A/N: Thanks everyone who has reviewed! To answer a question posed in the reviews, Dauphina and Pagan are twins, Dauphina was born first, thus making her technically older, and since she's more mature it tends to show. Here's chapter three, the appearance of the bad guy, and the real plot. Enjoy! And keep reviewing
Chapter 3
Draco Malfoy was having a bad week. His soon to be wife was driving him insane and he was taking everyone in his path with him. She refused to listen to any of his orders and when he moved to make her follow them, she would whip out her wand and make him wish he were dead.
Now, he had been sent a message to get Theodore and meet his master in the Forbidden Forest. He knew Theodore was having little trouble with Dauphina, the woman being a true lady. He only wished her sister would follow suit. No such luck.
He found Theodore in the Slytherin Common Room and whisked him away. He quietly explained that the Master wanted to see them and both boys stole away into the dark and deadly wood.
They found Voldemort at the same clearing where they always met, the man waiting patiently. It had only been a year or so that the boys had been working for the wizard, a year in which they had gained a good deal of personal power. Draco knew his father had asked the Voldemort take him on as a student, and he was proud that his father believed in him.
"Were you followed?" Voldemort rasped.
Draco shook his head. "No, Master."
Voldemort moved closer to them, his voice dropping an octave. "I need you to find something. A blue stone with a silver marking; it is in the possession of the Lestrange sisters." He told the boys.
"What kind of stone?" Draco questioned.
"That is none of your concern!" Voldemort replied, his tone making Draco shiver slightly. The blond boy lowered his head.
"The girls will not just give it up, search their rooms when they are out. When you find it, send me an owl and I will come to you. This is very important. Fail me and you will not live long enough to regret it." Voldemort continued. Draco and Theodore nodded dumbly. Voldemort nodded behind them. "Go." He ordered.
The boys moved from the wood in silence, searching for any sign that they were being followed.
They did not see the dark figure that stood in the shadows of the looming castle, watching them with eyes filled with fury.
Dauphina moved silently in the dimly lit halls of the school where she'd spent so many years. In all her life, the seven years at Hogwarts had been the happiest. She reminisced as she walked, her heeled shoes tapping the aging stones, her eyes gazing at the grand paintings on the walls. Pagan was in the library, feeding her never-ending lust for knowledge of any kind. She was due to meet her little sister in an hour, so she did what she loved best; walking the halls of Hogwarts in solitude.
Pagan was tired of reading, her eyes becoming pained; a headache forming in her temples. Reluctantly, she placed a marker in the book she'd been reading and moved to exit the library. As she turned a corner, she literally ran into Hermione Granger. The younger woman gave Pagan an exasperated look. Pagan raised her scarred eyebrow.
"It's customary to say 'Excuse me' or 'I'm sorry' when you blunder into someone." Hermione said, her voice oozing with barely concealed malice.
Pagan stared at her. "It's customary to respect one's elder, child." Pagan retorted.
Hermione's eyes flashed. "Manners are another compliment of a lady."
"Whoever said I was a lady?" Pagan shot back.
Hermione snorted and turned on her heel, exiting the library with undisguised disgust.
Pagan smoothed her blue gown and began to walk away, but she tripped on the hem of the full skirt. "Blast these skirts! Only an idiot would wear such a wretched thing!" She cursed under her breath and made her way to her room. When she flung the door open, she gasped and yelled for someone, anyone.
Her room had been ransacked.
Dauphina turned into an especially dim hallway, pausing at the turn. Something was wrong. The hall looked as it normally did, she'd walked it countless times before, but something was amiss this time. Shrugging off her chills, she continued to walk, this time at a slow, cautious pace. She pulled her ebony wand from her robes, her eyes darting about, inspecting each shadow.
She screamed when two young men leaped at her from the shadows.
Pagan ranted in her room, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape all standing in various areas, trying to deduce what had happened or what the burglars had been after. Snape was unusually tight lipped, seldom speaking unless asked a question. Dumbledore secretly felt the man knew something and was deliberately hiding the information.
"Why would someone ransack my room?" Pagan shouted, fussing over her skirts. "This is an outrage, I demand the villains be found and punished."
Dumbledore placed a calming hand on her shoulder as she visibly shook with barely restrained fury.
"We will get to the bottom of this, Pagan. Have patience." He told her. Pagan closed her mouth toying with the strange blue amulet around her neck. Snape stared at the object, knowing now what Voldemort had wanted the boys to find when he'd summoned them to the Forbidden Forest a few nights before. How he was going to tell Albus was another matter.
Suddenly, Pagan became still, her face contorted with fear. "Dauphina!" She cried, hauling her skirt above her knees and running from the room. Snape was after her in an instant, the elder professors struggling to catch up.
When the three teachers finally caught up to Pagan, she was cradling a visibly frightened Dauphina in her arms. Upon noticing the approaching trio of magical people, Dauphina pushed away from her sister, trying to keep the ripped bodice of her dress from falling.
Snape stared in shock. The woman appeared to have been attacked, her clothes mussed and torn, her long raven hair falling from its usual twist, and her neck and shoulders were covered with angry red scratches. As if someone had tried to strangle her, or worse.
"What happened, child?" Minerva McGonagall gasped, coming over to assist in any way she could.
Dauphina shrugged her off, standing with as much dignity as she could muster, shoving her emotions and fright aside. She met Snape's eyes, the fury and concern surprised her, but she did not comment.
"It was Draco and Teddy. They came out of the shadows. They tried to take my amulet. I…I couldn't raise my wand in time." She explained softly.
Pagan gave Dumbledore a quizzical look. "Her amulet?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "I don't know, Pagan. But it could be that whoever ransacked your room was looking for it."
"But why? It's just a small magic charm our mother gave us." Pagan replied, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"I will get to the bottom of this, girls. You will rest in the Gryffindor house for tonight." Dumbledore replied. He looked to Snape. "I suggest you find Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Nott and confine them until this is straightened out. Minerva, will you see to it that the girls get settled?"
Minerva and Snape nodded. Dumbledore walked away, his mind racing, trying to find a connection to Draco, Theodore and the amulets.
Dauphina awoke screaming for Pagan. Her dream still lingering in her semi-conscious state; her face and body covered in sweat as she called for Pagan again. Draco and Theodore had attacked her again, this time taking it to another level, stripping her dress from her body as she fell to the cold stone floor. She was shaking when Pagan reached her. Dauphina wrapped her arms around her little sister, hugging her tightly. Pagan whispered softly, rocking her sister in her arms, mentally cursing herself for leaving her alone.
"Fina, it's ok. I'm here, no one is going to hurt you." Pagan cooed softly. She stroked her sister's long hair, comforting her as much as possible.
Dauphina was still only partially awake. She listened to the soothing tone of her sister's voice, lulling her back into the sleep she desperately wanted to escape. But as she drifted back into the realm of dreams, she was greeted not by the sinister faces of Malfoy and Nott, but by the comforting embrace of a man dressed in black.