Author's Note:

'This is a contest entry for the Dracolov challenge! If you would like to enter you must e-mail Dracolov, her e-mail is in her profile. The last day to enter is 12/1/04. Please R & R (read and review) and thank you for reading my story.

Disclaimer:

I don't own any of the orginial Harry Potter character because I am not that creative...but I wish i was...I only own the plot and my characters.

chapter 12: Portrait of a Dangerous Mind

After pulling Sapphire into an empty office just inside the building, Draco quickly picked the conversation back up. "What the hell are you rambling on about?"

"Tara isn't Tara." she replied quickly.

"Then who is she?"

"I think that she's the other girl."

"What other girl? You mean Parisa?" Draco shook his head dramatically.

"Yeah, I saw Ron do an incantation as you were all preparing to leave...thanks for leaving me, by the way." she adding miffed.

"Damn, that means that they've succeeded." he cursed as he turned away from her trying to think of what to do now. "And that means that they have Hermione."

"What? Who has succeeded with what? Is Parisa one of the them and could she have kidnapped Hermione?" Sapphire prodded Draco for answers but was met only with silence.

"Did you hear what the incantation was?" Draco asked her at last.

"Yeah but I don't know if I remember it all."

"Try to think of it, it may the best option that we have while I try to locate Parisa." he instructed her before leaving her in the office alone.

Sapphire sat alone in the room for what seemed like ages trying to audibly reconstruct what she heard with the help of her latin skills. She had deciphered the beginning of the incantation as being Reponopostum Acies, meaning replace the mind in latin, but last of it was harder. Originally, she was thinking of "duece" meaning pair but it that wasn't quite right and she couldn't think of the last word at all. When Draco finally returned he looked at the paper that she'd been using and began to smile broadly at his luck.

"Why are you smiling? I can only remember the beginning, I'm clueless about the rest." she chastised him.

"Are you sure about Reponopostum Acies?" he questioned.

"Yes."

"Could the last part be Diiudico Alius?" he asked.

Instantly her eye went a fire at the recognition, "Yes, that's it. But how did you know?"

"The Priory." was his simple response. "Come with me and I'll show you."

Without further adieu, Sapphire stood up and followed him out the door and down to the end of the street where he promptly grabbed her hand. A loud pop later and they were standing outside an old but nicely preserved stone building with an usual marking upon the archway just inside the entrance. After leading her down a small hallway, they came upon what looked to be a memorial bearing those familiar words in a semi circle.

"Reponopostum Acies Diiudico Alius, " Draco read aloud. " Replace the mind between the two. It obviously has many uses."

"Where are we?" she squeaked as chills ran up and down her spine from a cold draft coming from an unknown source.

"A scared offering site for the Priory. I was here just once before to witness a ritual of theirs but I never realized the importance of the words until now."

"I want to leave, it's not safe here." Sapphire whispered.

"Go if you wish but this is where it all began and where I intend to end it." Draco announced unwaveringly to her. What have I gotten myself into now, Sapphire thought to herself as she caught the faint sound of footsteps and hushed voices....

--------------------

"I don't want to be examined here. I will seek my own healer for this."

"But Professor, Mr. Malfoy asked for us to attend to all your needs and that will include assessing how your progressing." the medi-witch informed him.

"I don't care what he said, I'm telling you that I want my own healer." Snape persisted.

"Sir, if you don't cooperate then I'll be force to tranquilize you." the witch insisted.

"What is your name?"

"Bonnie, why sir?"

"Because Mr. Malfoy will not be pleased by your bed side manner." he scoffed.

"He's the one who left these instructions, so now if you'll please take your calming potion..."

"I will do no such thing." Snape screamed while frantically swinging his arms in an attempt to apparate out of there.

"Silencio". Bonnie commanded before placing her hand on the bridge of his nose plugging both nostrils until he opened his mouth wide for air and then slipping the calming draft forcefully down his throat. Snape tried in vain to spit the potion out until he fell back onto the bed with a thud leaving the witch to do her exam. "Now that's not so bad, is it?"

Bonnie began to adjust the Professors robes to gain access to his belly and as she lowered her wand to illuminate the area, she got the surprise of a lifetime. Jumping up, she bound the patient to the bed and ran from the room to contact Professor Dumbledore to reveal her findings. Who would have thought, she considered as she rounded the corner and entered a private room to floo the Headmaster.

------------

Hermione stood there peering into the darkness hoping for some sort of indictation from Ginny that she was right but all that she was met with was a hand grabbing her and forcing down the darkened hallway.

"We need to go as someone is waiting for you." the girl replied tersely.

"What do you have to gain from all this?" Hermione asked again needing a response from her for a multitude of reasons. Least of which being the desire to know why for it couldn't be only for Ron.

"Motives are so passe, don't you think?" was the reply given though the forcefulness of the girls hold on her arm made her anger all the more apparent. Hermione had struck a nerve somewhere and she fully intended to do it again given the opportunity.

"Are you sure that this doesn't have more to do with Harry than Ron?"

"What?" the imposter did an about face to her.

"You heard me."

"Typical Hermione, does everything have to do with Harry or you?"

"It's like they say...hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Hermione persisted knowing the chord was viable one.

"Scorned? Now that's a laugh, what makes you think that I've been scorned?"

"He choose someone else, did he not?"

"I could have had him if I really wanted him."

"Do you tell yourself that so that you can sleep at night?" Slap. Hermione spun to the ground clutching her now swelling cheek.

"Don't you ever talk that way to me again, do you hear me?" the girl threatened her voice dripping with hatred.

"Yeah but it won't help you now. I wonder if everyone else knows the truth." It was Hermione's turn to threaten her.

"No one really cares what the motives are, mudblood. Only that we're all on the same side."

"Really, does Ron know the truth?" she asked just before arriving at a door and being ushered in to see two bodies hanging on the other side of the room.

"Harry!" she screamed as the other hooded figure turned at the sound of the familiar voice.

-------------------

Upon hearing the approaching footsteps, Draco immediately grabbed his wand and tapped each of them on the head and said "Occaeco" making them both invisible to those coming towards them. Along with the taps of shoes to concrete was the unmistakable sounds of female voices, two to be exact and ones that were all too well known to Draco. Almost not believing his luck, Draco listened intently to the conversation trying to piece together what was going on only to be brought from his thoughts by the unceremonious slap from one girl unto another.

"Don't you ever talk that way to me again, do you hear me?" the girl threatened her voice dripping with hatred.

"Yeah but it won't help you now. I wonder if everyone else knows the truth." It was Hermione's turn to threaten her.

"No one really cares what the motives are, mudblood. Only that we're all on the same side."

The footsteps proceeded a little further down the hall and he heard the opening of a heavy metal door and another loud cry from Hermione.

"Harry!"

He now turned towards Sapphire who was sporting a look of pure terror upon her virginal face.

"We have to go check this out but don't say a word, we are invisible so no one will know that we are there. Understand?" he instructed her and she replied with a simple but petrified nod. Carefully and as quietly as possible, they inched their way to the door and stepped inside to the sight of Harry and Parisa hanging from chains, Hermione knelt at their feet and two cloaked figures off to their sides arguing feverishly.

"Why did you bring her here?" Ron scolded her.

"Because she knew something was amiss and I couldn't let her poison Dumbledore to us."

"My sister will not be pleased."

"I am your sister fool."

"What?" he gasped in shock.

"Didn't she tell you?" Ginny gaped.

"No, she said that she was you. I thought you were her."

"She changed with me days ago before I went out with Jacq's and his crew so that I could test Tara."

"Why would you agree to that?" he questioned.

"She suspected that Tara was going to try to pull something with Draco and since I went to school with Tara.."

"No, she was doing it to get to Hermione. Are you sure that we can trust her?"

"Are you even sure that you can trust you're own sister?" Hermione piped in much to Draco's discomfort. Bad move Granger, he thought to himself as the "Crucio" curse was administered by Ginny.

"Did I say that you could speak, mudblood?" Ginny spat as Ron watched in horror.

"What are you doing? You'll have everyone breathing down our neck looking for her now." Ron began to fidget nervously.

"Like Malfoy really cares, come on Ron be serious."

"I don't know, Harry says that they're involved."

"It's purely one sided, I assure you." Ginny laughed at the idea of Hermione and Malfoy in love.

"Is that true?" Ron turned to Hermione with eyes filled with disbelief.

"I...ah...well...it's not what you think, it's just..." she couldn't bring herself to admit it so someone did for her....

--------------

"Professor Dumbledore, are you there?"

"Yes, Miss Smith?"

"Yes, I need to see you right away is ok if I come now?"

"That's fine, is this about Severus?"

"Yes sir, I found something....unusual in his exam that you asked me to perform."

"Fine, are you coming now?"

"Yes." she replied as she stepped back and then came out of the fireplace to greet her former headmaster.

"Please sit and tell me this news of yours." Dumbledore motioned for her to have a seat.

"Well sir, after quite a fight by Professor Snape, I was able to begin my exam when I came across something very interesting."

"Yes."

"Well, he's not a he to start." she leaned in closer to gage the headmasters reaction.

"Pardon?" he mused.

"Internally he's a woman not a man. I saw fully developed ovaries and the womb containing the child. I didn't exam him externally as I believe that the findings were already conclusive. Someone has altered the Professor but whether by choice or not is what I consider to be of more interest." she continued to a shocked Dumbledore.

"Where is he now?"

"Still at the facility but I think that Mr. Malfoy should be informed of this development as soon as possible also because I believe that we have all been dooped." she concluded firmly.

"Yes, I agree but the whereabouts of Mr. Malfoy are not in my knowledge right now. Instead, I think that I should have a talk with Severus and see what he knows."

"As you wish, do you want to follow me or shall I just detain him until your arrival?" she asked.

"I will come with you for I know that Professor Snape has some explaining to do."

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"What difference does it make, Ron. She doesn't love you like that, isnt' that all that matters?" Harry chimed in to her defense.

"It does matter, she broke his heart after leading him on." Ginny raised her head to look at him.

"Like I did you?" he reasoned.

"Yeah...I mean no." she blurted out before she could catch herself.

"Ginny?" Ron exclaimed.

"Oh shut up, you have no more to talk."

"But you told me..." Ron started say but was cut off by his sister yet again.

"Not now stupid. It changes nothing and you know it."

"Wrong, it changes everything. You said that it was about and overly ambitious muggle and the way manipulate things. That's not Harry though but it was really about him, wasn't it." Ron was now piecing it all together but some things just didn't fit.

"Ron, brother of mine, you know that he was raised by them. They infected him, just like she infected you and Dad. We have to stop them." Ginny tried to comfort him while steering him off course.

"Wait, you never told me how you came to meet her."

"Who?"

"Her....Parisa."

"Common interests."

"What common interests? And how did you meet her?" Ron was beginning to take charge much to Ginny's dismay, there was something that she was hiding. Something she didn't want to admit to him, but what?

"Later Ron." she commanded.

"No now. Or I'll....I'll..."

"What?"

"I'll tell."

"Tell? Tell who?"

Ron took a deep breath and stood up as straight as he could before he uttered the next word. "Dad."

author's notes:

Another chapter up and running...thanks for all the reviews and now for the responses..

First, welcome to the new readers Sila-chan and Meghan. Thanks to the returning readers Blood-Red-Pen-Tip, darktwistedpoet, MelMalfoy, Mr. Big Bad, sugar n spice 522, Obbsesive and sweetncute325.

Blood-Red-Pen-Tip...thanks for trying to review the individual chappie...better luck next time, right?

darktwistedpoet...I hope this is beginning to fall into place for you.

Meghan...I am a Roman Catholic and in the story people can believe in magic and religion however, there is just as many people out there in the world who are trying to disprove god as their is trying to prove his existence. The Priory and the Illuminati are actual groups from history and believed to still be inexistence to this day...I would recommend reading the books by Dan Brown Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code to see what I mean...and yes these are works of fiction but all his research is up to date and factual...just the stories are fiction. I do believe in god and I love Harry Potter but this fic is not meant to support either belief...It is purely for fun.

Sugar n spice 522...I will check out your other fic as well.

Obbsesive...yes of course I have Angels and Demons and I also read his other book Deception Point which is more of a natural disaster story but just as excellent.

Thank you to anyone else out there reading but not reviewing and I look forward to the responses on this chapter...also and finally thanks to Dracolov for sponsoring this contest.....enjoy.