Emperor of Slytherin 9

"Well, this is a fine mess you got us in!" Draco accused as he ran between the trees of the Dark Forest, Hermoine at his side. The blonde's heart beat rapidly in his chest and he could feel sweat running down the center of his back. Normally he'd never enter the Forest of his own free will but it was either that or get killed by the mutant crab that stupid oaf had released from the giant crate. Tripping over an unseen root poking up from the damp soil, Draco stumbled and almost fell to the cold ground. Catching himself on a nearby tree trunk, he swore softly. The rough bark had scraped the skin off his palms and he could feel them burning even in the dark.

"Me? This isn't my fault!" Hermoine replied as she frantically glanced behind them. Like Draco's, her heart pounded within her chest. Without a doubt, this had been the scariest moment in her entire life. She scanned the dark towering silhouettes behind them for any sign of the beast; sure it would be there. But when she didn't see it, she breathed slightly easier. Keeping her eyes glued to the path they had just run, she backed up step by step until she stood next to the Slytherin. "How dare you say this is my fault! How is this my fault?"

"Because it is!" Draco replied matter-of-factly. His thin chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath from the fast sprint he had just been forced to do. Adrenaline still coursed through his veins and he stared wide-eyed at the dark forest around them. "I was running up the hill and would have gotten away! But no, you had to push me down and get my robes all soaked! In case you forgot, it had been raining earlier! Now I'll freeze to death out here or get eaten by werewolves!"

"I bloody saved your life, you ungrateful git!" Hermoine retorted hot-tempered, her brown eyes glaring at him. "That thing was going to spear you! If I hadn't pushed you out of the way, you'd be a shish kabob right now!"

"A shish-what? Granger, would you stop blabbing Muggle stuff?" Tired, he leaned back against the tree's thick trunk and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe it. He was in the Dark Forest, again! And after he had sworn that he'd never ever come in here again. No, that one time First Year was enough. Worst, now he was stuck here with that drat Mudblood! She could talk the ears off any sane person and the way she bossed those two prats around… "I don't care about Muggles, you know that. And that's why people like you will never fit completely into the Wizarding World, even if you read and memorize every book on magic in existence. There's just some things one learns growing up in a magic family…"

Hermoine's eyes narrowed as she stared at him, furious. And to think he had been asking for her help earlier in the day! Well, she'd show him! Reaching out towards him, she laid her hand on his shoulder.

"AAHHHH!" Draco's eyes flew open and he leaped up in the air from sheer fright, positive some horrendous creature had tried to get him. Then his gray eyes landed on Hermoine and his pointed face twisted up in anger. Reaching up, he shoved Hermoine's hand off his shoulder roughly. "What the heck are you trying to do, scare me to death? I thought it was that thing!"

"Admit it, Malfoy! You're scared to be out here!" Hermoine pointed out to him, slightly pleased with herself. The rich Slytherin had been bugging her almost non-stop since First Year and she had never really gotten an opportunity to get back at him. Just last year he had called her that awful name, Mudblood. It had really hurt and she had felt like crying. But now she had the upper hand. "You're scared of the dark!"

"I'm not a baby, Granger! And I'm not scared of the dark! It's just that I have a responsibility to carry on the family name. As the sole heir to the Malfoy fortune, I can't afford to get killed by some freakish monster your dumb friend let loose!" Draco stalked away from the tree he had been leaning on, taking several steps in a random direction. Pausing, he turned to look at her. "Well, what are we supposed to do? Or do you want to stand here and argue all night?"

"Draco …" Hermoine paused, uncertain. She felt bad now about scaring him like that. Normally she'd never do such a cruel thing like that. It had been wrong, a spur of the moment thing. And just because he did low things, that didn't mean it was OK for her to sink to his level. No, she was a Gryffindor! Professor McGonagall would be ashamed to hear how she had frightened him on purpose after they had literally run for their lives, even if it had given her a slight moment of satisfaction.

His gray eyes widened at her sudden use of his first name. "What?"

"I'm sorry I scared you. I shouldn't have done that…" Hermoine admitted as she stared down at the damp earth under her shoes. It felt really odd apologizing to her enemy, if that's what Draco really was. "If it makes you feel better, I was scared, too."

"But you're a Gryffindor…" Draco said, a puzzled look on his pale face. "I thought you and Potter thrived on this sort of stuff, that famous Gryffindor bravery and all…"

"Harry only does what he has to do. He doesn't have a choice. And I help him because it's the right thing to do, even if it's scary and dangerous. We do it to save innocent lives, not for fame like lots of the other students think. Harry couldn't care less about being in the spotlight. He hates it." Hermoine scanned the woods around them, alert and listening for the slightest sound. She closed the distance between the two of them and contemplating comforting him. If it had been Harry or Ron, she would have done it automatically. She'd lean against their body, resting her head on their shoulder or chest while their arms would have wrapped around her. But this was Malfoy and she really didn't know him that well at all. Perhaps Slytherins didn't like to comfort each other? Did they see it as a sign of weakness or did they all just come from families that never hugged or showed signs of warmth?

"So you go and do that stuff even though you're scared?" he asked, a bit surprised. He had always presumed that Gryffindors were just incredibly stupid or that they were fearless. To discover that Potter was most likely quivering in his scuffed-up Muggle shoes while he had been down in the Chamber last year was a revelation. In fact, it made him feel just slightly better. Draco wrapped his arms around his wet clothes and shivered.

"Oh! Let me dry those for you…" Hermoine whipped out her wand and uttered the drying charm before he could protest. A smile appeared on her lips. "You feel better now, don't you?"

Draco stared at her in surprise, but nodded his head. He did feel better and it was due to the Gryffindor. It occurred to him that she could have just as easily hexed him instead of drying his clothes, but she hadn't. Nervously he glanced around at the surrounding trees. It was dark and creepy, but at least the trees were close together. He didn't think that thing could fit in here, but who knows? Maybe it could. It had been awful strong. He thought of heading back to the castle and the safety that represented, but to do that he'd have to cross a large expanse of open ground. That mutant crab, if that's really what the thing was, could be anywhere by now. It could jump on him on the way to Hogwarts and then he'd be done for… "Look, I know this wasn't really your fault. It's that old zombie that brought that thing here…"

Hermoine's faint smile brightened. It was as close to an apology as she'd ever get from him.

"So, what do you think we should do now?" Draco asked her, uncertain himself. He felt torn between staying here and running for the castle. Neither truly was safe.

"Well, I think we should go check on Hagrid, see if he's all right." Hermoine suggested as worry for her big friend chewed at her mind. The big man was one of the kindest people she knew and she couldn't stand the thought of him dying. And if something ever happened to him, it would kill Harry. She just knew it would. Her poor friend would be devastated and there wouldn't be anything they could do. She could just imagine Harry sinking into a bout of depression…

"But that thing is back there!" Draco protested, fear clear in his eyes.

"And you'd rather face the giant spiders?" she asked innocently.

"G-g-iiant sspiiders?" Draco stuttered as he slowly started turning in a circle, his eyes fearfully scanning the ground around them. Then his gaze shifted upward to the trunks of the towering trees. Spiders could cling to almost any surface. They could be anywhere. "W-what giant spiders?"

"The ones Harry and Ron discovered in the Forest last year. They found this huge nest of them…"

The Slytherin inched closer to Hermoine, so close that their shoulders were practically touching. "N-nest?"

"Yes, this huge nest in a hollow. Harry said there must have been at least a thousand of them." Hermoine replied, sure now that Draco would agree to head back to the castle to check on Hagrid. It was a bit manipulative, perhaps, but she couldn't have them stay in the Forest all night. No, it was just too dangerous. Worst, what if they were to actually run across the eight-legged monsters? She knew her two friends had only escaped because they had the Weasley family car. She and Draco wouldn't be that lucky.

His mind made up, Draco gripped her by the wrist and started pulling her through the trees. "What are you waiting for, Granger? Let's get out of here!"

Back at the castle, more trouble was brewing. But then, that almost seemed to be the normal state of affairs at Hogwarts. Several of the Professors had gathered up in Dumbledore's office for a staff meeting. The subject of said meeting was the new student, Palpatine. News of the Aklay had not yet reached their ears nor that two of the students had entered the Forest. If they did, the meeting would have been much noisier. As it was, Professor Snape was making enough noise.

"You should expel him immediately!" Professor Snape suggested strongly, one fist striking the smooth surface of Dumbledore's desk. His greasy black hair swung forward and his eyes were like black coals. "He brought Muggles here, Muggles! That risks the exposure of our world and you know it!"

"Ah, but you forget one thing, Severus. Those Muggles are not from our world." Albus Dumbledore pointed out calmly as he reached for a small tin on his desktop. Gripping it, he pulled the top off and removed a round red-and-white striped disk. After peeling off the wrapper and popping the candy into his mouth, he held the container out towards Snape. "Starlight Mint, Professor?"

"Candy won't solve this problem and you know it!" Severus Snape bellowed, annoyed that the Headmaster would offer sweets at a moment like this.

"And what of the wandless magic?" Minerva McGonagall said in a worried voice, her wrinkled hands held together before her. "Lucius told me he has witnessed Palpatine create lightning from his bare hands! Surely that is nothing to sneeze at, Albus! No wand, no incantation, just his force of will!"

"He's dangerous." Snape agreed as he leaned further over the Headmaster's desk. "Far more dangerous than You Know Who ever was. I want to know what you're going to do about it!"

"From what I hear, Palpatine has saved Mr. Longbottom's life." Dumbledore replied as he sucked on his candy. Leaning back in his chair and sighed. "I cannot do anything until he has breeched a serious rule or has committed a crime. And even in those cases there are valid reasons as you very well know, Severus."

The Potions Professor stood up straight and frowned. "You give Potter and his friends too much leeway when it comes to breaking rules."

"And as for Palpatine, I have already done something about that as you very well know." Dumbledore reminded him.

"You put Lucius in charge and he has run off!" Severus complained. "The last time anyone has seen him was just after Herbology. I have papers to grade, lessons to plan! I cannot spend my time down in the dormitory watching Palpatine! That is Lucius' job!"

"And I'm sure he will be back, Severus. Perhaps he is taking care of something at the moment." Suggested Dumbledore as he leaned forward, a twinkle in his eye. "Are you sure you don't want a candy? I have some wonderful butterscotch disks in my desk drawer.."

"He is a coward!" Severus accused bitterly. "At lunch he was blithering some nonsense about his looks. He has no doubt run off to a Muggle spa to get a facial."

"Now, now, now Severus!" Dumbledore wagged a finger at Snape. "That is no way to speak of your friend."

"Friends do not abandon you." Snape simply replied.

"Now when this is all over, we will all go visit a Muggle spa if it will cheer you up, Severus." The Headmaster smiled.

"I don't want to go to some stupid spa!" Snape bellowed, furious at the mere suggestion.

"But Albus," Professor McGonagall butted in before Snape could start a new argument. "What of the Muggle's flying ship? Even if they are not from this world, other Muggles might have seen it! And they unloaded that crate. Oh, I'm worried what might be inside it! What if it's something that's dangerous to the students?"

Just at that exact moment, the door to Dumbledore's office flew open with a loud bang. Both Snape and McGonagall immediately turned to see who it was. They both gasped as they saw Hagrid. Dirt was smeared on the half-giants face and stone dust was in his thick hair and beard. His dog, Fang, was tucked under one arm and it seemed that he had forgotten that he was even carrying the pooch. His other hand held his giant crossbow. It was obvious he must have ran all the way to Dumbledore's office for sweat dripped down his face and the hair near the crown of his hair was wet with it. His barrel of a chest heaved and he struggled for breath. "Professors! Professor Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore immediately rose from his seat and hurried around the desk. Holding his hands up to calm the big man, he spoke gently. "What is it, Hagrid?"

"I … I did … something awful, Professor!" Hagrid breathed in between gasps for air. His dark eyes were wild with fear and worry. "The Acklay! I let it loose and it demolished my house! It's out there somewhere on the grounds! We have to do something right away! Round up a hunting party or something! I tried to get it with my crossbow but the arrows bounced right off it! It must have armor like a Muggle car!"

"An Acklay?" Dumbledore asked. The Headmaster seemed to know everything that went on in the school and on the grounds. He was also an expert wizard and had the title of warlock. Almost never was there a creature, spell or magical device he had not heard of. But he had no idea what an Acklay was and for Dumbledore the thought was unnerving.

"I didn't mean any harm! Honest!" Hagrid quickly added as he remembered he was still carrying Fang and gently set his old dog down onto the floor. "I didn't know it would make so much trouble! I just wanted to feed it is all…"

"Hagrid!" Minerva McGonagall cried as she stepped forward and gripped one of his thick arms. "The students! Where are they?"

"Oh, they escaped into the Dark Forest." Hagrid admitted, worry in his voice. "I would have gone after them but I needed to tell ya about the beastie…"

"This is a disaster!" Snape declared loudly. "There will be more incidents like this until you expel him, mark my words!"

McGonagall's hands flew to her mouth in horror. "They'll be killed in there! Oh, Albus! We must send out a rescue party immediately!"

"And we must find a way to destroy this creature…" Reminded Snape. "Let us hope that the rest of our students are safe inside and that none have gone wondering…"

Down in the Slytherin common room, another argument was going on. Although this one was not as heated as the one Snape was involved in.

"But Draco said we were supposed to keep an eye on him…" Crabbe reminded the other plump boy, his arms filled with cupcakes, as he walked into the Common Room from the outer hallway of the dungeons.

"Well, do you want to get near him?" Goyle asked, his arms also filled with cupcakes. "I heard he has Zombie Rot…"

"Well, no. But I don't want Draco mad at me, either." Crabbe admitted. He eyed one of the black leather sofas and paused. "Did the old creep sit on that one yet?"

Goyle shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know…"

"It might be contaminated…" Crabbe remarked as he eyed it suspiciously. "It's just not right! Us not being able to sit on our sofa because he might have touched it!"

Goyle nodded in agreement. Carefully laying his stash of cupcakes down on a nearby coffee table, Goyle picked up a chocolate one and started to eat it. Even though supper had just recently ended, he was still hungry. "Better not chance it."

Following the other boy's example, Crabbe set his pile down on the table, too. "So, should we go see what the zombie is doing? Draco will expect a report later."

"Guess so…" Goyle uttered with a mouthful of desert, crumbs falling onto his black robe. Glaring at a bunch of terrified First Years that huddled near the room's large window, the plump boy shook his fat fist. "Go near our food and you'll be sorry for a week!"

"Yeah, a week spent in the hospital!" Crabbe added with malice, his piggy eyes promising all types of pain.

The First Years ducked down and quivered in fear.

Satisfied, the two thick Third Years headed towards where they suspected Palpatine might be. The school had given him his own room down in the dormitory, as no one else wanted to room with him. As they came closer to his room, they heard some odd sounds coming from it. Glancing at each other, they shrugged. Neither had any idea what the sounds could be … except for music? But they had never heard music like this before. Reaching the door to Palpatine's room, they used a simple charm to make the door swing open on its hinges. The charm was used for safety reasons, of course. Actually touching the door was a guaranteed way to catch the dreaded Zombie Rot. The door open, both boys gawked open mouthed in shock.

Palpatine stood in the middle of the floor, his bed and trunk shoved against the wall. His arms were stretched high overhead. This caused his wide sleeves to roll downward and pile up around his shoulders. Big loose flabs of wrinkled skin swung freely from his arms and this sight made both boys slightly nauseous. And being nauseous now was not a good thing as they had just eaten. Ever so slowly Palpatine bent forward, his arms moving down. After what seemed like forever his hands touched the tips of his boots. When this happened there was a loud POP and CRACK from the old man's spine. Palpatine grimaced but slowly started to straighten up. After about five minutes or so, he was back to the original position with his hands high over his head.

"What's he doing?" Crabbe asked his companion, a puzzled look on his plump face.

"Beats me…" Goyle shrugged. "It doesn't look very interesting though…"

"Why is he touching his toes for?" Crabbe asked as he continued to watch Palpatine exercise.

"Let Draco figure it out…" Goyle suggested as he turned to head back toward his pile of chocolate cupcakes. "We'll just tell him what we saw."

"Yeah." Shoving a Second Year out of his way roughly, Crabbe hurried back to his pile of bakery. It was good to be a Third Year.

Down at Saint Mungo's, Mandy Cloudkicker just returned to the room with several bottles of potions. The medi-witch turned to Lord Vader. "You'll need to drink these potions. For that, you'll need to remove the mask I'm afraid…"

"You said I'd have to stay overnight?" Vader asked, sure he must have heard wrong. Injuries couldn't be healed that quickly if at all. "A single night?"

"That's right." She replied as she lined the bottles up on a small table next to the bed. "Now I must warn you this will hurt and there's nothing I can do about that. Re-growing limbs is not a pleasant experience I'm afraid…"

"Pain is not a problem." Vader replied as he watched her pour one of the potions into a glass. It was clear and looked like water. The Sith Lord pondered how a simple drink could do so much. It seemed impossible. But then, instant matter transport was supposed to be impossible, too. Palpatine had accidentally discovered a real goldmine of Force abilities here on this backwater planet. Did his Master realize the true potential of this place or was he just attending the school for a diversion? With Palpatine one never knew for the elderly man often kept the truth to himself. He may be here for any number of reasons. Reaching up near his chin, Vader unhooked the devices that held his mask in place. He could breath for a short time with the mask off. Hopefully he'd be able to drink the potions before his breathing would grow too difficult. But first, the helmet needed to be removed and he did not have the mechanical device that helped him in his quarters. That meant a live person would have to do it. The medi-witch was the logical choice. "You will have to help me remove the helmet. It lifts off."

"All right." Mandy agreed good-naturedly. Reaching for the black metal helmet, she gripped it carefully and lifted it up. It was heavier than it looked and that surprised her. Within moments, his baldhead was exposed. In several places there were ugly red wounds and what could only be jagged cracks. The medi-witch gulped; for it wasn't often she saw such terrible wounds on a living person. Truthfully, she didn't want to imagine how they must have appeared when they were fresh.

"Make sure you have the potions ready. I cannot keep the mask off for very long." Vader instructed her as he carefully peeled the metal mask from his face. As he did so there was a loud gasp of air escaping. Finally the mask was removed to expose a face that hadn't seen the sun for a long, long time. Vader's skin was pasty white and dark circles were under both eyes. The extreme whiteness of his skin made the angry red wounds on his head stand out even more so. But his eyes were a brilliant fiery red with dark pupils, the only real color on the exposed Sith Lord. His suit went up to his bottom lip almost, two thin tubes bringing pure oxygen up to his nose. If it weren't for the tubes he wouldn't be able to do this at all. The medi-witch handed him one glass of potion at a time and he silently drank them down. The terrible taste would have made most people retch and instinctively spit the potion out, but Vader had been trained as a Jedi since he was a boy. The training had thought him many things, including how to walk for a week straight without collapsing from exhaustion. He had been exposed to foods from over a thousand worlds, each one with a unique taste. So he simply drank it down without the slimmest sign of disgust. After the last one had been swallowed, he replaced the mask so he could breath easily until the potions kicked in.

Across the room, Lucius pondered the man before him in the hospital bed. He had seen the deep wounds on his head, the ugly scar tissue from burns. And if he hadn't been mistaken, had those been actual cracks in his skull? How could a person actually survive something like that? Where did he find the necessary willpower to get through it? To have one's limbs burned off by lava… And had it actually been Muggles that had repaired him? How could mere Muggles do something like that, even if they had been forced to use bits of metal? Until he had been told the legs and arms were artificial, he had mistaken them for the real thing. Could it be Muggles were much more than what he took them for? Up until now, he had always thought Muggles to be weak and powerless, insubstantial. Perhaps they were not the primitive fools he thought they were…

And those eyes...

They were worst than Palpatine's! A chill of cold artic air had gone down his spine at the sight of those red eyes. He had felt naked and exposed before them. Did Lord Vader know Legilimency? He would bet he did. And the raw anger he saw in them...

"If you need anything, please let me know." The medi-witch said as she left the room.

Head held high, Lucius walked across the room and sat down in the chair next to Vader's bed. Tossing his long blonde hair behind him, he rested his snake-headed cane against one of his legs. "So, do you feel any different?"

"There is a warmth and tingling…" Vader replied and he suspected the potions were starting to work.

"Are the Muggles on your vehicle your servants?" Lucius asked, curious. He had never heard of a place where wizards could work openly among Muggles. It was unheard of.

"They are paid employees of the Empire." Vader explained. He could feel the potions working now, as a new pain appeared where his arms and legs joined his body. Closing his eyes behind the mask and reaching inward with the Force, he was startled to discover that the wizard before him was right: he actually was growing new limbs! Shifting his inner sight to his chest, he was equally astonished. His lungs and heart were repairing themselves, cell by cell. It was a miracle and these wizards took it for granted. Even the old Jedi Healers couldn't repair the body on this scale or magnitude. If they could have seen something like this, they would have been shocked. Of course, they were all long dead.

"And has it always been this way where you come from? I did not think that Muggles and wizards could exist side by side." Lucius remarked. Truthfully, he was surprised that they actually paid the Muggles. Why not just keep them as slaves like they did with house elves? But if the Muggles could do so much with their bits of metal…

"For a thousand years the Jedi were the protectors of the Republic." Vader recited from memory.

"Jedi?" The Pureblood asked, his brow rose in question.

"The Jedi were what you call wizards." Lord Vader explained as his body continued to heal at a rapid pace. Reaching inward with the Force, he sped it along. Was he not the most powerful Jedi or Sith that ever lived, minus Palpatine of course. Every passing moment he grew stronger and more complete, the accompanying pain an old friend to him. In fact, he took strength from the pain and used it to heal more of his mangled body. "They were highly respected. They were raised and trained in a huge Temple complex on Coruscant, the central system of the Republic. Muggles gave them all the money they needed to run the Temple and in exchange the Jedi protected the Muggles and solved complex problems. Jedi were the peace keepers, the diplomats that went where others feared to trod, the warriors who controlled astonishing powers…"

"You actually protected Muggles?" Lucius asked, shocked once again. Would this man ever stop shocking him? "Why in the world would you protect worthless Muggles? And they paid you to do so?"

Lucius grew silent, fearful he had exposed too much of his true self. It wasn't wise to advertise his dislike of Muggles. The Ministry of Magic did protect Muggles, of course. That much wasn't so very different. But the man before him didn't look weak in his opinion. No, he would bet everything that he was a practitioner of the Dark Arts. But having Muggles pay the wizards, now that was a new idea.

"Because it was our job. It was an honor to do so."

"So," Lucius remarked as he thought about the unique situation. "You were servants to the Muggles then?"

"In a way. But they didn't force us to do anything. We were the ones with the power. We were the ones really in control."

"And?" Lucius prompted the Sith Lord. "Where are the Jedi now?"

"They're all extinct." Vader explained as his body continued to heal rapidly. "Palpatine destroyed them all in a single day."

To be contined…