NO CHURCH IN THE WILD

CHAPTER TWO

Radioactive

The wind tossed his hair and he almost shivered from the cold, staring down at the Manor. It made an imposing figure in the moonlight, sprawling and impressive, with grass even now kept looking spruce and cut by magic long ago set in place. Various statues dotted the yards. Almost too bad about what was going to happen.

He made a questioning signal to Ron, far, far below, only visible because Hermione had put a spell on his glasses that gave them a binocular effect.

Ron, after a brief conference with the Aurors around him, returned his signal with a negative: not yet.

Harry sighed, continuing his watch. It couldn't be long now, though.


Narcissa lay in her bed, awake, worried. Wondering if her son was still alive. She hadn't been able to sleep for the three days since she'd been "rescued" from the Manor. Deep, dark, half-circles sat under her eyes.

The doctor was reading a book on a cot next to her, routinely looking up from it to wave a wand in her direction, checking her vitals. Apparently having Voldemort's spawn growing in your stomach earned you a 24/7 medical watch.

There were two Aurors in the room, talking, but they'd cast some sort of bubble-spell and she couldn't hear a word. She'd no doubt it pertained to the impending invasion of the Malfoy Manor. She looked away from them, feeling dismal, reaching for a glass of water.

Then, a warm feeling, deep in her chest. Growing quickly. The glass slipped from her fingers.

The doctor jerked at the sudden crash, the Aurors jumped to their feet and more came rushing into the room from the hallway.

Narcissa saw none of that though; her head was thrown back, her body tight like a bow, arching upward from the bed. She let out a deep sigh, and suddenly, light sprung from her skin, and she was glowing. Symbols were scrawling themselves across her body.

Voldemort had found her.


CRACK

Tonks appeared, breathing hard. "He's done it, Voldemort's activated the spell. Narcissa's glowing like a lantern."

Remus nodded, looking grim as he placed a hand on her arm. He yelled down at Charlie Weasley from the overhang of rock he'd been waiting on, safe above the dragons, "Are you prepared?"

"Yeah!" Charlie called, grip tightening on his magically-strengthened ropes as the sudden noise startled his Peruvian Vipertooth. Then quieter, "As much as I'll ever be for this."

He turned to the other dragon handlers, "Oy! Get movin'!"


Harry was the one who saw them. A large group of Death Eater's walking down to the lawn, before Apparating away. Exactly what Harry had been waiting for. In all likelihood, Voldemort had told them the location of Narcissa Malfoy, but, he being the only one who could Apparate from inside the Manor's walls, they'd had to move outside and past some wards.

He sent the signal down to Ron.

Ron and his group immediately turned their brooms and took off into the forest.

Satisfied, Harry pulled on his invisibility cloak and dove. He'd have maybe ten minutes of the Death Eaters being clueless, thinking their master was about to set things right, before all hell broke loose. He hoped to find Malfoy before that part, and make their escape at the beginning of it.

Reaching the lawn, Harry jumped lightly from his broom, cast a quiet Reducto, and it shrunk, small enough to fit in his pocket. He moved forward, skirting far around the patrols, making it quickly to the main doors, still open after the exodus of Death Eaters. The night air was fresh, and they didn't suspect an attack.

He'd already cast his own personal ward-avoidance spells and charms, along with Hermione and Lupin's help, but as he slipped through, a sick feeling of pressure overcame him. He could feel the ward's working against his defenses, trying to break through. He could also feel it was unsuccessful, but the pressure was immense. He pushed the nauseous feeling aside though, trying to focus as he made his way forward and through the doors.

He drew up short. In shock. Voldemort stood just fifteen feet away, conferring with his minions. Still very much inside the Manor.

Harry was rooted to the spot, completely unsure of what to do.

Their entire plan had hinged on the fact that Voldemort had already gone to find Narcissa. They couldn't take him on right now, not with his Horcruxes still out there. It would be pointless. Pointless deaths. A wasted surprise attack.

Harry had just about made up his mind to turn around, and race back on his broom to the others, hoping to stop them in time- when Voldemort's voice actually filtered through his own racing thoughts.

"I leave soon to join the troops," he was addressing the Death Eaters that loomed around him, "and reclaim what's mine. But first, I have something to attend to. Has the Malfoy boy been brought to my chambers?"

"Yes, my Lord," a voice answered. Harry recognized it as Lucius Malfoy when the man stepped forward, bowing deeply. It was one of the only times Harry had seen him around Voldemort without his Death Eater mask in place to hide his identity.

Voldemort looked down at the posturing figure, voice as cold as his eyes, "Very good. I depart."

Harry, still frozen to his spot near the door, took a minute to regroup. Thinking it out. The plan wasn't necessarily ruined. Voldemort still had six minutes or so to leave. And he'd be leading him to the exact spot Malfoy was hidden; a bonus he hadn't even thought of.

So, tightening the cloak around him and steeling his nerves, he followed the Dark Lord deeper into the Manor.

He stayed as far back from Voldemort as he could, knowing now was not the time for any confrontation. Never in his life was it as important to move quietly as it was now. As he kept his eyes on the black robes of Voldemort's back, he couldn't help a flashback to his first years at Hogwarts. Stealthily moving around Filch and his cat. And he'd thought that had been stressful.

Ahead, Voldemort disappeared through a large door at the end of the hallway.

Instead of risking getting caught by trying to slip inside immediately, before the door closed, Harry decided to try and wait him out. He'd give Voldemort a few minutes to come back out, and if he didn't... then Harry would have to chance it, go in and hope he'd Apparated away.

During his wait, Death Eaters passed by him, and Harry kept himself pressed with his back against the wall. One came close to brushing against him, but Harry managed to move first. He was very thankful for the large width of the Malfoy Manor halls.

Just as he was getting ready to move forward, and push the door open, another Death Eater appeared, so Harry slunk back, waiting for him to pass by. As he drew closer though, Harry could see the man was making a direct bee-line for Voldemort's chambers.

Harry watched the Death Eater, resolved. He'd just have to go in at the same time.

He prepared himself, pushing off the wall. Then he noticed the familiar walk, the aristocratic stance, and as the Death Eater pulled back the hood from their head, Harry finally saw the slick, black hair.

Severus Snape.

Harry felt himself baring his teeth, unable to control it, barely able to keep from drawing his wand on him right then and there.

Dumbledore's killer. Memories of that night came flooding back to him, and he almost missed his chance to slip into the room unnoticed, he was so wrapped up in his rage. But he caught himself in time and made it just as the heavy wooden door closed.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry said, just before throwing off the invisibility cloak.

His wand went flying, and a reeling Snape spun, eyes falling on Harry. For a brief moment he very much resembled someone who'd been put under the Stupefy hex.

"Potter," Snape sneered, eyes glancing over to where his wand landed, next to a cage holding a pale snake. Then he looked back to Harry, recovering, "You do realize the Dark Lord has launched an offensive to retrieve Narcissa Malfoy? And you waste your time stalking me into bedrooms?"

"I know what Voldemort's doing, Snape, and I'm not here for you. You just happened to be in my way."

"And you in mine," Snape returned with a death glare.

Harry kept his wand on him, feeling the loathing in his veins, wanting so badly to put Snape in his place. But this was an extremely inconvenient time for a showdown. His friends would be starting their assault any minute now. He couldn't waste his time with this, no matter how good it would feel to exact some vengeance. "Where is he?" Harry demanded, keeping his temper in check while he carefully looked around himself, searching for some sign of Malfoy. The only sign of life in the room so far was the snake. So where had Voldemort stashed him? He studied the walls, searching for a portrait maybe, perhaps hiding a pathway for a secret room.

"Where is he?" he said again, finally looking back to Snape. Luckily he did, because Snape was moving his hand in quick motions, thinking Harry distracted, doing a wandless, wordless spell that no doubt would have brought Snape's wand back into his waiting hand.

"Stupefy!" Harry roared, with more power than he ever had before with the simple spell.

It hit Snape hard and fast, driving him back a few steps, head lolling, before he collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

Harry surveyed the older man grimly. Hesitating as he thought on how to proceed.

Another day, he'd have it out with him, he decided. Finally have his vengeance for Dumbledore. But not now. Instead he took Snape's wand and snapped it in two, throwing the pieces on top of his lifeless body.

"Hey... wha's goin' on...?"

Harry jumped, spinning around, caught completely by surprise. The room was still empty behind him though.

Heart in his throat, confused, he glanced back at Snape, suspecting some trick- but no, the man was completely unconscious.

"Malfoy?" he said, scanning the room carefully, searching for the source of the drowsy voice. He decided to risk casting a spell Hermione had taught him, to detect cloaking magic, although it had been known to set off defensive-wards. Time was running short.

"Descuvri," he recited, flicking his wand, remembering Hermione's words: up, left, then a quick wave Harry. In response, sparks of golden light shot out like a miniature fireworks show, flitting about the room, indicating there was indeed some strong spell in place there. Then the lights finally came together and fell slowly upon the caged white snake.

"What the- what's going on?!"

Harry stepped towards it while the sparks faded away, having done their job. And the snake, which before had been laying serenely in its cage, was now coiling around the limits of the glass, moving fast in little circles. "What's going on?" it wailed again in Draco Malfoy's voice.

Before Harry could decide his next move, he heard a woman's piercing scream from afar. Almost immediately followed by the amazingly loud roaring of a dragon. It reverberated against the walls around him. And Harry knew that the Aurors had finally breached the Manor, and the dragons were loose and doing what dragons do best. Destroying everyone and everything in their path.

Time to go. He rushed forward and flipped open the cage lid, and after a brief moment's hesitation of what to do or say, he just pointed his wand: "Stupefy!"

The snake- or, Malfoy, rather- went limp, and Harry grabbed him.


"Harry!"

"Over here mate!"

He blinked, feeling a little disoriented and sick after port-key travel, per usual.

"We were getting worried," Remus said, rushing over, Hermione and Ron right behind him, "you took longer than we'd planned... what do you have there?"

Harry was clutching tightly to the snake in one hand, having been afraid he'd somehow lose him during the port-key travel. "I had some trouble getting out of the Manor," he answered slowly, letting the port key fall and hefting the snake into his other hand to share the burden. "Sorry to worry you."

"Why do you have that Harry?" Hermione asked, adding anxiously, "Were you able to find Malfoy?"

"Is it a Horcrux?" Ron asked, looking at the reptile with distaste. "Is it dead?"

Harry shook his head. "Wait, first- did everyone make it back okay?"

Ron smiled. "Yeah, don't worry about that. And only a few injuries... mostly people getting a bit charred by the dragons when we were trying to get them to focus on the Manor," he rubbed at his own arm, which had a noticeably red mark, "Effin' hard to get a dragon to focus on anything."

"Yes it is, and what happened with Draco Malfoy?" Lupin cut-in with a sense of urgency, "we have to notify the others on whether we need to keep moving Narcissa or-"

"You can tell them to come back; Voldemort can't locate her anymore," Harry said, lifting the snake higher, "I've got Malfoy right here."

Lupin looked at him, the snake, then back again, appearing perturbed.


They'd kept her from her son for almost three weeks.

They didn't care if she raged or pleaded, barely giving her any explanations. When they finally did explain the travesty that had been bestowed upon her son, she'd taken it in without a word. But they still made her beg to be allowed to finally be reunited with him, citing their idea that it would be far safer to keep them hidden apart, so the Dark Lord would never get his hands on both of them at once. She didn't care about their precautions of keeping her and Draco apart. She'd needed to see him.

Finally, they'd brought him in. In a cage.

"Give it here!" she'd snapped, at her wits end with these people and their "precautions". Her son, in some beast's cage!

But now, hours later, her anger had completely gone. Depression was taking over, and Narcissa wouldn't stop crying, holding the large snake against her and rocking. Forward and back, forward and back. Her son, for his part, just let her. His gray eyes only blinking slowly now and again. She'd been horrified to see the carvings along his white-blonde snake body. They'd stayed through a transfiguration spell, just as his dark mark had. They were exactly as the Dark Lord had described they would be, if he needed to do the location spell. Even though she'd held out hope that it had been a scare tactic, to keep her from trying to escape... inside she'd known the truth.

The medi-witch decided to come over and bother them. Trying to force more medicine on her, but Narcissa turned her face away.

"Oh, Mrs. Malfoy, try to take them... these potions will help, you must calm down and let your body rest, we don't even know what that spell did to y-"

"I'm tired of potions!" Narcissa suddenly screamed, lunging forward and knocking the brew from the doctor's hands. The cup shattered on the wall. The Aurors waiting in the hallway glanced in the room. "I won't take any more! Leave me be! I want to talk to the Order!"

"I told you, someone will come and talk to you, but for now you have to rest and-"

Tucking her chin down onto the snake's head, she glared, demanding, "What do they plan to do to help my son?"

"I'm not privy to that information, Mrs. Malfoy, but I'm sure they have a plan, they just need more time-"

"The only plan you people have is to keep me and my son apart! They feel no urgency to change him back, do they?"

The medi-witch huffed, sitting back on her heels. She watched silently as Narcissa blinked through her angry tears, wiping at them with a shoulder. Her family had been destroyed. Her son used as a pawn and discarded when no longer useful. They were no longer in the Dark Lord's clutches, but she didn't doubt it would be any different with the Ministry's people.

"Leave us be you useless ninny!" Narcissa finally hissed. "Leave us be until you have information from the Order."

The doctor threw her hands up in defeat, leaving the two alone and going back to her desk on the other end of the room.


This chapter is named after a song by Imagine Dragons