Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Unexpected	By : draconisdemented Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Ginny Views: 26235 -:- 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
- 23
- 24
- 25
Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Author's Note: Once again, I do not speak French. I am using a
dictionary/translator on my computer, so I'm aware it won't be perfect. If you
do speak French, I would like to apologize now for any slaughtering of the
language I may have inadvertently caused. Otherwise, what do you care, right?

French translations: ((example))

Thanks to Misikoru, TrixRStrange, Amo, hartbreak, Melagic, and Breanna for
reviewing!

Author's Note: I know I said to act like Book 5 never happened, and I still stand by that, but
for one part of this chapter, you'll have to pretend like it did. It's nothing
major, just a little something I couldn't help throwing in. For those who've
read Book 5, you'lpan pan class=GramE>spot it immediately, trust me. For those who haven't, it should still make sense.
Okay, now that's over with, here we go!

Other Author's Note: I also post this
story over on fanfiction.net, under the name 'dracademented'.
It's updated much quicker over there, every three to four days, and past
chapters are revised more. I just thought I'd let you guys
know since it takes me so long on here, lol.

For those who wanted to see the fanart,
it won't let me put a link in, so just go to deviantART.com and search for 'Morganofthedark'. The pics are on
her page!

��

Lycelle moved her food around on her plate slowly, creating runes
with her noodles and trying to make it look like she'd eaten something, at least. Pansy's eyes on her
told her that she wasn't doing a good enough job at fooling them by far.
Sighing, she gave up and sat back, meeting her sister's eyes. Pansy lifted an
eyebrow eloquently, looking pointedly at Lycelle's untouched meal. Squirming
under her sister's scrutiny, she shrugged, hoping that would be enough to stall
any questions. Normally it wouldn't have been, but Anton leaned over,
whispering something in her sister's ear that made her eyes light up, and Pansy
turned away.

Still slightly unused to the noise in the Great Hall after Yule
Break, Lycelle desperately wanted to flee. She had to admit, she'd been on
Draco and Blaise's side about coming back. Now that had been a dispute. She'd never seen either of them really
yell before, as they usually got quieter and quieter the angrier they got, but
they had yelled then. The Manor had been filled with their dark fury, permeated
with it, for over a day. They hadn't wanted to risk coming back to Hogwarts,
not now that Virginia was the Dark Lord's
main target. They had argued and argued, saying it was stupid and would only
lead to tragedy and heartbreak. They said they could feel it.

Anton, Crabbe, Goyle and the twins had agreed with them, but the
females had refused. Virginia, Pansy, Melody, Daphne, Mira (who'd been back
from France), Narcissa, Silana,
Molly�All had thought it silly not to go back to Hogwarts, and had said that
they were just being over-protective, paranoid males. That hadn't sat well with
the said males at all. They'd been so angry�So very, very angry. Draco and
Blaise were livid over Voldemort's threat to their love, and Padma couldn't
constantly filter that instinctual rage. But she did take their side. She
agreed that it didn't feel right, and had tried to talk Virginia out of going back.
But Virginia had stayed adamant.

There'd been a moment when she'd almost broken, almost given in
and stayed at the Manor, but Pansy had talked her back out of it, arguing that
they could still protect her at Hogwarts, that she needed to keep as normal a
routine as possible. Draco and Blaise had promptly told her to fuck her 'normal
routine', and that they only had one priority at the moment.
Virginia's safety. She'd told them that she
understood that they were worried, but they couldn't keep her locked up like a
prisoner. As they'd said as much themselves before, they'd reluctantly given in
after another two hours of the females' pleas and threats.

But none of the guys were happy about it,
and they let everyone know it. Typical. But Lycelle couldn't really blame them.
She'd seen the love shining behind the fury, had seen the fear behind the
indignation. And that love is what had made them relent. So now they all wore
their swords openly and were practically attacking their own shadows.
Well�Okay, it hadn't gotten that bad,
but nearly. And the twins, who'd been quite ticked off about not being able to
make sure that everyone was all right, had been given visiting passes like
Narcissa and Silana had, and it had become a common occurrence in Slytherin
House for them to pop in at any and all hours.

It was also a common occurrence to find Padma there with them, as
she'd practically been living in their House, much like Virginia. Well, not exactly like Virginia, as she hadn't
taken up residence in their princes' rooms, but she did have her own room now,
and no longer had to go back to Ravenclaw very often. The looks on her
Housemates' faces when she had walked in on their first day back, sandwiched
between Virginia and Draco and grinning happily, had been beyond hilarious.
They'd looked like the sky had just fallen on their brilliant little heads.
Their eyes followed her everywhere now, and every time she smiled or laughed,
their shock became a little bit more profound.

Parvati's eyes also followed her everywhere, but they were hostile
and hateful. Padma didn't seem to notice though, and she was always with some
Slytherin or another, so they never spoke. Draco, Blaise and the other males had gotten their way on one thing, which
was that no one, no one, left the
House alone. Ever. And never without
protection amulets of their making on. Every member of the House had received
an amulet that Draco, Blaise, Virginia, Padma and the twins had worked on the
first few days back, and Lycelle knew that the sixth and seventh years were
wearing stronger ones than most, as they were the most likely to face any
danger.

Even Hermione had been given one when Lycelle had secretly
requested it of Virginia and Padma, not wanting to ask Draco or Blaise because
of the looks that she'd known she would receive. And the refusal. But the two
older girls had agreed, and she'd given it to Hermione days ago. The girl would
probably need it, seeing as how Ron had opened his mouth about her fucking
Anton their first night back. Not too surprising, in Lycelle's opinion, but it
had hurt Hermione deeply, and none of her Housemates were speaking to her. Lycelle, Virginia and, occasionally,
Padma, were the only people who did
anymore. Without sneering or jeering, that is.

Even the teachers looked at her differently now, except for
Dumbledore and Severus. But then, Severus just liked torturing her, and
Dumbledore smiled at everyone. Even McGonagall's nose rose a bit when she was
around now, and Lycelle knew that it was killing her. And pissing her off. But
she hadn't said anything to anyone about it so far, just ducked her head and
ignored their whispers. Or, in Ron's case, shouts. Harry had tried to talk to
her, but she'd blown him off quickly, fear in her eyes. And she had a reason to
fear him, of course. Lycelle had seen his eyes that night. Possessed or not, it
had been fucked up and frightening.

And Harry wasn't exactly�right
in the head, anymore. If he ever had been to begin with. But he was certainly off now. It was hard to explain. He'd been drug in from the gds
ds
the night Draco had locked the Manor down, and Sirius had gone with Molly to
finish healing what the house elves had simply refused to do for someone that
their masters hated. Harry had been unconscious at the time, his injuries quite
severe, and it was said that he'd been found in one of the dragon's nests,
covered in regurgitated food and babbling insanely about Dementors, spiders,
nymphs and a dozen other creatures and things and places and smells and�
p>

The list went on and on, the banshee had told them in a thoroughly
disgusted manner, mumbling something about, 'The young masters never went
mad during a Hunt. Weak, foolish halfblood.' Harry'd then slept the night
away, dead to the world with healing tonics running through him, and had awoken
the next morning alone with a mean-tempered house elf that hadn't hesitated to
tell him his place. It had then, after berating him for his laziness and mental
slowness, drug him down to the dining room where everyone else had gathered.
The first thing that Harry had seen upon entering the room had been Sirius
sitting on a couch between Draco and Blaise, chatting like old friends.

Now, granted, he'd just been through one of the most feared
punishments one could think of, as the creatures on the Malfoy grounds were
nothing to fuck around with. And had he been with
friends, they stillld hld have fucked with him about it, but they would have
been concerned as well. As it was, he was not with friends, except for a sparse
few, and they would never let him forget what he did upon seeing his godfather
talking to two of his most hated enemies in a much more easy and natural
fashion then he'd ever talked to Harry. He'd fainted. It was quite classical actually, Lycelle thought wryly. His jaw had
dropped, his eyes had rolled back, and he'd hit the floor like a sack of
sickles. He hadn't been right since, whether from the Hunt, the shock, or both.

He should just be really happy that he
wasn't around her Housemates more than he had to be in classes. They swooned
dramatically every time they saw him now, cooing 'Oh, Padfoot!'
before dissolving into snickers with everyone else who was in the near
vicinity. And that latter part was strange in itself. Because it wasn't only
the Slytherins laughing. The other Houses had been acting weird since they'd
come back from Yule Break. They'd been acting slightly�friendly. It was unimaginably odd to hear one of her Housemates say
something funny and sadistic, and hear Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs chuckling
about it.

And there were the new whispers abounding through the hallways.
Whispers of 'Not so horrible', 'Been researching and found some interesting stuff',
'They used to protect us', 'Not
really evil, I don't think', 'Bad
publicity, rotten parents, is all.' The first time Lycelle had heard such
mutterings, she stopped dead in her tracks, stunned to her core. Were they
finally remembering? It wasn't that
long ago that their families had still used their magick to shield those under
their rule, but it was long enough ago that the younger generations barely knew
anything about it, as their parents usually left that part out during their
home studies.

And that was, apparently, where they'd gone wrong. Because now that
the students were discovering it on their own, it had become a mysterious
secret to them, one their parents had been trying to keep them from. And as history has proved time and time again, the
forbidden is always sweeter. And with the initial discoveries that had spread
through the school like wildfire, they were starting to reevaluate recent
events, and dig even deeper into the past. More and more information was being
unearthed daily, and it had become somewhat of an obsession to the students,
their new mission. Figure the Slytherins
out, find out what they're really all about.

To say that her Housemates were repulsed by this was a massive
understatement, and she swore that the next time Draco or Blaise caught a Hufflepuff
rambling on about how great and wonderful and generous they were, one or both
of them were going to snap. The article about the Weasleys' return to the
aristocracy hadn't helped that, and they'd eagerly awaited another article,
hoping it would return everything to normal. But when the article about their
stunt at their award ceremony did
come one morning, it had had the opposite effect than they'd hoped for. In some strange twist of fate, everyone seemed to have
found it either amusing or justified.

The Gryffindors were still their usual prickish
selves, except for a few that laughed right along with the others. When
questioned by their wary Housemates, they'd say things like 'But look, Virginia and Padma like them
and trust them', or 'You don't know anything, all you think of is
Quidditch and food.' Funny how it was mostly the Gryffindor males hearing
that last line. And funny how it was mostly them still
starting trouble and talking shit. Draco and Blaise's nerves were stretched to
the breaking point already, and she knew it wasn't going to take much more for
all hell to break loose. It would have been bad enough without all of the new
weirdness.

But somehow, someway, the other Houses were slowly but surely
trying to draw the Slytherins into their activities and gatherings and such,
wanting to trade coven notes and all sorts of things that she and her
Housemates simply didn't know how to deal with. Dealing with an insult was
easy; you just threw a curse. This was different. Entirely different. Especially
when a sneer and a cold look just seemed to make them all the
more determined. It was as if they felt guilty for their past behavior
and were set on making up for it. She just thanked the gods that no one had had
the nerve to ask Draco or Blaise for notes. And if someone did, she didn't want
to be in the general vicinity.

Occasionally over the last week and a half, Lycelle had sometimes
felt as though she were dreaming as she watched the other students go from
straight fear and dislike of Draco and Blaise, to respect and a bit of awe, to
this new�something. They still feared
them, but they were starting to look at them like�Oh hell. They were looking at
them like they'd used to look at Harry. As if they were staring at their saviors. Idiots. She knew, for a fact, that neither Draco nor Blaise would
ever fight for someone who hadn't bowed and sworn themselves to their service.
Their best hope of getting those two to fight in their war was if the Dark Lord
fucked with them unforgivably.

And then�And then all hell would
break loose. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she glanced back up at her
sister, who was looking much too delighted for it to be anything good. Almost
all of the Slytherins were grinning nastily, and Lycelle felt an uneasy
sensation start in her belly. They all looked over suddenly, and the sensation
grew when she saw who they were staring at. Hermione. Not good, not good�The girl
was walking towards them and for the side doors, her face buried in a book and
a few more under her arm. Then Lycelle heard Melody hum a few notes, and
thought, why on earth would she hum that
now? She found out a moment later
when the majority of her House began singing.

"Less like witch � more
like thing,

She sure as fuck
didn't get a ring,

That's why Slytherins
all sing,

Granger was a fling!"

Oh sweet gods, they weren't.
But they were, and Hermione had
frozen, her eyes wide with disbelief as her books fell to the floor.

"She�ll fuck Filch, she'll fuck Binns,

She always lets the cooo-ocks in,

The new po-ster girl for sin,

Granger was a fling!"

The other Houses, even Gryffindor, were laughing by then and
humming along, Hermione looked mortified, Pansy looked pleased, and Anton
looked indifferent.

"Granger was a fling!

Granger was a fling!

She always lets the cooo-ocks in,

Granger was a fliiiiiii-ng!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" McGonagall bellowed, still
barely getting her voice to be heard over the uproarious laughter and repeats
of the chorus. She spun towards Severus, anr jar jaw nearly came unhinged before
her nose scrunched up in disapproval. Because Severus actually had his head in
his hands, his shoulders shaking visibly with barely-restrained mirth as he
tried not to ruin his reputation forever by falling of hof his chair and
howling with utter glee. "Severus."
McGonagall hissed, and he just waved a dismissive hand at her before resuming
his silent hilarity.

"Fuck." Lycelle mumbled to herself.
"Just�fuck." Then she got up without thinking and went to Hermione's
side, helping her pick up her books. Her sister could be a really
vindictive bitch when she wanted to be.

��..

Pansy left the library later that night and started her trek to
the common room. Three fifth years were with healkialking quietly about the
charms they'd just been going over, and every once in a while, they'd glance at
Pansy's engagement ring and smirk. Shaking her head at them, she almost didn't
see the figure streaking past her until they'd collided. ing ing the floor
hard, she shoved the person's weight off of her and rose to a crouching
position, turning to face whoever it was with her wand in hand. But as she took
in her friend's teary eyes and shaking shoulders, all thoughts of an attacker
left her mind.

"Daphne?" She asked, moving closer to the other girl.
"What's wrong?" The fifth years dropped down beside them, their faces
etched with worry as they studied their Housemate's uncharacteristic emotional
turmoil.

"N-Nothing. I�I just have to get out." Daphne stammered, and Pansy was starting to become truly
concerned. She'd never seen the sixth year so upset before. Especially not out in the open at Hogwarts.

"Alright. We'll go out to the gardens for a bit then,
hmm?" She offered, and Daphne looked up at her with wide, grateful eyes.

"Thanks, Pansy." She whispered, rising to her feet and
wrapping her arms tightly around herself. It was normal enough behavior for
most people, but not for

Something was obviously bothering her friend,
and she hated seeing her like that. Melody and Daphne had been her closest
friends besides Draco, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle and Anton for a very long time,
and they'd been her only female
friends until Virginia and Padma had come
along. And there was a difference.
She sure as hell wouldn't have been able to talk to the guys about 'witch stuff'. She
could just imagine the looks of horror on Draco and Blaise's faces if she were
to go up and say something like, 'I've
just been having the worst cramps, and I'm bleeding like a stuck pig. Do
you know any stronger absorption spells?'

Cackling internally at the very thought and deciding that it might
be worth it if only for the severe humor factor, she relished the cold air
hitting her face when they slid out of a little-used side door in a part of the
castle that wound towards the lake. Staying under the ancient stone walkway in
order to avoid the heavy, constant snowfall all around them, they twisted their
way down to the gardens. Everything looked supremely white, as everything was
almost completely covered in the bright flakes, and the moonlight shone silver
over the snow's surface. They stopped at the section where the walkway forked,
and Daphne looked at the gardens with trepidation.

"I�Oh, I'm so sorry, Pansy. I just�I don't think I can go in
there." She said, and Pansy stared. Seeing her look, Daphne rushed on.
"It's just that that's where�that's where she kissed me the first
time."

"What?" Pansy asked, thrown for a minute. Then a blurry image
swam up in her mind, an image of bright colors and primal music, and she saw
Melody, leaning over Daphne and� "Oh. Oh."

"Yeah." Daphne said, her voice
small and drifting.

"Where do you want to go then?" Pansy asked her,
realizing that something must have happened between the two. Had they been that
serious?

"Why don't we walk just inside the tree line?" Daphne
suggested after looking around for a moment. "If anything happens, someone
will hear us scream from there. And we're at Hogwarts, so it's safe,
right?"

"Hmm." Pansy made a thoughtful noise, looking towards
the forest. Draco and Blaise would kill them if they took a single step inside
those trees alone, she knew that, but Daphne really needed to talk, and she'd
always made time for Pansy's problems before. And they had their amulets, so�
"I guess. But only for a little bit. You know how they get."

"Yeah. Anton would butcher me if I kept you gone too
long." Daphne tried to smile, but it failed miserably.

Something flickered in the girl's eyes, but she turned and started
for the forest before Pansy could get a better look. Shrugging, Pansy followed
her, and they had to wade through the deep snow that time. Spells pushed the
majority of it out of their way, but they were still soaking wet by the time
they got to the trees. Performing quick drying spells, they took to the wide
path that Hagrid had trampled out and went ten or
fifteen feet into the thick trees. They started walking in a wide circle around
the edge of the forest, and Pansy stayed quiet, knowing the girl would speak
when she was ready. She didn't have that long of a wait.

"She used me." Daphne said after a few minutes, and her
voice broke slightly, her shoulders hunching even more. It hurt Pansy to see
the girl's self-esteem and pride so beaten, and she slid an arm around her
waist, keeping the other hand firmly clasped around her wand, deep in her
pocket.

"What are you talking about?" Pansy asked. "Melody?
She wouldn't�"

"She did!" Daphne exclaimed, and her tears finally came free,
streaking down her cheeks steadily.

"Okay." Pansy soothed, remembering why she'd never had too many female friends.

She had no idea how to deal with situations like this, and it made
her more than a bit uncomfortable. That's what she'd always liked about having
Slytherin friends. They didn't cry and blubber over every little fucking thing.
They were virtually untouchable when it came to emotions, but they, like
everyone else, had weaknesses. Theirs were love and ambition. Love because when
it took a hold of them, it did so wholly. Ambition because they would do anything to achieve their goals. And
now, looking down into her friend's eyes, she could see the desperate gleam of
the love that gripped her, and she felt a sudden surge of anger towards Melody.

"What happened?" Pansy asked, and Daphne sighed.

"I guess I should start from the beginning." She said,
and Pansy nodded. "You see, I've liked her for a long time. And I've never
liked wizards, but she does. For the longest time, I thought she was just
straight, since she'd never taken another witch to her bed like most of us had.
But then�Well, you know." She said, and Pansy did. She and Melody had both
had way too much wine that night.

"I didn't know you felt that way about her." Pansy said,
but she didn't feel guilty about it. After all, she hadn't known.

"I know. I never said anything to anyone about it."
Daphne said, a strained laugh forcing itself from between her lips. "But I
knew after that that she didn't feel the same way about female flesh as I do
about male. I knew that she wasn't as unreachable as I'd always thought. But in
a way, she still was, you know? So much better than me, her family so much
older�And so beautiful."

"You're not bad to look at yourself, you know." Pansy
reminded her, and Daphne smirked humorlessly.

"Perhaps. But I'm nothing next to her, or you for that matter, and you know
it." Daphne said, snapping a dead branch in half with her fingers as they
passed it. "So I watched her. I watched her for what seems like forever
when I think back on it. I watched her play the flesh games with all of you,
and tried to find the courage to say something."

Pansy gripped her wand tighter. The flesh games. She hadn't thought about that in ages. It was what
they fondly referred to their first four years at Hogwarts as. No one stayed a
virgin for very long in Slytherin, and the other Houses' tales of their orgies
weren't all that far off, to tell the truth. Slytherin was a haven for the dark
witches and wizards at school, and nothing was too taboo except for straight-up
incest. They were privileged children from privileged families, and they were
denied nothing in the ways of carnal pleasure. It had been a long-lasting
lesson as important as any of their others, for sex could be a weapon deadlier
than most when wielded correctly.

Yes, a Slytherin's first four years were anything but boring, and
neither were the three following them. Seduction
became a game, a game of the flesh, and they'd all been set on winning. Nearly
all of them had slept with each other at some point or another over the last
seven years, the game stopping only when you willed it to.
Summer breaks had always been interesting, traveling around and meeting the
other purebloods who played. Needless to say, more than
a few people had been disappointed when Draco and Blaise had shut themselves
off with Virginia. Daphne's voice
brought her out of her memories and back to the cold forest.

"I couldn't though." The girl was saying. "How
could I have told her? I could have requested a night with her, I know that,
but I didn't want a single night. I
wanted every night." She
declared, and Pansy sympathized.

It was much how she'd felt after that first night with Anton.
She'd been watching him for days, admiring the way his muscles moved under his
skin as he'd swam in the Greek sea, the way the water had made him look like a
god when he'd left it, the moonlight framing his form against the white sand.
That week had been the first time she'd ever felt jealous of anyone in his bed,
and it had had to be Draco and Blaise that he'd fallen onto silk sheets with,
all three wasted out of their minds and too forgetful to perform silencing
spells. It was that time, walking in and seeing them entangled and moaning, that she'd realized she really did love him.

She hadn't been angry or anything, as they'd done the same thing
numerous times before, and hadn't been doing anything wrong, but it had
definitely been an eye-opener. She knew that Draco and Blaise had known
something was up the next morning, when she'd taken one look at their hooded
eyes and crooked clothes before bolting. Determined to get over it, two nights
later had found her in Anton's bed,
but it had had the reverse effect. His hands had seemed branded into her skin
after that, and his face seemed to haunt her every time she closed her eyes. So
yes, she knew why Daphne wouldn't have wanted that, why she would have wanted
more.

"I understand." Was all that she said, though, and
Daphne nodded.

"I know you do. That's why I'm glad you're with me now."
She respon and and Pansy graced her with a small smile. "But anyway,
somehow, my wish came true. We went to the gardens one night
last September, right after school had started.
And she kissed me."

"You must have been thrilled." Pansy remarked, idly
watching a bowtruckle wave its branchy arms at them
threateningly as they passed its tree.

"Of course I was." Daphne said, the smallest of smiles
twisting her lips. "It was, as stupid as this sounds, a dream come true.
We've been seeing each other ever since."

"Why didn't you ever tell any of us?" Pansy asked,
slightly confused.

"I don't know. It never really came up." Daphne replied.
"Draco and Blaise knew, of course. They know everything that goes on within
the walls of our House. They never said anything, though, and we were�well, I thought we were too happy to really think about saying anything. I should have known
everything was too perfect to last."

"So, what happened? Did you split up?"

"Haven't really had time to."
The girl said sardonically, seemingly unable to meet Pansy's eyes. "She
was in bed with Padma."

"What!?"
Pansy half-yelped, coming to an abrupt stop and staring wide-eyed at her
friend.

"You heard me." Daphne mumbled, kicking a mound of snow
with her boot. "It was so fucked
up, Pansy. She was just lying there with Padma, and Fred and George were taking
her robes off, and�"

"What!?"
Pansy echoed herself, at a complete loss.

She'd thought that Padma liked the twins, and the twins Padma, but
she'd never thought they would take a forth if they ever did get together. It
just didn't make any sense. They weren't Slytherins after all, and although the
Patils still practiced the old ways, the Ravenclaws
were too stuffy for casual sex. And the twins�Well, she wouldn't put it past them. They were known to be a bit
promiscuous themselves, but they were male Gryffindors, so no one had cared.
Just showed how fucked up the other Houses were, in her opinion. But she just couldn't
see them doing that with Padma and
Melody. She just couldn't.

Twins like they were typically shared one lover, although they in
no way messed around with one another, but she just couldn't see them sharing
Padma with anyone if they ever managed to snag her, which she didn't think they
had done yet. Padma would have told her and Virginia, at the very least. And
Padma was too�too deep for something
that wouldn't consume her from head to foot. She felt too much, too strongly,
for her to risk herself in such a way for something like a bit of fun between
the sheets. But here was Daphne, telling her different, and why shouldn't she
believe her? As far as she knew, the girl had never lied to her. But�

"Maybe it was something else." Pansy finally said.
"Maybe it wasn't what it looked like." Daphne snorted.
p>

"Oh, come on, Pansy." She said hopelessly. "What
are the chances of that? And if it had been you who'd seen them with, say,
Anton�" She didn't need to say anymore. Except that
Pansy would have barged in and demanded an explanation.

"Alright. Say it was
what it looked like, I mean what�" She stopped suddenly, becoming aware of
her surroundings for the first time in a long time. Fuck, she thought absently, drawing her wand from her pocket and
grabbing Daphne's arm. How had they gotten so far into the forest? How had she
not noticed? A deep sense of alarm settled within her, and she started dragging
Daphne back towards the castle. The other girl dug in her heels and yanked
back, staring at Pansy strangely.

"What are you doing?"
She asked, rubbing her arm.

"Look around." Pansy snapped, annoyed that they'd both
gotten so carried away that their attention had lapsed enough to get them much
farther from the castle than was really safe. Much farther.

Straining her senses, all it took was a heavy footfall to have her
running, dragging the girl behind her once again. She knew she'd made the right
choice when the footsteps matched their pace, and she picked out at least three
other sets moving to flank them. So
stupid, she berated herself, and turned her wand skyward, speaking a spell
quy bey before tapping her amulet with it. The chain and pendant began glowing,
and she was soon surrounded by a mixed shield, all four elements melded into it
and clinging to her like a second skin. Power slammed into her flesh and gave
her legs new speed, and she could feel a wall of black fury start moving
towards them from the castle.

lasslass=MsoNormal>

They were less than forty yards from the forest's edge when she
felt another five moving at them from the front. Cursing, she veered south,
ignoring the branches that slapped her in the face and trying to make sure that
sidn'idn't lose her grip on Daphne. A curse flew past her head and she turned
again, having no choice but to go deeper into the forest once more. Digging
through her memory madly, she tried to decide where the closest clearing that
Draco and Blaise had warded was. There were several spread throughout the
forest, and she knew that if she could get to one, they would be safe. But then
Daphne tripped.

"Ow!" The girl shrieked as her
leg twisted underneath her, they both hit the ground hard for a second time
that night, and Pansy felt her necklace get ripped off on a low root that was
sticking up out of the ground.

The first bit of fear shot through her, as she knew that fall had
just cost them dearly, not to mention that her amulet was gone, leaving her
feeling naked and exposed. There was no point in trying to run again. She could
hear them encircle her and Daphne, could hear them moving closer and closer.
Looking up slowly, her grip on her wand became nearly tight enough to break it.
Death Eaters. Death Eaters on Hogwarts' grounds. It wasn't as safe as they'd
thought after all. All that ran through her head as they surrounded them was, I should have
listened to Draco and Blaise. I should have listened to Anton. Thinking of
the latter made her chest constrict, and she pushed distracting thoughts of him
away.

"Excellent." One of the Death Eaters said victoriously
as the black-robed, white-masked circle closed around them. Pansy lifted her
chin and glared at them defiantly.

"How dare
you." She hissed, and the man in front actually faltered. "My father
will have your head for this!"

"Your father will do nothing if our Lord wills it." The
man spat. "He follows orders just like the rest of us, be he a
high-and-mighty first circler, or not."

"You are weak." She said, twisting her lips into a
disgusted sneer. "Pure, and yet kne kneel before one whose blood is
tainted and diluted. I would pity you if the emotion weren't so fake."

&quold old words, girl." He said,
twirling his wand between his fingers, not seeing her own, which was once more
buried in her pocket. "Too bold, perhaps."

"I have nothing to fear from you." She said calmly.
"Even if your pathetic Lord wishes to see my blood run, it will not be a
denizen of the second circle who gets the honor."

"Whatever." He mumbled, and pulled a battered quill from
his pocket. Recognition swamped her, and she felt the weeks fall away until she
was standing in a doorway, staring at Marcus Flint, who'd had a quill almost
identical to theirs. Understanding suddenly, she mentally reeled. They have a way into the castle's wards.
Gods help us all.

"She's just trying to stall." Another Death Eater said,
"We need to get out of here. Now."

"Why so anxious? It's just a girl." A third said, and
the second man turned on him.

"You want to tell Bella that?" He questioned sharply,
and the other shook his head, shutting up quickly. "And can't you feel it? They're coming. We have to go!"

"Fine!" The first exclaimed, and Pansy felt like
screaming.

No! Not when she could
feel the crest of dark power rolling closer and closer. She needed a minute,
just a minute. Draco and Blaise moved swiftly, they didn't need long. But it
didn't look as if she were going to get it. The man was already activating the portkey, so Pansy did the only thing that she could, and
preformed a quick spell that the two had taught them all a while ago. She knew
there was no way to avoid being taken, and she couldn't fight them all, not
while they were so alert. That left one choice besides killing herself, and
things weren't that bad yet. Mumbling under her breath, she felt the spell
taking hold and her words died out, her wand burning hotly in her hand, searing
her flesh.

But she held on until the Death Eater grabbed her and she felt
them begin to disintegrate. The twang of a far-off bowstring sounded behind her,
seconds before a silver arrow embedded itself in the Death Eater's chest,
exploding as soon as it had buried itself inside him and covering her face in
splattered blood. But it was too late, and she only had time to throw her wand
out and to the ground. She heard it start screaming, and knew a flash of
success, since that meant her spell had worked. It was complicated dark magick,
and the fact she could do it at all proved that she was a powerful witch,
especially being so young.

Then the world was fading away and she was falling, soaring
through a sea of nothing until she, once again, hit the ground hard enough to
bruise. The Death Eater's weight crashed down on top of her, and she would have
grd had had she been able. More warm blood was seeping into her robes and hair,
and she shoved him off of her roughly, grabbing his wand in the process and
praying it would work for her. Not thinking, knowing the others would be
disoriented as well after the trip, she turned and shot the Killing Curse
without any remorse or even any words, watching blankly as the Death Eater fell
in a heap of cheap black robes. Fourth circle filth.

The next died before he knew what was happening, and she dodged
the others' curses, looking around quickly. They were in a plain, stone storage
room, not too small and not too large, and there was only one exit. Daphne was
getting to her feet and staring at Pansy fearfully, and she wanted to smack the
girl. Why doesn't she draw her wand
already? Why is she staring at me as if I'm some bloodthirsty demon? Not
having time to worry about it, she ducked behind a stack of wooden boxes that
looked as if they'd held animals�or people. Another Death Eater fell, and she
thought that she might actually be able to find that portkey
and escape.

Until Voldemort walked into the room.

"Cease this at once and your sister won't become the new
Parkinson heir. And I would hate for that to happen. You must be quite powerful
to cast that curse without even speaking the words of it." He said
majestically, and she could do nothing but stare.

He was�He was beautiful.
Nothing at all like he'd been the last time that she'd seen him. His skin
wasn't scaly any longeut sut smooth and pale, nearly translucent. The odd rot
that had been spreading over his entire body a year ago was gone, and he was no
longer bald. Hair barely three shades lighter than Blaise's
fell to his hips and was pulled back into a long ponytail. His eyes were
still red and slanted, and they still were still glowing with a sick, perverted
light, but his face was that of what it had once been, before all of the spells
and transformations. It was the face that she'd seen in
pictures; it was the face of a young, healthy Tom Riddle.

He walked over to her slowly, taking the wizard's wand from her hand
and leading her out from behind the boxes by it. She recoiled at tou touch. He
felt clammy, dead. Tainted, her brain
whispered, and a shudder ran through her. She pulled away from him immediately,
but he didn't hurt her for it as she'd been expecting. He just smiled. A
glorious, angelic smile that made her feel slightly
ill. He raised an eyebrow, obviously waiting for her to say something. She
didn't say anything. Couldn't say
anything. And wouldn't have anyway. His beauty would not trick her. She'd grown
up her entire life with two more beautiful than even he was now.

"Cat got your tongue?" He asked,
a mocking lilt in his voice that let her know that he knew of her Animagus
form.

Still, she did not speak, nor so much as move her lips.

"Come now, Pansy." He said, and her name coming off of
his forked tongue sounded wrong, foul, even as his voice stayed sweet to the
ears. "Will you not even greet me?"

Silence. His gaze turned suspicious and cold in the blink of an
eye.

"Why won't you speak?" He demanded, and when she said
nothing again, he backhanded her hard enough to send her to the floor for the forth bloody time that night. Starting to get seriously
irked about being knocked down so many times, she tried to squelch her rising
terror as the knowledge of being all alone (but for Daphne) in the Dark Lord's
fortress became clearer and more real by the second. The only thing that
soothed her was the knowledge that her spell had worked. He must have seen the
flash of triumph in her eyes, as his own narrowed dangerously.

"You would not have been so foolish." He said, as if he
knew exactly what she'd done. "Or would you? That spell could just as
easily of killed you as worked, you know."

She gave the barest of nods.

"Stupid, stupid girl." He said, before turning and Petrifying her.

A levitating spell had her floating behind him, and she never got
to see what they did to Daphne as she was maneuvered away. She simply heard the
girl scream. And she knew what she was about to undergo. She knew that one rarely
survived a torture session with the Dark Lord. She knew that she would be
unrecognizable within hours, and she knew that she would be lucky to even be breathing by then. She knew that
there were some things that were done solely to witches. She knew that there were some things from which you never recovered.
She'd known all of that before she'd cast the spell on her wand. The spell that
had stolen her voice and sentenced her to this fate. But she'd had no other
choice. She would not betray her friends.

Voldemort would not get one word from Pansy Ad�le
Parkinson's lips.

��

Blaise tried not to drop dead from sheer boredom as he listened to
Professor Trelawney ramble on and on and on�Positive that he was about to snap
and hex her lips shut, he leaned up against the wall and tried to pretend that
he was somewhere else. Why, why, did
Severus always make him bring the bitch her batch of Aetherius
Draught? Probably some sick sort of
revenge, he concluded almost ten minutes later when she was still fucking talking about crystals and
tealeaves and a bunch of other shit that people who couldn't walk freely in
Reverie needed. As that didn't in the least concern him, he couldn't have cared
any less.

'Oh, come on, love. It can't
be that bad.' He heard Virginia call through the
Marks, and he smirked.

'You haven't had to deal
with this shit, so I don't want to hear it.' He replied, while Trelawney
stayed oblivious.

'Oooh, testy, isn't he?' Draco teased, and Virginia's lyrical laughter
trickled through him like a refreshing sip of�

"Blaise? Are you listening?" Trelawney questioned, and
Blaise just stopped himself from groaning.

"Yes, Professor." He intoned blandly, and she smiled.

"Good. Now, as I was saying, you never should have dropped my
class. I could teach you so much,
dear. I'm sure you could learn to tap into the visions with a lot of practice,
and I would be an excellent tutor. As you know, I am�"

'Help.'

'Oh gods, would you listen
to that?' Virginia marveled. 'Blaise Zabini, Master ir air and Lightening,
Bane of the Bane, is asking us mere little people for help. Surely this should
be marked as a major historical event.'

'I'm sure you do, love.
She's looking at you funny again.'

"What, Professor? I'm afraid I missed that last part."
He said, giving her a charming smile. She returned it immediately, her doubts
melting away, and he drew on the last of his patience as she started blabbering
again, which wasn't very much to begin with.

'It's really too bad that
you're stuck there.' Virginia continued, her tone
becoming low and husky. 'Draco got hot,
for some strange reason, and has
seemed to decide that clothes are redundant.'

'It's just that they're so stifling, mon
�me.' Draco purred, his desire winding down their link, and it was a moan that Blaise was restraining that time.

'They really are.' Virginia insisted, playful and
sinful. 'Even I'm hot. Ohhh, that's better. Silk feels
positively delicious when it slides off, doesn't it, cher un?'

'I really, really hate you both.'

'That's fine.' Draco murmured, his voice chilly and tempting. 'But I'd really, really prefer it if you were fucking instead of
bitching.'

'I second that notion.' Virginia agreed, her voice sending
fiery coils throughout his form. 'So,
which one of us will you take first, hmm? We need you, mon aim�.'

Right. Fuck his patience and fuck Trelawney.

"That's nice, Professor." He said, cutting her off in
mid-sentence smoothly and with grace that a courtier would die for. "But I really have to be going. Pressing issues,
you know."

"Oh. Oh, that's too bad, dear." She said, looking
putout, reaching out to clasp his shoulder. "Well, come by soon and�Stop her." Her voice turned gravely
and harsh as soon as her hand met his body.

"Excuse me?" He asked, stepping back and nearly breaking
their contact. But he stopped when she continued. He knew the voice of
prophecy. He had spoken with it himself.

"When she escapes, when
all in the Dark Hall are dead, you must stop her. Stop her or it will mean her
death." Trelawney continued, and he stared at her. No fucking way. She
really did have at least a bit of the
Sight that her line had been famous for. She slumped
when she was done and looked around blearily. "Wha�Oh,
are you still here?"

"No. I am very, very gone." He said, and left without
another word. What the fuck had she meant by all of that? Stop who?

'What the hell was that all about?' Draco demanded,

He felt his lovers' silent agreement, and called out to Padma and
the twins as he broke open the door to one of the closest classrooms. They
responded immediately, already on the way to the forest themselves as their own
rings, which were tuned into every amulet that they'd made, had alerted them.
He didn't even bother to break the glass in the window that was on the b wal wall, just covered his face as he leapt through it. Landing on his feet lightly
in the snow, he was running again before he'd even really stopped. He met Draco
and Virginia when he was halfway to the tree line, and they followed the tugs
in their rings.

Rage had engulfed him totally by then, and it gave him a calm,
eagle eye perception of everything around him. Time almost seemed to slow, even
as he moved faster and faster. He sensed the first Death eater hiding behind a
tree a little ways ahead, and called in his new bow without thinking. A silver
arrow was nocked and flying a second later, and the
Death Eater never even saw his approaching death before it was upon him. Blaise
had been waiting for an opportunity to try his new weapon out. What a
satisfying way to go about it. The next died just as quickly, and he counted
off the ones that fell to the ones that he could still sense.

His lovers left a bloody path behind them as well, nof tof them
ever slowing. They felt at least twenty Death Eaters in the woods, and seven
were already dead. They could also feel Pansy and Daphne, and knew they were
close. Then they felt a spell activating; a transporting
spell. Knowing that their time was up, Blaise jumped up onto a dead, fallen
tree and took aim. He could just see the circle of Death Eaters, could just see
the ones holding Pansy and Daphne through the snow-heavy branches of the trees.
They were over three hundred yards away, much too far for an ordinary shot. But
then again, it wasn't an ordinary bow in his hands, and he wasn't an ordinary
archer.

Nocking two arrows at once that time, he took a deep
breath and let them fly. Both found their targets dead on, an arrow embedding
itself in each wizard's chest, but it was still too late, and many of them
disappeared. But not all. No, not all. Images of Pansy ran through his mind as
he closed the distance between himself and those that were left, and he felt
his fury grow ever stronger. Images of her smile, her laugh, her selfless sense
of honor. Images of her as a child, as an adolescent, as the strong, proud
witch she was becoming. Images of her taking care of them, healing them, of
never, ever, leaving them or betraying their trust in any way.

She was the sister neither of them had ever had and their best
friend's beloved. She was dark and cruel and lethal,
and she'd used every one of those traits to defend them countless times. And
now, now they had taken her, stolen her. Her wand was falling to the ground,
and when it began screaming, he felt his anger solidify into a charged,
destructive force that waited for his slightest command. His first shot of
lightning hit one of the standing Death Eaters in the face, and he watched
pitilessly as fire ate another and ice sliced a third into fine pieces. A few
tried to run, but they were knocked, or, more technically, pulled, to the ground by an unseen force.

An unseen force named Padma who seemed to be getting the hang of
the whole gravity thing. Thankful for her assistance even though it wasn't
direly needed, he relished the slow frying of another, relished watching his
energy turn him into a smoking husk. Pansy's screams that were coming from the
wand only drove him on until the last was dead, which didn't take nearly as
long as he would have liked for it to. Finally slowing and stopping, he slung
his bow over one shoulder next to his quiver and glanced around. His lovers
were a few feet from him, bodies littering the ground around them, and he went
to their side.

Padma and the twins were standing a little ways off, and a Death
Eater lay dead at each twin's feet, their necks broken. They were staring at
the shrieking wand, their eyes filled with sorrow, and he felt like screaming
himself. He hadn't really expected anything else from her, but the fact that
she'd really risked herself so badly to do the spell shook him. She'd always
been loyal, but this�It was a spell that they'd taught them over a year ago in
case any of them were ever taken. They'd only taught the older Slytherins, as
their younger Housemates never really knew that much of true importance. But
Pansy knew almost everything.

He could see why the Dark Lord would want her, and he was sure that
Pansy had seen it too. Why else would she have taken such a chance for such a
spell? It could have easily killed her, but she'd thought the reason for her
actions worth it. The spell had stolen her voice from her and put it in her
wand. It had taken a piece of her, of the sadness and rage and despair that
she'd been feeling at the time, and now it shrieked for her with the voice she
could no longer use. There was only a small chance that they would be able to
return her voice to her if they ever got her back. Which they would. If he had
to sneak into Nor Gorgun himself, they would get her
back.

Something glimmered in the filtered moonlight and went to it,
bending and picking it up. Pansy's amulet. How had she lost it? They could not
have laid a finger on her had she still been wearing it. Glancing around, he
saw Daphne's not too far from where he'd found hers, and snatched it up as
well. His anger was still pounding hotly, and he could not stop thinking of the two girls and what they would be facing. They had to get
them out of there. They couldn't leave them in the clutches of that lunatic. He
felt Virginia and Draco move up
behind him, felt their own turmoil and loss. Virginia looked as if she were about to cry, and hers and Draco's rage matched his.

"Oh, Pansy�" Virginia murmured, her hands
clenching and unclenching repeatedly. "No, no, not Pansy�"

"Goddamnit!" Draco exploded,
his fist slamming into the nearest tree and coating it in an instant layer of
ice. Blaise intertwined their fingers without giving it so much as a conscious
thought, while pulling Virginia against his other
side as the first of her tears fell.

"We have to go get her." She said, her voice becoming
just a bit hysterical. Padma and the twins moved towards them, and Padma
wrapped her arms around Virginia immediately while
Fred and George each wrapped an arm around Draco and Blaise's waists, laying
their heads on their shoulders and not speaking a word, just giving their
silent support and acceptance of whatever was decided. Their eyes were dark,
their crimson hair, which was beginning to become a deeper red like their
sister's day by day, falling over the Slytherins' black
robes vibrantly, and they were like supporting stones; comfortable, familiar,
steady, strong.

"Oh fuck." Blaise and his lovers suddenly intoned as
one, sensing the two people nearing them that were the last that needed to be
there.

"Should we�" Fred started.

"Stop them?" George finished for him, and they slowly shook
their heads. There was no way to keep this from them. And they had a right to
know.

"Where is she?" The voice of one of their best friend's
cut through the trees a second before he did, and they turned revenge-seeking gazes on him and the girl at his heels.

"Gone." Draco said after a long moment, and Anton's
disbelieving eyes followed the soul-splitting screams to their source.

A familiar, slender length of wood that he had seen to many times
not to recognize. A length of wood that was screaming in a way that he couldn't
fail to understand. His eyes turned dead and cold before he screamed, falling to his knees, his fingers clawing into the
soil as primal pain ripped at his core. Melody moved for him before he turned
and snarled at her, no recognition in those tormented hazel eyes, and she slid
backwards, holding her hands up to show that she was unarmed. Her own eyes were
brimming with tears as she watched him completely dissemble right in front of
them, forgetting his arrogance and haughtiness in the face of such a loss.

"D-Daphne�?" Melody choked out as if she already knew
the answer, and their hesitant nods had her tears spilling over. "She�she
ran from me earlier. She s-saw us starting a cleansing r-ritual and th-thought�"

"Shh." Virginia crooned, at her side
in the blink of an eye, her own pain forgotten in the face of her friend's. Draco and Blaise were already moving for Anton,
and they stopped a foot or so away before calling his name softly. He turned
those eyes on him, eyes that were slowly morphing from dead to deadly.
Something flickered in them when he saw them, and that was all
of the acceptance they needed before kneeling beside him and drawing him
close.

"Ne tomber
pas en d�sespoir." Draco soothed, tucking a lock
of hair behind Anton's ear. "On va annihiler cette edifice avant qu'on lui perde." ((Do not
despair. We will rip the place apart stone by stone to find them.))

If they're even still
alive. The
unspoken thought ran through them all, but no one spoke it aloud, not yet.

"Oui." Blaise agreed, lifting Anton's chin with his
fingers and meeting those disturbing eyes. "On ench�sserait
notre rage sur leurs corps, et le sang coulerait
en flaques avant qu'on serait finit."
His relief and gratitude were almost as palpable as his fury.

"What spell is this?" Fred whispered from their side,
his eyes locked on the wailing wand. Blaise opened his mouth to reply, but
Anton beat him to it, his words full of grief and pain.

"Laurus per Silentium."
He said mechanically, moving forward and grabbing Pansy's wand. "Victory
by Silence. An old Roman spell that warriors used when they would rather die
for being unable to give away any information than forsake their gods and their
people. It st the their voice, puts it in whatever object they are currently
holding. So now, her wand screams for her since she no longer can. It screams
with the voice of a fallen witch. It screams with the voice of my love."an>

��..

(sniffles)�Anyway, please, please,
please, please review! I posted this chapter two days early again just for you guys!
- 23
- 24
- 25
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

Unexpected