning, I can't shake this feeling that this mission is a mistake."
"Come on, Maya. It's not the first time our power went a little weird…"
"A little weird? Lil, you phased Sanctuary into the Eridium Blight in your sleep. And Maya had Zer0 dancing around with Axton like a goddamn puppet."
"Yes, thank you for the reminder, Brick."
"I would rather not relive that unpleasant experience. To be without control of my body and mind is… unsettling…"
"Zer0, I said I was sorry. I didn't know what I was doing…"
"Do not apologize. Learn from your mistakes, Miss Maya. It is all any of us can do."
Maya nudge Zer0 affectionately.
Lilith ECHO crackled to life.
"Lilith, Fire Teams Bravo, Charlie, and Delta are in position. Waiting on your go."
A low, guttural laugh emanating from Bricks throat, and he punched a fist into his palm.
"Let's go. I'm getting hungry."
The sirens grinned at each other, while Zer0 digistructed his sword.
"Alright guys! Let's do it!"
Draco sat in the Room of Requirement, silent, waiting for any signs of life from the Vanishing Cabinet. Nothing. He wretched open the door, only to find the songbird he had placed inside there moments ago dead, lying on the bottom, with a wing, and its entire head missing. Growling in frustration, he slammed the cabinet shut, and made his way out.
This isn't working. I can't afford to fail now. Not with the Dark Lord holding my family hostage. Poor Mother…
Draco sighed, and leaned against the corridor, watching the Room of Requirement disappear into nothingness, leaving just a blank wall. He was surprised when he first learned of it in his fifth year, and it had become invaluable in his efforts now. A room that gives you anything you require in your time of need. How much better could it get?
Suddenly, Draco stood straighter. Anything?
He mentally kicked himself for not thinking of this earlier. Why not work towards freeing and protecting his family, instead of helping You-Know-Who. But what did he need exactly? The room's rules left little room for error. And if he managed to free his parents, what then? What would he do with the Death Eaters calling for his head? He would have to go into hiding. But where could they be safe from the Dark Lord?
The only answer he could think of made him groan. The Order of the Phoenix. They could protect them, but would they? SHOULD they? The Malfoys weren't exactly the most endearing family, and his father's prejudice towards Mudbloods and Muggles in general would only serve as a barrier between them.
No matter. He would deal with that later. Now to business. Should he ask for a place to hide his family? A way to kill the Dark Lord? A way to earn the trust of the Order?
He mulled it over in his head for a long time before coming to his conclusion. As he begun to walk back and forth in the corridor, he kept the same thought in his head.
I need a way to free my family, and keep them safe from the dangers to come.
Lilith phased in with Maya close to the Badass Constructor, while Brick let out a war cry, and ran in, pausing only to pummel any constructors in his way. Zer0 ran is as well, or so it would seem. Hyperion Engineers attempted to hit him, but fell from savage cuts from an unknown source, or exploded from fire, acid, electrical, and slag burns from kunai thrown from nowhere.
"Hurry everyone! We need that Vault key!"
An engineer came up behind Maya, knocking her down. She turned to face him, but too slowly. As he prepared to brain her with his hydraulic arms, a sword pierced his chest, and he was lifted off his feet and tossed aside. The air shimmered, and Zer0 stood in front of her.
"Thanks, Z"
"I will watch your back / Whenever you are in need / I won't be far away."
Maya grinned, and took his outstretched hand to stand up.
"Are you two done?" Lilith asked impatiently, as she dissolved a constrictor with a corrosion grenade.
They regrouped around a shipping container that was guarded by a Hyperion Competitor Deterrence Field.
"This it?" Lilith asked?
"I'm pretty sure." Mordecai responded through her ECHO device. "They have been guarding that thing for the last 24 hours, and every other container has been moved since then."
"Alright then. Claptrap! You're up."
"Mwhahahaha! It is time for my revenge!" the robot announced as he rolled through the crowd of Crimson Raiders and Vault Hunters.
"Sweet Mother, does he ever shut up?" one Raider muttered.
Claptrap zoomed his way through the death wall, and started punching in commands on the other side. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand OPEN!" he proclaimed as the wall deactivated.
"Good work. Now let's get this Vault Key, and get the hell out of here." Lilith said, nursing her aching shoulder.
The four vault hunters approached the container slowly, as the rest of the Raiders backed up and spread out, weapons drawn.
"Brick, take a step to your left. You're blocking Hammerlock's line of sight." Mordecai radioed in.
Brick muttered something about punching someone, and took a step to his left.
Maya took a deep breath, and using her siren powers, opened the container quickly.
There was a single, solitary crate lying in the middle of the container. It had Hyperion makings all around it, with 'Do Not Open' and 'Extremely Dangerous' labels covering it.
Zer0 stepped forward and cut the straps holding the box in place and used his sword to cut through the locks holding the box closed.
They gathered around the box, and Lilith slowly removed the cover.
Inside, there was a ton of packaging filler. They dug their way through, until Maya froze suddenly. "Guys, I think I got it." She withdrew her hand, holding a rather large gold key.
"What the hell? I thought it would look like the last Vault Key." Brick said.
"All Vaults are not equal / This vault must more unique / This is a riddle."
"Well said, Z. Now shut up and let me look at this thing."
Lilith turned the key over in her hands. There was a rather ornate crest on the head of the key. Four creatures, each one in its own square of the crest, and in a different color. She read the name at the top of the key.
"Hogwarts… what the hell?"
Suddenly, the container shook, and the doors slammed shut.
"Where the hell do you think you are going?" a voice came through the ECHO. "You are under arrest for the murder of Handsome Jack!"
"Like hell we are. Guys, link hands!" Lilith yelled, returning her weapon to the storage unit. The others followed suit and grabbed each other's hands. "Hold on. I'll get us back to Sanctuary."
She started to phase them out, and noticed the key started to glow blue and vibrate violently. She ignored it, her priority now her fellow Vault Hunters. She felt her powers flare, and they were all sucked into the Æther.
As the door reappeared in the hallway, Draco was thrilled. Finally, a way out of this mess. He reached for the handle, and found it locked. He frowned, and pulled out his wand. "Alohamora!" he said, pointing at the lock. Nothing.
He growled angrily, as he drew his foot back to kick the door.
"What are you doing, Malfoy?" a voice said down the corridor.
He froze mid kick, and turned to see Hermione Grander and Ginny Weasley staring at him, books in hand.
"Nothing. I couldn't get the door open, and I left my bag inside." He replied curtly. "Stupid piece of-" He kicked the door, and began to walk away, when a resonating bang shook the door violently. He spun around, wand at the ready, sure that Granger had done it, and saw that her and the Weaslette had also drawn their wands, but were pointing it at the door.
"What the bloody hell did you do, Granger?!"
"It wasn't me! I don't-" She was cut off by another crash on the other side of the door. The two Gryffindors moved opposite of the door, and Malfoy moved slightly in front of them. "What the hell…" he muttered.
Then, there was the sound of a key being inserted into the lock on the door, and the handle slowly turned.
The door opened quickly, and the three students stood face to face with four of the most unusual people they have ever seen.
Two fairly attractive women with ornate looking tattoos, one man in a all black suit and helmet, which covered his face, and a mammoth of a man, with muscles bulging from everywhere that made Crabbe and Goyle look like twigs.
"Who are you?" the woman with red hair asked.
"Who are you?" Draco countered.
"Malfoy," Hermione muttered quietly. "Don't antagonize them."
He would have responded, but the gorilla-sized man, punched his fist into his palm, and the man in the black suit pulled a sword from what looked like thin air. The two women's tattoo's began to glow, and a pulsating light emanated the from the blue-haired one's hands.
Suddenly, there was movement all around them, as various teachers, and members of the Order of the Phoenix appeared, their wands pointed at the four newcomers.
They reached for something on their belts, but they all had confused looks on their faces when nothing happened.
"Everyone, stop. Do nothing," a voice rang out from behind the group of teachers.
Albus Dumbledore had seen his share of the oddities of the world, but nothing like these people who were now in his school. "My name is AlbusPercival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and I am headmaster of this school. I respectfully ask why you are here." His voice was clear, and calm.
The group of newcomers all looked at the girl with red hair, and she sighed. "I don't want to hurt anyone that doesn't deserve it, and I don't know you yet, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. My name is Lilith." She motioned to the other woman. "This is Maya. The walking tank is Brick, and the tall one is Zer0."
"Lil, we need to get out of here."
"I know, Maya. Hush."
Dumbledore approached the group slowly, taking them all in. "Welcome. But again I ask, why are you here?"
"We are Vault Hunters. We were trapped, and I phased- I mean teleported us out, but we ended up here. The key we had… recovered from an enemy group opened the only door in that room." She motioned to the door behind her, and was shocked to see it gone, replaced by a blank wall. She involuntarily took a step backwards, getting her closer to Draco, Hermione, and Ginny.
"Don't move!" one of the Order yelled, and sent a spell over her head.
Brick growled and took a step towards the man who shot at Lilith, and the man they called Zer0 shimmered, but stayed in place.
"Brick, don't!" Lilith yelled. "We need them to get out of here. Hell, we have no idea where here is!"
Brick stood still, eyeing the man, who was shaking slightly out of fear of the beast in front of him.
Suddenly, Hermione screamed. She was no longer behind Draco, but off to the side, and she looked like she had been petrified.
"Zer0! Don't! Let her go!" Maya called, not looking at the man she addressed behind her, but at Hermione.
Draco was about to comment, but to his amazement, the man disappeared, and suddenly reappeared behind Hermione, holding a sword to her neck.
The room exploded in shouts and threats, all wands now aimed at Hermione and Zer0.
"SILENCE!" Dumbledore's voice cut through the chaos, and the walls echoed with his command. He looked at the man holding his student hostage. "This is not an answer. You would not kill an innocent woman, would you?"
Zer0 looked back at him, his mask giving no answer but a reflection of Dumbledore.
"Zer0, please." Maya moved closer, causing her to draw some of the Order's attention. She ignored them, focusing on her friend. "Don't do this. I am…. scared… I need you. Please." She held her breath, waiting. Zer0 seemed to be deep in thought, and finally relaxed his hold on Hermione, his sword disappearing into thin air.
Hermione jumped away from his quickly, desperate for anyone else, which unfortunately the closest one was Draco. He gasped in shock as she threw her arms around him and sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder. He was extremely uncomfortable with her so close to him, but felt doing nothing would look terrible, so he wrapped and arm around her, and stroked her hair with the other. "Shhh…. It's over now," he whispered to her quietly, pulling them away from the center of attention.
"Now, I will ask you all to come with me. We have much to discuss. Also, I will need Severus, Minerva Draco, Hermione, Ginevra, Harry, and Remus. The rest of you, stand guard until we find out where our defenses have been breached." The rest of the Order slowly left, taking up their normal positions, leaving the four newcomers, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Lupin, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Draco in the corridor.
"If you all will follow me?" Dumbledore lead the way to the Headmasters office, the four Vault Hunter behind him, followed by the Order members, then the students. Hermione hadn't released her death grip on Draco, causing his arm to fall asleep, but he couldn't bring himself to force her off of him. He wasn't sure he would have reacted much better to what happened.
"Hermione, are you alright?" Ron asked her softly.
No response.
"Hermione, it's okay. It's all over. You can let go of Malfoy now." Harry tried.
Still nothing.
Ginny tried to put her hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but Hermione jumped suddenly, and latched harder onto Draco.
"Ow! Bloody hell, thanks Weaslette. She's got nails and she's using them now." Malfoy winced as moving caused her grip to tighten. "Go on ahead, I'll get her there. Slowly, but with less bloodshed than if you three helped."
"Like hell we are leaving her alone with you, Malfoy!" Ron snarled.
"Whatever, Weasel King. Just get out of the way then." Draco rolled his eyes at redhead as he slowly moved past them. "Come on, Granger. We're going to go see Dumbledore." She nodded slowly, loosening her grip just so she wouldn't draw blood. Well, more blood.
They made their way slowly up the staircase, until they met up with the rest of the group, who were waiting for them.
"My apologies, Professor. Granger is still in shock, I think." Draco said, before the other three could say anything.
"It is quite alright, Draco. While she should be in the hospital wing, she needs to be here for this." Dumbledore turned towards the newcomers. "I ask that while you remain in the school, you refrain from threatening my students. I will not hesitate to use any means necessary to ensure their safety."
While his voice was calm, the power that radiated from him was intense. The wizards and witches in the room felt the prickling of power rolling through them, and the siren marks on Lilith and Maya pulsed softly.
"Not a problem." Lilith said, unnerved by the old man's aura. "I just want to get home."
"Then let us see why you have been sent here. "
Draco shifted uncomfortably as the group began to ascend the spiral staircase. He had a sinking feeling it was his fault that they were here. That what happened to Granger was his fault. His guilt is what stopped him from throwing her off. Whoever these new people were, he just hoped they could help him without causing the rest of the world to hate him for it. Looking at the muscles on the one they called Brick, he laughed softly to himself. He was so screwed.