A/N: Hi! This chapter is out pretty quickly, don't you think. It seems shorter than the last chapter but I don't think it is--wait, I just added to it. Now it seems longer. Hmmm... I am slowing the pace a bit and bringing Dani back into the story--remember, he was the "counselor" and all and he knows about Harry's situation with Ron and everything.
Thanks for your support with the story. To answers q's, yes, I wrote those poems. If you'd like to see more of my work, please read my 1st poetry collection, or skip around it, it's finished. I also started on my second, called "On the Short Side" (the first is "Bittersweet").
Well, here we go.
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. There, isn't that clear enough? No es mío.
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"Harry!"
"Go away," Harry snarled as he stormed through the Ministry Investigations Office, knocking over a stack of papers from a desk. They fluttered all over, and the man in pursuit of Harry jumped over where they now lay on the carpeted floor.
"¡Espera!" the man tried once more, jumping over a cabinet drawer in Harry's trail of destruction.
Harry stopped for a moment, tensing every muscle in his God-given body. "Dani?"
Dani caught up and stood, hands on knees, panting for a moment or two. He straightened and looked into Harry's eyes that were diagonally focused on the floor. "Hey, Harry, what's up?" Harry snorted and began to go; Dani grabbed his elbow and pulled him back. "Okay, it's not the time for smalltalk. But do you need to talk about what happened?"
"Talk about?" Harry roared, and Dani was taken aback. "What's to talk about? Hermione is gone! Kidnapped, missing, who knows--she could be dead! What's to talk about?"
"Harry," Dani said sternly, tightening his grip on Harry's arm. "You're acting rashly. You need to calm down. Okay, Harry, where are you going, huh?"
"To find Hermione," Harry said persistantly with downcast eyes that wouldn't look at Dani's face. "I'm going to find Hermione."
Dani jumped right in. "Where's that, Harry? Are you just going to walk out of here and say 'Hey, I bet Hermione's in the Astronomy Tower'? It doesn't work that way, Harry. You're not at Hogwarts."
"I know that!" Harry exploded, yanking himself free of Dani's grasp. He didn't leave, however. "Don't you know that I know that?" He closed his eyes, but the tears wouldn't come. "I can't cry anymore," Harry whispered as he sank into a desk chair. "I just can't cry anymore."
"I'm taking you back to Hogwarts," Dani said soothingly. Harry didn't fight it as Dani guided him by the shoulders out the door of the office.
Harry blinked hard and looked up into the sky. The clouds were gray and swirling around threateningly as the cold wind howled and pierced Harry's face and hands with their glacier-like sharpness. It was funny how that morning the day had seemed so bright and hopeful. The day had somehow become 4 p.m.--he had arrived at the Ministry an hour after finding out and had been questioned for three subsequent hours.
"Come now, Harry." Dani beckoned to Harry who's upward eyes remained motionless. Slowly Harry tilted his chin back and down and, with one last wistful sigh towards the heavens, he nodded and followed Dani down the street.
They would be traveling by Floo. Harry stood in front of the fireplace at the Floo Station on the corner of Morado and Marron street and watched the flames leap up and down, casting an eery glow around the otherwise darkened booth. A look from Dani prodded him on, and so Harry tossed the powder in, said, "Hogwarts," and jumped in.
Harry waited for Dani once he reached the Hogwarts sitting room and sat, legs entwined like a pretzel, on the cold, glossy wooden floor. He hadn't sat that way--"criss-cross apple sauce"--since he had been a small child, and here he was at seventeen, waiting for his teacher to come and comfort him while he sat like a five-year-old.
He didn't even look up as Dani emerged, coughing and heeling over for a minute or two. "What am I supposed to do?" Harry asked quietly. There was resignation in his voice, the resignation of a hero who had admitted defeat. Dani didn't answer immediately, so Harry continued in a cracked voice. "I can't just go about my day like nothing's different. And I can't go out and find her. What do you expect me to do? Sit here?"
"That might not be a bad idea," said Dani. He sat beside Harry on the floor, in the same childish position. The whole time Harry's eyes never left a random spot on the floor that he stared at for no reason but to not have to look at anything else. "Do you want me to get you a tranquilizing potion? I'm sure Professor Snape could brew one up with Poppy's consent."
Harry looked up darkly and said in a deathly distant, low voice, "Do I look like I need a tranquilizer? I'm not jumping around or having a panic attack. I just want some answers."
"We don't have answers right now." Harry was surprised that Dani's tone sounded edgier, and more impatient. "Hermione was kidnapped. You were under the inducement of a Novocain spell; she was under an Imperius potion. Motives aside, that's all we need to know. Returning her safely is our primary concern, not what the kidnapper's incentive was."
The room was eerily quiet for a moment; the silence was as thick as the stuffing in Pansy Parkinson's padded bra. Finally, Harry whispered dully, "It's because of me, isn't it?"
"Most likely," Dani agreed.
"Thanks for the clarification," Harry nodded. "You could've left out that bullshit speech about not knowing the reasons."
"I know, but it added a nice touch didn't it," Dani smirked. He exhaled painstakingly and shook his head sorrowfully. "Jesus, Harry. When I was a 1st year--over sixteen years ago--I remember sitting in my Transfiguration class when the announcement came about Voldemort's downfall. The story of you, a tiny baby, defeating the all-powerful wizard spread like disease through these corridors. I remember thinking, 'Wow. This kid must be the luckiest kid in the world. I wish I was him.' But it's not that easy being Harry Potter."
"I know," said Harry grimly. "I don't know why I didn't see this coming, though. That day, when he was going after either Hermione or Ron, he went to Ron's. I should've known that he was going to eventually come after Hermione."
"You assumed that it's Voldemort," Dani mused. "I guess that's likely, but don't think that he is the only enemy in the world. I suppose," Dani continued hoarsely, "that anyone close to you is inclined... how should I word this? Inclined...?"
"Most likely to be added to Voldemort's hit-list?" Harry shrugged casually. He let his legs stretch out on the floor. Filch really did put a lot of effort into those floors. Harry could smell the polish. It was very much like a mixture of lemon and vanilla.
"Putting it lightly, yes, yes they are. I was going to say it a bit more gently, but if you choose to break it down like that..."
"You can't really expect me to sit here."
"I know."
Harry looked up sharply. "What do you mean, you know?"
"I'm just saying," Dani said; this time he was the one avoiding eye contact, "that if you were to get up and climb back into that fireplace, I might choose to look at the other wall and happen to not notice."
"But you said earlier...? You wouldn't stop me?" Harry asked increduously.
"Don't get me wrong," said Dani as he laid off a casual yawn. "I think it's incredibly foolish. The odds of finding her are a million to one, let alone what you'd do once you found her. But, would my disapproval really stop you? As we stay in Spain, un hombre mero no puede controlar a otro hombre mero."
"What does that mean?"
"A mere man cannot control another mere man. Go on, Harry. You're wasting valuable time, which is something I do disapprove of. I've never been one to support idleness." When Harry just stared, Dani prodded him on with his eyes. "Have you really forgotten how to travel by Floo? Go, go on."
Harry shot Dani one last long, grateful smile, tossed the pink dust into the hearth, and with the words, "The Manor," Harry was off.
The passageway by Floo was a whirlwind as always. Harry kept his eyes closed and lips pursed, as the Weasleys had advised many a time. "The Weasleys," Harry shuddered. "They're gone now." It's not my fault, he willed himself until he believed it. And then he opened his eyes.
It was amazing, it was frightening, it was crazy, it was sane. It was purple, it was yellow, it was black, it was clear. Harry felt overwhelemed at he was hurled through some sort of awing demension. Colors sliced by and riccocheted off walls. Light shows danced at their speed on endless virtual celings. Things flashed, things bounced, things squirmed. It was an adrenaline rush like no other.
"The Manor," said Harry, collecting his thoughts, although there was no way that he could hear himself speak, "is a good place to start. Hermione may not have attained special permission to leave grounds on this vacation, but a certain Slytherin did and is bringing along my former best friend. If he had anything to do with this, I swear I'll..."
Dani uncrossed his legs and let his back fall down until he lay sprawled out on the floor of the Hogwarts sitting room. A faint aroma caught his attention. "Mmm," Dani said, "Lemon. Lemon and vanilla."
"Mr. Chávez?" The door creaked open and Dani suddenly realize dhow stupid he must look sitting on the floor, alone. He quickly scrambled to his feet and dusted off his robe as he gave the woman framed in the doorway a sheepish grin.
"Artura Alexis? I thought we'd meet up eventually."
"Looks like eventually is now," she said through pressed lips.
"How's life been treating you, Lexa?"
"I see you still call me that nickname."
"And yet you're calling me 'Mr. Chávez.'"
"I see your point," said Artura as she took a tentative step forward. "Dani," she said hesitantly, as if the name was unfamiliar. "Dani, I need to tell you something. Something very important." Her eyes were open wide and her voice was urgent. Dani took her hand and sat her down on the coffee table.
"What is it, Lexa?"
"I'm only telling you this because I love you."
"Lexa..."
"No, shutup and listen," she snapped. A few tears began falling from her eyes. They landed on Dani's robes as he comforted her. "Daniel, I made a mistake."
"We all make mistakes," he answered soothingly. Dani ran his fingers over her matted hair, noticing for the first time that the bags under her eyes were evident from lack of sleep.
"No, Daniel," she said, shyly meeting his eyes. Hers very very serious. "I made a really, really bad choice."
"You're calling me Daniel," he said fearfully. "Lexa, what is it?"
"I didn't want to," she sobbed. Her shoulders heaved up and down. "My father said that it was the right thing to do. Daniel, I don't know what to do, I need you."
"Lexa, you didn't." He dropped his arm from around her waist, stood up, and began backing away. "Please tell me you didn't."
"I'm so sorry, Daniel. But I need to tell you, because I need to help you." She lifted up the sleeve of her robe and turned her arm over to show the glowing black mark on the inside of her wrist. "I became a--"
She screamed immortally as the mark began to flash violently. Dani rushed forward, without thinking. "Lexa!" he screamed. As he touched her, he was repelled like a magnetic field. He didn't even think. "¡Alguien! ¡Nos ayuda! ¡Por favor, alguien ayuda!"
***FLASHBACK***
"You know what I love most about you, Daniel?" Artura Alexis whispered as she ran her fingers through her boyfriend's dark hair. They broke apart breathlessly.
"Dígame (Tell me)," he replied huskily, staring into her soulful eyes.
"You're so pure. Real. True."
Her answer took Daniel Chávez aback and he frowned, crinkling his dark brown eyes. "Not all men are like your father, Lexa."
"I know," she sighed as she sat on one of the cardboard boxes in the utility closet. "He's so powerful. When he walks into the room, everyone listens. They respect him."
Suddenly Daniel was very turned off and decided it was best to not continue their make-out session. "They don't respect him, they fear him."
"Maybe so," she replied, her eyes in a dream. "But at least they respect him in their fear."
"It's hard to respect someone so cold-blooded," Dani retorted. "How can you look up to him, Lexa? You've always been amazingly ambitious, but never cruel."
"My father's not cruel," she said angrily, standing up and hitting her head on a shelf. She giggled lightly. "Don't be so harsh, Dani, I'm not saying that I'm going to go out and become a Death Eater."
"I know," he murmured as he returned his lips to her head. "You're better than that, Lexa."
As he spoke those words her eyes opened wide with a guilty secret that Dani wouldn't notice nor believe until over a decade later.
***END FLASHBACK***
"¡Nos ayuda! ¡Por favor!" Dani's words echoed throughout the corridors of Hogwarts. It even reached the vacant closet where they had once spoke those words, over ten years ago.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Madame Pomfrey sat in a swivel chair in the infirmary as she aided Neville Longbottom's chest. It had been cut deeply in the fight, and required a certain spell. "Emrico Enjilus," she whispered. There. The wound would be fixed in less than an hour.
She almost jumped out of her seat as the doore flew open with unmatchable power. The new Potions teacher, Daniel Chávez, stood in the doorway with a wild look in his eyes. In his arms he held the archery teacher, Artura Alexis. Her body was limp. "Por favor, nos ayuda, por favor," he was saying over and over again. Fear grasped Pomfrey's body, but she refused to let it show.
"Mr. Chávez, please, calm down. I can't understand Spanish. Take a deep breath." She had a feeling that he called her a "stupid idiot" but she let him take a brief moment to catch his breath.
"Madame Pomfrey, Lexa has a Dark Mark, and it began flashing and she passed out. She still has a pulse. Please, help."
"Lay her down there," Poppy commanded as she pointed to a bed between Neville and Dean, who looked curiously out of the corner of their eyes. "Now, Mr. Chávez, she'll be fine. Death Eaters experience pain when they are summoned, and if she was in an emotional state it may have been too much for her. She'll be fine."
"When can I talk to her?" he asked as he leaned close to where her body lay.
"She'll wake up in an hour, I'm sure."
"I don't have an hour!" he protested hysterically.
"Mr. Chávez!"
"No, she was telling me for a reason. I think she knows something about what's going on!"
"Mr. Chávez, there is nothing 'going on' beside a routine kidnapping of a smart student," Poppy snapped. The boys propped themselves up to hear better. "If you want to play secret agent then be my guest, but I will not wake her up prematurely for you to continue with these deranged ideas. Now go back to your room, and come back in an hour or so."
"You don't honestly believe that!" Danny hissed, flailing his arms up in the air. "There is nothing routine about this, Poppy, and you know it. I'll be damned if I'm going to wait another hour and jeapoardize the safety of our students. I'm going to ask you again, nicely, please use your healing powers to wake up Ms. Alexis."
"And I'm going to say again, no."
"Then I'll have to ask a little less nicely," Dani said. His voice was icy and cold. "Did you know that the Crucatius curse can be used legally when absolutely necessary?" He ran his fingers along the redwood of his wand and took a step towards the small, round woman. "In 1994, a teacher at Beauxbatons used it on a nurse much like yourself when she refused to disclose information about the whereabouts of a dangerous and possibly murderous student. Now, I'll ask you just one more time. Wake Ms. Alexis up."
Poppy's face was white with fear. She turned to where Artura's body lay. "Yes, Mr. Chávez," she said quietly. "Right away, Mr. Chávez."
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A/N: Still under notepad, so can't spellcheck. Once Word is up I promise to thank all reviewers, but it's too weird and annoying under notepad. It isn't stopping me from posting, though. :o) The poems are mine, Dani and Lexa are mine, remember them from previous chapters? A nice spin, I think, to the story. Well, thanks a lot for reading and don't forget to review!
Thanks for your support with the story. To answers q's, yes, I wrote those poems. If you'd like to see more of my work, please read my 1st poetry collection, or skip around it, it's finished. I also started on my second, called "On the Short Side" (the first is "Bittersweet").
Well, here we go.
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. There, isn't that clear enough? No es mío.
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"Harry!"
"Go away," Harry snarled as he stormed through the Ministry Investigations Office, knocking over a stack of papers from a desk. They fluttered all over, and the man in pursuit of Harry jumped over where they now lay on the carpeted floor.
"¡Espera!" the man tried once more, jumping over a cabinet drawer in Harry's trail of destruction.
Harry stopped for a moment, tensing every muscle in his God-given body. "Dani?"
Dani caught up and stood, hands on knees, panting for a moment or two. He straightened and looked into Harry's eyes that were diagonally focused on the floor. "Hey, Harry, what's up?" Harry snorted and began to go; Dani grabbed his elbow and pulled him back. "Okay, it's not the time for smalltalk. But do you need to talk about what happened?"
"Talk about?" Harry roared, and Dani was taken aback. "What's to talk about? Hermione is gone! Kidnapped, missing, who knows--she could be dead! What's to talk about?"
"Harry," Dani said sternly, tightening his grip on Harry's arm. "You're acting rashly. You need to calm down. Okay, Harry, where are you going, huh?"
"To find Hermione," Harry said persistantly with downcast eyes that wouldn't look at Dani's face. "I'm going to find Hermione."
Dani jumped right in. "Where's that, Harry? Are you just going to walk out of here and say 'Hey, I bet Hermione's in the Astronomy Tower'? It doesn't work that way, Harry. You're not at Hogwarts."
"I know that!" Harry exploded, yanking himself free of Dani's grasp. He didn't leave, however. "Don't you know that I know that?" He closed his eyes, but the tears wouldn't come. "I can't cry anymore," Harry whispered as he sank into a desk chair. "I just can't cry anymore."
"I'm taking you back to Hogwarts," Dani said soothingly. Harry didn't fight it as Dani guided him by the shoulders out the door of the office.
Harry blinked hard and looked up into the sky. The clouds were gray and swirling around threateningly as the cold wind howled and pierced Harry's face and hands with their glacier-like sharpness. It was funny how that morning the day had seemed so bright and hopeful. The day had somehow become 4 p.m.--he had arrived at the Ministry an hour after finding out and had been questioned for three subsequent hours.
"Come now, Harry." Dani beckoned to Harry who's upward eyes remained motionless. Slowly Harry tilted his chin back and down and, with one last wistful sigh towards the heavens, he nodded and followed Dani down the street.
They would be traveling by Floo. Harry stood in front of the fireplace at the Floo Station on the corner of Morado and Marron street and watched the flames leap up and down, casting an eery glow around the otherwise darkened booth. A look from Dani prodded him on, and so Harry tossed the powder in, said, "Hogwarts," and jumped in.
Harry waited for Dani once he reached the Hogwarts sitting room and sat, legs entwined like a pretzel, on the cold, glossy wooden floor. He hadn't sat that way--"criss-cross apple sauce"--since he had been a small child, and here he was at seventeen, waiting for his teacher to come and comfort him while he sat like a five-year-old.
He didn't even look up as Dani emerged, coughing and heeling over for a minute or two. "What am I supposed to do?" Harry asked quietly. There was resignation in his voice, the resignation of a hero who had admitted defeat. Dani didn't answer immediately, so Harry continued in a cracked voice. "I can't just go about my day like nothing's different. And I can't go out and find her. What do you expect me to do? Sit here?"
"That might not be a bad idea," said Dani. He sat beside Harry on the floor, in the same childish position. The whole time Harry's eyes never left a random spot on the floor that he stared at for no reason but to not have to look at anything else. "Do you want me to get you a tranquilizing potion? I'm sure Professor Snape could brew one up with Poppy's consent."
Harry looked up darkly and said in a deathly distant, low voice, "Do I look like I need a tranquilizer? I'm not jumping around or having a panic attack. I just want some answers."
"We don't have answers right now." Harry was surprised that Dani's tone sounded edgier, and more impatient. "Hermione was kidnapped. You were under the inducement of a Novocain spell; she was under an Imperius potion. Motives aside, that's all we need to know. Returning her safely is our primary concern, not what the kidnapper's incentive was."
The room was eerily quiet for a moment; the silence was as thick as the stuffing in Pansy Parkinson's padded bra. Finally, Harry whispered dully, "It's because of me, isn't it?"
"Most likely," Dani agreed.
"Thanks for the clarification," Harry nodded. "You could've left out that bullshit speech about not knowing the reasons."
"I know, but it added a nice touch didn't it," Dani smirked. He exhaled painstakingly and shook his head sorrowfully. "Jesus, Harry. When I was a 1st year--over sixteen years ago--I remember sitting in my Transfiguration class when the announcement came about Voldemort's downfall. The story of you, a tiny baby, defeating the all-powerful wizard spread like disease through these corridors. I remember thinking, 'Wow. This kid must be the luckiest kid in the world. I wish I was him.' But it's not that easy being Harry Potter."
"I know," said Harry grimly. "I don't know why I didn't see this coming, though. That day, when he was going after either Hermione or Ron, he went to Ron's. I should've known that he was going to eventually come after Hermione."
"You assumed that it's Voldemort," Dani mused. "I guess that's likely, but don't think that he is the only enemy in the world. I suppose," Dani continued hoarsely, "that anyone close to you is inclined... how should I word this? Inclined...?"
"Most likely to be added to Voldemort's hit-list?" Harry shrugged casually. He let his legs stretch out on the floor. Filch really did put a lot of effort into those floors. Harry could smell the polish. It was very much like a mixture of lemon and vanilla.
"Putting it lightly, yes, yes they are. I was going to say it a bit more gently, but if you choose to break it down like that..."
"You can't really expect me to sit here."
"I know."
Harry looked up sharply. "What do you mean, you know?"
"I'm just saying," Dani said; this time he was the one avoiding eye contact, "that if you were to get up and climb back into that fireplace, I might choose to look at the other wall and happen to not notice."
"But you said earlier...? You wouldn't stop me?" Harry asked increduously.
"Don't get me wrong," said Dani as he laid off a casual yawn. "I think it's incredibly foolish. The odds of finding her are a million to one, let alone what you'd do once you found her. But, would my disapproval really stop you? As we stay in Spain, un hombre mero no puede controlar a otro hombre mero."
"What does that mean?"
"A mere man cannot control another mere man. Go on, Harry. You're wasting valuable time, which is something I do disapprove of. I've never been one to support idleness." When Harry just stared, Dani prodded him on with his eyes. "Have you really forgotten how to travel by Floo? Go, go on."
Harry shot Dani one last long, grateful smile, tossed the pink dust into the hearth, and with the words, "The Manor," Harry was off.
The passageway by Floo was a whirlwind as always. Harry kept his eyes closed and lips pursed, as the Weasleys had advised many a time. "The Weasleys," Harry shuddered. "They're gone now." It's not my fault, he willed himself until he believed it. And then he opened his eyes.
It was amazing, it was frightening, it was crazy, it was sane. It was purple, it was yellow, it was black, it was clear. Harry felt overwhelemed at he was hurled through some sort of awing demension. Colors sliced by and riccocheted off walls. Light shows danced at their speed on endless virtual celings. Things flashed, things bounced, things squirmed. It was an adrenaline rush like no other.
"The Manor," said Harry, collecting his thoughts, although there was no way that he could hear himself speak, "is a good place to start. Hermione may not have attained special permission to leave grounds on this vacation, but a certain Slytherin did and is bringing along my former best friend. If he had anything to do with this, I swear I'll..."
Dani uncrossed his legs and let his back fall down until he lay sprawled out on the floor of the Hogwarts sitting room. A faint aroma caught his attention. "Mmm," Dani said, "Lemon. Lemon and vanilla."
"Mr. Chávez?" The door creaked open and Dani suddenly realize dhow stupid he must look sitting on the floor, alone. He quickly scrambled to his feet and dusted off his robe as he gave the woman framed in the doorway a sheepish grin.
"Artura Alexis? I thought we'd meet up eventually."
"Looks like eventually is now," she said through pressed lips.
"How's life been treating you, Lexa?"
"I see you still call me that nickname."
"And yet you're calling me 'Mr. Chávez.'"
"I see your point," said Artura as she took a tentative step forward. "Dani," she said hesitantly, as if the name was unfamiliar. "Dani, I need to tell you something. Something very important." Her eyes were open wide and her voice was urgent. Dani took her hand and sat her down on the coffee table.
"What is it, Lexa?"
"I'm only telling you this because I love you."
"Lexa..."
"No, shutup and listen," she snapped. A few tears began falling from her eyes. They landed on Dani's robes as he comforted her. "Daniel, I made a mistake."
"We all make mistakes," he answered soothingly. Dani ran his fingers over her matted hair, noticing for the first time that the bags under her eyes were evident from lack of sleep.
"No, Daniel," she said, shyly meeting his eyes. Hers very very serious. "I made a really, really bad choice."
"You're calling me Daniel," he said fearfully. "Lexa, what is it?"
"I didn't want to," she sobbed. Her shoulders heaved up and down. "My father said that it was the right thing to do. Daniel, I don't know what to do, I need you."
"Lexa, you didn't." He dropped his arm from around her waist, stood up, and began backing away. "Please tell me you didn't."
"I'm so sorry, Daniel. But I need to tell you, because I need to help you." She lifted up the sleeve of her robe and turned her arm over to show the glowing black mark on the inside of her wrist. "I became a--"
She screamed immortally as the mark began to flash violently. Dani rushed forward, without thinking. "Lexa!" he screamed. As he touched her, he was repelled like a magnetic field. He didn't even think. "¡Alguien! ¡Nos ayuda! ¡Por favor, alguien ayuda!"
***FLASHBACK***
"You know what I love most about you, Daniel?" Artura Alexis whispered as she ran her fingers through her boyfriend's dark hair. They broke apart breathlessly.
"Dígame (Tell me)," he replied huskily, staring into her soulful eyes.
"You're so pure. Real. True."
Her answer took Daniel Chávez aback and he frowned, crinkling his dark brown eyes. "Not all men are like your father, Lexa."
"I know," she sighed as she sat on one of the cardboard boxes in the utility closet. "He's so powerful. When he walks into the room, everyone listens. They respect him."
Suddenly Daniel was very turned off and decided it was best to not continue their make-out session. "They don't respect him, they fear him."
"Maybe so," she replied, her eyes in a dream. "But at least they respect him in their fear."
"It's hard to respect someone so cold-blooded," Dani retorted. "How can you look up to him, Lexa? You've always been amazingly ambitious, but never cruel."
"My father's not cruel," she said angrily, standing up and hitting her head on a shelf. She giggled lightly. "Don't be so harsh, Dani, I'm not saying that I'm going to go out and become a Death Eater."
"I know," he murmured as he returned his lips to her head. "You're better than that, Lexa."
As he spoke those words her eyes opened wide with a guilty secret that Dani wouldn't notice nor believe until over a decade later.
***END FLASHBACK***
"¡Nos ayuda! ¡Por favor!" Dani's words echoed throughout the corridors of Hogwarts. It even reached the vacant closet where they had once spoke those words, over ten years ago.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Madame Pomfrey sat in a swivel chair in the infirmary as she aided Neville Longbottom's chest. It had been cut deeply in the fight, and required a certain spell. "Emrico Enjilus," she whispered. There. The wound would be fixed in less than an hour.
She almost jumped out of her seat as the doore flew open with unmatchable power. The new Potions teacher, Daniel Chávez, stood in the doorway with a wild look in his eyes. In his arms he held the archery teacher, Artura Alexis. Her body was limp. "Por favor, nos ayuda, por favor," he was saying over and over again. Fear grasped Pomfrey's body, but she refused to let it show.
"Mr. Chávez, please, calm down. I can't understand Spanish. Take a deep breath." She had a feeling that he called her a "stupid idiot" but she let him take a brief moment to catch his breath.
"Madame Pomfrey, Lexa has a Dark Mark, and it began flashing and she passed out. She still has a pulse. Please, help."
"Lay her down there," Poppy commanded as she pointed to a bed between Neville and Dean, who looked curiously out of the corner of their eyes. "Now, Mr. Chávez, she'll be fine. Death Eaters experience pain when they are summoned, and if she was in an emotional state it may have been too much for her. She'll be fine."
"When can I talk to her?" he asked as he leaned close to where her body lay.
"She'll wake up in an hour, I'm sure."
"I don't have an hour!" he protested hysterically.
"Mr. Chávez!"
"No, she was telling me for a reason. I think she knows something about what's going on!"
"Mr. Chávez, there is nothing 'going on' beside a routine kidnapping of a smart student," Poppy snapped. The boys propped themselves up to hear better. "If you want to play secret agent then be my guest, but I will not wake her up prematurely for you to continue with these deranged ideas. Now go back to your room, and come back in an hour or so."
"You don't honestly believe that!" Danny hissed, flailing his arms up in the air. "There is nothing routine about this, Poppy, and you know it. I'll be damned if I'm going to wait another hour and jeapoardize the safety of our students. I'm going to ask you again, nicely, please use your healing powers to wake up Ms. Alexis."
"And I'm going to say again, no."
"Then I'll have to ask a little less nicely," Dani said. His voice was icy and cold. "Did you know that the Crucatius curse can be used legally when absolutely necessary?" He ran his fingers along the redwood of his wand and took a step towards the small, round woman. "In 1994, a teacher at Beauxbatons used it on a nurse much like yourself when she refused to disclose information about the whereabouts of a dangerous and possibly murderous student. Now, I'll ask you just one more time. Wake Ms. Alexis up."
Poppy's face was white with fear. She turned to where Artura's body lay. "Yes, Mr. Chávez," she said quietly. "Right away, Mr. Chávez."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Still under notepad, so can't spellcheck. Once Word is up I promise to thank all reviewers, but it's too weird and annoying under notepad. It isn't stopping me from posting, though. :o) The poems are mine, Dani and Lexa are mine, remember them from previous chapters? A nice spin, I think, to the story. Well, thanks a lot for reading and don't forget to review!
