Part Four
34) The Beginning Of The End
Sitting at his desk in his private rooms, cradling his head in his hands, he could not believe it. To add to the usual mess the boy made, he had now gotten a girl pregnant. No, not only any girl, but one of his Slytherins and the daughter of Death Eaters. Indignant that he had not noticed the situation before, he had left the meeting in a fury and hurried to the safety and order of his rooms. But now that he had had time to adapt it did not seem so bad anymore. After all, the two had at least had the brains to keep it low. To give the due credit, the obnoxious brat had actually accomplished what he himself had aimed at in vain. He had rescued Miss Greengrass from the dark fate that awaited all Death Eater children. That, among the simple fact that he was gay and no woman had ever shown much interest in him, was a reason he had decided against having a child of his own. Even if it meant the Snape line would die out; there was not much to inherit anyway, save for the trademark nose.
With a bitter smirk, he gathered himself and rose from his seat to go to bed, when suddenly his mark flared. Cursing under his breath he clutched his arm briefly, before summoning a painkiller. At least he could rely on his potions.
In his cell, as he referred to it, in St. Mungos Lucius groaned and curled into a tighter ball on the bed. A healer bustled in and with a quick spell the pain dimmed somewhat. The blonde nurse patted his shoulder like an imbecile and left again. Tiredly, he stared at the beige wall, bored to death.
"I need to get out of here!" Was his last thought before he fell asleep.
Blaise looked up from his work and sat the shovel aside, as he felt his master's pull. Leaving the field that they were using as a graveyard, he ascended the stairs to the throne room and knelt beside his comrades. Just then a flash of red hair caught his sight and he looked up in disbelief. On the high throne, clad in a dark green velvet robe, sat Ginevra Weasley, red eyes blazing down on them. In spite of the mission's disappointment, the Dark Lord – or should he say Lady – was smiling sinisterly. The evilness pooling around her form never dimmed the sheer beauty. Her pearly skin was glowing with power and her luscious lips curved into a small smirk just when her eyes found his.
He shuddered and lowered his gaze, passing her ample décolleté and slim waist, down to her shiny black boots. Adverting his gaze, he waited while the meeting passed by. More and more followers were dismissed after the punishment for their failure. Having a surname beginning with Z had the unholy advantage of being the last with many things and so it came that eventually he was alone with the Dark Lord, uh – Lady. Receiving his orders, he bowed deeply and kissed the rim of her robes, before he hurried away to fulfil his duty.
Ron sat beside her on one of the sofas in the common room, fuming about Harry's "betrayal" again. Hermione sighed and rubbed her head.
"…And then he just pulls that stunt and everybody's cooing over their little romance, Juliet and Romulus-"
"Romeo."
"MY ASS. I don't care, can't they fucking see? And you, how can you be so calm? That bitch is-"
"Ron, SHUT UP!" she yelled back.
He stared at her and then walked away. She went after him, but he pushed her back.
"Just keep siding with him, he's the better match anyway, right? So leave me alone, you traitorous… snake. Fuck you. We're over!" he hissed and stormed off.
"What?" she asked, perplexed. "Ron, I…"
Damn. This was not supposed to happen. But then the git had messed up anyway. He knew better, she told herself, but his raging jealousy was completely over the limit she would take. So he could fuck himself right back!
Suddenly terribly annoyed with everything around her, she dashed off to the library, In her own secluded corner she might find some peace. Or so she thought, because just when she stormed around the last row of bookshelves she ran into somebody and was knocked down.
"I'm sorry, I – Percy?" she took the hand he offered her. "What are you doing here? – I mean, I thought you worked in London?"
"Oh, well," he smiled tiredly, "the charms on the part of the building where my office was located were neutralized and parts of the ceiling came down. Obviously the constructor disregarded the simply physics and when the magic collapsed, so did the building. A hazardous mistake of the Department for Magical Stability, if you ask me," he straightened his robes and blinked.
"Oh", she picked up his glasses from the floor and fixed them , before handing them back to Ron's brother. She realized suddenly that he had exchanged the ugly, round horn frame for a stylish frameless model.
"Nice glasses.", she commented, mustering his new appearance. Smiling, she imagined what Mrs. Weasley must have said when she had seen that Percy had let his hair grow out, just like Bill. Grinning, she let her gaze wander over his tall, thin body – although he had filled out since school… –before she suddenly realized what she was doing.
You're not checking out Percy Weasley, she told herself sternly, but her eyes wouldn't quite obey. He nervously cleared this throat and ran his hand through his hair.
"So, you were quite in a hurry. Missed studying for some test?" he teased gently and she blushed.
"Um, no, but, you see – Ron and I had, kind of, an argument, because of Harry and…and suddenly he stormed out, yelling that it," her breath hitched, "was o-over."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked," he replied and offered her a handkerchief.
"No no, it's fine, just," she sniffed, "I did not expect him to react so violently…"
"That's Ronnie. He'll get over it soon, you'll see."
"Maybe I don't even want that!" she huffed and took a seat at her favourite table. It was away from the others, behind the Astronomy section. Not that she particularly cared for Astronomy, but…
"I'll see you around then," Percy excused himself and she waved after him.
"See you," he nodded and left.
Funny, she thought, how mature and calm he had become.
Harry, on the other hand, was everything but calm. Pacing in 'their room', he now and then stopped to look at Daphne, who sat on the bed and looked as if she was about to start crying any second. Smoothing is wayward hair down, Harry suddenly spun around and knocked his fist into the wall. Daphne flinched and he groaned, before apologizing quietly.
His scar was itching constantly again and he knew Voldemort was doing it to drive him crazy and make him do something rash. Looking at the antique grandfather clock in the corner, he excused himself and hurried down to 'remedial Potions'.
Snape was already seated behind his desk, but when Harry entered the professor got up and led the way through a door in the back to their defence training room. Dumbledore had provided it at the beginning of the term and Harry had found that the padded walls, ceiling and floor had the great advantage and that he survived the 'training' without broken bones.
Instead of a greeting, Snape threw a silent Legilimens at him, which Harry blocked easily. Just when the memories of a greasy, unhappy kid started flowing he pulled back and barely evaded Snape's stunner. A series of less harmful curses followed, which Harry could dodge just as well. Just when he was occupied escaping the Incarcerous, he felt another mind attack coming. For a second he felt flashes of his uncle pass by, before he could force Snape out.
"When I said, you should be careful all the time, I meant it, Potter!" the greasy git snarled and Harry took the opportunity to close his eyes tightly and fire a Lumos Maximus at him. He heard Snape cursing and opened his eyes again. A quick body bind and he had won his first duel against his teacher.
Releasing the professor from his curse, he sat down against one wall and waited for his opponent to regain his sight. After a few minutes Snape blinked a few times and rose unsteadily. Harry got up as well and cautiously neared his teacher.
"Impressive," Snape admitted between clenched teeth, and Harry sighed.
"Are you okay?" he asked and Snape nodded.
"You used your knowledge well. Adapting to a situation with all your possibilities is what makes a real dueller. It seems the concept has finally gotten through your thick scull. Let us hope you may use your talents in a real battle, too, or Miss Greengrass might seriously regret her foolishness," Snape hissed, but without real venom.
Although it was not exactly a compliment Harry was satisfied with the answer. Snape then released him for the night and Harry went up to the tower in a slightly better mood. At least until he entered the common room and found Ron sulking in a corner. Hermione was nowhere to be found and Ginny – damn. Gazing around, he finally sat by Neville and Lavender. Colin and Seamus soon joined them in a game of gobstones and for a while he could pretend everything was fine.
The fire in the hearth flickered merrily against the glass of the windows and outside the last light of the day coloured the grounds in gold and purple. The silence from the woods was overseen by the chatting students and so were the birds and other winged creatures that rose from the trees and hurried away as the darkness came over the land.
AN/ Okay, first of all, thanks to the reviewers. You are still few, but I hope more will come. Then, this is the first chapter of part 4, the last part. There are still some surprises waiting. I hope you will like it. Please, Please, Please review!
Then: a little announcement: I'm working on a new story already. It does not have a title yet, but it's after HBP (bad book!) and, well, canon and AU in the same. I hope you'll take a look at it, too, when I post it lCiel
