Bitten

Snake in the Garden

A/N: Just a little note to you guys. I'm going to band camp for the next week and won't be able to update until Friday or late Thursday afternoon. I'll continue to write in my notebook, so expect another chapter by the weekend. There are spoilers in this chapter, but I'm almost sure everyone's read the books who are reading Harry Potter fanfic, so you already know. Anyway, happy reading and hope you enjoy!

Riley felt herself slipping away. She tried to move her fingers, but all the strength had been sapped from her body. She didn't even think she could speak.

"Is she ready for it?" Bella asked. Alva made a face, scratching his head absently. He frowned at the sheen layer of sweat that had started to appear on his skin. Breaking Riley was proving to be more difficult than he had thought.

"Alva!" Hissed Bella. He looked up, startled, as if just remembering someone else was in the room.

"What? Oh, no. Almost." He answered. His green eyes sliced sideways to look at Riley's left hand. All that was left of the ring was a small, quivering band of metal barely hanging on to her finger and a chip of the zircon that glowed a weak blue. Alva's lips twitched up into a cold smile.

"It won't be long now," he muttered. Bella looked over at him, strands of her curly hair falling into her face. She didn't like this boy. Not one bit.

Suddenly, an idea struck Alva. He snapped his fingers and looked at Bella.

"Let me see the diadem. That may be the final piece to break her." He said. The woman nodded and walked over to a table. On the table was a wooden box. She opened it and pulled out a tiara. With a large, round-cut emerald as the centerpiece, wings encrusted with diamonds created the shape of the diadem. From the lower tips of the wings back in to the middle to make the bottom of the tiara was a thin band that conformed to an inverted Widow's Peak. On the band was an etching that read "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." Two diamonds dropped down from the center of the bottom of the crown to fall on the person's forehead like a double shakra.

Bella handed the diadem to Alva. Riley let her eyes fall over the object in his hand. Wispy tendrils of black, yellow, and green were falling off the edges. There was an evil air about the jeweled crown. Alva moved towards Riley and positioned the crown over her forehead. Riley couldn't stop her body from trembling. Something about that tiara made Riley's stomach churn.

Alva gently lowered it and the moment the cool silver touched Riley's skin, she felt something inside her snap. The emerald shone a bright green as light flooded the room. Alva had to shield his eyes with his hand and Bella's lips twitched up in to a sinister smile. A yellow-green vapor rose from the diadem, forming an undefined face. The face then changed in to a snake and it's jaws opened in a hiss. It struck with a blinding speed and latched on to Riley's throat. Riley's body went cold as she felt the vapor entering her body and filling her being. The pressure dropped and a whirlwind began to fill the room. The windows all exploded outwards. Her eyes closed and she lost herself. A tiny, jingling sound wasn't heard over the wind whipping through the room as the ring on Riley's finger snapped in two. It disintegrated and the dust was picked up by the gusts.

"Yes!" Alva yelled over the wind, his smile triumphant. "We've done it!" He turned to face Bella and found her with her wand pointed at him.

"Thank you for your help," she said, her smile slimy, "But now you're no longer needed." Alva's face was blank and emotionless as he looked at her.

Bella smirked and raised her wand, "Ava—" In the middle of her spell, her wand was expelled from her hand. She turned and scowled at Alva.

"But how?" She yelled," You don't have a wand!"

Alva chuckled darkly to himself, "I'm at a level totally beyond your comprehension." He laughed out loud, holding his stomach from the laughter. "You're no match for me!" He yelled, almost in hysterics. Bella's eyes widened, then she sneered at him. Maybe she would leave this one for the Dark Lord. He would enjoy taking down someone who believed to be so much better than he.

~X~

The trio had found an old building. Stephanie shuddered.

"Does anyone else think that this place screams "evil plot"?" She whispered.

Harry nodded, "I'm definitely hearing "dastardly ne'er do wells"." The couple smiled at each other and Draco couldn't help but to smirk. But then Draco's face fell.

"Do you guys hear that?" the blonde asked, drawing the couple's attention. Harry and Stephanie both quieted for a moment.

Stephanie looked at Draco, "It sounds like wind." She murmured.

"Look!" Harry exclaimed, pointing to the building. Six eyes turned towards the building as a green light streaked through all of the windows.

"What is that?" Stephanie gasped. Draco's stomach clenched suddenly.

"Get down!" He yelled, covering Stephanie and Harry. With a huge boom, the windows all blew out of the building. Glass flew through the air and scattered about around the trio. After a minute or two, things seemed to calm down. Stephanie glanced up.

"Anyone know what just happened?" She looked around at her companions. Harry shook his head. Her eyes fell over Draco. He was staring blankly ahead, his hand against his chest. Stephanie frowned.

"Draco?" She whispered. His fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt. He felt like a piece of him was missing. It was almost there, but somehow blocked from him. His grey orbs tilted upwards to Harry and Stephanie.

"She's gone," he murmured. Stephanie's eyes widened.

Harry shook his head, "There's no way that she's dead." Draco shook his head as well.

"No, it's just like," he paused looking for the right word, "It's like she's sleeping." Stephanie bit her lip and looked at Harry.

"Now what do we do?" She said softly. Harry just gazed back at her. He hated not having a plan. Usually he would just burst on the scene and throw around some spells. But he couldn't do that this time. He had little to no idea of what kind of power he was against. He was more than used to dealing with Voldemort and his cronies, but Alva was a different kind of evil.

~X~

Alva let out a breath as his laughter quieted. He glanced over at Bella.

"Now, Bellatrix dear, any more plans to try and kill me?" He asked mockingly. The woman sneered at him and crossed her arms over her chest. Alva smirked and looked back to his beautiful monster, Riley. He knew he had broken her once again because he felt nothing coming from her. The evil from the part of Voldemort's soul inside of the diadem had sent her over the edge. He walked over to Riley and turned his body to look at Bellatrix.

"Shall we test her out?" He asked, smiling coldly. He then turned his attention back to the girl on the table. He didn't say anything, but didn't look away from her. Without warning, Riley's eyes snapped open. Her shackles disappeared with a loud snap and a flash of light. When Bellatrix opened her eyes, Riley was standing. Alva laughed again as Riley walked out the door.

~X~

Draco's head snapped up to look at the building.

"Something's coming," he whispered breathlessly. Stephanie and Harry looked up at the door. Nothing happened for a moment, then the door swung open. The old hinges squealed with the movement. Stephanie gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

"It's Riley!" She said.

Harry frowned, "No. That's not Riley." Stephanie's eyes flickered from the brown-haired boy to her best friend. They hid in the bushes as Riley walked towards them. She walked past and Stephanie's body turned cold.

Riley's eyes were open and staring unblinkingly forward. They looked out at the world through pale, soul-less, white eyes, much like a Thestral's. The diadem on her forehead seemed dark instead of beautiful. Draco clutched at his chest as he doubled over and grunted in pain. His head felt like it was going to split in two and it was as if his heart was being squeezed. Harry asked Draco if he was all right and Draco brushed him off. Grey orbs looked up at Riley's moving figure.

"Riley," he thought. Riley's body halted mid-step. Stephanie held her breath as everything seemed to freeze. The pale blonde-haired girl slowly turned and looked to where the trio was hiding. Stephanie gasped. Tears fell from the distant eyes of their friend. Draco's stomach churned. Something bad was going to happen. He shouldn't have called out to her. He jumped up and pushed Stephanie and Harry.

"Get out of here!" He whispered quickly. Harry made a face.

"What are you going to do?" He asked. Draco looked down at the Boy Who Lived and shook his head.

"Don't worry about me, just get somewhere safe. Find Dumbledore, maybe he can help." With that, Draco stood up and ran the opposite direction.

"Draco wait!" Stephanie shouted. She started to go after him, but Harry stopped her by holding on to her arm.

"Don't waste his sacrifice." He said gently. Stephanie bit her lip again but nodded. The couple quickly ran off towards the school. Riley's eyes followed the retreating couple but then turned back to the running blonde-haired boy. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again she was in front of Draco who skidded to a halt.

Draco looked up at Riley. He straightened himself and took a step towards her.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Riley." He whispered. Riley didn't say anything, almost as if she hadn't heard him. He took a deep breath and walked closer to her. He held out his hand and she flinched away from him.

"Don't touch me," she growled, her voice warped and airy like a snake. Draco was still for a moment, but then he took another step towards her. She hissed and flung her arm out at him, hitting him square in the side of the face. The force of the blow knocked him off his feet and sent him skidding across the ground. He sat up wincing and looked at Riley. Her head was tilted to the side.

"I'll k-kill you," she whispered. Draco blinked and stood again. His palm felt like it was on fire. He looked down at his hand and saw the scar that looked like a small bird. His eyes widened. No, it didn't look like any small bird, but a sterling. He looked back up to Riley, a fire in his eyes. He drew his wand.

"Riley," he said softly. Her name made her body jerk and she looked away from him. He continued gently, "That thing on your head is a horcrux. It contains a piece of Voldemort's soul. It's making it impossible for you to think and keep yourself."

He took a deep breath, "I know how to destroy it. But you'll have to trust me." Riley's eyes stared at him for a moment. She seemed to be fighting within herself. The burn in Draco's palm seemed to die a bit and he took that as a confirmation from her. He gulped again. This was extremely risky, but he'd led her to an empty field just for this reason.

"Fiendfyre!" He yelled, pointing his wand towards Riley. Flames burst forth from the tip of his wand, racing towards Riley. It took the form of a serpent, chimaera, dragon, and raptor, as it mutated on it's journey. The blaze started up around Riley and she screamed out, covering her head. She crumpled into a ball on the ground. Draco winced as he felt her magic trying to counter his cursed fire. He didn't know how long he would be able to control it. He just needed for the diadem to break! His body started to tremble from the effort of controlling the Fiendfyre. He heard a scream come from the inferno that wasn't Riley's. He looked up through squinting eyes. Riley's clothes had disintegrated and the diadem was an angry black colour. He dispelled the Fiendfyre and suddenly everything was calm.

Draco didn't know when, but the power of the spell had forced him to his knees. He stood, shakily, and slowly made his way over to Riley. She was laying on her side, eyes closed. He reached down and grabbed the diadem. It disintegrated in to ashes in his hand. He let out a breath. Grey orbs sliced over to look at Riley. He sucked in a breath. On her back were dark purple tattoo-like lines. They originated from the small of her back and continued straight upwards along her spine. Just under her shoulder blades, the lines branched out and created a pattern that looked similar to wings. He reached out and feathered his fingers over them. A strange power seemed to waft off of the lines. Could these be the materialization of the powers Riley had said she locked away?

Draco shook his head. He didn't have time to think about these things now. He knew Alva could tell that something had happened to Riley. There was no way that self-centered man would allow his "Riley-pet" to just be saved again. Draco took off his jacket and placed it over the naked and unconscious Riley. He tried to ignore the red on his cheeks, but for some reason he couldn't stop thinking about it. He picked the limp girl up and started to make his way back to Hogwarts. Her body was warm and shaking. Draco couldn't even imagine what the body went through when the mind and spirit was broken. In Riley's case it had happened twice to her now.

A flash of red hot anger shot through Draco. How could someone do something like that to anyone? Riley had trusted and even loved Alva and he had betrayed her in the most cruel of ways. If Riley didn't do it herself, Draco would kill the green-eyed snake himself.