Harry Potter and Voldemort's Secret
Written by Jillian Vandermark
All original Harry Potter characters ©J.K. Rowling
Plot, Story Design, and other characters ©Jillian
Vandermark, 2003
The thunder crashed and screamed in the black British skies, lightning piercing the stormy air. A castle towered over rolling grounds of deep green grass, each blade of which was silhouetted silver in the flashes of bright fluorescent lightning. A deep, dark forest bound itself to the north, a lake farther to the south, both thrashing violently in the strong, thundering winds.
High up in a seventh floor window of the castle, however, a boy leaned on the sill from within his dormitory. He brushed a hand back through his jet-black hair, using his index finger to push his near- perfectly-circular glasses up his slim nose before running it over the lightning bolt-shaped scar upon his forehead. This was a souvenir of his encounter with Lord Voldemort, the most feared Dark Wizard of all time, who had attempted to murder this boy when he was merely a year old with a terrible curse, which gave him the scar and killed his parents. His bottle-green eyes flashed with the glowing lightning as it was soon followed by another groan of thunder. The boy's name, of course, was Harry Potter, a wizard attending the school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The sixteen-year-old Gryffindor was spending his sixth year at Hogwarts and his second last. There were seven years to his time at the school and four houses which one could be sorted into: Gryffindor, for the brave, Ravenclaw, for the intellectual, Hufflepuff, for the kind and compassionate, and Slytherin, for those of cunning and sinister personalities. Having been awakened by the thunder storm outside, Harry bid his time watching the lightning crash down upon the opposing side of the lake within the small wizarding town of Hogsmeade, the only purely magical town in London.
Harry's side table clock read 5:04 AM, which he was saddened by for it was still more than three hours until breakfast which he was longing for. The thought of sneaking into the school kitchen crossed his mind, however he didn't want to risk getting caught by the caretaker, Filch, or his dastardly red-eyed tabby cat, Mrs Norris, both of whom stalked the corridors of the castle day and night for any students misbehaving. Harry could have used his invisibility cloak inherited by him from his father as well, of course, but laziness overwhelmed him as more ideas and thoughts coursed his mind.
A tap on his shoulder caused him to jump up and whirl around to see a familiar, red headed and terribly freckled boy yawning and stretching behind him. He sighed and de-tensed, giving his best friend Ron Weasley a tired grin.
"Hey, Ron," he said, stretching for a moment himself, "the thunder wake you up, too?"
"Yep," Ron replied, failing to stifle a yawn, "and Pig won't shut up." he added, motioning to a cage in the corner by his four-poster bed where a little owl was whizzing about within it.
Harry laughed quietly so as not to wake their three other dorm mates, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom. "He's probably just excited about the storm. I wonder how Hagrid is doing down there."
The two gazed out the window and down towards a hut near the forbidden forest where the school gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, lived. He was a good friend of the boys. He was a half-giant yet had a jolly soul regardless of his slightly low intellect and love for dangerous creatures.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he was looking for a Stormgrass. I thought I saw a bunch of the buggers out there just a few minutes ago," replied Ron after a long silence, both of them now admiring the glow of the lightning.
Harry laughed again. Stormgrasses were creatures that resembled a fox, they're underbellies and paws a dirt-brown and back fur as well as tail a radiant emerald-green that glowed in the lightning. They roared excruciatingly loud and had sharp teeth and claws – Hagrid's favourite type of creature.
~*******************************************************~
It was a near three hours before the storm passed, leaving the grounds and castle soaked in mud and rain. Harry and Ron remained in the Great Hall for a while seeing as how it was a Saturday. They met up with the third friend of their trio, Hermione Granger, the smartest girl in their entire school. The three chatted until nearly eleven when they began to head to the Gryffindor Common Room, though stopped briefly in the hall as they caught sight of a Slytherin boy named Draco Malfoy.
Harry glowered. Draco Malfoy was his arch nemesis and enemy, a snotty boy, the same age as himself, coming from a long stretch of pure-blooded, platinum-blonde wizarding family who all were as rich and snotty as Draco was.
This time, however, the Slytherin's attention was not on insulting and pestering Harry. This time, it was a girl he was bugging, surprisingly she being one of his own House. Ron looked at Harry and Hermione, both who met his gaze. The girl walked past the trio, followed by the bleach-blonde and his fan club of Slytherin girls. The girl whom was being harassed looked far from irritated as she rounded the corner, long, bronze, waist- length hair fanning out behind her as she strode continuously along the corridor. Malfoy looked rather annoyed by her unnerved composure, but as his feminine fans pushed him on, he continued after her steadily, spitting more insults at her for no apparent reason.
Once more, the trio looked at eachother, Hermione the first to speak.
"I've never seen her before," she said slowly, walking with the two boys once more, their destination still the common room.
"Me either," Harry said watching after them, Ron looking towards the ceiling in thought.
"I've seen her before, I think she came in our third year, I'm not sure. Malfoy seems to love to bother her though, I've seen him badger her around with his friends before out on the grounds." Ron stated, looking up at the Gryffindor Common Room Portrait.
"Bulgardash," Hermione muttered the Gryffindor password as they reached it, the painting swinging open and revealing the common room, which was encrusted with the Gryffindor colours, crimson and gold.
"What do you think is so bad about her?" asked Harry, flopping onto a cushiony red couch and stretching out.
"Nothing. Malfoy's just probably being his idiotic self, trying to get everyone's attention through insult," Hermione said, sitting neatly in an armchair and fiddling with her bushy brown locks, "I find Malfoy quite stupid. He says things for absolutely no reason. Maybe if he smartened up he'd actually have friends."
"Wouldn't count on it," muttered Ron under his breath, followed by Harry who laughed dryly.
"Well, we can always hope," said Hermione, taking out a few books.
"A happy, friendly, bubbly Malfoy?" said Harry with a slight yawn, "Hermione, I shudder at the thought.
~*******************************************************~
Meanwhile, Draco followed his prey to the library where she took a seat, removing a book on dragons from her book bag and setting it neatly on the table before her.
"A bookworm as well, aren't we?" sneered Malfoy, circling around her as she read over her book, "Why don't you go and hang out with the dirty little Mudblood Granger?"
The girl rolled her eyes, "Why don't you go hang out with Hagrid's dog's feces?" she questioned smartly, looking back to her book.
He glared at her. He had no clue what this meant, of course, but was pretty sure it meant something bad. He'd look it up in the dictionary later.
"Can't you come up with anything better than that?" he spat, circling her again, "Spirit, honestly, you're ridiculous. You have no life. You're a loser, Spirit."
"Not as much of one as you," she picked up her book and bag, standing up again and heading for the exit from the library.
He narrowed his eyes, "Take that back."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because," she said steadily, re-adjusting her shoulder bag, "it's only true, and you started it."
She gave him an expressionless look before disappearing out of the library. Draco grit his teeth as she left, clenching his hands into fists with fury. She was right.
~*******************************************************~
He opened his eyes.
A cruel smile creased along his paper-white face as he gazed around at his minions, his followers, at his servants...
He would get them. He would get them both. His search for his daughter had continued since her escape at the age of ten and his search for Harry Potter anguished him, increasing his anxiety even more. He was not weak. Foolish children would not undermine him. So many plans he had for these two... he would kill them both if needed. How dare they defy his authority, his power, his rule. He wrinkled his nose, that nearly wasn't a nose, only two slits for nostrils, his blood-red eyes gleaming in the light of the campfire, which he and his followers stood around. They both would be caught. They both would suffer.
After all, he was Lord Voldemort.
~*******************************************************~
Harry stifled his laughter as Professor Severus Snape, the greasy Potions Master, tested Draco's Polonizing Potion a few days later on a daffodil that immediately burst into flames.
As usual, Snape brushed off the mistake, being the Head of the Slytherin house and treasuring his group of Slytherin students.
"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy, for showing us a Plant Combustioning Potion" said Snape, stalking amongst the students.
"He just made that up," Hermione hissed in Ron's ear. He turned to face her.
"No kidding," he whispered to her with a slight roll of the eyes. He then turned back to the front of the dungeons where Snape was now standing.
"I will test the rest of your potions now. Mr Malfoy and the other Slytherins have been permitted to make Plant Combustioning Potions, however the rest of you," he glared at the Gryffindors, "will fail if you have not been able to make a simple Polonizing Potion."
Ron sighed, gazing down into his cauldron that was bubbling a steady lime-green.
"I wonder if this is right," he said dully, turning to Harry and Hermione, "It seems to be rather thick."
"It's fine, Ron," said Hermione, sitting back in her chair, having been finished long before the two boys, "I helped you make it, didn't I?"
Harry laughed quietly, gazing over at where Neville was sitting, Snape testing his potion on a rose. The plant immediately jumped up and began to make horrible screechy noises, despite the fact it was a rose. Harry raised his brows slightly before looking away again and waiting for his turn to come. He took a few moments to gaze around the room, eyes setting on the girl he had seen Malfoy bothering on the weekend. She was almost skinnier than he was, which was rather thin, but this he didn't take too much notice of; her eyes were what caught his attention. They seemed to almost be liquid, swirling into molten silver irises. A sharp pain ran through his forehead as he looked into them, so he turned away, allowing his focus to wander to the window.
He straightened up immediately.
There, staring in at him, was a horrible-looking face, one pale as snow, two red eyes glaring at him.
He shook his head rapidly, blinking and looking at the window again. There was nothing there.
"You okay Harry?" questioned Ron, gazing at him in concern. He had had moments like this before.
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Harry, his attention brought abruptly to Snape as he questioned Harry why his potion was neon-pink.
~*******************************************************~
"You're the only other person besides Granger who got it right. How did you do it, for goodness sake?"
Draco stalked down the corridor once more trailing behind Spirit after Potions class as the Slytherins headed to their common room.
"It's simple. I read the directions and was careful, unlike you, who dumped all of your ingredients in at once." she replied, fixing her book bag on her shoulder, "I don't see how it can be so hard for someone to read, it's very easy."
"I know how to read," he snapped, muttering the password for the Slytherin Common Room ("Snakeskin!") and stepping in through the stone sliding door.
"I've heard that often," she replied dryly, entering the green and silver common room after him and seating herself in an emerald leather chair, kicking of her shoes.
"Oh shut up," Draco muttered, flopping onto a silver couch, "I know just as much as you do. I bet you can't fence or arch."
"As a matter-of-fact, I can, and quite well, too," she said, pulling a sketchbook out of her bag as well as a raven-feather quill to doodle with.
"You couldn't possibly know how to draw, too?" he said, peering at her drawings of dragons, phoenixes, students and teachers.
"Do you think me some sort of idiot, because I'm certainly getting that impression. Do the world a favour and go wash your hair. I'm feeling nauseous just looking at all of that gel," she said, gazing at his slicked- back bleach-blonde hair.
He sneered, "I personally think it's quite fine the way it is. And, as for thinking you're an idiot. I happen to think you think the same of me."
"Genius!" she said with a slight smirk, sketching away at a picture of her snowy owl that was speckled in black all over, Cully, who was perched at the other side of the room.
Draco had had enough. He stood up with a dark glare back at her before exiting the common room and storming up to the boys' dormitories.
Spirit smirked, thinking of his departure as she gazed towards a window. She stood up and wandered towards it, thrust it open, and gasped as she was suddenly pulled through it.
Cully flew to the window and peered out of it, being a rather intelligent bird. Seeing nothing, he proceeded to fly towards the boys' dorms.
~*******************************************************~
"Get away from me you stupid bird," Draco muttered, swatting at the snowy owl which had swooped into his dormitory only moments ago, "and quit trying to clip my ear off!"
Cully fluttered about the room a few times before landing by Draco again, who was laying face-down on his bed with his hands behind his neck, his slim, seventeen-year-old frame draped in the Slytherin school uniform. It consisted of pitch-black robes (his were satin, his ever-rich father only buying him the best quality of clothing,) rimmed with the emerald- green of the Slytherin house, his shirt and socks gray, his tie silver and green. He sighed and sat up on his knees, flipping his tie dully and gazing at the owl perched beside him once more, who was clicking his beak in attempt to receive notice.
"For goodness sakes, what do you want? I don't have any food!" he snarled at the bird, swatting at him again.
Cully hooted angrily, flapping his wings rapidly and causing an up- wind, blowing the sheets off of Draco's neatly made bed. Draco grit his teeth and lunged at the owl without hesitation, hitting the ground hard as Cully dove out of the way.
Frustrated, Draco rose from the green-carpeted floor and ran after the bird all the way down to the common room. He would hack at Spirit good for sicking her bird on him. He gazed around the empty room and halted abruptly as he looked at the open window.
Her shoes, which she had kicked off earlier, remained on the carpet in front of the couch where she was seated on. Her drawing utensils remained on the table, except for her quill, which had been blown off by the wind from the open window, and now lay settled on the floor. Her book bag sat neatly on the couch where she had placed it, still unzipped and open for anyone to gaze inside of it. Her book on dragons also sat open on the table beside her sketchbook.
Draco gazed around, eyes setting upon Cully who was perched on the window now, watching Draco closely. He watched the bird for a long time, arms folded across his chest in deep, deep thought.
Draco asked himself the question that many would in such a situation: "Where did she go?"
~******************************************************~
Harry sighed.
Hermione sighed.
Ron gagged. The large amount of chocolate his mother had sent him for his birthday had been eaten quickly. Too quickly for Ron's own good.
Harry gave his best friend a hard knock on the back, Hermione dodging the slimy ball of chocolate with a disgusted squeal as it landed on the carpet of the Gryffindor Common Room with a solemn plop.
"Ugh, Ron, that's disgusting!" she exclaimed, inching away from the ball of brown and saliva.
Harry laughed, pulling out his wand and aiming it at the ball of gunky chocolate, "Incendio!"
The goo immediately burst into flames, incinerating on the spot.
Ron wheezed, doubled over for breath and gazing at his chocolate, which was now a pile of charcoal.
"Har-ry! I was going to eat that, you know!" he gasped, flopping onto a couch and coughing a few times before speaking again, "I could have gotten it down!"
"Whatever," said Harry, still laughing out loud at the look of fluster on Ron's face.
"Ron, honestly, you were as pink as a peach!" Hermione hissed, stalking up to him abruptly, still shaken by the ball of chocolate.
"Hermione, first of all, peaches are peach. Secondly, I really could have downed it if Harry hadn't himelicked me!" Ron shot back.
"Ron, if I hadn't of knocked you you would've suffocated in your own food." Harry said after a moment, suddenly bursting out into more hard laughter.
Hermione couldn't help but laugh as well, and soon all three of them were.
"Aw, we have Divination next," groaned Ron as he gazed at the large clock above the mantle of the fireplace after their laughter had subsided.
"Have fun," said Hermione with a grin. She had dropped the Divination subject and took Arithmancy instead.
"Oh, we will," said Harry in heavily sarcastic tones.
~*******************************************************~
The strong smell of dust and blood misted the heavy air as Spirit sat up, blinking tiredly in the dark midsts of where she was currently in place. Her head ached terribly, last thoughts only a semi-blur in her mind: annoying Draco Malfoy, falling out the window somehow.
She stood up and tried to walk, tripping over. She looked to find a special binding around her ankles and wrists, it was called the No-Feel Binding Curse. It was basic Dark Magic, and she only just knew how to conjure it herself, even if she didn't and never ever would use it.
Gazing around into the musty darkness surrounding her she shuddered, eyes adjusting to the blackness and gleaming cuffs visibly hanging from the walls as well as axes, cloaks, and masks. She instinctively knew that she was in some sort of chamber, a dungeon, no doubt, she was pretty sure. Stubby nails poked out of the sides of what seemed to be a human-sized suitcase, it's inner weaponry stained with gruesome, bronze blood and a skeleton mangled between the hundred nails on the left side of it. This sight sent a cold, sick, worrisome feeling down her spine. Was this the fate she would face in the dreadful chamber? Being pierced by spears within a threatening suitcase?
Light suddenly screamed into the darkness as a door nearer to the end of the chamber swung open, several beings cloaked in a deep black satin material sweeping solemnly into a room, a taller one towering slightly over the rest.
"Hello..." a rasped voice drawled within the midsts of a the cloak's hood, "it's good to see you again, Spirit..."
Spirit trembled slightly at the sound of the voice. She knew it too well. It was terrifying. It was sinister. It was repulsive. It was her father's.
"What do you want?" she asked, fear like none she had never felt before clenching within her stomach.
A devilish, cruel smirk stretched across his face. He sensed his daughter's terror continue to grow.
"I want you," he said slowly, lowering his hood and revealing his terrible red eyes and revoltingly pale face, "to help me..."
~*******************************************************~
"It is wonderful to see you, class," said Professor Trelawney, the Divination teacher, in her misty and magical tones, "Today we will do some review for study of your NEWTs next year."
Harry sighed, bored already, and took out his Divination books. NEWTs stood for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, which he, Ron, and Hermione would be receiving the following year. The students in their last year of Hogwarts always received them. The purpose of scoring well was to ensure mainly to get a good job in the future.
"Would you all please take out a pack of tea leaves and get yourselves a cup from the cabinet over there. Thank you," she said, gazing at the students through her gigantic glasses that caused her eyes to look ten times larger. She arranged the shawls on her shoulders and then spoke again, "You all know the procedure to read the tea-leaves; I will be coming around to help if necessary."
Harry and Ron sighed in unison and collected what they needed to study with. After drinking their tea and draining the leaves, they gazed into each other's cup.
Ron was first to look within the leaves inside of Harry's cup.
"It looks like a thistle," he said to his best friend monotonously.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Harry, gazing into Ron's cup.
"It means..." Ron gazed into his book, "...that you will have to cry very soon."
"Cry very soon?"
"Yeah. Maybe Malfoy'll join our house or something; that'll be something to cry about," said Ron, snickering along with Harry.
"Okay, now to your cup." said Harry, twirling it around, "It looks like a... a Grim!" gasped Harry jokingly and laughed. A Grim was a great black dog, supposedly a Death Omen.
"Oh no! Maybe Malfoy is going to join our House!" Ron said with fake exasperation, laughing. Harry didn't laugh at all. He was staring out the window, ashen-faced. Ron's grin faded and he followed Harry's gaze, choking on his own breath as he watched a series of cloaked figures walk neatly up to the castle, a girl leading them. The two pressed themselves to see exactly what was going on; the Divination Tower was extremely high up, way up in the high tower of the castle. Ron gasped as the cloaked figures suddenly vanished, leaving the girl there. She turned and walked towards the castle. "Ron..." said Harry after a long time, still watching where the cloaked figures had been, "Wasn't that the girl we saw earlier in the week with Malfoy?"
~*******************************************************~
Draco gave Cully a reproachful look before walking towards the common room door. He drew it open and walked out into the dungeon corridors, gazing up and down them. Why was he looking for her? Why was he looking for that annoying git of a girl that had so willingly insulted him? He sighed and began to walk down the hall, gazing around for any sign of haunting silver eyes peering out at him, or a flick of long, bronze hair. He jumped abruptly as something touched his shoulder, and looked to see a hand. He whirled around. "Spirit! Where were you?" he asked exasperatedly, eyeing the girl before him. "In the washroom; why would you care?" she snapped, brushing past him. He blinked after her. Why did he ask that? He didn't care about her safety. He sighed. "Where're you going?" She turned abruptly, "To do my work." "Why?" "Because it's work; duh." He grit his teeth, "Would you stop giving me lip already? What have I done to you?" He paused. "Don't answer that." She rolled her eyes and turned around again. Draco watched her closely. Something was different; she was too snappy, not quiet enough. And she seemed different, too. Since when did she tie her hair back? "Where were you really?" he asked suddenly, watching her turn irritably around again. "I was where I said I was! Now leave me alone!" She stormed into the common room. He watched, bewildered, as she kicked her owl out, yelling viciously at him. Very un-Spiritish.
~*******************************************************~
Ron and Harry hurried from the Divination classroom to meet up with Hermione in the Great Hall for lunch to tell her about what they had seen. "She was with cloaked people? Did they look like Dementors?" Hermione asked, watching them apprehensively. "I don't think so," said Harry, who was completely ignoring the lunch before him, "They had feet so I doubt it." Ron nodded, his mouth full of Yorkshire Pudding. "I fink day kood haff jhusht been fwendsh or shumfing," he said, bits of the pudding spraying all over Harry and Hermione. "Ron!" they both groaned, looking down at themselves. "Showwfy." "I don't think that anyone's friends wouldn't let them see their faces,' said Harry, looking at his grilled-cheese sandwich thoughtfully. Hermione looked down, obviously in thought as well. "Harry..." she said quietly, "You know... what if it was..." She looked at them nervously. Ron swallowed with a gulp, looking at Hermione dully. "Hermione, You-Know-Who is scared of Dumbledore. He wouldn't step a centimeter onto the Hogwarts Grounds unless he had a really good reason," said Ron, followed by Harry, who nodded in agreement. "Ron's right, Hermione, I don't think Voldemort-"Ron winced "-or the Death Eaters would come to Hogwarts. Not now," said Harry, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. Hermione looked worried, "Still..." "Don't worry," Harry and Ron chorused. She nodded and sighed, looking down in deep, deep thought.
~*******************************************************~
"Really, what is wrong with you? You've been barking at me all day even when I haven't talked to you and you're abusing animals! It's annoying! " Draco hissed at Spirit, who was sitting back on the couch. "There is nothing wrong with me, Draco," she said, scribbling away on a piece of parchment. "There! Another thing! Since when do you call me Draco?" "Since I wanted to." Draco bit his inner-cheek furiously. He was going to keep a close eye on her. "What did you call me when we were in the library the other day?" he asked suddenly, giving her a trivia. "How should I remember? That was last week." "Which girl did I last go out with?" "I don't know." "What's my middle name?" "Thomas." "How did you know?! For goodness sakes!" he stood over her, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt, "Who are you?" She narrowed her liquid-silver eyes, "Go away." "I said, who are you?" "Spirit Ashlington Demetra Riddle."
Riddle. That somewhat sounded familiar. He clenched and unclenched his teeth as he stared into her eyes, which didn't seem like eyes; they looked empty, hopeless, dead.
"You're lying," he let go and let her fall to a clump on the floor.
"How would you know?" she hissed, picking herself up, a whole five inches shorter than him, as usual.
"Because..." he started. How did he know? Why did he care? "Because you're just not."
She rolled her eyes, "Excellent proof."
Draco gazed down at her, his gray eyes narrowed. He turned around and walked clean out of the common room. He was going to see someone he thought he'd never end up seeing for 'friendly' conversation.
~*******************************************************~
"What do you want, Malfoy?" asked Hermione irritably as Draco approached the trio while they sat out near the lake later in the afternoon.
"Yeah, where's your protective gear? Did they finally realize you were a total prat?" asked Ron, referring to Draco's two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, who normally followed him everywhere.
"Besides, they got kicked out for receiving zero OWLs, now shut up, Weasley. Potter, you come here, I want to talk to you."
Harry, Ron and Hermione rose their brows all at the same time. Draco wondered how they did it all at once.
"Don't go with him, Harry, he probably wants to curse you or something," said Hermione, gazing untrustfully at Draco.
"No I don't. It's about – someone," he said, tempted to curse Hermione instead.
Harry glanced at his friends, still a bit unsure, before rising from where he sat beside Ron, "Fine."
Draco nodded, and walked off a distance towards the Forbidden Forest before turning to face Harry.
"Potter, have you noticed anything odd lately?" he asked, "Because I have."
Harry quirked a brow, "I thought you said it was about someone."
"Shut up and answer me."
"Yes, I have. Why?"
Draco watched his arch enemy closely, "What have you seen?"
"That girl you bother constantly instead of me. Bless her," he added, prodding his glasses up his nose for a moment with an index finger.
You hit home, Potter, Draco thought briefly. "Yeah? What was she doing? Where was she?"
"If you're going to beat up on her or something, Malfoy, I'm not-"
"POTTER! Stay on topic! What was she doing?"
"She was wandering with a bunch of hooded people. What's her name, anyway?"
"Good. Spirit Riddle, and now tell me-"
"Spirit WHAT?" Harry practically yelled at his nemisis, staring at Draco with an expression of utmost shock and terror on his face. Draco arched his blonde eyebrows in surprise, "Spirit Riddle. Spirit Ashlington Demetra Riddle." Harry gawked at Malfoy. Impossible, he thought to himself. Without even giving Draco a second thought, he turned around and sprinted towards Ron and Hermione.
~*******************************************************~
"So what, her last name is Riddle," said Hermione, gazing at Harry as he told the two. "Shoot, Hermione, we didn't tell you, did we?" said Ron, who's face was paler then ever, "Remember our second year when you were petrified and Harry was in the Chamber of Secrets? Well, Tom Marvolo Riddle was there." Hermione quirked a brow, "Tom Marvolo Riddle? Shouldn't he be dead by now? I mean, we saw his name on that trophy in second year and-" "No," said Harry quickly, "Hermione, Tom Riddle is Lord Voldemort!" Ron winced again, "For goodness sakes, Harry! Would you quit saying his name?!" Ron hissed. "Get used to it." said Harry absently, looking at Hermione who now had a brand new expression on her face, his own uneasy. "And anyway, if you switch around the letters in 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' it spells out 'I am Lord Voldemort'," Harry continued, "This also explains why my scar prickled when I was watching her in potions..." "And when we saw her with those cloaked figures on the Grounds in Divination, Harry!" said Ron, looking panicked, "Maybe she's leading Death Eaters onto the grounds!" "Oh, Harry, Ron," she said exasperatedly, looking horror-stricken, "That Spirit girl... is the Dark Lord's..." She didn't finish as she gazed at Harry, who's gaze was cast to the ground. "Her dad killed my parents."
~*******************************************************~
Meanwhile, Draco stood irritably at a distance, watching Harry, Ron and Hermione's facial expressions take wild turns, their mouths moving animatedly as they spoke. Why did Harry run off like that? He blinked as suddenly the three lifted themselves from the ground and sprinted towards him, Ron grabbing Draco by the collar, "Give us as much information about Spirit as you can." Draco rose his brows, "I highly doubt she'll go out with you, Weasley, she's rather peckish and-" "SHUT UP!" the three of them shouted at once, breaking him off instantly. "Malfoy," Harry said, glowering at Draco steadily, "Tell us about her." Draco snorted, "And why should I do that for you?" "Because," Hermione suddenly piped up, her wand now out and pointing at Draco, "if you don't, I'll use the Veritaserum Spell on you. All of your deepest secrets will pour from your lips and you'll get to watch it all." Draco clenched his teeth, absolutely glaring at her. "She's a Slytherin and she's got an attitute. That's all I'm saying," he said, pushing Ron's hands away from his shirt collar and straightening it, about to open his mouth and begin to slur about Ron's family when he heard Hermione utter an incantation. "Veratis!" she said, pointing her wand at him. Draco suddenly felt as though he had been torn open and exposed to the entire world, his very heart showing to everyone. He grit his teeth and groaned, it feeling painful. The Veritaserum Spell. "Now, Malfoy," said Hermione, taking over the spot where Harry and Ron had been standing and gazing sternly at him, "Tell us everything you know about Spirit Riddle." Draco, as if out of his body, heard himself speak to Hermione obediantly. "She's got odd, silvery eyes and loves to draw and loves animals. She fences and arches. Rumors say that she has spent time in Azkaban, the Wizarding Prison. She's got an owl, a snowy one, named Cully. I don't and never knew her father or mother. She doesn't speak of them. She says they're dead. She's smart, is the Slytherin Beater on the Slytherin Quidditch Team, and I think she's very attractive in more than one way." Ron and Harry snorted with laughter at the last bit of information, though Hermione looked somewhat satisfied. "Finite Incantetem," she said, Draco suddenly feeling himself hit the ground, his chest aching terribly. "Granger, you idiot, that was my business." He hissed at her, standing up. "Really? It seemed like she's your business," Ron said, he and Harry starting to laugh hysterically again. "Both of you be quiet!" Hermione snapped, and the two hushed immediately. Draco clenched his teeth, "Why do you want to know so much about her?" "Because," said Hermione briskly yet quietly, tucking her wand away, "your girlfriend is the Daughter of the Dark Lord."
~*******************************************************~
Draco laughed dryly as Hermione said this, "Yeah right, Granger, and how would you Gryffindorks know that? And she's not my girlfriend!" "Because, You-Know-Who's real name is Tom Riddle," said Ron, gazing at Draco irritably. "If you switch the letters around in 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' then you get 'I am Lord Vol-'... well..."Hermione paused timidly, "You-Know-Who." "It'll spell out 'I am Lord Voldemort'," Harry finished for her dully. Draco blinked, absorbing this information in. He attempted to rearrange the names in his head but got bored of it within two seconds so dropped the idea. Hermione's voice suddenly drifted back into his thoughts. "... So this is dangerous, we have to tell Dumbledore if he doesn't know already." said Hermione breathlessly, looking at Harry and Ron now. "No, wait." said Draco suddenly, the other three suddenly all looking at him. He felt very listened to, and he felt triumphant that it was them who were listening. He forgot for a moment what he was going to say, "We can't- " But he couldn't finish, for at that exact moment, voices from within the Forbidden Forest uttered 'Stupefy' and all four of them keeled over, stunned.
~*******************************************************~
Harry groaned. He sat up. It occurred to him after a moment that he couldn't move his arms or legs apart (they were somehow tied together), and his glasses weren't on. Something dreadfully cold brushed his hands and he lifted them away from their chilly assassin, attempting to gaze around the dark room that was terribly blurry without his glasses. Someone groaned. "Hello?" Harry said immediately, looking around. "Harry... s'that you?" said Ron's voice from within the darkness. "Yeah, it's me." "I'm here, too," Hermione's voice rang out as well. "Good, we're all here," said Ron's voice again. There was a pause. "Wait, where's Malfoy?" Hermione's voice said again. "Nobody cares about Malfoy, Hermione." Ron said. "Well, we'd just be sinking to his level if we left him here – wherever here is..." "Shut it, Hermione, if he is here and he wakes up we will get no peace." "You two make interesting conversation, Weasley and Granger," Draco's voice drawled out from the nothing around them, "Now, instead of bickering like the idiots you are, does anyone propose to attempt to get out of here? Where ever we are?" There was a pause momentarily before a bit of shuffling. "Ow!" Draco's voice said again, "Come here, Weasley, so I can rip your-" "Now who's the idiot?" Ron cut in bitterly, shuffling away again. Harry heard his companion wiggle beside him, as well as Hermione, because he felt her bushy, brown hair brush the side of his face. It felt like a tangly cat. "Wait," Draco's voice echoed out again, "There's something in my lap. I think I woke up with it there." Hermione burst into a fit of giggles, and Ron snorted with laughter, along with Harry. "Are you saying that you were previously a girl, Malfoy?" Ron said between laughter. "Shut up, Weasley. I mean, there's someone in my lap. It's..." he leaned over in the darkness and squinted to get a better look at what was there, "... a girl." "So... you ARE a girl, and you just gave birth, then?" "Shut up, Wealsey. It's Spirit." Harry, who had been attempting to find his glasses in the blurred darkness, looked up to where he was hearing Draco's voice, "What's she doing here?" "How should I know, Potter? There could be a ton of reasons: she could be dead, or she could be here to torture us, or I could be just too good- looking to resist and I had one too many Mai Tais last night, as well as her, and we got drunk and we ended up-" "Shut up, Malfoy." all three of the others said at once. Draco, however, was smirking. "She's unconscious, but she's breathing." he said, laying his head on her chest to listen for a heartbeat and breathing, which were both active. "Get her off your lap, Malfoy, she's the enemy," said Harry suddenly, pure bitterness in his voice. "Harry! That's-" 'No, Hermione, I don't want anything to do with her. Her father murdered my parents." Harry said briskly. There was a long silence between them, their breathing the only disturbance before Harry suddenly spoke again, "Has anyone seen my glasses?" "Yeah, I have, Potter. I'm wearing them." "Why, Malfoy?" "I though I looked good in them." "Give them back." "Why should I?" "NOW MALFOY!" "Fine." Harry flinched as his glasses suddenly hit him in the head from the left and landed in his lap. He put them on uneasily, his hands still bound together. "Is everyone else tied up and wandless?" Ron suddenly wondered aloud. "Yes," the others replied monotonously, a sudden groan emitting from the darkness. "Hallo," Draco said suddenly. "Why am I in your lap, Malfoy?" Spirit's voice said curiously from a distance. "Because you were so drunk last night you crawled right into my lap, snuggled up to me and we-" "I shouldn't have asked." There was another pause. "You know what, Riddle? That's the second time someone has interrupted when I was trying to say something. May I finish?" Another pause. "Okay, you want to neuter him or should I?" Ron's voice suddenly said. "Shut up, Weas-" The rest of what Draco was going to say was drowned out by the sudden creaking of an opening of a door. A blinding light filled the room. Harry gazed around at the others; Spirit was now sitting about a meter away from Draco, obviously having crawled out of his lap, who was closest to the door; Hermione was sitting to Harry's right, and Ron's left. "Good day, children," a voice, smooth as silk, echoed into the room, which was empty except for the people inside of it. The person's whose voice had spoken was standing in the door, leaning casually against its frame. He was cloaked in black, his hood back revealed his pointed face and silver-blonde hair. "Father?!" said Draco, staring bewildered at the man in the doorway.
~*******************************************************~
"Good to see you know me, Draco." said Lucius Malfoy, walking slowly into the room followed by four other Death Eaters, "Today will be the ceremony in which you will get your Dark Mark, Draco, so I dragged you along with those three." Lucius motioned carelessly towards Ron, Harry and Hermione. "Dark – but I - I don't - !" Draco looked exasperatedly at his father, his usual, emotionless gray eyes wide with bewilderment. "MacNair, please escort my son to the Admissionary Chamber and have the ceremony be prepared immediately." Lucius said sharply, and one of the other cloaked Death Eaters, this one wearing a mask, entered the room and ceased the struggling and cursing Draco, exiting the Chamber without a word. "Now, as for the rest of you..." Lucius gazed at Harry with his hungry eyes, "You will be brought to the Dark Lord when we finish with the worthless Mudblood and the Weasley boy. I can't keep track of how many are in your family, terribly sorry," said Lucius with a cruel smirk at Ron, who was shaking with fury. "And Mistress Riddle, you will be brought to your father with Potter after you come with us to see the newest Death Eater join our midsts," said Lucius to Spirit, who narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" she said furiously, her hands bound together, though she was able to stand up, "You're terrible! I'll never do anything for you, or my father, or any other Death Eaters no matter how-" Lucius just shook his head and sighed, taking out his wand and then aiming it at Spirit, "Imperio." Spirit suddenly looked very blank, eyes empty from emotion or feeling. Harry knew that she had been put under the Imperius Curse, which gave the user control over who ever it was cast upon unless they could shake it off, but Spirit obviously was never taught how. "Now, Mistress Riddle," said Lucius in a sugary, male drawl, "we'll be going to your future husband's Admissionary Ceremony?" Spirit nodded, speaking in a hollow, controlled tone, "Yes." Lucius smirked and beckoned her with his hand, and she obediently stepped foreward, exiting the room and turning down a corridor blankly, as though she knew where she was going but just didn't look it. Lucius Malfoy then looked to the other Death Eaters again, and spoke quietly to them. The three nodded, one following Spirit down the hallway, while the other two watched then turned back to their Leader again. "Got it? Good, be on your ways," said Lucius, watching the other Death Eaters exit the room with their directions. He turned back to Harry, Ron, and Hermione who all had been listening intently yet in silence to the conversations around them. He gave them a cruel grin before exiting the room himself, closing the door behind him.
~*******************************************************~
The trio sat in silence for a long, long time. "I can't believe it," said Ron, the first to speak in about ten minutes, "I really can't believe it." Harry and Hermione looked at him slowly, eyes having gotten used to the cold darkness a while ago. "We're all going to die," said Hermione, who's face suddenly crumpled as she broke into tears. Harry patted her on the shoulder, Ron looking at the ground uneasily. "So... we're in some sort of chamber or dungeon." said Ron quietly, so as not to upset Hermione more, "By the looks of it, Malfoy's going to become a Death Eater and then it looks like You-Know-Who is going to force him to marry Spirit or something." "Yeah," said Harry, still comforting Hermione, "I wonder what they're going to do with you two... we all know my fate." Hermione whimpered, "Th-they're probably g-going to kill m-me and R-Ron too! Y-You-Know-Wh-Who is t-terrible!" She burst into tears again and this time Ron came over to help reassure her as well, both boys sitting on either side of her. "Y-you two are th-the b-best," squeaked Hermione, tears staining her cheeks, "I l-love you b-both a l-lot!" She sniffed and closed her eyes, still crying, and Ron and Harry looked at each other. "I didn't know she could get so emotional," mouthed Ron. "Me neither," Harry mouthed back, looking at her. The three sat in silence again, the only noise in the room being Hermione's continuous sobs.
~*******************************************************~
Draco's breathed deeply as he was pitched into an empty room and sprawled out on the hard, cold floor, his eyes half-closed. His hair had been put out of place, and normally he would have had a fit, but other circumstances were more important at the time, such as his arm's cleanliness being at stake. He gazed around the room. This one was lighted and pure white. Torches clung to the walls, and a few candles floated eerily in a circle around a seemingly clear glass box that contained an emerald-green sword. This sat on a pentagonal-shaped table. Draco stood up, his bindings around his wrists and ankles having been thankfully removed. MacNair had left only moments before and had set up these objects in the center of the Admissionairy Chamber, then left Draco alone in it. He stepped towards the table with the enclosed sword. He reached out to touch the glass. His hand suddenly felt as though knives had been driven through it multiple times and with a yell of pain he jumped back, clasping his other hand around his wrist in agony. I guess they put wards up around it, Draco thought to himself, teeth still clenched with pain from his earlier attempt. The door behind him once more flew open and Spirit walked in through it, stopping about three meters within as a masked Death Eater came up behind her and muttered, 'Finite Incantatem'. Spirit collapsed to the floor and the Death Eater exited the room again, closing the door behind him. Draco watched her for a moment before walking cautiously over to her and hesitantly shaking her by the shoulder in case Voldemort had put wards up around his daughter as well. "Spirit, wake up," he muttered, turning her over onto her back. She was horribly pale against her deep brown locks that were fanned out across the floor, and Draco frowned deeper than he had been before. She opened a liquid-silver eye ever so slightly, and, seeing it was a friend – or, at least not an enemy – gazing at her, she opened the other to assure him of her consciousness before closing them again. "Imperius Curse," she muttered weakly, as if reading his mind as he opened his mouth to ask her what happened, and at this he closed it again, I think they used it on me earlier at Hogwarts, too..." Draco nodded, "That explains why you were weird. I guess they were spying on the school or something." She nodded, "You know what they're going to do to you, right?" she asked, eyes still closed and self still lying on the floor. Draco nodded, "My dad has one." "Of course," she said dryly, rolling up her right arm's sleeve to reveal a black skull on her forearm with a snake protruding out of its mouth like a tongue, "I got mine when I was five. I had no choice." "How long have you lived with... him?' Draco asked rather reluctantly. "I haven't been," she said, sitting up weakly and putting a hand on her forehead, "I lived with him until I was ten, I then ran away and was captured by the Ministry and sent to Azkaban without any questioning or anything. They didn't care, even though I'd never hurt anyone in my life. Well, not on my own will, anyway." Draco nodded, never having had to go to Azkaban himself but had heard what it was like. His father had been in there until recently. "So, I spent three years there for no reason, and one day Dumbledore, you could say, rescued me." She continued. "Why is that?" "Well, he knew about me, and thought that I deserved a second chance. He seems to be big on those. But the Ministry at first was really wary. Remember in the third year when the Dementors came to the school from Azkaban to protect the stundents from Sirius Black?" she asked. "Yeah, why?" "Well, the original reason was because I was there, they wanted to keep an eye on me, see that I didn't cause any trouble. The moment I crossed a line I was going to be thrown back in prison." "Oh." "Sirius Black's escape was merely a coincidence; they were kind of happy he escaped because it give them a reason to post the Azkaban Guards at the school. They weren't about to tell the world that I was going to Hogwarts." Draco looked to the ground, "I'm sorry." "Don't apologize," she said, flipping her hair behind her ears, eyes now open again, "there's no reason for you to be sorry." He nodded automatically and stood up, placing a hand on her shoulder. He for some reason felt he had to look after her, take care of her; he wasn't sure why, he just did. And for once in his life, he didn't feel like hacking someone's head off. Except for his father's, of course.
~*******************************************************~
"Come, Potter," barked a masked Death Eater a while later. Hermione and Ron had been removed from the Chamber a long time before, and Harry was dreadfully worried for their safety. He stood up, wobbling, still tied up. The Death Eater waved his wand and his ankle Bindings were removed, however his arms and wrists and hands were tightly secured behind his back. Harry walked slowly towards the Death Eater, who rose his wand and jabbed it in Harry's direction. "Crucio!" Harry felt an intense pain fly throughout his body. His bones felt as though they were being twisted and snapped, and he hollered out in pain as he crumpled to the floor in agony. "Hurry up," snapped the Death Eater, the pain suddenly ceasing but Harry's body still aching terribly. After much walking, Harry was brought down about six levels of where ever he was being held prisoner and came to a halt deep down into what seemed to be the dungeons. Upon his journey through the corridors Harry had watched every single thing around him, hoping for any sign of escape yet seeing none. His stomach clenched as he gazed around where he had been brought, many disturbing objects hanging from the walls. With a strong shove, Harry was thrust into a cell, landing on a skeleton that had a wizarding cap on and a robe as well as cloak. He hastily moved away from it, huddling himself in a corner and glaring at the Death Eater who had brought him. "You will stay here until the Dark Lord wishes to see you," the Death Eater growled at him, turning and briskly walking away.
~*******************************************************~
"Now, it is time for the Ceremony to begin." Voldemort glared around at all of his Death Eaters, who all bowed down to their master immediately, except Spirit and Draco, who were bound to a wall of the white Admissionairy Chamber. "Today we have the only son of a loyal Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy. Please bring him foreward, Malfoy," said Voldemort in his eerie voice, watching as Lucius released Draco from the wall and dragged his son over. "What is his full name?" "Draco Thomas Malfoy," replied Lucius obediently. "Draco Thomas Malfoy," Voldemort repeated, looking down at the glaring seventeen-year-old, "today is your Death Eater Admission Ceremony and you will be given a Dark Mark by I, Lord Voldemort-"all of the Death Eaters immediately bowed once more, "-and so the Ceremony begins." Lucius thrust Draco at the table. He glared back at his father, his hands bound still behind his back, and he looked at the sword on the table. What was he supposed to do, break it or something? Voldemort walked swiftly to the table, lifting the glass case easily off of the deep green sword. Draco swallowed as the Dark Lord lifted the sword off of the table and roughly took hold of his arm. The last thing Draco saw, was Spirit staring horrified at him and turn away as a sudden, fierce, burning pain struck the skin of his arm so hard he thought he was going faint. Spirit screamed quietly from a distance as the blade of the dagger pierced and dragged along his forearm, the burning so intense that Draco felt blinded by it. He cried out in agony as the white-hot blade finally released itself from his arm, and he fell to his knees on the floor. "So we bring into our midsts a new Death Eater," Draco heard Voldemort saying from what seemed like far, far away, "And his name is Draco Thomas Malfoy."
~*******************************************************~
An hour later, Draco still remained in the Chamber, feeling terribly sick to his stomach. Spirit knelt limply in a corner, still bound to the wall; she hadn't spoken since the Admission, and Draco couldn't blame her. He closed his eyes and thought deeply about what was going to happen to him, and how he never thought that he would be made a Death Eater as his father had been. Of all of the cruel, terrible, horrible things Lucius had done to him, this was the absolute worst.
Looking up slowly, he gazed at where the hexagonal table had been. It had been removed after the Ceremony and Voldemort had left the room right afterward, leaving the Death Eaters to clean up, and Lucius had informed the two that their marriage would be held when the youngest of the two turned eighteen.
"This is all my fault."
Draco jumped as Spirit's voice whimpered quietly from her corner, tears streaming down her face, "All my fault..."
Draco watched her closely, his eyes on the black skull that was now imprinted on his arm. It had been carved into his flesh with the sword and burned in afterward. He swallowed before looking at her again, "No it's not. Don't worry."
She shook her head, "No. I was so stupid not to have paid attention long ago, when we were in our fourth year, and my mark burned. I knew he was back but I couldn't bring myself to believe it. I was so thankful when I was at Hogwarts, I thought everything would be all right. But I was wrong."
She sniffed, looking to the ground airily, "Now we're all going to suffer, and we're going to have to get married, and it's all my fault..."
Draco looked down as well. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
But then the door flew open.
Draco looked at Spirit, who didn't bother to look at the door, but he did.
And he gasped.
"Weasley? Granger?!"
~*******************************************************~
"Shut it, Malfoy you prat!" hissed Hermione as she and Ron suddenly swept into the room, shuffling over to him and Ron raising his brows at the sight of Draco's arm, "They really gave you a Mark?"
Malfoy's eyes narrowed but he didn't bother replying as Ron began to undo his bindings.
Hermione walked to Spirit, who still hadn't looked up.
"Finite Incantetem," she said quietly, and Spirit's bindings disappeared. She looked up at Hermione with watery eyes and smiled weakly, "We have to find Harry. I think I can find him for us."
~*******************************************************~
Harry groaned and looked around his cell warily as a few spiders crawled by. He felt as though he had been sitting there for hours however he was pretty sure it couldn't have been more than 25 minutes.
Wiping the sweat off of his forehead, Harry suddenly bristled as a sharp pain shot through his scar. He could sense someone of Riddle blood coming.
He glanced out through the bars of his prison and kept his gaze locked on the door to the dungeons, waiting. It could have been Spirit – that terrible girl who's father had killed his parents. Or, it could just have been Voldemort himself. He waited intently, heart beating hard against his chest as the door suddenly swung open.
As if a dagger had gone through his forehead, agonizing pain shot throughout his scar as Voldemort stepped through the door, smirking cunningly, followed by all of his full-grown Death Eaters.
"Hello, Harry..." he hissed at him, red eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he saw his prisoner crumple in pain, 'It's so nice to see you. Crucio," he said effortlessly, the same bone-snapping pain seering through Harry's body as the curse was cast.
Precious moments were wasted as Harry was released from the spell, breathing heavily and shakily. He looked away from Voldemort, not wanting to see the satisfaction on the Dark Lord's face.
"I'm going to kill you, Harry," said Voldemort in cold glee, "and I want you to let me know if there's anything you think you can do about it."
Harry glared at Voldemort coldly, thinking hard. There has to be, he thought to himself, there just has to...
"Your time is up. Do you have any last words, Harry Potter?" Voldemort spat at him, smirking.
"Yeah," said Harry, suddenly grinning, "You're toast."
"STUPEFY!"
"IMPEDIMENTA!"
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"
"OBLIVIATE!"
Ron, Hermione, Draco and Spirit all hollered at once, more than three- quarters of the Death Eaters keeling over in unconsciousness as the spells were cast at the same time.
Voldemort whirled around, glaring at the four with his fierce red eyes. Ron almost whimpered but with a kick from Hermione, stood tall.
"Where did you fools come from?" he hissed at them. Their spells had rebounded off of his cloak, which was seemingly warded.
"We're not the fools, your Death Eaters are! EXPELLIARMUS!" said Ron hastily, wand pointed directly at Voldemort. This had no effect whatsoever.
"I do not even need a wand," said Voldemort sharply, "to drive you all mad. CRUCIO!" Harry watched as Ron crumpled to the floor, yelling in pain. This was too much. It was obviously too much for Spirit, too, "CRUCIO!" she screamed back, the spell hitting her father hard, sending him back a few feet, however he remained standing. "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Hermione yelled, though once more, the spell rebounded, though the Dark Lord's curse subsided. Spirit fell to her knees, breathing deeply, Harry watching her closely. Ron was near tears on the floor, breathing even more sharp than she was. "Thanks," he whispered hoarsly, eyes closed. Spirit crawled slowly over to Harry's cell, holding up her wand and aiming it at the door, "Alohomora." The door swung open and Harry ran out and over to Ron and Hermione. Hermione squealed as she saw Harry and couldn't help but kiss him and Ron two times each. Voldemort snarled, standing up and pointing his wand directly at Spirit, 'You foolish girl... you'll pay for your disobedience. CRUCIO!' Spirit fell to the floor by the cell, though refused to scream. She gritted her teeth, entire body shaking with pain, but she kept her voice. Draco watched, wide-eyed. He had to do something. Anything – anything to help her. But he didn't need to. He watched in bewilderment as Voldemort stopped suddenly, and looked at Harry, leaving Spirit on the floor, suffering. "Expelliarmus," Voldemort said hastily, retrieving all of their wands as they flew to his abnormally long, paper-white fingers. "Potter... Potter, Potter, Potter..." said the Dark Lord with a terrible smirk, red eyes locked onto Harry's. Harry crumpled slightly as a white-hot burning stirred within his scar, pulsating in his forehead. "I want you to know that now you die. Avada-" "NO!" Spirit's voice screamed from her corner. At that moment the door swung open and the aged Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, hurried into the room as well as about one hundred wizards from the Ministry of Magic and a majority of Hogwarts' teachers. Draco, gazing at the Headmaster as he came in, went to staring at Voldemort. Ministry Wizards immediately began to pour in aswell. The Death Eaters were all momentarily frozen, however just briefly, as after two seconds, they began throwing spells, curses, all at everyone at the same time. All hell had broken loose. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco all leapt into action – or at least tried to. No sooner had they shot a few spells had Harry and Hermione been knocked out by Stunning Spells. Spirit was already being rushed away by two hit wizards. Draco was out cold, having been hit with an odd curse from the Death Eaters' side, and Ron being stunned soon afterward. "Tom," said Dumbledore quietly, walking towards the Dark Lord at a cautious yet smooth – as smooth as and old man be – pace. "stop this nonsense, come with us peacefully. You-" But Voldemort wasn't listening. A surprising, crooked grin plastered itself on his sunken face, scarred, pale. Dumbledore himself had paused mid-step. The rest of the room's conscious inhabitants had as well turned to look, observe the odd seen. "I will go, Dumbledore," said Tom Marvolo Riddle with a hint of dry, dark laughter. Insane laughter. He began to break down in it, falling on his knees, giving the Ministry Aurors time to take him away as he continued to laugh, laugh laugh...
~*******************************************************~
Dumbledore looked to each of the five young, sixteen-year-old, tired, beaten, used faces before him, two female, three male. They had just finished explaining; Dumbledore had asked them to. The five had nodded and started with Spirit as she told her story, continuing to their other years at Hogwarts and Draco told of how he thought Spirit was acting strange. Ron, Harry and Hermione followed by telling them how they figured out who Spirit was all the way to where they were now. They spoke and spoke, telling everyone their own sides for a near two hours. "Ron, Hermione," said Spirit suddenly after the last bit of information was told, "How did you find us, anyway?" The two looked at each other and grinned slightly, "Well, when we were being escorted to our deaths, our leader just happened to be Wormtail." Ron started. "Yes," said Hermione with a nod, "so when he took out his wand to bind us, I snatched it and stunned him. We then went in search for Draco or Spirit or Harry, and came across Draco and Spirit first. And then Spirit led us to Harry."
~*******************************************************~
A week later, most everything was back to normal - as far as normal could go in the Wizarding World, anyway. Voldemort was sent to Azkaban to be given the Dementors' Kiss and Hogwarts continued to stay open, the five heroes arriving back four weeks before the Summer Holidays. "I wonder if we'll see anymore reporters," Ron thought aloud to Harry and Hermione as they exited their Transfiguration Class, again being tortured with continuous study for their NEWTs. "I don't know, Ron, the... the thing happened a month ago, I think they'll be done with us by now," Hermione said, readjusting her bookbag over her shoulder. "Harry! Ron! Hermione!" The three looked up to see Spirit sprinting down the corridor towards them, skidding to a halt infront of them. "Guess what?" she asked breathlessly, looking at the three with a smile. "What?" they all said in unision. "I'm staying at Draco's house over the summer. His mother offered for me to stay there... Draco's father's in Azkaban, though." She said with a slight shiver at the thought of the wizarding prison. "That's wonderful! But... be careful around Draco, okay?" Hermione said, smiling weakly, "None of us are sure about his 'threats' yet from when we were in the Riddle House... he might be just as dirty as he claims to be." Spirit laughed, nodding, "Don't worry, Hermione, I'll lock my door when I'm sleeping. I'll talk to you all later." "G'bye," they said at the same time as she ran off down the hall again.
Harassssieth... narassariasss...
Harry suddenly jumped and winced, and Ron and Hermione turned to look at him. "You alright, Harry?" asked Ron, who was still grinning from before. Harry looked at them, no sign of expression on his face. "Voldemort just spoke to me in parseltongue. He said he'd be back," said Harry, Ron and Hermione looking at each other in shock. "Kidding!" said Harry with a grin, and the three walked off down the hall laughing. But deep, deep down under the school, a figure stood it his Chamber, the Chamber of Secrets, where thousands of years ago he had first allowed his precious Basilisk to roam. The person smiled; a terrible smile that only one of sheer evil could muster. "You have failed me, my Heir, Tom Riddle..." he said in a raspy voice, "But perhaps your's may be of some use..."
.+. End .+.
.+. Catch the Sequel to this fan fiction in the future – be sure to check in. .+.
Written by Jillian Vandermark
All original Harry Potter characters ©J.K. Rowling
Plot, Story Design, and other characters ©Jillian
Vandermark, 2003
The thunder crashed and screamed in the black British skies, lightning piercing the stormy air. A castle towered over rolling grounds of deep green grass, each blade of which was silhouetted silver in the flashes of bright fluorescent lightning. A deep, dark forest bound itself to the north, a lake farther to the south, both thrashing violently in the strong, thundering winds.
High up in a seventh floor window of the castle, however, a boy leaned on the sill from within his dormitory. He brushed a hand back through his jet-black hair, using his index finger to push his near- perfectly-circular glasses up his slim nose before running it over the lightning bolt-shaped scar upon his forehead. This was a souvenir of his encounter with Lord Voldemort, the most feared Dark Wizard of all time, who had attempted to murder this boy when he was merely a year old with a terrible curse, which gave him the scar and killed his parents. His bottle-green eyes flashed with the glowing lightning as it was soon followed by another groan of thunder. The boy's name, of course, was Harry Potter, a wizard attending the school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The sixteen-year-old Gryffindor was spending his sixth year at Hogwarts and his second last. There were seven years to his time at the school and four houses which one could be sorted into: Gryffindor, for the brave, Ravenclaw, for the intellectual, Hufflepuff, for the kind and compassionate, and Slytherin, for those of cunning and sinister personalities. Having been awakened by the thunder storm outside, Harry bid his time watching the lightning crash down upon the opposing side of the lake within the small wizarding town of Hogsmeade, the only purely magical town in London.
Harry's side table clock read 5:04 AM, which he was saddened by for it was still more than three hours until breakfast which he was longing for. The thought of sneaking into the school kitchen crossed his mind, however he didn't want to risk getting caught by the caretaker, Filch, or his dastardly red-eyed tabby cat, Mrs Norris, both of whom stalked the corridors of the castle day and night for any students misbehaving. Harry could have used his invisibility cloak inherited by him from his father as well, of course, but laziness overwhelmed him as more ideas and thoughts coursed his mind.
A tap on his shoulder caused him to jump up and whirl around to see a familiar, red headed and terribly freckled boy yawning and stretching behind him. He sighed and de-tensed, giving his best friend Ron Weasley a tired grin.
"Hey, Ron," he said, stretching for a moment himself, "the thunder wake you up, too?"
"Yep," Ron replied, failing to stifle a yawn, "and Pig won't shut up." he added, motioning to a cage in the corner by his four-poster bed where a little owl was whizzing about within it.
Harry laughed quietly so as not to wake their three other dorm mates, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom. "He's probably just excited about the storm. I wonder how Hagrid is doing down there."
The two gazed out the window and down towards a hut near the forbidden forest where the school gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, lived. He was a good friend of the boys. He was a half-giant yet had a jolly soul regardless of his slightly low intellect and love for dangerous creatures.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he was looking for a Stormgrass. I thought I saw a bunch of the buggers out there just a few minutes ago," replied Ron after a long silence, both of them now admiring the glow of the lightning.
Harry laughed again. Stormgrasses were creatures that resembled a fox, they're underbellies and paws a dirt-brown and back fur as well as tail a radiant emerald-green that glowed in the lightning. They roared excruciatingly loud and had sharp teeth and claws – Hagrid's favourite type of creature.
~*******************************************************~
It was a near three hours before the storm passed, leaving the grounds and castle soaked in mud and rain. Harry and Ron remained in the Great Hall for a while seeing as how it was a Saturday. They met up with the third friend of their trio, Hermione Granger, the smartest girl in their entire school. The three chatted until nearly eleven when they began to head to the Gryffindor Common Room, though stopped briefly in the hall as they caught sight of a Slytherin boy named Draco Malfoy.
Harry glowered. Draco Malfoy was his arch nemesis and enemy, a snotty boy, the same age as himself, coming from a long stretch of pure-blooded, platinum-blonde wizarding family who all were as rich and snotty as Draco was.
This time, however, the Slytherin's attention was not on insulting and pestering Harry. This time, it was a girl he was bugging, surprisingly she being one of his own House. Ron looked at Harry and Hermione, both who met his gaze. The girl walked past the trio, followed by the bleach-blonde and his fan club of Slytherin girls. The girl whom was being harassed looked far from irritated as she rounded the corner, long, bronze, waist- length hair fanning out behind her as she strode continuously along the corridor. Malfoy looked rather annoyed by her unnerved composure, but as his feminine fans pushed him on, he continued after her steadily, spitting more insults at her for no apparent reason.
Once more, the trio looked at eachother, Hermione the first to speak.
"I've never seen her before," she said slowly, walking with the two boys once more, their destination still the common room.
"Me either," Harry said watching after them, Ron looking towards the ceiling in thought.
"I've seen her before, I think she came in our third year, I'm not sure. Malfoy seems to love to bother her though, I've seen him badger her around with his friends before out on the grounds." Ron stated, looking up at the Gryffindor Common Room Portrait.
"Bulgardash," Hermione muttered the Gryffindor password as they reached it, the painting swinging open and revealing the common room, which was encrusted with the Gryffindor colours, crimson and gold.
"What do you think is so bad about her?" asked Harry, flopping onto a cushiony red couch and stretching out.
"Nothing. Malfoy's just probably being his idiotic self, trying to get everyone's attention through insult," Hermione said, sitting neatly in an armchair and fiddling with her bushy brown locks, "I find Malfoy quite stupid. He says things for absolutely no reason. Maybe if he smartened up he'd actually have friends."
"Wouldn't count on it," muttered Ron under his breath, followed by Harry who laughed dryly.
"Well, we can always hope," said Hermione, taking out a few books.
"A happy, friendly, bubbly Malfoy?" said Harry with a slight yawn, "Hermione, I shudder at the thought.
~*******************************************************~
Meanwhile, Draco followed his prey to the library where she took a seat, removing a book on dragons from her book bag and setting it neatly on the table before her.
"A bookworm as well, aren't we?" sneered Malfoy, circling around her as she read over her book, "Why don't you go and hang out with the dirty little Mudblood Granger?"
The girl rolled her eyes, "Why don't you go hang out with Hagrid's dog's feces?" she questioned smartly, looking back to her book.
He glared at her. He had no clue what this meant, of course, but was pretty sure it meant something bad. He'd look it up in the dictionary later.
"Can't you come up with anything better than that?" he spat, circling her again, "Spirit, honestly, you're ridiculous. You have no life. You're a loser, Spirit."
"Not as much of one as you," she picked up her book and bag, standing up again and heading for the exit from the library.
He narrowed his eyes, "Take that back."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because," she said steadily, re-adjusting her shoulder bag, "it's only true, and you started it."
She gave him an expressionless look before disappearing out of the library. Draco grit his teeth as she left, clenching his hands into fists with fury. She was right.
~*******************************************************~
He opened his eyes.
A cruel smile creased along his paper-white face as he gazed around at his minions, his followers, at his servants...
He would get them. He would get them both. His search for his daughter had continued since her escape at the age of ten and his search for Harry Potter anguished him, increasing his anxiety even more. He was not weak. Foolish children would not undermine him. So many plans he had for these two... he would kill them both if needed. How dare they defy his authority, his power, his rule. He wrinkled his nose, that nearly wasn't a nose, only two slits for nostrils, his blood-red eyes gleaming in the light of the campfire, which he and his followers stood around. They both would be caught. They both would suffer.
After all, he was Lord Voldemort.
~*******************************************************~
Harry stifled his laughter as Professor Severus Snape, the greasy Potions Master, tested Draco's Polonizing Potion a few days later on a daffodil that immediately burst into flames.
As usual, Snape brushed off the mistake, being the Head of the Slytherin house and treasuring his group of Slytherin students.
"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy, for showing us a Plant Combustioning Potion" said Snape, stalking amongst the students.
"He just made that up," Hermione hissed in Ron's ear. He turned to face her.
"No kidding," he whispered to her with a slight roll of the eyes. He then turned back to the front of the dungeons where Snape was now standing.
"I will test the rest of your potions now. Mr Malfoy and the other Slytherins have been permitted to make Plant Combustioning Potions, however the rest of you," he glared at the Gryffindors, "will fail if you have not been able to make a simple Polonizing Potion."
Ron sighed, gazing down into his cauldron that was bubbling a steady lime-green.
"I wonder if this is right," he said dully, turning to Harry and Hermione, "It seems to be rather thick."
"It's fine, Ron," said Hermione, sitting back in her chair, having been finished long before the two boys, "I helped you make it, didn't I?"
Harry laughed quietly, gazing over at where Neville was sitting, Snape testing his potion on a rose. The plant immediately jumped up and began to make horrible screechy noises, despite the fact it was a rose. Harry raised his brows slightly before looking away again and waiting for his turn to come. He took a few moments to gaze around the room, eyes setting on the girl he had seen Malfoy bothering on the weekend. She was almost skinnier than he was, which was rather thin, but this he didn't take too much notice of; her eyes were what caught his attention. They seemed to almost be liquid, swirling into molten silver irises. A sharp pain ran through his forehead as he looked into them, so he turned away, allowing his focus to wander to the window.
He straightened up immediately.
There, staring in at him, was a horrible-looking face, one pale as snow, two red eyes glaring at him.
He shook his head rapidly, blinking and looking at the window again. There was nothing there.
"You okay Harry?" questioned Ron, gazing at him in concern. He had had moments like this before.
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Harry, his attention brought abruptly to Snape as he questioned Harry why his potion was neon-pink.
~*******************************************************~
"You're the only other person besides Granger who got it right. How did you do it, for goodness sake?"
Draco stalked down the corridor once more trailing behind Spirit after Potions class as the Slytherins headed to their common room.
"It's simple. I read the directions and was careful, unlike you, who dumped all of your ingredients in at once." she replied, fixing her book bag on her shoulder, "I don't see how it can be so hard for someone to read, it's very easy."
"I know how to read," he snapped, muttering the password for the Slytherin Common Room ("Snakeskin!") and stepping in through the stone sliding door.
"I've heard that often," she replied dryly, entering the green and silver common room after him and seating herself in an emerald leather chair, kicking of her shoes.
"Oh shut up," Draco muttered, flopping onto a silver couch, "I know just as much as you do. I bet you can't fence or arch."
"As a matter-of-fact, I can, and quite well, too," she said, pulling a sketchbook out of her bag as well as a raven-feather quill to doodle with.
"You couldn't possibly know how to draw, too?" he said, peering at her drawings of dragons, phoenixes, students and teachers.
"Do you think me some sort of idiot, because I'm certainly getting that impression. Do the world a favour and go wash your hair. I'm feeling nauseous just looking at all of that gel," she said, gazing at his slicked- back bleach-blonde hair.
He sneered, "I personally think it's quite fine the way it is. And, as for thinking you're an idiot. I happen to think you think the same of me."
"Genius!" she said with a slight smirk, sketching away at a picture of her snowy owl that was speckled in black all over, Cully, who was perched at the other side of the room.
Draco had had enough. He stood up with a dark glare back at her before exiting the common room and storming up to the boys' dormitories.
Spirit smirked, thinking of his departure as she gazed towards a window. She stood up and wandered towards it, thrust it open, and gasped as she was suddenly pulled through it.
Cully flew to the window and peered out of it, being a rather intelligent bird. Seeing nothing, he proceeded to fly towards the boys' dorms.
~*******************************************************~
"Get away from me you stupid bird," Draco muttered, swatting at the snowy owl which had swooped into his dormitory only moments ago, "and quit trying to clip my ear off!"
Cully fluttered about the room a few times before landing by Draco again, who was laying face-down on his bed with his hands behind his neck, his slim, seventeen-year-old frame draped in the Slytherin school uniform. It consisted of pitch-black robes (his were satin, his ever-rich father only buying him the best quality of clothing,) rimmed with the emerald- green of the Slytherin house, his shirt and socks gray, his tie silver and green. He sighed and sat up on his knees, flipping his tie dully and gazing at the owl perched beside him once more, who was clicking his beak in attempt to receive notice.
"For goodness sakes, what do you want? I don't have any food!" he snarled at the bird, swatting at him again.
Cully hooted angrily, flapping his wings rapidly and causing an up- wind, blowing the sheets off of Draco's neatly made bed. Draco grit his teeth and lunged at the owl without hesitation, hitting the ground hard as Cully dove out of the way.
Frustrated, Draco rose from the green-carpeted floor and ran after the bird all the way down to the common room. He would hack at Spirit good for sicking her bird on him. He gazed around the empty room and halted abruptly as he looked at the open window.
Her shoes, which she had kicked off earlier, remained on the carpet in front of the couch where she was seated on. Her drawing utensils remained on the table, except for her quill, which had been blown off by the wind from the open window, and now lay settled on the floor. Her book bag sat neatly on the couch where she had placed it, still unzipped and open for anyone to gaze inside of it. Her book on dragons also sat open on the table beside her sketchbook.
Draco gazed around, eyes setting upon Cully who was perched on the window now, watching Draco closely. He watched the bird for a long time, arms folded across his chest in deep, deep thought.
Draco asked himself the question that many would in such a situation: "Where did she go?"
~******************************************************~
Harry sighed.
Hermione sighed.
Ron gagged. The large amount of chocolate his mother had sent him for his birthday had been eaten quickly. Too quickly for Ron's own good.
Harry gave his best friend a hard knock on the back, Hermione dodging the slimy ball of chocolate with a disgusted squeal as it landed on the carpet of the Gryffindor Common Room with a solemn plop.
"Ugh, Ron, that's disgusting!" she exclaimed, inching away from the ball of brown and saliva.
Harry laughed, pulling out his wand and aiming it at the ball of gunky chocolate, "Incendio!"
The goo immediately burst into flames, incinerating on the spot.
Ron wheezed, doubled over for breath and gazing at his chocolate, which was now a pile of charcoal.
"Har-ry! I was going to eat that, you know!" he gasped, flopping onto a couch and coughing a few times before speaking again, "I could have gotten it down!"
"Whatever," said Harry, still laughing out loud at the look of fluster on Ron's face.
"Ron, honestly, you were as pink as a peach!" Hermione hissed, stalking up to him abruptly, still shaken by the ball of chocolate.
"Hermione, first of all, peaches are peach. Secondly, I really could have downed it if Harry hadn't himelicked me!" Ron shot back.
"Ron, if I hadn't of knocked you you would've suffocated in your own food." Harry said after a moment, suddenly bursting out into more hard laughter.
Hermione couldn't help but laugh as well, and soon all three of them were.
"Aw, we have Divination next," groaned Ron as he gazed at the large clock above the mantle of the fireplace after their laughter had subsided.
"Have fun," said Hermione with a grin. She had dropped the Divination subject and took Arithmancy instead.
"Oh, we will," said Harry in heavily sarcastic tones.
~*******************************************************~
The strong smell of dust and blood misted the heavy air as Spirit sat up, blinking tiredly in the dark midsts of where she was currently in place. Her head ached terribly, last thoughts only a semi-blur in her mind: annoying Draco Malfoy, falling out the window somehow.
She stood up and tried to walk, tripping over. She looked to find a special binding around her ankles and wrists, it was called the No-Feel Binding Curse. It was basic Dark Magic, and she only just knew how to conjure it herself, even if she didn't and never ever would use it.
Gazing around into the musty darkness surrounding her she shuddered, eyes adjusting to the blackness and gleaming cuffs visibly hanging from the walls as well as axes, cloaks, and masks. She instinctively knew that she was in some sort of chamber, a dungeon, no doubt, she was pretty sure. Stubby nails poked out of the sides of what seemed to be a human-sized suitcase, it's inner weaponry stained with gruesome, bronze blood and a skeleton mangled between the hundred nails on the left side of it. This sight sent a cold, sick, worrisome feeling down her spine. Was this the fate she would face in the dreadful chamber? Being pierced by spears within a threatening suitcase?
Light suddenly screamed into the darkness as a door nearer to the end of the chamber swung open, several beings cloaked in a deep black satin material sweeping solemnly into a room, a taller one towering slightly over the rest.
"Hello..." a rasped voice drawled within the midsts of a the cloak's hood, "it's good to see you again, Spirit..."
Spirit trembled slightly at the sound of the voice. She knew it too well. It was terrifying. It was sinister. It was repulsive. It was her father's.
"What do you want?" she asked, fear like none she had never felt before clenching within her stomach.
A devilish, cruel smirk stretched across his face. He sensed his daughter's terror continue to grow.
"I want you," he said slowly, lowering his hood and revealing his terrible red eyes and revoltingly pale face, "to help me..."
~*******************************************************~
"It is wonderful to see you, class," said Professor Trelawney, the Divination teacher, in her misty and magical tones, "Today we will do some review for study of your NEWTs next year."
Harry sighed, bored already, and took out his Divination books. NEWTs stood for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, which he, Ron, and Hermione would be receiving the following year. The students in their last year of Hogwarts always received them. The purpose of scoring well was to ensure mainly to get a good job in the future.
"Would you all please take out a pack of tea leaves and get yourselves a cup from the cabinet over there. Thank you," she said, gazing at the students through her gigantic glasses that caused her eyes to look ten times larger. She arranged the shawls on her shoulders and then spoke again, "You all know the procedure to read the tea-leaves; I will be coming around to help if necessary."
Harry and Ron sighed in unison and collected what they needed to study with. After drinking their tea and draining the leaves, they gazed into each other's cup.
Ron was first to look within the leaves inside of Harry's cup.
"It looks like a thistle," he said to his best friend monotonously.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Harry, gazing into Ron's cup.
"It means..." Ron gazed into his book, "...that you will have to cry very soon."
"Cry very soon?"
"Yeah. Maybe Malfoy'll join our house or something; that'll be something to cry about," said Ron, snickering along with Harry.
"Okay, now to your cup." said Harry, twirling it around, "It looks like a... a Grim!" gasped Harry jokingly and laughed. A Grim was a great black dog, supposedly a Death Omen.
"Oh no! Maybe Malfoy is going to join our House!" Ron said with fake exasperation, laughing. Harry didn't laugh at all. He was staring out the window, ashen-faced. Ron's grin faded and he followed Harry's gaze, choking on his own breath as he watched a series of cloaked figures walk neatly up to the castle, a girl leading them. The two pressed themselves to see exactly what was going on; the Divination Tower was extremely high up, way up in the high tower of the castle. Ron gasped as the cloaked figures suddenly vanished, leaving the girl there. She turned and walked towards the castle. "Ron..." said Harry after a long time, still watching where the cloaked figures had been, "Wasn't that the girl we saw earlier in the week with Malfoy?"
~*******************************************************~
Draco gave Cully a reproachful look before walking towards the common room door. He drew it open and walked out into the dungeon corridors, gazing up and down them. Why was he looking for her? Why was he looking for that annoying git of a girl that had so willingly insulted him? He sighed and began to walk down the hall, gazing around for any sign of haunting silver eyes peering out at him, or a flick of long, bronze hair. He jumped abruptly as something touched his shoulder, and looked to see a hand. He whirled around. "Spirit! Where were you?" he asked exasperatedly, eyeing the girl before him. "In the washroom; why would you care?" she snapped, brushing past him. He blinked after her. Why did he ask that? He didn't care about her safety. He sighed. "Where're you going?" She turned abruptly, "To do my work." "Why?" "Because it's work; duh." He grit his teeth, "Would you stop giving me lip already? What have I done to you?" He paused. "Don't answer that." She rolled her eyes and turned around again. Draco watched her closely. Something was different; she was too snappy, not quiet enough. And she seemed different, too. Since when did she tie her hair back? "Where were you really?" he asked suddenly, watching her turn irritably around again. "I was where I said I was! Now leave me alone!" She stormed into the common room. He watched, bewildered, as she kicked her owl out, yelling viciously at him. Very un-Spiritish.
~*******************************************************~
Ron and Harry hurried from the Divination classroom to meet up with Hermione in the Great Hall for lunch to tell her about what they had seen. "She was with cloaked people? Did they look like Dementors?" Hermione asked, watching them apprehensively. "I don't think so," said Harry, who was completely ignoring the lunch before him, "They had feet so I doubt it." Ron nodded, his mouth full of Yorkshire Pudding. "I fink day kood haff jhusht been fwendsh or shumfing," he said, bits of the pudding spraying all over Harry and Hermione. "Ron!" they both groaned, looking down at themselves. "Showwfy." "I don't think that anyone's friends wouldn't let them see their faces,' said Harry, looking at his grilled-cheese sandwich thoughtfully. Hermione looked down, obviously in thought as well. "Harry..." she said quietly, "You know... what if it was..." She looked at them nervously. Ron swallowed with a gulp, looking at Hermione dully. "Hermione, You-Know-Who is scared of Dumbledore. He wouldn't step a centimeter onto the Hogwarts Grounds unless he had a really good reason," said Ron, followed by Harry, who nodded in agreement. "Ron's right, Hermione, I don't think Voldemort-"Ron winced "-or the Death Eaters would come to Hogwarts. Not now," said Harry, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. Hermione looked worried, "Still..." "Don't worry," Harry and Ron chorused. She nodded and sighed, looking down in deep, deep thought.
~*******************************************************~
"Really, what is wrong with you? You've been barking at me all day even when I haven't talked to you and you're abusing animals! It's annoying! " Draco hissed at Spirit, who was sitting back on the couch. "There is nothing wrong with me, Draco," she said, scribbling away on a piece of parchment. "There! Another thing! Since when do you call me Draco?" "Since I wanted to." Draco bit his inner-cheek furiously. He was going to keep a close eye on her. "What did you call me when we were in the library the other day?" he asked suddenly, giving her a trivia. "How should I remember? That was last week." "Which girl did I last go out with?" "I don't know." "What's my middle name?" "Thomas." "How did you know?! For goodness sakes!" he stood over her, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt, "Who are you?" She narrowed her liquid-silver eyes, "Go away." "I said, who are you?" "Spirit Ashlington Demetra Riddle."
Riddle. That somewhat sounded familiar. He clenched and unclenched his teeth as he stared into her eyes, which didn't seem like eyes; they looked empty, hopeless, dead.
"You're lying," he let go and let her fall to a clump on the floor.
"How would you know?" she hissed, picking herself up, a whole five inches shorter than him, as usual.
"Because..." he started. How did he know? Why did he care? "Because you're just not."
She rolled her eyes, "Excellent proof."
Draco gazed down at her, his gray eyes narrowed. He turned around and walked clean out of the common room. He was going to see someone he thought he'd never end up seeing for 'friendly' conversation.
~*******************************************************~
"What do you want, Malfoy?" asked Hermione irritably as Draco approached the trio while they sat out near the lake later in the afternoon.
"Yeah, where's your protective gear? Did they finally realize you were a total prat?" asked Ron, referring to Draco's two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, who normally followed him everywhere.
"Besides, they got kicked out for receiving zero OWLs, now shut up, Weasley. Potter, you come here, I want to talk to you."
Harry, Ron and Hermione rose their brows all at the same time. Draco wondered how they did it all at once.
"Don't go with him, Harry, he probably wants to curse you or something," said Hermione, gazing untrustfully at Draco.
"No I don't. It's about – someone," he said, tempted to curse Hermione instead.
Harry glanced at his friends, still a bit unsure, before rising from where he sat beside Ron, "Fine."
Draco nodded, and walked off a distance towards the Forbidden Forest before turning to face Harry.
"Potter, have you noticed anything odd lately?" he asked, "Because I have."
Harry quirked a brow, "I thought you said it was about someone."
"Shut up and answer me."
"Yes, I have. Why?"
Draco watched his arch enemy closely, "What have you seen?"
"That girl you bother constantly instead of me. Bless her," he added, prodding his glasses up his nose for a moment with an index finger.
You hit home, Potter, Draco thought briefly. "Yeah? What was she doing? Where was she?"
"If you're going to beat up on her or something, Malfoy, I'm not-"
"POTTER! Stay on topic! What was she doing?"
"She was wandering with a bunch of hooded people. What's her name, anyway?"
"Good. Spirit Riddle, and now tell me-"
"Spirit WHAT?" Harry practically yelled at his nemisis, staring at Draco with an expression of utmost shock and terror on his face. Draco arched his blonde eyebrows in surprise, "Spirit Riddle. Spirit Ashlington Demetra Riddle." Harry gawked at Malfoy. Impossible, he thought to himself. Without even giving Draco a second thought, he turned around and sprinted towards Ron and Hermione.
~*******************************************************~
"So what, her last name is Riddle," said Hermione, gazing at Harry as he told the two. "Shoot, Hermione, we didn't tell you, did we?" said Ron, who's face was paler then ever, "Remember our second year when you were petrified and Harry was in the Chamber of Secrets? Well, Tom Marvolo Riddle was there." Hermione quirked a brow, "Tom Marvolo Riddle? Shouldn't he be dead by now? I mean, we saw his name on that trophy in second year and-" "No," said Harry quickly, "Hermione, Tom Riddle is Lord Voldemort!" Ron winced again, "For goodness sakes, Harry! Would you quit saying his name?!" Ron hissed. "Get used to it." said Harry absently, looking at Hermione who now had a brand new expression on her face, his own uneasy. "And anyway, if you switch around the letters in 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' it spells out 'I am Lord Voldemort'," Harry continued, "This also explains why my scar prickled when I was watching her in potions..." "And when we saw her with those cloaked figures on the Grounds in Divination, Harry!" said Ron, looking panicked, "Maybe she's leading Death Eaters onto the grounds!" "Oh, Harry, Ron," she said exasperatedly, looking horror-stricken, "That Spirit girl... is the Dark Lord's..." She didn't finish as she gazed at Harry, who's gaze was cast to the ground. "Her dad killed my parents."
~*******************************************************~
Meanwhile, Draco stood irritably at a distance, watching Harry, Ron and Hermione's facial expressions take wild turns, their mouths moving animatedly as they spoke. Why did Harry run off like that? He blinked as suddenly the three lifted themselves from the ground and sprinted towards him, Ron grabbing Draco by the collar, "Give us as much information about Spirit as you can." Draco rose his brows, "I highly doubt she'll go out with you, Weasley, she's rather peckish and-" "SHUT UP!" the three of them shouted at once, breaking him off instantly. "Malfoy," Harry said, glowering at Draco steadily, "Tell us about her." Draco snorted, "And why should I do that for you?" "Because," Hermione suddenly piped up, her wand now out and pointing at Draco, "if you don't, I'll use the Veritaserum Spell on you. All of your deepest secrets will pour from your lips and you'll get to watch it all." Draco clenched his teeth, absolutely glaring at her. "She's a Slytherin and she's got an attitute. That's all I'm saying," he said, pushing Ron's hands away from his shirt collar and straightening it, about to open his mouth and begin to slur about Ron's family when he heard Hermione utter an incantation. "Veratis!" she said, pointing her wand at him. Draco suddenly felt as though he had been torn open and exposed to the entire world, his very heart showing to everyone. He grit his teeth and groaned, it feeling painful. The Veritaserum Spell. "Now, Malfoy," said Hermione, taking over the spot where Harry and Ron had been standing and gazing sternly at him, "Tell us everything you know about Spirit Riddle." Draco, as if out of his body, heard himself speak to Hermione obediantly. "She's got odd, silvery eyes and loves to draw and loves animals. She fences and arches. Rumors say that she has spent time in Azkaban, the Wizarding Prison. She's got an owl, a snowy one, named Cully. I don't and never knew her father or mother. She doesn't speak of them. She says they're dead. She's smart, is the Slytherin Beater on the Slytherin Quidditch Team, and I think she's very attractive in more than one way." Ron and Harry snorted with laughter at the last bit of information, though Hermione looked somewhat satisfied. "Finite Incantetem," she said, Draco suddenly feeling himself hit the ground, his chest aching terribly. "Granger, you idiot, that was my business." He hissed at her, standing up. "Really? It seemed like she's your business," Ron said, he and Harry starting to laugh hysterically again. "Both of you be quiet!" Hermione snapped, and the two hushed immediately. Draco clenched his teeth, "Why do you want to know so much about her?" "Because," said Hermione briskly yet quietly, tucking her wand away, "your girlfriend is the Daughter of the Dark Lord."
~*******************************************************~
Draco laughed dryly as Hermione said this, "Yeah right, Granger, and how would you Gryffindorks know that? And she's not my girlfriend!" "Because, You-Know-Who's real name is Tom Riddle," said Ron, gazing at Draco irritably. "If you switch the letters around in 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' then you get 'I am Lord Vol-'... well..."Hermione paused timidly, "You-Know-Who." "It'll spell out 'I am Lord Voldemort'," Harry finished for her dully. Draco blinked, absorbing this information in. He attempted to rearrange the names in his head but got bored of it within two seconds so dropped the idea. Hermione's voice suddenly drifted back into his thoughts. "... So this is dangerous, we have to tell Dumbledore if he doesn't know already." said Hermione breathlessly, looking at Harry and Ron now. "No, wait." said Draco suddenly, the other three suddenly all looking at him. He felt very listened to, and he felt triumphant that it was them who were listening. He forgot for a moment what he was going to say, "We can't- " But he couldn't finish, for at that exact moment, voices from within the Forbidden Forest uttered 'Stupefy' and all four of them keeled over, stunned.
~*******************************************************~
Harry groaned. He sat up. It occurred to him after a moment that he couldn't move his arms or legs apart (they were somehow tied together), and his glasses weren't on. Something dreadfully cold brushed his hands and he lifted them away from their chilly assassin, attempting to gaze around the dark room that was terribly blurry without his glasses. Someone groaned. "Hello?" Harry said immediately, looking around. "Harry... s'that you?" said Ron's voice from within the darkness. "Yeah, it's me." "I'm here, too," Hermione's voice rang out as well. "Good, we're all here," said Ron's voice again. There was a pause. "Wait, where's Malfoy?" Hermione's voice said again. "Nobody cares about Malfoy, Hermione." Ron said. "Well, we'd just be sinking to his level if we left him here – wherever here is..." "Shut it, Hermione, if he is here and he wakes up we will get no peace." "You two make interesting conversation, Weasley and Granger," Draco's voice drawled out from the nothing around them, "Now, instead of bickering like the idiots you are, does anyone propose to attempt to get out of here? Where ever we are?" There was a pause momentarily before a bit of shuffling. "Ow!" Draco's voice said again, "Come here, Weasley, so I can rip your-" "Now who's the idiot?" Ron cut in bitterly, shuffling away again. Harry heard his companion wiggle beside him, as well as Hermione, because he felt her bushy, brown hair brush the side of his face. It felt like a tangly cat. "Wait," Draco's voice echoed out again, "There's something in my lap. I think I woke up with it there." Hermione burst into a fit of giggles, and Ron snorted with laughter, along with Harry. "Are you saying that you were previously a girl, Malfoy?" Ron said between laughter. "Shut up, Weasley. I mean, there's someone in my lap. It's..." he leaned over in the darkness and squinted to get a better look at what was there, "... a girl." "So... you ARE a girl, and you just gave birth, then?" "Shut up, Wealsey. It's Spirit." Harry, who had been attempting to find his glasses in the blurred darkness, looked up to where he was hearing Draco's voice, "What's she doing here?" "How should I know, Potter? There could be a ton of reasons: she could be dead, or she could be here to torture us, or I could be just too good- looking to resist and I had one too many Mai Tais last night, as well as her, and we got drunk and we ended up-" "Shut up, Malfoy." all three of the others said at once. Draco, however, was smirking. "She's unconscious, but she's breathing." he said, laying his head on her chest to listen for a heartbeat and breathing, which were both active. "Get her off your lap, Malfoy, she's the enemy," said Harry suddenly, pure bitterness in his voice. "Harry! That's-" 'No, Hermione, I don't want anything to do with her. Her father murdered my parents." Harry said briskly. There was a long silence between them, their breathing the only disturbance before Harry suddenly spoke again, "Has anyone seen my glasses?" "Yeah, I have, Potter. I'm wearing them." "Why, Malfoy?" "I though I looked good in them." "Give them back." "Why should I?" "NOW MALFOY!" "Fine." Harry flinched as his glasses suddenly hit him in the head from the left and landed in his lap. He put them on uneasily, his hands still bound together. "Is everyone else tied up and wandless?" Ron suddenly wondered aloud. "Yes," the others replied monotonously, a sudden groan emitting from the darkness. "Hallo," Draco said suddenly. "Why am I in your lap, Malfoy?" Spirit's voice said curiously from a distance. "Because you were so drunk last night you crawled right into my lap, snuggled up to me and we-" "I shouldn't have asked." There was another pause. "You know what, Riddle? That's the second time someone has interrupted when I was trying to say something. May I finish?" Another pause. "Okay, you want to neuter him or should I?" Ron's voice suddenly said. "Shut up, Weas-" The rest of what Draco was going to say was drowned out by the sudden creaking of an opening of a door. A blinding light filled the room. Harry gazed around at the others; Spirit was now sitting about a meter away from Draco, obviously having crawled out of his lap, who was closest to the door; Hermione was sitting to Harry's right, and Ron's left. "Good day, children," a voice, smooth as silk, echoed into the room, which was empty except for the people inside of it. The person's whose voice had spoken was standing in the door, leaning casually against its frame. He was cloaked in black, his hood back revealed his pointed face and silver-blonde hair. "Father?!" said Draco, staring bewildered at the man in the doorway.
~*******************************************************~
"Good to see you know me, Draco." said Lucius Malfoy, walking slowly into the room followed by four other Death Eaters, "Today will be the ceremony in which you will get your Dark Mark, Draco, so I dragged you along with those three." Lucius motioned carelessly towards Ron, Harry and Hermione. "Dark – but I - I don't - !" Draco looked exasperatedly at his father, his usual, emotionless gray eyes wide with bewilderment. "MacNair, please escort my son to the Admissionary Chamber and have the ceremony be prepared immediately." Lucius said sharply, and one of the other cloaked Death Eaters, this one wearing a mask, entered the room and ceased the struggling and cursing Draco, exiting the Chamber without a word. "Now, as for the rest of you..." Lucius gazed at Harry with his hungry eyes, "You will be brought to the Dark Lord when we finish with the worthless Mudblood and the Weasley boy. I can't keep track of how many are in your family, terribly sorry," said Lucius with a cruel smirk at Ron, who was shaking with fury. "And Mistress Riddle, you will be brought to your father with Potter after you come with us to see the newest Death Eater join our midsts," said Lucius to Spirit, who narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" she said furiously, her hands bound together, though she was able to stand up, "You're terrible! I'll never do anything for you, or my father, or any other Death Eaters no matter how-" Lucius just shook his head and sighed, taking out his wand and then aiming it at Spirit, "Imperio." Spirit suddenly looked very blank, eyes empty from emotion or feeling. Harry knew that she had been put under the Imperius Curse, which gave the user control over who ever it was cast upon unless they could shake it off, but Spirit obviously was never taught how. "Now, Mistress Riddle," said Lucius in a sugary, male drawl, "we'll be going to your future husband's Admissionary Ceremony?" Spirit nodded, speaking in a hollow, controlled tone, "Yes." Lucius smirked and beckoned her with his hand, and she obediently stepped foreward, exiting the room and turning down a corridor blankly, as though she knew where she was going but just didn't look it. Lucius Malfoy then looked to the other Death Eaters again, and spoke quietly to them. The three nodded, one following Spirit down the hallway, while the other two watched then turned back to their Leader again. "Got it? Good, be on your ways," said Lucius, watching the other Death Eaters exit the room with their directions. He turned back to Harry, Ron, and Hermione who all had been listening intently yet in silence to the conversations around them. He gave them a cruel grin before exiting the room himself, closing the door behind him.
~*******************************************************~
The trio sat in silence for a long, long time. "I can't believe it," said Ron, the first to speak in about ten minutes, "I really can't believe it." Harry and Hermione looked at him slowly, eyes having gotten used to the cold darkness a while ago. "We're all going to die," said Hermione, who's face suddenly crumpled as she broke into tears. Harry patted her on the shoulder, Ron looking at the ground uneasily. "So... we're in some sort of chamber or dungeon." said Ron quietly, so as not to upset Hermione more, "By the looks of it, Malfoy's going to become a Death Eater and then it looks like You-Know-Who is going to force him to marry Spirit or something." "Yeah," said Harry, still comforting Hermione, "I wonder what they're going to do with you two... we all know my fate." Hermione whimpered, "Th-they're probably g-going to kill m-me and R-Ron too! Y-You-Know-Wh-Who is t-terrible!" She burst into tears again and this time Ron came over to help reassure her as well, both boys sitting on either side of her. "Y-you two are th-the b-best," squeaked Hermione, tears staining her cheeks, "I l-love you b-both a l-lot!" She sniffed and closed her eyes, still crying, and Ron and Harry looked at each other. "I didn't know she could get so emotional," mouthed Ron. "Me neither," Harry mouthed back, looking at her. The three sat in silence again, the only noise in the room being Hermione's continuous sobs.
~*******************************************************~
Draco's breathed deeply as he was pitched into an empty room and sprawled out on the hard, cold floor, his eyes half-closed. His hair had been put out of place, and normally he would have had a fit, but other circumstances were more important at the time, such as his arm's cleanliness being at stake. He gazed around the room. This one was lighted and pure white. Torches clung to the walls, and a few candles floated eerily in a circle around a seemingly clear glass box that contained an emerald-green sword. This sat on a pentagonal-shaped table. Draco stood up, his bindings around his wrists and ankles having been thankfully removed. MacNair had left only moments before and had set up these objects in the center of the Admissionairy Chamber, then left Draco alone in it. He stepped towards the table with the enclosed sword. He reached out to touch the glass. His hand suddenly felt as though knives had been driven through it multiple times and with a yell of pain he jumped back, clasping his other hand around his wrist in agony. I guess they put wards up around it, Draco thought to himself, teeth still clenched with pain from his earlier attempt. The door behind him once more flew open and Spirit walked in through it, stopping about three meters within as a masked Death Eater came up behind her and muttered, 'Finite Incantatem'. Spirit collapsed to the floor and the Death Eater exited the room again, closing the door behind him. Draco watched her for a moment before walking cautiously over to her and hesitantly shaking her by the shoulder in case Voldemort had put wards up around his daughter as well. "Spirit, wake up," he muttered, turning her over onto her back. She was horribly pale against her deep brown locks that were fanned out across the floor, and Draco frowned deeper than he had been before. She opened a liquid-silver eye ever so slightly, and, seeing it was a friend – or, at least not an enemy – gazing at her, she opened the other to assure him of her consciousness before closing them again. "Imperius Curse," she muttered weakly, as if reading his mind as he opened his mouth to ask her what happened, and at this he closed it again, I think they used it on me earlier at Hogwarts, too..." Draco nodded, "That explains why you were weird. I guess they were spying on the school or something." She nodded, "You know what they're going to do to you, right?" she asked, eyes still closed and self still lying on the floor. Draco nodded, "My dad has one." "Of course," she said dryly, rolling up her right arm's sleeve to reveal a black skull on her forearm with a snake protruding out of its mouth like a tongue, "I got mine when I was five. I had no choice." "How long have you lived with... him?' Draco asked rather reluctantly. "I haven't been," she said, sitting up weakly and putting a hand on her forehead, "I lived with him until I was ten, I then ran away and was captured by the Ministry and sent to Azkaban without any questioning or anything. They didn't care, even though I'd never hurt anyone in my life. Well, not on my own will, anyway." Draco nodded, never having had to go to Azkaban himself but had heard what it was like. His father had been in there until recently. "So, I spent three years there for no reason, and one day Dumbledore, you could say, rescued me." She continued. "Why is that?" "Well, he knew about me, and thought that I deserved a second chance. He seems to be big on those. But the Ministry at first was really wary. Remember in the third year when the Dementors came to the school from Azkaban to protect the stundents from Sirius Black?" she asked. "Yeah, why?" "Well, the original reason was because I was there, they wanted to keep an eye on me, see that I didn't cause any trouble. The moment I crossed a line I was going to be thrown back in prison." "Oh." "Sirius Black's escape was merely a coincidence; they were kind of happy he escaped because it give them a reason to post the Azkaban Guards at the school. They weren't about to tell the world that I was going to Hogwarts." Draco looked to the ground, "I'm sorry." "Don't apologize," she said, flipping her hair behind her ears, eyes now open again, "there's no reason for you to be sorry." He nodded automatically and stood up, placing a hand on her shoulder. He for some reason felt he had to look after her, take care of her; he wasn't sure why, he just did. And for once in his life, he didn't feel like hacking someone's head off. Except for his father's, of course.
~*******************************************************~
"Come, Potter," barked a masked Death Eater a while later. Hermione and Ron had been removed from the Chamber a long time before, and Harry was dreadfully worried for their safety. He stood up, wobbling, still tied up. The Death Eater waved his wand and his ankle Bindings were removed, however his arms and wrists and hands were tightly secured behind his back. Harry walked slowly towards the Death Eater, who rose his wand and jabbed it in Harry's direction. "Crucio!" Harry felt an intense pain fly throughout his body. His bones felt as though they were being twisted and snapped, and he hollered out in pain as he crumpled to the floor in agony. "Hurry up," snapped the Death Eater, the pain suddenly ceasing but Harry's body still aching terribly. After much walking, Harry was brought down about six levels of where ever he was being held prisoner and came to a halt deep down into what seemed to be the dungeons. Upon his journey through the corridors Harry had watched every single thing around him, hoping for any sign of escape yet seeing none. His stomach clenched as he gazed around where he had been brought, many disturbing objects hanging from the walls. With a strong shove, Harry was thrust into a cell, landing on a skeleton that had a wizarding cap on and a robe as well as cloak. He hastily moved away from it, huddling himself in a corner and glaring at the Death Eater who had brought him. "You will stay here until the Dark Lord wishes to see you," the Death Eater growled at him, turning and briskly walking away.
~*******************************************************~
"Now, it is time for the Ceremony to begin." Voldemort glared around at all of his Death Eaters, who all bowed down to their master immediately, except Spirit and Draco, who were bound to a wall of the white Admissionairy Chamber. "Today we have the only son of a loyal Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy. Please bring him foreward, Malfoy," said Voldemort in his eerie voice, watching as Lucius released Draco from the wall and dragged his son over. "What is his full name?" "Draco Thomas Malfoy," replied Lucius obediently. "Draco Thomas Malfoy," Voldemort repeated, looking down at the glaring seventeen-year-old, "today is your Death Eater Admission Ceremony and you will be given a Dark Mark by I, Lord Voldemort-"all of the Death Eaters immediately bowed once more, "-and so the Ceremony begins." Lucius thrust Draco at the table. He glared back at his father, his hands bound still behind his back, and he looked at the sword on the table. What was he supposed to do, break it or something? Voldemort walked swiftly to the table, lifting the glass case easily off of the deep green sword. Draco swallowed as the Dark Lord lifted the sword off of the table and roughly took hold of his arm. The last thing Draco saw, was Spirit staring horrified at him and turn away as a sudden, fierce, burning pain struck the skin of his arm so hard he thought he was going faint. Spirit screamed quietly from a distance as the blade of the dagger pierced and dragged along his forearm, the burning so intense that Draco felt blinded by it. He cried out in agony as the white-hot blade finally released itself from his arm, and he fell to his knees on the floor. "So we bring into our midsts a new Death Eater," Draco heard Voldemort saying from what seemed like far, far away, "And his name is Draco Thomas Malfoy."
~*******************************************************~
An hour later, Draco still remained in the Chamber, feeling terribly sick to his stomach. Spirit knelt limply in a corner, still bound to the wall; she hadn't spoken since the Admission, and Draco couldn't blame her. He closed his eyes and thought deeply about what was going to happen to him, and how he never thought that he would be made a Death Eater as his father had been. Of all of the cruel, terrible, horrible things Lucius had done to him, this was the absolute worst.
Looking up slowly, he gazed at where the hexagonal table had been. It had been removed after the Ceremony and Voldemort had left the room right afterward, leaving the Death Eaters to clean up, and Lucius had informed the two that their marriage would be held when the youngest of the two turned eighteen.
"This is all my fault."
Draco jumped as Spirit's voice whimpered quietly from her corner, tears streaming down her face, "All my fault..."
Draco watched her closely, his eyes on the black skull that was now imprinted on his arm. It had been carved into his flesh with the sword and burned in afterward. He swallowed before looking at her again, "No it's not. Don't worry."
She shook her head, "No. I was so stupid not to have paid attention long ago, when we were in our fourth year, and my mark burned. I knew he was back but I couldn't bring myself to believe it. I was so thankful when I was at Hogwarts, I thought everything would be all right. But I was wrong."
She sniffed, looking to the ground airily, "Now we're all going to suffer, and we're going to have to get married, and it's all my fault..."
Draco looked down as well. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
But then the door flew open.
Draco looked at Spirit, who didn't bother to look at the door, but he did.
And he gasped.
"Weasley? Granger?!"
~*******************************************************~
"Shut it, Malfoy you prat!" hissed Hermione as she and Ron suddenly swept into the room, shuffling over to him and Ron raising his brows at the sight of Draco's arm, "They really gave you a Mark?"
Malfoy's eyes narrowed but he didn't bother replying as Ron began to undo his bindings.
Hermione walked to Spirit, who still hadn't looked up.
"Finite Incantetem," she said quietly, and Spirit's bindings disappeared. She looked up at Hermione with watery eyes and smiled weakly, "We have to find Harry. I think I can find him for us."
~*******************************************************~
Harry groaned and looked around his cell warily as a few spiders crawled by. He felt as though he had been sitting there for hours however he was pretty sure it couldn't have been more than 25 minutes.
Wiping the sweat off of his forehead, Harry suddenly bristled as a sharp pain shot through his scar. He could sense someone of Riddle blood coming.
He glanced out through the bars of his prison and kept his gaze locked on the door to the dungeons, waiting. It could have been Spirit – that terrible girl who's father had killed his parents. Or, it could just have been Voldemort himself. He waited intently, heart beating hard against his chest as the door suddenly swung open.
As if a dagger had gone through his forehead, agonizing pain shot throughout his scar as Voldemort stepped through the door, smirking cunningly, followed by all of his full-grown Death Eaters.
"Hello, Harry..." he hissed at him, red eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he saw his prisoner crumple in pain, 'It's so nice to see you. Crucio," he said effortlessly, the same bone-snapping pain seering through Harry's body as the curse was cast.
Precious moments were wasted as Harry was released from the spell, breathing heavily and shakily. He looked away from Voldemort, not wanting to see the satisfaction on the Dark Lord's face.
"I'm going to kill you, Harry," said Voldemort in cold glee, "and I want you to let me know if there's anything you think you can do about it."
Harry glared at Voldemort coldly, thinking hard. There has to be, he thought to himself, there just has to...
"Your time is up. Do you have any last words, Harry Potter?" Voldemort spat at him, smirking.
"Yeah," said Harry, suddenly grinning, "You're toast."
"STUPEFY!"
"IMPEDIMENTA!"
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"
"OBLIVIATE!"
Ron, Hermione, Draco and Spirit all hollered at once, more than three- quarters of the Death Eaters keeling over in unconsciousness as the spells were cast at the same time.
Voldemort whirled around, glaring at the four with his fierce red eyes. Ron almost whimpered but with a kick from Hermione, stood tall.
"Where did you fools come from?" he hissed at them. Their spells had rebounded off of his cloak, which was seemingly warded.
"We're not the fools, your Death Eaters are! EXPELLIARMUS!" said Ron hastily, wand pointed directly at Voldemort. This had no effect whatsoever.
"I do not even need a wand," said Voldemort sharply, "to drive you all mad. CRUCIO!" Harry watched as Ron crumpled to the floor, yelling in pain. This was too much. It was obviously too much for Spirit, too, "CRUCIO!" she screamed back, the spell hitting her father hard, sending him back a few feet, however he remained standing. "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Hermione yelled, though once more, the spell rebounded, though the Dark Lord's curse subsided. Spirit fell to her knees, breathing deeply, Harry watching her closely. Ron was near tears on the floor, breathing even more sharp than she was. "Thanks," he whispered hoarsly, eyes closed. Spirit crawled slowly over to Harry's cell, holding up her wand and aiming it at the door, "Alohomora." The door swung open and Harry ran out and over to Ron and Hermione. Hermione squealed as she saw Harry and couldn't help but kiss him and Ron two times each. Voldemort snarled, standing up and pointing his wand directly at Spirit, 'You foolish girl... you'll pay for your disobedience. CRUCIO!' Spirit fell to the floor by the cell, though refused to scream. She gritted her teeth, entire body shaking with pain, but she kept her voice. Draco watched, wide-eyed. He had to do something. Anything – anything to help her. But he didn't need to. He watched in bewilderment as Voldemort stopped suddenly, and looked at Harry, leaving Spirit on the floor, suffering. "Expelliarmus," Voldemort said hastily, retrieving all of their wands as they flew to his abnormally long, paper-white fingers. "Potter... Potter, Potter, Potter..." said the Dark Lord with a terrible smirk, red eyes locked onto Harry's. Harry crumpled slightly as a white-hot burning stirred within his scar, pulsating in his forehead. "I want you to know that now you die. Avada-" "NO!" Spirit's voice screamed from her corner. At that moment the door swung open and the aged Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, hurried into the room as well as about one hundred wizards from the Ministry of Magic and a majority of Hogwarts' teachers. Draco, gazing at the Headmaster as he came in, went to staring at Voldemort. Ministry Wizards immediately began to pour in aswell. The Death Eaters were all momentarily frozen, however just briefly, as after two seconds, they began throwing spells, curses, all at everyone at the same time. All hell had broken loose. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco all leapt into action – or at least tried to. No sooner had they shot a few spells had Harry and Hermione been knocked out by Stunning Spells. Spirit was already being rushed away by two hit wizards. Draco was out cold, having been hit with an odd curse from the Death Eaters' side, and Ron being stunned soon afterward. "Tom," said Dumbledore quietly, walking towards the Dark Lord at a cautious yet smooth – as smooth as and old man be – pace. "stop this nonsense, come with us peacefully. You-" But Voldemort wasn't listening. A surprising, crooked grin plastered itself on his sunken face, scarred, pale. Dumbledore himself had paused mid-step. The rest of the room's conscious inhabitants had as well turned to look, observe the odd seen. "I will go, Dumbledore," said Tom Marvolo Riddle with a hint of dry, dark laughter. Insane laughter. He began to break down in it, falling on his knees, giving the Ministry Aurors time to take him away as he continued to laugh, laugh laugh...
~*******************************************************~
Dumbledore looked to each of the five young, sixteen-year-old, tired, beaten, used faces before him, two female, three male. They had just finished explaining; Dumbledore had asked them to. The five had nodded and started with Spirit as she told her story, continuing to their other years at Hogwarts and Draco told of how he thought Spirit was acting strange. Ron, Harry and Hermione followed by telling them how they figured out who Spirit was all the way to where they were now. They spoke and spoke, telling everyone their own sides for a near two hours. "Ron, Hermione," said Spirit suddenly after the last bit of information was told, "How did you find us, anyway?" The two looked at each other and grinned slightly, "Well, when we were being escorted to our deaths, our leader just happened to be Wormtail." Ron started. "Yes," said Hermione with a nod, "so when he took out his wand to bind us, I snatched it and stunned him. We then went in search for Draco or Spirit or Harry, and came across Draco and Spirit first. And then Spirit led us to Harry."
~*******************************************************~
A week later, most everything was back to normal - as far as normal could go in the Wizarding World, anyway. Voldemort was sent to Azkaban to be given the Dementors' Kiss and Hogwarts continued to stay open, the five heroes arriving back four weeks before the Summer Holidays. "I wonder if we'll see anymore reporters," Ron thought aloud to Harry and Hermione as they exited their Transfiguration Class, again being tortured with continuous study for their NEWTs. "I don't know, Ron, the... the thing happened a month ago, I think they'll be done with us by now," Hermione said, readjusting her bookbag over her shoulder. "Harry! Ron! Hermione!" The three looked up to see Spirit sprinting down the corridor towards them, skidding to a halt infront of them. "Guess what?" she asked breathlessly, looking at the three with a smile. "What?" they all said in unision. "I'm staying at Draco's house over the summer. His mother offered for me to stay there... Draco's father's in Azkaban, though." She said with a slight shiver at the thought of the wizarding prison. "That's wonderful! But... be careful around Draco, okay?" Hermione said, smiling weakly, "None of us are sure about his 'threats' yet from when we were in the Riddle House... he might be just as dirty as he claims to be." Spirit laughed, nodding, "Don't worry, Hermione, I'll lock my door when I'm sleeping. I'll talk to you all later." "G'bye," they said at the same time as she ran off down the hall again.
Harassssieth... narassariasss...
Harry suddenly jumped and winced, and Ron and Hermione turned to look at him. "You alright, Harry?" asked Ron, who was still grinning from before. Harry looked at them, no sign of expression on his face. "Voldemort just spoke to me in parseltongue. He said he'd be back," said Harry, Ron and Hermione looking at each other in shock. "Kidding!" said Harry with a grin, and the three walked off down the hall laughing. But deep, deep down under the school, a figure stood it his Chamber, the Chamber of Secrets, where thousands of years ago he had first allowed his precious Basilisk to roam. The person smiled; a terrible smile that only one of sheer evil could muster. "You have failed me, my Heir, Tom Riddle..." he said in a raspy voice, "But perhaps your's may be of some use..."
.+. End .+.
.+. Catch the Sequel to this fan fiction in the future – be sure to check in. .+.