Disclaimer: I don't own anything…nothing at all…nada…zilch…

A/N: I love you, reviewers!!!! You make me so happy! I'll bake you cookies for next time, I promise : ) Sorry this last chap has taken me so long, but I have had more homework than I know what to do with. HOMEWORK IS EVIL!! Ahem. On with the fic! (By the way—I hate huge long dialogues, so the area in between ~ symbols is essentially what is being said—but not as detailed—and is really what the speaker is remembering)

Chapter 3: Secrets of the Past

Rayne took a deep breath. She had never fully explained about her Malfoy connections to anyone—what she had done was considered a high crime among the wizards. Snape looked at her expectantly, but the sorceress was relieved that he did not try to force an answer out of her as he had done before.
"The Malfoys…" Rayne began quietly, "I met Draco about two years ago. It was the summer after his fifth year in Hogwarts, and he was sixteen. I was in the area for…"
Rayne continued her story, surprised at how vivid the memories were.
~~~
She had just gotten off of the train, relieved to be free of the Muggle transportation. For a brief instant the sorceress had wished she could Apparate, but the thought was quickly quelled. She had a similar ability, but it was rarely used. The head of her naal'thä had ordered her to visit a remote area of eastern England, and she didn't wish to use her abilities in unfamiliar places.
She began to walk away from the station, uncertain of where she was going, but uncaring nonetheless. As soon as she was away from Muggle eyes, she would be able to take her staff from her bags. She had no intention of using it, but it was a small comfort that she needed at the moment.
After walking for perhaps a half-hour, with a brief stop at a small roadside inn for lunch, Rayne stopped at the edge of what seemed to be a forest. The trees were a welcome sight, as always, and Rayne put down her small bag and retrieved what looked like a small replica of her staff. Whispering softly, Rayne focused on her staff as it began to resume its normal form. She then put on her only black cloak over her Muggle clothing, and proceeded into the trees.
Retrieving a small bit of parchment from her pocket, Rayne scanned the words written there once again.
R- Read this only after you reach England, preferably away from Muggle eyes.
Breaking the wax seal as she walked, and read the note. It fairly vague, and she was unsure about dealing with wizards. There was always so much explaining to do…
Malfoy. Rayne had heard the name before, but she was unsure of why she had to be the one to talk to them. I don't even know what I'm supposed to talk about! Rayne complained to herself. Nonetheless, she knew to do no less than what she was instructed to do.
~~
Snape interrupted the young girl's thoughts, "You're not from England?"
Rayne smiled, knowing her accent fooled many, "No, but I've been here quite frequently for the last two years. Ever since I met Draco, really…"
~~
She had knocked on the door of the Manor. Tired from walking and angry for the lack of explanation of what she was to do, the welcome she received was less than encouraging. The doors were opened by a small house elf with an annoyingly high pitched voice.
"Come in, come in," it squeaked, not even bothering to ask who she was. It turned to a grand set of marble stairs, and called up, "Master Draco, I thinks that one of your father's friends is here!"
Rayne turned sharply and narrowed her eyes at it. A friend? When she had never even heard of Malfoys before? Unlikely.
A boy, not much younger than Rayne herself was, had stormed down the stairs. "Who are you?" he demanded, "Why are you here?" The boy, who must have been Draco, shoved her against the wall, his eyes smoldering with rage.
Furious as how this unknown boy was treating her, Rayne quickly fell back into her old fighting techniques. Within five seconds, Rayne shoved him away, delivered a swift kick to the side of his head, whipped out one of her precious knives, and pressed it against his throat.
Draco instinctively moved his hands up to protect his head, and his eyes widened in a brief expression of shock. For a brief instant he seemed to consider fighting back, but before he could react, Rayne had removed the blade and stepped back.
"Who the bloody hell are you?" he demanded again, "Did the Dark Lord send you?"
The "Dark Lord?" Rayne thought, Surely not Voldemort? She looked at Draco curiously, and tried to choose her words carefully. "I'm Rayne, a sorceress. I'm not entirely sure why I'm here, but are you by any chance a Death Eater?"
So much for subtlety. Rayne almost laughed at how blunt she had been. Usually she was more discreet.
Meanwhile, Draco narrowed his eyes. "You mean you're not a Deathie?"
Rayne snorted, "A 'Deathie'? You mean a Death Eater, right? No, of course I'm not! I just told you I'm a sorceress!"
"What in Salazar's name is a sorceress?!" Draco cried. He began to pace in a circle, his hand fingering something in the pockets of his robes.
"Never mind," Rayne sighed, "It doesn't really matter what I am. All I've been told is that my people have had some sort of problem with your family before, and I need to talk to Lucius."
Draco looked up suddenly, and abruptly drew his wand. "What do you know about my father?" he nearly growled.
Rayne stepped back. She knew she was stronger than he was, but there was definite anger blazing around his aura, visible in slight flickers of blood red. "Nothing," she stated, "Nothing at all. Is there something wrong? Maybe I can help…?" She pressed the words into his mind. Something was obviously wrong, and Rayne had been taught to help people whenever possible.
Under the pressure of the sorceress's mind, Draco sheathed his wand. Muttering only "Follow me, I'll tell you," he led her into a room that branched from the right side of the hall. Rayne seated herself on a plush chair, and listened as Draco released the tale.
~~
Rayne accepted the glass of pumpkin juice from Snape, and couldn't help grinning slightly as he laughed.
"That insufferable brat!" Snape exclaimed, "Lucius deserved to go to Azkaban! I had to put up with ickle Draco to keep up my reputation in the Death Eater circle, but he was certainly better than Potter. Never found out how exactly Lucius escaped though…"
"That's what I'm getting to," Rayne sighed.
~~
I cannot believe I'm doing this, Rayne groaned to herself. What she was about to do would earn her a lovely little date with a dementor if she was caught by wizard authorities. Sickened by Draco's story, she had offered to help release Lucius—her kind had never approved of Azkaban, and she did need to talk to Lucius. Azkaban was on a rocky island, and Rayne could feel the power of the magical shield that surrounded the place. The prison itself actually looked to be part of the rock itself, invisible even to most wizards. Solakara might have been able to take her to Lucius's cell, but Rayne had no desire to risk her ayria's safety.
Opting for a method that would hopefully work more successfully, Rayne focused all of her energy on an invisibility spell. It was impossible to become truly invisible, but as long as she didn't walk directly into someone, the spell would be effective. She would become little more than a shadow on the wall, unnoticed at first glance. "Visraenu," she whispered, focusing her energy. She felt the tingling sensation that accompanied the spell, and made her way to the entrance.
The Entrance of Azkaban. It was nearly impossible to find, and since Draco had only been allowed to visit his father once, his directions were less than helpful. Nonetheless, Rayne went to a point on the wall where the feel of Dementors was stronger, and walked straight in. Like Draco explained about that train: Platform 8 2/3 or something like that… Rayne thought. She struggled to keep her composure as she entered; she had not expected the aura of the Dementors to be so strong. It was a struggle to keep up the invisibility spell, but somehow the sorceress managed.
She knew there would be no map to guide her to the cells, but the Death Eaters that the Ministry had captured were
likely to be near the bottom of the prison, in maximum security. Rayne knew little about Voldemort, except that he used to torture Muggles. She certainly didn't agree with his practices, but a sentence at Azkaban was far worse. The people of her naal'thä had been taught about the horrors of Azkaban: it was a place where life became a fleeting memory, and it was torture in the extreme. The horrors of the Dementors Kiss disgusted all sorcerers, as it went against nearly all sorcerer beliefs. People turned into soulless, empty shells—it was enough to make any self-respecting sorcerer or sorceress sick.
Somehow Rayne reached the bottom floor: she had taken any path that seemed to go down, and the doors were mostly unguarded, since no one was expected to ever try to break in. There was a final door however, guarded by a person who might have been what the wizards called Aurors. The sorceress struggled to keep up her invisibility, knowing that the Auror might be able to see through it if she was strong enough.
It was time to decide: either leave now, or fight the Auror. Rayne was nervous for one of the first times in her life. Aurors were not as strong mentally as sorcerers, but they were trained to fight quickly and efficiently. Rayne chose the latter option. She would hate herself for what she was about to do, but the Malfoys were her main concern of the moment. She held her staff in front of her, parallel to the floor, and began to gather energy. She would have to drop the invisibility soon, but it had to be done.
The dragonstone of her staff began to glow slightly, and Rayne was forced to drop her invisibility shield. The Auror gasped, and quickly drew her wand. "Stupefy!" cried the Auror, but Rayne narrowly dodged it, before shouting back "Lathnailienie!" The spell hit its target, and the stunned Auror crumpled to the floor. Hopefully another sorcerer would somehow undo the spell later, since wizards would be unable to. Rayne looked at the gate, relieved it had a normal keyhole and was not one of the Gringott's-style doors. Rayne found a key in the Auror's robes, but after stepping through the doors, Rayne was not at all prepared for what she saw next.
~~
Snape looked at Rayne in disbelief. " You actually managed to get into Azkaban? Were you the reason that Lucius--?"
"Yes," Rayne cut him off. She was still shaken about what she had done, and it had never really sunk in about the fact that she had committed such a high crime in the wizarding world. If she was ever convicted of it, she could be sent through the veil, in the same room where the Death Eater she had set free was captured.
~~
Rayne had been shocked at the sight of so many Dementors, and only a remarkably strong series of stunning spells had stopped them. Rayne wished she was capable of producing a Patronus—a happy memory would have been wonderful at the moment. The Death Eaters with cells near her had stared at her with their now-sunken eyes incredulously. A wave of nausea hit the sorceress as she entered—she could tell that the Dementors performed their Kisses nearby. "Where's Lucius?" she demanded, staring at the gaunt faces that stared right back at her.
A voice at the far end of the dimly-lit corridor spat, "I will never renounce the Dark Lord. Get out of here. He will come for his loyal followers soon." A few voices murmured in agreement.
Rayne walked towards the voice, and was shocked at the resemblance that Lucius and Draco shared. Rayne lowered the hood of her black cloak, and met his gaze. "I'm a sorceress," Rayne informed him simply, "And my people need information from you." Lucius's eyes narrowed at the word "Sorceress," but he made no reply. Rayne had expected a more telling reaction, but she continued. "I am also here to let you out."
Lucius had looked away from her, as if he didn't believe what she said. The Dark Lord would reward his followers, he would save them. Not some girl who had barged in and stunned the six Dementors…His thoughts had not changed until the girl who called herself a sorceress summoned a bird—phoenix-like really—that had broken the lock on his cell.
Rayne smiled to herself at the Death Eater's obvious underestimation of her strength—or her ayria's strength in this case. He had taken one of Solakara's feathers, as instructed, and the last sounds either of the two people heard were cries of disbelief from the other prisoners.
~~
"So that's what I did. That's how I know the Malfoys so well," Rayne concluded.
Snape had completely ignored his pumpkin juice, entranced by the sorceress's story. "But what did…you kind…want to know about Lucius?" he asked.
"I'll tell you all in good time," replied Rayne. "You'll understand soon enough. But you have to keep up your end of the bargain."
Snape seemed to tense up, but he agreed. "All right, first of all…"
********* ******* *********
A/N: So what did you think? Don't worry, you'll get the rest of the story later. How did you like the way I told Rayne's story? Should I tell Snape's the same way? R and R!!! PS—the other chapters should be a little more frequent now (hopefully)!