A/N- Thanks everyone for your great reviews! Sorry it took me so long to post, but FF.net was being mean this week. So, here it is. Chapter 17
Chapter 17-Night Ride
The carriage bumped along the road in the dark and inside it, Malfoy stared at the young woman across from him. Her light hair was piled high on her head in tight little curls and her soft grey eyes were anxious. He slipped his hand into hers and leaned across to catch her eye. "We can cancel if you'd like."
Davina shook her head stubbornly and fiddled with the sleeve of her midnight blue gown. "No, we need to do this to save the professors."
"You're sure you're okay?" He asked, searching her gaze.
She smiled and raised a soft hand to touch his cheek. "I'm nervous, I'm frightened of meeting your father and mother and a little scared that your father will see through the plan." She admitted. "But I trust you."
The carriage stopped in front of a large manor and the footman helped them both down. Davina slipped her arm through Draco's and together they headed for the door. The young Malfoy heir tapped the tip of his cane on the door and waited. The house elf opened the door and her wide eyes widened even further (if possible). "Master…Master Draco!" She twittered.
He looked down at her with cool blue eyes. "Stop gapping Teery and inform my father and mother that Miss Sinistra and I are here. They are expecting us." Davina suppressed a shudder at his sneer. She reminded herself silently that he was playing a role for his family and no matter how cold, it wasn't real.
The little house elf, sputtering in surprise, backed into the foyer and ran lightly into the other rooms of the house leaving Draco and Davina in the entryway. Draco pulled the cord on his dark green cloak and handed it to the other little house elf with his dark grey gloves. Then he took the black cloak off his date's shoulders and loaded the little servant up further. At that point Teery tumbled back into room and bowed low. "If…if it pleases Master Draco, Master and Mistress Malfoy would like Master Draco and Miss Sinistra to join them in the dining room for dinner."
"Very well." He leaned his head close to Davina's and whispered quietly, "And so it begins."
There were many dark wooded areas around the Malfoy estate and the two dark hooded figures hiding among the trees didn't look out of place, but they were. They sat at the base of the tree talking quietly, just outside the wards they couldn't afford to activate. The older of the two looked almost relaxed leaning back against the large trunk, using a knife to whittle a branch he found on the ground. But if you looked closely at the weathered face it was taunt with tension and a worry almost bordering on panic glittered in the wizened blue eyes.
His companion, however wore his strain openly, from the tight muscles of his back and legs, ready to spring up at a moments notice, to his deep breathing, a relaxation technique that was clearly not working.
The old man put down the silver blade in his hand and turned the thin piece of gnarled wood over and over. "Severus, do you think this looks like….anything?" Snape looked over at the mess and simply raised one black eyebrow. Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, I do suppose you're right. Well, perhaps I should stick to magic."
"Indeed." Snape snorted.
The conversation fell off at that point, something which made Snape very happy and Dumbledore very restless. After shifting a few times the older wizard starting talking again. "You may not believe this, but Minerva was quite a misfit in her youth." He cast a sideway glance to his companion. "She's not pureblood you know. It's rather interesting actually. Thanks to her father, she's Godric Gryffindor's heir, but she isn't pure blood. Her mother was quite a woman though. Her parents came to watch her first quidditch match. Minerva was seeker. Dippit had invited them to sit in the head box, her father was quite a renowned potion master. I suspect you would have studied under him…had his life not been cut short…but anyway. From the delicate soft introduction she made, I expected her to be cowering at some of the reckless dives her daughter was taking, but not Delina McGonagall. She was on her feet, yelling the whole game. Poor Horus, I suspect he was a bit embarrassed. But she was cheering so loud, and Minerva was so proud when she caught the snitch to see how excited her mother was. Honestly, I think that's why she has such a soft spot for Potter and Granger. They're quite a bit like she was."
He trailed off and stared into the dark. Snape wondered what visions of carefree pasts were before his eyes. He knew from the disjointed speech he'd just heard, that the headmaster had been thinking aloud, with very little thought to whether or not Snape had followed the conversation. Still, Snape felt the need to contribute. "The first time I met Isis, I was fourteen. My father and mother had gone on a second honeymoon of some kind and I was staying with the Malfoys for the summer holiday. I know my father and Stefano wanted to foster a friendship between Lucius and I. I pulled up to the house and Lucius introduced my to his brothers, then to the little slip of a nine year old in a gold brocade gown. She stood tall, her red hair making her stand out. Of course she curtseyed politely. But as she stood, she raised her head, her eyes shining with defiance and in a loud clear voice she told me, 'My name is Isis. You may call me that if we are friends. And if you practice the dark arts, you are NO friend of mine. I hate them. And you should do well to stay away.'
I've never seen anyone so angry as her father was in that moment. He used the cruciatus curse on her in front of all of us. And she screamed. Then he picked up her withering body and carried her into the house. She came out hours later, a cold look on her face. Her back was slashed with whip marks we knew, but she paid them no heed as she sat with us at the dinner table. For an hour or so he was able to make her what he wanted her to be. But she was stronger, and the mold fell away, and she would defy him again and again."
He turned his head to the man next to him. "Eighteen years of beatings and incentives and education couldn't kill her or turn her into a monster, and nothing will. They're stronger than that Albus, and they know we're coming."
This time when the conversation failed, neither man made a move to fill the silence, and sense of purpose and hope alive in both.