DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of this, that belongs to J.K Rowling (lucky
woman!), except for the plot... and Sylannae... she's mine as well.
You're bound to lose the game, There's no one else to blame You play so safe when you're not risking enough You are doomed to be undone, I swear I'll be the one To bring you down
It's all your fault, Cause you got caught Untouchable. You think you're untouchable You know... No ones untouchable
~Garbage, Untouchable
Chapter Two - Doors of Deception
Sylannae shook her head and groaned, "Fucking doors." She mumbled quietly.
"You alright Syl?" Hermione asked.
Sylannae looked up and saw the auras she knew as two of her best-friends, she smiled, "I'm fine, damn wonderboy over there isn't even working at full- capacity and I still got blown out."
Harry opened his mouth slowly, starting to speak, "What did you do Sylannae? This feels weird. There's something else in my head still."
"Have you ever come across a door that seems to be made of light before Harry?" Sylannae asked, jumping back into the seat urgently.
"Once, I never opened it though. I couldn't, it was a dream." Harry replied.
"Oh damn. That's your power that I just unleashed, I just hope it was good. I found the door and a simple set of words opened it, but then I got thrown out." Sylannae said.
"What do you mean oh damn?" Hermione asked as they crowded around.
"Well, normally when you unlock a hidden power, you get the chance to see if it's good or bad. I didn't get that chance, it was too powerful." Sylannae explained.
Hermione pulled a face much like the one that adorned Ron's face at the time and asked, "How will we know if it's bad?"
"Usually they start doing evil things first, but you never know." Sylannae replied, stating the obvious.
They started to edge away from Harry, looks of worry on their faces, "Don't worry guys," Harry laughed, "I'm not going to do anything fiendish. Remember, I'm the boy who lived, the one that saved the world?"
"He's got a good point there, I mean, I'm not malevolent." Sylannae reasoned.
Hermione's stiff shoulders dropped, "Sorry Harry. You know, maybe your new powers will be useful."
"I'm not using them to find you a boyfriend." Harry stated.
"I meant in general." Hermione sighed.
Sylannae laughed, covering her face with her pale hands, "You still don't have one?"
Hermione glared at Sylannae, "No. I. don't." she said through clenched teeth.
"Sorry." Sylannae smiled, suppressing her urges.
"Sylannae, Oliver's waking up." One of the St. Mungo nurses called from the doors.
Before they were even sure they'd heard the call, Sylannae was up and out the door, taking the steps two at a time. They followed quickly, trying to keep her pace. She was too fast for them.
***
"I... I'm dead, aren't I?" Oliver croaked from his lying position on the bed in the hospital wing.
"Actually, you're about as far from it as you can get." Sylannae smiled.
"S... Syl?" Oliver asked, trying to move.
"I think that's what they call me." She replied, putting her hand over his.
"Stop playing pranks on me. I'm dead, aren't I." Oliver said urgently.
"No Oliver, you aren't." Hermione interrupted, puffing and panting from her run up the stairs.
"Hermione?" Oliver painfully turned his head to the side to get a better view, "Harry? Ron?"
"Yeah, we're here mate. Syl found you on the battlefield and brought you in. We weren't sure if you were going to make it." Ron smiled.
"Syl... you're... alive?" Oliver asked, looking her over.
"Most certainly am." Sylannae sniffed, wiping away the tears with her other hand.
"How can you? I saw... but... " Oliver stuttered at a loss for words.
"I had to go... I had to make you all believe I was dead. Albus asked me to infiltrate Voldemort's lair and I could only do it if you thought me dead." Sylannae explained, "I'm so sorry Oliver, I never wanted to hurt you."
Oliver closed his eyes, twisting his fingers into hers and smiled weakly.
***
It wasn't over yet, he knew it. There was a feeling of impending doom in the air, he liked that. He would have another chance to win, another chance to survive in this god-forsaken world.
He flinched as he sewed the scraps of skin hanging limply from his hand where his wand had been blown away, each time, growling and muttering to himself.
Looking in the mirror, he saw the pale face of a young man looking back at him, staring at him as though he had something his reflection wanted. The barely audible knocking on the door broke the gaze and he turned to the door, needle pinched tightly between two thin fingers.
"Master, Frinholl has heard something he thinks you should know." The small house-elf said quietly , hoping he wasn't going to be beaten for his intrusion.
"What is it?" the young man asked, his harsh voice causing the house-elf to flinch slightly.
"Your enemy Master, he has been blinded. There are rumors that he has gained other powers from his fight with He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named, but none say what they are. Your enemy cannot see a thing Master." Frinholl replied.
*That is a good thing, blinded. The little twerp will pay now.* he thought before saying, "Gather the final forces. We will make a trip to Hogwarts as soon as the barrier is removed."
"Yes Master." Frinholl obediently said, removing himself from the room quickly.
His eyes drifted back to the mirror, their deadness staring straight back as his lips formed a sneering smile.
***
"Fred and George say they will be around sometime after twelve tomorrow. They want to make sure that you're alright. George actually sounded worried about you." Sylannae smiled.
"I'll be sure to keep an eye out for pranks." Oliver smiled as he sat up in bed a week later.
"And don't accept any sweets." Ron laughed, remembering the last time Oliver had seen his brothers.
Oliver had spent two days as a bald chicken after Fred and George had offered him one of their meal sweets. It tasted like chicken, and you definitely felt full afterwards, though there was the little problem of looking like a bald one after you ate it.
"I'll remember." Oliver grinned.
"Hey guys, Albus has something he wants us all to hear." Hermione said, peeking her head around the doors.
"I'll be back soon." Sylannae said, kissing Oliver on the cheek and leaving with Ron.
***
"And the last thing on the list, I am going to take down the barrier tomorrow. If everyone can keep their eyes and ears out for anything even slightly particular, it would be greatly appreciated." Albus said as they sat in his office.
"No... you want me to... I can't... never..." Sylannae muttered.
"What's wrong Syl?" Hermione asked, looking her way worried.
"Clothenus mindocu planto finripa." Sylannae mumbled, "Clothenus mindocu planto finripa." Each time getting louder and more urgent, "Clothenus mindocu planto finripa. Clothenus mindocu planto finripa. Clothenus mindocu planto finripa."
Suddenly she fell to her knees, weeping loudly, hands covering her eyes in pain and frustration.
"Syl?" Ron said, trying to get her attention.
"I'm so sorry, I have to go. Look after Oliver for me, tell him I have something to finish that I should have never started." Sylannae whispered as she stood up, leaving the room quickly.
***
The night was dark and cold, even with the cloak pulled tightly around her small frame, she froze, trudging through the snow to a familiar place, too familiar.
*If I die here, then let it be for the ultimate good.* she thought angrily as she stepped up the large stone stairs to the front door, *stupid fucking door, openus.*
Unsurprising to her, the door creaked open as she thought the word and she moved inside, her eyes not lifting from the stone floor, covered with dark rugs and blood splatters.
"Ah, Sylannae my dear, you look frozen. Come have a drink with me." She heard a cold voice offer.
"No thankyou. I would like to be alone in my misery." She declined, whispering, "bottonus comine" and catching the bottle of whiskey as it slid comfortably into her hand.
"You are going to ruin your talent by drinking so much dear." The cold voice remarked, a malicious chuckle coming from the throat.
Sylannae stopped her trudge up the stairs and turned to the voice, staring at it angrily, the beads of light dancing behind her eyes dangerously enticing him to continue, "Do I look like I give a shit?" she retorted, "They can't make me happy, so I don't care anymore."
"I know of something that might make you happy." The voice drawled.
"I already know. You are forgetting something. I am the only one who could have opened that door, and I did without knowing what lay behind it. Just because it's happened this way, doesn't mean you have to thank me, I want nothing from you, except a promise that you won't abuse the gift you are about to receive." Sylannae snarled, turning away and starting to walk up the stairs again.
Behind her, she heard the door open and the dark voice gasp before she disappeared into the shadows to be alone.
***
"What're we going to do? Now Sylannae and Harry are gone, we have lost our front line." Hermione urged.
"We still have most people from the last fight, and although they won't like it, we can convince them to fight." Ron replied.
"Against what Ron? We don't even know what we're up against, or if there is anything to be up against in the first place." Oliver asked.
"I don't know Oliver, but I don't like the fact that Sylannae ran out saying she had something to finish and Harry disappeared the very same day." Ron said.
"Maybe we're just paranoid." Hermione shrugged.
"No, it is more than paranoia Hermione." Albus sighed, "I have just had a report coming in from the Ministry, saying that the Malfoy Mansion is seeming a little too full, considering we should have just wiped them all out."
"Draco?" Hermione whispered, "I thought he died two years ago."
"He may have, but we don't have anyone in there to say otherwise." Albus told them as a large tawny eagle owl perched itself on the open window nearby, "Or maybe we do?" He untied the letter and unrolled it quickly reading before handing it to Hermione to read. He walked away slowly, the owl having hopped on his arm.
"This will be the last correspondence you receive from me until I know this is over once and for all. Draco is alive, and I know I should have told you that sooner, for I knew, but did not think he would do such a thing. Harry arrived here not long after me, and thankfully I haven't seen him since, as I am sure he would try to kill me under suspicion of treachery. I hope this reaches you, because I already miss you again, and I want you to know that I am so eternally sorry for what I have unleashed." Hermione paused in her reading, "There are Death-Eaters flocking in from all over the world to the Mansion, I never knew that there were so many left. I think Draco might have contemplated this happening earlier and spread his individual follower around the world so that he could come back and finish what Voldemort couldn't. They are currently writing up battle plans, but I have not been able to get a look at them as yet. Please tell Oliver I still love him, and I do not mean to cause him so much pain, but I released the beast, so I must put it back. Sincerely, Syl."
"That clears up most of our worries." Oliver sighed, looking over the parchment as Hermione handed it to him.
"Yeah, and creates more." Ron added, "We can't compete with both Malfoy's army and Harry. With Harry, they have the only thing most of us have relied on for the last few decades."
"So we will have to learn to do things without him." Hermione said with authority
_______________________________________________________________________ A/N: This chapter was a little longer... don't forget to clickety click! ________________________________________________________________________
You're bound to lose the game, There's no one else to blame You play so safe when you're not risking enough You are doomed to be undone, I swear I'll be the one To bring you down
It's all your fault, Cause you got caught Untouchable. You think you're untouchable You know... No ones untouchable
~Garbage, Untouchable
Chapter Two - Doors of Deception
Sylannae shook her head and groaned, "Fucking doors." She mumbled quietly.
"You alright Syl?" Hermione asked.
Sylannae looked up and saw the auras she knew as two of her best-friends, she smiled, "I'm fine, damn wonderboy over there isn't even working at full- capacity and I still got blown out."
Harry opened his mouth slowly, starting to speak, "What did you do Sylannae? This feels weird. There's something else in my head still."
"Have you ever come across a door that seems to be made of light before Harry?" Sylannae asked, jumping back into the seat urgently.
"Once, I never opened it though. I couldn't, it was a dream." Harry replied.
"Oh damn. That's your power that I just unleashed, I just hope it was good. I found the door and a simple set of words opened it, but then I got thrown out." Sylannae said.
"What do you mean oh damn?" Hermione asked as they crowded around.
"Well, normally when you unlock a hidden power, you get the chance to see if it's good or bad. I didn't get that chance, it was too powerful." Sylannae explained.
Hermione pulled a face much like the one that adorned Ron's face at the time and asked, "How will we know if it's bad?"
"Usually they start doing evil things first, but you never know." Sylannae replied, stating the obvious.
They started to edge away from Harry, looks of worry on their faces, "Don't worry guys," Harry laughed, "I'm not going to do anything fiendish. Remember, I'm the boy who lived, the one that saved the world?"
"He's got a good point there, I mean, I'm not malevolent." Sylannae reasoned.
Hermione's stiff shoulders dropped, "Sorry Harry. You know, maybe your new powers will be useful."
"I'm not using them to find you a boyfriend." Harry stated.
"I meant in general." Hermione sighed.
Sylannae laughed, covering her face with her pale hands, "You still don't have one?"
Hermione glared at Sylannae, "No. I. don't." she said through clenched teeth.
"Sorry." Sylannae smiled, suppressing her urges.
"Sylannae, Oliver's waking up." One of the St. Mungo nurses called from the doors.
Before they were even sure they'd heard the call, Sylannae was up and out the door, taking the steps two at a time. They followed quickly, trying to keep her pace. She was too fast for them.
***
"I... I'm dead, aren't I?" Oliver croaked from his lying position on the bed in the hospital wing.
"Actually, you're about as far from it as you can get." Sylannae smiled.
"S... Syl?" Oliver asked, trying to move.
"I think that's what they call me." She replied, putting her hand over his.
"Stop playing pranks on me. I'm dead, aren't I." Oliver said urgently.
"No Oliver, you aren't." Hermione interrupted, puffing and panting from her run up the stairs.
"Hermione?" Oliver painfully turned his head to the side to get a better view, "Harry? Ron?"
"Yeah, we're here mate. Syl found you on the battlefield and brought you in. We weren't sure if you were going to make it." Ron smiled.
"Syl... you're... alive?" Oliver asked, looking her over.
"Most certainly am." Sylannae sniffed, wiping away the tears with her other hand.
"How can you? I saw... but... " Oliver stuttered at a loss for words.
"I had to go... I had to make you all believe I was dead. Albus asked me to infiltrate Voldemort's lair and I could only do it if you thought me dead." Sylannae explained, "I'm so sorry Oliver, I never wanted to hurt you."
Oliver closed his eyes, twisting his fingers into hers and smiled weakly.
***
It wasn't over yet, he knew it. There was a feeling of impending doom in the air, he liked that. He would have another chance to win, another chance to survive in this god-forsaken world.
He flinched as he sewed the scraps of skin hanging limply from his hand where his wand had been blown away, each time, growling and muttering to himself.
Looking in the mirror, he saw the pale face of a young man looking back at him, staring at him as though he had something his reflection wanted. The barely audible knocking on the door broke the gaze and he turned to the door, needle pinched tightly between two thin fingers.
"Master, Frinholl has heard something he thinks you should know." The small house-elf said quietly , hoping he wasn't going to be beaten for his intrusion.
"What is it?" the young man asked, his harsh voice causing the house-elf to flinch slightly.
"Your enemy Master, he has been blinded. There are rumors that he has gained other powers from his fight with He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named, but none say what they are. Your enemy cannot see a thing Master." Frinholl replied.
*That is a good thing, blinded. The little twerp will pay now.* he thought before saying, "Gather the final forces. We will make a trip to Hogwarts as soon as the barrier is removed."
"Yes Master." Frinholl obediently said, removing himself from the room quickly.
His eyes drifted back to the mirror, their deadness staring straight back as his lips formed a sneering smile.
***
"Fred and George say they will be around sometime after twelve tomorrow. They want to make sure that you're alright. George actually sounded worried about you." Sylannae smiled.
"I'll be sure to keep an eye out for pranks." Oliver smiled as he sat up in bed a week later.
"And don't accept any sweets." Ron laughed, remembering the last time Oliver had seen his brothers.
Oliver had spent two days as a bald chicken after Fred and George had offered him one of their meal sweets. It tasted like chicken, and you definitely felt full afterwards, though there was the little problem of looking like a bald one after you ate it.
"I'll remember." Oliver grinned.
"Hey guys, Albus has something he wants us all to hear." Hermione said, peeking her head around the doors.
"I'll be back soon." Sylannae said, kissing Oliver on the cheek and leaving with Ron.
***
"And the last thing on the list, I am going to take down the barrier tomorrow. If everyone can keep their eyes and ears out for anything even slightly particular, it would be greatly appreciated." Albus said as they sat in his office.
"No... you want me to... I can't... never..." Sylannae muttered.
"What's wrong Syl?" Hermione asked, looking her way worried.
"Clothenus mindocu planto finripa." Sylannae mumbled, "Clothenus mindocu planto finripa." Each time getting louder and more urgent, "Clothenus mindocu planto finripa. Clothenus mindocu planto finripa. Clothenus mindocu planto finripa."
Suddenly she fell to her knees, weeping loudly, hands covering her eyes in pain and frustration.
"Syl?" Ron said, trying to get her attention.
"I'm so sorry, I have to go. Look after Oliver for me, tell him I have something to finish that I should have never started." Sylannae whispered as she stood up, leaving the room quickly.
***
The night was dark and cold, even with the cloak pulled tightly around her small frame, she froze, trudging through the snow to a familiar place, too familiar.
*If I die here, then let it be for the ultimate good.* she thought angrily as she stepped up the large stone stairs to the front door, *stupid fucking door, openus.*
Unsurprising to her, the door creaked open as she thought the word and she moved inside, her eyes not lifting from the stone floor, covered with dark rugs and blood splatters.
"Ah, Sylannae my dear, you look frozen. Come have a drink with me." She heard a cold voice offer.
"No thankyou. I would like to be alone in my misery." She declined, whispering, "bottonus comine" and catching the bottle of whiskey as it slid comfortably into her hand.
"You are going to ruin your talent by drinking so much dear." The cold voice remarked, a malicious chuckle coming from the throat.
Sylannae stopped her trudge up the stairs and turned to the voice, staring at it angrily, the beads of light dancing behind her eyes dangerously enticing him to continue, "Do I look like I give a shit?" she retorted, "They can't make me happy, so I don't care anymore."
"I know of something that might make you happy." The voice drawled.
"I already know. You are forgetting something. I am the only one who could have opened that door, and I did without knowing what lay behind it. Just because it's happened this way, doesn't mean you have to thank me, I want nothing from you, except a promise that you won't abuse the gift you are about to receive." Sylannae snarled, turning away and starting to walk up the stairs again.
Behind her, she heard the door open and the dark voice gasp before she disappeared into the shadows to be alone.
***
"What're we going to do? Now Sylannae and Harry are gone, we have lost our front line." Hermione urged.
"We still have most people from the last fight, and although they won't like it, we can convince them to fight." Ron replied.
"Against what Ron? We don't even know what we're up against, or if there is anything to be up against in the first place." Oliver asked.
"I don't know Oliver, but I don't like the fact that Sylannae ran out saying she had something to finish and Harry disappeared the very same day." Ron said.
"Maybe we're just paranoid." Hermione shrugged.
"No, it is more than paranoia Hermione." Albus sighed, "I have just had a report coming in from the Ministry, saying that the Malfoy Mansion is seeming a little too full, considering we should have just wiped them all out."
"Draco?" Hermione whispered, "I thought he died two years ago."
"He may have, but we don't have anyone in there to say otherwise." Albus told them as a large tawny eagle owl perched itself on the open window nearby, "Or maybe we do?" He untied the letter and unrolled it quickly reading before handing it to Hermione to read. He walked away slowly, the owl having hopped on his arm.
"This will be the last correspondence you receive from me until I know this is over once and for all. Draco is alive, and I know I should have told you that sooner, for I knew, but did not think he would do such a thing. Harry arrived here not long after me, and thankfully I haven't seen him since, as I am sure he would try to kill me under suspicion of treachery. I hope this reaches you, because I already miss you again, and I want you to know that I am so eternally sorry for what I have unleashed." Hermione paused in her reading, "There are Death-Eaters flocking in from all over the world to the Mansion, I never knew that there were so many left. I think Draco might have contemplated this happening earlier and spread his individual follower around the world so that he could come back and finish what Voldemort couldn't. They are currently writing up battle plans, but I have not been able to get a look at them as yet. Please tell Oliver I still love him, and I do not mean to cause him so much pain, but I released the beast, so I must put it back. Sincerely, Syl."
"That clears up most of our worries." Oliver sighed, looking over the parchment as Hermione handed it to him.
"Yeah, and creates more." Ron added, "We can't compete with both Malfoy's army and Harry. With Harry, they have the only thing most of us have relied on for the last few decades."
"So we will have to learn to do things without him." Hermione said with authority
_______________________________________________________________________ A/N: This chapter was a little longer... don't forget to clickety click! ________________________________________________________________________
