Hello there everyone!

So, I'm back with a new English fic. Now, I see you coming, and don't worry, Mercury is still going to be published. I'm just experiencing a bit of writer's block at the moment, but I don't want to hurry things- I want Mercury to be finished correctly, and I don't want to do something to the story that I'd regret. After which I'll immediately take it down to begin writing version 2.0 because let's be honest, the first chapters seem to be written by a four-year-old.

Anyway, back to the new fic. It's rated M for lemons, (main) character death, profanity, violence and it's not going to be pretty or light-hearted. But it does have a happy ending (at least for our main couple) because I'm a sucker for happy endings, especially if I've tortured the characters during the fic. Please keep in mind that the rythm of publication will vary- I work in the catering industry in a highly touristic area, and summer season is waiting just down the road to hit me in the face with a baseball bat and 80 hours working weeks.

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Rating: M (see above)

Setting: Hogwarts, 7th year. In this fic, the Second Wizarding War never happened, as Voldemort was destroyed by Harry Potter when he was a baby. As such, those who died during the first war (Harry's parents, etc) are well and truly gone, but since the second war never happened, no-one died after Voldemort's death as a result of dark forces, meaning that characters such as Sirius or Dumbledore are alive. Our heroes are back to school for a final year, after a rather peaceful education.

Main pairings are: Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Blaise Zabini/Pansy Parkinson, Seamus Finnegan/Lavender Brown, Ronald Weasley/Daphne Greengrass.

Disclaimer: Please abide that everything belongs to JKR and her affiliates such as Warner Bros, I'm just here to have fun. With a fic about a deadly disease. Yeah. Remind me to correct my disclaimer later.

NB: "Magus": latin for wizard/witch, "Pestis": latin for disease/epidemic.

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…...

MAGUS PESTIS

When a mysterious, deadly, highly contagious illness spreads through Hogwarts like wildfire, the school is put on lockdown so that the disease may die out inside the castle instead of contaminating the rest of the world. It's a death sentence, and as students and staff begin dying, time's ticking for the survivors to find a cure...

…...

CHAPTER 1.

"We've seen this before, Albus."

Albus Dumbledore raised his bright blue eyes over the rim of his half-moon spectacles, staring at the magical creature in front of him. With a pointed nod, he asked sharply,

"Have we, Maeesh? I was under the impression that if such had been the case, I would have been informed, as I highly doubt that you would willingly approach the Ministry with any matter, never mind one so...delicate."

The Headmaster of Hogwarts' eyes twinkled knowingly, but the other one was not impressed. He glowered at Albus, his thick, algae-like, green hair falling upon his shoulders, his grey skin ripped and scarred as he bobbed, waist-deep, in the dark expanse of water. Maeesh was the King of the Selkie Merfolk of the Black Lake, and as such, his life was one of hardship. Many a danger lurked under the calm surface of the lake, and for the merman to seek Albus' help was telling, as he rarely communicated with the outside world- most magical creatures were, not without reason, wary of the human species. Even if Maeesh respected Albus Dumbledore to some extent- the elder wizard did, after all, speak Mermish, the unique language of his people- the King's friendship would never be obtained by the likes of mankind.

"We have no books nor ink to write the memory of our people," Maeesh hissed. "For we keep our memories like precious jewels." He proudly tapped his webbed fingers against the pebble necklace adorning his throat, as if the stones were diamonds of the finest cut. "We remember. Through tale and song, we remember stories of ages ago, of times before time, of when the Black Lake was surrounded by the heather moorlands, before two witches and two wizards built a castle near our home."

Albus respectfully inclined his head.

"I admire the ways of your people, Maeesh. However, as you so kindly reminded me, we humans have no such memory of this happening before."

The King swam a little closer, worry etched on his hideous face.

"It has happened twice before," he claimed. "Although we know not why or how. It happened in the time before time, before your forefathers built the castle. It has never happened since- we thought ourselves protected to some extent by your walls."

Albus Dumbledore frowned, clasping his gnarly hands on his stomach.

"You seem persuaded that this is illness came from elsewhere. Why is that?"

"For many tides, our people have remained unaffected by such a disease," Maeesh nodded. "Hundreds of generations have come and gone without the illness rearing its ugly head. However, in a little under three months, it has returned, and I have lost over three hundred of my kin- nearly a third of my people, and dozens more are contaminated. I have conferred with the Centaurs over this matter and they claim that the stars have announced a great disaster upon the magical world, although they know not how many merfolk shall perish. The last two diseases near wiped our kin out entirely, and I fear that such will happen again this time."

There was a long silence as the King and the Headmaster mulled their individual thoughts. Behind them, Hogwarts towered proudly, and only the water lapping the shore was any evidence of movement in the horizon.

"I will need to inform the Ministry of such a matter, Maeesh," Albus finally sighed, resigned. "I am afraid that their intervention may prove a necessity. Alone, there is little I can do."

Maeesh's brow furrowed, but to the wizard's surprise, he did not vividly protest such a course of action.

"So be it," the King bowed his head. "My youngest, most beautiful wife, the Queen Aeel, passed this morning, and with her, our two babes. My other wives and children huddle in fear, and I cannot say I am able to protect them."

There was a defeated sadness to his traits, but Albus knew better than to offer his sympathy. The merman would take it as an insult. Instead, he bowed to the King.

"I shall return, King Maeesh, and we shall settle this matter," he vowed.

"Thank you, Albus Dumbledore," Maeesh returned, slowly sinking back into the murky depths. "Thank you..."

…

The train puffed merrily in the sparkling September sunlight, and Hermione breathed in the lively atmosphere of Platform 9 ¾ as she pushed her luggage trolley through the dense crowd, her amber eyes scanning the faces. She recognized a few, giving a jolly wave as people greeted her from afar, too busy bidding their families goodbye to come see her for now. She always felt a slight tug to her heart in such moments: her own parents would never be able to see the Hogwarts Express nor step through the barrier to the secret platform. However, she pushed those thoughts to the side, ignoring Crookshanks who, huddled in his wicker basket, hissed and sulked- the fat half-cat half-Kneazle hated being cooped up. A flash of red caught her attention, and her head snapped to the side as she noticed, with a giggle, Molly Weasley smothering her daughter with a death hug as Ginny Weasley's arms whirled around almost cartoonishly. Hermione rectified her path and pushed through to the bunch of Weasleys and Harry, who was snickering behind his girlfriend's back at her efforts to escape her mother's grasp.

"...go of me, Mum, I'm going to Hogwarts, I'm not off to be sacrificed to some ancient gods!"

Luckily for Ginny, Molly noticed Hermione and suddenly let go of her to greet the young brunette with the same hug she had just forced upon her daughter. Ginny tenderly felt up her ribs, and grinned mockingly at her best female friend as Hermione was engulfed in Molly's arms.

"Mum," Ronald Weasley's amused voice interrupted, "let go of her before she dies."

Molly pulled back from Hermione, kind brown eyes damp, and waved a threatening and very wet handkerchief in her youngest son's face.

"Now you be careful, Ronald Bilius Weasley," she exclaimed. "I don't want to hear anything about your behaviour this year, do you hear me! If I have to send one single Howler, just one, I swear to Merlin I shall deliver it myself, along with my boot to your backside!"

Ron looked positively green at the idea of his mother marching into Hogwarts to deal with him personally, and Hermione giggled softly as she greeted each Weasley with a hug- Ginny first, then the twins, the Bill. Charlie was in Romania and Arthur and Percy had been called in early to the Ministry, as usual. Finally, she hugged Harry and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Her best friend responded with a peck to her forehead, and they tuned out Molly's threats to Ron.

"You look well-rested," Hermione smiled. "I take it you spent all summer at the Burrow?"

Harry gave her a lopsided grin.

"Did not, too. Spent some time at 12, Grimmauld Place. Then Mrs Weasley decided that she couldn't have me spending my entire holidays in a house filled with dark artefacts and bundled Padfoot and I off to the Burrow."

"Did you even see the Dursleys at all?"

"I might have seen them," Harry answered evasively. "Upon arriving at King's Cross at the beginning of summer. Might've given them a nod and a wave. And then, I might've seen a great looking black dog and decided to follow him instead..."

Hermione shook her head, laughing.

"Don't tell me you stood them up, Harry!"

"Bet Uncle Vernon appreciated to drive all the way back to Little Whinging for nothing," Harry confirmed, a devilish glint to his emerald eyes. "In my defence, I did turn seventeen recently and sent them a letter thanking them and telling them I wouldn't be back. I also joined some money as payment for them feeding me during all these years, even though it wasn't much food, all in all."

Something in his story made Hermione frown.

"Money? But Harry..."

"Yeah," Harry grinned. "Bet Uncle Vernon is going to have a lot of fun trying to convert those Gallions to pounds in a Muggle bank. Pity- it is quite a tidy sum."

Hermione couldn't help it. The payback after so many years of ill treatment in the hands of the Dursleys, and Harry's wicked smirk, made her double over laughing. The Boy Who Lived joined her and a second later, Ron, red in the face, was at their side, bending his lanky body over to kiss Hermione's cheek. She returned the gesture with a smile. After Ron's short-lived idylle with Lavender Brown, her feelings for the wizard had waned, and although the redhead had tried to catch her interest afterwards, she'd told him as much. Ron had shown a surprising amount of tact in his response and, if Hermione sometimes caught his lingering, longing glances, he respected her boundaries and their solid friendship. The young witch was pleased to notice that the wanting gazes seemed to fade over time.

The train puffed a cloud of white smoke into the clear blue sky and Ginny appeared, grabbing her boyfriend's hand with a tug.

"Quick," she muttered to them, "let's get on that damned train before Mum starts wailing again."

They followed her towards the train, waving at the remaining Weasleys, and quickly found a carriage occupied by only Neville and Luna, who were holding each other's hands and muttering fondly. Exchanging pleasantries, the four Gryffondors sat down, waving a final time to the family on the platform as the Hogwarts Express slowly pulled out of King's Cross and into the quaint English countryside.

…

The first year students were all huddled together as the stern-looking Professor McGonagall called out their names individually, inviting them to sit on the small stool in front of her as she set the Sorting Hat on their heads. Draco Malfoy's fingers rapped against the polished surface of the Slytherin table as he waited, bored as yet another student joined Hufflepuff- Merlin, it seemed as though this year's new students were a bunch of happy little sunflowers. His father was right, the younger generations were getting more and more idiotic- the stupid little brats even looked happy to be smothered in flashy yellow. Sitting opposite him, riding the bench as though it was a Thestral, a tall, dark wizard with stunning features sighed.

"They look like a bunch of morons," he grunted in a bored tone as yet another little girl skipped happily off to the Hufflepuff table which erupted in thunderous applause.

"They surely are a bunch of morons, Blaise, if they're sorted there in the first place," a gorgeous black-haired witch to Blaise Zabini's right snorted and Draco nodded in appreciation. "Merlin, I'm hungry," she muttered, staring at her plate as though food would magically appear there through sheer will.

"Oh Merlin, Pansy," Blaise groaned. "Stop that. Very unladylike. You sound like Weasley."

Her eyes narrowed as she contemplated her knife before staring at Blaise's neck. The handsome wizard caught her meaning as he slid backwards slowly. Draco tore his mercury eyes away from their antics as the last couple of students ("Simberly, Jane- Hufflepuff!" and "Yaxley, Tom- Slytherin!") were sorted and finally, the feast came into being.

"Look at Potty over there," he heard Pansy mutter. "And the Weasel King, and that little Mudbitch Granger."

"Foul," Blaise agreed, eyeing the trio.

"Don't speak about your mother that way, Zabini," Pansy tutted, never one to miss an occasion to antagonize her fellow Slytherin. Draco rolled his eyes as they began bickering: those two really needed to do something about the sexual tension oozing between them. It was getting old, and he really couldn't fathom why Blaise and Pansy- great friends up until last year- seemed to hate each other since last Christmas. However, he stared in the direction his best female friend had indicated, chewing on a mouthful of peppered duck sausage thoughtfully. The two youngest redhead siblings were chatting with each other- more like arguing, he mused, as he saw the Weaslette's brow crease and red infuse her cheeks. He could only hope that the Weasel King pushed her buttons too hard and she hexed him: it would be greatly entertaining to see the idiot vomit slugs again, and with some luck Gryffindor would lose points and the two would get detention. His eyes slid to Harry Potter, who was in deep conversation with Neville Longbottom, and he snarled, fists clenching. He just couldn't help it: Potter could wander into a room and Draco would instantly tense up. The damn boy was just a murder waiting to happen.

Then a mass of unruly curls caught his eye and his hard gaze turned to that stuck-up bookworm, Hermione Granger. Merlin, was she really human? He was under the impression that the teacher's pet was none other than Medusa in disguise and that she snuck around petrifying people with that hair of hers in her spare time. His hand clenched around his fork as he imagined shoving it into her throat. Her mere existence was exasperating- it shouldn't be possible to hate a human being this much, but here he was.

As if she sensed his eyes burning into her, Granger raised her head and her own amber eyes caught his. Draco felt himself slightly put off by the unique colour- they were slightly unsettling, although he couldn't deny that the colour was stunning. If they weren't the Mudblood's, he'd be happy to stare into those eyes forever. Besides, it wasn't as though his own mercury eyes were common. He frowned in disgust at the splattering of freckles on her nose- Merlin, didn't she lose those when she came into puberty as most kids did?- and the visible weakness of her traits. Although it may be because of her gigantic hair, which seemed to be devouring her energy. He swore he saw a curl or two crackle with magic. The swot was glaring at him as though the mere thought of being in the same room as him made her lose her appetite- a thought he couldn't help but feel offended at. Stupid Mudblood wouldn't know her betters even if they hit her in the face with Hogwarts, A History.

Maybe he should try that someday.

Granger rolled her eyes and turned to mutter something to the She-Weasel, and he felt slightly put out that his efforts at intimidating her had all amounted to nothing. Frowning, his eyes were attracted to the teacher's table as Albus Dumbledore advanced to speak.

"Well that was a most delightful meal," the Headmaster declared enthousiastically, and Draco raised his eyes. Merlin, was the old fool a bore. Soon, he'd be demanding that the students personally thank the House Elves in the kitchens for whipping up their food. "Now, before I let you all off to your dorms, I have a little information to impart to you all."

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Blaise muttered, stretching. "The Forbidden Forest is off-limits and so are all Weasley products."

"The Forbidden Forest is entirely off-limits," Dumbledore declared, "as are all Weasley's Whizarding Wheezes products, the full list of which can be found in Mr Filch's office."

The elder wizard glanced at Blaise, blue eyes twinkling, and the dark-skinned wizard swore under his breath. It wasn't the first time the Headmaster seemed to be omnipresent.

"...this year, it will be demanded of students and staff alike that no-one approaches the Black Lake either," Dumbledore rambled on. "No bathing will be allowed until further notice. We have good reason to believe that great danger lurks beneath the water's surface, a danger that was not present before." He stared at the students, letting his point sink in, before giving a satisfied nod. "I bid you all a very good first night at Hogwarts!"

The prefects stood, calling their newest students out to follow them, and slowly, the crowd exited the Great Hall.

"Danger in the Black Lake, huh?" Pansy muttered in rebellion. Draco knew how fond the young witch was of swimming. "Looks like that Giant Squid finally reproduced and that its young are carrying venom," she ironised.

"Why Pansy, you never did tell us!" Blaise exclaimed. "Congratulations seem to be in order!"

"Now listen here, you son of a-"

Draco tuned them out and left them to bicker on the bench as he followed his fellow housemates to the dungeons. When Pansy and Blaise ended their argument, he was long gone.