A.N. – Guys I am so sorry it's been so long, but I'm trying to deal with other stuff and I totally lost the plot (as in I went mental, not that I lost where to go with the story…)
Chapter 17 – The Best Laid Plans...
"What the hell is he thinking?" Andy roared as he paced their common room floor. "We have no knowledge of combat or how to teach it. How the hell are we supposed to do this?"
Ron watched his mate walk in circles from his position upside down on the sofa, his awkwardly long legs flung over the back.
"When Orion, 'Mione and Draco fought the Gryffindors it looked so elegant, it was if you were dancing, so, why don't we teach them ballroom as a starting point?" He suggested.
Andy stopped, sat down heavily beside Ron and sighed, "Alerion and I don't know how to dance either."
"I do, it's one of the requirements of being a Malfoy," Draco announced from the corner, "So I can teach that one, perhaps Professor McGonagall will be willing to help like she did at the Yule Ball."
"Voldemort is adverse to Muggle tech, isn't he?" Alerion asked, they all nodded in agreement and he continued, "So we could bring in Muggle weaponry, right?"
"Such as?" Ron questioned, having next to no knowledge of this subject.
"Guns and swords basically, maybe some explosives to scare them or, you know, last resort."
"Wouldn't guns kill them? If we set out to deliberately kill them, wouldn't that make us as bad as them?"
"Ron's right, maybe we could use paint ball guns and use different potions as the ammo, like, sedatives to knock them out."
Draco smirked at the possibilities.
"I used to fence," Hermione said slowly, "So I could teach technique? I also took self-defence classes over the summer. Sophia, could you teach things you've learnt in Auror training?"
She grinned, happy to be doing something useful.
Hermione rose from the corner then stood, balancing, on the back of the sofa and stretched to touch the ceiling with the tip of her wand. A tiny white dot began inscribing their plans in the blackness like a chalkboard.
"Hang on, what about the Death Eater recruits in Hogwarts? We can't show them what we are doing otherwise if it comes to a war then our element of surprise won't be there and they could prepare against it." Sophia asked suddenly.
En Lucem froze as they each thought of a solution.
"How about we question each person in the school under Veritaserum under the pretence of finding the correct group and partner for them?" Ron proposed.
"That's illegal." Hermione pointed out.
"It's either that or we get wiped out and our efforts would be for nothing. We've not really had a thing with rules." He said bluntly.
"Ronald you're on fire today."
Andy deliberated the plan for a few seconds, "What would we do once we've got the information?"
"Kill 'em?" Ron joked.
Draco rolled his eyes, "Most are forced into service by their father's, they have no choice; it's either that or they get tortured by Voldemort or their parents, sometimes both. If they are being forced and want to be on the Light Side then we should give them a chance. If they are acting on their own accord, we wipe their memories of the interrogation and charm them so that any leaked information goes through one ear and out the other. Maybe we could place them in a group together with trusted people so that they don't suspect anything. Then when the war comes we can confine them."
"How would we confine them? As I remember, it didn't work too well with Crabbe, Goyle and Potter."
Ron stood up suddenly, "What about the Room of Requirements? We could get it to morph into the perfect prison surely? And we take all their belongings off them, in case one's a Portkey or something."
"Like a Muggle prison? So we'd change their clothes to something we know they couldn't escape with."
"Exactly," Ron replied grinning, "Shouldn't we see if Snape is willing to lend us the potion? Otherwise, all this planning would be a bit pointless wouldn't it?"
Hermione replied laughing, "We've not exactly been against stealing for the greater good but I suppose we should ask just this once."
She whipped out her wand and attempted to send off a Patronus. After the second time of having a thin wisp of white smoke vanish from the end of her wand, Hermione growled and threw her wand to the floor. Sparks shot out angrily, unhappy with its mistreatment. Draco picked her wand up off the floor and placed it gently back in her hand.
"Look at me," He said, "Just me. Now concentrate on me. I want you to focus on us, just us two. No one else matters at the moment, okay? Close your eyes. How did you feel when I took you flying and it was just us on the roof?"
Andy guessed where he was going and placed a hand on both of them and relayed the emotions to each other.
"You were happy right?" Hermione's emotions took a sharp dip, "Hey, Sophia is fine, no lasting damage there so don't focus on that. Focus on when we were on the roof and I had just told you that I was standing on the roof so you were safe, even if you had fallen. Yeah? You got that? Remember what you felt? Now cast your Patronus darlin'."
Her eyes were still closed when her otter shot from her wand and out the Common Room as it went to find Snape.
"Now relax, 'Mione, it worked fine."
Hermione's eyes shot open, "Really?"
"Really, really." He teased.
"You've watched Shrek?" She shrieked, clapping her hands.
"Yeah, I got bored once at home and made Dobby bring me some of Potter's DVDs."
A loud cough startled them out of their discussion.
"Miss Granger, you called?" Snape asked.
Hermione cleared her throat before answering, "Yes I did, but I believe this to be a subject better communicated in person. Would you please join us, Professor?"
He was silent for a while, making everyone a little uncomfortable, "Very well. You do know what time it is though, don't you?"
"Ugh..."
"How predicable. It's three in the morning you bloody nocturnal bastards."
En Lucem looked at each other in shock before bursting into laughter. Grumbling could be heard as the Patronus cut off.
"Your father is rather grumpy when he's tired isn't he." Andy giggled.
A couple hours later, Severus strode into the room, his cloak floating behind him. He thumped the side of his fist against the wall twice, waking up the light sleepers.
Andy pushed his mate's head off his shoulder, in an attempt to rouse Ron from his slumber. Sophia had curled up around Hermione, shortly after the call with the professor, and was now snoring quietly into her stomach. Alerion rolled his eyes as Ronald's head hit the floor and woke himself up startled. Laughing at his mate, Andy gently woke up the only two girls in the room. Ginny had retreated to the other dorm after being shoved off the sofa by her sleeping brother.
"You called?" Snape drawled.
"Yes, do you have any Veritaserum?" Orion asked warily.
He looked startled for as second before he gained his usual composure, "Why do you wish to know?"
Draco explained their base idea quickly.
His godfather nodded in agreement, "You know you'll have to question the teachers too?"
"Yes."
Severus slipped his hand into his robes and pulled out a tiny bottle, removing the stopper, he let a drop fall onto his tongue.
"Ask your questions." He drawled.
They all sat there, a little stunned at how compliant he was being. Orion was the first to find his voice.
"Do you understand that this is for the security of the school and not our own pleasure?"
Snape rolled his eyes at the question, "Of course, although knowing you lot, you are going to go off on a tangent."
"You are in Voldemort's inner circle, are you not? So why did you so willingly take the truth serum?" Draco questioned, slightly confused.
His Godfather smiled at the query, happy that his Godchild was asking the right questions, "Riddle created the Death Eaters when he was in Hogwarts, then they were called the Knights of Walpurgis. It was a group for Slytherins and it provided protection to themselves from others at school as they knew Tom was stronger than them. But Riddle quickly twisted their weak minds and they became the Death Eaters.
When I joined them, my Muggle father had just murdered my mother and I was so overcome with grief and rage that I wanted all abusive Muggle men to suffer like I had. I wanted to be able to save the victims and I didn't care if I did so through nefarious means, like, Dark magic. Riddle promised me that that was the way they did things, that they punished the wicked.
But I soon saw that that wasn't what was happening, but now that I had joined I couldn't leave or I would die. So I stayed.
I went to Dumbledore some years later to see if there was any way I could get out of it as he was the only teacher at Hogwarts who had ever treated me with kindness, but the ties I had with Voldemort were so strong that I couldn't save myself, I was compelled not to. When I was there I overheard Trelawney's prophecy about Potter and I had to tell him. That is how I got into his inner circle. I made him promise not to hurt Lily in any way but he killed her nonetheless, I shouldn't have trusted him but I had no choice.
As soon as it had happened, I knew she was dead, as all ties I had with him shattered and I went to back to Dumbledore. I had lost everything I had ever cared about; my mother and Lily were dead and Narcissa was married to Lucius.
Albus made me into a double agent and I had to make an unbreakable vow to him to prove how serious I was at taking that bastard down. So I took the Veritaserum to prove it to you."
"Who was Lily Potter to you?" Hermione asked suddenly, surprising everyone.
Snape's face hardened, "She was like a little sister to me. People assume I had a romantic interest in her; however, she was my first friend and my only real friend in Hogwarts. I wanted what was best for her and I didn't think that was James because when we were in school he was a bully. But he loved her and Harry with all his heart, so he grew on me...slightly. Every time he saw me he'd be wary of me and I never knew why."
"Why didn't you marry our mother?" Orion asked quietly, after a slight pause.
"My dear Narcissa had been arranged to marry Lucius since before they were born. Her father tried to kill me after we told him about her being my mate. So we removed his memory of that evening and continued to meet in secret. Lucius found out about us, I don't know how, and threatened to kill her. He said that he'd put a curse on her, so if we were to run away together she would die. I stopped seeing her but it was killing me; I could feel her pain where ever I went." Deep lines had formed in the skin around his eyes as he told the story, pain evident in his voice.
"We still need to do something about Perks." Draco said slowly, successfully distracting his twin's father.
His brother's mate growled softly at the name.
"We can't kill her if she is innocent." Ron said slowly.
"I gave my word that I wouldn't touch her unless she acted of her own accord. But I may have to kill something else instead."
"Well you do need to refine your powers before the battle, so that you have full control over them. So killing stuff could be part of your training? I could teach you…" Snape trailed off as Orion froze.
"You want to work with me?" He asked confused.
"Why would I not want to? You are my son." His father said slowly.
Draco grinned and slapped his half-brother on the shoulder as Orion mustered up a shy smile.
"Snape, can I talk to you for a second?"
The two left the common room, leaving the rest of the gathered to wonder.
After a while of general wandering through the castle's corridors, Draco spoke up, his voice cracking.
"Do you know any reason why a Patronus can't be cast?"
His Godfather's face took on a confused expression that seemed foreign to him, "Well, you know Patronuses are cast from happy memories? If the caster cannot find a happy memory then the Patronus can't be cast."
Draco sighed, that wasn't the answer he was looking for.
"What will stop said caster from finding a happy memory, when they could previously do so?"
"Grief could stop the ability to remember happiness. Or depression for that matter," Snape stopped walking, "Is this about Miss Granger?"
"Argh! I just don't know what to do to help her. What if this affects other spell work and she won't be able to defend herself; what if at the end of all this planning, the battle actually happens? I know she would never want me to crowd her and make sure she's alright all the time, because she kicks ass well enough on her own. But what if she gets hurt? What if she meets that bastard on the battle field and she closes up? She could get killed. I want her to be better, but I don't even know if she is ok because she doesn't say anything to me or anyone and I need to know that she's ok because she is my life. Severus, do you get that? I will kill him for what he has done to her, maybe that'll bring her some peace, but I don't know what to do," Throughout his rant, Draco's voice had gotten louder and louder till he was almost shouting, but his voice broke towards the end and he started sobbing. "Please help me. What can I do to save her?"
"Oh my poor boy. Hermione doesn't need saving, she needs healing. She thinks that she is less than she is and you need to make sure she knows she is loved. You need to make her know that she isn't worthless and that she is a core part of all your lives. Make sure that she never feels like she is alone. Take her on walks, get her out of the castle and maybe take her to Hogsmead; anything to make her feel free, even if she doesn't want to go because the freedom and fresh air will do her good. Make sure she knows that she can talk to you and ask her how she is feeling; ask her again if she lies because it will only be to 'protect' you. Cheer her up and make her laugh. Stick on her favourite movie and get everyone round, make a thing of it.
Being an Angel it's practically impossible to do anything bad for your mate, so whatever you do decide to do will help her heal. But it will take time, so, be patient Draco."
"Thank you." The boy whispered.
Snape cleared his voice, "I have something else I'd like to talk to you about; the matter of your surname. Umm, you don't have to but if you so wish I could adopt you and you could take my last name, of course you don't actually have to, but it was just an idea?"
"Really? You'd want to adopt me?"
"Why would I not want to, you are my son's twin and you are my Godson so why not?"
"Thank you. I'd love that. But could I keep my mother's maiden name, like Orion, yet still be your ward?"
Severus grinned and pulled Draco into a surprising hug, "Nothing would make me happier. Narcissa would be so proud of you."
They returned to the Common Room but were soon rushed off to find the true intentions of Sally-Anne Perks, collecting the youngest Weasley on their way out. Orion lead the way to the Headmaster's rooms, his angelic side screaming at him for not already taking action against the person who had tried to kill his beloved mate. Sophia was close behind him, trying to resist the urge to stalk her attacker and pull her limb from limb.
The Headmaster's round office felt small with the entire of En Lucem, including Severus, Ginny, Neville and Luna, crammed round the Pensieve.
"Before we do this, I have employed a counsellor for anyone who is willing to go to her. She is Apolline Delacour, one of the very best, I went to school with her; she is such a kind soul. I expect each of you to go; I think it might help some of you."
"Delacour? Like Fleur Delacour, who competed in the Triwizard Tournament two years ago? Because she's going out with Bill, I think he's thinking about marriage." Ron queried.
"Yes, it's Fleur's mother. Now quit your rambling Mister Weasley."
Professor Dumbledore tilted a glass vial over the smooth liquid surface and a white thread dripped into the basin.
"Ready?" He asked.
They all nodded and lent over the cold stone. After a falling sensation, the group found themselves in Sally-Anne's memory.
Penelope Clearwater walked arm and arm with Perks, along one of the many corridors of the castle.
"Did you know Harry Potter was cheating on Ginny with Lavender Brown?"
"Never?!"
"Yeah! That's why Ron moved out from Gryffindor and is now in En Lucem."
"Who would want to be with Ronald Bilius Weasley anyway?" Perk's giggled as she rounded the corner.
Andy's fist clenched as his mate flinched at her words.
A voice called from behind the girls.
"Sally, do you mind if I borrow you? I could do with a hand with the Divinations homework."
Brown stood behind them, next to an open classroom door.
"Sure thing Lav. I'll see you later."
As Perks stepped through the threshold, a chill shot through her spine and she froze unable to move.
"Well well well, Miss Perks, you are going to be quite useful to me."
A white fog filled the room suddenly.
Dumbledore groaned, "The memory has been tampered with."
"But by who?"
Harry Potter walked out of the fog and stood in front of the petrified girl.
"Imperio." He snarled.
Sally's eyes turned glassy as she succumbed to the curse.
"Kill the Auror. Make them all pay."
Hermione was pale when they returned to the round room.
"It's the same room," She whispered as she sank to the floor, "It's the same room."
"Honey, what do you mean it's the same room?" Sophia said softly.
She curled into herself as she answered, "It's where...he..."
Draco growled as all his mate's self-loathing and pain washed over him. He knelt down beside her and sang softly into her ear to calm her down.
"Dumbledore, there must be something about that room. Alerion, Sophia and I will scope it out; I suggest you get Aurors in to do the same. We cannot let something like this happen again. We need more fighters at this school, we are only kids for god's sake, yet we are the ones doing most of the bloody fighting. Do you realise that? It's not just our fight; it's the rest of the Wizarding World's too, so where are they? I expect some help, from more than just the Order." Andy said, getting aggravated at the lack of help the adults were being.
Their head teacher cleared his throat and replied gruffly, "I will get Professors McGonagall, Hagrid and Flitwick to help you search the classroom. I will contact the Order and the Ministry when you're gone."
The Tuck brothers rolled their eyes at him and started leading the way out of the room.
"If you don't get the Aurors involved, we surely will die, Albus." Alerion stated, his back to the professor as he walked out of the door.
"If you don't get them involved and any of us at this school gets hurt in any way before the Final Battle, I will kill you myself, Dumbledore." Orion snarled as he helped his brother off of the floor.
Draco lifted his mate up in his arms and carried her back to their Common Room, murmuring sweet-nothings into her ear. Orion followed, not wanting his brother and sister to deal with their misery alone. The others were careful to avoid the House right now, letting the Founders deal with their pain together.
Hermione was blank all the way to their House, which worried the brothers. Her mate set her down on the sofa and knelt in front of her.
"Honey, are you ok?"
Her eyes were vacant as she looked at her Angel, she nodded slowly.
"Yes...I'm just going to go to bed...Love you guys...I'll see you tomorrow..."
The girl stumbled into Draco's room and pushed the door to, before collapsing to the floor sobbing.
Orion flinched at the sound and pulled his twin into a tight embrace.
"I can't bear her hurting like this," Draco whispered, "It's killing me."
The duo clung to each other as their hearts broke for their friend. A sense of peace soon washed over Draco from his mate.
"She's asleep now. I need to check on her bro."
Orion patted him on the shoulder and pushed him softly towards his door.
The main door from the Founders' Common Room wouldn't open as Hermione had fallen asleep beside it and the door could only open an inch. Draco slid his hand through the gap and levitated the love of his life to the bed and then curled up at her feet.
Orion cracked his eyes open at the sound of a door creaking open slowly. He shifted slightly from his position on the sofa to get a better view of who was creeping around his dorm. The hinges stopped squealing as Hermione poked her head around the door and she took a quick glance around their common room, before escaping out into the inner workings of her substitute home.
Draco's brother groaned as his bones creaked as he pushed himself up off the sofa, and followed her slowly, trying not to alert her to his presence. Orion lost her for a second as he entered the student's main common room; he was puzzled, he hadn't heard her leave. A gentle breeze brushed against the back of his neck.
He spun around, bracing for an attack but was surprised instead to find a new doorway. Between the 'Founders' door and the common 'Bathroom' was a new archway. Ivy leaves wound round two pillars of intricately carved red sandstone books that were stacked haphazardly towards the ceiling. The two columns seemed to have toppled over halfway to their summits and curved towards each other. They met at their peaks, with a Phoenix, surrounded by fire, to make the apex of the arch. Underneath there was no door, instead a set of stairs descended to a small courtyard. Hermione was sat on a white marble bench, her knees pulled up to her chest, not caring that the rain had already drenched her pyjamas. Orion lent against the cold stone of the archway and watched over her, standing guard over his brother's mate under the moonlight.
"'Mione, darling. If you stay out here you'll catch your death." He called out over the rain as he saw her shiver.
"The rain has always made me feel clean. It's so pure and it gets through everything, it erodes away all the dirt and it cuts through the hard stuff. But I can't seem to ever feel clean anymore. I am dirty and used, and I can't get rid of it. I don't think I deserve to either."
Orion growled and sat down on the wet slab.
"Hermione, you deserve everything good in the world, I promise you. What happened to you wasn't your fault, it never was. We will kill Potter for what he did; we will probably draw it out too. I know you've done extensive research into what we are, it's what you do, and because of that I know that you know Angels are pure. We will not kill someone without justification, but did you also know that whomever we mate with is also pure. Nothing anyone can do will ever change that. You can't change that either. It's impossible for you to be impure. We love you Miss Granger and we would die for you and no one can ever change that."
He stuck his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you Orion. I love you too." She whispered; a single tear fell from her eye, merging with the still fast falling rain.
Within minutes Hermione had fallen asleep, despite being soaked to the bone.
Chuckling silently to himself, he lifted her up in his arms, careful not to jostle the tiny girl. Orion made his way back into the Founders' half of En Lucem's dorm. Hermione moved in his arm and wrapped hers around his neck.
"Don't leave me alone, please, brother." She muttered half asleep against his skin.
"Don't worry princess; I'll never let you be alone again. I'll always protect you Hermione."
Draco's twin sat down on the sofa and shifted her body so that she was soon lying down on top of him. Very slowly, as to not wake up his brother's sleeping beauty, he reached into his pocket and drew out his wand to dry them both off before they caught a cold. As Hermione's clothed dried, she relaxed and snuggled into his now dry chest. Orion's head got fuzzy as he succumbed to his own tiredness and soon a gentle snore filled the Common Room.
Draco was surprised to wake up to a cold bed; a little disheartened he made his way to the kitchen. As he made it to the Common Room he was a little stunned to see his mate curled up on his brother's chest. If he didn't know better it would have looked too intimate.
"You two look cute like that." He said quietly, clearly amused.
Orion grimaced, "I have needed to pee for the last couple of hours, but I don't want to wake her up. And she keeps shifting on my bladder. If she wasn't so adorable I would have pushed her off the sofa by now."
"And I didn't have the heart to save him." His mate winked at them, from her position on the floor by the arm of the settee.
Orion pouted at Sophia, who just giggled at his predicament.
Draco laughed but went to his aid, "Hermione, honey, Orion needs to go to the bathroom, so could you wake up hun?"
He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook it gently. His mate tensed under the pressure but soon relaxed as she realized she was safe.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Orion, next time just wake me up. You didn't have to wait for me." Hermione mumbled sheepishly.
Orion shook his head smiling and placed a small kiss on her forehead, "My dear, it was my pleasure to wait for you to wake. Plus I figured you needed the sleep, little one."
She blushed and sat up, wiggling slightly to get off her brother-of-all-purposes.
He chuckled before rushing off in the Bathroom's general direction.
Draco slid on to the sofa next to Hermione and wrapped an arm over her shoulders.
"You okay?"
She smiled at his question, the sparkles in her eyes were returning, "I actually am. Your brother and I had a little chat last night and it made me realise something."
"Good I'm glad. Now what do you want for breakfast?" Draco was beyond ecstatic at how close his brother and his mate were; it meant that there was always going to be someone to protect her.
Hermione grinned, "I want you to teach me how to dance."
"Whatever you want darlin'."
"Draco, you have got to come look at this! 'Mione, I love you but you can't come, you would not want to." Ron interrupted, grabbing his hand and running out of the Common Room.
The two boys swiftly made their way to the classroom the Order had been searching. A large cabinet sat in the corner; all the Wizards had given it a wide berth. A strange unexplained whimpering was coming from the dresser.
Draco pushed through the crowd and opened the tall wooden doors. It was empty.
"What is this?" He asked, "Where is that sound coming from?"
"We don't know what it is but sounds have been coming from it all night. It ranges from whimpering to full out screaming. To be totally honest it gives me the creeps." An Auror answered, glaring at the offending furniture.
"What makes it worse mate is that the voice sounds familiar, we just can't place it." Neville glanced around the room and they all nodded.
"It's horrible."
"Why did you bring me?"
"We were hoping you might have, either, an idea about the voice or the cabinet." Ron looked sheepish as he spoke.
"Okay then." Draco pulled up his sleeves and started performing a variety of spells on it to detect any harmful charms on it before he stuck his arm in the void.
The gathered looked on in shock as his limb disappeared completely.
"It's called a Vanishing Cabinet. Fred and George Weasley inadvertently shoved Graham Montague into it and he reappeared in the u-bend of some toilet and I had to get Severus to get him out before he drowned."
The screaming started from inside the cabinet and shook around the room.
"No...Please...Leave me alone...I haven't done anything to you!" The voice yelled.
Draco recognised the timbre and soon began growling.
"Mate, what is it?" Neville exclaimed, a little fearful of the Angel's reaction.
"It's fucking Potter. NO ONE is to kill him but me." He roared.
The screeching turned garbled as Harry choked on something. Everyone froze as Draco tensed ready to spring, a steady growl rumbled from him as he stared at the cabinet, before he launched himself into the space and disappeared, the doors shutting and locking behind him as it claimed him prisoner.
