I am so terribly sorry for not getting this out sooner, but please be patient with me. I have a lot on my mind...LIKE THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chapter 7: Home, Sweet, Home
Harry padded softly down the halls of the school. What did Hermione want? The thought buzzed through his mind. That plus the fact that his invisibility cloak was gone. He assumed that Ron had borrowed it and forgotten to return it again. He was taking extra care not to tread too noisily, or else he would be discovered. He was nearing the side of the school on which the Dungeons were, but stopped shortly. He saw a figure moving about in the shadows.
It was Lucius Malfoy! Ever since his alliance with Lord Voldemort, he was not allowed on school grounds. What was he doing here? Then, Harry saw two figures, suspended in midair, floating behind him. It was Draco, who looked as if he were frozen, but very much awake, and the other...was Hermione! She was curled up into a tiny ball, her face covered in sleep powder.
Harry nearly cried out, but stopped himself. Lucius and Draco both whipped their heads in his direction. Lucius did not see anything and continued on, but Draco's eyes lingered on the very spot Harry stood. They seemed to cry out for his help, but he did not say anything. Harry doubted that he could. Slowly, after they had all passed through the great double doors without a sound, Harry turned and bolted back towards Gryffindor Tower.
He darted through the portrait hole and through the now dimly lit Common Room. He was about to reach the door to the tower, when a sad voice reached him from in front of the fading fire.
"I know where you've been, Harry Potter." The voice said, it's figure rising. Through the firelight, Harry could see a tangle of fire red hair, and tears in the sad, brown eyes.
"Ginny?" he asked incredulously. He started towards her, but she drew away.
"You've been going to see her, haven't you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Ginny, but this is an emergency, Hermione-" He was cut off by Ginny's angry words.
"That's exactly who I'm talking about, Harry! Hermione!" she nearly screamed. "I've seen you watching her! I've seen you sneak off to be with her!"
"That's not it!" Harry screamed. "I...I..." Harry searched frantically for an answer.
"You only think about you Harry Potter! I can't believe you! I saw you watch Draco and Hermione in the library the other day! I saw the way your fists clenched. I've seen the way you look at Hermione! It's the same way I used to look at you!" she spat. Harry didn't say anything, his mouth hung open. Ginny burst into tears.
"We're through!" she said through her tears. The light of a candle lit the room somewhat.
"Harry? Ginny? What's going on?" Ron asked from the top of the stairs. Ginny pushed past Harry and made her way towards the girl's dorm.
"Nothing" she mumbled.
"But Gin, I heard-"
"Nothing!" she hissed. She stopped at the top of the stairs and shot Harry a hurt, dangerous look. She disappeared through the heavy oak door.
Ron came down the stairs, and set the candle on a nearby table. "Harry." Ron sighed through a slight smirk. "You were never good with women, were you?"
Harry rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. Then, Harry realized why he had run back up here.
"Ron!" he yelled, gripping his friend's shoulders. "Lucius Malfoy! He took them! Hermione! Draco!" He yelled hysterically.
"Uh-huh. And tell me, Harry, did Lucius resemble close to a twelve foot mountain troll?"
"He normally looks like that. Or at least he's that stupid." Harry replied. "Seriously, Ron! He took them!" Without waiting for a reply from Ron, Harry grabbed his arm and sprinted out the door. It was all Ron could do to stop form being dragged along on his face.
Where am I?
"Now, Lucius. Let's not do anything...drastic..." a warm voice sounded from far off. Hermoine was sitting in a large room. It was cluttered with papers, books, and several portraits of old, wise looking witches and wizards. A man in his mid fifties was the source of the voice. He had a long, brown beard that was streaked with white of age. He continued. "I know you don't like that Potter boy, but..."
"Don't like! I despise-" the boy said with a sneering tone. He was cut off by the elder man.
"Just a minute, young man!" the elder man pounded his face on his desk, much to the surprise of the 16-year old boy in front of him. Hermione was standing behind the boy, and was sure the other two couldn't see her. She realized who the elder man was...
Is that Professor Dumbledore?
"I will not tolerate that kind of attitude when I am being spoken to. Is it too much that I ask for some respect when I am talking to my students?" Younger Dumbledore's eyes flashed behind his half-moon glasses. He calmed down a bit. "Now, explain to me why young felt it necessary to turn James' ears into a rabbit's."
"I would have turned him into a whole rabbit if you-"
"Young man!" Dumbledore warned. Lucius glared at him.
"One of these days, I'm going to be headmaster and then this school will belong to Voldemort!"
"Is that so?" Dumbledore asked quietly. There was something that held Hermione in awe and fear of him in his voice. She trembled slightly.
"You wouldn't understand, old man." Lucius said with a mock bow and a smirk. "You wouldn't understand if your worst enemy stole the heart of the girl you loved."
"Tell me something I don't know." The old man whispered, a slight smile playing his face. "And who might that be?" Dumbledore said, placing his hands upon his desk.
"Narcissa Whitman."
"Ah. Miss Whitman. I have seen plenty a young man fall for such a pretty face." He beamed. "Now, for the Yule ball, please don't bother them. We don't want rabbits running rampant all over the place. Unless Professor Gruesman can turn them all into slippers again." He smiled at his own joke. Lucius did nothing but scowled hard at the aging headmaster. Dumbledore's smile quickly faded away. "Now, for your detention, I suggest at least one week academic probation, the relenting of two Hogsmeades visits and three days with Mr. Filch." Lucius' mouth dropped open.
"When my father hears about this-"
"He will say 'It builds character, Lucius.' Now, go on." Dumbledore waved him out of the room.
Once he was gone, Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in the aged chair. "I'm not as young as I used to be." He sighed. Then, he continued on working on the papers in front of him. Hermione leaned forward.
Wow. He's so young. He's aged so much. Not so much physically, either. I've never seen such spark in his eyes.
Suddenly, as if he could feel her presence, he looked up and straight into Hermione's eyes. Hermione, finding this unnerving, backed away, slipped through the half-open door and continued down the stairs. She found Lucius at the bottom, talking with a young boy who looked very familiar.
"What did the ole git want?" his sour face was contorted into a look of utter disdain and hatred as he spoke of Dumbledore.
"Nothing, Snape." Lucius spat. "I have to spend three days with Filch."
"Disgusting! You have to go work with the servants." Suddenly, as if beckoned by mentioning his name, Filch's face materialized in the darkness.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. I hear I have a new assistant for the next three days." Hermione gasped at the sight of the caretaker. He was still as old and wrinkled as he was in the present. Lucius and Snape backed away from him, as if he were a flesh-eating slug.
They turned and ran through the corridor, Hermione hurried to catch up. Suddenly, the other two ran into a young boy and girl. The boy was nearly six feet tall, with a handsome face and smooth, slicked-back black hair. His arm was around a beautiful girl with white-blond hair. Malfoy picked himself up and dusted off his arms. The newcomers scowled at him.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" The boy scowled.
"Hello, Black." Lucius spat. He turned to the girl and smiled somewhat charmingly. "Good evening, Narcissa." He bowed a bit.
"I thought I told you to stay away from me!" The girl twitched slightly in Sirius' arm.
"Why, Narcissa, surely you mustn't truly mean that..."
"She said back off!" Sirius growled, grabbing Malfoy's collar. Snape yanked out his wand.
"That will be quite enough, all of you!" There, standing in the light of the nearest torch was Lily, Harry's mother. She looked radiant, standing there, the light bouncing of her already Fire-Red hair.
"What are you doing here, Lily?" Snape snarled.
"If you must know, I was conducting a séance."
"Stupid Necromancer!" Malfoy glared. She returned his glare.
"And just how many students are supposed to be out after hours!" a voice from behind Malfoy and Snape caused them all to jump and turn in that direction.
Hermione strained her eyes in the gathering darkness, but gave up soon. A white mist seemed to envelop her, it felt as if she were floating, high above the ground, without any care in the world. Then, she landed on a firm, but hardly visible piece of land. She came to another scene in the past.
"Absolutely unacceptable, Draco!" a voice was saying. It seemed as if it were far away. It gradually got louder and louder. Soon, the mist rose, and Hermione could see Lucius Malfoy leading Draco by the ear. Hermione guessed that this was only a few months ago, seeing as Draco still looked the same as he always did. "I can't believe it! Mingling with common muggles! Your mother has been worried sick, not knowing where you were."
"Oh, don't loose your blub, dad!" Draco struggled against Lucius' grasp, but apparently, it was vice-like. At his words, Lucius stopped, turned, and stared at Draco, looking absolutely outraged.
"How dare you talk to me in that tone! Just wait until your mother gets a hold of you!" Now, Lucius was dragging Draco behind.
"What does that matter?" Draco retorted. "At least she loves me. You don't even care what happens to either of us. The only time you were actually pleased that I walked the earth was when Voldemort announced that he would pass his powers unto me!" Draco was able to get away from his father. He straightened himself up and marched with some dignity into the house.
Lucius turned to a figure in the dark and motioned it forwards. Hermione's eyes widened when she saw it was a creature of the darkness. A creature that had no name, so horrible were the deeds that it did in the darkest nights. It was a creature of hell, a daemon. Hermione's eyes widened even more when she realized what the creature was carrying.
It was her.
Her phantom backed away. She screamed out loud to try to wake herself up, but the scream went unheard. Suddenly, the daemon looked right at her. It started towards her phantom, and Hermione froze with fear. Suddenly, Lucius said something in the creature's language, and the creature turned back to its original destination.
Draco approached the door and whispered the words "Calamath No'th dthaladmo" Hermione realized that they were some sort of magic. They words flowed out of Draco's mouth like a sliver sheen that wrapped around Hermione's heart, warming it back to life. She moved quickly towards the door, but she bumped into Lucius. Lucius passed right through her.
Well, at least this out-of-body experience has some benefits. She thought grimly.
Suddenly, she saw a woman with long, silvery hair and beautiful features rise from the hearth near the end of the Great Hall. "Draco!" she cried shrilly. She ran towards him, but Lucius waved his hand, and a iridescent box enclosed her. She banged against the sides. "Let me out, Lucius! Let me see my son!" she screamed. Lucius looked at her with utter disgust.
He smirked at her. "We'll 'talk' later, dearest wife." He drawled. Narcissa's eyes widened and she backed away from him, bumping into the box, here eyes pleading.
"Kalath!" he snapped. The daemon stepped forwards. "Take these two to the dungeon" he motioned to Hermione and Draco. Then, he walked over towards Narcissa's box. She fell over, free from the invisible prison, and she tried to rise. The last thing Hermione saw before she blacked out, was Lucius pounding his fist into her face. The last thing she heard were her cries for mercy.