Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize in the Harry Potter books.
Chapter XI: Encounter with Eirenian Cats
Draco raised his hand to wipe the blood and felt that is was cold as ice. His cheek was turning numb with frost. The way Eirenian Cats hunted was by freezing its prey with a substance found in its claws that freezes the body until it could not move anymore. This way, it could kill creatures bigger, but much slower that it.
Tilly saw a blur of white in the ledges near the ceiling, somewhat crouching in a hunting stance, though in a moment it was gone.
"Master Draco, above you!"
It was the elf. "What are you doing? Get out of here!" The words were hardly out of his mouth when something pounced on him, pinning him to the freezing floor. He was suddenly face-to-face with his assailant, its front paws on his chest. It was then he recognized who it was: Stribog, one of Elmira's pets. 'So this is the passage,' he thought to himself.
The elf whimpered with fright. Turning around, he ran until he realized he could teleport himself into the manor.
Without wasting any second, he grasped his wand tightly and pointed it on the creature's stomach.
"STUPEFY," he roared when it was about to strike its final blow. He knew that it would do little, if not, no good, for Eirenian Cats have developed resistance to such typical, low-caliber spells. But it was the first spell that came into mind and he knew that every second would mean his life or his death.
The force pushed the creature away from Draco. It was obviously off-guard for it landed on its back (being a cat it should've landed on its feet, right?), but quickly recovered and hurriedly stood up. Draco followed suit. In the blink of an eye, Stribog was gone again. He tried to follow where it went but all he could catch was its hazy white form.
Trying to summon all his senses, Draco raised his wand, clutching it tightly, and listened intently for the creature's next assault. He had already thought of using a fire spell for Eirenian Cats are of Ice Origins. Using the opposite element of its innate one may be the best way to stop it.
Tilly wearily rushed through the halls of the manor, not knowing where he was, or where he was going because in his panic, he forgot that he did not know the ways around the house, except for the kitchen, for he was a gardener, or at least the gardener's apprentice, and had always been outside. Breathless, he was again chanting his usual "oh my, oh my, oh my," looking for someone he could report to. "Master Draco in trouble. It's all Tilly's fault. Tilly shouldn't have told Master Draco. Oh my, oh my, oh my." It was then he thought to look in the rooms for a house-elf who might be cleaning. The first room he looked into was large and the moment he entered, he started feeling slightly dizzy. He entered anyway.
"Master Draco in trouble," he shouted in his squeaky voice, panting. "attack… tunnel… Big Cat… scar…" It was when he saw the vague forms and sceneries arranging and rearranging that he realized nobody was there. Noticing a statue just like the one in the cavern, fear overrode him and he hurriedly stumbled toward the door.
Once he was out, a white form strode quietly across the room, opened a secret passage and entered it.
Draco tried to follow where the cat went but fast as his eyes were, an Eirenian Cat surely was much faster than a snitch. All he could see was the usual white blur.
Since it was hit by the stunning spell, the only time Stribog came near Draco was when it scratched Draco's left arm, which was now bleeding hard and at the same time freezing.
He tried to think of a way to slow, if not stop, it. It was too fast. He had already tried the Impediment Curse but it was too slow to hit the cat. In the end, all he could think of was make himself bait, though he knew very well it could mean his demise if the cat could hit him with its final blow, which was the creatures slowest attack for it was the strongest. First, he must make himself seem an easy picking for the creature.
By now, he was ready with his spell, which was the strongest fire spell he could think of at the moment. He didn't really have all the time in the world to think of a stronger one. It could attack any moment and he needed all his senses and concentration.
Seeing a flash of white at his right, Draco knew the cat was again attacking. He turned to face it. "MAGNA INFLAMMARE," he bellowed.
A large scorching ball of fire shot out of his wand and headed straight for Stribog. Surprised, it tried to get out of its way but was still burned on the left side of its body. Instead of smoke, what arose from his body was steam. With a last ditch of effort, it again bounded for Draco. The first word of the incantation was hardly out of his mouth when the cat was again on top of him, again raising its paw to strike him and again, gripping his wand, Draco pointed it on its stomach. Knowing that he would be dead even before he could finish his fire-ball incantation, he quickly managed to recall another powerful (and one-word) fire spell.
Draco closed his eyes so that the light would not blind him. "Ignitum" he said. The spell hit the ceiling since something pounced on it. Recovering from the unexpected attack, it stood up and came face-to-face with its new enemy and was visibly surprised upon recognizing who it was.
Draco tried to stand up despite the pain he noticed was growing on his right leg. It had been injured from his second fall. He saw the two hissing and circling each other, each ready to pounce the other any moment.
Stribog was the first one to move but because of his burn, the newcomer easily got on top of him.
It was time for Draco to intervene. "Stribog, Neva, that's enough," he said in his commanding voice.
Cautiously, Neva let go of her brother, went over to Draco and sat beside him, as if protectively. Stribog also stood up and sat opposite them, almost half of his body fur black and though it was apparent his burns were bad he acted as if it didn't bother him at all. (Tch. What a proud animal! C", How cute!). After a couple of seconds, Neva went over to her brother and started licking his injuries. Stribog hissed tetchily at her. She completely ignored him.
"Tch. That won't do," Draco said, starting to walk (or limp) out of the cavern. "I'm going to call for a nursing elf. Don't you go pouncing on her when she comes."
Hermione had read half the book already. As she found out, Elmira was seventeen when she wrote the book but was still as troublesome as a young girl the age of twelve. As angry as her brother was when he found her, she still managed to convince him to let her take care of the cubs. She also found out that before she left the manor she tried to free the then adolescent Eirenian Cats, who were already with her for 3 years. It was Stribog who first refused, implying that he'd guard their escape. Neva, having never been away from his brother, decided to stay too. It was Elmira who cast a spell to turn them to stone, watchful stones, knowing everything that happened around their territories, and preserving their youth. Neva, being more sensible—Stribog would have pounced on anyone who entered, on to her or not—guarded the Room of Mysteries since a secret passage was there that would easily lead to her escape, while Stribog secured her secret exit. Hermione wondered if they were still there. Being stone, they probably didn't have any sense of time, and of course, didn't know how long they had been there.
She was pondering over these things when she heard someone having a fit of coughs in the hall. It sounded like Draco, though it couldn't be him. He didn't have even the slightest sign of sickness a while ago. She went near the door, debating with herself whether she should open it or not. On one side, it could be somebody else and she would be in trouble being found. On the other, it could be Draco and she would still be in trouble, being foolish enough to open the door when she was specifically told not to. She pressed an ear next to the door and listened carefully.
"Mudblood," he heard a raspy voice say, barely audible from her position but certainly enough for her to recognize who it was. She quickly opened the door to be greeted by another fit of coughs. Draco was holding the doorjamb to keep his balance. His robes were covered with blood and there were bruises and gashes all over his body. His cheek and arm were turning blue with frost. She watched him with horror until his legs finally gave way and Hermione caught him falling from his weight.
"Damn Eirenian Cat," he whispered under his breath,.
"Oh my god, Draco," she whispered, her eyes instantly filling with tears. "What did you do, you git? You shouldn't have done this to me. I don't know what to do."
"I'm alright, Hermione," Draco said weakly. "I just need a bit of rest."
"You're not alright," she retorted, pushing the door shut, swinging Draco's arm over her shoulders and helping Draco walk over to his bed. One of his legs was hurt and he was again limping. Her tears were flowing freely now, because of panic, guilt and, she admitted to herself, because of worry.
"It's because of me again, isn't it?" she finally asked when he was already tucked in his bed.
"I'm tired, Granger," he said, evidently avoiding her question.
"Draco… please. I don't know what to do without you," she whispered. "It's not only about how I could escape…" she continued, not letting him say a word. "I don't know what to do without you, you hear?" she said, sobbing in his chest. "So please…"
"What do you take me for Granger, a weakling?" Draco said, trying to force a smirk on his face before another cough escaped his throat. "Do you think a small bruise could hurt me?"
He was obviously trying to cheer Hermione up but ended up with the opposite. Though she tried to stop herself, her sobs became louder.
"Don't cry anymore."
When Hermione had calmed down, Draco said: "I'm going to sleep a bit, alright? Just stay in the room. I don't want to go look for you today. Don't worry. I'm going to the house-elves when I wake up." With that, he slowly drifted off the sleep, leaving Hermione to debate with herself once again whether she was to go out and look for help or heed his advice and stay.
a/n: I'm so sorry it took so long. Again, it's because of schoolwork. But because I'm S.S.M. kept asking me to continue, it became hard to resist writing so I rushed this chapter so tell me if there's a misspelled word or anything. Anyway, I'm not sure if I did the action part right (Draco fighting Stribog). I know I sucked at it. It was kind of hard to write that part. Tell me if you don't like this chapter so I can rewrite it.
I really do hope I get to finish this story before I get really, really downhearted with the movies. Did you know that Draco acted like a baby in the Prisoner of Azkaban? That's not really very encouraging for writers. I liked the book better then the movie, anyway. That's just an opinion, ok, so anybody there who doesn't agree with me just ignore what I just said. What I need are reviews for my fic. Anyway, do you guys like new characters? That's a stupid question. I won't change the plot even though you tell me you don't anyway. Just don't lose interest just yet. Give it a try. This question is more important: Do you want me to write about Stribog and Neva's conversation? Is that cute or weird?
Acknowledgements: overXposed: I'm fine with two, thank you very much. I hope you find the culprit who cut your arm off; dragonwing: Thanks, that's really flattering. I hope you like the chapters to come; fanficfan#1: Thanks. I hope I keep writing too; yo man: I don't think you're weird. You reviewed, so you're not. Is this flattery getting me anywhere?; dracosgurlchrissy: Interesting is cool. Thanks for staying tuned to this fic. I really appreciate it; nO1: I'm sorry you think that way. Others like the dragon and history stuff so I won't bother changing the plot until others, lots more others, ask me to. Anyway, I don't know why I'm telling you this. I don't think there's a chance of you reading this chapter; babmidnight: I'm glad you said that. I kind of wondered if you thought it would be unrealistic. But then, some time ago, I read something from Readers' Digest (I don't know what edition. It's at my aunt's) about a lion cub being raised by humans and it got along quite well with them. It even had a dog as his best friend. How cool is that? Anyway, that took away my doubts; me love draco: Sorry it took long to update. When I got back from my aunt's there was a problem with the computer and then I had problem logging on. I'll try to update sooner next time; I'm S.S.M: Hmmm… before 2, now 4. Thanks for the reviews, though I'm kind of confused with the last ones. I believe James was a seeker and I'm still trying to think of a way to hook up Draco and Hermione. In this story, they're both quite stubborn and proud so it's kind of hard.