Uneasy Alliances
Disclaimer: They belong to J.K.Rowling! Not me!
A/N: Wow – thank you to all my reviewers! Fiery-chan, JAMtillDawn, Faith, Amythest-Angel462, Juliet-Potter426, SophieBabe, Rebecca, Dragonsbane, iceheart-04, Adi, silver_rose, aries, Syaoran_Girl, Goddess-Isis-112, KAOS, aime, L. Meylan, wishing_star, shibbydragongirl, MoonDancerCat, Corundum Advance, Athletic_Gurl, Aniron, Shinimigami, Sanaria, Krissy1, Dawn, Xtreme_Nusiance, hb, and DemonBlade! You're all wonderful!
*gives chocolate to everyone who guessed the correct two characters, double to Dragonsbane because they got why too, and scoffs the rest herself *
Well enjoy - and review!
~*~
Draco sat up in bed, running a hand through his blond hair and being vaguely irritated to find it had knotted as he slept. His brow furrowed as he thought over the dream. He didn't usually dream, or if he did, he didn't remember it. But that one hadn't felt… natural. It wasn't a quality that Draco could name. It was like… if normal dreams felt like sand, this had been rock. More real, more defined.
Once, when he was younger, he'd had a dream with a similar feeling. He'd dreamt that his father's Death Eater meeting had been attacked by the 'light' side. He'd woken up from that one too, just in time to hear his father bang through the front door, shouting for the house elf, and from what he'd overheard, the events of his dream were apparently true. At the time, he'd put it down to a freak flare-up of his grandmother's Seer genes, turned over and promptly fallen back to sleep.
Now, it had apparently happened again. And if it had, Hermione had been kidnapped. No problem of his. Go back to sleep, Draco.
Except there was some gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach, cajoling him to 'Just go and check, go up to the Gryffindor house and see if Hermione's there.' (Draco prided himself at the fact that he knew not only the location of all the house common rooms, but also the passwords. It was amazing what a few Galleons could buy you.)
Trying to ignore the little voice, he pondered how the kidnappers had managed to get into the school. From what he had seen, they had come by Floo… Of course, it was so deceptively simple! The Floo networks in Hogwarts were not normally open, quite logically, for then it would be an easy matter for Voldemort himself to just Floo in and take over the whole place. Malfoy Manor had no Floo channels for the same reason. But of course, there was always someone you could bribe to open a connection… It was a cunning plan; devious in its simplicity, and the scheming, plotting part of his mind marvelled at it.
He lay down and turned over in bed, and prepared to go back to sleep. Hermione's kidnapping was no problem of his. He thought, with a grin, about the looks on Potter and Weasel's faces when they found out in the morning. They would be frantic!
And then he remembered the orb. The shining silver orb that had been held by the man who tortured Hermione, who Draco was fairly certain had been his father. The orb, which was now locked in a drawer in the dungeons of what he had instantly recognised as Malfoy Manor.
The orb was a powerful Dark object, bound to its owner by a single piece of hair. Known as the Malus Orbis, it gave its bearer protection against all but the darkest of curses, and increased its bearer's magical power. As a child, Draco had coveted it; it would mean that no one could harm him again. His father had always kept it locked away with the rarest and most evil of his Dark things, only bringing it out when its use was required.
Draco knew where it was now, and if he was only at Malfoy Manor, he could steal it, claim it for himself… it would mean safety. A tugging in the pit of his stomach told him to rescue Hermione, and while such a proposition was clearly madness… the lure of the Malus Orbis was too great.
And it was as if he had already decided, he would go. He paused a few minutes to contemplate his plan. Going alone was far too dangerous – if his father caught him, he would be dead or worse. However… his mouth curved into a half-smile. If Potter was there, Lucius would be too busy with him to bother too much about his son… all he had to do was go to Potter and Weasel, tell them of Hermione's kidnapping, and offer to accompany them to Malfoy Manor. If they were discovered, Potter would overshadow him and he could be let of relatively unharmed, with the right excuses. If they were not discovered, Hermione would be safe, the Malus Orbis in his possession, and Potter and Weasel would be left owing him a debt. It was the perfect plan!
He gathered some things together, threw a robe over his pyjamas and pulled on a cloak, and headed for Gryffindor tower. First things first: if Hermione really were missing, he would know the dream was true.
~*~
The Hogwarts corridors were abandoned at night, save for Filch and his cursed cat. It was quite a peculiar feeling to walk the hallways, by day so full of life and colour, but now a grey ghostly void, nothing but stone and moonlight.
Draco was taking a route avoiding the main corridors, taking the ones leading through disused parts of the school. Portraits whispered as he strode purposefully past, but none spoke to him, none tried to stop him. Soon they became nothing more than a distraction to Draco, merely adding to the eerie atmosphere.
He climbed a staircase, the cloak he had thrown over his pyjamas billowing slightly behind him. In one of the pockets he had hidden a bag of Floo powder, taken from his own personal supply of 'Things I Don't Think I'll Ever Need, But It Helps To Be Prepared Anyway.' And now, as it had so often in the past, it had come through for him. If the Floo channels were still open, Hermione could be rescued now, when they weren't expecting it.
He wasn't overly worried about Hermione. After all, she was just another Gryffindor. His real intent was to retrieve the Malus Orbis. As far as the rescue was concerned, Draco was just an innocent bystander.
Not that Draco was innocent.
Far from it.
He reached the picture of a fat lady in a pink dress, which his bribed 'associate' had told him was the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. He'd never had need to use it before, but now was the time to test the knowledge.
The lady looked at him suspiciously. Draco arranged his face into a long-practiced butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth expression.
'Password?' inquired the painting with distrust.
'Ignis.' replied Draco instantly.
The woman in the painting gave him a distrustful look, and the painting swung open reluctantly to reveal the Gryffindor common room.
Draco stepped through the hole, and looked around with some interest. The room was identical to how he had seen it in the dream, but in the flesh it was more impressive. Large, cosy, and comfortable were the words that came to Draco's mind, and apart from the colour scheme the room was quite appealing.
But admiration of the common room décor was not what he was here for, and he quickly looked around for the way to the dormitories. Up the stairs? Probably. He had taken barely a step in their direction when there were sudden footsteps on the spiral staircase, and worried voices floated down.
'Where could she be? What should we do?'
'I don't know. But we have to tell Dumbledore.'
'Do you think she really was kidnapped? Maybe she just went to the library or something…'
But the second voice did not reply, for Ron and Harry had turned the final twist of the staircase and come face to face with Draco.
For a moment the two Gryffindors stood in a shocked silence. Ron was the first to splutter out any semblance of speech.
'You!'
'What are you doing here?' asked Harry weakly.
'What have you done with Hermione?' asked Ron, now almost shouting, turning rapidly red with rage.
'I haven't done anything with Hermione.' answered Draco in a low voice. 'Has she been kidnapped?' If she had, then he could get the Malus Orbis.
'Well you should know, as YOU were the one that DID IT!' shouted Ron.
'I didn't…'
'How do you know she was kidnapped then?' asked Harry.
The two boys were rapidly growing more and more enraged, their hands tightening around their wands so hard their knuckles were turning white. Draco attempted to stay calm, but it wasn't easy when you were faced with two furious teenage boys and trying to find out whether your Ancient Runes partner had been kidnapped. Surreptitiously, he drew his own wand, and held it carefully behind his back. He hoped things weren't about to get violent. Violence was so messy.
'I dreamt it.' said Draco, but didn't have time to say any more before Ron cut in again, snorting with disbelief.
'Oh yeah, I'm sure you saw it in your crystal ball Malfoy. Tell me where she is, and I swear if you've hurt a hair on her head I'll…'
Draco cut in while Ron was still fishing for threats. 'My grandmother was a Seer. The genes crop up sometimes.'
Being semi-civil to his enemies was annoying, but he had to get them to trust him. But somewhere deep inside, in a place where his conscience and morals lay stifled, a tiny spark of fear and worry was burning. He disguised it, told himself it was excitement over getting the Malus Orbis.
Ron looked about to attack, but Harry surprised them both by saying, 'What did you see?'
Draco related the incidents of the dream to them. At the end, Harry nodded.
'That's what I saw in my dream.' His hand reached up to his forehead and traced his famous scar.
'Your dream?' asked Draco, puzzled. Then, remembering the rumours he'd heard, realised. 'Oh right, the scar… it gives you dreams.'
Ron burst in. 'Don't listen to him. He was probably one of the kidnappers himself.'
Harry shook his head, keeping his eyes firmly on Draco in an unnerving way that was both thoughtful and suspicious. 'Those figures were too tall to be Malfoy. And he wouldn't have to Floo in.'
Ron looked furious, but couldn't think of an argument against it. He glared violently at Draco.
'If only we knew where she was!' growled Harry, looking angry. 'We could get her back… somehow…'
'I know where she is.' Draco stated, smirking.
Harry and Ron both spoke simultaneously, in a way that made Draco laugh inside. 'Where?'
'Wouldn't you like to know?' Now this was more like fun. Taunting Gryffindors. Ah, the joy of it.
'Tell us Malfoy.' said Harry, his eyes narrowing. Draco wondered how they could not possibly have realised where she was from the dream.
'I recognised the dungeon. She's at Malfoy Manor.'
The two Gryffindor boys paused to digest this information. 'Right,' began Harry, 'so your father, who I bet is right in Voldemort's inner circle, has Hermione locked in your ancestral family home's dungeons.'
'Basically, yes.'
'Your house has dungeons?' asked Ron.
'Yes, they won the 'Which Evil Sadist Death Eater's Dungeon?' award five years running. Four star torture chamber and everything.'
Harry and Ron gave Draco a very weird look. Gryffindors, thought Draco. No sense of humour.
'How did they get here? You can't Floo to Hogwarts.' wondered Harry dully.
'I think they must have bribed someone to open up the Floo channels.' answered Draco, trying to sound as if this wasn't something a kindergartner could have worked out. 'The connection's probably still open, if you want to be typical Gryffindors and rescue her.' He prompted, anxious to get to the Manor quickly. He wanted that orb. Getting Hermione back was just a bonus. He didn't want to be stuck doing all the translation on his own… and she was a lot better partner than most.
He withdrew from his cloak the bag of Floo powder and tossed it to Harry, who opened the bag to examine its contents.
'What's got into you Malfoy?' he asked incredulously.
Draco shrugged. He did not want to reveal his ulterior motive. No, he would much rather keep it a secret. Have them think he was doing this out of his own good will. It would be easier to win their trust.
'If Hermione gets killed, I'll have to do all that translation on my own.' he said, semi-jokingly.
Harry clutched the bag in his hand, turning to the fire. 'Do you want to go first, or shall I?' he asked Ron.
Draco felt a sudden thrill. Potter was actually going to do it. It seemed monumentally stupid to him, to go rushing off into a house filled with your enemies to rescue a friend. But there was a certain something to the idea, the thrill of action and adrenaline that flared like a torch.
'You decide.' said Ron, and Draco mentally rolled his eyes. This was not a time for chivalry. He needed that orb…
And Hermione. You're going for Hermione too, remember?
He frowned. He was going for the orb, first and foremost. Hermione was just a bonus…
Hermione? A bonus? No, you want her back as much as you want the orb. Don't you?
Did he? Did he want her back? Well… yes. She was better company than the Slytherins. She was kind, she was talkative and full of laughter. Why shouldn't he want her back? Muggleborns weren't that bad, once you got to know them. And there was no reason for Purebloods to be superior…
So go for her as much as the orb. Do something for someone else.
'If you two are going to spend all night being chivalrous,' he said, 'I'll go first.'
The two Gryffindors stared. 'You're coming?'
'Do either of you know where the dungeons are in Malfoy Manor?
They shook their heads numbly. Draco gave them his trademark smirk and plucked the bag of Floo powder out of Harry's hands. He walked right up close to the fire. At this distance, he should be wincing from the heat, but he couldn't feel anything. The Glacios curse.
He threw a pinch of Floo powder into the flames, staring deeply into their emerald depths.
'Malfoy Manor!'
~*~
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