Disclaimer : Still borrowing J.K. Rowling's wonderful characters. Still not making any money. Sigh. Life can be so unfair!
Chapter 5 - Control
The wind whistled softly through the fire, slicing its warmth with daggered nails. On the flames' borders, Cruelty crawled, her breath sweet with rotting malice. Her eyes, pits invisible with depth, shone upon the figure of her sister, happily playing with the puppets. Her time had come, only to be robbed of her control a moment later. Her chains hung limp around the puppet's neck, begging to choke, to squeeze, to break, but without the permission to do it.
Snake watched her as she shifted, snuffled, and hissed the fire to ice. The trees groaned in the background, begging desperately to drum once again, to dance, to create future and pain. Yet his word was absolute; no one, nothing, dared cross it.
Control is sweet, when tasted by those in power.
The slave crawled on.
"Miss Granger," Snape purred. "I see you decided to join us this morning. I think I speak for all of us when I say we're...honored."
Hermione shifted her weight nervously.
"I assume you have my essay?"
She wordlessly handed it over, scrawled hastily over breakfast. It was slightly splattered with orange juice.
His lip curled. "Thank you. You may take a seat next to Mr. Malfoy there, up front where I can keep an eye on you." He turned to the board. "Five points from Gryffindor for your tardiness."
She set her cauldron down, her shaking hands careful to avoid any clamor. She quickly unpacked her ingredients and took out her notes, noticing with some satisfaction that her recipe for the Veritaserum was almost entirely correct.
"So, Granger, like the book?" Malfoy whispered.
Hermione dropped the metal measuring cup full of powdered Sphinx claw with a loud clang. Snape looked up from his desk to stare at her murderously. "What book?" she hissed, hurriedly sweeping the golden powder back into the cup.
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times: Don't play dumb." His eyes traveled her robes. "The look doesn't suit you."
She blushed with anger. "I didn't take a book! You shouldn't have been there in the first place, Malfoy —"
"Nor you."
"— so don't talk about being dumb with me!" she finished in a loud whisper.
He chuckled drily. "Well, let me know how the book turns out. I've always wanted to know how to Sense. My father's always stressed its importance — it's a very Dark art."
She opened and closed her mouth soundlessly. "Right," she managed. "I'll let you know."
She felt a swirl of dry air blow past her cheek, and turned to find Snape standing above her. "Miss Granger," he murmured, "I must beg you to seal your lips, life-threatening as your conversation may be. You're disturbing the other students." She looked over his shoulder to find each and every one of them submerged in their work. He lowered his voice further, casting a meaningul look at Harry. "Many of them cannot be distracted."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Another five points." He shifted his murderous eyes to Harry, murmuring under his breath as he squinted at the recipe.
"Old bat," she muttered. "Ron was right about you."
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't insult the Head of our house," Malfoy whispered. "Better yet, keep your mouth shut entirely. Some of us — such as the ones doing work — cannot be disturbed."
"What, Malfoy, don't have enough of a brain to multitask? You know, it's a real shame your mother didn't teach you to walk and talk at the same time. Or does she even know how?"
"Keep my mother out of this," he snarled. "If you have a brain, use it. That was me telling you to shut up politely. If you won't, I can make you." His silver eyes glittered. "Don't tempt me."
She bristled but said nothing. As much as she hated to surrender, there was nothing she could do in a biased classroom. Her grades, her reputation, mattered to much to her. The two worked in tense silence for many minutes, hands and eyes flying through the recipe. Hermione began to slowly relax, almost racing to complete the Veritaserum before Malfoy. If she focused only on the words, she could almost believe she was enjoying herself. Almost.
It happened then. That odd feeling, the one that felt as if her mind disconnected from her body. Suddenly, she became spectator as another being stepped into control. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.
She watched her arm reach forward, fingers stretching to clutch the scarab beetle lying face-up on the table. And there, at the same time, was Malfoy's hand, diving under her to rest his palm over the green belly. Her hand landed on top of his, warm skin touched the cool knuckles. And stayed there.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him turn to look at her in suspicious surprise. Even worse, she felt her fingers contract around his, clutching his hand in promise. Promise? Of what? Her brown eyes turned to meet his, and then, just as suddenly, the stranger's control was broken.
She snatched her hand back from the table.
Malfoy opened his mouth, probably to make some crack about her "desire" for him, but then thought better of it as she plunged under the table to retrieve another scarab beetle for her potion. When she straightened, it was only to see him bent over his potion in concentration, the offending scarab beetle lying forgotten on the table. She took her cue from him, and ignoring the instinct to explain herself, she turned back to her very orange potion.
When the class ended, the Veritaserum had transformed into a crystal clear liquid, reflecting the cold ceiling at the bottom of her cauldron. She glanced over to Malfoy's, and saw that he was sweating to change it from puce to transparent. She hesitated, then pushed the scarab beetle towards him.
"You forgot it," she said. "If you want to correct it, all you have to do —"
"I know what I have to do!" he spat. "Bug off, Granger."
She stared at him, hurt. No one had dismissed her help before. She sniffed haughtily, then primly dipped a flask into the potion and stoppered it. She placed it on Snape's desk carefully before sauntering back to her cauldron, neatly packing it with a terse wave of her wand. She spent the remainder of the period watching Malfoy strive to correct the potion — and succeeding, she admitted grudgingly.
She found a chair close to the fire, and hunched over Sense, entirely absorbed by its fast-shut cover. Perhaps it was because of her intense concentration that she didn't see the redhead bending over the back of the worn armchair, eyes slowly following Hermione's probing finger.
"I thought you said you didn't take one."
Hermione jumped. "Ginny! What do you mean, didn't take one?" she asked innocently, rearranging her hair. The book dropped to the floor.
"A Dark text," she said flatly, bending to pick it up.
"No! Don't pick it up!" Hermione said, shoving Crookshanks off her lap and grabbing it. "It's not safe." Ginny stared at her, one eyebrow cocked accusingly. Hermione was silent for a guilty moment, then said, "I lied."
"So I see." She sank down beside Hermione, tall frame dwarfing the older girl's. She continued, voice adopting an awed tone. "Wow, Sensing. Of all the things to choose, that's a Dark one." She looked at Hermione appreciatively. "Why'd you take one?"
"What, and miss a chance like that?" Hermione grinned. "You've got to be crazy."
Ginny laughed. "That doesn't excuse you for lying, you know."
"I know," Hermione sighed. "Let's just keep this between you and me for awhile though, okay?"
"Why?"
"Too complicated. Ron and Harry would take it the wrong way, assume things that aren't true."
"Maybe so." Ginny stared at the cover for awhile, deep in thought. "Figure out how to open it yet?"
"No. It opened for me once, but hasn't done it since. I think I have to be in a certain mood, or something. Maybe actually Sensing."
"As if you know how to Sense!" Ginny scoffed. "Hardly any wizards are left that know how to do it, though I know Dumbledore knows a little of it. Sirius and James dabbled in it, too — I heard Mum yelling at Sirius once for mentioning it once in front of Fred and George." She was quiet for a moment, smiling in memory at the serious man who had once been Harry's godfather. "Mum apparently thought the twins would end up killing themselves if they learned what Sensing could do."
"What does Sensing do?"
"What? Don't tell me you haven't heard about it?" she said, aghast.
"I did grow up in a Muggle environment," Hermione reminded her. "Books can't make up for all those lost years."
"Oh, right. Well, it's a very ancient form of magic; I'm not quite sure why everyone calls it Dark, because it's far older than evil. I suppose it's because You-Know-Who tried to use it some, but failed. Two or three of his Death Eaters found out how, though — I know Lucius Malfoy knows how, for example — but I think the other two were killed in the war. To be honest, no one quite knows how it works or what it's purpose is anymore; all we know is that it allows the one who Senses to see into Reality, or the mechanics of how our world works." She looked down at Hermione's fascinated face. "Get all that?"
Hermione shrugged. "Enough, I think."
Ginny looked back at the book. "Well, when you figure out how to open it, let me know. I would love to learn how." She glanced over at the table in the corner at which Harry and Ron were working. "Come join the homework party?"
"Finished all mine," Hermione answered absently. "I think I'll stay here and work a little longer."
Ginny nodded. "Right, then." She stood and walked away, unaware of what her explanation had unlocked.
The walls pulsed scarlet, shedding a light that was truly not light at all, but pure power. The red blood paled in comparison. Hermione's head rose above the gentle waves, and gazed at the Wound between the black boots. It was black, a tremendous gash from which the blood poured forth in a frothing mass, carrying the skeletons of infants, cripples, and brittle men and women.
Wormtail watched the torrent in openmouthed terror. "W-what is it?" he asked, involuntarily inching his way closer to Lucius Malfoy.
Malfoy laughed and pushed his cloak away. "Time. We are standing in time."
He calmly looked about him, appraising the strong flesh walls and listening. The subtle beat vibrated the air, thundering above them. He reached inside his black robes and drew forth a small midnight sheath. He drew a narrow knife, glittering silver, and examined its length.
"And we, Master Wormtail, control it," he said.
A/N: Hola! Sorry this chapter was so long in coming...but I'm pretty happy with the result. I think I can safely say that the boring utility chapters (to borrow your phrase, Ally) are all over. Or at least the set-up ones. Now, we can finally get to the good stuff. Things are going to start moving quickly – or appear to be moving quickly – romance-wise. I just want to remind you that these actions are not their own. I hope I conveyed it enough, but these little caresses of feelings are not the actual feelings kicking in yet. So please don't flame me for moving it along to quickly as there is no emotional attachment yet!
Right. So, in any case, I'm interested to hear what you thought. And in the meantime, there are thank-you's!
Ally: Hey, dear. I'm so glad that you like my Fate and Nightmare scenes! To be honest, right now they're my favorite part of the story to write. I can be absolutely as poetic and creative and crazy and unbelievable as I want simply because they are all my own creation. Well, not Lucius and Wormtail. But close enough. Anywho, I hope that the next chapter in A Reason isn't too long in coming...though I guess I can forgive you if it is. I mean, you've been updating so rapidly recently. Huh, maybe I should get that initiative started, eh? Well, I've got a whole bunch of chapters written (fine, just the next one and part of the seventh), it's just the posting that takes me forever. Grrr...never enough time, never enough time!
Lorett: Hiya, darling. Since they deleted your account, I can't remember what you wrote me! Argh! I usually save my reviews – the alerts or whatever – but somehow yours must have slipped through the cracks. Darn. Well, in any case, here's some Draco for you. I'm pretty sure he'll be a constant character for awhile – definitely for the next five chapters – so we'll see how he develops with me as his supreme master. (Ooh...dirty thoughts. Supreme master? Nice.) Off the topic of me, I completely forgot to go to adultfanfiction to review! I've been saving your email as a reminder, but I deleted it by accident the other day. SO AS SOON AS I FINISH THIS UPDATE, I WILL REVIEW! Got that, Alison?
Foamy: Hello, love! I was so excited to hear from you; you CANNOT imagine how thrilled I was to find out it was you. I honestly did a little dance around my computer screen. (I don't think my parents were so happy though...I'm surprised they didn't throw me in an institution.) I keep meaning to look up your stories, by the way, and review some more, but my life has been so busy. It's the weekend now, though, so I should be able to work on it. At least, I'm crossing my fingers. Okay, back to your review. I did really take your suggestions to heart. Unfortunately, I had already written this chapter and there wasn't any way to make it longer so the breaks made sense, but I wrote a lengthy chapter 6 just for you! And I completely understand what you mean about talking differently...I'm a teenagers still, and rolling with the slang, so it's easier for me to try to keep it modern. (Personally, I like that formal way of speaking...maybe I should adopt it.) Anywho, off to catch up on your wonderful stories! Dum da da dum (personal theme song)!
Alexis: Hey girlie! I honestly have no idea why I'm writing you a note, seeing as I just saw you at school all of three hours ago. And we have established the fact that this is a DARK FIC several times already. But that's okay. We can make up for the depressing-ness in your fic! (We still need to work on that, don't we? You're supposed to email the chapter to me soon so I can proofread it!) Anywho, I still think the proper verb is "give" not "have." Si? (Remember P.E.? Class that is spawn of the Devil?) Right. So review ENCOURAGINGLY this time, or else I'll have to give you lessons. Right. Right right. Er, hugs! Kisses! Talk to you soon!
Slyswn: Hey hey dear! I was happy happy happy to get your review, as per usual. Actually, when I got to your review, it set me to thinking about the D.A. Professor. I originally wasn't really going to include one – you know just little allusions to Prof. Hunch (Nockford, I think, actually) here and there – but I decided that I needed one. Only, I decided (belatedly) that I was going to make the "he" a "she." Not enough female D.A. professors out there. So...in the next chapter, meet Prof. Nockford. Sorry for the (heh heh) confusion. If I really get around to it, I'll repost the chapter. With luck, everyone will forget there ever was a Prof. Hunch. Oh, and as for the "Grinch" (awesome name for Filch...had me cracking up), I'll doubt I'll get around to him. I was referring more to the fact that every character in a story has his/her reasons for acting a certain way. It's my personal opinion that Filch's reasons are very sad. Maybe I'll fit it in there somewhere...
Taintless: Ho there, dahling! (Sorry...just running out of ways to say hi...heh heh heh...) I was blushing furiously when I received your review. It means a lot to me when reviewers say those kinds of things. Aw, shucks. You've got me turning red all over again! Hope you keep reading and dropping those gems of reviews! My grin is honestly still on from it.
Psychotic-Betty: Hi, dear. (I love your name, by the way. Seriously awesome. Would you kill me if I stole it?) I was grinning like a maniac when I read what you wrote me. Seriously. Now that I wrote an outline (thanks Lorett!) the pieces are fitting together really nicely. I was so happy to hear that someone thought the same! Your review gave me that little boost of confidence (and encouragement) that I really needed to hear...especially right then. Kisses!
Everyone else who's reading and not reviewing: Thanks for stopping by. There's still a little button down there though, who's begging for some attention.
Kisses to everyone!Alison