Hello again! This is quite fun that this particular chapter is also the 13th... it just fit's perfect.I hope you still enjoy the story as much as I do! Please keep on reading and reviewing! I really think that I have already good plans for the progress of this story!
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As Alanis took the steps to Dumbledore's office, she could hear the muffled, but angry voice of Severus Snape through the big woody doors. Alanis disliked him a lot and could understand Harry's antipathy for him. She couldn't help herself but harkened.
"He refuses my help, Sir, even today. He believes that I'll steal his pride, the honour which he is about to gain because of him murdering you!", Snape said and Alanis could almost feel him tremble and imagined his lips twitching. But what did he talk about?
"Mr Malfoy lost his sense for reality. He forgot that you're the only person he always adored and trusted and that you are the only man who would be able to help him. Except me of course.", answered Dumbledore and Snape's indignant gasp was unmistakable.
"How about the Room of Requirement? What is he doing there?", asked Dumbledore. Snape didn't answer, Alanis pressed herself to the door, her heart racing with anger and fear.
Could she really trust her ears?
Could Draco be the one, guilty of cursing Katie Bell?
And worse, could he really be able to plan to murder Albus Dumbledore?
It seemed that nothing could now deny Malfoy being a death eater. The two men in the office went silent.
"Severus?"
But at that moment the doors were opened roughly and Alanis was knocked to the ground. Right before her eyes she saw the black coat of Severus Snape, who bent down and pulled her up, with rage in his face, which caused her to grow pale immediately.
"How long have you been listening?", Snape yelled with a harsh voice and his hard grip around her shoulder caused her to whimper.
"I..."
But as she looked in Snapes black enraged eyes, she felt as if he looked straight into her mind, digging his way through her thoughts. She wasn't able to stand anymore, but Snape's grip tightened and everything before her eyes blurred.
Suddenly there was nothing but Draco in her mind.
Draco watching her, her fear of him acting badly, their few but intense conversations, and finally their two bodies pressed to one another, their lips moving towards each other-
"Severus! Please stop!"
Dumbledore's voice finally brought her back to reality, Snape pushed her away as if she was dirty and Alanis tumbled back. She breathed heavily and put her hands around her head as an intense headache let her groan loudly.
With big eyes she looked at Snape and asked herself what he had been doing with her. But there was no other way than he had been reading her mind.
Snape pointed his wand at her.
Alanis shifted back, but was too weak to grab her own wand to defend herself.
"I told you to stop!"
Now it was Dumbledore's turn to be angry. He walked fiercely around his table and supported Alanis, as she tried to stand up.
"Let me clean her memory!", Snape hissed through his clenched teeth, but Albus shook his head.
"Trust her, Severus."
Snapes expression went more and more angry, his pale skin got even paler, but he turned around in a very harsh movement and left, his bat-cloak flapping wildly. As the doors had been shut loudly, Alanis tried to calm down, resting her head in the crook of Dumbledore's arm.
"He had no right to read your mind, Alanis. I'm sad that Severus wasn't able to hold off. But you have to understand that he only wanted to protect himself. In spite of his great occlumency skills, his cover is always threatened to be blown up every second. And an uneducated young mind as yours is a danger to him.", Albus said quietly and stroke her hair.
"But what does this all mean?", Alanis asked and Albus led her to take a seat in one of the ancient armchairs in front of his table.
"There's hardly anything I can explain to you, although I know how much you have the right to know it. But it is too complicated, though."
Dumbledore sat down in his own chair and looked at her through his half-moon glasses, offering her one of his favourite acid pops.
"But I want to know what's up with Draco Malfoy! Does he really want to kill you?", Alanis asked anxiously and grimaced, as the sour acid pop seemed to burn a hole in her tongue.
Albus smiled warmly and showed her his black, ugly hand.
"I'll be dead in several months, anyway, this is my curse. Draco has to murder me, as he acts under Voldemorts orders, but Voldemort doesn't really expect the boy success. He only wants to harm Lucius Malfoy's family with this act. And if he could get rid of me by the way, it will be only to his pleasure. Draco seems to be obsessed with it, although I asked Snape to support him, but Draco refuses any help."
"You told Snape to help Draco killing you?"
"It's Snapes only chance to make Voldemort trusting him entirely."
"What does that mean?", asked Alanis bewildered, but Albus shook his head.
"I will only tell you of Draco Malfoy, my dear. But you have to keep silent to Harry and the others. You even may not tell Draco, because then he would stop working on in the Room of Requirement."
"The Vanishing Cabinet...", whispered Alanis, as she put everything together. So her suggestion might really have been true that Draco wanted to hide in that Cabinet if he was threatened to get killed by Voldemort.
Dumbledore lifted his eyebrows.
"I met... I saw Draco working on a Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement! But why would he want to repair it?", asked Alanis and excitement. Dumbledore smiled warmly.
"That is very interesting, indeed. But if there exists a twin, he is able to create a passageway from Hogwarts to the other cabinet and that would be free access to the castle."
Free access to the castle? Would Dumbledore really let that happen just to fool Voldemort?
"But how does it benefit Draco planning to murder you? Do you think he will hide in it if he would be on the run of Voldemort if he fails?"
Dumbledore leaned back in his seat and folded his hands.
"That will be your task to find out, Alanis. I want you to help him finishing the reparations on the cabinet. I fear he isn't skilled enough to finish it on his own, he obviously has got some problems with it, and your father succeeded in doing such things, didn't he? Perhaps you inherited his skills."
Alanis nodded stiffly.
"But I hardly know anything of his work, Albus."
"It would be enough if I give you some additional instructions. Severus told me that you obviously sympathize for each other and that would help you gaining Dracos faith in you, as he said it was proven quite well this morning."
Alanis' cheeks burned and she looked down into her lap.
"I fear there's nothing like that Albus. Nothing which contains serious feelings.", she murmured.
"That is up to you, my dear Alanis. But try to use your affection to take your first steps. You have to do this, because this would be the only reason that Severus would accept me not eliminating your memories to this conversation that I had been having with him. "
A very odd feeling which made her heart race in joy told her that she anyway would have tried to help Draco Malfoy, whatever he had to do and not even just out of curiosity. She wanted tostay beneath him, no matter what.
As much as she wanted to neglect it, she knew that she felt something for Draco Malfoy. And this feeling was far away from pity.
"Fear."
The tension around Draco was tangible, the deatheaters staring him down through their silver masks and that seemed to press him down to the ground.
"It fills your body. It takes your breath away. It is all in your mind, dear Draco."
Draco stiffened and tried himself to stop shaking, as he was kneeling in front of the Dark Lord himself. He'd tried to collect his thoughts, his words, that he could chose to even try to lie to the most powerful mage in the world, but he knew he was just a boy. A boy who feared for his life and his fear ruined everything.
"My Lord..."
"But there's no need of it, if you can report me of your efficient and uninterrupted progress."
Draco's heartbeat fastened as he felt something beneath him. It was Nagini, she stroke Draco's knees as she drew closer to her master. The tension was unbearable. Draco wanted to get this torture quickly over with, but Voldemort would not. He was likely to torture even his followers slowly, make absolutely clear that he didn't accept anyone disobeying his orders.
Voldemort sighed in relief as he touched the head of his snake and mumbled something to her.
"Well, now I think it's your time to raise the speak, dear Draco."
Draco breathed in heavily. What should he say about the progress? He felt that he still was able to put up the barrier in his mind that would prevent Voldemort from reading it, but he knew it weakened with every second.
"Severus told me about a Vanishing Cabinet you want to use."
"I discovered it at Borgin and Burkes. It's twin is hidden in the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts. I try to repair it to create a secret and secure passageway directly to Hogwarts."
Voldemort nodded and let Nagini curl up around his shoulders.
"That's some interesting news indeed. The thought of having free access to Hogwarts pleases me, but how would that Cabinet be of use with your task?"
"It is a very old cabinet, my Lord, very dark and powerful. But it will make it possible to invade the Hogwarts school. I just was able to send an apple through it to Borgin and Burkes and I'm close to success with animate objects."
That was an impertinent and hazardous lie. He was nothing like close to the solution. Voldemort would feel it, he knew it from the very first sound that escaped Draco's lips, but better try to lie than surrender to the foreseeable torture.
The torches on the wall flickered and Draco felt a cold shiver run down his back.
"You did not answer me in an appropriate way, Draco."
Draco swallowed heavily, realizing that Voldemort wasn't as contentedly as he appeared to be. Then he another time bowed before him and almost touched the floor with his forehead.
"My Lord, you already ordered me to clear the way for some deatheaters to invade the school. This Cabinet was the best solution to me. When the time is right, then some other deatheaters can join me accomplishing my task."
The following silence caused Draco to look up into the atrocious and algid face of his master. Draco was surprised to perceive something like a grin on his face, but it was a sardonic and even pitiful one.
"Just as I expected."
Draco didn't even dare to ask, as the Dark Lord hissed something to Nagini, who immediately left his shoulders, that Voldemort was able to stand up. Draco flinched as Voldemort pulled out his wand and stroke it as if it had been his most valuable treasure.
"You're just like your father. Fatuous, weak, disappointing."
Another wave of fear let Draco's body shiver as Nagini began to coil around his cowered figure, some deatheaters and also his aunt Bellatrix were laughing. Although Draco disdained his father, it was hard to take everyone laughing about him. But it was much more a torture to Draco awaiting so long the punishment that he would definitely get.
Voldemort imperiously raised his hand and everyone went silent again. Draco panted heavily.
"The boy needs support, don't you realize? He needs companions at his side when he will face Dumbledore! Otherwise, he would just die at the thought of that doter.", Voldemort said to the deatheaters with malice, but then he suddenly turned around and faced Draco.
"Or will you satisfy the Dark Lord? Will you be the one who succeeds? Will you be the one amongst all my followers who deserves to gain the greatest honour and favour of Lord Voldemort?", he asked with a tormenting voice.
"I will.", Draco hastily said, while his thoughts whirled around in his mind and it was so hard to keep his emotions low.
"I will just make sure you understand."
Draco was repelled and he screamed as pain echoed through all of his veins. But as soon as it hit him, it faded away.
"There should be nothing that prevents you from fulfilling my orders!"
At that moment, when the second curse hit his body Draco lost his power over his emotions and they were released. As much as he tried to shoo it away, the picture of Alanis Dumbledore was so clearly before his eyes that he almost thought he only had to reach out with his hand to touch it.
Suddenly there was a sharp outcry of pleasure.
"How enchanting! Draco seems to have found something that he is more likely to be engaged with than with an honourable mission of Lord Voldemort.", Voldemort cried out with joy and flicked his wand several times.
Draco cried out in pain as he felt as if his limbs were ripped apart.
But there was wrath too.
He should have never let it happen that this girl manifested herself in his life.
"I will now teach you whom you should give the major priority!"
Draco had no feeling for time any more. Pain was the only thing he felt, there was nothing else. Even his thoughts were covered with pain and he wasn't able to say how long Voldemort tortured him.
Finally he lay there on the cold floor, sweat covered his whole body and there was no part of him he wasn't able to feel.
But on the other hand, he felt empty. It was much worse than the emptiness he felt as he was summoned. There was nothing on his mind, he even didn't mind to breathe, he just stared up to the dark ceiling and wasn't able to close his mouth and his eyelids.
There was not much left to the inevitable.
That had already been so close.
So close to the ultimate punishment.
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