A Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and review! Lots of hugs!

UnBeta'd because everyone is so busy…

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters otherwise I would be living in the style of which I would like to become accustomed. At times quotes from BtVS and HP are either used in original form or adapted to fit the story. The songs used belong to their prospective owners/writers/performers. So, not mine, no money is made from my efforts.

A/N: A special Thank you to Dreamweaver (on TTH). Your review on Ch 19 sparked off an idea that helped me work through a difficult part of this chapter.

Sirenes

Chapter 20

The Trouble with Mia

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Thinking Drusilla was safely asleep, Severus puttered about his private lab. He was astonished to realize that since this whole thing started, he was actually missing his classes for once. A slight noise brought him out of his thoughts and he stilled, it sounded again and he hurried to the door, recognizing Drusilla's distressed moan as it drifted from the bedroom.

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Harry checked with Hagrid as he looked for Ron and was disappointed to discover his best friend never showed for his trip into the forest with the half giant. The redhead's empty seat at breakfast wasn't a great concern since it happened often enough on the weekends, but it wasn't like Ron to miss more than one meal in a day. Not that he would actually go without eating. If he didn't show at the Headtable during a meal, he could usually be found down in the kitchens or holed up in his room, a full tray provided by enthusiastic house elves.

Harry searched for his best friend after Ron's absence was commented on for the second time that day, but was unable to locate him on grounds. None of the house elves had seen him and he didn't even show up on the Map. It was completely possible that Ron had a date with Lavender and had forgotten to tell him. But Harry had this sick feeling bubbling up from the pit of his stomach.

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As he breached the doorway, Severus was startled to find Drusilla standing on their bed. With wild eyes she scanned the floor, alternately pointing at shadows and pulling at her dark hair. Her dark eyes burned with a strange fire when they locked on his form and he instinctively froze, unsure of her for the first time. She jumped down from the bed, her bare feet slapping the floor as she began pacing.

"Rats in the field! Mustela didn't dance when Princess saw his imprudent wagging." Her ragged moan shivered across his skin, leaving goose bumps in its wake. "He fell in the green, hidden, but I cannot see. Why can I not See?" She held out her hands in supplication before pulling at her hair again. "Did I follow the cipher judiciously?" She wrapped her arms around her waist and rocked. "How will Blade and Song remain as they should?"

Her voice faded and she looked at him with wounded eyes, her hands clutched in the fabric of her gown. Severus took a tentative step forward, keeping eye contact and trying to send her a sense of calm through their bond.

He reached up and started to stroke her hair and she flinched, pushing him back as she streaked to the bathroom. The slamming of the door reverberated through the room and his heart clenched as she shrieked and moaned behind the solid division. As he reached for the handle she fell silent and it felt like the calm before the storm. A careful touch confirmed his suspicion that she had locked the door and he scowled, unmindful of the fact she couldn't see. Severus knocked on the door with three sharp raps and he winced as something crashed and the floor vibrated with the collision.

"Drusilla, open this door." Silence was her answer and he pulled out his wand. "If you do not open this door immediately, I shall do it myself." The dark promise of reprisal shimmered through his tone, but it didn't produce the result he expected. Normally this tone elicited obedience, excitement and arousal in Drusilla… in that order. His Mate was a twisted creature much to his delight. Unfortunately, what ever vision or dream had disturbed her was clouding her awareness of anything else.

"Ruin! Rats and ruin. Took away a heart." Her shriek was followed by a heavy crash as something fell against the door.

"Alohomorah!" The door barely moved at his casting and he growled in frustration.

He was contemplating a trip down the hall to retrieve Hermione or Oz when a knock sounded.

Severus opened the door to reveal a worried Oz and Hermione. He grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her inside and Oz followed close behind.

"We heard an awful crash!" At the sound of Hermione's voice, Drusilla began to screech again.

"Broken! Ruin and pain. Can't fix it or find it. Where is it? The chocolate frogs won't help me."

"What's wrong with her Severus?"

"I don't know! She was sleeping peacefully while I worked in my lab and then she began wailing and screeching the most confusing nonsense. She was pulling at her hair and gown. She was so distraught I thought for a moment she might attack me, but she's gone and locked herself in the loo. I think she pushed the armoire over in front of the door. She won't let me help her." His voice had started out in a bellow but at the end it was barely a whisper.

A sick feeling rolled in her stomach, but Hermione placed a comforting hand on his arm. "We'll sort it out Severus."

A wave of warm energy flowed through the room and they looked up to see Oz standing in front of the bathroom door, his hands flat against the wood.

A growling hiss reverberated through the door in response. It deteriorated into a whimper.

Oz spoke through the door. "Dru, the door is blocked. We need you to help us open it. Now."

There was a sound of glass breaking and then Oz pushed and the wooden door groaned, moving inward slightly.

They could hear tinkling glass and pained whimpers as Oz's muscles bunched and he pushed once more. He turned to Hermione with glowing eyes and sharp teeth. "She's bleeding."

Severus moved Hermione out of the way carefully and brought up his wand. He could see the armoire through the crack and managed to maneuver it out of the way. They moved into the room with Severus in the lead and halted abruptly. The sight of Drusilla on the floor, her hands bristling with shards of the broken mirror elicited a choked sob from Hermione.

Oz moved toward the whimpering Vampiress and the older man stopped him. He scowled at Severus with golden eyes and then looked at the floor where the older man's wand pointed. The floor was covered with shards of the mirror and both Oz and Hermione were barefooted.

"Evanesco." A quick wave and the splintered glass was gone, allowing the three to reach their loved one.

Dru looked up at them with large bruised eyes and held out her bloody hands, the glass glittering as the light hit it. "There's nothing to See. He was meant to sleep and then have his reunion. I can't get it back. It's too loud here and I missed it. Silver grasping at panic and ginger flashes green. HELP ME!!!"

Hermione could feel Oz's distress through their bond and Severus was as near panic as she had ever seen before. Thinking quickly she asked, "Has she fed yet?"

"What? No! I said she was sleeping. There hasn't been time!"

Hermione carefully laid her hand on Oz's arm. "Oz." He turned his golden gaze on her and she smiled. "We need to get the glass out of her hands and she is going to lose a lot more blood. Can you feed her?"

His expression tightened and she thought for a moment he would refuse. Closing his eyes, he drew in a deep breath and shuddered as his body tensed visibly. Dru whimpered again and he moved forward and sat next to her on the floor. He gently grasped her wrists and held her hands, palms facing up. Severus and Hermione each took a hand and made quick work of extracting the glass with a flick of their wands.

Oz scented the air again and growled over his shoulder. "Mia, he needs to leave." He turned his attention back at the low moan from Dru and Hermione looked up to see the Professor lose all color, his dark eyes fixed on Oz's transformed hands. She remembered his reluctant confession regarding werewolves and was amazed that he hadn't panicked before now.

She cleared her throat and Severus' head whipped around to focus on her. "Severus, do you have any Blood Replenishing potion on hand? I think Oz will need it."

He opened his mouth to protest.

"Please." Hermione squeezed his arm, willing his compliance and to her surprise, he nodded jerkily and left with only half his usual drama.

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Hermione answered the door and smiled wanly at the sight of Harry's pensive face. She motioned him inside and he followed her to the table set up in the sitting room for their meal.

"Ron's missing." He said baldly as he sat down.

Hermione dropped heavily into her chair. "What do you mean he's missing? Are you sure? I was told he wasn't at the ball because he passed out and they put him in his room to sleep it off."

"He hasn't shown up for any meals or snuck food from the kitchens. He's not visible on the Map either. I suppose he could have gone out with Lavender and forgot to tell me, but I'm not sure that's right. She's not answering her Floo and I've got this horrible feeling, like we've missed something terribly important."

She scrubbed her face with stiff hands. "Merlin, this is just too much!"

Harry reached across the table and took her hand. "You look horrible Mione, didn't you sleep?"

She gave a soggy chuckle. "Oh Harry, how I've missed you." She blew out a heavy sigh and squeezed his hand. "No, I didn't sleep very much. Dru had some sort of vision earlier and it drove her barking mad. She completely shattered the mirror in Professor Snape's loo and injured herself. We managed to calm her enough that Severus was able to get her to the Headmaster's office. They're going to try and work out what happened and what it means."

"Do you think it might have something to do with Ron?"

"Honestly? I couldn't say. I only heard the last bit of her ranting and it made absolutely no sense." She pointed to his plate with a smile. "Go ahead an eat something I can hear your stomach growling."

His face tinged pink and he offered her a sheepish smile.

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Oz woke to find Mia already up and her pillow cool. The last few days had been fairly taxing for even his normally calm disposition. The power of the castle and surrounding grounds set his teeth on edge and it was difficult to maintain a composed manner. On top of that, there was Dru's latest freak-out conbined with trying to keep up with all of the new people in Mia's life. Not that they were the new ones. That privilege was all his. Bleary eyed and still exhausted from disquieting dreams that unsettled what little sleep he could manage, Oz dressed and then stumbled out of the bedroom and halted in the sitting room at the sight of a dark haired man embracing Mia.

His wolf reared up in outrage at that and Oz stood completely still, waiting for Mia to notice he was in the room. The man looked slightly familiar and Oz was finally able to identify him as Mia's friend Harry. That fact was completely insignificant to the Wolf. There was a man, non-Pack, with his arms around his Mate. Unwanted flashbacks of Willow and Xander pushed their way into his consciousness. He reached out to her through their bond and found her completely closed off, explaining part of his unease upon awakening. A soft, involuntary growl escaped and the pair broke apart, Mia with a smile and Harry in alarm.

"Oh, you're awake! Harry came by to catch up and told me that Ron's been missing since the Ball last night. He couldn't find Ron anywhere in the castle or reach Ron's girlfriend Lavender."

"Sorry to hear that. Excuse me; I need to get some air." Ignoring the hurt in Mia's eyes, Oz brushed by the two and walked out, intending to check on Dru and then have a run on the school grounds. There were things to work out in his head before he could talk to Mia.

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Drusilla's collapse and Ron's mysterious disappearance on top of the strange misunderstanding between her and Oz had left Hermione increasingly unsettled and the need for physical activity weighed on her heavily. After her third heavy sigh, Severus, in his usual acerbic tone, suggested that she work it off in the unused classroom next door.

Placing the headphones over her ears, she turned up the music and moved through the simple Tai Chi routine Drusilla had taught her as a way to relieve the mounting stress. The Vampiress had explained that while she never used the exercise herself, she remembered all of the lessons her Daddy had taught her. Disappointment that Oz was unwilling to join her only added to her stress. It had been only a day since his strange withdrawal and it weighed heavily on her emotional state.

Settling into a smooth rhythm, she didn't notice the furtive movement in the far corner of the room. The driving beats of the song began to unconsciously feed her growing sense of worry and resentment and her movements grew jerky and uncoordinated. The figure in the corner watched avidly as Hermione moved, her distress evident in the tears slowly running down her cheeks.

He shifted, wondering how in Merlin's name he would accomplish the task given to him, when she tripped. He watched with a mixture of fear and anticipation as she pitched forward and hit her head on the only piece of furniture in the room, knocking herself out cold. The small figure stilled, waiting for her to move and when she didn't he crept forward on stealthy paws, whiskers twitching as a sensitive nose scanned for danger. Sensing no immediate threat the figure transformed into the reviled form of Peter Pettigrew. He fumbled a moment, trying to pull an oddly shaped vial from his robe. Flustered, he stopped and then carefully extracted the vial and held it up to the light.

The liquid inside roiled in varying shades of a sick viscous green. Peter shook his head at the sight. He wasn't convinced this plan would work, but then, it wasn't his place to question his Lord. As instructed, Peter pulled out the Ceremonial dagger the Dark Lord provided and mumbled the Latin phrases Voldemort had drilled into the Animagus. With a shaking hand, Peter lifted the woman's arm and made the required incision in the skin on the inside of her elbow. Blood pooled for a moment before it dripped and he watched as the first drop ran down and fell to the floor. The resulting splash broke his gaze and he quickly uncapped the vial and tipped the contents onto the bleeding cut. Peter watched in sick horror as the liquid seemed to be alive, each drop defied gravity as it moved toward the dripping incision and absorbed into it. As the last drop made contact and seeped inside, the cut sealed, leaving only a small scar.

Inside her mind, Hermione screamed as her consciousness was pushed back to make room for another more malevolent presence.

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In a far corner of the library, Oz stilled, Mia's distress had spiked before disappearing completely. In fact, her entire presence had suddenly closed off from their bond again. His sigh broke the silence of the room as he stood and made his way to the door.

'This has gone on long enough. It's not Mia's fault we're stuck here.' Oz told himself. Not sure where to search for her first, he made his way to Severus' quarters. The Wizard barely took notice of the Were's arrival and only acknowledged the young man when he grew tired of Oz's intense gaze.

"Is there something you require, or have you decided to succumb to your inevitable attraction to my obvious charms?"

Oz had become used to the snarky man's biting comments and they usually sailed by without notice. The startled Were' choked out a reluctant laugh. "Dude, did you think that up on the fly, or did it take most of the day to come up with that one?"

The man's smug sneer was his only response and Oz gave in only because he was becoming increasingly worried with his loss of contact with Mia. "Something's wrong."

Severus' glare sliced through Oz like a scalpel. "Of course there is. You're just as stubborn as she is you idiot. The problem is you've just realized it and she almost never gives in. It's about time you decided to acquiesce. Can't have you two fighting." Severus looked down, his voice sounding strangely husky, "Puts us all out of sorts."

The smile on Oz's face wisely disappeared before the dark Wizard met his eyes again. "She's next door in the empty classroom. If you grovel enough, we might all be able to share a peaceful meal."

"Thanks Dude."

"I am Not a dude. If you feel it necessary to address me with something other than my name, please feel free to use Professor."

"Thanks Professor… Dude."

Laughing, Oz managed to make it through the door before the stinging hex hit him.

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Although his body was seated in his chair, Voldemort's consciousness looked out through the Siren's eyes and saw Peter Pettigrew groveling at his feet. The potion should have allowed him access to her memories, but to his frustration, he found he could only possess her body. The irritation he felt at this shifted the balance momentarily and he felt the woman's mind flutter behind the wall that had erected upon his possession. Regaining control took him longer than he was happy with. He quirked her brow at the supine ratman and relief lit Peter's eyes.

"My Lord." The awe filled voice did much to sooth Voldemort's ego and he laughed. The sound of the Dark Lord's laugh erupting from this woman's mouth nearly caused the Animagus to wet himself.

"I still need you to gather as much information as possible Peter."

"Please forgive me my Lord, but there are too many that would recognize me in either form to be effective as a spy here. It took me a few days before I could find her alone. This Siren, Mia she is called, was rarely left alone."

"Continue to use that halfbreed's hut. You might hear something useful. He could never keep his mouth shut I seem to recall."

"Yes my Lord."

"And Peter… do remember to perform a concealment charm on your shiny new hand, I would hate to have you recognized before I have no more use for you."

"Yes My Lord." Pettigrew transformed back into his rat form and scurried back through the hole he had used to enter the room.

Almost as soon as the rat disappeared, Voldemort felt pressure and was suddenly compressed into a quiet dark space, unable to push his way out or escape.

He was trapped and his frustrated roar only added fuel to his growing horror.

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Oz reached the door and the scent of Mia on the other side brought a smile to his face. The smile wavered when his preternatural hearing picked up a strange scurrying noise. 'Huh, I thought Dumbledore said that rodents wouldn't live in the castle because of the caretaker's cat. Maybe Mia would like another cat.'

He pushed the door open and saw his mate standing toward the back of the room, her back to the door. "Mia…" Her back stiffened at the sound of his voice and Oz realized that she probably thought he was still angry. He tried to send her feelings of reassurance and was puzzled when their link remained closed. The scent of blood in the air registered and he placed his hand on her shoulder. She whirled around and Oz noticed blood on her forehead and fear in her eyes.

"Help me!"

"Mia! What happened? Why are you bleeding?"

"I don't know what happened. I think I might have tripped and hit my head. I feel so strange."

"Maybe we should go to the nurse."

"Okay."

Oz's worry increased at Mia's easy capitulation.

"Oz?"

"Yeah?"

"Could we not fight anymore?"

"Yeah."

Oz wrapped his arm around her shoulders and helped her to the infirmary, where Ginny fussed over her for a while. She couldn't explain why their bond was closed and promised to try and research possibilities. She sent them back to their room with some headache potion and the assurance that Hermione didn't have a concussion.

TBC…

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