The Lion and the Serpent

Author\'s Note:



QB: hank you for your thoughtful comments as always. I know the scene of exiting from the darkness was too quick – and originally I had planned it to be a bit longer – but as I started writing it, I found myself unable to sustain the length ... I really just wanted to get it over with. So... I know you are right, and my apologies ; ) Maybe one of these days I\'ll go back to this chapter and add more to it.



Thank you all for your reviews.... I feel very touched that people feel for my characters... The “Eternal Sunshine” chapter is sad... I know... but it has been planned since almost the beginning of the novel, so there was no way out of it... but now, on with the story:



------------------------ Masks ---------------------------



When they returned to Harry\'s quarters, Hermione took off, and Draco retreated into the bedroom – Harry\'s bedroom. It was morning by then, and sunlight was streaming into the room through the window. Draco rushed to the window, drew the curtains shut, and collapsed on the bed.



He inhaled deeply and was shattered to recognize that the bed, the blankets, the pillows were permeated with Harry\'s presence. His scent was clinging to the fabric, lingering in the air – and Draco\'s whole body ached with memories of his Master\'s touch. Whatever curse had afflicted Harry, Draco was cursed as well.



He sobbed quietly for a while, in the dreary silence of the quarters. Eventually, exhausted, he just lay numbly, listening to the sounds in their quarters.



He heard Hermione return, and he heard sounds of books slamming against the dining table. He heard other noises too – and he stuck his head out of the bedroom. Hermione had piled the table with books, and was setting up a miniature potions laboratory in Harry\'s quarters.



“What are you doing?” he asked quietly.



“I can\'t give up on him,” she said firmly. “I spoke to Poppy. I am going to perfect the blood replenishing potion, and the heal-all draught. It won\'t save him, but I think it will give us some extra time... Draco, we also need to find out who cursed him.”



He glanced at her doubtfully, but a faint glimmer of hope was already taking root in his mind.



“How can we find out?”



“I don\'t know,” she admitted reluctantly. “But you were with him most of the time. Try to remember. Anything ... unusual...? Was there anyone suspicious hanging around? Was there any indication that someone may have been after him?”



Draco sat down for a minute, deep in thought. Finally, he said:



“Poppy said that the curse was delivered on four separate occasions. It would help if I could get the times...”



Hermione considered his question thoughtfully.



“I couldn\'t give you exact times, I am afraid. But I can give you a ballpark idea... We need to go back to the infirmary.”



In the infirmary, Poppy and Hermione scanned Harry\'s body and came up with the times, that Draco wrote down carefully on a piece of parchment:



Friday, late afternoon/early evening (4pm-7pm?)

Sunday, late morning/early afternoon (10 am-1pm?)

Tuesday, late afternoon/early evening (3pm-6pm?)

Thursday, late night (11pm-2am?)



“I am not sure if is important to what we are looking for, but the strength of the curse varied each time,” Hermione said softly. “Tuesday afternoon was the weakest. Thursday night was the worst.”



Draco nodded absently, barely listening to her. A suspicion was beginning to form in his mind.



Hermione looked at him hopefully:



“Draco... any ideas?”



“No,” he lied. “Not yet. I\'ll go for a walk, clear my head. I am sure I\'ll come up with something.”



“Sure,” she said, her voice barely hiding disappointment.



He left the infirmary quickly and headed towards the Slytherin dormitory. When he stopped by Calixa\'s door, he\'d cast a discreet spell, to find out that she was alone. He knocked on the door.



“Enter,” he heard, and he did.



She sat at her desk, her long straight blond hair cascading down her shoulders. She looked so serene, so peaceful, Draco thought bitterly. She wore so many masks. The shy timid student, the anxious rescuer, the compassionate comforter, the defiant rebel, the reluctant ally, the self-sacrificing hero ... he wondered what was underneath all that – who she really was.



She noticed the bitter, grim look on his face and gazed at him with concern.



“What\'s wrong?” she asked softly.



He sat down on a chair across from her, and smiled.



“I just need to know something,” he said peaceably. “How did you curse him?”



Her eyes shot up as she stared at him, confused.



“Whom?” she asked, and then, her face went ashen.



He stared at her without blinking.



“I didn\'t,” she said vehemently. “I helped save his life, you might recall.”



“Oh yes. Right,” Draco smiled again. “That was brilliant, by the way. Way to divert suspicion from yourself.... You kindly absorbed a non-lethal amount of poison from his lifeless body, knowing that he would die, regardless.”



“Draco... what\'s gotten into you?” she begged, looking genuinely scared now. “What makes you think it was me?”



He chuckled. “Well.. let\'s see now... Your family has a long history of involvement with Dark Magic, by your own admission. You never bothered to hide your hatred of him, or how much you wanted him dead. You gathered up your little Resistance group, and tried to get me to join you in your efforts. You\'ve manipulated me, used me, messed with my memories...”



“You gave me your consent...” she started saying, but he stopped her.



“And how do I know that?” he demanded. “It\'s not like I remember any of it.”



“It wasn\'t me,” she repeated stubbornly. Draco had to admit to himself that, if nothing else, he admired her resolve. Silently, he produced the piece of parchment from his pocket and glanced at it.



“Did you have DADA last Tuesday?” he asked casually.



“Of course,” she said. “Every day, last day of the class. Ends at three in the afternoon...”



“That answers that, then,” Draco murmured. “You see,” he showed her the parchment, “These are the times that the curse was inflicted. You are the only person who had been around those times...Shall we go over those times, one by one, to help jog your memory, Cali?”



She stared at him angrily, but gave no reply. He didn\'t need one.



“Friday night. After you, ahem, saved me, you were in Harry\'s quarters. I wonder, though, how did you know I would be in trouble? Were you just stalking Harry, and happened to notice me running off? Took this as an opportunity to worm yourself into his quarters?”



“Sunday late morning. The moment he left, you were there. Were you stalking him again? Did you see him on his way out? Did you say hello to him as you cursed him?”



“Tuesday... we just covered that. You cursed him right after class? What happened, Cali, did the mean awful Professor take some points from Slytherin again?”



“Thursday night. He welcomed you into his inner circle. But that didn\'t stop you, did it? You cursed him again, one last time, this time worse than ever.”



Her eyes were welling up with tears and she tried to stand up. Roughly, he pushed her back into her chair. Quickly and forcefully, he reached into her pocket, and confiscated her wand. Stunned, she barely made a move to protest..



“Don\'t,” he growled. “I don\'t care why you did it – to save the world, or to kill someone you hated. I just want to know the exact curse you used. If you give it to me, I\'ll let you live.”



“Let me live?” she cried out. “Draco...you are not a killer...”



“On the contrary, Cali. A killer is exactly what I am,” Draco said with absolute conviction. “I killed a fellow student in cold blood – the day he loaned me his textbook. A year and a half later, I used the same means to kill the man who had forgiven me for the death of his best friend and made me his lover. What makes you think that I would spare you?”



She didn\'t know how to answer that. For a moment he thought she was going to try and fight him, and he stopped her forcefully:



“You won\'t even be able to lay a single blow on me, little girl,” he warned. “The collar protects me from attacks... as you may remember.”



“I didn\'t do it,” she repeated stubbornly. “I can\'t help you.”



“Then I will help myself,” he informed her, pulling out his wand. “To everything I need to know.”



She gazed at him sadly.



“Legilimency,” she said bitterly. “You\'ll do to me what he did to you. Violate my mind... to take what you want from me. It\'s a crime, Draco. A serious one. You could be sent to Azkaban for that...”



Draco\'s lips quivered into a contemptuous, cold smile. Did she really think he cared about that? He went through hell and back to try and rescue Harry. He would gladly submit to Dementor\'s Kiss, in return for the slimmest chance to save his love. She didn\'t count on that, he thought.



As he stared at her pitiful, terrified face, he felt no compassion. Rage welled up inside him, blinding him, obscuring his rational thoughts. Rage was all he had left.



He pointed his wand at her. It was time for the masks to come off.