Chapter 33
The next day Ron, Pansy and Blaise returned to their secluded spot by the Forbidden Forest as soon as they got outside. There was a light dusting of glimmering snow over the ground, and the only places to sit were under trees unless you wanted to sit on snow. People were staring more than ever, but had learned to be wary, so it felt like a safe enough place now, and many of the other Slytherins were hanging around nearby anyway.
Ron grinned as they sat there, Blaise slouched against his one side, Pansy on the other. It was so liberating not having to worry about being seen. They'd decided there was no point hiding their relationship anymore. It wasn't as if there was anyone at Hogwarts who hadn't heard about it by now, so what was the point?
It was nice to just sit there and relax... they had spent pretty much their entire morning digging through dusty old tomes that Snape had been logging back by the armload. Blaise had been able to get one of the seventh years to change the voice on his reader charm... made it sound like a sultry little sex goddess... but eventually he had to regretfully have them change it back... he found it disturbing to get aroused hearing a book talk about ancient wizards and their accomplishments.
"Think we'll ever find anything in those musty old books?" Pansy asked, letting her head laze back against Ron, peering up at him playfully.
"Never know... I mean we have to have at least half of the restricted section laying about the Dungeon by now... there's bound to be something..." Ron said, though not overly confidently.
"Ya... well I'd almost rather be doing homework!" Blaise said ruefully, "At least that's usually things that might actually prove useful in life... I doubt I will ever find good cause to know Mort Spinebrickle's fifty seven uses for flobberworms! And I swear, if I ever catch one of the house elves reading that, I'll never eat in the Great Hall again!"
They both laughed, then they lapsed back into companionable silence. After a minute, Blaise raised his head off of Ron's shoulder, looking puzzled. Ron looked over at him, "What?"
Blaise shrugged, "Dunno... just thought I heard..." He trailed off, shifting his head around. Suddenly he jerked upright. "What the bloody hell is that!?!"
Ron looked around, but didn't see anything. "What is what?"
"I... I see something..." He said, looking shocked. He pulled off his glasses and did indeed appear to be staring at something, though his eyes were as blank as ever.
Ron tried to follow his gaze, but to no avail. "What does it look like?"
"Just... a ghostly little wispy thing... I..." He tensed, then scrambled backwards over the protruding tree roots.
Ron and Pansy watched in alarm as something knocked him flat, knocking the breath out of him. They could see his robe shifting, but not what might be there. Ron jumped to his feet, but then stopped, hearing Blaise start to chuckle.
"Ruddy-Nora!... you scared me shitless!" He chuckled. He shifted his head over towards them as they heard a little snuffling sound, "Go get Draco!" He said, chuckling as his hair appeared to be brushed aside by something.
Pansy shot a worried glance at Ron, then darted off in search of Draco. Ron just stood there, looking down at Blaise, unsure what he should do. "What is that thing?"
Blaise chuckled again as he closed his eyes, looking like he was avoiding something. "Thestral... little one... and an overly affectionate one it seems..." He said, laughing ruefully.
Ron's tension eased. Thestrals he could deal with. He moved closer and smirked. Dampness was appearing on his cheek, and from his reaction it looked to be licking his face.
"Hey now..." Blaise chuckled as Ron saw his eyelashes being brushed and more dampness appeared as it licked his eyelid. By the time it moved over to the other eye, Blaise was getting the giggles. "Stop it... that tickles..."
Ron chuckled.
"Tiger!" Draco said happily as he strolled over, Ginny and Pansy trailing after him. "What are you doing to Blaise? Come on... you know Thestrals make him nervous..."
Blaise blinked his eyes open as Tiger stopped licking him. He let out an involuntary gasp as he looked up at the colt, his blank white eyes going wide. Before, Tiger hadn't been more than a vague, formless wispy light... but now he could see it very well. Well, it was more as if he could see the wisps of whiteness clinging and flowing over it, setting off the surface of it's features like some kind of smokey aura. He followed it with his eyes as it sprang off him and scampered away. Then he gasped again.
It was Draco...
He just stared, unable to believe it... Draco was almost as bright as the Thestral. He watched in shocked amazement as Draco knelt and began playing with the rambunctious colt.
He scrambled to his feet, then moved carefully forward. He was still blind to everything else... it looked strangely like Draco and Tiger were just hanging there... two ghostly figures floating in the impenetrable blackness. He got over to them without incident, then knelt beside them.
Draco looked up curiously as Blaise reached out, touching his cheek unerringly and looking at him in wonder. "I can see you..." He said incredulously.
"You can see?"
Blaise started as Snape's voice came from near him. "No... just the Thestral... and Draco..."
"When did this happen?" Snape asked attentively.
"I... saw it vaguely when it came out of the Forest... then it started licking me on the face... and on my eyes... and when I opened them again..." He trailed off, running his hand down Draco's arm and watching the smoke-like aura flow around his hand.
"I see..." Snape said, nodding. "Thestral saliva has long been thought to have restorative properties... though they rarely choose to lick humans." Snape said with a rueful smirk. "And the White Wraith curse is closely enough linked with death that it is not completely unexpected that you would still be able to perceive Thestrals in some fashion... in fact, the Thestral probably sensed the curse in you and was attracted by it. Unfortunately, with such a strong curse, any benefit you get from this will be temporary."
"Well, that explains the Thestrals... but what about Draco?" Blaise said, still fascinated by the way the aura flowed around him.
"You're probably seeing Darien actually." Snape said thoughtfully. "He is still a spirit after all..."
"I think he's just making up excuses to touch me." Draco said mischievously.
Blaise smirked, his cheeks actually flushing ever so slightly as he pulled his hand away.
"Tell me... can you see anything else?" Snape asked curiously.
Blaise stood up, scanning around. As he turned back towards the forest, he stiffened. "Feck! How many of those bloody things are there?"
They looked over, Snape, Ginny and Draco catching glimpses of Thestrals flitting between the trees.
They watched as one slipped out of the deeper shadows, venturing to the edge of the shade of the trees. It was a very large one... one Draco had only seen a couple of times. He was pretty sure it was the lead male of the group.
Draco walked over closer, bowing his head respectfully. The stallion bowed his head in return. Draco moved closer, stroking his hand down its graceful neck. Its ribs showed just as much as the others' did, but it somehow gave the impression of great strength.
"Friend of yours?" Snape asked warily as he eyed the imposing beast.
Draco looked over at him and grinned. "You could say that..." The stallion lightly butting it's head up against him affectionately.
"I see..." Snape said slowly.
Draco eyed Blaise. "Why don't you see if you can spot that bloody demon?"
Snape looked back over at Blaise considerately. "I doubt it, since the Demon is not, unfortunately, dead... but I suppose it is worth a try. Why don't you look over here before the sight fades..." Snape said, taking Blaise's arm and leading him forward a little ways until he had a view of most of the students.
Draco looked over as the stallion shifted around, bumping its flank against him. A wicked smirk slipped over his lips. He looked over at Ginny and pressed his finger to his lips, then took her by the waist and lifted her, setting her on the Stallion's back as it shifted it's wings out of the way. She smirked, but remained studiously silent.
Snape looked around as Draco settled on the stallion's back behind her. "And just what do you think you are doing?"
"Um... " Draco said, smirking ruefully at being caught, "I just thought we'd..."
"...Get back down, that's what you'll do. Daylight or not, I can't have my students wandering off into the Forbidden Forest!" Snape said firmly, folding his arms across his chest.
Draco sighed, "Oh come on..." he said petulantly, "We'll be back by the time we have to go in..."
"Absolutely not." Snape replied evenly.
The stallion folded his wings over their legs, then gave an unmistakably irritated snort, reeling around and darting off into the forest. It was all Draco and Ginny could do to hold on for dear life.
Draco let out a whoop of laughter as they darted through the dark forest at breakneck speed. The trees were blurring past at a dizzying rate, but he had no fear that the stallion couldn't handle it. He looked down and let out another laugh. Tiger was racing alongside, bounding along and reminding him of a rabbit.
"Look!" Ginny called over the wind as it whistled past.
He looked over and saw other Thestrals flitting through the woods. He watched with great amusement as they fell back into flanking positions, slipping into a rough, earthbound semblance of their usual flight formation.
It might not be flying, but tanking through the dense woods with such speed, and yet such agile grace, was amazing. After a few minutes, Draco chanced a glance back again and blinked in shock. The woods behind them was all but filled with Thestrals... far more than he'd ever seen before. He grinned and turned back forward, holding Ginny tighter as the stallion hurtled a downed tree without so much as jarring them.
Time seemed to stand still as they tore through the forest. Before he knew it, he was shocked to see a thinning in the trees and recognized the other edge of the Forest. The Stallion curved wide, turning back but leaving the others enough room to turn without trouble. Creatures in that number needed room to maneouver!
The trip back across the forest seemed to go by even faster, and depressingly soon they could see the trees thinning again, the forest looking a bit more familiar. The stallion slowed some, then cantered lazily out to the very edge, the rest hanging back a bit.
Draco ignored the angry glare Snape gave him as he dismounted, then helped Ginny off. When they were both back on the ground he couldn't help but wrap his arms around the stallion's neck. "Thank you so much... that was amazing... I was starting to get the rattle being stuck inside every night without you all..."
As he let go, the stallion shifted his head around, lightly butting it into him again before turning and trotting back off towards the deeper shadows. Draco laughed as he saw Tiger. Tiger had kept up with them the whole way, and was now springing around excitedly, obviously wound up from the run even though he was panting hard.
Draco knelt down and Tiger immediately raced over, butting his head into him so hard he almost knocked him over. Draco laughed and got ahold of him, ruffling his mane as Tiger licked his cheek enthusiastically.
The stallion looked back, then let out a cry. Tiger looked over, then gave Draco one more lick before bounding off after him. Draco just grinned as he watched him go.
"Brought along the whole bloody herd, didn't you?" Snape said sarcastically as he watched the Thestrals disappearing back into the gloom of the forest.
Draco smirked at him, "What can I say? I'm popular."
Snape gave him a derisive snort. "How am I supposed to guard your safety if you're dashing off into the woods every time I turn my back?"
Draco sighed, rolling his eyes. "On come on Snape..."
"That's Professor Snape." Snape said briskly.
Draco's eyes darted up, noting the two Aurors standing nearby for the first time. "I'm sorry Professor Snape. It won't happen again." Draco said, properly repentant.
"See that it doesn't. All of the other houses have already made their way in." Snape said, looking at the other gathered Slytherin's. "Come along now. I'm sure you're all eager to get back to your studies." He said with a smirk.
They let out a collective groan, but made their way back towards the castle dutifully.
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Snape scanned the spines of the books before him, pulling out book after book and stacking them on his desk. He had taken about every book from the Restricted section of the library that looked like it had any potential whatsoever already. He pulled out one of the thicker books, leafing through it, trying to remember if it was the one he'd thought about earlier. The name of that book kept escaping him irritatingly.
He started as he heard a light knock on his door. He turned and saw Hermione peeking into his office hesitantly. He sighed and turned back to his book. "What do you need Miss Granger? You should be at dinner. You know students aren't allowed to roam the corridors alone right now." He said distractedly.
She came in, closing the door behind her. "Do you have to call me that?" She said sadly.
"It is the customary fashion in which I address my students." He said in an emotionless voice.
She sighed, coming up to his desk. "Snape..."
"It is also customary for students to refer to me as Professor Snape." he said, not looking up.
She let out a little pained sound. "Please..." She said, her voice aching.
He sighed and closed the book, placing it on the stack and sitting in his chair. "What do you want Hermione?" he asked tiredly.
She bit her lip, dropping her eyes. She made her way around his desk, standing before him, clasping her hand pensively. "I'm scared..." She said in a small voice.
He took a deep breath and let it out. "We all are. We'll get through this... just give it some time."
"I can't believe it was... I mean..." She shuddered, hugging herself. She didn't meet his eyes. "I just can't... look at him the same now... I just..." She let out a deep, shuddering sigh. "He... hurt me... that last night... I just couldn't... admit it with everyone staring at me like that... and... I just can't get the look he had in his eyes out of my head..." She said achingly.
Snape closed his eyes, his chest aching. He had suspected, but hadn't pressed her on the subject. He knew it was selfish, but he simply hadn't wanted to know. He knew it would hurt too much if it was confirmed... and he was right.
"He... he says he cared for me... but I mean how could I ever be sure? I mean it was probably all just part of that thing's plan... I just can't believe I fell for it... Why didn't I see anything strange in that? I mean all those years he barely even acknowledged that I was female, and I actually believed him when..." Her voice trailed off. She stared at the floor before her, looking anguished, "I just wanted to believe him so much... I mean... he's who I was supposed to be with, wasn't he? I mean he's attractive... my best friend... my own age..." She said, finishing in a near whisper. She took a deep breath, "I think... maybe... I made a bad decision... can... can I change it?" She asked, looking up at him with a pleading look in her eyes.
He looked at those big brown eyes and let out a groan. He wished she wouldn't look at him like that. It made everything so much more difficult... He braced himself, trying not to imagine what Harry might have done to her. "You were very clear in that decision... you had very valid arguments... and in the end I think it was the correct one. I've gone on with my life Hermione. Go on with yours."
She dropped her eyes as they got watery. She hugged herself tighter. "You... you don't know what it's like... I mean I'm so alone... I've never felt this alone... I don't have Ron... I... can't handle being around Harry..." The name caught in her throat and she swallowed hard. "I don't even have Ginny... and everyone just stares at me... and I know what they're thinking... no one wants to be near me because that thing had it's way with me... it tainted me..." She said, big tears splashing down her cheeks.
He sighed. "You're not tainted, Hermione." He said gently.
She sniffled, "You don't even want anything to do with me..."
He sighed again. "It has nothing to do with that, Hermione. Like I said before, I've gone on with my life... What we had was wonderful... and... I can't bring myself to regret it, even now... but it was also wrong. I can't be in a relationship with a student, no matter how much I care for her. We've already discussed this..." He said sadly, reaching up and brushing a tear from her cheek.
She moved forward, putting her knees to either side of him in the big chair and wrapping herself around him, sobbing onto his shoulder. He sighed and held her, stroking his hand down her hair soothingly. After a few minutes her sobs finally started to ease. He held her, waiting for her to gather herself. Suddenly he felt her starting to kiss his neck. "Hermione..." He said sadly.
She held him a bit tighter. "I can't go back there tonight... take me back to your room... like you used to... please... just one night..."
"You know I can't do that Hermione."
"Please... I want you to make love to me... I want to feel like I used to..." She said pleadingly, nuzzling up to him as her body pressed against his.
Snape suddenly realized just what a vulnerable position she had him in... and that she was being a bit more forward than he'd expect her to be, even in such an emotional time. He silently cursed his own arrogance for going off alone. "Maybe... maybe we can meet somewhere later..." he said, trying to make it sound as if he might be giving in.
She stiffened, letting out a huff of irritation and he suddenly felt her forearm pressed against his neck. She pulled back some, glaring at him. "Too smart for your own bloody good, now aren't you?" She said with malice, her normally soft eyes hard and narrowed.
He tried to get to his wand, but he found it's usual pocket empty.
She smirked at him, holding his wand up where he could see it, then flipping it over her shoulder. He watched fearfully as it clattered onto the desk, then rolled off the far side. "I'm not stupid either... especially when I'm in her..." she said with glee dancing in her eyes. Her face sobered. "It's too bad master would prefer you to live..." She said, running one fingernail down his cheek, leaving a red mark, but not pressing quite hard enough to break the skin. "She really wants you, you know... I've never felt desire so strong... I think she's in love with you..." She said, watching his eyes gleefully, Her voice became derisive, "Isn't that sweet?" She chuckled unpleasantly. "It would have been very pleasurable... are you sure you don't want to give her a good shag? She could definitely use it. When I was Potter I didn't really bother with more than my own pleasure... she never said anything, but I knew she was very dissatisfied with what I did to her... of course that made it even more enjoyable for me..." She said with malicious glee.
He stared studiously over her shoulder, refusing to acknowledge her.
"I shagged her a lot when I was Potter... once I had shagged her the first time, and discovered she wasn't pure... well... guilty is the best way to get into someone's pants... any time she didn't want to let me shag her I played the hurt boyfriend... it's so easy to manipulate these children... and Potter..." She gave a shiver of pleasure, letting out a little moan. "I've never felt such a tortured soul... it was bloody brilliant! He's like candy... just can't get enough of him... and he was tortured to begin with... it didn't even take any effort! I can't wait to taste him now... from what I've seen, he's just this side of mental! It certainly didn't take much encouragement to get Fudge to give him an extra measure of torture... Now that was fun to watch! Too bad they started doing their hourly checks and cut my entertainment short..."
"So you're why he was so blatantly sadistic with Potter." Snape said accusingly, letting his eyes drift over curiously before darting them back away, not able to stand seeing that evil look on Hermione's sweet face.
She let out an ugly laugh. "Please! I just made a suggestion or two and he dove in head first. Off the deep end as well if you ask me... That man is such a chuffing goit he does all the atrocities on his own! He got a bit carried away after I left though... actually stuck Unicorn blood in Potter! Otherwise I'd be safely nestled in Potters tortured little loaf. Oh don't worry... it will wear off soon. His body is already starting to purge it from his system... Caused a bit of a problem for me last night actually... got the ninny to shag me... never even occurred to me that some of that naffing Unicorn blood essence would get in her! It was all I could do to get upstairs and knock her out before it chased me out of her! Couldn't get back in her until morning... luckily there were all of her little roommates to play with. And I think leaving him like that really fucked with his head too..." She said with sadistic glee.
She glanced down at him. "You can use that information if you'd like. Go slaughter a couple dozen unicorns and stick their blood in all the little children... Fudge was just a few drops shy of invoking the curse of the Unicorn's blood on Potter as it was... if you think it's really worth it to curse all of the students just for a short reprieve from me, go to it! I can be very patient when I need to be." A wicked grin spread over her lips. "I'm also very good at shagging... I could do things to you this silly child could never imagine..." She said, grinding her hips against his lap seductively.
He tightened his jaw. "I'm not going to play your sadistic little games, beast. Either kill me or get out." He said coldly.
She chuckled. "So quick... you're no fun at all..." She said, leaning forward and licking her tongue over his lips. She smirked, looking amused as he tried to pull away. "You used to like it when she did that..." She shrugged. "Oh well... down to business then. I'm here to offer you a very generous deal... Give me the Weasleys and I'll leave your precious Slytherin House unscathed..."
"I'm afraid I can't do that." He said crisply.
Her expression darkened, her eyes beginning to glow as anger filled them. "You don't want to be on my bad side Snape!" She hissed threateningly.
"I have no doubt that is true, but I still can't simply hand over two of my students." He said firmly.
"Master would prefer you live... but it was not a requirement!" She said menacingly. "Stand in my way, and I'll just have to apologize to Master."
"The Weasleys aren't part of your little mission, now are they? That's personal. I doubt your Master would approve of you killing me for personal reasons, now would he? Keep placing my students lives in danger for your own petty little grudges and I'll have to have a talk with Lucius about his errant minion." Snape said shrewdly.
She narrowed her eyes further, making them slits of pure red in her anger. "You're going to regret this Snape." She growled, then an ominous grin spread across her mouth. "I don't have to kill you to show you the true meaning of pain. I can hurt you more than you could ever imagine..." She said with vindictive promise.
She waited for his reaction, but he didn't dignify that with a response. She let out an inhuman growl of anger. "Very well. Just remember this was your choice, Snape!" she hissed. She slipped off him and grabbed him up, tossing him effortlessly against the wall behind him, smashing the bookshelves where he hit, then sprang over the desk and sprinted out the door as he tried to pick himself up off the floor. He managed to stagger to his feet and make his way around his desk, snatching up his wand and hurrying out the door after it. He clutched his side, which felt like it was on fire with pain, looking up and down the corridor. Much to his dismay, there were several groups of students in the hall, crossing paths and heading in opposite directions. He searched their faces as one group headed in his direction. McGonagall, who was accompanying the group, spotted him.
"Severus, whatever is the matter? Are you injured?" She said, noting his pained expression and the way he was clutching his side.
"It's in the area... get your students back to their house and check them all thoroughly." He said briskly, starting after the other group. He'd have to depend on her to do that part.
She made as if to call after him, but then sighed and hurried her students off towards their House as requested.
Before he could catch up with the other group, they crossed paths with what appeared to be the whole of Hufflepuff House. He growled in frustration. There was no way he'd find it if it'd been in that group. He turned, looking back after the other group.
His heart froze in his chest.
He slowly walked forward, a sense of unreality filling him. From this angle he was able to see her. Hermione was in a small alcove... just standing there stock still. He unwillingly approached her, suddenly fervently hoping she would spring out and try to kill him...
He felt as if he'd been stabbed through the heart as he saw her dull eyes staring back at him sightlessly. "Hermione?" He asked in a pained voice, unable to accept what he was seeing. Her eyes remained empty and lifeless.
He let out a pained cry, wrapping his arms around her. Her knees buckled and she sagged against him, her head lulling limply against his shoulder. He fell back against the wall of the alcove and slid to the floor, clutching her to him. He buried his face in her hair as sobs wracked his body.
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A/N - joaniem - I never did say whom Draco was teasing Snape about... :)
A/N 2 - I don't know what happened with the last chapter. It must have been something with fanfiction, because I certainly didn't do anything with it. I checked, and it comes up just fine for me, though it is now named "32" instead of "Chapter 32" as I named it when I posted it... Perhaps something changed it... and if so, it might have made the emailed links invalid, but you should be able to get to it the regular way... If you are still having trouble with it just tell me and I will upload it again. Oh, and I may have to repost Chapter 29, there seems to be a bug with it that won't let people go past it. If it doesn't clear up by tomorrow I'm gonna try reposting, just so you're not confused as to why you may receive a message saying new chapter for it. I know you like posts every day, but with the problems I'm starting to have with the chapters, I think I'm going to start cutting back on the number by making them longer (like this one or more) so there might be what would normally be two chapters or so in each... but this means it might be two days or more between, because I'm writing these as I go... I already had the scene with Hermione written for the most part or I wouldn't have gotten this one out so quickly. I can only write so much in a day with my schedule.
As for the Thestrals, yes, I did already have this planned when seeing more of the Thestrals was requested. You people are getting too bloody psychic! Cut out the Ligilimency! I mean it! What's the point of writing stuff if you've already talked about it? I have no problem with questions and comments and all that kinda stuff in the reviews, but if you want to check out your theories or make special requests, email me with "Thestrals" or something like that in the subject line.
And to "PLEASE", in response to the cutting out Draco/Darien... TALK TO THE HAND! You don't like the story, STOP READING. I can be a very stubborn person, so all being told what to do does is make me really arsey!