ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

-CHAPTER SIXTEEN-

BETA: Green eyes

INFO: www. livejounral. com / users/draycious

OTHER: Check out: http:// www. fanfiction. net/s/3040483/1/

Snape worked his way through the massive crowd, pushing and shoving to get over to his son. He had managed to calm Draco down somewhat by explaining he did indeed know what Ancius was like. He really didn't expect to handle Snape with the same ease as he had Draco. His father did not look happy about this and if Snape could, Raven was sure that he would be grounded for life.

"Cercis! What the hell are you playing at? Let's get out of here!" Severus hissed, taking his arm. Raven however had other things in mind and shook himself free from his fathers grip. Snape must have been really angry, because Raven had never heard the man curse before, at least not in public.

"Lucius! This isn't working! We need to tell them! What's the point in keeping it secret now when they've seen you?" Raven yelled up at Lucius who yet had to come down from the stairs. He was fairly safe up there, and he had a good view over everybody so he could defend himself quicker and easier if necessarily. The crows looked hostile to say the least. Lucius nodded quickly. He thought it was an excellent idea, especially after getting a good look at Mad-Eye Moody. He wasn't called 'Mad' only because of his eye, the man himself was completely wasn't complexly all there mentally.

"Please sit down," Lucius said to the crowd after Raven had led everyone to a big saloon. Lucius conjured puffs on the floor for people to sit in, since he assumed that was what people like Gryffindor's would prefer. He had often been accused of being snobbish because he preferred to sit in classy chairs; he decided not to make that mistake this time. So, sucking in his pride, he too sat down in one of the puffs on the floor, even if he couldn't hold in a snort of disgust. Severus however remained standing. Lucius raised his eyebrows at his old friend.

"Is something the matter Severus? Something wrong with your puff perhaps?" he asked. He knew Snape too didn't want anything less stylish than a classy chair. He too was brought up with only the best in life.

"It's nothing!" Raven said hurriedly and pushed his father down before Severus could protest. He didn't want an argument to start, there was already a lot of tension in the air and if one started the others would follow until he had a full-blown riot in his hands.

"We'll begin with a brief introduction of those people that you don't know," Raven directed at his old friends and walked over to three people who stood waiting in silence. They were dressed nicely, one in a dark blue dress with pearls in her ears and around her neck, the other dressed in a relaxed/sporty suit with a simple white shirt which was left open.

"These are Blade's parents. Scarce Invadious Black, USAWWM Minister and this is his wife Carolina Black." They made a lovely pair since they looked quite alike, but Carolina had blue eyes instead of green and blonde hair while Scarce was an older version of Blade.

"This is Blade's old bodyguard and friend Jake Sublime," he introduced. Jake had always been there for Blade, whether Blade wanted him there or not. The man had safely guarded Blade throughout the years, and they were pretty close even if Jake was mostly quiet. He was about 40 years old but didn't have any grey hairs and still looked relatively healthy. He was tall and well built just like a bodyguard should be. He stood slightly behind the Black family, even if he was seen as an equal in their eyes. Scarce had never been one for ceremonies, he wanted things to be casual as often as possible. He didn't like flaunting his money and his position in the society like some families often did. Hence why he was very well liked and respected. Carolina was a strong woman, even if she mostly preferred to stand behind her husband and didn't do too much to make people really take notice of her. She wasn't like Narcissa Malfoy. Carolina mostly worked with charity, she was a calm and collected woman, but not in a boring way. She had a sense of humor and could be very entertaining when she wanted. She dared to do things and try out new stuff. Raven loved to be like her, she was almost like a mother to him.

"Here are those twelve people I told you about. Their names are Midnight, Fire, Ancius, Nick, Zander, Mia, Christian, Mary, Axel, Orlando, Tova... and... um..." Raven hesitated when he came to Dracula. "And this is ... Joe," he finally said. He didn't want to cause a mass panic if he revealed that Dracula was in the house.

"Here's the story behind all this," Blade began to say.

"Wait!" Raven interrupted quickly. "Father, do you have any truth serum? I want to show everyone that this is the truth!" he said. Severus nodded and reached into his pocket and fished out a bottle that he kept with him at all times. Raven was well aware of the fact that his father almost always carried around with such a potion. He used it sometimes when he cornered people and demanded truthful answers. His father hade made himself a huge name in Knockturn Alley where he supplied people some of the less legal potions every now and then. It wasn't a well known fact, but Raven had connections and therefore he found out about it. He supposed his father had always been dark, and didn't always agree with the Ministry of which potions should be illegal and which ones shouldn't. Snape gave Lucius the truth serum. Lucius began his story in his own words. It saved Raven the trouble of explaining why they were in the Malfoy manor and why Lucius wasn't in prison.

"It all began when I took the dark mark," Lucius said and ignored the triumphant cries which rang throughout in the room. He had already been revealed, it shouldn't be anything new to them. "I was only sixteen and I was easily convinced that Voldemort was our future. I soon realized my mistake by joining Voldemort. I begged my father for help. Everyone thinks that Lucium Malfoy is my father but it is actually Ancius who is," Lucius said in a monotonous voice.

"WHAT?" Draco exploded but Blade put a hand over his mouth and Lucius continued his story. Raven couldn't even imagine how Draco felt at hearing this.

"Everyone was told that Ancius was my mother's child from an earlier marriage and that Ancius was in a potions accident which makes him stay in his 20's. The accident is true but he wasn't my mother's son. Ancius and my mother had and affair while she was married with my step-father which resulted in me. Ancius wanted to be a part of my life and so they made up this solution and my 'stepfather' never knew the truth."

Draco was staring wide eyed at his father and everyone else was listening transfixed to what Lucius had to say. Even Raven was interested though he had heard this story twice before (He didn't believe it the first time.). He could only imagine what a scandal this would turn out to be amongst the pureblood families at their little get-togethers. The gossiping aristocrats could be pretty merciless when it came down to scandals. They were basically mobbing the one who made the indignity.. Lucius was now officially a bastard, never mind the fat that he was from a good family on both sides.

"Ancius is an important member in a secret organization. The leader, which we call Master, knew Scarce, the Minister of USAWW. Master found out that England was in terror because of Voldemort. Scarce found this upsetting because it reminded him of Hitler in the muggles World War II. When my father, Ancius, found out what I had done, namely taking the dark mark, he spoke to Master who then spoke to Scarce. They decided that I should become a spy for USAWWM. I've been a spy ever since," Lucius said and paused for dramatic effect. "My encounters with Raven were necessary to make Voldemort trust me enough to make me his right hand man. The reason why I'm telling you this now is because I was caught and sent to prison and Voldemort has no further use for me and doesn't give a damn about me. Therefore my spying days are now over and I can go back to living the life I have always wanted too. I also told you this so that you can trust me enough and celebrate Raven this evening without feeling threatened by my presence. After all, Raven is the sole reason you're here!" Lucius said.

When he was given the antidote everyone started clapping their hands and Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling like crazy. Everything Lucius had said was true; how could it not? Well, 'the truth potion' Lucius had taken was actually normal water that Raven had put in Snape's bottle, but his father didn't know that. Nor did anyone else. The reason for the fake potion was because Lucius couldn't tell anyone that they were vampires. It had to be kept secret.

His birthday 'party' was no ordinary teen event, so before dinner Raven opened the many presents of various sizes and shapes he had got. When he got to Draco's gift he almost dropped it.

"Fuck me! I want to fuck! Oh yes, fuck, fuck, fuck! In the ass, come on baby, fuck me in the ass!" a voice from the box said. Raven opened it carefully. He couldn't even imagine what it could be. He just hoped it was no sex toy or he would never live it down. A cage with holes became visible, but not what was inside of it. He opened the lid hesitantly after a quick glance at Blade. It was a beautiful green and black snake.

"Be quiet little one! What's your name?" Raven asked and ignored the people around him. The snake stopped speaking, presumably, about sex. The horny little bugger raised its upper body and its tongue flickered in the air to smell him. Raven wasn't afraid, he had the feeling the snake was only curious about him.

"Zac," it finally said and the name sounded strange in parceltongue. Raven had to ask if he got it right.

"Zac?" Raven hissed and the snake nodded before he asked to be fucked again. With a perfect straight face Raven said in English:

"Draco, I think you've only just given me a horny gay snake!" The look on Draco's face would forever be imprinted on his mind as everyone burst out laughing. Despite the snake being gay, and horny, he loved his present.

Later in the evening, while everybody was dancing and many were quite drunk (Professors too), Draco asked Raven to follow him up to his room. Raven had no objections since some of the drunken girls hung on to him, swaying on their feet and confessing their ever undying love for him. He was pretty much ready to go, yeah. He was also very curious about what Draco wanted. He doubted Draco would continue bitching about Ancius, who had in fact been behaving exceptionally well, considering who it was. One could always see through the fingers because of the one moment he decided it was a good time to be sucked off underneath the table during dinner.

Raven followed Draco upstairs; he supposed it was Draco's bedroom even if it looked slightly impersonal at the moment. Yet he didn't think Draco was the poster-guy type like Ron with all of his Quidditch posters. Draco locked the door behind them.

"Come sit down with me," he said and pointed on the big green silk bed. Draco sat down first and watched Raven when he sat down and rested his back against the headboard and when he withdrew his legs up to his chest. Draco moved towards him, creeping slowly on all fours. Raven let him separate his legs.

"What are you doing?" he asked amused. It was a very sexual movement in a bizarre way but he found he didn't care.

"Making myself comfortable between your legs," Draco whispered in a husky voice while he sat down between Raven's legs and rested his back against Raven's chest. Raven let it happen and he even laid his arms around Draco. They were both clearly affected by the alcohol they had consumed in rich volume. Draco snuggled in closer in the embrace.

"Why did you bring me here?" Raven asked in a low voice. The atmosphere was making them talk in hushed voices. The lights were dimmed, all the noise from downstairs were distant but still there. They were beginning to feel slightly tired and they were warm due to the alcohol.

"I want you." Draco blushed when he realized what he had said and what it implied and Raven choked on his breath. They looked at each other, both with slightly stricken faces but for different reasons.

"Er, not like that! I mean that I want you here, to talk with," Draco said in a hurry, quickly withdrawing slightly from the embrace. He looked away in embarrassment.

"Oh... all right," Raven said. The silence became awkward instead of comforting.

"So... Uh. What do you want to talk about?" Raven asked, fumbling for a neutral subject to get rid of the tense air.

"I want to know," Draco said surprisingly firm and determent for being affected by stronger liquors. Raven had seen the blonde mixing drinks high and low all evening.

"Know about what?" Raven said even if he suspected he knew what the question would be anyway. It wasn't like he was against telling Draco, he just didn't feel up for it right now. Then again now was as good as ever. Draco turned his head backwards so that he could see the black haired boy.

"How did you get my father out of prison?" Raven smirked and began to tell him. After all, he had had a good time.

FLASHBACK (You need to read carefully to understand and be aware of the POV change)

Raven and Blade had just been out running together. Raven was in a terrible mood because Blade had discovered that he pressed himself to the limit as an anger management. After Sirius's death he had felt a lot of anger.

Typical for Blade to figure it out, he thought angrily as he took off his T-shirt and threw it down on the ground forcefully. But it was his own fault too. Blade had yelled at him to stop running but he didn't at once. When Blade had caught up with him he had asked him about why he did this to himself and he had finished with: ' I would if you did it because its fun but you don't really do it because of that, do you?'

To his own stupidity he had answered with a question in return.

"What do you mean?" and then he was in for it. Thankfully count Dracula had come and talked to them, interrupting their soon to be physical fight.

"You have to go and rescue Lucius. I don't care how you do it but you get him out of there, do you hear me? Ancius is killing my sensible ears with his complaints!" Dracula was obviously in a bad mood, Ancius had a certain skill of driving people up the wall after being in his presence too long. You never argued with Dracula so Blade and Raven had no other choice but to go to Azkaban. They worked out a plan quickly and together they decided the easiest way for this to work out, therefore they brought Goyle with them. He was the key in their plan.

"Look. This is how we're going to do it, Goyle, you hug Lucius. Quickly you drown the potion we gave you while you push Lucius to the floor. Blade will jump into you in a pretended fight and give Lucius the potion. I make sure than no one sees the switch while you pretend to fight in a tangled heap. The guard's won't be able to come in time to see the switch we make. Alright?" Raven said.

---------------------------------------------------

Raven shivered when the felt the dementor's presence. God how he hated them! The three of them, Blade, Goyle and Raven were at the reception desk. They had to sign in before they could visit Lucius.

Goyle had come willingly when they asked him if he could help Lucius. Since Goyle couldn't recognize Raven as Harry they pretended to be operating on Voldemorts orders. What Goyle didn't know was that this potion that he would take would make him look like Lucius, would wear off in two weeks, and during that time he would die slowly.

If Goyle decided to expose them when he realized that he wouldn't get out of Azkaban the guards would simply believe that he had gone crazy. As this wasn't polyjuice they couldn't run tests to see that he was an impostor. Goyle would die like Lucius and no one would think to look for the real Lucius, ever again.

"You wish to visit Mr. or MRS, Miss..." a guard asked absently as he looked through papers. There was no order or system what so ever, the guard didn't look like he was one of the brightest people either. This will be an easy task, Raven decided.

"Mr. Lucius Malfoy," Raven said shortly.

"Please sign those papers," the guard said. They all signed them quickly. They wanted this over and done with, preferable before someone could come and relieved the retarded guard from his duty. They didn't want to have to deal with a smart hack.

"I need to take a picture of you for security reasons..." the guard babbled. Raven looked at him in a bored way when his picture was taken.

Lucius was waiting for them close to the bars. He had heard them coming. Lucius pretty much looked the same as he did before, with just a few minor changes. He was just tired and dirty. He had probably been able to manage the stay in Azkaban because of whom his father was. Lucius mustn't have been affected by the dementor's like other humans would. At least it looked that way from the doors. Blade quickly whispered their plan to Lucius quietly.

"I'll kill you!" Lucius shouted at Goyle as a part of the whole act. He lunged at Goyle and they fell to the floor. Together they shouted things, but they it was almost impossible to understand. The noise got mixed up in each other. Raven did his best to shield them with his big black cape he wore.. He leaned against the bars and tried to make himself as big as possible. He could hear the guards come running from down the hall. The guards shouted for him to move but he pretended to not hear. He moved aside first when Lucius and Goyle had switched bodies with each other and when Blade had wandlessly switched their clothes.

"He's mad! He attacked me! Kill him!" Lucius gasped in Goyle's body.

"Now wait a minute, this man is already locked up in here. That's a far worse punishment than any kind of death. I think it's time for you to leave now, and I advice you to pay no further visits to Malfoy," the guard said with a disdainful look at 'Malfoy'.

"And that's how we got him here," Raven finished.

END FLASH BACK

"That sounds too easy," Draco said.

"It wasn't. Everything had to be done with perfect timing. I happened to know that those guards were new and not as hard in the security as the old ones. You always have to find the weakest link."

"Point taken. But I don't understand why you hang out with Weasley. He's a nobody! He's the weakest link in your trio."

"I don't hang out with him Dray, I really don't." Raven said with a frown.

"Okay."

They sat in silence again but this time it was a comfortable silence. Draco had his eyes closed and Raven stroke his hair slowly.

"Dray, do you know what's in the room opposite from yours?" Draco frowned slightly.

"No, but I've tried to find out," he confessed. Raven suspected he had. Draco had always been a very curious being. "Mum and Dad refuse to tell me and they've warded the room. Mum spends an awful lot of time in there. Why? Do you mean that you know?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes I know what it is in there. Come on, I'll show you!"

Draco and Raven got up and tiptoed across the hallway because they could clearly hear some couples making out near by. It was to be expected in a party full of Slytherins and Vampires.

Raven opened the door easily, despite all the magical wards. The man was still lying in the bed but they couldn't see his face from the door. Raven closed the door behind them silently.

"Raven, someone is there!" said the Slytherin and pulled his sleeve.

"Yes I know. This is what we've guarded. He's unconscious. Go on and have a look!" he urged. Draco moved over to the bed curiously and took a peak. He gasped in shock and stumbled backwards.

"Oh my god Raven! You've got to kill him!" he shouted.