Disturbing the Dust

Story #3

"I couldn't wait." Sara admitted when Draco came through the door. His expression conveyed his surprise at finding her already in the little island house. "I simply had to see what happened."

Draco took the diary of Madeline Croft from her hand and set it aside. He said nothing for a long moment, just looked at her with a slight smile playing on his lips.

"What?" she wondered.

"Nothing." He laid the book on the small table and dropped into a chair, wanting to kiss her hello, but knowing she would probably clock him for it. Kissing Sara was one of those things that had to be done at just the right moment, or not at all. "You were supposed to meet me just after breakfast." He mentioned, "How long have you been here?"

"Since six." She admitted.

"And Potter hasn't asked about you disappearing two days in a row?"

"He's so busy with Quidditch he hasn't really noticed. Last night I said I was studying when I got back so late." She smirked, "Good thing you were suspended for unsportsmanlike play last month, or you'd be too busy as well."

"Do you have to bring that up? That was a bad call by blind old madam Hooch. Really, she shouldn't be allowed to call the games if she's too old and senile to know good plays from bad."

"You slammed a little fourth year into the stands and knocked him off his broom!"

"Then maybe he should learn to hold on!"

"You're such a creep, Malfoy." Sara told him, sinking into the adjacent chair, "I don't know why I even talk to you."

"Because I'm irresistible."

Sara did her best to hide her smile and decided to change the subject. "So, did you get everything on your list?"

Draco opened a pillowcase he had dropped at his feet and began setting the items on the table for her inspection. "Let's see… cooking oil, two Never-Ending torches I had to get from Hogsmead, quills and ink, a small cauldron, and powdered serpent scales." He folded the pillowcase into a neat square and set it aside. "How about you? Get everything?"

Sara smiled and lifted a velvet sack with a golden drawstring. Draco cringed at his pillowcase.

"Bottomless bottle of Riesling. Three pickled frog's feet. Curtains." She ran a hand over the light lavender silk. "I know it wasn't on the list, but these drapes are so old and dusty. These will do wonders to lighten the room."

"Please move along."

"Oh sorry. Anyway, I got the sugar, tea, and various soaps. Elroy should be just fine now. I popped in real quick before bed to check on him and brought bread and some chicken from dinner as well as clean sheets for the bed. I hate him sleeping in that cupboard."

"House elves like to sleep in cupboards."

Sara sighed. "Well it's pointless when he has the whole house to himself. He seemed surprised that I wanted him to sleep in the bed."

"It's safe to assume he has never slept in a bed in his life." Draco explained, "Sara, house elves are vermin. They are not treated like guests."

"Maybe they just ended up in the wrong house!" she angered, "Like yours!"

"You shouldn't spoil him! Remember, Sara, he will have to go back to Malfoy Manor at some point and if he takes liberties there he will not be well received. Just keep that in mind when you fill his head full of silly ideas of creature comforts and fuzzy-wuzzy affection. At my family's home he'll receive neither."

Sara stood and slammed a bottle of dish soap down on the table, producing a satisfying thud. "Why do you have to be so mean? Your heart is as cold as ice, you rotten, self-important Slytherin!"

"Oh please!" he stood, knocking his chair backward with a crash, "You say it like it's a bad thing!"

"Your so… SO…"

"Good looking?" Draco gave her a smug grin and her anger melted.

Sara resisted the urge to stomp her foot in frustrated defeat. "I hate you, Malfoy."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I'll remember that next time you want a back rub."

"I've never asked you for a back rub!"

Draco acted as though he was deep in thought. "You didn't? Are you sure that wasn't you?"

Sara laughed, unable to help it. It was simply impossible to stay mad at him. "Come on, Romeo, we've got things to do, and arguing over back rubs is not on the list."

Sara and Draco each took one of the torches and let themselves out, discussing how inviting the warm ocean waters looked. Wave after wave crashed on the beautiful white and both longed to frolic in the sun. The cold, bitter winter that enveloped Hogwarts was forgotten as they made their way to the back of the cottage.

"Look!" Draco exclaimed, "That worthless house elf has mowed the lawn!"

"Stop calling him names, would you?" Sara gave him a disapproving glance, "He did a wonderful job and look! He's cleared the path as far as I can see!"

"I have to admit, this is quite an improvement. No more wading through knee high weeds to get to the other side. Perhaps he's not entirely worthless."

As if on cue, Elroy made his grand entrance as he ran screaming across the path and back into the underbrush with a screeching monkey of equal size chasing after him. Draco laughed out loud and Sara grinned, but followed the monkey for a quick rescue.

"Patrificus totalis!"

"What'd you do that for?" said Draco, incredulous, "That was the funniest thing I've seen since the Weasel coughed up slugs!"

Sara rolled her eyes. "Are other people's misfortunes your only source of amusement, Malfoy?"

"Pretty much."

Sara lifted the monkey and removed the spell. It was startled, but she was quick to subdue it with a soft, lyrical song that made even Draco sigh with contentment. The monkey wrapped its arms around her neck and snuggled against her.

"Awww, that's so sweet." Draco said, jealous of her likable nature, "And where are the bunnies and the other gentle animals to sit at your feet? Where are the birds to chirp around your head? I swear, Sara, do flowers bloom as you pass?"

"Not usually, but at least they don't turn black."

"Fine then! Just go ahead and stab me while you're at it! You haven't said a nice word since I arrived!"

"You haven't deserved a nice word since you arrived."

"Well if that's how you feel then you can just stay here with that stupid monkey and that cursed house elf. I'll explore the cave alone if I'm so repulsive!" Off he went, knowing Sara would let him get about ten feet before she ran after him.

The problem was, he had gone at least 40 feet and yet she was not by his side. She hadn't even called out to him with silly requests that he be reasonable. Not so much as an attempt at the last word. He pushed on without her, angrier than ever.

Sara was seated at the table with Elroy and the monkey when Draco came into the house. The elf slunk onto the floor and disappeared behind Sara's skirt. She looked at Draco with victory in her smile. "Well?" she asked, "Are there really thousands of mushrooms?"

"Yes, in one part." Draco answered, defeated, "But there's a lot more than that. The cave is huge! There are many caverns and rooms have been carved, wooden doors and all."

"Really?" she asked, sorry she had been too stubborn to tag along.

"There is a set of stairs as well that wound down into the rock. There is a vast cavern at the bottom with an underground river and a boat landing. I wasn't sure how safe the boat was, so I didn't venture out in it. However, I also found a heavily reinforced door that wouldn't budge."

Sara was intrigued. "Reinforced?"

"That's what I said."

"You couldn't open it?"

"I didn't really try except pulling the handle. A parrot attacked me."

"A parrot?"

"Is there an echo? Yes, A parrot. A talking parrot who told me some nonsense poetry or something and when I told it to bugger off it attacked me."

"Hmm. A river, a locked door, and an animal guard. I wonder where the music fits in?"

"The music?"

"Now who's an echo?" Sara smirked, "Yes, the music. When I brought Elroy his dinner I heard piano music from the other side of the island. I thought it was from a passing boat. Maybe it wasn't."

"Well," Draco sighed and clasped his hands in front, "we'll go back in the morning. It's almost dinner time. You don't want to be late for Potter."

Sara looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry." she said, "I shouldn't have left you to go alone."

His voice softened and lost its arrogance. "I'll see you after breakfast." he said. Then he was gone.

"Draco!" Sara said in a frantic whisper, "Draco! Wake up!"

Malfoy opened his eyes in the dark, wondering why he was being disturbed from his heavy sleep.

"DRACO!"

The web of slumber cleared from his mind and he sat up, realizing that Sara was in his dorm and that she was excited about something. Never missing a trick, he grabbed her around the waist and tumbled her onto the bed, rolling with the grace of a cat directly on top of her. "Hello." he grinned. "It's about time you came to your senses."

An unexpected blast of lightning threw him back to the mattress and he gasped with surprise. It only hurt a little as she wasn't trying to injure him, but he carried on anyway. Draco grabbed his chest and moaned with contrived agony.

"I'm sorry!" Sara worried and tried to tend to him. He rolled onto his back and she hovered above, trying to get a look at the skin beneath his singed pajama top. "I didn't mean for it to hurt!"

He smiled in the dark and abandoned his charade. He was touched by the fear and the guilt that laced her whispered apology. His heart swelled until it ached the way it did every time he looked at her and his hand caressed her face. His quite inner voice whispered to her mind as he held her eyes. Why don't you love me?

Sara's heart twisted as she saw the sincerity and the pain in his expression. I do love you. she thought, pushing the words from her mind to his as her gentle hand brushed the hair back from his face. He pulled her close. Sara sighed away her resolve as her gossamer hair mingled with his on the pillow and he kissed her, rolling her over once more. This time she didn't hit him with lightning. Her defenses melted as she felt the strength of his arms, the desire in his embrace and the passion behind this madness. She was drawn to him the way she had always been, but she couldn't see his beauty in the dark, didn't notice his fine attire or delight in his verbal provocation. This was the real Draco, the essence of everything that he was, his unguarded vulnerability, and the undeniable masculinity that attracted her until she was overwhelmed by it. The world drifted away as Sara let her hands glide over his back, lost in a long awaited moment, wishing it could go farther.

Draco felt her pull away in silence and knew the moment he'd been waiting for had ended. He sighed and fell onto the pillow. He wouldn't push Sara. She would only get angry.

She lay beside him and took his hand. "Don't ever think that I don't love you." she whispered, "I do. But I can't do this right now. You know I can't."

"So break it off."

Sara gave him a sad smile, knowing she would do no such thing. She and Harry had drifted apart, that was true, but she wasn't ready to dump him for Draco Malfoy. As rationality returned, the idea seemed more ludicrous by the second. Sara got out of bed. "Come, Malfoy. The music has begun again."

The piano was soft and melodious and was most certainly not from a passing boat. It was flawless, as if played by angels. Without warning, Sara stopped as they passed the enchanted swing.

"What is it?"

"Don't you recognize it? It's the Moonlight Sonata. I've never heard it played so…"

"Perfectly?"

"Exactly! It's so smooth, as if Beethoven himself was behind the keyboard. It can't be a recording! Draco." Sara turned to catch his eyes, "I don't think we're alone on this island. Do you have your wand?"

"At the ready."

"Let's go then. And stay quiet."

A short distance down the beach, Draco stopped dead in his tracks. "Look!" he said, pointing to the top of the outcropping where lights could be seen through what looked like a small barred window in the rock. "The music is louder here."

"I told you we weren't alone." Sara's face turned grim and nervous. "Draco, do you think we should do this? If something was to happen they would never find us here."

Draco shuddered. "I'll protect you, Sara." He said and took her hand again, turning to give her a look of reassurance. "If anything happens, run away and use the port key."

"And leave you here? Like hell! We'll protect each other. If anything happens, we'll both run."

"I like your plan better." He smiled and led her through the twisting caverns and down the stairs to the underground river. To the door and the waiting parrot. The music was very close, it flowed through the room like an acoustical breeze, moving, soul stirring and inspiring.

"You again?" the parrot asked when it saw Draco. "I hope your friend has better manners."

Sara stepped in front of Draco, intrigued by the idea of a mere bird with such intellect. "Good evening." She said, "We are the new occupants of the island, here to inquire about the music that comes from behind this door."

"What is behind the door is a secret, milady."

"Well this secret lies on our property. How do we gain entrance?"

"Death awaits all who venture inside."

"See?" Draco said and pulled Sara back, "Let's do that running away now and skip the death part."

"I have a better idea. Come on." Sara led Draco out of the cave and back to where they'd started. "let's go back to your room."

Draco grinned. "Told you I was irresistible."

"Get your broom!"

"Oh. Ok."

High above the beach, Draco steered the broom around Sara, who sat across it and clung to him for fear of falling. Together, they peered in through the little barred window at a man who sat at a glorious old piano in a large stone room, crammed full of books and messy piles of sheet music. His face was pale, even in the warm amber glow, with a shock of unruly gray hair absorbing the torchlight. He the wore fanciful old clothes of some era long passed and seemed lost in his music. He played Fur Elise with a passion that was lost on Draco, but which Sara understood completely. She held her breath as she studied him, unaware of their presence, and spoke the name as recognition, and the shear impossibility of it, finally came to her.

"Beethoven."

As if he'd heard her, the sound of the piano came to an abrupt end and he rose to his feet, turning toward the window.

Draco screwed up his face, thinking Sara had gone mental all of a sudden. "Beethoven? News flash Sara, he's dead. He's also deaf and that whats-his-name just heard your whisper through a window.

"He heard my mind, not my whisper, Draco. He's speaking to me."

"But he lived centuries ago! Beethoven is dead!"

"Draco." Sara whispered, "Don't you know a vampire when you see one?"

This took time for Draco to comprehend, but he knew she was right the moment it was out of her mouth. The white of his skin, the perfection of his playing, no mortal had such command over music.

"I saw his thoughts, just as he can see mine." Sara was telling him, "His first thought was to kill us but wants to talk to us now. He is lonely."

"And why not kill us may I ask? He can't possibly feed very often."

"He will not harm us."

"Why not?"

"Because he sees a kindred spirit in me. I have the gift of music as he does, with the power to affect on an unearthly level. Of course he is a master to which I can't compare but we are the same."

"He'll kill me and lock you in."

"He won't."

Draco was frightened and losing his patience in his inability to hear the silent discussion and to see into the stranger's mind as Sara could. "Why not?"

Sara looked to Draco with hesitance. "Because you are someone I love."

A soft smile touched his lips and the broom faltered a little.

There was more, but she refused to tell him that the vampire thought he was exquisite, unique, and too beautiful for the likes of death. There were thoughts in Beethoven's head regarding Draco that worried her. She would never again let Draco out of her sight on this island after nightfall. In the meantime, she wanted nothing more than to talk with one of the most gifted musicians who ever lived. Her heart pounded with the idea of it as the window lifted and the face on the other side smiled.

"The door," he said, "is open."