Dark Wind

*Chapter Six*

by Ashley (Hype)

Draco soared high over the clouds making sure that no wizard or muggle could see him. He pulled out the mirror his mother had given him just a few moments ago. "Show me Harry Potter," he mumbled.

The mirror flashed and Potter was reviled. Draco gave his trademark smirk he was known for when her saw what was written across the top of the screen that showed what Harry was thinking. It read: I really don`t like that guy... He was referring to the security guard to the left of him who appeared as smart as a toad.

Below the caption and picture was the location- the vital aspect of which the mirror displayed. It read: Unknown underground catacombs in Ireland. That`s where Potter`s been hiding! Draco thought. Draco had spent years trying to track Harry Potter`s footsteps and where he disappeared to away from the public eye. It was some unidentified catacombs in Ireland. Well, Draco thought, if Potter`s in Ireland, then that`s where I`m going.

After a two- hour flight from Hogsmeade to Ireland, Malfoy decided to land near an abandoned castle`s ruins to rest. Draco sat himself upon a rather large slab of stone and looked around at his surroundings. Ireland was very dull, but all the same and odd feeling of beauty swept over him. It was beautifully dull with its glossy miles of plush, green grass, old cobble roads and rocky yet quaint little houses nestled upon the rolling hills. He looked across the horizon and there he spotted something coming towards him on one of the worn cobble roads. It appeared to be a muggle car of some sort.

It was. A tiny, blue car came rolling towards him. And much to his surprise, it stopped near him. A person stepped out of the old car and came to meet him.

"Oy! Harry!" It was Seamus Finnigan. "Fancy seeing you here, chap. Taking your day off easy, eh?"

"Er...Yes. I thought I`d give my old Firebolt a ride," Draco lied.

Seamus nodded. "Aye, I see. Miss flying and the old Quidditch days, eh?"

"Yes. Very much."

"Well, would you like a ride? I reckon it`s been a while since you`ve been in a muggle car."

"Er..Yes. I`d love one."

Seamus grinned, bringing forth his boyish features he had captured during their time at Hogwarts. "Hop in, then!" Draco obliged, a bit intimidated. He had never been in a muggle car before. Seamus walked around to his side and stuck a little silver key in the ignition. The engine rumbled a bit, then gave a lurch (nearly scaring Draco half to death); sending them down the twistiong cobble road.

"To the office, I suppose?" Seamus asked courtly.

"Yes. I need to get some work done," Draco said, trying to make conversation as Harry would. So far, Seamus showed no suspicion.

"Harry! More work?!" Seamus sighed, glancing at Draco`s nod. "I suppose it is a bit hard.... You know, with the new assignment and all. What do you make of it?"

"Make of what?" Draco blurted subconsciously. His mind had drifted to Hermione and his worry began to set in deeper.

"Make of what?! The new assignment, of course!"

"Oh, sorry. I`m not quite sure what to think of it...."

"Aye, me neither. Tis a bit different different from the other lot."

"No kidding..." Draco filled in, hoping it made sense to the Irish man next to him.

"Harry," Seamus began, glancing sideways at the masked Malfoy, "What`s wrong?" Seamus had obviously developed a good friend in Harry Potter since their graduation from Hogwarts.

"I`m missing someone terribly." It was true; he missed Hermione so much...

"Hermione again? You`ve been exceedingly distant lately... Why did you leave her? She was such a good catch."

Draco nearly froze in terror. Harry left Hermione? No wonder she ran out crying when I mentioned him... Draco became aware of Seamus waiting patiently for an answer. Draco sighed, having found one. "We all hive our demons to fight; mine being the most powerful in the world. Hermione was so angelic and fragile, I didn`t want to break her. I couldn`t bare myself if my demons caused her harm." He said, meaning every word of it.

"Aye. Love is so gentle yet so harsh. I`m sorry, Harry."

"Really, it`s okay..." Draco said, trying to swallow the lump forming in his throat.

"No. Forget I ever said it." Seamus obviously felt very guilty now and did not say a word until they reached yet another pile of ruins, only this time they drew to a halt.

"Do you mind if I join you? I shouldn`t be too long. I have some...unfinished business with Lavender." Seamus winked, a twinkle in his eyes, and grinned the boyish grin once again.

"I don`t mind. Come along, then. I`m in a bit of a hurry," Draco called, getting out of the muggle car, Seamus following his suit.

It was not long before Draco and Seamus came across the first guard. "What`s the password?" the guard asked. Draco recognized him as the guard as smart as a toad. Draco moved his hand in an arching slow motion, putting the guard in a trance. "Whatever I say it is. Now let us pass," Draco Malfoy said in a monotone voice. The guard nodded incoherently as Draco and Seamus passed him.

"What was that?" Seamus asked, excitement rising in his voice.

"A little spell I created. Pretty useful, eh? Sort of a nicer Imperius curse."

"I`ll say. Why did you use it?"

"It needs a bit of practice. The people I`ve used it on tend to drool while they`re in the trance. It`s a bit disgusting, don`t you think?" Seamus nodded, steeling a look at the guard who was forming a growing puddle of drool on his desk, as they approached yet another desk. Lavender Brown was sitting behind it. She smiled slyly at Seamus, then turned her lovely head to the disguised Draco.

"Harry, isn`t today your day off?"

"Yes. But I have a bit of work to do." Draco covered.

"Harry! You should ease up a bit. Don`t worry, though. You`re not the only one. Darkbane is really getting worked up over the new assignment. Then again, he always does." she sighed.

He grinned and added, "He sure does. Well, I must get to my work."

"Very well then," she smiled. "I suppose you would like to know where your office if today?"

Draco almost faltered. Where my room is today? This place must really have high security... He smiled, covering his faulty. "Yes, that would be a bit helpful."

She nodded and scanned the records of the day. "Hmmm... Third floor down, third door on the right. Oh, and don`t worry, your puzzle hasn`t changed yet."

"Thanks."

"You`re quite welcome as always, Harry."

He smile. Seamus looked eager now that the conversation was over. "So, Lavender," He began smoothly, "We needed to talk..."

She giggled, "My break is in ten minutes. Be patient!"

Draco walked away from the obvious "secret" couple in the direction in which he hope was the stairway to the third floor down.



Hermione woke up, nearly freezing. She looked around at her disposition and was painfully reminded of where she was. She was locked away in some dungeon Voldemort had literally thrown her in. When she was thrown in, her head had smashed up against the cold stone wall; knocking her unconscious. She didn`t remember anything after that.

Her head pounded to her heart`s rhythm. Luckily, she found no wounds other than bruises. One was a large reddish- purple one she had discovered on the side of her right arm. She winced just looking at it; though she only felt mild pain from the welt. She wished she could have fixed her wounds. She would have in an instant, though her wand was missing. Lord Voldemort had taken it from her while she was unconscious.

Hermione became very frightened as she became aware of all the vile things around her; the rats, human skeletons, snakes (which she noticed where all among a poisonous species) and worst of all- the smell. There was a terrible smell that of which seemed of dead corpses that overpowered the dungeon`s musty air. Her insides curdled at the smell and sight. She began to shiver as the creatures in the room drew nearer to her, though she did not dare to move.

She forced her thoughts to Draco. Was this his doing? She shook her head. No... he said he loved me. But, she shuddered, was he just using her? She tried to decide. His steely gray- blue eyes floated amongst her shattered thoughts; they never lied. His eyes never lied. As stoic as his face may get, his eyes never once lied. He loved her.

Then thoughts of Harry Potter swept into her head. She smiled. Harry Potter. She had worshiped the ground he walked on as he did her. They had spent long nights together during Hogwarts and after just talking; though other nights there were more...

It was amazing how anyone could talk to Harry (except for Ginny when she was younger). He was truly a nice and decent person. His confident and believing attitude, her proud way of carrying himself, and his carefree style just made him damn near irresistible.

It was this that really attracted women other than his fame. Perhaps a little too much, though. Harry was constantly nagged in both the wizarding and muggle worlds by mobs of women. It had always surprised Hermione and Ron how he never took it seriously. He was so very naive in school. This was, she supposed, the reason behind his boyish yet brave aspects.

However, as soon as he was out of Hogwarts, he was offered several jobs. One was the Minister of Magic because during one of the battles, Cornielius Fudge died. Several were Quidditch positions on various teams as Seeker. Even though it greatly appealed to Harry, he turned them down. Harry Potter wished to fight for the Light Side in some way. A Seeker wasn`t necessarily a fighting position.

Other careers offered where things such as general of the wizard army (which he was quick to say no too; it was a bit much and an easy was to commit suicide), a reporter, even Headmaster of many schools; including Hogwarts. Albus Dumbledore, their beloved Headmaster, passed away from age after their seventh year. After Harry denied the position (for he was too tired of school to spend the rest of his life in one), they later found Minerva McGonagall to fill the position.

One day, he received a letter asking him if he would like to be an Unspeakable- no job description was attached. They wouldn`t tell him what they did- it was "unspeakable" until he entered the service. Naively, Harry agreed to join. He soon found that Unspeakable were an elite group of secret agents that were under top security and secretly fought against the Dark Empire. So secret, in fact, that some of the agents were registered in Voldemort`s inner circle, working against him right under his long and pointy nose.



Harry Potter, of course, couldn`t be one of these inner circle members. He was far to recognizable from his fame. However, he was very highly respected after his training course on killing. The course included to kill with pain, without pain, slowly, in a split second, how to do it, torturing, tools, and without sound. He passed with the highest mark of anyone who had ever gone through the training. He was quickly promoted to the Head of the Unspeakables when he beat the highest- trained person to go through the circuit. The person he beat was put to be Potter`s partner on all assigned projects. His name was known as "Darkbane". That`s when Harry left Hermione Granger.

Hermione swallowed hard, trying not to cry there in the foul dungeon; fearing what might happen if she did.



DISCLAIMER: I own the plot! All characters and names mentioned with the exclusion of Darkbane belong to J.K. Rowling, her publishers, and her sponsors. Yada yada yada....

NOTE: Well, a new character will enter in the next chapter. Who will it be? Harry? Darkbane? Who is this "Darkbane"? Tell me who you think it might be in your review! Besides, I really wanna see what you (the reader) thinks of this story and/or this chapter! I NEEAD FEEDBACK!!! It`s my source of writing energy.:)



SO DON`T BE CHICKEN!!! BE A MAN (OR WOMAN:) AND REVIEW!!!!