A/N: HEY PPLE! I'm back, fresh after my exams and ready to kick back into the world of fanfiction with CC! Chapter-5, here it comes! Enjoy:-)
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That night, when the whole house was asleep and resting and the cuckoo tower was striking 12, Draco opened the door of his room and slipped outside. The invisibility cloak hanging over one arm, he tiptoed down the corridor and climbed down the stairs, carefully trying to make no noise.
The dinning chairs were all pulled up over the table, which gleamed in the moonlight pouring in through the large side window. Draco passed by the table and went into the living room, from where he collected a robe and a couple of port keys, put them into his pocket and headed to the front door exit.
The lamps were glowing brightly, spreading luminance that seemed unworldly along with the layers of moonlight. Fingers sliding against the walls, wand held outside, Draco turned around and scanned the place to ensure that he was alone, then, quietly, he put on his cloak, reached for the doorknob, and slipped out…
Chapter-5: Castle Of Kings
It had been days since Harry had found himself content or resting. With the war and the defense strategies and prophecies and all, Harry had been pulled to the limits and there was not a single moment in his life which was spent not thinking about his major role in fighting the dark side.
But after he had come to find out that Draco was a deatheater, his peace of mind had completely left him. He realized that fighting the dark side began with fighting internal battles and finding peace within the Order.
He wanted Draco to be expelled from the Order, because of the potential threat he posed to its safety. He knew instinctively that Draco had left the Order to join with the dark forces and that his status of a spy was more or less relevant to the dark side.
Talking to Dumbledore the next day didn't make things better.
Dumbledore had full mind to keep the boy in the Order on account of his spy status and expressed confidence in his loyalty to their side. He said he couldn't believe Draco to serve the Dark Lord even if his life depended on it…
This, Harry couldn't believe, because knowing his childhood enemy, the thirst for power and fame would have led him to serve Voldemort unconditionally.
Unsatisfied and angry after his fruitless meeting with Dumbledore, Harry walked into the living room where Hermione was sitting on the couch, reading. She looked up when she saw him and seeing the expression on his face, asked what was wrong.
"I can't prove anything," he said angrily, sitting down beside her. "Even Dumbledore believes he's innocent!"
"Oh."
"Well, you can't say much can you? You've already made up your mind about him!"
"Yes, I have."
"You're on his side, then?"
"I'm on both your sides."
Harry shook his head, unable to believe that his friend was still supporting Draco.
"God, Hermione, I wish you would just start thinking!!" he said harshly and exited the room.
Hermione closed her book and rubbed her eyes. She was tired of Harry's outbursts and thoughtless accusations. She knew that he was under a lot of pressure recently but his words were really starting to sting.
She sighed, wondering why Harry wanted to use her feelings against her this way.
Maybe he just doesn't want to see me hurt, maybe he think that siding with Draco would leave me in ruins. But it's not like I'm going to do something utterly impulsive and irrational for him!
With those thoughts of consolation in her heart, Hermione opened her book to resume reading. An hour into reading when her mind stopped absorbing the pre-read facts, Harry appeared at the door again.
"He's is not here," he said, his face contracted with worry. "Hermione, Malfoy's missing…"
(xxx)
The large, stone chamber might have once been a place of untamed revelry. A place where stuffed pig and grapes were served on embellished silver platters to kings and emperors and wine flowed like water into the goblets of many a drunken page.
The magnificent chandelier hanging from the mural ceiling would have hosted a hundred lighted candles, basking the room with a glow so inviting and rich, it became an object of pride to the king in power and a source of entertainment to the old couples who, watching it, would exchange stories and experiences from their lives.
But now, the long, wooden table was empty. There were no more clattering of dishes and clinking of water goblets. There was no stuffed pig or fountains of wine. The candles in the fireplace had burnt down into their pools of wax, the room was lifeless, dark, and grey expect for moonlight coming in from the windows.
At the end of the table was a tyrannical, inhuman force, hovering in the shadows. A hood was pulled over its head and covered most of its face and it spoke in a low, raspy tone to a small, rat-faced man.
"All this time I've been waiting, Wormtail," the voice said, "for the opportune moment to prove my powers against those of fate and destiny. And now, the opportune moment has come…"
The man squeaked, shaking his head reverently. "Yes, master. The moment to bestow your wrath upon those who had once condemned you has come. You must be very very happy to know that the execution of your plan was perfect and that the boy shall return here and give you answers to the questions you've always been looking for."
"Oh, you mistake me again, Wormtail…" the Dark Lord said uncaringly, "it is not the execution of the plans that has made me happy, but the ghost of what we will establish soon."
He turned to Wormtail and showed him his decaying smile.
"By the time the sun disappears tomorrow, we shall take over the whole of the magical community. Dumbledore will be dead by my order and that foolish Harry Potter will perish with his own angst and loathing…."
"And what about the Lucius' boy? What shall we do with him?"
"…Draco…he is the most deceitful follower I have ever had!"
Lord Voldemort emitted a low growl and Wormtail bowed his head, indicating that he understood his fury.
"Draco shall be dealt with immediately after the war. The dementors will be commanded and I can assure you that he is going to pay with every bit of life he has left…"
Wormtail smiled wryly, lifting up his head to face his master, "master, can it be so that the Order has been informed of our little visit tomorrow?"
"How can they be informed?" said the hooded figure with a cold laugh. "Their means is in my hands…"
(xxx)
He was in an alleyway, grimy walls rose above him and broken shop windows stared him down from either side. Through the leftover shards, he could make out the storage materials inside-all sorts of wooden barrels, bags of gunpowder, wheelbarrows. Rain poured down in pellets, splattering over the starchy velvet of his robes and rolling down in beads to the end of the cloth. The soot mixed with mud and residues splashed onto the walls with every step he took in the stagnating puddles as he ran across the dingy way to the opening into the dead muggle street.
His shoulders felt heavy with the exertion; there was no one around, and the streets were swimming in the dirty water that was flowing in through passageways in between buildings. But the lack of noise was what unnerved him into thinking of the scenario as a trap. Lack of noise was the calm and composure before the winding storm.
A striped grey cat screeched and sprang towards him out of the garbage cans at the corner, paws outstretched, ready for attack. On reflex, he reached for his wand, then, froze along with the winds above-his wand was gone.
The feline screeched again and it fell over behind him, in a ball and rolled onto the pavement, and disappeared behind a tree.
For a second, he watched its stiff grey tail vanish behind it, then, his attention shifted to the breaking of skies and the frigorific gusts of rain. It felt like drops of ice upon his forehead, slipping into the neck of shirt and chilling him inside. No sooner was he aware of the atmosphere turning frigid, like his voice, he began to run once again.
….Dementors…
Swooping up behind him were beings in long, wispy clothes, their tails disappearing into the night. He could hear their breath, their parched breaths, and he tried to make it faster.
Their wraithlike presence surrounded him in stirring black clouds to shut out the sky.
His jaws were shut tight due to the fear of being hunted and due to the cold that was making his bones feel like ice, every fiber in his body was responding to them.
He had been chased into a muddy school ground and was now in clear view for the dementors to perform their kiss. Knowing this, Draco jumped over the seesaw and dashed into the nearby trees.
Then, he heard them – cracks in between the trees.
The deatheaters were here.
He stopped running and turned, and came face to face with a circle of hooded figures standing around him.
Wow, he thought, looking into each one of their hoods, surrounded by deatheaters and dementors! What else could you ask for?
The chill had resided, though the rain was still falling. Dementors hovered high in the clouds over the land, ready to take him down the minute he stepped into a clearing.
"You want to kill me, do it quickly then!" Draco called to the deatheaters. "Come on, what're you waiting for? I'm defenseless right now!"
There was never a point in Draco's life when he'd felt so much humiliation and relief at the same time! He was really burning on the inside with shame at having to give himself to the arms of death so easily, without even putting up a fight – but that was what he wanted right now. That was why he had come out here.
He wanted to end his pathetic, aimless life. He wanted to quit all his duties and obligations, he wanted to drop all his morals….he felt like a lifeless scummy artwork of some sort.
There were eight deatheaters standing like pillars around him. Out of the eight, one stepped in front with his wand out.
"Not now, Draco," he said. "But soon…."
Draco didn't have the time to register his words. Before that, an elbow stabbed him right at the back and he was knocked unconscious.
As his body crumpled onto the muddy ground with rain splashing over his face and robes, the man walked up to him and leaned in to check if he was still alive. Finding a pulse, he gave a nod the deatheaters, then, straightened back up.
"You miserable little scoundrel-"
He was about to kick him in the sides when one of the deatheaters spoke suddenly, "no, Travers. Do not harm him."
The man turned around. "What do you mean? He's a dead fish anyway."
"You forget that he is my son," said the other deatheater. "Should you harm him before he is transported, I shall be forced to use my magic on you…."
"I – I understand, Lucius," said Travers with humiliation.
Lucius looked down at Draco's form and scowled. He could have been so much more…
He then turned back to the deatheater, saying, "Do us a favor and take him to the Circle and get him to speak up – quickly."
(xxx)
Ugh, when – just when did I tell myself that I wouldn't be doing this?
The evening mist hung low over the ground and Hermione could not see past the posts, to the end of the street. Pale yellow light from shops painted the road for some distance before mixing and disappearing with the mist. Hogsmeade stores were still open, defying threats and warnings.
It was reliving to have some normal, wizarding movement around at this hour, whether it be the wand keeper rearranging the cases at the shop window, or Madame Rosemerta coming out to throw out the garbage, or the screeches and yells from the pet shop.
The sounds and movement and the free people would be a contrast to the atmosphere of the place she was going to. There would be no wagons parked outside the stores, no lollipop merchants, no pink faced, chocolate-frog-eating children. As far as the ears could strain, there would be only deathly silence and vague, uncanny sounds of a forest.
As Hermione climbed up the familiar slope, she asked herself again: ugh, when – just when did I tell myself that I wouldn't be doing this? Just when did I tell myself that I wouldn't do anything impulsive and irrational – and look at me now!!
She reached the top of the hill and stood there for a while, wondering how she could get to the forest.
Last time, Draco had apparated here, but looking around, Hermione found no port key or vanishing cabinet.
So, just how did he do it?
Hermione thought and thought.
Draco was the only one who knew where the Circle's headquarters was, so maybe he just tried visualizing it or something, like how they did for the order. Maybe it was some place through which she could go to only with strong visualization…there were such places in the wizarding world. She'd only read about them though.
So, giving it a try, Hermione remembered the line of trees, the polar balance and the tall bush with the ring and forced a descriptive image into her mind, repeating strongly, "forest of czars, the forest of czars…"
(xxx)
The trees were whispering among themselves of the defeated warrior who walked handcuffed through their midst. The wind seemed to be singing a silent lament with the moon and the stars, receiving the warrior back into its arms.
"I told you I don't know!" shouted Draco for the third time that night. "I don't know where the stone is! If you fellows weren't clever enough to figure it out, then don't point to me and expect an answer!!"
He struggled as the handcuffs cut into his skin. "You imbecile…!"
"Call me that one for time and I'll make sure the metal reaches your bone," said Travers maliciously.
He relished the expression that came over Draco's face and continued, "I know I'm wasting my time asking you for the answer…."
With a swift movement of his wand, Draco was bound onto one of the trees by an invisible force and Travers put two drops of veritaserum into his mouth.
"Now, tell me, where is the stone?"
He leaned triumphantly over him with a smirk, sure of an answer.
"I don't know," replied Draco tonelessly. He tried to shift under the binds but his attempts were futile and the handcuffs were starting to cut in deeper.
Travers eyes were narrowed into slits.
"You're pathetic!" he snarled, his nose trills flaring.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Yeah, now tell me something I don't know-"
"No, now you tell me something I don't know!"
Draco tilted his head, pretending to be expecting another question to which he couldn't give an answer.
"Where is the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix?"
What? Thought Draco.
Suddenly, the binds around him seemed to be tightened, making it difficult for him to breathe.
No, he couldn't tell them…he shouldn't….
Travers smiled watching Draco stumble for words. He pushed his wand into his throat and repeated the question.
Draco closed his eyes, trying his best to prevent the words from going out of his mouth. No, no! You can't say it, Draco! They should not know…
In an unrealistic moment in time, Draco let out the words.
He could hear his heart thumping in his ears.
Travers' eyes glinted and he smirked. "Excellent. We'll be attacking at dawn, thanks to you."
He undid the charm and Draco was free again except for the handcuffs.
He was still against the tree, unable to believe what he'd said…
They'll attack at dawn. Draco, the order is going down because of you…
"Didn't Snape tell you?" he asked.
"Snape didn't tell us nothing. Maybe he wanted the full blame to fall on you…"
Draco looked the deatheater straight in the eye. "He's been planning this all along, hasn't he?"
He didn't have to see his smirk to make out the answer.
Snape… It was all Snape's doing all along!
Draco clenched his fists with anger.
Snape…
Oh, how he hated the man…
Fury leashed out into his system. He began to tremble with loathing for the potion master.
For the first time in his life, Draco felt hatred enough to kill…
"You're so gullible, Draco…. Always siding with who you think is right, unaware of the consequences."
Travers laughed mockingly at him.
"and now, your guts are about to be fried in deatheater hell, and might I tell you, the Dark Lord is not going to be pleased when he sees you after destroying the Order…."
"He's already gone, isn't he? He's not at the headquarters, right?" asked Draco, turning away and preparing to walk on into the woods.
"Not yet. But since you've already told me the site of the Order, all it will take is time to communicate it to him and soon, he's going to unleash his real power over the petty, useless aurors and that foolish old coot, Dumbledore…"
(xxx)
Harry walked back and forth across the room, stomping heavily on the carpeted flooring.
The minute Dumbledore walked in, he stormed at him angrily, "SHE'S GONE! SHE'S GONE, AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Dumbledore raised a hand, asking the boy to calm down. His face had lost its colour and a faint grey appeared along his temples. He looked at least 40 years older, with wrinkles dotting almost every bit of his face and sagging bags under his blue, twinkling eyes.
"Harry-"
"DON'T TELL ME TO UNDERSTAND!" he shouted, coming towards Dumbledore. In his blindness over the situation, he knocked down a spider legged end table containing a glass orb, which fell onto the carpet and rolled towards a far corner. "SHE'S MY BEST FRIEND AND SHE WOULDN'T HAVE GONE BEHIND MALFOY IF YOU WOULD HAVE EXPELLED HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE!"
"Malfoy has no reason to be expelled-"
"HE'S A DEATHEATER, BOUND TO SERVE VOLDEMORT FOR ALL TIME TO COME!! HOW COULD YOU THINK THAT HE COULD POSSIBLY SERVE THE ORDER WITHOUT AN ULTERIOR MOTIVE?! … AND NOW, HERMIONE IS MISSING TOO! GONE BEHIND THAT SCALLYWAG LIKE HE WAS SOMEONE WORTH IT!"
"Harry, DO NOT think that you are the only one who cares for Miss Granger-" said Dumbledore in a sharp tone. "Once again I'm asking you to calm down and see through the situation. Take a seat and we'll talk about it."
He pointed to the armchairs and motioned him to sit.
Harry glared at Dumbledore, breathing deeply. Shaking his head, he came down heavily in the armchair.
Dumbledore sat down composedly opposite to him, folding his hands and looking Harry through his half-moon glasses. "Now, tell me, what makes you think that Miss Granger's life is in danger. Is it because you think that Draco has gone to the Circle headquarters to join with the Dark Lord and you fear her capture again?"
"Yes," stated Harry, rubbing sweat off his forehead. "I could make out her concern for Malfoy when I heard them talk. It was like though she knew it was a hopeless case, she still believed in him. I don't understand why, the only thing he ever did was insult her-"
"And save her life," added Dumbledore with a hint of a smile.
"-that was because you asked him to! He would have never done it otherwise! You gave him the contract, you told him where she was, you were with him every step along the way to make sure that he did nothing wrong!"
"but it wasn't me who had to shed blood for her, or who had to put down my life for her, or had to mess up his deatheater status to save her life…I only asked him to do me a favour, and he, surprisingly, didn't object to it."
Dumbledore leaned in front and brought down his hands on his knees. "Harry, you have no idea how much Draco had to go through to prove himself to the Order. He's been through difficult times, Harry – very difficult times in his life. Just like you! And I can't believe that he'd go through all that trouble for nothing! He's here for redemption."
"Well…then…"
Harry scratched his head, feeling a puncture to his pride. he looked at Dumbledore straight in the eye and asked, "-then, why has he gone back to the Circle? What has he still got to do with it?"
"I'm afraid he's gone back because he's losing faith in himself and his ability to deal with his two sided image," said Dumbledore gravely.
"So you mean to say he's gone back to die?" asked Harry incredulously.
Dumbledore sighed. "I suppose so. Once he's within the grasp of the deatheaters, they are sure to kill him for his disloyalty. The price for disloyalty is often death."
Harry took his time to get the situation clear in his head. He began to think about Draco's sacrifice.
"Professor, you said he'd shed his blood for her. But if I recall correctly, he was not injured in any way."
"Do you remember me telling you about a contract that Draco had to produce before the Circle to free Hermione?"
"Yeah."
"Well, you see, I don't think that contract was accepted and so, I'm guessing that Draco had promised something of his to get her out."
"You mean, he made his own contract? His own deal with Voldemort?"
"It appears to be so. He would have probably promised the Circle something so pure and unmistakably concrete, they would have never doubted his intentions."
"What - did he promise them his life or something?"
"Maybe."
Harry sat in stunned silence, his mouth slightly open, unable to believe his ears.
"You see, it would be a senseless action for a deatheater to give his life for the freedom of a captive, so the Circle, well-assured and satisfied about Draco's intention, made a contract in blood."
"Well….then…"
Harry fumbled around for words, still doubting the situation, but his anger had dissolved into understanding. "He… he's not like-"
"Like what you expected? Yes, of course! Harry, I know you both have been enemies your whole life, but you've got to resolve your differences and start acting like a part of the same family, because whether you like it or not, you both are on the same side. He goes down, we go down too."
"But we won't go down, will we?" asked Harry uncertainly. "I mean, unless they know our hideout, they can't attack, can they?"
"What makes you think they don't know about our hideout, Harry?"
Dumbledore titled his head and gave him a pursed smile. His blue eyes twinkled uncannily like he was asking him to think further.
"If they've caught Draco, they're bound to get answers from him… - a stupid point Draco had failed to consider before going out for death. Anyhow, what is will be said will be said and there's nothing we can do about it."
Harry sighed, feeling the pressure of the war return.
"We should alert the others," said Harry in a commanding voice, "we must prepare them for the final battle!"
He turned towards Dumbledore, a worried expression on his face, but before he could ask what was on his mind, Dumbledore answered assuringly, "You need not be worried about Miss Granger. She's been in the forest before, she can do it again. And it is my faith that she will return with Malfoy and fight by our side once again…"
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A/N: chapter-5, Castle Of Kings, there you go! Any comments?
Christmas is here, wooohooo! Wishing you guys a Very Merry Christmas! God bless ya'll! I'm all ready to spread some Christmas cheer, so is anyone's got a fic that needs a hand, just let me know!
Particularly on this event, I have a few thanks-you's to say:-
To the pple who've put CC on their fav lists :
shadowfox1186 – love you, sweetie! You've really made my day! you were the first person to put CC on her fav list!! One really sunny smile coming your way:-)
sarahyyy – can't wait to get more of your fic, sarah. I really have a good feeling about the idea behind it! Keep up the good work! And keep grinning!
To the pple who've put CC on their alert lists :
Autumn's-Smile – thanks for reading:-)
Bumblebeegonecrazy – I really like your name, Bumblebee. I keep imagine you to be yellow and black with wings and antennas…anyways, luv you! thanks for reading.
Cherryjello01 – happy reading!
Corporal Scarlett – gurl, don't I have you to thank! Your first suggestion about making this fic a bit more dramatic was immediately taken into consideration and I'm so glad to know that you found the next chapter extremely entertaining!! 3 cheers to Corporal Scarlett for giving me a background check on the entertainment value of CC! hope you continue reading…
DarkWolfX – yes, dearie, there most probably will be a sequel if this story gains more appeal. I've thought out a rough sketch for its continuation, but I'll start writing it only on account of this fic's performance. The total number of chapters in this story is 9, I think. long, gripping, heart-wrenching chapters, I hope them to be. Thanks for reading! Luv yah!
GryffJr, Melodylzx – glad to know that you found the story to be full of suspense! Luv you, TC!
Natural-181, Potterified – thank you for your reviews. I'm so glad to know that you guyz are enjoying my fic:-)
Xanthia Nightshade, inge-loves-lost, spacesareoverrated – thank you for reading. Hope you guys find the next (the last) few chapters very entertaining and gripping…3 cheers to you three!
A special, warm and hearty thanks to xX JK Rowling The 2nd Xx :- to my dear friend zoey, who is top of her English class, a caring and spontaneous writer and a really great person! 3 cheers for you too! Sincerely hoping your fics are doing well, luv, ELX.
PPLE, IF YOU HAVE THE TIME, DO CHECK OUT xX JK Rowling The 2nd Xx's fics, esp The Silver Butterfly, on which she's working right now!
To all the other reviewers, named and unnamed, luv you all for your continuous support!!
Next chapter sneak preview:
Prison again with Knot and Grant, an enchanted river where in our hero finds his strength and the cold hands of death reaching out over the world, ensnaring it within its cruel grasp…yes, character death specified.
So, bite your nails!
See ya soon!
-ELX