Hogwarts Maelstrom. Completed!

Gives out Galleons to certain people. Brilliant all of you..


Please enjoy.



Harry stared at Ginny as she came running up. He felt so good to see her alive and well. Harry blushed as he realized that she was naked. A feat that he had not managed, throughout the whole time they were together.

Harry stared at the wall as he escorted her down the hall to the rooms, walking behind Neville and Luna.

Draco gave Harry a strange look, before he opened his door on the left side. Hermione followed him inside dutifully.

Harry realized he must have passed Blaise's room, Harry quickly looked at Ginny. “Open my door, pet?”

Ginny did as he requested. Harry walked inside and looked around the room nervously.

He found a robe and he tossed it to Ginny.

Ginny pulled it on but soon she moved towards Harry and she pressed a kiss to his mouth.

“You came looking for me.” Ginny's blazing eyes were softened and she had run a hand over Harry’s chest.

“Of course…” Harry blurted out.

Then reality struck as he caught his image in the opulent mirror over the bed. He still looked like Blaise. Harry felt a raw betrayal at the soft look that Ginny was giving him.

“Do you love me?” Harry said hoarsely as his body grew stiff under her soft hands.

“Of course Blaise. You know this… But I do feel strange. Tired… I am sorry if I am not acting like it.” Ginny moved to pour water from a dinner cart that had been placed in the room.

Harry gasped and knocked the glass out of her hand. “ No… don’t drink that.”

Ginny looked strangely at him. “You’re acting very odd Blaise.”

Harry felt like he was drowning. “Do you think Hermione is going to become a Deatheater?”

Ginny stared at him. Her fingers began to fidget and she looked down. “I hope not, but she doesn’t have much choice, does she?”

“Are you?” Harry gritted out suddenly gripping Ginny hard.

“You want me to?” Tears formed suddenly in her eyes. “You said I would never have to do that…”

Harry wondered idly if Blaise had actually meant that.

"No of course not… Look, I need to talk to… um Malfoy…”

Harry pushed past her and went out the door, shutting it firmly behind her.

Harry could feel his heart pounded as he leaned against the door.

He didn’t know where to go first. Now that he knew what was going on it was too much. He couldn’t begin to imagine how to get them out of there. He wished he knew where Nia was.


…


Draco leaned on the inside of the door shutting it wearily behind him. He stared at the ground. He couldn’t believe he had almost defied the Dark Lord. Taking the Crucio was one thing. His father had often used that curse on him as a teenager. A form of punishment, for disobedience. Until he got smart, and his father eventually was put into Azkaban. Even dying seemed easier then facing off Voldemort?

Thank the Gods Voldemort had seemed to trust him. Draco knew his actions would confuse Hermione. She trusted him completely now. His task was completed. Except that he no longer wanted to go through with it. He didn’t want her to become a Deatheater. Not like his mother had been, were she was passed around to all the other Deatheaters as a toy. Hermione was brave and good. Everything that was unfamiliar to Draco. He couldn’t fathom her reasoning behind her actions at times.

He knew she was staring at him now. He could feel her clever mind ticking away, giving him attributes that he didn’t possess, all because of that bloody scene with the Carrows. Draco just couldn’t let Hermione kill someone. It bothered him too much. He was the killer. He was the Deatheater. He deserved it.

His pale hair fell into his eyes and he strode to the bar and with a shaking hand he poured a good measure of Firewhiskey into a glass and took a sip. Hermione still watched him, saying nothing.

He could feel the words Hermione spoke in the passion of the moment. I love you, he responded, saying things that even now he wished fervently that he could snatch back. I love you, this was for you… the gentle banter while he was being tortured and the encouragement for her to continue. Draco walked to the bathroom suddenly and slammed the door behind him. Away from her eyes,those loving, gentle eyes that he didn’t and would never deserve.


Hermione watched Draco pace inside the room. A part of her wanting to run and hold him. He had made huge strides today. Painful ones. Draco looked confused and resentful that he had helped her, and now that they were alone, he didn’t seem to want to acknowledge that he had done it.

The bathroom door shut with a loud bang and Hermione stared at the locked door numbly.

What if Voldemort was right? What if all of this was a trick to get her to do anything for him. Draco had unwittingly given her everything she wanted, back in that room. Draco had given her hope. Draco had given her a chance at change, and a belief that he was on her side.

Was Draco just doing his job? He was a Slytherin and he was brilliant. She knew that her heart would assign meaning to a conniving act just because of her impossible optimism. That had been Dumbledore’s ultimate downfall in the past. Believing something simply because he had wanted it to be true. Ignoring all the facts.

Fact one… Draco is a Deatheater.

Fact two … Draco raped and stole her virginity.

Fact three … Draco had hated Mudbloods, and subsequently her, his entire life.

Fact four… He had no heart that she could speak of until a week ago. Coincidentally this was only after he had been assigned by Voldemort to make her defect.

Fact five… Even if Draco loved her by some stretch of fate… They could never be together because of Voldemort.

Fact six. Draco had said it himself only days ago. She would be a fool to think that he would ever love a Mudblood like her.

Fact seven … Draco knew that she had overheard him and Blaise talking and his hold on her was tenuous. Draco could have staged everything to bring her unwittingly closer, knowing that the Dark Lord would interrupt at any time.


Hermione looked down at the parchment she had doodled all of these thoughts on.

The truth was that except for that scene, in which Draco said he loved her UNDER DURESS, Draco hated her guts. Hermione felt like weeping. She wanted so hard to believe in him, but how many times had she been slapped back down?

Hermione could feel the weight of his pressing down upon her. Hermione stared numbly down at the parchment and she rubbed her neck thoughtfully.

A prickle of excitement trickled down her back. Frantic fingers ran over the tender flesh at her neck and she wanted to scream with laughter. THE STUPID fools... had left her uncollared. Hermione had been so distracted by what happened that she hadn’t even realized that she was uncollared. She could do Magic. If only she had a wand.

Hermione grabbed Draco’s robes and tightly looped them around her middle. Making as little noise as possible she opened the door to peek outside.

Blaise Zabini was standing outside of his door looking anxious. A strange expression for the usually laconic wizard.

Hermione stepped outside and closed the door gently.

Hermione crept up besides Blaise and she suddenly swung her fist and punched him in the face as hard as she could.

…

Harry turned around at a noise behind him, and suddenly got punched hard in the nose by a very determined Hermione.

“Bloody hell Mione! Wha diddya do hat fo?” Blaise held his nose that was dripping blood. His wand slipped to the floor in surprise.

Hermione swept the wand up from the floor.

“Shut up Zabini, after what you having been doing with Ginny, your lucky I only punched you once. Get inside your room. NOW!” Hermione whispered and pushed Harry back into Blaise’s room, shutting the door behind him.

Blaise sat down on the chair that Hermione indicated with the wand. After watching Hermione Crucio Draco, Harry wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Ginny… “ Hermione called out.

Ginny came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Her tired expression gradually changed to one of shock.

“Hermione? What are you doing here?” Ginny walked carefully towards her.

“We are going to escape. I can do magic. I just need to break this compulsion spell that the school has. I need you to go to Neville’s room and tell them to come here. Tell Neville to bring the strand with him.”

“Okay…” Ginny slowly nodded as she grabbed a robe tossing it on.

“Hurry. I will hold Blaise here.” Hermione narrowed her eyes on Harry.

Ginny ran out of the room.

Hermione looked down at Blaise. “ I know you have been drugging her. You sick bastard.”

“You really are the brightest witch of your age.” Harry carefully quoted Sirius Black’s words to her. Hoping she would understand. Not that it would matter soon. The Polyjuice was wearing off. He could feel it. Unfortunately the flask was hidden in his robes and he couldn’t reach for them without Hermione hexing him.

“What did you say??” Hermione glared at him suspiciously.

“I don’t have much time. I need you to retrieve the flask from my robes for me. I don’t know if we are being watched.” Harry stared at Hermione frankly.

Hermione glared. “You must think I am ridiculously stupid like your Slytherin girls.”

“Mione… please.”

Hermione shuddered when he used her nickname Harry gave her. “ Stop calling me that. You have no right to call me that.”

“I remember the worst thing ever about growing up was Dudley’s diets.” Harry said quite clearly now.

Hermione stared, and she could feel her eyes burning. “Is this a trick…?”

“The only trick I can see is that my ex girlfriend is boinking a Slug club member and I am barely in the ground.” Harry responded bitterly, his eyes swimming in anguish as he looked down.

“Oh my gods.” Hermione reached for the flask in his pocket, careful to keep the wand at his neck.

She opened the flask and took a sniff. Polyjuice Potion. “Your dead…” She whispered and poured a goodly amount down his throat. Harry shuddered as he swallowed choking.

“Yes I failed. And now look what the world is.” Harry gasped as the potion sustained itself.

Hermione was all out of cynicism and she burst into tears, casting fate to the winds she hugged Harry tightly.

“I love you. I ….” Hermione blubbered as she cried on his shoulder.

A soft hiss came from the corner and Harry looked up to see Nia standing in the door, looking hurt.

Harry shouted. “You!”

Hermione hiccupped and waveringly held up the wand. “Stay where you are!”

Hermione climbed off of Harry’s lap. Harry shook his head. “No, she is a friend of mine. She saved my life, and she is the reason we got in here.”

Hermione watched her cautiously for a moment. “I have a plan.. I am going to take an aging potion for the students so we can all leave. It’s an age limit compulsion to be here. We wont get far without it. We just Apparate back here if we left the grounds. Its how the Carrows could force attendance.”

Nia walked slowly forward towards them. “We have a problem… Voldemort is staying on the grounds. This room is not being watched, but just he being here is bad for all of us. He is suspicious of the Malfoy boy’s intentions, despite his words of praise earlier.”

“You were there?” Harry said in disbelief. “Gods, you really can hide well.”

Hermione’s jaw dropped in shock.

“She’s a Parseltongue…? What did she say?”

Harry heard Hermione’s words and felt a stone drop in his stomach.

“You speak Parseltongue? So that’s why you never talked in public. You didn’t want me to know. I thought you were just shy… Nia… Why didn’t you tell me?”

Nia began to cry as Harry strode towards her.

Harry touched her face gently. “I would never hold it against you.”

Nia felt the touch of his hand and she began to cry more earnestly at his gentleness. This was what she loved about him. His bravery and gentle spirit. “I couldn’t tell you, because of who I am.”

Harry turned back to Nia, shaking his head. “Why would I care if you spoke Parseltongue?”

Nia’s body went very still and she stared at the ground. Her yellow eyes shined with her pained thoughts.

Hermione watched as Harry began to speak in earnest to Nia using Parseltongue.

Harry touched Nia’s cheek and sighed. “I’m a Parseltongue too. It’s why I could understand you. You don’t speak English do you..?”

Nia shook her head. “I speak Hindi.”

Harry felt helpless watching her cry.

“I care about you, just tell me the truth. You’re the only reason why I am alive today and reunited with my friends. I don’t care who you are. You’re the girl that saved my life. That’s all.”

Nia sobbed, pressing her face into her hands. Her guts were turning as she forced the words out. She couldn’t deceive this gentle, brave boy anymore.

“Because I am Nagini.” She whispered in her strange accented voice that Harry now recognized for what it was.

Harry recoiled from her in disgust and he raised his wand to her neck.

“Nagini, Voldemort’s snake?” Harry repeated what he said in English.

“The last Horocrux…” Nagini whispered painfully.

Harry gritted his teeth. “ Your… a girl though…”

“An Animagus…” Nagini finished. Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

“You killed people. You are evil… Why would you save me??” Harry felt like he was drowning.

Nagini looked defeated as she stared dully back at him. “Because you saved me.”

“I don’t understand.” Harry growled and narrowed his eyes.

“When I was a little girl growing up Rajasthan, my family was made up of followers of the Basilisk. Once I turned eleven, they realized that I was special. Snakes listened to me, even the dreaded basilisk. A seer from my village claimed I was a priestess and should go into training. They thought if I could change forms, that I would be complete. I could be one of them. Voldemort showed up about five years ago. He found out about me. He kidnapped me from my family and forced me to go permanently into snake form. I did terrible things for him. Killed brave men. Soon I had forgotten what it was like to be human, and I simply became Nagini.”

Harry gripped his wand in anger, thinking about the Arthur Weasley attack.

Nagini continued. “Then something happened a few years ago. I could feel a presence inside me. A boy. Someone with genuine human emotions. I could feel him watching me. I could see his pain and angst. Feel his compassion and love.”

Harry nodded grimly as he swallowed hard, recognition beginning to blossom in his eyes.. “It was me. I could feel you too. I saw what you were doing to your victims.”

Nagini flicked her tongue out and touched the top of her lip. “Yes, I could feel your pain from my actions. It began to change me. I was able to reclaim my humanity with those images, you are a part of me, just as you are a part of him.”

"Voldemort asked me to kill Severus Snape. I didn’t want to but I was compelled, I had begun to rebel, so he had locked me up in a mystical prison by then. I did not want to take his life. He was a good man like you. Once I had killed him though, Voldemort in his arrogance left my cage free. Then you came. I saw you sacrifice yourself to him. I saw you almost die. But I knew, you were still alive when Voldemort decided to keep you as a trophy. I could feel your presence when you came back. I escaped from Voldemort in the chaos. But I knew I had to rescue you. I went to Narcissa Malfoy and she agreed to keep me. She was scared of what I might do to Draco if she did not. Once you were there, she realized that she had the key to Voldemort’s downfall.”

Harry gasped as he realized something. “You killed Narcissa.”

Nagini nodded. “Her last request of me. She did not want to live in this new world. She was too weak to see the light beyond the darkness. Poor soul.”

Harry turned rapidly to Hermione, but he was drowning in the sickening realization that he would have to destroy this girl. She was the last hold on Voldemort. With her death, he could finally stop him.

Harry began to relay everything Nagini had told him and Hermione’s face rapidly paled. She also understood the implications and the danger of this girl in front of her.


…

Neville, Luna and Ginny came through the door suddenly. Hermione looked up in surprise and out of instinct, she waved the wand under Neville’s face threateningly.

Luna gently placed her hand over Hermione's wand and lowered it. “He’s a Snorkack...”

Hermione huffed impatiently at this useless bit of information.

Neville smiled slightly at this and then frowned at Zabini, drawing his wand. “He will tell them everything. We must Obliviate him.”

Hermione shook her head stepping in front of Neville’s wand as he drew it.

“That’s not Zabini. That’s Harry. Harry Potter.”

The whole room gasped as what Hermione said sunk in.

Suddenly all sides were embracing Harry.

Harry felt a rush of warmth until he saw Ginny hanging back, looking shamed at the floor.

Ginny began to sob quietly. Harry slowly disengaged from the others.

He looked at the girl he once loved and he smiled slightly. “ I know you were drugged. It’s okay Ginny.”

Ginny smiled through her tears with a hopeful look. “Was it always you?”

Harry swallowed hard and the others looked away. “ No… just tonight.”

Ginny nodded slowly, falling quiet.

Nia watched them from a distance, her eyes curious and solemn. Harry felt pain suddenly in his heart watching her. Hermione also had not taken her eyes off Nagini.

“This is Nia. She is going to help us in the resistance. She is my friend.” Harry said purposefully looking at Hermione.

Hermione made a gesture with her hands but didn’t say anything. Harry would talk to her later about it.

The others smiled tentatively at her and nodded.

“Right, so the potion. Neville do you have the unicorn hair?” Hermione became all business as she strode forward.

“The other ingredients are in my room. Draco is still in there so I can’t bring them until tomorrow. Where is your counterpart?” Hermione frowned.

“Nia stashed him away.” Harry looked at Nia.

“He is hidden in the Forbidden Forest. He may be found but not for a while. No one is looking for him. We need to keep up appearances, more then ever with Voldemort around.”

Everyone gasped as she spoke and Ginny turned to Harry. “Another Parselmouth?”

Harry quickly repeated what she said in English, ignoring her statement.

‘We should brew in here. It’s safest. Will Malfoy be a problem?" Harry turned to Hermione and she slowly exhaled.

“I’m not sure yet. But I will figure out a way to be here.” Hermione sighed. “ I should go back before he realizes what I am doing.”

Neville and Luna nodded. “ Good idea. We meet tomorrow, after class. I think we will be in for a surprise, the Carrows looked really scared at Voldemort’s ultimatum. Maybe we might actually do schoolwork.” Neville frowned thoughtfully.

“I hope so, I don’t think I can pull off Blaise otherwise.” Harry grimaced and looked at Hermione. “You better go.”

Hermione nodded. “Neville give him the hair. Store it somewhere safe, Blaise…..” Hermione said purposefully to remind everyone that they need to stay in character.

She exited and walked down the hall and heading back for the room.


Slowly opening the door, she snuck inside and closed it. Looking towards the bathroom, she saw the door open. Draco knew she was missing. Hermione looked wildly around for Draco but he appeared to be in bed.

Shirtless and reading his book. He looked, entirely too sexy. Hermione felt her breath catch at the sight of his muscled pale flesh just above the silk green sheets. The hard planes of torso flexed as he sat up more and set down the book. His expression was unreadable as he stared at her.

“Have a nice walk?” Draco murmured flipping a page in his book.

Hermione paused and wet her lips thoughtfully. “Um... I went to the kitchen but the House Elfs refused to give me food. I’m hungry.”

Hermione was lying but Draco ignored it. “I can summon some food if you like.”

“No…” Hermione stared at him as he rose up from the bed and walked towards her. Under the soft glow of the candles, his skin shone like pale gold. His hair caught the light as it fell into his silvery eyes.

“Are you hungry for something else?” Draco smirked slightly, looking at her dazed expression as she focused on his chest.

Hermione nodded but she couldn’t put it to words.

“Your too sore, silly girl.” Draco whispered and he caught her mouth tenderly in a kiss. He guided her back to the bed. He undressed her gently and pushed her onto the bed.

Hermione protested as he left her suddenly. Hermione wanted the comfort of his arms just for tonight. Only tonight she reasoned. SHe felt inexplicably happy with Harry alive.

Draco then crawled onto the other side of the bed, and he reached out and pulled her up against him.

Draco's arm circled her naked form. His face resting in her mass of curly hair.


“Just sleep with me, Hermione.” His gentle words sent a gut wrenching pain through her. Maybe, just because of their gentleness.

Hermione found sleep to be surprisingly easy with him holding her.





TBC – Aww……… Sorry lost connection yesterday so I had to post today…


Read and review. As always.