Indago:3

Chapter Seventeen

“Are you sure it’s all right? I mean, what if—“

“If you are going to back out, then please do so and quit whining about it, will you?” Maia snapped. She held the torch a bit higher as she, Maizy, and Siebel passed through a narrow corridor. The night breeze was beginning to play with their hair just as the opening appeared and let them out into the night.

They were only a few meters away from one of Hogsmeade’s buildings but the quiet was very unnerving.

“Maia, I am only saying that you have both your parents in the area and Professor Snape.” Maizy looked warily around her and drew her cloak closer as they walked toward a noisy building. “Any one of them could come to our room to talk to you.”

“They won’t,” Maia answered simply, whispering a quick spell to put out the torch as the lights from the lanterns on the street encompassed its light. “They are far too involved in themselves to do so.”

“Besides, when have you ever seen Snape come into the dorms?” Siebel added.

“Exactly.” Maia nodded curtly and laid the extinguished torch against a fence. “My parents have gone insane and have decided that now is the time to become heavy-handed and illogical. I am not going to stand for that.”

“But what if—“

“Maizy, I will send you back if you do not shut it!” Maia hissed. When her friend pressed her lips together, Maia relaxed. “Now, we are going to have a lovely time, aren’t we? All we have to do is get through the crowd, get into the Floo, and we’ll be off. Understood?”

Maizy and Siebel nodded in unison.

“And I don’t have to remind you that none of us saw each other if any of us are caught, correct?”

The girls shook their heads. Maia smiled.

“Perfect, then.” She waved her hand towards the music and laughter. “Shall we, ladies?”



The small club was very trendy, very exclusive, and very discreet. Maia easily attained her and her friends quiet entrance and they were given a booth near the dance floor.

“If they didn’t want Head Girls to get out and show their maturity and autonomy, then they shouldn’t give them free passes out and the keys to the back garden gate, now should they?” Maia happily explained to Maizy, who was still quite worried.

“I think they do that because they want you to help in the event of an emergency.”

“Pfft!” Maia popped a piece of cheese into her mouth. “If they wanted that, they should have specified.”

Maizy pursed her lips. “True.”

“Would you like to dance?”

“Maia! There’s another bloke here for you,” Maizy called to her friend who was busy looking for the perfect cheese and meat combination from their appetizer tray.

“No,” she answered without looking up.

Maizy looked back at the stylishly dressed man. “Aren’t you royalty?”

“Yes, I am.” The man looked from Maia to Maizy before offering his hand and a smile to the latter. “Would you care to dance?”

Maia was left alone to finish off the plate of snacks by herself, which was perfectly fine with her. This wasn’t about partying or dating. This was about freedom and pointing out that Maia did not care about nor need her parents’ approval or permission anymore. She was on the cusp of adulthood. Who were they to tell her to stay in the castle? Who were they to insist on following her everywhere as if she were completely feeble? Had they forgotten who she was? Who they raised her to be?

The night carried on and Maia stayed ensconced in her private booth as her friends danced and flirted. Siebel was rarely seen until it was nearly time to go.

“…and then this absolutely gorgeous pair walked up and wanted a snog with me,” Siebel explained as they trudged back through the back path. “How could I deny them?”

“You’re such a slag,” Maizy laughed. Siebel stuck her tongue out and laughed as well.

“So, Maia,” Siebel began smoothly after she stopped laughing. “I noticed you were absent on the dance floor. And you kept shooing away your admirers.”

“That wasn’t what I was here for tonight.”

“Oh, of course, of course.”

Maia turned and glared at her friend. “And what exactly does that mean?”

“Mean? I was merely conversing with you about tonight. Why so hostile? Or were you—“

Siebel’s words were drowned out as a loud rumble came past them. All three young women stopped and then quickly peered through the hedges that hid them from view of the castle just ahead of them.

A black motorbike was the culprit of the noise. Its rider slowed and brought the bike to a stop nearly eight yards from the main entrance; far enough away to not be a nuisance about the noise late at night, but not enough to escape notice.

“Who is that?” Maizy whispered and was immediately hushed by her friends.

The rider climbed off the bike and waved a hand over it. Immediately a quick shimmer wrapped itself around the black and silver monster and it shrunk in on itself. After only a moment, it was being strung on a chain and placed about the rider’s neck as a pendant.

“Sweet Merlin! I know who that is! It’s—“

“O’Neill!” Maia shouted, causing her friends to squeak in surprise. Maia burst through the hedges and stomped up the path. The figure ahead of her turned towards her. “You have detention for a month for sneaking out! And I am obviously taking points!”

“Maia, love,” Kellas called out in a curious tone. “A beautiful night to match a beautiful lass.”

Stopping a couple yards away, Maia crossed her arms and smirked. “You are in so much trouble. You think you can come and go as you please, hmm? Think because you are some big popular person with a sexy jacket and bike, you think you can walk around all high and mighty?”

“Ah, love,” Kellas said with a smile barely discernible in the torches set along the path. “To hear your compliments is enough for me to die happy.”

“I wasn’t complimenting you!” Maia nearly shrieked. “Did you not just hear me say you are in trouble? I’ll have you expelled from this school!”

Kellas stepped closer. “Well, now I’m angry.”

Maia blinked. “You are?”

“She is?” came a whisper from behind the hedge.

“Aye.” Kellas nodded her head and crossed her own arms. “They didn’t tell you I was given permission to leave on business. That is disrespectful to you as Head Girl. I won’t stand for that. You have duties and responsibilities you must carry out, and here they are not informing you of necessary things.”

Maia blinked again, completely thrown off-stride. Kellas actually sounded angry. It was a strange tone to come from the normally placid and cheerful woman. “Yes, they should have informed me,” Maia murmured.

“I’ll not stand for that, my love. You and I will march into the Headmaster’s office and demand answers.”

“We will?” Maia was more than a bit confused, which irritated her to no end. She hated being confused, and this irritating Gryffindor either had her in that state or irate. It was nearly exhausting.

“Aye,” Kellas stated firmly and then her arms dropped and she stepped closer. “But where are me manners? I have a beautiful lass out on a beautiful night. I suppose the Headmaster can wait until morning.”

Kellas walked a bit closer and it was at that point that Maia’s mind decided to catch on, and she moved to back up.

Her arm was caught before she moved a step.

“Let go of me!” Maia hated the fear apparent in her voice as she tried yanking her arm free. She didn’t want to succumb to that feeling again. She didn’t want to be dependent on this other person.

“Hush now,” Kellas crooned. Her hold was gentle but firm. “You’re not feelin’ anything, are you?”

Maia’s eyes were wide as she shook her head in confusion.

Kellas smiled. “Aye, see. Be proud of me, Maia love. I’ve been working hard on holding it all in for you.”

“You know how to do that?”

“Well, it’s been taking me some time to get the hang of it, but it finally clicked last night, aye? And now I get to show you how hard I’ve worked for you.” Kellas fairly beamed in the torchlight.

Maia looked suspiciously up at Kellas, realizing for the first time their size difference. Maia was not happy to know she was nearly four inches shorter than the redhead. How infuriating. She also wasn’t sure she quite liked the ability to be this close to Kellas.

“Are you sure you’ve got it under control?” she asked with narrowed eyes. “I’m still feeling… odd.”

Kellas frowned. “Aye, aye, I’ve got it. You’re not needing to bow or apologize, are you?”

“No.”

“Then, I got it.” Kellas grinned. “Maybe it’s attraction and the love that you feel? Making your head spin, eh?”

“Idiot!” Maia hissed and turned to spin away but her arm was still in Kellas’ grasp. “Let me go!”

“But we are lovers reunited.”

“We were never united in the first place!” Maia tugged on her arm, realized that she probably looked undignified doing so and stopped.

“Ah, you think I would forget your sweet words of passion to your family that night in the Headmaster’s office?” Kellas seemed to be swept up in nostalgia. “You fought for me.”

“No, I didn’t!” Maia spat. “I was rebelling against my family’s dictatorship.”

“Right into my arms, darlin’.”

“Pillock! Fool! Dumb Irish!” Maia shouted and tugged hard. She only had a moment to gloat at successfully tearing her arm free before she was tumbling to the ground. She was embarrassed at the yelp she made as she realized how very quickly the ground was coming up to meet her before she was saved.

Maia wasn’t sure if her position in the next moment was better than being sprawled in the dirt.

“There now, love. You shouldn’t be thrashing about.” The dragonhide jacket pressed to Maia’s cheek and ear muffled Kellas’ voice. Arms wrapped tight about her, her face pressed to Kellas’ chest, Maia was sorely trying to not scream like a loon. “I’d hate for you to hurt yourself.”

“The only reason—Get off me!” Maia squirmed fruitlessly. “The reason I’d hurt myself is because I was trying to get away from you!”

“Now, Maia lass, I only want to keep you happy,” Kellas murmured with a smile and squeezed a bit tighter for a brief moment.

Maia screeched into the black jacket and tried again to extricate herself. She flailed uselessly until she suddenly stopped, her arms hanging loosely at her sides. In that moment she realized how incredibly ridiculous she must look as she stood there nearly swallowed whole by a grinning Irish rock star. She couldn’t help it, she started to laugh. It started with a bitten off giggle and then slowly grew into outright guffaws. Soon she was clutching the blasted dragonhide as she laughed into its warmth.

“It’s a sweet sound you make, darlin’,” Kellas murmured into Maia’s ear.

“You’re infuriating me to madness,” Maia said with a chuckle. She tilted her head back enough to look up at Kellas’ face and was arrested at the sight of the gentle smile on the other girl’s calm face. “Why?” she whispered.

“I love you. I fell in love with you so long ago, I can’t imagine a time my thoughts didn’t circle around you.”

The words were uttered with such simple conviction that Maia was momentarily stunned into speechlessness.

“And when I met you, saw you in the flesh, I fell even deeper in love with you.”

“Why?” Maia asked. “Is it just because of what we are?”

Kellas shook her head. “No. I liked you before I figured out what I was. When I realized that we were both of the same race, I knew it was fate. I was meant to be yours and you were meant to be mine.”

“How can you like me?” Maia narrowed her eyes. “I’ve been nothing but nasty with you.”

“I like high-maintenance people with an evil side,” said Kellas with a grin and wink.

Maia’s jaw dropped.

“Let her go!”

Both young women jumped at the shout. Maia looked over Kellas’ shoulder and saw a very angry Harry Potter-Malfoy storming down the steps of the school and running down the path. Kellas let her go and they put a couple of feet between them.

“Dad, I’m fine!”

“Harry! Move!”

“Father! Would you both listen to me!” Maia watched as her father followed after her dad. Harry came to a standstill and glared swords at Kellas, his hand raised a bit as if preparing to call a spell or curse.

“I knew we shouldn’t have trusted you! You were trying to steal her!”

“Dad! I wasn’t being kidnapped!”

“Maia, get over here!” her father growled as he too stared down at Kellas. For her part, Kellas stood still and calm, watching Maia.

“I’m not a dog! Don’t talk to me as if I were!” Maia hissed in anger.

Draco snarled at his daughter. “I have had quite enough of your mouth, madam! You will move or I will make you!”

“I wouldn’t do that, sir,” Kellas warned. “I would have to do something about that, wouldn’t I?”

“You move a muscle towards my daughter and I’ll kill you!”

“Dad!” Maia shouted in horror. She had never seen her dad so angry. “Please listen to me! She wasn’t trying to kidnap me!”

“Then what are you doing out here at one in the morning?” Draco snapped.

Maia glared. “I was actually just coming out to check on the noise I heard. I wasn’t informed that O’Neill was allowed to leave the grounds for her business dealings. We discussed it, and that was that.”

“What kind of fool do you take me for?” Draco asked with a sneer.

“I’m not sure. I wasn’t aware there were different kinds!”

Maia never saw her father move. She felt the sting on her cheek after her knees hit the dirt with the force of the slap. In the next second she heard her dad shout and the sounds of a scuffle. She looked up in time to see her father and Kellas thrown apart with a whoosh of magic.

Draco was on his feet again and dragging Harry behind him as Kellas also came to her feet. She sported a red mark on her jaw and another on her throat.

“Enough.”

Maia, her hand to her cheek, looked back toward the school and saw her Sev smoothly moving toward them, his wand out.

“You are in plain sight of the entire school. Miss O’Neill, you are to report to your dormitory immediately or risk expulsion for violence.”

“I’m not leaving Maia to be hurt by him,” Kellas said with a look at Draco.

Draco opened his mouth but was forestalled by Snape. “It is not your responsibility or business to interfere between a parent and child.”

“It is my business!” Kellas growled.

“You will leave immediately for your room or you will be escorted off the grounds for fighting and refusing to obey a teacher.” Snape’s voice was cool as he stared at the young woman.

“It’s okay,” Maia said as she slowly got to her feet. “Don’t give them a reason to expel you.”

Draco turned his glare on his daughter, but was ignored as Maia looked at Kellas. Kellas looked between them and nodded.

“Aye. I’ll go. But I won’t forget.” Her words were tight with anger as she circled around the small group and disappeared down the path and into the school.

“Maia! What is going on? What were you doing?” Harry asked immediately. He pushed his way past Draco and faced her angrily. “Why would you come out here on your own?”

“You don’t actually believe that story she gave, do you?” Draco sneered.

“It doesn’t matter!” Harry answered without looking at Draco. His eyes remained fixed on his daughter. “What happened?”

“I told you,” Maia answered without making eye contact.

“A lie!”

“Enough, Draco!” Harry shouted. Maia was shocked at his anger at her father and was almost afraid when Harry grabbed her roughly by the arm. “Maia, I don’t understand why you keep doing this! This isn’t a game! This isn’t the time for teenage rebellion! You will do as we say or I will take you home and be done with it!”

“Dad…”

“No! You are going to stop being an idiot! You have no idea what you are playing with! None, and you will do as you are told or that slap will be the least of it!”

“Harry,” Draco said calmly. He slowly moved forward but didn’t touch Harry. He just stood close and suddenly Maia sensed something in the air, something… calming. But Harry did not react calmly to it.

“Don’t!” he shouted and roughly pulled Maia away until the odd feeling disappeared. Maia was beginning to get a bit scared as she saw the obvious concern on her father and Sev’s face. They seemed to be slowly trying to recapture her dad and it made Maia distinctly uncomfortable to see Harry’s lack of control. His hand bit into her arm and his eyes were wide as he faced her again.

“We have done everything for you! We have kept you safe all these years! I will not allow this to happen, do you hear me, Maia?” he shouted as he gave her a shake.

“Harry!” Sev barked. “You’re frightening her!”

“She needs to be frightened!”

“But not of you!”

Harry froze at Snape’s words. Maia watched as his face fell into almost heartbreaking sadness. His hand dropped from her arm.

“M-Maia… I would never hurt you,” he whispered in horror. “Never again. I promise….”

Draco ran the few steps to Maia and Harry, grabbing his husband to him and wrapping him tightly in his arms.

“Draco…” Maia heard her dad whisper as he fisted his hands in Draco’s cloak. “I’m so sorry….”

“Shh, love. It’s fine,” Draco murmured. “You didn’t hurt her. She’s fine. She’s safe.”

“Take him to my rooms,” Snape instructed quietly. “There is some of his medicine in the top cabinet.”

Draco pulled Harry away. Maia could hear him assuring Harry of her safety over and over again. She looked at her Sev.

“What is going on? Why…? Dad was so…?” She shook her head in confusion. “I’ve never seen him like that,” she murmured. She was still very disconcerted at her dad’s frightening behaviour. Her father’s and Sev’s reaction to her dad bolstered her feelings. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Do you think that Harry’s fears for you are unfounded?” Snape said coldly. “Do you think he worries over this issue needlessly and with no prior experience guiding him?”

“I don’t know!” Maia said angrily. “No one tells me anything!”

Snape glared at her. “You have been told exactly what is going on. I am terribly sorry that the answer is not what you wish, but having it repeated will not change it.” He stepped a bit closer, and Maia was actually scared for a moment as he continued in a quiet voice. “You have been told what you are to do. You are fortunate that I will not be punishing you or your cohorts for your poor judgment so as to not cast shadows on your glowing self and risk Lucius’ unwanted involvement.” His eyes narrowed. “And I will warn you now that if you think you can bring your grandfather into this and have everything settled to your satisfaction you will be sorely disappointed. His involvement would mean an immediate removal of you from this school. Test me in this and you will lose.”

Maia swallowed and stared back at him before lowering her eyes.

“Now, move!” he hissed, pointing towards the castle. Maia quickly preceded Snape into the castle and was escorted to her dorm. Maizy and Siebel were already in their beds, whispering apologies at running at the first sign of Harry and Draco. Maia ignored them and spent the night tossing back and forth between anger and remorse.



“Why? Why is she doing this? Doesn’t she understand? Doesn’t she know that these risks are insane?”

“No, she doesn’t know,” Snape answered as he sat in his chair near the fire. He and Draco watched Harry pace back and forth and around the room. “She is a teenager convinced of her own immortality and safety and she has never had cause to be disillusioned.”

“Harry, sit down,” Draco said quietly. He sat on the edge of the settee, his hands clasped together in an obvious bid to keep them from snatching at Harry. “Have a bit of the potion—”

“No!” Harry stopped and glared at Draco. “I’m fine, I said. I’m not letting you drug me!”

“Harry,” Snape said in an admonishing tone. “Remember who you are with.”

“We need to leave!” Harry said, ignoring Snape and resumed his pacing. “I don’t care if they have to lose their schooling! We need to go! Why are we still here? They are in the forest and—”

“Harry!” Draco stood and grabbed Harry’s arm as he paced past. “Stop it! Just take the potion, at least half a dose, and calm the fuck down!”

“She was out there!” Harry shouted up at Draco. “Out there with one of them and the others were waiting!”

Snape rose and picked up the bottle from the end table. “Harry, you are losing control,” he said calmly. “Either you sit down and regain it, or we will be forcing this into you.”

“Damn it, Severus!” Draco hissed, hating any reference to forcing Harry.

But Harry seemed nearly slapped with the words. He looked down at Draco’s chest and shook his head. “I-I’m okay. I’m okay,” he said quickly and quietly. He let Draco pull him onto the settee with him.

“Harry’s right,” Draco said after a few silent moments. “We should go. Maia is out of control herself. I won’t allow her to do this to Harry.”

“I’m okay,” Harry said. “I just…” He left the sentence unfinished, knowing that he didn’t need to with these two men. “I’ll apologize to her in the morning.”

“Apologize?” Draco shouted. He glared at Harry. “You will not be apologizing!”

“Draco’s right. Maia is the one in the wrong. She blatantly broke not only school rules but also the rules we decided on to protect her. You will not apologize,” Snape stated firmly.

“But I was rough with her.” Harry suddenly turned to Draco with wide eyes. “Merlin, Draco! You hit her!”

“She deserved it,” Draco sneered.

“But you hit her!” Harry started to stand up in anger. “We promised! We promised we would never do that to the children!”

“I really don’t care what we promised.” Draco pulled Harry back down. “Perhaps it knocked some sense back into her. Regardless, she deserved it for her mouth alone. Her putting you under such stress and herself in danger is still going unpunished.”

“She didn’t know—”

“She did know. Harry, quit coddling her! Since she is showing that she wants to act more independently, then she can reap the consequences of those actions.”

“I agree. She’s been spoiled too long. She has no idea what danger is. She is also revelling in her own petulant revolution and refuses to keep herself safe. If she will not do so of her own accord, then she will need to be made to obey,” Snape said from his chair.

“No! No, we don’t want that!” Harry stood up then and glared down at the other two.

“No, Harry, it’s what you don’t want,” Draco replied. “I accept my part in spoiling her, but you have coddled her too long. It’s going to hurt her.”

“We raised Maia to be strong, to not be weak!” Harry argued.

“To not be like you?” Snape asked.

Draco snarled at Snape. “What the hell are you saying?”

“Harry is apparently trying to make sure that Maia isn’t as weak as he is. Isn’t that right, Harry?”

Harry looked away.

“How many years do we have to deal with this?” Draco snarled and stomped away. He swung back around and glared at both of the other occupants.

“I just don’t want anything bad to happen to her,” Harry said quietly.

“Neither do we,” Snape answered calmly. “She needs to be made to obey. Obeying us does not make her weak. It makes her strong. Knowing when to bend instead of break is an important lesson to learn and better to learn it sooner than later. It was that knowledge which allowed you to survive and thrive, Harry. It was your strength.”

Harry looked up at Snape.

“You learned it from your youngest years at the hands of your relatives. You survived by learning to bend, to wait. Draco had to learn it. I had to learn it. Maia needs to learn as well.”

Harry swallowed and looked away again before nodding. He felt Draco move up behind him, wrapping him in an embrace. His ear was kissed.

“Let’s go to bed, yeah? It’s late.”

Harry nodded and his entire body relaxed into Draco’s. He would spend the night between his Superos and in the morning he would have to get a hold of Maia and try to explain, try to make her understand before Draco and Severus forced her to understand.