Author's Note: And it continues.

Admissions: HP chars belong to J. K. Rowling, Leiko to me, and Ravindra to my soul-sister Rave.

Section 18: Trespass

Snape watched as Lucius was punished by the Dark Lord. He had been surprised at how few Death Eaters were present at the meeting. Usually the room would have been filled, but tonight barely a dozen people stood in the great stone chamber. Snape wondered where the others were. And also where Leiko was.

The Potions Master had been wondering if Leiko was even being held in the building when a door opened and two figures stepped through. Snape watched as Lucius escorted the gryffin to stand before the Dark Lord. She was hurt, Snape noticed. He wondered if anyone had tried to heal her arm. Remembering that Pomfrey had said the gryffin was resistant to magic, he realized that even if the attempted had been made the arm would have to heal on its own.

Snape winced as Leiko all but challenged the Dark Lord. Didn't that woman realize how dangerous a position she was in? And yet Voldemort wasn't responding to her offensive manner. Snape had never known his master to be so...lenient. He hoped that Rave's plan worked. Leiko was in more danger than anyone had first thought.

Ravindra hissed at the three students to quiet down. She'd allowed them to ride on her back so as to get to their destination quickly. Harry had wanted to use brooms, but Rave let them know very quickly what she thought of 'those brainless instruments of the flightless'. Disappointed but excited at the prospect of rescuing Leiko, the boy had given in and climbed up between Rave's wings. The other two had followed and the red gryffin, after making sure the youngsters were holding tight, took flight.

It was several hours before they arrived at the meeting place. Rave had been homing in on Leiko using their sisterly bond. The Gryffindors dismounted and hid under Harry's invisibility cloak. Rave, too large to even think of using the cloak, moved into the shadows.

"Alright kids, you know what to do. Wait for my signal and don't try anything heroic. We're here to find Leiko, not defeat your enemies."

The students nodded before they remembered that Rave couldn't see them. They had taken only a few steps when Hermione looked back and saw the darkened form of Rave warp into something smaller. Thinking it a trick of the light, the girl blinked once and turned her attention back to the plan.

Rave concentrated. She knew that prancing about a hostile castle was suicidal for a gryffin. The only logical thing to do was to not be a gryffin. She concentrated harder, feeling her body pulse and warp into a smaller shape. She opened her now-red eyes and blinked. Her pink lips parted in a smile as she pulled a cloak over herself and headed into the stone structure.

Lucius had been carried out of the meeting by two of his fellow Death Eaters. They had left him in the hallway, not wanting to miss any of the exchange between their Lord and the gryffin. Lucius groaned and pulled himself into a standing position. Voldemort had been lenient with him, using the curse more as a display of power than true punishment. It would not take long to recover from the ordeal, although Lucius was thankful that Voldemort had not been truly angry.

Movement in the shadows drew the blond wizards attention. A hooded figure stood against the wall not two feet from him. It wasn't a Death Eater, he knew. Everyone who had come was inside the great room. Lucius stood up straight, trying not to lean too heavily against the wall. The stranger seemed to glide forward without a sound, then whispered words came to his ears.

"Leiko is within, correct? Why does she feel pain without fear, blond one?"

"Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"I'll ask the questions if you don't mind. You are in no condition to refuse me."

A delicate hand shot forth from the folds of the robe and grabbed the wizard's throat. As Lucius tried to pull away the hand tightened its grip and forced him to the ground. Looking up, Lucius noticed two red eyes peering at him from within the hood. His eyes widened at the realization that the creature before him was not human.

"I will let you up, and you will come with me. Understand? Good."

Lucius had little choice but to follow the stranger. He suspected it was wiser to see what the newcomer wanted than to fight. He could always use his wand if the cloaked individual turned hostile. Until then it was best to find out why the person was searching for Leiko.

They entered a darkened room not far down the hall from the larger one in which the Death Eaters were gathered. The door was closed behind them and the blond wizard was forced into a chair while the stranger lit a candle. In the flickering light Lucius noticed that the hand was feminine. Could a woman really be so strong? No, he thought, she couldn't be human. She was too strong to be human, plus she'd found her way undetected into the castle. No human, not even a powerful wizard, could achieve that.

"Who are you? Why did you drag me in here?"

"My name is unimportant. You need only know that I have come for Leiko."

"You won't get her. My Lord will see to that."

The woman chuckled. Her voice was warm and full of humor, despite the seriousness of the situation. Lucius found himself eager to see what she looked like beneath the hood. He had scarcely completed his thought when the woman began to remove her cloak. He gasped as he saw her in the dim light of the candle. She was beautiful, but not in a conventional way. Her ears were pointed, and a pair of smallish red bird wings sprouted from the sides of her head. Her hair was short and spiky, except for the two long braids that hung just in front of her ears. Her garb was strange, appearing to be like that of the muggle pirates from over a century ago. Her clothing was decorated with gold, as were the undersides of the strange wings. Her eyes were red and glowed slightly, yet they did not seem evil. Her whole manner was one of confident ease, and Lucius found he could not take his eyes off her.

"Don't stare, blondie. It's rude."

Blondie. It was the same thing Leiko had first called him. Lucius now had no doubt as to this woman being a close friend of the gryffin's. They were the only two individuals who had ever dared call him 'blondie'.

"You are a most unusual woman, and I was merely wondering why you would risk coming here. Surely you know how dangerous it would be should you be caught."

"I am aware of more than you could possibly imagine, wizard. Your charm may have clouded Leiko's vision, but it will not work on me. I have certain advantages that you are unaware of. Now, you're wondering why I brought you in here. Simply stated, I know you were the one who took Leiko, and I wanted to have a word with you before I rescued her.

Lucius felt fear for the first time since meeting the strange woman. Her voice still contained warmth and cheer, but the words sent a shiver of terror down his spine. He couldn't explain why, but he just knew that he'd be begging the Dark Lord to punish him, for that pain would be nothing compared to what this woman in red would do to him for taking Leiko.