Disclaimer: Not mine, no money has been made, everything belongs to
J.K.Rowling.
Dedications: To my beta Dom
Empty Heart
You're cold with disappointment While I'm drowning in the next room The last contagious victim of the plague between us I'm sick with apprehension I'm crippled with exhaustion And I dread the moment when you finally come to kill me Blink 182- Stockholm Syndrome
It was with a heavy heart that both Draco and Ginny returned to France. Grantings had been their last hope, for they both knew that as much as the Elves would try, they couldn't help Ginny.
Grantings fed them breakfast when they awoke, and drove them to the Floo extension, saying it was the least he could do. They travelled back to France and walked to the edge of the forest where the Elves lived.
"Can we risk going back in?" Ginny asked, the memory of the centaurs still fresh in her mind.
"I remember the way back to the village." Draco told her, "A bit."
"Is 'a bit' enough?"
"It'll have to do." And with that he walked into the trees, and Ginny could do nothing but follow.
Twenty minutes later, they collapsed on a tree stump in frustration.
"We're lost!" Ginny exclaimed.
"No we're not, Malfoy's are never lost." Draco snapped, "We always know exactly where we are, but sometimes we don't know where anything else is."
"So where are we?" She asked. He looked around, inspected a side of a tree, licked his finger and held it up in the air.
"We're...here." He told her.
"That's useful." She muttered.
"You know, you do whine an awful lot." Draco growled, "I go through all this trouble to help you, and you never say thank you."
"Thank you." She said sarcastically.
"You're welcome. Now, this definitely looks like a path, so it has to be a path to somewhere." He nodded to himself, "If we follow it we're bound to find people."
"It could be a centaurs path." Ginny reminded him.
"Can you see hoof prints?" he asked, "No, because there aren't any. Lets go."
So, with another sigh of frustration, they set off once again in search of people.
"Noginski?" Muttered Hermione. No matter how many times she repeated it to herself, she just couldn't remember where she had heard it before.
It was lunch, and Hermione and her two friends where sat in the common room, still looking through the newspaper clippings.
"Move on Hermione." Ron said, "We've got plenty more clippings to look at, don't stress over this one guy."
"But don't you see Ron, this could be important!" She cried, "I just know I know that name! This could be the most important thing we've discovered."
"Or it could be nothing." Harry pointed out, looking at the piece of paper Hermione was obsessing over, "It says here that he's the headmaster of some big school, maybe you read about him in Hogwarts: A History?"
"I'd know if he were in Hogwarts: A History." She said sharply.
"Ok, maybe he's on some other book you read, he sounds pretty impressive." Harry said, "Look at all this stuff it says he's done. He killed a manticore!"
"Wow, he sounds cool." Ron admitted.
"Come on, we have to get to lunch." Hermione sighed as they all stood and started walking to the Great Hall, "Honestly, I can't understand you two. Whenever I tell you about all the wonderful things some Wizards have done you pretend to fall asleep, this man kills one magical beast and you think he's the bees knees."
"The bees knees?" Ron laughed.
"All the Wizards you tell us about are boring." Harry said, "This Noginski went into the Unplottable Forest all by himself, all by himself!"
"Harry, had you ever even heard of the Unplottable Forest before you read that article?" Hermione asked.
"Not the point." He shrugged, looking past her at an approaching figure, "Hey there."
It was Blaise, obviously on her way to the Great Hall too. She gave Harry a quick kiss on the lips, and two third year Slytherins looked at her in disgust. She had obviously decided that she cared more about her boyfriend than the opinion of her house.
"How was the research going?" She asked.
"Fine, cept Hermione's still obsessing over this Noginski guy." Ron told her, placing his arm affectionately around her shoulders, which she shrugged off.
"I'm not the one who thinks he's so wonderful." She muttered.
"I was thinking about him too." Blaise told her, "I recognised the name, but I couldn't remember from where till this morning. My father mentioned him once or twice. I think they worked together about a year ago."
"At about the same time Lucius Malfoy was working with him?" Hermione said.
"I suppose it would be..." The dark haired girl admitted.
"So the two men who are involved in this 'vessel' thing, also worked with Noginski a year ago." Ron muttered, "Suspicious anyone?"
"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed, "I'll be right back!"
They watched their friend run down the corridor, causing a few first years to jump out of the way in surprise.
"Where's she going?" Blaise asked.
"To the Library." The two boys chimed.
Several times Ginny had pleaded with Draco to let them turn back, but he was adamant that they were going in the right direction. He wasn't sure why, but he assumed it had something to do with the fact that he was pureblood and therefor right about most things. The fact that Ginny was also pureblood didn't bother him, as she was poor, and also hung around with Mudbloods. That sort of thing was sure to mess with your brain.
They had been walking for quite some time when they heard the voices. They could have started shouting and calling then, but neither was stupid, and the agreement to stay quiet was an unspoken one. Making as little noise as possible they continued along the path, wanting to see whom the voices belonged to before being discovered themselves.
Two Wizards stood in a small clearing, both talking in very fast French to a female centaur. It was the first female centaur either of the two teenagers had seen, and sight was sufficiently awesome.
She was much more slender than the males, and wore a provisional shift, although it was clear that she had no breasts to cover. That made sense of course. She probably fed her young from udders of some sort. The centaur looked very uncomfortable in the clothes, and Ginny assumed that it was to make the Wizards more comfortable.
"Do you still have the transo-phones?" Draco whispered, and Ginny nodded. She very carefully slid her bag off her back and onto the floor, and reached inside to pull the transo-phones out. She placed them over her ears, and was instantly able to hear what the Wizards where saying.
"...Elves are becoming more and more troublesome! We need them dead. I can't believe they're keeping humans in the forest. You'll need to attack before the children return. Attack tonight." The smaller Wizards commanded.
"I was not aware that you were giving orders now." The centaur said calmly, "I thought this was a mutual agreement. We help you when we can; you help us when you can. So far we have been helping you a great deal, and have received little help in return. Our Elders grow angry."
"Are you suggesting we're taking advantage of your people?" The taller of the two Wizards demanded, looking offended.
"Yes, that is what I am suggesting." She said, "We will attack the Elves tonight, but not because you asked us to. Before we do any more of you bidding, you must do something for us. We are not you pets, or your servants. We have an alliance. We are equals."
It was clear from the way she said that that she didn't think they were equals at all, that she thought that they were quite below her.
"Of course we are." The smaller Wizard was partially obscured, but from the suck-up tone of his voice they could imagine that his face would be twisted into some sort of simpering smile, "We were just proposing that it might be a good idea for you to-"
"You make me ill to look at human." She cut him off, "And you make me even more ill when you pull that face. I have just done you the courtesy of telling you the truth, you have insulted me by lying to me, and insulted me even more by expecting that I would not notice."
"I am sorry madam, I didn't mean to offend!" He cried, "I have the utter most respect for your people, and I-" But he never got to finish his sentence, as she reared up, her front two legs kicking out, connecting with his head. The small wizard dropped to the floor, dead. Ginny clamped her hand over her mouth to prevent a gasp escaping.
"Tell your master that I have killed your brother." The centaur said to the taller wizard, "Tell him not to send others like him. I will not tolerate fools. If he wishes for his servants to return to him after visiting me, then he should only send those with sufficient intelligence."
"Should I take the fact that I'm still alive as a compliment?" He asked.
"We centaurs are not irrational." She said with a cruel smile, "If I was to kill you, who would deliver the message to your master?"
And with that the meeting was over. The centaur turned around and galloped into the forest, and the Wizard, after looking down at his dead colleague, apparated away.
"She killed him!" Ginny gasped as soon as the cost was clear, "She just killed that man! Just because he was annoying her!"
"Centaurs are not very permitting." Draco explained casually, "To be honest, I probably would have killed him myself."
"Tell me that was a joke." She snapped.
"Of course it was a joke." He held up his hands. Anyway, it was a joke. Well, half of one.
"We have to tell the Elves that the centaurs are going to attack." Ginny said, "Maybe they'll have time to prepare."
"How do we find them?" Draco asked, looking around.
"You don't." Came a voice from behind them, "We find you."
It wasn't Mapp, but another Elf, this one male. Ginny yelped in surprise upon hearing his voice, and Draco stumbled into a bush.
"I am sorry to have scared you friend Draco." He said, offering a hand to help him out, which Draco grudgingly took, "And you too, friend Ginni."
"It's ok." She whispered, holding a hand to her heart, "We have something important to tell you."
"When we return you may tell the Auveray."
"How long have you known we were here?" Draco asked.
"For a few moments before I came to you." The Elf told them, "I was given the job to await for you arrival, and then come and fetch you. It took longer than expected; something was blocking my magic. I had to listen to the trees to find your location."
"The bracelet." Ginny said, grabbing Draco's wrist, "It stops us from being tracked."
"No magic can hide from the tress." He held out a hand, "I am Nemiah. And I, of course, know who you are. Mapp talked about you to me last night."
"Why didn't Mapp come to get us?" Draco asked.
"She went into, what the name...? Child bearing, yes." Nemiah told them.
"Mapp was pregnant?" Ginny exclaimed, "But she was so thin!"
"Being with child is nothing for our females." He grinned, showing slightly green teeth, "Raising the child however...we will all help. Few of our females are able to have children, they are very important to us. I am lucky to about to become a father."
"You and Mapp...?" Draco asked.
"Yes, me and Mapp." Nemiah nodded, "Now, come! We must go to the village."
"You're very good at English you know." The blond boy told them as they walked.
"Thank you."
By the time they saw Hermione again lunch had ended, and they were in potions. She rushed through the door just in time, and took her seat next to Ron. The two boys looked at her expectantly, but she just shook her head, pointing at Snape.
"Today you will be learning about an anti-truth telling potion." He smiled, "it makes whoever takes it incapable of telling the truth. Not that many of you have any problem telling lies. Get into pairs, the instructions," He waved at the black board and words appeared on it, "are on the board. Begin."
Ron and Hermione immediately paired up, and Blaise was about to walk over to join Harry when Snape interfered.
"Potter, it appears as though your friends have deserted you. No mind, you can work with Mr Crabbe." He said with a cruel smirk.
"Excuse me Sir," Came a voice from behind him, "I was hoping to work with Harry, if that's ok."
It was, of course, Blaise, and the Potions Master found himself with a dilemma. He was torn between trying to cause Harry as much miserable as possible, and allowing the best potions maker in his house have her own way.
"If that is what you want, Miss Zabini." Snape finally agreed distastefully, "Although I have no idea why..."
They took a place next to Ron and Hermione, and after several minutes of preparing, found two identical notes thrust under their noses.
'Vessel- a human being used to hold the soul or essence of another human being using either possession or soul transference. The idea is theoretical, and has only ever been researched by one Ivan Noginski.' The Vessel is a person! I am going to research more about the theory. I told you Noginski was important!
The last bit was not added on Blaise's note, but when he looked over Harry could see that it was on Ron's, with considerably more exclamation marks.
"Well done Hermione." He whispered. Blaise quickly elbowed him in the stomach, and Harry looked up to see Snape glaring at him.
"Is there anything you want to share Potter?" He asked, his voice icy.
"Just this note." Blaise grabbed it, and held out her hand as if to give it to Snape. As the Professor reached for it however, she 'accidentally' dropped it into the simmering cauldron, "Oh! Sorry Professor!"
"That is...alright, Miss Zabini." Snape said, his lips thin, "Five points from Gryffindor for passing notes."
"I hate him, I really do." Muttered Harry, his teeth clenched, "You and Pansy Parkinson used to always pass notes, and he never said anything."
"He's a bit unfair, but he's a really good teacher!" Blaise defended her Head of House, but he could see her heart wasn't in it, "He's just...very Slytherin."
"You're not like him." The dark haired boy pointed out.
"I'm exactly like that." She replied, and smiled apologetically.
They had not, it turned out, been far from the Elves village. Nemiah and Draco talked, but Ginny was distracted. She wanted desperately to tell The Elf what they had found out about the centaur's plans, but he seemed determined not to listen.
"It is not for me to hear." He said when she tried to speak for the third time, "All news is spoken to the Auveray first, to be any different would be disrespectful to him."
"Oh, alright." She sighed, still frustrated, "But we have to tell him straight away, before we do anything else."
"Of course." And then he turned back to Draco, and Ginny was left with nothing but her thoughts.
And once again, something deep within her mind stirred, just a little louder than it had before.
When they arrived they were taken straight to the Auveray, who was waiting for them.
"Friend Ginni, Friend Draco." He greeted, "I see the beast remains. I am sorry your journey was not successful."
"There'll be other opportunities." Draco said, which wasn't true, and earned him a scowl from the old Elf, "Well, we hope there will." He amended.
"As do I." The Auveray replied.
"We found out something." Ginny told him quickly before the conversation could move on, "The centaurs are going to attack tonight! We saw one of them talking with some Wizards."
"I feared it was so." The Elf nodded, "Nemiah," he turned to the younger Elf and said something in Elfish. Nemiah nodded and walked out, looking stern.
"He will lead the non fighters to safety, then return." The Auveray said, "Tonight, we will fight. Will you aid us?"
"Of course." Ginny replied instantly, earning her a scowl from Draco.
"Will you help, friend Draco?" The old Elf asked, and no one could miss the accusing tone of voice.
"Er..." He looked around at all the Elves who were in the room, and sighed deeply, defeated, "Yes I'll help."
"Good." He nodded, "We have much time yet. You may return to the hut where you have been staying and rest. We will call for you when we need you."
"I don't think they know we're back." Ginny said before they left, "So we'll probably have the element of surprise."
"That is good." The Auveray nodded, and the closed his old eyes and she took that as a sign that the meeting was over.
They entered the small cabin, and Ginny sat down on the makeshift bed. Draco rummaged through his bag, and pulled out the vial of potion that would turn them back to their rightful selves. "Do you think we should take it?" he asked, "We don't have much of the other potion left, we can turn into our disguises one more time, maybe two if we can stretch it."
"I think we should." Ginny said after some thought, "This might be our last night alive, I'd like to die in my own body."
"We've survived more than this." He reminded her, "You've survived way more than this. We can handle some puny little centaurs."
"Did that centaur look puny to you?" She asked, "I think we should take the potion anyway. Just in case."
"Just in case." Draco repeated, and handed her the small vial before drinking from his own.
Once both transformed back into their own body, they sat in silence, contemplating the battle that was to come. Both were quite good at Defense Against The Dark Arts, and Ginny had the added bonus of having attended the DA lessons Harry had provided. But the thought of facing a heard of centaurs was a frightening one, even if they did have the Elves to back them up. They looked at each other, and wordlessly shuffled closer and closer until they were sitting next to each other.
Their last lessons were over and the four teenagers wandered outside, wanting to talk away from prying ears. It was getting bitterly cold, and they all wore their heavy travelling cloaks in order to stay warm. Once they were sure no one was near by, they sat down and all looked expectantly at Hermione.
"Well, we know the Vessel is a human." She said, "And we know that Malfoy stole him or her from under his father's nose, and that's why he's on the run."
"With whoever this vessel is." Harry added.
"And this person has been possessed by something?" Ron asked.
"That's what it looks like." Hermione nodded, "So the only people who know who the Vessel is are the Malfoy's and Noginski."
"And my father." Blaise added, "Not that he's lightly to tell us."
"Nor the Malfoys." Hermione said with a sigh, "Which means..."
"That we'll have to ask Noginski?" Ron asked, and they all nodded, "Well how are we going to do that? Isn't his school in Russia or something?"
"Well yes." Hermione responded, "But it says that he does lectures on all his expeditions on Sundays, and you can get to the school using a special route. You floo to this hotel, and then you get a portkey to the school. If we tried hard enough we could probably get Hogwarts to fund the expedition if we said that it would help us with Defense Against The Dark Arts."
"And we'll just what, go up to him and ask him about his illegal doings?" Blaise asked, "That'll go over well."
"He's Headmaster of Poltrick!" The brown haired girl exclaimed, "I very much doubt he's actually on Voldemort's side," Ron and Blaise flinched, and received reproaching glances from the Muggle raised members of the group, "he probably just got roped into this."
"Quirrel was a teacher." Harry reminded her, "And wasn't he a barrel of laughs."
"Well, we can go, and if we get nothing from it more than an improved NEWT's score, then so be it." Hermione said after some thought, "But we can't pass up the chance of finding out who Malfoy's travelling with. It could point us in the right direction of finding out where he is."
"I know I shouldn't, coz we're 'pro-Malfoy' these days," Ron told them as they stood up, "But I really hope he's really miserable at the moment, that he's having a really rotten time."
In the small cabin that the Eves had given them to stay in, Ginny and Draco sat on the cold damp floor, their arms around each other's necks, softly kissing.
This is the first (thing I remember) Now it's the last (thing left on my mind) Afraid of the dark (do you hear me whisper) An empty heart (replaces paranoia) Where do we go (life's temporary) When we're gone (like New Years resolutions) Why is this hard (do you recognise me) I know I'm wrong (but I can't help believing) Blink 182- Stockholm Syndrome
Thanks to:
UntitledN'stayinthatway: Wow, not only do I have a plot, but apparently it's a good one? I'll just put it down to dumb luck. Thanks!
SugarGirl: My aim is to please. I'm glad you liked it.
Dedications: To my beta Dom
Empty Heart
You're cold with disappointment While I'm drowning in the next room The last contagious victim of the plague between us I'm sick with apprehension I'm crippled with exhaustion And I dread the moment when you finally come to kill me Blink 182- Stockholm Syndrome
It was with a heavy heart that both Draco and Ginny returned to France. Grantings had been their last hope, for they both knew that as much as the Elves would try, they couldn't help Ginny.
Grantings fed them breakfast when they awoke, and drove them to the Floo extension, saying it was the least he could do. They travelled back to France and walked to the edge of the forest where the Elves lived.
"Can we risk going back in?" Ginny asked, the memory of the centaurs still fresh in her mind.
"I remember the way back to the village." Draco told her, "A bit."
"Is 'a bit' enough?"
"It'll have to do." And with that he walked into the trees, and Ginny could do nothing but follow.
Twenty minutes later, they collapsed on a tree stump in frustration.
"We're lost!" Ginny exclaimed.
"No we're not, Malfoy's are never lost." Draco snapped, "We always know exactly where we are, but sometimes we don't know where anything else is."
"So where are we?" She asked. He looked around, inspected a side of a tree, licked his finger and held it up in the air.
"We're...here." He told her.
"That's useful." She muttered.
"You know, you do whine an awful lot." Draco growled, "I go through all this trouble to help you, and you never say thank you."
"Thank you." She said sarcastically.
"You're welcome. Now, this definitely looks like a path, so it has to be a path to somewhere." He nodded to himself, "If we follow it we're bound to find people."
"It could be a centaurs path." Ginny reminded him.
"Can you see hoof prints?" he asked, "No, because there aren't any. Lets go."
So, with another sigh of frustration, they set off once again in search of people.
"Noginski?" Muttered Hermione. No matter how many times she repeated it to herself, she just couldn't remember where she had heard it before.
It was lunch, and Hermione and her two friends where sat in the common room, still looking through the newspaper clippings.
"Move on Hermione." Ron said, "We've got plenty more clippings to look at, don't stress over this one guy."
"But don't you see Ron, this could be important!" She cried, "I just know I know that name! This could be the most important thing we've discovered."
"Or it could be nothing." Harry pointed out, looking at the piece of paper Hermione was obsessing over, "It says here that he's the headmaster of some big school, maybe you read about him in Hogwarts: A History?"
"I'd know if he were in Hogwarts: A History." She said sharply.
"Ok, maybe he's on some other book you read, he sounds pretty impressive." Harry said, "Look at all this stuff it says he's done. He killed a manticore!"
"Wow, he sounds cool." Ron admitted.
"Come on, we have to get to lunch." Hermione sighed as they all stood and started walking to the Great Hall, "Honestly, I can't understand you two. Whenever I tell you about all the wonderful things some Wizards have done you pretend to fall asleep, this man kills one magical beast and you think he's the bees knees."
"The bees knees?" Ron laughed.
"All the Wizards you tell us about are boring." Harry said, "This Noginski went into the Unplottable Forest all by himself, all by himself!"
"Harry, had you ever even heard of the Unplottable Forest before you read that article?" Hermione asked.
"Not the point." He shrugged, looking past her at an approaching figure, "Hey there."
It was Blaise, obviously on her way to the Great Hall too. She gave Harry a quick kiss on the lips, and two third year Slytherins looked at her in disgust. She had obviously decided that she cared more about her boyfriend than the opinion of her house.
"How was the research going?" She asked.
"Fine, cept Hermione's still obsessing over this Noginski guy." Ron told her, placing his arm affectionately around her shoulders, which she shrugged off.
"I'm not the one who thinks he's so wonderful." She muttered.
"I was thinking about him too." Blaise told her, "I recognised the name, but I couldn't remember from where till this morning. My father mentioned him once or twice. I think they worked together about a year ago."
"At about the same time Lucius Malfoy was working with him?" Hermione said.
"I suppose it would be..." The dark haired girl admitted.
"So the two men who are involved in this 'vessel' thing, also worked with Noginski a year ago." Ron muttered, "Suspicious anyone?"
"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed, "I'll be right back!"
They watched their friend run down the corridor, causing a few first years to jump out of the way in surprise.
"Where's she going?" Blaise asked.
"To the Library." The two boys chimed.
Several times Ginny had pleaded with Draco to let them turn back, but he was adamant that they were going in the right direction. He wasn't sure why, but he assumed it had something to do with the fact that he was pureblood and therefor right about most things. The fact that Ginny was also pureblood didn't bother him, as she was poor, and also hung around with Mudbloods. That sort of thing was sure to mess with your brain.
They had been walking for quite some time when they heard the voices. They could have started shouting and calling then, but neither was stupid, and the agreement to stay quiet was an unspoken one. Making as little noise as possible they continued along the path, wanting to see whom the voices belonged to before being discovered themselves.
Two Wizards stood in a small clearing, both talking in very fast French to a female centaur. It was the first female centaur either of the two teenagers had seen, and sight was sufficiently awesome.
She was much more slender than the males, and wore a provisional shift, although it was clear that she had no breasts to cover. That made sense of course. She probably fed her young from udders of some sort. The centaur looked very uncomfortable in the clothes, and Ginny assumed that it was to make the Wizards more comfortable.
"Do you still have the transo-phones?" Draco whispered, and Ginny nodded. She very carefully slid her bag off her back and onto the floor, and reached inside to pull the transo-phones out. She placed them over her ears, and was instantly able to hear what the Wizards where saying.
"...Elves are becoming more and more troublesome! We need them dead. I can't believe they're keeping humans in the forest. You'll need to attack before the children return. Attack tonight." The smaller Wizards commanded.
"I was not aware that you were giving orders now." The centaur said calmly, "I thought this was a mutual agreement. We help you when we can; you help us when you can. So far we have been helping you a great deal, and have received little help in return. Our Elders grow angry."
"Are you suggesting we're taking advantage of your people?" The taller of the two Wizards demanded, looking offended.
"Yes, that is what I am suggesting." She said, "We will attack the Elves tonight, but not because you asked us to. Before we do any more of you bidding, you must do something for us. We are not you pets, or your servants. We have an alliance. We are equals."
It was clear from the way she said that that she didn't think they were equals at all, that she thought that they were quite below her.
"Of course we are." The smaller Wizard was partially obscured, but from the suck-up tone of his voice they could imagine that his face would be twisted into some sort of simpering smile, "We were just proposing that it might be a good idea for you to-"
"You make me ill to look at human." She cut him off, "And you make me even more ill when you pull that face. I have just done you the courtesy of telling you the truth, you have insulted me by lying to me, and insulted me even more by expecting that I would not notice."
"I am sorry madam, I didn't mean to offend!" He cried, "I have the utter most respect for your people, and I-" But he never got to finish his sentence, as she reared up, her front two legs kicking out, connecting with his head. The small wizard dropped to the floor, dead. Ginny clamped her hand over her mouth to prevent a gasp escaping.
"Tell your master that I have killed your brother." The centaur said to the taller wizard, "Tell him not to send others like him. I will not tolerate fools. If he wishes for his servants to return to him after visiting me, then he should only send those with sufficient intelligence."
"Should I take the fact that I'm still alive as a compliment?" He asked.
"We centaurs are not irrational." She said with a cruel smile, "If I was to kill you, who would deliver the message to your master?"
And with that the meeting was over. The centaur turned around and galloped into the forest, and the Wizard, after looking down at his dead colleague, apparated away.
"She killed him!" Ginny gasped as soon as the cost was clear, "She just killed that man! Just because he was annoying her!"
"Centaurs are not very permitting." Draco explained casually, "To be honest, I probably would have killed him myself."
"Tell me that was a joke." She snapped.
"Of course it was a joke." He held up his hands. Anyway, it was a joke. Well, half of one.
"We have to tell the Elves that the centaurs are going to attack." Ginny said, "Maybe they'll have time to prepare."
"How do we find them?" Draco asked, looking around.
"You don't." Came a voice from behind them, "We find you."
It wasn't Mapp, but another Elf, this one male. Ginny yelped in surprise upon hearing his voice, and Draco stumbled into a bush.
"I am sorry to have scared you friend Draco." He said, offering a hand to help him out, which Draco grudgingly took, "And you too, friend Ginni."
"It's ok." She whispered, holding a hand to her heart, "We have something important to tell you."
"When we return you may tell the Auveray."
"How long have you known we were here?" Draco asked.
"For a few moments before I came to you." The Elf told them, "I was given the job to await for you arrival, and then come and fetch you. It took longer than expected; something was blocking my magic. I had to listen to the trees to find your location."
"The bracelet." Ginny said, grabbing Draco's wrist, "It stops us from being tracked."
"No magic can hide from the tress." He held out a hand, "I am Nemiah. And I, of course, know who you are. Mapp talked about you to me last night."
"Why didn't Mapp come to get us?" Draco asked.
"She went into, what the name...? Child bearing, yes." Nemiah told them.
"Mapp was pregnant?" Ginny exclaimed, "But she was so thin!"
"Being with child is nothing for our females." He grinned, showing slightly green teeth, "Raising the child however...we will all help. Few of our females are able to have children, they are very important to us. I am lucky to about to become a father."
"You and Mapp...?" Draco asked.
"Yes, me and Mapp." Nemiah nodded, "Now, come! We must go to the village."
"You're very good at English you know." The blond boy told them as they walked.
"Thank you."
By the time they saw Hermione again lunch had ended, and they were in potions. She rushed through the door just in time, and took her seat next to Ron. The two boys looked at her expectantly, but she just shook her head, pointing at Snape.
"Today you will be learning about an anti-truth telling potion." He smiled, "it makes whoever takes it incapable of telling the truth. Not that many of you have any problem telling lies. Get into pairs, the instructions," He waved at the black board and words appeared on it, "are on the board. Begin."
Ron and Hermione immediately paired up, and Blaise was about to walk over to join Harry when Snape interfered.
"Potter, it appears as though your friends have deserted you. No mind, you can work with Mr Crabbe." He said with a cruel smirk.
"Excuse me Sir," Came a voice from behind him, "I was hoping to work with Harry, if that's ok."
It was, of course, Blaise, and the Potions Master found himself with a dilemma. He was torn between trying to cause Harry as much miserable as possible, and allowing the best potions maker in his house have her own way.
"If that is what you want, Miss Zabini." Snape finally agreed distastefully, "Although I have no idea why..."
They took a place next to Ron and Hermione, and after several minutes of preparing, found two identical notes thrust under their noses.
'Vessel- a human being used to hold the soul or essence of another human being using either possession or soul transference. The idea is theoretical, and has only ever been researched by one Ivan Noginski.' The Vessel is a person! I am going to research more about the theory. I told you Noginski was important!
The last bit was not added on Blaise's note, but when he looked over Harry could see that it was on Ron's, with considerably more exclamation marks.
"Well done Hermione." He whispered. Blaise quickly elbowed him in the stomach, and Harry looked up to see Snape glaring at him.
"Is there anything you want to share Potter?" He asked, his voice icy.
"Just this note." Blaise grabbed it, and held out her hand as if to give it to Snape. As the Professor reached for it however, she 'accidentally' dropped it into the simmering cauldron, "Oh! Sorry Professor!"
"That is...alright, Miss Zabini." Snape said, his lips thin, "Five points from Gryffindor for passing notes."
"I hate him, I really do." Muttered Harry, his teeth clenched, "You and Pansy Parkinson used to always pass notes, and he never said anything."
"He's a bit unfair, but he's a really good teacher!" Blaise defended her Head of House, but he could see her heart wasn't in it, "He's just...very Slytherin."
"You're not like him." The dark haired boy pointed out.
"I'm exactly like that." She replied, and smiled apologetically.
They had not, it turned out, been far from the Elves village. Nemiah and Draco talked, but Ginny was distracted. She wanted desperately to tell The Elf what they had found out about the centaur's plans, but he seemed determined not to listen.
"It is not for me to hear." He said when she tried to speak for the third time, "All news is spoken to the Auveray first, to be any different would be disrespectful to him."
"Oh, alright." She sighed, still frustrated, "But we have to tell him straight away, before we do anything else."
"Of course." And then he turned back to Draco, and Ginny was left with nothing but her thoughts.
And once again, something deep within her mind stirred, just a little louder than it had before.
When they arrived they were taken straight to the Auveray, who was waiting for them.
"Friend Ginni, Friend Draco." He greeted, "I see the beast remains. I am sorry your journey was not successful."
"There'll be other opportunities." Draco said, which wasn't true, and earned him a scowl from the old Elf, "Well, we hope there will." He amended.
"As do I." The Auveray replied.
"We found out something." Ginny told him quickly before the conversation could move on, "The centaurs are going to attack tonight! We saw one of them talking with some Wizards."
"I feared it was so." The Elf nodded, "Nemiah," he turned to the younger Elf and said something in Elfish. Nemiah nodded and walked out, looking stern.
"He will lead the non fighters to safety, then return." The Auveray said, "Tonight, we will fight. Will you aid us?"
"Of course." Ginny replied instantly, earning her a scowl from Draco.
"Will you help, friend Draco?" The old Elf asked, and no one could miss the accusing tone of voice.
"Er..." He looked around at all the Elves who were in the room, and sighed deeply, defeated, "Yes I'll help."
"Good." He nodded, "We have much time yet. You may return to the hut where you have been staying and rest. We will call for you when we need you."
"I don't think they know we're back." Ginny said before they left, "So we'll probably have the element of surprise."
"That is good." The Auveray nodded, and the closed his old eyes and she took that as a sign that the meeting was over.
They entered the small cabin, and Ginny sat down on the makeshift bed. Draco rummaged through his bag, and pulled out the vial of potion that would turn them back to their rightful selves. "Do you think we should take it?" he asked, "We don't have much of the other potion left, we can turn into our disguises one more time, maybe two if we can stretch it."
"I think we should." Ginny said after some thought, "This might be our last night alive, I'd like to die in my own body."
"We've survived more than this." He reminded her, "You've survived way more than this. We can handle some puny little centaurs."
"Did that centaur look puny to you?" She asked, "I think we should take the potion anyway. Just in case."
"Just in case." Draco repeated, and handed her the small vial before drinking from his own.
Once both transformed back into their own body, they sat in silence, contemplating the battle that was to come. Both were quite good at Defense Against The Dark Arts, and Ginny had the added bonus of having attended the DA lessons Harry had provided. But the thought of facing a heard of centaurs was a frightening one, even if they did have the Elves to back them up. They looked at each other, and wordlessly shuffled closer and closer until they were sitting next to each other.
Their last lessons were over and the four teenagers wandered outside, wanting to talk away from prying ears. It was getting bitterly cold, and they all wore their heavy travelling cloaks in order to stay warm. Once they were sure no one was near by, they sat down and all looked expectantly at Hermione.
"Well, we know the Vessel is a human." She said, "And we know that Malfoy stole him or her from under his father's nose, and that's why he's on the run."
"With whoever this vessel is." Harry added.
"And this person has been possessed by something?" Ron asked.
"That's what it looks like." Hermione nodded, "So the only people who know who the Vessel is are the Malfoy's and Noginski."
"And my father." Blaise added, "Not that he's lightly to tell us."
"Nor the Malfoys." Hermione said with a sigh, "Which means..."
"That we'll have to ask Noginski?" Ron asked, and they all nodded, "Well how are we going to do that? Isn't his school in Russia or something?"
"Well yes." Hermione responded, "But it says that he does lectures on all his expeditions on Sundays, and you can get to the school using a special route. You floo to this hotel, and then you get a portkey to the school. If we tried hard enough we could probably get Hogwarts to fund the expedition if we said that it would help us with Defense Against The Dark Arts."
"And we'll just what, go up to him and ask him about his illegal doings?" Blaise asked, "That'll go over well."
"He's Headmaster of Poltrick!" The brown haired girl exclaimed, "I very much doubt he's actually on Voldemort's side," Ron and Blaise flinched, and received reproaching glances from the Muggle raised members of the group, "he probably just got roped into this."
"Quirrel was a teacher." Harry reminded her, "And wasn't he a barrel of laughs."
"Well, we can go, and if we get nothing from it more than an improved NEWT's score, then so be it." Hermione said after some thought, "But we can't pass up the chance of finding out who Malfoy's travelling with. It could point us in the right direction of finding out where he is."
"I know I shouldn't, coz we're 'pro-Malfoy' these days," Ron told them as they stood up, "But I really hope he's really miserable at the moment, that he's having a really rotten time."
In the small cabin that the Eves had given them to stay in, Ginny and Draco sat on the cold damp floor, their arms around each other's necks, softly kissing.
This is the first (thing I remember) Now it's the last (thing left on my mind) Afraid of the dark (do you hear me whisper) An empty heart (replaces paranoia) Where do we go (life's temporary) When we're gone (like New Years resolutions) Why is this hard (do you recognise me) I know I'm wrong (but I can't help believing) Blink 182- Stockholm Syndrome
Thanks to:
UntitledN'stayinthatway: Wow, not only do I have a plot, but apparently it's a good one? I'll just put it down to dumb luck. Thanks!
SugarGirl: My aim is to please. I'm glad you liked it.
