25. …Harry is not in the least bit Mollified
Lucius Malfoy tapped his cane against his shoe pensively. His investigations into the
explosion had come to naught, and he was feeling excessively frustrated. Seducing his
son's girlfriend had been enjoyable but brief, and he felt that he needed some release for
his energies. He toyed with the idea of going outside and annoying Draco's water dragon,
but it wasn't old enough yet to put up a really big fuss.
Yes, he thought to himself, life was boring. The only good part of the last week or so had
been putting out that rumor that Voldemort had a new and cunning plan to attack Harry
Potter. Everybody at Hogwarts was probably frantic trying to figure out what it was, and
the Death Eaters could use the time to continue their current activity, which was quietly
embezzling from various branches of the Ministry of Magic. Certainly they would love to
do real damage to Potter, but for now, money was necessary and more important. This
"fake plot" idea was working wonders for their bank accounts.
Suddenly, he got an idea. He summoned an owl and wrote a hurried letter, signing it with
a flourish.
An owl swooped into Blaise Zabini's room and deposited a letter on her bed. She ceased
brushing her hair, which was unnaturally tangled, and gingerly opened it, noting the wax
seal with the "M" and entwined Malfoy serpents. That was odd. It was very unlike
Draco to contact her so soon since she'd already seen him earlier that day. Her memories
of the weekend were fuzzy but the gist of them definitely suggested that Draco wouldn't
be motivated to talk to her for a while.
It was at this point that a small bundle of herbs fell out of the letter, their smell wafting up
and tickling her nose. Blaise passed out. A few minutes later the window flew open and
a cloaked figure stepped out of the night and into the room.
Ron awoke to someone jostling his shoulder. "Wha…" he mumbled sleepily, rolling
over to see who was there. Draco stood by the side of his bed, swaying slightly and
looking quite groggy.
"Move over Weasley." Draco shoved at his shoulder again and Ron shifted over, his
brain too asleep to have much of any comment on the situation.
"I thought you were supposed to be staying in Snape's rooms," Ron murmured as Draco
settled next to him on the bed, one arm draping over him, heavy with sleep.
"It smelled weird in there." Draco sighed, shifting into a more comfortable position.
Ron was almost asleep again so he only barely registered the rest of Draco's response,
"And Professor Snape and Hermione were making too much noise." The last was barely
audible and soon both boys were snoring.
Hermione was backed up against the wall, her robe clutched to her front. She was staring
wide-eyed at Professor Snape and making muffled screaming sounds whenever he tried
to come near. "Hermione, calm down. We need to figure out what happened." Severus
had his robe tied sloppily around his waist and was approaching Hermione with one hand
raised as though she were a trapped animal. Snape would have been in shock himself,
but they needed at least one brain functioning.
Hermione sank to the floor and started shaking. Snape quickly grabbed his cloak that
was hanging on the back of the door and wrapped it around Hermione's shoulders before
backing away. He could understand if she didn't want him touching her. He was feeling
pretty much the same. "Madame Pomfrey gave me some tea to drink whenever I was
feeling stressed. How about I brew some of that up? It's very soothing." Hermione just
nodded mutely, staring at the floor, and Snape moved off to his storage closet to fetch the
tea. While he was in there he put his robe on the right way.
Professor Snape was putting the kettle on to boil when he noticed the potion they had
been brewing. "Shit. What time is it?" He glanced hurriedly at the clock, quickly
removing the potion from the burner. "Shit!" he swore again vehemently. It had been a
little over two hours and by the now the potion would be nearly strong enough to kill
someone who even thought about breaking their word. In all good conscience he could
not give it to Draco.
He jumped when the kettle screamed that it was ready for the tea. Damn, this was
shaping up to be a very long night.
"Whaaaa…" Consciousness slowly dawned in Blaise Zabini's mind. She was warm and
comfortable and lying on what felt like soft silk sheets. Something was tickling her
stomach. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up to see Lucius Malfoy bending over
her and running a fluffy white feather up and down her very nude length. "Hello," she
said, smiling sleepily. She remembered that it was fun to be with Lucius.
"I'm glad to see you're awake, my dear." Lucius paused the feather in mid-stroke and
looked up to give Blaise a very sultry smile. "I hope you don't mind but I've invited you
up one of my little abodes I have tucked in the hills near Hogwarts. I thought we could
spend some more," here he paused to lick Blaise's belly button, "time together."
"Oh I don't mind." Blaise's mind was somewhere, floating happily. "I always liked
chocolate sauce better than mustard anyway."
Lucius paused, looking puzzled before giving a low chuckle, deep in his throat. "Sounds
like my son still has a lot to learn," he murmured, abandoning the feather entirely and
moving up to cover Blaise's body with his own.
"Aahhhh!" Ron awoke to a blood curdling scream and a broom falling heavily across his
shoulder.
"Hey, what!" Ron raised his arm over his head as another blow fell. Knowing only that
he had to get away, Ron started scrambling backwards and got tangled up with Draco,
who obviously had the same idea but was tangled in the blanket. In a mad flailing of
limbs the two boys crashed to the floor on the other side of the bed.
Quickly they both scrambled to their feet and backed up against the wall. From this
vantage point Ron could see that their attacker was a mad banshee of a Harry Potter
wielding one of his old Quidditch brooms. "Harry!" Ron yelled, holding his hands out
defensively. "Have you gone insane? What's the matter with you?!"
"What the HELL is he doing here!?" Harry jabbed the broom at a very mussed looking
Draco Malfoy, who flinched out of the way. Harry himself was beet red and shaking
with rage. "Just what were you sick bastards up to this time?"
Ron was feeling more than a little confused, but right now the most important thing was
obviously getting Harry to calm down before he started beating them again. "Harry, it's
me, remember? Your friend Ron Weasley? And look at us. We're fully clothed.
Obviously we weren't up to anything." Harry lowered the broom but still looked angry.
Ron turned to Draco. "Why are you here, exactly?"
Draco was looking angry and puzzled at the same time. He shook his head as though
trying to clear it and put his hands to his temples. "I can't remember. I think I must have
been half asleep when I came up here. I just remember wanting somewhere to sleep
away from the awful smell and the..." Here he paused with his hand over his mouth and
started shaking with repressed laughter.
"And the what, Malfoy." Harry was clearly not in the least bit mollified.
"The noise," Draco got out before breaking out in a guffaw. Harry and Ron exchanged
puzzled looks. After a moment Draco straightened, clearing his throat and obviously
trying to collect himself. "Let's go and see if Snape and Hermione have got that potion
ready yet, shall we?" He strode purposefully to the door. Ron followed warily with
Harry trailing behind, still clutching the broom, his confusing obviously winning out over
his anger for the present moment.
Half way down the stairs Ron realized the 'yet' in Draco's last statement. "Draco, it's
already morning. I'm sure the potion is ready by now." Draco just snorted and continued
walking.
Lucius Malfoy tapped his cane against his shoe pensively. His investigations into the
explosion had come to naught, and he was feeling excessively frustrated. Seducing his
son's girlfriend had been enjoyable but brief, and he felt that he needed some release for
his energies. He toyed with the idea of going outside and annoying Draco's water dragon,
but it wasn't old enough yet to put up a really big fuss.
Yes, he thought to himself, life was boring. The only good part of the last week or so had
been putting out that rumor that Voldemort had a new and cunning plan to attack Harry
Potter. Everybody at Hogwarts was probably frantic trying to figure out what it was, and
the Death Eaters could use the time to continue their current activity, which was quietly
embezzling from various branches of the Ministry of Magic. Certainly they would love to
do real damage to Potter, but for now, money was necessary and more important. This
"fake plot" idea was working wonders for their bank accounts.
Suddenly, he got an idea. He summoned an owl and wrote a hurried letter, signing it with
a flourish.
An owl swooped into Blaise Zabini's room and deposited a letter on her bed. She ceased
brushing her hair, which was unnaturally tangled, and gingerly opened it, noting the wax
seal with the "M" and entwined Malfoy serpents. That was odd. It was very unlike
Draco to contact her so soon since she'd already seen him earlier that day. Her memories
of the weekend were fuzzy but the gist of them definitely suggested that Draco wouldn't
be motivated to talk to her for a while.
It was at this point that a small bundle of herbs fell out of the letter, their smell wafting up
and tickling her nose. Blaise passed out. A few minutes later the window flew open and
a cloaked figure stepped out of the night and into the room.
Ron awoke to someone jostling his shoulder. "Wha…" he mumbled sleepily, rolling
over to see who was there. Draco stood by the side of his bed, swaying slightly and
looking quite groggy.
"Move over Weasley." Draco shoved at his shoulder again and Ron shifted over, his
brain too asleep to have much of any comment on the situation.
"I thought you were supposed to be staying in Snape's rooms," Ron murmured as Draco
settled next to him on the bed, one arm draping over him, heavy with sleep.
"It smelled weird in there." Draco sighed, shifting into a more comfortable position.
Ron was almost asleep again so he only barely registered the rest of Draco's response,
"And Professor Snape and Hermione were making too much noise." The last was barely
audible and soon both boys were snoring.
Hermione was backed up against the wall, her robe clutched to her front. She was staring
wide-eyed at Professor Snape and making muffled screaming sounds whenever he tried
to come near. "Hermione, calm down. We need to figure out what happened." Severus
had his robe tied sloppily around his waist and was approaching Hermione with one hand
raised as though she were a trapped animal. Snape would have been in shock himself,
but they needed at least one brain functioning.
Hermione sank to the floor and started shaking. Snape quickly grabbed his cloak that
was hanging on the back of the door and wrapped it around Hermione's shoulders before
backing away. He could understand if she didn't want him touching her. He was feeling
pretty much the same. "Madame Pomfrey gave me some tea to drink whenever I was
feeling stressed. How about I brew some of that up? It's very soothing." Hermione just
nodded mutely, staring at the floor, and Snape moved off to his storage closet to fetch the
tea. While he was in there he put his robe on the right way.
Professor Snape was putting the kettle on to boil when he noticed the potion they had
been brewing. "Shit. What time is it?" He glanced hurriedly at the clock, quickly
removing the potion from the burner. "Shit!" he swore again vehemently. It had been a
little over two hours and by the now the potion would be nearly strong enough to kill
someone who even thought about breaking their word. In all good conscience he could
not give it to Draco.
He jumped when the kettle screamed that it was ready for the tea. Damn, this was
shaping up to be a very long night.
"Whaaaa…" Consciousness slowly dawned in Blaise Zabini's mind. She was warm and
comfortable and lying on what felt like soft silk sheets. Something was tickling her
stomach. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up to see Lucius Malfoy bending over
her and running a fluffy white feather up and down her very nude length. "Hello," she
said, smiling sleepily. She remembered that it was fun to be with Lucius.
"I'm glad to see you're awake, my dear." Lucius paused the feather in mid-stroke and
looked up to give Blaise a very sultry smile. "I hope you don't mind but I've invited you
up one of my little abodes I have tucked in the hills near Hogwarts. I thought we could
spend some more," here he paused to lick Blaise's belly button, "time together."
"Oh I don't mind." Blaise's mind was somewhere, floating happily. "I always liked
chocolate sauce better than mustard anyway."
Lucius paused, looking puzzled before giving a low chuckle, deep in his throat. "Sounds
like my son still has a lot to learn," he murmured, abandoning the feather entirely and
moving up to cover Blaise's body with his own.
"Aahhhh!" Ron awoke to a blood curdling scream and a broom falling heavily across his
shoulder.
"Hey, what!" Ron raised his arm over his head as another blow fell. Knowing only that
he had to get away, Ron started scrambling backwards and got tangled up with Draco,
who obviously had the same idea but was tangled in the blanket. In a mad flailing of
limbs the two boys crashed to the floor on the other side of the bed.
Quickly they both scrambled to their feet and backed up against the wall. From this
vantage point Ron could see that their attacker was a mad banshee of a Harry Potter
wielding one of his old Quidditch brooms. "Harry!" Ron yelled, holding his hands out
defensively. "Have you gone insane? What's the matter with you?!"
"What the HELL is he doing here!?" Harry jabbed the broom at a very mussed looking
Draco Malfoy, who flinched out of the way. Harry himself was beet red and shaking
with rage. "Just what were you sick bastards up to this time?"
Ron was feeling more than a little confused, but right now the most important thing was
obviously getting Harry to calm down before he started beating them again. "Harry, it's
me, remember? Your friend Ron Weasley? And look at us. We're fully clothed.
Obviously we weren't up to anything." Harry lowered the broom but still looked angry.
Ron turned to Draco. "Why are you here, exactly?"
Draco was looking angry and puzzled at the same time. He shook his head as though
trying to clear it and put his hands to his temples. "I can't remember. I think I must have
been half asleep when I came up here. I just remember wanting somewhere to sleep
away from the awful smell and the..." Here he paused with his hand over his mouth and
started shaking with repressed laughter.
"And the what, Malfoy." Harry was clearly not in the least bit mollified.
"The noise," Draco got out before breaking out in a guffaw. Harry and Ron exchanged
puzzled looks. After a moment Draco straightened, clearing his throat and obviously
trying to collect himself. "Let's go and see if Snape and Hermione have got that potion
ready yet, shall we?" He strode purposefully to the door. Ron followed warily with
Harry trailing behind, still clutching the broom, his confusing obviously winning out over
his anger for the present moment.
Half way down the stairs Ron realized the 'yet' in Draco's last statement. "Draco, it's
already morning. I'm sure the potion is ready by now." Draco just snorted and continued
walking.