Chapter Sixteen – Preparations

Severus couldn't sit still. He couldn't just sit here while Hermione…

'She will be all right,' he told himself. 'She's got her friends with her, and Lucius is alone.' But that didn't help him clam down. Even if Lucius was alone in there, with five wizards to oppose him, they were still mere children. They hadn't even reached the end of their school days yet. And they didn't know how to cast a single dark curse – with the exception of Draco, maybe – and Lucius knew almost every curse. Hell, he'd even invented some himself.

Severus bit his lip. His right hand was twitching – he felt the urge to grab his wand and just storm in there.

He slightly shook his head. Potter moved beside him – he'd probably seen his movement. Severus ignored him. He concentrated on the house he was supposed to watch.

It was a perfectly normal, two-storey, middle class house, in a quiet neighbourhood. Severus could see the warm light coming out of two windows – the living room and the kitchen, he'd memorized the building's outline. He knew where Hermione's room was. Second to the right, first floor. He wondered briefly how it looked like. Lots of books, of course, and maybe some muggle items. 

"Professor?" Potter whispered beside him. "Are you all right?"

Severus turned his head and found Potter staring at him. He scowled. "Don't talk!" Potter seemed to clench his teeth, and turned back to the house.

Severus watched him for a few moments. Potter seemed tense, and jumpy. 'He's worried,' Severus suddenly realized. 'His girlfriend is in there, too. And she pretends to be the whore of Draco Malfoy. I would be a wreck by now.' A wave of sympathy shot through him.

Frowning, Severus turned back to the house. He'd just felt sorry for Potter. What was happening to him? He wasn't going soft in his old days, was he? He shook his head. No chance he was going soft. He was just worried because of Hermione. He decided it was just Hermione's bad influence on him that made him think that.

+~*#

Hermione waited anxiously in the kitchen, her hands still tied together. Her wrists hurt, and her hands felt numb. She thought that maybe her blood circulation was cut off, so she shifted slightly, but only got stuck in an even more uncomfortable position. Cursing inwardly, she fell back into her half-sitting position on the cold floor.

If Severus was cold outside? Well, he was probably freezing, as it was February.

'Ron, hurry up!' she thought. Her backside was getting cold…

Ron was supposed to get her parents down. They wouldn't be able to make a move when her parents were still in danger. Once Lucius Malfoy realized what was going on, he'd Disapparate. And knowing Lucius Malfoy's twisted way of thinking, he wouldn't leave the country but Apparate to her parents' room and kill them.

'God, Hermione, stop thinking about this,' she told herself. To get her mind off her parents' possible deaths she concentrated on hearing what was said in the living room next door.

+~*#

"So, Father, tell me," Draco said. "What have you planned for this evening?"

He sat in the armchair by the fire, an arm casually around Ginny's hip. She was sitting on the armrest, apparently absorbed in staring at Draco. Colin stood behind Draco, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Pansy was standing next to the fire, playing with her knife.

Lucius himself was leaning against the mantelpiece, smiling viciously. He grabbed a photo of Hermione and her parents and took it out of the frame. Then he took out his wand, tapped the photo and murmured "Incendio". He tossed the burning photo into the fire, watching it turn into ashes. "Does that answer your question?"

"Something like that." He approached Pansy, and took her hand. "We will go upstairs, and bring down the mudblood's parents. Draco, you can fetch the girl. I want her to see it."

Draco nodded. "Yes, father."

"Lucius, do I get to kill her mother?" Pansy asked.

Lucius laughed again, and went to the door, Pansy's hand still in his firm grasp. She turned her head towards the armchair, and nodded shortly.

Lucius didn't see it.

+~*#

Draco stood up. "Ginny, get Hermione." Ginny nodded and went for the kitchen. "Colin, watch the door. Tell me when they come back."

Colin took his position by the door while Draco went over to the bar. Pulling out a bottle of brandy, he filled three glasses. He then fished for the tiny bottle he'd brought with him and let three drops of the potion fall into the glass with the most brandy in it.

Ginny came back in, leading Hermione to the sofa. She had loosened the ropes around Hermione's wrists a bit. It wouldn't be visible until Hermione stood up.

"Is the potion ready?" she asked.

Draco shortly admired her control. How could she be so calm? But then again, he was as calm as she. And he was about to get rid of his father – this time for good.

He nodded. "Yes, I just-"

"They're coming," said Colin, and resumed his post behind Draco's armchair.

"Well then, here it goes," Draco murmured. He took the glasses to the table and placed the one containing the potion in front of Lucius' seat.

Ginny sat down in his armchair, trying to look deeply in love with him. He smiled shortly, but his face straightened when he heard the door open.

+~*#

"Did you hear that?" Harry whispered.

"Shh," Snape said, trying to get a better sight. He'd heard it, too. Someone was near them. And he wanted to find out who.

A person suddenly appeared to their right and Severus caught his breath. Pansy Parkinson! The real Pansy. 'She mustn't get in there,' was all he could think of. If the real Pansy entered the house, their whole plan would fail. And everyone would be in danger. Hermione would be in danger.

"Potter, look out if there's anyone else around," he whispered, and slowly stood up. He approached Pansy and thought of a way to get her away from the house. He was sure he could take her – easily – but she'd most probably try and fight back. And most likely she'd make so much noise that anyone who's not dead would notice the fight.

Wand raised, he muttered a Silencing Charm, but before he got to finish it, Pansy noticed him. She turned around, shocked, but then she grabbed her wand – 'Where did she get that wand?', he wondered briefly – and pointed it at him.

"A duel, Professor?" she said, with an ironic note to the 'Professor'. A challenge.

'Stupid child,' he thought. 'She'd never have a real chance, she must know that.' But Pansy seemed to be quite confident. She took the right position and raised her wand, a challenging look on her face.

Severus mimicked the pose and raised his wand, too.

"Stupefy!"

They almost shouted at the same time, but Severus was a bit quicker. Nevertheless, he didn't hit Pansy. She ducked the curse and pointed her wand at him once more.

"Crucio!" she screamed on top of her lungs.

Severus had been able to block her Stunning Spell, but he couldn't properly deflect this curse. A burning heat spread through his body, and he bit his lip to avoid screaming. He could taste blood.

Pansy smiled eerily and raised an eyebrow. "Did being a traitor make you slower? Or maybe it was screwing the mudblood…" she said, obviously enjoying all this.

He was disgusted. And he was ashamed. How could he have not seen it coming? She'd been his student for almost seven years, and he'd never thought she would turn to the Dark. He'd always thought she'd turn out to be more like Draco, as she'd always been with him. But now he realized that he'd failed once more.

"Pansy, you have to stop this," he started, but was cut off by a curse thrown his way. He ducked it, and continued. "I've been where you are now. And I've made a choice. The choice not to be like this anymore. I-"

"Traitor!" Pansy hissed. "You are not better than all those mudbloods and muggle-lovers. I always looked up to you. But when Lucius told me… I couldn't believe it at first. I thought he was lying. You did not only betray your old comrades, you betrayed yourself. Look at you." She made a face. "Filthy, dark, mean. Do you really think you can be good?"

He froze. "I never talked about being good. I never wanted to be 'good'. I wanted to make the right choices, do the right things. That's what I'm talking about. Even good people make mistakes, Pansy. I made more than just a few mistakes, but I saw the error of my ways, and turned around. Went back, and started new. All you have to do is put that wand down, and I'll help you find your way."

Pansy eyed him suspiciously. But slowly, very slowly, she lowered her wand.

Severus took a step towards her, when suddenly Potter appeared. He was behind Pansy, and tried to sneak up to her. Severus sighed inwardly. That boy had a sense of timing… Now he would spoil everything.

And really, he did. Pansy noticed Harry, and, her eyes wide, she half-turned, so that she could see both Severus and Potter.

"Pansy, I-" he started. If he could convince her not to do anything stupid…

"No! You lied. Again. I knew I couldn't trust you." She looked from Severus to Harry and back. "One step closer, Potter, and I'll curse you."

Snape prayed that the boy wouldn't do anything stupid, but of course he did. He raised his wand, and Pansy spoke: "Crucio!"

+~*#

Draco was worried.

Hermione had lost all her calm and was weeping silently. Her parents were tied to the table, and looked absolutely terrified – although they seemed relieved that Hermione was still alive.

Ginny shifted uncomfortable beside him, and it was as if he could actually feel Colin's tension.

Ron was again standing by the fire, playing with the knife. He seemed calm, but Draco saw that his hands were slightly shaking. He looked up at the clock. They had about five minutes until the Polyjuice Potion would stop working. His father needed to drink his potion till then.

But of course he didn't. He was threatening the Grangers and their daughter, wandering around the room and throwing things into the fire at random.

Draco tried to catch Ron's eye, but he was staring at the clock now. 'Do something,' his mind screamed. "Pansy," he said. "Would you give me my glass?" 'Oh, please, Weasley, get the hint!'

Ron looked up. He started to move, but then caught himself. "Go get it yourself," he said, but eventually, he went over to the table and picked up Lucius' glass.

"Lucius," he said, handing the glass to Draco's father, "I want to propose a toast."

Ron went back to the table, picked up his glass. "To… power." He raised his glass. "To power," he repeated.

Lucius raised his glass, too. "To power." But before the amber liquid touched his lips, he paused. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" Ron asked back.

Draco got up. "I'll go check," he said with a meaningful glance in Ron's direction. He left for the kitchen.

"Lucius," Ron chirped. He put the knife away and approached Lucius. Slowly, he unbuttoned the top buttons on Lucius' shirt and kissed his chest. Abruptly, Ron stopped. "It's unlucky not to drink when a toast has been proposed, you know," he said in Pansy's sweet voice.

And finally, Lucius drank the potion.

A/N: Okay. I don't like this chapter. I didn't really have the time to write, but I wanted this out. The next chapter will definitely be the great showdown. I'll explain why exactly Colin is there, I will explain what kind of potion Lucius drank, I will explain what happened to Harry, Sev and Pansy. Still, I don't like this chapter. So I hope the next one will be better.

And, I know now that Devil's Haircut will have seventeen chapters and an epilogue. I suppose the next chapter will be slightly longer than the rest. And the epilogue will be all about Sev, Hermione and the baby.

I want to thank all my reviewers. You guys are great.

And I want to apologise for the long delay… though I can't promise that the showdown chapter will be out faster…