Chapter 9 - Seeing Is Believing

Draco jolted awake from his fitful sleep, the screams of innocence lost faded as he returned to consciousness. He felt a warm body next to him. Draco jerked upright and frantically shuffled to the far side of the bed. Fear evident on his face as he rushed to find his wand. He found it and thrust it into the intruders neck, a fatal curse on his lips. A hand gripped his, before the wand could come into contact with flesh and pulled his attention towards the unknown person. Two hands gripped the sides of Draco's face and made him look into her eyes.

"Draco calm down. Draco please darlin'." Hermoine's long delicate fingers stroked his face trying to sooth him down from his oncoming panic attack.

Draco's heavy breathing slowed to a gentle speed as he stared into her chocolate brown eyes.

"That's it Draco." She encouraged as he lowered his weapon

"Fuck I'm sorry 'Mione." Draco whispered.

"It's ok."

"No it's not alright," He exploded, "I could have easily killed you then, but you don't care. Well you should. I have been trained to kill you 'Mione. I have been trained by Voldermort himself to slaughter muggleborns like you. I am the perfect weapon, molded to 'purify' the Wizarding race."

"I would be an idiot if I didn't know that you have learnt the Dark Arts, but I also know that you hate that side. That's why you are better than them, you know they are in the wrong and you defy them. You can't kill me because you simply care too much." Hermione said softly.

"I wish I could believe you." He replied, not looking at her.

Hermione kissed him lightly on the cheek before walking into the bathroom to freshen up, leaving Draco alone in his room with just his thoughts for company.

The Founders Bathroom looked spotless on first glance to Hermione but then she turned to look at the bathtub and found streams of dried blood caressing the dark sides where Draco's arm had been resting.

Memories better forgotten broke to the surface and Hermione gasped for air as she collapsed to the floor. The emotional weight of the memory crushed her and she began shaking with the sobs that coursed through her small frame.

She struggled up the stairs with a mountain of school books in her arms. Hermione was annoyed that Melanie hadn't come to greet her when she arrived home for the holiday's.

"Mel..I'm back..." She called out to the empty house.

The oppressive silence suffocated her as she made her way to her bedroom. Hermione was disappointed that no one had come to pick her up from Kings Cross Station.

A gurgle sounded from the shared bathroom on her left. Startled she dropped her books and whipped out her wand as she advanced towards the cream door.

Hermione pushed the door open with the tip of her wand and peered around the corner.

A river of crimson liquid flowed from the bathtub and on to the green lino floor. As she crept closer the smell of iron and salt attacked her senses and Hermione wretched as she realised what the red liquid was that she was practically wadding through. Diluted blood, and lots of it.

Hermione looked closer at the tub and screamed in fright when she noticed the jet black hair of her sister floating under the liquid.

"No no no...This can't be happening...You promised."

S pulled the plug out and drained out the scarlet coloured water. Hermione levitatated her sister's body out of the stained bathtub and lay her carefully on the floor. She tore away Melanie's already torn clothes and wrapped them around the deep cuts in her arm before starting CPR.

A hand on her shoulder startled Hermione out of her memory. She flinched away from the bandaged wrist. It reminded her of how worthless she really was and how she couldn't keep her only real family alive.

Another pair of arms lifted her from her curled position on the cold slate floor of the bathroom and carried Hermione into the lounge.

She covered her mouth with her fist as she released a heartwrenching sob. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut to not let out any tears. Two pairs of arms wrapped around her, keeping her together, keeping her grounded; as they sat on the plush carpeted floor.

"'Mione...shh baby girl...Everything will turn out fine in the end...shh..." Orion murmured comfortingly.

After a moment of peace Hermione's sobs had quietened and the Tuck brothers walked through the door, platters of gold floated in behind the ladened with many different desserts.

"Comfort food time," Andy exclaimed, cat whiskers crudely painted on to his face. Gold stars and sparkles erupted above them like fireworks and flickered down to the ground, "I knew it would be needed."

Hermione let out a watery chuckle at the Broadway like fanatics, "Are you trying to be the members of Kiss or the clan on Role Models?"

"We were going to be Black Veil Brides, but we didn't have enough time, so we are the clan of light," Andy sighed in mock disapointment, "Except Alerion decided he was going to join in when we were outside so that is why it looks like he has fallen over in flour and black paint." Andy explained, gutted that their final outcome was not what they desired.

Orion smiled then helped the rest of the trio off of the floor, before sinking into the plush sofa and began devouring a trayful of pancakes. The others soon took the hint and sat down with him, grabbing some pancakes before they were all consumed.

"You know, Neville has asked us to let Ronald Weasley join the house." Andy announced, around a mouthful of Lemon Meringue.

Hermione growled in annoyance, "Why?"

Alerion raised an eyebrow in her direction before answering the question, "Because the only reason he stayed loyal to Harry was for his sister. And because Mister Potter has cheated on Ginevra with Lavender Brown, Ron's girlfriend, Nev saw and relayed the information to one Weasley. Ron confronted Miss Brown and she said that it was true, but when he confronted Potter, she had changed her tune. Ron was forced out of Gryffindor and is now lodging in the Room of Requirements. Neville is a good friend of ours and a distant family member. So we trust Neville when he says that Ron is trustworthy, Ron didn't tell them who had told him when it could have saved his friendship with the Gryffindor's. Nev also says that Ron defended you against Harry and Ginny, he went against his family for you 'Mione."

Hermione looked shocked for a second before saying, "So why isn't he here telling us himself?"

Andy chuckled, "Because he's scared you will kill him as soon as he steps over the threshold."

Draco laughed, "That's probably true."

Hermione wacked him around the head with a cushion, Draco ducked and by doing so, fell off of the sofa. Orion giggled, then stopped as another pillow hit him in the face. Draco was sat on the floor looking a little bit too innocent. An full scale pillow fight ensued, feathers flying everywhere, coating the floor in a cloud like layer.

But the cheerful atmosphere soon diminished when an intruder interrupted their fun.

Dumbledore floated into the room with a solemn expression upon his face.

"To convict Crabbe and Goyle of attempted murder I need solid proof Draco, it's not that I don't believe you, of course. You must understand that if I were to go to Wizengamot, on your behalf, I would need solid proof. Therefore I need to look at your memories."

"Just the ones for the stabbing?" Draco asked slowly, not wanting to share his darkest memories with anyone.

Dumbledore nodded hesitating slightly before looking Draco in the eye.

"Legilimens." He said, his voice echoing around the room.

Draco froze as Dumbledore entered his mind. It felt like a goblet of cold water had been poured over his head, he had felt the same sensation many times before when his estranged aunt Bellatrix had taught him Occlumency. It took everything he had to not protect his mind from the invading entities.

Draco started to shake as memories better forgotten floated to the front of his mind. He curled into a ball on the floor and rocked backwards and forewards, staring at the black walls. Draco's arms were folded across his chest as if keeping the pain in. Hermione ran her fingers through his hair trying to calm him down and bring him out of his personal hell. Orion was sat in the corner by the hifi, cigarette in one hand and a glass half filled with vodka in the other. The strength of Draco's pain was taking a toll on him and he fought against the need to shield his friends from harm. Orion brought the glass to his lips and downed the clear liquid in one, not flinching at the acquired taste.

Dumbledore was visibly shaken when he returned to the present, his skin had turned grey and was covered in perspiration.

"Professor?" Andy said quietly.

Dumbledore jumped, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"I think we should convict your father as well." His voice shook but began to get stronger.

Draco paled as Dumbledore's words registered in his brain.

"How much did you see?" Draco whispered.

Dumbledore shuffled uncomfortably, "Just about everything. I'm sorry I couldn't help it, those memories were the strongest and they overwhelmed me, blasting everything else I wanted to see out of the way. I couldn't escape them," He shook as he remembered them, "I have never experienced anything quite like it."

Draco shuddered and escaped to his room, locking the door behind him. He threw himself on to his plush king sized bed.

An enraged cry could be heard through the wall as a blast of energy tore through his room. The mirror above his desk shattered as a chair collided with it; the wooden furnishing splintered into thousands of pieces; heavy fabric curtains turned to rags; as the shock wave ripped through everything as if a bomb had gone off in his room. Parchment floated to the floor with the ripped pages from expensive books. Everything settled on the black carpet to form a lethal secondary rug of glass, wood and paper.

Orion crashed through the unlocked bathroom door to find Draco lying in the centre of the blast, unmoving.

"Shit Draco."

The bed he lay on crashed to the floor, the mattress barely holding itself together, but Draco still did not move from his position.

Dumbledore quickly followed Orion, the others in tow. He walked to Draco's side; the debris parted for him, like the sea did for Moses; and reached towards his unmoving form. Draco flinched and moved away from his head teacher. He withdrew his hand and stepped back.

Hermione slowly made her way towards her new friend, not caring if the shattered glass went through her socks. She sat on the edge of his broken bed and started running her hand through his dark hair.

"If you try to convict Lucius of anything he will avade it and come to kill me Dumbledore, you know he will," Draco stated clearly, though he sounded broken, from his position on what was left of his bed, "And you know he will kill everyone I love...to torture me...before he actually...kills me...Lucius always kills everyone I love."

Silent tears rolled down his cheeks to be absorbed by the dirty mattress. He pulled Hermione on to the bed to lay by his side and started to sob into her stomach.

Orion growled, his eyes darkening, "Leave. Now."

A single blade floated behind Dumbledore's head where he couldn't see it, ready to plung into the back of his neck.

Dumbledore frowned at the order but understood the predicament he had placed himself in. He waved his wand and the room returned to it's usual state before he turned to leave.

"Don't do this Professor. It will ruin everything." Alerion whispered.

Dumbledore nodded slightly in recognition but carried on walking without a word.

Orion continued to let out an eerie snarl and kept the weapon following him until he could no longer feel his headmaster's presence. The knife fell to the floor with a clatter and the animalistic noises eminating from his person ceased.

Alerion and Andy sat cross-legged at the end of the newly fixed bed whilst Orion lay down beside Draco. Andy placed a hand each on Draco's knee and Orion's knee and pushed his comfort onto them while Alerion summoned a large bottle of Vodka and five shot glasses. He dished out the beverage to each person and Orion swiftly downed his, before refilling the tiny glass. The trio soon calmed with the heat of the liquid when it ran down their throats.

"You all have a habit of burying your problems, Hermione you emerse yourself in your studies instead of dealing with them; Orion you drink yours away; and Draco you used to take it out on Muggleborns, but now you do nothing and I don't know if that's a better way. You need to tell each other your pasts, otherwise this group is going to self destruct and you won't know why and everything will be lost. Trust is so important in these times of war. Secrets are a burden." Andy said softly.

"If secrets are a burden why won't you tell us what is happening to Draco and I?" Orion growled, slightly angry that information concerning him was being kept from him.

Draco pushed himself off of the bed to sit on the mattress properly, a frown on his face.

"We want to tell you, because we know that if someone had told us what was happening to Andy and I, the change would have been so much easier on us and our minds. But we can't tell you. That's the rules. You have to figure it out for yourselves. If we tell you, you would not have the experience needed to get through this. But you will have us, which is more than we had when we were your age." Alerion explained.

"We thought we were going insane. Our parents had been killed, murdered by Voldemort but we didn't know that until much later. We were just kids, we didn't even know we were of magical blood. We were sent to an orphanage and were adopted by a couple shortly after. For five years, we lived with that couple in harmony, we were glad to have gained such a great family. But then they received a letter from Hogwarts in the post," Andy choked, his voice becoming darker as he spoke, "And they accused us of being the Devil's spawn. We didn't know why, we didn't even know they had gotten a letter concerning us. We were locked in the attic of their house for six years. Food was pulled up a pully system in the wall that was used by servants in years gone by and there was a broken bathroom unit in the corner. Then we started to change and there was no one we could talk about it too, no one to ask questions too. We could feel things that weren't there, we could make stuff happen that shouldn't have. With the amount of time we had spent in that room with no one else to talk too, we seriously thought we were hallucinating and we believed them when they said we were Satan's children. We learnt to deal with the pain, by telling our minds that it wasn't real. The food had stopped coming up so we started to think they had abandoned us but we could still hear them in the floors below."

The room grew darker with a suffocating pressure that crushed all in the room. Alerion grabbed his brothers hand and the compression ceased. Tears were streaming down Andy's face but he continued without missing a beat.

"Then one day Alerion collapsed, he was dying, his heart had stopped and I was trying to keep him alive, trying so hard infact to stop him from dying that the walls were shaking. Magic is fragile and in extreme circumstances it can explode out of you into your surroundings. The couple burst through the attic hatch. The man ripped me from my brothers side and threw me to the floor. The floorboards crumpled underneath me as the force left me coughing up blood. A fragment from the broken floor had pierced my lungs and as I lay there I did not notice the woman brandishing a knife until it had been forced through my chest. They had gotten it in their heads that by sacrificing us they would be doing the world a favour. I don't know what actually happened next but I do know that no one is safe around me when I think that there is no hope left because I will drag down everyone surrounding me, friends and foe alike. When I returned to the present, I instinctively knew that none of the blood on the floor was mine and I knew I had slaughtered our 'carers'. There was nothing left of them," He smiled evilly, his eyes lighting up as he remembered that moment, "I was drenched in blood that didn't belong to me. The hole in my chest had healed and my blood had disappeared. Alerion began moving again, I still don't know why or how but he did, and he was scared of me, his own brother, because of something I couldn't control. Apparently the screams of the couple had been so loud that the neighbors had gotten worried and called the police. And I was sent to a mental institution, whilst Alerion got sent into witness protection. The loony bin was filled with true lunatics. All muggles, all scared of me, because they knew that I had butchered two armed adults without blinking. The authorities wouldn't let me have company as they didn't trust me to not kill them. I spent months in there, confined to a cell with no one to talk to, thinking I was going insane. I was like you Draco, I could not feel. They said whenever someone came close to my cell they could feel all the happiness in the world leave their bodies, like Dementors. I lost count of how long I was there for but I do remember the day Dumbledore turned up to get me out. He was scared of me too, you could see it in his eyes. But he told me that Alerion was with him and that he was going to get me out of there." His voice turned bitter, "You see my brother had had it easy in comparison with me. Dumbledore had collected him from the police station with the promise of protection but from people who don't understand, not me. So for the months I was losing my mind in a two meter square room, my brother and Dumbledore were scouring the country in search of a deteriorating sixteen year old boy. When they did find me, I had stopped hoping to escape from there, I had retreated into my mind and didn't even realise that there were others in my cell. I was so far gone..." Andy's voice trailed off as he succumbed to his memories.

Alerion took over the story telling, rubbing his brother on the back as he stared of into the distance, "When we found him I didn't recognise him, he was paler than before, so much so that he looked dead. Andy didn't seem to recognise me either, but I think that was more of his mind set than me actually changing. It was like he had forgotten that he had a brother. The people in charge informed us of his state before hand, but it didn't even cover what he was actually like. They said he wasn't eating much, the little he did manage to consume was rejected by his body and you could tell. They said he didn't talk, he didn't move, he didn't do anything so they didn't need to administer the drugs they normally would have had to have done in cases similar to his. He didn't even notice when he was carried out of the hospital and taken to Hogwarts. Andy spent weeks, possibly months, just lying in the infirmary. I visited him everyday, waiting for Andy to realise he was out and who I was but I was just ignored by my brother, and it hurt so much. One day I decided that enough was enough and I just held his hand and talked to him for hours. I didn't notice that that the life was draining away from me until the nurse, Madame Pomfrey, came rushing in and pulled me away from Andy. I immediately felt like I had just ran the Marathon or something, I was so tired that I almost passed out. But I didn't, I stayed conscious for long enough to see my brother almost literally come back to life. He looked like he had just drowned, when Andy woke up from his stupor he started choking and breathing deeply, like he had been holding his breath for the entire time he had been at the institute for. Turns out his power is a defensive one, like your's Orion. He constantly draws energy from those around him, most of the time it's unnoticable, but when he's dying or ill, the drain of power is more prominent. Also Andy can push energy towards you and with them feelings too, so that you can heal from near death, which was what he did, that day, when he got admitted and I died. When Andy was in the hospital he was drawing energy from the in-patients, so the energy was like poison. Which is why he developed a serious case of depression and was losing his sanity because he was literally absorbing the insane," Andy shuddered as he rose from the bed and ran to the bathroom, "But when he absorbs 'good' energy from ecstatic individuals it's like he's on drugs or cloud nine. Andy has learnt to control it and now the different energies doesn't affect him as much as it used to do."

The group sat in silence, contemplating their own lives, waiting for their friend and brother to return to them.

"How old are you, Alerion?" Hermione asked softly.

"Not as old to make you feel inferior 'MIone. Me and my brother are both 18, as is how it works in the world of twinhood; just don't tell anyone else." Alerion answered happily, glad for a lighthearted conversation.

"You may be almost the same age as us but I am still not talking to you about girls, imagian if you will being interrupted in the middle of a debate about sex...with your head of house, imagian that." Draco drawled lazily, making everyone collapse in laughter.

Alerion continued to giggle as he sank into the plush king sized bed to wait for his twin.

"Fuck Andy, don't do that. Not again. Open the door." Alerion shouted, startling the trio as he gracefully scrambled from the foot end.

He ran to the bathroom door and pulled on the handle. The sound of Andy throwing up could be heard through the door.

"What's wrong with Andy?" Hermione asked concerned for her friend.

"For weeks after getting his energy back he was vomiting and we couldn't get him to stop. By remembering what happened he manages to make himself sick," Alerion answered in a hurry, trying to force his way through the thick wooden door, "Andy explained it to me once, he said that by remembering he falls back into that frame of mind and he can feel all the people in his head again, which is what makes him sick."

The door clicked open seemingly of it's own accord and the quartet ventured in slowly, pushing back the door to find Andy curled up into a ball on the floor, his forehead resting on the cold porcelain throne and his wand on the floor by his hand.

"Andy I told you not to tell them all of it at once, but you didn't listen." Alerion stated, anger lacing his words.

The Tuck brother stretched out slowly as to not aggravate his stomach any more and stood, swaying slightly.

"They needed to know that it's fine to worry about the consequences of telling someone your story but to not let them get in the way of putting trust in your friends and family. For example, I didn't know whether you would except me for who I am because I have killed in cold blood and I don't care, but I trust you all, which is difficult for me because at times I don't even trust my own brother. Also it would have made it worse to elongate the story as I would be constantly thinking about it for days and the pain would have built up. I assume Alerion told you how my power works, so I don't need to explain it again." Andy said with his eyes closed, not wanting to see the reactions on their faces.

Alerion looked hurt for a second before he cleared his face to look impassive, obviously he wasn't aware of his brother's trust issues.

"I think we are all entitled to have trust issues, but your fears were unfounded as we already love you, you're all like family to me. We loved you before you told us of your past, but I think we love you more now that you have told us. Which is why I am going to share my past with you all and I hope that you two will as well." Orion stated, with his hand on Andy's shoulder, steadying him as he swayed.

"Fine," Draco replied shakily, "I trust all of you. It's just that by telling it makes it more real. I suppose it's better than hearing it from someone else anyway."

"Alright but not today, too much stuff has been going on." Hermione agreed hesitantly, as she shook in fright of her newest and only friends finding out just how sick she really was, how uptight, self-centered and vain her true self was.

Draco wrapped his arms around her frail body as she whimpered into his chest, making sure that the bandages he wore were hidden from sight under his long sleeved button up shirt.

The others gradually filtered out of the room after each giving a kiss on the cheek to Hermione and a squeeze on the shoulder to Draco.

"Sooo...I hear we have an upcoming war and not having lived in the wizarding community I am going to fein ignorance on the matter of his majesty Potter leading us into battle and start to create our own army." Orion stated as they shut the door to Draco's room.

Andy grinned, "Where do you suggest we start?"

"Roonil Wazlib."

A.N: I AM SOOOOO SORRY...its been what 3 months maybe and you have had nought from me. I appologise, I find writing long speeches tiresome, yet it was important in this chapter...and in the next and possibly the next...but I don't know, haven't exactly got a plan, i find the restricting :)

Soo excuses tis time actually are minmal but of great importance in my life as it is at the moment.

1. Having GCSEs to do this year put alot of strain on me and I'm telling you I buckle under stress

2. This chapter has been half writen for about a month but I could not get it to flow right...it's still not right but now it's acceptable at least

3. I am recovering from Flu...YAY..it was bundles of fun and wish you all the very best of not catching influenza

4. My family is falling apart and I don't know how to fix it, I don't know whether punching my brother in the face would sort out anything...damn shame really

But I do have somink good coming up...SCHOOL HOLIDAY WOOO...as well as my ganster rap fireman strippers birthday of paintballing fun on Saturday, a Black Veil Brides' Concert on the Sunday (BIG woop for that), on the next Saturday its my dear friends birthday sleepover with shit loads of karoke ;) and the Easter Sunday is my Mum's birthday. I am seriously going to be partied out and I'm more of a sit in the corner and observe person.

As normal, review if you like, tell me if the speech set up was ok or should I just ditch what I have planned.

Sorry for the long ass Author's Note by the way ;)