Chapter Three : Imperio

He couldn't stop staring at her as she made her way to the front of the room. The sorting hat winked at her as she practically floated up there. She was astoundingly graceful and poised—probably because, unlike the first years, she knew where she would end up. There was no question. All Eldergoth's who had ever come to Hogwarts had been placed in Slytherin—just like every Malfoy that attended Hogwarts had been placed in Slytherin. It was destiny.

"Eldergoth, Terrwyn," McGonnagal called out.

She stepped forward. Draco held his breath. She sat beneath the sorting hat. Draco twiddled his thumbs. The sorting hat called out: "Slytherin!" Draco let out a sigh of relief. And then she was next to him, cradling her head in her upturned hands, lazily, as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"I knew you'd be in Slytherin."

She blinked at him. "So did I; it kind of ruins the effect of that little hat when you know where you're going, doesn't it?"

He remembered his first year and shuddered. Nope; the hat had still freaked him out completely. He chose to lie. "Yeah, it really does."

She smiled. "Liar."

He flushed. "I am not."

"Draco, I can read the lie in your eyes. And, if I really wanted to, I could just read your mind. I'm a trained Legilimens and Occulmens." She bit her lip absentmindedly. "But I don't really feel like prying. And I don't usually do it to my friends. It seems rude to me."

He stifled his laughter. "Legilimens? Occulmens? Now who's the liar. I bet you the next thing you'll tell me is that you're an animagus and can do it anytime you want; and that you create your own spells and curses. Puh-lease, Terrwyn. You're not fooling me. I put up with liars all the time. And that's one load of bullshit."

She smirked. "All of those things you just said, I can do."

"Prove it."

"Which one do you want me to prove first? The animagus, of course, is rather difficult in this setting, considering I am unregistered and will probably be expelled for just attempting to change in here. But if you're calling me a liar, I'd be willing to risk it to prove my claims."

He matched her smirk. "Okay, we'll skip the animagus for now. How about you prove that you're a Legilimens. Tell me what I'm thinking."

She nodded slowly. "Okay."

There was suddenly a sharp, tearing sensation in his mind. He watched his own memories whirl past his inner vision and he tried to look away from Terrwyn's piercing gaze. He knew that eye contact was essential for a Legilimens. Eventually, he tore his gaze away from hers, well aware that he now knew every color in her eyes.

This was dwarfed to the fact that Terrwyn now knew everything about him—every childhood memory, every personal secret, ever piece of his dark, cold past, and every personal feeling he had ever had for any other human being, including Terrwyn herself. She knew him on a level that was unmatched by anyone else he knew, including his own parents. It scared him immensely.

"You were thinking that your mission is never going to be accomplished because you can't bring yourself to become what they want you to be." He gasped and his eyes filled with unstoppable tears. That was the one thing he hadn't wanted her to know. "Oh, and you were also thinking about snogging me senseless right here on this bench."

He flushed lightly, but was still very much concentrated on the other fact she had exposed. "Yeah, sure..."

He felt her hand on his thigh. "Draco, are you all right? I didn't mean to scare you. And I tried to stay out of the personal stuff. But you're so unguarded. I'm not used to it. It was overwhelming."

He ground his teeth together. "Great, I'm mentally exposed."

He watched her eyes fill with tears. She pulled her hand away. "I'm so sorry; I know that I'm a freak and that I shouldn't have pried. I should have just told you I was lying or something. I shouldn't have put you through this. I'm sorry." Then she scooted away, towards her brother who was glaring at the blond Slytherin who had just made the top of his 'shit list'.

Draco sighed darkly. "Terrwyn..."

She shook her head. "No, Draco, it's okay. You don't have to pretend that you don't care, that you can deal with it. I know you can't. It's why I don't have any friends. I'm used to it. Don't worry about it. I don't blame you."

His eyes filled with more tears. "But I really don't care. You just scared me. And I'm not unused to being scared; in fact, I'm quite used to it." He glanced around at the rest of the Slytherin table. They were absorbed in their food. He sighed and pressed on. "You want the truth? I'm always scared."

She scooted a little closer. "So am I. It's become part of my identity—the fear of belonging to someone I hate, of losing my independence. But I want to let you know, that no matter what this 'mission' is, I don't blame you and I'm not afraid of you. And I also want you to know that I'll never hurt you."

At this, Pansy's doe-eyed gaze swiveled to them. "Bitch!" She practically launched herself across the table, grabbing Terrwyn by her silver, silk scarf. Terrwyn gagged and choked, her hands flying to her neck. Salem tried to help, but he was trapped by the mass of Slytherins that leaned and pushed to watch the action. Draco, though, was unblocked. He grabbed onto Pansy's hand. But her grip on Terrwyn was fierce and seemingly unbreakable.

"Bitch, bitch, BITCH! You can't have him! I won't let you! You're a foreigner! I've a right to him...you don't! 'I'll never hurt you'—no, you won't! Because I'll never let you get close enough to hurt him."

Terrwyn's lips were turning blue. The other table turned to stare at the malicious Slytherin princess and her foreign victim. But the teachers were occupied—figures, Draco mused—with the First Years and their Sorting. Suddenly, Terrwyn's eyes blazed with an inner fire. Her lips formed a strange shape and her gaze met Pansy's fiercely. "Imperio," she whispered, and Pansy fell back, her eyes wide and her limbs slack.

Terrwyn fell back as well, gasping for breath, as her hand rose with a raised pointer finger. "You will never touch me again, Pansy Parkinson. And you will never use violence to win over any man. And you will no longer be controlling over the people who call you friend—your reign as 'princess' is over." She rubbed at her neck with her free hand. "I release you."

Pansy's face regained their color and she blinked stupidly. "Why are you all staring at me like that?"

A ghost of a smile flitted over Terrwyn's lips before she fainted. Luckily, Draco dove forward to catch her. He couldn't speak. He had just witnessed one of the Unforgivables—performed, almost naturally, by a student—a SIXTH year. But the more disconcerting thing was that she had done good with that very same Unforgivable.

"Salem," he called out, "Help me take her to the Infirmary."

Salem nodded and stood, coming to take Terrwyn into his arms. Draco let him as he picked up her knapsack, her wand, and her scarf from under the bench. Then he he followed the two Eldergoths out of the Great Hall and into the halls, making their way to Poppy Pomfrey's Infirmary.

"It's too early for this, Mr. Malfoy. What happened to her?"

Draco tried to explain as best as he could, while successfully eliminating the fact that Terrwyn had used the Imperius curse. As far as he could tell, he was the only one that had seen those words form on her lips. And if he wasn't, he'd make sure he was the only that remembered by the end of the day.

"Pansy Parkinson tried to strangle her with her own scarf and, Pansy's grip was really tight, I couldn't pull her off. And by the time Pansy fell back, Terrwyn was already blue. When we got the scarf off, she just fainted. She looks really bad, Madame Pomfrey," Salem clarified, as best he could.

"I can see that, Mr. Eldergoth." She glanced at her watch. "I do believe you have Prefect duties currently, Mr. Eldergoth." Salem cursed under his breath. Pomfrey pretended not to notice. "Please hurry along; I'm certain one male will suffice while I try to bring Ms. Eldergoth back to consciousness."

Salem looked at Draco with a threat in his eyes. "Don't hurt my sister," he warned, as he practically ran out of the Infirmary. Immediately, Draco was at Madame Pomfrey's side, helping her in any way he could and, constantly, glancing at Terrwyn's prone, blue-lipped form.

Suddenly, Terrwyn sputtered and coughed, writhing on the Infirmary bed, and cried out: "Help me! Oh God, help me! He's in my head. I can't get him out!" She scratched at her face madly, causing welts and scratches to form everywhere, some welling up with blood. "Get him out! I can't...I'm not strong enough. Oh God, help me!" Her hands flung out and grabbed a hold of Draco's collar. The blond boy leaned forward, tugged by her amazingly strong grip, while Madame Pomfrey tried to find a sedative to use on the poor girl.

"Draco, you have to help me. Only you can know. He's in my head. He's pushing, he's prying, he's trying to make me forget—he doesn't like you with me. He likes me...likes to keep me all to himself. Don't leave me; he can't get rid of you. He can't get rid of me. He likes me, he needs me, he wants me..." She was gasping, tears falling down her face like sparkling waterfalls.

He felt himself crying too. He knew who she was talking about. He knew who was in her head. And he wanted so desperately to help her. "Hold on, Terrwyn, we'll get him out. I'll save you, I promise."

She sobbed, her fingers falling from his collar. Immediately, he knew what he had to do. He climbed onto the bed, pulled her into his arms and held on tight as she writhed, scratched and screamed. "They promised him, but there was a loophole. Oh God, he doesn't like it. He doesn't like how they tricked him. He's gonna kill Daddy; I can see it. But I can't stop it. Mama's all sad now; she blames herself. Poor, poor, mama, I'm so sorry."

Slowly, her writhing ceased and she relaxed in his arms as she sobbed, suddenly so helpless. "Draco," she breathed, "He makes me watch. He makes me watch them die. And it's all my fault."

After a moment, Pomfrey was at the side of Terrwyn's bed again. But, upon seeing the girl nearly asleep in his arms, she let a tear slide down her face. "How did you do it, Mr. Malfoy? Even I didn't know what to do. Even I was confused. And I've been doing this for forty years."

Draco put his head on top of Terrwyn's ebony curls. "I know what she's feeling and, because of that, my heart knew what to do. And, before you ask, I hardly know her. I don't know what the particulars are, or how she came to be so afraid. All I know is that I know that fear. And it's devastating."

Pomfrey nodded. "I won't question any further; but Dumbledore and Professor McGonnagal will most likely like to speak with the both of you when she recovers."

Draco's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Because she was talking about someone in her head, Mr. Malfoy; and with the situation with Voldemort right now, it's policy. And, besides that, she was strangled in the middle of the Great Hall by a fellow student. That calls for Headmaster intervention as well, I'm afraid. She may have to be placed in another House."

Draco's eyes widened. "You can't do that. Her brother's in Slytherin—he's a prefect! It's not like he can leave. And I'm in Slytherin—can't go anywhere else. And you've seen it, you've witnessed it. I'm the only one that understands her. You can't do that to her. You just can't."

"I have no intention of changing Miss Eldergoth's House, Mr. Malfoy," a sugary voice cut in, and Draco's head turned to glare at the incomer. "Ah, I see you're not too happy to see me. That's to be expected. Especially after what Poppy must have told you about the circumstances."

Draco scoffed at the Headmaster. "You're mental if you think I'm going to let you take her away from Slytherin. It's the only place where she'll be safe."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I assure you, Mr. Malfoy, that if I truly wanted to remove Terrwyn from Slytherin, that you would be powerless to stop me."

"That makes me really want to trust you."

Dumbledore made his way to the bed. "Why do you care so much? You just recently met, Miss Eldergoth, did you not?"

Draco bristled. "We understand each other. And, unlike some people, that feeling doesn't come often to Slytherins—especially Malfoys. And we trust each other, which even more of a stranger occurrence."

"I wouldn't dream of taking that away from the two of you. It would be cruel and very foolish on my part. No, in fact, your connection is exactly what we need." He put his hand on Draco's shoulder. "We need to speak in private."

"We are in private. It's not like Terrwyn can hear you. She's out cold."

"I assure Draco, that it's not Terrwyn I'm worried about." He tapped his head. "It's who's in here that frightens me."

Draco's eyes widened. "Oh." It was all he could say.

"You're saying that Voldemort is in her head?" Draco asked, incredulously, running a hand through his tousled, in-need-of-a-haircut, blond tresses.

"Exactly. But we don't know why," Dumbledore agreed.

"And you think that I can help her fight him."

"Exactly. But we don't know how," Dumbledore clarified.

"And you think that, by helping her, I can help myself."

"Exactly. That's just good karma."

Draco sighed. "That doesn't make any sense."

Dumbledore popped a lemon drop into his wrinkled, I-smile-too-much, mouth and grinned wolfishly at Draco. "It does to me."

"You act like that's all that matters."

"Sometimes, Draco, it is. I have inklings sometimes. This is one of them."

Draco scowled. "I'm not Potter; I don't risk my neck according to your bloody inklings. And I most certainly won't risk somebody else's neck according to your inklings. I don't have the luxury of a billion disposable friends."

Dumbledore's eyes darkened. "I hope you're not saying that Harry doesn't care about his friends—that he thinks they're dispensable."

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Cedric Diggory got killed because of him."

Dumbledore rose from his chair angrily. "That was a tragic accident!"

"Bullshit! Harry Bloody James Fucking Potter got him KILLED!"

Dumbledore backhanded him. "If you weren't important and extremely talented, I'd expel you right now, Draco Malfoy. As it is, you are important and are extremely talented. So I won't bother expelling you. It would be worse for me in the long run."

Draco fumed silently as Dumbledore pressed on. "Terrwyn Eldergoth has the potential to become a great asset to the Light Side in this War. But, if Voldemort gets a hold of her, she could also become the end of us."

Draco shook his head violently. "I'm not going to spy on her."

"Not spying, Draco; I want you to convert her."

"That'd be stupid. Voldemort would know that I'm not on his side. He'd kill me. He gave me a bloody mission, Dumbledore, that he expects me to carry out. I don't even know how I'm going to get out of that one."

"I already have it taken care of. Snape will inform you later this year."

"Okay, then, but it doesn't fix the fact that Terrwyn is infested with Voldemort's influence. He'll be able to see everything I do."

Dumbledore sighed. "You have a good point."

"I know; that's why I have such a big brain."

"Insulting me will get you nowhere."

Draco grinned. "But it's oh-so-funny, Bumblebee."

"Don't call me that."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Killjoy."

"Ferret."

Draco winced. "That's a low-blow. But, seriously, what do you want me to do?"

"Find out why he's in her head to begin with. Figure out if there's a way to get him out. If there is, pursue that route if possible."

"If she knew how to get him out, wouldn't she have done it already?"

"Maybe she can't do it by herself. Most of the time, magical curses need more than one person to break them. I'd assume that it's a curse that she suffers through."

"If it's not?"

"Then she's a lost cause, we eliminate and we start over."

"Hell no; like I said, I'm not Potter. I don't sit back and watch my friends die. I try and stop it. You are not going to hurt her."

"You just met her, Draco."

"Dammit, Dumbledore, I told you! We understand each other."

Dumbledore was somber. "If it comes to that, and you interfere, you will be eliminated as well, Draco; and it will be a shame to take such a brilliant mind away from the world. Please reconsider your loyalties."

"I'm with you until you hurt someone important. When that happens, you're no better than that serpentine slime-ball."

Dumbledore nodded. "I see, Draco; you may return to Miss Eldergoth now. Severus will contact you with the first stage of our plan as soon as possible."

Draco nodded, already leaving Pomfrey's office. "Dumbledore," he added, as he was walking out the door, "I meant what I said. My loyalties lie with those I care about. And that will never change."

There it is! Chapter three! The story is officially off of hiatus! Yay me!

R&R