Chapter 24

'How do you mean, attach myself?' she asked, shaking her head at the spirit.

'Like this,' it said, showing her in mind-pictures how to perform the task.

'Ok- but I don't know if it will work on my first try.'

'It will, if your quick learning for soul-magic will extend to more than talking. I had better be getting back before my guests take themselves off without me. It's been a long time since I had guests.'

She considered asking the spirit what it meant, but as soon as she had lashed her spirit-rope around it, the aura closed its eyes and began to move.

She pulled her legs and arms in to hold onto the rope tightly, grappling to stay with the soul. The movement scratched at her arms, her legs, but she held on by some effort of will that she didn't know she had. Finally, the movement let up, and she could see many more spirits wandering around her with their eyes closed.

The spirit she was still bound to opened its eyes again, 'ok, you can let me go now. We're here.'

'Where's here?' she asked, curious yet afraid.

'Hogwarts, physically. I'm not entirely sure if it is Hogwarts in this realm, but we will have to take that chance.'

'Hogwarts?' she repeated, the name jarring a memory in her that she was unable to retrieve.

'Yes. Now, I've got to do some work. Have a look at the scenery,' the spirit winked at her, and closed its eyes again, leaving her to watch the auras again. There were more now, and she could see the different colours swirling in them. She wondered if the colours of the auras determined what sort of physical being they were, or if their aura merely reflected their physical being. She sat down to ponder this, gazing unseeingly at the figures moving around her.

~*~

"Hmm," Draco peered at the empty shell, then laughed. "The woman who did this is not much threat any longer!"

Adrienne felt like throwing things at the man. He just didn't explain anything! "What do you mean, not much threat any longer?"

"Oh, she came to visit me the other day. She left with more than she bargained for."

"That doesn't help me," Adrienne ground out, her teeth clenched. Hot cheeks again, Adrienne. You're letting him get to you.

"Ok, ok," Draco let up on his teasing, sat himself down on the bed beside his daughter, and Adrienne had to concentrate hard on what he was saying- the likeness between father and daughter hadn't been apparent to her until he sat beside his daughter. "A figure came yesterday- a female, they're just so obvious about their gender, females- and tried to remove my soul. I think I frightened her when I opened my eyes and told her to get lost. Nasty looking soul, she was. All red and black and green. Not very balanced, and not ready to be walking the paths of the soul. I sent her home- quite jarringly, she'll have some nice bruises from that- with a little present. She'll be ok, if she doesn't break the seal. Of course, she'll recognise what it is, and the first reaction is to throw the thing- and if she's in a pentagram, which most soul-travellers are, just because it's safer, she'll break the glass and my little present will eat her." He paused to take a breath. "Of course, that's the reason I gave her the present." He winked slyly.

"What sort of present was it?" Adrienne asked wearily, glad her mother wasn't in the room. Hermione just had no patience with tiresome people.

"Oh, just, you know, a spirit…" Draco looked down at his fingernails and began to prise the dirt out from underneath them.

"What sort of spirit? Getting information out of you is like trying to bleed a rock!" Adrienne exclaimed, then intentionally pushed her anger out of her. She made herself cold and hard and impervious, not wanting to be tricked by this man.

"Oh, that's the intention, dear. But it was a nasty spirit. That's about all you need to know." Draco dropped his act for a moment and stared his piercing grey eyes into Adrienne's own. Adrienne (I am a woman of stone, I am a woman of stone) kept her gaze level and rode out his stare. Eventually he laughed and turned his face back to examine his daughter.

"What was her name again?" He asked softly, trailing a finger down her face.

"Lianna," Adrienne replied coldly.

"Do you know the meaning of the name?" Draco asked, keeping his eyes on the blonde girl.

"Daughter of the sun, I believe. Old English."

"How fitting! And your own?"

"Adrienne. It means 'dark one'."

"Ah, the woman who named you must have known a lot of names," Draco finally pulled his eyes away from his daughter to wink at Adrienne. Adrienne resisted the urge to shudder.

"Yes. Virginia Weasley named us- with a naming charm. It appears that she puts a lot of herself into her work, as successful people do."

"Yes," Draco replied, and returned his gaze to his daughter. Adrienne longed to get out of the room, but could find to way to leave politely. What does politeness mean to this man? He's lived on his own for the past eighteen years! Just leave! Yet, Adrienne could not. Draco started to speak again.

"You know, I never thought I'd have kids. They always seemed like a waste of time. And now that she's pressed on me, I find that I want to know her. Want to see if she's like me, despite never knowing me. I feel I need to know her. But then, I suppose your father feels the same?" Draco turned to look at Adrienne. She just shrugged.

"I don't know," Was all she could say.

"Really? You haven't told him? Or you just don't know?" He asked, peering again. It really was disconcerting.

"I've told him, yes. But he was someone I had known for a while, unknowingly. Knowing that he was my father didn't really change the way I thought of him." Draco continued to peer, until Adrienne could feel blood running up her cheeks again.

"Who is your father?" Draco asked bluntly, and Adrienne could feel her anger returning.

"It's none of your business who my father is! I am none of your business!" Before Adrienne could get properly into her rant, Draco chuckled, cutting her off.

"Someone you know, and someone I know, then." He smiled knowingly, leaving Adrienne fuming, but with no outlet. She could almost feel steam pouring from her ears.

"Let me think," Draco mused, running his eyes up and down her body. "Someone dark, obviously, as your mother isn't quite that colouring. Dark eyes, longer face- I must say your face is more attractive than your mothers, if only because it's not so round- let's see. And someone I know as you do. Let me see…" Draco leaned to peer out the window down onto the courtyard. Adrienne looked out the window as well, and, to her surprise, Snape was walking through the yard. Draco leaned back and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Snape is my father. Thankyou. Your powers of deduction astound me. Now, I will go. Thankyou for returning. The house elves will escort you to your room when you are finished here." Adrienne gave up on being polite in her anger, and stalked from the room, slamming the door behind her so she wouldn't have to listen to Draco's quiet laugh.

Draco opened the door and leaned his head out, "You've still a long way to go before you're anywhere near as intimidating as he is, dear." And with a sickly sweet smile, he winked at her and shut the door again.

"Why must he call me dear?" Adrienne muttered as she began to run down the hallways. Her feet pounded on the greystone floors, and the portraits smiled at her as she went past.

Down the corridors, down the stairs, leaping over balustrades and out windows, Adrienne reached her home garden in a shorter amount of time than many would have thought possible. Rushing into her room, she locked her door with a simple charm and began to let out her anger and frustration.

Anyone passing by would have thought a rampaging animal was caged in her room. Maybe there was.

~*~

A/N: Ah, wily Draco. How we love him.

*kitten