Chapter 11: The fallen from the sky

Blaise was sick of sitting by his best friend's violent mood swings. Draco was either beaming, downright depressed or, as on this particular morning, - extremely angry. The Italian could have ignored his captain on any other particular morning, but as it was, today was the day they had their match with Gryffindor in no more than four hours and he could have lived without the blonde's antics. Being angry before a match was good in a way, it allowed you to use your anger to crush the opposing team, but if his best friend kept up any more of his annoying and noisy food violation by stabbing it loudly with his fork, Blaise was bound to push that fork right through that blonde head thus eliminating their chances of winning.

'Stop being a hormonal bitch Draco and just tell me what the hell is wrong with you.' Blaise said trying to be as calm as possible piercing the slytherin seeker with his glare.

'Nothing. Butt out, Zabini.' The Malfoy boy was positively radiating negative energy as the other housemates were seated at least two seats away from him in all directions. Blaise was the only one brave enough to occupy the seat next to him.

'Yes and the world is one giant apple. Out with it.'

After a very long pause of deliberation Draco raised his head and looked up briefly at the Gryffindor table and then back at his Italian friend.

'She told me to be careful of what I do as Scarhead thinks I might have something to do with what happened to Pansy.'

Blaise nearly coughed on his juice.

'That's just sick. How can anyone think that? You've been friends since you were kids. I mean sure she was annoying and all, but how could he think that? He really is a sick little creature.'

'It's not Potter I'm mad at. He always blames me for everything, that's nothing new. It's her warning me about doing anything suspicious that ticked me off. As if I'm the poster boy for prancing around the castle doing dark stuff.'

Blaise laughed. Then Draco glared at him, but he continued to laugh.

'What the hell is so funny?'

'You're angry at her? That's hilarious. Merlin, I'll pee my pants for laughing. Don't you know your little princess by now? She's not blaming you for anything, she's worrying. That's what girls who love do, they worry. Of course she doesn't think you'll do anything, she just wants you to be okay. I mean, one worng move on your part- like practically anything: staying out past curfew, experimenting with some spells or anything- the ministry will find it credible that an ex death eater and enthusiastic follower of Voldie is bypassing the rules, they'll paint you in any way they want, just so they can get the villain they so desire. All for the eyes of the public. In a day they will make a you that wanted Pansy dead and went on to curse all those students in school. Don't you see that? It's never about the real truth; it's always about what is best suited for the public.'

Draco's anger dissipated as he thought for a moment. Blaise was right. He felt so stupid for getting angry at Hermione and for not thinking about that. He did break the rules by flying out to her, that might have been caught and got tangled in a bad mess.

'Well I feel like such a prick now...' he muttered looking up at the Gryffindor table to catch Hermione talking with her friends, looking a little down.

'You are a prick. I've told you before. Moving on, are you now going to stop scratching your plate with that fork? it's turning my brain to mush.'

Draco smirked and put his fork down. He got up from his seat and looked over at Blaise.

'Where in Salazar's name are you going in such a hurry?'

'To inconspicuously apologize to her. Care to join me?'

'I think I'll stay and finish my meal finally in silence. Go on, remember to tell her in front of everyone what a prick you are.' Draco grimaced at Blaise but walked off nonetheless. A piece of parchment fell from his pocket and Blaise inspected it. Then he rolled it up and put it in his pocket reminding himself to return it to Draco later.

Hermione was sitting near Ginny and Harry was seated next to a very queasy looking Ron opposite of them. It was quite early for breakfast so Hermione was surprised when her best friends joined her at the table. Not many were seated. Gryffindors in general tended to party Friday evenings and thus sleep a little longer Saturday mornings, but since it was Quidditch day of what Ron called 'the most important match' of the year, some of them, at least the players, had managed to get up earlier or had not managed to sleep much due to the excitement of the match. Many of the seats around them were still empty, as were at the other house tables. She spotted Draco immediately when he came, but he was still sporting that condescending look he had when she asked him to be careful. What was wrong with being careful? What was it with boys and their lack of self-preservation? She just didn't want anyone to jump to conclusions when it came to Draco. He was easily labeled as the bad guy even if he was innocent in a situation. Her friends, for example, had always labeled him as the bad guy. But living with him and getting to know him threw off all labels she might have had of him. He wasn't the label he was being stuck with.

Her mood had not been the best this morning. There was the fact that her boyfriend was mad at her for no logical explanation whatsoever and had not once looked her way after being seated at his table. Also her friends indulging in that awful thing they called sports was another. She had tried to point out that Quidditch has more sports injuries than any other sport known to the Wizarding World. She even pointed out some statistics in the book Ron got from Harry on one Christmas, but she was laughed at and called names so after a couple of tries she relented to just being sulky on the day of the match. She'd hope, she'd pray and hopefully they'd be okay.

Straight out of the blue Draco Malfoy walked up to their table and sat down next to her right, smiling a little. She looked at him with wide eyes as did her other friends. Ginny even bent down from her left to make sure if it really was the blonde slytherin seated next to them.

'You know this is the Gryffindor table, right?' Ginny was the first to speak and he flashed her a brilliant smirk before answering.

'I know.'

Ron was the second to regain his senses. 'Then what the bloody hell do you think you're doing over here? Get your filthy existence off of this table.' His face was getting red and his prominent freckles were fading.

'Technically, I'm not on the table Weasley, I'm in front of it if that's the only problem you have.'

'You know what he meant, Malfoy. What do you want? Spit it out, before I hex you out of this place.'

Draco sighted and put both of his hands down and under the table. He caught one of Hermione's in his own and gently rubbed it. She looked at him in amazement, but he didn't look her way once.

'I'm sorry you lot have to go up against us today. I feel obligated, given my gracious heart, to offer to use my second best players, just so you guys do not lose that much and maybe look good while playing? I am so sorry that you have to go up against us, so sorry. 'He squeezed Hermione's hand each time he said 'sorry' which made Hermione slightly curious. Ron stood up from his seat with full force.

'The hell! Bring your best team, we'd still crush you any day, any time! Right, Harry?' Harry nodded and glared at Malfoy. Ginny sighted and looked up at Draco, being the most composed one.

'I'm tired of your nonsense. Why don't you just bugger off. You're a prick.' The fiery headed girl narrowed her eyes at the blonde and he smirked once more and stood up, dropping Hermione's hands in the process. The head girl followed his hand with her eyes and saw a wooden bead on a leather bracelet on his left hand.

'So I've been told. I was being nice and you refused, so bugger on you. Enjoy losing, Gryffindorks.' With that he swiftly exited through the main door, leaving an enraged group of Gryffindors and Hermione, who pondered if all that display had been his way of telling her 'sorry'.

xxxxxxx

Draco stood with his team near the entryway towards the field. His teammates were still putting on their uniforms, chatting excitedly. The air was a little chilly but there was no snow on the ground and little bits of grass were showing. Spring was coming a little earlier it seemed, but he could have cared less. The winter cold didn't bother him much for he quite liked the chill.

He watched as the seats of the observers filled themselves. Their current head of the house Slughorn, or the old bald kook as some liked to call him, was chatting up McGonagall. The observers had clearly chosen sides. The left was mostly comprised of students wearing green with a few exceptions. And the right side was mostly red and yellow. He spotted Loony Lovegood wearing a ridiculous looking hat that resembled a lion sitting near Longbottom. Then he spotted Hermione sitting among her other teammates, looking quite squeamish. She was strategically sitting in the middle wearing something blue. It was her way of showing him her support even if she couldn't go into the cheering slytherin crowd. Something in his heart stirred.

'Wondering who she's going to root for?' Blaise appeared beside him, watching the stands as well.

'I don't know what you're talking about Blaise.' Draco swiftly turned around, motioning for Blaise that there were far too many listeners present and walked over towards the wall where his broom was located.

'Sure you don't. Just stay focused on the game, captain.'

'That should be your main concern. I'm always focused.' Malfoy took the broomstick in his left hand and exhaled. His heart was racing and he could see her nervous face when he closed his eyes. He was never nervous at Quidditch. Determined, yes. Angry, hell yes. Being nervous was a first.

'Says the guy who has lost the Snitch to Potter every single time.' Theo grinned besides him and received a worthy glare from Draco.

'I see we're going to have to use out back up beater today. Blaise, get Joanna, will you? Theo is going to get all of his limbs broken, so he can't go.' Cold steel eyes and that slightly menacing grin told Theo he meant business.

Theodore Nott fell to the floor and hugged Draco's shins with both arms.

'Please let me play Captain. I won't talk shit anymore, just let me play, you're the best captain there is so please?'

'Stop getting your drool all over my pants. You can play already, sheesh.'

Blaise smiled thinking that Draco was going soft because of Hermione. Before he would have at least hexed Theo to give him a warning, now he relented without doing anything. Granger's softheartedness was rubbing off on his blonde best friend.

They heard the whistle and the team went out into the field, the Gryffindors coming out from a doorway nearby, Harry being in front, just as Draco was the first one to enter the field of his team. Madam Hooch told them to shake hands and reluctantly they did.

'Ready to lose the match, Malfoy?' Harry challenged.

'Ready to lose a limb, Potter?' Draco smirked and Harry smiled back at him, letting go of his hand. Everyone mounted their brooms and ascended into the air. The game began.

Hermione was quite lonely as all of her best friends were currently engaging in what they loved most. She hated that Draco too was a Quidditch player. That meant she had one more person to worry about getting hurt. Hermione was soon joined by Luna and Neville, who was apparently just dragged along by her as he did not care much for Quidditch either.

The brunette looked at the field. Blaise had made a goal and Ron was as red as a tomato, clearly very angry at himself. Ginny almost got hit by a bludger, but quickly maneuvered around it. Hermione wondered how someone could be so agile while being on a broom. It was impossible for her.

Draco was yelling at his keeper to stay focused as the fifth year Slytherin kept fidgeting back and forth between the goal loops. He blocked the first goal, but Ginny and the other Gryffindor chaser managed to make the next three land. Draco yelled at the boy once again before briefly turning to look at her. Their eyes met for a moment and she swore she saw a spark there before he turned back towards the field. Harry had already caught sight of the Snitch and was chasing it. Draco soon followed behind, his green robes fluttering in the wind.

Hermione briefly looked at the stands. Her side was all Gryffindor colors, the people cheering excitedly. The other side held mostly green with five exceptions. Four Ravenclaws and one Hufflepuff. Her eyes fell on that particular Hufflepuff. It was the girl she had bumped into yesterday. When she turned her face to the side Hermione's eyes widened. No, it was probably her mind playing tricks on her. Then the girl turned her head once again. It was far enough but Hermione could swear that the girl in Hufflepuff clothing was none other than Pansy. She even had the birthmark on her neck that had caught her eye when they discovered her mangled body. But it couldn't be. It couldn't. Hermione shook her head and rubbed her eyes, turning her attention back at the field. Draco and Harry had both appeared in the field, following the Snitch. She turned her head back to the stands and the girl was gone. She concurred that it must have been her imagination. Pansy had been a slytherin and was sitting with a lot of slytherins, yet none had reacted. None. So it could not in the world have been Pansy.

'Both the Gryffindor seeker Potter and the Slytherin seeker Malfoy are following the snitch! I think it might be a short game today guys! Let's see if Mystical Potter can win his house another match! He's flying brilliantly as always!' the commentator roared.

Draco heard the commentator, but was not distracted by it. What did distract him was that Potter was definitely not flying as he usually did. Potter was a very reckless flier. He dove at angles which were quite difficult if you weren't feeling very stable on your broom. Yet today the boy wonder was a little shaky and didn't take risks as he usually did. Maybe his little joke at their table had shaken him? Nah, couldn't have. It was Potter, not Weasley, he was the level headed one of the duo, if that was possible. They rose up into the air as the little Golden ball tried to avoid them by going higher. Draco was a second away from Potter and he hoped he'd extend his hand towards the Snitch faster than his opponent could. Draco and Harry both extended their hands towards the snitch. To his great dismay, the Gryffindor's fingertips touched the ball first and Draco could feel his resolve crumble . Yet to his great surprise Harry immediately pulled away and fell from his broom as if he had been pushed by a brutal force. Draco caught the snitch and tried to dive after Harry, but was already too late as Potter lay in an unnatural position on the ground, his shoulder appeared to be dislocated and he was wearing a handful of painful bruises, along with a bloodied knee. Any other day he would have felt happy to see Potter hurt, but he couldn't feel anything but shock. What had happened back there?

Madam Hooch was the first one near Potter as was the rest of his team. Draco stood silently holding the snitch a few feet away, still too shocked to move. His team mates landed next to him to congratulate him, but he didn't respond in any way.

'Oh dear, Potter, Potter! Stay with me boy, I'll get you to the hospital wing. Did anyone see what happened? Anyone?'

No one had seen anything except Harry and Draco chasing the Snitch, then they disappeared behind a cloud and then Harry was falling and Draco sped down with him holding the Snitch. Many insisted Draco had pushed Harry off the broom to win, but the slytherins defended their captain saying there was no proof of that. When asked what happened, Draco told them that they had both reached for the Snitch, but Harry must have slipped on his broom and fell. After catching the snitch he had tried to catch up to Potter and save him, but he didn't manage in time. That did nothing to soothe the enraged gryffindors. Not only had they lost the match, but their prized seeker and war hero Harry Potter was seriously injured and would probably need to spend a few weeks in the hospital.

Draco regained his senses when Harry Potter was being put on a carrier. Hermione silently approached him and looked troubled.

'Are you okay?' he couldn't help but feel slightly emotional. Her best friend was being taken to the hospital yet she found a moment to come to him and ask him if he was okay. It was so unnatural and sweet that he almost hugged her right then and there. Before he could say anything though, Blaise appeared next to him and dragged him by his arm out of the field.

'Not here, Granger.' Blaise had told the brunette and she nodded and joined the pack following the carrier. 'Come on, don't just stand here like an idiot. Let's go.' Draco was thankful someone was pulling him somewhere for he didn't know if he could move on his own. Potter had been hurt bad and he still had no clue why.

'What really happened?' Blaise inquired when they were alone.

'We were both reaching for the snitch and when Potter touched it... he... he was blown away by a strong force. I have no idea... what... or who could have done it. I tried to reach him in time but I... I didn't.' His fingers were still shaking a little as he inspected the golden ball in his hand.

'Maybe someone cursed him from the crowd? We should ask if anyone saw anything later on. Don't blame yourself, when did you ever care what happens to Potter?'

Draco creased his brows and thought. 'I don't…' But the fact remained that he had wanted to do something so Harry Potter wouldn't get hurt. The impulse had just been there.

'Forget it. Right now you have a celebration to attend to. They're calling you Malfoy the dark Prince or something. At least that's what I've heard the girls say.' Blaise put an arm around his blonde mate's shoulder and led him toward their common room. 'By the way, you dropped this before practice.' Blaise pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket.

'That's my father's letter. Thanks… did you read it?'

'I'm sorry, I did. It fell and unrolled itself. Anyway, I thought it was strange.'

'You did, did you? Me too, I kept telling mother that no sane person would write such bull unless it had been completely changed by the ones controlling the prison mail.' Draco rolled up the letter and took it in his other hand. 'Better bring it back to the dorm or I'll lose it again.'

'No, that's not it. What I found strange is that one letter of the word error looks like an 'n' not an 'r'.' Blaise took the letter from Draco's hand and unrolled it. 'See?' he pointed out to the first r and it did indeed seem like an n if you inspected it carefully.

Draco looked at it again. 'Enror...' – he silently kept repeating until they were back in the castle.

The party at slytherin house was indeed great as expected. Slughorn had come in at one time to make sure everything was done according to the rules, but he was easily swayed by the female population to overlook the firewhiskey bottles laying everywhere and the skimpily dressed girls or the loud music in the background. Draco had played his part well of a happy and cocky winner, but he desperately needed to take his mind off of the whole Potter incident. The party hadn't done it. So he thought the only thing he could do, was go somewhere to investigate the whole thing with the letter. If there was a place he could find some information, it was the most famous pub in Knockturn Alley.

He could call it nothing but luck that the aurors guarding his pathway were also taking part in the party and were too busy to notice him slipping into the dark hallway. He knew a secret passageway near the slytherin entrance to Diagon Alley which was also very practical for him. Heck, every older slytherin knew that passage way. It was used as a means to smuggle booze into their dorm, every slytherin knew that and kept secret; as Hogwarts, like any other magical school had strict rules on underage drinking. Although someone smart had once said 'rules are meant for breaking'- that someone must have been a slytherin.

Draco easily reached the passage behind a painting of a man reading a book. The painting didn't bother to react but simply opened when Draco whispered the correct password. He had abandoned his uniform and transfigured his clothing to be not so eye catching. No doubt a slytherin Quidditch uniform would catch unwanted suspicion in Knockturn alley and if anyone was to report him being there in the evening of a school year, his ass would fly right out of Hogwarts before he could finish the damn year. No, black robes were less revealing where he was going. He passed the busy buzz of Diagon alley and entered Knockturn alley where he stood in front of his destination- a pub called 'the Red Horse'. If one wanted to find someone, this was the place to go to.

Draco lowered the hood of his cloak and observed the crowd. He was sitting in a far corner and had ordered a glass of firewhiskey, but he wasn't drinking it. It was simply a cover. He wanted to blend in as much as possible. This kind of place attracted all sorts of people, but he was looking for someone specific. Before entering the pub he had tried to use a charm he recently learned. He rather hoped it would work. It was supposed to make him hear everything ten times better. However, even as he tried to concentrate, he could hear the usual rumbling of the crowd and nothing else. It was annoying as hell. He cursed under his breath. How the hell was he supposed to find someone even if he wasn't sure what he was looking for? The blonde took a sip of his drink and it pleasantly burned his tongue. He spotted one of the barmaids to be rather young and rather tired. She was getting looks by the rest of the men at the bar, but all of them were rather lacking in the looks department or had triple to compensate with age. Draco walked up towards the bar with his glass in hand and sat down in front of her.

'Hey there.' he said giving her a small smirk. The girl lit up immediately.

'Hello, what can I get you?' she took steps towards her client while still polishing a glass with a towel.

'I'm good, thanks.' he raised his glass into the air. 'I came here to tell you that I heard a couple of guys talking about you before I entered. They said someone named Enror told them you were an easy girl and so they were planning to ambush you after work. I just wanted to tell you to be careful since I don't want such a pretty thing to get hurt.'

The girl's eyes widened and she immediately nodded.

'…and by the way do you happen to know who this guy Enror is? I think I should teach him a lesson about calling girls that.'

'Oh yes, he comes here every few days. He's tall, has short brown hair and usually buys firewhiskey in boxes, so you can't miss him. Thanks for the info, stranger.' She winked at him and he wanted to roll his eyes at her. If he had been a killer intending to find a specific target she could have waved her hand and even recommended the secluded spot for the job.

The girl soon got busy with work but not before slipping him a paper with her name and her working hours. The drink had been on the house too. The blonde boy didn't have to wait too long. His target appeared at a quarter to nine. It was a tall muscular man in his mid-twenties with short brown hair and a rather forgetful face. He ordered 20 bottles of firewhiskey, paid and turned to leave, carrying the box with the bottles. Draco stood up from his seat and followed him out.

A corner, a house, another corner, another street, another house, another corner. No one walked like that unless they knew they were being followed. Damn, he wasn't careful enough. Draco took out his wand and held it at breath length. He stopped and hid just as the man turned around after walking around in circles for twenty minutes. He must have thought he lost his tail as he quickly entered an ordinary looking building in the next minute. Draco waited a moment and slowly walked up to the porch of the house. It was the same looking as any other house on the street. The building was grey and brown and a tad old. He checked the house for wards or anything that would harm him if he stepped closer. There was nothing guarding it. He stepped on the porch and knocked on the door.

A small girl of about 9-10 years with strawberry blond hair opened it.

'Hello mister. How can I help you?' her small lips puffed up and her blue eyes sparkled. Draco let out a breath he was holding.

'Can I speak to someone older, your father perhaps?' He leant in and tried to smile to seem perfectly casual.

'Daddy? Of course, follow me, he's in the living room.' She motioned for him to enter and he followed.

'You know you should really not just let anyone in little girl, that could be dangerous for you.' He whispered but the girl stopped and turned around smiling.

'Actually, it was your stupid move to enter my home, little boy.' The girl said and immediately Draco crashed to the floor with his hands bound behind his back and his right cheek crushed against the oak floorboards. A wand was pressed to his back and his own was lying somewhere out of reach. He wanted to mentally smack himself on the head for letting a preschooler outsmart him.

'John, how could you be so careless to let him follow you home? Now what do I do with this idiot?' The girl was obviously annoyed. He noted she spoke with an Irish accent.

'I'm sorry nan, I thought I lost him. He was following me out of the bar, it won't repeat itself.' So the brown haired man was the one immobilizing him. Okay, there were only two of them. If they'd try anything, he would only have him to fight, that was a good chance of him escaping this situation. His wand lay a meter further on his left. If only he could reach it.

'It's okay, don't worry.' her voice was kind, but then she walked over towards him and bent her head to inspect his face. 'Such a pretty face you have too, what do you want with John?'

'I think my father sent me here. I don't know why...'

'Your father… wait.. John, take off his hood.' as his pale blond hair became visible, she gasped and took a second look at him. 'Dear Merlin, so you're a Malfoy! Never knew he had a son, really. And you have his hair, your eyes are probably your mother's though. Let him go, John, he's not an enemy.'

The taller man staggered. 'Wait, really nan? Are you sure we can trust him?' She rolled her eyes and the binds on Draco loosened. He was able to stand up, but he grabbed his wand before that nonetheless. The man called John left them to go elsewhere. The girl told Draco to follow him. They entered what seemed like a drawing room. The doors shut themselves and she calmly sat down on an armchair. He preferred to stand.

'Well, my dear boy, what does Lucius' boy need from me? I hope he didn't send you to say hello after all this time.'

'I don't think a little girl has the right to call me 'boy'. And how the hell can you know my father? You're what - nine?'

The girl began to laugh wholeheartedly. The blonde boy was becoming angry.

'I'm a lot older than I look boy. First of all, your father and I have a history. Back when Voldemort was still at large (he noted the way she twisted the word on her tongue), your father saved me. He had been ordered by his master to capture me so I could serve him. I was weak at that time and wouldn't have escaped. Your father let me go. And that was still when you weren't even born. '

'Sorry, but that sounds nothing like my father.' Malfoy grimaced and kept his wand in his hand firmly.

'Oh it wasn't his immediate choice, but nonetheless he is the reason I am here today.'

'Wait... if I wasn't born then, it is more than seventeen years ago. How old... are you?' His eyes widened as he scanned the small girl's body. It was the perfect image of a preschooler.

'It's not polite to ask a lady her age.' she pouted. 'I told you before I'm a lot older than I look. John there is my great grandchild.' The girl was rather done with talking about her age so she addressed Draco once again. 'So why are you here, exactly?'

Malfoy took out his letter and showed her the part where he made out the word Enror. She inspected it and smiled.

'This was sent from Azkaban, was it not? The staff there is awfully lacking if he managed to send such a magically induced letter. Here, let me make the whole letter clearer for you.' She waved her hand over it a few times and the words changed into a completely different message. 'How about you give it a go now?'

Draco Malfoy took his father's letter and read it over silently.

"My dear Narcissa and Draco,

Someone from Hogwarts is contacting the deatheaters here. They gain access through the dark mark. Be careful. Don't trust anyone. Find Julia Enror, ask her about blood magic. Remind the old bint she owes me.

Respectfully,

Lucius Malfoy."

'What a rude boy he still is.' Draco raised a pale eyebrow. The Lucius this woman/girl knew clearly wasn't the same man he was raised by. 'The 'dark mark' he mentioned is the tattoo that Vodemort branded all of his minions with?'

Draco rolled up his left sleeve. The snake almost moved on his skin as she inspected it between her fingers.

'Ah you poor boy, Lucius got you caught up in it as well huh? Oh you poor dear. You know they are practically immovable those nasty things. '

'Yes, I noticed.' Draco cringed and rolled down his sleeve again. 'So what is this about blood magic?'

'Blood magic is a general term for one branch of the dark arts. Blood is one of the substances in the wizard with the strongest magical potential. It can be used in a number of ways. One of them would be to access a wizard's thoughts and maybe even influence them if there is an open blood connection. That would be something like this dark mark here. Blood was spilt when creating it right?'

The blonde boy silently nodded.

'That means someone who can do blood magic can control you through your mark. Access your thoughts, maybe even influence your actions.' the girl became very stern.

'Wait, wouldn't the creator of the mark... as in Voldemort... be the only one able to connect to his marks?'

'Usually yes, unless the creator has died. Then anyone potentially could.'

'Fuck.' Draco sat down on the chair finally, looking a little vacant.

'So your father says he has been contacted in Azkaban through the mark. Have you been contacted in any way?' The girl walked over to Draco and looked at him sternly.

The boy lifted his gaze and looked at the strawberry blonde.

'Yes. It was a couple of times. The person spoke to me in dreams... that person also brought back a ghost from my dream. Is that also a form... of blood magic?'

The girl walked a step back and lowered her gaze, only to appear smiling again.

'Um, yes. That's possible…' although she seemed deep in thought and kept glancing back at the bookcase.

'Can you remove the mark? Is it possible to escape this whole situation?'

'I told you before it was immovable. Although... I can sever the connection through the mark, if not completely, then at least in part. 'Draco appeared interested.

'Fine, do it, I'll pay you whatever you want. I don't want some psycho controlling me!' The girl laughed and told him to extend his left arm and he did as instructed. She took out her wand, muttered a spell and a small triangle appeared near the snake, seeming like a part of the mark.

'That's it?' he rubbed his forearm as it stung from the fresh magic.

'Yes, it's enough to disrupt the connection, if only partly. Okay now, off you go, I have a lot of things to do! Off on your way and I hope to never see you again, my debt to Lucius is repaid. Now, scoot boy!' With that he felt being pulled out of the house by a strong force and the door shut itself. When he tried to bang on it, no one answered. He opened the door reluctantly, but the house was completely empty inside – no furniture or people were there. It was so odd he blinked and quickly assessed his left forearm – the small triangle was still there, marking his brief and strange encounter real. Draco decided not to think about it and he hurried off back to the castle.

(Not reviewing, eh Lovelies? Well that just made me extremely sad. I'm still going to write though even if no one likes it ;) Or maybe I won't. I haven't had any time to write or any inspiration recently, so this chapter came out way later than usually. Still I hope it is satisfactory. Please read and review! Your comments and guesses to what could happen sometimes give me the most incredible ideas. By the way Julia and John Enror are fictional characters I made up, so I hope you don't mind. Till later!)