The Doll House

CHAPTER 11: The March into Battle











Draco stood by the small dining table and stared at the supplies so carefully laid out across the shiny wooden surface. Jars and small corked bottles of potions and powder were lined up in neat little rows. Some of them were illegal and had required certain connections to procure. He supposed that she was rejoicing in his family’s seedier side in that moment as she packed the precious, and ridiculously expensive, materials into her satchel.







“Your servants are incredibly proficient,” she said as she stared into a jar of crushed dogwood blossoms that had been removed from the tree of Iscariot. Or so the demented little creature selling it had claimed. It really didn’t matter if it were true, dogwood was poisonous to demons, it didn’t really matter what tree it came from.







“They have to be, my father has a low tolerance for servants in general, so you can just imagine what he is like with those who perform poorly. He has no tolerance for failure which is why I am such a disappointment to him,” he said tersely.







“You are not a failure, Draco,” she said softly lifting her head up from her chore to give him a soft smile. “I never thought I would say this, but you are rather….sweet.”







“Sweet? You think me sweet? Oh, how my father would writhe in pain at hearing those words out of your mouth,” he laughed at the mental image. Hermione put the remaining supplies into her bag and closed the flap before walking towards him, a rosary dangling from her fingertips.







“This was blessed by the pope himself, I need you to wear it,” she said as she wrapped it around his wrist a few times. “And I do think you are very sweet, Draco,” she whispered as she kissed the corner of his mouth softly.







“From your lips to father’s ear,” he said lightly, returning her smile.







“I tell you what,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned into him. “When we finish this, I promise that the next time I see your father I will walk up to him and tell him, in vivid raunchy detail, everything I have done with and to you during this little adventure.”







“Oh, please swear to it, I BEG you to swear that you will,” he said with a grin that she could describe only as sadistically evil.







“I solemnly swear to it,” she said. She sucked in her breath sharply when he hugged her tightly to him for a few moments, his face tucked into the side of her neck. She closed her eyes and reveled in his strength, absorbing the comfort he sought to offer. “Scared?” she asked as he released his hold and looked down at her.







“Shitless,” he replied honestly, his cheeks reddening slightly with embarrassment at his cowardice.





“Me too,” she said honestly. “Your servants have everything in place?”







“Everything is in place,” he said.







“Just in case…” she paused for a moment to chew on her bottom lip as she stared up at him. “Just in case things don’t go as planned I want you to know that I have truly enjoyed getting to know you again…and I will always remember the time spent in your arms fondly.” He touched her cheek gently with the backs of his fingers and swallowed hard.







“Me too,” he said hoarsely. He didn’t want to think about the possibility that last night would be the last he would spend with the witch but knew that when everything was over, if they survived, that she may not want to have anything more to do with him.







“Alright, then,” she said, taking a deep breath as she stepped away from him. “The sooner we start the sooner we finish and sooner the children can rest in peace.” She said with a tight smile. “And the sooner you can have your house to yourself.”







“No, I am going to sell it once it’s safe to do so,” he said. “I don’t want to live here, not after all this, let’s just get it over with.”





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Draco hated being back inside the house. He was freezing yet his pale skin was flushed and coated in sweat. He was watching Hermione as she knelt in the center of Doll\'s chamber of torture, tracing over the original pentagram with pure, blessed salts. She was chanting softly as she placed offerings around the circle; Blessed soil at the north, a white candle to the south, a butterfly in a cage to the east and ocean water to the west.





She prayed to the goddess for protection, for success and for aide in guiding the children\'s spirits home. Spell after spell slipped past her lips as she took every safety precaution imaginable. He stood near the door, his wand gripped tightly in his hand, ready for whatever was to come and praying that he didn\'t falter, that his modicum of courage would hold out and he could see it through. And though he was loathed to admit it, he didnt want to fail her.





"Are you ready?" she asked over his shoulder.







"As ready as I am going to get," he replied hoarsely. She nodded and reached into her satchel for a small, snow white dove.







"Hail to the guardians of the North, keepers of mother earth, I invoke thee," she chanted with a loud, firm voice as she ran her fingers through the soil. "Hail to the guardians of the South, keepers of fire, I invoke thee." she lit the candle. "Hail to the guardians of the East, keepers of the wind, I invoke thee." She lifted the stasis spell on the butterfly and sent it fluttering inside its cage. "Hail to the guardians of the West, keepers of the waters, I invoke thee." She dipped her finger into the water and circled the edge of the bowl containing it. "Hail to the goddess, to the high preistess of all the earth, to the keeper of the craft, to the mother of us all, I invoke thee." She cringed as she raised the thin silver dagger and plunged it into the snowy breast of the dove and watched as the crimson stain bloomed across the feathers before laying it in the center of the star in sacrifice.







"I call upon the spirit of Maxwell Doll, heed my call and present yourself before your accusers!" she demanded. The house trembled briefly and then nothing. "I call upon the spirit of Maxell Doll, heed my call and present yourself before your accusers! In the name of the Goddess I invoke thee!" she shouted firmly. The house shook again, this time with force as the air arround them crackled with energy. The air above the circle began to shimmer, waves of energy visible as if one were looking at the air above an extremely hot surface. Slowly a shape began to form until finally the silvery image of Maxwell Doll appeared.





“Bitch!” The voice that spilled from the specter was dark and menacing. “How dare you invade my home.”





“Not your home,” she said, “Draco’s home now.”





“It’s MY home, MY land, MY children!” Doll snarled, his image finally clear as he hovered over the circle. He began to laugh, a dark, sinister sound that sent cold chills racing down her spine. “You’re a little older than I like them, a bit too ripe…but if you’re keen on joining my flock I am more than happy to oblige you.” Draco lunged forward, his wand drawn but stopped when Hermione held up her hand.





“No, Draco!” she said firmly. “He’s baiting you, he wants your anger and he wants my fear…it feeds him.”





“Oh come now, Princess, let your boyfriend play,” Doll chuckled as he flicked his tongue vulgarly at Hermione.





“Why do you hold them here?” she asked. “Why do you remain here?”





“Because they’re mine,” he said with an evil smirk. “I need them.”





“You feed off of their souls, off of the purity of their life-force, what I don’t understand is what you get out of it…you are trapped here, unable to do anything,” she stated, watching him carefully.





“I was close,” he said, sneering and clenching his fists. “So close to achieving ultimate power, eternal bliss…but the bloody muggle police and aurors turned out to be more clever than I gave them credit for…they came for me before I could finish the rite and that last one…she held out, she fought harder than the others. I thought for certain she would be dead before me but I misjudged her will to live. I died without the last soul to complete the deal.”





“You weren’t collecting souls to power your evil,” Hermione said softly as the truth unraveled. “You were collecting them as payment for immortality….you were making a deal with the devil…you wanted to become a demon.”





“What the fuck? Granger, what in the hell are you getting at? You said there is no devil….”





“AHAHAHHAHAHAHA…..oh you stupid boy….nothing much between those pretty ears of yours is there,” Doll snapped. “Of course there is a devil…the dark one…the king of demons. More powerful than any god you might dare to call upon!”





“Hermione?” Draco called her name through clenched teeth, his wand still trained on Doll.





“It’s alright, Draco,” she said. She turned her attention back to Doll. “Why did you torture them? Why did you hurt them? Why didn’t you just kill them and harvest their souls?”





“Now where is the fun in that?” he asked with a grin. “I had to have my fun.”





“Sick bastard!” Draco spat, bile rising in his throat.





“Oh come now, Blondie…I know you’ve been riding that ripe little cow like a thoroughbred,” Doll snarled. “I could hear her screaming.” His lips twisted into a horrid mockery of a smile and he licked his lips. “You should have killed her. There’s nothing like plowing into a tight young snatch while the last pulses of life are firing through her.”





“You vile, disgusting piece of shite!” Draco wished he were solid, he wanted to kill him. He didn’t even want to use magic. He wanted to twist his neck with his bare hands, to pummel him until his skull cracked beneath his fists.





“Let them go,” Hermione demanded. “Release the children, Doll.”





“Ah…well, you see, I can’t do that. I need them. I need their energy so that I can collect the final soul.” He glanced over her head at Draco, “or two…yours will do nicely, and you owe me one Blondie. You’ll make such pretty additions to my doll collection.”





“Why the dolls?” she demanded. A smirk was her only reply. “Release them, Doll, I won’t ask again,” she said.





“No,” he snapped.





“Alright then,” Hermione said softly as she reached into her satchel and withdrew a length of thick black ribbon.





“What are you doing?” Doll’s eyes narrowed as he watched her pick up the dove.





“By the powers of three times three I bind you, Maxwell Doll, to this purified circle,” she chanted as she wrapped the bird with the ribbon.





“NO!” Doll’s shout shook the walls.





“By the powers of three times three I bind you, Maxwell Doll, to this purified circle,” she said again, continuing to wrap the ribbon around the bird. Fierce wind began to circle through the room, lifting her hair and whipping it into her eyes. The house shook, goods were being rattled from the shelves. Boxes spilling, jars shattering and littering the floor, some coming dangerously close to contaminating her circle.





“By the powers of three times three I bind you, Maxwell Doll, to this purified circle,” she said once more as she would the remaining slack around the dove. “As I will, so mote it be!”





“I will kill you!!!” Doll growled. It felt like an earthquake was rocking the house. Cracks began to form and climb up the wall, the foundation of the house breaking apart.





“Draco!” she shouted his name over the roaring of the wind rushing around them and the rumble and chaos of the house shaking apart. “The dolls…you must destroy the dolls!”





“Come with me!”





“I can’t! I have to hold the circle! If you destroy them you will set them free!”





“I can’t leave you here!” He was panicked as he looked between her and the spirit now writhing in the center of her circle.





“Don’t worry about me! Draco, please…you must do as I ask! Destroy the dolls and hurry, I don’t know how much longer I can protect the sanctity of the circle!” she cried, watching as more and more rubble threatened the perimeter.





“Hermione…”





“GO!” she cried.





He looked from her to Doll, everything in him resisted the idea of leaving her alone but he knew that she was right, knew that he had to do it. “FUCK!” he growled as he turned and ran through the cellar. The ground shook beneath his feet and threw him against the wall. As he raced up the stairs they rocked and swayed beneath him. His feet slid on the wet grass, sending him to his knees as he ran across the lawn towards the door leading into the main part of the house.







He drew his wand and blasted threw the door, shards of splintered wood and glass flying everywhere as he barreled through. Screams reverberated off of the walls, the shrill screams of children in pain. The house shook, floorboards cracking and buckling, dishes, décor and various debris circled through the air as the walls began to crack, thick red fluid began to ooze through the cracks and drip from the ceiling. He raced through the rooms and up the stairs, the wind nearly blowing him off his feet. They were gale force as he struggled to walk down the hall, forcing his way towards the little room at the end.







It was like trying to walk through something thick, nearly solid. His muscles ached and burned as he continued to press forward. When he finally reached the door the brass knob burned his hand but he twisted anyhow, ignoring the pain as he forced his way into the room. The door slammed behind him and the temperature in the room began to rise, quickly turning the cramped space into a sauna.







“Fucking pervert!” he screamed as lunged for the first wall of dolls. He threw them forcefully on the ground, two and three at a time, with enough force to ensure that they shattered into tiny pieces. Rainbows of light arched into the air, swirling up into a bright and colorful vortex at the ceiling. “Bastard!” he screamed, moving quickly through the room, doll after doll crashing to the floor until the entire room was littered with a sea of broken porcelain and tattered cloth.







He pointed his wand at the window and the glass and wooden shutters bowed outwards before exploding, taking out the entire outside wall of the room.





“GO! You’re free!” he shouted above the chaos swirling around him. The mass of colors converged into a thick stream that swirled downward and passed straight through him as it funneled out and then upwards towards the clouds. He was overcome by feelings of gratitude, relief, peace and joy.





“Oi!” Draco looked over to see Polly hovering near the door.





“Go, Polly, you’re free now,” he shouted over the roar of the wind.





“Thank you,” she sad softly. “Save ‘er.” With that she faded into a mass of iridescent color and joined the others.





“Hermione…..”











AN: Nearing the end now…A special thanks to ‘D’, she helped me to create a spell/ritual with enough elements to seem plausible without insulting or stepping on her religion. Love you!