A/N: Love reviews, crave reviews! Give me reviews! And a shower of kisses for those who have already done so...

Summary: Well, the title is pretty self-explanatory. Four students have been killed and a fifth victim lies unconscious. But, who is she? And why were they killed? And, most importantly, whodunit? Harry Potter & Co. investigate while love tries to flourish.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything HarryPotterish, JK Rowling does, and I'm not making any money out of this. The plot and the few original characters are mine, if I want them.

Rating: A high PG-13, I suppose, for swearing, violence and gory scenes.

Pairing: Some RW/HG, but I think that main focus might be DM/HP.

Murder in the Hogwarts Express or the Fifth Element, by Dark Fairy.

Chapter 5



Harry looked at Malfoy under the uncertain light that the cloak filtered. Dumbledore had just locked the door, and there was no telling when he would go back, or if they could escape even then. Moreover, they were trapped with a strange being, not quite human, and Malfoy seemed on the verge of fainting. As if things weren't great enough then, a clear voice rang through the chamber.

"Here, little ones, let me see you!" exclaimed Lilith, keeping her voice to a moderate level; she could hear the speeding heartbeats, still coordinated, but she wanted to see what kind of creatures were with her. "Don't be afraid, I don't want to hurt you" she reassured, to no avail. Lilith didn't want to go to sleep, she rarely did, so she stood up carefully, intending to hunt the beings until they showed.

Harry watched in fascination as he saw the girl stand by the bed and give a few uncertain steps. She was wearing grey robes, made with a thin, airy material that floated around her at the slightest wisp of air. Her hair was dark and undulated, reaching up to the middle of her back; her eyes were also dark, apparently changing colours with the play of the firelight, and the skin was very pale, even whiter than Malfoy's. As she walked closer to them, Harry noticed that she was rather elfin, almost ten inches shorter than him, and thin, with tiny hands and feet. He had judged her to be sixteen years old when he had had his first glimpse of her in the train, but now he began to doubt it. Suddenly he remembered a book he had read in school, back when he didn't know he was wizard; the book talked about sphinxes and how they looked ageless, sometimes very old, sometimes very young, always all-knowing. He had met real sphinxes now, but the literary description more than fit the strange girl who was walking so close to them.

Malfoy wasn't thinking anymore. His mind had gone into overload when Dumbledore had begun to talk about the strange spells used for creating the girl, and he couldn't stop images and clues running through his head. His father's constant absences during the summer, the protected orchard at the back of Malfoy Manor's huge garden, the renewal of the Herbology section of the library, the strange odours coming from the underground laboratories, the far-away look in Lucius' usually sharp eyes, the way he would smile from time to time, when he was looking out into the garden... He had known that Lucius was responsible for the killings, but have it thrust so unexpectedly upon him...Draco bit his lip, trying to focus in the dangerous situation he was in at the moment, in the smell of Harry Potter, so close to him, in the strange figure that was standing right in front of them, looking quietly perplexed...

"I know you are here..." muttered Lilith, hearing the scared heartbeats so close, and yet, the wall in front of her was empty "Are you invisible?" she asked, reaching out tentatively, only to meet the silky texture of the Invisibility Cloak, inches away. She grasped it firmly and pulled, yanking it out of Harry's feeble grasp and making both boys appear out of nowhere. Lilith dropped the cloak and stepped back, surveying her visitors attentively. "Fire and water, fire and water" she repeated, not taking her eyes off Draco.

He looked so like her own, she thought hazily, still too shocked to be coherent. He had the same skin, translucent like a lily's petals, and the same eyes, the colour of a cloud about to break, and the same hair, silver like the full moon, and more than a passing resemblance to the man who held her heart, but he was also very different. There was an air of fragility, of innocence, around the boy that contrasted starkly with the powerful aura surrounding the other man's presence, with his cruelly chiselled smile, with the perverse thunder of his eyes. No, it was too different, there was nothing to be afraid of, after all, *he* had said everything was going to be alright.

And the other one, with the green eyes and black hair, and blushing cheeks, the one whose movements screamed fire to her, that was something quite powerful too. It was a different kind of energy, fast, furious, not easily controlled, but also of great strength. As both boys looked at her, surprised and scared, their hearts continued beating at the same time. They were strangely cute, decided Lilith, smiling openly.

"Your hearts beat at the same time, have you noticed?" she said, mirth ringing in her voice. Harry and Draco looked at each other, hiding their surprise with animosity, but not fooling Lilith "One of you is fire, one of you is water and you should be kept as far apart as possible, and yet you are drawn together...I don't understand. Is it normal for you to be like that?"

"Like what?" stuttered Harry, blushing like there was no tomorrow. Lilith smirked, gliding towards them and stopping inches before crashing into them. One of her small hands shot towards Harry, the other, a bit more hesitantly, towards Draco.

"Like this" she said, joining Harry's left hand with Draco's right one. There was an almost visible spark when they met, although they instantly pulled apart and the girl laughed happily. "Fire and water, I never thought I would live to see you together!"

"We're not together" snapped Draco, with a visible blush on his pale skin.

"No?" asked Lilith in mock surprise, looking at their twitching hands, so close from each other. Both boys looked down at them as well, wanting to join them, and still knowing they should have never gotten together to start with. She frowned. Hurt, those boys were hurting as well. They gave out too many emotions, it was hard to read them: fright, anger, confusion, pain, love, hatred... they were throwing too many things at her. "I don't understand" she accepted, turning her back to them and going back to bed.

Harry looked at Draco, who was shifting his gaze from their hands to the girl and back, deciding which issue was more pressing. He still hadn't made up his mind when Lilith spoke again, her voice muffled by the pillow she had his herself under.

"Now, it is time you became invisible again, because I can sense people coming and I suppose you don't want to be seen" Both boys, rather shaken, picked the cloak again, and hid beneath it, standing next to the door, in hopes of escaping. As soon as Dumbledore swept in, the two rapid heartbeats flew out of the door and faded down a corridor. The Hogwarts Headmaster thought he felt something brushing past him when he entered the hospital wing, but he was far too worried with the conversation he was planning to pay much attention, and he let it pass, instead turning to the pale girl who was staring at him, with uncertainty etched on her features.



Harry and Draco fled down corridors, stumbling against each other in their attempt to get as far away from Lilith as possible. They stopped at the foot of the stair leading towards Gryffindor Tower, really out of breath.

"Harry? How did everything go?" asked Hermione, standing up as soon as she heard the stopping steps "And take off that cloak, I feel really silly talking to you like this" Harry complied, revealing Draco as well.

"Oh, Herm, you're not going to believe this!" gasped Harry before launching in a very incoherent attempt of telling the story.

"Are you trying to say that the loony we're after used Dark Magic to...to make a person?" Hermione sat back down on the stairs to try and digest the idea. "And the girl in question talked to you?" Harry nodded dumbly "What did she say? Does she know who it was? And Malfoy knows and he hasn't told you?!"

The Slytherin in question pushed himself away from the pillar where he had been leaning, and looked at both Gryffindors defiantly.

"It is none of your business" he stated calmly, having recovered his façade "I point-blank refuse to help you from now on, and it's up to you to do whatever heroic stupidity you want, although I would suggest throwing yourselves off the Astronomy Tower or into the lake" He turned to leave.

"You're not going off like this!" exclaimed Harry, gripping tightly Malfoy's shoulder.

"Make me stay, then" defied Draco, raising his wand carelessly over his shoulder.

"Stay, Malfoy, please" whispered Harry, feeling all of a sudden vulnerable and lost. His hand rested comfortably on the other boy's shoulder, and he could feel the heat radiating from under those robes, along with a similarly confused emotion and the now familiar sparks.

"I'll leave you to it, then" said Hermione carefully, getting up and treading the stairs slowly, although the boys didn't even hear her, too immersed in their conflicting emotions. She was worried about Harry, that was for sure, but at the same time she felt strangely pleased that the boys were finally getting some sense and stopping the stupid feud they had been carrying along for five years. "There is an empty classroom at the end of the corridor, remember to lock the door." She called after her, not knowing if they would even listen.

They did. As in a dream, feeling oddly disconnected from their bodies, they walked along the corridor and into the thankfully empty room. Draco locked it and they stood in a fidgety silence for a moment, until Harry gathered his renowned bravery and spoke firmly.

"Look, I know you *know* who it was, and you are going to tell me" Stern voice, hidden fire behind a stony expression, making Draco became even more stubborn.

"I'm not going to tell you" sulked Malfoy, looking intently at the floor, but sneaking an occasional glance to his right hand, as if it lacked something.

"Damn you!" exclaimed Harry, fisting his hands at his sides "What the Hell do you think you're doing?! I thought you cared about that little boy, your cousin!! Why don't you want to tell me?"

"Why do you want to know? After all, you can always pull the superhero stunt and come out victorious, like you always do, without needing my help!!! Why do you want me to do this?" The last words weren't angry, not even arrogant: they were quiet and heart-rendingly sincere. Harry felt all his anger ebbing away, leaving him with an odd feeling of disquiet and concern.

"So, what is it?" //What is happening to us?// "What...?"

"I can't tell you" blurted Draco, grasping at the slippery fringes of rationality.

"Why? Don't you trust me?" Harry sounded genuinely offended. As always he was with Malfoy, the atmosphere became charged with electricity, the dream- like haze settled in his brain and nothing mattered anymore. There was no Dumbledore, no Voldemort, no war, no animosity, nothing outside the empty space between them.

"I... I don't mean that, but..if I tell you, you will go straight to Dumbledore, to the Ministry...I can't have that" Draco found speaking increasingly difficult, and refusing was even more of an uphill battle than it had been until then.

"Why, Malfoy, why?!" pleaded Harry, shaking his head in despair "I thought you wanted to know, to revenge Angus, to..."

"I can't" accepted Draco, looking down.

"Why? What did you find, Draco, why don't you want to tell me?" Harry was starting to get frustrated; he wanted to stop the stupid game and *really* talk to Malfoy. Seeing his eyes would be a good start. The Gryffindor took Draco's chin in his hand and forced the blond boy to look at him. Grey eyes, full of hurt of confusion, trying to hide it all under a crumbling veneer of contempt.

"Promise not to tell anyone" whispered Malfoy, finally giving in. Harry nodded solemnly, his green eyes never leaving silver ones. After a moment's hesitation, Draco let his eyelids fall closed and breathed out: "It was my father"

Harry stood shell-shocked, his hand still resting on Draco's soft skin. Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater Extraordinaire, risking his everything and raising the Fifth Element to defeat his lord?! Harry felt old notions of good and evil crumbling under the weight of facts, washed down by the stormy feeling that Draco was irradiating, even with his cloudy eyes closed.

"I can't prove it, I will never be able to do so, but I *know* it was him" whispered Draco, letting his words fall like a summer rain. "He spent most of last year in his laboratory, back home; he was always carrying old Herbology books around, and the most dangerous, advanced Dark Arts stuff we have, the ones he never looked at after nightfall. Then, an orchard in the back of the garden was surrounded by tons of wards and curses and traps, and Mother wrote to me saying he almost never left the garden anymore, and he began to act more distracted and... he had never behaved like that! During all this summer, I didn't see him more than a handful of times, when we talked about me renouncing the Death Eaters or when he went with me to but me a broom... I never thought, not for a minute, that he was planning something like this" Draco had kept his eyes closed during his speech, and he didn't intend to open them soon, but a single tear betrayed all he hid behind the trembling eyelids.

"Why?" whispered Harry, reaching out and gathering Draco in his arms "Why?"



Dumbledore sat on the hospital wing, in front of the only bed whose snow- white sheets were dented by a thin body, and anyone would have noticed that his blue eyes had lost all their twinkling, if the remaining occupant of the room, Lilith, wasn't too busy wallowing in self-pity.

"Are you saying... I was *made* to defeat a Dark wizard?" Voice cracked again, all vestiges of her newly-acquired confidence erased again. "He killed four little boys, he gave me their blood, he made me a monster? Why? Wasn't there any other way? And why me?" She started crying, and the old wizard felt something tugging at his heart-strings, while his rational part registered something. *He*. She spoke about a *he* and, from her countenance, she knew who it was.

"Who was it?" he asked, effectively stopping her tears.

"I don't know" she answered quickly, too quickly in Dumbledore's eyes; in the old wizard's clear mind, the puzzle began taking shape.

"You promised him not to tell anyone, didn't you? And are you going to keep your promise even though he has betrayed you? He hurt you, he lied to you, and you are still going to be faithful?" Lilith hesitated for a split second, before turning her back to the powerful wizard.

"I love him" she declared "And I'll keep my promise even if it kills me. You don't need to know, you only need me to go and kill Voldemort and then...finito. Nothing more. The end. Just leave me alone for a while, will you?" The Headmaster complied, walking thoughtfully to his office, narrowing down the field of suspects until he was left with only one option.

--------------- A/N: OK, I'll try not to make a MarySue out of Lilith, but I want to develop her character a bit more, to bring out Lucius Malfoy. I love making Draco cry, but I promise he's not going to go all soft on us, leaving Harry to do the macho-boyfriend-superhero act; I don't like those fics where Harry says something and Draco breaks down, becoming a hysterically-sobbing heap at his feet, while his brains flow out of his ears like tapioca pudding...no, he is a Malfoy, after all.

Next chapter: the boys will *finally* start realising, Hermione will find *the* book and there's an insight into Malfoy Manor.

Merry Christmas (if a bit late) and a Happy New Year!