Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Numen Pumilum	By : AuctorRubra Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 15661 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Disclaimer: *Sniffle* Harry Potter and his wonderful
world do not belong to (Blows nose) Some of this popped out of my crazy
little brain, but if you recognize it, chances are that it belongs to J.K.
Rowling. *sob* I�m not getting paid for this, so
please don�t sue me or anything like that.

______________________________________________________________________

Chapter 10: All For Nothing

Eris� heartbeat was pounding in
her ears. She�d never faced the full assembly
of Death Eaters without the comforting shield of her cloak and mask. Through the trees she could see them gathered
in the hallow, cowering away from Voldemort�s
throne as he shrieked at them in rage.
As she came to the edge of the woods, she peered through a gap in the
crowd. Five Death Eaters were prostrated
before the throne and she realized that Voldemort�s
wrath was directed at them. One was
currently writhing under the torture of the Cruciatus
Curse and the other four were clutching themselves and twitching in the
aftereffects of the same curse. These were
the ones responsible, Eris was certain of that.
She felt hate welling up within her again, overtaking the fear that had
built up. She knew that she was about to
make her decision to join Harry irrevocable.
She knew that she was about to throw her life away. She didn�t care.

Head held high and an impassive
mask in place, Eris strode into the hallow to stand to
the side of the throne. She allowed a
slight, cold smile as she watched the one she knew was Travis convulse. Even screaming she recognized his voice.

Voldemort ended the curse and
turned to face her. �Eris, I see that
you have discovered the treachery of your fellows. I assure you that they did not receive permission
to take this action. They have only just
brought your guardian to me.�

Eris knew that she should be
afraid. Knew that she
should try and use his false show of remorse to buy more time for herself. Somehow it didn�t seem as important as seeing
Travis broken and bleeding. �I see. I wonder how exactly you expect me to react
to this.�

�I will, of course, allow you to punish them
within limits. I anticipate that you
will wish to take the bulk of your anger out on young Travis, who I believe instigated
this action against you.�

�Oh yes,� Eris said coolly, her eyes narrowing
as she regarded the thing that had been her master. �Yes, the spy you placed to watch over and deceive
me. I believe I have a great many things
I�d like to do to him.�

�You will not act as though you are surprised
that I had you watched,� Voldemort spat.
He regarded her carefully then, a light of satisfaction coming to his eyes. �I see that you have gone through your
transformation. Excellent. Consider my permission to punish them both a
wedding and betrothal present. When you have
finished, you will commence with choosing a mate from those gathered here.�

�Master, you can�t mean to allow her to��

�Silence, Bellatrix,�
Voldemort hissed. �You continue to
displease me, my dear. First the failure in the Department of Mysteries and now this
foolishness of following a mere boy on an unsanctioned raid. Be grateful that you still live.�

�We�ll see about that,� Eris said in a low,
threatening tone.

Voldemort looked at her
sharply. �I believe I�ve been disobeyed
enough for the time being, Eris. Do not
try my patience.�

Eris snorted in disgust. �Do you really believe that I will continue
to serve you now? You failed to keep up
your end of our arrangement. You allowed
Felicity to come to harm!�

A wave a murmuring went through the
Death Eaters. No doubt they were discussing
the likelihood of her surviving the next ten minutes. Voldemort started down the steps of the dais
towards her. She knew he was still
extremely powerful, but he seemed less imposing in his restored state. Plus, she could feel her own power rippling
through her, connecting to Harry and pulling on his vast stores of raw energy. Had she not been in her current situation,
she would have taken the time to sit and study her brother�s power in awe. In her newly transformed state she was immensely
powerful, but Harry�well Harry held so much power within himself that Eris
truly feared what would happen to her if she managed to return to Grimmauld Place.

Voldemort sneered at her, taking
the last few steps towards her and grabbing onto her arm. �Foolish child! Where will you go if you do not stay with
me? Who will you turn to? The Order?� He placed his free hand over her heart. �Will they accept you when they see my mark
on you? Will dear Harry love a sister
who has sworn to turn him over to his enemy?
You�ve been my servant for two years, Eris. They will know the things you have done in my
name. Do you think the fact that you
served out death through a cauldron will be any different to them than if you had
used your wand?�

Eris trembled under Voldemort�s touch and she felt him pushing into her mind
with his pale eyes. She let him ravage
most of her thoughts to appease him, but tightly packed away anything that
would alert him to Severus� true loyalties.
�I don�t need them and I sure as hell don�t need you.�

Voldemort released her slowly, a
frighteningly charming smile on his lips.
�I�m sure you think so, my dear, but what will you do when your whole
world hunts you? Do you really think you
can hide from me and your brother?
Whether you turn to them or strike out on your own you will still come
to the same end.�

Eris glanced over to the five
Death Eaters who had taken Felicity. She
saw that Travis was on his feet now, mask off and his face contorted with
rage. �Why would you even give her a
choice, my lord? She has betrayed you by
harboring Malfoy!�

Eris watched Voldemort warily as
he moved back up the dais and sat on the throne. He glared at Travis and Eris wondered if she
would get a chance to take her anger out on the boy. �I was well aware of the fact that Eris was
hiding Draco. She swore an Oath of
Protection to the boy years ago! Though
her liking for one who has failed me is something I view as a weakness, it will
soon be stamped out once she has chosen her mate.�

Bellatrix
stood then, her voice shrill and angry. �Why would any of us bond to such a
traitor? She�s not worthy to serve you,
my lord. She only remained loyal to you
to protect those who despise you.�

�Shut up you stupid bitch,� Eris spat. �Where is Felicity? I demand that you show her to me
immediately.�

Bellatrix
removed her mask to reveal a cold and cruel smile. �Gladly.�

With a flick of her wand, Bellatrix summoned forward a crumpled, convulsing
form. Eris could make out blood spatter
all over Felicity�s robes, and the old witch�s hair was loose, tangled, and
hanging over her face like a silver veil.
Eris felt her magic swell and vaguely registered that tiny sparks were
dancing along the length of her hair.
Deep within her mind and soul she felt Harry�s anger rise as well. He was willing pouring his magic into her
now, consciously or no. Eris grabbed onto
that power and pulled.

The wind began to whip violently
through the hallow and with a flick of Eris� wand Bellatrix was lifted up into the air and flung against a
tree. The twisted sense of glee came
over Eris as she watched the witch crumple to the ground. Rodolphus came
forward next and met the same fate as his wife.
Eris quickly made her way towards Felicity�s beaten body and barely
heard the words of the killing curse flung at her by one of the two Death
Eaters still standing beside Travis in time to dodge it. She didn�t have to worry about him after that
though, because Voldemort killed the man with the barest twitch of his
wrist. She sent the winds to cast aside
the remaining faceless Death Eater and then it was only Travis left standing. He stood between her and Felicity and Eris
smiled when she saw a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face.

As Eris watched him tremble she
felt her power spring out around her. Small
fires popped up at random and the other Death Eaters were sent scurrying, trying
to extinguish their robes. Travis brandished
his wand against her. �One of these days
you�re going to die trying to save everyone buy yourself, Eris. We�re supposed to be on the same side! She was holding you back and making you weak.�

Eris raised a hand to the sky and smiled
as she heard thunder rumble. Her brother�s
magic was keeping the other�s busy, but she would use
her own to take this one. �No one
betrays me and lives, Travis.�

The Death Eater�s lip curled in a
sneer and he began the Killing Curse. �Avada��

Pulling her hand into a fist, Eris
summoned her powers of air and water, calling to the clouds. A spectacular bolt of lightening issued forth
from the sky and splintered through the air, striking Travis. When the last of the flickering light faded away,
there was nothing left but a pile of ash.
Eris rushed forward to kneel before Felicity. The old woman�s breathing was shallow and
ragged.

Voldemort began to clap, a low
laugh rumbling from him. �Excellent, my dear.
How wonderful to know that you�ve been worth the wait. If you wish to punish the others further, you
may, but you mustn�t kill them.�

Eris felt herself beginning to
tremble as she gazed upon Felicity�s broken form. She was no medi-witch,
but the old woman looked beyond hope.
Hexed, cursed, and beaten (most likely by Travis since no proper Death
Eater would actually resort to physical contact while they still held their
wand) Felicity looked like little more than one massive, bloody, bruise. The hate began to fill her once more and she
wanted nothing more than to kill the other three Death Eaters who had hurt her
beloved guardian. She clutched her wand
and was about to attack, but a small voice of reason called to her, telling her
to save herself, to bring Felicity back while there was still time.

Gathering Felicity�s mangled form
gently in her arms, she lifted her eyes to Voldemort
and placed a hand on her serpent pendant.
�My days of serving you are over.�

Voldemort simply glared for a
moment. �Flee for now if you wish, Eris,
but we�ll see what happens to you when you plead to the Order for
understanding. Go now, but know that I
will allow you one chance to return to me without question.�

�Never.�

Voldemort�s
smile was cruel and knowing. �But we
both know that you value your life more than that.�

Eris did not allow herself to
second guess her choice. She yanked the pendant from her neck and pressed
Felicity�s palm to it along with her own.
Muttering the portkey password, they were both
swept away to Prince Manor.

______________________________________________________________________

Harry knelt panting on the floor
after being released from his vision.
He�d seen everything through Voldemort�s eyes
from the moment Eris stepped into the ring of Death Eaters. He knew that Voldemort wanted there to be no
doubt as to who Eris had been serving up to that point. Still, he knew now why Eris had been serving
the monster. It didn�t make the
knowledge that his sister was a Death Eater hurt any less, but at least he
understood why. As his vision began to
clear and the ringing in his ears faded, he became aware of the sound of raised
voices. Rising shakily to his feet, he
turned to see Draco backed against the wall with Nox
clutched to his chest. Ginny and
Hermione were standing in between the blond and the angry adults who wanted to
question him and take possession of the ferret.

�Just let us see the damned ferret, boy,�
Moody said angrily.

Draco shook his head
furiously. �No! You can�t, Harry promised to protect him. You�ll hurt Harry and Eris if you hurt him.�

Hermione moved closer to Draco and nodded in
agreement. �That�s right, Harry swore
and Oath of Protection to whomever this is.
We don�t know what will happen if you endanger him by forcing him to
show his identity.�

�We�re not going to hurt him,� Tonks said
carefully. �We need to know if he can
help us figure out what�s going on with Eris.�

Draco�s eyes were like wide pools
of mercury and Harry felt a rush of protectiveness as the other boy began to
speak again. �You don�t understand. She�s not like them�she��

�Then why did she go to You-Know-Who, boy,�
Moody asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
�How did she know where to go?
How do we know that thing you�re holding isn�t one of them?�

�It doesn�t matter,� Harry said softly. �He can�t hurt us. He�s our mentor.�

Harry felt a gentle squeeze on his shoulder and he turned his head to
see Sirius standing beside him. Just
then, Draco let out a shout of pain.
Harry looked back to see the blond holding his hand while the ferret
scurried out of sight, Moody throwing stunners at it all the way. Draco ran and grabbed at the wizard�s
wand. �No! You can�t!�

Harry let out a low growl of
displeasure as Moody pushed Draco to the floor, though it pleased him when
Ginny hurried to help the boy back to his feet.
�Will all of you just stop it! We need to worry about Eris now. Felicity is in a bad way�I think she used a portkey, but I don�t know where it was to.�

�It takes her to the front gates of Prince
Manor,� Draco said, staring at the ground.
Ginny had her arm around the blond�s shoulder
and it didn�t escape Harry�s notice that Draco didn�t shrug her away. He ignored the surge of happiness this sent through
him and tried to focus in on the problem at hand. �Would she take her to Hogwarts or St. Mungo�s�or do you think she�d try to take care of her herself?�

Professor McGonagall stepped
forward. �Harry, if Felicity is hurt
very badly there is nothing that Eris could do.
It takes several years of training to master any form of healing magic
powerful enough to reverse damage worse than scrapes and bruises.�

Remus sighed.
�I�m sure she knows that, Minerva, but the question is whether or not
Eris would feel safe enough to approach either of those places. We must take into consideration that she
feels like a fugitive now.�

Sirius put his arm around Harry�s shoulders and
held him close. �What did you see,
Harry?�

Harry took a deep breath. �When she got there he was punishing the ones
who took Felicity. They weren�t supposed
to hurt her.�

�Bastards,� Draco hissed. �She sells herself for the old woman�s safety
and they sneak off behind the Dark Lord�s back.�

Harry nodded. �That�s basically the gist of the
conversation they had. He kept telling
her that she could punish them and everything would be okay, but I could feel
it in her�she wanted to kill them.
Nothing he said made it better.
He said something about her choosing her mate from the Death Eaters.�

Sirius� hand on his shoulder
tightened almost painfully, but Harry ignored it, focusing instead on what
Draco would have to say about this. �It
was part of the agreement. She would
take a Death Eater as a mate to ensure that he still had control over her even
if her elven instincts tried stop her from
acting�less than angelic.�

Harry snorted. �Yes, well, she demanded that they show her
Felicity and when she saw her�oh Merlin�it was like she went insane. If I hadn�t been connected with her I think
she might have really lost it. I barely
stopped her from starting the lot of them on fire. A bunch of their robes lit up and she had the
wind blowing like a tornado. Then, when
she got to the Travis boy, she�she�I don�t know�it looked like she called down
lightening on him. There was nothing
left when it was over. Voldemort didn�t
even bat an eye. He even used the
Killing Curse on one of the Death Eaters who tried to kill Eris to stop her.

The adults all looked
stunned. Eris� friends, Hermione, Ginny,
Draco, and Ron all looked terrified.
Remus was the first to speak.
�Harry, did she do that all on her own�even with you trying to block
her.�

Harry shook his head. �She was sharing our power. I could feel her tapping into my magic.�

The fireplace flared then and
everyone turned to see the head of Madam Pomfrey in the fire. �I think you should all get back here now.�

One at a time they returned to Hogwarts
through the fireplace in the head office.
Harry ran all the way to the infirmary.
When he entered he saw Eris sitting on a bed, staring blankly ahead
towards where Madam Pomfrey was doing her best to save Felicity. As he stood there, Draco rushed passed him to
embrace Eris.

�Thank Merlin you�re all right.� Draco looked like he was squeezing the life
out of Eris. �Did you get hurt? Did any hexes hit you? What did that bastard say to you? Did he make you drink the potion?�

Eris slowly shook her head. Her voice was flat as she responded. �I�m fine.�

Harry could feel through the bond
that she was most definitely not fine.
She was weak, magically drained, and emotionally unstable. She was in shock over both the state of her
loved one and the fact that she had killed someone. Harry moved to stand beside her and place and
hand to her cheek. She closed her eyes
and leaned into the touch. He tried to
push a feeling a reassurance through the bond and keep his sense of betrayal
buried deep. There would be time enough
to deal with that later. �Eris, lie
down.�

His sister obeyed immediately and
he quickly set about pulling off her shoes.
Draco followed suit by adjusting Eris� head and smoothing back her
hair. Together they tucked her in. Madam Pomfrey came to stand beside them. �I gave her a calming draught. She�s in shock.�

�I know,� Harry said softly. �I think you should give her a Dreamless
Sleep potion too.�

The medi-witch
nodded and hurried off to collect the potion, returning quickly to pour it
gently down Eris� throat. Harry felt a
swell of rage build in him at the strangely obedient way Eris was acting. Voldemort had done this to her, broken her
like this. Sirius came over then and put
an arm around both his and Draco�s shoulders.
He jerked his head in the direction of the door where most of the group was
exiting. Zack was taking a seat next to
Eris� bed and Tonks and Kingsley were positioning themselves at the door.

When they were in the hall Sirius
released them and spoke quietly. �We�re all
going to the staff room to discuss what to do next.�

By the time they entered the room
the arguments had already begun. Remus was
standing against the wall by himself, looking deep in thought. Ginny, Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Miss
Roslyn, and Jackie were standing in a tight group arguing with Moody, Charlie,
and Ron. The twins and Professor
McGonagall were hanging back and listening to what was being said.

�I say that the girl needs to go to Azkaban no
matter what,� Moody shouted. �Even if
she�s turning against You-Know-Who she needs to go away for her own good. We can�t trust what she�ll do next.�

Mrs. Weasley looked furious. �She�s just a child, a confused child who
made a bad decision. You heard Draco;
she thought she was protecting the only mother she�s ever known.�

�Mum, she killed someone because she got
angry. What happens if she gets mad at
one of us,� Ron asked in a pleading tone.
Hermione and Ginny were glaring at him.

Charlie nodded in agreement. �We need to be careful and do what�s best for
her as well. I don�t want to send her to
Azkaban, but we might want to think about St. Mungo�s
if they can contain her.�

�Charlie,� Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. �That poor girl is no more insane than you or
I! She�s in distress and grieving. She needs us to help give her direction, not cast
her aside.�

Taking courage from the amount of
support Eris was receiving from those whose opinions mattered most to him, Harry cleared his throat to make his presence known. �We�re not sending Eris anywhere. She needs to stay with me and her mentor. That�s our best bet for keeping her safe and
sane. If we cast her aside the only
place she�ll have to go is back to Voldemort.�

There was a collective shudder
around the room. Ginny spoke then. �That�s what he told her we�d do, isn�t
it? In my first year he did the same
thing to me. I knew something was
happening to her, I could feel it.�

�She wasn�t possessed, Miss Weasley,� Moody
growled. �She was doing this of her own
free will.�

Harry felt Draco stiffen beside
him and he put his hand on the other boy�s arm as he began to shout at the
older wizard. �She was under
duress! My bastard of a father tricked
her! He told her that the Death Eaters
would kill Madam Prince if she didn�t help them in the ministry. Eris knew that the old bat would never agree so
she offered herself, telling him about being Harry�s sister and being part
elf.�

Harry gently squeezed Draco�s arm
and tugged him in Ginny and Hermione�s direction. Once they were standing firmly on what was
basically Eris� side of the room, he spoke again. �It�s the only reason she was with him. She doesn�t believe in his cause. Jackie and Zack are both Muggle-borns.�

Ron was shaking his head in
disbelief. �But, Harry, how could she
just betray her family like that?�

It was Draco who loosed an
exasperated sigh. �Think, Weasley! Eris feels
like Mr. and Mrs. Potter abandoned her.
In her mind they chose Harry over her and she was cast aside. Harry wasn�t her family when she made the
choice to become a Death Eater, Felicity was.�

Ginny nodded in agreement. �I believe one hundred percent that Eris was completely
comfortable with choosing Vol�Voldemort over Harry
right up until she actually had to face Harry at the funeral. It was easy for her to hate and betray someone
she�d never met. We�ve all been assuming
her discomfort and fear were because of the bond she was going to have to form
with Harry, but what if it was because she was having
to truly analyze her decision for the first time?�

�She should have gone to Felicity and then
they would have come to us,� Professor McGonagall.

�With all due respect, Professor,� Draco said
softly. �Eris was a fourteen-year-old
girl facing the trickery and charm of a man twenty-six
years her senior. This man was telling
her that her last bit a family was going to be killed. I won�t lie, I�m sure it seemed like a nice
shot at revenge as well at the time. And
there�s something else��

�What,� Sirius asked sharply.

Draco frowned in
concentration. �I don�t know�it�s just
something that I keep sensing. It�s like
she�s not telling me the whole story.
They did something to her. I
stopped pressing her because I�m pretty sure she told�er�Nox and I thought he would take care of it for the time
being.�

�I felt it too,� Harry said softly. �She could hide that she was lying to me, but
there was something deep inside of her that I could sense through the
bond. It was like something was�well,
rotting inside of her. Its hurting her
badly and I think its fueling a sense of self-hatred.�

Ron snorted. �As though serving You-Know-Who isn�t enough
to cause that.�

Harry closed his eyes. He couldn�t get angry at anyone who wanted to
oppose his sister. He knew they had
valid points, but he wouldn�t let them toss her aside. It would only reaffirm her belief that she
was expendable. Draco, however, didn�t
seem to be in a mood to accept anyone speaking badly of his friend. �Listen, Weasel. She made a mistake. A horrible mistake, but she did it in the name
of protecting her only family. Felicity
told her who and what she really was days after I was basically exiled from
their home. She had years for that
information to fester while being solitary before my father showed up to manipulate her. She
wrote to me constantly and I had to sit by and watch through letters as my only
true friend sank into anger and despair.
Until I showed up this summer I never knew what was causing it. I thought it was all my
fault and now that there�s a chance to reverse it I�m damn well going to take
it!�

Ron�s eyes narrowed, but he nodded
and Harry felt a swell of gratitude towards Draco. Moody, however, wasn�t quite ready to back
down. �Well I suppose you�d know all
about making bad choices, wouldn�t you boy?�

To Harry�s surprise, it was
Hermione who stepped forward to defend Draco.
She placed herself directly in front of the blond, her face contorted in
anger. �That�s right, he would! He was forced to do horrible things to
protect his family! He might have always
been a spoiled, bullying, prat, but I don�t believe
that he would ever actually want to kill anyone. Out of everyone in this room I have the most
reason to hate him and I don�t anymore!
So you should just�just�be quiet and leave him alone. He�s been through hell and doesn�t deserve
you dragging up things in the past that can�t be changed.�

Everyone in the room was quiet and
wide-eyed, including Moody. Harry looked
at Draco to see that the other boy was staring at Hermione in awe. It occurred to him then that though the girls
had been agreeing with him all along, that was the first moment when anyone in
the room had stuck up just for him. Not
him and Eris, just him. The boy closed
his silver eyes for a moment and Harry watched as he swallowed hard. �Gran�Hermione,
thank you.�

�You�re welcome, Draco.�

Harry smiled as Ron joined their
side of the room a moment later, followed by Fred and George. They weren�t fools. No one was dumb enough to go against Hermione
when it was obvious that her mind was made up.
Charlie seemed to think about it for a second longer before turning to
Moody. �I�m sorry, Alastor,
but for now I�m going to have to side with my family.�

Mr. Weasley cleared his
throat. �I think we all need to just
calm down, have some supper, and leave this until we�ve all rested and we know
how Felicity is.�

There were nods of agreement all
around and that was when Harry noticed that Remus was no longer with them.

_______________________________________________________________________

Remus slipped away while Hermione
began to rant, figuring that the meeting was either going to end in Eris� favor
or a stalemate at this point. As he made
his way to the infirmary he thought hard on how his goddaughter�s involvement
with the Death Eaters was really affecting him.
He had felt such caring for her since the moment he�d found out about
her. It hurt him that he�d been unable
to prevent the fear and uncertainty which led Eris to betray the light. Deep down, he felt that she truly wanted to
be on the side of right. She had done so
much for both him and Harry already through returning Sirius to them and simply
giving them both another person to love.
He had Tonks, but he just couldn�t get over the feeling that the cheerful
metamorphmagus wasn�t the one he was meant to be
with. Of course, he had never felt that
he belonged with anyone romantically.

When he entered the Hospital Wing,
Remus found Eris out of bed despite the Dreamless Sleep potion and sitting in a
chair beside Felicity. Her shoulders
were shaking and his keen ears heard her quiet sobs. Madam Pomfrey noticed him and he nodded to
her as she made her way over. He spoke
in a whisper to avoid alerting Eris to his presence. �What have you found out, Poppy?�

The medi-witch
shook her head sadly. �I don�t think
she�s going to make it, Remus. The Cruciatus Curse did so much damage that even if she does
make it there will be permanent nerve damage reducing Felicity to a state
similar to a patient in the late stages of Muggle Parkinson�s disease. I might even be able to take care of that,
but there is barely any hope that her mind could have survived such
torture. She�ll be just like the Longbottoms by the time I can cancel out the effects I�m afraid.�

Remus nodded sadly and slowly
walked over to Eris. As he got closer he
could her words coming in between Eris� sobs.
She was begging Felicity to forgive her for the things she�d done,
begging her not to leave her alone in the world.

�Please�please�I never meant it�I didn�t mean
it when I told Severus that I don�t trust anyone. I trust you. I�m loyal to you�please��

Remus froze. There could only be one Severus that Eris was
talking about. He wondered if the
potions master was someone that Eris had dealt with frequently while with the
Death Eaters. Holding his breath, he
strained to hear the rest of Eris� words.

�I�ll take care of him, grandma,
I promise that I�ll take care of him no matter what. I�ll see you again no matter what and I�ll
protect your grandson.� Eris stopped for
a moment and seemed to give into her tears.
Just when Remus was about to leave, the girl spoke again. �I would give anything for you to forgive me�I�m
so sorry.�

Remus felt his heart breaking for
his goddaughter. He began to move to
take her in his arms when he saw Felicity�s mouth open and the old woman began
to whisper. �I could forgive you
anything�I love you.�

Remus could tell that Felicity was
unconscious again just as soon as the words left her mouth, but she continued
to breath. Eris began to sob even harder
and Remus could no longer stand to watch.
He pulled the girl into his arms and began to stroke her hair. She stiffened immediately, trying to stop her
crying.

�Its all right, cub, I won�t let anything
happen to you. Everything is going to be
okay. I promise.�

Eris melted into his arms and
began to sob once again. It seemed that
the relief of being so readily forgiven was almost more than the girl could
bear. Remus turned his head to see the
two aurors by the door watching him intently. Kingsley was frowning thoughtfully. Tonks had tears trailing down her cheeks, but
she looked more angry than anything. Remus sighed and turned his attention back to
Eris. No one was going to be pushing his
cub away or punishing her. No one.

______________________________________________________________________

Severus was seething as he made
his way Prince Manor after his audience with the Voldemort. He had been lucky. Very lucky. If it had taken any longer for him to wrestle
away from Draco he might very well be dead.
As things were, the maniac had basically seemed happy that Severus
escaped before anyone realized his identity.
Voldemort was under the impression that Severus was still using the Metamorph potion as a disguise, a fact which worked well in
his favor. Because of this he was able
to convince his �master� that he could use his animagus
form to get close to Eris and spy on her whether she ran to the Order or
not. Voldemort was determined to get
Eris back at any cost and this terrified Severus. His instincts as the girl�s mentor were
rattled at the knowledge that his charge was now a hunted thing.

That was another thing that was
still chaffing him. What had he done in
a past life to deserve being made the guardian of James Potter�s children? Eris wouldn�t be too difficult to deal
with. She was a willing and apt pupil,
though her growing affection and attachment to him was a bit unnerving at
times. No, it was Harry who would be the
most trouble. The boy was sure to drive
him insane. Then, as if things couldn�t
get any worse, he was immediately able to sense the twins� potential
mates. The thought of Harry being mated
to Draco was a bit unsettling, but he had a feeling that the young Malfoy
wouldn�t be adverse to the situation, though with Ginny Weasley in the running
Severus was certain that Draco had already lost. That was all well and good, but his heart had
nearly given out when he realized that Black was one of Eris� potential mates.

Oh it had been a most disgusting
feeling to be grateful to the mutt as he argued in favor of Eris once the girl
had run off. It was bad enough that he
had to deal with the wizard coming back from the dead, but to have to feel
gratitude for the bastard�s behavior? Even
the werewolf had remained silent as the argument went on. Then Potter had
collapsed and he knew things had to be getting bad.

Severus sighed as he walked
through the gates of Prince Manor and made his way to the gardens and Eris�
secret entrance. With any luck Eris or
Draco would come to the manor, if only briefly, and then he could rejoin
them. There was no way he was trying to
get into Hogwarts with a wand-happy Moody on the loose.

While he waited, he tried to think
of a way to get them all out of this new mess and prayed that his grandmother
would live long enough for him to beg for forgiveness one more time.
- 10
- 11
- 12
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Numen Pumilum