Thank you so much, littlegreeneyes for your help and encouragement. I will defo work on my to and too! Thank you all who have read this far. And thanks to all who left encouraging reveiws.
Severus Snape made his way out of the corridor, and took out the coin that was now, almost to hot to handle. "Draco Malfoy!" The pull came as if a hook had attached itself to his navel, jerking him into motion, pulling him from his very core. Within mere moments he was in a room, it was dark, dusty, and supprisingly familiar to him.
Memories of the last time he was in this particular room flooded his mind, they were not happy memories. The remembrance made him wince. He saw himself kneeling in Sirius's old bedroom.
...Tears were dripping from the end of his hooked nose as he read the old letter from Lily, he took the page bearing Lily's signature, and her love, and tucked it inside his robes. Then he ripped in two the photograph he was also holding, so he kept the part from which lily had laughed, throwing the portion showing James and Harry back onto the floor, under the chest of draws...
Snape stood still at the threshold as the past images hit him like physical pain. He struggled with his emotions for just a few seconds before mastering his aborhance of the room, almost immediately his face became impassive, as he turned his attention to Draco.
The young wizard was nervously perched on the edge of the big four poster bed. He hadn't noticed his Godfathers slight falter on entering the room, and as Snape recovered his composure so quickly, Draco saw nothing amiss in his demeanour. Draco placed his finger on his lips gesturing to Snape, telling him to remain quiet.
"Muffliato." Snape whispered. "Well I didn't expect you to summon me this quickly, I hope this is good Draco."
The young man nodded and in a lowered tremulous voice, conveyed what he had heard to his Godfather.
Draco could see that this news wasn't a shock to the Profesor. It was quite apparent that Snape had been waiting for something like this to happen.
"I knew there was something wrong with William Weasley, and his vain little wife. She is part veela, wizards usually clamour to follow her wake, her powers of attraction weren't working tonight, even I noticed."
"I should think not, she's a man, an ugly old man at that." shuddered Draco In distaste.
"Quite." Snape made his monosyllabic reply distractedly, he was thinking of a course of action.
"This is awkward Draco, we can't just blunder in and duel them, we don't have the fact's, we don't know what powers they have, how can we decide how to fight what we don't understand?" Snape rubbed his temple in agitation. "I wish Minerva had taken this damn mask off.
At a time when it's important to trust and recognise fellow wizards, everyone's put masks on to hide there bloody identities. I need to hear their plans...wait here."
Snape cast his concealing charms and left the bedroom, making his way to the room Draco had indicated.
"Permittas Audire!" After this non verbal incantation, the low voice's in the room could be heard more clearly in his mind.
" ...get back to Macnair, Have a go at getting the cloak while you're at it, Narcissa's charms appear to be failing her. I think it's time to for Rodulphus to play his part too, take him with you. Hide in the grounds brother, near the lake. Use your dark mark's to contact each other when it's time..."
Here the voice of Rabastan broke off. Snape was poised to flee, but froze when he heard a high pitch wail.
"Brother, what is it?" the very recognisable voice of Rodulphus was identified instantly by Snape. There was a silence.
"Its nothing ... just momentary pain." Rabastan's voice sounded misplaced to Snape, not the Rabastan he knew, it had over tones of a past horror.
"It didn't sound like 're looking paler, your eyes are bloodshot, sit down brother, rest."
"Rest! We are on the eve of new birth, for the greater good I have to feel pain. Just get out, follow my orders, these miserable specimens can be left for a few minutes..." He broke off again shallow breaths could be heard. "I've other business to attend to, summon me when you need my presence, leave them here; I will be back to watch the not so happy couple momentarily... Did you not hear me? Get out, get on with it!" The high pitched voice painfully penetrated Professor Snape's brain. He acted immediately, returning back to the room he'd left Draco in, just before all three Death Eaters exited the chamber he'd been spying on.
"Draco, I've got to get back to Hogwarts... "
Draco jumped in surprise, he hadn't heard the professor enter. He looked over to where the voice came from, He could just about see his Godfather, blending into the wall, his disillusionment Charm still working.
Snape spoke in a low tone, "I think The Dark Lord has some how returned, It's possible he's possessed Rabastan, although I can't be sure.""No ...it's not possible, he can't get back, Potter saw to that. Rabastan must be pretending, maybe to incite fear." Even though the young wizard was whispering, he was unable to hide the note of panic in his words.
"If anything he's hiding it from the other Death Eaters. It's like he's not fully possessed, if I'm correct, its frightening him, possibly killing him... The Dark Lord has a reputation for murdering those who serve him. We haven't time for debate... This is your moment Draco, your going to have to get the Weasley's out, Try to get them to St. Mungo's. I don't know how long you have before Rabastan returns, or where he's gone, so be on your guard. Charms may be placed on Bill and Fleur fixing them here, you will have to break them. I will send Kreacher, he may be able to help, house elves follow a different magical law, that may prove useful. I've got to get back to Hermione and warn her...Warn them, help them all."
There it was again, the accidental slip of a first name, this time Draco was too panicked to notice.
Snape Studied his Godson's frightened face. "I trust you Draco."
Draco didn't answer, not that it mattered, his Godfather didn't wait for one.
Snape made his way to the kitchen, the fire still blazed as though recently used. He decided to partially enter the rooms in order to check that the coast was clear. His face appeared in the burning embers of the fire in the Hogwarts study room, from the centre of the fire's coal glowed, crackled, spitting out shadow and light, highlighting Snape's face, elongating his already prominent nose. The image slowly turned checking that the study was indeed empty. He heard the door opposite close, he waited a few more moments to be sure that they did not mean to return. Then he fully used the transport system. Alighting from the fire place he took stock of his surroundings, straightened his robes, and focused on his urgent problem, who to find first?
"Kreacher!"he called. Kreacher, to his credit, arrived very quickly for such an aged elf. He listened as Snape briefed him about the events that evening, Snape was making sure he didn't command Kreacher as promised, he merely requested his wizened little elf agreed to assist in both tasks set, although at the professors second request he began to tremble and shake. Snape had to spend a few minutes calming Kreacher down and assuring the elderly elf of his value to them. Once Kreacher had agreed Snape sent him to Draco, hoping he could cope with the tasks.
As Snape prepared to leave the study, he noticed the little book of poetry on the table. The pages were open displaying Hermione's favourite poem as if recently read. For a moment Snape felt the joy of knowing his gift was appreciated. He ran his fingers across the page, he was so deep in contemplation that it was very disconcerting to find Narcissa's wand suddenly pushed against his lips. Her body flush against his back.
Narcissa leaned over him, her mouth close to his ear. "Shush Severus, I'm on your side." she breathed.
Snape pushed her wand away from his face firmly, his features fixed and expressionless his mask adding to the stillness of his body.
For a few seconds he was quiet in his appraisal of the witch before him.
When he spoke his words they were thick with irony.
"Really Madame? You convince me of this by creeping up on me and thrusting your wand in my face? Or maybe it was when you relieved me of the Sekhen, that you sort to convince me of your trustworthiness. let's not mention the abandonment of your family...or the cavorting with Death Eaters. If I'm totally honest it's the little furry problem you appear to have, that makes me question who's side you are on. So ... no, you are not on my side. I don't even think you have a side, or a loyalty."
Narcissa smiled up at him her piercing blue eyes seeking his own dark ones.
"Oh you're wrong, I have a side, and I most definitely have a loyalty. You will find our loyalties are not dissimilar, I've seen yours. I want the Death Eaters destroyed. I want Voldermort dead! He must never have the opportunity to return again as man or ghost."
Snape twitched slightly at the use of his old masters name.
"And yet the Dark lord seems reluctant to rest in peace. Why is it Narcissa, that you gave the Death Eaters the Sekhen?"
"I'm impressed Severus, you know the true name of the Resurrection stone. Keep it to yourself, the Death Eaters are unconcerned with truth and truth can be found in a name. With out knowledge of the name you cannot master it, how ever much you desire it."
Snape gave her a sharp look.
"Do you desire it? "
"Of course, as did you." she retorted.
"And yet you lost it?" He sneered.
"Again; as did you, but then you could never hang on to what you desired could you Severus?"
Snape ignored the barb and continued to question her, in the hope of understanding her motives and the threat she presented.
"Do you think you can master it?"
"I have knowledge, I understand it, so...yes, I do."
"Do you have wisdom? Knowledge without it is worthless."
She held her head aloof with pride and determination.
"I'm said to be the wisest creature alive." She announced.
"A hollow boast when all I've seen is outstanding stupidity. You've already lost the stone, Why are you using the Death Eaters for your own ends?"
"Your a clever man, you know what I am. As a Kitsune I've deduced the future, but given the power I can change it. The Sekhen gives absolute power."
"Have you heard yourself? Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Is that ringing any bells? When has it ever been wise to use evil for good? In the history of humankind it has never been done successfully. Evil is infectious, it spreads, corrupts and taints all it contacts. Evil is the rotten apple that rots the rest in the barrel. No matter what you are trying to achieve, if you use the Death Eaters you will be like them."
"You used them, you worked their evil towards good... Such good Severus. You're an anti-hero, but a hero nevertheless. How different are you to me?"
Snape plucked the edges of his robes into a firm hold, he grasped it, unknowingly folding his arms at the same time, trapping his cloak more tightly around him in a defensive pose.
"Hardly, the Dark Lord seems bent on a sequel, and I was already rotten, he could not corrupt what was already defective. I'm tainted, marked and scarred and should be dead, only death will purge my sins." The bitter words escaped his mouth in an effort to push Narcissa away from the course of action she had clearly decided on.
"You underestimate your value. You have been rescued from death to many times for it to be coincidence, you have a destiny; I think it's the same as mine. And Severus... you know I'm not good, I certainly never claimed to be. I'm aware of corruption and vice and I can use it. Even so I mean you no harm, I can help." Her cool sharp eyes locked on Snapes' dark dead ones, their darkness framed by the phantom mask.
A flash of life shot through his dark eyes making them burn with fury. Lurching forward he grabbed her shoulders, pushing her towards the wall, while fighting the urge to shake her. "Your not answering any of my questions, you're worse than The Minister of Magic. Answer me now... Why have you abandoned your family?"
She didn't even flinch, In fact she further decreased the distance between them so her nose almost touched his chin. Narcissa was very aware that it was his comfort zone being breached, despite his gesture of intimidation.
He let go of her shoulders, uncomfortable with their proximity.
Narcissa was not going to let him back away, she reached out, grabbing at his robes, making him stumble in to her.
"Everything I do... I do for them. Every breath I breathe, I breathe for them. And for a long time it has hurt to breathe, I'm tired of watching my children die."
Snape pushed her back roughly.
"What Children? Have you mothered illegitimate brats? To my knowledge you have one son. Draco has been searching for you... He is alive... For now. He worries about you constantly, he is a most devoted son, and here you are, not giving any thought to him. At this moment your son is helping to save the lives of Bill and Fleur Weasley, at great risk to his own life, I might add. Would you like me to pass on your regards if he survives?" Sarcasm once again missed its mark as Narsissa refused to be affected by it.
"I'm glad he's helping, Draco will be fine. I tried my best to help the Weasley's too, I protected the witch and her unborn child from death, I couldn't prevent the pain."
"Merlin, you are frustrating! I haven't time for this, bloody well answer my questions before I curse you to hell."
"Do you know how old I am Severus?"
"Answer them! Not ask more damn it! ... I have no idea how old you are, I know a woman rarely tells the truth about such matters, according to Minerva she is currently forty-eight. So I don't expect full honesty from you."
"I'm over three thousand six hundred years old."
Snape didn't even blink,
"You look good. Sure you didn't shave a decade off? You should market your face cream in Diagon Alley." Was his calm retort.
Narcissa smiled in amusement at how unflappable he could appear to be after displaying a temper tantrum only moments before.
"What ...children ...Narcissa?" Snape growled his question out once again, the threat punctuating each word.
"I live most of my life as a Kitsune, it's solitary, reflective, I see things, I understand the enormity of minor events on the cosmos. When this overwhelms me I seek human form, find a mate and have a family. I love my family and I would do anything for them. My first son was to be Pharaoh of Egypt, he was a prince among his peers, let me show you."
Narcissa grabbed Snape's hand, quickly placing his palm against her forehead.
Instinctively, he tried to remove it, he was unable to, there was a sharp pain and a sudden bolt of light, Snape closed his eyes to shield them from the brightness that was now steadily increasing. He was fast being drawn in to her mind. Then like a film, Severus watched the events of 1513BC, ancient Egypt. When he had seen the whole story, the connection broke, Snape's hand dropped from Narcissa's cool forehead.
"That was you? I read that story. I'm sorry about your son. But why are you ignoring your living child."
"I'm not, you will understand in time. I have had four different family's in different areas of the earth. A Kitsune's child can have many gifts, wizardry is one of them. It is fabled that Morgana herself was the daughter of a Kitsune. But I have never been able to raise a child past twenty -one, I fear Anubis cursed me. I also believe he presented me with a way to break the curse. My children have, all apart from one, died of muggle means, they were victims of time and unforeseen circumstance and they can not be returned to me. But magic can be foreseen. Do you know what Avada Kedarvra means?"
Snape scoffed at the question, but answered all the same.
"It means 'May You Die'"
"Yes it's a magical request that separates the elements of life. If its possible to rejoin all elements of life, the request can be denied. There is away out of magical death. I am determined to bring back my son, and protect my living child. I need your help to do this. Your already my child's protector, even though you don't fully understand the implications, you are evolved Severus. I trust you with my child's life... as did Lily. You have my blessing on any course of action you take to protect your charge."
He shook his head firmly." I need to get to Miss Granger, her life is in danger as is Potter's. You are slowing me down. I can't trust you. You have answered hardly any of my questions. Like how can you be Narcissa? How could your mother and your sister not know who you really are? Is it possession of Narsissa? Or do you mind bend and create images of your life, for them to believe?"
Narcissa blanched for a moment then smiled gently, speaking gently she replied,
"Of course, I understand why you don't trust me, I can answer all those questions." Narcissa closed the gap between them once more, She held out her fair hand and wrapped her fingers around Snape's own cold ones. Snape assumed he was about to be shown the answers to his questions, in the same manor as before.
So he was surprised when the witch gently caressed the back of his hand with her finger tips, tracing little soothing circles on his hand.
His one visible eyebrow raised, he opened his mouth to ask her what she thought she was doing. Then a fog clouded his senses.
At that moment Severus Snape's mind went blank, all questions doubts and fears disappeared. All he knew was he could trust this woman and he didn't need to ask why."
Narcissa let go, they stood still gazing at each other like two gothic statues.
Narcissa broke the silence. "I think you have a job to do Severus." she said gently.
Snape awoke from his trance. "I may be too late, I've spent to much time here."
"You won't be, just trust me. look out for all your charges. If you get the chance to kill a Death Eater Severus, take it! Don't let your new found conscience stop you. They have to die, otherwise this will never be over. Remember you can return from magical death, I will prove it. So when you kill, use muggle means to do so, from that there is no return."
With this parting speech Narcissa transfigured into her fox form and vanished, leaving behind a very confused and disorientated professor Snape.
Snape knew he could waste no more time and decided to find Hermione and the Headmistress.
He swept into the great hall in a dramatic billow of robes, to find many of the guests had left. The hard core party goers were the last men standing. Among them he spotted Harry and Ron immediately. Hermione, Antonin and Walden he couldn't see.
He strode over to Harry.
"Where's your friend?" he snapped.
" Hello and good evening sir, yes I'm having a very nice time , thank you for asking, which friend are you enquiring about? I have more than one." Harry was obviously slightly emboldened by alcohol to give such a sarcastic reply.
"Don't be facetious, you have two friends and one's missing where is she? "
"Who?"
"Hermione!"
"Ohh ... Well, Miss Granger went out with Bill a few moments ago."
Snape swore very loudly and looked wildly around the room for the headmistress.
"I'm sure her virtue is safe with my brother Sir. I'm not sure how safe she is with you." sneered Ron disaprovingly.
Snape spotted the headmistress and left Harry and Ron immediately, with out comment.
"Minerva take this damn stupid mask off! We have a problem."
The Headmistress spun round and looked at her wild eyed colleague in alarm. "Certainly Severus."
She removed it with a slight flick of her wrist."What ever is the matter?"
"It's not over Minerva, there are Death Eaters in the school, poly-juiced up, Bill and Fleur Weasley are appearances of them, it's Antonin Dolohov and Walden Macnair impersonating them. They are after something in the Hogwarts grounds, I think it's Dumbledore's wand. I need to find Hermione she thinks she's with Bill Weasley."
Back at Grimmauld Place, Draco felt sick, heroic actions take bravery, he'd never been practised in the art, in fact he felt his talents definitely lay in the cowardice department. The thought that Voldermort was pacing the floors of the house made him literally gag with fear."God ...I'm pathetic, get on with it." He whispered to himself.
Creeping out of the room, he gave a quick glance up and down the corridor, the path seemed clear, eerily so, like a suspense film luring you into a false sense of security.
Draco didn't feel secure, he felt fear weighing heavy in the pit of his stomach. The quiet was oppressive, the dim light gloomy. Draco decided he needed to know his enemy, somewhere Rabastan was lurking, he was going to find out where. He listened at all the doors hearing nothing, heightening his fear, he kept flinching and glancing behind him at various imagined movements. He got closer to the stairs, then he heard it, a moaning wretched sound.
"Please, please my lord, how can I fight for you when I'm made to feel so weak?" Draco heard the gagging retching sound of sickness. He realised he was outside the bathroom.
The moaning started once more. "My lord..." gasping heaving breaths started again, followed by the sound of vomiting. " My lord ... I'm ... I'm retching blood... What are you doing to me? Draco could hear scuffling sounds, followed by thuds, bangs and choking noises.
Draco felt like he had been petrified, horrified by the noise of what surely sounded like two people fighting.
The sounds of sickness paused for a moment. If Draco could have seen through the door then he would have known that the high pitched voice of Voldermort forced its way through Rabastan's mouth. However he heard the words, and recognised the voice.
"My poor Rabastan, how you struggle, another half hour and I'm sure you will feel relief, everlasting relief"
Draco shuddered, his Godfather was right. Somehow this filled him with determination, he knew it needed to end, he realised that he had a small window of opportunity, what ever was happening in that bathroom did not sound like concluding in the next ten minutes.
In fact at that moment, Rabastan was in the throws of seizures. He emitted a loud scream caused by the contractions to his vocal chords. Rabastan's body muscles alternatively stiffened and relaxed with violent contractions. His head banged repeatedly against the tiled floor, occasionally thrashing to the side, crashing his temple against the porcelain toilet pedestal. Guttural gagging noises emanated from his foaming mouth, his skin was pallid, Sickly, sweat stained. With each sickening crack of his head, blood splattered out of his mouth and nose like a fountain, hitting all the nearby surfaces. The trembling young wizard outside the door, hearing the screams and the thumping, crashing noises, could only imagine what was going on. He forced himself into action, quietly returning to the bedroom Bill and Fleur lay in, confident he had a few minutes grace.
He reached for the handle breathing out a long calming breath. They were still there huddled together, in the cold. Their naked bodies were partially hidden by limbs and hair, but what could be seen of them looked frozen and bruised.
Draco glanced around the room and caught sight of a pile of wizards robes. Picking them up he grimaced in distaste at there dirty and ragged condition.
He covered fleur with one cloak and Bill with another. Transfiguring them into more suitable clothing.
He tentatively reached forward to feel Fleur's pulse. He let out an exclamation of relief at the steady beat that met his finger tips.
"Finite Incantatem!" he hissed. The ropes and bindings left her body, he turned to the wizard beside her muttering the same incantation.
He pointed his wand at Bill. "Enervate." Bill groaned and his eyes peeled open, achingly slowly.
"W...what? W..here?" he stumbled in groggy bewilderment.
"Shhh! I'm here to help, I haven't woken your wife I fear she is better off stunned for now."
Bill jolted to move towards his wife and screwed up his face in agony as his limbs failed him."Circ ... u ... lation." he panted painfully.
Draco awkwardly grabbed Bill's leg and began rubbing it, massaging the blood flow.
Bill looked at his wife, sorrowfully, as Draco worked on his arms. "Did you cover her?" he asked. His voice becoming steadier and clearer.
"Yes, only loosely, we haven't much time you need to dress her better and yourself, I thought she would rather you did it." Draco replied while hurriedly helping Bill to stand.
"Thank you, That was... considerate." Bill said shakily, while allowing Draco to pull him too his feet.
"That's the best I can do, you should be able to stand on your own now."
He experimentally let go of Bills arm, made sure he was stable and continued;
" We need to get out of here, to St Mungo's you both need medical attention. Rabastan is downstairs he's... he's ... No I haven't time I will explain later, we have ten minutes that I'm confident of. Have you been cursed so you can't leave ? Professor Snape thought they may have made you removal difficult."
"Severus was here? Why isn't he helping us?"
"He is helping someone else, he sent me to you. Quickly what have they done?"
"Severus credits them with too much intelligence they're thick as s***"
"CRACK!"
The sound reverberated around the room, Bill and Draco jumped dramatically, Bill with a groan, at the pull to his aching muscles, Draco with an offensive expletive.
"Kreacher!" Draco hissed "Bloody hell, you scared me, I hope no one heard."
"Master Snape asked me to assist." Kreacher answered solemnly.
"Good, erm...Thank you, quickly then, how can we get out of the house without using the floo or front door? Can we disparate?" he whispered.
"No Master Malfoy, all the rooms have protective spells on them, the only way out is the front door, or fire."
"Damn it!" Draco hissed.
Bill was busy dressing himself and Fleur, he looked up at Draco's exclamation. "We will have to try and sneak out."
"We will get caught, they are proberbly on the way back to the room now." Draco muttered despondently.
"I can take you one by one, elf magic is different to your wand Magic, the spells do not affect me."
" Of course you can, how stupid of me, I saw Dobby do the same thing once. What are you waiting for then? let's go." Draco replied in relief "Fleur first Kreacher, thank you." He added, remembering his manners that were so rarely used talking to house elves.
The elf touched the inanimate witch and vanished with another excruciatingly loud crack.
Bill and Draco winced and listened for sounds of discovery. A few moments later and the sound once again echoed around the room.
The elf reappeared without Fleur.
"Mr Weasley, quick." urged Draco.
The elf grabbed Bill and once again vanished.
At that moment footsteps could be heard on the landing, the door flung open despite Draco's spell to hold it.
"You!" the voice of Voldermort came through the dead body of Rabastan, he made a gruesome corpse puppet. This was fitting as he was being operated by a psychotic puppet master.
Draco raised his wand. "Avada kedava" he shouted, his aim trained straight at the spectre before him.
The curse went straight through Rabastan's body, making no difference to him at all.
"An unforgivable! Ha, The little boy I knew wouldn't do that before, has the Malfoy baby grown up?"
Draco screeched the curse again in panic.
Voldermort's laughter filled the air, "Still very foolish though, if it didn't work the first time, what makes you think it would a second? Clearly ... I'm dead already, as is mine host!"
Draco started firing every curse he could think of, the room was full of bangs, flashing lights and manacle laughter.
Rabastan's body jerked with the force of the spells, essentially nothing changed. Bloodless cuts appeared on the body, but other than that his spell casting was useless."
"There is nothing you can do to me! I'm already DEAD!" Voldermort screached.
Draco briefly wondered why Voldermort hadn't attacked him yet.
"Yes unfortunately, I have limited magic that comes with being dead. I will rectify this very soon. But I have friends who have extensive powers, let's call them shall we, I think I might have to find your mother and tell her what a naughty boy you are."
The drooping arm of Rabastan's corpse raised up as if on a string and slowly stabbed at the dark mark on the opposite forearm.
And then there was an explosive crack, before either Voldermort or Draco could react there was a second one echoing around the room.
