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Chapter 5: Collision and Conversation
Draco Malfoy couldn't sleep. He went to Dumbledore and told him everything, except for the part about Snape killing his
father and bringing the prisoner, figuring Snape could tell the old man that part himself. Dumbledore seemed to know that
Draco didn't tell him the whole story, but he didn't say anything. After their 'meeting,' Dumbledore had directed him to
his normal dormitory and said he could stay there. Except now he couldn't sleep.
He was sitting in the Slytherin common room, staring at the blazing fire and trying to take into account all that had
happened. His father was dead. Snape had killed him. His mother was left alone in the house. What would she do when she
woke to find her husband dead, and her son missing in action? Draco didn't kid himself - he doubted Narcissa would care
much. Lucuis hadn't been the perfect husband (or father for that matter) and Narcissa wasn't exactly a caring mother herself.
Because of this, Draco found it was hard to give a damn what happened to either of them.
He was concerned about one thing, though. That thing was called Voldemort. Draco shuddered unconciously when this thought
entered his mind. His father, of course, had expected him to follow in his footsteps. Draco had other plans, though. Being
a DeathEater wasn't exactly on his action item list. He wasn't particularly -against- the Dark Lord, but being a follower of
anyone wasn't something he saw himself doing. People followed him, not the other way around. Be this as it may, he didn't
doubt that Voldemort would be on the look-out for him. Hell, he might even be convinced that Draco had killed his father
instead of Snape. Wouldn't that be pleasant.
Sighing, he rose from the plush green couch in front of the fire. He needed to take a walk to clear his head. Stepping out
of the common room, he found the castle was dark and foreboding. This was a side of the castle he didn't see much, the night
gave him a whole new perspective. Night-time adventure was Potty and the Weasel's thing, not his. His parents would have
been less than pleased to get a letter finding out their son was causing trouble in school. And when they were less than
pleased, bad things happened.
Draco found himself in a long, dark corridor that he didn't recognize. Paintings looked down at him from their frames,
sometimes whispering to one another. Pulling his arms around himself, he wished he'd brought a cloak of some sort with him.
It was rather cold in this castle at night, even in summer. Suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps somewhere down the
corridor and instinctively moved into the shadows.
They wouldn't get mad at him for moving around the castle after all that had happened, would they? He was on vacation afterall.
Well, it was a good time to find out. He made his way out of the shadows and continued down the hallway as the footsteps got
louder. Being as dark as it was, Draco didn't see the other figure until it collided with him and he was knocked onto the
ground.
"Oof!"
The other person had obviously fallen down, as well. Draco got himself to his feet, and pulled out his wand.
"Lumos."
The prisoner girl Snape had brought with him came into view, standing and dusting herself off.
"Hey, sorry kid," she said. "I wasn't looking where I was going, I guess."
Draco nodded. "It's all right. It is pretty dark in here, anyway."
She smirked like she had a secret, but kept quiet. Draco looked her over suspiciously.
"What are you doing out here, anyway?"
Lye's mood turned sour unexpectedly. "What do you care? Just cuz your father kept me prisoner for god knows how long doesn't
mean you have any power over me."
"Oh, no, I didn't mean that...I just meant, well, I thought you'd be staying with Professor Snape or something."
"Not fucking likely," she snorted derisively. Then, changing tone, she asked,"What're you doing out here?"
Draco shrugged. "Needed to clear my mind, I guess. Just walking."
"Well, I guess we're kind of on the same boat then."
Without any verbal exchange, they started walking together. The silence lasted for a while, until Draco finally spoke.
"So, uh, who are you, exactly?"
"Oh, I figured you'd know that," she responded. "Being as how we were in the same house for quite some time."
"Father never really talked about his...er, prisoners," Draco said, proceeding with caution. He wasn't looking forward to
setting her off again as she seemed to have quite a temper, if the exchange in Snape's rooms was any indication.
"Well, my name's Lyeta. I kind of prefer Lye, though."
"You mean like the caustic alkaline solution lye?"
She laughed faintly. "Sort of like that, I guess. So what's Severus doing saving your ass?"
"Sever...oh, Professor Snape," Draco said. "Uhm, I don't know really. I always sort of thought he was in league with my
father, you know, a Death Eater and all. But I guess he's a spy for Dumbledore," a beat, then. "Why'd he save you?"
Lye shrugged. "I'm not going to pretend to know the inner workings of Severus, er, Snape's mind. If you ask me, it was a
complete lapse of good judgement. Especially killing Lucius."
"Why? Father would have killed you if he hadn't killed him first."
"He would have tried," she muttered. "But I don't know. Maybe he wants to relive the past, or something."
"The past?," Draco questioned. "You and Snape used to know each other?"
"Yes, used to being the key words. He must've realized after what happened, that things had changed," Lye seemed to get
reminescent for a moment before shaking her head and continuing. "So what are you going to do now?"
"It's not really up to me, for now anyway. Dumbledore seems to know what he's doing, I guess I'll wait until he decides
something."
They stopped walking, and Lye nodded.
"Well, uh, this is my room," Draco said, somewhat awkwardly. "I guess I'll try to go to sleep."
Lye nodded again. "All right. I should probably find somewhere to camp out for the day as well," she said, then almost as
an afterthought. "It was nice talking to you."
"You, too," Draco said. Then he disappeared behind the painting of a rather formidable looking man who scowled down at Lye
as the painting-portal closed.
Lye didn't notice as she wandered off, not knowing where she was going. Somewhere dark, she imagined. Now that she'd fed
she was rather tired; sleep came easy on a full stomach. Or full veins, as the case may be.
Her thoughts turned to the young Malfoy she'd just parted ways with. She was predisposed to hate him, of course, as he was
his father's son. After talking to him, however, she could sense that he wasn't so much like his father as she had expected.
In fact, the boy seemed to harbor a definate dislike for the man. Could Lucius have treated his own family as bad as he had
treated her? The thought didn't seem too unbelievable. A mystery for another night, she decided. She decended back towards
the dungeons, but definately not towards Snape's rooms. That was definately something to deal with another night, as well.
*A/N* Arrite so this is a short chapter but I didn't really know what else to do with it. Not very action-packed or anything,
but it progressed the non-existent-still-to-be-decided plot along, I think. Hey! You know what's nice? Reviews are nice. No,
really. I would have no qualms with getting reviews.
Chapter 5: Collision and Conversation
Draco Malfoy couldn't sleep. He went to Dumbledore and told him everything, except for the part about Snape killing his
father and bringing the prisoner, figuring Snape could tell the old man that part himself. Dumbledore seemed to know that
Draco didn't tell him the whole story, but he didn't say anything. After their 'meeting,' Dumbledore had directed him to
his normal dormitory and said he could stay there. Except now he couldn't sleep.
He was sitting in the Slytherin common room, staring at the blazing fire and trying to take into account all that had
happened. His father was dead. Snape had killed him. His mother was left alone in the house. What would she do when she
woke to find her husband dead, and her son missing in action? Draco didn't kid himself - he doubted Narcissa would care
much. Lucuis hadn't been the perfect husband (or father for that matter) and Narcissa wasn't exactly a caring mother herself.
Because of this, Draco found it was hard to give a damn what happened to either of them.
He was concerned about one thing, though. That thing was called Voldemort. Draco shuddered unconciously when this thought
entered his mind. His father, of course, had expected him to follow in his footsteps. Draco had other plans, though. Being
a DeathEater wasn't exactly on his action item list. He wasn't particularly -against- the Dark Lord, but being a follower of
anyone wasn't something he saw himself doing. People followed him, not the other way around. Be this as it may, he didn't
doubt that Voldemort would be on the look-out for him. Hell, he might even be convinced that Draco had killed his father
instead of Snape. Wouldn't that be pleasant.
Sighing, he rose from the plush green couch in front of the fire. He needed to take a walk to clear his head. Stepping out
of the common room, he found the castle was dark and foreboding. This was a side of the castle he didn't see much, the night
gave him a whole new perspective. Night-time adventure was Potty and the Weasel's thing, not his. His parents would have
been less than pleased to get a letter finding out their son was causing trouble in school. And when they were less than
pleased, bad things happened.
Draco found himself in a long, dark corridor that he didn't recognize. Paintings looked down at him from their frames,
sometimes whispering to one another. Pulling his arms around himself, he wished he'd brought a cloak of some sort with him.
It was rather cold in this castle at night, even in summer. Suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps somewhere down the
corridor and instinctively moved into the shadows.
They wouldn't get mad at him for moving around the castle after all that had happened, would they? He was on vacation afterall.
Well, it was a good time to find out. He made his way out of the shadows and continued down the hallway as the footsteps got
louder. Being as dark as it was, Draco didn't see the other figure until it collided with him and he was knocked onto the
ground.
"Oof!"
The other person had obviously fallen down, as well. Draco got himself to his feet, and pulled out his wand.
"Lumos."
The prisoner girl Snape had brought with him came into view, standing and dusting herself off.
"Hey, sorry kid," she said. "I wasn't looking where I was going, I guess."
Draco nodded. "It's all right. It is pretty dark in here, anyway."
She smirked like she had a secret, but kept quiet. Draco looked her over suspiciously.
"What are you doing out here, anyway?"
Lye's mood turned sour unexpectedly. "What do you care? Just cuz your father kept me prisoner for god knows how long doesn't
mean you have any power over me."
"Oh, no, I didn't mean that...I just meant, well, I thought you'd be staying with Professor Snape or something."
"Not fucking likely," she snorted derisively. Then, changing tone, she asked,"What're you doing out here?"
Draco shrugged. "Needed to clear my mind, I guess. Just walking."
"Well, I guess we're kind of on the same boat then."
Without any verbal exchange, they started walking together. The silence lasted for a while, until Draco finally spoke.
"So, uh, who are you, exactly?"
"Oh, I figured you'd know that," she responded. "Being as how we were in the same house for quite some time."
"Father never really talked about his...er, prisoners," Draco said, proceeding with caution. He wasn't looking forward to
setting her off again as she seemed to have quite a temper, if the exchange in Snape's rooms was any indication.
"Well, my name's Lyeta. I kind of prefer Lye, though."
"You mean like the caustic alkaline solution lye?"
She laughed faintly. "Sort of like that, I guess. So what's Severus doing saving your ass?"
"Sever...oh, Professor Snape," Draco said. "Uhm, I don't know really. I always sort of thought he was in league with my
father, you know, a Death Eater and all. But I guess he's a spy for Dumbledore," a beat, then. "Why'd he save you?"
Lye shrugged. "I'm not going to pretend to know the inner workings of Severus, er, Snape's mind. If you ask me, it was a
complete lapse of good judgement. Especially killing Lucius."
"Why? Father would have killed you if he hadn't killed him first."
"He would have tried," she muttered. "But I don't know. Maybe he wants to relive the past, or something."
"The past?," Draco questioned. "You and Snape used to know each other?"
"Yes, used to being the key words. He must've realized after what happened, that things had changed," Lye seemed to get
reminescent for a moment before shaking her head and continuing. "So what are you going to do now?"
"It's not really up to me, for now anyway. Dumbledore seems to know what he's doing, I guess I'll wait until he decides
something."
They stopped walking, and Lye nodded.
"Well, uh, this is my room," Draco said, somewhat awkwardly. "I guess I'll try to go to sleep."
Lye nodded again. "All right. I should probably find somewhere to camp out for the day as well," she said, then almost as
an afterthought. "It was nice talking to you."
"You, too," Draco said. Then he disappeared behind the painting of a rather formidable looking man who scowled down at Lye
as the painting-portal closed.
Lye didn't notice as she wandered off, not knowing where she was going. Somewhere dark, she imagined. Now that she'd fed
she was rather tired; sleep came easy on a full stomach. Or full veins, as the case may be.
Her thoughts turned to the young Malfoy she'd just parted ways with. She was predisposed to hate him, of course, as he was
his father's son. After talking to him, however, she could sense that he wasn't so much like his father as she had expected.
In fact, the boy seemed to harbor a definate dislike for the man. Could Lucius have treated his own family as bad as he had
treated her? The thought didn't seem too unbelievable. A mystery for another night, she decided. She decended back towards
the dungeons, but definately not towards Snape's rooms. That was definately something to deal with another night, as well.
*A/N* Arrite so this is a short chapter but I didn't really know what else to do with it. Not very action-packed or anything,
but it progressed the non-existent-still-to-be-decided plot along, I think. Hey! You know what's nice? Reviews are nice. No,
really. I would have no qualms with getting reviews.