The Lion and the Serpent

They sat down right on the wet grass, and stared vacantly ahead. Harry\'s figure disappeared in the darkness, and the faint shimmer of the magical shield was all they could see.



“So...” Draco asked absently. “Where\'s Cali? And the rest of Group One?”



“Busy,” Hermione said noncommittally.



“Tell me,” Draco insisted.



“Alright...well, if you must know. Rockford is in Brisbane, Kaige is in Capetown, and Calixa is in Anchorage.”



“How did you get the port-keys for international travel?” Draco asked, allowing himself to be distracted from staring at the place of Harry\'s imminent death.



“Who said anything about port-keys?” Hermione said softly.



“It\'s illegal for persons under the age of seventeen to Apparate,” Draco said absently, automatically. “And Apparating between the countries is against the law.”



Hermione stared at him darkly. For a moment, her gaze reminded him of Harry\'s.



“Draco... we are the law now,” she said firmly, sending a chill down his spine.



He stared at her, shocked.



“Granger... you\'ll get them killed... and get yourself sent to Azkaban, or worse.”



Hermione shook her head. “They\'ll be fine. They won\'t be noticed.” Her voice was confident, and reassuring, and Draco could tell that she had given this plan a great deal of thought. “They have the Phoenix Rod. Well, Calixa has it. At the first sign of trouble, she\'ll get them out of there. They can communicate through the Marks. They are Slytherin. They know how to make it through hard times without useless heroics.”



“But why?” he asked. “Why send them there?”



“So that we know whether our plan is working,” Hermione said firmly. “When Harry opens himself for Voldemort to possess, we need to know if what he\'s doing is affecting the rest of the world... that Voldemort\'s essence is being removed from everywhere.”



Draco snorted incredulously. “And how will they know?” He asked sourly. “It\'s not like they have voldemortometers that can tell them how much of Voldemort\'s presence is left around them...”



She laughed softly. “No.. but they are Slytherin. Sensitive to the Dark. They\'ll know. Besides, there are socio-behavioral indicators... I predict that once Voldemort\'s essence is drawn away, the major outbreaks of violence will cease ...”



Draco stared at her with a mix of admiration and disgust. “You are such an unbelievable geek, Granger.”



“Thanks, ferret,” she laughed, and patted his back. His shoulders stiffened as her fingers touched him, and he turned away from her.



“What\'s wrong?” she asked softly.



“It begins,” he whispered. “I can feel it.”



The Dark was moving all around them, streaming throughout the air, drawn to Harry\'s presence.



Draco froze, feeling as if he was caught in the torrent of venom, unable to break free. The current intensified, became more wild, more turbulent. Draco\'s entire body shuddered from the sensations, as the invisible force flowed right through him, propelling him towards his Master. It took all of Draco\'s willpower to stand still.



And then, the fury began. Behind the shields that the students had erected, Hermione and Draco saw a storm of green energy forming in a distance, and shooting out towards them, impacting against the shields. The shields buckled slightly, but held.



Hermione jumped to her feet instantly, ran up to the students, with her wand drawn. She stood side by side with Locke and Hyperion, the energy flowing from her wand, strengthening the shield.



“Thanks,” Hyperion said breathlessly. Beads of sweat were running down his dark face that was writhen with anxiety. “He seems to be focused on this particular part of the shield...”



Another explosion struck against them, and Draco saw that, even with the shield in place, Hermione bore the brunt of it. She almost fell at the impact, but Hyperion\'s hand grabbed her by the elbow and steadied her.



“Draco - It\'s you!” Hermione shouted then. “You\'ve got to get out of here! It\'s you! He\'s Voldemort now! He\'s trying to get to you! Go! Run!”



His feet were as good as glued to the ground. His Mark was awake, alive, set on fire, and it was drawn to the barren patch of land where Harry and Voldemort had merged into one being.



A cold, ancient voice penetrated his mind, awakening and shaking every part of him. The voice, comprised of thousands of whispers, spoke tenderly.



You\'ve betrayed me, my servant, Voldemort hissed. You\'ve allowed someone else to claim you.



“I didn\'t exactly have much choice in the matter,” Draco said bitterly.



You could have begged him. You could have kissed his feet. You could have debased yourself before him. He would have relented. You chose to let him.



Draco did not know what to say to that.



All is not lost, the voice advised him. We are one now. Come to me. Come to us. You already belong to me, through him. Come, and all will be forgiven. Forever.



“Draco ! Get out of here!” Hermione screamed. “Move!”



Draco moved, but not to run. He had no thoughts, no feelings left – only instinct, and cold, impersonal fire that burned throughout his entire body. He was going to his Master.



He walked towards the shield confidently. His entire being was focused on getting through that shield, and joining his Master. The Mark, conjured for Voldemort, but owned by Harry, was drawn irresistibly to the two of them, joined in one body.



“Bloody hell!” Layre yelled, glancing at Draco in absolute terror. “Can someone punch him out, please! Or hex him!”



“His collar won\'t let us,” Hyperion reminded. “Focus on the shield.”



“But – if he gets through - he will kill him – he will create a new hortcrux...” Layre cried, incoherently, his resolve beginning to weaken.



“He won\'t. It will be fine,” Hermione said firmly. “Ignore him. Calm yourself, Layre. Focus your mind. Remember the strongest thing that ever protected you, and kept you safe. Focus that thought, let it flow into what you are doing. The shield.”



The boy nodded and took a deep breath. The shield energy steadied, and grew stronger.



Only a couple of feet away from them, Draco smiled darkly, with grim determination. He needed to get through, no matter what. He threw himself against the wall of energy as hard as he could.



“Master!” he hissed.



Before Draco ever reached the energy shield generated by Hyperion, Hermione and Layre, his body slammed against an invisible barrier.



He bounced off, and fell on the ground, stunned and bewildered. He then lunged at Hermione, and Hyperion, with his entire body, intending to break their concentration, and weaken the shield just long enough to slip past it. Once again, the invisible barrier stopped him. He struggled against it wildly, uselessly, not understanding what it was, or where it came from.



He screamed. His Mark on fire, the Dark permeating his mind and body, Draco screamed and begged. He begged for his Master to take him, to use him, to kill him.



Somehow, through the darkness, through the fire, through the anguished screams, Hermione\'s voice broke through:



“Draco.. just hold on. Please, Draco. Just hold on.”



He knew then what she was asking. She was not asking him to fight the force that was propelling him towards death, twisting him, and burning him alive. She was only asking him to survive it.



--------------to be continued ----