War & Peace: HP Style

Chapter 11 - Blurry


Everyone is changing
There's no one left that's real
So make up your own ending
And let me know just how you feel
'Cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl

-Blurry, Puddle of Mudd

Wednesday, November 3rd
Early Evening, Malfoy Manor


Theodore Nott and Gregory Goyle stood stock still in front of a very displeased, very angry Dark Lord. It hadn’t taken long for him hear of their expulsion from Hogwarts. It had taken even less time for him to request their presence.

“You disappoint me,” he hissed. “With you no longer at Hogwarts I must now rely on the Parkinson girl, and those insipid Greengrass chits to get things done.” He stood in front of them, his robes tattered and worn, his eyes strangely calm. Patches of dirt stood out among the pasty white of his skin, and the stench that radiated off of him would have brought lesser beings to their knees.

“My Lord, I am sorry. However, we did force her to drink the potion like you asked.” Theo spoke up. Voldemort moved to stand so that he was eye to eye with the younger Nott.

“Did I give you permission to speak?” Theo shook his head, afraid to breathe for fear of gagging over the smell. “Never, never interrupt me when I am speaking! Fools, you almost ruined everything with your selfishness. For that you both will be punished.” As he spoke his eyes had hardened. He would not go easy on them, though they were still the most promising Death Eaters of the younger generation.

“Mulciber, bring them to the dungeons. Refresh their memories on how we treat those who screw up our plans.” Nott and Goyle swallowed loudly. Mulciber was well known for his sadistic streak, and the pleasure he got out of giving others pain.

“Dismissed.” The boys quietly followed the older Death Eater, as he cackled and rubbed his hands in glee. The Dark Lord had not given him anyone to torture in a while, and he was determined to enjoy it.

Voldemort paced on the dais. He was thinking of what to do next when Lucius Malfoy entering the room caught his attention.

“Malfoy!” He shouted, his voice raspy with age. “Where is your traitor son? He should have been brought in front of me long before now.”

“I…Yes, My Lord, …” Lucius thought hard about what he should say. Truth was ever since his stint in Azkaban he wasn’t sure he was on the right side anymore. As for Draco, he was suddenly glad his son had not yet taken the Dark Mark.

“Bring him to me soon, Malfoy, else I’ll question your loyalty.” He growled in Lucius’ direction.

Lucius opened his mouth to reply in the affirmative, but the words were stuck in his throat. Unfortunately, Narcissa chose that moment to enter the Hall and answer Voldemort’s question.

“My Lord. So sorry I was delayed. Dear Bellatrix was showing me the cleverest new spell! Of course Draco will be here. I’ll see to it myself.” She tossed a winning smile in Voldemort’s direction and he grunted in response.

“You should thank your wife, Lucius.” He hissed. “She seems to understand better than you what is required to serve me and has therefore saved you from my wrath…this time.

“Snape! Where are you?” Voldemort had a new mission for his most trusted servant. The final nail in the Mudblood’s proverbial coffin. Lucius was ignored at the moment. A fact that he noted and was relieved to see happen.

“Here, My Lord.” Severus strode forward, all trace of emotion wiped off his face. It disgusted him to bow and scrape at the feet of an idiot half-blood with delusions of grandeur. All he wanted was to work in his labs with no interruptions. Anything was better than the double life he led now.

“Yes, yes. There is one more thing that must be done to strip Potter’s Mudblood completely of her magic. You must travel to Wales to procure extract of Snowdonia Hawkweed. Once that is complete I will give you the potion recipe that she must drink. I expect that should not be a problem for you?”

Though it was posed as a question, Severus knew it was a statement, and one he would do well to agree with. “Of course, My Lord, I shall make arrangements immediately.”

“Very well. Dismissed. Malfoy, get out of my sight and do not return without your boy.” Together both Severus and Lucius exited the hall, and proceeded to the front entrance of the manor.

Lucius paused and placed a hand on Snape’s arm to prevent him from leaving. He never was sure exactly where Severus’ true allegiances lay; he was a master of keeping his feelings in check. He only hoped he was making the right choice by asking the Hogwarts professor for his help with Draco.

Snape raised a questioning eyebrow in response to Lucius.

“Draco…” Lucius hesitated, unsure of the best way to phrase his request.

“He needs to be here, Lucius. There is no getting around it. However, as his godfather, I will be sure to be here with him when he does. I have a feeling it won’t be easy. Between the two of us and our working knowledge of the Dark Lord and the others we should be able to keep him relatively safe. That’s all that can be said here.”

Lucius nodded his thanks. He knew that he might appear weak to Voldemort and the other Death Eaters but Azkaban had definitely made him realize that all his idiotic Pureblood righteousness was going to get his child imprisoned or worse, murdered.


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Severus floo’d directly into Dumbledore’s office after the meeting with the Dark Lord. He couldn’t stomach remaining at Malfoy Manor any longer than necessary, and watching Narcissa debase herself with some of the more unstable Death Eaters was a sight he had no wish to see.

His thoughts were centered on Draco and how to protect him from the many and varied things that could happen while in the presence of the Dark Lord. Could the boy handle it? Yes, Severus was well aware that something was brewing between the Granger bint and Draco, but would it be enough to sustain his godson through the dark times that lay ahead?

“Ah, Severus, come join an old man by the fire.” Dumbledore’s voice drifted over to the austere man from the opposite side of the room. In front of a second large fireplace Hogwart’s Headmaster was currently seated in one of two wingback chairs in between which sat a table with a bottle of dark liquid and two snifters. Snape moved to seat himself in the other and nodded his thanks as Dumbledore poured him two fingers of brandy.

Both men sat in silence, their thoughts similar in that they wondered what would, could, or should happen next. There were more questions than answers, Dumbledore questioning how to keep the students in his care safe, Severus wondering how in the hell he was going to save the life of the most insufferable know-it-all he’d ever had the displeasure of teaching. He frowned thinking of the new mission the Dark Lord had entrusted him with. Snowdonia Hawkweed was extremely rare and in some cases deadly. He had already stripped the girl of her magic, the only thing left was to kill her. Severus could handle many things, had been through many things, but the death of a child was not something he wanted or needed on his conscience.

“What news do you have tonight, Severus?”

“Young Nott and Goyle have been ‘punished’ for their part in almost ruining the Dark Lord’s plans, Lucius has been requested to bring Draco, and I have been charged with procuring Snowdonia Hawkweed for the last part of Miss Granger’s downfall.” The words were spoken with a sneer, his dislike for the Dark Lord showing through.

Dumbledore nodded at his words but refrained from speaking. For the first time he wondered if keeping things from Harry and Hermione had been the right decision. Protecting them had been his intent, but now he wondered if more harm than good had been done.

“In regards to Miss Granger, I have requested for Master Li Duyi to instruct her in all things elemental. Though she cannot produce the magic she must be taught theory.”

Severus nodded, finished his drink and stood to leave the Headmaster’s office. “I may have a way to save Ms. Granger, I’ll let you know when I return from Wales.”


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Harry watched as all the members of Dumbledore’s Army gathered inside the Room of Requirement. Last to enter was his girlfriend, Luna Lovegood and a feeling of rightness settled over him when he saw her smile in his direction. They had yet to announce their relationship but he had a feeling everyone would know before the night was out. The last week with her had been amazing, and it wasn’t just in the physical sense. Luna was…Luna and Merlin, he wanted badly to keep her safe.

Sighing, he went to stand on the raised dais in the center of the room and held up his hands for everyone to quiet down. Looking at him one would see a determined, confident, young man who was ready to stand up for the side of right.

“Listen up, you lot. It’s time to start making plans. Only a select few of us will not be returning after the Christmas holidays. I need the rest of you here to be my eyes and ears. Hermione will be setting up a way to communicate with us while we are gone. Malfoy, Zabini, and Ron will be going.” Hermione’s head snapped up at Harry’s last words. No one seemed to have picked up on the fact that Hermione was not going with them. Her eyes narrowed as she felt her heart constrict in her chest. They couldn’t go without her!

She tried to move, to step back from the crowd but two hands on her shoulders kept her in place. Tilting her head she looked up into the steel gray eyes of Draco. Leaning down he whispered into her ear, “Hold your temper until after the meeting, and let him explain to you in private.”

She shrugged her shoulders in an effort to remove his hands, but he squeezed gently before he let her go. Hermione stalked over to the far corner, wanting a few moments alone. Her thoughts swirled inside her mind, and she felt tears well up in her eyes with each passing one.

She had been left out of something that she had been directly in the middle of since First Year. Why? Because she could not magically defend herself, she knew that. But the knowing didn’t take away the sting of reality. Harry was right, of course. The logical side of her agreed with his decision and had the situation been reversed she would have made the same one. That wasn’t what was truly bothering her.

Draco was going in her place. Draco was leaving her. One lone tear spilled over and made its way slowly down her cheek. She had gotten way too used to his company. Well, she thought, straightening her spine and wiping away the errant teardrop, she would just have to rely on the one person who never let her down. Herself. No more relying on anyone else. And she would show Harry and Ron and Draco that she could and would be able to handle herself just fine without them. But, she had wanted so much to be there, to help in any and every way possible. Life just wasn’t fair.

Hermione was so caught up in her thoughts she had failed to notice Luna approach her. “Hermione, are you ok?”

“Oh, Luna. I’m fine. Just some dust in my eyes that all.” She tried to wave off Luna’s concern, not ready to have the attention of the rest of the room focused on her.

“Well, I heard what Harry said, and what he didn’t say. It’s a bit like Krackle Birds, they never come out and say exactly what’s what. Always tweeting about in riddles, they are. My father once wrote an article….” Catching a glimpse of Hermione’s face, Luna refocused her thoughts.

“I think you shouldn’t worry so much about Draco. His eyes only ever seem to be on you.” Hermione spluttered at Luna’s casually spoken words.

“What? I…no…no. There’s nothing going on there. He’s just been helping me through a rough time, that’s all.” Luna bit her lip to avoid grinning. She could tell which way the wind was blowing even if no one else could yet.

“It’s alright, Mione. Harry and I feel the same way about each other.” The blonde witch watched Hermione’s mouth form a small ‘o’.

“You and Harry? Why hasn’t he said anything?” Hermione was a bit stung that her best friend hadn’t told her of this latest development in his life, but a little voice inside reminded her that she hadn’t been so forthcoming about her own situation recently either.

“Just wanting to keep something for himself, I imagine, but that is neither here, nor there. Draco is waiting by the door to escort you back to your dorm. Perhaps you should let him, and share some hot chocolate as well. I find chocolate extremely helpful when I am upset, Harry too, for that matter, but well…,” seeing the blush on Hermione’s cheeks gave Luna pause, “You go on, Hermione, get some rest.”

Luna watched as Draco took Hermione’s hand in his and led her out of the Room of Requirement. Something was brewing alright, and she was going to do all she could to make sure it turned out right.

For Dreamweaver, HarryGinny4Eva, and anyone else still following this story. Thank you! This story is so complex that sometimes I fear I have bitten off more than I can chew. I am not giving up on it though and hopefully there will not be such a long time between updates! Your support means everything! =)