New Reviewers (Elvenrarehunter (Holly), Bex Drake, Forestsong): Holly, well here you go and I hope it does not disappoint. Bex, I'm so happy you decided to read this. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw your name but I'm really astounded you like my stuff enough to read it in another genre. ForestSong love the name, quite magestic and elegant. Well I hate to tell you but you might have already picked it up... I have a reputation for bloodbaths... ending well could be called an optimistic hope.

Old Reviewers (Redaura, Star19, PractikalMagik, Raine is Crazy, Haystack): Frog I know you overload on slash but calm down. I promise some boy on boy action in the next couple of chapters, and be nice to Malfoy. Haystack I know. I look back at this story and think of characters I missed. Too little of Neville and Crookshanks in this fic. And not gonna tell you cos I hint at various things and you might find out in later chapters. Raine you get the award for longest and craziest review. Of your first paragraph I deciphered little but I will say people die quite quickly in this fic. I know you like Harry but JK always makes sure he's human and get embarrassed like humans do... But I don't think I'm mean to him. And I think it an amazing feat that you managed to insult Luna even though she was the blameless victim. I hardly think she was blaming him more just idly thinking... We'll see what happens to your favourite boys. Star I do believe that it was an awful thing to happen. I hate rape and everything to do with it but it is based on some fact from what I write. Horrible though it is. Hope you continue to read. Snails I hate the idea too. I'm glad I passed the test in something. I want Taz in FULL working order please.

Tweenies (Irishsodabread, Cniamc, Mel62): Sodabread it's very hard making an OC but I think there is a severe lack of strong women in Slytherin so I thought I'd better put one in. You'll find out more about her in this chapter. Niam is a very nice name and the terror will get closer and closer and deadlier and deadlier mwhahahaha cough haha. Mel well thank you very much. There is some Lithliya and Malfoy in this chapter.

AN: I wrote this story before the news of the girls reached my attention. It's a horrible coincidence and not one I'd ever like to happen again. For those that have not heard two Russian girls were kept captive for four years as sex slaves one giving birth to three children in that time. They were 14 and 17 when they were taken.

The reason which I don't think I fully explain why Malfoy and Harry are doing this speech rather than Lithliya and Harry is down to base fact. Harry is head boy and the saviour of the world ergo he's going to do it. As for Lithliya's substitution those that will not heed Harry (Slytherins) will heed Malfoy over Lithliya. ........

Chapter Nine

Queen of Mime

Hermione slowly passed through the Slytherin common room. Her face was burning with embarrassment at the thought of being in this room again though there were only a couple of lower year students about. She traipsed up the staircase to the furthest up dormitory. She was surprised to see one of Lithliya's own drearily coming down in the opposite direction, but she let it slide from her mind as the prepared to enter the Dragon's lair... again.

She knocked. There was no sound from within so she gently pushed open the door. "Draco?" She called into the murky darkness. There was a groan from the bed.

"Granger?" A tried voice inquired. She nodded and quickly clicked the door shut. "Is it important?" He asked, she saw a shadow pulling themselves up from the bed.

"Yeah." Hermione affirmed. She saw the shadow pass to the window where he flung the curtains open. Her skin prickled with heat as she realised he slept naked. She turned away from him, facing the bed. She saw a girl's pyjama top, lying on the opposite pillow to which Draco had been sleeping on, with the bottoms folded underneath.

Draco appeared to have other ideas than conserve her modesty. He came up beside her and stretched his arms upwards, enjoying her discomfort. Hermione looked away, though did not turn away this time. He laughed. "It is not as if you have never seen me like this before now is it?" He asked heading to the wardrobe and pulling out a pair of black boxers. His entire wardrobe was only black and green as far as she could see.

"No, but I was drunk then." Hermione said turning away so he could change. Draco however it appeared had no intention of letting her observe decorum.

"Here sit on the bed whilst I get dressed." He told her smiling jovially at her as he tugged her onto the bed. "Now if I remember rightly you weren't drunk in the morning were you?" Hermione's blush intensified. Draco could not enjoy though as he was in the bathroom. The sounds of running water came from there. Hermione hoped it was the tap.

"I was too hungover and too sleep-ridden to know what I was doing. Don't you want to hear what has happened?" Hermione desperately trying to change the subject, her mind filled with abject misery. It had all been a mistake. A mistake that she could forget about.

"No, we'll have plenty of time for that latter. Your bodyguards aren't here right now so it's an ideal time. And I think you know exactly what you were doing. Either that or you had dirty dreams for a virgin. I haven't had sex that good... since... now let me think." Draco's voice was spoken through a smirk, Hermione could tell. She felt like she wanted to be sick but with Draco in the bathroom it was not an option. She never knew what she might walk in on.

His head popped round the door grinning at her. She raised her eyebrow and flicked her head back at the girl's top. His smirk widened. "Oh you have nothing to fear on that account. It's Lithliya's." Hermione's jaw dropped. "Don't worry, dearest Hermione, she just sleeps in here. With the attack on the girl's dormitories I ordered all the girls to sleep in the boys dormitories. I couldn't have the head girl in with the boys, now could I? So she's been in here. I kicked her out on that night. I don't suppose you remember that."

Hermione did actually. She just never thought about it. Draco continued, he was pulling on a shirt now, ruffling up his pristine hair. "I think you're actually an amazing fuck. And you don't have to worry, for now, you're my number one girl." Hermione blinked for a bit whilst she tried to interpret this statement.

"What?" She gave up trying to make crazy theories and just asked. He was pulling on trousers.

"You are mine." He was putting on his tie in the mirror. His voice was lacking smirks or sarcasm. He sounded like he was repeating basic charms. "You are mine. I suppose you could say you're my girlfriend. Fuckbuddy. Something like that. But all my attentions, for the moment, are on you, Hermione. Just you."

Hermione stared at him as he finished doing his belt up, sliding his robes about him, pinning his badge on. She finally interrupted the silence by saying "Don't think I'm going to even touch you again!" Her words, though harsh, were no accompanied by any action that could deem them to actually be a threat. Draco who was tying his shoes up next to her on the bed, leant over to her kissed her lightly on the cheek and murmured.

"That's the spirit Granger." He went back to tying his shoe.

"Don't I get a choice in this?" She turned to face him, still not quite comprehending what was going on.

"Erm.... no. I suppose you could try to stop me if you wanted. But I don't think you do." Draco finished tying up his other shoe and smirked at her. Hermione stuttered some various and nonsensical sentences before she attempted to slap him (to which he grabbed her arm and raised an eyebrow), and then darted in to kiss him. She had meant to try and push him back with her bodyweight but... something else had taken over. "Now what's that phrase Muggles use? Deja vu?"

Hermione's face flushed and she put her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. "Luna." She said through her hands. How could he make her feel so weak? And why was her lust taking over her common sense?

"Loopy Lovegood?" Draco asked pulling himself off his bed, then grabbing Hermione up with him.

"Some horrible people," She glared at Draco, who looked around himself for people she could be glaring at, "Call her Loony Lovegood." Hermione suddenly blinked back tears and looked towards the window, not wishing to cry infront of him.

Draco counted to three then reached deep down inside himself and pulled up the sensitive side his mother had once tried to educate. It was a very small and very limited part of him but when it came to hysterical women, it worked wonders... for his larger more prominent part that was connected to his manhood that is. "What's happened?" He asked, his arms looping round her, one across her stomach the other across her shoulders. He felt a shudder pass through her before one of her hands came to rest across his.

"The Death Eaters..." She trailed off. Draco's mind went into hyper alert though he was careful to keep it out of his body language and voice. "They tortured her." Hermione choked this out, before bursting into a fit of tears. Draco lightly loosened his hold then walked round to face her. He then gently and lightly brushing against her skin pulled her into a hug. "It's not fair." She beat her fists against his chest, before laying her face against it and slipping her arms around his torso. She is a shortarse, Draco decided in the back of his mind.

"What exactly did they do Hermione?" He asked, stroking the back of her head and playing idly with her hair. His other arm was playing circles on her lower back. Her sobs were gradually tuning into the same pace as his gentle circles.

"I think they raped her and but the.... curse on her. The unforgivable. And they did it so badly she's not able to speak properly. I think she's lost her sanity." Draco's arms tensed. He couldn't help it. The bastards. The bastards. After all he'd said to them. By all the purebloods on this earth there would be hell to pay. She may not have been Slytherin or on any list but she was still in the school. Did they not think he would carry through his threat? Did they not think that he would take such a revenge equal to and out do their own?

"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione." He soothed her whilst the anger was growing within him every second. He would show them he was one to fear. "Shhh. She'll have the best of medical care. And she has you to keep an eye out for her. You were always nice to her weren't you? Shhh. We'll look after you. She'll be better soon." Any bullshit to calm you down.

"You have to make a speech. With Harry. To the school. To announce it. You have to make everybody know it's going to be alright." Hermione told him from his shirt. He nodded and scooped her up so she was looking into his eyes.

"Right?" He asked her. She wiped her tears away and smiled at him. A warm smile. Like she gave Potter or Weasel. He put her down hastily. Affection was not something Draco liked to be felt for him. It made him weaker. "Let's go. Great Hall for breakfast and speech."

--

Harry saw her over the great distance. She was sitting on the Slytherin Quidditch stand dead centre towards the back. "Accio Firebolt." He said his mind on the girl not the broom. He wondered if he said 'Accio Lithliya' if she would come... His broom jarred his hand that he'd absently been holding out waiting for it to arrive. He grabbed the broom and flew up to the stand. She was looking at him as he flew closer. He suddenly wondered if he'd remembered to brush his teeth that morning. Too late now.

"Good morning, head boy." Lithliya greeted him, her blue blue eyes looking right into him. He smiled careful not to show any teeth. She cocked an eyebrow and he gave up on that scheme. "I was hoping to see you play. But your team never showed up. Nor did you until now." Harry climbed awkwardly down from his broom, dropping onto the seats from a height of about a foot. He pulled his broom down after him.

"There's been a.... another attack." He said quietly looking out into the forest. He was afraid of Lithliya's response. He didn't think she'd be like Cho was and burst into tears, but he didn't think she'd be like Hermione and collapse. Well she was already sitting down which was a good thing.

"Who?" Harry looked up sharply. The voice was cool and calm, the speaker looking out onto the forest as he had been. She didn't seem that upset.

"Luna Lovegood. Some people called her Loony Lovegood, but she was a nice person." Harry said bitterly. He had thought her mad too. It seemed cruel now she lay gibbering in the hospital wing.

"Don't call her a nice person." Harry was about to take offence when Lithliya continued. "Everybody can be called a nice person. It says very little about them except they can be perceived as being of a good temperament. The head of Hogwarts during the time of the Chamber of Secret's first opening called Tom Riddle 'A nice person'." Harry looked to the floor and rubbed his hands.

"Yeah, well. She was a happy, lively, determined, clever, fun girl." Harry said slightly frustrated of Lithliya's detachment. He may not have wanted tears but if that was what it took.

"You speak of her as if she were dead." He could feel Lithliya's gaze burning holes in his head.

"She might wish she was. The Death Eaters raped and tortured her." Harry hoped to get more of a reaction. He felt a shudder pass through the thick robes from her. He did not think it was the autumn chill. Relief crept in. "She hasn't managed to say much since. She's lost her sanity. I'm not sure they'll be able to get it back. She... as a horrible joke the bastards put 'Now she's really Loony' in her blood above her." His voice was cracking and he stared determinedly at the forest. Big boys don't cry.

"That is a horrible fate, Mr Potter." Lithliya's voice was cold still. But she had not seen it. She was not there. A pause passed. "You are upset because you could not save her. You think, because it is your job to end the regime of the Dark Lord, that it is your duty to save all who he decrees it fine to kill, torture and maim."

"Don't tell me what I think!" Harry shouted at her standing up, towering over her. She looked up at him with her blue blue eyes. She blinked, when her lids opened again, her eyes were on the floor. "I'm sorry. We have to go in. I've got to make a speech. With Malfoy. To the rest of the school. Come on."

Lithliya did not move. "Sit Harry. You'd better clear your head before you go in." She turned away from him looking up towards the castle. He stood debating with himself for a minute before sitting down heavily. He did not look at her. "He's not the first, Voldemort. Not the first to want the complete obliteration of an entire race of people."

"Hitler." Harry answered, wanting to show he had knowledge other than about Quidditch. This outweighed the childish anger telling him not to speak to her again and sulk instead.

"Not just him. But I suppose he was the most successful. Voldemort can only dream of wiping out 11million people. So far at least. The killing curse can kill up to thirteen at the moment as long as there is enough hatred in it. Machine guns or gas chambers kill as many as you want up until the trigger is released no matter what mood you are in. In some ways Muggles are more advanced than us." Lithliya commented, idly playing with a bit of hair left out of her ponytail for fashion sake.

"Not in a good way. At least not there." Harry said darkly wondering how anybody would survive if Voldemort got the magic equivalent of a machine gun. The thought was too dark for him to contemplate for long. "How do you know all this stuff. You're in Slytherin. And I doubt they teach much of that in Muggle Studies which besides I doubt you do."

Lithliya smiled grimly at the forest. Harry studied her face as she spoke. "I don't do Muggle Studies because I don't need to. My father was very into Dark Arts, being a pureblood. He was French. My mother was too. She was of another pureblood family. She was weak. She let my father do what he wanted." He suddenly realised why she might have shivered when he mentioned rape. "Barely ever standing up to him. I was the youngest of six, four boys, two girls."

"17 years ago Voldemort disappeared. My father moved my family to England in hopes of resurrecting such a 'great hero'. I was born here a year after Voldemort died. My father and brothers kept up their contacts in France and were constantly coming and going for the first six years of my life. But the French authorities caught my father. My brothers attempted a rescue. My father was executed along with two of my brothers. The other two have served their time and since disappeared into the ranks of the Dark Lord."

"My mother could not live without my father. She couldn't even die properly without my father. The rope she tried to hang herself with snapped. In desperation she broke her wand and moved six year old me and her into the Muggle world. My older sister had run off with a pureblood of respectable birth. Hence my knowledge of Muggle life. I spent four years in a Muggle school. She ripped up the letter that congratulated me on my invitation to join Hogwarts."

Harry chuckled dryly. "We have something in common then." Lithliya smiled back at him, then her eyes drifted, going to the sky.

"I packed my things and left. I took my father's key for Gringotts and stayed in Diagon alley for the remainder of the summer. I go back to the Muggle world every summer to catch up on what I have missed. I like to know." Lithliya finished idly playing with a little bit of fluff that she had caught from the non-existent breeze.

"You voluntarily join the Muggle world?" Harry asked curiously.

"We may like to think ourselves superior, Potter, but they're far more of them than of us. Their saying is very true; knowledge is power." She stood, rubbing her arms down. "We'd better be going in. Everyone will be eating breakfast now."

Harry stopped her. His hand caught her arm and pulled the sleeve of her robe up from her elbow to her shoulder. He'd noticed a black thing when she was rubbing. She pulled away from him, looking at him carefully. "Let's go Potter." He looked dead back at her.

"What is that?" It couldn't be a Dark Mark. They were on the forearm. It had to be something else.

"It's not a Dark Mark if that's what you're thinking." Lithliya replied coldly. The tension between them was back. Harry took her arm, she tried to pull back, he pulled her forwards roughly. Her other arm reached for her wand, he grabbed her other arm quickly

"If it's not a Dark Mark why won't you show it to me?" Harry asked, terrified it was. His heart was beating loudly in his head.

"Because it's personal." She retorted. He scoffed and pulled her right arm, the one with the dark thing on into the grip of his right hand, which also held her other arm. With his free hand he pulled up her robe. She wrenched backwards, he yanked her forwards. They were centimetres away from each other.

He looked at the tattoo. "Oh." Was all he could say.

--

Lithliya and Harry walked into the Great Hall together. Harry's face was a peach colour, his hair deranged by the early morning breeze. His school robes still hung upon his frame as they had that morning, but they seemed to flow off him better. His stride was longer and faster, throwing out a trail of black behind him. His head was high and his gaze determined. He located Hermione and Malfoy loitering by the staff's table. He glanced back at Lithliya who was not quite keeping up with his fast pace.

"You ready?" He asked, not really knowing why he was asking. He received no response. He gazed at the Gryffindor table, searching for Ron. There was no flaming red hair at the Gryffindor table. He reverted back to the task at hand, nodding to Draco and hugging Hermione as soon as he reached her. She held him tighter than she would under normal circumstances. He put it down to seeing Luna. "Gryffindors, Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws"

With his hail only a few close to him looked up. He had spoken only slightly louder than his normal speaking tones. However with the few that looked up next to them more looked up. Like a disease it spread until the whole hall was silent and watching him. Malfoy moved next to him. "There's been a terrible... incident." Malfoy sneered. All eating stopped, all the students stopped to look at Harry and Malfoy. "The Death Eaters have taken revenge upon our school." Gasps and wide eyes followed this statement.

Harry looked at Malfoy. "Revenge for what?" He asked quietly. Malfoy did not answer. "A student was violently and maliciously attacked last night. Luna Lovegood of Ravenclaw." A ripple of horror passed through the hall, squeals and cries of sorrow and terror were carried along through the many corridors of Hogwarts. "She was alone and disobeying curfew. Two things than ultimately condemned her."

Malfoy interrupted. "We cannot protect ourselves if you do not obey us." Sobs from the Ravenclaw table enlightened this pause.

Harry continued. "But this is what we always knew would happen. We always knew we would lose people; it is the way of war. But there is a way for you all to fight these two Death Eaters. The passwords change daily but never tell your friend the password in the corridor; they can't get into your common rooms at the moment because you've all been so careful." Harry tried to raise their terrified spirits.

"If you ever feel anything pass you by that you do not see, and you are in a large group, kick it. If it yelps, curse it to oblivion." Laughs came from the Slytherin table as Malfoy spoke. Malfoy winked out of the corner of his eye at Harry. Harry tried to hide his grimace.

"Let go of old rivalries. We are all fighting the same enemy. Make sure that if you ever land up in a life or death situation everyone here will be willing to watch your back." Harry turned and smiled at Malfoy. "Is that everything?" He asked. Malfoy looked bored and walked swiftly over to the Slytherin table. Lithliya followed him without a word.

Lithliya sat on the edge of the table nibbling at a bit of bread as she watched Harry and Hermione disappear from the hall. "What did you talk about?" Draco asked as he sat down to a full English Breakfast. Lithliya crinkled her nose at the smell of sausages.

"He saw my tattoo." Draco looked up mildly interested.

"Did he know what it was?" He asked cutting up some bacon and dipping it into his egg.

"I don't think so." Her reply came distantly. She was staring up at the owls flooding into the hall. Malfoy's eagle owl swooped down. He cursed and licked his fingers before removing the parchment. The owl nipped his ear before flying off again. Lithliya saw out of the corner of her eye Draco checking the seal and sliding it into his robe. Lithliya's own owl landed on her shoulder. She removed the parchment and the owl flew off. She did not check the seal before putting it away. "I told him about my family."

At this Malfoy's food came flying out his mouth. "What?" He said standing up. The entire hall, except the Slytherins, was staring at him. The Slytherins had more sense than to stare when Malfoy got mad.

"The edited and redone version of my family." Lithliya said calmly back on her bread.

"Bloody hell women you could have said that first." He moaned, sitting down and swearing under his breath. "I though you'd lost your nut then. He'd probably have you sent to Azkaban if you had told him let alone never even look at you again..." With this Draco trailed off in thought. Lithliya whacked his shoulder and he winked up at her. "So you do like him. Well if so much as lays a finger on you, he'll on a Portkey to have his little battle with Voldemort sooner than expected."

Lithliya cocked an eyebrow out him. "You don't think I'm being serious?" He asked smirking. "I am, Lithliya Dremae-Riddle, I am."

--

dum dum dum dummmm.... hem hem. So yeah. Please Review! PLEASE!!!!! PERDY WERDY PLEASE? For lil old me?

Next time find out: if Malfoy discovers its not just a finger Harry's laid on Lithilya, if Harry discovers Lithliya's deceived him, if Luna gets better, if anyone else is attacked, if the world ends?