Title:Game Without Tears
Disclaimer: I do not own, wish I did, but I don't. I only own my plot line. Full disclaimer, first chapter.
Author: ShaeLynn Teelle
All other information: See first chapter.
Polite constructive criticism welcome. FLAMES WILL BE FED TO THE DRAGON IN MY BED.
Chapter 13: I'll Be There For You
Meanwhile, up in the castle, Remus, Hermione, and Ron had reached Dumbledore's office. Remus spoke the password quickly and the statue jumped aside, revealing the stairs. The three rode the moving steps up to the top of the tower, the door opening as soon as they stepped off the revolving staircase. Dumbledore was standing on the second level of his office, looking out at the Forbidden Forest through the magical telescope that never needed to be brought into focus. When the three entered the room he stepped away from it, though stayed on that level rather than coming down to meet them.
"I'm not sure exactly what I saw just now near the Forest, but if someone could enlighten me about events, I'd much appreciate the confirmation or declination of what I believe I saw," he said calmly, his voice never wavering from its friendly tone, though the twinkle was conspicuously absent from his eyes.
"We were standing near the Forbidden Forest when a group of five Death Eaters came out and surrounded us before even Professor Lupin could fire off a spell," Hermione began slowly. "The leader of the group opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted and five more Death Eaters came out of the shadows, though they came from the direction of the lake and I do not know how they could have come upon us undetected like that, but the five that surrounded us were as unaware of their presence as we were."
"There was something different about these five other Death Eaters. Only two of them were wearing full Death Eater masks. The other three each had half-masks. Two of them had strips of colors on the edges while the third Death Eater's mask was simply white. He appeared to be in charge, even above the five that had originally surrounded us," Remus spoke, frowning still as he tried to find a reason for the variation from the normal Death Eater masks he had seen.
At the words of the white half-mask Dumbledore's gaze flickered briefly to Hermione whom stood behind Remus and Ron. She nodded slightly at the Headmaster's gaze and held it, trying to tell him without words that she needed to speak with him later about the matter.
Remus continued after shaking the thoughts from his mind, "The leader of these other five, the one with the plain half-mask, told the others to leave. He was berating them because they weren't supposed to come into contact with anyone from the school for any reason. After a threat by the one, the first group left back into the Forest. I didn't know what was going on and I still don't know what these others were playing at, but they didn't surround us or threaten us in any way.
"The leader said that trouble seemed to find Hermione almost as much as it did Harry and he questioned if we would make it back here without further problems. Then, he said there were loose ends to tie up and disappeared with the others into the Forest after the first group. We returned here at once, Albus, to inform you of what was happening."
"Thank you, Remus. So what I saw through the viewer was correct, though I was unable to hear what was being said. And the lights in the forest were then the loose ends to be tied. You say that the Death Eater with the half-mask was of higher rank than the others. Was there nothing identifying about him? Anything at all?"
The Defense Professor shook his head, but stopped when Ron's voice finally chimed into the conversation.
"His voice!"
"How do you mean, Mr. Weasley?" Dumbledore asked, glancing once again to Hermione who gave the same nod as before.
"I've never heard it before, but there's no way that I could ever forget that voice. It was completely cold. Not cruelly or evil, just cold… flat, empty of every emotion. It was like a stone was speaking. No human qualities to it at all. I can't explain it any other way, sir, but if I ever hear it again you will be the first person to know," Ron voiced, glad to be able to participate in the story.
"I see. Thank you very much for bringing me the news. As long as they are only watching, I shall wait until tomorrow to strengthen the wards. It is not a Hogsmeade weekend, nor is there Quidditch.
"Remus, if you will inform any professor you see on your way around the castle tonight, I would like them all assembled in the staff lounge tomorrow before breaking their fast. I will need all the Professors' help to improve the wards enough. Now, Miss Granger, would you stay a moment? There is something I would like to ask you about," the Headmaster said, politely dismissing the other two and acknowledging Hermione's unspoken wish.
When the other two had left, Ron promising to wait for her at the Gargoyle outside the office, Dumbledore turned to the Head Girl, "What is it, Miss Granger? There is something that you know that the others do not."
"Yes, sir. Headmaster, the Death Eater that basically saved us is Voldemort's right-hand, his Darkness, as he called him that night. It was his voice. Like Ron said, it is hardly a sound that one could ever forget, even under a Memory Charm. The four that were with him have to know about that night. They had to have been aware of him helping me or he wouldn't have risked letting us go like that with them right there. Also…" Hermione paused, organizing her thoughts.
"I believe that he, as well as his group, are students here. As Professor Lupin said, they came from the direction of the lake with no detection. It's possible to cast Silencing Charms on yourself or shoes and robes, but the lights of Hogwarts shines out near the Quidditch pitch where we were and the moon was half-full, plenty of light to see if there are figures moving anywhere from that way. They had to have come from some part of the castle, using it as a background hat of sorts to keep their presence unknown.
"I thought you might like to know my thoughts on this, sir. Especially if the one who risked so much to save me from rape and death is a student at Hogwarts. Somehow I want to thank them, someday, though it's not like I could stand on top of the Astronomy Tower and shout out for all to hear that he saved me. If we were to discover who this Dorchadais is could we not offer him aid, and his group if they are on our side, from within Hogwarts, as was done for Professor Snape for so many years? Then, if something would go wrong and it was discovered that they were not what the others thought they were, could they not also find asylum here as the Professor has done, now that he was revealed as a spy?"
"Those are sound words, Miss Granger. And while I agree with you, I think it might be best for right now to not actively try to find out anything about your protector. It may very well endanger him if not all those in this school are aware of what he does. I will keep this in mind and just knowing that we have our anonymous spy and this Dorchadais seemingly on our side is a benefit. If someone should come in or we receive notice from our informant about a possible detection, we might be able to help this young man or his compatriots. I think now that you had best go to your room, my dear. I believe Mr. Weasley is still waiting, not so patiently, for your emergence from my office. And congratulations, Miss Granger. I'm sure that everything will turn out just fine."
Hermione nodded, bafflement on her face at what the Headmaster might possibly be congratulating her for, but didn't question him about it. She had learned last year that when Dumbledore told you something to simply accept it for what it was and somehow, you would figure it out, whether directly or not. She left the Headmaster's office to find her boyfriend waiting at the bottom of the stairs, shifting from foot to foot as he was want to do when slightly impatient or worried.
"Hermione, can I talk with you… s-somewhere private?" Ron asked, stuttering just a bit.
"Sure, Ron. We can go to my room and talk."
When they reached the Head Girl's room, near the Gryffindor dormitories, Hermione led Ron inside as he seemed to hesitate outside the doorway. He sat down on one end of the dark red and brown couch in the small sitting room, gazing into the flames from the fire in front of him. Hermione sat at the other end of the couch, her legs curled underneath her, facing Ron who seemed pensive and afraid.
Then, the red head turned to her, his eyes alight with something that Hermione had seen before, but only in glimpses. Ron reached into one of his robe pockets and drew out something small that he hid within his closed hand. He watched the girl before him for a few moments, the only sound in the room from the fire crackling in the grate and their quiet breathing.
"Hermione, I know that we haven't been dating for very long and that's my fault. I… I should have asked you out last year already, or the beginning of this year instead of waiting until Christmas, but I—" Ron faltered for a moment before looking his girlfriend in the eyes and finishing quickly before he lost his nerve. "I know what I feel and I know what I'm asking. I know that we're young, but we don't have to finish this right away. I don't care how long it takes, but… would you marry me, Hermione?"
The Head Girl sat there stunned, staring at the ring lying in the center of Ron's now open palm. It was a silver ring, a small, deep red stone lying in the center facing with a thin ring of turquoise surrounding it. The ring wasn't gaudy, the stone wasn't expensive and it wasn't large, but Hermione's hands shook as she reached out to take it. As she slipped it onto the fourth finger of her left hand, she felt the ring resize itself to fit her with a small tingle of magic before it was gone.
"There's a Shielding Spell and a Protection Charm on it. It's not much, but… I want you to stay safe. You mean so much to me, Hermione. And no one can remove it, except for you, and I hope you never have a reason to."
\/\/\/\/\/
"So where were you last night, Ron?" Harry asked teasingly, but quietly as his best friends took their usual places since Christmas across from him.
"I fell asleep and that was all. I didn't see it as being a problem since I fell asleep," Ron stressed, "On a couch."
"I believe you, Ron." Harry teased, a smirk crossing his features as he mumbled, just loud enough for the other two to hear, "Just like I believe you were warm underneath a Mione blanket."
Ron gaped for a moment while Hermione just blushed lightly and discreetly placed her left hand within Harry's sight. The dark haired Gryffindor grinned at his best friends, nudging Ron's foot under the table to get his attention.
"I know you both well enough to know that neither of you did anything inappropriate last night, no matter how much either of you might have wanted to. Ron, I'm glad that you finally worked up the nerve to ask her, though I do wonder why you suddenly decided last night."
"Finally?" Hermione asked suspiciously. "Ron, how long ago did you get this?"
"Well," Ron began, glaring slightly over at Harry for saying anything about that. "I… Um… I got it the day that you were," Ron stopped, moving one hand slightly when he couldn't finish the rest of the sentence.
"Oh, Ron. Thank you. For this and for everything." Hermione began leaning in slightly like she was going to kiss her recent fiancé, but Harry's snicker caught her attention first.
"If you don't want everyone in the Great Hall to know what's going on, you might want to try and act normal for a few days. It's going to be obvious if you attract Ginny's attention and she sees the ring. I can just hear her excited squeal—"
Harry was interrupted by a snort from behind his friends. He looked up to see Draco standing there with Gregory and Vincent on either side of the blonde. But Draco wasn't looking at Harry or Ron, he was staring straight at Hermione, not having missed the small ring on her finger.
"Perhaps you should look into a career in the theatre. Your acting skills are quite well developed, Granger," Draco sneered, keeping up his reputation and knowingly repeating the same thing he had implied several times before.
"You've repeatedly said that. What are you on about, Malfoy?" Hermione asked in fear and suspicion, wondering if Draco really knew what had happened to her and how he could have found out.
"Oh, a little birdie told me, Granger," Draco spoke quietly, dropping a small piece of parchment into Hermione's lap and she gasped when she felt his hand lightly brush her thigh as he moved it away. Then, Draco was suddenly swung away from Hermione by an irate Ron who proceeded to punch him in the nose, breaking it instantly.
He fell backwards to the ground and a moment later Vincent and Gregory were at his side, preparing to continue the fist fight while Draco got away, but he placed a hand on their shoulders, "Let's get out of here before a Professor comes along and gives us all detentions."
The three left, Vincent and Gregory walking on either side of Draco, who was holding his bleeding nose with one hand, glad that for whatever reason neither the Professors nor the Headmaster was present in the hall. Hermione had grabbed the note from her lap in the slight confusion of the brief confrontation and hid it in her satchel. Then, she went over to Ron and put her hand gently on his shoulder. When he turned to her she leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
"Thank you for defending me, Ron. Perhaps the next time you might try to use your wand rather than getting physical when you know that Crabbe and Goyle are close by."
"Right, sorry," was all that Ron could get out as he was still stunned by the fact that Hermione had kissed him in the hall as she was against any public display of affection that went beyond hand holding or non-provocative hugs.
"I'm going to the library to get some studying done while you two do whatever it is you do when I study. I'll see you two in the common room later today, okay?"
"Sure, Hermione. Do you want us to walk with you to the library or stay there with you?" Ron asked with slight concern for her.
"No, thank you, Ron. You'll just distract me with chatter or try to get me to stop studying for the day. I'll be alright. Just make sure you don't run into Malfoy before you two reach the common room. I'd hate to see what retaliation he's going to have when he sees you next."
Harry nodded and took Ron's elbow, steering him towards the Gryffindor common room. Hermione smiled after them, then turned and began walking to the library. She dug the note out of her satchel and read it as she walked down the nearly deserted hallway.
Not all Slytherins are your enemies and your enemies aren't all Slytherins.
Hermione frowned at the note, just before it burst into a blue fire, disintegrating the paper, though the flames didn't burn anything else. She understood what the note was saying, it couldn't have been much clearer and she began to have a suspicion about Draco Malfoy and the unknown spy, but she was unsure of just what part the Slytherin had to play in the entire matter.
She vowed to warn Dumbledore of the missive the next chance she got, but throughout the rest of the day, when she had the opportunity to think about it again, the suspicions were forgotten. Without the note, every time she tried to remember what it was, it slipped away from her and Draco never confronted her again. By the time she held on to the suspicions long enough to speak with Dumbledore about it, it was irrelevant.
\/\/\/\/\/
It was only a week later that Voldemort attacked, this time disrupting more than just a few lives at Hogwarts. This time it disrupted the entire school and the Order. Especially the Order. Severus and Harry had gone missing. No one quite knew what had happened the night before, only that a small second year Ravenclaw had seen Harry leave the castle after curfew and Professor Snape following a moment or two later. She hadn't wanted to say anything for fear of receiving detention for being out of her dorm so late, but she informed her Head of House when she discovered they hadn't returned. It was already morning by then and there was no trace of either of them.
Dumbledore had tried to contact them both various times and in various ways that morning to no avail. It was as if the two had suddenly ceased to exist in the Wizarding World and the Order was sent out to search any and all known Death Eater encampments past and present, taking all necessary precautions. But by that evening, when they had been gone a full twenty-four hours, there was still no sign of where the two were or even if they were still alive.
\/\/\/\/\/
As McGonagall explained that she would be the Slytherin Head of House temporarily due to Snape's unavoidable absence, Draco's mark flared with pain and his left hand clenched tight, but he gave no other indication that anything was wrong. Next to him he felt Pansy tense as her own mark was activated. From near the hallway to the dorm rooms Draco saw Daphne shudder slightly and Tracey's arm came about her shoulders, knowing what caused the reaction immediately. Across the room Gregory and Vincent sank further into the shadows next to the fireplace, unable to keep their immediate grimaces off their faces.
Draco glanced about the room, seeing some of the others that he knew were marked wince in pain as his own mark burned even more than before, but none of the other Slytherins even seemed aware of several of their dorm mate's pain. As McGonagall continued her speech, seemingly oblivious to what was happening within the darker areas of the common room, even Draco began to feel impatient. Then, she had finished and left after looking about the room one final time, reminding everyone to remain in the dormitory.
When she finally walked out the door, letting the wall close silently behind her, Draco breathed an audible sigh of relief, "I thought the old bag would never leave." He stood and surveyed the entire dorm's occupants, whose eyes were on the unofficial leader of Slytherin, "Do not disappoint Slytherin house."
Then, he turned and left the common room, Gregory and Vincent following behind him up to his single dorm room. Pansy and Millicent left to their own dorm as did Tracey and Daphne. Nott went up to his room, but Blaise stayed where he was in a chair in a quiet corner of the common room next to a small second year. The rest of Slytherin separated into their own activities, no one appearing worried about the seventh years' departure and none that would dare to question it even if they had been concerned. But there was one second year, the one that sat near Blaise, that watched the girls leave, an unidentifiable expression on her face before she returned to her Defense essay.
\/\/\/\/\/
Entering the Riddle Mansion, Draco received a sudden sense of unease. As soon as McGonagall told them she would be taking Snape's place temporarily he had known that it was likely Voldemort had somehow captured him, but now, his senses were screaming at him that saving Snape was going to be the least of his problems.
He pushed open the doors to the main audience chamber and focused on walking through the gathered Death eaters until he came to the front of Voldemort's throne where he knelt in obeisance.
"You're late. Crucio!"
Draco writhed on the floor, but as always, made no sound. Then, the curse was lifted and Draco regained his footing, kneeling in front of the makeshift throne again.
"Your place is empty. Fill it."
"Yes, my Lord," Draco said and stood, moving to the right side of Voldemort's chair.
It was only then that he saw the two prisoners bound and kneeling to one side of the room. They were both bruised and bleeding from several small cuts. Their robes and clothing were torn and it was obvious that they had put up quite a struggle. Harry's glasses were gone and there was a shallow cut on the top of his cheekbone that likely came from when they were broken against his face. Snape was kneeling on the floor, but the majority of his weight was balanced on one leg, the other having a very small puddle of blood starting below the knee, staining both his trouser leg and the already stained floor.
As the two glared daggers at both Voldemort and himself, Draco knew that Harry was aware of who he was, but thought he was really on Voldemort's side. He glared back, using his hidden fear and Harry's mistrust to make it real while steeling his face and mind to reveal nothing as usual. Draco glanced about the room, seeing Vincent and Gregory near the back of the circle, closest to the room where the girls were kept for meetings.
"Incendere Inserere."
Draco's attention was brought back to the center of the room. As he watched Snape stiffen and clench his eyes against the pain before falling over against the floor, he wondered if perhaps Voldemort always tortured his important victims in the same way. Then, Voldemort's wand moved to the other prisoner that was still glaring at him, seeming not to notice that Snape was being tortured beside him.
"Stringere Alvus."
Draco watched as Harry hunched down from the pain as his insides were twisted slightly and stretched, but there were no screams, and the glare continued.
"Avellere," Voldemort added to the curse.
Draco's eyes widened a fraction and he watched as the body jerked and vomited, a trace of blood mixed in as the internal bleeding began slowly. 'No, Harry can't die,' he thought frantically, though his face and eyes revealed nothing, and looked up to catch Vincent's eye. The other nodded slightly and silently warned Gregory where he stood near him. Draco saw Voldemort motion to him and he obediently turned, clearing his thoughts again and hearing Voldemort take the curses off the two on the floor.
"Dorchadais, my darkness, I know of your hatred for Harry Potter. Before I kill him, you may take your revenge any way you wish."
Wary of Voldemort's sudden generosity, Draco bowed to him and strode over to Harry. Draco pulled his emergency pin from the edge of his robe sleeve, hiding it between his fingers. He grabbed the other by the front of his torn robes and pulled Harry half-way to his feet. With no one noticing, he slipped the pin into the neckline edge of Harry's robe, aware that he was running out of time.
"Malfoy," Harry spit out his name like it was the blood that had left a streak at the edge of his mouth, causing a hushed murmur to start in the Death Eaters crowded around them.
Draco smirked at Harry, silently praying this would work correctly. He reached up and pulled off his mask, knowing that soon it wouldn't matter if they all knew who he was. Off to the side he heard Snape practically growl at him, but was stopped by the Cruciatus courtesy of Voldemort.
"You're dead, Potter. Burn," then, he pulled out his wand and held it to Harry's neck where the pin was hidden. "Flamma… ex auctor."
And Harry disappeared like a quiet rush of air to where the other half of the pin was located on the side of a bed in the infirmary. In the sudden silence at his betrayal, Draco knelt by Snape's side where he still writhed under the Cruciatus and clutched Severus tightly to him as he fumbled with the nearly invisible band around his wrist.
"Hogwart's basho no byoki."
In the moment before the band worked, when Draco was still trying to get hold of the thin string, Voldemort regained his senses and threw one last curse at Draco, knowing that he'd still have the chance to kill him later, "Avellere Cutis Et Corpus Procul, Exsilire."
The band tightened on Draco's wrist as the curse struck and the two were deposited in the infirmary where Draco promptly released Severus and remained kneeling as he wrapped his arms about himself while severe tears began appearing across his skin. Then, the curse was gone and he looked up to see the Headmaster before he let darkness overtake him.
Reviews are appreciated.