Unofficial Portkey Archive

Author's Note: So. Seems like we're going back in time to explain some things. And raise even more questions. :D I promised the next chapter will be much much longer.

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"Harry-" A giggle escaped the confines of the sweet pink lips that beckoned his.

The drapes were a dirty yellow intertwined with gold, sneakily letting in stray beams of light that splashed against mused white sheets and tangled limbs. Her breath was hot and stifling underneath the bombardment of fabric, colliding with his face and running along his body.

"It's getting late." Words followed the heated air. "They'll be wondering where we are..."

A throaty chuckle left his mouth. "They'll know where we are, Hermione."

She reached across the small space that divided them, honey eyes lite with playfulness, and weaved her fingers through tufts of coarse and thick black hair. "Harry..." She pleaded, and the knocking of a nearby door answered.

"It's almost noon! Come out, or I'll be forced to come in there myself!" Two heads popped from underneath the folded sheets, fresh air rushing their faces.

"I won't say I told you so," Hermione laughed, and wiggled out from beneath him.

"Eyes closed!" The voice added frantically.

A surprised squeal left her, leaving her mouth in the momentum of two strong arms dragging her over the distraught pile of white. Frizzy ringlets of curls stroked the sun-bathed mattress and hid in the darkness of frightened shadows. "I told you so," he teased.

"Come on!" Ron's agitated voice sounded through the door again. "Mum's made breakfast for you two hours ago and Dumbledore wants a word with you, Harry."

Any trace of playfulness left Harry's face, and a wave of secrets rose in his eyes, sweeping and residing like the tide. "I wonder what it is..." Hermione mused, turning a confused expression from the closed door.

Harry smiled, and the light that had abandoned him moments before shone again. "Me too," he agreed, and planting a chaste kiss on her lips, finally rose from bed. "All right, Ron!" He bellowed. "We'll be right down."

The thunder of his best friend's heavy footsteps followed, gradually becoming distant until they ceased all together. Harry quietly pulled on his clothes, trying to ignore the honey eyes that followed his every move.

"What do you speak to Dumbledore about so often, anyway?"

"Nothing," he hastened, turning away from her gaze quickly. "I've told you. He helps me practice Occlumency."

"Harry-" She started, halted by the blank, unmoving stare he fixed on her, fingers lingering over his shirt. He saw the hesitation in her eyes, the wounded gaze that seemed to erode ever more of his resolve. "Some days you leave for these lessons, and it takes you days to come back."

"Hermione-"

"I'm not daft, Harry."

"I know."

And silence seemed to steal their voices, dangling the unspoken words out of their reach.

The thud of footsteps pounded mercilessly against the hallway floor, reverberating through the castle of stone, the sound muffled under the black drape of hood.

Jade eyes searched the path relentlessly, turned every corner with knowledge and precision of his whereabouts, hand clasped tightly and discreetly around the thin, long wand of holly. He stopped abruptly, drawing it up at the swish of dark robes emerging from the coming corner. "Stop," he ordered, and the figure obeyed.

Face set, he drew closer in long strides, stopping only when he could make out the silver that shone from inside.

They widened in surprise, worry, anger, and soon he was being tugged harshly into the opposite doorway, tumbling into the room gracelessly, a movement much less sophisticated and refined than his previous. Feet found their way and his body righted itself after a second's sway, and he turned penetratingly rageful eyes to his fellow occupant. "Was that necessary, you wanker?" He spat.

Long, milky white fingers drew back the hems of a robe, revealing the pointed face of Draco Malfoy, his eyes still wide with fear. "Are you absolutely insane?" He barked. "What are you doing here? If you had been found- if you had been seen-"

"Oh, shut it," he breathed out with a large measure of annoyance. "Do you think me that dull as to enter this castle without knowing the consequences? I'm here to bring you a message, you prat."

"Then out with it!"

"Dumbledore wishes me to-"

He stopped suddenly, listening.

"Fuck." Draco's voice growled in realization.

They both moved quickly, timed against the rustle and movement of voices and cloaks in the outside hall. Silver appeared from beneath the long robes that adorned Harry's body, and retiring to a remote corner, both men disappeared underneath the silky strands of Demiguise hair.

"Just like you to throw us both into this room."

"I don't recall that being your number one priority when I did, now shut up." Draco snapped back, and the high-pitched sound of rusted metal groaned in agony, allowing entrance to three sets of hooded Death Eaters.

"Listen, Aldous," a voice whispered dangerously from beneath one hood, drawling and softly feminine, "you are best to keep your mouth shut about things you do not understand."

A croaking, unsure laughter replied, this tone deeper with age and masculinity. "There a far few things that I do not understand completely, Bellatrix."

A shallow breath left her slight frame. "The Dark Lord's plans are for only those to whom he trusts the most, Nott. You do well to respect his wishes or your pain will be one of them."

"I am a loyal and obedient servant of our Lord." He stepped forward, and there was no mistaking the anger in his voice, nor the indiscreet way in which Bella's hand slipped underneath the folds of black, ready to strike.

Nott paused, and sighed heavily, drawing back his robe to reveal wrinkles of hard long years and a trembling lip that seemed to move on its own accord. Blue veins lined his face, mapping the contours, and what was left of his white hair was combed slick back against his neck, and sprinkled on his upper lip. "I only ask for his audience."

Bella's fingers, like the legs of a spider and nails deathly black, slipped off her hood to reveal a malicious grin. "And you come to me. You follow me to my quarters begging and pleading like a weak, senile old man and for what? To ask an audience with one you are so unworthy of? What do you want from the Dark Lord, Nott? Forgiveness for your betrayal?" She took a seductive step forward, desiring his rage. "For your son?"

"Bella!" The third, slender figure that had been hovering silently, spoke up. "There are some lines you do not cross." She reprimanded harshly. Those words seemed to light Bellatrix's mad eyes, and her grin grew, stretching her lips grotesquely. "And he brought along the little rodent as well."

A mass of startling red hair flushed with the dismal darkness of the room. A maze of freckles outlined reddening cheeks, and an unadulterated ire seemed to radiate from her being. "You are not the only means of going about this, Bella. Only a obstacle that can be easily overcome."

The rows of white that had been flashing before retreated. "Get out of my room, Aldous. And take this trash with you."

A horrid smile twisted Ginevra Weasley's lips before she turned and followed her fellow Death Eater out the door, shutting it with a quiet click.

The air whistled with the force in which Bella's wand was pulled from her cloak. She breathed heavily, clutching it in her palm, glare steadily in the wake of Ginny's departure. She heaved and sputtered curses, firing harmless red sparks, before shoving the weapon back and stalking from the room in a barely controlled rage.

The crackling of a fire was all that remained in the wake of the bitter argument until cloth bellowed softly from a corner, revealing the grim faces of Draco and Harry.

"She'll be back soon." Draco stated, planting a hasty stare.

"Dumbledore sent me-" Harry reached in his pocket, pulling out a small red box that fit into the center of his palm. "-to give you this."

They exchanged mutual looks of grave understanding, and Draco took the box, gripping it tightly in his fist.

Harry left without another word.

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