even third, thinking about it. More than that, I had never studied it regularly, so everybody who's desperate to see this sequel free of mistakes is welcome to
be my beta-reader. Now to the next chapter:
Chapter 7: Golden mist
…Dripping of water, whispering of shadows, squawking of old tattered
floorboards. Draco mumbled in his sleep and rolled over.
***
For the split second all of them had frozen, but then the chaos begun.
Lucius jumped back and yelled "Stupefy", aiming at Melian. But Harry, who
had
leaped forward, got the blow instead and crashed into the wall, unconscious,
bllod trickoling down his forehead. Dementors glided towards the intruders
to
protect their master, only to be met by Melian's Patronus, which looked
like semitransparent beautiful woman with huge shimmering inhuman eyes.
Dementors scuttled back, and hideous feeling of panic floating over
the battle scene ebbed a little.
Malfoy growled in rage and launched himself at Melian, who was still
preoccupied with her Patronus. Snape, however, came to himself enough to
grip
Death Eater from behind and soon they were rolling onto the floor,
punching each other as pair of rampaging children. Wands lay on the floor,
completely
forgotten. Hermione bent over Harry and Tehhie was running around,
kicking Malfoy's (and also Snape's) back. When turmoil receded, it became
clear that
Snape was sitting on top of Malfoy's, effectively strangling him. Death
Eater was making small choking noises that appeared to be the only signs
of life in
his limp body.
"ENOUGH!!!"
Ear-splitting cry made them all turn around and stare at Hermione. She
stood beside Harry, glaring at the fighters, indignation in every single
feature of her
pale face.
"What is going here, I'd like to know? Headmaster?"
She turned to Snape with kind of uncertainty on her face, and only now
Severus realized how strange it must have looked - one copy of Headmaster,
murdering the another one.
By then the realization came also to the rest of company, and all of
them stared at Snape suspiciously, their wands ready.
"Are you the real Snape?" asked Hermione demandingly.
"Headmaster Snape, if you please", answered he placidly, ignoring the
blood still trickling from his injured mouth. Then he smiled crookedly
"However,
Miss Granger, vigilance compels us to check it. No much time is needed."
While he was speaking, the face of man lying onto the floor started
to change. Hair, initially long and black, became short and silver-blond,
features
sharpened to reveal the pale physiognomy of Death Eater.
"Lucius Malfoy!" shrieked Melian.
"It's him" confirmed Snape evenly. "Time to get the answers"
He rose with visible effort and immediately staggered backward. Tehhie
rushed to help him but he straightened himself and scowled at the girl,
whose
enthusiasm at once passed away. He fingered his leg and realized with
kind of dull surprise that it wasn't broken, just wounded. Snape draggled
himself to
his table, opened one of the drawers and produced a small glass bottle
with clear liquid, shining in it.
"Veritaserum", muttered he. "Lucius, you are fool, you missed your chance
by inches…"
"Headmaster!!!"
Severus turned back to meet Hermione's furious glance.
"What, Granger? Still not convinced about my identity?"
"Harry's unconscious. I tried reverse spell on him but it doesn't work"
"Then take him to infirmary, you two"
He gestured to Hermione and Ron, who had spent all the fight perching
on the top of Headmaster's table and hooting excitedly.
Hermione awarded Headmaster with one final glare, conjured a stretcher
and magicated Harry on it. Then she waved at Ron and marched out of the
room,
stretcher with Harry and stumbling Ron on her wake.
"Well", started Snape.
"Well", interrupted Melian, her gaze no less flaming than Hermione's
one. "Would you like to explain all this?"
She gestured at Malfoy, Dementors and wrecked office, as if welcoming
Snape to confess how he had managed to create such a mess.
"Later", answered Headmaster curtly and picked his wand, which marvelously
survived falling from the broken car, dragon's rage and even recent fight.
Without spare word he pointed it at Lucius and shining ropes shot out
of wand's end and wrapped themselves around Death Eater's wrists.
"That's funny", muttered Snape under his breath, surveying motionless
Malfoy with strange twinkling in his black eyes. "I can do practically
everything
with this wand, but I'm still devoted to the old spells. For shame"
He smiled weakly, then bent over the Death Eater to return him into
consciousness. Or may be his intentions had been less beneficial, because
strange
twinkling in the depth of his eyes changed into ominous black glowing-but
at that moment somebody erupted into the wrecked room, yelling "Headmaster
Snape! Headmaster Snape!"
At the close look somebody turned out to be Filch, his waistcoat torn,
face apoplectically purple and eyes bulging.
"Headmaster!"
In his agitation he gripped Snape's arm, but immediately regretted about
it, because Severus hissed in pain and jerked his hand out of caretaker's
clutch.
"Headmaster!" hollered Filch, ignoring thunderstruck physiognomies of
Melian and Tehhie and the chaos around.
"I know that I am a Headmaster, Argus", answered Snape coolly, nursing
his bleeding hand. "But you are going to be a pile of smoldering ashes
if you
continue like this. What had happened?"
"The gold" puffed caretaker, his eyes bulging even more, which looked
like real marvel because they had been already of size of dinner plates.
"What about gold?"
"It…it vanished! All the Ministry gold had vanished!"
Filch choked and erupted in uncontrollable sobs.
"Is he crazy?" asked Tehhie hesitatingly, handing Filch a embroidered
handkerchief. He accepted it gratefully and buried his face into it, still
howling.
"I don't think so", muttered Melian. "At least, not completely"
"Then about what gold he's talking?" frowned Headmaster.
Melian peered at him, wordless, then snickered nervously.
"Oh course…Tehhie had told us but I had forgotten. Of course it wasn't
you, but him" she waved at Malfoy who started by that time to moan and
to stir in
his bonds. Without sparing a spell Snape kicked him back unconscious
and turned to Melian, crinkling his brow
"Well. I am all attention"
"Yesterday, late in the evening, Minister Fudge arrived at school, accompanied
by the escort from Department of Magical Law Enforcement and two
dragons, laden with Ministry cash. If you remember, he had come with
this scheme at the staff meeting two days ago, and you…if it was you, of
course",
Melian smiled wickedly "…that you didn't object. Malfoy…who had
been disguised to look like you, of course…so, Malfoy didn't protest, too,
he seemed
even to be extensively pleased with the big pile of gold resting in
Hogwarts dungeons. He and Filch had placed the gold in one of the
underground
chambers, that's it. Now it seems to be stolen"
Filch's shrill wail verified the meaning of the last words, but Snape
didn't look distressed at all, rather, he appeared to be pensive.
"Gold…dragons", muttered he, with amused smile creeping on his lips.
"All right, we'll see. Show me the chamber" addressed he to cowing Filch.
"But
first…"
He turned to the comatose Death Eater and two Dementors, still lurking
in the far corner. Ten his glance traveled to the back wall of the room.
He walked to
it and pushed a little piece of what looked like ornament, decorating
the large and grim painting. Something cracked inside the wall and part
of it slid aside,
revealing a small secret compartment.
"That's cool", muttered Tehhie.
"Aha, second Chamber of Slytherin. Or Chamber of Snape, hey, Severus?"
grinned Melian.
Ignoring them, Severus fixed Dementor with very unpleasant and imperative
glance.
"You two", hissed he, his voice barely audible. "Take your master and
bring him in this room" He pointed at gaping opening.
To women's surprise, the creatures bowed to Snape and obeyed. They picked
unconscious Death Eater and transported him to the second room, dimly lit
by
the morning light filtering through the narrow door.
Tehhie and Melian entered, too, and gazed around. The room was small,
with bare stone walls, several ominously-looking tools piling in the corner,
large
leaden cauldron, variety of vials and dirty retorts, one huge ugly
statue of hunched troll and one painting on the wall, covered with the
thick film of dust.
"My top-secret laboratory" smiled Snape mirthlessly. " Only a very small
amount of very special magic could be performed in here, because the preparation
of some complicated potions demands a restriction of magical energy
around. And the castle is full of it. I've built it as a laboratory, but
it could make a
perfect prison, too"
Then his eyes glinted maliciously as he glimpsed the hunching statue
in the recess of chamber's wall, and his smile broadened. One wave of self-spelling
wand- and Malfoy's body disappeared.
"What…what", gasped Melian "What have you done to him?"
"Nothing too harsh", smiled Snape in response. "Just made sure that
our friend won't be able to run away, leaving us without his charming company.
He is
inside this beautiful work of art, waiting for me to come and interrogate
him "
Then he scrutinized Dementors and said quietly "You, my rotten friends,
you better stay here. Not that you have too many chances to leave, anyway."
With these words he turned around and walked out of the room, bewildered
Tehhie and grinning Melian on his wake.
The door behind them glided back soundlessly and melted into the gray
background of the wall. Filch, who had been standing all this time at the
threshold,
gulping for air, sprang into life and rushed to Headmaster.
"Well", said Headmaster, with mild amusement in his voice. "Show me
your mysterious robbed vault"
***
…Dripping of water, whisper of shadows, squeaking of ancient floorboards.
It grew louder and louder. The steps. Approaching steps, sound thundered
in
Draco's head as the enormous reverberating bell, and he sat on his
bed, drenching in sweat and wide awake.
He was alone in the dormitory, all the other students at home with their
parents. Actually, he was the only Slytherin student still remaining at
school. His
father simply hadn't come to take him home, and he didn't dare to leave
Hogwarts without older Malfoy's permission. His father…he always had reasons
to
do something or not to do, so may be this stay at school was necessary,
may be it was Draco's chance to prove himself, at last. At least, he hoped
so,
because the nagging thought that his father simply forgot about him
wasn't pleasant at all.
Draco gripped his blanket and clenched his teeth. His father had great
plans for him, no doubt. The problem was, that Draco had never managed
to come up
to Lucius Malfoy' expectations. Never in his life. At school, he wasn't
top of the year, never, it always had been Hermione. Then, at Quidditch,
this
goddamn Potter outstripped him, not speaking about Potter's fame as
Voldemort's vanquisher, so on. It was simply unfair, Potter getting all
the credit. Even
Weasleys…Of course, Ron was just a Potter's sidekick, no more than
Crabbe and Goyle for himself, but then Fred and George were real fun, at
least all
thought so, Percy was a Head Boy, as well as this outrageous punk Bill
Weasley and Charley had been a Captain of Quidditch team and now he was
studying dragons. Draco sighted. He always liked dragons, may be because
his own name, and he was sure it's a very fascinating job to work with
them
but he was also deadly sure that his father will never allow him to
do something so un-Malfoyish. Pride of the family, honor of hundred generations
of Dark
Wizards, necromancers, owners of large healthy estates, servants and
slaves…
Without much effort Draco recovered their faces, long line of ancestors
staring at him from the endless paintings, frescoes and statues adorning
the endless
corridors of the Mansion. When he was a little child, his father had
used to bring him at the creepy cold dungeons, and they both were deciphering
inscription, carved in ancient walls. Mostly bragging about Malfoys'
great deeds and evil incantations. Father made him to recite the names
of ancestors,
narrating a long stories about their wars, their travels, their discoveries
and their crimes. It was thrilling, it was fascinating. But now, growing
up, Draco
had found it harder and harder to follow their twisted dark way. They
all were heroes. He'd like to think of himself as hero, but he obviously
wasn't. And
his father…he grew more and more disappointed in his only son and heir.
His father. Draco sighed again, closing his eyes, trying hard to sort
out his own feelings. Sometimes he even felt jealous towards this jerk
Potter. Potter's
father was dead, already for fifteen years, and this little scum had
no reasons to doubt. Potter was sure that his father would have loved him
if he had been
alive. Draco's father was very much alive, but…
At that point Draco checked himself, unwilling to continue. Besides,
something about the darkness of the room made him uneasy. Something was
filtering
inside the dormitory ? or may be inside his own head, he thought with
the surge of panic. During last five years, since that night at Forbidden
Forest, he
tried to get himself accustomed to the dangers of the real world. He
still was ashamed of his disgraceful run, when he left Potter alone to
deal with creepy
crawling monster. Of course it would have been good if the monster
had managed to kill Potter, but it hadn't, and now the slimy git has all
the rights to call
him a coward. But he wasn't. He learned at last how to overcome his
fright, but not THIS FRIGHT. Something was coming, unseen and untouchable,
something cold and nameless. Draco jumped from his bed and pressed
himself against the wall. No sound of steps, nothing, but something was
approaching.
And then he heard the voice "Draco. My son, come to me, I need your
help"
***
Two stories below, in the vast underground vault, Snape was restraining
himself hardly from falling onto the floor in fit of uncontrollable laugh.
Tears were
shimmering on his eyes, but he couldn't stop. Others, i.e. Tehhie,
Melian and Filch were gaping at him and sending each other puzzled looks.
"Um…" muttered Tehhie at last "Severus, are you all right? I mean, it
had been a really exhausting two days, so may be you better go and get
some rest"
"Ooh", gasped Headmaster, fighting with the next fit of giggles. "I'm
perfectly all right, thank you. I'm not going crazy, if that is what you
are worried
about. Just pondering"
He wasn't looking like pondering person at all, but Tehhie thought better
of it and decided to keep quiet.
"Old rusty Fudge, who could suspect an existence of a shrewd mind under
this butler hat? He's the most prominent cheat I ever have seen in my life,
and
it's to say something"
"But what…what" stuttered Tehhie, surveying a chamber, full of large
leather bags, thoroughly sealed with ministry seals but absolutely empty.
"There was no gold there. Never" stated Severus placidly.
"It's a gibberish!" yelled Filch, then backed cowardly under Snape's
glance. "I mean…sorry, Headmaster, but I've seen it with my own eyes"
"Yes, my poor Filch" smiled Headmaster nastily "Of course you've seen
it. But-excuse me for recalling this single fact-you are a Squib and cannot
distinguish a truth from illusion. It was illusory magical gold, and
it vanished in 24 hours. That's why the dragons hadn't stolen the bags
on their way here.
When I've heard that dragons had brought GOLD…Okay, Filch is a Squib,
but you, Melian, for shame. Didn't you study the Care of Magical Creatures?
Dragon simply couldn't see the gold without laying its claws on it.
They would have stolen the real gold, no doubts"
"So…" mumbled Melian, realization dawning on her.
"So Fudge just opened the Gringotts vaults with Ministry cash, justifying
it by transferring the cash at Hogwarts, then replaced the bags, took the
real gold
and now, I can bet, he's enjoying his stay at Brazil or Hawaii, bathing
in gold and ignoring our little troubles with Voldemort down here. Very
clever of
him, I would say. And may be I'd like to accompany him, too", muttered
he, his tone dropping a bit. "Baking at the sun, instead of questioning
of mad
Death Eaters, it is. Well, time to go back to the mundane woes, don't
you think?"
He turned sharply and marched out of the dungeon.
***
Draco bit his lips, trying to find a door. He was desperately searching
Headmaster's office for half an hour already, cold in his pajamas, his
father's
demanding voice thundering in his head. It had been nothing. No slot,
no handle, no secret button to push, no magical device to hide the entrance,
absolutely nothing, no traces of another room at all. He had his chance
to prove himself, but he failed.
"Father, please, help me" whispered he hopelessly, he almost whimpered, but in vain.
"I cannot help you", answered a cold voice in his head "You have enough
information, my son. Dementors are practically blind and they cannot explain
how
this damned Snape, your favorite Snape, opened that door"
Draco cursed and made a new attempt to locate the door magically, but
to no avail. He feared what's been going to come next. And he wasn't mistaken.
Freezing voice became even colder, more vicious, if it was possible.
"You let me down again, MY SON", hissed it, and involuntary shiver went
through Draco's body. "As usual. That's why I am not sorry for what I'm
going
to do"
"Father, please", pleaded Draco, but his voice trailed away as something
incredibly cold and dark touched his mind.
Dripping of water, squeaking of approaching steps on old floor, hissing
of darkness…Draco shuddered, trying to stop his plunging in black whirlwind
of
unconsciousness, but then something snapped inside of him, and the
world stopped to exist.