I'm really sorry for the delay on this chapter folks. Between being sick, not being able to upload to fanfiction and then my bloody internet was knocked out for days I have not been able to get much luck in upload time. This time though I will keep my fingers crossed!
Once again I apologize. I will be placing my thank you notes at the bottom of my chapters from now on.
Sirius watched as Harry ran down the hallway and into a doorway near the end. He couldn't help himself and started to curse loudly while he hit the wall with his fist and feet.
"Bloody hell!" He cursed loudly. "Ordered around like a damn dog." He grumbled as he resigned himself and went back to his charge.
Insecurities couldn't help but set into him. So familiar were the feelings, so much like the helplessness he felt while cooped up in Azkaban. The people he loved back then killed and in danger and he couldn't do anything about it. The frustration that he felt while caught in the veil resurfaced. So many times he had tried and tried to get in contact with those he loved and time and time again he was let down. Only she was the one that was able to help him.
She, the woman he now freely admitted to himself that he loved deeply. She, the one that was too intelligent, too young, too beautiful for him to deserve and yet it was him that she seemed to have chosen. Luck, so many times James and Remus accused him of having it in spades and it wasn't believed by him until he lay replete and sweaty beside her. Now she was in trouble, his love, his Hermione and he was tied down like a dog and is unable to help save her.
He sighed and let his head fall forward against the wall. Sirius turned towards Colin and walked over to him, lowering himself to his knees so he could check the man out. His wounds had been healed to the best of his wandless abilities, but he wasn't able to heal him completely. The healing draft that Harry had given to Colin though appeared to be working and the man's complexion was looking far less unhealthy.
Sirius lifted his hands and looked down at them. It was the first time he really noticed the blood on them. His gaze drifted down to his clothing and he smoothed his palms over the damp cloth that pressed against his skin. So much blood and not a stitch of it was his own. Colin had lost a lot, and most of it seemed to have managed to get onto his clothes. Clothes, thinking of the garments suddenly triggered something in his mind. "The cloak!" He suddenly stood up and ran up the stairs.
Draco and Ginny turned to head down the stairwell, leaving Hailey to watch as Severus, Ron and Harry tried to break through the wards that had been cast on the compound doors. The two of them walked in silence, but each of their minds were racing on the events of the night and the person they were with. Neither dared to break the silence though as they stepped into the hallway of the second floor.
Ginny couldn't help but gasp at the sight that greeted them. Bodies and blood lay strewn about them. Ginny didn't know why but her mind brought up a scene she had once seen in a muggle movie called. Hermione had lauded the movie as being one of the greats in horrors and Ginny was fascinated by it as well as scared witless. The scene that came to her mind replayed vividly, as it was always one that disturbed her the most in the movie. The elevator doors opened and waves of blood poured out of them, filling the hallways. Perhaps it had disturbed her the most knowing that it was like a metaphor in some ways. So much death, pouring from the bowels of the building as if to purge itself of it and yet it was like a torrent as if wanting to sweep everyone up into it. Her eyes flickered to the elevator for a moment, almost expecting it to open and spew out the dark fluid so that it would take her and Draco away to add it to the numbers of the dead within its walls.
Ginny felt the urge to laugh suddenly as her mind shifted gears to try and remember the movie's title. As if the title of a movie was more important than the fact that dead bodies surrounded her at that very moment. Perhaps it was a way to cope, she wondered silently.
Draco was familiar with the sight of the hallway. War was never a clean thing, and even a wizard's war could be bloody. His tenure as a spy for the order placed him in many situations where death was kind to the victims of Voldemort's deatheaters. He was worried for Ginny though, not sure what she had seen in her past. Being a year behind the rest of the gang meant that she had not been as involved in the dealings with the order and the upcoming war. Her family though had been immersed in it and so not a lot of details would have escaped her. Draco knew that Ginny was a clever witch, not as book smart as Hermione but she was clever in a more Slytherin way. Cunning, that would be the way that Draco would describe her. Cunning and beautiful.
Draco took Ginny's arm and felt her jump at the contact. She turned to him and gave him an uneasy smile. He smiled back to her to try and reassure her and the two of them wandered down the hallway to the doorway that Sirius should be waiting.
When they entered the room there was only a man laying on the floor in front of him. Blood covered his clothing and his clothes were almost torn to shreds. The two of them concluded quietly to themselves that the next fullmoon would see a new werewolf in its ranks. When they walked farther into the room Draco noticed that Ginny was starting to get agitated.
"What's wrong Gin?" He asked.
"Where is he? There is so much blood…where is he?" Ginny couldn't help herself, panic was starting to set in as all that surrounded her started to sink in completely.
Suddenly a sound caught their attention and when both of them looked up the stairs they saw Sirius leaning against the banister, hunched over and covered in blood.
"Dear Merlin!" Ginny exclaimed and immediately she ran up the stairs, racing towards Sirius. When she reached him the look of surprise on the man's face went unnoticed as Ginny started to inspect his body. Her delicate hands reached up under his shirt, lifting it so that she could run her palms over his skin. When reason finally hit him he lifted his arms and let his hands grip her upper arms, halting her from her inspection.
"Ginny, I'm ok." He said softly to her. "It isn't my blood."
"Oh Sirius!" She sobbed and pulled him into a hug. Sirius chuckled softly and pulled back after a minute.
"I'm ok kid." He said with a smile while his finger lightly brushed down the length of her nose. "But thanks for caring about me. How about you and the others?" He asked.
"Severus, Ron and Harry are all upstairs with Hailey." She paused for a moment. "They took Hermione out of the building and Marcus set up wards on the door. The guys are working on them now."
Sirius growled and his fist hit the banister hard enough that it shivered violently. "Dammit! I need to get up there and help."
"I know Sirius, we are here to help you." Ginny said in a reassuring tone.
Draco had watched as Ginny ran up to Sirius and the moment her hands started to roam around the man's body he felt something that was utterly alien to him. He wondered if blisters would form on his skin at any moment, for his blood felt like molten lava coursing through his veins. His jaw clenched tightly and his hands balled up into fists.
This feeling, so unlike others that he had felt in the past. He had known love, sadness, anger and even envy, but this feeling was so different. Jealousy, who would have thought he, Draco Malfoy, would ever get jealous of another man? It was supposed to be him that men got jealous of, not the other way around. Yet there he was, standing like a complete idiot at the bottom of the stairs while he looked up to see the woman he cared for concerned about another.
He watched as Sirius grabbed Ginny and spoke quietly with her. They looked so intimate in that moment and then to top it off he watched as Sirius ran a finger down Ginny's nose. That beautiful nose that had a smattering of freckles upon it and a delicate slope that had made Draco want to do the very same thing and had held back. Ginny spoke once more and then suddenly the man violently smashed his fist down on the banister.
The moment he had seen the man's hand in motion, Draco himself set into motion. He was halfway up the stairs when he realized why Sirius had reacted the way he did. Ginny's reassuring tone not only helped Sirius, but Draco's nerves as well. He stood there on the landing of the steps and watched the two above him.
"If we go now Black you could help with those wards and perhaps get us out of here faster." Draco stated from his position. Sirius gave him an intense look before leaning forward to whisper something in Ginny's ear. Draco wanted to lunge again as he saw Sirius twirl his finger through the young witch's hair.
"He likes you." Sirius whispered to her and Ginny blushed and chuckled softly. She felt Sirius playing with her hair and knew immediately what he was up to. She spoke softly to him. "And I like him."
Sirius pulled away and looked at Ginny for a moment before he nodded his assent. Sirius knew if Draco liked Ginny then his previous jealousy of the relationship between Hermione and Draco could be quelled. The two had been an item once before Sirius was released from the veil, and ever since he had learned of it Sirius couldn't help but be intensely jealous. Of course he couldn't resist making Draco upset though and knew that at any moment the man would snap into a jealous rage.
"Let's go." Sirius said suddenly and walked swiftly down the stairs and as he passed Draco he spoke. "We will need to carry him upstairs with us." He motioned towards Colin with his hand. Draco nodded with his mouth tightly clenched and the two men lifted the unconscious one up off the floor, placing his arms around their shoulders. Colin's feet dragged on the floor as they walked out of the room with Ginny trailing behind them.
Hermione had to admit, Marcus was indeed a fit man. He was still carrying her, refusing to let her down onto the ground to walk on her own. Kept telling her that she would slow them down with all her bitching about how sore her feet would be. She figured he was just getting his jollies carrying her seeing as he could just transfigure a pair of shoes for her.
Her eyes went to Hailey who looked scared and tired as she tried to keep up with Malcolm's pace. The poor young witch had been through hell and it seemed that just when hope had arrived, it had been dashed from them both. She prayed it wouldn't take long for the wards to come down and that they would be rescued. The collar around her neck had crippled her, but she had learned a few things in her past about surviving without magic.
Shortly after her parents had been killed she had managed to escape the clutches of the deatheaters. Forced to go into hiding she had been unable to use her magic for fear of anyone tracking her. The ministry used to be a den for deatheater spies and her being underage would have triggered all sorts of alarms. It was during this time she had experienced an adventure all on her own, and had come out better for it. Always wanting to learn new things had pushed her to learn hand to hand combat. Her teacher had been skilled in several different arts, along with the ever important art of fighting dirty. So it was without a doubt that Hermione could have gotten herself out of the situation she was in, but she was not alone. Hailey was a factor that Hermione would not gamble with, and so there she was, being carried by a man that made her want to spew.
The bushes swished as they moved past them, twigs snapped as they were trod upon and the night was silent except for the heavy panting of the group as they moved swiftly. Where was this car that Marcus had mentioned? Hermione thought to herself. Would they reach it before anyone else could reach them? She hoped not.
It was dark in the woods, but the moon lit up the area surrounding them enough to see where they were going. Suddenly the silence was broken as a howl drifted through the night.
"Was that the monster?" Malcolm asked with fear tainting his voice.
"Unless there are wolves around here, then I seriously doubt it would be anything but you nimrod." Marcus growled.
"What the fuck was that thing Flint?" Malcolm asked as he yanked Hailey causing her to cry out softly.
"Werewolf." Marcus stated and the silence that followed was enough to keep Malcolm from asking anymore questions.
Bushes moved off in the distance and Marcus stopped dead to listen. Malcolm walked forward a few steps before realizing Marcus had stopped and turned to complain but his voice never got a chance when a dark figure leapt and sent him sprawling to the ground with a cry. His screams filled the night as did Hailey's when she saw the werewolf close to her.
"Run Hailey!" Hermione yelled out as she struggled in Marcus's arms, throwing him off balance somewhat before she raised her hands and boxed him soundly on his ears. He cried out loudly and lifted his hands to his ears, dropping Hermione onto the ground with a resounding thud. She tried to roll away but was pinned down to the ground by a paw that thumped down onto her back.
Remus growled at Marcus, threatening the man but not moving from his position now that he had the female pinned. This time he would not be thwarted, no matter what happened around him he would claim his mate.
moonyNZ – heh the hell dog thing was a last minute addition to the chapter and I'm glad you liked it. As for Hailey..I tried to make it as clear as possible, but I knew people would probably get confused by it. As for who it is, no it hasn't been mentioned but I have a feeling people are along the right track with their thoughts.
JTBJAB – heh heh poor Remus getting cheered on for slaughtering people. Bad people albeit, but you know he is going to feel like crap in the morning. Imagine the morning breath one would have after an all night killing spree. ;)
towelgirl – I suspect I will have lots of fun tormenting poor Remus about the werewolf mate thing when the time comes. (cue evil laughter here) lol I'm thrilled that you have been enjoying the story so far and I hope that I can keep it just as exciting for you!
dancing in rain – I think your internet gave my internet something! Just like you got ill and then I got ill. Heh funny how these things happened to both of us so close together. Lol. As usual, thank you hun for everything!
lee74 – I have a feeling our little imposter is going to have a fun time sabatoging things in the future. Just how far will she go though to get what she wants? Hehehe Thanks so much for your review!
Raspberri13 – How happy am I to hear that I can uplift a day such as that! Thank you so much for the review. I love them all whether they are long or short, and I always take suggestions and ideas so don't ever hesitate to leave any.
Elbereth Gilthoniel – Please be alive still! I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long. I feel horrible about it, and I pray that the next chapter will not take as long to get out this time. Thanks bunches for your review!
readingfreak997 – hehehehe, here is another cliffie for ya! Lol thanks for the review!
Mai Gamit – Thank you so much for the review! I love reading them!
Dark Me – What part of Canada you going to be visiting? I'm positive you will enjoy it no matter where you go, I love this country and there is so much to see and do here. Thanks so much for the review!
magicrules – Thank you very much. I hope this wasn't too long for you for an update. I try to do them often, but this has been my longest time off to date.
Tabitha Berkley – Wow, I'm honoured that you like my writing style so much. I'm not a pro by any means, but I enjoy taking my thoughts and putting them down in a way that others can picture what is in my head. It saves my brain from being such a cluttered entity that is filled with all sorts of twisted things evil things that I can foist onto unsuspecting characters. Mwahahahahaha
Mara342 – Yes the polyjuice potion is rather disturbing really if you think about it. So many twisted opportunities for those that wish to do evil. Who would know if you were really with your real friend or lover? Evilness abounds with that potion. Hehehe Of course I'm not evil by any means. (smiles innocently) Thanks so much for your review! I always love new readers!
bookxluver – Thank you so much for your review!
Remus Gurl – I always love hearing from you hun! Thank you so much for your review and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last!