Chapter 10- Malfoy Returns?
The Holodeck program ended and the boy was as ready as he ever could be. The Q was counting on him to carry through with his assignment and alter the timeline a little due to the absence of Professor Snape and to set certain events in motion while his 'great grandfather ' went on to establish a new and very important understanding about his own role in the scheme of things.
The walk from the holodeck to the quarters that Draconus and his father shared didn't take too long. He wondered in passing if he would ever meet up with Great-Grandfather Draco before he found himself back on earth. He hoped to get an accurate and personal insight into his Great-grandfathers teenage mind and behaviour—other than the memories of a distant past that had been relayed to him from an elderly mind.
It was about then Captain Janeway approached them after she had taken time to run data concerning the Malfoy family history in regards to Starfleet. The information she discovered enabled her to make some critical decisions so as to not significantly alter the timeline that she was familiar with. "Q, The landing party will be ready to depart within the hour." She looked at the young teenager thoughtfully. "Have you gotten everything you need Ensign Malfoy?"
"I have been fully briefed by Q on the Holodeck." Draconus answered then a wistful look crossed his face. "But...could it be possible to see my great-Grandfather? I mean I'd like to get the feel of his actual emotions and personality while he is a teenager... not as he imagined himself to be like when he was much older."
"It might be wise I suppose for you two to at least meet briefly before embarking upon your separate paths." the Captain answered slowly after checking for Q's acquiescence to the idea. "But remember what we discussed about revealing what you know of his future..."
"Yes Captain. I must let him experience his own adventures without fore-knowledge." Draconus answered respectfully. "But is it okay for him to tell me a few things to help me with my... ?" His brow furrowed a moment. "Act! Even though I now know who everyone is that I may come in contact with... I don't wish to draw too much attention to any differences that may turn up in his..er my behaviour."
"I'm sure that if you play it right that any differences that anybody notes would be attributed to the ordeal that you were put through while absent. " the Q seemed to vanish and a dark foreboding and dangerous figure took his place momentarily which caused both Draconus and Captain Janeway to shiver slightly as a chilly breeze washed over the both of them.
"Q... enough of your theatrics already." Captain Janeway told the Q who returned back to the form she knew. "After letting Draco and Draconus meet, will you be taking the landing Party down to the planet before or after taking Draconus to Earth? Captain Janeway asked the Q.
"Being who I am, I can allow the two teens to meet, take Draconus to Earth in the form I have just revealed to you and still make it back in time to escort our Ambassadors to the meeting, So lets get this show on the road... shall we?" the Q said as they walked on to the transporter room where he was to meet with the landing party to take them down through the magical barrier to the chambers below.
While Merlin and Professor Snape were being briefed further about their parts in the rescue mission Draco had gotten permission from Captain Janeway to go with the Transporter Chief back to the room where he had first entered this strange muggle starship. It irked Draco a little to know he was not really part of the big picture like Professor Snape or Merlin were but it comforted him to know that he could at least go along on part of the adventure that he could have easily been denied.
Despite his narrow-minded pureblood upbringing Draco was finding himself becoming most interested in the Transporter chiefs explanations about various fantastic methods of muggle transportation that had evolved since the 20th century to fly and explore space. In a way he could see a faint resemblance to Apparation and possibly traveling by floo powder.
His eye caught the movement of the sliding doors and then gaped in shock as he saw another Draco Malfoy walking with the Captain and Q—towards him!'
"Draco I would like you to meet Draconus who is a ...distant relative of yours." the Q said with amusement , "Draconus this is Draco , the younger version of the Wizard you know in your time."
"I must admit, I am a little confused here. " Draco said as he closely studied the boy who could be his twin. "If I didn't know better I would think this fellow was using poly-juice to look like me." Draco said shrugging. "But then again why shouldn't I be feeling 'beside' myself considering where I am at this moment of time."
"Nice one." Draconus chuckled. "I feel somewhat the same considering that now I understand why my Great Grandfather had named me Draconus when I was born instead of my elder brother." He glanced up at Q who had tapped him on his shoulder. "Sorry sir. Did I give away too much information?"
"No Draconus nothing serious." the Q said. "But no more comments of anything to do with the future.. okay? Just the present or rather that which concerns that which is happening back on Earth."
"Yes sir." both answered together.
Draco couldn't understand the queer sensation he felt in his breast as yet he didn't quite realize that he was falling under the spell of Voyager and its ability to take him to the stars. "Does this mean I won't be going with the away team as planned? have to go back to my timeline on Earth now?"
"Do not worry for now my boy. Draconus is going to take your place on earth temporarily while you are busy with your destiny here."
"My destiny? I thought I was just brought along accidentally as extra baggage when Professor Snape was brought on board.." Draco's his eyebrow raised elegantly as he pondered his situation. "If I hadn't fell back and landed against him..."
"Actually the bulk of your destiny concerns your family." the Q told him with mischief dancing within his eyes. "The Professors destiny concerns those within the planet. I will not explain anything more there."
"Sorry but I can't reveal anything of your future to you either." Draconus told his Great Grandfathers younger self. "But if you don't mind I could use a few details of what you were up to about the time you and the Professor was taken from Earth."
Draco and Draconus sat down on the edge of the Transporter platform and as instructed Draco proceeded to tell Draconus of the cabinet he had been instructed to repair which was in a room of lost and found objects that appeared through what was known as the Room of Requirement on the seventh folor across from a painting where Barnabas the Barmy was attempting to train trolls for the ballet.
Draconus nodded as he knew of the painting as it was still in existence during his short stay at Hogwarts. He of course wanted to know the reason and Draco blushed and looked somewhat uncomfortable about telling the details but with a resolute face he told of his father being taken to Azkaban after failing the Dark Lord in retrieving the prophecy. That was all he really knew about the situation but then he rolled up the sleeve of his robe and showed his new found twin the dark mark upon his fore-arm. "I must warn you to be very careful in what you say or do as the Dark lord will kill me...I mean you and my parents if.." a cloud seemed to pass over Draco's face and tears were imminent.
"Do not fear Gra...Draco, I will do what must be done." Draconus told him even though he was actually going to follow the instructions given him by the Q. "I will do my best to keep your parents from harm...oh yeah and me also. I would like to return to Voyager as my dad would not appreciate it if I didn't . I would also like to enter Star Fleet Academy sometime soon." Draconus slapped his hand over his mouth as he wondered if he had said too much.
"Star Fleet Academy?"
"Don't worry Draconus, Considering Draco is already learning something about space travel, I don't think you said anything wrong that would interfere with your family history or of either the magical or muggle world." Captain Janeway answered as she had checked into some very interesting facts concerning Draco Malfoy in the ships Historical database. "It is a school where the future's recruits to Star Fleet are trained."
The two teens talked a little bit longer before Q declared it was nearly time for them to leave. Draconus asked if he could speak with his father first and his request was granted.
"So this is where his interest began?" Draconus asked in a whisper as he left the Transporter Room to go see his father one last time before he ventured out on his first 'mission'.
"Yes my boy and even though it took him many years to actually become a member of Starfleet he did have a very happy life with your Great Gandmother and made the Malfoy name become that of a very strong and influential family. It was when she died I kept my promise that I had made to him. and you know the rest."
It would be a lie if Arturus wasn't scared for his youngest son who was more like him than he care to admit. But he was. His eldest son Lucius was quite happy in his role of managing the family concerns in the wizarding community back on earth while his Daughter Callidora was traveling on board Jean-Luc Picard's ship the Enterprise with her mother Elladora who was one of the medi-witches.. er nurses who assisted the ships doctor.
The Q assured him that the boy would not be harmed in any way though he would not be conscious at first when he found himself on earth. "I will have him, for all intents and purposes appear frozen and unconscious when he arrives 'back' on earth. Of course the sorting hat, Peeves the poltergeist and the former headmasters Portraits are the only ones to know the whole truth and if the need arises they will do their best to assist us in any way they can."
"The way I will 're-appear' is more or less to enhance my cover story.!" Draconus explained to his worried father, " If I seem somewhat confused at first nobody would suspect that I am not Great Grandpa Draco,-and it will give me some time to acclimatize myself to being in the wizarding world of the 20th century."
Even though he had done his best to put on a brave front for his father, Dracous was feeling somewhat nervous as he waited for the Q to transport him through time and space to 20th Century Hogwarts. He wasn't totally unprepared but then he also couldn't predict everyones reactions to his so called 're-appearance.'
The trip to 20th Century Earth didn't take long..
VoyagerHogwartsMalfoySnape
It was not too apparent at first but soon the freezing cold that had infiltrated the castle causing the temperature to fall alarmingly soon became too intense to ignore or pass off as part of the normal seasonal weather temperatures .
The Staff were alarmed as at first they feared that the Dementors who were currently in the service of Voldemort had infiltrated the castle somehow. They quickly gathered the students together who were in the vicinity and on the verge of panicking. With an unspoken agreement they had them escorted away from the approaching chill and hopefully to safety into the Great Hall which was then heavily warded after the last child entered.
There was what appeared to be a dark mass approaching them along with a crisp white frost that was creeping slowly from the Entrance hall in all directions, down the dungeon stairs and up the moving ones, across the floors, walls and ceilings...but strangely enough it avoided the Great Hall all together and oddly enough circled away from the group of adults whose wands were ready to cast a Patronous..
"Um.. I don't think we are dealing with Dementors!" said Filius Flitwick who was studying the glittering display, "For one a Dementor would come straight for us."
"I must agree with your assessment but... " Slughorn said as he glanced down momentarily at the diminutive charms professor and then at the dark mass "I wonder what it is if not a Dementor..."
The grizzled old Ex-Auror Mad-Eye who had temporarily taken over Snapes role as DADA Professor glared momentarily at the elderly Potions Teacher as he yelled. "Maybe not but there is something not right there. " His roving Eye had glimpsed two figures...One being Dementor like but to his shock he realized that it was not one as his artificial eye practically bulged with a horror. He could see a fully formed skeleton with a fleshless grinning skull where blazing red flickers shone angrily in the hollow eye sockets, under the hooded cloak. It was a very well known fact that Dementors didn't have a complete skeletal formation under their cloaks. They had grey, decayed hands and faces. Definitely no eyes, plus a large hole where the mouth should be, which was used for sucking the soul out of a victim. He turned his gaze upon the other figure...
"Oh Merlin that is the missing boy... Draco Malfoy."
The Professors were visibly shocked as the seemingly lifeless boy collapsed to the frozen floor and the main flow of intense cold that surrounded the Dementor like figure seemed to be heading upwards towards the seventh floor where without hesitating it entered the Headmasters quarters.
Deciding to ignore the departing figure for the moment to concentrate on the teenager, Madame Pomfrey rushed forward as did the heads of House and ran her wand over the pale boy and expelled a cloud like breath of air that she hadn't realized she was holding ."He is still alive. Madame Pomfrey said shaking her head with relief. "His body temperature is a little low... almost but not quite hypothermic."
"Maybe it would be best considering his condition if he is sent on to St, Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries" Slughorn suggested as he thought the boy looked like he would expire at any moment and he for one did not wish to be involved in an inquiry...especially if it involved one of the Malfoys.
"I don't think that will be necessary." Madame Pomfrey answered him crisply with a steel edge in her voice. "Though unconscious...his magical core seems to be strong and steady. The hospital wing is well equipped after all to deal with all manner of magical and mundane injuries, from minor illnesses, injuries, right up to regrowing lost bones." Madame Pomfrey said as she finished her scans and stood up. "I should hope that I can bring Mr. Malfoy back to the world of the living." she conjured up a stretcher complete with a specially heated blanket with which to cover and warm the boy while in transit.
"Mad-eye... Considering Malfoy has returned, alive but in rough shape." Slughorn asked quietly. "What do you think happened to Professor Snape? Is it possible that he is dead?"
"I don't know, neither do I wish to speculate-but at the moment I think that as temporary Head of House, You had better go along with your student and Madame Pomfrey." the ex-auror ordered gruffly as he took charge of the situation. "McGonnagal ... Flitwick come with me. I believe the Headmaster may be in need of a little assistance."
It was barely a moment in time gone by as the elderly ex-auror turned and clumped towards the moving staircases that would take him up to the seventh floor with McGonnagal and Flitwick following close behind.
Madame Pomfrey and Slughorn headed to the Hospital Wing with the stretcher between them.
"Albus Dumbledore!Wise and Mysterious Wizard!":Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Chief Mugwump of the Wizengamot Order of Merlin First Class."
Normally a brave Griffindor, the Headmasters felt like he had never felt before as his whole body seemed to freeze when he heard the hollow dead voice calling out his name. In fact if was beyond being terribly frightening as it sounded like icicles were dripping off every syllable of his name. Turning around he gasped as he instinctively raised his wand to aim a Patronus at the dark figure he thought was at first a Dementor. Neither ghost nor flesh.
"Now now my boy." the faceless figure scolded chillingly. "You shouldn't be so foolish to try and vanquish me... especially with that particular wand." As he felt the deathly being approach him slowly and deliberately, the cold hollow laughter seemingly surrounded and covered him like a blanket as he faced the one being he had never expected to come for him in person. The phrase he had uttered "To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." echoed within Albus' horrified mind.
Thaqnk You to everyone who has shown interest in my story.
Just a minor cliffhanger. I hope that the storyline isn't going too slowly that it bores anyone. I am trying my best to keep it organized and coherent in regards to both universes. I would not mind receiving suggestions from those who know the Star Trek universe and the world of diplomacy on how I should proceed with the 'mission."