Chapter Three
Andara walked through the halls, her slippers making a soft, almost inaudible swishing sound on the floor as she moved. Her head pounded slightly and she stopped for a moment to lean against the cools stonewall before resuming her trek She came out into the entrance hall which was once more alive with people, two redheaded boys, well, they were older than boyhood but they weren't acting it at the moment. Small explosions seemed to come sporadically from around them and the ground was littered with pieces of god only knows what.
"Remus is waiting in his office." One said, pointing before yelling as the box he had been holding exploded in his face.
Andara nodded and said thank you before walking to the small oak door. She opened it quietly and peered in, Moony had his feet propped up on the desk and he was reading a book when he saw her he waved her in.
"Come in, I haven't got all day." He said. "I want you to know one thing, and I want you never to doubt it. Your father was not a murderer." He said forcefully.
"I know." She said, "Harry explained it to me."
"I see." He said, leaning forward. "Come on now, sit down, make yourself comfortable." He said, "I won't bite." A sly grin crossed Andara's face.
"Really?" She asked as she sat, feet dangling over the armrest. "My mother told me stories that say otherwise you know." She said and he grimaced.
"That only happened once." He protested.
"Twice."
~~*~~
Remus had left a few minutes ago and Andara was slowly working her way up the stairs. At eleven o'clock at night she was tired, Disgusting really. She thought, normally I would be wide awake at the moment. If this is what getting up at seven does to you I'm never doing it again. Ever. She thought vehemently as she reached the top of the stair. Alleluia!
"Andara." She turned to see who was speaking to her.
"Hermione." She said in a casual tone.
"Walk with me." The other girl said, so they walked. "I'm sorry." She said finally. "For earlier." She continued and Andara was impressed, there were few who found it necessary to apologize, and fewer more who apologized for rudeness.
"It's okay." She said in reply. "I get it."
"Get what?" Came the all to innocent reply.
"Come off it, you fancy Harry and felt that I was infringing on your territory." She said with a smile.
"What?! How did you-did Ginny tell you-I, oi.." She said sporadically and Andara smirked.
"You know, I took you as the kind who could actually construct proper sentences." She said and Hermione glared for a minute before laughing.
"Usually, how did you figure it out?" She asked after a moment.
"Oh pu'lease," She said with a very American accent. "Anyone with eyes could tell if they wanted to know, da'hlin." She said with a smile.
"I'd best hope no one uses their eyes then huh?" She asked as she walked into her room. Andara smiled a little as she entered her own. Maybe she's not all bad.
Smiling she waved her wand, lighting all of the candle's in the room. She preferred candlelight to all other forms of illumination. It was more pure. Electrical light was harsh and hurt your eyes. Sunlight occurred only in the daytime, and she slept during the day. So candlelight was best. Quickly she changed into gray shorts and a black tank top before climbing into bed and extinguishing all of the light. Content she settled into bed. For a few hours anyway…
She yawned as she sat up in her bed, wondering what had woken her. People were running up and down the hall, terrified whispers echoing against the stonewalls. She slipped out of bed, her toes curling against the cool stone, for a moment her mind dwelled wishfully on a thick woolen rug as she opened the door.
People were everywhere and it took her a moment to realize her room was on the same hall as the infirmary that had at one point been a large study. The hallway looked as if it had crossed into the realms of Chaos. Men were carrying people in stretchers; those on them were pale, shuddering, bleeding, unconscious, or all of those things. Some had flesh wounds others had been hexed. She ran up to a man in the doorway.
"What happened?" She asked, violet eyes wide.
"Rescue mission." He said with a sigh and she blanched.
"And it ended like this?" She asked gesturing to the crowded hall, "I thought rescue missions were supposed to help people, not take out and entire squad!"
"They are. Now either clean one of them up or leave." He said sternly. She muttered a curse and went to grab a first aide kit. She sat down next to an unconscious blond man and went to work. She quickly cleaned the smeared blood off of his face; hopefully not all of it was his. She noticed that his face was almost perfectly symmetrical, and somehow enchanting. Looking at him she grimaced and grabbed a clean rag and a bowl of hot water. She soaked the front of his shirt and carefully separated the shirt from the multiple wounds on his chest. In one quick motion she ripped the plain cotton tee shirt in half and then slowly moved it off of his arms.
The boy gasped and his eyes flew open and he sat up quickly. "Whoa," She gasped and put her hands lightly on his shoulders, "It's okay, just breathe." She said and his silver gray eyes met shining violet ones. He relaxed a little at the sound of a soothing voice.
"Where am I?" He asked, his eyes roaming about the room. "Who are you?" He asked, his voice panicky.
"My name is Andara, you're safe." She said as Professor Dumbledore walked up to them, the, man who had intercepted her back in America.
"Miss Black, I see you've been taking good care of Mr. Malfoy, if you would excuse us however…" He said, giving her a meaningful look. For once she didn't protest. Malfoy?! She thought as she walked to the kitchens, she had been having a n almost pleasant conversation with a Malfoy? Her mother had told her stories about the Malfoy family, they did horrible things, but so did your family. A voice whispered and she shivered.
Hours later she walked into the kitchen and started washing vegetables for dinner, Mrs. Weasley looked at her and immediately knew the girl was exhausted. Thinking she would send her straight to bed after dinner she had her adding ingredients to a large pot of soup. Andara turned around too fast and the world spun as her head pounded inside her skull. Those injured in the rescue mission were entering the room as she began to fall.
To him it happened in a slow, theatrical way, her back arched and the bowl fell from her hands as her eyes fluttered shut. He reached out and grabbed her, his strong arms wrapping around her waist instinctively. He looked up as everyone rushed towards them, Mrs. Weasley looking frightened, Harry and Hermione worried, Ron oblivious, Dumbledore angry and afraid.
Remus Lupin smiled gently at the blond, "Lets just lay her down Draco." He said quietly and he lowered her small frame to the floor. He quickly took her pulse and cast a few spells. "She'll be fine, she obviously is just overly tired." He said and an audible sigh went up from the adults in the room.
He was coming and she could feel it. His presence was almost suffocating. Red eyes bore into violet ones. "I don't know how you survived, but know this, I will find you, and I will destroy you." Surprisingly she felt no fear, just pity and slight annoyance. How dare he enter her mind and attack? She glared at his floating presence in her dreams.
"Why?" She asked, trying not to sound pert.
"Because little girl, you and your friends meddle, your father meddled. And I will not be thwarted because of meddlers again." He said, anger rising inside of him suppressing her magical abilities.
Harry yelled, and clutched his scar as Andara's body started to shake.
She glared at the man, his scaly green skin giving her the shivers. "I see. Sounds a bit petty for an evil Lord but alright, whatever floats your boat." She said with a smirk. "And I would rethink the green skin, makes you look a bit sickly, and a great Lord like yourself can't look sick now can he?" She asked, knowing she was provoking him, but he was on her turff, in her mind.
"You are stupid, much like your father. Unlike your father though you will not win. You cannot win, unless you join me. You and I could rule. An evil queen." He said, eyes glinting. She frowned.
"You disgust me." She said and she attacked his mental defenses, digging into his mind, trying to find his plans. She saw parts of maps with magically marked locations, schools she realized, they hadn't been made unplottable and he was going to break them. Kill those who would not join him.
"Oh god." She said as her eyes opened, she had refused him, and now he was out to kill her.
A/N: So yeah, we have finally reached plot! YAY! I got my hair cut and now I have these bang like things that aren't' bangs that fall right into my eyes, kind of annoying really…Review, flame, do your thing…