Silver Blood
Six: The Kiss of Death
Devoid of a memory on how she died, someone came back from the dead to find out – only to find that she didn't die at all. Now she discovers that the love of her life is dead, her friends' lives are in danger, and her worst fears came true.
In this chapter, Dorcas spends a lot of time at the headquarters; unaware that giving in to her fantasies is the way to betraying the Order...
Disclaimer: Alas, the characters are not in my possession; they belong to J.K Rowling and an assortment of publishers.
Author's Notes: Dunno about you, but I this is my favorite chapter...
____________________________________________
A few days after her recruitment Dorcas stood in front of a newly materialized door between numbers eleven and thirteen and pushed the doorbell. She's been here only once; that was a day before Sirius ran away. Her family had the same beliefs as the Black's so she was greeted with respect. Unfortunately, when Bellatrix became a little tattletale and told Mr. and Mrs. Black that she was friends with a "Mudblood", she was insulted very heavily. Of course, Sirius tried to defend her – that was before they locked him in his room and threw Dorcas out of the house.
She and Sirius did have a lot in common – both the black sheep of the family.
She heard sudden shrieks and cries coming from inside followed by a thunder of footsteps. Half a second later, the door opened and Molly Weasley's plump face greeted her.
"Oh, good morning, dear," she said, ushering Dorcas to the hall. "Come in, come in."
The shrieking stopped. Molly looked relieved. "What brings you here?"
"I – erm – wanted to help out," said Dorcas. "Kingsley said something about a cleaning..."
"Oh yes, of course," said Molly. "We've found a secret passageway in the drawing room. A lot of oddities reside there."
Molly unnecessarily led the way towards the drawing room, where she was affronted a few years back. Seeing the drawing room damaged and worn out gave her a feeling of triumph. She laughed inwardly. Molly pointed out the black door where the bookshelf was once before.
"In there," she said pointed out. They walked across the room and Molly pushed the door open.
It was yet another room; this time, it was twice the size of the drawing room and had a lot shiny objects on the walls. It looked like an old bedroom. There was a large four-poster bed on the far corner where Fred, George, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and someone else who turned around to see her were. All of them wore cloths over their mouths and noses.
"Dorcas, good to see you," said Fred in a muffled voice. "This is Harry, by the way," he said. "Harry Potter."
Dorcas tilted her head slightly. She didn't have the guts to tell him that Harry was her godson. She couldn't tell him she was often in James and Lily's house, babysitting Harry with Sirius before and after her shift in the Ministry. She didn't want him to find out that he has a walking zombie for a godmother.
"Yes, well, cover your mouth with this." Molly handed her a tea towel. "We think the doxies found their way in here."
The doorbell rang again and fresh shrieks were coming from outside.
"Oh, who could that be?" Mrs. Weasley said exasperatedly. "Dorcas, take care of things..." She left them and closed the door behind her.
"What do you think, Fred?" said George. "Should we take a look around?"
"Might as well," replied Fred, and they surveyed the room.
"What was that screaming thing?" Dorcas asked Hermione.
"That's – er – Mrs. Black's portrait," said Hermione. "It has a permanent sticking charm at the back."
"Odd headquarters, eh?" said Ginny, smiling.
"Not at all," said Dorcas. "It's stealthy. Perfect."
"Ask her already," Ron muttered to Harry.
"Ask me what?"
"We were – erm – wondering what's going on with the Order," Harry told her. "If they know about –"
Harry didn't need to mention it. Dorcas felt that connection between them. Maybe they were the only people who feel that way after Sirius's disappearance.
"Sorry, Harry," she told him. "Nothing."
"Yeah... I figured..."
Dorcas and the others waged war against the room, which took them the rest of the day to finish a quarter of decontaminating it. The room did have plenty of oddities which reminded Dorcas of her family's hidden rooms. There were many objects that didn't budge and needed a lot of force to remove. A lot of them were giving a good fight, too. There was a mechanical scorpion that tried to sting Harry's back until Dorcas picked it up by the tail and threw it into the sack. Fred became strangled by the curtains; Tonks pulled them off and became strangled herself. They found a treasure chest (Ron was excited; he seemed to think that it had gold in it) containing crystal orbs. When Ginny picked one up, it turned blood-red and seemed to be painfully sucking Ginny's blood. Mrs. Weasley pushed it out of her hands and broke it, splattering blood on the floor.
A few hours later, Tonks and Mrs. Weasley stepped out of the room again. It seemed someone else from the Order came. Dorcas was left behind; she liked it, though. Spending time with Harry was just dandy.
The door creaked open and a vaguely familiar house-elf stepped in, not noticing six pairs of eyes follow him.
"No one can tell Kreacher what to do anymore," he muttered hoarsely, doggedly shuffled toward the far end of the room. "They cannot throw Kreacher away, no, Kreacher knows plenty. Mistress is proud of Kreacher, having fooled Harry Potter..."
"Get out, Kreacher," said Harry loudly. He didn't look to happy about it, either.
Kreacher stopped to leer at him. He turned to every one of them. His eyes widened when he turned to face Dorcas.
"What would Mistress say if she found Master's friend in her house? Poor Kreacher, he is alone and defenseless –"
Everyone turned to Dorcas, who was smiling. "Can't believe you're still alive. Didn't they cut your head off yet? Now do as Harry says and get the hell out of this room."
Hermione looked at her, looking highly affronted. Kreacher muttered something they couldn't hear and went out of the room, throwing dark glances at Dorcas.
They spent a couple more hours in the room before they decided to surrender for the day. Dorcas spent dinner with the Weasleys, Tonks, Dung, Harry, and Hermione. Fred and George were animatedly chatting with her about their merchandise, then Ron told her about his Keeping abilities and his broom. Hermione, Ginny, and Tonks were talking about their miserable love lives, because it seemed that Ginny's boyfriend broke up with her. Harry then turned to her, asking how she knew Sirius. Dorcas still couldn't tell him they were married, so she stuck with the story that they were "close friends". She told him stories about James' Quidditch life to stay away from any discussion about Sirius. Harry was entertained in a way. He kept asking questions about James' Quidditch history. All of them seemed to have liked talking to her, all except one. Mundungus kept throwing her anxious glances without saying anything.
"Time for bed, everyone."
***
Different colored daisies were swaying with the wind. Dorcas lay on top of them, gazing at the night's sky. She was transported here somehow. Maybe she was dreaming. It didn't matter, though. It didn't make a difference. There was nothing that mattered anymore. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep again.
"Get up."
Sirius's face came into view. He was kneeling beside her, smiling. His hair was long and unkempt, he looked older and more matured, but nevertheless he wore his playful grin as Dorcas sat up; Sirius's face was less than a feet in front of hers.
"Can't be..." she muttered, peering at his eyes. His dark eyes were as tantalizing as they were many years before.
Sirius grinned deviously. He grasped the back of her head and pulled her closer, and Dorcas followed his lead, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around him. They shared a long, passionate kiss they both haven't experienced for a long time. Dorcas felt his other hand slip onto her back. He then deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his own as he caressed her mouth rather more fervently than gently.
"So it IS like riding a bike," said Sirius breathlessly, "you never forget it."
Dorcas didn't know what to say or how to say it. Her heart was pumping faster and faster. She was still an inch away from Sirius, who was still smirking at her. She couldn't take it anymore. She abruptly pulled him to her, pressing her body against his, making him collapse and lie on the daisies, and kissed him ardently. She was on top of him, feeling Sirius's hands reach her back, pulling her even closer. The emptiness that was lingering in her since she found about his disappearance became overflowed with warmth. It was like drinking a whole barrel of butterbeer in one gulp.
When she pulled away from him, she noticed that he was smiling again. "I see someone missed me," he said.
"Maybe," said Dorcas breathily, running a finger on his jaw line. "Where are we?"
"The daisy field in the forest," he said. "How'd you get here?"
"What d'you mean?"
"I mean – your spirit couldn't possibly enter this," he explained. "This is an alternate reality. We're beyond the veil."
"But – I – I'm not dead."
"What?"
"I mean – maybe I was. But I'm – er – not anymore."
"You woke up from the dead?" Sirius asked her, looking impressed.
"Possibly."
"But what brought you here?"
A cold voice answered his question. "It is not what," it said. "But who."
Dorcas stood up and faced Voldemort. His hands were like large, pale spiders; his eyes were red whose pupils were slits, like a cat's. Fear flooded her as Sirius held her hand tightly.
"Now, do we have a deal?" he said. "Decide quickly..."
"What deal?" Dorcas yelled shakily.
"Bringing Black back has certain costs..." Voldemort was drawing closer to them, pulling out his wand.
Sirius turned to Dorcas, ashen-faced. "What is he talking about?"
"Do not disturb us, Black," said Voldemort. With a whip of his wand, Sirius disappeared.
"SIRIUS!"
"Now," said Voldemort maliciously. "What say you?"
"I – I'm joining the Death Eaters."
Voldemort laughed maliciously as Dorcas collapsed to her knees, feeling a large amount of pain on her left arm. It was though it was being sliced as her own blood spilled through her robes...
"ARGH!" Dorcas' eyes burst open; she was in a dark room she was before seeing Sirius. She thought all of it was a dream. Maybe it was. But the searing pain in her arm was still there. She checked her arm and couldn't believe what she saw: the Dark Mark.
____________________________________________
When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope
Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least.
-William Hung – I mean Shakespeare
Devoid of a memory on how she died, someone came back from the dead to find out – only to find that she didn't die at all. Now she discovers that the love of her life is dead, her friends' lives are in danger, and her worst fears came true.
In this chapter, Dorcas spends a lot of time at the headquarters; unaware that giving in to her fantasies is the way to betraying the Order...
Disclaimer: Alas, the characters are not in my possession; they belong to J.K Rowling and an assortment of publishers.
Author's Notes: Dunno about you, but I this is my favorite chapter...
____________________________________________
A few days after her recruitment Dorcas stood in front of a newly materialized door between numbers eleven and thirteen and pushed the doorbell. She's been here only once; that was a day before Sirius ran away. Her family had the same beliefs as the Black's so she was greeted with respect. Unfortunately, when Bellatrix became a little tattletale and told Mr. and Mrs. Black that she was friends with a "Mudblood", she was insulted very heavily. Of course, Sirius tried to defend her – that was before they locked him in his room and threw Dorcas out of the house.
She and Sirius did have a lot in common – both the black sheep of the family.
She heard sudden shrieks and cries coming from inside followed by a thunder of footsteps. Half a second later, the door opened and Molly Weasley's plump face greeted her.
"Oh, good morning, dear," she said, ushering Dorcas to the hall. "Come in, come in."
The shrieking stopped. Molly looked relieved. "What brings you here?"
"I – erm – wanted to help out," said Dorcas. "Kingsley said something about a cleaning..."
"Oh yes, of course," said Molly. "We've found a secret passageway in the drawing room. A lot of oddities reside there."
Molly unnecessarily led the way towards the drawing room, where she was affronted a few years back. Seeing the drawing room damaged and worn out gave her a feeling of triumph. She laughed inwardly. Molly pointed out the black door where the bookshelf was once before.
"In there," she said pointed out. They walked across the room and Molly pushed the door open.
It was yet another room; this time, it was twice the size of the drawing room and had a lot shiny objects on the walls. It looked like an old bedroom. There was a large four-poster bed on the far corner where Fred, George, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and someone else who turned around to see her were. All of them wore cloths over their mouths and noses.
"Dorcas, good to see you," said Fred in a muffled voice. "This is Harry, by the way," he said. "Harry Potter."
Dorcas tilted her head slightly. She didn't have the guts to tell him that Harry was her godson. She couldn't tell him she was often in James and Lily's house, babysitting Harry with Sirius before and after her shift in the Ministry. She didn't want him to find out that he has a walking zombie for a godmother.
"Yes, well, cover your mouth with this." Molly handed her a tea towel. "We think the doxies found their way in here."
The doorbell rang again and fresh shrieks were coming from outside.
"Oh, who could that be?" Mrs. Weasley said exasperatedly. "Dorcas, take care of things..." She left them and closed the door behind her.
"What do you think, Fred?" said George. "Should we take a look around?"
"Might as well," replied Fred, and they surveyed the room.
"What was that screaming thing?" Dorcas asked Hermione.
"That's – er – Mrs. Black's portrait," said Hermione. "It has a permanent sticking charm at the back."
"Odd headquarters, eh?" said Ginny, smiling.
"Not at all," said Dorcas. "It's stealthy. Perfect."
"Ask her already," Ron muttered to Harry.
"Ask me what?"
"We were – erm – wondering what's going on with the Order," Harry told her. "If they know about –"
Harry didn't need to mention it. Dorcas felt that connection between them. Maybe they were the only people who feel that way after Sirius's disappearance.
"Sorry, Harry," she told him. "Nothing."
"Yeah... I figured..."
Dorcas and the others waged war against the room, which took them the rest of the day to finish a quarter of decontaminating it. The room did have plenty of oddities which reminded Dorcas of her family's hidden rooms. There were many objects that didn't budge and needed a lot of force to remove. A lot of them were giving a good fight, too. There was a mechanical scorpion that tried to sting Harry's back until Dorcas picked it up by the tail and threw it into the sack. Fred became strangled by the curtains; Tonks pulled them off and became strangled herself. They found a treasure chest (Ron was excited; he seemed to think that it had gold in it) containing crystal orbs. When Ginny picked one up, it turned blood-red and seemed to be painfully sucking Ginny's blood. Mrs. Weasley pushed it out of her hands and broke it, splattering blood on the floor.
A few hours later, Tonks and Mrs. Weasley stepped out of the room again. It seemed someone else from the Order came. Dorcas was left behind; she liked it, though. Spending time with Harry was just dandy.
The door creaked open and a vaguely familiar house-elf stepped in, not noticing six pairs of eyes follow him.
"No one can tell Kreacher what to do anymore," he muttered hoarsely, doggedly shuffled toward the far end of the room. "They cannot throw Kreacher away, no, Kreacher knows plenty. Mistress is proud of Kreacher, having fooled Harry Potter..."
"Get out, Kreacher," said Harry loudly. He didn't look to happy about it, either.
Kreacher stopped to leer at him. He turned to every one of them. His eyes widened when he turned to face Dorcas.
"What would Mistress say if she found Master's friend in her house? Poor Kreacher, he is alone and defenseless –"
Everyone turned to Dorcas, who was smiling. "Can't believe you're still alive. Didn't they cut your head off yet? Now do as Harry says and get the hell out of this room."
Hermione looked at her, looking highly affronted. Kreacher muttered something they couldn't hear and went out of the room, throwing dark glances at Dorcas.
They spent a couple more hours in the room before they decided to surrender for the day. Dorcas spent dinner with the Weasleys, Tonks, Dung, Harry, and Hermione. Fred and George were animatedly chatting with her about their merchandise, then Ron told her about his Keeping abilities and his broom. Hermione, Ginny, and Tonks were talking about their miserable love lives, because it seemed that Ginny's boyfriend broke up with her. Harry then turned to her, asking how she knew Sirius. Dorcas still couldn't tell him they were married, so she stuck with the story that they were "close friends". She told him stories about James' Quidditch life to stay away from any discussion about Sirius. Harry was entertained in a way. He kept asking questions about James' Quidditch history. All of them seemed to have liked talking to her, all except one. Mundungus kept throwing her anxious glances without saying anything.
"Time for bed, everyone."
***
Different colored daisies were swaying with the wind. Dorcas lay on top of them, gazing at the night's sky. She was transported here somehow. Maybe she was dreaming. It didn't matter, though. It didn't make a difference. There was nothing that mattered anymore. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep again.
"Get up."
Sirius's face came into view. He was kneeling beside her, smiling. His hair was long and unkempt, he looked older and more matured, but nevertheless he wore his playful grin as Dorcas sat up; Sirius's face was less than a feet in front of hers.
"Can't be..." she muttered, peering at his eyes. His dark eyes were as tantalizing as they were many years before.
Sirius grinned deviously. He grasped the back of her head and pulled her closer, and Dorcas followed his lead, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around him. They shared a long, passionate kiss they both haven't experienced for a long time. Dorcas felt his other hand slip onto her back. He then deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his own as he caressed her mouth rather more fervently than gently.
"So it IS like riding a bike," said Sirius breathlessly, "you never forget it."
Dorcas didn't know what to say or how to say it. Her heart was pumping faster and faster. She was still an inch away from Sirius, who was still smirking at her. She couldn't take it anymore. She abruptly pulled him to her, pressing her body against his, making him collapse and lie on the daisies, and kissed him ardently. She was on top of him, feeling Sirius's hands reach her back, pulling her even closer. The emptiness that was lingering in her since she found about his disappearance became overflowed with warmth. It was like drinking a whole barrel of butterbeer in one gulp.
When she pulled away from him, she noticed that he was smiling again. "I see someone missed me," he said.
"Maybe," said Dorcas breathily, running a finger on his jaw line. "Where are we?"
"The daisy field in the forest," he said. "How'd you get here?"
"What d'you mean?"
"I mean – your spirit couldn't possibly enter this," he explained. "This is an alternate reality. We're beyond the veil."
"But – I – I'm not dead."
"What?"
"I mean – maybe I was. But I'm – er – not anymore."
"You woke up from the dead?" Sirius asked her, looking impressed.
"Possibly."
"But what brought you here?"
A cold voice answered his question. "It is not what," it said. "But who."
Dorcas stood up and faced Voldemort. His hands were like large, pale spiders; his eyes were red whose pupils were slits, like a cat's. Fear flooded her as Sirius held her hand tightly.
"Now, do we have a deal?" he said. "Decide quickly..."
"What deal?" Dorcas yelled shakily.
"Bringing Black back has certain costs..." Voldemort was drawing closer to them, pulling out his wand.
Sirius turned to Dorcas, ashen-faced. "What is he talking about?"
"Do not disturb us, Black," said Voldemort. With a whip of his wand, Sirius disappeared.
"SIRIUS!"
"Now," said Voldemort maliciously. "What say you?"
"I – I'm joining the Death Eaters."
Voldemort laughed maliciously as Dorcas collapsed to her knees, feeling a large amount of pain on her left arm. It was though it was being sliced as her own blood spilled through her robes...
"ARGH!" Dorcas' eyes burst open; she was in a dark room she was before seeing Sirius. She thought all of it was a dream. Maybe it was. But the searing pain in her arm was still there. She checked her arm and couldn't believe what she saw: the Dark Mark.
____________________________________________
When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope
Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least.
-William Hung – I mean Shakespeare