Only through the pain

Disclaimer: I do not own the bouncy, upbeat disco song that fueled this story, the characters of which I also do not own. Ahem....Disco disco!

Warning: Voldemort insanity

A/N: Ok, so apologies for the delay, I have no excuse except sheer laziness, so feel free to pelt me with things. It's so hard for me to get my act together on the weekends XD. I hope you all had a GREAT thanksgiving, because I'm fairly certain I did....some parts are a little fuzzy, including Friday's update......oh well, at least this gives us a chance to go back and see how Voldy's masterpiece production of 'The Nutcracker' is going, eh? Now, DON'T JUDGE, but today's title is 'Dancing Queen' from ABBA, not A-teens, ABBA. I LIKE ABBA. I do NOT like A-teens particularly much, especially once they branched off of doing ABBA remakes, but when I was younger, we had a record player and every single ABBA album ever in addition to all of the Tom Petty, Rolling Stones, Zeppelin, Meatloaf and so on that my mother raised us on. Plus, I happen to think that Dancing Queen is a wacky enough song for a Voldy chapter and I'm the author so there **sticks out tongue**.

Chapter 25- Dancing Queen

(Voldy)

No! It was wrong! All wrong!! How could I present this horrible catastrophe to my lovely new pet?! He'd think I was insane! There clearly was NOT enough GLITTER! And something was missing.....let's see, Keigel, pink tutu, feather boa, poodle, goldfish, blonde wig, flashing Vegas sign, ballet....what was missing?! The waltz of the flowers started again and it hit me! The music! The music was all WRONG for a ballet!

"NO!! Turn that music off! We need something different, more....DIGNIFIED!" I whacked the nearest minion with my script. What else were minions for, after all? "GET ME DIFFERENT MUSIC!!"

"My lord?" a minion cowering next to me asked. I think it may have been that idiotic wormtail....why hadn't I killed him yet? Note to self, kill wormtail. "Forgive me my lord, but what music would you like exactly?"

"How the hell should I know that!? Do I have to do everything around here people?! Am I the ONLY one that cares that dear Draco's welcoming party is going to be a complete fiasco!?" I screamed, flinging curses at the retreating, scurrying back. "None of you want this to go well! You WANT me to look like a fool in front of my new pet!" I stomped my foot impatiently on one of the blue, fluffy, zombie rabbits hopping around the theater. "And someone get rid of these damn bunnies!? Which one of you brought them in anyway?! You KNOW there are no carrot eating mammals allowed in my theater room!!!" Why did they look so confused? Couldn't everyone see the blue monstrosities?!...Damn bunnies....they must have put a magical spell on my minions so they couldn't be caught....this must be some evil plan of Dumbledore's to drive me mad....yes that was it.....and why was there no music?? "Someone get me better music NOW!" note to self again, kill all minions and then make better ones.

Then, suddenly, just when I was about to give up hope of ever impressing my new darling, it started. It was perfect. It was wonderful. It was harmonious and beautiful and it was just right for the sophisticated ballet number Keigel was to perform.

"Yes! Yes! Keigel! Dance! DANCE!" I screamed, "this is it! This is PERFECT!" I whipped around to the sound booth, "What is this?!"

Baulstrode stood, "It is called ABBA, my lord. Dancing Queen." He looked around and added, "It's my daughter's..."

"Then you and your daughter shall be greatly rewarded! Now! Dance! All of you, dance!" I laughed. "Yes! Yes! Draco will love it! Won't he Narcissa?" There was no answer. "Narcissa! Answer your lord!!" Nothing. Oh no..."NO! They've killed her!"

"Who, my lord?"

"The ZOMBIE BUNNIES!!!"

(Draco)

Harry's plan was fairly simple. I would go to Malfoy manor, and if my mother was there, I would take her with me back to the school and from there to Harry's safehouse. If she wasn't there, then Harry, Ginny and I would then go to Voldemort's estate, in disguise, and we would snatch her from there. I knew the way in to Voldemort's lair, and we could just steal some cloaks from Severus. Voldemort's security was very....well....nonexistent now, and it had been since he brought himself back. Getting in would be easy, but getting out might not be, so I had wanted to tell Sev of the plan, but Harry wouldn't let me and Ginny agreed. Apparently, neither of them trusted my godfather and it seemed like Dumbledore had something to do with it. Ginny might tell me why later, but Harry never would. He'd probably never trust me again, but I knew he cared. Why else would he be helping me save my mother?

Unfortunately, she was not at the manor, like she was supposed to be. She had left me a note however. 'Dear Draco, I'm sorry I couldn't get you out of this. See you at the party, bring earplugs, and try not to tense up too much. We'll figure out a way to end it, I promise. Love and kisses, mummy.' Ginny snickered a bit upon seeing the note, but Harry just looked at it skeptically.

"Well then, plan B. Ginny, get the brooms, I want to talk to Dr...Malfoy for a minute." he said, handing her the note back.

"Sure Harry. You two boys play nice while I'm gone or you'll BOTH feel my wrath again." She warned, shaking her finger at us both. "I'll tell 'Mione bout the change of plans too, so she'll be ready."

"Thanks Gin, but it'll just take a moment." Harry said, and Ginny shrugged and left. He watched and waited until she'd rounded the corner then turned to me, "I can't trust you anymore Malfoy."

"I know Har-Potter, and I am so sorry, I really am, I..."

"Shut up and let me finish." He snapped then pinched the bridge of his nose. Oops...I'd given him another headache. "I can't trust you anymore. I want to, but I can't. I only ever asked one thing from you Malfoy, that you never lie to me, and you couldn't do that. I don't want to hear anymore of your apologies, or your excuses, so stop stuttering them out every few minutes. I realize that you're sorry, and I accept your apology, but it doesn't change the fact that you screwed up royally. If, when this is all over and it turns out you were telling the truth, then I MIGHT consider being your FRIEND, but I don't know if I can ever trust you enough to let you get any closer to me then that ever again. Do you understand?"

I nodded, hope making this fluffy warm bubble in my chest. At least he wasn't pushing me out of his life completely.

"Good." He sighed. "I hope you're telling me the truth Draco, otherwise I'll kill you myself so I don't have to do this again."

"Harry....I...."

"Got 'em! Let's go!" Ginny shouted, running back to us with the brooms AND robes. "Come on! Snape's on my trail! Hustle people!!"

"Ginny! Draco was supposed to get the robes since he know's Snape's rooms! What were you thinking?!" Harry snapped, grabbing his broom and throwing on a robe.

"Uh...Something along the lines of, 'hurry the hell up' ?" she said, throwing the other robe and broom to me. "We don't have a hell of a lot of time you know."

"She's right, Sev's going to be looking for me soon." I said, noting the darkening sky. "We should go, follow me closely."

Voldemort's castle wasn't very far from the school, just fifty miles or so, but it was unplottable and all of that so no one knew it was there. If Voldemort ever tried to launch an attack on Hogwarts, he had the perfect place to mass his troops, fortunately, he was insane and hadn't thought of that himself. Just how insane though, was unknown to us until we were inside.

It had been easy getting in, as I thought it would be. Just a quick password and nod to the guard and we were admitted into the audience chamber.

"The Dark Lord is in the theater room, preparing a show for his new pet." a house elf informed us and I shuddered. Pet? That....that couldn't be me right? Oh god....this plan better work. "Through there....should I...do I have to....inform him of your arrival?"

"No, that won't be necessary. Is the Lady Narcissa Black in the theater room? We have business with her." Ginny said regally, always the actress.

"Yes, yes, the lady Narcissa is in the balcony. She has been placed in charge of lighting." The House elf said, relieved, "The stairs to the lighting booth are there, behind that curtain."

"Very well, you're dismissed." Ginny said, sweeping to the hidden stair case with Harry and I following.

"Well done Gin, but if 'Mione ever finds out how you treated that house elf she'll....holy shit." Harry said as we climbed, then cut himself off. "What the hell is going on?"

I squeezed past him into the balcony and looked over to the stage, paling and choking. Ginny was pressed up against the wall, holding her hand over her mouth and trying not to laugh, I think, and Harry was just shaking his head in disgust. "Good God....he's insane!" I whispered. Ginny nodded her head, eyes watering with the effort of not busting up. "We need to find my mother, now."

"TUTU!" Ginny exclaimed in a quiet burst. "Poodle! GLITTER!" She was cracking.

"Uh, Gin? I think you'd better wait in the stair way...keep a lookout to make sure no one's coming up." Harry suggested wisely, unable to tear his eyes from the strange spectacle on stage....was that a goldfish on his head?

"TUTU!" Ginny snorted again, slipping back into the stair well before breaking into all out laughter. I hope no one else heard her.

Dragging ourselves away from the railing, Harry and I snuck along the wall to the closed off, dark windowed control booth. By peering hard through the glass I could see that we were in luck. There was only one person in there, and it was my mother. She was hanging her head and sighing, repeatedly. Down below, Voldemort was having some sort of conipition fit, and we could hear him screaming "Glitter!" at the top of his lungs.

I knocked softly on the glass, and a moment later a small door opened, my mother standing on the other side with wide eyes. "Draco?" she whispered, "What are you doing here? Did Severus bring you early? Who is that?"

"Ma'am, I'm Harry Potter. Malfo-Draco, says you're being held here against your will?" Harry said calmly and she nodded slowly, "I've also been led to understand that because of this, Draco is going to be forced to take the mark?" Another nod, while down below Voldemort started screaming about music. "Then we are here to rescue you, and subsequently, stop Draco from taking the mark. I can take you to a safe house where that crazy bastard down there can't find you unless you want him to, so if you're ready? We need to leave now."

"I'll just grab my purse then." Mother said, smiling as if this were a normal occurance. Suddenly, a very bouncy, upbeat disco song began to play and down below, the screaming had been replaced by shouts of glee.

"Oh god...." Harry said, turning red and starting to laugh quietly, "The dark lord likes ABBA! Wait til I tell the twins..." he snorted, as mother came out with her purse. "Ready ma'am?"

"Yes, for god's sake, get me out of here!" mum hissed, covering her ears, "I don't know how much more of this I can take!"

I couldn't resist taking a peek over the railing as we quickly crept along the wall, but I deeply regretted it. Not because someone saw me, because no one did, but because of what I saw. On stage, the man in the tutu was trying to perform some sort of ballet, with a giant poodle under one arm, to this bouncy disco song, and in the very front row, stood Voldemort, dancing and shaking his moldy ass to the beat. That will be an image that remains with me for the rest of my life. Dear lord....eww.


A/N: Silly with an angsty twist or angsty with a silly twist? who knows!