A/N: Welcome back to Hogwarts! I mean… to the second chapter of Harry "Poke" Potter!
Chapter 2: Barely Veiled Intentions
"How many times do you plan on coming back here, old man." a voice whispered sadly beyond him as he refused to look away from the object which held his attention so raptly.
Remus had heard times when the soul aches from lost, and he had indeed felt such sensations before, but never like this. Not when his parents had gone, not when James and Lily had went the same… No, never like this…
No hardship before in his life had felt like the wrenching pain of his heart being torn from his chest cavity. No pain had ever felt like the lost he was feeling now.
To have lost the last two people in the world he would have gladly fought and died for was neigh unbearable. To have lost the son of the friends who had practically taken him in like a lost child, and also the last true childhood friend he could call his brother in all but blood… The pain… The pain was insurmountable…
Harry Potter and Sirius Black were gone… The Boy-Who-Lived and his Godfather were both gone into the Veil in the blink of an eye… and it was all his fault…
He could still see the scene play before his eyes as though it were only moments ago. He could still feel the desperation and sorrow on him and in him when his eyes recalled Harry's jump into the Veil to reclaim the last link of parentage there was left for him to escape the Dursleys.
Then came the automatic fighting. How with Harry's sudden disappearance, the Death Eaters gained a sort of morale the likes of which Remus had only seen in the first war against them; back when all believed Voldemort to be nearly unstoppable.
They were all captured, though. With Dumbledore on the battlefield, it had only been a matter of time before the Death Eaters were once again reminded of the power that the Headmaster held, being the only man Voldemort ever feared to stop his plans.
And then Voldemort himself had arrived at that moment the last Death Eater was caught. The fight that followed had been like an epic; one from the stuff of legends. Dumbledore and Voldemort had fought like men possessed, employing magic so far beyond the knowledge of the average wizard that Remus had found it surprising how effectively Voldemort had been countering, striking back with equal power, equal knowledge, equal skill; invoking his special brand of terrible viciousness. The ancient headmaster and his once-upon-a-time pupil fought to a standstill while destroying much of the Ministry, and rearranging that which wasn't completely decimated. By the time Voldemort escaped, taking Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange with him, not even Fudge could deny that the Darkest of Lords had returned; having seen it himself with at least the half a dozen Aurors he had bought to stop the Ministry intruders.
Though none of that mattered to Remus, for Harry and Sirius were lost to them; death by Veil…
Remus expected to be damned for his part in it all, and his expectations were met with full unbridled force and then some. Molly Weasley had screamed at him, as if he were the one to deal the two their deaths, but he let her.
Harry's two best friends were far worst to meet with. Ronald Weasley had yelled at him to, and even though he did, he was surprisingly more understanding than his mother. Remus was not blind to suffering, having suffered from a curse nearly all his life. The youngest of the Weasley males was hurting inside as he yelled, his voice slowly dissolving into sobs as Hermione Granger held him back, her own tears streaming silently down her face as she gripped onto the red-head boy for dear life. Remus had a feeling that the pain was bringing them closing than they had ever been before, but it was still not a joyous occasion when he heard their sobs in the night.
Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Ginevra Weasley (who did not even object to the use of her formal name as she cried her own tears) were all far more reserved while Remus was near. They all knew Harry better than Molly ever could, and knew he would gladly risk his life to save a loved one. They had all seen him fight tooth and nail when he believed Sirius had been in danger and fallen into the Death Eaters' trap. From the Pensieve memories he had seen when Dumbledore called a meeting of the Order, James and Lily's boy had fought with the skill of an Auror, the determination born of being a lion; the courageous spirit born of being a Gryffindor. The children's tearful forgiveness was in a way a thousand times worse than Molly's shrill condemnation.
Dumbledore acted as if he had lost his only grandchild and sole heir. He had tears in his eyes throughout the meeting he had called, but still he put on a brave face; even as the tears slipped silently with no one telling him a word about them as he never once flicked them away. The elder simply allowed his tears to stream unstopped and uninhibited.
And now Fudge's administration was teetering on the brink of complete collapse with no clear successor; Voldemort was not making a single open attack now that the world knew about him. The Prophet had been running warnings for two full weeks now, and yet not a single muggle town or landmark was touched by Death Eater attack. For those reasons only was Fudge still in office, and Fudge was growing more worried than anyone else about the present state of things.
It felt as if the whole world were in the eye of the storming, waiting for it to pass to brave what it had once before. They were all waiting for the first shot to be fired; the first hex cast; the first battle cry to be given as to usher in the Second British Wizarding World War.
"How much longer will you be here today, Remus?" the person from before asked as Remus felt his tear-stained thoughts flee for a moment. Then he felt a soft hand on his right bare shoulder, and looked down to see the tank-topped form of Nymphadora Tonks smiling sadly up at him. Her warm brown eyes were mournful, yet accepting. There was no judgment in her face, only comfort.
"Ho-How long have I been here?" Remus asked, his voice dry, cracky, and quiet from the lack of use. It was nearly two whole weeks since he had spoken more than a single sentence to anyone. He had nothing to say in his own defense after all, and his own grief came silently within the confides of his mind.
"Too long…" she answered just as quietly, as though he would break if she spoke any louder, "Dumbledore sent me to get you. He wants everyone in his office at Hogwarts as soon as possible today."
"If it's about the wolf packs-"
"I don't think it is, old man." Tonks said, injecting a little humor as she slowly rubbed at his arm, smoothing the hairs on it.
"They made you remove your robes and sleeves, too, I see?" Remus said, glancing down at her where a gray tank-top and brown shoes and shoes adorned her appearance.
"Yeah." was her only answer.
"Why is he calling this meeting?" Remus asked, his eyes once again focused on the calm shifting of the Veil, it's curtain-like void a constant reminder of his greatest mistake.
"No clue." Tonks replied, sighing as she leaned her head on him, "But we have to go. You need to stop coming here."
"I ha-have to." Remus said, his voice breaking slightly, "It's the only way I'll be able to live with what I let happen. I'll die in this room myself, old, hungry, and feeble. Then I'll fling myself through there, and-"
"Remus!" Tonks screeched, jerking back from him as she stared up at him with wide brown eyes, looking like a frightened child who was losing her parent. He was serious, and he hoped she could see it on his face.
"We'll go and see what Dumbledore wants of us." Remus said, turning away from her fearful gaze. It made him feel hesitation in his plan of lifetime suffering. He knew that Harry and Sirius would not want him blaming himself, but he did. It was, after all, his fault both of them were gone for allowing Harry to slip through his fingertips.
"Ye-Yeah…" Tonks said slowly, unsurely as she stared after him, "We'll do that…"
As they made their way out of the Ministry and floo-ed to Hogwarts, Tonks said nothing. This was one thing for which Remus was eternally grateful for. There was nothing left to be said that had not already been spoken. There were no thoughts he had not already thought. All there was left to do was stand, stare, and wait for the evitable once he got back from the meeting.
The headmaster's office was in shambles. The children- or more of young adults after what they had experienced that night- had all thrown a grieving fit like no other; especially Ronald and Neville. The two had torn apart the old wizard's office and had not even apologized for it as Dumbledore simply stood by and let them.
The two, however, were there cleaning it up when Remus and Tonks were the first to arrive for the meeting while Dumbledore sat beyond his desk looking over stacks of parchment with a vigor they had not seen in him for the past two weeks.
"Ah! Nymphadora, Remus! Please, do come in!" Dumbledore shouted in his usual jolly tone as Tonks and Remus exchanged glances of confusion. Even Neville and Ron (both of whom paused in their wand-waving) gave the ancient wizard strange looks as though his attitude were completely new.
"Headmaster." Remus greeted as he came in with Tonks behind him, nodding their heads to the old man as he beamed at them.
"Well now, have a seat!" Dumbledore said politely with much energy, gesturing for the two to sit in two of the many chairs arranged around his office for the meeting, "Neville, Ronald. If you two would, please get the attention of Professors Snape and McGonagall. Have them come here at their earliest convenience within the hour. Thank you."
The two boys exchanged wild looks before rushing out the door, perhaps to get their friends in on the meeting as well as Remus turned and saw Arthur and Molly coming in with their twin sons sagging behind, their normal jovial nature stunted in the wake Harry and Sirius's deaths.
"Arthur, Molly, and younger Mr. Weasleys! Please, do have a seat anywhere whilst I finish with these arrangements." Dumbledore said, smiling up at the Weasley clan- as the other Weasley boys, minus Ronald, were coming in as well- before returning his cheerful gaze back to his parchments, sorting through them and making notes on some.
By the time Dumbledore had finished, the entire Order had assembled in the expanded office. Snape seemed more vicious than usual, Moody far more watchful- if that was even possible- and Kingsley was practically bounding nervously on heels as his eyes roamed the room for a sign as to why the esteemed Headmaster of Hogwarts was so happy in the wake of such lost.
"Welcome, all of you!" Dumbledore said as he stood from behind his desk, "I apologize for calling you all here on such short notice, but I had just a few words and a bit of news to share with you all. I promise, I shall be brief, but your own reactions might make this meeting drag on indefinitely."
"What is it, Albus?" McGonagall asked somberly, stepping forward with curiosity the others couldn't seem to summon up in their sorrow.
"It is, perhaps, the only object within this room that has not been destroyed by young Ronald and Neville's tantrum two weeks ago." Dumbledore said, reaching within a drawer behind his desk and placing a small silver trinket atop the large oak desk.
"And what, pray tell, is that?" Snape asked tersely, his jaw set in a way that did nothing to hide his fierce scowl as he too stepped forward from his spot in the back.
"This small bobble is one I've had for the last fifteen years." Dumbledore explained, "I will not hide it from you; I used most of the objects in this room as checks for various things. This trinket itself was used to alert me to young Harry's presence amongst the living."
"A lot of good it'll do now!"
"Ron!"
"Ronald Weasley!"
"Molly, young Miss Granger, please calm down." Dumbledore said calmly, not the lest bit effected by the Youngest male Weasley's biting words or tone. In fact, he looked glad that someone had spoken up as such.
"Well what good will it do, Dumbledore?" Bill Weasley asked, gripping a young French girl's hand, "Harry's gone, and I don't think keeping a silver trinket around is what this meeting is all about."
"You're quite right, young William." Dumbledore said softly, "Because this silver trinket was supposed to turn a white marble color upon Harry's start into the afterlife."
The room was dead silent as Dumbledore's words entered their minds and pierced their thoughts like a dagger.
"So Harry's alive!" Ron shouted, gleeful as they had not seen him since he had received the news of Harry's demise.
"Ron! Don't!" Hermione refuted, calming the red-head, "The devise might be defective…"
"That would be true, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eye, "But I have personally checked it over with ever Detection Charm known to my vast library and memory. It is still fully-functional."
"Really?" Neville asked, not daring to get his hopes up even as he came forward from the back. Remus himself could hardly believe it. Harry was alive…
That meant that Sirius could also be-
"I must concur with you, Albus." Snape said, his thoughts and facial expressions expertly schooled, "Potter must, indeed, still be alive. The Dark Lord has been… strange, as of late. He seems… puzzled and furious. He mutters about the boy and curses him. He will soon come to the same conclusion as we."
"Now wait a moment," it was Remus who spoke this time, daring to hope against all odds as he stood from his chair, "If Voldemort didn't already know that Harry was alive, why hadn't he struck out like he had in the first war against him."
"Yes," Arthur agreed with a nod of his head, "I for one have been greatly surprised to see Lucius Malfoy looking panicked and the known Ministry Death Eaters doing nothing to further Voldemort's control."
"The Dark Lord was still…" Snape's eyes darted back to where the children were, looking at one of them, but Remus couldn't tell if it was Neville or Ronald the man was looking at, "… hesitant to move so openly again when I told him that the information of Longbottom having heard the full-contents of the Prophecy those fools Lucius and Lestrange had gone to get. With the orb gone, only Longbottom here knows the whole Prophecy, and the Dark Lord was most hesitant of what that could mean."
Remus saw Snape make significant eye contact with Dumbledore, but said nothing. If anyone else in the room knew whatever that orb had said, it was Snape and Dumbledore or at least just Dumbledore. Remus would bet his bottom dollar as the Americans said it that the eldest wizard among them knew; both full and well of the contents within the Prophecy and what it truly meant for the world at large.
"How?" an quiet voice asked from the back as Remus directed his attention to where everyone else was looking. It was Ginny, or Luna, either could have spoken and Remus wasn't sure which had.
"It is my theory that the Veil in the Ministry is in fact not a gateway to death." Dumbledore intoned quietly, "In fact, I believe it might actually transport those sent through to entirely separate place!"
"But to where, Albus?" McGonagall asked, and Remus could tell she was holding back some emotion as she rung the handkerchief in her hands.
"I'm not entirely sure." Dumbledore said, a small smile on his face, "I'm not sure at all. This sort of situation has never happened before in all of recorded magical history."
"Then what do we do?" Tonks asked as Moody glanced at her, "We can't just go on like nothing happened with this sort of information sitting in our laps while we ring our hands thinking to pick up the feley-phone or not!"
"The girl is right, Albus." Moody gruffed from his spot in the back, his ever watchful eyes trained on the ancient Headmaster, "Who knows what Potter's getting up to wherever he may be on the other side of that thing. He could be fighting for his life as we speak."
"Well, until we come up with a plan," Dumbledore said, taking up the silver trinket and holding it for all to see, "it would appear that Harry's health is quite fine for the present moment. The evenness of the silvery coloring details his present health. If he were in danger, the color would flux in a constant tempo according to how badly ill he is."
"But what about You-Know-Who!" one of the members squeaked, and Remus had the feeling it was Mundugus Fletcher, "He'll be wise to our moves! He'll go after the Potter boy as well!"
"Yes, he will!" Dumbledore said, closing his eyes for a brief moment, "And it is for that reason the world has a reprieve from his most terrible wrath. While he focuses his attention solely on Harry, who even beyond an artifact thought to be a portal to Death itself still eludes both him and Death, he shall not strike until he knows that Harry is once again amongst those he causes suffering to."
"And for the moment, Harry is safe!" Hermione said, catching on just as quickly as Remus was while several others looked confused, "While Harry's beyond the Veil, Voldemort will be trying to get through to drag Harry back!"
"Precisely, Miss Granger!" Dumbledore said, nodding with the mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes, "And Voldemort will not attack until he knows that those who have escaped him have been dealt with. It is, I might say, his greatest weakness and most evil of strengths."
"So what do we do?" Ron asked feverishly, and Remus knew that the boy was just waiting to pounce at the chance of getting Harry back like Remus himself was.
"Honestly, Ron! It's obvious!" Hermione snapped as a few others glared at the clever girl.
"Then please enlighten us, Miss Granger." one of the older members of the Order snapped while Hermione flushed with embarrassment and stammered out hasty words of apology for the apparent insult to the intellect of others.
"We investigate the Veil." Dumbledore stepped in, fluently regaining the attention and control of the meeting with those few words, "Though I shall be doing that myself with Kingsley, Tonks, and Alastor acting as my guards. All those that wish to accompany me may do so at their own digression."
"But wouldn't You-Know-Who try to get at the Veil as well, Dumbledore?" Molly asked.
"He might," Dumbledore said tersely, a fire in his eyes as he stood like the powerful figure they all knew him to truly be, "However, I believe this time… we will be ready for him."
And on those words, the meeting was ended as everyone raced away to prepare. Remus himself left to acquire a meal. Molly flat out told her children, Hermione, Neville, and Luna that they would not be going. However, as they walked away with their fists clenched and their heads hung low, they all exchanged a look that promised they would be going; if only to join Harry wherever he's gone.
"Severus, how nice of you to join us…" Voldemort said suavely while petting the large snake which draped from his shoulders like a scarf, "What news do you bring from that fool Dumbledore's order?"
"They are on the move once again, my Lord." Snape said, kneeling before the power-crazed Dark wizard, "Dumbledore has plans to make a trip into the Ministry in order to investigate the Veil for any chance of bringing the Potter spawn back from beyond it. He hopes that his many years of magical expertise will be able to gleam some form of hope for their pitiful savior."
"Yes… quite pitiful, isn't it?" Voldemort asked lightly, his red eyes gazing over Snape's impassively imposing knelt form from atop his throne-like chair in Malfoy Manor, "Is there anymore information?"
"He plans to make the investigation tonight whilst you have not been on the move yourself. He wishes to use this token of your mercy toward the sheep of the world in order to get his work done quietly." Snape said, his voice a monotonous sound.
"Hmm…" Voldemort contemplated the information for a moment.
He was unbelievably furious that the Potter brat was still alive. Even the Veil of Death had failed to kill the boy! It was only in the last few days that he had gleamed some imagines of the boy's present state before being harmed by that unknown force which kept him at bay from the boy's mind. It seemed that the force, whatever it was, had only grown stronger over the course of the boy's time beyond the Veil.
Could the energies beyond or within the Veil be making the boy stronger? While the boy could grow as strong as he wanted, he wouldn't be able to hold a candle to the power that was Lord Voldemort. However, his growing stronger could make him a thorn in the Dark Lord's side more so than he already was.
Then there were the imagines he had gleamed. Visions of happy children, smiling women, unusual creatures which the boy gleefully took on as pets of some sort. These visions were disturbing and confused the Dark Lord with their warmth and happiness.
"Crucio…" Voldemort incanted, flicking his wand lazily at Snape, who writhed on the ground for excruciatingly long seconds before the madman lifted his curse. He had to take his fury out on something, and with that buffoon Lucius absent- for which he would be punished- he had no one to torture rightfully so.
"You have served me well this day, Severus." the self-entitled Voldemort said loftily, "However, you have brought me this information too late. Nightfall is already upon us, and I'm sure that old fool Dumbledore has already gone to the Ministry. I shall summon more of my Death Eaters, and we shall bring my fury down upon them. However, Dumbledore is mine to de-"
Pausing as the doors on the far side of the room opened, Voldemort narrowed his eyes at the figure who dared to interrupt him. The figure dashed in, heaving heavy breaths before sliding down to kneel next to Severus, revealing itself as Lucius Malfoy, owner of the very manor Voldemort now called his headquarters.
"Lucius, you are late." Voldemort said curtly, allowing Nagini to slither from his shoulders and out the room.
"I beg your forgiveness, my Lord." Lucius groveled, "I was delayed at the Ministry by the dullard Fudge and the old fool Dumbledore!"
"What news do you bring with you from them, Lucius?" Voldemort hissed, quickly losing his patience with the blond man.
"Dumbledore was petitioning the Ministry for an examination of the Death Veil." Lucius sneered, "The old fool wants to send a team of Unspeakables into the Veil with a life-line anchor here in this world. He's only doing this because the blasted Potter boy fell through."
"But of course." Voldemort said loftily, "What is a mastermind without his ever faith pawns? Dumbledore and I both have information which suggests that the Potter boy is alive somehow, in some form, on the other side of the Veil."
"I will go at once, my Lord to intervene in Dumbledore's plans." Lucius groveled, bowing his head to the floor as Voldemort scowled darkly down at him.
"You have already failed me once!" Voldemort said as he venomously sent a curse at Lucius, making the man writhe in pain, "The Prophecy should be clutched in my left hand at this very moment, but now it is no more and I have been discovered by the Ministry."
"But my Lord-"
"Silence!" Voldemort sneered, lifting his wand, "Crucio! I do not reward failure, Lucius!"
"Of c-course, my darkest and most p-powerful of all Lords!" Lucius whimpered out after Voldemort lifted the curse a few moments later.
"See to it that you remember well." Voldemort said, and turned his back to Lucius as his cold red gaze fell upon Severus Snape.
"Go to Dumbledore and find out when he and his merry band of fools will be partaking in this research tonight."
"At once, my Lord." Snape said, bowing as he rose to his feet to leave.
"And Lucius," Voldemort rasped out in his high, cold voice, "What of your son? Draconic, I believe his name was."
"Draco is just fine, my Lord." Lucius said as Voldemort narrowed his red eyes upon the wealthy man.
"Not his health, you fool! His loyalties! Where do his loyalties lie?!" Voldemort bellowed, though his voice never raised above a polite inside tone.
"With you, my Lord! Always!" Lucius said, standing, "Our family has no other."
"And not with the Potter boy?" Voldemort asked quietly, moving around Lucius, "For he spends a great deal of time taunting the boy; revealing things cryptically to our foe, staking Potter's movements. It would almost seem that your son is actually-"
"Draco has no other, my Lord!" Lucius cut in, making Voldemort raise an eyebrow, "Only you! Only you, my Lord! If it seems otherwise, then I can assure you that it is not! My son only lords your greatness over Potter; knowing that no matter what the boy might do, he'll never succeed in delaying his inevitable fate at your magnificent hands."
"You interrupted me, Lucius." Voldemort said in his high cold voice, lifting his wand. Lucius resisted the urge to flinch back, wanting for pain which never came. "However, your words and your vouching for your son have not fallen on deaf ears. Your son is one of us… or rather; soon will be."
"Thank you, my Lord, for bestowing such an honor and privilege upon my lineage as this." Lucius said, bowing as Voldemort smiled coldly, the room seeming all the darker for it.
"Yes, but he must first prove himself." Voldemort said, watching as his loyal followers began to come into the sitting room as he set the fireplace ablaze, "And soon he shall. A single mission, and he will have the honor of wearing my mark with pride."
"Anything." Lucius assured as Voldemort's chilling smile grew.
"Bring your son… Draco, to the Death Chamber in the Ministry tonight." Voldemort said, "He shall play a role in what I wish to accomplish there."
Lucius nodded shakily, his face now pale in the presence of his master as he gave his assurance that Draco would attend such a meeting.
"Severus!" a voice called, "Severus, let me in!"
"Then do come in." Snape said, stepping back from the fire as a figure came out of the risen flames to step into the Potions Master's office.
The figure was none other than Lucius Malfoy. Though he didn't look half as good as one might think when they pictured the Malfoy Lord. His hair was wild and matted. His face was drenched in sweat and flushed red with exhaustion. His aristocratic features were overshadowed by the fuzz of an unshaven chin and dark shadows which displayed the bags under the man's bloodshot eyes.
"Well, I've seen you worst, Lucius, but I didn't think you'd be getting remarried or having another affair anytime soon after what Narcissa and her parents did to you after both." Snape drawled as Lucius glared at him.
"No, you fool! This is about something far worst than marriage threats and after-affair hexes! This is about my only son and heir; this is about Draco!" Lucius shouted, clutching at his hair as he stumbled further into Snape's office.
"As I'm sure." Snape drawled, snuffing out the flames in the fireplace, "So what is it that worries you about my barely tolerable godson?"
"He wants him! The Dark Lord wants my son as his newest toy!" Lucius cried as Severus stopped dead, looking as though he wanted to express an emotion, a disgusted one, but calmly regained his composure as he guided Lucius to a seat on the office sofa.
"Go on." Severus said, taking a deep breath to refrain from showing his feelings about the situation.
"He's doing it to punish me for my failure at the Ministry." Lucius sobbed out while Snape looked vaguely uncomfortable, "I know that's the reason. He figures that since I'm now a failure, Bellatrix is getting old, and my family name still holds a great power that Draco… that Draco, my son Draco, should become his latest pet to lap at his feet."
"He wants Draco to both punish you and Bella for your failures and to replace the both of you in one foul swoop." Snape surmised, "It's actually quite cruel and brilliant all at once…"
"Don't you dare praise him for this!" Lucius shouted behind his curt of wild blond hair, "His main concern is to punish us. That's why he wants my son. He knows that I hold my family dear to me."
"Something that, as a Death Eater, you really shouldn't if you valued them at all." Snape pointed out as Lucius looked ready to smack him.
"He can't have my son! He can't!" Lucius shouted, "I never wanted this for Draco!"
"I thought you always wanted Draco to follow in your footsteps?" Snape asked impassively, quirking a brow.
"Not the glaringly pathetic, shameful ones!" Lucius howled like some beaten animal, "Never have I wanted my son to know the true depths to which his father sank all because of a mistake he made in his foolish youth."
"Is that why you tried to make him become friends with the Potter boy the first few years of their schooling together?" Snape asked, leaning back as he steeped his fingers like a psychiatrist.
"No!" Lucius shouted, but then flinched back as if struck, "Y-Yes… I don't know, maybe! Yes! Yes, I wanted my son to befriend Potter, but then the boy cost me my favorite elf! Damn that boy!"
"So this is all fine to talk about in the privacy of my office?" Snape asked as Lucius glared at him.
"Well, I'm glad you're getting your jollies out of this, but my son- your godson- is in danger!" Lucius bellowed as Snape's near amused expression dropped in the fraction of a second, "He's going to fling Draco into the Veil!"
"What?!" Snape shouted, the loudest his voice had ever been since he mastered the art of Occlumency.
"It's true." Lucius nodded pitifully, howling and crying once again like some wounded beast, "He's going to throw Draco in, and if Draco should return from the other side without Potter, the he'll take Draco and be rid of Bellatrix and myself."
And both knew that the Dark Lord Voldemort did not keep old pets around. He put them down as the muggles did; through death. Though unlike the muggles, his methods were far from humane and peaceful.
"Then let us hope he does not pit the two of you against one another." Snape said quietly, "Or worst, turn the two of you over to Greyback, who, as I'm told, enjoys making a mess of his meals.
A fire lit in Lucius' eyes at the mention of their werewolf cohort, "I swear on my mother's grave that if he thinks I'll be done in by some flea-bitten werewolf, then-"
"Peace, Lucius, peace." Snape said, rising from the couch and sweeping toward his desk. He bent lowly over it, acquiring a quill and ink as he dabbed the tip of the quill within the vial of ink. "I shall handle this. You have nothing to worry about. Draco shall be fine. You and Bella, however, will not."
"What do you mean?" Lucius asked in concern, leaping to his feet as he stalked over to Severus, "What do you have in store, Severus?"
"A plan, that is all." Snape said, still writing as Lucius tried to read. "Leave everything to me. You, Narcissa, and Bellatrix if you choose to do her the kindness, must flee the country and head for another. One where the Dark Lord would never think to find you."
"Asia… or even America." Lucius proclaimed immediately, calmly, as though he had been planning to flee before, on a number of occasions, but never did. "My father had old connections in both, and I have them off the books. My family can make a new life in either one. I think I'll go for America, though. At least it wouldn't be that much of a culture shock."
"Then after the meeting, which is in…" Snape glanced up at his mantle clock, "Two hours, you had best have your things packed."
"I have emergency bottomless bags with our most unforgettable things already in our rooms." Lucius said, holding himself as he once proudly did. "I can always have… the goblins spell anything else back to us once we get to where we're going."
"Good." Snape said, putting the finishing touches on his letter before he rolled the parchment up and hid it away within the confides of his robe's inner breast pocket, "I can't protect you and Draco, Lucius."
"Then you protect my son and heir." Lucius hissed, looking ready to draw his wand should Snape disagree.
"Then it is done." Snape said, patting where his breast pocket was.
"I want your word, Severus." Lucius said, "I want an Unbreakable Vow."
"Your daringly wife, Narcissa, had already asked for my vow this morning when she understood that the Dark Lord was displeased with you." Snape said, his featured carefully control to appear as blank and aloof as possible. "She came to visit me at my own home on Spinner's End with Bellatrix in tow. She had me swear to protect and guide Draco on his mission."
"And? Anything else?" Lucius said, knowing there would be more.
"Bellatrix added the stipulation that should Draco fail on his mission, one which he has yet to receive mind you, that I should be the one to carry it out. Pettigrew witnessed it all if you want another account of the events."
"No, I think I've learned to trust you of all people, Severus." Lucius said, sagging with relief. "So you will do it, then? Help Draco when he receives orders to kill Potter on the other side of the Veil?"
"Perhaps." Snape said, once again steeping his fingers as he leaned back in his desk chair, "Or perhaps I want to die when Draco fails? Perhaps I would like a rest from all of the chaos we live in."
"Then flee to the other side, kill Potter, and never return." Lucius said earnestly, "You could even keep Draco with you."
"Perhaps…" Snape said inattentively, gazing into the now empty fireplace as though it would suddenly burst aflame and have all the answers, "Perhaps indeed…"
"My faithful Death Eaters," Voldemort spoke loftily, stretching his arms wide as he stood mere meters from the Veil, "welcome. I welcome each and everyone of you who has come here today in order to watch the spectacle which is about to occur. The spectacle in which I speak of is young Draco Malfoy's initiation into our ranks, your ranks, as another of my faithful servants whom shall be rewarded when I restore our kind to our rightful place… As rulers of the world!"
The wild cheers that rang out from the many Death Eaters gathered in the Death Chamber echoed off the walls like the mighty coliseums from the days of Rome. Draco Malfoy was paler than normal as he shook like a leaf in the wind. He stood next to Voldemort, who had a hand gently caressing his shoulder and keeping him in place should he even think to move away.
"Within the hour, Dumbledore and his order of blinded fools shall enter this chamber, wishing to probe the very artifact behind me as we stand ready to combat them." Voldemort spoke once the cheers had silenced, "It is young Draco here, however, that will have the most important role in this skirmish. Young Draco Malfoy has so graciously asked, with my permission, that he may travel to the other side of the Veil, and bring Harry Potter back to me, alive, as a gift to my infallible greatness. What say you of his mission?"
More anxiously impatient cheers rang out from the sea of black robes with Bellatrix Lestrange being the loudest among them at the front of the crowd. She was so proud of her nephew, already taking on such a dangerous and important mission for the Dark Lord, and not having even received his mark yet. With Draco's success, her failure and that of her family's would be washed away in the eye of her most beloved Lord. Then they would stand together with the Dark Lord as he conquered all those that dared to so foolish oppose him. Dumbledore would crumble, Potter would fall, Hogwarts would collapse, the Ministry would bow, and the world would kneel before the might of the world's Darkest of Dark Lords in all of history!
Voldemort raised a hand, silencing the masses as they wanted on pins and needles for his next words to send them into a higher frenzy of excitement. However, the Lord's words never came as the doors high above the chamber were thrown open, and Dumbledore stood before them with waves of Aurors and Order members flooding into the room like raging waters.
"I am afraid, Tom, that your festivities are to be cut short." Dumbledore said gravely as the Aurors prepared for battle. But the first curse had already been flung by one Bellatrix Lestrange, and the battle which waged afterward was the stuff of legends.
Aurors worked in tandem to capture living prisoners while Death Eaters threw deadly hexes and viciously spells in the hopes of violently killing their targets.
In the midst of the battle were Voldemort and Dumbledore once again matching the other with everything they had. Dumbledore not aiming to kill while Voldemort attempted murder with each wave of his wand.
Even Fudge was there, commanding the forces of justice alongside Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour while the two protected the veteran Minister from all forms of curses, hexes, and jinxes.
If one were to look closely at some of the fighters, they would recognize the teenagers from the Ministry battle barely over two weeks ago.
Hermione struck out with great knowledge and proficiency while Ron was at her back using his spells to cause combined effects with those around him.
Neville lashed out like a madman as every dark robed figure that came across his vision was hit with a stunner while Luna supported him with shield charms and other protections.
Ginny had come, and in the end had been forced to drag Colin Creevey once he had overheard Ron and Hermione telling her that Harry was in fact alive on the other side of the Veil. The two worked in sync, with Colin and her using everything they had learned from Harry and more as they switched position every now and then to catch their opponents off-guard while sending out explosive spells and simple leg-locking jinxes.
"Granger!" a voice bellowed, and Hermione looked up from where she was climbing onto the Veil's rocky platform to see Draco Malfoy drawing his wand at her.
"Malfoy!" a voice shouted just behind her as Hermione found Ron no longer supporting her climb as he practically jumped atop the platform and began an attack on the pale boy.
Hermione had no choice as she heaved herself up and onto the stage. They would kill each other, and after moping around for two weeks thinking that Harry was dead, she had learned that death was never a pleasant feeling for someone to know. She now understood why Harry had been so out of sorts the whole year with having actually witnessed Cedric Diggory die in front of him. She could only imagine the pain she would have felt, the total sense of helplessness- of weakness- had she witnessed Harry and Sirius enter the Veil with her being unable to stop them.
So, really, she had no choice as she tried to pry Ron off of Draco Malfoy while the their wands lay forgotten in the fury Ron held for the blond and the blond in turn not one easily outdone in a fist fight. She yelled and shouted herself hoarse, screaming for them to stop before someone ended up truly hurt and the other guilty for their actions. But her words fell on deaf ears as Ron punched Malfoy across the face, and Malfoy responded with kicking Ron off of him, before possibly breaking ribs when he sent a harsh boot to Ron's torso.
Hermione knocked the blond back with a simple banishing charm as she helped Ron up. She immediately noticed the way Ron clutched at his ribs, and wished that she knew more than the basic numbing charm as she cast the spell to give Ron some relief while there was still a virtual war going on around them on the floor and on the stone steps leading up to the chamber door.
"Sectumsorta!" Draco cast, having gotten back his wand as Hermione turned quickly to him with a nonverbal shield charm keeping the yellowish flames from her and Ron. Ron, as soon as the spell looked to be dying away, lunged himself at Malfoy, but with a slash of his wand and a bang that was lost in all the noise around them, Ron crumbled in a heap at Malfoy's feet while his wand still lay a mere meter from his downed form.
Hermione was never one prone to anger, but seeing Ron taken down as he was made something inside her snap. First she had believed she had lost Harry, and now Ron was barely twitching while Malfoy stood over him with a wide victorious grin on his face as his grey eyes went up to met her own furious brown orbs. She raised her wand just as he raised his, and their fierce battle started.
Hermione wasn't even sure of half the spells she was using as she combated the blond while her wild bushy hair seemed to crackle with electricity. She was just shouting words she remembered from her classes, waving her wand about frantically in her anger with no plan, no rhyme, nor rhythm. In fact, she was sure that some of them were charms like levitation and enthusiasm charms, but she didn't care as she continued her vicious weaving while Draco blocked and countered, their dance creating various noises and lights flashing about them as they tried hard to defeat the other.
She didn't want to hurt him. He might have been a serious prat, and an intolerable snob, but he hadn't really done anything truly awful toward them. He had just been sort of a foil to them, blocking their every act of good with his own acts of arrogance and nastiness. Truly, Draco Malfoy was only what they made him out to be; a spoiled brat with vicious parents who passed their dark tendencies onto him. If anything, Draco was little more than a commonplace bully. A rich and spoiled one at that, but a bully none the less. In fact, now that she thought about it deep within her subconscious, Hermione couldn't place Draco any higher than an ongoing nuisance when he directly opposed Harry.
However, Hermione scoffed at her inner thoughts as she battled the Malfoy scion. This was no time for a character analysis when the very person she was observing was actively trying to do harm to her. It was then that Ginny and Luna decided to join the fray, willing their wands against Malfoy as he tried hard to keep up with the three up and coming witches. Though it proved to be little more than a challenge for Malfoy as he took advantage of their teamwork, quickly disarming Luna and using their shock to banish the girl back to where Ron was finally coming around. Then he focused on Ginny, who fought hard against him as she used vicious curses and hexes like Malfoy was, though he had probably been practicing far longer than her as her legs came together and her arms seized up at her sides before she fell over.
And then they were back to square one, him versus her as they attempted to outclass the other while keeping their ground. Malfoy had been pushed back to stand almost a foot in front of the Veil, and seemed quite nervous about it as he took a half-step to the side every chance he got, but since Hermione was raining spells down on him, he wasn't getting too many chances.
Then he suddenly grinned, his eyes flickering to the squirming Ginny and the newly awaken Ron who was helping Luna up. Hermione immediately understood what he would try, and knew that no amount of spell work on her behalf could stop him if she could not end the battle with it before. And as Malfoy's curved spells destroyed rock and stone near Ginny and Ron, Hermione found that she felt anxious about her next move.
So, taking a leaf from Ron's book, Hermione used the closeness of their battle and the fear Malfoy felt toward the Veil in a cunningly cleaver ploy to both defeat Draco Malfoy and save her friends from whatever effects his next spell would have.
As Malfoy incanted the words for his next spell which would be aimed at Ron, Hermione broke off from the battle and lunged at him. Her initial intent was to knock him to the ground and punch him in the nose like she had in their Third Year. Though Hermione supposed that some ideas were better on paper than in practice, because with the momentum she had and the fact that Draco's stand was already unbalanced, Hermione effectively sent the two of them tumbling into the Veil as Malfoy's shocked expression was cut short with the fist she implanted in his face just as they fell beyond the Veil.
"Hermione!" Ron bellowed, having seen his friend fall beyond the curtain of Death when she tried to tackle Malfoy. If they lived on the other side like Harry was, Ron swore as he ran at the Veil and lunged at, he would deck Malfoy square between the eyes for endangering Hermione's life.
"No!" two voices yelled as Ron's body was harshly knocked to the ground as he fell short of the Veil.
The twins, Merlin bless them, were always in his way and making him feel like an idiot. But now wasn't the time for them to stop him, as he kicked one in the stomach and elbowed the other. He would apologize if they ever saw each other again, but right now, Harry and Hermione needed him far more than he ever thought so before.
He had promised himself before leaving the castle that if he could, he would go into the Veil and drag Harry back if only to punch him once they were on the living side. And so, with that in mind, Ron Weasley disappeared into the Veil just as Hermione and Malfoy had done not a minute ago.
Meanwhile, Ginny and Luna watched as Ron dived into the Veil with no amount of hesitation while the twins lay where they had been knocked down, not bothering to cover their expressions of horror and shock. While Luna looked away from the Veil, and held her knees to her chest, Ginny scrambled to her feet, and ran at the archway, intent on following the others all the way.
But the twins saw her coming from the corner of their eyes, and frantically got up as they just barely managed to get her in time with her petite speed. George dived for her ankles while Fred wrapped his arms around her torso, both slamming her to the ground and well away from the Veil while squeezing her close to them as she trashed and clawed for them to release her.
"No, not you too, Gin!" Fred shouted, tears rolling down his face as she continued to fight her brothers.
"Ron and Harry! Hermione! There gone! Go in and get them! Make them come back!" Ginny yelled as George frantically shook his head at her waist.
"It's too late! Their gone, and Dumbledore will get them back one way or the other!" he yelled, "We can't lose you too, Ginny!" George said as his tears streamed freely down his face while she tried to use her feet and kick him.
"No! I'm going with them! They need me!"
"No they don't!" the twins shouted, but they didn't understand. Ron needed her, Hermione needed her…
Harry… Harry needed her!
"We're sorry, Gin!" Fred said, and exchanged a look with George as he nodded his head. Then, one of Fred's arms twisted around on her back, and she felt something poke at her back. Then, her back arched as she felt a stab of pain burst out from the small of her back before she went limp into unconsciousness. The twins released their grip on her, and sat up while shouldering her toward Luna where they stood guard over their little sister and Luna while the battle in the chamber raged on.
"They'll be okay, you know." Luna said as she stroked Ginny's hair while the flame-haired girl's head rest in her lap. It was such an odd sight to see in the midst of the chaos that was all around them. There sat Luna Lovegood, stroking Ginny's hair as the girl's had lay in her lap while Luna spoke to no one in particular. "Harry and the others will be back in no time. You'll see. They're just fine. I can hear them already."
And as the battle raged, Luna continued to speak words of safety involving their friends lost beyond the Veil.
… White …
… Nothing but white …
Hermione, even with her eyes closed to the blissful feeling of peace around her, found white to be such a cumbersome color to encounter. It left nothing but imagination to the mind, and instead of brining her peaceful focus, only caused her mind to wander as her body floated through the nothingness which was beyond the Veil.
Finally opening her eyes, Hermione saw that nothing had changed. All around her was a soft white light that stretched onward for what seemed like eternity. Really, she half-hearted wished she was blind to this supposedly serene scene before her. To her, this was not peace, this was boredom, torture, nothing. She saw nothing in this mellow white. Nothing but emptiness which could be filled with the imagination of the worlds. She wondered, briefly if that was how the world came to be. If God had merely floated through the empty white realm and grown bored with it after a time, willing into existence a world to slate his boredom and bring him some form of excitable stimulation. However, Hermione knew she was no God, and that this realm would remain filled with nothing… nothing but an empty… white… realm… Nothing all around… Nothing but her…
Breathing deeply, and wondering if she were actually breathing at all as she questioned her own existence in this empty realm, Hermione relaxed in the nothingness around her. She would be there a while, she felt. It seemed like nothing would show up that she could not see in the forever extending blankness of this place.
But then, she felt something. Something bump in back of her as she quickly turned to this new stimulation. It was Draco Malfoy, or at least, appeared to be Malfoy. He looked to be unconscious, and his face was so peaceful. And it suddenly registered to her that he was very much naked, yet, she felt no shame in his nakedness nor her own as she glanced down at her body.
How odd…
And it just got odder as she saw a bright light in the distance from beyond Draco's floating body. She looked forward to notice the light appearing like a beacon. Her eyes widened as she saw something spring forth from the light, and wondered if God had come to liberate them from this torturous Purgatory.
But that was when she grew a faint echo of surprise. She did not believe God had flaming red hair, nor freckles. She also did not believe that her friend, Ronald Weasley, was God. Though there he was, floating gently toward them as he too was unconscious with a blissful expression on his face.
It was then that Hermione began to question more, like the fact that she was awake when they were not. As she poked at Draco, and the Ron when he floated close enough, she wondered if she could wake them, or even if she should when it appeared they were rather enjoying their rest. But then, since they appeared trapped in the endless Limbo, she supposed that they could rest just about anytime.
And even as her hand came harsher across Ron's face than she would have liked, he aroused from his sleep as though she had only just gently nudged him awak. His eyes opened like those of a descending angel to stare softly at her with his peaceful expression never fading from his features.
"Hermione…" Ron breathed, as though she were all that mattered in the world around them.
"Ron…" and she found that her voice had come out much the same way as Ron's eyes roamed her naked form, though took on no perversion nor shame. It was as though he were gazing at tranquil water instead of the anatomy of her female body.
"Don't look…" Hermione said, despite her absence of shame and embarrassment.
"You're beautiful…" Ron said softly as he reached out, and took her hand softly without his own. Then his gaze drifted to Draco, and despite otherwise, Hermione was slightly disappointed when no rage or even annoyance entered Ron's expression as he glanced over Draco's nude form before turning back to her.
"Should we wake him?" Ron asked as though he knew they should, like it was a party and he wanted everyone to be invited.
"Yes, I think so…" Hermione replied with equal tranquility as Ron cocked back his fist, and could have practically shattered Malfoy's nose with the punch. But nothing happened as Draco gently stirred awake. No bleeding, no mark remained as Ron stared blissful at Malfoy while Malfoy's eyes opened calmly to the world around him.
"Weasley… Granger…" Malfoy said with the same peace they spoke as he looked to them, then down at him. "We're naked…"
"Yes, we are…" Ron replied, and even as the two stared at each other, there was no hint of negative emotion on their face.
"Where are we?" Draco asked as he sat cross-legged in the endless white void, the action causing him to turn in midair as he went upside down.
"The Veil, maybe?" Hermione said, feeling as though it were a dumb answer when she knew the last thing they had done was fling themselves through.
"Ahh…" Malfoy replied with a nod of his head, his grey eyes holding only peace and content as he looked over her nude body. She wished she could feel unnerved by his eyes, but she felt nothing as he glanced over her as though he were staring at glass, looking through her with his piercing grey eyes much like Ron was doing with his own blue orbs.
"Where is Harry?" Ron asked as Draco turned to inspect him.
"I don't see Potter…" Draco said, turning to glance around the realm as they floated.
"We should go…" Ron suggested, pointing calmly in the direction to their left, "We should go until we find him…"
"Will we find him?" Hermione asked, feeling it another dumb question, but it was something all the same.
"We will." Draco said, as though he knew all the answers and all the questions as he began floating in the general direction Ron was pointing at.
Hermione and Ron followed after him, floating gently through the endless and white void.
While Ron would normally feel disgusted with himself for following and trusting a Malfoy with anything, he felt as though he had known Draco all his life, and that he could trust the blond with his life. He wondered if it felt the same for Hermione, as her peaceful expression gave him peace he could not feel beyond the peace of the world in total. Usually he'd feel like some kind of pervert looking at any girl while they were indecent, but while his eyes roamed Hermione's form, he felt no perversion. He felt no shame in being equally naked, nor did he feel any disgust at seeing Malfoy's bare bottom floating in front of him as he followed the blond. Ron figured it must have been the world that was making him so impassive and tranquil to all the things around him., He felt like there was nothing he did not already no, and that anything he said was far less stupid than he thought it was.
Draco also felt the world effect him. Being trapped in an endless oblivion with granger and Weasley would have normally sent him into a fit, but now… in this strange white realm… it was like there were no other people he'd want with him than them. And the prospect of finding Potter in this white world gave him a strange sense of joy. He would have been disgusted with himself for feeling it, but it was so good to feel something other than the serene peace this white void had to offer. He hoped dearly that he fought Potter, if only to throttle him for his part in making Draco come to this torture which was little better than Hell.
And as they continued to move forward, they saw on the horizon a light open up before them. They didn't bother to shield their eyes from the light, as it blinded them without their caring. And as Draco came into the light, he fought his floating ended as his feet met with solid ground. Feeling this and a pang of joy, Draco used his legs and began to walk forward with Weasley and Granger directly beyond him as he could feel one of their hands accidentally touch his backside.
When the light died away, Draco laid eyes on a majesty he never expected to see in all his days.
And he could hear sounds. Things like rushing waters, birds. He could feel the breeze on his bare form as it reminded him that he was in the buff.
All around them was an unmistakable paradise. Draco gasped aloud, taking a few steps as he bumped into Granger and Weasley and felt their nude forms on his back. Here they were, in the middle of a lush, flower filled grassland with a nearby river, forest surrounding them, and beautiful clear blue skies. It looked like a secret place; a place one would go to when they craved peace and quiet. But there was one strange feature which stuck out in this paradise.
Atop a large nearby hill sat what looked to be the ruins of an old church.
"What is this wondrous place?" Weasley breathed behind him as he stepped beside Draco.
"Paradise." Granger answered as she moved to his other side.
"Oh, so more humans have arrived to this place?" a powerful, majestic voice bellow in serene observation.
Then came the owner of the voice, stepping out of the church ruins and onto the lush flower field they stood. They were not sure how the being had so suddenly appeared before them, but they felt no fear nor surprise.
The being's body was colored white with a gray, vertically-striated underside, the pattern of which had similar recurrences on the underside of its mane, tail, and face. Its feet were tipped with golden hooves. Its mane was quite long, jutting away from its head, and its face was gray, with piercing green eyes and red pupils, a green circular pattern below its eyes as it gazed down upon them.
There was also a streak of gold coloration on its head, and ears that point upward. Its neck was fairly long, with two pairs of extrusions to the sides, and a flap-like feature on the neck's underside that was colored white like much of the body. It also had a golden cross-like wheel attached to its body by its round abdomen. Even from the distance in which it stayed from them, the three could clearly see that the wheel had four jewels attached to it. The pattern of striated gray of the creature's underbelly resumed past its waist, the underside of this being's limbs also bore a gray coloration, and with extrusions at the tops of its legs. This majestic creature's tail was fairly like its mane in shape and coloration, both wafting gently in the breeze of the land.
Overall, this mighty creature was massive in size and exuded an aura of power, grace and poise. Its words were articulated with wisdom and a touch of kindness beyond anything the three humans had ever encountered. In fact, they were sure they had never and would never encounter a being like this again in their natural lives.
"Well, it is time for you three to move on. This paradise is not for the likes of you, young ones." the being said, and without preamble, it leaned down and lowered it's head as those it were bowing to them. But they knew it was not. It was as though they knew this being, and felt safe in its presence while trusting whatever it had planned for them. "Please, greet the other young ones when I've sent you to them."
And with that, the mighty being nodded its head but once and in a bright flash of luminescent colors; the three vanished from the virtual paradise, leaving behind another being which had watched the scene play out from the shadows of forest, one who watched from below the surface of the river, and a last which raised it's small head from the flowery field.
"They shall be fine." the Mighty One assured as it turned back to the ruined church, "They will not be with the Lost One and his Fainted One. The lost shall be found, and his fate shall resume with haste." the Mighty One said, "As is the way of the worlds…"
"Ouch! Get off of me!" a female voice yelled in the darkness they had now arrived in. And dropping onto the hard tile floor was not too complimentary.
"I would Granger, believe me." another arrogant voice hissed as one squirmed atop another, "But your precious Weasel boyfriend is crushing me."
"Ron, get off him so he can get off me!" the female pleaded as the last, this one with more base to it, spoke up.
"I would if Malfoy would stop kneeing me in the crotch!" the male said.
"Someone has to stop your kind from breeding." the Malfoy boy sneered before crying out in pain when something connected with his jaw in the darkness.
"And someone has to shut your fat mouth." the Weasley boy growled as the two began to fight anew.
"Get off me! You two are hurting me!" the Granger girl complained with a whimper of pain as she felt one of them accidentally kick her.
"Oh, feel lucky Granger." Malfoy sneered, "This is the closest any boy will want to be near someone like you."
"Oh, you'll pay for that one, Malfoy!"
Then, the sound of a door opening was heard above them before a harsh light flickered on directly above them, temporarily blinding them with its brightness as the sound of shoes clattered against the floor. This, however, did nothing to stop Ron and Malfoy from fighting as Hermione tried her best to get from under them.
"Hey! What the hell is going on here?!" a voice boomed above them as all the of three froze.
Looking up above them, was a man in an open white lab coat. He wore a dark green shirt under his lab coat along with dark trousers. Black sneakers adorned his feet. He used his index finger to push his circle-framed glasses up along the bridge of his nose and moved that same hand to sweep back his dark hair while keeping his emerald eyes on the three on the floor before him. His face slowly morphed into a stern frown as he watched them, while he adjusted the clipboard in his other hand while holding it at his side. The scar off-center on his forehead the only visible imperfection to him.
And it was a blemish they knew well.
"Ha-Harry?"