A/N: Hey, sorry I took so long! Had a truckload of real life demanding my attention, which then also killed my inspiration :( Hope this chapter isn't compromised in any way.
Chapter 12: Anticipation
"My sources tell me that the Mudblood, Granger has been visiting your dungeons nightly for about ten weeks now, Severus. Explain."
He kept his head down, his blood running cold in his veins. "The girl has expressed an interest in the Dark Arts to me, my lord. I have taken her under my wing and gained some measure of her trust. As of now, I am waiting for an opportunity to turn her to our side." He paused as a ripple went through the circle of dark-garbed people around them, and waited for the mumbling to subside before continuing. "I thought she would make an excellent addition to our ranks, my lord, in spite of her heritage. Her friendship with Potter will, I believe, prove invaluable to us." He stopped again, injecting a note of regret into his voice. "I should have known my lord will find out sooner or later. I had meant for her induction to be a surprise for you."
Voldemort threw back his head and laughed a harsh sibilant rasp that would have made him wince, had he not mastered the reaction long ago. He had learnt years before that something as small as shifting your weight from one foot to the other would earn one a few bouts of Cruciatus and a thorough thrashing from his fellow Death Eaters. "Not for nothing are you in my inner circle, boy. Strike at the first opening, do not allow her any room for doubt, you understand?"
He inclined his head in acquiescence. "My lord is always wise."
At the lazy wave of dismissal, he kissed the hem of his erstwhile master's robes and backed into his customary position within the circle, fighting the urge to spit on the ground.
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"Severus!" He closed his eyes in a silent groan at the merry call and turned, carefully schooling his expression into one of polite curiosity.
Lucius Malfoy strode towards him, the other Death Eaters milling about in the hall parting easily to make way for him. "Leaving so soon?"
"I must return to Hogwarts before the old fool misses me, Lucius, or I will lose my position, sneaking out on a school night."
"No, no, wouldn't want that, would we?" The blonde man slapped him heartily on the back. "I was just curious, back at the meeting, you did say that you have Potter's mudblood taking lessons from you on the sly?" When Snape nodded in affirmation, he leant in closer. "I wonder..."
He let his lip curl in apparent revulsion. "I do not associate with Gryffindors in the bedroom, Lucius. And besides, I am her teacher, and expected to protect her innocence, not take it. One word of this reaches the Headmaster and I will be out of the wretched school faster than you say 'Muggleborn'."
"True," he admitted, a devious smile creeping across his face. "But...speaking from experience, virgins, especially, form an emotional attachment to their'first', as the Muggles so aptly put it."
"Seduction is not the only way to gain a girl's trust."
"No, but it is one of, if not the, most effective ways, don't you think?" He glanced at the antique grandfather clock in the hall. "Dear me, I think you really ought to go now. Say hello to the girl for me, will you?"
He mustered a sneer to mask the disgust roiling within him and took his cloak from a trembling house-elf, Apparating from the Malfoy Manor to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Looking up, he easily located Dumbledore's window, lighted from within. An eternal beacon in the darkness that shrouded him perpetually.
Feeling the faintest lightening in his heart, he crossed the grounds and slipped in noiselessly through the castle doors, heading for his employer's office.
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Her heightened senses detected the faint footfalls and before she knew it, she had spun and launched a throwing knife at the opening door.
With lightning-fast reflexes, her Watcher dodged the projectile. It sailed into the wooden doorframe, right where his neck had been a mere second ago. "I would have complimented you on your skill, girl, if your knife hadn't been aimed at me."
She clapped her hand over her mouth in horror, feeling her face flush with embarrassment. Damn! She had nearly killed her Watcher! "Oh Gods! I...I'm so sorry, Professor! I—"
"That would be quite enough," he snapped, closing the door behind him. "I have no desire to aggravate the headache I'm having."
She was ready to apologise further when she noticed the long black cloak slung over one arm. Oh. Oh. That would explain the decrease in his already-low tolerance. Instead, she tried a tentative query. "Are...you all right?"
He followed her line of sight to the garment he had tossed over a chair, his mouth quirking into a bitter mockery of a smile. "My well-being is of no consequence to this war whatsoever, but thank you for your concern, Miss Granger."
"Was...was it bad?"
Oh yes, just wonderful. The Dark Lord has spies in this school. But he feigned indifference. "It was...tolerable." At her disbelieving look, he elaborated, "Not as bad as it could have been."
She tilted her head at him, noting the fatigue in the lines around his eyes and mouth. "I'm glad you're back."
The raw honesty in her statement caught him somewhat off guard. Sliding a mask over his surprise, as he was so often used to doing, he returned gruffly, "Finish your exercises and lock up the room. I am too tired to oversee your training for tonight."
"Good night, sir."
He nodded tersely and exited the room, feeling her eyes on his back as well as a lingering sense of unease.
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"Why the glum face?" Draco asked as she settled into a chair opposite him at the large table in their common room.
"You would be glum too if you nearly eviscerated your Watcher with a throwing knife."
He stared at her, his jaw threatening to come unhinged. "You threw something at Professor Snape? Are you insane?"
She flicked an irritated glance his way as she flipped her Ancient Runes textbook open. "I didn't mean to, all right? When I got to the training room, he wasn't there, so I decided to have a go with those knives...and when he came in, I thought he was an intruder and so..." She trailed off, shrugging in chagrin as his shoulders shook in silent mirth. "It's not funny!" she said stridently. "I could have killed him!"
"But he is still alive and kicking, Hermione, so stop agonising over your humiliation." He turned the last of his laughter into a coughing fit, but could not resist taking a last dig at her. "Besides, Slayers are known for their 'hit first, talk later' approach. I'm sure Dumbledore won't blame you."
At her murderous look, he held up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Fine, fine, I'll stop."
"You'd better," she muttered into her Runes translation. "Or you will find yourself hexed six ways to Sunday one of these days."
At that juncture, the door opened, and in trampled Harry and Ron, loaded with their textbooks.
"Well, well, isn't this cosy. Mind if we join?" inquired Ron cheerfully.
Shooting them a half-exasperated, half-affectionate look, Hermione moved her things to make space for them. "If you three are going to gab about Quidditch and things irrelevant to homework, I shall see to it that you land outside the portrait entrance in utmost indignity."
"Yes, Your Royal Bossiness," Harry returned with a sarcastic bow, drawing chuckles from the others present.
They fell into a pattern after that, the boys coming up to study with the Head Boy and Girl every night until fatigue drove them into bed, and Draco came to look forward to that time every day, treasuring the easy, informal atmosphere that left him free to act as he saw fit, never failing to warm his heart.
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Dumbledore stood at his window, admiring the sheen of moonlight on the sprawling lawns of the school grounds. A few metres away, Fawkes the phoenix sat placidly on his perch, pecking at a dish of herbs set before him.
Sensing his master's state of mind, he looked up and gave a soft comforting trill. He was troubled, as he always was these days.
The wizard turned and bestowed a half-hearted smile at his familiar. "Thank you, my fine friend, but you cannot help me with this, as much as I wish you could."
The bird tilted his head, regarding him with his beady gaze, as though he was trying to prove his master wrong.
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Hermione closed her diary, looking at the position of the sickle moon in the night sky. In two days, it would become the dark of the moon.
She shivered involuntarily at that thought, remembering that it was the best time to perform malevolent magic. And ironically, it was also her birthday.
Here, she half-smiled, thinking of birthdays past. Ron would probably give her some sort of sweets that her parents would stridently disapprove of, and Harry just might find some useful book with Ginny's help. And Snape?
She gave an un-ladylike snort, earning her a glare of consternation from the feline grooming himself in a chair. The devil would be ice-skating if Snape started handing out presents.
All the same, she mused, it would be nice, as always. Her friends will fuss over her for the whole day, making up for the absence of her parents. Becoming a legal adult was an added plus point, too.
Hearing the gravelly chime of the grandfather's clock herald the time, she sighed softly and placed her diary in a drawer, locking it up with a key on a chain around her neck. Running her hand over her familiar's fur, she went to prepare for bed.
A/N: I know this is a little short, but I'm having another case of writer's block :S I think the next chapter will be somewhat more meaty, if not longer. After all, quantity is not a guarantee of quality, is it? Also, the next chapter may be my last in a long time. Gotta take time off to concentrate on my studies (pfffbt) I'll see you all in the next chapter. Ciao!
Hayley: Hehe, glad that old adage made you laugh: ) Hope you like this chapter too!
cutekitty: Thanks! Sorry I took so long to update.
FanfictionDreamer: Thanks! Hope this chappie is to your liking!
Angel-wingzz: Ron or Draco? Draco or Ron? You'll just have to read on, darling! And about the slaying, I think it'll make an appearance in the next few chapters :)