Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.
Chapter X: Stribog and Neva
A girl shall be chosen to heal the old wounds
The pact once lost shall again be sealed
A boy shall return to defend the ancient ones
The treasure once forgotten shall again be sought
"Alden," Draco whispered before suddenly jerking up awake.
'Was it a dream?' The question kept haunting him in the shower. A pair of yellow eyes kept returning to him, along with those lines. No matter how short it had been, it was the first time he had a dream in that house. Even at Hogwarts he put a charm in his room similar, but less reliable, to that of the manor. If it was, Hermione being there must be a really bad omen. Her having dreams was bad enough, but him too?
Still contemplating, a thought suddenly dawned upon him. Lady Elmira left the house through a secret passage. It said so in the book.
"Among the hundreds of passages in this manor, there is one that only the house-elves and I know of. And this is where I am planning to escape a couple of days from now. To the one who will find this book, this passage is not found in the map I made, which I could guess you have already found. My dearest cousin, this book has chosen you. You and you alone are the sole heir of our proud lineage. May you put the knowledge of this book to good use. Farewell."
Draco always thought that banal paragraph was the most useless part of the book, but now, it was one of the most convenient. He already planned his next step: go to the house-elves and ask if anyone knows of this passage, though he was not sure if any of them have any idea where it was.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Medes, I need to know if you know anything about the passage," Draco said to the old elf, his voice edging between demand and politeness. Medes was the oldest house-elf owned by the family, the one who took care of the young Malfoy himself, as well as the senior, and the one who found Draco in the mountain.
"I am sorry, my dear young one, but even though I do know I would not tell even you," Medes answered with a grave voice. "I do know of the girl's situation but though I don't know where the doorway is I do know where it leads. Finding the passage will lead to more danger than she is already in, especially now that they're close to finding what they are looking for."
"Medes, you don't understand. We have to take the risk. She shouldn't be here."
"Go ahead, young master, look for it. I do not have the right to stop you. I am sorry but I really don't know where it is."
Silence was around him. The audience of elves dare not speak a word knowing that he was in a very bad mood, except one.
"Ummm... Master Malfoy, I think I know of a way," said a tiny squeak from the crowd.
"Present yourself," Draco ordered.
"Tilly, sir," a very young elf about seven, said with a very low bow, "at your service."
"You know of a way out?"
"Tilly not very sure, sir." Tilly said with his very high voice. You see, I was play... ahem, I mean, working in the garden one day, when my shovel hit the statue there and noticed it made an odd sound, sir. Then Tilly heard the fairies coming, sir, and frantically escaped, accidentally popping myself in a dark tunnel, which Tilly later found out to be Mistress Elmira's feet, sir."
Feet? Must mean under the statue
"But you do you know where the tunnel leads?"
"I'm not sure, sir, but I think it leads to the outside. Tilly heard loud winds, sir," Tilly answered, nodding his head vigorously.
"Lead me there."
The young house-elf shook his head, his large ears almost hitting his face. "Tilly cannot, sir. 'Tis very dangerous."
"What do you mean?"
"There is something there, sir. Tilly didn't see what it was but I felt it in my bones. There was something watching. Tilly don't even want to think about it if he can help it, sir."
"Well, then, if you won't help me, I'll go alone." Draco turned around briskly and walked away. No elf dared move as they watched his dark robes billowing as he disappeared through the dark corridor, except one. Little Tilly who can't help but feel worried and guilty if ever anything happened to his master followed him, acting as if someone invisible were stopping him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Drowsily opening her eyes, Hermione's first perception was that Draco was not beside her. She had another dream, and she had a strong feeling that it was a continuation of her former one. She saw the boy Draco going home, his mother ecstatic about his return, his father furious. Of course, this was typical since he's their only heir. After the scene, she saw Lucius bringing out an old book and sort of performing a spell. Dreams had the odd characteristic of leaving you with peculiar ideas without knowing how you got them, and in this one, Hermione knew that the enraged father was putting up and invisible barrier over the manor for the incident never to happen again, despite his son's pleadings and promises that it will never happen again.
Hunger slowly creeping up to her, she noticed a tray of food on the table. She stood up, went to it and was about to put a forkful of eggs in her mouth when the bookshelf suddenly caught her attention.
"Lady Elmira's book, huh?" Hermione said putting down the spoon she noticed was peculiarly positioned in front of her face. She took her wand and muttered, "Accio." The book flew out of the shelf and came zooming into Hermione's outstretched hands.
"Hmmm... let's see what we have here."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Far stretches of green dotted with bright colors here and there went as far as his eyes could reach. He had never liked the garden, much less its inhabitants, before, and especially now that danger seemed to loom over him from all direction. Tilly the elf tried to spot his master and hasten his steps to catch up with him.
"Oh my, oh my, oh my," he kept mumbling over and over, along with weak moans and whimpers. "Master Draco shouldn't have gone. Tilly shouldn't have told him. Oh my, oh my, oh my..."
Catching sight of Draco's blond hair in the distance, Tilly hid behind a bush and watched as his master took out the key and began the process of opening the door to the Inner Garden. Watching the door close behind him, the young elf quickly followed and "popped" himself inside, again hiding behind the bushes to avoid being seen.
Draco studied the statue. The elf's account of the tunnel was pretty vague. He did not know how to find the entrance, nor if the information he got was reliable, but he had no choice but to try it.
Feeling strained and exhausted, Draco reluctantly turned around, ready to give up, and started to walk toward the door. Tilly saw this and was extremely relieved, wishing to himself that Draco would give up, so that he too, might leave.
Disappointed with himself, Draco turned around again to have a last glance at the hindrance he failed to triumph over. He seldom encountered an obstacle he was unable to overcome. At that distance, there was something peculiar about the statue, Lady Elmira's basket in particular. The basket... the roses... there seemed to be something quite strange about it.
Draco walked back to the statue to get a closer inspection. A rose seemed to be missing and a gorge formed in where it should have been. Draco blew on that part, revealing a hole which looked similar to that of the entrance.
Overcome by a sudden sense of triumph, Draco rushed to the door and took out the rose key. Pausing for awhile, he looked through the tangle of vines, which blocked the archway, to make sure that nobody was outside, and being assured, he returned to the statue to test if his theory was correct.
After making the final push, the ground below Draco's feet shook. With his quick reflexes, he managed to jump sideway, avoiding the crack that opened in front of the statue.
Without a second thought, he pulled out his wand from the sleeve of his robes and cautiously went down the steps, vaguely aware that someone, or something, was following him, though his gut feeling told him it had no malicious vibe whatsoever.
After entering, the ground replaced itself and at the same time torches lining the tunnel walls close to him lit up. And as he vigilantly walked down the passageway, his wand up, ready to throw spells at anything foreboding, the torches he left behind snuffed out, while the ones in front of him lit up, increasing the perilous atmosphere.
With his magic surrounding him, making his presence as discreet as possible, Tilly followed his master. His heart almost stopped when he reached the end of the passage and entered into what looked like a grotto. He couldn't help but let out a whimper.
Draco went for a closer look at the only decoration of the cavern aside from the jewel-ornamented pillars and the high patterned ceiling. The large cat statue looked like an Eirenian Cat—named after the Eiran Mountain Range, the rare creature's only habitat. The only near-strange thing about it is the large scar near the cat's left eye. It was something which tickled something at the back of his mind. He knew something about that scar.
He turned around after hearing something. It was the thing who was following him, he thought. He was about to look after it when something moved behind him. He turned again to see what it was.
The statue was gone! What was left was the platform in which it stood but the cat itself was gone. Draco felt something other than what occupied him a second ago. He opened his senses and readied himself once again.
It suddenly felt as if something brushed his cheek and ruffled his hair. A trickle of blood slowly oozed from the wound he noticed on his pale skin. Something was in the cavern with him, with them...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione opened the book and saw the picture of the Black Dragon once again. 'I forgot about this.' She shortly scanned the first page of the book. "It's written in a first-person point of view," she noticed.
Malfoy Manor was founded by my father, Lord Galen Malfoy, strategically positioned to be surrounded by natural, not to mention magical barriers, that would prevent muggle, even wizard eyes from finding it. The south of this manor is bounded by the Eiran Mountain Range. The highest of these mountains is Mount Aurus, in which the dragons of this land have sought refuge when my father chose the area in which they inhabited. But though this forced resettlement seems tyrannical, it was nothing compared to what my brother did when my father died. Thaddeus considered it his duty to continue what my father had started and had even slain herds of these creatures just to make sure the perimeter was rid of them. This was never what my father wanted, but my brother thought otherwise. The Seraphinde, also known as the Black Dragons, as I said, have made the great mountain their new haven.
I have gone to this mountain only once and in this rare visit, I have been blessed to have been able to have an encounter with two of the uncommon creatures residing in this place. That day, I took Anemhros, my winged stallion, for a ride and decided to let him take a short rest in a clearing. There, I heard the faint cry of what I assumed were of a young mountain cat's. Overcome by curiosity, I followed the sound into the forest and there, among the tall clusters of evergreen trees, found them: a young Eirenian Cat mother fighting for her life and her two cubs, their sad moan perceptible as they tried to lick her awake. The cat did all she could to keep her eyes open for she knew that her death would also mean her litter's.
Out of pity and curiosity, I warily walked around to the other side to have a closer look. As I came closer, I saw large gashes that covered the feline's slim body and the dark red blood, evidently not only her own, that tainted the snow melting in its warmth. My feet were moving on its own; I didn't know what I was doing. She must've sensed me because in seconds, she had summoned her remaining energy and speedily stood up, covering her children, snarling at me menacingly, daring me to take a step closer. I slowly backed away, my hand instinctively inside my robe, ready for the easiest protection spell I could think of. But my attention was left not on the angered mother when a large shadow enveloped us and the surrounding trees and a strong vortex of wind almost sweeped us off the ground. I saw my Anemhros fly off the ground in fear and confusion, obviously trying to find me and was forced to give up when the wind blew him far from our location. It consumed all of the Eirenian Cat's energy to protect her little ones and once the large creature creating the disorder had settled down, all she could do was fall to the ground. I ran to it and all it did was raise its sad motherly eyes to me as if pleading me not to hurt her children.
"I will not hurt them. Rest now, I will take care of them for you," I assured her. At last, she let her eyes close.
I examined the babes. One of them, the boy, had a large gash on the left part of his face, missing his eyes by inches. I reached out to have a closer look when it snapped its jaws at me angrily. I managed to retrieve my hand before it bit it. The other, its sister, growled at it fiercely as if scolding it.
The large creature we left unnoticed roared in protest. It opened its large mouth and let out a stream of a warm whirl of blue and green colors around them. I noticed the cub's wound healing.
After the strange flame had gone, the Seraphinde bowed its head seemingly in silent apology. It had not known they were there, she realized. Then, it opened its large wings and flew away, apparently trying to be gentle.
With time to spare, I named my two new charges. The fiery, temperamental masculine one I named Stribog, the scar left by the wound earlier evident, giving him a more menacing look. The commanding prudent feminine I named Neva...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/n: Ok, so I rushed, again, so don't be surprised if my writing sucked. If I would count the freakishly banal parts of this chapter I would say... 10? There's the book and the hidden passage and the light switching tunnel and... it could go on and on. *shrugs shoulder* I write 'em as I think 'em. There's also the part about the book. I know it should be written in Old English but I'm not that good at that kind of stuff so I wrote it in the modern version. I'm also sorry for the long update. I on vacation at my aunt's and it's hard to get the computer to myself. The only reason I finished this chapter was because I sneak at night. Anyway, if the story's getting too weird for you. Trust me it'll get stranger as the chapters come. Tell me if you're confused with anything or if you think there's something wrong or anything. Reviews are greatly appreciated.
Thanks to those who reviewed: dracosgurl_chrissy: Thanks a lot. I hope I don't disappoint you in the chapters to come; I'm S.S.M.: Wow, 2 reviews! Thank you so much. You're the reason I rushed this chapter, really. Again, thanks. The Sarcastic Morbid One: I think the hooking up won't come until some chapters at the end. You know the usual jealousy, sudden realization and those kinds of things :). overXposed: I've got a lot more conundrums in the story. I just hope you don't get turned-off if it's too weird or anything
Chapter X: Stribog and Neva
A girl shall be chosen to heal the old wounds
The pact once lost shall again be sealed
A boy shall return to defend the ancient ones
The treasure once forgotten shall again be sought
"Alden," Draco whispered before suddenly jerking up awake.
'Was it a dream?' The question kept haunting him in the shower. A pair of yellow eyes kept returning to him, along with those lines. No matter how short it had been, it was the first time he had a dream in that house. Even at Hogwarts he put a charm in his room similar, but less reliable, to that of the manor. If it was, Hermione being there must be a really bad omen. Her having dreams was bad enough, but him too?
Still contemplating, a thought suddenly dawned upon him. Lady Elmira left the house through a secret passage. It said so in the book.
"Among the hundreds of passages in this manor, there is one that only the house-elves and I know of. And this is where I am planning to escape a couple of days from now. To the one who will find this book, this passage is not found in the map I made, which I could guess you have already found. My dearest cousin, this book has chosen you. You and you alone are the sole heir of our proud lineage. May you put the knowledge of this book to good use. Farewell."
Draco always thought that banal paragraph was the most useless part of the book, but now, it was one of the most convenient. He already planned his next step: go to the house-elves and ask if anyone knows of this passage, though he was not sure if any of them have any idea where it was.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Medes, I need to know if you know anything about the passage," Draco said to the old elf, his voice edging between demand and politeness. Medes was the oldest house-elf owned by the family, the one who took care of the young Malfoy himself, as well as the senior, and the one who found Draco in the mountain.
"I am sorry, my dear young one, but even though I do know I would not tell even you," Medes answered with a grave voice. "I do know of the girl's situation but though I don't know where the doorway is I do know where it leads. Finding the passage will lead to more danger than she is already in, especially now that they're close to finding what they are looking for."
"Medes, you don't understand. We have to take the risk. She shouldn't be here."
"Go ahead, young master, look for it. I do not have the right to stop you. I am sorry but I really don't know where it is."
Silence was around him. The audience of elves dare not speak a word knowing that he was in a very bad mood, except one.
"Ummm... Master Malfoy, I think I know of a way," said a tiny squeak from the crowd.
"Present yourself," Draco ordered.
"Tilly, sir," a very young elf about seven, said with a very low bow, "at your service."
"You know of a way out?"
"Tilly not very sure, sir." Tilly said with his very high voice. You see, I was play... ahem, I mean, working in the garden one day, when my shovel hit the statue there and noticed it made an odd sound, sir. Then Tilly heard the fairies coming, sir, and frantically escaped, accidentally popping myself in a dark tunnel, which Tilly later found out to be Mistress Elmira's feet, sir."
Feet? Must mean under the statue
"But you do you know where the tunnel leads?"
"I'm not sure, sir, but I think it leads to the outside. Tilly heard loud winds, sir," Tilly answered, nodding his head vigorously.
"Lead me there."
The young house-elf shook his head, his large ears almost hitting his face. "Tilly cannot, sir. 'Tis very dangerous."
"What do you mean?"
"There is something there, sir. Tilly didn't see what it was but I felt it in my bones. There was something watching. Tilly don't even want to think about it if he can help it, sir."
"Well, then, if you won't help me, I'll go alone." Draco turned around briskly and walked away. No elf dared move as they watched his dark robes billowing as he disappeared through the dark corridor, except one. Little Tilly who can't help but feel worried and guilty if ever anything happened to his master followed him, acting as if someone invisible were stopping him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Drowsily opening her eyes, Hermione's first perception was that Draco was not beside her. She had another dream, and she had a strong feeling that it was a continuation of her former one. She saw the boy Draco going home, his mother ecstatic about his return, his father furious. Of course, this was typical since he's their only heir. After the scene, she saw Lucius bringing out an old book and sort of performing a spell. Dreams had the odd characteristic of leaving you with peculiar ideas without knowing how you got them, and in this one, Hermione knew that the enraged father was putting up and invisible barrier over the manor for the incident never to happen again, despite his son's pleadings and promises that it will never happen again.
Hunger slowly creeping up to her, she noticed a tray of food on the table. She stood up, went to it and was about to put a forkful of eggs in her mouth when the bookshelf suddenly caught her attention.
"Lady Elmira's book, huh?" Hermione said putting down the spoon she noticed was peculiarly positioned in front of her face. She took her wand and muttered, "Accio." The book flew out of the shelf and came zooming into Hermione's outstretched hands.
"Hmmm... let's see what we have here."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Far stretches of green dotted with bright colors here and there went as far as his eyes could reach. He had never liked the garden, much less its inhabitants, before, and especially now that danger seemed to loom over him from all direction. Tilly the elf tried to spot his master and hasten his steps to catch up with him.
"Oh my, oh my, oh my," he kept mumbling over and over, along with weak moans and whimpers. "Master Draco shouldn't have gone. Tilly shouldn't have told him. Oh my, oh my, oh my..."
Catching sight of Draco's blond hair in the distance, Tilly hid behind a bush and watched as his master took out the key and began the process of opening the door to the Inner Garden. Watching the door close behind him, the young elf quickly followed and "popped" himself inside, again hiding behind the bushes to avoid being seen.
Draco studied the statue. The elf's account of the tunnel was pretty vague. He did not know how to find the entrance, nor if the information he got was reliable, but he had no choice but to try it.
Feeling strained and exhausted, Draco reluctantly turned around, ready to give up, and started to walk toward the door. Tilly saw this and was extremely relieved, wishing to himself that Draco would give up, so that he too, might leave.
Disappointed with himself, Draco turned around again to have a last glance at the hindrance he failed to triumph over. He seldom encountered an obstacle he was unable to overcome. At that distance, there was something peculiar about the statue, Lady Elmira's basket in particular. The basket... the roses... there seemed to be something quite strange about it.
Draco walked back to the statue to get a closer inspection. A rose seemed to be missing and a gorge formed in where it should have been. Draco blew on that part, revealing a hole which looked similar to that of the entrance.
Overcome by a sudden sense of triumph, Draco rushed to the door and took out the rose key. Pausing for awhile, he looked through the tangle of vines, which blocked the archway, to make sure that nobody was outside, and being assured, he returned to the statue to test if his theory was correct.
After making the final push, the ground below Draco's feet shook. With his quick reflexes, he managed to jump sideway, avoiding the crack that opened in front of the statue.
Without a second thought, he pulled out his wand from the sleeve of his robes and cautiously went down the steps, vaguely aware that someone, or something, was following him, though his gut feeling told him it had no malicious vibe whatsoever.
After entering, the ground replaced itself and at the same time torches lining the tunnel walls close to him lit up. And as he vigilantly walked down the passageway, his wand up, ready to throw spells at anything foreboding, the torches he left behind snuffed out, while the ones in front of him lit up, increasing the perilous atmosphere.
With his magic surrounding him, making his presence as discreet as possible, Tilly followed his master. His heart almost stopped when he reached the end of the passage and entered into what looked like a grotto. He couldn't help but let out a whimper.
Draco went for a closer look at the only decoration of the cavern aside from the jewel-ornamented pillars and the high patterned ceiling. The large cat statue looked like an Eirenian Cat—named after the Eiran Mountain Range, the rare creature's only habitat. The only near-strange thing about it is the large scar near the cat's left eye. It was something which tickled something at the back of his mind. He knew something about that scar.
He turned around after hearing something. It was the thing who was following him, he thought. He was about to look after it when something moved behind him. He turned again to see what it was.
The statue was gone! What was left was the platform in which it stood but the cat itself was gone. Draco felt something other than what occupied him a second ago. He opened his senses and readied himself once again.
It suddenly felt as if something brushed his cheek and ruffled his hair. A trickle of blood slowly oozed from the wound he noticed on his pale skin. Something was in the cavern with him, with them...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione opened the book and saw the picture of the Black Dragon once again. 'I forgot about this.' She shortly scanned the first page of the book. "It's written in a first-person point of view," she noticed.
Malfoy Manor was founded by my father, Lord Galen Malfoy, strategically positioned to be surrounded by natural, not to mention magical barriers, that would prevent muggle, even wizard eyes from finding it. The south of this manor is bounded by the Eiran Mountain Range. The highest of these mountains is Mount Aurus, in which the dragons of this land have sought refuge when my father chose the area in which they inhabited. But though this forced resettlement seems tyrannical, it was nothing compared to what my brother did when my father died. Thaddeus considered it his duty to continue what my father had started and had even slain herds of these creatures just to make sure the perimeter was rid of them. This was never what my father wanted, but my brother thought otherwise. The Seraphinde, also known as the Black Dragons, as I said, have made the great mountain their new haven.
I have gone to this mountain only once and in this rare visit, I have been blessed to have been able to have an encounter with two of the uncommon creatures residing in this place. That day, I took Anemhros, my winged stallion, for a ride and decided to let him take a short rest in a clearing. There, I heard the faint cry of what I assumed were of a young mountain cat's. Overcome by curiosity, I followed the sound into the forest and there, among the tall clusters of evergreen trees, found them: a young Eirenian Cat mother fighting for her life and her two cubs, their sad moan perceptible as they tried to lick her awake. The cat did all she could to keep her eyes open for she knew that her death would also mean her litter's.
Out of pity and curiosity, I warily walked around to the other side to have a closer look. As I came closer, I saw large gashes that covered the feline's slim body and the dark red blood, evidently not only her own, that tainted the snow melting in its warmth. My feet were moving on its own; I didn't know what I was doing. She must've sensed me because in seconds, she had summoned her remaining energy and speedily stood up, covering her children, snarling at me menacingly, daring me to take a step closer. I slowly backed away, my hand instinctively inside my robe, ready for the easiest protection spell I could think of. But my attention was left not on the angered mother when a large shadow enveloped us and the surrounding trees and a strong vortex of wind almost sweeped us off the ground. I saw my Anemhros fly off the ground in fear and confusion, obviously trying to find me and was forced to give up when the wind blew him far from our location. It consumed all of the Eirenian Cat's energy to protect her little ones and once the large creature creating the disorder had settled down, all she could do was fall to the ground. I ran to it and all it did was raise its sad motherly eyes to me as if pleading me not to hurt her children.
"I will not hurt them. Rest now, I will take care of them for you," I assured her. At last, she let her eyes close.
I examined the babes. One of them, the boy, had a large gash on the left part of his face, missing his eyes by inches. I reached out to have a closer look when it snapped its jaws at me angrily. I managed to retrieve my hand before it bit it. The other, its sister, growled at it fiercely as if scolding it.
The large creature we left unnoticed roared in protest. It opened its large mouth and let out a stream of a warm whirl of blue and green colors around them. I noticed the cub's wound healing.
After the strange flame had gone, the Seraphinde bowed its head seemingly in silent apology. It had not known they were there, she realized. Then, it opened its large wings and flew away, apparently trying to be gentle.
With time to spare, I named my two new charges. The fiery, temperamental masculine one I named Stribog, the scar left by the wound earlier evident, giving him a more menacing look. The commanding prudent feminine I named Neva...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/n: Ok, so I rushed, again, so don't be surprised if my writing sucked. If I would count the freakishly banal parts of this chapter I would say... 10? There's the book and the hidden passage and the light switching tunnel and... it could go on and on. *shrugs shoulder* I write 'em as I think 'em. There's also the part about the book. I know it should be written in Old English but I'm not that good at that kind of stuff so I wrote it in the modern version. I'm also sorry for the long update. I on vacation at my aunt's and it's hard to get the computer to myself. The only reason I finished this chapter was because I sneak at night. Anyway, if the story's getting too weird for you. Trust me it'll get stranger as the chapters come. Tell me if you're confused with anything or if you think there's something wrong or anything. Reviews are greatly appreciated.
Thanks to those who reviewed: dracosgurl_chrissy: Thanks a lot. I hope I don't disappoint you in the chapters to come; I'm S.S.M.: Wow, 2 reviews! Thank you so much. You're the reason I rushed this chapter, really. Again, thanks. The Sarcastic Morbid One: I think the hooking up won't come until some chapters at the end. You know the usual jealousy, sudden realization and those kinds of things :). overXposed: I've got a lot more conundrums in the story. I just hope you don't get turned-off if it's too weird or anything