Chapter 11 - The Confession Disaster
Harry overheard voices coming from Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom. He was intrigued. Harry knew this specific cluster of girls toilets were not used, due to the ghost of a girl, killed by the stare of a giant serpent that haunted them. Pressing his ear against the door, he began to eavesdrop.
"My father...gave me a task to complete...it would double as my initiation...to become a Death Eater." One clearly male voice explained, choking on his own words.
"What's the task, Draco?" Another male voice said softly.
Harry was startled, he knew Malfoy was vile, but he didn't realise that he was evil enough to be in Voldemort's inner circle.
"I can't do it...I have to get the dark side into the castle...undetected..." Draco paused and took a deep breath, he was crying. "And I have to kill Dumbledore."
There was silence. Only interrupt by the dripping of water into a sink.
"Oh my god." A girl breathed into the silent bathroom.
Harry leaned forward slightly to see if he could hear more and to his horror, the door moved a little but emitted a loud screech. He stood back, waiting to see if anyone had noticed. Harry breathed a sigh of relief when he heard no footsteps, but then the heavy oak door swung open, seemingly on its own, to reveal Malfoy standing straight, pointing his wand towards him.
"Ah Saint Potter. Do come in." Draco said with fake happiness, slipping his wand back into his pocket.
Harry accepted the invitation hesitantly, drawing out his wand. He felt safer with the eleven-inch stick of holly wood in his hand. Harry was only a little surprised to see Hermione standing next to Draco by the sinks.
"Granger, not really surprised to see you here. I see you are fraternising with the enemy." Harry said spitefully and then redirected his speech to Draco, "Surely you don't enjoy that mudblood slut's company."
Hermione's face dropped and became stony.
"Listen prick, you no longer know anything about me," She said, "Why were you standing outside the door?"
"Yeah, hear anything interesting?" Draco pitched in.
Orion Black stayed silent, content to watch the oncoming battle.
"Now that you mention it, yes, I did hear something fascinating. Expelliarmus!" Harry agreed, disarming Malfoy.
Draco wasn't fazed as he shielded himself from the onslaught of curses coming his way with the wandless and non-verbal magic he had mastered in secret over the years he had been at Hogwarts.
"I am not surprised you are becoming a Death Eater but...I...won't...let...you...and your...Death...Eater...pals...kill...Dumbledore..." Harry yelled between shouting curse after curse towards Draco.
The pair looked as if they were dancing, Harry on attack, pushing Draco, who was defending himself silently and wandlessly, backward.
Draco laughed at the pitiful being standing before him, "You idiot, you can't even eavesdrop right, or did you just miss the part where I said that I cannot and will not help the dark side."
"You are lying and I know it and you know it, you stupid bastard!" Harry yelled, his face twisting in rage, swinging his wand in an arch.
"My god, if this is what all of the light side is going to be like then I might as well join the dark side just to kill you off. Jesus Christ and you said I was stupid." Draco said.
Harry's face contorted in rage and he began throwing curses towards his old tormentor as if there were no tomorrow.
"SECTUMSEMPRA!" The golden boy screamed, swishing his wand blindly as if he were wielding a sword in a storm.
The curse hit the unsuspecting Hermione's form; blood seeped from under her shirt, quickly staining the brilliant white a deep crimson red. She staggered backwards a step as the curse struck her. Hermione looked down in shock to find her shirt ripped as if cut by a knife, shakily she peeled back the blood sodden material and saw deep gashes criss-crossing her stomach.
An unknown emotion rippled through Draco as he saw the light collide with Hermione's beautiful form. An animalistic urge surged through his body, wanting to inflict pain on anyone who so much as gave Hermione a headache, wanting to kill Potter for making his girl bleed.
Draco growled, "You fucking wanker." Taking a step towards the attackers frozen form.
Harry chuckled as Orion rushed over to Hermione to try to stop the blood flow.
"She deserves it," Harry exclaimed happily as if he were discussing something trivial like a birthday party, "Can't let that whore believe that it is okay to insult me and fraternise with the enemy when she knows our secrets."
You are truly insane. No wonder Voldemort wants to get rid of you." Draco said in an eerily calm voice, pushing his arm out, the palm of his hand facing the golden child, shoving him against the wall with an unseen force.
Orion pulled off his shirt thankful that the weather was cold enough to warrant the need to wear a t-shirt underneath. He didn't want to show everyone his scars just yet. Orion scrunched up the material and placed it against Hermione's wounds, trying to soak up the blood that was pouring from her wounds, forming a puddle beneath her.
"Is this really the time and place, Black? I mean your fuck buddy is dying and you're stripping so that you can get a quick one before she walks into the light. I would have thought better of you seeing as though you are related to Sirius." Harry exclaimed sinisterly, grinning as he saw that he had pushed all the right buttons.
Orion and Draco's eyes darkened. Orion's hands gripped the floor like claws as he snarled at the evil entity in the room. Draco's eyes were completely black, even the whites. His expression alone made Harry flinch, but with the continuous snarl coming from Draco's chest made Potter want to crawl away into a corner and die, except he stupidly stood his ground. The only notion you could see that conveyed that fearless Potter was scared was the fact that his legs were shaking, like leaves in the wind.
"I can taste your fear Potter." Draco growled his voice rough and deep with a dark almost evil tinge to it.
Harry flinched at his voice and tried to shuffle backwards towards the open door but stopped when Draco chuckled under his breathe.
"You're not going anywhere." He exclaimed menacingly, slamming the door shut wandlessly.
"Yeah you're right. I'm staying in the castle but you on the other hand will be going to Azkaban, for the murders of Hermione Granger and Narcissa Malfoy."
Draco froze, stuck in the last memory he had of his mother.
Orion growled at the pain coursing through his brothers' veins, "Draco didn't kill our mum, Lucius did."
"That's what he told you...hang on...you're brothers..."
Orion flicked out his arm and a lump of rock, which fell from the wall during the fight, flew at Potter's head, knocking him unconscious. He then charmed rope to bind Harry's limbs together. Once Orion was sure that he was not able to move, he sent a Patronus charm to Professor Snape, detailing the incident and pleading for aid.
He tried to stop the blood flow from the deep slashes in her torso, but nothing was working. Instead, Orion turned his attention to his newfound sibling, who looked as though he'd been petrified.
He placed his hands on either side of Draco's face and spoke to him clearly.
"This isn't your fault. What Lucius did to you and our mum wasn't your fault. You didn't murder her, your father did. We still love you."
But nothing Orion was doing was having an effect on Draco, and with Hermione drifting in and out of consciousness, it was like he was the only one there. A pang of loneliness brought on his own pain but he pushed it to the side, concentrating on getting Draco out of his mental torture.
The door behind him opened and Snape floated into the room. Seeing his godson in his torment, he made his way towards the pair.
"Help Hermione." Orion growled, his pain evident in his tone.
The stonehearted teacher flinched and diverted his path towards the barely conscious girl on the floor, but was stopped by an invisible barrier a meter away from her.
"Orion I can't help if you don't put your shield down."
Orion looked at him startled and tried to lower the shield around Hermione.
"It's not me." He replied confused.
"What?" Snape asked, equally confused.
"My shield's not up. It's not me."
Hermione whimpered in pain, whispering something before returning to unconsciousness.
A Patronus flickered into sight before them, it was a strange winged figure.
"It's not Orion who's protecting Hermione, it's Draco. The only one who can get him to lower the defences when he is stuck in a memory is Hermione. Orion, you can get through the shield, so you need to move her close enough to Draco that they can touch. The shield will then lower. We will be there soon. I'm sorry I didn't see it in time." Alerion's voice bounced off the cold stone bathroom walls, breaking their confusion, before disappearing as the Patronus dissolved.
"Fuck." Snape blurted into the silence that followed the disappearance of the white mist.
"Agreed." Orion replied before removing his hands from his brother's face.
He quickly walked over to Hermione, aware of the sheer amount of blood lost, and picked her up slowly, careful not to disrupt her wounds. Orion moved her closer to Draco and slipped her pale hand into his.
The effect was visible and unexpected, Snape could move towards them, but also the deep cuts were reducing, healing. When they reduced to faded scars, both Snape and Orion breathed a sigh of release.
However, a flash of pain throughout Orion's body almost made him drop Hermione's unconscious form. Snape took her off him and laid her on the floor.
"What's the matter?" Snape asked fearfully.
Orion groaned, feeling faint. He looked towards Draco, who had not moved.
Blood had soaked into his brother's shirt. Hermione's wounds had not disappeared, they had moved.
"No." Orion breathed, fear flooding his veins.
Draco showed no signs of noticing the slashes in his chest and stomach or the blood loss. He remained stood where he was. Orion sat on the floor as the world started to spin.
A moan to the right of Orion signalled the return of Hermione to consciousness.
Snape rushed to his godson's side.
"What's happened? What's wrong with...Draco?" Hermione asked frantically.
She picked herself off the floor and ran towards him, ignoring how her head span.
The doors crashed open.
"Don't let her touch him!" Andy screamed, rushing towards Draco as he collapsed to the floor.
Alerion and Ron followed close behind him.
Without asking questions, Orion flung himself at her ankle and caught it before she could reach her target, making Hermione hit the floor hard.
Snape checked Draco's vital signs. There was no pulse.
"No no no no." Hermione sobbed, "This can't be happening. This is my dream, this can't be happening."
Orion's body convulsed as it was flooded with dead feelings and slowly slipped into unconsciousness.
"Severus get out of my way and attend to the others," Andy said, going pale, "I have to do this."
He rubbed his hands together and placed them on either side of Draco's face, closing his tear-filled eyes. Andy pushed all the energy in the room into Draco, leaving the people he was drawing it from, feeling suffocated and lifeless.
"Ron I need you to do CPR...Now!"
The two worked over his lifeless body for what seemed like a lifetime, with no change. Both covered in his crimson blood.
"Fuck Draco. Do something." Alerion yelled.
Andy felt his wrist again, not removing his hands from Draco's flesh to keep the energy connection flowing.
Ron stopped his movements, "His heart is beating on its own."
Andy breathed a sigh of relief as he withdrew the energy flow from Draco, the mixture of depressing and hopeful emotions were taking a toll on him and he too vomited on the cold stone floor. He curled into a ball and shielded himself from the onslaught of contrasting energies.
"We need to take them to Pomfrey." Snape said into the silence.
Andy went to stand but fell back down again.
"Snape take Orion. I will take Andy, and we will float Draco, as he is the worst off. Ron can drag Potter. Hermione can walk with us." Alerion stated forcefully, making for no objections.
He helped his brother to his feet and hauled Andy on to his back. No one questioned Alerion's orders for fear of what he would do. Ron fortified the bounds around Harry's limbs and pulled him across the floor towards the bathroom entrance. Professor Snape smirked as the One-Who-Lived rebounded off the cold stone archway. His expression soon turned solemn as he remembered the unconscious boys on the floor. He picked up Orion in his arms and was frightened by how fragile the boy looked clutched to his chest. After Alerion summoned a stretcher to carry Draco, they set off.
They walked slowly, like a funeral train, through the castle towards the Infirmary, aware of the sheer amount of blood that had dried on them.
The bell rang signalling the end of the first lesson. Classes of students surrounded them.
"What the hell have you done to my Harry?" Ginny's voice screamed from the crowd.
Others had not noticed his body being dragged by the youngest Weasley male, but now they had done, and the abuse shouted at them escalated.
"You lot are going to get us all killed."
"You are nothing special, just a bunch of weirdoes."
"Go kill yourselves, we don't need you here."
"You're all worthless."
A growl louder than the building swarm exploded from Alerion's chest, his eyes turning darker than night, and grew with intensity until the walls were shaking.
"Shut the fuck up all of you. I am not a teacher; I am not governed by your rules. I will not hesitate hexing whoever speaks next. DO NOT PUSH ME. My brother and I are under the same laws as Orion and Draco are, so we can kill you with no repercussions. Get it into your thick skulls that we are here to stay and nothing you do is going to change that."
The gathered flinched at his tone and stepped back. One idiot seemed to have a death wish.
"That's complete and utter bull and you know it. There is only one law. You all think so highly of yourselves that you think you're above the law, when you're not. Just look at Malfoy, Black and Tuck there, all weak and helpless."
The crowd laughed and parted to reveal the speaker.
Pansy Parkinson.
"You stupid little girl. They aren't weak; they are so strong that Draco saved Hermione's life twice and survived dying; Orion felt Draco die in his head and is still breathing; Andy saved Draco and Orion's lives with his mental state on the line. What the fuck have you done lately?"
He shot a weak curse to Pansy and she crumpled to the floor in a faint.
"Anyone else wanna fuck around 'cause now is not the time?"
Everyone stepped back again allowing them to continue.
Hermione grabbed Orion and Draco's hands in support for them and the support it gave her, as they made their way towards the Infirmary.
They crashed through the doors and Pomfrey was upon them in seconds.
"Put them on the bed; you too Miss Granger. What happened?"
Alerion explained quickly, "Potter attacked them, cursed Hermione, called Draco a murderer so went back into his memories, Orion knocked the scum out, and Draco was stuck in his memories but was shielding her from harm. Therefore, when Snape arrived he could not help, so Orion moved Hermione so that they were touching and the curse transferred to him, he must have drawn it into himself. Orion felt him die."
"My god." She gasped.
"We then arrived from our excursion, Andy brought Draco back to life but my brother can't stand up, the energy loss I think."
After a moment of thought, Pomfrey exclaimed, "Everybody out!"
The Tuck twins hissed, their bodies tensing as if under attack.
Alerion growled in a threatening manner, "I am not leaving my brother, alone, not again. Snape has to stay for Orion, not that he knows that yet. And it would be unfair to make Ron go alone, he will be attacked by other houses."
The nurse bustled about the room, grabbing every known potion to mankind.
"Fine. Here drink this Miss Granger; it will help with your blood loss." She said, sticking a foul coloured liquid under her nose.
Hermione grimaced as she swallowed the thick medicine; it tasted like a dreadful mixture of Night Nurse and Peach Schnapps.
Madame Pomfrey then began assessing the brothers' conditions. She pulled out her wand and did a full body scan on the boys, whilst closing the lacerations in Draco's skin. Frowning she turned to the members of the group who weren't bed bound.
"You may have broken Draco's ribs during CPR, but at least he is alive, thanks to Andy and Mr Weasley of course. He has multiple fractures and scar tissue all over his body. Orion's symptoms are strange, it is as if he did die as well, but you said he didn't. He also has fractures and scars, but I knew that from when he came during the holidays. His new wounds include scarred bones that match Draco's new fractures and breaks. This doesn't make sense... Andy is suffering from shock and exhaustion, because of reviving Mr Malfoy; I don't see how his 'power' works though."
Alerion supressed a growl, "You don't know what we are, so it doesn't make sense. And I'm sorry but you can't know until they figure it out."
"How can I help them if I don't know what they are?" She argued back, aware of how close she was getting to being ripped apart by him.
He calmed as she spoke, recognising the compassion filtering through her voice; Alerion's eyes returned to thier normal colour, "The brothers are still partly human, treat them as such. I am sorry for the way I have acted but it is mandatory that they know first."
The nurse accepted his reasoning's for now and started to heal the trio. She cast many charms over the unconscious pair, but soon began frowning.
"The spells are not working, the sheer amount of them are cancelling each other out. I need muggle medicine." She said, her hands shaking.
Hermione was struggling against the potion Madame Pomfrey had given her, but soon she succumbed to the dream-less-sleep draught.
Soon the nurse had attached an IV and heart monitor to the boys; using magic as for the first time in her life, she did not trust her own hands. A steady beat filled the room, announcing to them that the brothers' hearts contracted and relaxed at exactly the same time.
A small smile appeared on Hermione's face, even in unconsciousness she was still in tune with her two best friends. She began feeling her way around the bed and whimpering, as she didn't find what she was looking for.
Sighing, Alerion wheeled her bed between the two unconscious boys and lay her hand next to theirs. She sighed in relief as her fingertips touched theirs. Andy grinned as he watched from his bed.
"Hey nurse, what's my solution?" He smiled in her direction.
"A slap around your face for getting into this mess. No. You can have this bar of chocolate; I want you to eat it all, and some well-earned sleep. You should be proud three people are still alive because of your quick thinking. Well done."
Andy lit up at her words, "Thank you." He choked on his words.
Tears filled his eyes and he giggled as he took a bite into the soft chocolate. Soon he had devoured the whole lot and he pushed himself under the covers.
Snape cleared his throat, "Why am I staying?"
Alerion raised his eyebrow to the man. Severus shuffled awkwardly under his gaze.
"Are you telling me you don't know?" He asked in disbelief.
"Know what?" Snape said confused.
"My god. She didn't tell you."
"Who and what?"
"Narcissa Malfoy never told you that you have a son."
The professor froze, "What?" He whispered.
"Orion Black is your son and heir."
"Fuck." He breathed before sitting down by his newfound son's bedside and holding his untaken hand. He rubbed his face with his free hand and suddenly looked like an old man.
"Get some sleep Sev. You're gunna need it in the morning. Good night." Alerion murmured apologetically.
Andy lifted up the cover by his side.
"Get in, after pushing me closer to the others please."
Alerion grumbled, then did as his brother wished, before widening the bed a little with magic.
"Ron could you put Potter in the corner and then move out of the way please?" Andy said sinisterly.
The redheaded boy did as asked and stood at the opposite end of the room.
The Tuck brother started saying a complex spell that made the air feel like static. A crushing pressure began at the back of thier ears before abating. Potter woke at that moment and began attempting to claw at his binds in an attempt to escape. A silent scream appeared on his lips. A bright light shone that had the conscious beings in the room cowering away from, but left behind a slightly shimmery clear shield that housed the would-be-murderer. The boy struggled against the defences as it closed on him, leaving a metre square box for the golden child to spend the night in.
"Was that really necessary?" The nurse inquired.
Andy shrugged, before wiggling down into the bed.
Tutting Madame Pomfrey bustled off to her quarters and Ron transfigured a hospital bed into the plushest sofa in the planet, before kicking off his shoes and diving into the cushions. He sighed from the comfort.
"Ah I love magic," He smiled, his eyes closed, "Good night guys."
All those conscious murmured a reply and settled in for the night.
Quiet arguing startled Hermione awake and she unintentionally began to eavesdrop.
"Why did you come get me from the orphanage, why didn't you save me from that bastard?" Orion snarled.
Snape paled and stepped back as his son's shield grew before his eyes, protecting himself from him.
"I didn't know I had a child. Narcissa never told me."
"I don't believe you." His son shouted; a knife flew towards Severus' throat before stopping with the tip against his flesh.
A single tear slipped down the professor's cheek for the first time in many years.
Alerion coughed to get the attention of the boy, "Orion, if your mother had told Snape then Voldemort would have been able to see it and he would have told Lucius and Narcissa would have been tortured by Lucius and so would have Snape. Both of your parents would have been dead. Lucius would then go on to kill you and possibly Draco too. Ms Black never told a soul for fear of your life."
Ignoring the moving speech, Orion picked up on one piece of information, "You knew and you didn't tell me. Why?"
The beat from the heart rate monitor became faster and faster the angrier he became. By this time, everyone was awake bar Draco, which was to be expected.
Andy spoke to his brother's defence, "We didn't know until you told Draco the names. My brother saw Draco's reaction and his answer but we didn't know beforehand. But would you have wanted us to tell you or would you have rather family tell you?"
Orion closed his eyes and began to relax; his transfigured weapons wavered and fell to the floor.
"Ok. I believe you...Snape."
Snape sat down heavily, pulled a hip flask from his cloak, and took a swig of the amber liquid.
"I see the love of alcohol runs in the family." Andy joked as he rose from his bed.
Snape went to reprimand his son but thought better of it. Raising his eyebrow, he offered the beverage to the boy. Orion grinned and drank a mouthful of the liquor, not flinching as it burnt the back of his throat, not like his father expected.
Muffled laughs fluttered around the room and the professor looked sheepish as the nurse walked in and began opening the curtains. Orion quietly slipped the silver flask under his pillow without Pomfrey noticing, before looking around the room innocently.
The woman raised her eyebrow in question before shaking her head and returning to her office.
The room seemed to relax further as the nurse disappeared.
A whimper of pain left Draco's lips before he relaxed again. Hermione's heart clenched at the sound and she strengthened her grip on his hand.
"Why didn't you let me get to Draco when he collapsed?" Hermione sniffled.
Andy groaned, "If you had touched him the curse would have gone back to you and you would have died and we couldn't have saved you. Draco would have killed us. We didn't stop you holding his hand after his resurrection because it wouldn't have worked then."
"How and why?" She asked confused.
Alerion answered sighing, "We can't tell you, Draco and you have to figure it out yourselves, together. What did you mean 'this was my dream'?"
"When I was still in Gryffindor, first night this year, I had a nightmare. It started all sweet; I was in a beautiful meadow. The birds were singing and the sun was shining, I felt good you know," She smiled slowly, before turning grim, "But then it turned cold and I got scared. Draco was stood in the middle, his shirt cut open. He was bleeding from what looked like knife lacerations, just like that curse Harry used. Then Draco collapsed and it felt like everything good got sucked out of the world."
Andy grinned and high-fived his brother, "We might have another seer in our midst, this is so cool...Sorry."
Hermione and Orion both glared at the twins before turning their attention to the big double doors as Dumbledore powered his way through them.
"Where's Potter?" He said, sorrow evident in his voice.
The gathered pointed to the corner in silence. The head teacher waved his hands and field surrounding the boy disappeared. Upon noticing his confinements gone, Harry jumped up and ran towards the doors for his escape. However, he came to a stop as he saw three suits of armour marching towards him swords drawn. They had him surrounded.
"This is hardly funny, call them off old man." He growled.
Dumbledore looked around startled, "It's not me. This is McGonagall's speciality, so this must be Orion. Well done, you're getting better."
"What the hell, I haven't done anything to you Black." Potter snarled in annoyance.
Orion glared at the boy, "Like hell you haven't. You tried to kill my friend, you made my brother return to his memories, you killed Draco and I felt him die. Do you know that feels like, to have someone you love die before you and you actually feel the life drain from them because of some fucked up link you have. Have you ever felt that?"
The not-so-golden boy chuckled, "Come on you're exaggerating because everyone knows that feeling someone else's emotions is impossible."
This time Andy laughed at Potter's ignorance, "Not so, hasn't learning of magic proven you anything? Everything is possible."
Andy placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, squeezing past the steel warriors. He pushed the emotions he felt at the asylum towards Potter. He gasped and began shaking. Andy stopped the flow of energy and stood back to wait.
Potter began to relax, his face contorted in anger as he drew his wand out of his pocket.
"Avada..." He began, but one of the knights sticking his sword between his shoulder blades stopped him and another thrust his weapon to the boy's throat.
The curse died on his lips.
"Harry James Potter, I condemn you to life imprisonment in Azkaban for two counts of attempted murder and one murder. How do you plead?" Dumbledore said solemnly.
Definitely guilty, they deserved it," He grinned. "I'm just sad that I didn't succeed."
Alerion, Orion and Andy snarled in retaliation as Hermione gasped in shock. The walls shook with the sound. For the first time the Tuck brothers were thankful that Draco was still unconscious, for they would be scrapping what was left of the body from the walls. Harry flinched and stepped backwards away from the sound, forgetting about the animated suit of armour behind him.
For the first time Ron spoke up, "You fucking bastard." He growled.
The black scruffy haired boy grinned. He reached into his cloak pocket, pulled out a silver ring, and began fumbling it between his fingers. The circle of metal began glowing, a vibrant colour that shone on the walls.
"No." Alerion whispered as he gazed at the source of the pulsating light.
"Yes." Potter smiled evily as he clenched the metallic object in his fist.
He closed his eyes. The light passed over his body and was absorbed by his skin. Quickly his eyes opened revealing bright red irises, Hermion shivered at the cold look in his eye. Grinning he winked as he muttered an incantation under his breath, before apparating away with a shock wave that knocked everyone standing to the floor.
"Fuck no." Orion snarled.
Dumbledore stared at the patch where had Potter stood, "That's impossible." He breathed.
Footsteps could be heard running towards them, a member of the Order charged her way into the room ignoring the snarls at her intrution.
"Crabbe and Goyle have gone, Albus. They have escaped."
A.N. - I have uploaded the pic for the 'Cover' and I drew it, you may not be able to see it properly because I took it on my phone...my phone camera is shit :) It portrays Orion how I see him, so please say if you like it, it took me forever so please be nice ;)
