Disclaimer: Hermione Granger and Severus Snape, along with the title character and everyone you recognise in this world belong to J. K. Rowling, who is most definitely one of the most influential and popular writers walking the earth at this moment. This work means no infringement, and no profit will be made, and believe me I will be buying any further publications that JK and Bloomsbury publish regarding Harry. Roll on Volume 5!
Title: Darkness Falls
Author: Bellemaine Chercoeur
Email: bellemainec@yahoo.com
Rating: R (Violence, blood, evil intentions)
Summary: A Slytherin student has been taken by the Sangmalren, one of the oldest and darkest magics Voldemort possesses, and now his attention has been fixed upon Hermione Granger. Can help arrive before it is too late?
Darkness Falls
by Bellemaine Chercoeur
belleminaec@yahoo.com
Draco Malfoy knew the exact moment that he lost control of Goyle. It has happened during the summer break, between their six and seventh years at Hogwarts, when Goyle's father had decided that his son was old enough to attend one of the Death Eater gatherings. Goyle had attended and fallen headfirst into their world. The ideals, the actions, the... the perversity. From the moment the mob had begun to chant, Goyle had been consumed by their world. And now, he, Draco Malfoy, was going to be the one who had to help pay the price for Goyle's induction into darkness.
Malfoy's father had never allowed his son to attend a gathering. Yet, Draco was resourceful enough to have attended, in a limited capacity, any number of Death Eater meetings. Especially when they were held in his own house. His father might not have approved, but Draco had known that the Dark Lord himself would have been pleased with his ingenuity in hiding in the secret passages below the family dungeon, watching the flow of blood and the death of dreams. He had been fifteen when he witnessed his first death. A young muggle boy, beaten and sacrificed to the Dark Lord. His father had wielded the knife that had finally taken his life. It might have been a merciful act; the child could have not stood any more pain. What had disturbed Draco the most was the enjoyment in his Father's eyes as the knife plunged into the battered body. The enjoyment and the fact that the young boy had silver blonde hair. Just like his own.
From the time he had started at Hogwarts, secure in his own importance as a Malfoy, his lineage as a Slytherin and his future as a Death Eater, Draco had tried to convince his Father that he was ready to attend a gathering. Lucius had always refused, saying that the time was not right, that he needed more preparation, that the Dark Lord had not called him. Draco's pleading fell on deaf ears, and eventually he had resorted to watching, listening and learning, a dark apprentice in training.
And thus he had seen Goyle's initiation into their world, an opportunity Goyle had seized with both hands. And with that initiation, Draco knew his own hold over him would slip. Goyle was not bright, and could be easily led, but Draco knew that he now had a dark rival for Goyle's dedication. A rival he had no hope of completely overcoming. Goyle had been judged worthy enough to become a Death Eater while Draco was still waiting for his chance. When they returned to school for their seventh year, Goyle was happy to take his place at Draco's side, but he began to question. His response to directions was not as immediate, he occasionally refused, and on one momentous occasion he dared to correct a statement Draco had made. In front of others. When Goyle realized what he had done, Draco had thought for a moment that the might faint, and then he saw in Goyle's expression the mantra that he was chanting to himself. "You are a Death Eater, Goyle." That thought alone gave him enough backbone to hold Draco's stare.
It had been a thoroughly unnerving experience, and even though it had not been repeated, Draco saw the ever-increasing effect of the moment. Just like a stone cast into water creates ripples, Goyle had begun a new life at Hogwarts. A life where he slowly began to experience the heady thrill that comes from the imposition of your will on others. It had begun innocently, or perhaps not so innocently, enough. An intimidating glare to ensure that the first years jumped aside as he walked the halls. Slowly this changed to holding doors open for him. Subtle jostling of nearby people in the halls, and then unexplained accidents when he was in the vicinity.
And then, pain. Draco remembered the first girl to fall down the stairs. A sweet, shy, pretty, little Hufflepuff, she had been in the hospital wing for three weeks after she fell down two flights of stairs, bizarrely losing her balance from a third staircase above. Draco was not sure how Goyle had managed it, but he was sure it was Goyle. And as the accidents increased amongst the lower year levels, and the whispering spread through the houses, the younger students fled from the mere sight of Goyle. Eventually, even the youngest Slytherins did not walk their own halls alone. He was sure that only the worst cases ended up in the hospital wing, never numerous enough to draw the eye of the teachers, or severe enough that their cover stories of their own adolescent clumsiness were disbelieved.
Lauren Bones had been the final confirmation for Draco. A year younger than himself, and with none of the quietly caring geniality of her elder sister Susan, Lauren had been a rebel from the moment she stepped off the train. Long dark hair and a ready smile, she was determined to push the limits of tolerance. She dyed her hair purple, appeared with various body piercings, insisted on mis-wearing her uniform, and was committed to standing up for what she believed in. One Saturday afternoon, the same afternoon that most of the school had been at Hogsmeade, Draco had surprised Goyle washing his hands. Repeatedly. Draco had said nothing, but he had noted the suppressed excitement and flushed victory in Goyle's eyes.
Lauren's disappearance had been discovered that night. She was not present for dinner, she did not return to her dorm room. None of her friends could remember when they had last seen her in Hogsmeade, who she had spoken to or even if she had left the school grounds. The search was extensive and ongoing, but Draco knew that they would not find her. And every time he saw Professor Dumbledore, his concern for the Bones girl clear on his face, Draco felt an unpleasant kick in the region of his stomach. Susan left Hogwarts to stay with her parents, and Draco was glad to see her leave. She was too much of a reminder, and with her absence he was able to partially convince himself that the slightly sick feeling he was carrying was not guilt or remorse or sorrow or any other muggle-like emotion. He was a Slytherin, and a Malfoy and a Death Eater in Waiting; and a girl like Bones was unimportant. If Goyle had felt the need for some……fun….then he, Draco Malfoy should only be …upset..that Goyle had not invited him along. Try though he might, Malfoy found himself unable to fully commit to that train of logic.
Whatever he had done to the girl, it seemed to pacify Goyle for sometime. He had almost returned to his normal position as a glaring offsider, and Draco had started to relax, pushing the unidentified worry and guilt to the back of his mind.
And then it happened. She had been rushing down a hallway and around a corner, desperate to get to the library to return some books. She was making enough noise to herald her arrival, and Goyle had stepped away from the wall, directly into her path. The impact had sent the books flying everywhere. Goyle had said nothing, merely stared down at her with a blank expression as she scrambled to pick them all up. With a flustered, "so sorry about that Goyle, didn't see you there!" Hermione had scurried off to the library. Goyle had watched her go, and then the words, "Stupid bitch," fell from his lips.
Draco knew that Goyle had chosen his next target.
Which was why he was now lurking in the shadows outside Goyle's room. Sure enough, there he was, creeping down the hall ahead of him. Draco watched him stealthily leave, then turned to follow him. It was after curfew, and every student should have been in bed, but Draco knew that Goyle had somehow found a way to summon his target.
He shadowed Goyle through the hallways. Hogwarts seemed unnaturally silent and still to Draco, it was almost as if the school itself knew that something was about to happen. Goyle headed to the Arithmancy classroom, and had hidden himself behind the slightly ajar classroom door. Draco had settled himself down to wait, when he heard the clatter of someone racing towards them. From the direction of the Gryffindor tower.
Draco's stomach sank as Hermione Granger ran towards him, hurriedly fixing her prefects badge to her robe. Her hair was tousled and she looked as if she had hurriedly dressed. Hermione pushed the classroom door open, and called, "Professor Vector? You sent for me?"
As Draco waited in the shadows behind her, Hermione moved further into the classroom. "Professor Vector? Are you here?"
As the door silently began to close behind her, Draco jumped forward. His movement caught Hermione's attention and she turned in time to see Goyle closing the door. Draco heard her ask, "Goyle?"
Silence followed. With a sinking heart, Draco realized that Goyle must have laced the room with silencing charms to ensure that he was not disturbed. Draco discovered that he was not able to blindly leave Hermione to suffer at Goyle's hands. Pulling out his own wand, Draco tried to open the door. He started with "Alohomora", moved up through explosive and incendiary spells and eventually tried brute force, but the magical wards were too strong. The eerie silence sliced along Draco's nerves like a serrated knife; Draco found that his imagination was sufficient to conjure all sorts of possibilities. When he caught himself wishing he could hear Hermione screaming because he would then know she was alive….at that point he knew that it was past time to admit that the situation was entirely beyond his control. He needed to get help, and he could think of only one person who would believe him unconditionally.
Severus Snape had just set aside the last graded fourth year assignment when Draco Malfoy barged into his rooms. Fixing him with the chilly glare normally reserved for Neville Longbottom, Snape raised an eyebrow and asked, "To what do I owe this entirely inappropriate and unasked for intrusion, Mr Malfoy?"
Snape's eyes narrowed as he took in the hectic flush along Draco's cheekbones and the way he gasped for breath. Draco stared dumbly at him, somehow unable to form the words to tell Snape what he feared. He opened his mouth, gasping for breath, "Professor….you have to…he has her….Father will kill me, but I swear…"
Snape stood and grasped Malfoy by the shoulders. His voice harsh, he said, "Breathe, boy. Tell me what is wrong."
Draco nodded, and forced his breathing into a normal pattern. Drawing a deep breath, he determinedly held Snape's gaze. "You must believe me, Professor. We don't have much time. Goyle was initiated as a Death Eater over the summer."
Snape flinched sharply, his eyes widening. Draco watched as Snape assimilated that information, and everything fell into place. Draco knew that Snape alone of everyone here at Hogwarts would be able to fully understand that horror. His response was a single question, delivered with intense concentration. "Lauren Bones?"
Draco nodded, and found the words that he needed to say spilled effortlessly from his tongue. "Yes. I am convinced it was him. But Sir, he has fixated on Hermione Granger now. I followed him tonight, and he somehow convinced Hermione to come to the Arithmancy classroom. I tried to get in, I swear, but the room has been enchanted."
At Hermione's name, Snape froze. It took all of Draco's Slytherin and Malfoy training to not recoil before the expression that settled on Snape's face. Pure anger mixed with bitter knowledge and icy contempt. Snape strode towards the door and Draco hurried after him. "Show me Mr Malfoy. For all our sakes, hope we are not too late."
They rushed through the hallways, Draco clinging to Snape's heels. In the heat of the moment, he allowed one small corner of his brain to puzzle over Snape's reaction. After all, Hermione was a Gryffindor and most assuredly not one of Snape's favourites. In that moment, Draco realised that the same sense of honour and, though he almost shuddered to think it, decency that had sent him to Snape in the first place, also ran true in this teacher. Although they prized ambition and valued lineage above all, there were limits to what a Slytherin would accept. Goyle had crossed the line. There was no place for him here at Hogwarts.
**
The eerie silence, which had sent Draco flying to Snape's door, remained unbroken around the Arithmancy classroom. With a single glance, Snape took in the scorch marks and charred wood that proved Draco's attempts to gain entrance had been genuine. Wand in hand, Snape strode towards the door. Draco stepped back, certain that Snape would be repelled. At the last moment, Snape stepped to the side and gestured towards the surrounding wall. With a tremendous crash, the masonry blasted outwards into the hallway. Before the dust had settled, Snape entered the classroom, with Draco close behind him.
Snape surveyed the wrecked classroom with an icy intensity that sent shivers down Draco's spine. Desks were overturned, pictures had been knocked from walls, and chunks of the walls seemed to be missing. Near the front of the classroom, a gaping hole seemed to lead to the depths of the school; it's jagged edges proclaiming its unexpected creation. A pall of dust and smoke still lingered in the air, along with the scent of something Draco could not quite place. It smelt metallic, almost coppery, and he could almost taste it in the back of his throat.
As Snape drew a deep breath and turned his cold angry gaze towards him, Draco realised what that scent was. Blood. A vast amount of blood. He looked around and could see no trace of it; nothing in the room was marked with that vivid ruby force. Yet the stench of blood lay heavy in the room.
Noting the slightly queasy look on Draco's face, Snape moved to stand in front of him. He placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Go to Professor McGonagall at once, Draco. Tell her what you have told me, and tell her that I have followed them into the lower levels of the school. Make sure she realises the seriousness of this, Malfoy, convince her that this is not some Slytherin plot. Tell her that I think he may have unleashed something darker, something ancient, and ask her to owl Dumbledore before she comes after me." He paused, and a rueful grimace twitched one side of his mouth. "I have no doubt that she will come after me, she ever is a Gryffindor, but ensure that she contacts Dumbledore first. Tell him that I fear the Sangmalren has been unleashed." He pointed towards the door with his free hand. "Go. Now."
Draco nodded to show his understanding of the command if not the content and stumbled backwards. He turned and ran from the room, not stopping to watch as Snape moved to follow Hermione and Goyle into the cavernous depths.
End Chapter One
