Fear
The boys fell hard on the ground when the Portkey had reached its destination. They both looked around, confused. They had landed on the same place as they had left, the chamber with the stone.
"Whattuh?" Draco heard Harry say again.
"Stop using that word, Potter!" Draco said annoyed, " It must be some kind of trick."
Harry observed the chamber, then said: "No it's not. Do you hear that?"
Draco did listen, then said: "I don't hear anything."
"Exactly," Harry replied, "We can't hear any sound of the battle that should be going on right now. It can't have stopped in those few minutes that we've been gone. I think we're in the same room, but in another dimension."
Draco tried to understand the whole situation. "So, this is the hiding place from Voldemort, it just doesn't exist in our world?"
"Exactly." came the reply, only, it wasn't Harry who had replied.
Draco looked at Harry, who looked at something behind Draco's back.Harry held his hand on his scar and cried out in pain.
The young Slytherin slowly turned around to face Voldemort. His red eyes burned right through Draco's soul, but Draco glared back with all the courage he had.
You've been a very..unloyal..boy." Voldemort hissed to Draco.
The Dark Lord took with each word a step closer to the boys. Draco took a few steps back to stand next to Harry, who had never felt such a pain before and wasn't able to think properly anymore. It was probably because the Dark Lord was stronger than before.
"I know why you betrayed me, Draco." Voldemort bit, "You were too weak to serve the dark side, you were too afraid of me!"
"I feel more fear for a muggle than for you." Draco sneered more couragious than he felt.
"Imperio!"Voldemort yelled, outraged.
Harry, who just wanted to attack Voldemort, got hit by the curse and he fell on the ground. Inside, he was trying to fight the curse, but outside he stared glassy-eyed to Voldemort, waiting for an order.
Draco drew his wand and pointed it at Voldemort.
"Would you want to risk that?"the Dark Lord asked with a cold smile, "You must remember that our little Potter here is connected with me right now and any curse that hits me, hits him too."
Draco kept his wand aimed at Voldemort, but said nothing. It was true, they were connected by the Imperius Curse until Voldemort had given his order to Harry.
"Leave him to me, My Lord." someone suddenly said.
Draco looked in the direction of the voice and his eyes grew wider.
"Father?" Draco whispered, and he felt an old fear return to his heart.
Lucius glared with cold grey eyes at Draco, while he leant heavily on his snake-headed cane. His usual decent look was gone: his hair hung wild and loose, his eyes were surrounded by a black shade and his clothes looked shabby. Nonertheless, he looked more dangerous than ever.
"Yes son," Lucius drawled, "You're not the only one who survived that day, don't look so surprised."
"How?" Draco barely managed to say.
"I'm not going to tell you the whole history of my escape from the mortuary. No, I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago."
Quick as a cobra, Lucius pulled out his wand and pointed it at Draco.
Draco took his wand too.
"Don't disappoint me again, Lucius." Voldemort said, and to Harry he hissed: "Don't worry, it's your turn soon."
While Harry crawled away from Voldemort, trying to fight the Imperius Curse, he saw something he would never have thought possible: Two duelling Malfoys, one the spitting image of the other, ready to kill each other.
"Crucio!" Lucius yelled.
So did Draco.Their spells hit each other and shot right up in the air, like the spell during the duel at Hogwarts had done. They formed one big ray of green light, and it shot like a wave over Draco's head.
The spell hit Harry in the stomach hard, but he didn't flinch. His armour was well protected against such curses, but he did fly a few metres backwards against a wall.
The ray of light was so strong, that it pulled the wands of Draco and Lucius out of their hands. Draco was surprised, but he recovered quickly and he attacked his father. But Lucius was faster and he hit his cane against his son's throat. Draco flew backwards and fell with his back on the floor.
Draco saw nothing but black before his eyes, but he forced himself to stay conscious. Lucius took a tighter grip on the cane and stabbed it on the floor, crushing Draco's hand under it.
Draco cried out in pain, then he saw through his tears how Lucius grabbed his wand from the floor and pointed it at him.
"No..." Draco said breathless.
"You're as much a danger to My Lord as Harry Potter," his father almost whispered, "You were only too stupid to understand that."
"What?" Draco whispered confused.
Lucius, who looked more insane by the second, suddenly yelled:"Avada...!"
That was the last thing Draco heard, before he fell into a deep black hole.
* * * * * * *
Hermione was nervously pacing in the library. She couldn't sleep anymore since the nightmare, and she had gone to the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey had asked her how she had gotten stabbed and Hermione had made up a story. She wasn't sure how Pomfrey would react on the truth. Now she was reading 'An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe' in the library.
She was on the last page when someone said: "Ah Miss Granger, can't sleep either?"
Hermione looked up at the Headmaster and smiled. "No sir."
"What's wrong with your hand?" Dumbledore asked surprised.
Hermione thought Dumbledore would understand the situation, so she told him the truth. "Is it possible to get physical wounds from a nightmare?" she asked after finishing her story.
"Yes, it does exist," Dumbledore said, "I read somewhere about it, it's a psychological disease."
"So, I'm mental ill?" Hermione asked bewildered.
"No Miss Granger, I would rather say that you have experienced a very life- like vision."
"A prophecy?"
"Yes, let's just hope that it was a false prophecy." Dumbledore said seriously. Hermione frowned, even if Lucius was alive, he couldn't come to Hogwarts, could he?
Dumbledore took her out of her thoughts by saying: "Oh I almost forgot, Draco left something for you."
Hermione watched amused how Dumbledore said 'Accio Box' and how a small green box caming flying into the library a few minutes later.
"There you go," Dumbledore said with a smile, "Green, a typical Slytherin isn't he?"
Hermione chuckled.
"If you will excuse me, Miss Granger, I'm going to count some sheep." Dumbledore said with the usual twinkle in his eyes and he left the library.
Hermione looked at the box and opened it. It was filled with things that Hermione had left at Malfoy Manor and a Draco's diary. Hermione smiled as she went to the last page, but her smile faded when she started to read:
'Dear diary, I think I found the reason why some people look at me with pity lately... I'm dying. I figured it out this morning, when I looked in the mirror. It was like looking at a ghost and it scared the hell out of me. I saw Snape looking at me in a concerned way and that's very unusual. I also feel so cold all the time. Why didn't anybody tell me? Don't I have the right to know ? I'm sure I wouldn't really know how to put up with this revelation if Hermione wasn't in my life...'
Hermione held her hand on her mouth and she felt how tears fell on her cheek. He knew...
Authors note: What will happen next? I don't know, you'll just have to come back and read! *Oh god, I love to tease my readers* If it's a comfort to you: the next chapter is as good as finished. So, you know what you have to do: Read and REVIEW! Greetings,
Your humble writer Ravenklauw
The boys fell hard on the ground when the Portkey had reached its destination. They both looked around, confused. They had landed on the same place as they had left, the chamber with the stone.
"Whattuh?" Draco heard Harry say again.
"Stop using that word, Potter!" Draco said annoyed, " It must be some kind of trick."
Harry observed the chamber, then said: "No it's not. Do you hear that?"
Draco did listen, then said: "I don't hear anything."
"Exactly," Harry replied, "We can't hear any sound of the battle that should be going on right now. It can't have stopped in those few minutes that we've been gone. I think we're in the same room, but in another dimension."
Draco tried to understand the whole situation. "So, this is the hiding place from Voldemort, it just doesn't exist in our world?"
"Exactly." came the reply, only, it wasn't Harry who had replied.
Draco looked at Harry, who looked at something behind Draco's back.Harry held his hand on his scar and cried out in pain.
The young Slytherin slowly turned around to face Voldemort. His red eyes burned right through Draco's soul, but Draco glared back with all the courage he had.
You've been a very..unloyal..boy." Voldemort hissed to Draco.
The Dark Lord took with each word a step closer to the boys. Draco took a few steps back to stand next to Harry, who had never felt such a pain before and wasn't able to think properly anymore. It was probably because the Dark Lord was stronger than before.
"I know why you betrayed me, Draco." Voldemort bit, "You were too weak to serve the dark side, you were too afraid of me!"
"I feel more fear for a muggle than for you." Draco sneered more couragious than he felt.
"Imperio!"Voldemort yelled, outraged.
Harry, who just wanted to attack Voldemort, got hit by the curse and he fell on the ground. Inside, he was trying to fight the curse, but outside he stared glassy-eyed to Voldemort, waiting for an order.
Draco drew his wand and pointed it at Voldemort.
"Would you want to risk that?"the Dark Lord asked with a cold smile, "You must remember that our little Potter here is connected with me right now and any curse that hits me, hits him too."
Draco kept his wand aimed at Voldemort, but said nothing. It was true, they were connected by the Imperius Curse until Voldemort had given his order to Harry.
"Leave him to me, My Lord." someone suddenly said.
Draco looked in the direction of the voice and his eyes grew wider.
"Father?" Draco whispered, and he felt an old fear return to his heart.
Lucius glared with cold grey eyes at Draco, while he leant heavily on his snake-headed cane. His usual decent look was gone: his hair hung wild and loose, his eyes were surrounded by a black shade and his clothes looked shabby. Nonertheless, he looked more dangerous than ever.
"Yes son," Lucius drawled, "You're not the only one who survived that day, don't look so surprised."
"How?" Draco barely managed to say.
"I'm not going to tell you the whole history of my escape from the mortuary. No, I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago."
Quick as a cobra, Lucius pulled out his wand and pointed it at Draco.
Draco took his wand too.
"Don't disappoint me again, Lucius." Voldemort said, and to Harry he hissed: "Don't worry, it's your turn soon."
While Harry crawled away from Voldemort, trying to fight the Imperius Curse, he saw something he would never have thought possible: Two duelling Malfoys, one the spitting image of the other, ready to kill each other.
"Crucio!" Lucius yelled.
So did Draco.Their spells hit each other and shot right up in the air, like the spell during the duel at Hogwarts had done. They formed one big ray of green light, and it shot like a wave over Draco's head.
The spell hit Harry in the stomach hard, but he didn't flinch. His armour was well protected against such curses, but he did fly a few metres backwards against a wall.
The ray of light was so strong, that it pulled the wands of Draco and Lucius out of their hands. Draco was surprised, but he recovered quickly and he attacked his father. But Lucius was faster and he hit his cane against his son's throat. Draco flew backwards and fell with his back on the floor.
Draco saw nothing but black before his eyes, but he forced himself to stay conscious. Lucius took a tighter grip on the cane and stabbed it on the floor, crushing Draco's hand under it.
Draco cried out in pain, then he saw through his tears how Lucius grabbed his wand from the floor and pointed it at him.
"No..." Draco said breathless.
"You're as much a danger to My Lord as Harry Potter," his father almost whispered, "You were only too stupid to understand that."
"What?" Draco whispered confused.
Lucius, who looked more insane by the second, suddenly yelled:"Avada...!"
That was the last thing Draco heard, before he fell into a deep black hole.
* * * * * * *
Hermione was nervously pacing in the library. She couldn't sleep anymore since the nightmare, and she had gone to the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey had asked her how she had gotten stabbed and Hermione had made up a story. She wasn't sure how Pomfrey would react on the truth. Now she was reading 'An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe' in the library.
She was on the last page when someone said: "Ah Miss Granger, can't sleep either?"
Hermione looked up at the Headmaster and smiled. "No sir."
"What's wrong with your hand?" Dumbledore asked surprised.
Hermione thought Dumbledore would understand the situation, so she told him the truth. "Is it possible to get physical wounds from a nightmare?" she asked after finishing her story.
"Yes, it does exist," Dumbledore said, "I read somewhere about it, it's a psychological disease."
"So, I'm mental ill?" Hermione asked bewildered.
"No Miss Granger, I would rather say that you have experienced a very life- like vision."
"A prophecy?"
"Yes, let's just hope that it was a false prophecy." Dumbledore said seriously. Hermione frowned, even if Lucius was alive, he couldn't come to Hogwarts, could he?
Dumbledore took her out of her thoughts by saying: "Oh I almost forgot, Draco left something for you."
Hermione watched amused how Dumbledore said 'Accio Box' and how a small green box caming flying into the library a few minutes later.
"There you go," Dumbledore said with a smile, "Green, a typical Slytherin isn't he?"
Hermione chuckled.
"If you will excuse me, Miss Granger, I'm going to count some sheep." Dumbledore said with the usual twinkle in his eyes and he left the library.
Hermione looked at the box and opened it. It was filled with things that Hermione had left at Malfoy Manor and a Draco's diary. Hermione smiled as she went to the last page, but her smile faded when she started to read:
'Dear diary, I think I found the reason why some people look at me with pity lately... I'm dying. I figured it out this morning, when I looked in the mirror. It was like looking at a ghost and it scared the hell out of me. I saw Snape looking at me in a concerned way and that's very unusual. I also feel so cold all the time. Why didn't anybody tell me? Don't I have the right to know ? I'm sure I wouldn't really know how to put up with this revelation if Hermione wasn't in my life...'
Hermione held her hand on her mouth and she felt how tears fell on her cheek. He knew...
Authors note: What will happen next? I don't know, you'll just have to come back and read! *Oh god, I love to tease my readers* If it's a comfort to you: the next chapter is as good as finished. So, you know what you have to do: Read and REVIEW! Greetings,
Your humble writer Ravenklauw