.::THE MIRROR FRONT::.
"A mirror reflects that which stands before it. A mirror has unseemingly infinite depths.
A mirror can show the deepest and most intricate twists and turns.
Malfoy Manor is full of mirrors."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter is a song fic...they lyrics belong copyright to Atmosphere, the song is called Love Life. Excellent song.
__________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 6: Retaliation
Individually wrapped, placed in neat little rows
Becoming a piece, of everything that grows
Some numbers, some names to indicate you played the game
Came empty handed and left the same
Hermione stared blankly across the grass field. A graveyard. She could see Draco's pale head bobbing and weaving as he picked his way across, and the slight crunch of gravel beneath Desaix's boots as she followed close behind. Somehow, this wasn't how she'd thought a graveyard would look like at night.
The night was clear, with stars sparkling overhead. A few well kept trees lined the path that she and Desaix were keeping too, and in the bright moonlight Draco picked his way across the grass patches, gliding between marble angels and statues.
"It's gotta be here somewhere." He paused, hand extended as he probed the air in front of him. Desaix and Hermione stopped in their tracks, watching alertly.
Suddenly his face lit up.
"It's here. Come on." As they neared Draco, Hermione felt a slight pressure. The world went black for a moment as she stepped through the thin, invisible, stretchy material that Draco was holding open.
And then she opened her eyes and forced herself not to scream.
A soul is a soul, and a shell is a shell
The border in between is full of everything you felt
Some cling to a cross coz they're tired and lost
They leave it up to the weather to measure the cost
This was how she'd pictured it to be. The creepy gothic church was outlined by the clouded pale moon, which hung dead in the sky. Skeletons of trees were scattered, some had roots that were snaking out of the ground, breaking up gravesites and disrupting all orderliness. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand land on her shoulder, but it was only Desaix comforting the younger girl, her face showing sympathy and understanding.
"Don't worry, it creeped me out the first time I saw it too."
Instead of angels, some of the tombstones had gargoyles, some were entwined in barbed wire.
"This way."
Hermione shivered visibly, feeling more and more miserable as they came closer to the church. Draco noticed her discomfort, and after much hesitation, gave her his jacket.
"I'll go in first." Desaix pushed open the door to the cathedral.
Hermione gasped, and instinctively huddled closer to Draco. He gripped her arms from behind, and she pushed into the warmth of his body.
"Come on, Granger. If you want to help us get revenge, you have to be useful at least." He murmured into her ear, sending pleasant shivers down her spine. Giving a disgusted snort she bounded further into the cathedral, stopping only inches from Desaix.
"Come on, it's safe. Well, as safe as they come." Taking a deep breath, Hermione stepped down onto the floor. She heard Draco's descending footsteps as he left the stairs behind her.
Hermione bit her lower lip as she saw the skeleton sitting in the middle of the platform.
He was dressed in a priests habit that fell to his knees, and loose, dusty trousers. A black book bound with a cross of ribbon was clutched in his left hand.
"That's what we need." She felt Draco's hand gently pushing her towards the skeleton.
'Come on Herm, you're a Gryffindor. You can handle this.' she thought.
"Wait!" Desaix's voice echoed around the chamber.
"There's wards on that skeleton. Let me go first." Again, Draco and Hermione stepped backwards to allow Desaix room to work.
"This is going to be difficult without Dreland here." she muttered, and withdrew her slim ebon-grey wand.
Hermione only had the chance to hear two words, before the rest became a mumbled song. Desaix was spinning gracefully, her wand trailing red sparks and shimmers as she seemed to ignite. The entire chamber became bloodlit red.
And all of a sudden, a burst of sapphire-blue light ignited around the skeleton.
The face began to mould, skin started stretching over the features. Hermione felt as if she was going to be sick, and Draco just wrapped his arms around her silently.
And all of a sudden it was over. Hermione felt the arms around her snake away as Draco fell to the floor in reverence. Desaix was kneeling, head bent. Hermione was suddenly aware that all the dark power she had been feeling, all the creepy, unnerving feelings had just been concentrated into one place. One moving place. She looked up into the most beautiful face she had ever seen.
And everytime I look within I recognise the darkness
Familiar to the image of the artist
But here I am, thinking about death again
Humbles out the stress, helps the breath get in
I need to check my friends, as well as my next of kin
To let em all know, I love them all until the end
Hermione stood, entranced as the skeleton, now a terrible and beautiful sight swept down the stairs. Something about his easy gait reminded her of Draco, how he would be in a couple of years. The stranger had sandy pale hair, which shimmered in the moonlight and deep wine-red eyes. The clothes had returned to their normal state, luxurious shimmering fabrics that looked like they'd be silky soft to touch.
Hermione suddenly remembered where she was, and sank into a deep curtsey.
"Arise, Desaix D'Malfoy and Draco Malfoy. Arise...one Miss Hermione Granger." The voice was terrible and compelling, yet beautiful. He sounded like a thousand harmonised voices bound into one powerful chord. Yet it was still the same cold drawl that Draco spoke with.
"Master Daemon."
"High Priest."
The being, Daemon, looked at them.
"Hermione Granger, I would not have expected you to be here." she kept silent, her eyes to the floor.
"You wish to defeat Voldemort?" The voice was softened to almost a caress.
"I wish to see Voldemort in eternal pain. I wish to see the Death Eaters incarcerated in Azkaban where they would all receive the Dementor's Kiss." She was surprised with the vehemence and fury that exploded from her words. She had expected her voice to sound rusty from disuse. She licked her dry, cracked lips with her tongue, awaiting judgement.
Usually, this was not what one said to a priest. But Hermione suspected that Daemon was an entirely different kind of priest.
He smiled, and Hermione felt the sins of the mortal world fall on her shoulders.
"Is that a deal?"
Draco's eyes narrowed as he sprung in front of Hermione.
"No deal. Master." He added respectfully.
"You know the powers you're dealing with, young Malfoy?" Daemon asked thoughtfully.
"I do, sir."
"And you still decided to follow through. Impressive. I will help. Only because I want so little of Voldemort left that even his ashes would not be able to reside in..." He glanced at Hermione.
"...that place."
How many times must you prove you're an angel
How many more demons do you have to strangle
How much longer must you remain in this dream
Before I finally figure out if you're insane or a genius?
"Very well." Daemon tapped long, tapered fingers thoughtfully against his chin, with his head tilted towards the ceiling. He looked so...divine...Hermione couldn't help but feel smug as she thought of Parvarti and Lavender. What they wouldn't give to be in her place.
He opened the bible he was holding, tenderly sliding the marker out of place and flipping the almost transparent, glass-like pages over.
"As you have summoned me I shall do you no injustice. Step forward, muggleborn, and recieve this timeless burden that you shall carry until your body fades into dust." Hermione definitely didn't like the sound of that, but Desaix and Draco were nudging her forward eagerly. She hesitated. What if this was some sort of trick? How did she know she could trust them? Then she looked down at the coat she was wrapped in. She remembered Draco taking her home that night, she remembered Desaix and Dreland comforting her throughout the break.
And she took the step.
Let no tears fall from none of y'all
Remember the beauty as well as the flaws
L-O-V-E L-I-F-E Here lies _____, finally free
And as I look across the sea, I smile at the sun
While it feed the weeds the nutrition they need
The people still breathe, the city still bleeds
I'ma love it to death and keep planting my seeds
I'ma love it to death and keep an eye on my seeds
I'll be in love till I'm dead, keep reaching the seas
I'll give it all I got left just to teach you to read
Love life to the death and keep planting my seeds
When the light cleared, Hermione turned, stunned to look for Draco and Desaix.
They were looking at her, shocked. "What? What is it?" She turned to look for the priest, and came face to face with herself.
"I..." the mirror spoke.
She screamed.
"Hermione Granger, it's only temporary. You need to send her home, and you stay at the Malfoy Manor. Lucius and family will provide for you and teach you all they know. She's all the good in you manifested. You, at the moment, are only full of evil.
It was true. She wanted to scratch this girl's eyes out and rip her to shreds.
"Mama?" The girl turned wide blue eyes to her, eyes that used to be her own. Hermione felt her sanity tearing away from her.
"I'm not your mother." She spat.
"Technically, you are. She's from your own blood." Daemon glanced at her forearm, where a long vertical scar had formed. He cocked his head and glanced out the lightening window.
"Daybreak is coming. I best be off...a busy day awaits me."
"Thank you, master." Draco bowed again.
"Many fortunes, High Priest." The beautiful being gave a twisted smile as he faded away. The skeleton slowly degenerated back to bones and rags.
But Hermione was too busy fighting the overwhelming emotions within her.
When the soul begins to reap I think she'll know me from the sleep
I keep caught in the corner of my bloodshot eyes
And if she has the nerve to let me dump a couple last words
I'ma turn to the earth and scream Love Your Life
Now how many times must you prove you're an angel?
How many more demons do you have to strangle?
How much longer must you remain in this dream
Before I finally figure out if you're insane or a genius?
I woke up to a body nestled against mine. At first I stiffened when I realised who it was, but eventually I relaxed. She was a part of my life now, one I could not deny. From the moment I had recognised her in the chambers till last night, we had been bonded by that thin wire of life.
Blood didn't matter anymore.
It wasn't going to help Narcissa.
"A mirror reflects that which stands before it. A mirror has unseemingly infinite depths.
A mirror can show the deepest and most intricate twists and turns.
Malfoy Manor is full of mirrors."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter is a song fic...they lyrics belong copyright to Atmosphere, the song is called Love Life. Excellent song.
__________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 6: Retaliation
Individually wrapped, placed in neat little rows
Becoming a piece, of everything that grows
Some numbers, some names to indicate you played the game
Came empty handed and left the same
Hermione stared blankly across the grass field. A graveyard. She could see Draco's pale head bobbing and weaving as he picked his way across, and the slight crunch of gravel beneath Desaix's boots as she followed close behind. Somehow, this wasn't how she'd thought a graveyard would look like at night.
The night was clear, with stars sparkling overhead. A few well kept trees lined the path that she and Desaix were keeping too, and in the bright moonlight Draco picked his way across the grass patches, gliding between marble angels and statues.
"It's gotta be here somewhere." He paused, hand extended as he probed the air in front of him. Desaix and Hermione stopped in their tracks, watching alertly.
Suddenly his face lit up.
"It's here. Come on." As they neared Draco, Hermione felt a slight pressure. The world went black for a moment as she stepped through the thin, invisible, stretchy material that Draco was holding open.
And then she opened her eyes and forced herself not to scream.
A soul is a soul, and a shell is a shell
The border in between is full of everything you felt
Some cling to a cross coz they're tired and lost
They leave it up to the weather to measure the cost
This was how she'd pictured it to be. The creepy gothic church was outlined by the clouded pale moon, which hung dead in the sky. Skeletons of trees were scattered, some had roots that were snaking out of the ground, breaking up gravesites and disrupting all orderliness. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand land on her shoulder, but it was only Desaix comforting the younger girl, her face showing sympathy and understanding.
"Don't worry, it creeped me out the first time I saw it too."
Instead of angels, some of the tombstones had gargoyles, some were entwined in barbed wire.
"This way."
Hermione shivered visibly, feeling more and more miserable as they came closer to the church. Draco noticed her discomfort, and after much hesitation, gave her his jacket.
"I'll go in first." Desaix pushed open the door to the cathedral.
Hermione gasped, and instinctively huddled closer to Draco. He gripped her arms from behind, and she pushed into the warmth of his body.
"Come on, Granger. If you want to help us get revenge, you have to be useful at least." He murmured into her ear, sending pleasant shivers down her spine. Giving a disgusted snort she bounded further into the cathedral, stopping only inches from Desaix.
"Come on, it's safe. Well, as safe as they come." Taking a deep breath, Hermione stepped down onto the floor. She heard Draco's descending footsteps as he left the stairs behind her.
Hermione bit her lower lip as she saw the skeleton sitting in the middle of the platform.
He was dressed in a priests habit that fell to his knees, and loose, dusty trousers. A black book bound with a cross of ribbon was clutched in his left hand.
"That's what we need." She felt Draco's hand gently pushing her towards the skeleton.
'Come on Herm, you're a Gryffindor. You can handle this.' she thought.
"Wait!" Desaix's voice echoed around the chamber.
"There's wards on that skeleton. Let me go first." Again, Draco and Hermione stepped backwards to allow Desaix room to work.
"This is going to be difficult without Dreland here." she muttered, and withdrew her slim ebon-grey wand.
Hermione only had the chance to hear two words, before the rest became a mumbled song. Desaix was spinning gracefully, her wand trailing red sparks and shimmers as she seemed to ignite. The entire chamber became bloodlit red.
And all of a sudden, a burst of sapphire-blue light ignited around the skeleton.
The face began to mould, skin started stretching over the features. Hermione felt as if she was going to be sick, and Draco just wrapped his arms around her silently.
And all of a sudden it was over. Hermione felt the arms around her snake away as Draco fell to the floor in reverence. Desaix was kneeling, head bent. Hermione was suddenly aware that all the dark power she had been feeling, all the creepy, unnerving feelings had just been concentrated into one place. One moving place. She looked up into the most beautiful face she had ever seen.
And everytime I look within I recognise the darkness
Familiar to the image of the artist
But here I am, thinking about death again
Humbles out the stress, helps the breath get in
I need to check my friends, as well as my next of kin
To let em all know, I love them all until the end
Hermione stood, entranced as the skeleton, now a terrible and beautiful sight swept down the stairs. Something about his easy gait reminded her of Draco, how he would be in a couple of years. The stranger had sandy pale hair, which shimmered in the moonlight and deep wine-red eyes. The clothes had returned to their normal state, luxurious shimmering fabrics that looked like they'd be silky soft to touch.
Hermione suddenly remembered where she was, and sank into a deep curtsey.
"Arise, Desaix D'Malfoy and Draco Malfoy. Arise...one Miss Hermione Granger." The voice was terrible and compelling, yet beautiful. He sounded like a thousand harmonised voices bound into one powerful chord. Yet it was still the same cold drawl that Draco spoke with.
"Master Daemon."
"High Priest."
The being, Daemon, looked at them.
"Hermione Granger, I would not have expected you to be here." she kept silent, her eyes to the floor.
"You wish to defeat Voldemort?" The voice was softened to almost a caress.
"I wish to see Voldemort in eternal pain. I wish to see the Death Eaters incarcerated in Azkaban where they would all receive the Dementor's Kiss." She was surprised with the vehemence and fury that exploded from her words. She had expected her voice to sound rusty from disuse. She licked her dry, cracked lips with her tongue, awaiting judgement.
Usually, this was not what one said to a priest. But Hermione suspected that Daemon was an entirely different kind of priest.
He smiled, and Hermione felt the sins of the mortal world fall on her shoulders.
"Is that a deal?"
Draco's eyes narrowed as he sprung in front of Hermione.
"No deal. Master." He added respectfully.
"You know the powers you're dealing with, young Malfoy?" Daemon asked thoughtfully.
"I do, sir."
"And you still decided to follow through. Impressive. I will help. Only because I want so little of Voldemort left that even his ashes would not be able to reside in..." He glanced at Hermione.
"...that place."
How many times must you prove you're an angel
How many more demons do you have to strangle
How much longer must you remain in this dream
Before I finally figure out if you're insane or a genius?
"Very well." Daemon tapped long, tapered fingers thoughtfully against his chin, with his head tilted towards the ceiling. He looked so...divine...Hermione couldn't help but feel smug as she thought of Parvarti and Lavender. What they wouldn't give to be in her place.
He opened the bible he was holding, tenderly sliding the marker out of place and flipping the almost transparent, glass-like pages over.
"As you have summoned me I shall do you no injustice. Step forward, muggleborn, and recieve this timeless burden that you shall carry until your body fades into dust." Hermione definitely didn't like the sound of that, but Desaix and Draco were nudging her forward eagerly. She hesitated. What if this was some sort of trick? How did she know she could trust them? Then she looked down at the coat she was wrapped in. She remembered Draco taking her home that night, she remembered Desaix and Dreland comforting her throughout the break.
And she took the step.
Let no tears fall from none of y'all
Remember the beauty as well as the flaws
L-O-V-E L-I-F-E Here lies _____, finally free
And as I look across the sea, I smile at the sun
While it feed the weeds the nutrition they need
The people still breathe, the city still bleeds
I'ma love it to death and keep planting my seeds
I'ma love it to death and keep an eye on my seeds
I'll be in love till I'm dead, keep reaching the seas
I'll give it all I got left just to teach you to read
Love life to the death and keep planting my seeds
When the light cleared, Hermione turned, stunned to look for Draco and Desaix.
They were looking at her, shocked. "What? What is it?" She turned to look for the priest, and came face to face with herself.
"I..." the mirror spoke.
She screamed.
"Hermione Granger, it's only temporary. You need to send her home, and you stay at the Malfoy Manor. Lucius and family will provide for you and teach you all they know. She's all the good in you manifested. You, at the moment, are only full of evil.
It was true. She wanted to scratch this girl's eyes out and rip her to shreds.
"Mama?" The girl turned wide blue eyes to her, eyes that used to be her own. Hermione felt her sanity tearing away from her.
"I'm not your mother." She spat.
"Technically, you are. She's from your own blood." Daemon glanced at her forearm, where a long vertical scar had formed. He cocked his head and glanced out the lightening window.
"Daybreak is coming. I best be off...a busy day awaits me."
"Thank you, master." Draco bowed again.
"Many fortunes, High Priest." The beautiful being gave a twisted smile as he faded away. The skeleton slowly degenerated back to bones and rags.
But Hermione was too busy fighting the overwhelming emotions within her.
When the soul begins to reap I think she'll know me from the sleep
I keep caught in the corner of my bloodshot eyes
And if she has the nerve to let me dump a couple last words
I'ma turn to the earth and scream Love Your Life
Now how many times must you prove you're an angel?
How many more demons do you have to strangle?
How much longer must you remain in this dream
Before I finally figure out if you're insane or a genius?
I woke up to a body nestled against mine. At first I stiffened when I realised who it was, but eventually I relaxed. She was a part of my life now, one I could not deny. From the moment I had recognised her in the chambers till last night, we had been bonded by that thin wire of life.
Blood didn't matter anymore.
It wasn't going to help Narcissa.