The Duelling Club meeting ended, the students were ordered back to their respective houses. Etean watched them start to break up and clump together, friends comparing notes. Some of them were a little worse for wear, his eyes followed as Padma Patil limped over to join her friends and headed out of the hall. She had twisted her ankle while dodging a barrage of spells from Blaise. Most of the Slytherins were already gone but he was not really in a hurry to leave. The little hairs on the back of his neck tingled, his senses telling him that he was being watched. He turned to see Theo Nott disappear out the door. A tiny frown tugged at his brow, Nott was a mystery. Etean hadn't really paid him much attention when he had first arrived, he hadn't noticed anything odd about him, but there was something. For the entire duration of the meeting, Etean had focussed as much of his attention as he could spare on him and was certain of one thing, there was more to Theodore Nott than met the eye. He was an Occlumence, and a damned good one at that. Somebody had trained him to shield his thoughts from magical attacks, and they had trained him well. The question was not who, that one was easy. Nott's father, Theodore Senior was considered to be one of the deadlier Death Eaters, a highly skilled killer, currently wanted in connection with at least four murders in the past few months alone. The question wasn't why either, there could be only one reason. Nott Senior had trained his son so he could keep secrets from his fellow students and more importantly, from Dumbledore. It was those secrets that had attracted Etean's attention. His instincts were telling him that Nott was up to something, at the very least he was involved in something larger than schoolwork. The level of skill and training he seemed to possess meant that whatever that was, it was not something he could afford to ignore.
Still lost in thought, he turned for the door, strolling out behind Hannah Abbot. His neck tingled again, he turned to see Potter staring daggers at him. Etean snapped out of his reverie long enough to throw him a cocky grin, something he knew would annoy Potter. It did, he saw him flush red with anger. Etean laughed to himself and turned to leave. Annoying Potter was an enjoyable pastime, shame it was so damned easy. Still he could easily see how Draco had had so much fun over the years.
Draco!
Etean spared a moment to locate him. He was still in the same place he had been all day, but now he was awake. Etean sensed his thoughts spin and churn in a torturous waking nightmare. His attention was pulled back to nearer concerns. Nott was standing in the Entrance Hall. Alone and silent he stood there, his hands joined behind his back, waiting for Etean,
"About time, I was beginning to think I'd missed you," his tone was light but there was a look in his eyes that gave Etean pause. He looked at Nott and allowed some of his confusion to show,
"You were waiting for me?" Nott nodded,
"We were supposed to have a little chat remember?"
"I remember," he nodded, then frowned again and looked around him, "you want to talk here?" Nott smiled, exactly the reaction Etean had expected, 'Go on, take the upper hand, show me how smart you are,'
"No," Nott's voice had picked up an arrogant superior tone, "not here, follow me," he turned without a moments pause and headed for the dungeon steps. Etean paused and allowed his mind to focus and settle into the role he had chosen to play. He waited for Nott to look back and beckon him before he followed him. Nott headed down and turned into the Potions Corridor. This part of the castle was almost deserted at this hour, the number of students they passed dwindled until they were alone.
Nott stopped and looked up and down the corridor, checking to ensure that it was deserted before he beckoned to Etean and turned round, disappearing into the Potions classroom,
"We shouldn't be disturbed here," he said with confidence as he shut the door behind Etean. Etean turned to watch him as he strolled with a casual air across the room to sit on a preparation table, Etean raised an eyebrow,
"Is that right?" Nott nodded,
"It is, Snape won't bother us, not for a while anyway, I have taken care of it," the confident arrogance in his voice was beginning to grate on Etean's nerves, 'Calm, play this out,' he settled his mind and calmed himself,
"Right, so we won't be disturbed, maybe now you'll tell me what the hell this is all about," Nott shrugged,
"Well I guess, when it comes down to it, I want to chat about you. More specifically, about why you're here," Etean put on a confused expression,
"You know why I'm here, I told you and everyone else that asked me that the day I came here,"
"Yes, I remember – Academic Qualifications," Nott sighed and set his hands on his hips, "Did you really expect that to fool us for long?" Nott shrugged, "Oh it seemed to be a plausible enough story at first, odd, but plausible. Certainly in keeping with your character – the character you were playing anyway,"
"Playing a character was I?" he laughed, "Why the hell would I do that Theo?"
"You can drop the act Etean, you're not going to fool me twice with that bullshit," he started to finger the Slytherin crest on his robes, Etean growled under his breath,
"No act Nott," he spread his arms wide, "Just me," Nott shook his head,
"Ok then, play dumb for a little longer if you must," he paused and straightened his robes, brushing his fingers across the House Patch again before looking up at Etean, "How about I take a wild stab at explaining just why you did come here? You can be the judge of how accurate I am," Etean shook his head, putting on the air of frustration and annoyance. 'You want to try and figure me out Theo? Ok, let's see you try,' he sat on a table and gestured for Nott to continue,
"I get the impression that you're going to do just that anyway Theo, so you may as well go ahead,"
"Ok then, you came here because you are in trouble and you were searching for a way out," Etean slowly nodded his head,
"Yes…that's about as wild a stab as you could have made Theo," he laughed and forced the scorn in his voice, "I'm in trouble am I? And what trouble would that be?" Nott sighed,
"Now, you can't seriously expect me to even pretend that I believe that you don't know the answer to that Etean,"
"Ok, I'll concede that one," Nott smiled,
"Good, that will make this easier to say, because in fact you're quite a bit worse off than most of us," Etean frowned, 'Draw him out,'
"That one you will have to explain,"
"Fine, you are worse off because you are Lord Etean, you have the wealth, the title and the influence over a lot of people to make you a target for the Dark Lord, and a high priority one at that. And that's why you're here," Nott paused and started to examine his fingernails, a superior smug grin on his face. 'Huh! So that's his angle is it? Let's see where he's going with it,'
"Say, just for a moment, that I agree with your assessment, that you're right about my…situation," he raised his arm and waved around him, "Why would I come here of all places?" Nott shrugged and lowered his hand,
"Oh this place has its advantages, it is…unique in several ways I feel you will agree," he stood up and started to stroll around, weaving between the desks as he spoke, "You were raised in a world of politics, you have dealt with schemers and plots since you were born. Thus you know that regardless of the situation, what matters isn't what you know but who you know. To come out on top, you need to make alliances and friendships with the right people,"
"And that's what I'm doing here is it? Looking for alliances?"
"Indeed you are, or are you trying to tell me that I'm wrong?" 'Of course you're wrong you moron!' Etean allowed himself to vent his annoyance internally, he needed to figure Nott out, playing along seemed as good a way as any for the moment,
"As I said, for the minute let us assume that you're not. But you still haven't answered my question. What makes you think that I would look for allies here?" Nott shook his head and sighed,
"The stupid act is getting boring Etean, can we let this be the end of it? You came to this school because you needed something other than sycophantic acolytes and false promises, which you couldn't find elsewhere. All your life, people have hovered round you, offering advice and friendship. As such, you have lots of 'friends', but I am fairly certain that you realise just how real those friends are," Etean shrugged, 'Keep him talking, he'll say more than he wants to,'
"They're real enough, once you accept just how shallow they are,"
"True, so you tell me, how useful are friends like that?"
"That depends on what you need them for doesn't it?" Nott smiled,
"Now you're starting to sound as smart as you really are Etean," he chose another desk and sat down again, "We all need friends, people to do favours for us, to watch our backs, to be there when we need them," he folded his arms, "I have friends Etean, most of them are right here in this school. I can ask them for help and they can ask me. But when it comes to it, I know there is a limit to which I can depend on each of them,"
"I thought we were talking about me," Nott's eyebrows raised,
"My apologies My Lord, but we are talking about you. As I said, you came here looking to make friends and you have chosen to make friends in Slytherin, which means your would-be friends are my friends. They're strangers to you, but I know them and I know how far they can be trusted," Etean smiled despite himself,
"You trust them?" Nott turned round, returning Eteans smile,
"I didn't say that Etean, and you know it. The truth is you can't trust a single one of them. The Slytherins are all the same, they are a pack of wild dogs. You can't turn your back on them, not even for a second,"
"You have a high opinion of the Slytherins don't you?" Nott nodded,
"Shouldn't I? They may be vicious and cruel, and you can't call them trustworthy, but they at least are reliable. They can be relied on to do whatever is in their best interests,"
"Is that right?"
"It is. I know them because I am one of them, and so are you," he leaned back and spread his arms. "Compared to the rest of the idiots in this school, the Slytherins are a class apart. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws…they are sheep, we are wolves," 'Shit, this guy really loves the sound of his own voice, this is going nowhere. I'll have to push him a bit harder,'
"Sheep and wolves? For Merlin's sake spare me," Etean stood and turned to leave, "I am not in the mood for this tonight Theo," he headed for the door, "How about you play your little games with someone else," Nott waited until Etean had his hand on the door before he spoke up,
"If you leave now, you'll miss a valuable opportunity and you know it," Etean turned to look at him, he smiled, "Don't you?" Nott stood up and joined his hands behind his back as he strolled over to the ingredients cabinet,
"What opportunity?"
"Please, quit playing the idiot and let us be honest with one another for a moment,"
"You want to be honest? Ok, how about you start by getting to the real point of this little 'chat'?" Nott sighed,
"The point, as I said earlier, is you, and how I have had to re-evaluate you after this morning,"
"This morning?"
"Yes. This morning you witnessed something horrible, something truly dreadful. You were one of three people that I saw who did, Pansy, Draco and you,"
"You have a gift for evasion Theo, but I still don't see your point?" Nott paused, then continued as if he hadn't heard him,
"I saw Pansy a while ago, in our Common Room, she's a babbling wreck. Draco…I haven't seen him since this morning but the word floating around is that Dumbledore has him locked up, keeping an eye on him to ensure he doesn't commit suicide," 'What is it with this school and gossip mongers?' Nott paused and watched Etean again for a moment, "And then there is Robert Etean," Etean closed the distance between them, not enough to threaten Nott, just enough to show him that he was getting annoyed,
"What about me?"
"You saw what they saw, she screamed, he panicked, but you…you didn't even miss a beat. And here you stand, as if it had never happened," Etean shrugged,
"So I didn't react like the others, so what?"
"You didn't react to the situation at all Etean, you acted. Covering the box before any more people could see its contents, knowing that if they did, it would lead to chaos. Getting your bird to take it to Dumbledore, knowing he would be the only person that could restore order. Chasing after Draco and stopping him before he could leave on some hare-brained mission of revenge, knowing that he would succeed only in running off to his own death. Three decisions, three actions, conceived, considered and enacted in a heartbeat," Etean rubbed his eyes and sighed again,
"This is a fascinating lecture Theo, but you are really starting to bore me," he emphasised the statement, Nott's smile remained fixed and false,
"My point Etean, is that you're a lot stronger and a hell of a lot smarter than I originally took you to be,"
"Is that so?"
"It is. You are smart, smart enough I hope, to recognise an opportunity when one comes along,"
"An…opportunity?"
"Yes, what do you think happened this morning?" Etean drew back and rolled his eyes,
"I assume you mean apart from Draco's mother getting murdered?" Nott's face became a cold mask,
"Draco's mother…murdered…yes," he took a breath. "Tragic wasn't it?"
"It was," Etean frowned, "But something tells me that you don't think so," Nott shook his head,
"Don't get me wrong, I do feel…sorry for Draco," he didn't sound the least bit sorry, "But, I can see the bigger picture here, and you should look at it too,"
"And what bigger picture is that Theo?" Nott's face twisted into a wicked grin,
"Fine, let me spell it out for you. The real conclusion to be drawn from this morning's little sideshow was that, for whatever reason, Draco is out of favour with his father and…"
"Whoa, hold on for a minute. Lucius kills his wife sends her HEAD to Draco and you read that as meaning that Draco is 'out of favour' with him? Somehow, I doubt that the word 'understatement' quite covers that do you?" Nott smiled,
"Maybe, but the meaning is still clear. Lucius and Draco are not on the same side anymore, in fact I doubt they are even playing the same game right now. Which means that Draco isn't going to be as reliable, as useful a friend to you as he might have been previously,"
"Is that so?" Etean injected a hint of sarcasm that Nott ignored,
"Draco is the only son of the Dark Lord's first lieutenant, a boy with a direct line of succession to one day be the right hand of the Dark Lord himself. Naturally, when you arrived here, you gravitated to him over everyone else. How better to insulate yourself from the coming trouble? Friendship with him offered you a passport into the ranks of the Death Eaters," 'Finally, he tips his hand, he thinks I'm using Draco to get in good with Voldemort…interesting!' Etean paused briefly as his mind turned the page, 'Right, I know what he thinks, but what does he want? He isn't telling me all this for the good of his health,' Etean frowned slightly and spoke quietly,
"Why would I want that?" Nott smiled,
"Of course you do, whether you truly want to follow the Dark Lord or not is irrelevant and you are smart enough to know that. Smart enough to realise that to serve in the shadow of the Devil is better than to stand against him," Etean leaned his head to the side, feigning genuine contemplation as he watched Nott continue to balance his mask in front of his emotions. He wasn't quite good enough on close inspection to hide everything. A trace of an emotion was showing – anxiety, no fear! He was afraid, 'Why?' Etean took a deep breath,
"Serve the Devil? A colourful metaphor," he laughed, "But it seems to fit," he took another step forward, "So now, what about the real point of this conversation?" Nott nodded,
"What has this to do with me?" he flashed a predatory grin, "Simple. As I said, Draco was your first choice, but he…isn't going to be in a position to be of much use to you, or to anyone else for that matter. That leaves you in the same position that you were in before you came here. It is time to re-examine your strategy, to determine who you will chose to replace him," he shook his head, "A tough choice, there are only a few candidates as I see it," Etean smiled,
"I see, and you are one of those candidates are you?"
"How perceptive of you, I could be as useful to you as Draco would have been. My father may not be the Dark Lord's lieutenant, but he is a Death Eater, and a powerful one at that. As for me…well let's just say that I see the storm that's brewing on the horizon. It's coming this way fast, and I for one intend to be ready for it when it comes," 'That sounds ominous, what does he mean? What secrets are you hiding Theo?…Keep him off guard, keep him guessing for the moment,'
"A storm?" he shook his head, "Drop the metaphors Theo. You mean Voldemort?" Etean allowed a waver to sound in his voice, "He's coming here?" Nott drew back and hissed between his teeth,
"You say his name? I thought you were smart enough to know better," he paused and shuddered, "The fact remains…He…is coming,"
"Here?" Nott stepped forward,
"Where else? His enemies are here! This place and the people in it represent the only real threats to him. Of course he'll come here, and when he does, this place will never be the same,"
"If that is the case, then I would be a fool to stay here don't you think?" Nott shook his head,
"No, this is the only place you can be and you know it. Not everyone is his enemy, not everyone needs to be afraid of his coming. There are some…a select few that are safe. You could be one of them, Draco could have seen to that, so could I," Etean paused then frowned,
"Maybe…but what do you get out of it? Alliances, friendships work both ways Theo, what do you want?"
"You know what I want Etean," Etean put on a fixed, obviously false smile,
"Pretend I don't,"
"You are Lord Etean,"
"A fact I am aware of…and?"
"And, I get to be the one that delivered Lord Etean into the Dark Lord's service. You could be very useful to him and he will know it,"
"Which means you have been useful to him as well?" Nott smiled and nodded,
"To be useful to him is to be safe,"
Something, a tiny glint in his eye, a slight edge in his voice triggered a realisation in Etean's mind. It was clear that Nott wasn't just stating the obvious when he spoke of Voldemort's plans. He had to know something, something stronger than a theory or a supposition. How much did he know? What had he been told? What will he be told and when? Etean paused to read his expression again, the mind was shielded, but the eyes told the tale. Nott didn't really know anything, just enough to scare him. He was worried because he knew that there was more going on that he wasn't part of, there were bigger things playing themselves out. He was fighting for position, struggling to find solid ground so he could keep his feet when the 'storm' hit. They was nearing the end of this conversation and Etean knew it, Nott was smart enough to play this game of his well, he wouldn't tell him anything more than he had to, 'At least he won't on purpose, one final push,'
"Suppose I don't want to 'Serve the Devil' Theo?" There it was, the slightest tremor. The idea of Etean rejecting his offer of friendship definitely scared him. He covered it well,
"I think you should be realistic about things Etean because your options are limited," he took a slow breath, "You can't hide, you of all people. That leaves you only two options, serve him or oppose him," he turned and moved over to the ingredient cabinet, running his fingers along the join in the doors as he spoke, "You could get in his way and, if you did, I believe you are strong enough to give be a distraction to him, a brief and eventually irrelevant distraction. You would achieve nothing, but you could try," he turned to face Etean again, "But you need to address the long term concerns, your best chance for survival is to serve him and you know it. And for that you need me because the Death Eaters don't trust easily. You are an unknown quantity to them, but you could prove to be a valuable asset and they know it. It really all boils down to whom your friends are, who is willing to speak for you when the time comes,"
"You would to that Theo? Speak for me?"
"I could. It's up to you," Etean let out a slow breath, the conversation was over, he had learned all he was going to learn from Nott for one evening, the offer had been made. There would be no answer tonight, the lack of an instant dismissal guaranteed that but it had to play out. Etean paused, he wanted to keep his options open and so he had to let Nott end this on his terms. After a five second pause, Nott stood. He sighed and turned to leave, 'Play the role Etean,'
"Where are you going? We aren't finished here," Nott paused without turning round,
"I have explained my position and made my offer," he shrugged, "seems to me that we are finished. You should think about what I said,"
"I will," Nott didn't bother to shut the door behind him. Etean kept a mental eye on Nott as he left. He had no intentions to follow him, but wanted to know that he was really gone. Etean's mind started to chew on the conversation they had just had as he left and started to wander the dungeons. So, Nott was a Death Eater, in spirit at least. That was the only conclusion of worth he could come up with, overly simplistic perhaps but it was accurate enough for now. Nott wanted to make himself useful to Voldemort. To use 'Lord Etean' to curry favour with Voldemort.
'But why? Nott is a Death Eater's son, and a loyal one by all signs. So why does he need to gain favour at all?' Etean shook his head, there was something missing, a big piece of the puzzle. Nott was afraid, and it wasn't just the usual blind fear that accompanied any thoughts of Voldemort for most wizards. No, Nott felt as if he was in danger. He was adrift and searching for dry land, but what was he planning? It couldn't be as simple as he was making it sound, Nott was too smart to be that obvious. Etean growled under his breath, answer one question and you uncover ten others. He hated it when that happened. It really was annoying, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't push Nott for any more information tonight without tipping him off and his instincts were telling him that that would be a mistake. So, it boiled down to a simple choice, which was it, Theo Nott – friend or foe?
The answer was equally simple – friend, at least for the moment. Nott was a potential source of information, too valuable to disregard. He was trained to keep secrets, and that meant that he would be trusted with secrets. Etean need only bide his time and keep a close eye on him.
'Great, another item on my to-do list,' he sighed to himself. His mind began the process of reorganisation that always followed any new revelation. Theo Nott was changed from being an irrelevant detail to being an item of greater importance. Thoughts and theories rearranged themselves to make way for the new variable. Etean began to recall the encounters and conversations dotted throughout the last month, replaying them in his head, examining Nott for any signs, any subtle clues that would help. He turned the corner into the corridor outside the Slytherin Common Room and paused, his senses told him that he wasn't alone, a brief glance into the shadows and he located her,
"Ginny?" she was sitting in a dark corner, curled up out of sight. He crossed over to her and hunched down, "What are you doing down here?" he could sense immediately that she was upset. She sniffed and raised her hand to wipe at her eyes before she answered,
"I…I was…" she sniffed again, "I was waiting for you," Etean looked into the shadows at her face,
"What's wrong?" movement, she shook her head and wiped at her eyes again,
"Nothing really, I just wanted to talk is all. I missed you at the Great Hall, so I came down here to see if I could find you," Etean paused and looked at the Common Room door for a moment,
"How long have you been sitting here?" he saw her shrug,
"Not sure," she cleared her throat, "I came all the way down here before I realised that I wouldn't be able to get into your Common Room," she laughed quietly, "Silly huh?" he could feel her looking at him, he smiled,
"A bit," he turned to sit beside her, resting his hands on her knees, "Bad day then?" he asked quietly,
"Not exactly a good one no," she sighed,
"Percy?" she nodded,
"I can't stop thinking about him," the strain in her voice told him that she was fighting back tears, he looped his arm over her shoulder, she shuddered for a moment, "I mean I think about him everyday, but today is different. I keep seeing Lucius killing him over and over. I keep imagining how…how he died" Etean squeezed her shoulder,
"Don't do that to yourself Gin, thinking like that won't do any good,"
"How can I not though? The whole school is talking about Lucius, everywhere I go they are whispering and gossiping and…" she trailed off and started to sob. Etean squeezed her again then let her go and stood up. He turned to her and offered her his hand,
"Come on," she looked up at him, he could just about see the light reflect off the tears on her face,
"What? Where are we going?" he shrugged,
"Nowhere really, just for a walk," he shook his hand, "You coming or not?" he smiled down at her. Ginny paused for a moment before she took his hand.
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Hermione closed the bedroom door and looked around as she folded her towel. She could make out the shape of Pavarti in her bed, she was asleep, but not snoring yet. Lavender's bed was empty, but that was no surprise. She was obviously still down in the Common Room cuddled up with Seamus. Hermione shook her head and crossed to her bed. She dropped her robe on her bed, prompting a loud hiss from Crookshanks,
"Shhh!" she scolded him, "Quiet you," she glanced over at Pavarti's sleeping form. She was still asleep. Hermione clambered into her bed and drew the curtains. Crookshanks turned and turned by her feet. His claws dug into her skin through the blanket. She winced and kicked out at him out of reflex. He let out another hiss and jumped off the bed,
"Crookshanks," she sat up, grimacing as her stomach gave a spasm of pain, "Ow," she hissed and dropped back down onto her pillow. Her fingers idly traced over the wound on her stomach, it was very tender to the touch. She felt bad about Crookshanks, she shouldn't have kicked out at him like that. 'Oh well,' she yawned, 'I'll make it up to him in the morning…give him a treat or something.' She stared at the ceiling over her, trying desperately not to think about…anything. She was exhausted and the last thing she needed now was a night of harsh thoughts and unanswerable questions. Her mind was full of questions, the whole world was one big question to her lately. Everything seemed different lately, the school was different, her friends were different, even her enemies were different. Enemies…Malfoy! He was one of the biggest questions of all. She hadn't seen him since breakfast, as far as she knew, nobody had. She hoped he was alright wherever he was, but she knew he wasn't, how could he be? Her eyes started to flutter closed, sleep was coming fast. As the world slipped away, she could see him, she could see his face as clear as day, as if he were staring down at her from the ceiling. The image in her mind was so clear that she could see the pain in his eyes as he looked at her, pain she couldn't understand. Would he survive this? Would he be strong enough? She stared into his eyes, they were the last thing she remembered seeing.
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The stone floor was cold beneath her feet, the air was none too warm either, she shivered. She had a vague sense that she was not where she was supposed to be. This wasn't her room, it was somewhere else, a strange place. She wasn't alone. The eyes, his eyes were still there, looking at her. No, they were not his eyes. His were grey, they shone and dazzled her. These were dark and honey brown, they seemed be pulling her in. Hermione jumped when the realisation hit her. She wasn't looking at Malfoy anymore, she was looking at an animal – a wolf! Her attention pulled back, taking in more of her surroundings. Darkness was all around her, she couldn't make out any details beyond the coldness of the floor and the imposing presence of the silver wolf sitting, staring at her. It was huge! It looked as if it could devour her with one bite. Every muscle in her body was screaming at her to run, to get away but she couldn't. Something rooted her to the spot, a certainty she couldn't explain. Despite her fear, she knew she was safe, this beast wouldn't harm her, she just knew it.
She stepped forward, gingerly, her legs were afraid of it even if she wasn't. When she got to within two feet of it she stopped, her body wouldn't move any closer to it. She knelt down, her eyes drew level with its face. The wolf stared at her without moving so much as a muscle. She gazed at it, unable to shake sense of familiarity. Its eyes were familiar, they knew her somehow but she couldn't figure out why. Her head snapped round as a wave of pain washed over her, a pounding ache in her chest.
She stood up, the pain remained but it wasn't constant, it came in waves, accompanied by a strange tingling sensation. There was something not right about the pain, she shouldn't be feeling it all, it wasn't her pain. It was coming from…somewhere else. She looked around and could just about make out the shape of a doorway in the gloom. The pain was coming from that door, she felt a sudden certainty. There was movement by her legs, the wolf had stood up and was moving forward. It passed by her and trotted off toward and then through the door. A sudden urge to follow it came over her, again, she had no idea why, but she felt the compulsion nonetheless.
The doorway opened into a stone passageway. Darkness gave way to dense mist and shadow, the details of where she was were still obscured but she got the sense that the passage was long and winding. Through the gloom, she could make out the shape of the wolf as it jogged on ahead. The pain was getting stronger, she felt certain that they were headed toward the source of the pain. Anxious to understand, she hurried behind it, praying that she wouldn't encounter any strange objects in the darkness. The air became heavy, she had to fight for breath. Feeling dizzy she reached out for the wall to balance herself. She slid to her knees, the world swam before her eyes. Ahead of her, the shadow of the wolf faded, blending into the darkness, disappearing from view,
"No…wait," she tried to call, only managing a small croak, followed by a fit of coughing. She coughed so hard that her eyes started to water. The wound in her stomach exploded in pain, she wailed and doubled in agony. A blast of cold air hit her, she shut her eyes in fear as the floor melted away and she fell. In the instant of panic, she was aware that she had screamed but she couldn't hear the sound of her own voice over the rushing of the wind.
A terrifying moment later, she landed hard on a bare stone surface. The pain in her chest and her stomach faded away, replaced by a sudden cold that gripped her. She opened her eyes and looked about her. She was lying on a slab of bare rock, surrounded by nothing. Beyond the edge of the stone there was nothing. The world was buried, lost in a sea of endless cloud that stretched to the horizon in all directions. It looked eerily beautiful, lit by the pale moonlight. Hermione sat up, shivering in the wind as she realised that she was naked. Instinctively she tried to cover herself with her hands before realising that nobody could possibly see her.
Unwilling to stand for fear that she would fall off the tiny platform, she slowly crawled to the edge and looked down. The sea of cloud came right up to the rock, she couldn't see more than a foot below her. The cloud was dense, it looked nearly solid. She reached out and touched it, feeling a strange tingling sensation in her skin. The cloud shifted and washed over her hand, sending a sudden spike of fear through her as she felt it cling to her skin. The tingling sensation increased, running up her arm and along her shoulder to her neck and up into her head. She slumped forward as a wave of dizziness unsteadied her and nearly caused her to roll right off the rock. Getting herself under control, she pulled back. She lifted her hand, tugging a strand of the cloud with her. The strand snapped and released her as she jumped to her feet and stepped back. It coiled and waved about on the breeze, slowly starting to circle round her. As she watched it, another, darker strand rose up from beside the first, twisting around it as it moved. She took another step back and looked around. More and more of the strange vapours started to rise up around her, a thousand different colours, all coiling and intertwining with each other in a strangely hypnotic dance. Soon, she was completely surrounded by them. Gradually, the colour merged into a dull, rapidly moving mass of grey.
The cloud started to close in on her. She panicked and spun round, but realised she had nowhere to go, it was all around her. It got closer and closer, she hid her head in her arms, dropping to her knees as she screamed again. The cloud touched her skin, her whole body tingled at the contact. Then it was gone. The panic left her, she raised her head.
The cloud that surrounded her had faded, to a dull haze. Countless glowing points twinkled and shone in the mist, she felt as if she was adrift in a sea of stars. The wind picked up, she felt a cold blast on her face. A voice, barely audible over the wind reached her ears,
"We can see you," her eyes widened, the stars continued to sparkle down at her. They started to move and dance around one another. She watched them as they moved – in pairs, always in pairs. The realisation hit her, they weren't stars, they were eyes. Dozens, hundreds of glowing golden eyes staring at her. Fear rose in her again, she could feel them staring at her, judging her. Who were they? What did they want?
One pair of the lights detached from the others, it moved closer, flying within inches of her face. She was too scared to move as she heard the voice again, it was different, louder. It seemed to be calling her name,
"Hermione!" The eyes continued to hover inches from her face, their gaze bored into her. The pain in her stomach flared again, she screamed in agony and it was gone. The eyes were gone, the stone was gone, she was sitting on something soft. She opened her eyes and looked around, making out the shape of her curtains, her blanket, her bed. Another dream! Her night shirt was drenched in sweat, she felt a cold shiver run through her. Her eyes darted around, searching the darkness for floating eyes but found none, she was alone. Alone and scared.
She lay back and pulled the covers right up to her neck, still feeling the fear and shame of lying naked and exposed, still feeling like she was being watched.
A/N: Hey guys, sorry this has been so long coming, but I has been busy of late. More to follow, thanks for the reviews.