The Serpent's Snare

Chapter Eleven

"You look terrible." Granger's voice was the first thing that greeted me in the morning hours. We had been riding for what seemed like days but my mind was becoming harder and harder to focus on the matters at hand. I did not know if this was the draw of Lothuialil or the power of the ring…but I felt as terrible as Granger claims I looked.

"Gather supplies to make camp, we will rest here." Estelon called out but his words were muffled as I rubbed my eyes, trying my best to erase the remnants of my dream from my waking eyes but I was drifting.

"Malfoy?" Granger asked until I stumbled slightly a few steps away until the world around me began to spin. The greenery of the plains and the overcast sky seemed to dance around me causing me to lose my footing.

"HARRY!" I heard her scream until I felt myself being eased onto the ground. I blinked furiously to make clear the face of scarhead before me.

Potter let go of me if you value your life! My words were unable to surface as I slipped away into the darkness that had been tugging at my senses since we had left Gondor.

"You must forgive me." I opened my eyes to find myself facing the same blinding light as I had seen when I put on the ring trying to escape Granger's grabby hands back in our world.

"You." I muttered while rubbing my temples. Even in this dreamlike world my head was still pounding.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" I finally asked as I realized perhaps him showing himself to me now and my sudden onset of symptoms was no mere coincidence.

"My strength is fading." So you've decided to draw strength from the one who bears your ring? Typical behavior for one such as he, whatever he is. I was still so confused as to everything that has happened and where I was to even go from here. I knew my task was first and foremost to find Lothuialil but what then? What of this ring? What of this brute standing before me still cloaked in a blinding light that was beginning to irritate the piss out of me.

"Lower the light would you? We need to talk." He turned to me with a smirk. His angelic features began dull as his light slowly dimmed. His face was worn slightly, riddled with dark magic I would say if I had seen such a mug in my world. There was darkness about him; it was becoming more evident as his light began to fade.

"So you are a deceiver." I muttered.

"How so?"

"The light you keep around you, it's a rather poorly made costume if you ask me, but you use it to seem more…hospitable do you not? I know your kind…"

"I do not believe you have met my kind before Draco Malfoy." He said sternly.

"Oh trust me, I have."

"I did not bring you hear to discuss accusations of morality young mortal."

"Well why did you bring me here, aside from draining more of my energy so that you can gather your own strength?" My words caused him to chuckle slightly though his laughter seemed to trail off in tones so deep it caused the very hair upon my neck to stand.

"It seems you are not who I am in need of on my journey, rather, not at the present moment."

"I don't do the evil bit anymore Sauron…I kicked the habit." I stood tall, folding my arms proudly about my chest. The type of stance my father hated, it only seemed fitting to disappoint yet another brooding figure in my life.

"Indeed. But can you answer me this, what luck will you have in finding Lothuialil in your present state? Look at you, held back by the company of mortals and pathetic excuses for warriors, and held back even more so by your inability to obtain power? You are weak and you shall not find what it is you seek."

"What do you know of Lothuialil?" I quickly snapped. His eyes glistened; yeah…you captured my attention.

"I know more than you can ever hope to find on your own. I know that she could be drawing her final breaths as we speak." My teeth clenched at his words. I knew his kind alright, and I knew this could be some form of deception and yet I could not turn away from him.

"Where is she?"

"I will help you find her and I can ensure all that it is you desire is found along with her but you must first do something for me."

"You expect me to fall for that? I've been played for a fool by far more intimidating of creatures than you buddy. I won't be playing by your rules and I won't be cowering in fear by you anytime soon."

"Oh but you should fear me boy. You should fear what it is that I will do to you. It is you who bear my ring and it is you who shall see that I return to Middle Earth."

"Or what?" Suddenly the pale light surrounding us began growing dark. Like a sudden storm brewing in the heat of the summer. Clouds circled overhead as trees began to sway violently about. I laid eyes upon Sauron once again only to see cracks appearing upon his features as if his skin wear breaking free from the form underneath. Red light began glowing from the cracks tracing his skin; it was like fire was seeping within him. His eyes began glowing red and hues of gold as he stared me down.

Without warning he appeared a few inches before me and took hold of my arms. The warmth of his very flesh was searing through my garments, searing the very skin from my bone. I screamed out in pain until I felt his breath upon my face.

"Or I shall leave you here to burn within the very nightmare you fear the most. I can see your mind boy…you are riddled with fear! You fear me…and you fear of remaining the cowardly little child with nothing but a stained reputation to show for your pathetic little life. Shall I send you home? Where your mother cannot bear to be in your presence…where your father blames you for the undoing of your entire family legacy? Where every soul who knows your face will murmur behind you as you walk by…there goes Draco Malfoy…the boy who has nothing!"

"You belong to me now!" He then grabbed my forearm where my dark mark remained and he allowed the fire within his grasp to singe every inch of my skin. I flailed about like a mad thing, trying to peel myself from his grip. Tears were streaming down my face as his eyes drank in every drop of my torture before him. I screamed until finally he brought his finger to his mouth and motioned for me to silence my screams.

"You know how to find me again…we can all be victors here, heroes worthy of remembrance and worthy of the love of your fair Lothuialil…you hold the key." I squeezed my eyes shut and upon reopening them I was back.

I shot up, without thinking I frantically pushed and shoved anything nearest me as I began scrambling away. I felt my legs give way until I crashed upon the grass covered earth.

"Hey, calm down…you're alright you have a fever. Draco…Draco Malfoy look at me!" Granger's voice reached pitches that resembled that of nails scratching along a chalkboard but it helped bring me to the reality at hand. I wasn't there anymore…I mean…I wasn't with him. Without trying to draw even more attention to myself I casually rolled to a sitting position and began searching for evidence of burns…my singed clothing and flesh where his grasp had taken hold but there was nothing. That was no dream…

"A fever you say?" I scoffed trying to act as if my mind was clearing but there was no clearing those thoughts. Those words of his would be ringing in my ears for some time.

"Are you alright mate?" I heard Potter pipe in. Do I bloody look alright? What a bumbling idiot. I was so exhausted though and the look of concern even on scarhead's face was genuine. I simply nodded as Estelon came into sight.

"Perhaps the journey has been too long for your body to maintain its' health. Rest now, gather your strength. I will send for a healer if you are not fairing better in the morning. Gondor will gladly send aid if we should need."

"I'm fine, I don't need a healer." I didn't know what I needed. Was Lothuialil the answer to all of this, would things become clearer once she was found? Somehow I imagined her to rescue me in a sense, her presence would surely mark a change in my life right? Or would it complicate things more? Bringing her around me when I'm a raving lunatic in the head, no…what the hell do I do?

"Talk to us." Granger said softly. Was she answering my internal monologue there?

"I will take my leave." Estelon said with a bow, no doubt sensing the three wierdos from another realm needed time for a meeting.

"It's the ring isn't it? It's making you ill." Granger said bluntly.

"I don't know."

"Enough Malfoy. Look you can keep to yourself, you can push us away…hell you could even run off and leave us all behind and never look back-" Don't tempt me Potter.

"But the fact is WE are here. We were brought here with you for some reason so the least you could do is let us help you. This isn't Hogwarts anymore, this isn't the bloody war. We are not enemies, we want to go home as bad as you do but-"

"I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME!" I snapped. My anger boiled over.

"We may not be enemies Potter but we are far from friends. You don't know me, you don't know anything about me so don't you dare speak as if you know what it is I want."

"Well if you don't want to go home what is it that you want to do hm? You want to stay here? Be some…side show attraction for creatures we've never even heard of? What sort of life do you plan on having here?" Potter continued. Granger was surprisingly quiet, letting the boys hash it out I suppose but my anger was still very much alive towards Potter. I had my reasons.

"What, can't speak? Or won't speak?"

"What sort of life do you think I have back home Potter? You may have made a grand ole happily ever after tale for you back home but I am in ruin there. My name is soiled, stained with hatred that I will never be able to wipe clean. Here…I can do something, save this woman and-"

"And what? Fall in love? Become a hero?" Potter interrupted.

"How the hell should I know but I don't plan on leaving without finding out!" Potter took off his glasses and began rubbing his eyes. A slow exhale of aggravation escaped his lips that I wouldn't dare let go.

"What? Don't feel like sharing the role of a hero Potter? Is that it?"

"Malfoy…we don't know anything about this world. And the things we have learned are from people we don't even know if we can trust. Honestly…we don't know anything or anyone for certain. I am…worried that this ring of yours is somehow clouding your judgment."

"Clouding my judgment? Oh that's clever. Well spotted there." I quickly deflected.

"Well for one I don't think you are the type to run off in some adventure to save a damsel in distress that you have never met. And this ring…I've seen you with it. You can't keep your eyes off it when you think we aren't looking. I think you-"

"What Harry is trying to say Draco is that we are worried. This place…this ring…it has some sort of hold over you and we just don't know how it is we can find a way home if you…well if you stay in the sort of mindset. Look at you…you've barely eaten, you hardly sleep and you've got a fever…whether it's the ring or not something here is doing bad things to you and you cannot look me in the eye and deny it."

I was more lost than ever. Confused wouldn't begin to explain the waves of incoherent thoughts flying through my mind. Decisions had to be made…lines had to be drawn. I had to be with them…or without. I could tell them everything. My dreams, my encounters with Sauron the terrifyingly annoying antagonist of this stupid ring, I could tell them everything and try to win them over to stay and help me. That king of Gondor, he pushed for me to keep my friends close…to not do this alone. But it all came down to one fact.

"We are not friends." I said coldly. Their faces did not seem shocked by my words. In fact, there was a hint of agreement in their eyes but then something did in fact shock me. I felt the warmth of Granger's hand upon my own.

"You're right. But…we could be."

Author's Note: I wanted to apologize for my absence on here guys, I'm sorry if there have been anyone patiently waiting and silently cursing my name for the fact I haven't updated this story BUT I am back and I do not abandon my stories, I will see this one through to the end I promise! Thank you for waiting and again I'm sorry life got in the way there for awhile but here's the deal with this story. This update was hard for me to write because I knew I had to get Sauron back into the mix and to give a little bit more pull from the ring, I also needed to put our trio at a crossroads, the next chapter will show whether Draco will chose to get closer to Harry and Hermione or if he's going to allow the pull of the ring bring him to a more solo type of adventure. Which do you hope to happen? And also the plot will thicken with Lothuialil next chapter and FINALLY some action and maybe a twist or two.

Is anyone dying for Lothuialil to come into the story? Just curious as to what my readers are hoping to see happen! Please take a moment to read and review. This is a difficult crossover story and I hope this update didn't deter anyone from reading on, I know it feels like a filler chapter but that's only because BIG things are happening next! Stick around! Thanks and one last thing, if you enjoy my writing I have a few HP and LOTR stories, a few which are finished, that I hope you will go read as well! Thanks!