"We got one!" Charles Charlie Weasley shouted as soon as he exited the fireplace. He brushed the soot off his robe and looked up into the twinkling eyes of Albus Dumbledore.
"Got one what?" Albus asked. He pushed the parchment, that he had been reading, aside and folded his hands in front of him on the desk.
Charlie took a moment to catch his breath. "A Fang! We caught one of the Serpents Fangs!" He grinned. "Our intelligence was right. He was leading an attack against Surrey. It took only moments for us to overwhelm and capture him and six Death Eaters."
Albus was on his feet and already moving around his desk. He grasped Charlie by the shoulders and searched his eyes. "Has the Ministry been informed?" He demanded.
"Of course not." Charlie blinked. "We have them at one of our safe houses in London. Dad sent me to get you."
"Good. Good." Albus grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. "After you, dear boy." He motioned with his hand.
Charlie nodded "Safe House Three, London!" He and the Headmaster stepped into the green flames and were gone in a flash. Several seconds later they stepped out of another fireplace located somewhere in London. "I got him, dad!" Charlie rushed off to get his father.
Albus looked around the richly decorated living room and wondered who exactly owned this safe house. He was pulled from his musings when Charlie returned with Arthur. "Ah, I'm told you've accomplished the impossible?" His eyes were sparkling madly.
Arthur nodded, grimly. "Go help your mother, Charlie." He dismissed his son. "Right this way, Albus." He motioned towards where he had just come from.
Grumbling, Charlie left his father and former Headmaster alone. He hated it when he was treated like a child. After all, it was his team that had captured the Fang.
The Headmaster followed Arthur out of the living room, down a long hallway, and into what looked like a spare bedroom. His eyes automatically searched the room for it's occupant. "Where...?"
"He's been keeping to the shadows since he was brought here." Arthur motioned towards the darkest corner of the room. Clearing his throat, Arthur moved towards the corner and grabbed hold of something in the darkness. With a yank, he pulled a figure from the shadows by the arm.
Albus watched in fascination as a tall figure appeared from the darkness. Blue eyes narrowed when he saw that the youth still wore the grey serpent mask that marked him as a Fang. "Why is he still masked?"
Arthur steered the youth towards the bed and forced him to sit. "Because we have been unable to remove the mask. It seems to be...eh...stuck." He moved back to the Headmasters side.
"Stuck?" Albus moved closer to the bed and peered into the black snake eyes. He straightened up. "It's been charmed to be removed only by the wearer." He had to admit that the magic used on the mask was rather unique. "We seem to be in a dilemma, young man." He addressed the seated boy. "Are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" His voice had taken on a serious edge.
"Ohh, I've never tried the hard way. Lets go with that." Came the muffled, flippant answer from the youth sitting on the bed.
Albus sighed and waved his hand, dismissing Arthur. He turned back to the boy, expecting Arthur to comply without question. Once he heard the door open and close, he conjured up a chair and sat down, right in front of the bed. It took a moment to study the boy. "It's not too late." He finally spoke. "If you tell me what I want to know, I'll leave you go. The Ministry, your family and friends, never have to know that you betrayed them. You can have a fresh start. Has does that sound, hm?"
The boy snorted. "Sounds like a load of codswallop to me." He was silent for a moment. "I will never betray the Dark Prince so you may torture me now." He crossed his arms over his chest.
"So you don't serve Lord Voldemort?" Albus inquired, ignoring the boys last comment.
"Voldemort is dead." The boy said, quietly. "Everyone knows that."
Albus reached out and pulled up the boys robe sleeve. His lips formed a straight line when he saw the dark mark on the pale flesh of the boys arm. "If he is dead, why are you marked with his mark?"
The boy refused to answer for several seconds. "Why does Snape still bear his mark when he is your lapdog?" He inquired, innocently.
"What?" Albus went very still. "I do not know what you are talking about. Severus is not my, how did you put it, Lapdog?"
"The Dark Prince has known for a long time that Snape is loyal to you. He hasn't killed him yet because he finds him amusing." The boy said.
Albus tilted his head to the side. "Why did you attack Surrey?" He changed the line of questions.
The boy copied the Headmaster and tilted his head to the side. "I was ordered to."
"You're not being very forthcoming." Albus felt his patience wearing thin.
"And you're a giant arse. Shall we move on to the less the obvious?" The boy questioned with complete sincerity.
Albus gave the boy a grim smile. "Tell me your name."
The boy shook his head. "Tell me yours first." He countered.
"You already know my name!" The Headmaster all but growled. "Take off your mask."
"Yours first." The boy was starting to enjoy this little tennis match of words. "No, wait. Forget it. I wouldn't want to lose my breakfast." He waved a hand in dismissal. "Leave yours on."
Albus leaned back in the chair and with movements not normal for a man his age, he ripped the mask from the boys face, after muttered several Latin words under his breath. He sat back, prize in hand.
The boy hissed in pain as his charms were neutralized and the mask forcibly removed from his face. Green eyes locked with sparkling blue. "You will pay for that." His face was burning, and he could feel something sticky running down his chin, and he knew that some of the skin on his face had been pulled off with the mask.
To say Albus was shocked would have been an understatement. "Draven Malfoy." He looked at the mask in his hand then back to the bleeding boy. "What a surprise." From what his spies within the Serpents ranks had told him, Draven Malfoy was more than just an underling but the facts didn't lie. And here was Draven sitting before him, wearing the mask and uniform, he noted, of a Fang. "So you serve Lord Voldemort and his heir?"
"Get your ears checked old man. I have already told you that the Dark Lord is dead. I serve the true one." Draven stated, calmly. In his mind, he was mentally congratulating himself on a very convincing acting job. He just hoped the others were fairing as well as he was.
Albus shook his head. "So young. I had never really truly believed that this new Dark Lord had convinced young Wizards and Witches to join his cause. I have failed you and the others. I thought that through Hogwarts, I could protect you from the evil. I am sorry."
Draven rolled his eyes. "Save it, Dumbledore. I'm not buying whatever you're selling." He his darted to the door when it was suddenly opened and they were joined by another. His eyebrow went up when his green eyes met shocked golden ones. "Hello werewolf." He greeted.
Remus froze as soon as he entered the room. The news that he had been bringing Dumbledore escaped him. "You!" He felt his hands curl into fists. "You...you..." He sputtered out in anger.
"I'm glad to see that you still have a way with words, Professor." Draven yawned and winced as the movement caused the wounds on his face to begin bleeding again. "Did you need something?" He asked the new arrival. "I was rather enjoying my conversation with Dumbledork before you interrupted."
"I knew you were no good!" Remus finally managed to grit out. "I told Lily that all Malfoy's were no good but she refused to listen!" He took a step closer to the boy. "Did you bewitch them? Tell me!" He reached out and grabbed the boy by his collar, shaking him.
Draven's eyes grew cold as his was rough handled. "Unless you wish to die, I suggest you get your filthy hands off of me." He hissed out and when the man didn't comply, he used his nails to dig into the soft flesh of his hands. He looked up from his place on the floor, where he had been dropped, and sneered. "Never touch me again." Pushing himself to his feet, he moved back to the bed and sat down. "I will enjoy killing you all." He added, matter-of-factly.
Sighing, Albus looked at Remus. "How can I help you?" He could feel the dark magic flowing off of the boy and he knew that it was in every ones best interest if he got Remus out of the room as quickly as possible.
Remus took his eyes off his injured hands and looked at Dumbledore, only now remembering why he had come to this room to begin with. "The Serpent has been spotted leading an attack against London. Plus we are getting intelligence that says Wales and Westminster are also being hit." He look back to the boy. "I would say that he was an distraction. Most of our resources were diverted to capturing him and the small group of Death Eaters. Now the Ministry is requesting assistance and we are unable to provide it."
Albus sat back in his chair and eyed Draven. "How many march on Wales, London, and Westminster?" His question was directed at Remus because he knew the boy wouldn't honestly answer him.
"Last count? Thousands." Remus whispered, hardly believing the number himself.
"Actually, hundreds of thousands." Draven chimed in with a wicked grin. "Recruitment has been good these past few years." He bragged. "Oh, they aren't all British. Oh no. The Dark Princes' army contains witches and wizards from all over the world. Not to mention giants, trolls, vampires, and werewolves." He looked at Remus and smirked. "Seems like your kind has picked the winning side while your stuck here." He tsked.
Blue eyes widened and he searched emerald green eyes for lies; he found none. "Merlin help us." Dumbledore whispered. "Where are the attacks focused, Remus?"
Remus narrowed his eyes at the boy and answered the Headmaster. "Muggle's are being targeted. From what I have been told, the small magical communities in Wales and Westminster are being left alone, as is Diagon Alley."
Albus felt old. "The Ministry will be unable to stop the backlash from the muggles." He whispered. "That was the plan, wasn't it?" He asked, Draven.
Draven shrugged. "I'm just a simple Fang. How am I to know what the Dark Prince intended?" He looked back to Remus. "I didn't have to bewitch them, werewolf. They came to me willingly because I told them the truth." He smirked. "I think they were tired of pretending to play house with you." He smirk grew. "Lily Potter falling in love with you?" He snorted. "Her heart still belongs to James. Why do you think Roslin calls you Uncle instead of Dad, hm? You did help raise her, didn't you? You did hope that Lily would grow to love you as a husband instead of brother, right?" He was enjoying himself. "How very pathetic. Wait until Sirius finds out what you've been trying to woo your dead best friends wife."
"Sirius? He's in Azkaban." Remus whispered, looking to Dumbledore for confirmation.
"He was in Azkaban. He broke out months ago. Dumbledore has been doing a good job keeping it quiet, hasn't he?" Draven stretched his hands over his head. "Now, I would really love to stay and chat but you have ceased to amuse me so I'll just be going now." He stood.
Refusing to meet Remus' eyes, Dumbledore pointed his wand at the boy. "I can't allow that. You're our only hope in defeating the Serpent."
Draven eyed the wand with cool, disinterest. "You actually think I'd let myself get captured without a way out?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You have no hope, Dumbledork. None at all." He pulled a silver pendent out from under his robe and rubbed it between his forefinger and thumb. "I'll be sure to say hello to Lily and Roslin for you. Until we meet again." He gave a salute and disappeared with a quiet pop.
Both Albus and Remus stared at the spot where Draven had been. "Merlin." Remus collapsed onto the bed. "What do we do, Albus? He's just a boy and already more powerful than most of us in the Order."
Albus sighed, sadly. "I am not sure there is anything we can do, Remus. We can assume that since Draven is serving this new Dark Lord then so are his parents, brother and cousin. And as painful as this is to say, I would bet all my socks that Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, all of Slytherin house and almost all of Gryffindor are also serving in the Serpents ranks." Standing, he moved passed Remus and out of the room. "All we can really do now is pray to Merlin for help and guidance.
Remus watched the elderly Headmaster leave the room. He looked down at his hands where small half moon shaped indents shone red with seeping blood. For the first time in his life he truly felt alone. "Merlin protect Lily and Roslin, because you are the only one that can." He whispered, stood, and exited the empty room. He would pray for a swift end to the war later, now he just needed to be around people. So his destination was the kitchen where Molly would be cooking, unaware that her youngest son was a dark wizard, and the entire Order would be gathered for a quick meal before going back out and trying to help stop the deaths of innocent muggles by an army lead by children.
