Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, he and all characters associated with him belong to J.K. Rowling. Also "Aliens" and "Predator" belong to 20th Century Fox. All of the Predator lore and vocabulary used was from the novel "Aliens vs. Predator: Prey" by Stephen Perry.
Harry Potter and the Alien Hive
Chapter 16: Dark Hallways
The crew of intrepid young wizards and their new friend carefully made their way down the hallways of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, lit only by the torches and lights from their wands.
"Can't believe we're in this mess." Justin groaned. "Evil bunch of bugs!"
"No Justin, they are not evil." Luna spoke up calmly.
"Really? Then I'd like to know what your definition of evil is." It was Ron who answered, Hermione just rolled her eyes at the prospect of hearing more Luna logic.
"The Black Beasts do what they do because nature designated them to do it. The kill for survival and survival only." Luna spoke in a matter-of-fact voice. "They are no more evil than any other predatory animal, like lion or a bear. More dangerous, yes, more vicious, certainly, but not evil."
"Voldemort is evil, the Death Eaters are evil," Luna noticed Draco stiffen when she mentioned the Death Eaters, but she continued all the same. "because they do what they do for power and sport."
"She has got a point." Hermione said slowly.
"Well if Hermione accepts it, it must be sound." Ginny chuckled.
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Harry let out an exasperated sigh as they came to a hallway lined with windows. This was the kind of hallway where the torches would light and relight only if someone passed by them. At that moment the only light in the hallway was the light of the full moon coming in through the windows.
"The torches will light up as we pass them, but still there are too many dark shadows for the black beasts to hide in." Hermione sounded very irritated. "Even Lumos won't cast enough light for us to see them in time."
"So who wants to go down the creepy hallway first?" Justin Finch-Fletchley folded his arms across his chest.
Prongs stepped past them.
"No, wait," Harry put out his arm. "I got a better idea."
Everyone simultaneously turned around to face Draco. The Slytherin rolled his eyes and walked past them out into the hallway.
"I thought you Gryffindors were suppose to be the brave ones." Draco spat as he began to walk down the hallway. Sure enough the torches relighted themselves as he passed by.
"Brave! Not stupid!" Ron yelled after him.
Draco looked around, seeing if he could spot any black beasts, if they were there. He felt strange. He knew something terrible was eventually going to happen, but some how he did not feel sick like he had before. The young queen must be doing something to his mind to take away his fear.
"Black beasts! Oh black beasts, are there?" Draco spoke as if he were reciting a nursery rhyme.
Luna giggled and Ginny snickered.
"Got to admit he's pretty funny when he wants to be." Ginny chuckled, which got her a dirty look from Ron.
"Well I don't see anything," Draco called from the end of the hallway. "Are you going to come out of your scared little shells now?"
"I gonna get him." Ron muttered.
"Just wait till get what we want okay?" Harry whispered back as they walked out into the hallway.
Everyone quickly jogged to Draco's position. Fortunately the next hallway was well lit.
"You forget after awhile how weird this place can be." Ginny chuckled.
"Strange how some place that seems so much like home, has become a place of danger and deception." Luna gazed at the torches as they passed by.
"Yeah." Harry breathed out.
Luna turned her head to Draco. "You were brave to go out into that hallway."
"Huh?" Draco looked back at her slightly confused.
"Even though you were immune, they could have recaptured you. You were brave."
Draco paused, unsure how to respond. "Thank you."
"Are you all right?" Luna walked up alongside him.
"Fine." Draco answered shortly.
"What happened back there?" Luna tilted her head.
"I......I don't know." Draco whispered, looking down at the floor.
"Is she controlling you?" Luna gestured to the Slytherin's chest.
"N-No, I-I just lost myself for a moment." Draco said.
"Oh I understand. Sometime in scary situations I like to pretend I am something I am not. I pretend I am the bravest person in the world." Luna spoke in soft dreamy voice.
"No it wasn't anything like that. Just for a moment the beast spoke to me."
"What did she say?" Luna smiled curiously.
"You said the beast called to you. What did she say?"
"She just said 'come with us.' That was all. But it more than what she said. Her call seemed inviting, warm," Draco's eyes stared straight ahead, but he wasn't looking at anything. "like being welcomed by someone you love very much."
"Ah I see now why you would want to follow. If everyone behaved so coldly to me as they do to you, I know I would follow warm, welcoming company, even if they were black beasts."
Draco was stunned silent. She wasn't going to take advantage of him letting his guard down? He looked into her eyes, for once someone stared at him empathy and understanding, not fear, disgust, or pity.
"Maybe so, but," Draco took a deep breath. "Thank you for pulling me back."
"You're welcome." Luna answered cheerfully.
Draco felt a small smile tug at his lips.
Just ahead Ron made a face and whispered to Harry, "Look at her. She's talking to ferret face like he was an old friend. No wonder she's called Loony."
Unfortunately for Ron, the snide remark was not lost on the blond-haired Slytherin. Draco felt a sudden, terrible rage rise up inside. He hungered for the taste of blood and bone. He wanted to bear his teeth and tear the Weasel apart. However, he settled for turning Ron around and punching him across the jaw.
"Don't you dare say anything ill of Luna!" Draco snarled, his teeth clenched, and his fingers curled at his sides. However his hands did not ball into fists, instead palm and finger tip remained separated, as Draco would do if his fingernails extended into claws.
Everyone stared at the Slytherin in shock, not so much that he had hit Ron but because he had done it to defend someone else. Prongs, as usual, looked indifferent, though his body did seem more tense than usual.
"It's all right Draco." Luna spoke softly putting a hand on his shoulder. " I'm used to people calling me Loony, it no longer hurts me."
Ron's face looked a little guilt ridden that she had heard what he had said.
Draco relaxed considerably, but still looked as if he wanted to kill Ron.
"Oh he didn't really mean it Luna. He just gets mean and cranky when he's stressed and scared." Ginny offered up apologetically.
"I do not! OW!" Ron shouted as he jumped to his feet, but his jaw still stung from Draco's punch.
Suddenly a burst of screeches and snarls echoed from the corner at the end of the hallway.
"Guys! Guys look!"
Unbeknownst to anyone, Neville had moved to the end of the hallway and was looking around the next corner.
"Now, there's a sight I never believed I would see." Justin said smiling as he walked up behind Neville, followed by the others. "But I'm glad to see it."
At the other end of the hallway from where they were standing was Peeves tormenting three of the black beasts. The Poltergeist seemed to be taking great pleasure at dropping paint filled water balloons on the beasts. His cackles were beginning to be heard over the beasts' screeches.They may have had no eyes, but they apparently could hear and pinpoint where Peeves was. The creatures tried in vain to pierce him with their tails, claw and bite him.
IT was quite a funny site to the black frightening beasts splattered with neon pink, yellow, orange, blue and green.
When he had only two balloons left Peeves blew a raspberry at the black beasts then cackle d and disappeared through a wall, balloons in hand.
The beasts snarled and charged the wall, their combined weight made the wall come crashing down. They chittered and disappeared through the hole.
"I wonder." Said Luna, as everyone began laughing.
The Ravenclaw girl took off at a run following where the black beasts had gone.
"Luna?!" Draco called after her, but when she kept running and disappeared beyond the hole in the wall, he took to follow her.
Draco crossed through a room and out an identical hole on the other side and stepped out into another hallway. He caught a glimpse of her disappearing around a corner, he began to pursue at a sprint. He almost reached the corner when he felt a sharp pain sear his chest. He couldn't breath, he stopped and fell against the wall closest to him. His breath returned after a seconds and the pain subsided, and he breathed like anyone else after sprinting.
"Luna." Draco coughed between breaths.
Luna did not respond, but someone else did.
"Please don't do that again. It's rather uncomfortable."
"What?" Draco opened his eyes and looked around. All he could see was the group running toward him.
"You woke me. I was having a nap. Your running jostles me around and it's very uncomfortable."
"Oh God, I'm losing my mind." Draco whispered to himself.
"No you're not. Remember the message I sent you? The bond?"
"Draco?!" Harry and the hunter ran up to him. The hunter continued on pass them to the corner. "What happened? Where's Luna?"
"She..... She's gone..... I couldn't keep up. She's gone......." Draco gasped, clutching his chest.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked quickly.
Draco knew Harry wasn't asking out of concern for him, but concern about the young queen being born.
"Yes." Draco's answer came out barely above a whisper.
."I don't understand, why did she run off?" Ginny asked worriedly to no one in particular.
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Hermione Granger wasn't sure why she slowed down to walk along side Draco Malfoy.
Maybe it was just her instincts of feeling some sorrow for someone having a terrible time off it.
"What do you want Granger?" Draco's voice lacked the usual sneer instead it sounded dead and exhausted.
"How are you doing?" She asked gently.
"I feel like I have a brick in my chest. An exploding brick. Any other of my miseries you want to hear about?" Draco spat.
"You shouldn't be so rude to people who are trying to be nice to you." Ginny Weasely snapped.
"Ginny don't." Hermione hissed worriedly. A comment like that was enough to provoke Draco into lashing out. In fact he did just that.
"Ever the angel of forgiveness, aren't you, Hermione?" Ginny teased, making Hermione's cheeks turn pink.
"She's got more manners than you do, but that's no surprise considering who you are, " Malfoy snapped.
"Don't you ever talk to my sister like that, ferret!" Ron shouted, storming up to the Slytherin Prince.
"Oh how sweet, the big Weasel come to defend the little one." Draco sneered.
"Please stop." Hermione begged.
Ron ignored Hermione completely. "Well at least I wasn't fool enough to get myself caught and infected!"
"Ron!" Hermione shouted looking shocked, even Ginny winced slightly for her brother's comment was harsher than anything she expected. However, Ron didn't look the least bit sorry.
The sneer-smirk immediately fell from Draco's face, but what replaced it was the look everyone least expected. It was a look of hurt. The look someone has when they still look angry, but are trying also hold back a waterfall of tears.
Draco turned his back on the group, but everyone could see his shoulders shaking.
"What?" Ron said in response to Hermione's accusatory look. "He got what he deserved after all he put us through. And even now he's still a jerk!"
"Well how do you expect me to be!' Draco turned around, tears of rage pouring down his face. "I'm a dead man do you realize!?"
"You got what you deserved after all the hell you put us through!" Ron shouted back rageful tears appearing at the corner of his eyes.
"That's enough!" Harry's angered voice rose above everyone else. Prongs calmly stopped walking.
"Listen to me! What we are dealing with here is bigger than all of us, Gyrffindor and Slytherin, Muggleborns and Purebloods, rich or poor, the black beasts will not discriminate. If they get past those barriers, then everyone dies and all of this nonsense you think is so important, you can just kiss all of that goodbye! "
"And you better just start dealing with it because I'm sick and tired of this petty bullshit!"
Everyone, with the exception of Prongs, stared at Harry in shock. They had never heard Harry swear before.
"Good words Potter." Draco quickly dried his and regained his composure; berating himself inside for losing it a moment ago. "But why should I care what happens to everyone else if I am doomed already."
Harry sighed, but for the first time it was not out of exasperation, Draco had brought up a fair point.
"Look Draco," Harry's voice had calmed considerably, it was still serious, but it did not have the edge of anger it had displayed before. "Our only chance for survival is if we work together. If you help us survive this we will do whatever we can to help you. Maybe if we survive long enough to meet up with Dumbledore I know he can help you."
Draco drooped his head, and looked away. "The way he helped your godfather."
The other students gasped. Harry didn't like anyone talking about is godfather in such a way. This surely be the last straw for Harry's temper.
Harry felt a lump of rage rise in his throat, but if he was going to get the others to do as he asked, he would have to set the example. So he bit his tongue and swallowed his rage.
"That was different. He was killed by humans then." Harry spoke in an even voice that sounded very strain.
Draco looked at Harry, and slowly he nodded silently in agreement all the same. It was his only chance.
"And that goes for all of you!" Harry turned to the others, his voice rising up once again. "We must put all rivalries, and pasts aside. I know it will be hard, but it's the only way if we want to live."
The other slowly nodded and began to press on. As Draco past Harry grabbed his and hissed in his ear in a tone that sent shivers down the Slytherin's spine.
"Don't ever talk about my godfather again!"
Harry once again took the lead position of the group with Prongs.
Kat'ja was impressed. Even though he knew not what exactly the oomans were saying, it was obvious that there had once again been dissent in the ranks of the clan. However, this time Rry'ha seem to fully take control. Even the infected ooman who had over and over again challenged Rry'ha bowed his head in submission. Rry'ha was earning is name more and more all the time.
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Nyuki watched the Draco, the name of the host according to the young queen, walk in amongst the other prey. The young queen, though old enough to "speak," was far from ready to emerge. Until she was ready, it was Nyuki's task to watch over the Draco and make sure it stayed safe and well.
She growled to herself when her sight fell on the yautja beast walking just ahead. Twice now it had threatened the life of the young queen. It made her blood boil, and her teeth yearn to bite into its flesh.
She heard a call from one of her sisters not far from her location. Apparently more humans had entered their domain. Either way this alerted the prey and caused them to run in the direction they were headed.
The Draco lagged behind and stopped at the edge of a corner the others disappeared around. She watched it clutch the area on its body where just under the flesh the young queen resided. Nyuki inched forward. Maybe she could recapture it, take it away from the prey, some place safe. She stopped when the Draco turned it's face up to her direction.
Draco gasped, waiting for the pain to subside. It always happened when he ran. The young black beast inside him was already cutting down on his lung capacity.
Do not fret. There are many friends around you. There is one close by, now.
Draco looked up to his right. All he could see were dark shadows in the corners of the hallway.
"Don't be afraid." Draco's voice dripped with sarcasm. "After all I'm part of the family."
To Draco's surprise he heard very soft clicking sounds as he saw the shadow in the right corner begin to elongate. Then as it neared the light a black shape separated itself from the larger shadow and crawled closer to Draco.
It was that same one! The one from the kitchen. The one that had called to him in the Gryffindor common room. The Quidditch necklace still hung around its neck. He suddenly felt that same warmth and ambiance of companionship he had felt before when this beast had called to him in the common room.
"Figure life. I feel more welcomed by you monsters than my fellow human beings." Draco smirked and sighed. He knew the beast could understand him, he was a parselmouth after all. A secret only a select few knew about.
"Why do you call me that?"
"Because you're using me for nothing more than an incubator."
"It is an honor to host the new queen."
"Really? Well it's to bad too dead to enjoy it." Draco spat.
"You do not want to give life to the new queen?"
"Not if it means me dying! I'm young! I've hardly done anything with my life. I'm just a child. Like she is."
"You are a child? But you live independently."
"No I don't. I do what my father tells me to do." Draco paused as a disheartening realization hit him. "And nothing more. Ever."
"Is that not what you are supposed to do?" Nyuki tilted her head, confused.
"No, I'm human we don't live like that. We can't live like that."
"Why?"
"Because we can't talk to each other like you can. We can't know each other like you can. Sometimes we don't even know ourselves."
"I don't understand." confusion radiated heavily from Nyuki.
Surprisingly Draco felt himself chuckle. "Neither do I."
Draco stared at the creature for a moment then slowly reached up and placed a hand on the creature's smooth forehead just in front of the ridges that adorned the rest of its skull..
No wonder that oaf Hagrid collected dangerous creatures. What a rush it is to be in control of one. Draco thought as he petted the black beast's head.
"Draco?!"
He heard Potter's voice call from around the corner. Obviously they had finally discovered he was missing.
"Go! They'll kill you if you stay!" Draco hissed a loud whisper at the black beast in front of him.
The beast quickly slipped back into the shadows just as Prongs followed closely by Harry rounded the corner.
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Well here's chapter 16. A little later than I said, but Christmas kind of got in the way, and a good Christmas it was.
Again this chapter was character development chapter. On the portrayal of Ron, I'm not trying to make him out to be the bad guy here, (like some fanfictions do particularly the pro-Draco ones), it's just at this point in time Ron has a lot of anger towards Draco bottled up inside, and he's so high strung right now (what with Seamus and Dean killed in front of him and his little sister still in the danger zone) he's cracking up and letting loose all of that anger. Draco's high strung too so he's losing his composure as well, plus with the knowledge that he's doomed to die (what with being infected and all) he's shedding a lot of his cowardice.
On Nyuki and the other aliens, I'm so glad I'm finally able to express my opinion of the Aliens, a.k.a the speech Luna gave. I've always had a little sympathy for them. They are the ones thrust into the situations we see in the movies. In AVP the Predators put them there for the sole purpose of hunting, and in the Aliens movies the humans go them, they're just trying to live and survive like any other beast. For Nyuki, though she's a creature that is a killing machine, she has a child's innocence of all of the intrigues of ethics and morals, and killing for anything other than food.
Next chapter we'll see what happens to Luna, and see what Hikate and Ajka are up too.
Please Review!
Till Next Time.
-Vega Sailor