Disclaimer: All characters belong to JKR.

Dose of Your Own

By: OurLoveIsForever

Chapter Sixteen: Trust

I held my head tightly, willing away the aching pain as I sat up. I felt where I had slammed my head into the table. Luckily I felt no blood. In the dimness of the Zabinikitchen, I could make out a tall form leaning against the far wall near the stove. Quickly, I drew my wand, holding the cherry wood tightly in my right hand as I stood, dust and soot falling off my robe to the floor. I could feel the grime under my fingers as my hand sweated on my wand. Blots of black impeded my vision, pain pounded through my head from the forhead to the nape of my neck. I winced.

The woman tutted. "Such a fine piece of clothing should not be treated thus."

Recognizing the voice, I nearly choked.

Stepping into the light, she smiled widely at my shocked face. "My son's words did you more justice." Lady Zabini quipped, moving forward with her palms raised. "I am unarmed."

"Tell me something that would prove you are the real Lady Zabini." I said quickly, edging around the table. I felt my feet moving slower than I wished. I really wasn't cut out for any of this! It was like sending a lamb into a lion's den...or rather, the 'snake's pit'. Inwardly, I smirked. How could my thoughts be of anything but the danger I was in?

Her elegantly shaped eyebrows rose a bit. "Such an untrusting little wench, aren't you?" She smiled sweetly, pulling out her wand. I tensed, the grip on my own wand growing tighter. She shrugged, placing the end of the light wood to a candle. "My son, Blaise, is in love with a young Miss Tracey Anne Davis. A little known fact is that he fancied her nearly all through Hogwarts. He got horribly intoxicated, with you, if I remember correctly, at the Slytherin Christmas Party his seventh year when he asked her out the first time. Only to be highly embarrassed when she turned him down." She slipped her wand back into her pale robes before raising an eyebrow. "Is that good enough for you or do you want more?"

I narrowed my eyes slightly, still unconvenced. She seemed odd, as if she were far more uncomfortable than she should have been. "If you truly know Blaise, what is his father's name?" It was a common misconception that his father was Charles Zabini. If she answered this wrong, it could be assumed that it was a trap set up for anyone attempting to escape.

Her mouth went a bit wide in shock before she laughed. "Elijah."

Finally, I felt a little less nervous. I slowly let my wand fall to my side. "Lady, what has been happening? Did you receive any of your son's owls?"

She shook her head, her soft black hair flowing back and forth. Easing down into one of the table chairs, she motioned for me to follow suit. I chose to ignore her offer and continued to stand. "You must learn when to be cautious and when to accept things for as they are."

I bristled a bit at her statement and remained with both feet firmly planted. Something deep in my gut told me that something was off, something was wrong. I kept my eyes alert ans shook my head.

She sighed. "You young ones, always on your toes, more's the pity, I guess." The candle light played over her face highlighting the thin wrinkles around her mouth and eyes. She looked a little worse for wear in that lighting. Her eyes held dark bags underneath them even visible with her deep toned skin. "I have not received any owls from Blaise since Saturday just before the Greengrasswedding. That was five days ago now. The Daily Prophet has been tipped off of something happening at Malfoy Manor though. I've been told that the Ministry is taking it's time."

Of course they were, I scoffed. "I'm here to speed them up."

Lady Zabini frowned a bit. "They sent you? Why not send Draco or Theodore?"

"Yes, I am a bit confused as well." I shrugged, choosing not to site the fact that both of them were sons of known Death Eaters and thus, not well recieved in the halls of the Ministry. "But I am here currently, regardless"

"Yes, that you most certainly are."

I felt my stomach drop and my blood run cold. A wave of foreboding swept over me as I raised my wand once more, backing away from the table. The room lit, making me blink rapidly to adjust to the change. Lady Zabini remained seated at the other end of the table. Behind her, in the doorway, another figure appeared in the shadows. I felt sick as Alecto Carrow stepped in, her beady eyes flashing. A bit of hot bile rose in my throat. This couldn't be happening.

My eyes darted from her to the fireplace to Lady Zabini and back, wondering if I would be able to escape-

"I wouldn't do that, Greengrass." She let out a wheezy giggle, her yellow teeth showing. "Then again, you were never the cream of the crop with your intellect."

I backed up once then twice, my eyes never leaving the two women. "Outside Malfoy Manor?" I asked, wondering just what we had been fearing.

"Obviously that is a very clever glamour charm placed upon an unsuspecting witch. I thought that perhaps it would be seen through, but I was wrong. I overestimated Nott's intelligence." She stepped to the right of the table, prowling closer like some vile predator. I kept my wand steady with my other hand holding to my right forearm. I would be damned if she would see my hand shaking for fear. "I've been waiting here. We knew that it wouldn't be long before one of you found a way out. I never expected it to be you though. Sacrificing the weakest link, perhaps? A very Malfoy ideal..."

I tried to keep from getting riled at her words. I backed into the dining room, nearly falling over a serving station. "The ward?"

"A very strong one, indeed. I'm not surprised that a way out was found though, considering that he placed certain loopholes in the spell."

Keeping the shock off my features, I maneuvered around the table coming to a stop at the other end. "What's your true object?"

"Don't you know, dear girl? We want revenge on all those that doubted the Dark Lord's return."

"He's dead." I spat viciously.

She cackled, the craze evident in her eyes. "No, no, no. Never dead. He never dies. He is rising again. We are to get rid of the weak links before his ascension to power. Don't need usurpers walking around, do we? Do we?" The psychotic look in her eyes made me realize that they were in their own world. They believed that he had risen again, that they were doing this on his orders. They were insane. "Malfoys, traitors. Nott..." A long pause before she continued, "Traitor. Greengrass, traitor. Zabini, traitor. Davis, traitor. Flint, traitor. McCabe, traitor. Morford, traitor..." She prattled on and on. The list of names grew.

I found myself wanting to go back to Malfoy Manor, where I had been relatively safe. Behind Carrow, I saw Lady Zabini raising her wand. I winced, waiting for the pain of a stunning spell. This truly had been a deadly mission. I wondered for a moment what would happen to Malfoy and Nott, to Davis, Zabini and Narcissa? I prayed a silent prayer to whatever deity saw fit to listen. I prayed for their safety and survival.

A flash of red enveloped the room. My eyes closed, conceding my ultimate demise.

Nothing.

No pain. No sensation. No feeling. Death couldn't possibly be that boring.

I jerked my eyes open in shock.

Carrow fell to the floor in the next moment in a heap.

"That bitch." Zabini said spitting onto the woman crumpled the ground. Her nose rose with a refined air, as if she hadn't just spit on something. I stared at her with wide eyes. "She's been here for four days. Only just gave me my wand thinking that she had a firm hold on me due to my son. When I realized that he is completely safe…" She muttered a sleeping spell at the woman along with a magical rope 'bout her hands and feet. "That should keep her out for long enough."

"Lady Zabini," I began, feeling horridly confused. "Can you explain to be just what the bloody hell is going on?"

"First off, call me Camilla. It makes me feel old being spoken to with such air." I was sure that the white of my eyes were well prominent. "Second, it is a web of confusion nearly five years in the making, but I will do my best to make all of it known to you in a short amount of time for I fear that is all we have. Since this sick ninny came here, I have learned much, much more." She gave me a wink as she speedily walked to one of the front rooms. Flinging open a cupboard, she withdrew a small vile, examining the green glass closely. "The Carrows and Jamison are out of their minds, thinking that they are still under the Dark Lord's regime or something odd to that effect. Azkaban is known to do this to some, of course. With the Ministry changed so much, they have been ignored as a threat. This Ministry is not concerned with us, those that sided or may have sided with the Dark. They have ignored the problem, thinking that if they ignore it the problem will simply disappear. At Malfoy Manor, where they effectively trapped you, they have essentially turned the wards inside out. Their main target is unknown to me, but they seem to be most displeased with Narcissa."

"So they want to kill Narcisaa Malfoy?" I asked slowly, seeing the obvious logic behind their reasoning. "Why bother with me?"

"They are after anyone they deemed as a threat. They have already killed Kale Riggens. His body was found last night. Horrible what they did to him, truly. All blood and gore..." She passed me an issue of the Daily Prophet. I stared at the paper. Riggens's face smiled on the front page, surrounding him stood a small family with two little boys and a plump wife. I grimaced.

Riggens, I thought. He was a leader during our uprising in Slytherin. Hesitantly, I flipped the page of the Daily Prophet in my hand. "'Disappearance of Ing Freyer'? She's gone too?"

"You are viewed as you would have been as students. They still see you as how you were all those years ago. You are against the Dark Lord, you are Pureblood, and you are descended from some of the strongest magical blood. The fact that you stood apart from your contemporaries turned you into a disappointment and a danger."

"So you are saying that they want to kill me for the pranks I played in school?" I deduced, setting the Daily Prophet down on a nearby table, cursing my stupidity during my teen years. "What of Malfoy?" The question slipped from my mouth before I could stop it. Mentally, I cursed.

Her eyebrows rose. "Yes, what of young Master Malfoy?" She gave me a strange, appraising look as if she could see right through me. "Crabbe is the one after his life."

"Crabbe?"

"His son, that great buffoon of a child, killed himself accidentally during the battle. Crabbe blames Malfoy for that."

It really was a web of hate and insanity that I had gotten myself involved in before I had even realize it. I had been interconnected with these people since I was fifteen, when I barely knew the repercussions of my actions. We were all connected in ways that I could not have imagined. My mind drifted to Draco, still within the walls of that grand manor. I wanted to be with him at that moment, crazy as it sounded, wanting to be with that Great Prat. I could have simply dealt with his not-too-subtle advances and smartass demeanor. While I stood outside, the Manor seemed like an oasis in the middle of a desert, a haven for those lost and with nowhere else to go. It had somehow become a version of home. Even for that, I could see the cowardice they all possessed within the walls. None of them had even volunteered to come with me in retrospect. Still looking out for number one, it was something to get used to in Slytherin.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I realized that Lady Zabini had been talking the entire time. "—therefore, you must be on your way. The only way to end this is to get the Ministry's help."

"Bit of a sick joke, isn't it? To seek help from the Ministry that hates us so." I murmured, following her into the kitchen once more.

"Sick? Yes, I suppose it is, but perhaps it is payback for our arrogance over the years." She shrugged, leading me toward the fire by my shoulders. "Go straight to the Auror Department. Look for a man named Mikhail Demidov, he's a bit- soft?- when it comes to Purebloods. Likes money in his pockets." She placed a black drawstring bag into my hand. "If you can find him, he can point you in the right direction." She picked up a small pot of floo powder and placed two drops of whatever was within the green vial before scooping some of the substance into her fingers. "You won't have any issues getting to the Ministry from here. We have a direct floo." She smiled widely, dropping the powder into my palm. "Bribes make the world go 'round." I stepped into the furnace, my heart racing. Just as I was about to throw the powder down, Zabini's hand shot out, taking firm hold of my arm. My head snapped up to look her in the eyes. "Keep them straight, yeah?" I nodded, tossing the powder down.

"The Ministry of Magic!"

I stumbled out of the fireplace into a nearly deserted Ministry hallway. It had been a while since I had been into the Ministry. Even in that time, certain aspects had changed. I walked down the hallway, watching as a few wizards left through the opposite fireplaces. Ahead of me, I could see the large golden fountain that I had heard so much about in my absence. Strangely enough, there had been a new addition to the 'magical brethren.' A werewolf now stood beside the house elf. I gagged. This Ministry was loony; it was, letting those beasts into the sanctum of magic. I shook my head at the outrageous fountain, turning my attention to the elevators.

I stepped inside, keeping my eyes down from looking at another wizard within. He was tall, lanky looking to be well into his sixties. I tried to keep a low profile which may have been easier if I were not covered in soot and running on adrenaline. The elevator started into motion. I waited until I reached Level Two. It felt so strange to get off four levels early. Stepping out, I ignored the strange look the old man gave me. My matters were none of his business though it seemed by the look I was recieving, I was deadly wrong.

As soon as I entered the department of Magical Law Enforcement, I knew I was in trouble. There stood a front desk, a snooty looking woman sitting with her back straight as a board. I rolled my eyes, stepping up. "Hello?"

She turned her frighteningly blue eyes on me, pinning me down with an almost see-through stare. "Yes?"

"I need to speak with Mikhail Demidov. It's urgent business."

Giving me a withering look, I knew that the game was up. I would have to look to years of Slytherin to get past her. I could just feel it. "Your name please?" She articulated every syllable with a clipped tone.

"My name?" I repeated.

She nodded, taking a feather from a goblet in front of her. "I need to know what to tell Mister Demidov."

"Tell him that Astoria Greengrass is here to speak with him regarding matters pertaining to the escape of four of your detainees at Azkaban. If that doesn't work, tell him that I have been sent by Theodore Nott and Draco Malfoy." I watched as her face grew more and more confused. I supposed that I looked a bit too puny to be connected with such people. She stared at me for a long moment as if to see if I would take my words back. I leaned forward, narrowing my eyes. "I would like to repeat that this is of the most urgent nature."

Nodding, she leaned forward into a small object, magically bewitched to be like a muggle phone. "Mr. Demidov, sir."

A thick Russian accent answered moments later. "Da?"

"There is a Miss Greengrass here to see you. She says that it is urgent business regarding the escaped prisoners." She almost glared up at me. I grinned crossing my arms over my chest. Little twit obviously lacked secretarial skills. She had her papers strewn and her quills all over the place.

"Send her back, Miss Biggers."

I smiled graciously as she pointed to the right. I began to walk away, a humorous smirk taking over my face. Hesitating at the door, I murmured. "You may want to get a handle on those quills of yours."

The hallway of the Auror Department was straight, narrow and solid. Entryways to offices stood on either side of the hall. Names were written on plaques beside the heavy wooden doors. I read each one as I passed. At a pair of names, I stopped. "Harry J. Potter, Ronald B. Weasley." So, they were Aurors now? There would be no shock if the department neglected to help if those two were higher up. Shaking my head, I continued down the row coming to 'Mikhail R. Demidov.' Placing a mask of confidence over my face, I knocked.

"Come in."

I did as requested, pushing the door open.

The man sitting behind the desk looked very much like a fighter, cuts and scars marring his face. It didn't bother me. I could numb myself to reaction to the intense scale of his scars. One in particular, slashed across his neck and down toward the collar of his shirt. Jerking my eyes to his face, I knew what I had to do. In this case, I needed to perfect manipulation and to achieve that, I had to numb myself. Even if those scars scared me a bit.

"You know something?"

I moved farther in, closing the door behind me. "The Malfoy Manor has been essentially sealed off. A ward has been placed by the Carrow twins along with Crabbe and Jamison. I have been able to come up with intelligence regarding their aims and reasoning. I will be willing to disclose all of that if you would send aid to those trapped within." I raised my chin a bit at the end.

His eyebrows rose slightly. "Just what do you know?" His consonants were harsh with his accent.

"My information comes at a price, Mister Demidov."

Raising his arms, he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back. "What makes you think we need your information?"

I shrugged. "That's true. You could be just letting those lunatics run free just for the hell of it. Why didn't I think of that before?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Do not play me, sir. I am in no mood for it. It took a tremendous amount of effort to escape that house. I am in a foul mood and I am not in the mindset for games."

Demidov nodded slowly placing his elbows on his desk. "We are well aware of the situation at Malfoy Manor."

I was a bit incredulous. Of course, there was really no way they could have been so uninformed, but nonetheless, it shocked me at the audacity of the new regime. "And do you plan on doing anything about it?"

"We have been waiting for the best moment to strike."

So, basically: no. "You do realize that the Pureblood clans will not be pleased with this."

"No one has filed a complaint." He shrugged, taking his coffee cup into his hand. I grimaced at the matter-of-fact tone in his voice. "We lost track of Alecto Carrow a couple of days ago. We know that Crabbe is somewhere in the south of Ireland. Jamison and Amycus have been commuting between Malfoy Manor and an unknown location. Since no one had heard from those within, we were unsure of what course to take. If we were to charge in, not knowing the details, it would pose a danger to—"

I slammed my hands onto his desk. He didn't flinch. I didn't expect him to. I had reached my limit. I had been pushed too far. "We are every bit human as you fools! We can die, grieve, feel pain. What you ninnies don't seem to grasp is the fact that we are no longer supporting a Dark Lord. There is no war. There is no reason to leave five people to die at the hands of these mentally unstable bastards!"

He began to stand at my outburst, drawing up to a huge height. I stepped back finding him a bit threatening. "What is your real purpose here, Greengrass?"

Nearly laughing, I shook my head. "What is your price, Demidov? Name a price, we can match it. This is utterly absurd though, paying the law enforcement to do its job. I do hope that you know that." I shook my head. "Just proves that in the end, money is all that matters."

Demidov nodded slowly, taking hold of his wand. I tensed a bit before he waved it at the walls muttering a silencing spell. "Astoria Greengrass…Gregor Greengrass's daughter?"

"Yes." I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.

He smirked, settling back down into his chair. "I'm very well acquainted with your Uncle Ira. He and I were mates back in the day when I still worked in my homeland." Running his hand through his thinning gray hair he leaned forward conspiratorially. "All business, Miss Greengrass, tell me what you know and give me five thousand galleons and you have yourself a deal."

I raised my eyebrow just a bit in surprise. "That was a bit too easy, Mister Demidov."

Shrugging, he began to stack papers at the corner of his desk. "Well if you rather do without—"

"Five thousand should be simple enough. You will have half now and half at the completion of the task, yes?" I reached for the drawstring bag and sat it on the hardwood desk, just in front of his nameplate. "You realize that if you fail, it won't be measly old me chasing you down." He reached for the money.

"I am aware of that, Miss Greengrass." He stated, standing, stowing the galleons into his cape pocket. I watched as he waved his wand at the door. "I wonder why they sent a young woman out instead of coming themselves. Bit of a cowardly thing to do, is it not?"

I stepped out of the room as he motioned. "Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin. I am a Slytherin myself and I trust their judgment. They know what they are doing."

"You trust Malfoy and Nott? Two of the most scheming, evil bastards in all of Britain? Their reputations are not of the best sort."

I smirked slightly to myself. Scheming and evil? Indeed. My smirk felt as if it was growing a bit evil as I leveled my gaze at the man. It felt strange to say it aloud and with as much conviction and truth behind my words. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I trust them with my life."