Disclaimer/Author Note/Rating: Please see Chapter 1 for full disclaimers, legal info, etc.
Go raibh maith agaibh:
Mercury Gray… welcome back, my friend. I'm glad you've enjoyed how Serena is handling Malificus. There is more to come between them.
Elaine… as always, thanks for keeping me honest on the details, even if I do chalk some of them up to this story being A/U. Your feedback is always welcome!
Leonora K… Appreciate your comments to. You reassure me that the plot is going generally in the way you believe, but I hope you'll find some rewarding turns in it as well.
Lady of the Dog Star… Your feedback is also always welcome and always appreciated. Please keep it coming.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Chapter 8: Driven to Distraction
The following night, each of the Houses had been decorated. Banners with House colors hung from hallway ceilings and candles floating in mid-air illuminated all of the rooms. Dark wood panels had been polished to a glossy sheen. The House Elves had been busy cooking every sort of delectable treat.
At Slytherin House, the common room over flowed with guests who spilled even into the hallways. Lucius Malfoy slowly made his way around the room, shaking hands and renewing acquaintances. As he moved, a small group traveled in his wake. They were familiar names. Crabbe. Goyle. Underwood. Blackstone. Moore. All Slytherin alumni. All Death Eaters.
"Shall we adjourn to a side parlor?" asked Lucius.
The group murmured an ascent and slowly, in small groups they slipped out to the side room Lucius had indicated. This did not go unnoticed by the watchful eyes of Severus Snape. He deliberately made sure he crossed paths with Lucius a few times, waiting to see if he would be invited. What he learned would be valuable to the Order of the Phoenix. But the invitation never came.
"Shall we not invite Severus?" asked Ivy Blackstone.
"No, not for this," said Lucius. His pale eyes slid over the room, coming to rest on Snape's back. The potions professor, sensing someone was watching him, looked to each side and turned quickly. Lucius raised is glass as their eyes met. With a raised eyebrow, Snape acknowledged him with a small nod and returned to his conversation.
In the parlor, Lucius shut the door behind him. "This must be brief," he said, "there are far too many ears here. The Dark Lord's plans to return, to become corporeal again, are progressing apace despite the interference we've encountered from the Potter boy and others."
"What is the next step?" asked Goyle. "What does the Dark Lord require?"
"Right now, that doesn't matter. It is being attended to as our Lord has instructed. The task that has been set to us is to retrieve those items he will need to spread his power once he has regained physical form."
"And what item are we searching for?" asked Ivy.
"The most important is the Rorret Medallion." The room murmured for a moment in the wake of Lucius' answer, and then was instantly silent as the door swung open. Severus Snape stood in the doorway, coolly observing the group before him. If he suspected them of ill intent before, he was convinced of it now, and he would wager more than money that he'd heard Lucius Malfoy say, "Rorret Medallion," just before he opened the door.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," said Severus.
"Of course not." Lucius' smile was thin and forced. "Just catching up on old times."
"I see. The rest of the Quidditch team is looking for Goyle. I thought I saw him come in here…"
James Goyle got up and hurried out. "Certainly can't keep the team waiting, now can we?" he said.
"Well," said Severus with another cool appraisal of the group, "I'll leave you to your nostalgia."
After he left, Lucius pounded his fist on the arm of the chair. "We'll meet at our manor in London next week," he said peevishly. "That is apparently the only safe place to talk now. Go." He dismissed the others with an imperious wave of his hand. The group needed no further encouragement, and even Narcissa left, not wanting to weather her husband's stormy mood. The only one who didn't move was Malificus. He remained where he'd been seated, gazing out the window at the night sky.
Lucius narrowed his eyes. "Malificus!" he hissed. "Have you heard a single word that's been discussed here? You are being driven to distraction and no good can come from it."
"You needn't worry, brother," said Malificus with cool detachment and a wave of his hand. "I know my duty. My priorities."
"Be certain that you do." Lucius lifted his glass and drained the last of it. He looked once more at his brother who – once again – seemed lost in his own thoughts.
"I need more wine," the elder Malfoy muttered.
In Gryffindor House, the party was in full swing. The group that would make up tomorrow's Quidditch team were gathered in one corner, laughing and swapping stories from their days on the House Team. Serena was with them, but not part of the conversation; she was lost in her own thoughts, traversing down paths in her memory that she'd not visited in many years. She found the memories were as crisp as ever, once the dust of time was wiped from them.
When she was 14, Serena was still very unwise in the ways of the world and a very trusting soul. So when, the handsome Malificus Malfoy began chatting her up and complimenting how she looked and how she played Quidditch, she had been flattered and quickly developed a crush on him. A few of her friends weren't shy about expressing their reservations, but Serena had laughed them off. Just because he was in Slytherin, she'd said, didn't mean he was evil. Shortly before the Christmas holiday, she realized how wrongly she had judged him… when she realized what he had done to her… and to Maggie Mulvaney…
"Serena? Serena!" Bill Weasley gave her a quick elbow to the ribs and she jumped.
"Sorry!" She blushed slightly as she realized they were all waiting for her to answer a question that she hadn't heard.
"She's already figuring how to handle Malfoy," said Dante Gianni with a smile.
"It makes sense to match you with him during the game," said Artemis Delaney, one of the other Chasers. She pushed her brown hair back over her ear, revealing a healthy dose of grey at the temples. "Seeing as you played against him throughout your time here at school."
Serena was quiet for a long moment and then she stood up from her chair. The frown creasing the corners of her mouth deepened.
"Leave Malfoy to me," she said.
-- -- -- --- -- --
A bit of a transition chapter here. Don't worry, I'm not going to go off on a tangent with the Rorret Medallion, but you needed to hear about it because it will come into play again near the end of the story. Please read and review!
Go raibh maith agaibh:
Mercury Gray… welcome back, my friend. I'm glad you've enjoyed how Serena is handling Malificus. There is more to come between them.
Elaine… as always, thanks for keeping me honest on the details, even if I do chalk some of them up to this story being A/U. Your feedback is always welcome!
Leonora K… Appreciate your comments to. You reassure me that the plot is going generally in the way you believe, but I hope you'll find some rewarding turns in it as well.
Lady of the Dog Star… Your feedback is also always welcome and always appreciated. Please keep it coming.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Chapter 8: Driven to Distraction
The following night, each of the Houses had been decorated. Banners with House colors hung from hallway ceilings and candles floating in mid-air illuminated all of the rooms. Dark wood panels had been polished to a glossy sheen. The House Elves had been busy cooking every sort of delectable treat.
At Slytherin House, the common room over flowed with guests who spilled even into the hallways. Lucius Malfoy slowly made his way around the room, shaking hands and renewing acquaintances. As he moved, a small group traveled in his wake. They were familiar names. Crabbe. Goyle. Underwood. Blackstone. Moore. All Slytherin alumni. All Death Eaters.
"Shall we adjourn to a side parlor?" asked Lucius.
The group murmured an ascent and slowly, in small groups they slipped out to the side room Lucius had indicated. This did not go unnoticed by the watchful eyes of Severus Snape. He deliberately made sure he crossed paths with Lucius a few times, waiting to see if he would be invited. What he learned would be valuable to the Order of the Phoenix. But the invitation never came.
"Shall we not invite Severus?" asked Ivy Blackstone.
"No, not for this," said Lucius. His pale eyes slid over the room, coming to rest on Snape's back. The potions professor, sensing someone was watching him, looked to each side and turned quickly. Lucius raised is glass as their eyes met. With a raised eyebrow, Snape acknowledged him with a small nod and returned to his conversation.
In the parlor, Lucius shut the door behind him. "This must be brief," he said, "there are far too many ears here. The Dark Lord's plans to return, to become corporeal again, are progressing apace despite the interference we've encountered from the Potter boy and others."
"What is the next step?" asked Goyle. "What does the Dark Lord require?"
"Right now, that doesn't matter. It is being attended to as our Lord has instructed. The task that has been set to us is to retrieve those items he will need to spread his power once he has regained physical form."
"And what item are we searching for?" asked Ivy.
"The most important is the Rorret Medallion." The room murmured for a moment in the wake of Lucius' answer, and then was instantly silent as the door swung open. Severus Snape stood in the doorway, coolly observing the group before him. If he suspected them of ill intent before, he was convinced of it now, and he would wager more than money that he'd heard Lucius Malfoy say, "Rorret Medallion," just before he opened the door.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," said Severus.
"Of course not." Lucius' smile was thin and forced. "Just catching up on old times."
"I see. The rest of the Quidditch team is looking for Goyle. I thought I saw him come in here…"
James Goyle got up and hurried out. "Certainly can't keep the team waiting, now can we?" he said.
"Well," said Severus with another cool appraisal of the group, "I'll leave you to your nostalgia."
After he left, Lucius pounded his fist on the arm of the chair. "We'll meet at our manor in London next week," he said peevishly. "That is apparently the only safe place to talk now. Go." He dismissed the others with an imperious wave of his hand. The group needed no further encouragement, and even Narcissa left, not wanting to weather her husband's stormy mood. The only one who didn't move was Malificus. He remained where he'd been seated, gazing out the window at the night sky.
Lucius narrowed his eyes. "Malificus!" he hissed. "Have you heard a single word that's been discussed here? You are being driven to distraction and no good can come from it."
"You needn't worry, brother," said Malificus with cool detachment and a wave of his hand. "I know my duty. My priorities."
"Be certain that you do." Lucius lifted his glass and drained the last of it. He looked once more at his brother who – once again – seemed lost in his own thoughts.
"I need more wine," the elder Malfoy muttered.
In Gryffindor House, the party was in full swing. The group that would make up tomorrow's Quidditch team were gathered in one corner, laughing and swapping stories from their days on the House Team. Serena was with them, but not part of the conversation; she was lost in her own thoughts, traversing down paths in her memory that she'd not visited in many years. She found the memories were as crisp as ever, once the dust of time was wiped from them.
When she was 14, Serena was still very unwise in the ways of the world and a very trusting soul. So when, the handsome Malificus Malfoy began chatting her up and complimenting how she looked and how she played Quidditch, she had been flattered and quickly developed a crush on him. A few of her friends weren't shy about expressing their reservations, but Serena had laughed them off. Just because he was in Slytherin, she'd said, didn't mean he was evil. Shortly before the Christmas holiday, she realized how wrongly she had judged him… when she realized what he had done to her… and to Maggie Mulvaney…
"Serena? Serena!" Bill Weasley gave her a quick elbow to the ribs and she jumped.
"Sorry!" She blushed slightly as she realized they were all waiting for her to answer a question that she hadn't heard.
"She's already figuring how to handle Malfoy," said Dante Gianni with a smile.
"It makes sense to match you with him during the game," said Artemis Delaney, one of the other Chasers. She pushed her brown hair back over her ear, revealing a healthy dose of grey at the temples. "Seeing as you played against him throughout your time here at school."
Serena was quiet for a long moment and then she stood up from her chair. The frown creasing the corners of her mouth deepened.
"Leave Malfoy to me," she said.
-- -- -- --- -- --
A bit of a transition chapter here. Don't worry, I'm not going to go off on a tangent with the Rorret Medallion, but you needed to hear about it because it will come into play again near the end of the story. Please read and review!