Rhyann jolted up in her bed, breathing heavily. The curtains were drawn around her bed, so that she could not see if anyone else were awake. Yet the sun was not lending any light to the dorm and there was only the soft sounds of sleep nearby. Somewhere outside in the distance in the Forbidden Forest, something much more unnatural than a wolf howled and she could not stop the shivers that went down her spine.
The brand on her arm was hot and stinging. She had her sleeve covering it, but she rubbed at the thing anyway. It brought her no relief and only served as an ugly reminder of the fact that she was still a servant of the Dark Lord. Not just any servant either, but a Death Eater with orders to kill.
She started to climb out of her bed and then stopped herself. What was she going to do about it at this time of night? Rhyann chewed on her lower lip anxiously.
It had been one thing when Lucius had given her those lists to torment his business rivals and murder those few. The dreamer could do the job with a few thoughts if she wished, but had taken her frustrations out by being more creative. She felt no sorrow or guilt. There was only the anger and frustration that she had been commanded to do so.
Voldemort had given her orders now. He had bent down and brought her small fae face very close to his own. There was no breath from him in the dream, but somehow being that close had felt like the burning on her arm. He had stated how important it was that she complete the task he gave to her. She could still see his deadly serpentine eyes glimmering before her own. She had almost thought she would pass out in her own dream.
Rhyann knew that her Lord had been looking much more closely at her mind then. Her responsibilities before were almost childish. She had to watch Potter and the other students, keep an eye out for their secrets. She had no doubt that the Dark Lord knew about what Lucius had her do and he decided to take her on as a new form of assassin. He told her that the Dark Mark carried with it heavy responsibilities. Before, she had been treated carefully like some precious treasure, but now there would be no delicate handling of her and she would be expected risk everything in service of her master.
He had made a little noise as if receiving some pleasure from her terror and released her from his cold hard grip. Rhyann sank back on her knees, nodding her understanding of what he had told her. She had thoroughly worked the barriers up in her mind. Not only were there mirrored ones, but false walls and fake memories along with the stronger ones to hide all that she did not want him to see.
Finally, she reached down and picked up her slippers, pushing her dainty feet into them. Rhyann grabbed a robe that was laying over her trunk and silently exited the girls' dorm. The feeling of the dream was still strongly with her. She almost felt as if an eye were floating about watching her every move. Every little creak and squeak that the castle made naturally caused her to pause, holding her breath, and scan the area thoroughly for whatever may have caused it.
She finally reached the bottom of the stairs but stayed around the corner in the shadows when she heard voices in the common room. She dared not look when she recognized the drawl belonging to the Deputy Headmaster.
"It is best that none of the students know of the incident. The event went smoothly, otherwise."
"Of course, Professor. It's really none of their business anyway." The Head Boy's response drifted over to her ears.
"Yes." Snape's 's' was drawn out. "Everyone has enough to worry about as it is. You best get some sleep now, Mr. Malfoy. I am sure the Headmistress will be wanting to hear what you saw tomorrow morning."
"I will go see her before the morning meal." Draco assured the Head of their House. "Have a good night, sir."
There was a sort of quiet grunted response and she could hear Snape retreating out of the entrance of Slytherin tower. Rhyann peered around the corner to see her boyfriend snuffing out some candles along the walls with his wand. She eased out of the shadows and went over to him, calling his name so that she did not startle him.
"Rhyann?" The blond slipped his wand back up his sleeve and welcomed her with a kiss. "You would not believe what happened after the ball! One of the guests of honor was found outside, unconscious in the snow, with her robes open in the front. Someone had hexed her!" A smile played across his lips.
She gave him a curious look as to why he was finding it so amusing. "Is she alright though? Did they find out who did it?"
"She'll be fine, just a bit wet and cold." Draco chuckled. "She can't remember what happened. A memory charm, we suspect, but it was so funny seeing her in such a position!"
"Who was it!" Rhyann asked more insistantly.
"It was that advice columnist, Magena Silver!" He leaned in and laughed into her hair to muffle the sound. "She's well known for seducing wizards of influence. Obviously a little escapade with someone didn't go so well for her!"
The little brunette would not doubt that Magena was a successful seductress. When she had been talking to her, it was like every move she made and every word she spoke was meant to entice. She even had to admit that the witch was beautiful, but there had been something about her she just did not like and it was probably due to her feelings about such women. Rhyann paused in her thoughts as she remembered something. "Didn't Professor Snape go out of the Great Hall with her? Maybe he..."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous!" Draco snorted and gave her a little tickle on the side for such a thought. "Who would want to seduce him! There were many other more powerful wizards at the ball that are more likely candidates. Besides, Snape was the one that found her. Why would he do that if he was the one that hexed her?"
"Yes, exactly." Rhyann said with a raised brow. She didn't doubt that Snape knew that too. Not that she minded at all if he had hexed the woman, but she was one of the Dark Lord's. Surely the DADA professor knew that as well. She had almost forgot for a few seconds why she had originally came to search him out. One of her hands suddenly clutched the front of his robes and her voice lowered to just above a whisper. "He came to see me, Draco. He gave me a task to do for him."
The smile melted off his handsome young face. He pulled her closer, caressing one of her cheeks comfortingly. "What did he tell you to do? Did he... does he know anything else?"
"I don't think he can see past my barriers. I'm sure I would know immediately if he could." Rhyann stared up into his pale eyes, reaching out for strength from him. "He wants me to murder someone for him. Murder two someones. To try to make it look as natural as possible or bewildering as possible so none suspect anything until it's too late."
"Who?" His breath was warm as it came out with that one syllable.
"Ginny and Ron Weasley."
Draco was silent for a moment and then he bowed his head down to touch his forehead to hers. "They're only Weasleys. They're whole family are blood traitors. They'll all be killed later if you don't do it now. It's not like..."
"No." Rhyann shook her head, forehead rolling along his. "I don't care what happens to them later, but not now. I need them here at Hogwarts. More particularly, I need Ginny. She's as strong as you are with her hexes. I don't care at all about Ron, but if I just get rid of him, it would devastate the rest of them. They'd be useless."
"Maybe they wouldn't. Maybe they'd be more eager to help, wanting revenge." He suggested softly.
"It might work for Ginny that way, but not for Hermione. I need her too. She's stronger than most. I don't know how it would affect Harry." Her mind was roiling with all the possibilities. She couldn't do it without jeopardizing her own plans, but how could she get away with not doing what the Dark Lord had ordered!
Draco's lips thinned as he thought as well. "You've got to do something, love. It would save from having to deal with them after the fact. If you're so worried, at least with you doing the task, you can make sure that they don't suffer."
Her dark eyes narrowed. "I don't care if they suffer or not. What I'm concerned about is freeing myself, freeing you. So we can be together without any chains upon us!"
"I know, I know." He shushed her, kissing her cherubic lips. "But what do you think will happen if you don't do it? You'll be punished. I don't want you hurt... or..." He left it off there knowing that Voldemort was unpredictable. Death was but one flick of his wand away.
The dreamer's eyes slowly closed, pressing herself against him. "It's not like I have a lot to work with here. I don't have the numbers or the power. I only have the element of surprise. I need everyone that I have, everyone who's mind I've been working with. I know they will be able to do what I need done. And if I lose one of them, I'll have to start all over again... with more of a chance of failure." She took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I don't want to be used like this forever. I can't... I won't live like that. If we don't break out from our constraints now, we might never have a chance again."
He tucked her head under his chin and stroked her long hair. "We'll figure something out, love. Given some time..."
"We don't have all that much time." She stated against his chest. "The start to the Dark Lord's final move will be with the death of the Weasleys. He's having other followers murder the rest of their family. He wants them all dead. I have two months to complete the task. That's really not that long..."
"Two months is enough. We'll work it out. Trust me." Draco was much more confident than she felt at the moment. She melted against him, letting him be the strong one and took reassurance that he was certain they would find a way out of this.