Story: Stress
Chapter: 23
Rating of Chapter: PG-13
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things I own are the plot, any characters, spells etc that you do not recognize.
Author Notes: Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and you will see that there is info on the sequel, a name change.
Chapter 23: Riddles
Draco proceeded into the room, he saw Ginny turn around. "What are you doing here?" he asked. She rose up from her seat.
"I'm here for you…Draco," the Ginny standing before him suddenly transformed, and she took the shape of a he. There was a tall man standing in front of Draco, he had slick brown hair, grey eyes and was wearing a red shirt with a black jacket, tie and pants. The jacket was long and nearly touched the floor giving the man a rather daunting look. He also had a black goatee, and gleaming black shoes.
"What are you doing here? How did you do that?" asked Draco nervously.
"I'm here for my money," he hissed.
"For the lab?"
"Yes for the lab," the man glared at Malfoy, sending a chill down his spine. "I heard about the incident with your father, and I dearly hope that you have the money he owes me."
"I don't…why don't you ask my mother?"
"She's dead."
"What?" although Draco's mother was as bad as his father, it still came as shock to him.
"She committed suicide last night. Now where's my money!"? He grabbed Draco by the neck and held him in a tight grip.
"I told you, I don't know!" Draco yelled. The grip was tightening on his neck.
"Where else can I get the money? What about that Potter kid? I heard he inherited a small fortune. You must know, you've been to school with him for the past six years."
"Let go of me!" The man reluctantly loosened his grip on Draco's neck and shoved him to the ground. "Potter isn't my friend."
"You don't need to be his friend to know if he has money or not. Now tell me, so I can find him!" Draco didn't say anything, so the man pulled out his wand.
"Ok, ok," conceded Draco. "Potter…Potter's money is nothing to do with you or me!" Draco swept out a leg and tripped the man up; he then pulled out his wand and pointed it at him. "Mobilicorpus!" The invisible strings tied up the man. "How did you turn back into yourself at the time when you wanted? I know you can't do that with a Polyjuice Potion."
"You're right. But you can do it when you're a shapeshifter. You see back in high school I was on my way to my research lab that I had set up. I walked up to a muddy hilltop where I had a trapdoor in the ground that led me to my lab. I was down there one day minding my own business when I noticed a leak in the side of my lab. There was some sort of a mucky substance souring through the hole. At first I just thought it was crap from a sewer about twenty metres away. It turns out that that sewer was filled with Polyjuice Potion, and it was run by your father. It was fresh, so no hairs had been added. Therefore when the Polyjuice Potion destroyed my lab, I swallowed some and now have the ability to become anybody I like, whenever I like, for as long as I like."
"What did my father want with all that Polyjuice Potion?"
"He sold it. To people who didn't have the ingredients or intelligence to make their own. It was just another way for him to make money from other people. Your father still owes me money from when I let him use my new lab for his potions. One day Draco, I will get that money."
"That's if I ever release you," answered Draco. "But I'm not like my father, I will release you, and I will get you your money. How much do you need?"
"It's Muggle money. £500,000."
"Ok." Draco removed the ropes. "I'll have you the money as soon as possible."
*
Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting by their lake after Care of Magical Creatures. Harry had dozed off next to a tree.
He was standing in front of that large oak door again; he looked to the side and saw the graveyard again. Sirius, James and Lily. He noticed the Phoenix in the air again, it dropped a small piece of Parchment it nestled neatly in the ground.
"Harry." Harry jumped from his sleep and Hermione smiling at him. "You fell asleep."
"Sorry, I was dreaming." He put his hands in his pockets and felt something in there. He pulled out a small piece of parchment. "It's blank. I was just dreaming about a Phoenix dropping a piece of parchment and here it is."
"Aparecium," muttered Hermione. A few lines of text were now visible. Harry read the text aloud.
"Hello me friend,
You have been sent this because your heart desires something more than anyone else in this world. I am no person, but a riddle. Follow these riddles, and you will get what you are really after.
In the heart of these riddles is something you cannot hire, it will bring to you what you truly desire."
"What do you think it is?" asked Hermione.
"I don't know. I desire a lot of things but I don't know what I truly desire. I have to find more riddles."
"It's probably just a hoax," stated Ron.
"I don't think so. Not after it appeared in my dream. I wonder how I get the next riddle." Just then another piece of parchment appeared on Harry's lap. Hermione turned the ink visible again, and Harry read.
"Keep an eye out my friend, however strange this sounds, what you are seeking lies outside the grounds."
"So it's outside the castle, but where?" pondered Hermione.
"We need more riddles," said Harry. But this time nothing appeared.
Author Notes: A new character, a new mystery…let me know what you think. As for the sequel.
Name Change: I have come up with a much more suiting name for the sequel. It will now be called…. WAR!