The Bottom Of Black
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Draco/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
8
Views:
5,012
Reviews:
11
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Draco/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
8
Views:
5,012
Reviews:
11
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
The Crimson Mark
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn’t bother writing this. Obviously, I don’t.
PS. /sfdglknafgouee/ = thoughts
****************************************
As they approached the castle, Draco flew higher. He knew rep caps could snap at their feet or the broom if he was too close to the ground. The last thing he needed was a run-in with a gang of red caps with Hermione out like this.
The tall towers of Hogwarts were showing signs of age. The shingles were peeling off in places, and mildew had begun to infest the crevasses between stones. No doubt bundimuns had infested the rafters by now. A pang of sadness rippled through him. His old school, all of his mates, all of his memories… It had been a haven to him, and now it was nothing more than a ruin.
Dumbledore’s grave was still as milky white as ever in the dull evening light, his memory preserved in gleaming, polished stone. But now the castle was upon him. He raced up the steps a good bit away from the dull overgrown lawn and landed, catching Hermione and laying her gently down on the vestibule. Draco stood and brandished his wand before the great double doors. “Alohomora!” Nothing happened. He heard no chink of locks unbolting, no creak of hinges. He sighed and looked around for something heavy. A collection of large stones from a destroyed column lay about twenty yards away. “Locomotor,” he shouted, and a stone rose from the ground slowly. He swung his wand in the direction of the doors and the rubble collided with them moments later, smashing them into splintered shards of timber and brass. He turned his wand on Hermione. “Mobilicorpus.” Her hair swaying lightly beneath her, she drifted into the air and followed him as he stepped through the debris and into the large entrance hall. In place of the sprawling floor was a murky pool of water. The ceiling must have caved in and flooded parts of the castle. The only entrance to the dungeons lay beyond the water. There was no other way; he’d have to risk going through it.
“I would not do that, were I you,” hissed a voice Draco knew only too well. Leaning on the banister and looking rather smug was Snape. “The water will freeze the meat off of your bones.”
It was a trap.
***
The room was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Ginny, having been nudged on the shoulder by Tonks, blinked sleepily and rubbed her eyes, staring at the map on the table while waiting for them to focus. “What?” she yawned, and Tonks pointed at the very spot Ginny was gazing at.
“There’s magic at Hogwarts.” Usually this would be an obvious statement, laughable even, but nowadays magic at Hogwarts was a dangerous thing.
Neville leaned over the map with a now wide awake Ginny and Tonks. Over a detailed drawing of Hogwarts and the countryside around it, a deep crimson ink blotch was slowly spreading. “Wand magic, looks like. There’s been some activity there lately what with all the prior incantations still running their course and those potions spilled on the floor and all… We just assumed it was harmless, but this, this is like nothing I‘ve seen there lately.” He peered more closely, but couldn’t tell anything more. “Bloody ink is covering up the names.” Neville was staring directly down at the Marauder’s Map, charmed to show signs of magic at the great ruin that was Hogwarts. Fred and George had made copies of it since the war, but this, the original, was the most effective, the most accurate. “Scorgify!” The syrupy liquid funneled itself into the end of Neville’s wand.
***
“Snape,” Draco growled. He had not been sure how he would react when he saw his former exemplar. Snape had been his house teacher, his Potions master, his Legimens tutor, and his father’s friend. Now that the bone white Death Eater was standing before Draco, he wasn’t sure he trusted him.
/Why am I here?/
Draco’s mind flooded. Memories of Hermione filled him, and a warmth washed over him. He smiled to himself, despite the situation.
“I see you’ve obliterated the doors. Very intelligent. Now anyone with the willingness and desire can come waltzing through Hogwarts. Draco, I’ve always liked you, but you’re not the most brilliant of wizards.”
Snape’s words brought Draco back from a sort of trance. “I did bloody alright, I think. Survived the war unscathed. And I’m not hiding away like a bloody rat am I, then?”
“The single reason you are alive today is because I vouched for you to the Dark Lord. I assured him you would be useful, and you have been. Unfortunately for you, your mother is dead and my unbreakable vow is thankfully negated. Now, Draco, say your farewell to Miss Granger. No? Well, then I‘ll get on with it…”
Snape raised his wand, no doubt to bestow the most unforgivable of curses on Draco, but a strict voice growled “Not quite yet, Severus. He may yet have some use.” Draco’s eyes darted to the speaker. It was Hermione, only Hermione was floating somewhere behind the lithe brunette figure addressing Snape. He thought he recognized the thing fluttering in and out of existence, though he couldn’t believe it. Its facial features were like wax left a little too long in the sun, not quite detailed enough to be human. She moved in jerks, her entire figure sputtering like a candle in a sharp wind.
/What in the bloody hell is going on?/
“Master-”
“No.” The specter flickered for a moment, then glanced at Draco, her eyes flashing green. He felt his body flying through the air and the crushing pain of his back slamming against solid rock. Sliding down the stones to the ground some ten feet below, the last thing Draco heard before sound and sight ceased was “That should do for now. Where is the potion?” And then all was black.
***
“It is downstairs, almost ready, my Lord.” Snape bowed low.
Hermione’s hands conjured a high-backed chair. The figure sat. “I will wait here.” Snape whispered an incantation and strode over the inky water to the low door at the other side.
/Soon./
She would wake, pretentious fool that she was, and she would die.
***
Ginny pointed her own wand at the map. “Magnify.” A bubble appeared over the map, amplifying the entrance area.
They each read the names. ‘Snape.’ ‘Draco.’ And ‘Hermione’?! Alive? After years of searching, they had given up hope. But there she was, on a map that could not lie. They all saw the last in unison, as it kept flickering on the yellowed paper. It was by far the most disturbing of the four, and Tonks wretched back in terror. “No! No, not again! How could he…?!”
‘Tom Riddle.’
*******************************
Stay tuned and please review! - TooMuch
PS. /sfdglknafgouee/ = thoughts
****************************************
As they approached the castle, Draco flew higher. He knew rep caps could snap at their feet or the broom if he was too close to the ground. The last thing he needed was a run-in with a gang of red caps with Hermione out like this.
The tall towers of Hogwarts were showing signs of age. The shingles were peeling off in places, and mildew had begun to infest the crevasses between stones. No doubt bundimuns had infested the rafters by now. A pang of sadness rippled through him. His old school, all of his mates, all of his memories… It had been a haven to him, and now it was nothing more than a ruin.
Dumbledore’s grave was still as milky white as ever in the dull evening light, his memory preserved in gleaming, polished stone. But now the castle was upon him. He raced up the steps a good bit away from the dull overgrown lawn and landed, catching Hermione and laying her gently down on the vestibule. Draco stood and brandished his wand before the great double doors. “Alohomora!” Nothing happened. He heard no chink of locks unbolting, no creak of hinges. He sighed and looked around for something heavy. A collection of large stones from a destroyed column lay about twenty yards away. “Locomotor,” he shouted, and a stone rose from the ground slowly. He swung his wand in the direction of the doors and the rubble collided with them moments later, smashing them into splintered shards of timber and brass. He turned his wand on Hermione. “Mobilicorpus.” Her hair swaying lightly beneath her, she drifted into the air and followed him as he stepped through the debris and into the large entrance hall. In place of the sprawling floor was a murky pool of water. The ceiling must have caved in and flooded parts of the castle. The only entrance to the dungeons lay beyond the water. There was no other way; he’d have to risk going through it.
“I would not do that, were I you,” hissed a voice Draco knew only too well. Leaning on the banister and looking rather smug was Snape. “The water will freeze the meat off of your bones.”
It was a trap.
***
The room was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Ginny, having been nudged on the shoulder by Tonks, blinked sleepily and rubbed her eyes, staring at the map on the table while waiting for them to focus. “What?” she yawned, and Tonks pointed at the very spot Ginny was gazing at.
“There’s magic at Hogwarts.” Usually this would be an obvious statement, laughable even, but nowadays magic at Hogwarts was a dangerous thing.
Neville leaned over the map with a now wide awake Ginny and Tonks. Over a detailed drawing of Hogwarts and the countryside around it, a deep crimson ink blotch was slowly spreading. “Wand magic, looks like. There’s been some activity there lately what with all the prior incantations still running their course and those potions spilled on the floor and all… We just assumed it was harmless, but this, this is like nothing I‘ve seen there lately.” He peered more closely, but couldn’t tell anything more. “Bloody ink is covering up the names.” Neville was staring directly down at the Marauder’s Map, charmed to show signs of magic at the great ruin that was Hogwarts. Fred and George had made copies of it since the war, but this, the original, was the most effective, the most accurate. “Scorgify!” The syrupy liquid funneled itself into the end of Neville’s wand.
***
“Snape,” Draco growled. He had not been sure how he would react when he saw his former exemplar. Snape had been his house teacher, his Potions master, his Legimens tutor, and his father’s friend. Now that the bone white Death Eater was standing before Draco, he wasn’t sure he trusted him.
/Why am I here?/
Draco’s mind flooded. Memories of Hermione filled him, and a warmth washed over him. He smiled to himself, despite the situation.
“I see you’ve obliterated the doors. Very intelligent. Now anyone with the willingness and desire can come waltzing through Hogwarts. Draco, I’ve always liked you, but you’re not the most brilliant of wizards.”
Snape’s words brought Draco back from a sort of trance. “I did bloody alright, I think. Survived the war unscathed. And I’m not hiding away like a bloody rat am I, then?”
“The single reason you are alive today is because I vouched for you to the Dark Lord. I assured him you would be useful, and you have been. Unfortunately for you, your mother is dead and my unbreakable vow is thankfully negated. Now, Draco, say your farewell to Miss Granger. No? Well, then I‘ll get on with it…”
Snape raised his wand, no doubt to bestow the most unforgivable of curses on Draco, but a strict voice growled “Not quite yet, Severus. He may yet have some use.” Draco’s eyes darted to the speaker. It was Hermione, only Hermione was floating somewhere behind the lithe brunette figure addressing Snape. He thought he recognized the thing fluttering in and out of existence, though he couldn’t believe it. Its facial features were like wax left a little too long in the sun, not quite detailed enough to be human. She moved in jerks, her entire figure sputtering like a candle in a sharp wind.
/What in the bloody hell is going on?/
“Master-”
“No.” The specter flickered for a moment, then glanced at Draco, her eyes flashing green. He felt his body flying through the air and the crushing pain of his back slamming against solid rock. Sliding down the stones to the ground some ten feet below, the last thing Draco heard before sound and sight ceased was “That should do for now. Where is the potion?” And then all was black.
***
“It is downstairs, almost ready, my Lord.” Snape bowed low.
Hermione’s hands conjured a high-backed chair. The figure sat. “I will wait here.” Snape whispered an incantation and strode over the inky water to the low door at the other side.
/Soon./
She would wake, pretentious fool that she was, and she would die.
***
Ginny pointed her own wand at the map. “Magnify.” A bubble appeared over the map, amplifying the entrance area.
They each read the names. ‘Snape.’ ‘Draco.’ And ‘Hermione’?! Alive? After years of searching, they had given up hope. But there she was, on a map that could not lie. They all saw the last in unison, as it kept flickering on the yellowed paper. It was by far the most disturbing of the four, and Tonks wretched back in terror. “No! No, not again! How could he…?!”
‘Tom Riddle.’
*******************************
Stay tuned and please review! - TooMuch