Chapter 41
"Come on Draco! You can't keep us out!" Ron said pleadingly. "We've barely even been able to get a glance at him."
Draco sighed from where he sat outside Blaise's door, his arms folded across his chest, "He doesn't want visitors. I told you that." He sighed, "Listen... it's... not exactly pretty... he doesn't want you to see him like that... he doesn't want that to be how you remember him..." He finished gently.
Ron closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths and trying to pretend that wasn't really a concern... When he opened his eyes again, he looked even more determined. "Listen, I don't care what he looks like!" He sighed and dropped his voice, "Would you care about that if it were Ginny in there?"
Draco's eyes darted up, then he dropped them again, looking pained. "Ron... please..." He said softly.
Ron let out a pained sigh, his eyes watering as he went back over and slid down onto the floor next to Pansy.
Draco couldn't help but look over, seeing the aching pain and longing in their eyes as they just sat there, holding eachother and staring over at him. Draco looked away, glaring at a little spot on the floor.
After a few minutes he shifted, then got up. "I'm going to get some tea." He said crisply. "Ron, if you would be so kind as to watch the door and make sure no one goes in, I'd appreciate it."
Ron and Pansy looked up, smiles breaking over there faces as Draco quickly turned and started off towards the kitchen. They scrambled up and crossed to the door.
They braced themselves, then entered the dimly lit room, closing the door quickly after them so the heat and the fumes from the simmering cauldron in the corner wouldn't escape. Madam Pomfrey had put the cauldron in there to help ease Blaise's breathing. The scent was heavy and rather cloying, but as Ron listened, he did notice a vast improvement. The loud rasping and rattling as he drew breath the last time they had been allowed to peek into his room had been quite disturbing... but now it was back down to a soft rustling. It was also almost hot, the fire being kept high to combat his dropping body temperature.
They approached his bed hesitantly. He was facing the other direction, curled up under a thick pile of blankets. All they could see was his hair. Once pure jet black, it was now streaked with white.
As they came to a stop beside the bed they heard him let out a shuddering sigh. "Tea my arse... bloody traitor..." He wheezed with an edge of mirth.
"Heard that, did you?" Ron said with a little smile.
"I'm blind... not deaf..."
Ron sat on the side of the bed, "Then you heard what I told him... and I meant it... we don't care what you look like... we love you..."
Blaise let out another shuddering sigh. "But I do..." He said softly. "I know what I must look like... and I don't think I could handle seeing one of you like this... I don't want to do that to you... leave this image in your minds..." he said, gasping slightly from the amount of precious breath that had taken to utter.
"Stop it, Blaise..." Ron said gently. He reached out, putting his hand on Blaise's shoulder. Blaise resisted, but was too weak to put much into it. As he rolled over, Ron winced internally. His skin was all white as snow, as was most of the hair framing his face. He was also starting to get a hollow look to him, as if he was malnourished. Ron could feel the coolness of his body through the thin nightshirt.
Blaise opened his eyes. To their surprise, they had changed as well. What was once a dull, blank white, was now almost opalescent.
"There..." Ron said, trying to sound reassuring, "It's not that bad..."
Blaise almost seemed to be staring at him. After a moment, he reached out tentatively, touching Ron's arms with his cool fingers. He let out a soft sigh, the corner of his lips curling up slightly. "You're beautiful..." He breathed.
Ron blinked at him in surprise. The way he said it made it sound like an observation. "Can you see?"
Blaise gave a definite effort towards a smile. "After a fashion..." he said, stroking his fingertips down Ron's arm. "First only Draco... then others started appearing... Snape says I'm seeing peoples essence... their souls..."
"Sounds interesting..." Ron said with a little smile.
Blaise let out a little chuckle. "Snape doesn't think so... I'm starting to see like a wraith does..."
"Oh..." Ron said, feeling suddenly cold inside.
"It's kind of cool really..." Blaise said musingly. "Everyone looks so different... though I couldn't tell you how... and..." He trailed off as his blank gaze shifted over towards Pansy. He suddenly seemed to be having a hard time breathing. "Pansy?"
"It's me..." She quickly reassured him.
He started trying to struggle out from under the covers to move closer, but he was very weak. She immediately moved closer, sitting on the bed beside Ron. "Calm down! You're going to hurt yourself!" She said worriedly.
He wasn't paying attention to what she was saying. He settled onto the bed, reaching out and touching her stomach almost reverently, still panting slightly. "You kept it..." He said achingly, tears starting down his alabaster cheeks.
She looked at him in surprise, then down at her stomach. "It worked? You can see it?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
He struggled forward more, wrapping his arms around her waist, pressing his cheek against her stomach. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen..." He said, his voice strife with emotion.
"Thought you said you didn't want kids of your own." Ron teased gently, a little smile on his lips.
"I lied..." Came Blaise's muffled response.
After a moment, his shoulders started shaking and they could hear him sobbing weakly against her. They looked at eachother, but neither knew quite what to do. Pansy started stroking his hair soothingly. "It's ok, Blaise..." She said softly.
He let out a shuddering sigh. "No it's not..." He said, his voice once again muffled. He shifted his head up a bit to he could talk clearer, "It's not! You're not out of school yet... and I'm not even going to be around to help you raise it... what kind of bastard fathers a child under those conditions?" He said wretchedly. He nuzzled against her stomach gently. "I'm sorry little one... I'm so sorry... please forgive me..." he tenderly placed a kiss on her stomach before dissolving back into wracking sobs.
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Harry lay on the bed, staring up at the even gray of the ceiling that curved over his head, his textbook laying open and forgotten on his stomach. Snape had finished the expansion of the ward earlier and he had been given a room in the Siege tunnel. He had also been given his homework to keep him busy, about which he was about as thrilled as could be expected. He had spent the last hour trying to think about anything and everything other than what was happening...
He wasn't the sole occupant of the tunnel of course. There were a number of people staying down there now, the twins among them. They had a room a couple of doors down, though they spent most of their time either keeping lookout using the Marauder's map, or standing vigil over Blaise. There hadn't even been a question of their staying after Blaise's curse had taken hold again.
Blaise was another subject he was studiously avoiding. No matter what anyone said, he still felt guilty over it. The boy was just at the other end of the corridor... dying a slow, horrible death... he found it very difficult to keep the memory of what he'd seen when he'd peeked in the room out of his head.
Blaise's mother, who had been so strong and self assured when she had faced Fudge, had been sitting on the side of the bed, cradling him against her like a little child, her eyes red rimmed and her cheeks glistening with her tears. And then there was Blaise... he could still remember the smirking, energetic boy he'd seen just the other night... but when he'd seen him in that room... he had been so deathly pale, his jet black hair already streaked with white, his breathing labored. It even looked as if he'd started losing weight... and then there was Ron... he never wandered far from Blaise's room. He and Pansy having taken up residence in the room next door to Blaise. What hurt the most was seeing the lost, haunted look in Ron's eyes... as if the curse was killing him just as surely as it was Blaise...
Harry quickly diverted his thoughts again as he found them wandering back to that image... he peered up at the ceiling, marveling that such a large place could have been so easily lost and forgotten for so long...
It was almost cave-like... but he kind of liked it. There was something very... solid about it. The whole place appeared to be hand-carved into the bedrock foundation on which Hogwarts was build. The corners of the rooms were rounded and seamless, even the floor wasn't really flat... more of a smoothly flowing organic surface that rose and fell ever so slightly as you walked along it. The only thing precise in the whole place was the doors. They were all perfectly carved and fitted... and from the smell of it, the wood was freshly waxed. Harry amused himself trying to figure out how the diminutive house elves had managed to wax the full sized doors... imagining a wobbling tower of house elves standing on eachothers shoulders to reach the top...
He snapped out of it as his door opened. He snatched up his glasses from where he'd laid them at his side, putting them on. "Professor McGonagall..." He said in surprise, sitting up and making his book flip untidily onto his lap.
"Harry..." She said, entering with a very disapproving look on her face. "Professor Snape has just seen fit to finally allow me in... Harry... how could you just run off like that? You had us terribly worried! Don't you realize what kind of danger you put yourself in?"
Harry blinked at her. It suddenly dawned on him that she didn't know what he'd done in the prefects bathroom... she obviously just thought he ran off and was taken in by Slytherin. He dropped his eyes, deciding he definitely didn't want her to find out. "I... just couldn't stand being cooped up in the Tower... not with all of them talking about me like that..."
She sighed. "I'll have a talk with them... but you must promise me you'll not leave the Tower again without permission..."
He looked up at her sharply. "I'm not going back there!"
"Oh come now Harry... you can't possibly really want to stay here..."
"Actually... yes I do." He replied immediately.
She sighed, "How long do you plan on hiding away here in this little cave?"
He thought about it. "Until they give me the boot." he said evenly.
She let out an exasperated breath and sat down in the small wooden chair beside the spartan desk. "What is happening to my House?" She asked sadly, not really directing the question at him. "First what happened with the Weasleys... now you..." She gave a little mirthless laugh. "They have the whole set in fact now that they've moved Hermione down here..."
Harry sat up a bit straighter, looking shocked.
She saw his expression and seemed to come to herself. "Oh Harry dear, I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to tell you like that... Pomfrey has to be here to do what she can for young Mr. Zabini... so we had to move Hermione as well..." She sighed. "Please don't take up residence at her side again Harry... it really isn't healthy..."
Harry dropped his eyes. "I won't..." He wasn't sure he could handle seeing her lifeless form again.
McGonagall sighed. "Well if this is what you want, I'll respect your wishes... you're at the age where you are old enough to make your own decisions... even if I question them..." She said, glancing around at the somber décor.
"Thanks." He said softly.
She nodded and rose. "But if you ever change your mind... or need anything... even if it's just someone to talk to..."
He gave her a little smile. "I know where to go."
She gave him a little smile in return and sadly departed.
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He knew he would wind up there... knew he could never really resist... not when she was so very near by...
Harry put his hand on the door. He was trying to brace himself when his light touch sent the door drifting open slightly, its hinges silent (obviously freshly oiled). When he looked up, he just stared. Hermione wasn't alone. Snape sat on the side of her bed. He was holding her hand in his, his other hand gently moving a few stray wisps of hair back into place. When he was done, the hand drifted back down to rest on their clasped hands, a shuddering sigh escaping him. Crookshanks was there as well, curled up on her stomach and staring at her as if expecting her to open her eyes at any moment. He butted his head up against Snape's arm and Snape started stroking his ginger fur absently, not even looking away from Hermione's face once.
Harry just stared. The look on Snape's face... it was familiar... though not one he ever expected to see on this normally cold, emotionless man. He had seen it often enough when he looked into the mirror, thinking of Hermione... and now when he looked at Ron's face... it was the look of a man who had lost his love...
He pulled away, backing up a few paces, just staring at the impassive wood of the door.
He was snapped out of his daze as the twins went streaking past, dashing down one of the branches of tunnel he hadn't been down yet.
He quickly took another step back as the door flew open and Snape came out, looking after the twins. He looked back the way they had come, the fact that Harry was standing there barely registering. Harry looked back as well.
Draco was sticking his head out of Blaise's door, seeing what the commotion was. Nicolaus was hurrying from the direction the twins had come from, carrying the Marauder's map, looking relieved to spot Snape. "They were just taking their turn watching the map and they suddenly just jumped up and left..."
Snape took the map from Nicolaus' hands and began searching it for whatever might have cause their sudden departure. Draco hurried over, looking at the map as well. They could see the dots of the twins heading rapidly up the tunnel for the outside exit.
"Why would they be going outside?" Snape asked pensively. The main ward wasn't up, since it wasn't quite time to seal up the Dungeon for the night, so there would be nothing stopping them from exiting.
Harry reached over, flipping the many folds of the map with practiced ease. He paused. "What's that by the main gate?" he asked, looking at the dot surrounded by five dots that were marked as Aurors. The center dot had a label marked with nothing more than a couple of flowing squiggles.
"FUCK!" Draco said, taking off after the twins.
Snape thrust the map back at Harry. "Stay here." He said briskly, hurrying off.
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As Draco topped the last hill his heart did a flip. He could see the Aurors gathered around what looked like nothing more than a lump of black cloth on the ground. As he watched, a hand emerged from the cloth and a blinding light flew from it, knocking the Auror that was approaching a good ten feet through the air.
The other Aurors moved in, starting to cast. Draco could see the twins ahead of him raise their own wands. They called out a shielding charm in perfect unison, pulses of light flying from the ends of each of their wands and glomming together in mid-flight, combining into one powerful spell as it fell on the figure on the ground, forming a brilliant shield and deflecting all four spells without so much as flickering.
The Aurors spun around to face the new opponents, but before they could do anything the twins disappeared into the shield, having no trouble passing through their own spell. The shocked Aurors then tensed as Draco approached.
"Leave her alone!" He yelled, "She's a friend..."
Draco came to a halt near the still brilliant hemisphere. This close he could feel the air practically vibrating around it. He had no idea the twins had that kind of power!
"That thing is trespassing! Hogwarts is under quarantine. We can't risk spreading the threat of that demon to other areas!" The nearest Auror said indignantly.
"She was invited, and we'll just keep her here then, that way she won't spread anything. Happy?" Draco growled angrily.
"We can't have unauthorized entries onto the grounds!" The Auror growled.
The shield suddenly became clear. The twins peered out, one of them holding her limp form in his arms. When they saw the Aurors had at least stop casting spells about, they dropped the shield and hurried over to Draco.
"She's hurt..."
"She keeps talking..."
"But we can't understand her..."
"What's she saying?"
Draco went over, peering down at Kulia's battered face, her once pristine skin bruised and smudged with dirt and blood. When her head lulled over towards him, she looked at him, her eyes not quite focused, and gave him a weak smile. "Little Dragon..." she slurred in elvish, reaching up and brushing his cheek, "Been looking for you..." Her hand dropped, her eyes rolling up and fluttering shut.
"Sweet Merlin..." Draco said in anguish, "What the bloody Hell did you do to her?!?"
"Hey, don't go blaming us for that! She was stagger about and speaking that rubbish when she showed up here! We told her she couldn't come in, but she just kept going! We had no choice but the try to take her down! She could have been a threat!"
"Oh, like a battered, half dead elf is really going to pose a threat!" Draco growled.
The Auror she'd hit with her spell was coming back over, walking gingerly and clutching his side. "I'd say it does!" he grumbled.
"She has the right to defend herself!" Draco growled as he and the twins started back towards the castle.
"You can't take her in there!"
"Just watch us!" Draco growled back at him.
They could hear the Aurors starting after them as they passed Snape, who had just arrived. He took one look at the unconscious elf as they passed, then stepped between them and the Aurors. "Get back to your posts." He growled.
"We can't let them take that in! We have orders."
Snape glared at them as they continued to refer to her like a creature. "Under the Humanitarian Act of the Ministry Emergency Medical Protocol we can't not take her in. Besides, elves, being magical in nature, are unsuitable hosts for demons, so this is really none of your bloody concern!"
"We'll have to tell the Minister about this."
"You do that!" Snape called back sarcastically over his shoulder as he followed his students towards the castle. "Tell him he can stop by the Dungeon if he cares to discuss it. If he's had a chance to change his trousers that is!"
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"I think she'll be ok with a little time and rest..." Pomfrey said, looking over at the small crowd of pensive onlookers. "The physical damage was mostly superficial... she appears to have had a rather nasty mental shock... but I don't think it did any permanent damage."
"So that's why she's only speaking elvish?" Draco asked, peering down at Kulia worriedly.
Pomfrey nodded, "People often revert to their native language when they've had a strong enough mental blow."
When they had brought Kulia in, Pansy had immediately offered to let her use her and Blaise's room while they waited for the inevitable visit from Fudge. Kulia looked very small on the huge bed.
Kulia stirred, opening her eyes and gazed around a bit dazedly. When her eyes settled on Draco they widened. She reached her hand out towards him and he hurried over, sitting on the side of the bed and taking the hand.
"Little Dragon." she said softly. It was still in elvish, but the slur had cleared up some at least.
He smirked and nodded, "Snowflake." He greeted her in elvish.
She chuckled softly at the use of the nickname he'd given her just to bug her when she'd taken to calling him 'Little Dragon'. At the time he had thought she was teasing him with the name, not knowing the respect with which her people held dragons, but he'd since grown to like it.
She started patting herself searchingly.
"We fixed you up. You should be fine." He reassured her.
She smirked over at him as she located what she was looking for and pulled it out of one of her hidden inner pockets.
"Oh..." He said with a smirk.
She held it out to him. He looked at it in surprise, accepting it and examining it. It looked like a small, ancient journal bound in leather. The top edge of the binding was scorched, and from the smell of it, recently. He gingerly opened the frail looking tome. The yellowed parchment inside was covered in neatly written elvish.
"That must be the book..." Fred said, stepping forward and looking over Draco's shoulder.
"The one she said she'd get for you..." George added as he moved to Draco's other side, looking as well.
"The one your father had..."
Draco looked up sharply, then over at Kulia, "My father did this to you?"
She grinned. "I didn't know he was having friends over." She replied.
Draco sighed, "I'm sorry..."
She smiled, "Don't be. I should know better by now..." She trailed off, furrowing her brow as she looked at him. She reached out, taking his face between her hands and pulling it forward. "You found the other half..." She said in wonder.
His eyes widened.
She rubbed his temples gently with her thumbs and brown flooded his eyes. She chuckled again. "I suspected it would be you..."
Darien blinked in surprise. "You know me?" He asked, speaking in english as he didn't know her language himself. He only knew what she was saying through Draco.
She smiled and nodded. "Your father used to bring you into my shop when you were little... I haven't seen you since you were... maybe five? But I saw pictures after that."
He grinned. "My father took me a lot of places... trying to show me the ropes... back when I still had an interest in the family business..."
She nodded, releasing her hold on him and settling back. She stared up at the ceiling for a long moment, as if trying to think something through, though her mind was still a bit fuzzy.
Pomfrey bustled over with a glass of some dark liquid she had just finished mixing from a number of small bottles. "Here you go dear... this should help put things to rights..."
Kulia looked over at Draco skeptically, but then let Pomfrey give her the potion. When she was done, she settled back as it started to take effect.
After a minute, she tried english, enunciating carefully. "In the book... should be a spell of binding..." She sighed, getting frustrated and rubbing her temple ruefully she fell back into elvish, "It is most likely what your father used to bind that demon to him in the first place." She said, her elvish now flowing fluidly off her tongue. "It was written by my great aunt. He came asking after it early in the year... I never would have given it to him if I knew what part he wished to use..."
Draco's eyes had drifted back to pale gray. "But I'm not the oldest member of my bloodline... unless you killed my father...?" He asked hopefully.
She grinned and shook her head. "If you and your other half are bound together, he will be a living member of the family again, and you will be the oldest."
"Bound together?" Draco asked, suddenly much more interested.
She nodded as if surprised he hadn't thought of it.
"Do you know how to do that?" He asked eagerly.
She shook her head. "No... but they have healers at St. Mungo's who do that for those damaged by spells... it should work the same."
His eyes went wide. He hadn't considered that regular healers might be able to bind souls together! He had rather thought that his situation was unique. He'd never imagined that a spell might inflict damage similar enough to his own condition to make their solutions viable for him as well.
He quickly flipped through the book until he found the spell that would shift the demon's bond to him. He started looking it over. He really didn't want a pet demon... especially not that one! But if it was in his control perhaps he could find a way to banish or destroy it... or at the very least use it to their advantage...
He looked up and rolled his eyes as Fudge bustled in with a much larger pack of Aurors surrounding him, gripping their wands in their hands. He was amused to see the addition of some kind of club and a short sword to each of their armaments. Dumbledore strolled in gracefully in their wake.
"You see!" Fudge said significantly to Dumbledore. "Blatant disregard for the order of quarantine. Not only did they let in that dangerous woman, but look at this! It's like a parade of unauthorized persons!" He said angrily, waving towards the bed.
Fred and George took seats on either side of Draco, effectively shielding Kulia.
Dumbledore noted the twins. He smiled and nodded to them genially, "About time you two got back... you'll have a hard time catching up I'm afraid..."
"What?" Fudge asked, at a loss.
"Fred and George Weasley are in their seventh year, of course. As Hogwarts students, there is really no question of their being allowed on the grounds."
Fred and George grinned.
"But... weren't they expelled?" Fudge blustered, at a loss.
"Ah, but that was a sanction imposed by Professor Umbridge during her tenure at Hogwarts... and you have publicly rescinded all penalties and sanctions imposed by her after her duplicitous actions were revealed... of course I don't need to remind you of that..." Dumbledore said, smiling at him genially. Actually the twins had left on their own, and quite flamboyantly at that! But Umbridge had put in her report that she had expelled them, not wanting to admit to the way they had completely disgraced her upon their departure.
Fudge huffed, "Fine. Whatever. That still leaves that creature they just let in!"
Draco and the twins stiffened angrily.
"Elves are beasts as defined in 1811 by Grogan Stump, The Minister of Magic of the time. They may be of near human intelligence, but it was their own choice not to participate in the governing of the magical community, and therefor are deemed in the classification of beast. So you can't tell me this is a new student."
"Ya, sure. They said we had to have a certain number of our members in active positions in their bloody Ministry, and even then it was nearly half of our remaining numbers..." Kulia muttered in elvish, "Grogan Stump was a pompous bastard... Is that a requirement for the job?"
Draco carefully hid his amusement.
"What did it say?" Fudge said, narrowing his eyes.
"Nothing..." Draco said, face studiously deadpan. "She was hurt... she may still be a bit delirious... but we've been assured she should recover."
He glared at Draco suspiciously. "Well, at any rate, it's presence is still unauthorized..."
The twins were getting increasingly angry at the way he was referring to Kulia, but then both of their expressions changed. They looked at eachother, little smirks forming on their faces.
"Well of course elves are beasts..." Fred said with an amenable smile and nod.
"Very magical creatures really..." George agreed.
"That's why we picked her..."
"For our familiar."
They both grinned at him.
Fudge looked about ready to burst. "You can't have an elf for a familiar! It's preposterous!"
"Why?" Dumbledore asked curiously. "You said yourself, she is classified as a beast... and not one known to be particularly harmful to wizards unless greatly provoked... Hogwarts bylaws allow for the use of any beast that falls in the category of Ministry of Magic classification XXX and below. As you know, that is the classification level of elves, and therefor I see no reason why they cannot chose her as their familiar. I believe they are both more than competent enough wizards to handle her."
Fudge just glared at him in mute rage. Then he looked over and saw that Fred had leaned back against the pillows, and Kulia was now resting her head on his lap. He stroked her hair like he would a cat as she smiled at Fudge. He just stammered indignantly, struck speechless by the ludicrousness of the idea.
"We may have found a way to subdue the demon." Draco said, rising and diverting Fudge's attention.
"Indeed?" He said, pulling his eyes away from the elf.
Draco nodded. "But it would require me to undergo a medical procedure, so I would either have to go to St. Mungo's, or one of their specialists would have to come here..."
"Whatever could you have done to you that would subdue a demon?" Fudge said, bewildered.
"I will have to have a spirit bonded with me... to make me the oldest living Malfoy."
"What balderdash is this? Binding a spirit?" Fudge said, obviously considering it a bad joke.
"Actually... as chance would have it, we do happen to have a spirit of a Malfoy that is over a century old at Hogwarts..." Dumbledore provided helpfully, his eyes twinkling as he glanced over at Draco.
"But... but that's preposterous! Why not just have someone else who is already the oldest in their line do it?"
Draco opened the book, then turned it to him so he could see it. "Can you read that?" He asked with a sarcastic smirk.
"What the blazes is that?" Fudge asked, leaning forward and squinting to try to make out the strange text.
"Elvish. A rare dialect spoken by Snow Elves to be more specific."
Dumbledore leaned closer as well, peering over his half moon spectacles at the book, "This spell requires two people..." he mused.
Fudge huffed, giving up on the text and looking over at Dumbledore, "So you expect me to risk one of our healers by bringing them here, and then let you two perform some unknown spell? Who knows what you could be doing!"
Dumbledore smiled at him genially. "Oh I could not be the one helping him..."
Fudge furrowed his brow, "And just why not?"
"I can not read this dialect."
Fudge looked at him incredulously, "Oh really?" He asked with an edge of sarcasm, "Then how did you know it takes two people?"
Dumbledore continued smiling, his eyes twinkling merrily. "I looked at the picture."
Fudge darted his eyes back over to the book, noting the drawing depicting the spellcasting. "Oh... yes..." He said, clearing his throat, "So who would help him then?"
"Well... that language has not been taught at Hogwarts in centuries... to have even one student that speaks it is astonishing nowadays... but if I recall correctly, our ancient languages teacher, Professor Oblique, told me that we do have one other student who has learned it on their own as a special summer project..."
"Who?" Fudge asked, surprised that someone would actually learn an entire language without being required to.
"Blaise." Delse said from where she stood a mere hand span from Fudge's side.
He was so startled he knocked against the Auror on the other side of him hard, very nearly sending the man sprawling.
She glanced over at him with a smirk, then rolled her eyes as he tried to subtly, but frantically wave the Aurors between them. She strolled over to the bed. "He wanted me to come check on his teacher..." She crouched down next to the bed and reached out, brushing Kulia's cheek sympathetically. "You ok?" Kulia smiled back at her.
Fudge's eyes were darting between them. His eyes narrowed as he straightened, trying to regain his authoritative posture. "I see what this is... You're trying to force me to help you cure that boy." He said suspiciously.
"Actually, I had no idea he could speak it..." Draco said, genuinely surprised. "But now that you mention it..." He said with a grin, "Yes, that would be required... Can't work the spell alone after all. This also makes it a very limited time offer."
"If this elf taught him, then it would be just as able to help you itself!" Fudge said, as if catching them trying to pull a fast one.
"She's hurt! She can't work a spell in this condition. She can barely speak!"
"Well then we will just wait until it is better." Fudge said with a superior smirk.
"Well, that wouldn't work... because then I wouldn't help..." Draco said, smirking back just as widely.
Fudge huffed. "I could threaten you with an extended stay in Azkaban you know... but..." He said, a wide, superior grin slipping over his lips. "I don't need to... because my people have come up with a plan, so we don't need yours."
"Like what?" Draco asked sarcastically.
"We have found the means to fashion an ancient device that traps such creatures in their host. Once trapped, it should be relatively easy to take down. The device should be finished by this evening, so by this time tomorrow it will all be taken care of!"
He made quite a meal of standing there, smirking at them pompously. Then he went on. "Well, keep your little pet then, it matters not." He said loftily, and with that he left, his Aurors keeping a close watch on Delse as they flanked him out the door.
Dumbledore lingered, wandering over to the bed. He held out his hand and Kulia reached up and took it with a smile. He gently patted her hand with his other hand. "Never thought I'd see the day when you became a pet!" He said merrily. "You rest up and let them take care of you." With that, he released her hand, giving her a little nod and following the Aurors out.
"Is there anyone that you don't know?" George asked, looking over at her incredulously.
Draco grinned. "She has a very selective clientele, but most of the oldest wizarding families know her... the Malfoy's have done business with her for the past... what? Seven generations?"
She blushed slightly as the twins stared at her. It was finally sinking in that she probably hadn't been joking when she said she was about three hundred years old.
"Alright... everyone out. She needs some rest." Pomfrey said authoritatively. The others all started saying their goodbyes and drifting out.
When only Draco and the twins were left, she looked over at Draco. "Who was cursed?" she asked, still in elvish, looking like she still wasn't quite able to keep her mind entirely on her surroundings.
"Blaise."
She blinked, stunned, then started shifting around, trying to rise.
"Whoa..." Fred said, putting a hand on her restrainingly.
"Where are you going?"
"Ministry of Magic... to get that bloody tail." She said, trying to get up, but wavering and nearly passing out with the effort.
"You're in no condition. Try that now and they'd have you before you got through the lobby." Draco said gently.
The twins were looking from one to the other, not understanding what they were saying. Draco gave them a grin, "She wants to go knock off the Ministry."
"Good idea..." Fred said ruefully.
"But not tonight..." George said, doffing his robes and shoes and crawling up on the bed. He settled down behind her, putting his arm around her and pulling her close.
"Tonight you sleep..." Fred said, getting on the bed as well and laying down on the other side of her, cuddling up to her affectionately.
She just sighed with a little smile at the feel of them pressing close, letting her eyes drift shut.
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Harry turned over again, settling uncomfortably. He sighed. It was no use. He couldn't sleep. He grabbed up his glasses irritably and put them on, then picked up his watch off the bedside table and squinted at it in the dim light cast by the low burning candles. It was a bit after eleven.
He sighed and tossed it back on the table. That was the biggest drawback to living underground... it was so hard for your body to get used to not having ever-changing levels of light to tip it off as to what time it was. It felt a bit like he was somehow apart from time... suspended in it... but he knew that was just because he was used to having a window right there next to his bed. It never used to bother him when he spent every night locked up in a tiny closet under the stairs... but the expansive windows of Hogwarts had gotten him a bit spoiled since then.
He decided to get up and go see if there was an juice or something of the sort in the little kitchen down the hall. He got up off the bed. The smooth stone under his feet wasn't as cold as he expected it to be... it just felt slightly cool, so he didn't bother with shoes. He had just worn an old pair of jogging pants to bed, so he grabbed up a flannel and tossed it on against the slight chill in the air, not bothering to button it up. With the twins in the Dungeon now, there really weren't many people there at night, and those that were, were most likely asleep, just like he should be.
He opened the door and went out, his bare feet silent on the worn stone. When he got to the kitchen, he made for the ice box. He was almost half way across the room when he froze, realizing with a start that he wasn't alone. Delse was sitting at the small table against the far wall, facing away from him, her head tilted down. As he stood there uncertainly, he saw her shoulders shaking slightly. She wasn't making any sounds, but he was pretty sure she was crying.
He turned and started back towards the door, not wanting to intrude on her. He was almost to the door when he heard her shift.
"Harry?" she asked softly, spotting him.
He quickly pulled his shirt closed, folding his arms across his chest. "Sorry... I didn't think anyone was up."
"I was just having some tea... would you like some?"
He looked over at her. She was looking at him with a somewhat hopeful look on her face, obviously looking for a distraction. He sighed. If he left now she'd probably just go back to crying. "Um... sure..." He said, making his way over. He took a seat and she moved a cup over in front of him, pouring some tea in it from an antique looking pot. "Thanks."
"So..." She said, obviously trying to think of something to talk about, "How did you wind up staying in Slytherin of all places anyway?"
He looked over at her, wondering what she'd say if he told her the truth. 'Oh I just tried to snuff myself cause I couldn't handle a little teasing and I totally botched it, so they took pity on me'... hmm... that'd probably go over just great... He decided a half truth would probably be best in this case. "Ron asked Snape to put me up. He didn't want me going back to Gryffindor. Things have been a bit... tense around there since the whole demon thing started... and since I was the one it started with..."
She nodded commiseratingly, "Blaise didn't want me to come and see him... wanted me to wait until he was cured..." She said, trying to keep her voice from tensing, "But I read about it in the Daily Prophet..."
He looked up at her in surprise. "Really? Fudge let them write about it? I thought he would be keeping it hushed up..." The Daily Prophet had 'mysteriously' stopped arriving for the students that subscribed to it after Fudge and his men had arrived.
"Well it didn't say much, but it did mention that the Demon had attacked you, but that you had been thoroughly checked over and declared Demon free." She said, looking him over and remembering what Snape had said during Fudge's first visit. "What did Fudge do to you?"
She seemed to have an amazing knack for figuring out which subjects he least wanted to discuss. He hugged himself a bit tighter. "Just... tests..." He said evasively.
"Harry..." She said a bit sadly, obviously not buying it.
"It's nothing..." He muttered, staring studiously at his untouched tea, unconsciously hugging himself tighter and shifting away from her a bit. After a tense moment of her staring at him expectantly, he scooted his chair back and got up. "I should get back to bed..." He said softly, quickly turning and heading for the door.
"Harry..."
He sighed and came to a stop near the door, hearing her coming after him. She came around to stand before him, looking up at him and trying to catch his eyes, but he was studiously avoiding her gaze. She slowly reached up and took ahold of the front of his shirt. He didn't stop her she pulled it open a bit, his cheeks coloring with shame.
"That bastard..." She breathed, pulling it open more and looking in shock and dismay at the scars etched in his skin that were evident even in the low light. She patted the pockets of her robe searchingly. "Let me get my wand and I'll see what I can do..."
He pulled the shirt back closed. "Pomfrey already tried. She got rid of the ones she could..."
"Well, I think I probably have a bit more experience working with scars, what with how my late husband and my son got along..." He saw the little flicker of pain as she realized what she'd said. She took a breath, quickly covering. "Worth a try anyway. It's in my room. I'll be right back..."
"No... really... I'm fine." He said, still hugging himself tightly.
"Oh..." She said softly, "Very well... it was... just a thought... I... I guess I should try to get some sleep anyway..." she said, wandering off towards her room.
He made his way to his door, then paused, looking down the hall and watching her as she made it to her own door. He sighed as he saw the tension and worry that had crept back onto her face as she turned and entered her room.
When she was in her room he just stood there for a minute, staring at her door. He turned back to his door and reached out, taking the knob, but he didn't turn it. He sighed, leaning forward and resting his forehead against the cool wood. By now she was probably dwelling on Blaise's rapidly fading health again... probably sitting in her room and crying... she had just wanted to help him... and was it so much to ask to help distract her from her worries for a while? And it wasn't as if he wanted to be covered in scars for the rest of his life... maybe she could really help.
He looked back down the hall and sighed. He walked down until he came to a stop before her door. After a moment of internal debate, he reached up and tapped softly on the door. There was movement inside, and then the door opened. She peered out at him, surprised. Her eyes did look a bit damp again.
He blushed, dropping his eyes to stare intently at the floor. "Um... I... uh..." He took a deep, calming breath and let it flow out. "Are you sure it wouldn't be any trouble?"
She gave him a little smile. "No trouble at all. Come on in."
She turned and went back into her room. He paused, feeling a bit awkward entering her room. He glanced both ways down the corridor, then went in.
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A/N - I tried not to have too extensive a scene with Blaise... It was a bit short, but I felt that much more would have just been gilding the lily...
And just to be perfectly clear, Blaise's mother is NOT a Death Eater... if she was, she wouldn't have made a very good shield for his father against the Aurors, now would she? In fact, I got the impression that Voldemort was a bit sexist... I saw very few female Death Eaters mentioned... and those that were appeared to be completely insane... (can you say Bellatrix? (smirks))
This was my longest chapter yet, otherwise I wouldn't have cut the last scene (which will be continued in the next chapter). I just kept feeling like the chapter wasn't to a good breaking point yet... and yet I know you are all getting impatient by now, so I didn't want to go on and on... I have been trying for longer chapters, even though it also TAKES longer... for one thing, I'm starting to wonder if there is a chapter limit on this place... I'm over 40 chapters now after all... anyone know if there's a cutoff? Because there isn't enough left to make it a reasonable second story...
Oh, and it took me quite a while to figure out what could have possibly given the impression that Ginny was possessed. No, she is not. They can see the demon with the map now, so that's not really even an issue anymore. If you are referring to her actions in Draco's room, she was just trying to keep Draco from retreating emotionally, as it is his nature to do... and as far as what followed, all she did was kiss him ;) And besides, you don't have to be possessed to want to shag Draco!!!! Hell, I certainly wouldn't mind a good tumble with him!!!! :
References: Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander. Big surprise, eh? It tells about the definition of beast, and the Ministry of Magic classifications. Just so you know, M.O.M. Classification XXX means competent wizard should be able to cope with them. Actually, oddly enough, elves are not listed in the book, so I made up their classification. I also do not truly have a copy of Hogwarts' bylaws... just thought you should know :)
Sorry if this was full of mistakes, gotta get it up in a hurry before work and can't proofread it again as I usually do.