A FINAL CHANCE
By: Shadowedheart89
Disclaimer:I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.
Chapter Twenty-One: Creation and Destruction
I dragged the trio out of the Great Hall and into an abandoned classroom. "What's your big idea?" Hermione asked skeptically.
"You were right. If we knew what Voldemort was thinking then we'd be able to defeat him. Fortunately for us, we have someone who just so happens to be able to hear peoples thoughts." I could almost feel myself glowing with excitement.
"You want to get into the mind of a maniac?" Ron asked, seemingly disgusted with the idea.
"Why not? I could get all the information that we need. I'd know where he is, what he's planning on doing, and who his followers are. We'd be able to stop him at every turn."
"He's evil Marlene. What if his mind corrupts yours?" Hermione asked me softly.
I thought about it for a moment. "I don't think that it will. Every moment of every day, my mind is touched by everyone else's. If they had any effect on me, I'd be insane by now. I think my mind is too strong for that."
"You want to do this, and you can't even be sure?" Hermione screeched, outraged.
"I thought you had to be near him in order to hear him. How do you plan on getting close to him without being noticed?" Harry asked.
I turned to him with a smirk. I stepped in front of him, looking him directly in his eyes. "With a secret passageway into his mind." I traced my fingertip along his scar to emphasize my point, causing him to shiver and blush.
"Absolutely not!" Hermione yelled.
"Harry isn't just some kind of tool," Ron put in, also in disagreement with my idea.
"He wouldn't be in any danger. The connection is purely mental, he wouldn't get physically harmed."
"What about mentally then?" Hermione countered.
"It wouldn't broaden the connection at all. It would be the same that it has always been. And he's gotten very good at Occlumency so he'd be able to block his mind from Voldemort. All I would need is a small in, and then I could take care of everything."
"I don't like this," Hermione stated.
"I think we should consider it. We should talk to Dumbledore about it and see what he says," Harry told us.
"You can't be serious!" Ron yelled.
"Would it be better to sit idly by and let innocent people keep dying?" he asked harshly.
"No," Ron muttered, the tips of his ears turning pink.
"Let's go to Dumbledore right now," I said ready to take some action.
"We have to get to class," Hermione protested. "We can try to talk to him after lunch. I doubt that whatever he decides, any action will be taken today. A few hours won't make a difference."
I fumed but remained silent. She did have a point. "We best be off then," Ron said. I looked at Harry to see if he was as surprised as I was that Ron would rather go to class than do something to get him out of it. Evidently he was if he slightly slacked jaw and wide eyes were anything to go by.
I was impatient throughout all of my morning classes, and I just couldn't seem to sit still. I caught Draco sending me many concerned looks and he asked me what was wrong silently many times. Each time I assured him that everything was fine, but obviously I wasn't very convincing.
My fidgeting was so bad that even some of the professors began to notice. In Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall told me twice to sit still. The third time she told me sternly, "Miss Wizidore, if you cannot manage to be still I will have to ask you to leave my classroom."
"Yes, Ma'am," I murmured as I tried to still my restless body.
As soon as everyone finished eating, I dragged them up to Uncle Albus's office. The password was barely out of my mouth when the gargoyle leapt aside to let us through.
"Blimely, how often are you here?" Ron asked.
"Much more often that I would like," I told him with a grin. Despite the fact that I was on extremely good terms with him, I did not want a reputation of constantly being at the headmaster's office. No matter how you looked at it, if someone who didn't know exactly what was going on had any idea how many times I had been to his office during my time at the school, they would have some speculations that I could live without.
When we reached the top of the staircase, I knocked on the door and was immediately bade entrance.
"Marlene, your visits are becoming much more frequent. I assume that his is not merely for pleasure?"
"You would be correct. I had an idea about Voldemort that I would like to run past you," I told him as we all took our seats.
His expression immediately became much more serious, for which I was thankful. Most adult wizards wouldn't even bother listening to the ideas of a sixteen year old on such delicate issues, but Uncle Albus kept an open mind. "Do tell."
I recounted my idea to him as he listened silently, resting his chin on his tented fingers. When I finished he looked thoughtful for a few moments. "I think you may have stumbled upon a wondrous idea. I'm not sure however that I can allow Harry to be put at such risk. This is a very unique situation and we can't be sure what exactly will happen. It could be as you say and nothing will change, or it could cause everything to fall about, destroying Harry's mental stability. There is just absolutely no safe way to test this out."
"What if I decide that I want to try it?" Harry asked.
Uncle Albus's bushy white eyebrows shot up. "You would risk yourself for a plan that you can't even be sure will work?"
"My life has been risked enough when I have had no say in things. I have been in heaps of danger where I had no idea how things would turn out. Why should this be any different?" I could hear the subtle bitterness that tinted Harry's words. He was used to being a pawn, and while he hated it, he was willing to accept it if it meant that he would be saving others.
"The difference between this time and the others is that you are putting yourself in unnecessary danger! We will find a way to get rid of him. You don't have to do it like this," Hermione began to plead with him.
"She's right mate. What happens if we lose you?" Ron added.
Harry looked defeated. "He's going to keep coming after me. He won't stop unless I'm dead. I just want this to end."
I put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "This decision is ultimately up to you. They are right. You are the one that is going to be taking the risks. No matter what you choose, we will find a way to stop him, and you will survive this."
Bright green eyes met mine. "How can you be so sure? Are you a Seer too?"
I chuckled. "No, thank Merlin. But I have confidence and I believe in you."
"We'll do research. We'll find out as much as we can about connections and what happens when a telepath gets involved. After we get as much information as we can, then you can make a decision, Harry," Dumbledore told him. Harry just nodded, not taking his eyes off of mine. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, would you excuse us? I would like a moment alone with Marlene and Harry if you will."
"We'll wait for you downstairs," Ron told us as he led Hermione out of the door.
"I'm sorry for causing this mess," I said, breaking my gaze away from Harry and looking down at my hands. I felt embarrassed. It wasn't like me to get so excited and caught up in things. Usually I thought things out, but this time I just dove in head first.
"Don't apologize. You had a great idea. Actually I am surprised that I haven't thought of it myself," Uncle Albus told me with twinkling eyes. "It is just something we must think about very carefully."
"Do you really think that it could work?" Harry asked.
"I don't have enough information to tell, but yes, in principle it should. I am not experience enough in the ways of the mind to know what the consequences of it would be however."
"If it were you?" he asked.
"I would wait a while more and gather the facts. You must also take in account the prophecy and what would happen to the world if something awful were to happen to you. You are a beacon of hope for many in our society."
Harry groaned. "I am just a kid."
"You have indeed been dealt a very unfair hand. Perhaps thought it is because you are the one person who is able to handle the pressure. Nearly everyone else would have broken at the burdens that have been placed on your shoulders, and yet you stand before us as a strong young man, still willing to fight."
A faint blush tinted Harry's cheeks. "He's right you know. You are kind of amazing," I told him.
"I'd rather just be normal."
"You will never be normal, Harry," I told him.
He just groaned.
"We will do whatever we can to end this as soon as possible. I'm sure Marlene wouldn't mind doing a bit of extra research, and I wouldn't doubt if Miss Granger already has some books in mind to start. We will look into this and do what's best."
He dismissed us and we went down the stairs to meet up with Ron and Hermione.
"Why is he always making us leave to talk to you two?" Ron asked petulantly.
"It's just to get an update from us on our private lessons. I guess he doesn't want you guys to feel too left out of that part," I lied. Harry had yet to tell them about the prophecy, and I didn't want to let it slip that I knew anything about it.
"Let's just get ready for afternoon classes. We can spend the evening in the library doing research," Hermione said, leading us to our next class, Charms.
"Harry and I can't. We have Quidditch try outs tonight," Ron said, trying to hide his grin. He was glad to be able to get out of extra work. "Are you sure you can't try out for the team? We would be unstoppable with you."
I laughed. "Yes I'm sure. Besides I definitely don't have enough time. Especially with this new research project, it would either be the D.A. or Quidditch. As much as I may love Quidditch, the D.A. is must more important."
"Are you going to join me in the library then?" Hermione asked hopefully. She seemed to enjoy company when she was studying. Well at least company that enjoyed research as much as she did.
"I can't. I have plans."
"Meeting up with Malfoy?" Ron asked, spitting out the name.
"That's not the plan, but we usually end up running into each other at some point. I have my punishment with Severus tonight."
"You are still under detention with him?" Harry asked surprised. "I've never even had detention with him for this long."
I laughed. "No, Uncle Albus just thinks that we need to learn to work together so he is making us meet once a week until we can be around each other for a significant amount of time without trying to curse each other. It really isn't that bad. I'll pick his brain about our plan though. He will probably have some information that we can use. He'll have books at the very least."
"You really think you can trust him?" Ron asked.
I nodded. "He's not really as bad as you think." He and Harry scoffed. "Don't get me wrong. He is bad, but he's not evil. He's just a giant prat."
***
"You're late," Severus said when I entered his quarters that night.
I rolled my eyes. "Nice to see you too Severus. How have you been doing?"
He sneered at me. "Let's just get to work. I'm going to be teaching you some more advanced spells."
I sighed, "Fine, but can I ask you something before we get started?"
I saw his jaw clench. I was already getting under his skin and I wasn't even really doing anything. This was going to be a long night. "If you must."
"Well there are two things actually." I could have sworn I saw one of his eyes twitch. He was really in a bad mood today. I was just glad that I didn't have his class earlier. He probably would have cursed me as soon as I walked in the door. "First of all I am going to need more potions when you get a chance. I'm starting to run low."
He sighed. "Fine I'll make the time."
"Secondly, do you have any books or any information that could help with entering another person's through a third party?"
"What in Merlin's name are you up to now?" he asked exasperatedly. I gave him a quick outline of my plan and he groaned. "You are always getting into one kind of trouble or another aren't you?"
"I'm not trying to start trouble. I'm just trying to help."
"We have spies to gather information about him."
"But the intelligence you get is limited. He doesn't tell everyone everything that is going on. You can't even disclose where he is because you are still bound to him. If he doesn't know that I'm in his mind, he can't do anything to stop me from telling you and Uncle Albus what I find out."
"Why can't you just go into my mind and find his location then?" he asked angrily. "Why am I bothering to risk my life if this is all so simple?"
I stared at him for a moment. "Do you really want me to try to pick his location out of your mind, or was that entirely sarcastic."
He glared at me. "Go ahead. Try it. See why it's not so simple."
I took a deep breath and dove into his mind. It was heavily guarded, but instead of plowing through them, I just wound my way around them. Suddenly I came to one area filled with darkness. I pressed through it, but it seemed never ending. It was laced with malice and evil. I could feel the tendrils of it trying to seep into my own mind and corrupt me, but my mind was stronger than it and it did nothing more than agitate me. I concentrated on Voldemort, trying to bring as many memories Severus had of him to the surface as possible.
They all came at once, and I was only aware of one moment of pain, and then nothing but darkness and silence. I wasn't sure how long the darkness and silence lasted before I woke up to choking on a potion that was being shoved down my throat.
"Are you happy now?" Severus asked as he propped me up.
"What happened?" I asked wincing at the hoarse sound of my voice.
"You were able to experience the joys of working for the Dark Lord," he told me bitterly.
I stood up slowly, holding on to Severus as the room spun slightly. "It felt like getting hit by a thousand Crucios at once."
"That's about the scope of it."
"Thanks for that," I groaned collapsing into a chair.
"Did you get anything from that except for pain?" he asked with a smirk.
I tried to sort out through all the memories. I saw Voldemort giving commands, I saw him sending me/Severus out on raids to torture people. I saw him sitting on a throne in a cave, cursing his followers for the slightest infraction, but I couldn't see where the cave was. I saw him in dungeons and halls and fields, but I was never able to figure out where exactly his location was.
"He never tells you where he is," I said, it finally dawning on him. "That way you can't betray him and tell his location."
"Very good," he said with a smirk. He lifted the sleeve of his shirt to show me the Dark Mark. "This is more than I pretty branding symbolizing his servitude. It burns when he calls us, and it guides us to him. We never know where we are going. We just follow the mark."
"You could have just told me that," I growled at him, holding my head in my hands trying to fight off the huge headache that I was getting.
"Since when do you believe me? You always learn the hard way. I just figured we'd save some time."
I glared at him. "So do you think you can help or not?"
He began scanning the bookshelves that lined the walls. "I think I have a few books that might be of some use. You can take them with you, after the lesson."
I groaned but stood up, waiting to take whatever punishment he was going to throw my way.
***
"What happened to you?" Draco asked as soon as I stepped into view. He was sitting on the ledge of tower wall, looking absolutely picturesque in the moonlight until he saw me limp in. He slid down and pulled me into his arms so that he could examine me.
"I had lessons with Severus. He was in a particularly bad mood."
"He hurt you?" he asked, a dangerous note in his voice.
I chucked. "Don't worry, he has a limp too. We'll both be fine by tomorrow. I'm just a bit sore."
"I think both of you get a kick out of torturing each other," he mumbled and he hugged me.
I laughed, "You are probably right about that. There is just something very satisfying about getting under his skin. Have you ever seen him twitch? It's lovely."
He just rolled his eyes as he sat down and pulled me into his lap. "What was up with you today? You were fidgeting all day, and now you come in all battered and in a fantastic mood. Is that what I have to do when you are in a bad mood? Just duel you and beat you up?"
"Oh please, as if you could beat me up? You could possibly take me in a physical challenge because you are bigger than me, but I doubt that you have any really skills at head to head fighting. You are too prissy for that."
"Prissy?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes, prissy. You fawn over your looks too much. You'd be too afraid to mar your perfect features to truly be able to fight."
"So you think that I have perfect features?" he asked with a grin.
"No, you do." I grinned at him and kissed his nose. "But I'm pretty sure I could take you in a duel."
He scoffed. "Do you not know who I am?"
I rolled my eyes. "Yes you are the great Draco Malfoy. You probably have a large artillery of Dark Magic that would make lesser people beg for mercy."
"But not you," he said, sounding amused.
"Of course not. I laugh in the face of evil. Ha!"
"We should test your theory sometime."
I nodded. "Just name the time and the place. Just not tonight. I'm beat." He chuckled and kissed me. When he pulled away an odd flicker of emotion passed through his eyes. "What are you thinking?" I asked reaching up to play with his silky hair.
"I'm just amazed that you are right here in my arms."
I tilted my head as I studied him, trying to figure out if he was serious or not. He appeared to be. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Definitely a good thing." He pulled down the collar of his shirt so that I could see the necklace I gave him. "I never take it off, you know."
"That's very sweet. It's like I've branded you." His smile faltered for a moment. It took me a moment to realize that it probably reminded him of the Dark Mark that he was supposed to be destined to get. I tried to back pedal. "I didn't mean it like that. It just seems to make it more official. There is physical evidence that you are my boyfriend and that I care about you a lot."
"And it's a lot less embarrassing than I hickey," he said with a laugh.
"But a lot less fun," I said, pressing my lips against his throat.
He moaned. "How about we go to a place a lot more comfortable?" he asked, his voice taking on a husky tone.
I grinned at him. "Your room?" he nodded and started to kiss me as I teleported us into his bed. His kisses and touches took on a desperation that I had never known before. It felt amazing and I started to lose control of myself and was letting down my shields.
I started to tap into his mind. At first it made things even better and added a delicious edge to our ministrations as we went further and further. I could feel his body against mine, and I could feel my body against his in his perspective. It was double the pleasure.
But then his mind stared to wander and it was like I was falling down a hole and I couldn't get out. The images were floating across my mind as clear as him on top of me. He was in a similar situation to what we were in now, yet the girl underneath him wasn't me.
At this moment I tried to push him away, not wanting to see anymore, be he was insistent and didn't relinquish his hold on my body.
In my mind's eyes he/I was naked and moving against an equally naked girl, who I recognized to be Pansy. I love you, she whispered.
I love you too, he/I mumbled back and began to kiss her.
Pansy's hands moved along his/my neck and started to toy with the necklace there.
It only took a split second for me to realize what the necklace meant. It was the one I gave him. I gave it to him only a few days ago. He cheated on me. He told that girl that he loved her.
I pushed him away violently.
His eyes flashed for a moment and then he just looked confused. "What's wrong?" He was still panting from our intense session. So was I, but now it felt more out of anger.
"You slept with Pansy," I said, trying to hold my voice steady.
He blinked at me several times in shock. "What? Where are you getting this from?"
"Your mind," I said, having a harder time of keeping my voice steady, and tears were starting to blind my vision.
His eyes blazed with anger. "You were in my mind?" I nodded, not backing down. He didn't scare me. He saw this and sighed. "That was a long time ago."
"You were wearing my necklace." His hand immediately moved to touch the pendant at his throat. "You told her you loved her."
"Marlene, it's not what you think," he started but I shook my head, refusing to hear anymore. The guilt was written plainly on his face.
"Stay away from me," I told him before disappearing from the room.
I appeared in front of the entrance of the Room of Requirement. It was exactly what I needed. I went through the motions to get the door to appear, and entered to find it looking quite similar to the living room setting it often took when I was with Harry.
I fell to the ground, unable to contain myself. I was dimly aware of objects in the room beginning to shake and start to explode as I expressed my grief, my magic leaking out, combining with the magic of the room, and destroying things. The tears finally began to fall from my eyes, and the room began to rain, yet I was still hardly aware of it. I began to scream, and darkness began to over take me, but not before I glimpsed fire begin to leak out from the fire place. And then I knew no more.
A/N- Hope you enjoy. Don't forget to review!