Against All Odds

Chapter Five

Koneko-chan says!

What is there to say? I revised this chapter, and it's shiny.

Relena-chan: *cocks head confusedly* Shiny?

Heero-chan: *shakes head* Don't ask. Just don't ask.

~*~*~*~

Hermione bustled into DADA looking properly studious, with her quill stuck behind her ear (consequently forgotten), a blot or two of ink on her nose, and her satchel crammed with books that quite literally bulged bigger than she. "Sorry!" she gasped at Professor Sally, "I'm really sorry! But I had to stay behind to speak with Professor Vector and…"

"I will accept your excuse today. Please sit down, Miss Granger." Replied the strange, almost faraway voice of the new teacher…

Immediately, Hermione was reminded strongly of Professor Trelawney and with an odd look on her face, sat down. Pulling out her textbook, she turned to the girl sitting beside her for the page number while Professor Sally continued talking. She then did a double-take. "Nagini?" she asked, rather surprised, as the DADA class was for Gryffindors only. "What are you doing here?"

"My timetable is different from the other Slytherins. I do not know why. There were apparently not enough Slytherins needing a DADA class this period to fit into their schedules so the school put me in this class." The other girl replied as she held up her book, displaying the page number.

Hermione hurriedly flipped to the page. There was just something about that girl… it just made a shiver run up her spine. Despite her overtures of attempting friendliness, she could simply feel the waves of hidden animosity coming from that girl. But then there was something else… she just couldn't tell what. So she flashed Nagini an uneasy smile and turned back to Professor Sally.

She was pleasantly surprised when she realized that the woman could teach… and could teach very well in fact. The woman spoke in a quick, precise manner that belied her almost dreamy expression. Hermione found herself wondering just who this woman was who knew so much about the Dark magic that the other side used… where had the Headmaster found this woman? She shook her head… this professor was as good as Professor Lupin was… or even better. Even still, there was still a shred of suspicion in her as she watched the woman at the front of the classroom. After all, Professor Moody had been a good teacher as well… as well-versed in the Dark Arts as this woman seemed to be. And he had turned out to be a Death Eater… in fact, Voldemort's most trusted Death Eater.

"And so… Cruciatus is viewed as one of the worst curses one can use. Obviously I have just showed you that this is untrue… and that others, like this particularly nasty spell I have just told you about, produce far worse products. But as this spell is one of the hardest to cast, it is not viewed as one of the Unforgivables, simply because not many witches or wizards can cast it. It takes the work of a very powerful Dark Mage to cast in fact. It simply goes to show how Dark witches and wizards go about bending the rules, doesn't it?"

Hermione held up her hand, "You said that only a Dark Mage can cast the spell… which means they are better than others, right? Does the Ministry have any Mages? Or are they what we call the Aurors?"

Professor Sally smiled, "Aurors are used by the Ministry as government-funded attack officials… their spells lean towards the offensive. A Mage on the other hand is one of the most powerful witches or wizards around. It must be said that Voldemort—" most of the class winced at the name, and clapped their hands over their ears, "—once had a Dark Mage under his services. It is happy to note, in this case anyway, that he feared the Dark Mage would usurp him, and because of the things he did to that Mage, he no longer has one at his disposal. I do not know of any Mage that works for the Ministry."

"Perhaps not for the Ministry… but do you know one that sides with… Dumbledore, at the very least?" the question was pointed, and it was fired by the serious-faced Nagini. She looked at the teacher with her startling green eyes that never blinked as they held the other woman's eyes.

"I do not push my nose into the Headmaster's affairs. If you wished to find out the answers to your questions, perhaps a talk with the Headmaster himself would do you well. But class is over, so if you would pack up your books…?"

The class ended with a flurry of things being shoved into their bags, and Nagini stood up slowly, never taking her eyes off of the new teacher. It was only when she walked out the door that she spoke, very, very quietly. "Perhaps you might rethink where your loyalties lie, Vampire."

The woman watched her as she left the class, but made no comment. And odd thing to do for a professor.

Nagini frowned as she left the classroom. An odd feeling was swirling up from the pit of her stomach upwards, a strange little feeling she was unable to tell what it was. It wasn't anything particularly painful, so she ignored it.

But somewhere in the back of her head, there was the soft, soft whisper of a snake's hiss, like an echo, a memory of a serpent, whose voice has long since died with its body. Daughter… daughter…

Hermione left the room with a feeling that she was being glared at. True to form, the moment she stepped out of the class, there was Ron, and the expression on his face was murderous.

"What were you doing in there?" he roared, stopping people in their tracks as they buzzed in closer, intrigued.

She stared at him. "What?" she replied, confused still on what he meant.

"You know what I mean!"

She blinked at him, then Harry. He shuffled from one foot to another, before nodding his head at Nagini. Then everything fell into place. The class had been paired up so as to do some project or other on other less known Dark curses. She and Nagini had inevitably been paired up.

"You're getting mad at me because I'm not working with you?" she demanded, incredulously. Nagini stopped walking, turning around to watch them with those green eyes of hers.

"I'm mad because you're—you're—" Ron's fists were shaking with his pent up rage. "You're fraternizing with the enemy! AGAIN!"

"Big words, Weasley, take you months to learn it right?"

Hermione cringed at the drawling tone as Draco strode into view, his books in one hand, his infamous grating smile plastered onto his face. "What do you want, Draco?" she asked, though the venom in her tone was significantly lessened by the fact that she no longer used his surname when addressing him.

"Why, I was just passing by, little Daisy," he told her with a faint mocking look of surprise, even as the flush worked itself up the back of her neck, "And of course, who could ignore Weasley's lackluster shouting?"

Nagini too had come forward, not exactly supporting Hermione, but certainly not agreeing with Ron. After all, her own dignity was at stake here too while he was insulting the mudblood. And a serpent would rather lose an eye than a shred of dignity.

Harry was watching Draco now with blatant distaste, but he wasn't exactly defending his best friend either. Ron glared at the two of them, but he was not induced to switch his rage on them. Rather, he focused on Hermione, focused on her supposed betrayal. "Think you're too good for us now?" he demanded of her, "Think just because you made Head Girl you can just—"

"Ron!" Harry protested finally, "You know Hermione's not like that!"

"Yeah? Can't you see the company she keeps nowadays? A stinking Slytherin!"

Nagini was furious now. How dare this red-headed brat insult her when she could rip him to shreds in a second? Her hands shook as she summoned up her coldest look, forcing Ron to look at her and cower inside, just a little. One could not look at Nagini Whetlyn when she was in that much of a foul mood without having the urge to run in the opposite direction. Harry looked even more uncomfortable now beside his best friend, and looked at Hermione apologetically.

Hermione herself was quite the opposite of Nagini who was coldly furious. She exploded was a good enough expression for it. But she was not foolish enough to start a brawl since he was, after all, Ron Weasley whom she'd known for years and could be counted on to be a little hot-tempered, especially now since she was already in danger of having the Head Girl badge revoked. So she settled for taking the three steps that separated them. She grabbed a handful of the front of his robes, hauling him down so that his face was level with her. It was hard to make warm brown eyes like hers cold. She managed it quite well and he gulped despite himself.

"What are you trying to say, Ron?" she demanded, "That you think I'm better than you? That just because I can't be as prejudiced against people just because they're in a different house like you that makes me a traitor? Are you really that blind?" she snapped, looking him straight in the eyes.

He glared at her, yanking himself free. "I don't have anything to say someone who will do anything for power. You've done it all these years Hermione, and we've all watched you do it! Always sucking up to the teachers, to the Headmaster, going through so much trouble to be bloody perfect and laugh our faces about your accomplishments!"

Now all of them were staring at him. She and Harry were both horrified, sensing the impending collapse of their Trio. "Now, come on Ron!" protested Harry, laying a hand on Ron's shoulder, "You're going too far—"

"Am I?" he roared, pointing at her, "Aren't we her best friends? And yet all that stuff happened to her last year and she deems my little sister trustworthy enough to tell her secrets to, and she doesn't breathe a word of it to either of us!"

"RON!" Hermione's face was a picture of rage, "Didn't you think there would be a reason I didn't tell you what happened? And even if I didn't tell you, aren't you intelligent enough to guess?"

"There you go again, making yourself be better than us! I'm sick of it!"

"Aren't you the one always begging her for answers, Weasley?" Draco asked from his position leaning on the wall of the corridor, "Don't see you spouting all that trash when she's helping you pass."

"Stay out of this, Draco." Hermione said quietly. She glared at all the bystanders were who quietly whispering at each other, "All of you! Get to class!" Her voice was loud, so that everyone could hear. She needn't have bothered. All ears were already on the argument.

Most of the other students did leave, pushing aside others who were coming closer to see what all the noise was about. Amazingly, Professor Sally did not appear outside of her closed door, even though it was more than likely she would have heard them shouting at each other.

She turned back to Ron, "This argument is over." She said coldly, "I'm not going to listen you drag out into the open what happened last year… or what you think happened which will be even worse. I'm not going to continue to listen to you yelling at me with all these people around trying to hear every word we speak. If you have a problem with my being Head Girl, you might have voiced those opinions years ago when you were still encouraging me."

She began to walk away.

But Ron would not let her go without having the last word. Harry could see it coming and grabbed him, but it was too late. "Having one Malfoy wasn't good enough, was it?" he yelled after her, "You need the younger one too? Want a complete set, don't you?"

She froze completely, her books falling from her arms to the floor.

Ron realized then he had crossed the line, and the realization was slowly showing on his face as she turned around, achingly slowly, a mixture of rage and agony on her face. Ginny peeled herself away from the group of spectators, running to the older girl, glaring at her brother. Harry abandoned Ron as he loped over to Hermione, trying to pull her away lest she do something drastic. But she was beyond that. Nagini herself almost couldn't watch the heartbreaking look on Hermione's face. One could only get that look of ultimate betrayal from a best friend.

"Hermione… I…" Ron fumbled for more words to say, but was unable to find them. Alone again, his grand appearance seemed to dwindle, and suddenly he was the gangly, freckled-faced redhead again that they'd all known from previous years. But it was different this time… there was no Hermione Granger and Harry Potter supporting him.

"How… how dare you…" she whispered, her lips white with the way she was pressing them together. Ginny saw it coming, sweeping Hermione into a comforting embrace, but it was too late. No matter how Hermione tried to hide her face in her friend's shoulder, Ron as well as Draco and Nagini, could see her lower lip trembling before she hid her face from them, both in Ginny's shoulder and her own curtain of hair. There was still the unmistakable glimmer of tears.

Nagini turned upon Ron, a newfound sense of kinship with Hermione that she'd never thought could be formed with a lowly mudblood. But that didn't seem to matter now in the face of this arrogant brat. "A detention, I should think." She told him coldly, devoid of the overly saccharine sweetness that Hermione might have used when she was being sarcastic to him, "For insulting all three of the Head Students, and accusing Hermione with things that are based on nothing more than your own opinions."

"You can't—!"

"Yes, I believe I can. Detention. With Filch. Report yourself now." Nagini replied, snapping the clothing of her sleeve with a gesture of her right hand. "Go."

With one last glare, Ron slunk off in the direction of Filch's office. Hermione turned away from him. Harry looked just as awkward, following Ron's mop of red hair as he thrust himself through the crowds, ignoring anyone who tried to speak with him. Draco took charge, "The rest of you! Didn't you hear her tell you to get to class?" This time, they all disappeared towards their classes, recognizing the power in Draco's words.

He turned back to them, "Potter, the Gryffindor and Slytherin have double Potions now. The four of us have it. I'm going to go and tell Snape the rest of you are going to be late as he'll be less likely to bite my head off than if you go. You and Nagini take Hermione back to our Common Room… she looks sick." And indeed, Hermione was looking rather green around the edges of her face. "And you, Weasley, you'd better get to class. Common room is charmed, Potter might sneak in, but a Sixth year won't be able to."

He walked off in the direction of the dungeons, leaving Harry staring after him. Was Malfoy actually being… civil? Breaking off the train of thought, he turned back to Hermione, "Malfoy's right I guess. You're not up for facing Snape… especially not double Potions."

"But I'll get behind and—"

"Draco is the one handling Snape. I have already heard it spoken that he is the Potions teacher's favorite student. And I have also heard that if you missed a week of classes, you would not have fallen behind. Let's go."

Ginny nodded slowly as she watched the older Slytherin girl take charge, "Well… I guess I should get to class then," she said awkwardly. Nagini nodded curtly. "That would be best. Draco is right, our rooms are charmed."

Harry nodded slowly, "I guess that's a good idea." Hermione was trying to hide the tears that wouldn't stop coming from her eyes with her sleeve. It was if she had pushed all that back inside her head trying to forget and Ron had brought it all back into the fore, and it was if she couldn't stop it anymore, that something had broken and she couldn't thrust it back into that small hiding spot again. Harry realized at once that whatever had happened last year, she hadn't faced it at all… she'd hidden from it.

"Come on, Hermione. Let's get you back to your rooms and then we can a House Elf to bring you something warm to drink," he told him, patting her on the shoulder awkwardly, not really used to giving much comfort. The three of them made their way to the Head Students' common room. Harry stopped short at the portrait. "Sirius?!" he gasped, staring at the oil painting on canvas, and a look of utter anguish appeared on his features, "Sirius is that really you?"

The boy in the portrait peered down at him, then gasped, pointing. "You're James's kid, aren't you?"

Harry looked like he'd had the wind knocked out of him, "You don't… don't remember me?" he croaked out, pushing back the tears. He hadn't taken Sirius's death back in Fifth year well at all. Hermione, even in the midst of her own forced misery understood it. "He's the same age as us, Harry… he's not the Sirius we… knew."

Sirius looked up at her suddenly, "Knew?" he asked, "You mean… I'm no longer… there?"

James ran into the portrait then, "What's this about—bah!!" he jumped when he noticed the audience, then he caught sight of Harry and his expression changed. "My God… you're…"

Harry stared hungrily at the image of two of the people he'd missed more than anyone else in the world, like he couldn't get enough of being with them, even if they were just a painting. Hermione could see now more than ever how much he wanted them back, Sirius, James… his mother…

"Dad?" the one word trembled, the one word Harry had never said before to anyone, and one could see just how much wonder he put into the word.

James too couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Harry, "You look… just like me… no… no you don't… those eyes… I know those eyes…"

"Those are Lily's eyes…" Sirius said slowly, leaning forward as if he could lean out of the portrait itself to get a closer look at Harry, "Lily Evans's!"

Hermione slowly felt herself drawn out of the dismal memories that Ron's unwitting accusations had resurfaced, becoming wrapped up in what was happening between Harry and the figures in the portrait. Nagini too was quiet, thoughtful as she watched what was happening with an odd look in her eyes.

There was an enormous difference between her previous life as a serpent, and this present one, embodied as a human being. Everything had been ever so much simpler. It was the same with Animagi, emotions, feelings; they were all lessened to some degree when in animal form, when everything wasn't as complex as it was in their human state.

She was only just realizing it was harder to be as cold and as unfeeling in this human state as it had been when she hadn't been human.

Harry shook himself free of the daze he'd settled into, staring at the figures in the portrait, looking back to Hermione. "My friend Ron's an idiot… said some stuff he shouldn't have… Hermione's in a bit of a fix you see…" he said awkwardly.

"Skipping class are we?" James replied shrewdly.

"Er…" Harry nodded.

"Good, I approve. Come now you two, password the both of you."

"To rule them all." Nagini replied promptly, "And if you wouldn't mind… mightn't one of you see if there is a House Elf somewhere around these parts? Hermione might use a good drink."

"Anything to please the little lady. And you… boy… what did you say your name was?"

"H-Harry…"

"Harry, eh?" James looked down quietly at the boy, "I always liked that name… well… you'll come back around sometime won't you? Stop by to see us?"

Harry nodded vigorously, "I'd like to."

"I'll hold you to that," James told him as the portrait swung open and the three of them clambered in. Hermione seemed to be looking slightly better now. She had stopped crying some, and her face had lost that greenish tinge that made her look as if she might be sick to the stomach with the awful things she must have been remembering.

She threw herself down on the large couch and curled herself up into a ball, the self-confident adult woman cracking to reveal the child underneath as she watched them both with almost frightened eyes. "How could Ron do that?" she whispered, replaying the scene over and over as if it were something set on Repeat that she couldn't turn off, "I never thought he'd… he'd…"

Harry shook his head, sitting down beside her and laying a careful arm around her shoulders, "You know Ron… he just blows up. Thinks of himself kind of like your older brother…"

"I don't need a big brother." She told him forcefully, "If this is the way he treats Ginny, I don't need him at all."

Harry looked vaguely panicked, "Now Hermione… you know Ron… he just gets mad, y'know? He's made an ass out of himself and he knows it… he didn't mean any of the stuff he said… he was just trying to vent. He wasn't chosen to be Captain in Quidditch… found out this morning… he wasn't really mad at just you, y'know?"

Nagini swept up, holding a mug of steaming hot chocolate, "Drink it." She told Hermione, holding out the mug, "You'll feel better." She balanced herself on the coffee table, and watching the two of them silently.

Hermione took the mug of steaming liquid in her hands and took a sip, her mouth filled with rich liquid chocolate and sweet-tasting marshmallows. Harry was silent for a moment before he glanced in Hermione's direction, and said quietly. "Was Ron right? Did something happen last year…? Something to do with Lucius Malfoy?"

Hermione's hands shook and he stopped hastily, "You don't have to say anything! If you can't tell me… I can understand that. After all… you are a girl… I can't say I don't understand if you'll tell Ginny and won't tell us… you're going to need to get over it a little more before you can tell us… I promise I'll talk to Ron about it… straighten things out…"

Hermione nodded, "Yeah… yeah you do that." She took a deep shuddering breath and forced a smile on her face, blowing on her hot chocolate, which immediately cooled to a manageable temperature for her to drink quickly. Setting it down on the table beside Nagini, she stood up, still with that smile pasted on her features. "I'm going to go and wash my face." She told them both, walking towards her room, "I'll be right back."

"Right." Harry replied, knowing when not to push her even more than she was willing to give. "We'll wait for you."

As soon as he disappeared, an uncomfortable silence fell between Nagini and himself. She looked up, blinking rather owlishly at him, "You are a good friend to her, I see."

He shrugged uncomfortably, "Well… I guess… we've always been together, Hermione, Ron and me. I don't want to think what might happen if Ron keeps making such an ass out of himself."

"I see." She pursed her full lips, watching him thoughtfully. "You are a very handsome young man, Harry Potter." She told him unexpectedly, "Has anyone ever told you that?"

He blushed scarlet, "Ex—excuse me?" he stuttered, "I'm not… er…"

"Yes, yes you are. If you were not in that relationship of yours with that Ravenclaw that stayed behind this year to study under Professor Flitwick in Advanced Charms, you would have more than the Weasley girl after you."

"How do you know—?"

"I hear things spoken around this school that you might not hear, Harry Potter. I have attempted to find out what has happened in this school in previous years, having heard bits and pieces even all the way in Durmstrang."

Harry still looked uncomfortable, "I'm not quite sure I know what you're getting at…"

"Well… there are things a girl wants to know about the most famous boy in all of wizarding history…" Nagini replied coyly, a slow, sexy smile spreading on her face, making him gulp, but there was still that look of the faintly interested in his eyes. She smiled, this time losing some of the sultry and replacing it with a hint of the slight pout that she had found Harry staring at whenever he was near Cho Chang. "And… I don't know… I don't want to follow the rules and hate you like every other Slytherin."

"You… don't…?" he repeated, biting his lip and trying to keep from turning brick red.

"No… in fact if Ravenclaw weren't in the way, I might have considered trying to seduce you… but you're too much the gentleman to do that to… Cho, was her name?"

Harry turned an even deeper red, something that actually made him look charmingly adorable, "Er… well…"

Nagini shook her head, "Aren't you?" she repeated.

"Well… yeah…" Harry admitted, "I wouldn't like to do that to Cho…"

"I knew it. You have no idea how hard I have found it to find a boy in Slytherin who one might deem trustworthy."

"Oh, all of them are, y'know," said Hermione from the door to her room, "You see, you can always count on the dishonest ones to be dishonest. It's the honest ones you have to look out for… you never know when an honest man will do something…" her eyes zeroed in on Harry, "…extremely stupid…"

Nagini raised an eyebrow, "Like fall for a girl like me?"

Hermione shook her head, "No I wasn't thinking about that… I was thinking how Harry would be so all-fired noble about Cho… even if he did start liking other girls. The girl just fluctuates between blushing and crying. Can't tell you what he sees in her."

Harry glared at Hermione, determined to defend his girlfriend, "Hey, she's not that bad! She's just… sensitive…"

Now Nagini raised her other eyebrow. "So I assume you have not done much with this girlfriend of yours, have you?"

Harry blushed at her bluntness, "Well… I'm not the type to kiss and tell."

"An excuse well-known to those who have not gotten any," Hermione muttered, staring innocently at the ceiling.

Nagini looked at her sharply, trying to find even a glimpse of that broken little child she had seen in her face only minutes ago. But there was nothing now, only the sweetly sultry smile that seemed to be what had attracted Draco Malfoy to her.

"Hey!" he protested.

Nagini shook her head, "She speaks truth you know… it has been well-proven amongst the female population." She let a faint smile slide onto her lips as she watched him with those green eyes of hers through her long dark eyelashes. "Aren't you going to prove all of us wrong?"

Hermione laughed, throwing her arms around Harry's neck, "We're not going to go that far…" she told Nagini with a grin, "But I'm quite sure we're going to be able to prod him enough that he'll tell us all of it sooner or later of his own accord."

Nagini shrugged, "I suppose. Now, perhaps we might go to class? Draco Malfoy may be Professor Snape's pet student, but I don't think that same honor falls upon the rest of us."

"Oh hell, you're right!" Harry exclaimed, leaping to his feet, "Snape is going to put me a detention for a week!"

Hermione immediately looked around with an almost panicked expression on her face, "Where are my books? Did I leave them in the hallway?" she exclaimed, wringing her hands as she searched the place.

Nagini shook her head, "The Weasley girl took them," she replied, "I saw her, just as we were taking you back here. Perhaps she still has them? Or would she know to bring it to Snape's classroom?"

"She'll probably keep them with her," Harry replied, snatching up his own schoolbooks, "The Sixth years have Transfiguration now… she'll be there."

Hermione nodded, "Let's go then!"

Nagini followed them soon after, gliding on her two legs in a way not many humans, not even Snape or Professor Sally could replicate. That feeling hadn't gone away… in fact, it had become a sort of small, sharp pain now. Nothing big, but enough to cause her discomfort... The three of them exited the portrait hole, found that the both Sirius and James had disappeared from the frame (the little cat in the opposite painting told them they'd gone after a bunch of Veela in negligees down the Charms corridor portraits). The three of them made a quick stopover in McGonagall's class (she wasn't pleased at the disruption) before running pell-mell down towards the dungeons.

The moment they walked in, the class went silent, watching to see what the Potions Master would do.

He glared at them. "Well? Will you continue to disrupt my class or will you three find your seats and take them or do I have to put you all in detention? Miss Granger, your position as Head Girl is already in danger… do you think you can risk another detention so soon?"

She frowned, not looking at him before she sat down in her regular seat. Ron, who had come in late as well, though earlier than the three of them looked at her nervously, but she didn't even acknowledge his existence, not even going for the childishness of moving her stool several inches to the other side. She simply opened her book, took out her quill and began concentrating on Snape again.

Draco tried to catch her eye as well, or at the very least try to discern something of what had happened, but she wasn't looking at anything other than who she had to be, and she immersed herself in listening to Snape who, despite all his other multiple faults, had a wonderful voice making him easier to follow than other teachers, say Binns.

Nagini too, was listening to the man and watching him closely, but for completely different reasons. She remembered this boy too… remembered him as the intelligent boy who had joined the ranks of the Death Eaters in order to gain more knowledge, to find out more of what he already knew… to find a truth that in reality, had never actually existed. She also remembered when he'd left, betrayed them. What had puzzled her was that the Master had let him go. There was the obvious logical answer of course, the Master certainly hadn't been in the strongest of conditions, but he'd still had people under his command… She shook her head; she did not question the Master.

It was later along in the class that Nagini realized just how much the Potions Master hated Harry Potter… and how much he hated her as well, for reasons unknown.

"Detention!"

The boy groaned, retracting his hand, from which a piece of parchment he'd been trying to pass in front of Hermione's eyes, still dangled. Hermione glanced at him once, startled, as if just noticing that he'd been trying to get her attention.

"And you! Detention." Nagini snapped to attention, before realizing that Snape's finger was pointing directly in her face. She blinked. "Me?"

"Do I appear to be pointing in any other direction, Miss Whetlyn?"

"But I—!" she began indignantly before he cut her off with a swift gesture of his hand. "Enough. You were not paying attention!"

She stood up suddenly, startling the people around her, unable to stop herself from doing at least this. In the face of wanting to lunge at him and ripping out his throat with her blunt human teeth, she figured it was a good reflection on her self-control. Still, she could not hold back the fact that her body was shaking, nearly out of control as she fisted her hands at her sides. How dare this man, this man who knew nothing of loyalty to the Master, try and dominate over her?

"Nagini Whetlyn, sit down!" Snape's voice had become dangerously silky, forewarning of severe trouble ahead if she kept going.

She kept going. "I'm not going to listen to a professor who does not even have the power to maintain discipline in his classes without resorting to outright shows of favoring students. Nor am I going to respect the wishes of a man who cannot even decide which side of the war he will fight on!"

"Miss Nagini! That is enough! Or I will see that your Head Girl status be revoked!" he bellowed, shocking the class, since, for all the years they had known the greasy-haired Potions Master, he had never, ever shouted. He had been angry, obviously, and they had seen that look of loathing, most often shot directly at Harry Potter. But shouting? Never.

Nagini's eyes burned, as she swept up to him, and with one swift blow, slapped her clear across the face. The entire class gasped as they saw his face whirl in the opposite direction, before Nagini had gathered up all of her books, as if by magic, and had disappeared out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Hermione was certainly paying attention to the outside world now… and she was staring open-mouthed after the raven-haired Head Girl as she made her grand exit.

Not that anyone else noticed this… they were all too busy staring after Nagini Whetlyn themselves. The buzz of hushed conversation began not a moment later. Since the arrival of the Whetlyn girl, the school had seen sides to several of their more… important characters than they ever had before…

"Silence!" Snape's voice was deadly, and instantly, all chatter dried up. But it was a very awkward class, and all in it knew it, all of them wriggling to get out of the confines of his lair in the dungeons so that they might speak freely of the incident in the relative safety of the hallways and the corridors. Snape, knowing full well of this, took advantage of them by keeping them all in for five extra minutes after class.

Nagini however, having found herself at a loss at what to do, had simply dropped to her knees not too far away from the Potions classroom, breathing hard, her heart pounding… what had… what had possessed her to do such a thing? She should have more self-restraint than that! And yet, here she was, blowing up at a professor simply because he had given her a detention. An unfair detention, obviously, but it was still not enough to blow up over.

"Miss Whetlyn? Has class become so terrible dull that it is better to huddle near a suit of armor than be anywhere near the confines of a classroom?" the slightly amused tone made her look up, directly into the face of Albus Dumbledore. She blinked once before straightening up immediately, and forcing her eyes to look down to the ground, in a position of meek submissiveness. "I… I…" she tried to say, but the words felt and sounded foreign in her mouth and she seemed to have lost her grasp on the English language. What was it about this man that commanded that the truth be told to him, that he know everything that she had plotted to do in the name of the Master?

"I just received an urgent call from our resident Potions Master… says he had trouble dealing with a certain Head Girl in his classroom… and since he has told me directly that Hermione Granger was not to blame…"

She shook her head, placing her face in her hands so that he might not see her expression. She was disgusted with herself… she had more than once been commended as being the most conniving and devious and subtlest of the Master's followers… to suddenly lash out like that towards a professor, someone in power, was beyond her to comprehend. "I do not believe this…" she muttered into his hands, "Only a day into the year, and I lose my title as Head Girl…"

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, looking down his long, crooked nose at her, "Now, whoever said such a thing?" he asked, with a look of surprised on his wrinkled old features, but there was a hint of sparkle in his blue, blue eyes. She looked up at him, green eyes dry, but worried. "What do you mean?" she demanded immediately, "Do you mean to say that even after that… show of complete insubordination, you would allow me to retain my title?"

Dumbledore looked serious, "We are all completely willing to forgive and forget the incident, as long as you apologize to Professor Snape… he is after all, a teacher, and he cannot accept such behavior from you, especially before the eyes of your fellow students."

She looked at him in horror, "You want me to… apologize?"

"Why yes, yes of course. It is necessary wouldn't you think?" he asked her, pinning her with those eyes of his again, "Since, after all, we certainly cannot allow that sort of behavior to go on in our school… terrible things there are enough that will happen… and are happening right at this very moment. The staff need, at the very least, to keep some semblance of order. Wouldn't you say, Miss Whetlyn?"

She looked down, "I'm not entirely used to taking orders from other people." She admitted finally, speaking partially because she needed to make him stop looking at him with those sharp blue eyes that missed nothing, and partially because… well…

He shook his head, "Even you would say that that is not an excuse. You have offended one of your professors. And what is more, you have offended him in front of his own class. Such an action must be apologized for."

She grimaced, but swallowed her pride. "Right then," she murmured, before looking up at him, a plaintive look in her face, "But I don't have to do it now, though, do I?"

He smiled, "Then it is settled. You will go to Professor Snape and you will apologize and give yourself over to whatever justice he comes up with." He flashed her a dry smile, "It might be a good idea to remind him that you're in Slytherin otherwise he might be angry enough to forget he'll be setting his House into negative points."

He turned away and she assumed he would continue on walking away, when he stopped. "I must say though," he added, "You reacted much like I would expect a Gryffindor would… albeit, more violently than one would expect. Perhaps the Sorting Hat was wrong, for once. A pity you haven't been to see Gryffindor Tower yet."

She watched as he disappeared around a corner, disappearing into an intersecting corridor. She frowned in confusion… what had he meant by that? She frowned even deeper… he was hinting at something, but more than that, she could not piece together. He surely could not want her to actually go into Gryffindor Tower? Where his precious Potter was being kept amongst all his ever-so-loyal friends?

She sighed, standing up, automatically straightening her robes as she did so. Pride went before a fall, and she always knew she had had too much to be safe while working under the power of the Master. Checking the timepiece on the nearby dusty column, she realized that classes would be over in just a few minutes… might as well go and face the music now. At the very least, by the time she reached the classroom, the class would have emptied out into the corridors and no one would have to witness her humiliation.

She sighed. It was too early in the morning for this…

~*~*~*~

While Nagini had been dallying away her time in a certain dusty corridor, Professor Sally had come to call… that is, she marched directly into Snape's classroom, almost immediately after the girl had stormed out, caught up Snape by the one billowing sleeve, and dragged him into his office, shutting the door firmly after telling the class to say put. Snape was growling something inarticulately to the woman as he was dragged in such a demeaning fashion out of sight of his class. Once the door had closed, he yanked his sleeve out of her hand, and snapped, furiously, "Are you determined, woman, to completely lose control over my classes?"

The dark-haired woman, simply crossed her arms, continuing to watch his fury in detached sort of manner. When finally he had stopped speaking, she spoke up. "Nagini will be coming back. To apologize."

Snape stared at her, "How did you—?" he stopped, shaking his head, "Should I even bother asking?"

"I know that girl, my dear Severus, and I know what she is capable of. When she returns, accept her apology… and do not try and make her punishment any greater than detention."

He gaped at her, "What right, have you to barge into my office and tell me how to run my own House?" he demanded, furious.

She raised an eyebrow, "Why, I'm only giving you advice, Severus. Whether or not you decide to take it depends entirely on whether or not you wish to be alive long enough to see the outcome of this 'silent war'."

His thin lips tightened, "Are you threatening me, woman?"

"Now, Severus, there is a class going out outside. Do try and keep your voice at a reasonable level."

He looked ready to fly at her and hurt her in some way, but Severus Snape had more self control than that. He frowned, "What do you know of the girl that is so all-fired important to the war?"

She frowned, "Too much to tell you. But please… take my advice, Severus. She is not what she seems… and it may come to be that she may be a great help to our side."

He did not speak, but there was no doubt the suspicion in his mind about her own credentials, not to mention a mere girl.

"She will come back, and she will be properly penitent. Accept her apology, at the most give her a detention, and possibly a few dozen points. But no farther than that… the safety of the castle may depend on her temper." With these words of warning, she swept out of his office, smiled sweetly at the sea of faces who looked to her in confusion for answers, before disappearing out the door.

Snape appeared a few minutes later, glowering even more than before, and even Harry and Draco almost withered when they caught the full blast of that fury. It was never, ever a good idea to see Snape mad.

It was worse to be the cause. Poor Nagini. Poor Professor Sally.

The moment classes were out, and his particular class had dashed out the door to escape his fury, he slumped down in his chair, leaning his elbows down on the hard wood grain of his desk, and felt, and most probably looked, tired beyond imagining. There had been no sleep for him the previous night, none whatsoever. After that ungodly meeting last night, he'd been ready to simply fall into bed, but then of course, there were other matters at hand… all dealing with Voldemort.

God how he wished he had never been a part of this! Not even working under a great a man as Dumbledore was worth it.

There was a slight knock on his classroom door, and he looked up irritably. "Come in!" he said, more snappishly than he'd intended.

Nagini slipped into the room, her green eyes properly lowered. "I have spoken with Professor Dumbledore," she told him. "And I am here to apologize for what I did earlier this class, and that I am willing to accept whatever punishment you are to give me."

Snape looked up at her sharply, but she made no move to reveal the sudden explosive nature she'd unleashed on him only an hour ago. But there was nothing, she only watched him with that vague sense of detachment that he had seen only a little while earlier on the face of Professor Sally.

"Do you realize just how much face you have made me lose in front of the class?"

She looked up at him then, "Is your reputation so important to you, Professor Snape?" she asked him, properly demure, but there was no hiding the challenging point in her statement.

"I work in a classroom where we brew potions and poisons and any other number of impossible liquids, Miss Whetlyn. We have had so few incidents with our potions because I have taken measures to make my students obey me, for their own safety. If everyone were to turn out as hopeless as Longbottom, there would be no telling what would happen in the confines of this room. So yes, my reputation is important, because if the students fear me, they would do well to pay attention to what I am teaching them. I have heard tell that your Potions' expertise is a great as our resident Hermione Granger. You should, therefore realize that what I am doing needs, to quote a certain Alastor Moody, constant vigilance. Otherwise, who knows what might happen?"

She pursed her lips, but she nodded. "I see." She saw some merit in doing such a thing. After all, the Master governed by fear as well, and very few would dare make mistakes when they knew what he would do.

He sat back, making a steeple of his long fingers, "Well then?"

"I apologize for the embarrassment I must have caused you by my little scene earlier on in the class, and I am willing to accept whatever punishment you are to assign me to."

He nodded, and almost appeared to hesitate as to her punishment. Finally, "You will serve detention for a week, Miss Whetlyn after school alongside Potter, beginning tonight. Fifty points shall be taken off, and your place as Head Girl will be put under consideration whether or not it will be revoked."

She nodded, without a word for a moment or two before, "Very well."

"Good. Now get to your next class."

She left the room without another word. But the moment she was out of the classroom, and into a corridor, far away enough to avoid Snape's hearing, she was immediately swamped by hordes of appreciative and admiring students. She blinked in confusion as they rushed up to her with shrill congratulations and pats on her back, until she was quite dizzy with trying to comprehend the entire situation.

"Hey! Give the girl some air!" yelled someone in the back, as they pushed through the large crowd flitting around her, as she stared at them all, still with that perplexed look on her face. This had never happened to her before… and she was not quite sure what she was supposed to do about it.

She looked up to catch the familiar green eyes of Harry Potter as he calmly took her by the arm and began guiding her through the masses. When finally they had reached the main corridor, and the crowds had diluted somewhat he stopped and turned to her. "You all right now?" he asked, with raised eyebrows, "You were looking a mite pale back there."

Nagini nodded dumbly, "What… why were they doing that?"

He grinned, "You're the first since Hermione who's ever done that to Snape… and you've been elevated to a status of heroine for doing so."

She still had that puzzled look on her face as she stared at him, "What do you mean?"

Harry shrugged, "You've seen how Snape is… isn't very high on anyone's favorites list at this school. You were amazing back there."

"I was?" she asked, blankly, trying to collect her thoughts. Strange, strange humans and their skewed ideals of heroism! She shook her head, and summoned up a faint smile, "I do not see how my hasty and irrational actions were worthy of such… admiration, but… you're welcome…?"

He smiled again, "That's the spirit. Now I'm off for class." He disappeared along with the rush of the hallways, meeting up with Ron Weasley along the way. She pursed her lips as she watched him, before allowing them to curl into a devious little smile. So he was beginning to accept her as something more than a Slytherin… perfect.

She would have to report this to the Master as soon as she was able. He had to know what she was accomplishing slowly but surely in this school. Otherwise, he might become impatient enough to come himself, and bring his legions of Death Eaters with him. The Master was cold, calculating, and certainly no risk-taker, but this was something that needed to be done, and needed to be done as quickly as possible. Harry Potter could not live, he was too much of a threat to the Master's plans. As was Dumbledore. They would be gotten rid of.

~*~*~*~

Draco Malfoy, was in no way, in a good mood. Another letter had been owled to him, from his father, referring to the mudblood he had taken up shop with. His father got his information quickly, it seemed. And it also appeared that his father had changed his mind as to what to do with her. He was now supposed to watch her, and waiting for his father's pending instructions as to what to do to her.

If there was one thing he hated to do, it was follow orders.

The moment he'd walked out of class, he'd been immediately confronted by the sight of the glossy-haired brunette as she swept past him through the door, with only a passing glance and slight smile in his direction. He nodded once in response to her smile before she turned away, before his lips pulled themselves into a frown. What was his father planning?

There was no way… absolutely no way that his father had taken an… interest in Hermione Granger… could there? His father was born and bred pure Malfoy… what interest would he take in a mudblood, any mudblood, even one as attractive as Hermione Granger? But… Weasley's words bothered him, as well as Daisy's reaction to Weasley's words.

A loud hooting sound and a flap of wings made him look up instinctively as a renegade owl flew past. It took him a second to recognize the owl as his own. "Echidna!" he barked angrily, making the owl swoop around and pull itself into a dive, before it landed neatly on a stone statue's finger. "What are you doing here?" he demanded of her. She simply stared at him with large yellow eyes before holding out her leg imperiously, waiting for him to untie the piece of parchment attached to it.

Once he had freed her leg from the confining string and paper, she fluttered her feathers and took off, swooping into the direction of the Owlery.

He shook his head, and looked down at the piece of parchment in his hand, folded and sealed with the Malfoy crest. Opening it, he recognized his mother's handwriting immediately, even before he read the opening line.

My darling son,

Unlike his father, whom most of the time he felt more than a little oppressed by, and governed over, he more than a deep affection for his mother, who, unlike most high class pureblood mothers, took care of her son, raised him up herself, refusing to get him a nanny. And so, more times than anything, when she asked him to do something, he did it, not because he had been ordered to do it, but because he wanted to please his mother.

Your father came home today in a horrible fit of temper concerning something his… informants found out at that school of yours. There is talk that you and that Granger girl have become… close. Friends, almost. You do not need me to tell you that his reaction to this little bit of news was fury. You know better than anyone that the nature of her blood and birth are different than your own, and the mix of the two is… well frowned upon at the very best. In the ways of the old families, it is forbidden.

Strangely enough, I have also been able to glean some information about the failed Death Eaters attack on the castle this previous summer, and that this girl was also somehow involved, despite the fact that the castle should have been empty of students. That, and your father's reaction was… different from that which the both of us would have expected. There was no mention of the word 'Mudblood' anywhere… which is odd enough considering how often he flings about that filthy word. I hope you are not using it on a daily basis yourself, my son, I would hope I have taught you well enough to be a gentleman, even to those of lesser birth than yourself. There were also hints that your father found this girl instrumental in the failure of the last attack on Hogwarts… possibly a reason why he wants her so badly now, in the name of his Dark Lord.

No matter what his instructions my son, do try and keep away from her… and I have a feeling that you have managed to grow up some, enough so that you might be able to carry on a friendly acquaintance with a Muggle girl. Do this so that your father will have no reason to use you to get her for whatever purpose, which the both of us know can not be a good one.

All my love, your mother,

Narcissa Malfoy

He folded it back up with fingers that had suddenly become numb. What did his father want with Daisy?

He looked up, down the corridor searching for the head of glossy brown hair, but obviously, at her brisk pace, she was long gone now, most likely already sitting in her class, her books out, her quill ready in her hand. He was reminded all of a sudden that he had his own class to go to, and which certainly lay in the opposite direction that she had gone in. He sighed, pocketing the piece of parchment.

It was for the better, he supposed, after all, his mother was right. He should stay away from her. Besides, he had been blinded already in the face of her charm once he had nearly forgotten that she was a mudblood, beneath him. It was dangerous thinking for this time, when Voldemort was long since due for an uprising against Hogwarts.

He was nearly shoved aside by a red headed fireball that was Ronald Weasley, with such a stormy expression on his face, that instantly Draco knew he hadn't made nicey-nice with Diasy yet. "Watch where you're walking, Weasley."

Ron stopped, glaring at Draco for a moment, his eyes narrowed furiously and his fists clenched at his sides. He was simply begging for a fight, to blow off all the steam he'd accumulated since the scene with Hermione earlier. "Don't tell me what to do, Malfoy!"

Draco raised his eyebrows, "Then you regularly blunder your way into other people like some great bumbling half-giant of your acquaintance, and then ignore it when they tell you of your mistakes? Dear me…" but his eyes were cold, icy, and their color only added to that effect.

Ron glared, "Don't mess with me Malfoy, I'm in a bad enough a mood as it is."

"I see Daisy hasn't forgiven your little outburst earlier today has she?"

Ron's face went red, the color of an overripe tomato. "How dare—"

"Enough!"

The two of them turned to see the crowd that had gathered part, to allow the newest addition to the Hogwarts faculty appear in their midst. She didn't look angry, but there was coldness to her expression so that it eclipsed her normally dreamy look almost completely.

Draco found to his surprise that he literally towered over the slight woman, but instead of feeling falsely superior as such a height difference usually brought the taller, he was slightly cowed by the look in her eyes, and the flash of candlelight on her fangs. Dainty as small as they were, they still managed to be prominent, especially when she made no attempt at hiding them.

"To my office, now." She told them, casting that same fierce look towards Ron, saying nothing else as she marched the two boys into her office. Draco's bad mood plummeted to lower depths. Chastised and late!

Flicking her wand to the opposite side of her desks, two wooden chairs appeared. Draco noted with some surprise, that they were the plain wooden chairs that the students regularly sat on (if they weren't sitting on benches), but ornately carved with a pattern of storks flying in swirling clouds. A glance around the office before he sat down confirmed that she was more than interested in her native culture by the looks of the Oriental miscellanies she had everywhere. The smoky scent of incense also hit his nostrils, curling up from a small decorative pot on her desk. He sat down gingerly, as she took her own seat, before beginning right away. "Now tell me exactly what was going on outside." She told them strictly, again allowing the candlelight to reflect off of one bared sharp-looking fang.

Draco grimaced at the sight, and for once, shared a look with Weasley of discomfort, alien to the two of them as it were. The professor watched both of them with keen eyes, "Well?"

"We were… talking, Professor." Ron grudgingly said, "Just talking."

"Talking? Mr. Weasley, your little outburst this morning did not go unheard when you timed it perfectly to erupt right outside my class. I did not take myself to interrupt it then, but I interrupt now before you do anything else as rash. I want to know the entire story of what you know, Ronald Weasley, and not your own fabrication of it that will harm not only your friend's, but this boy and this boy's father."

Ron shrugged, but did not speak.

The woman raised her eyebrows, "Do you realize you touched on a very delicate subject concerning Miss Granger this morning? And that you yelled it out for all the school to hear? News travels fast as undoubtedly the both of you know." Here she looked Draco full in the eyes, and he had to hold back a shudder at the sudden irrational thought that she might know of his father's 'informants'.

Ron looked down into his lap, studying his large callused hands, "I wasn't thinking…"

"I realized that." she replied wryly, "You are best friends with this girl, are you not? How did this change come around?"

"She was…" he cast a dark glare towards Draco, "…fraternizing with the enemy."

Draco stifled a snort, and the urge to roll his eyes.

"'Fraternizing with the enemy'?" she repeated, a hint of a smile quirking her lips, though her eyes continued to remain inquisitive, "So she slips out ever night and crosses several country borders to converse with the Dark Lord, does she?"

"Well… no…"

"Then I see no reason to accuse her of playing behind enemy lines, yet. Please think to remember this in the future… you are dismissed." She added, before he could open his mouth and form a protest, as she waved him towards the door.

"Now, Mr. Malfoy."

"Yes, Professor?" he answered, as politely as it was possible to be when he was in a horrible a mood as he was currently in.

"You are friends with this Hermione Granger as well?"

He shrugged, "Not really. I tolerate her, and make an attempt at not insulting her since we're living together and all…" Might as well start now, he thought to himself. Saying it out loud almost always made himself believe his own words.

This time however, all he could think of was, liar, liar, LIAR, LIAR! It was hardly that. He… respected her, and he had to admit he was intrigued by her… but that was about it. It should have been easy enough to admit, considering there was no sexual connotations in there… but even that much was hard to admit to anyone else.

She raised an eyebrow as she digested this bit of information. "Is that so…?" She mused, watching him with those bright silvery eyes, only a shade or two more colorless than his own, making them a shiny silvery sheen over her pupils that was the only hint of color that differentiated from the rest of her eye. She shook her head, "Very well then. If it is as you say, then all should go well. You may go."

He stared at her, startled. "That's it?"

She raised the other eyebrow, "Why yes, Mr. Malfoy, unless you wish me to peg you with a detention with Filch for this evening…?"

"No thanks," he replied shortly, leaving the tiny room as quickly as possible.

It was only later on, after supper was over and done with and he'd dragged himself back to the portrait of Sirius and James, did he see Hermione again, sprawled on one of the large plump couches, a stack of parchment on the circular coffee table in front of her. She looked up from her comfy spot, a piece of parchment in the one hand, a cup of hot chocolate in another, and smiled slightly, almost hesitantly. "Hey," she greeted him.

He nodded curtly to her, before she waved the piece of parchment in her hand, "Can you help me sort through these things, please?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Why on Earth would I want to do that?"

She frowned at his unfriendly tone, but continued on, "Because Nagini's in detention down in the dungeons for insulting Snape, and you're the only one, other than me, who's left."

"Do it yourself." He turned to go to his own room. He had enough things to do without having whatever those things there were for. Nor did he have any particular reason to help her.

Her frown deepened as he turned his back on her, before she told him sharply, "Too bad Draco love, but we're all working on the Yule Ball together." The sarcasm was evident the moment she uttered the word 'love'.

He whipped around, "What?" When had this been mentioned?

She raised an eyebrow, "You weren't listening this morning when they brought it up at the meeting, were you?" she accused, "So you were asleep!"

He glared at her, "Since you're the one who so sure of yourself planning anything, go ahead and do it yourself, and do whatever the hell you want to do… and kindly leave me out of it."

"Fine then, Dragon-boy. Go ahead and take your beauty rest and I'll do this myself." She then promptly returned to the papers at hand, and ignored him with that frigid atmosphere he knew all too well from previous years spent at the same school with her.

(And someone somewhere sighs and says, "One step forward, ten steps back…")

~*~*~*~

"So… this is a detention?" asked Nagini curiously as she looked around the empty classroom to Harry, who was leaning against the same table she was sitting at. "Was I supposed to bring something?"

He raised an eyebrow, "You haven't ever been given a detention before?"

She shook her head, "Not once. Are we simply supposed to sit here?"

"Until Snape comes, anyway…" Harry muttered. "He'll be here… if only because he loves ordering me around."

"I take it he dislikes you?"

"And how…" muttered Harry, studying a jar of dragon's spleen floating in some bilious green liquid with an expression of distaste on his face."Hates me, more like it."

Nagini shrugged, "Can't have everyone kissing the tips of your sneakers, can you?"

"Yeah." Harry replied shortly, "I just wish he'd hate me more fairly."

"I heard that, Potter."

Figures, Harry thought sullenly, as he nodded curtly at Snape. "Professor…" He said, acknowledging the Potions Master's entrance.

Nagini watched Snape with cool green eyes, and jerked her head in a nod as well, mimicking Harry out of the corner of her eye, unsure of such customs amongst humans.

Snape waved his hand, and Harry slipped into the seat next to Nagini. "I have a proposition to make."

They sat quietly, staring at him. They were, after all in a detention. What choice did they have in the matter?

"I do not trust either of you as far as I can propel you both with a levitation spell. But now I need to ask the two of you to do something."

"Which would be…?" asked Nagini, frowning in confusion. Were they supposed to be given a choice as to what they were supposed to do in a detention?

He looked at her as he spoke, "You will be working in order to make the most powerful Veritassium ever. The amount we have currently in Hogwarts is insufficient for our needs, so I put you to the task. Seeing as I have so easily roped you into giving a week's attention to the brew, and seeing as you are reputed to a wonderfully gifted student in the study of potions," he said this last with a look that told them both he did not really believe her capable, "you are to start the potion and get as much done as possible while you have this week. Potter shall be your… assistant during the one night he is in here."

"What about Hermione?" Harry burst out before he could silence himself. Then, unable to take his words back, he fixed a challenging look in his eye.

Snape raised an eyebrow, "What about the gossipy little know-it-all?" he asked, as if the point of the question were not even worth his time.

"Why didn't you ask her about the Veritassium?"

Snape eyed him coldly, "Potter, I have my reasons. Do not think to question them."

Harry nodded, but the moment Snape walked into his office to open up his own private stores of potions ingredients (that he kept under lock and key since Hermione's second-year visit), he muttered, "Heil Hitler."

Even Nagini knew of that problematic wizard enough to be unable to hold back a smile.

"I heard that Potter. Keep this up and Miss Whetlyn will have an assistant tomorrow night as well."

Harry made a face, but he shut up.

The work proceeded in excruciating silence, with Snape behind them every moment, his sharp eyes catching whatever mistakes they might make, even before they had even moved a millimeter towards the cauldron, bubbling nicely in front of them.

Nagini was very, very thankful that all those things on her transcript were true… even when one did not have limbs, one can always watch, and considering how long a life span she had had, it would have been impossible not to pick up the technique. Then, when she had taken on her human form, she had been able to practice. Though she was still an incompetent at flying, and most likely would never adapt to ever having her feet leave the ground, she had found early on after her transformation that potion-making, potion-brewing came easily for her.

A sudden whirring in Snape's office distracted all three of them. Snape detached himself from his place behind the both of them, his face sent in a look of dislike. A few minutes later, he exited his small adjacent office with a scowl on his features. "I will be right back… neither of you do anything while I am gone otherwise I will have it tested on the both of you now. And Miss Whetlyn, I suppose you know the effects of unfinished Veritassium.

Nagini could barely hold back a serpentine hiss, as her eyes became slits, glaring at him as he swept out of the room. Harry was shaking his head beside her, "Don't take it too hard. He treats Hermione like that too…" he glanced up at the clock on the wall, and swore, "And I wanted to make it to Quidditch practice today…" he muttered.

She raised an eyebrow at him, "I heard you played," she commented, in a conversational tone, "Victor Krum was especially impressed, being a Quidditch player as he is."

Harry shrugged modestly, "Yeah… he's really good… I saw him once, three years ago at that World Cup… he was amazing."

"I hear you are better."

He blinked at her, "Huh?" he asked, completely oblivious to the subtle flattery, "Who told you that?"

"Krum," she lied blithely, attaching a coy smile to her face. Then she abruptly changed the topic. "What is it like being you?"

Harry looked confused, floundering to figure out where the change in subject had come about. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, how is it like to be the Boy Who Lived? The youngest Quidditch player in over a century? The boy who defeated the M—Dark Lord every year for the first five years he went to school in Hogwarts?" she finished this last very quickly, hoping he hadn't noticed her slight slip of the tongue… she had nearly referred to him as the Master! That the Potter boy would never have overlooked.

He appeared not to have noticed, but he did look a trifle bitter, "You didn't continue." He told her flatly, and she was taken aback. She had always thought Harry Potter would be arrogant, but since she'd met him, he'd shown no outward signs of such. What had brought this about? Then he continued to talk.

"You didn't mention I was also the Boy Who Goes Home to a Family Who Despises Him and Forces Him to Shovel Cow Manure in the Garden Every Afternoon… or the Boy Who Wasn't Family Enough to find out the Truth about His Parents' Death. Or maybe even the Boy Who Didn't Know He Was a Wizard."

Nagini looked just the slightest taken aback. "What sort of home life is this?" she demanded, "What sort of people are your… relatives…?" she asked, trailing off as she realized she knew nothing of human home lives besides that of the Death Eaters' occasional stay at the Master's manor, and they certainly did not talk much to her about it. It was mostly because they couldn't understand her. Not many people could understand serpent tongue; the only one she had ever known to have the gift was the Master himself.

He shook his head, "Family."

There was a point in everyone's life that one simply couldn't handle the idea of being alive without those of his own blood near him. So as much as he had hated them in the past, and hated all the things they'd done to him, he couldn't simply abide the idea of leaving them for once and for all. His mother might have been able to do it, but then, his Gran had still been alive at that time… there was no one else to turn to as family other than Vernon's sister, and he could stand being on opposite sides of the country from her for the rest of his natural life. The Dursleys had never accepted him. Then again, he had never really expected them to. They would have been perfectly happy just to see him leave them forever and possibly to see a letter sent to them telling them of his death. They would probably throw a party for that.

But Harry wanted, above all other things, family. Nothing could come close to the real thing, he'd realized not too long ago. Not even Molly Weasley, no matter how hard she tried, could take the place of real family.

So that was why he'd went back last summer, despite Dumbledore's assurances that, at the very most he might stay a month at the school. For the first time in his life, with the loss of Sirius still fresh in his mind, he wanted to go back.

The Dursleys hadn't been happy to accept him back of course, but things were not as tense as they could have been. There had been an attack on the house just that previous summer… and it had not been aimed at Harry, but at Petunia Dursley. Dumbledore's idea that it might be Petunia's blood that kept Harry safe had somehow been found out, and the other side had thought to remove the source.

They'd failed. They hadn't known Harry had been in the house at the time, but he'd managed, somehow, to surprise them. And by that time, he had already been adept enough at using Stunning spells to take on the two Death Eaters. Only because he'd had the element of surprise on hand. He'd been let off easy that time by Fudge, when he'd been faced again with the charges of flouting the Underage Wizard Decree of Something of Other. But since then, Petunia and even Dudley had started looking to him whenever something strange had come up on the news, waiting for some sort of reassurance that that had nothing to do with the wizarding world.

Uncle Vernon was still unable to think up any other solution than to simply throw Harry out of the house. But Petunia would not have that; especially because doing so would place his blood on her hands should he be killed.

Nagini stared at him. Then, "So Hogwarts is your escape then."

He shrugged. "You could say that… I wouldn't be able to live with them for that long for an entire stretch but… I don't want to just leave anymore…"

Especially after Sirius. He'd built up too many hopes of leaving over the years. And now… it would mean change. And he didn't want anything else to change in his life, except, obviously, for this God-forsaken war to end.

"What are you going to do once you get out of school? You would have lost the only place to escape to…" she made her face look suitably sincere, but behind that, she thought to herself, not that you'll ever even make it to Graduation… I'm here to see to that personally…

She paused, as the pain in her chest blossomed out into a blazing inferno of white hot pain. It was worse, so much worse than Cruciatus… it was like someone was taking her body and burning her from the inside out… it hurt like nothing else she had ever experienced. She couldn't hold back a ragged moan as she collapsed forwards, the slimy feel of internal organs of some kid smearing on her face as she writhed, clutching her chest.

Harry leaped to his feet instinctively, "What happened? Nagini!" he yelled louder and louder in increasing panic.

She couldn't answer him… her voice was lost as her throat constricted, and she gagged, trying to breathe, her tongue lolling out in her desperate attempt to breathe, but unable to force oxygen to her lungs. Her chest was on fire…

Harry looked close to panicking as he swore, looking around for Snape, and finding him still gone.

Oh Lord and Lady… someone… help me… she thought desperately as she struggled against the horrible pain burning through her body. There were spots of black in the edges of her vision. Master! Her mind cried out, futilely since she knew better than any that the Master could only know the thoughts of one person, and that was this boy right next to her, trying to keep her from falling off her chair to the ground.

"Oh God, come on…" he finally said, when he had run out of all options left to him, he scooped her up into his arms, struggling for a few moments to get a good enough grip on her convulsing body while maintaining some shred of decency. Then he rushed out of the room with her, bracing himself against her weight. But she was not heavy… not that he had ever carried a girl in his arms before, but he had never expected one to be so… light.

With that, he began the long trek to the Hospital Wing with the dark-haired lamia [1] in his arms.

~*~*~*~

It was a long time after when Draco awoke, and he found himself staring blearily up at a glaring face directly in front of his own. He jerked backwards immediately, slamming his head against the headboard as he did so, causing stars to erupt before his eyes. He blinked, trying to clear them away. "Daisy, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

She glared at him, "Get up."

Sulkily, almost reverting completely back to a spoiled little boy, he set his lip, "No."

"We have work to do, Draco baby." She told him, tacking on the endearment as a source of sarcasm.

"I told you—"

She cut him off before he could finish, "I'm not going to argue with you over the matter. Get up, Draco Malfoy, or I'm going to make you."

He raised an eyebrow, "And how do you propose to do this?" he drawled, "Drag me?"

She frowned, momentarily perplexed, looking around his room, as if in thought. Suddenly, she caught sight of his clothes lying in a heap on a chair quite close to his bed. She also caught sight of a pair of black silk boxers lying on top of that heap of clothes. An mischievous grin immediately appeared on her face? Did she dare? Well, there was always a bluff. "I don't have to, you know…" she said slowly, the grin broadening, "But I think I will take this blanket with me…"

Draco's jaw immediately dropped as he realized what she meant. She… she… was all that he could get through his mind, before he forced a smirk on his face. "You don't have the guts, Daisy." But he grabbed a handful of blanket just in case.

She was taken aback for a moment, before she noticed his hand snake out and snatch hold of the blanket. She grinned, "Never, ever say something like that to me, Draco." She told him airily, yanking hard at the blanket.

~*~*~*~

End of Chapter. A cliffhanger? Nah, you all know it isn't. After all, you can all just imagine what's under that blanket… *sigh* *drools* REVIEW ME!

[1] A lamia is a snake-woman, or a woman who can become a serpent at will. Ancient mythology specifies of priestesses drinking draughts 'prescribed' by the god Apollo himself to be able to change. In here, I made good ol' (bad ol') You-Know-Who the guy who does the spell casting.