A/N: I decided to post a second chapter today, on May 25th, in honor of
my one year anniversary of writing fanfiction. I now have posted five
stories, and nearly 310,000 words.
I spent last night in celebration at the Boston Pops concert, where John Williams had returned as guest conductor for the weekend. In addition to the more traditional program which included Mozart, they played selections by Williams from "Jane Eyre", "The Accidental Tourist", "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", and ended the evening with three selections from "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" !!!!!!
I can't tell you all how neat it was to witness Mr. Williams conducting 'Fawkes the Phoenix' and 'Harry's Wondrous World'. If you have the soundtrack, then you know the pieces I mean.
The encore was the 'Flying Theme' from "E.T." and "Stars and Stripes Forever."
So is that cool or what? ;)
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Lorien's Mistake ~*~
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"Harry, are you all right?" Sirius asked, coming to stand near where the boy was looking a bit stunned.
"Yes, I'm fine," Harry replied, but then he looked at Sirius worriedly. "Something's wrong. I can feel it."
Sirius knew enough to take it very seriously when Harry's scar hurt. He didn't know exactly what it meant, but he decided that the first thing he needed to do was to get Harry off the open cliffs and back to the security of the large gathering of Nemorosi .
"Let's get back to the clearing," he said to Lupin and Taber, and the group started to head for the trees.
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Malfoy stood there among a dozen Death Eaters, arms folded haughtily in front of him, watching as Snape flicked his wand into his hand the same instant he stepped in front of Lorien.
"Ah, Severus. Romance AND chivalry? And here I never thought you the type for either." He unfolded his arms and sauntered slowly toward the pair trapped on the cliff. The group of Death Eaters moved closer as well.
Snape backed up, keeping himself between Lorien and Malfoy, and wondering how the hell they'd been traced. It must have been Draco, he figured, and he cursed the boy mentally, and then himself for not being more cautious.
"You don't look too happy to see me, old friend," Malfoy said, apparently amused at having surprised his former comrade. "But, then again, I'm interrupting something, aren't I?" He looked at Lorien in a way that Snape didn't like at all.
Snape backed up one more step, and suddenly Lorien gasped and grabbed at him from behind. He heard the pebble go skittering over the edge and drop, and didn't need to ask to know that they'd reached their limit. His mind raced as Malfoy stepped closer.
Lorien held onto Severus, experiencing a very unwanted feeling of deja vu as she backed to the edge of the precipice while they faced the Death Eaters.
"Careful there, Severus. That might prove to be unhealthy for your lovely lady if she happens to slip," Malfoy said, feigning concern. "Of course," he continued with a wicked smile, "staying up here with me might not prove to be much healthier for her."
Snape found that he heartily agreed, knowing full well what Malfoy was capable of. His mind lighted on the idea of shoving Lorien off the cliff behind them, knowing that she would be able to complete the transformation to the dragon well before she hit the waves. It would leave him alone facing the baker's dozen of Death Eaters before him, but at least she would be safe. His idea was abruptly quashed when Malfoy spoke again.
"And don't even think of pulling that little dragon trick of yours, Sylvanesti." Malfoy purred dangerously, a wicked gleam in his eye as he took in the obvious distress in Lorien's expression. "I assure you the moment I see the first scale, that your dear, dear, Severus will suffer very..erm.....permanent consequences," he drawled with perverse amusement.
Lorien glared back defiantly at the gloating blonde man before her while Snape's mind continued to search frantically for a way out of their predicament, but she abandoned her similar thoughts of transforming immediately.
Malfoy strode a step closer and the smile faded from his lips. "I'll give you one chance, Severus," he said, speaking no longer with amusement. "The Master wants a word with you, and I intend to deliver you alive. He'll be rather disappointed if I have to kill you here on the spot, and we all know how he hates to be disappointed..." Malfoy trailed off, locking gazes with Snape.
"IF you force me to disappoint Voldemort," he continued, eyes traveling past Snape to Lorien again, "I fear I shall find myself taking it out on your lovely companion." His cold gray eyes snapped back to meet Snape's black ones. "Now, be a good boy and give me your wand," he chided, causing a chuckle to rise from his companions behind him.
Snape glanced quickly around at the press of Death Eaters and knew he had no choice. He flipped the wand over in his hand and offered it defeatedly to Malfoy, ignoring the small gasp from Lorien as she saw him give in.
Malfoy stared at the wand in his hand and then a slow smile spread across his face. He had Snape right where he wanted him, and although he wanted nothing more than to exact his revenge personally for Snape sending him to Azkaban, delivering Snape to Voldemort would prove to be a highly satisfying second choice, he was sure. As for the Nemorosi witch....well, Voldemort had instructed Malfoy to 'dispose of her' as he saw fit. And oh, the ways he would see fit...... He snapped out of his momentary musings and quickly addressed the group of Death Eaters at his back.
"I believe that we have a second guest that the Master has requested an audience with," he spoke. "Go and find Harry Potter and bring him to me here!"
The group started to disperse when Malfoy spoke again, addressing two of the Death Eaters off to one side. "I assume that the two of you might care to assist me in keeping Severus amused until the others return with the boy?"
Both of the Lestranges nodded and stepped forward as the others left, just as eager as Malfoy to exact any bit of revenge for being sent to Azkaban because of Snape's actions as a spy all those years ago.
Snape kept his expression neutral as the pair of Death Eaters drew back their hoods, but he was less confident that the wrath of Voldemort would deter that particular pair from doing him in than it would Malfoy. He knew he and Lorien were in grave danger. If only there were some way he could at least spare her..... He spoke to stall for any precious moment he could get.
"I suppose that you're tickled with yourself for pulling this off, Lucius," he said with obvious sarcasm. "How absolutely bold of you to use children to do your dirty work."
Malfoy's brow lifted. "Children? Whatever are you going on about, Severus?"
"Your son," Snape replied, fairly hissing the word.
"Draco?" Malfoy asked, slightly perplexed for a moment, and then realization dawned and he smirked. "Oh, you think that I used Draco to trace you to these pathetic treehuggers? Oh, no, Severus." Malfoy laughed a wicked laugh. "My son proved himself ever so useful when I provided Hogwarts with all those poisonous....pets," he sneered, "but tracing you here was actually a courtesy of your lady friend."
Lorien frowned at Malfoy's announcement, puzzled at how she could have been any help in him finding the Nemorosi gathering at all. She'd been overly cautious when she'd brought the group from Hogwarts here. It would have been nearly impossible to track them without a proper tracing charm, and she knew that you had to get quite close to someone in order to cast a tracing charm.
Her mouth dropped open in sudden horror as she realized exactly who it was that had traced her.
"That's right," Malfoy said, seeing the look on Lorien's face. "You never even suspected, did you? I knew that it would be nearly impossible to get anywhere close to Severus, but I also knew once I'd found out that my old friend had developed a weakness for a certain blonde witch, that the best way to get close to him was to get close to you," he said smugly.
Lorien continued to look horrified as Severus looked at her with alarm, obviously trying to figure out what Malfoy was saying.
"Tsk, tsk. And how clever do you feel now, Mistress Ravenclaw?" Malfoy asked. "You were even warned, weren't you?" he asked, obviously enjoying her distress as she realized her error.
Lorien looked at Severus with tears in her eyes as she explained. "It was Narcissa," she said sadly. "The night she came after the mangabey attacks. She must have cast a tracing charm when she touched my arm and warned me about letting the wrong people get close to me."
"Ah, still clever, if not a little slow." Malfoy commented, enjoying the brief look of anguish that Snape let cross his countenance before snapping the emotionless mask back in place.
Lorien spoke in a hoarse whisper, unable to meet Snape's eyes. "I didn't know."
Severus knew how terrible Lorien must feel, knowing that the Death Eaters had found the Nemorosi gathering, him, and possibly Harry Potter, all because of her. He would have known in less than a heartbeat not to let Narcissa ever get that close to him. He knew that she probably didn't even know who Narcissa was until it was too late, and that she was too naïve in the ways of Voldemort's minions to have even thought of the possibility. He dreaded thinking of the ways that she might pay for her lack of insight.
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Sirius had grabbed Harry by the arm and with Remus and Taber flanking them, ushered the boy quickly back the way they had come. He worried about the boy's scar hurting - it could only mean one thing.
Voldemort.
"Well, if Voldemort's after Harry, he's was going to have to get by me first." Sirius announced quietly through gritted teeth to Remus, as he glanced at his best friend walking quickly alongside them.
"And me, Padfoot," Remus replied softly as he glanced warily around them as they approached the clearing.
"Me as well." Taber added, looking grim. "And I would dare say the Red Witch," he added as Fagan LaRue appeared and hastened toward them.
Sirius smiled grimly to himself, knowing that even for Voldemort, the foursome would prove to be a difficult obstacle, and of course, from what he'd heard and seen, Harry was not exactly helpless in the face of a threat from the Dark Lord either.
Fagan LaRue spoke as she quickly neared. "I fear you are headed toward danger," she said hurriedly. "There are Death Eaters on the island. The Nemorosi are dispersing as rapidly as they can." She looked at Sirius. "This is because of Harry?"
Sirius nodded, waiting for the woman's reaction.
"I suspected as much," she said, great concern evident in her eyes. "Perth, take them back toward the South cliffs. From there will be the best vantage point and they can find a portkey back to the mainland. Be careful, all of you. Doth artou." The woman passed them quickly, walking with greater energy than one would expect from such an old witch, and headed back toward the threat facing her fellow Nemorosi.
Taber wasted no time in heading for the cliffs, quickly followed by Harry who was flanked protectively on either side by Sirius and Remus.
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Draco continued to walk back toward the clearing, still lost in his thoughts about the decision that he would have to make by the end of the year, when his deliberation was interrupted by shouting up ahead. People were crying out and it sounded like there was a lot of commotion. Puzzled by what he heard, he quickened his pace toward the sounds.
When he broke through the trees into the clearing, chaos stood before him. People were rushing around in a panicked fashion; women were gathering up children, groups of people were heading for disapparating points, and after a moment of looking around the reason for the panic became clear to Draco.
Death Eaters.
"Well, well, well." Draco said aloud to no one in particular. He walked calmly into the midst of the uproar, unconcerned about the presence of the Dark Lord's minions, and unheeding of the warnings shouted to him by distraught men and women rushing by, trying to avoid the large number of Death Eaters swarming the area and attacking the fleeing Nemorosi savagely.
'Stupid wandless gits.' Draco thought to himself, watching a small group of wizards trying to make a stand against a larger group of Death Eaters to buy time for a larger group of women and children to escape. "Poor bastards," he thought aloud, and turned away to decide what he ought to do at this point.
He came face to face with a tall Death Eater pointing a wand at him.
Draco frowned as he heard the man begin the spell and put his hands on his hips. "I WOULDN'T," he said arrogantly.
The menacing figure stared back and then stopped abruptly, as he recognized the son of Lucius Malfoy. "What on earth? Draco, what are ..?"
"That would be none of your business," Draco drawled, looking around him. "My father is here?" He asked expectantly.
"Yes." The hood dropped and Draco was facing a man who's name he knew was Heath Bolduc. "He's with the group that's cornered Snape on the cliffs," the man replied, indicating the direction of the south cliffs.
"Huh." Was all Draco said as the man continued on his way.
So, his father was getting his chance for revenge against Severus Snape for being sent to Azkaban. Well, the man would get what he deserved for messing with a Malfoy, now wouldn't he? That would be something to see. He decided to head for the cliffs.
Draco felt smug at first at the thought of his father having the last laugh, and then irritatedly realized that he really didn't find the thought all that amusing. As a matter of fact, he realized that the thought no longer appealed to him as much as he expected it to. True, Snape may have sent his father to prison, but who was to say that the elder Malfoy didn't deserve it? He more than likely did.
Draco realized as he stood there that he no longer considered an attack against his father as a personal one. No, Snape had never done anything to him personally, so what did he care about revenge? Draco changed his mind and turned around..and stopped.
Snape had never done anything to him personally.
In fact, although the Slytherin professor was a difficult task master, and even harsh at times, he'd always done what he could to cultivate Draco's talents. He was also quite likely the reason that Draco hadn't been expelled from Hogwarts. Draco was now uncomfortable with the fact that he felt empathy for the former Death Eater.
He tried to shake the feeling off. He didn't like the confused thoughts he was having. Besides, hadn't Snape sentence him to nearly a month of preparing potions in every single second of his spare time? He shuddered to think of the barrel of crabs. Hadn't Snape sentence him to nearly a month of detention with Filch, and with that damned idiot, Hagrid?
Hadn't he deserved much worse?
Draco realized that when he'd been left as the scapegoat for the whole mangabey invasion, and even his own flesh and blood had left him to deal with the consequences, only Snape was there to defend him in any way, shape or form. He actually was indebted to Snape, wasn't he? He knew it would be easy to shrug off the whole thing as none of his concern, but the fact was, like it or not, he was...concerned.
Damn!
Draco stood there as the confusion raged on around him debating what he could possibly do at this point. Probably nothing. It was probably too late. Even if it wasn't, his father would probably have his hide for even thinking about interfering, Snape would probably be doomed anyway, and that blonde witch of his would probably be tossed to the Death Eaters as a plaything. No, there was probably nothing he could do.
But would he feel better about himself for trying?
Probably.
Draco turned once again and started to run for the cliffs. He ran past Nemorosi running in the opposite direction, and small battles that had broken out here and there. He ran onward, intent on paying back a debt that he felt he owed, past a witch that was screaming at being pinned against a tree by a Death Eater, skidding to a halt when he realized that the witch he had seen was Beska.
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Harry hurried back up one of the paths toward the top of the cliffs with the Nemorosi, his godfather and Remus. He knew that they were going to try to get off the island as soon as they could, but suddenly realized that might mean they were leaving without the rest of the group.
"What about the others?" he asked Sirius quietly.
"What?" Sirius asked.
"Lorien." Harry replied. "And Snape.....and Malfoy."
Sirius's expression remained sober, but he smiled inwardly. The boy was so much like his father. Even with the threat of great danger nearby, the boy was concerned about the safety of others - even those he didn't particularly get along with. James would be proud of his son.
"They'll be fine," Sirius replied, hurrying Harry even more up the hill. He wanted to get the boy off the island. "Draco is probably not in any danger, and Snape can take care of himself."
"What about...." Harry gasped and slapped his hand to his forehead again, stopping dead in his tracks. He'd been about to say 'Lorien' when the group halted to see if he was alright, but never had the chance as ten Death Eaters appeared at the top of the path ahead of them.
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Draco skidded to a halt, now realizing he was torn between feelings of allegiance to two people he never ever expected to feel any loyalty whatsoever to.
He knew he had to make a decision quickly. There was probably little he could do to help Snape, and if he left, Beska would be history. Did he have a better chance at helping Beska?
Definitely.
Draco strode purposefully up to the man that had just slammed Beska up against the tree again and stood behind him and folded his arms across his chest.
"Ahem." Draco cleared his throat loudly as he noted exactly where his wand was up his sleeve. (A handy little trick that many of the better Slytherin duelists had copied from their head of house.)
The Death Eater spun part way around, not relinquishing his hold on the girl, and pointed his wand at Draco.
Beska screamed. "Draco, no! Look out!"
Almost instantly the Death Eater lowered his wand and then his hood. Walden McNair stood facing Draco and chuckled. "Well, young Malfoy, what is it you want?"
Beska's dark eyes went even wider as she recognized the significance of the name the man called Draco.
Draco spoke nonchalantly. "The girl." He jerked his head toward Beska.
"What?" McNair asked, not sure that he'd heard the boy correctly.
"You heard me." Draco said arrogantly. "I said I want the girl. Father said I could have which ever one I wanted." He looked Beska over in a way that she definitely didn't like.
McNair looked from Draco to the girl and back, reluctant to give up his toy.
"Surely you don't want to PISS OFF my FATHER?" Draco said loudly.
McNair definitely didn't. He gritted his teeth unhappily and took a step back, releasing the young witch.
Draco stepped careless past the Death Eater, ignoring him, and leaned one hand against the tree next to Beska's head. He stared into the scared cocoa eyes as he adopted a haughty manner and spoke, his face inches from hers. "Well, hello again, pretty witch."
He saw Beska flinch when he flicked his wand into his hand, his back turned to the still hovering McNair. "Don't you and I have a debt to settle?" He asked with a wicked smile.
Beska was sure that things had gone from very, very, bad to even worse when she realized that her new captor was the son of Lucius Malfoy, and then she suddenly became puzzled when the young blonde wizard winked at her. She remained leaning against the tree, still puzzled for about four or five seconds after McNair hit the ground where Draco had whirled and hexed him into a state of babbling stupor.
"Well?" Draco was smiling at her and looking expectant. He saw her look once more at the incoherent man on the ground, and then back at him, still confused. He was about to inform her that he thought another kiss was in order when it suddenly dawned on the Nemorosi witch what had happened, and she flung her arms around his neck, clinging to him gratefully. He was about to make a flirtatious wisecrack about how she now owed another debt to him when he realized the girl clinging to him was shaking.
Merlin's beard! She'd been scared! Truly scared. Draco realized that while he'd had the advantage of being the younger Malfoy, and therefore being under no threat from the invading Death Eaters, Beska had had no such luxury and had truly been in danger. And she knew it.
Draco stood there motionless and clueless as to how to handle the now sobbing girl that hung on him. No brilliant ideas came to mind, and all he could think to do was to put his own arms around her. Evidently that had been the right thing to do, and after a few moments he could tell she was no longer shaking, and her crying had nearly stopped.
Cool.
Draco was pleased with himself for finding the way to handle the upset female so quickly and was feeling a bit smug as she released her hold on him. "Better?" He asked, thinking that hadn't been all that difficult. Maybe women weren't as hard to deal with as the older wizards always went on about.
"Yes," she said softly, straightening out her robes and remnants of dignity.
"Good," he said, thoughts turning back to another kiss from her again. It wasn't what he got as she quickly stepped closer again.
He stood there with his hand against his smarting cheek as he realized that Beska had suddenly slapped him.
"What was THAT for?" he demanded, surprised and angry.
"That, was for not telling me you were a Malfoy before!" Beska replied sternly, hands on hips.
"It never came up," Draco began in his defense.
"Don't give me that! Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded.
"I didn't think you'd care to associate with me if I told you," Draco spat.
"Maybe or maybe not, but you didn't let me have the chance to decide for myself once I knew, did you?" Beska continued in a lecturing tone.
Draco shrugged, irritated with the girl in front of him. They stood there for a moment in frustrated silence.
"You could have told me, Draco," Beska said at last. "It wouldn't have changed anything."
"What are you talking about?" He asked, still slightly irritated.
"I would still like you," she said simply.
"You would? I mean....you do?" He asked.
She shrugged and then nodded. "I guess Lorien isn't the only one to fall for that sly Slytherin charm," she said, back to teasing him at last.
"Really?" Draco started to feel a bit pleased with himself again, and then hit himself in the head as her comment sharply reminded him of the danger that Snape was probably in. "Oh, bloody hell! Come on!"
"Draco! Where.....?"
"I'll explain as we go!" He grabbed her arm and ran towards the cliffs.
I spent last night in celebration at the Boston Pops concert, where John Williams had returned as guest conductor for the weekend. In addition to the more traditional program which included Mozart, they played selections by Williams from "Jane Eyre", "The Accidental Tourist", "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", and ended the evening with three selections from "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" !!!!!!
I can't tell you all how neat it was to witness Mr. Williams conducting 'Fawkes the Phoenix' and 'Harry's Wondrous World'. If you have the soundtrack, then you know the pieces I mean.
The encore was the 'Flying Theme' from "E.T." and "Stars and Stripes Forever."
So is that cool or what? ;)
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Lorien's Mistake ~*~
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"Harry, are you all right?" Sirius asked, coming to stand near where the boy was looking a bit stunned.
"Yes, I'm fine," Harry replied, but then he looked at Sirius worriedly. "Something's wrong. I can feel it."
Sirius knew enough to take it very seriously when Harry's scar hurt. He didn't know exactly what it meant, but he decided that the first thing he needed to do was to get Harry off the open cliffs and back to the security of the large gathering of Nemorosi .
"Let's get back to the clearing," he said to Lupin and Taber, and the group started to head for the trees.
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Malfoy stood there among a dozen Death Eaters, arms folded haughtily in front of him, watching as Snape flicked his wand into his hand the same instant he stepped in front of Lorien.
"Ah, Severus. Romance AND chivalry? And here I never thought you the type for either." He unfolded his arms and sauntered slowly toward the pair trapped on the cliff. The group of Death Eaters moved closer as well.
Snape backed up, keeping himself between Lorien and Malfoy, and wondering how the hell they'd been traced. It must have been Draco, he figured, and he cursed the boy mentally, and then himself for not being more cautious.
"You don't look too happy to see me, old friend," Malfoy said, apparently amused at having surprised his former comrade. "But, then again, I'm interrupting something, aren't I?" He looked at Lorien in a way that Snape didn't like at all.
Snape backed up one more step, and suddenly Lorien gasped and grabbed at him from behind. He heard the pebble go skittering over the edge and drop, and didn't need to ask to know that they'd reached their limit. His mind raced as Malfoy stepped closer.
Lorien held onto Severus, experiencing a very unwanted feeling of deja vu as she backed to the edge of the precipice while they faced the Death Eaters.
"Careful there, Severus. That might prove to be unhealthy for your lovely lady if she happens to slip," Malfoy said, feigning concern. "Of course," he continued with a wicked smile, "staying up here with me might not prove to be much healthier for her."
Snape found that he heartily agreed, knowing full well what Malfoy was capable of. His mind lighted on the idea of shoving Lorien off the cliff behind them, knowing that she would be able to complete the transformation to the dragon well before she hit the waves. It would leave him alone facing the baker's dozen of Death Eaters before him, but at least she would be safe. His idea was abruptly quashed when Malfoy spoke again.
"And don't even think of pulling that little dragon trick of yours, Sylvanesti." Malfoy purred dangerously, a wicked gleam in his eye as he took in the obvious distress in Lorien's expression. "I assure you the moment I see the first scale, that your dear, dear, Severus will suffer very..erm.....permanent consequences," he drawled with perverse amusement.
Lorien glared back defiantly at the gloating blonde man before her while Snape's mind continued to search frantically for a way out of their predicament, but she abandoned her similar thoughts of transforming immediately.
Malfoy strode a step closer and the smile faded from his lips. "I'll give you one chance, Severus," he said, speaking no longer with amusement. "The Master wants a word with you, and I intend to deliver you alive. He'll be rather disappointed if I have to kill you here on the spot, and we all know how he hates to be disappointed..." Malfoy trailed off, locking gazes with Snape.
"IF you force me to disappoint Voldemort," he continued, eyes traveling past Snape to Lorien again, "I fear I shall find myself taking it out on your lovely companion." His cold gray eyes snapped back to meet Snape's black ones. "Now, be a good boy and give me your wand," he chided, causing a chuckle to rise from his companions behind him.
Snape glanced quickly around at the press of Death Eaters and knew he had no choice. He flipped the wand over in his hand and offered it defeatedly to Malfoy, ignoring the small gasp from Lorien as she saw him give in.
Malfoy stared at the wand in his hand and then a slow smile spread across his face. He had Snape right where he wanted him, and although he wanted nothing more than to exact his revenge personally for Snape sending him to Azkaban, delivering Snape to Voldemort would prove to be a highly satisfying second choice, he was sure. As for the Nemorosi witch....well, Voldemort had instructed Malfoy to 'dispose of her' as he saw fit. And oh, the ways he would see fit...... He snapped out of his momentary musings and quickly addressed the group of Death Eaters at his back.
"I believe that we have a second guest that the Master has requested an audience with," he spoke. "Go and find Harry Potter and bring him to me here!"
The group started to disperse when Malfoy spoke again, addressing two of the Death Eaters off to one side. "I assume that the two of you might care to assist me in keeping Severus amused until the others return with the boy?"
Both of the Lestranges nodded and stepped forward as the others left, just as eager as Malfoy to exact any bit of revenge for being sent to Azkaban because of Snape's actions as a spy all those years ago.
Snape kept his expression neutral as the pair of Death Eaters drew back their hoods, but he was less confident that the wrath of Voldemort would deter that particular pair from doing him in than it would Malfoy. He knew he and Lorien were in grave danger. If only there were some way he could at least spare her..... He spoke to stall for any precious moment he could get.
"I suppose that you're tickled with yourself for pulling this off, Lucius," he said with obvious sarcasm. "How absolutely bold of you to use children to do your dirty work."
Malfoy's brow lifted. "Children? Whatever are you going on about, Severus?"
"Your son," Snape replied, fairly hissing the word.
"Draco?" Malfoy asked, slightly perplexed for a moment, and then realization dawned and he smirked. "Oh, you think that I used Draco to trace you to these pathetic treehuggers? Oh, no, Severus." Malfoy laughed a wicked laugh. "My son proved himself ever so useful when I provided Hogwarts with all those poisonous....pets," he sneered, "but tracing you here was actually a courtesy of your lady friend."
Lorien frowned at Malfoy's announcement, puzzled at how she could have been any help in him finding the Nemorosi gathering at all. She'd been overly cautious when she'd brought the group from Hogwarts here. It would have been nearly impossible to track them without a proper tracing charm, and she knew that you had to get quite close to someone in order to cast a tracing charm.
Her mouth dropped open in sudden horror as she realized exactly who it was that had traced her.
"That's right," Malfoy said, seeing the look on Lorien's face. "You never even suspected, did you? I knew that it would be nearly impossible to get anywhere close to Severus, but I also knew once I'd found out that my old friend had developed a weakness for a certain blonde witch, that the best way to get close to him was to get close to you," he said smugly.
Lorien continued to look horrified as Severus looked at her with alarm, obviously trying to figure out what Malfoy was saying.
"Tsk, tsk. And how clever do you feel now, Mistress Ravenclaw?" Malfoy asked. "You were even warned, weren't you?" he asked, obviously enjoying her distress as she realized her error.
Lorien looked at Severus with tears in her eyes as she explained. "It was Narcissa," she said sadly. "The night she came after the mangabey attacks. She must have cast a tracing charm when she touched my arm and warned me about letting the wrong people get close to me."
"Ah, still clever, if not a little slow." Malfoy commented, enjoying the brief look of anguish that Snape let cross his countenance before snapping the emotionless mask back in place.
Lorien spoke in a hoarse whisper, unable to meet Snape's eyes. "I didn't know."
Severus knew how terrible Lorien must feel, knowing that the Death Eaters had found the Nemorosi gathering, him, and possibly Harry Potter, all because of her. He would have known in less than a heartbeat not to let Narcissa ever get that close to him. He knew that she probably didn't even know who Narcissa was until it was too late, and that she was too naïve in the ways of Voldemort's minions to have even thought of the possibility. He dreaded thinking of the ways that she might pay for her lack of insight.
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Sirius had grabbed Harry by the arm and with Remus and Taber flanking them, ushered the boy quickly back the way they had come. He worried about the boy's scar hurting - it could only mean one thing.
Voldemort.
"Well, if Voldemort's after Harry, he's was going to have to get by me first." Sirius announced quietly through gritted teeth to Remus, as he glanced at his best friend walking quickly alongside them.
"And me, Padfoot," Remus replied softly as he glanced warily around them as they approached the clearing.
"Me as well." Taber added, looking grim. "And I would dare say the Red Witch," he added as Fagan LaRue appeared and hastened toward them.
Sirius smiled grimly to himself, knowing that even for Voldemort, the foursome would prove to be a difficult obstacle, and of course, from what he'd heard and seen, Harry was not exactly helpless in the face of a threat from the Dark Lord either.
Fagan LaRue spoke as she quickly neared. "I fear you are headed toward danger," she said hurriedly. "There are Death Eaters on the island. The Nemorosi are dispersing as rapidly as they can." She looked at Sirius. "This is because of Harry?"
Sirius nodded, waiting for the woman's reaction.
"I suspected as much," she said, great concern evident in her eyes. "Perth, take them back toward the South cliffs. From there will be the best vantage point and they can find a portkey back to the mainland. Be careful, all of you. Doth artou." The woman passed them quickly, walking with greater energy than one would expect from such an old witch, and headed back toward the threat facing her fellow Nemorosi.
Taber wasted no time in heading for the cliffs, quickly followed by Harry who was flanked protectively on either side by Sirius and Remus.
*
*
*
*
Draco continued to walk back toward the clearing, still lost in his thoughts about the decision that he would have to make by the end of the year, when his deliberation was interrupted by shouting up ahead. People were crying out and it sounded like there was a lot of commotion. Puzzled by what he heard, he quickened his pace toward the sounds.
When he broke through the trees into the clearing, chaos stood before him. People were rushing around in a panicked fashion; women were gathering up children, groups of people were heading for disapparating points, and after a moment of looking around the reason for the panic became clear to Draco.
Death Eaters.
"Well, well, well." Draco said aloud to no one in particular. He walked calmly into the midst of the uproar, unconcerned about the presence of the Dark Lord's minions, and unheeding of the warnings shouted to him by distraught men and women rushing by, trying to avoid the large number of Death Eaters swarming the area and attacking the fleeing Nemorosi savagely.
'Stupid wandless gits.' Draco thought to himself, watching a small group of wizards trying to make a stand against a larger group of Death Eaters to buy time for a larger group of women and children to escape. "Poor bastards," he thought aloud, and turned away to decide what he ought to do at this point.
He came face to face with a tall Death Eater pointing a wand at him.
Draco frowned as he heard the man begin the spell and put his hands on his hips. "I WOULDN'T," he said arrogantly.
The menacing figure stared back and then stopped abruptly, as he recognized the son of Lucius Malfoy. "What on earth? Draco, what are ..?"
"That would be none of your business," Draco drawled, looking around him. "My father is here?" He asked expectantly.
"Yes." The hood dropped and Draco was facing a man who's name he knew was Heath Bolduc. "He's with the group that's cornered Snape on the cliffs," the man replied, indicating the direction of the south cliffs.
"Huh." Was all Draco said as the man continued on his way.
So, his father was getting his chance for revenge against Severus Snape for being sent to Azkaban. Well, the man would get what he deserved for messing with a Malfoy, now wouldn't he? That would be something to see. He decided to head for the cliffs.
Draco felt smug at first at the thought of his father having the last laugh, and then irritatedly realized that he really didn't find the thought all that amusing. As a matter of fact, he realized that the thought no longer appealed to him as much as he expected it to. True, Snape may have sent his father to prison, but who was to say that the elder Malfoy didn't deserve it? He more than likely did.
Draco realized as he stood there that he no longer considered an attack against his father as a personal one. No, Snape had never done anything to him personally, so what did he care about revenge? Draco changed his mind and turned around..and stopped.
Snape had never done anything to him personally.
In fact, although the Slytherin professor was a difficult task master, and even harsh at times, he'd always done what he could to cultivate Draco's talents. He was also quite likely the reason that Draco hadn't been expelled from Hogwarts. Draco was now uncomfortable with the fact that he felt empathy for the former Death Eater.
He tried to shake the feeling off. He didn't like the confused thoughts he was having. Besides, hadn't Snape sentence him to nearly a month of preparing potions in every single second of his spare time? He shuddered to think of the barrel of crabs. Hadn't Snape sentence him to nearly a month of detention with Filch, and with that damned idiot, Hagrid?
Hadn't he deserved much worse?
Draco realized that when he'd been left as the scapegoat for the whole mangabey invasion, and even his own flesh and blood had left him to deal with the consequences, only Snape was there to defend him in any way, shape or form. He actually was indebted to Snape, wasn't he? He knew it would be easy to shrug off the whole thing as none of his concern, but the fact was, like it or not, he was...concerned.
Damn!
Draco stood there as the confusion raged on around him debating what he could possibly do at this point. Probably nothing. It was probably too late. Even if it wasn't, his father would probably have his hide for even thinking about interfering, Snape would probably be doomed anyway, and that blonde witch of his would probably be tossed to the Death Eaters as a plaything. No, there was probably nothing he could do.
But would he feel better about himself for trying?
Probably.
Draco turned once again and started to run for the cliffs. He ran past Nemorosi running in the opposite direction, and small battles that had broken out here and there. He ran onward, intent on paying back a debt that he felt he owed, past a witch that was screaming at being pinned against a tree by a Death Eater, skidding to a halt when he realized that the witch he had seen was Beska.
*
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*
*
Harry hurried back up one of the paths toward the top of the cliffs with the Nemorosi, his godfather and Remus. He knew that they were going to try to get off the island as soon as they could, but suddenly realized that might mean they were leaving without the rest of the group.
"What about the others?" he asked Sirius quietly.
"What?" Sirius asked.
"Lorien." Harry replied. "And Snape.....and Malfoy."
Sirius's expression remained sober, but he smiled inwardly. The boy was so much like his father. Even with the threat of great danger nearby, the boy was concerned about the safety of others - even those he didn't particularly get along with. James would be proud of his son.
"They'll be fine," Sirius replied, hurrying Harry even more up the hill. He wanted to get the boy off the island. "Draco is probably not in any danger, and Snape can take care of himself."
"What about...." Harry gasped and slapped his hand to his forehead again, stopping dead in his tracks. He'd been about to say 'Lorien' when the group halted to see if he was alright, but never had the chance as ten Death Eaters appeared at the top of the path ahead of them.
*
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*
*
Draco skidded to a halt, now realizing he was torn between feelings of allegiance to two people he never ever expected to feel any loyalty whatsoever to.
He knew he had to make a decision quickly. There was probably little he could do to help Snape, and if he left, Beska would be history. Did he have a better chance at helping Beska?
Definitely.
Draco strode purposefully up to the man that had just slammed Beska up against the tree again and stood behind him and folded his arms across his chest.
"Ahem." Draco cleared his throat loudly as he noted exactly where his wand was up his sleeve. (A handy little trick that many of the better Slytherin duelists had copied from their head of house.)
The Death Eater spun part way around, not relinquishing his hold on the girl, and pointed his wand at Draco.
Beska screamed. "Draco, no! Look out!"
Almost instantly the Death Eater lowered his wand and then his hood. Walden McNair stood facing Draco and chuckled. "Well, young Malfoy, what is it you want?"
Beska's dark eyes went even wider as she recognized the significance of the name the man called Draco.
Draco spoke nonchalantly. "The girl." He jerked his head toward Beska.
"What?" McNair asked, not sure that he'd heard the boy correctly.
"You heard me." Draco said arrogantly. "I said I want the girl. Father said I could have which ever one I wanted." He looked Beska over in a way that she definitely didn't like.
McNair looked from Draco to the girl and back, reluctant to give up his toy.
"Surely you don't want to PISS OFF my FATHER?" Draco said loudly.
McNair definitely didn't. He gritted his teeth unhappily and took a step back, releasing the young witch.
Draco stepped careless past the Death Eater, ignoring him, and leaned one hand against the tree next to Beska's head. He stared into the scared cocoa eyes as he adopted a haughty manner and spoke, his face inches from hers. "Well, hello again, pretty witch."
He saw Beska flinch when he flicked his wand into his hand, his back turned to the still hovering McNair. "Don't you and I have a debt to settle?" He asked with a wicked smile.
Beska was sure that things had gone from very, very, bad to even worse when she realized that her new captor was the son of Lucius Malfoy, and then she suddenly became puzzled when the young blonde wizard winked at her. She remained leaning against the tree, still puzzled for about four or five seconds after McNair hit the ground where Draco had whirled and hexed him into a state of babbling stupor.
"Well?" Draco was smiling at her and looking expectant. He saw her look once more at the incoherent man on the ground, and then back at him, still confused. He was about to inform her that he thought another kiss was in order when it suddenly dawned on the Nemorosi witch what had happened, and she flung her arms around his neck, clinging to him gratefully. He was about to make a flirtatious wisecrack about how she now owed another debt to him when he realized the girl clinging to him was shaking.
Merlin's beard! She'd been scared! Truly scared. Draco realized that while he'd had the advantage of being the younger Malfoy, and therefore being under no threat from the invading Death Eaters, Beska had had no such luxury and had truly been in danger. And she knew it.
Draco stood there motionless and clueless as to how to handle the now sobbing girl that hung on him. No brilliant ideas came to mind, and all he could think to do was to put his own arms around her. Evidently that had been the right thing to do, and after a few moments he could tell she was no longer shaking, and her crying had nearly stopped.
Cool.
Draco was pleased with himself for finding the way to handle the upset female so quickly and was feeling a bit smug as she released her hold on him. "Better?" He asked, thinking that hadn't been all that difficult. Maybe women weren't as hard to deal with as the older wizards always went on about.
"Yes," she said softly, straightening out her robes and remnants of dignity.
"Good," he said, thoughts turning back to another kiss from her again. It wasn't what he got as she quickly stepped closer again.
He stood there with his hand against his smarting cheek as he realized that Beska had suddenly slapped him.
"What was THAT for?" he demanded, surprised and angry.
"That, was for not telling me you were a Malfoy before!" Beska replied sternly, hands on hips.
"It never came up," Draco began in his defense.
"Don't give me that! Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded.
"I didn't think you'd care to associate with me if I told you," Draco spat.
"Maybe or maybe not, but you didn't let me have the chance to decide for myself once I knew, did you?" Beska continued in a lecturing tone.
Draco shrugged, irritated with the girl in front of him. They stood there for a moment in frustrated silence.
"You could have told me, Draco," Beska said at last. "It wouldn't have changed anything."
"What are you talking about?" He asked, still slightly irritated.
"I would still like you," she said simply.
"You would? I mean....you do?" He asked.
She shrugged and then nodded. "I guess Lorien isn't the only one to fall for that sly Slytherin charm," she said, back to teasing him at last.
"Really?" Draco started to feel a bit pleased with himself again, and then hit himself in the head as her comment sharply reminded him of the danger that Snape was probably in. "Oh, bloody hell! Come on!"
"Draco! Where.....?"
"I'll explain as we go!" He grabbed her arm and ran towards the cliffs.
