From the Dark Into the Light by kumydabookworm

Rating: PG13
Genres: Angst, Romance
Relationships: Draco & Ginny
Book: Draco & Ginny, Books 1 - 6
Published: 07/08/2005
Last Updated: 01/06/2006
Status: Paused

Ginevra gave everything up to serve the Light, but she is drowning in her own darkness. The
Prince of Darkness himself will do anything to save her, no matter the price to himself...or to the
Dark Lord. Author's Note Added!




1. Chapter 1
------------

**July 16, 2005 Inserted A/N** - I just finished reading HPHBP and in order for the story to
still fit with the circumstances created by JKR in the Harry Potter series, there will need to be
some understanding on part of the readers (which means you!). As you all probably know, the
students that fought at the Department of Mysteries do not become adults or receive any money.
Please bear with this alteration from the story line…it was published way before the sixth book.
The reason I have this alteration in the first place is to allow some post Hogwarts time
essentially before the end of Voldemort…the seventh year of Harry’s schooling in the books, the
second year of his adulthood in my head. My theory is that Draco and Ginny would have no chance to
meet at Hogwarts because of the vast divide between the two Houses and the Heads, as well (Snape
and McGonagall). So, in order to allow them some “post-Hogwarts” time while still remaining within
the timeline provided by JKR (seven years)…they get their adulthood early.

Draco, meanwhile was removed from the school and granted his adulthood by his family, namely his
father. Thanks for bearing with this OOPness (out of plot line-ness). Enjoy!

The Day Of Reckoning: Prologue

As I stand here looking out at the fate that could have been mine, I remember the pain that
coursed through my soul only months ago, the anguish that I felt because of the betrayal that was
then expected from the people who had the misgiven right to call themselves my family.

You changed all of that. You made me see something in myself that no one else could; you made me
different. You took away the dark so that all that was left was the light, the light which was you.
But then the light was taken away from me, snatched away when I needed it most. So now I stand here
in the same spot in which you found me all those months ago, pondering the same thing now as I was
back then. Do I give it all up and throw my body to the angry waves below me, or do I keep on
fighting, living, the way you showed me how? I look back to the day you saved me from myself.

“*What are you doing? ”*

“*Thinking.”*

*
“About what?”*

“*What it would be like to feel those waves pounding my body into the floor of the
ocean.”*

“*And what answer have you come up with?”*

“*Peaceful.”*

” *Pardon?”*

“*It would be peaceful.”*

That what the first exchange of words that we ever had. It’s funny how I still remember them as
if it was yesterday. It was the first time that I ever caught a glimpse of your face, a face that I
would come to depend on, as those months went by. You were everything to me, you still are.

So I give this to you, this is our story…the story of how you changed my life. The way you
brought me from the dark into the light, your light.

No One To Stop Her

It had started directly after the fight in the Department of Mysteries. All the other Hogwarts
students (including Ginny) who had fought were awarded 50,000 galleons each and granted their
adulthood so that they could pursue the livelihood of their choice. It was a known fact that the
Ministry hoped that they would help recruit young wizards and witches for the Order…that was made
up of mainly magical people over thirty years of age. That was when the fighting had begun…

Ginny’s family was, like most other pureblood families, slightly chauvinistic, although it had
never occurred to her before, because such a crucial situation had never arisen. While Ron and
Harry had been free to fight in the War, the Weasley family thought their *baby*, their little
*girl* should not be involved in the crossfire. “Become a Healer like Hermione, or recruit
wizards for our side,” Molly Weasley had urged her.

However, they did not want Ginny to become an Auror or an active fighter in the Order of the
Phoenix. Only Dumbledore and Minister Fudge had been on my side. Even now, she still talks to them
occasionally because of that.

Therefore, when she had become an undercover spy for the Order by getting her Dark Mark under
the pretenses of “getting revenge on the Dream Team for being neglectful,” they had turned their
backs on her. Even after Dumbledore had risked the status of the mission to explain it to them.
(Percy had been accepted back into the family 2 weeks after she had been legally
disowned…ironic.)

She moved out of the Burrow into my own apartment, cut off all communication with anyone
associated with the Weasley family (Potter and Granger included) and got a job as the Hogwarts
Healer…Madam Pomfrey had retired a few years before. She immersed herself even deeper into the
farce of being a Death Eater, finding out as much information as she could about the workings of
Tom Riddle and his dunces.

She quickly rose through the ranks of young Death Eaters and became second only to Blaise
Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy…The Dark Trio, as they were called by their followers.
They were the leaders of the group of Slytherins that fought for Voldemort in Hogwarts and Malfoy
was Voldemort’s surrogate son. She was called Nevra by my fellow Death Eaters, and was second only
to their command. Now, she had found out the most crucial information of all.

The Death Eaters were planning to attack Hogwarts…and even more important, Dumbledore was going
to let them. Because the deaths of students was the only way to insure that Potter had an open shot
on Voldemort’s mind. That was the day that Ginny had gone to the cliff. Watched the waves. She felt
like it was her fault that Hogwarts students would die. She could have stopped the attack without
telling Dumbledore with the few words needed to kill the Dark Trio.

But Ginny was too scared. And a little voice in the back of her mind said to me that she was
beginning to become attached to these ambitious, kick-ass, independent, bold people…she genuinely
liked them. They had just made the wrong choice about whom to side with in the War…they actually
thought Voldemort could win. So she had run off to Dumbledore like a good little spy. Now children
were going to die because of her. There was no one to turn to now. No family, no friends, no Order
member…no one. She was all alone. There was no one to stop her from drowning herself in those
waves. Until he came along.

Dangerous Conversation

Ginny was standing on the rocky edge of the cliff, just thinking. Listening to the roar of the
waves and the call of the seagulls and trying to figure out how she felt, what she was going to do.
She was so hurt, and guilty, and angry, and just plain *tired* of acting…of doing things she
did not want to do to maintain this farce.

If she backed out now, Voldemort would kill me. Wouldn’t it be easier just to gently fall into
the swirling currents below? No troubles, no worries anymore, just the murky light that gently
fades from view and the warm water surrounding her.

She was so lost in my thoughts that she did not hear the crunch of broken shells as he
approached. His touch on her arm quickly became a hold as she stumbled in shock and nearly fell
over the edge.

“Nevra?” She tensed at the sound of his silky deep voice. It was the Dark Prince himself - the
one that I hated most of all - yet admired all the same. “I did not know anyone else came here but
me. What are you doing?”

“Thinking.” She could feel his frown upon me as she gazed out into the distant horizon.

“About what?” He asked, his scrutiny apparent.

“What it would be like to feel those waves pounding my body into the floor of the ocean.” The
widening of his eyes was the only sign to his surprise.

“And what answer have you come up with?” he asked calmly.

Ginny thought for a moment and knew her answer. “Peaceful.”

” Pardon?” His voice was amused, unbelieving. It made Ginny angry that he could be like that
about a thing that would have made all her friends gasp in horror. Then again, she supposed
different wasn’t such a bad thing…after all, those friends had all deserted her. Yes, maybe
different wasn’t such a bad thing.

“It would be peaceful.”

“Ah…I have thought the same on several occasions.” At this, she turned to him. His silver eyes
were nearly as stormy as the waters below. He was serious.

“What pulled you back from the edge?” Her voice broke at this, to her shame. He shrugged
nonchalantly.

“I don’t know…I just could not fall. I tried…guess my Slytherin mind just wouldn’t let me.” He
smirked. Ginny sighed.

“That’s not much help, you know. I don’t have a Slytherin mind.” He grabbed Ginny’s arm and
pulled her closer to him, farther away from the edge.

“Yes, you do. The Sorting Hat would have put you in Slytherin after the Dark Lord possessed you
in my second year…that would be your first. And I won’t let you fall, anyways. Nevra.” He added her
name as an afterthought. Proof of how low below him she was, even as second-in-command. Ginny
stiffened in his grasp and yanked her arm away.

“It was your father that gave the Dark Lord access to me. Your father effectively ruined my life
that year.” The Prince turned away, his eyes suddenly silver.

“I know…I hate him nearly as much as you do.” His eyes smoldered, and his hands turned into
fists. Suddenly his mask came on. It had been off for all of this conversation, but it appeared and
it was like a wall between us. “I don’t want to talk about him.”

She shrugged. “All right. You know what I was really thinking? I was wondering how it was going
to feel, killing children I grew up with. Children I was friends with.”

He laughed bitterly. “You have killed children before, Nevra. Knowing them shouldn’t make a
difference.”

Suddenly Ginny was angry at him. Angry for revealing to her what her heart was denying. Angry
that he was telling the truth. Angry at herself for becoming such a bad person. “You don’t know
shit, Malfoy.” She turned to walk away.

He grabbed her wrist, bent her hand back to the breaking point, and twisted her arm behind her
back. “Don’t test me, Nevra. Respect for your Prince is always necessary. I don’t appreciate
rudeness. And I am above you. I could kill you in an instant and it would be like crushing an
insect beneath my foot.” His voice was smooth, his body tense like a coiled spring ready to break.
And as ashamed as Ginny was of it, she was scared. He *would* kill her if he thought it
necessary. And she would not be able to defend herself…she would be killed on the spot by the Dark
Side if she touched a hair on the Prince’s head.

“Let go of me, Prince. I forgot myself for a moment.” The fire in her voice could not be
dampened. But at least she was polite. He smirked at her as he released her arm.

“You would do well to remember better next time, Nevra.” Ginny backed away and spat at his feet.
Suddenly, she was ready to risk it all, throw everything away, to prove that this
*infuriating* man had no power over her.

“My loyalty is not to the Dark Lord. Kill me for it if you will …but it never has been. I would
kill myself now if I could make my mind follow my heart…Do you know what it is like to hate who you
have become?” Malfoy’s face darkened, and his body grew tense.

“I *should* kill you for it…butmost Death Eaters are not loyal to the Dark Lord…to
Ambition, to Greed, to Lust…yes, but not to the Dark Lord. You are no threat to me regardless of
where your loyalties lie." He paused, as if pondering whether to reveal a secret or not.

"I know what it is to hate who you have become…I do it every second of my life.” He turned
away from me, the tears building in his voice. Suddenly he looked over his shoulder at her, his
eyes cold as steel. “But Nevra, if you ever betray me, I *will* kill you. I don't give a
damn about Voldemort's agenda...but if your actions *in any way* bring harm to me, you are
a *walking corpse*, do you understand?”

She nodded curtly and walked away, leaving him to his thoughts at the shoreline.

**That was the end of my first conversation with the mystery that was Draco Malfoy, the Prince
of Darkness. He fascinated me, scared me, and disgusted me all at once. He made me pity him, admire
him and hate him. In fact, there was virtually no emotion that he did not make me feel at one time
or the other. That was what drew me in to this man. That is what drew *us* together, I think.
That is what saved both of us from ourselves.**



2. Chapter 2
------------

**July 16, 2005 Inserted A/N** – Yes, I can hear you! Dumbledore, obviously, should not be
alive in this story, right? Well, yeah, you *are* right. A note in my favor: this chapter was
posted nearly a year before book six came out.

*However*, I am trying to integrate this story in with the new circumstances of book six…so
you will find out how and why Dumbledore has managed to reappear in my imagination after Chapter 46
(the last chapter written before book six came out). Quell your cries of indignation and annoyance,
readers! Your questions will soon be answered! How soon? Well that depends upon how fast you
read.

P.S. Remember Snape…he shouldn’t be valued by Ginny as someone who sacrificed with the
Light…well, keep reading (after Chapter 46) and you will understand that as well. Yes, in the
books, I believe Snape may NOT be a traitor…after all he was sworn by the Unbreakable Vow to kill
“that person” (you know who, but can’t ruin it for people who aren’t finished)…so he may not have
wanted to. Then again, the evidence points against him…but JKR is full of surprises. Anyway, read
on!

The Turning Point

The week after her conversation with Malfoy, Dumbledore approached Ginny in her office next to
the Infirmary. Her position as Hogwarts Healer was merely a cover job she kept as she worked
for…no, spied on…the Dark Side. Dumbledore looked worried, older than ever. The Death Eaters had
recently attacked Hogsmeade, and the tension was getting to us all. “Has Voldemort revealed his
plans for Hogwarts?” Ginny grimaced. The bad news had to be told.

“He has used work with Dark Magic to remove nearly all of the protections on Hogwarts, but the
one that uses the Sorting Hat as a Talisman. My initiation to the Inner Circle will come when I
bring him the Sorting Hat…which means I effectively bring him Hogwarts…to prove my loyalty, he
says.” Ginny laughed bitterly.

“I know you want him to attack Hogwarts so that Potter can destroy him. But I won't do it. I
have betrayed nearly everything I believe in to spy on him…I will not give him Hogwarts. The farce
is over.” She was afraid, too. That was something Ginny would not admit to herself. She was afraid
of losing herself to the intoxicating Darkness.

“We will find a way to give him what he wants, because we need a spy in the Inner Circle, now
that Snape is…incapable of returning. We also need to give Harry an opening. We will do what has to
be done.” Dumbledore was the embodiment of quiet determination. A mind and soul of steel. But Ginny
remembered Snape, his mind destroyed by the Cruciatus Curse, and I trembled. Fury overpowered the
fear, though.

"So you will throw it all away for one chance? Hogwarts is...Hogwarts. It cannot be
sacrificed." The one refuge she had from the person she had become. It just couldn't.

"Anything can be sacrificed for the survival of the Light. Anything." His voice
brought her back from memories of the times that Hogwarts had made Ginny feel safe midst inner
turmoil. “Have you found anything else on members of the Dark Side…we need to know, Ginny.” She
struggled…she couldn’t put up her mind shields or he would get suspicious…but try to lie and he
could read the lie as a Legilimens…she depended on his trust in her and his reluctance to read
minds of spies (the more a mind was opened the easier it was to open it, even by the enemy).

Somehow he had a hunch that she was hiding something…which she was. “No, Dumbledore. I know of
all the ones the Order knows of. Oh, and Zabini, and Parkinson. But you have a watch on them
already. That is all. The rest are below me.”

Ginny was protecting Malfoy. She had to find out what he was hiding from the Dark Lord…no,
Voldemort, before she turned him in. There was something in him, something that she needed to know.
That day on the beach had burned into her mind. There was something he was hiding from the rest of
the Dark Side. A weakness, a desire, something that would help her use him. But she needed him more
than the Light did now. And she would have him...for as long as she needed.

**Although I didn’t know it then, that was the turning point. The day I started protecting
Draco from the eyes of the Light was the day that I turned to the Dark. That was the day I first
hid something from Dumbledore that was important. That was the day I chose Dark over Light.**

Protecting Him

The day after Dumbledore spoke to her, her Dark Mark burned black. Voldemort was calling her to
him. “Regresa Maestro,” she whispered to her wand, and she was instantaneously Apparated to
Voldemort. This time she apparated to a room in a English Manor from the Dark Ages by the looks of
it.

“You seem distant. Have you doubts to your loyalty, Nevra.” Voldemort said, his voice like the
feel of bare steel against her skin. She forgot about her surrounding as other Death Eaters
appeared, their faces masked like hers. Her fear was reduced to glowing embers within her mind as
she remembered her litany. H*ardness cannot be bent, but is simple to break. Iron can not be
bent, but is simple to break.*

“We will attack St. Mungo’s on the sixteenth of October.” Voldemort began.

“No.” Malfoy’s voice cut in, his voice smooth as velvet. She nearly gasped. The Trio never
appeared at a simple Death Eater meeting. And no one ever defied the Dark Lord so openly. Then
again, she had never heard a conversation between the Dark Lord and his adopted son.

“Yes, Draco?” Voldemort’s hiss held a hint of warning for his unruly heir.

“We cannot. Not until I can manage to remove Narcissa from her ward…please, my Lord.” Draco,
when announced Voldemort’s heir at the Coronation Ceremony, had discovered that his real mother was
Bellatrix Lestrange…a much more *suitable* mother, according to his adopted father. Which
meant harder and crueler, of course.

Voldemort sneered. “That soft pansy. She would not kill for me, so why should I refrain from
killing her?” Draco visibly tensed. His mother was his mother…Bellatrix had never been the maternal
sort and she had never been a mother to him. Not even after the Coronation Ceremony.

“Because I will not join you. Not to kill her. Never. You already destroyed her mind…isn’t that
enough? She is destined to live a futile life. That is enough punishment for anyone.” Voldemort’s
snake eyes turned scarlet…the only other time they did that was when he thought of the Boy Who
Lived. He was furious.

“Even you cannot be excused for some things. Betrayal is your answer? You will not follow your
Father into battle? To save a woman who is not even your mother? Crucio.” Voldemort said quietly,
his voice iron.

The Dark Lord let it go on and on, but no sound slipped from the Prince’s lips. Tears ran down
his face like liquid fire, but not a word sounded. His eyes became gray steel as his vision grayed
at the edges. Finally the pain stopped, and his eyes shut of their own accord.

Nevra watched the Dark Lord and his son as the Prince jerked with the pain of the curse. The
Dark Lord was killing him as surely as he was waiting for Draco to surrender to him. It never
happened. Not a sound escaped from Draco’s lips. When the Dark Lord finally let him go, he began to
fall.

Not realizing what she was doing or what the consequences would be…not even what this meant for
who she was becoming, Ginny rushed forward, catching him before he even fell and cushioning his
fall as she cradled his torso in her arms.

She could not conduct a healing spell, because it may anger the Dark Lord to have his work
undone, but she could help Draco while he was hurt…and vulnerable. The Dark Side held no loyalty,
and the strong were taken down when possible. She would protect him. No matter what.

Pansy's Boys

Voldemort was surprised and perplexed when he saw Nevra protect his son as she did today. To be
honest, Nevra was smarter than Pansy Parkinson. The only reason Nevra had not taken Pansy’s place
was that the two boys would not trust anyone else…they had grown up with Pansy, and therefore she
was part of the Dark Trio. Now…Nevra and Draco…maybe Pansy would be pushed out...only time would
tell.

Nevra, still on the cold stone floor with Draco, was anxiously peeling back his eyelid.
“Circulation is good, and pulse seems normal. Effendivo,” she muttered to herself. The spell showed
internal bleeding and general trauma. Since the Dark Lord had left, she supposed it would be okay
to use a Healing Spell. “Curaro Infinite.” Now he would sleep naturally until his body replenished
its strength…a Healing Spell took the strength to heal from the patient’s body.

Blaise Zabini walked in while she was still intent on the man lying within her arms. “What the
hell is going on? Nevra, isn’t it?” She looked up startled, and then recognized one of the
counterparts of the Dark Trio.

“Yes, it’s Nevra. The Dark Lord called us in to discuss an attack on St. Mungo’s. Draco and he
had a bit of a...disagreement…and Draco has been Healed of all effects.”

Blaise shook his head wearily. “About Narcissa, I assume?” Ginny nodded. Blaise sighed. “So why
are you taking care of him?”

“I-I don’t really know. He just fell, and I caught him…I don’t even remember thinking about it,
really. But I am a Healer by profession, so it was probably instinct.” Ginny paused. She couldn’t
believe she was revealing her uncertainty. Any information that slipped involuntarily from your
mouth usually stabbed you in the back eventually. But she was so far below the Dark Trio, even as
second-in-command, she was so insignificant that she didn’t think twice about what she said. She
had been caught off-guard and said things she hadn’t meant to. But the words could not be unsaid.
Best to try and brush by it, and hopefully Zabini wouldn’t remember.

“Don’t…Don’t fall in love with him, okay?” She gaped at him. Then shut her mouth remembering
exactly *who* she was speaking with.

“Why the hell would I do that?”

“You already half-way have. But don’t. He has pain inside, a sort of darkness all of his own. It
can reach out and swallow you if you get too close.” Blaise was saying things that confused and yet
intrigued her.

“I haven’t said more than a few sentences to him in my entire life, and yet I am half-way in
love with him? What the hell are you on about?”

Blaise grimaced. “I can’t tell you *why*, just that you *are*. It’s a sort of gift I
have.” Unbeknownst to both of them, Draco had awoken, just in time to hear Blaise’s last
sentence.

“Whatever he is talking about, he’s right. He’s an Empath.” Draco drawled out to the hazy face
above him.

“You’re awake. That’s good,” a warm feminine voice said. Definitely not Pansy…she was more of a
whine. It was…Nevra. That conversation they had had the night before intrigued him. There was more
to her than met the surface. Kind of like himself in that aspect, he supposed. Maybe that was why
he was so intrigued with what she was hiding. Maybe that is why he trusted her.

“No one is supposed to know that, Malfoy.” Blaise’s voice was a snarl.

“What? That you are an Empath? It’s all right. I trust her.” Draco said nonchalantly.

“Why?” This time Nevra asked.

“A gut feeling. But I have learned to trust those. My instincts are pretty good.” Draco said
wryly.

Blaise snorted. “You mean practically inhuman. He has saved his own life…and mine with his
instincts a couple of times. It is eerie how well they work. So I trust you too…all because of a
gut feeling. Wow, I am getting superstitious.” He laughed at that.

Pansy sauntered in the door at that point. “How are my boys?” Draco and Blaise rolled their
eyes. Suddenly she saw the redhead on the floor…with Draco cradled in her lap…Nevra. The
second-in-command. “Why are you in her lap, Draco?” He was hers. He was supposed to be hers. The
Dark Lord had all but promised him to her. He actually blushed. Draco *never* blushed. That
was when she knew he felt something for this girl. Whatever that something was.

Then the redhead spoke. “I just Healed him, that’s all. We were talking, and he didn’t get a
chance to pick himself up.” She smiled invitingly at Pansy as Draco scrambled up from her arms. “I
must be intruding. I need to take care of some things. Might as well be now.” She waved at Pansy’s
boys like they were hers and strode out the door.

Time to get business taken care of. No one ever would take her boys away from her. Not even the
redhead. “So what exactly is going on with that girl and you guys?”



3. Chapter 3
------------

Summons From Malfoy

They stumbled over themselves trying to explain. “Well, you see,” Draco started. Blaise cut in
with, “I saw that she was –” It was too much. Pansy was having trouble sorting out the jumble.

“STOP!” She screamed. They both stared at her in shock. Well, just because she was feminine
doesn’t mean that she couldn’t yell when she had to. “So Blaise, how about you go first?”

“I dunno. I found her with Draco in her arms and she had healed him. I guess, well, she could
have killed him, and everyone would have thought it was the effects of the Cruciatus that Voldemort
laid on him. Draco argued with him over Narcissa *again*. You know how that always goes.”
Pansy rolled her eyes.

“And you, Draco? What’s up with you so far?”

Draco was not about to give up all of his information. He noticed Blaise hadn’t revealed what he
had observed as an Empath. He supposed even Blaise had a right to hide things. But still, it
intrigued him. Too many things related to Nevra intrigued him. He couldn’t have any weaknesses. The
way the Dark Side worked in itself forbade it…Survival of the fittest was something they lived and
died by. “A gut feeling. I’ve learned to trust those.” Pansy scrutinized him, but even she knew
better than to challenge him openly. No one stood above him except the Dark Lord. And he made
everyone remember that. Harshly, if necessary.

“All right, then.” Pansy was a possessive girl, but not the smartest one. He was glad that he
didn’t have to talk to her all the time…Wait, where did that come from? Pansy was his confidante,
his best friend. *Not as good as Nevra.* He barely knew Nevra.

“Um, Draco, you okay? You look a little tense.” Blaise broke his line of thought. Something he
would rather forget about. It complicated his plans way too much.

“Nah, I am fine. Just thinking about how I am going to get Mom out of St. Mungo’s before Voldie
has a heart attack.” Draco had never really believed that Voldemort was his father, and he actually
secretly hated him. Ever since he had destroyed Narcissa because she had enough heart to not want
to kill a child! And Narcissa was his mother. No matter what anyone else said.

“All right. Let’s go figure out a way.” Pansy grinned at him reassuringly. “She’ll be fine.”

“I hope so. I really do. Because if she isn’t, someone is going to pay.” Draco pushed away the
possible consequences of revenge grimly. There was work to do. His mother wasn’t dead yet. And
there was his plans to consider.

Considering His Plans

As she walked out of the room to Apparate, Nevra wondered what was going on behind those closed
doors. Pansy Parkinson still remained a threat to her. She wasn’t as smart but she was in the
advantage because of her standing within the Death Eaters. She was still in shock from the sight of
Draco Malfoy blushing. The concept of facial expression in itself was foreign to him…or so she had
thought.

The only window to his mind was through his eyes…and those were barely readable at best. He
truly had learned how to shield himself from everyone. Even when he was lying on the ground, Nevra
could feel the magical shields on his mind. They never wavered, not even as Healing drained life
energy out of his body. She had never seen anyone with training so strong. But he had to be, she
supposed. He had to be strong in order to survive at the top of the pecking order for so long.

**A few days later…**

Nevra couldn’t get him out of her head. Pure and simple. Every time her mind was not occupied,
it turned toward the enigma that was the Dark Prince. What was he hiding? What did he hold dearer
to his heart than the Dark Side to which he had dedicated his life? His soul.

This was another weakness she had to hide. The Dark Lord would be the first to exploit any
feelings she felt for his son and Heir. The people below her would not be far behind. She was
feeling increasing pressure from Voldemort to get the Sorting Hat from Hogwarts. But Potter was
still not strong enough to face Voldemort even when the Dark Lord was distracted. The weakling.
People were going to die for him – mere children – and he could not find it in him to be ready. To
give the Light the best chance for survival it had.

She felt the Dark Mark burn, and stifled a groan. She rang the bell that let Dumbledore know she
had been called by the Dark Lord and then apparated away. She arrived at the same shore where the
Dark Prince had first intrigued her. And the Dark Lord was nowhere in sight!

Draco Malfoy was standing in front of her. Even his casual stance had the essence of a crouching
tiger and the intensity of a taut wire in it. His grey eyes bore into hers, and she involuntarily
stepped back. He let out a grim chuckle. She decided to go on the offensive before he could
overpower her.

"I thought only the Dark Lord could summon Death Eaters." He smirked.

"He *thinks* he's the only one who can. Remember what I said? Most Death Eaters do
not have loyalty towards the Dark Lord." He left it at that, mysterious as always.
"Blaise is arriving soon."

"Only two-thirds of the famous Dark Trio? I'm shocked." Nevra joked.

Draco's face suddenly had a blank look to it. "Pansy's dead." He said in a
harsh biting voice. Nevra gaped for a second, quickly bringing her expressions under control. Tears
actually came to Draco's eyes. "She was caught with our plans to rescue my mother from St.
Mungo's. The Dark Lord wanted names, but she wouldn't give them. He tortured her until she
died. She was protecting us. Protecting me." He laughed bitterly. "I destroy everything I
touch. Always. My mother, Pansy. Everyone."

She winced at the rawness in his voice. "Why is Blaise showing up?" Better to distract
him from it for now. She had no idea how to respond. Unfortunately he saw right through it.

"You don't know what to say to me, do you? Cause you know I'm right." She
broke in at that.

"No! Never! You don't destroy everything you touch. In fact, you've saved lives in
nearly every attack that we have implemented. Yours, Blaise's, mine, people you don't even
know. And it is *not* your fault. Pansy was your friend, and she did what any of the three of
you would have done in her place. She did what was right! And you had nothing to do with it. To say
that it's your fault demeans the nobility of the choice *she* made. Demeans the fact that
she decided that you all were important enough to sacrifice for. So don't you dare blame it all
on yourself, because *you have no right*!

That was when Blaise showed up. His eyes widened in shock as he heard the raised voice in which
Nevra was addressing the Dark Prince. And the guilty look on Draco's face that he had never
seen before.

"So, Draco, want to discuss why we summoned her?" Blaise said in a false hearty
voice.

The Reasons Why

Draco’s eyes refocused. “Yeah. You see, the Trio…isn’t a Trio anymore obviously. And Voldemort
is getting suspicious of us…he thinks we are too powerful. When you’ve risen by stealing power away
from other people you have a tendency to become paranoid. You are Miss Loyal of the young Death
Eaters…always following orders, blah, blah, blah. Since you’ve shown you’re smart, we could use you
as an ally and you’ve shown you have other loyalties than to the Dark Side. We could use you as a
shield from Voldemort. He won’t suspect us if we’re with you. He trusts you, you’re still innocent
in his eyes. SO we want you to be a part of the Dark Trio.”

Ginny’s jaw dropped. “Me in the Dark Trio? I’m not in the Inner Circle yet!”

Blaise grinned. “Exactly. The common Death Eaters trust you like they do no one in the Inner
Circle. So we have everyone’s loyalty, the commoners and the nobility of the Dark Side.”

Nevra smiled. “You have it all figured out, don’t you? Answers for everything. But I am sorry, I
can’t.”

Draco’s eyes grew hard as steel. “Why not?”

“Because I am *not* loyal to the Dark Side. Ad I am not willing to become enmeshed in it
more than I have to. Because I am losing myself to the mask that I hold. Because I can’t be in the
Dark Trio.”

Blaise wasn’t grinning anymore. “Then you’re dead,” he said. “We can’t let you live to tell our
secrets.”

Nevra sighed. “Then I’m in. What do I have to do?”

Draco pulled her sleeve up as Blaise and he did the same to their own. He pulled out a dagger
and placed it against her skin. She pulled away hastily.

“No way. Let me see it first.”

Draco chuckled. “You really are a Death Eater. Here,” he said as he handed it to her. She
snatched it, eyes blazing.

“Don’t you ever say that. I don’t give a damn who you are. You don’t ever tell me who I am.”
Draco looked taken aback.

“Chill, Nevra. He won’t say it again. Just relax. You done with the dagger?” Blaise said hastily
before Draco could grow angry.

Nevra looked over the dagger. She tested it with a Searching Spell…one that she had created
herself. “Yeah, it’s fine. It’s just a Binding Spell. But you could have told me before and saved
us the drama.”

“And now you’re just creating more. Let’s get this over with, Draco.” Blaise said.

Draco took the knife from Nevra and made a cut on their arm splitting the Dark Mark in half.
Nevra looked on in surprise.

“So that’s how Voldemort can’t read your thoughts. Do you glamour these so he can’t tell you’ve
fiddled with them?” Draco nodded, his brow furrowed in concentration.

“We’re not done yet. We have to read this chant together.” Nevra looked at the text.

*Bound we are till Life’s last breath
While our brethren live no barrier is death
And our binds do defy every promise and lie
That we have made before this day*



4. Chapter 4
------------

The Binding

“That’s the Innocuroso Binding!” Nevra exclaimed. Her voice sharpened. “How did you find it…that
hasn’t been used since Slytherin’s doom!”

Blaise and Draco nodded grimly. Draco said, “Voldemort is the Heir to Slytherin…the family kept
the Binding Charm for safekeeping. A charm so powerful it could break up the Hogwarts Four…well, it
could wreak havoc on the world. Slytherin wasn’t so evil as the stories make him out to be…it was
his descendants that gave his family a bad name. They kept the charm in hopes that they would be
the ones to destroy the world and remake it to their own will.”

Nevra nodded impatiently. They all knew the story. “Slytherin joined Mysticus, a secret occult
of wizards trying to purify the wizarding race. The group used a Binding Charm as part of the
Initiation of new members. The Innocuroso Binding was unique to that group…it is believed it was
created by Merlin, the purest of wizarding blood, to bind a dragon for a century to use its blood
in his experiments. So Slytherin was bound and ordered to turn against Hogwarts because it allowed
Muggleborns admission. He couldn’t refuse to betray Hogwarts, but he warned the other three of what
was happening…Mysticus forgot to bind his silence. Even the Hogwarts Four together could not find a
way to break the charm, so Slytherin was forced to leave the school forever. But the bind
overpowered his self-will at the last moment and made him create the Chamber of Secrets before he
left…the ultimate tool to purify the halls of Hogwarts. All the Dark Side knows the story…after
all, Voldemort was originally a member of Mysticus before he became even more radical than they and
broke free of the Bind. Do you know how he did it, since you managed to get your hands on the Charm
itself?”

Blaise and Draco were gaping at her. She scowled impatiently. “Well, do you?”

Blaise spoke with a slight smile on his face, “Quite the historian, aren’t you?”

“Well, how did Voldemort break free?” The two men looked at each other. Blaise shrugged.

Draco said hesitantly, “Well…the thing is…we don’t really know. But this Bind…it breaks your
allegiance to the Dark Side…or rather puts it second to the bond the Trio shares. That’s why Pansy
was able to resist Voldemort when he searched her mind for the names of her accomplices. We cannot
force people to actions as was done to Slytherin, nor coerce them to secrecy. But if willing given,
this bond will make you one of ours…you will not want to hurt us or our cause. Only if willing
given.”

Nevra said, “So we will be killed if Voldemort finds out.” It wasn’t really a question. She
already knew the answer, but she wanted to make sure they realized it as well. Both the men nodded.
“All right. Let’s do what we have to do. According to legend, it must be repeated thrice over…once
for heartbeat, once for breath, once for mind and soul. Is that right?” Draco nodded and held out
the paper in front of them. Together they began to recite.

*Bound we are till Life’s last breath
While our brethren live no barrier is death
And our binds do defy every promise and lie
That we have made before this day*

Draco said, "For as long as our hearts beat."

*Bound we are till Life’s last breath
While our brethren live no barrier is death
And our binds do defy every promise and lie
That we have made before this day*

Draco said, "For as long as thoughts are ours."

*Bound we are till Life’s last breath
While our brethren live no barrier is death
And our binds do defy every promise and lie
That we have made before this day*

Draco said, "For as long as our souls are whole."

And together they recited the binding sentence.

*And so are we bound to each other...forever.*

**Thus, a new Dark Trio formed. Thus, a new Alliance began. Thus, the struggle of Dark and
Light started within me. Thus began the path that led to today. The day I stand again on the shore
and ponder whether life is worth the price of love.**

Divided Loyalties

A jet-black eagle owl streaked into Nevra’s office, causing her to jerk with surprise and
splatter her letter to Dumbledore with ink. It held out its leg imperiously and she could see the
thick waxen parchment with the black-green seal. She opened it to reveal a flowing cursive script
in green ink.

*Miss Ginevra Weasley,*

*You are cordially invited to the funeral of Pansy Morgana Parkinson. This letter will
transport you to the place of the ceremony at the appointed time. Your arrival is scheduled for
Sunday, April 23 at 10 a.m.*

It was a standard invitation issued to all Death Eaters…it would be a Dark Funeral. Her family
would not allow the death of its sole heiress to go unremarked upon…even though she had died in
disgrace of the Dark Lord, even he could not risk offending one of the oldest Dark Families in
England…only the Malfoys ranked higher. However, the seal and the handwritten invitation meant that
she had moved up in the eyes of her peers. Only members of the Inner Circle and favored Death
Eaters would receive a personal invitation.

She could not begin to imagine why anyone would think that she had moved up in the ranks. In
fact, it would make more sense that she would have moved down…Dumbledore as of yet had not given
her the signal to take the Sorting Hat and the delay in her initiation to the Inner Circle was
beginning to irritate the Dark Lord. No one knew of her initiation into the Dark Trio…it was to be
kept secret until they could find a way to hide that Draco summoned her through the Dark Mark.

As she folded up the note, a small scrap of paper slipped out with writing on it. It looked as
though it was written by the same person in a more hurried, ragged fashion.

*I risk everything in writing this to you. I do not know if I can trust you…do not even know
whether you will exploit a mother’s grief, but I have no other choice. Forgive me for imposing on
you like this…even receipt of this note could mark you for treason. I dare not trust any within the
Inner Circle any longer…not even my husband.*

*I blindly followed in our Lord’s steps for many years without thinking of the harm we
inflicted upon innocents. But now, now my daughter has been killed by one she claimed her master.
One who promised to protect her…but never from himself. Now I question whether it is truly safe
amongst people who I named my friends. Even Pansy’s father will not question his daughter’s death
because it was his Lord who killed her.*

*I know that Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini are two untouched by the fanaticism that infects
all the Elders within our Heirarchy. But I dare not speak with them. They are too high up and have
too many plans hidden from my eyes. They would exploit my doubts to their own agenda. And I have
seen a look in your eyes of pure torment when you kill…one that gives me hope some humanity remains
in you…something that will save me.*

*I can not live like this any longer. I pray that you will be of some help to me before
Death’s temptation becomes too great. I cannot live knowing that I killed my daughter when I
promised her to the Dark Lord’s service when she was an innocent babe. I cannot live knowing I
condemned her to a life that left her with no choice but her own destruction. I leave myself In
your hands, to condemn or to forgive as you will.*

*Elena Zabini Parkinson*

It seemed as though the cracks within the loyal of the Dark Side were deeper than she thought.
Unless it was a trap. She would wait until the funeral. Until she could talk to Draco – and Blaise
– alone. Maybe this would be of help. But she could not tell Dumbledore yet. Not until she was sure
of what this meant…to everyone.

Expendable

Dumbledore came into Nevra’s office mere hours before the Parkinson funeral. “Harry is ready. I
have him living in a concealed apartment in the school. You need to see him soon to plan for the
attack.”

“Let’s make this quick…you know I have that Parkinson funeral to attend soon. You remember that
I have no power over the time of the attack, Dumbledore?”

“Yes. But he – and I – will be ready.”

“And the students?”

Dumbledore sighed. “We can’t save them without letting the Dark Side know that we are using this
attack to our advantage. Without risking your cover.” Fury rose within Nevra.

“Damn it, Albus! I am not doing this if children die!” He looked at her with eyes hard as
steel.

“We all do what we must. For the Light.”

“I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING FOR THE LIGHT! I GAVE UP MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS, MY INNOCENCE. I HAVE
KILLED FOR THE LIGHT!” Suddenly her voice became poisonously soft. “I will not be responsible for
the destruction of the one place that is home for me.”

“Hogwarts will not fall. As long as I live.” Dumbledore said, full of reassurance. His eyes
widened with surprise when Nevra laughed in his face.

“As long as you live, Dumbledore? And tell me, when did you become immortal? Or invincible? If
the attack fails, and Hogwarts falls, do you have a backup plan?”

Dumbledore was silent. She smiled grimly. “The Light will not always prevail if we become
arrogant in victory. The Dark Side is becoming more powerful…not in numbers but in magical
strength. We cannot afford to be careless or throw away our defenses for sloppy attacks.”

He nodded grimly. “That is why I need you and Harry to meet.”

She grimaced. “All right. But Potter and I are not on friendly terms.”

He sighed wearily. “No one knows that better than I. But we must stand together for the greater
cause.”

She bent her head in assent. “How do I get into his apartment?”

He smiled. “Thank you…for making the effort to come face to face with him. It is the picture of
Boderick the Bold…the password is Raspartan.”

“I have to prepare for the funeral. I will see him soon. He will be there until the attack?”

“Yes. I will need the both of you to come to my office after you converse to share with me your
thoughts. And Ginny –” he said, pausing. She nearly forgot to turn to face him because she was so
used to being called Nevra.

“Yes, Dumbledore?”

“Don’t let bad blood come in the way of the work of the Light…please.”

“I will do my best. But teamwork isn’t a one-person job. Be sure to tell your beloved Potter the
same thing. Good day, Albus.” She said bitterly, offended that he thought he had to tell her to
forget everything but the Light in her work.

“Good day, Ginny.” He didn’t even realize he had offended her. Typical of her life with the
Light. They always used her without appreciation on this side of the War.

She was just another tool that could be thrown away when the time came. Everything changed
perspective beneath the eyes of the Light.



5. Chapter 5
------------

Arriving At The Funeral

Nevra glanced up from Dumbledore’s retreating back to the clock hanging above her door. It was
nearly time. She quickly changed into appropriate attire and donned the Death Eater mask. She would
remove it after the formalities of the funeral ceremony…but since this was a Dark Funeral, formal
attire was required during the actual ceremony. She stepped away from her desk holding the
invitation and stood in the center of the room.

At the appointed time, she was whisked away in a flash of dark-green smoke…trademark color of
the Parkinson family, just as silver was the Malfoy’s and sapphire the Zabini’s. Every pureblood
family had a color – the Weasleys were a most atrocious shade of magenta, that clashed terribly
with their (also trademark) red hair.

She arrived at a large banquet hall where the entire family was arranged to greet the guests.
Slowly she went down the line from Mr. Parkinson Sr. to all the men in the family down to the
smallest boy. Then she came face-to-face with Mrs. Elenia Parkinson pale-blue eyes…Pansy’s mother.
There was no flash of recognition so Nevra could only presume that her mask hid her identity…or
that Mrs. Parkinson was drugged or spelled into submission. It was not unheard of, and quite
accepted if done in a private manner among the Dark Side. One could not have one’s family members
endangering position in the Hierarchy…all the more important when your family was part of the Inner
Circle.

After she got through the line and the silent bows of the family, she turned to the front of the
banquet table. The coffin’s heavy satin cover was black and across it were slashes of the family
color (in this case dark green)…the more slashes, the higher the rank of the family member within.
Even in death, ranks were important. As sole heir to the original bloodline of an ancient, pure
(and very rich) family, Pansy Parkinson had slashes from top to bottom…something in which she would
have taken pride.

Even above the pedestal upon which the coffin lay was a dark throne made of mahogany. The Dark
Lord had already taken his place above his followers…even the Dead did not break bonds with the
Dark Side, and still were below their Lord. The irony was vivid in Nevra’s mind. Death was supposed
to be the final Freedom yet even it did not break the bond of the Dark Side. Would she, as well,
carry this burden, even though her pledges had never meant a thing to her? Did it really make a
difference?

While she was observing the room, Death Eaters came into the hall in a controlled stream. So
lost in her thoughts was she that she did not notice the many whispers beginning as she walked by,
the half-hidden glances turned her way. And in the Dark Side, unawareness is a mistake that can not
be made.

When everyone had arrived the Dark Lord clapped once. All noise stopped and the eerie silence
broke through Nevra’s thought as the muted whispers never had. She bowed low with everyone else as
the Dark Lord stood.

“Rise, followers.” The rustle of robes was the only response as Death Eaters stood en masse.

“We gather here today to mourn the passing of Pansy Parkinson, sole heir of the Parkinson
family, for whom I have the utmost respect. I pass on my regrets and my trust that their sorrow
will not intrude upon their loyalty to the Cause.” The obvious threat in his voice brought shivers
to some in the family, but Parkinson Sr. nodded firmly, his eyes alight with the slight sheen of
madness.

“Not even Death can separate the bond between us, Master.” Voldemort nodded briskly, the concern
quickly brushed away…like the murder of the woman now lying before him.

The thought quickly brushed through the blank void in Nevra’s mind, like water trickling down
glass. *I wonder whether he is even a bit human anymore. What word will they invent to describe
this…thing? Who has no conscious, feels no remorse? Who drowned so deeply in the Dark Side that he
lost himself, his soul? Is he Lucifer reincarnate? He could have been a great wizard, had he not
turned away from the Light. Now he is just a monster.*

”I call Nevra to give Pansy’s address.” Nevra gave a slight start at the Dark Lord’s words,
cloaked by her robes. Inside she was full of turmoil, but one learned to control emotions in this
world. She was a powerful Occlumens, as required to be a spy in front of the Dark Lord, but she had
the sudden fear that he had broken into her thoughts as she walked through the crowd of masked
faces. They parted for her, backing away as if she was dangerous. Only one remained her path,
silver eyes sharp as steel. She knew who he was and held her head up, challenging him. Draco stood
firm, still blocking her path. She stared him in the eyes, willing him to let her pass. To keep
himself out of the Dark Lord’s bad favor. Out of danger.

Suddenly his mask broke and worry flashed in his eyes, turning them stormy for an instant. He
parted his lips as if to say something, then took a deep breath and stepped back, leaving the way
clear to the pedestal on which the Dark Lord stood.

She slowly calmed her mind and straightened her stance, then walked to the pedestal, knowing not
what came next. But whether it be ruin or victory, she would face them with a steady hand and iron
confidence.

A Failed Attack

Dumbledore headed straight to the portrait of Broderick the Bold after he left Ginny’s office.
He needed to talk to the man this war depended upon…Harry Potter. The portrait said jauntily, “Good
Morning, Headmaster!” as it swung open, its merry manner contrasting greatly with his regret and
despair.

Harry Potter was sprawled across a cozy red leather loveseat across from a crackling fireplace,
reading a book. He glanced up when Dumbledore strode into the room and looked at the old man’s
tired face.

“Tea, Albus? You look like you need a cup.”

“Yes, thank you, Harry. I do.”

They sat in silence for a while, the comfortable silence of two men who know more about one
another than any other person in the world. Two destined to stand alone for a cause that they know
is right. Two whose destinies are all that matter…not feelings, not thoughts…just the purpose they
are meant to fulfill. Two men, upon whose shoulders, the world rests.

Dumbledore sighed. “Well, I did come here for a purpose besides your company, much as I regret
it. You and Ginny Weasley must meet soon.”

Harry grimaced. “Does Molly know? I am afraid she may never let me back in the Burrow again.” He
said half-jokingly.

Dumbledore looked at him seriously. “It truly doesn’t matter, and you know it. Molly will do
what she wants, but this meeting needs to happen. If this attack – if it fails – the Light will,
well, it will never recover. The Dark Side will then have the advantage. And if they are so close
to beating us even at a point of disadvantage, I shudder to think what they will be capable of at a
point of advantage.”

Harry looked taken aback. “What’s all this, Dumbledore? Suddenly negative? Suddenly doubting?
Our plan will work. We’ve been over it a hundred times. There is no way it can fail.”

Dumbledore sighed. “And that’s our problem. Ginny herself pointed it out to me. We are getting
overconfident. We can not afford stupid mistakes. The Dark Side is gaining power magically, even if
they are losing numbers. They may equal us within a year. We must beat them soon. We must make the
defining stroke that will stop them where they stand. Or we will not win.”

Harry asked hesitantly, “But isn’t that what this is all about? The final destruction of
Voldemort?”

Dumbledore said, “Yes. But it can fail, like all attacks can fail. Did I ever tell you about the
Innocuroso Charm?”

Harry said interestedly, “No. Why?”

“It’s an interesting spell. When Salazar Slytherin was placed beneath it, it broke the Hogwarts
Four. There is no Binding Spell that can defeat it. Voldemort was bound with it as well, to the
same organization as Slytherin, but he broke the Binding. But anyways, the Dark Side only has the
words to the spell and the basic meaning of what it does to the bound wizards and witches. We,
however, have the full text in a secret vault that no one has privy to anymore…it’s just too
dangerous of a spell. But there is something hidden in that spell that no one knows about
anymore…except maybe Voldemort himself…something that could destroy magic itself, or could make it
strong enough to overcome anything.”

“And your point is…” Harry said exasperatedly.

“Well, there was once a battle plan that involved the Innocuroso Charm. Infallible really. We
used Tom Riddle before he became Voldemort as a spy on the Mysticus organization…before he became
Voldemort. He was bound to them with it, but then was rebound to us with it as well. Meaning he was
loyal to our Cause before theirs, so he could spy on them for us and they would trust him because
he was also bound to them. Only that Binding was secondary to the Binding to the Light. Turns out,
that the double Binding didn’t work. Instead it made him immune to the Spell forever. That is how
he broke his binding to Mysticus. In addition to breaking the Bind, it turned him against the
causes he was bound to as well. A failed attack plan of the Light resulted in the creation of
Voldemort, the greatest threat to the survival of Light since Morgana and Merlin battled.”

“And now it’s me and Voldemort.”

“And we cannot fail this time. We can not fail…or we are doomed to the Dark.”



6. Chapter 6
------------

Funeral Address

Voldemort watched with interest as his Heir stood in Nevra’s way. Draco was showing
weaknesses….weaknesses he could use to keep his unruly son in check. Maybe Nevra would be worth
more than Narcissa in Draco’s mind. Maybe he could get rid of Narcissa and create the partnership
of two of his best Death Eaters…only time would tell. Finally his Heir stepped out of the regal
redhead’s way and he watched her move towards him.

Nevra conjured a pedestal a foot below the Dark Lord and elevated herself onto it.

He spoke addressing himself to the entire crowd, “Well, Nevra?”

She took a deep breath and began slowly, thinking about every word she spoke before she uttered
it. A mistake would be deadly here. Especially with Draco’s strange behavior. Something was at
stake here, something was wrong…something that she just couldn’t place her finger on. Caution was
best in this case.

“I did not know Pansy Parkinson very well. But from what I have heard of her, she had her good
traits and her faults, like any other human being. She was a powerful witch and honest, although
sometimes harshly so. She had a sense of humor, and she was courageous. In fact, she saved my life
upon occasion and that of several others within this gathering. She was a shrewd manipulator and
did what she had to do in order to survive. She made it to the top of the young Death Eaters on her
own talents. And for those things, I respect her.”

She paused to take a breath and whispers filled the air. The Dark Lord looked at her with
carefully blank eyes through his formidable mask. *Tread carefully, for you know not where you
step* was the only thought running through her head. She could not think…her mind in a numb
void. She merely spoke, letting the words run in a smooth flow, and hope she was saying the right
things.

“She was loyal, but her loyalties misplaced. She placed herself above our Master. She betrayed
the Cause for which we all live. She deemed another Cause greater. And for that, I condemn her.”
She paused again, letting the words sink in to the minds of the audience.

“This aberration could erase all the deeds she did for the Cause in her life. But she paid the
price for it. She paid, and now the debt no longer remains. Because she killed for us, would have
died for us, I deem her worthy.” The whispers became a roar, until Voldemort gazed around with eyes
that promised death.

“I deem her worthy of a warrior’s burial. Not of a traitor, in an unmarked grave. But not of
royalty, either, in a regal coffin with elaborate ceremony. I deem her worthy of a warrior’s
passage, because she fought for something to the very end. Because she fought for us with her
life.” Nevra raised her wand, and elevated Pansy’s body out of the coffin. “Incendio,” she
whispered under her breath, and the body turned to ashes in the air and fell to the ground. Then
Nevra transfigured the coffin to a black gourd with green slashes across it and swept the ashes
into it. The gourd full of ashes now flew to Nevra’s outstretched hand and she held it high in the
light of the hall.

Her voice clear and steady, she said the final words. “To a warrior. May she be given the fate
she deserves.”

The hall murmured behind her, “To a warrior,” raised their glasses and drank. She turned towards
the Dark Lord and held the gourd up to him.

He looked down in amusement. “I said address, Nevra, not ceremony.”

She looked down respectfully. “My Lord, I should not have done that.”

“Notice you never apologized.” He said.

“Because it would be a lie. I am not sorry for what I did. I only know I shouldn’t have done
it.”

“Careful, Nevra. Your voice borders on impertinence.” He looked out at her upturned face and
lifted her mask, trying to read her facial expressions and covering it with an excuse. “The
ceremonies are done. You don’t need to wear this anymore.” Her eyes were full of fire, her features
taut with feeling. But he couldn’t tell what…she was as skilled as his own Heir as hiding her
emotions.

Without a reply, she bowed and floated off the platform onto the ground. The platform
disappeared when she reached the ground. When she got there, Nevra looked back up at the Dark Lord
and made the salute of the Dark Side (a fist to the chest) as she lowered her mask back over her
face. Then she turned and disappeared in the crowd milling about aimlessly, her stride
purposeful.

Hmm, he could find a use for this fiery follower of his…he appreciated her courage – as long as
it didn’t get out of hand.

Hidden Powers

Draco inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when Nevra finished her address. She was taking all
sorts of risks…but you could never advance without risks. What scared him was she was seemingly
taking them without calculation or forethought. She had been lucky so far, but when would her luck
fail? And her mistake could affect all of the Trio.

The Dark Side had been whispering about this redhead, suddenly coming into the spotlight from
the shadows. No one knew anything about her, except that she had (and maybe still was, it wasn’t
known) the leader of the student Death Eaters – merely a step below the famous Dark Trio. Turns out
that no one but the Dark Lord, the Inner Circle, Blaise, and Draco knew her real name. Draco
secretly thanked the gods that he had never casually mentioned her name to someone else. It could
doom her now. After all, even the Dark Trio wasn’t immune to assassination attempts.

He could see her striding towards him, her red hair standing out like a beacon. *Really, the
girl should dye it if she wants to remain inconspicuous*, his mind thought. *But red looks so
good on her*, a voice replied. He was startled by the thought. Since when had he looked at
fellow Death Eaters as *attractive*? That could kill him if he started thinking like that! So
many females used their bodies to get up into the higher ranks…yet he had never been taken
advantage of like that. He quickly shoved the stray thought to the back of his mind as she
approached.

As she brushed by him, almost roughly, her hand slipped into his, squeezing for an instant than
pulling away. He knew better than to stop her, or to even show the fact that he knew her. Instead
he looked away at a Death Eater (Millicent Bulstrode, maybe) that was calling for him and began to
walk to her, slipping the scrap of paper Nevra gave him into a hidden pocket in his robes.

After he got away from the funeral and the many females who wished to be noticed by the Heir, he
Apparated to a flat he owned in Bahrain (one of the more rugged places in the world, and therefore
a place no one expected a “pampered prince” to be) and pulled out the note. It said
cryptically:

*We and B need to talk. Safe place. Find me. G*

Virtually incomprehensible to anyone else but him. Nevra knew how to guard her back. He smiled
briefly. She must have something good to risk contacting him in a place full of Death Eaters. He
picked up a pendant (gift from Blaise) that moved him directly to Blaise’s location on command and
looked at it. It was green, meaning that Blaise was okay with visits. They had programmed that into
the pendant after several embarrassing incidents on both sides. “Regresa,” he commanded the pendant
and Blaise appeared in front of him in pajamas making tea at his Bristol mansion.

“What’s up, Draco?”

“Ginevra needs to see us.” Draco replied as he handed Blaise the note. Blaise’s sapphire eyes
quickly scanned it.

“How’d you get it?” Blaise asked.

“Must be important because she slipped it to me right at Pansy’s funeral.” Draco said with a
chuckle.

“Good thing she pulled off there. Smart girl. Any idea on how to find her?”

Draco shrugged. “Well, the Binding, I guess.”

“It didn’t work with Pansy.”

Draco nodded impatiently. “And Nevra isn’t Pansy.”

“Got that right. Totally in a different ballpark.” Blaise said bluntly.

Draco’s jaw tensed. “Pansy is – was – our best friend. Don’t be comparing this girl to her.”
Blaise sighed.

“I wasn’t…not emotionally at least. But you have to admit, Nevra is better than Pansy
mentally…quicker, smarter, that sort of stuff.”

Draco nodded, and his mask cracked. Tears came to his eyes. “God, Blaise, I miss her. Her
dying…it’s my fault. I should have gone after Mum alone. I hate him. I really do. How could he kill
a girl that pledged her life to him?” There was no need to specify which “he” Draco was talking
about.

Blaise placed a hand on Draco’s shoulder…briefly. Any show of pity or sympathy would break him.
Draco was never as strong as he looked…but his mask was made of iron in public. He would only let
it slip in front of Blaise and Pansy – and Narcissa Malfoy.

“Draco, I miss her too. It’s like a constant pain in my chest. But it wasn’t your fault. And the
Trio was a Trio for a reason…we shared our problems. And now Nevra’s part of the Trio. Our problems
are hers as well…and vice versa.”

Draco nodded heavily. “Let’s see if we can find her, then.” They turned and walked to Blaise’s
workroom and conducted the spell. A glowing magenta marker raised above a place in – of all places
– Denmark.

Blaise gasped. “It worked! Nevra’s a heck of a lot more powerful than Nevra. Definitely more
powerful than me. Maybe even as powerful as you.”

Draco nodded, then laughed. “Did you know the Weasley’s family color was magenta?”

Blaise shook his head. “Draco! There are only four people currently alive that have that kind of
power: you, Dumbledore, Potter, and the Dark Lord! If Nevra’s that powerful…the Trio is more
powerful than the Light…and the Dark!”

Feeling Safe In Denmark

Nevra waited anxiously for the rest of the Trio in a cottage deep in the countryside of
Denmark…one of the most non-magical places in the world since the Extermination in World War Two.
Few people knew that Hitler had once been a Mysticus extremist…and since Jewish wizards had a
tendency to marry Muggles…well, the Aryan concept came about. Purification of the wizarding world
was the real reason Hitler killed Jews, and in Denmark he had succeeded, even though his feat was
not publicized in the Muggle world. There were very few Danish Jews – so there was none of the mass
murders of Poland and Germany – but the few killed here in Denmark were among the most powerful of
their race (the Jews). Since the Extermination, there was very little magical blood in
Denmark…which made it safe for the kind of conversation about to occur…as soon as the boys got
here.

Finally they appeared. “It can’t have taken that long to use the Binding Spell to locate me!”
Nevra snapped, her voice curt.

Draco scowled. “No…it took us that long to cover our tracks so no Death Eaters would walk in on
this *lovely* conversation. Let’s get down to business. The longer we stay, the easier we make
it for Voldemort and the others to find us. What do you need to talk about?”

Nevra hesitated. “The Bind…of the Trio…comes first to any other – even family?”

Draco and Blaise both nodded hurriedly. Nevra took a deep breath, steeling herself to take a
risk that could kill her – literally. She slipped the letter from Elenia Parkinson out of her robe.
“Revalo Secreto.” She spoke. A light flashed from the letter (magenta of course) and Elenia’s
flowing script appeared on the blank paper.

“You charmed it so it would only reveal its contents to you? Wow, this must be big,” said Blaise
sarcastically. There was no need for a reply. The letter would show them. Ginny handed it to
Draco.

Draco and Blaise (reading over his shoulder) quickly scanned the letter. Draco’s eyes turned
stormy grey, and Blaise’s sapphire eyes widened as his brow furrowed.

“When did you get this, Nevra?” Draco asked, his voice low and husky with some emotion.

“It was enclosed in the funeral invitation. I didn’t know whether it was a trap – I tested it
with the Verdena Spell (truth-seeking spell) and it says it’s genuine. But the Verdena Spell can be
fooled.”

“You are right. We can’t trust this…not fully, not yet. It would risk too much. But how to
figure out whether it is true?” Blaise said worriedly.

Draco said quietly, “A word of power?”

Nevra shook her head. “Every time you use one, there is an equal reaction in another place. We
will be forcing someone to lie about something important, which could ruin their life.”

Blaise said, “But with the Power of Three…which we could implement as the Dark Trio…doesn’t that
neutralize the reaction?”

Draco broke in, “No. We can only force the reaction to come to one of us. But we have no control
over where or when or how.”

Nevra’s eyes filled with fire. “I will do it. I can’t let someone else take the fall for
something I need to do.”

Blaise shook his head. “No, I will. Listen, Nevra, we couldn’t find Pansy using the Locator in
the Innocuroso Spell. She wasn’t powerful enough. In fact there were only four people powerful
enough to be located in the world: Dumbledore, Potter, Voldemort…and Draco. But now, you can be.
You are more powerful than I am by far – even though I am probably the second most powerful wizard
behind you two and the Dark Lord in the Dark Side. Anyways, you are more powerful than me. Maybe
even more powerful than Draco.”

Draco made a noise of disdain here. Blaise ignored him. “Therefore, your life is more important
– you can influence more change than I can. That’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. I will take the
reaction, because I am more expendable than you are.”

Nevra grabbed Blaise by the shoulders hard, her fingers digging into his flesh. “NO! You are not
going to risk your life because of me.”

Draco’s eyes, for once, were unmasked. They were filled with empathy. He reached out and pulled
her away from Blaise. “Yes, he is. We are a Trio. We share our problems. And in this problem –that
is all of ours – what is best for the group is that Blaise take the reaction…however it comes.”
Nevra turned in his grasp to look up into his eyes…for once soft with emotion.

“No. NO! Draco, please. I can handle it.” Draco stared at her, then past her at Blaise.

“Maybe you can. But we won’t let you.” Nevra’s eyes pleaded with him.

“Draco…”

“No.” She went limp in his arms, and her shoulders shook with sobs. Tears ran down her face. Not
being able to bear her brokenness, he crushed her to him, trying to ease her pain.

She mumbled into his chest, her tears soaking through his satin shirt. “He may die for me,
Draco. I can’t let that happen.”

He whispered in her ear the same words she had spoken to him a few days ago. “Don’t you dare
take the blame for it. He made the choice and he deserves the honor of the choice.”

The fight went out of her and her tenuous grip on her emotions disappeared. She sobbed into his
chest as he held her against him (her knees were too weak to hold her). Blaise was long gone, but
neither one noticed his leaving. The last thought she remembered thinking before the grief and pain
she had pushed away for so long overtook her was, *I feel safe with his arms around me. No one
has ever given me that.*



7. Chapter 7
------------

Not Just That

She cried herself out of tears. Why not? An accepting shoulder and no one to watch. She may not
get a chance like this for a long, long time. And then it occurred to her, that she didn’t consider
Draco someone “watching.” Meaning she trusted him to not exploit her vulnerability. Interesting
turn of events. He trusted her on “instinct” and for some reason, she returned the feeling.

When she was done, she rested in his arms a moment longer than needed. It felt nice to feel
safe, feel taken care of, and be wrapped in someone’s arms. He let her stay, but when she pulled
away, he didn’t try to pull her back. She found herself wishing he had. Sometimes reality was just
too hard to face. But she would do what she must, just as she had always.

She began to speak, but Draco pressed his fingers against her mouth, stopped her, then whispered
in her ear. “Listen to the things you can hear in the silence. The silence will let your thoughts
run and you will think things that you could have never thought of anywhere else. It can help you
in times like this.”

So they stood together, yet in their own worlds, listening to the silence. Nevra’s thoughts
slowly ran in a clear stream. *Draco is crazy…listen to the silence? What is he talking about? I
wonder why he let me cry on his shoulder. Pansy was definitely in love with him. Blaise warned me
not to fall in love with him. Is that what this is? Am I falling in love with the Heir to the Dark
Lord? With Draco Malfoy?*

Draco broke the silence at last. “Harder than it looks, to let a person die for you, eh, Nevra?”
Draco asked, his eyes dry as ever but still soft with emotion. She looked into them, searching.
This was the first time he seemed to have truly given up his guard, let her in to his feelings. But
she wasn’t fooled. He would be ready to attack as ever, his magical barriers strong as ever.

She stepped away from him in order to talk without thinking of his hot breath against her ear,
of the muscles in his arms gripping her round the waist firmly. “Yes. I shouldn’t have yelled at
you about Pansy. I had no idea what it was like.”

He smiled. “No, I deserved it. I needed it.” He glanced down at his feet, and voice slightly
shaking, said, “I think that it’s the kind of thing Pansy would have done.”

“You know I am not trying to take her place. She – she seemed like a sister to you. I don’t need
that. I don’t want that kind of closeness.”

“You’re going to have to get used to it. Because the Trio is bound by something stronger than
just pure spell work. It’s bound by the fact that we share our problems, our enemies, nearly
everything in our lives.”

She smiled. “I am not the same person as Pansy. Nevertheless, I have my strengths and my
weaknesses just as she did. And I will be loyal to our cause. I will do my share as part of the
Trio.”

He smiled back…the first time she had ever seen him smile…really, smile, with true emotion. “I
know. And you know, the hurt isn’t just fading, it seems to be growing less. Over Pansy.”

“She died for a cause. That in itself makes it easier. She loved you…you and Blaise both. That
makes it bearable. The hurt does grow less, but that doesn’t mean the memories do. You will always
have those…and they will make life worth living.”

Draco looked at her carefully. “How do you know all this? I don’t remember any Weasleys dying
recently. No offense meant. There’s just so many of you.” He said half-teasing.

She smiled, acknowledging the jibe as what it was…not the insult it would have been when they
were kids at Hogwarts. “You know Voldemort was inside my head my first year.” She didn’t wait for
an answer…it wasn’t a question. “In truth, he was closer to me than my own blood, because he knew
what I thought every second of the day. He knew my every feeling, emotion, longing, desire. I hated
him for being able to control me, but I loved him deeper than I’ve ever loved anyone. I know that
all he did was manipulate me. But when he was gone – the diary destroyed – I missed him. Like
someone had taken my heart away. That’s how I know how it feels to lose someone.”

Draco looked at her with horror. “Nevra, he can’t feel anything. He doesn’t care about anything
anymore. Sometimes I don’t even think his own life. He just cares about changing the world to fit
his vision. His awful, evil vision. One that would destroy anything good in magic. One that would
bring magic to destroy itself eventually.”

She looked at him helplessly. “I know. It’s hard to understand. When someone gets that close to
you, you can’t help but get attached if you’re human. I am…Voldemort isn’t. But when he was just
Tom Riddle, he *was*. He was just a boy who shared my dreams and my thoughts. Even helped me
in little ways. He got me through my first year…even if it was only to use me for his plans.”

“Does he know about this bond?”

Ginny smiled wryly. “He’d use it to use me. And I can’t let that happen. Because even though my
memories of that time weren’t bad…were good, even, I know that he is evil. That he can’t feel…maybe
even that he isn’t human anymore. No, I’d be giving my own death sentence if he ever found out. And
now you, his Heir, know. Kind of ironic.”

He reached out and touched her hand – only for an instant – as if scared to hold on any longer.
“Nevra, our bond binds my loyalty to you and Blaise above any other.”

“But it isn’t just that.” He glanced at her in surprise when she said this.

Denying Love

“It’s more than that. I trust you more than I trust Blaise. And you haven’t given me reason to
do that. I just do.” She hesitated…looked up again at his still-soft eyes and took a deep breath.
“Remember Blaise told me something and you woke up and told me he was right because he was an
Empath?” Draco nodded. “He warned me not to fall in love with you. He said that I was already
half-way in love, but that I shouldn’t let myself fall farther. Because you have a darkness within
you that no love can heal.”

Draco was strangely hesitant. “Are you saying you *love* me?” Nevra took a deep breath.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.” Draco looked strangely downcast. “But I would trust you with
everything and anything. You infuriate me, intrigue me, and make me feel just about everything
except dislike. You just confuse me, plainly put. But I think that I would fall in love with you if
I let myself. But I am not going to.”

Draco’s eyes turned stormy with pain and then steely with anger. His mask slammed into place,
locking his emotions out.

Nevra cried, “No! Draco, you cannot run away from this!”

“What?”

“You can’t shut me out and you can’t shut your emotions out! This is how relationships work!
They are a two-way street!”

“Am I not worth your precious love?”

Nevra sighed exasperatedly. “Draco! The world does NOT revolve around you! This isn’t about you
anymore! You don’t love me, anyway, so what does it matter? Do you just like having women drooling
after you?”

He looked strange, tormented almost. “They already do that. But why stop yourself?”

Nevra smiled wistfully. “Because Blaise is right. You do have a darkness within you. I am
already struggling with my own Darkness. Yours would swallow me completely. Besides that, me loving
you – that would either kill me or kill you. The Dark Side is a dangerous place…one that does not
accommodate Love, only Greed and Lust and Ambition. You know that as well as I.

He turned away, his face grim. “I know.” There was nothing left to talk about between them.
Nevra, to her own horror, began to cry. He turned at the sound of her stifled sobs.

“Oh, Nevra. Don’t cry because of me, please. I am not worth that.” He said sadly, taking her
into his arms.

She growled through her tears, punching him in the chest. “Yes, you are! You are worth it!” She
pushed him away before she could feel the longing that said she wanted to stay there forever,
wiping hastily at the tears that could seem to stop.

So distracted by that was she, that she didn’t look up at Draco’s face. If she had, she would
have seen the mask gone and seen a broken face, twisted by pain and hurt and sorrow and guilt. She
would have seen the tears in those grey eyes as well, finally wetting the eyes that never seemed to
cry. Tears that slowly trickled down his cheeks, burning his soul, once she ran into the cottage
and slammed the door shut behind her.

Had he not turned away, convinced that he was to be denied everything good in his life, he would
have seen Nevra rush out of the cottage, ready to pull him into her arms and beg forgiveness. Ready
to give it all away for the love she had always longed for. But he had already gone, and she was
left standing outside. Wondering how she could have denied the love that was making her heart pulse
with pain…that was ripping her apart inside. The love she would dream of for the rest of her
life…the denial she would regret until the day she died.

**Obviously, this isn’t the end. It was our love that led me to this shoreline. It was the fact
that we risked everything for our love. But sometimes I wonder, if I had accepted it on that day,
instead of denying it at first, whether we would have been ready. Whether our love would have
survived. Whether I would still be standing here thinking about the peace of Death, instead of
wrapped up inside the caress of your arms. The only place I truly belong. In Life or Death.**

A Slippery Path

Ginny Apparated to her Hogwarts Office, hoping that Draco would come after her, but not catch
her. She wished she knew he cared – but it didn’t seem like he could. His Darkness truly did
separate him from the rest of the Death Eaters, even Voldemort himself.

She bumped straight into a tall man. Only his quick reflexes kept her from tumbling to the
ground herself. Finding her balance, she stepped away from the circle of his arms. Then took
another step away when she found out who it was. Harry Potter.

“Potter, what are you doing here?” she asked scornfully. “Dumbledore said *I* was to meet
*you* at the place where you were staying…have the plans changed?”

Harry blushed. “Ginny, I’m sorry. I needed a bandage – I thought you’d be gone for a while
longer.” Ginny glanced at her desk – the letter to Dumbledore was gone.

“So you decided you would rip up my letter and use it to staunch your wound? I’m sure it’s
spectacular. Harry, you need lessons in lying – you’ve never been able to do it well.”

“I’m not sure that is a bad thing, you know.”

“Oh, it is. I know firsthand. People would have an easier time of it if you lied with a straight
face. If they could believe you when you lied. Trust me, I know.” He winced at the memories of the
time they had lost it all.

“Ginny, you know that –“ She cut him off.

“Potter, I am very, very sorry. Dumbledore warned me not to let ‘bad blood’ in the way of
business. And I still brought it up. Well, let’s start over. Back to business, right?”

Harry sighed. They would never bridge the rift if they didn’t talk. But it didn’t look like
Ginny was interested anymore. She had changed. She didn’t need his approval, or Hermione’s or even
her own family’s. In fact, he didn’t think she cared what Dumbledore thought anymore either. To
whom her loyalties and affection were, he didn’t know. But he would have to find out. “Right. Back
to business.”

“Oh and don’t call me Ginny. Ginevra or anything formal will do.”

“Nevra?” She winced.

“NO. That is my…other name.” Oh, her Dark name. He understood.

“Ginevra, then. Call me Harry.”

“Can’t do that, Potter.”

“Why not?”

“Makes me want to cry. Old memories, you know.” Her eyes dared him to bring up the subject
again.

He sighed. It seemed like she would never let him answer for his mistakes. That she had shut him
off. “Fine, call me Potter.”

“Will do…Potter.” Ginny Summoned the Hogwarts floor plans with the attack plan on it from her
room. “Accio!”

They sat down across from each other and began to discuss the plan over a table. Yet you could
clearly see the space they gave each other. The carefulness of their conversation. Her greatest
connection with the side of the Light had truly been broken long ago. But it was now that she
accepted it. Accepted that she had no bond to the Light anymore – that she had loyalties for no one
except the Trio.

She was treading a slippery path. But it was one she must walk. To save the Light. But for some
reason, the Light didn’t seem so important anymore. All she could see in her mind was the intent on
Draco’s – and Blaise’s – faces when they conducted the Binding. All she knew was that now, her
loyalties came first – to the Dark Trio.



8. Chapter 8
------------

Trying To Forget

When Harry finally left, the attack plan had been totally modified. Originally, it would have
been a slaughter ground, with a head on charge upon the Death Eater force. Now the losses were
smaller, and the effect much greater.

Only the Light had the power of flight so far. That was ancient magic kept preserved in the
hidden library of the Hogwarts Headmaster (or Mistress, of course). Harry and Nevra worked together
to devise a cunning solution.

First, the attack would come from the air. Owls could carry exploding grenades – which they
would drop in a set pattern. However, once dropped they would do nothing – until Harry would say
the ‘magic words’, per se, and they would all explode in unison.

After the force was considerably ravaged, the attack would move on to real people. Broom sticks
and magic carpets (legalized by Arthur Weasley 2 years ago) would both be used to get witches and
wizards in the air. After that, the attack would come from below – but that was easy to fix.

Hogwarts, long ago, used to play games in the Great Hall. Because of the multitude of students –
two games would be played at once. So the Four had created a magical barrier in mid-air that served
as a floor for the upper half and a ceiling for the lower half of the Hall. Now, they could use the
barrier, because it was impermeable. The shots any Death Eater fired would reflect back at their
own people once it bounced off the barrier “ceiling.”

Dumbledore had found a way to make the barrier work only one-way…from the lower half (Death
Eaters) to the upper half (Light Side). So, the Light could destroy the Dark Force without ever
incurring a casualty. It was brilliant!

The students would still be killed, because there was not room for all of them in the safe
places of the castle – the Headmaster’s office and the kitchens. The rest of them would stay in the
Ravenclaw Dormitory (because Ravenclaw was the only House that had no student Death Eaters
according to Ginevra – leader of student Death Eaters). There, they would be vulnerable. But at
least it would not be a straight out slaughter as children got caught in the crossfire.

There was the attack plan. Dumbledore had given her the Sorting Hat at last. She would be
Summoned to the Dark Lord soon with her prize. Her Initiation was imminent – she would be an even
more valued informer when she joined the upper ranks of the Dark Side. She would be the youngest
Death Eater ever to attain such a rank.

She needed to keep her position as leader of the student Death Eaters – Draco had lost it when
he had become Heir. But becoming Heir was a very different thing than becoming a member of the
Inner Circle. Perhaps…hopefully, she would be able to keep her spot. She needed to keep tabs on all
Hogwarts Death Eaters at the time of attack. Make sure they did not find a way to foil the attack
plan.

The scar (from the Binding) burned for an instant and she could see the thin line turned black
against the iridescent green of the Dark Mark. She was being called. Probably by Blaise,
considering her spat with Draco. She really did not think she could deal with Draco right now.
Better that she avoid him.

She was called, and she must go. But she would be careful to avoid his eyes. It was his eyes
that made her feel torn inside. Like when she denied her love, she denied him. And his eyes made
her imagine that “he” could really feel – that he felt for her. She shoved away the feelings
roughly as she readied herself for the jolt that came when you return to your partners in a Binding
Spell.

The things the mind imagines when desperate for someone’s love. But Draco Malfoy was not capable
of love. Not now, and perhaps not ever. She would have to remember that. No matter how tortured his
eyes looked, no matter how she felt within his arms. Draco Malfoy did not love her, and probably
never would. She pushed the regret to a tiny corner in her mind and tried to forget.

What she didn’t know then was that Draco Malfoy would never let her forget. Ever.

Opinions Of An Empath

Nevra appeared in front of Blaise. She breathed a sigh of relief. Draco was nowhere to be seen.
But Blaise appeared upset.

“I need to talk to you. Something’s wrong.”

“What are you talking about, Blaise?”

“I’m an Empath. I feel others’ emotions especially when I am close to them myself. That means I
read you and Draco the best of all.”

“Your point is…”

“Something happened after I left that cottage. Both of you are struggling with new emotions. And
the Trio is divided. What is going on with you two?”

She sighed. “You warned me not to fall in love with him.” He nodded impatiently, searching her
face. “I already have. But since I can’t afford to love him…I, well, I pushed him away. Told him I
wouldn’t let myself love him. Because his Darkness would swallow me.”

He shook his head slightly. “It will. But something worse will happen if you deny it. You know,
I don’t think he knows it himself yet, but you need to be told. He cares about you. Maybe not quite
love yet, but definitely the closest Draco’s ever gotten to the feeling in his entire life. I used
to think Draco wasn’t capable of love. That his circumstances – growing up under the shadow of the
Dark Side and the pressures of his father – had left him so numb to emotion that he couldn’t love.
But I am beginning to rethink that…Nevra, honest to Merlin, you have the greatest chance to make
him human that anyone has ever had. To make him feel…break past the barriers, the shields he
holds.”

“Blaise…”

“No, listen, Nevra. He lets down his exterior guard in front of me and Pansy, and his mom. Bu
the interior ones – the guards on his thoughts – those he never ever *ever* lets down. No one
ever knows what he’s considering, what he’s thinking about, until a plan is fully formed in his
head. Until the risks and benefits of speaking have been calculated. Until he’s sure of
everything.”

“That’s the only way he would have survived at the top of the Dark Side for so long. You know
the Heir must be like that, Blaise.”

“I know, but I don’t agree. All this subterfuge has left very little feeling in Draco. I doubt
he remembers what it means to laugh anymore. As the subject to the Heir to the Dark Lord” I know
these changes are for the better. But as the friend to Draco Malfoy…it’s killing him inside.”

“So I am supposed to sacrifice myself to save Mr. Emotionless?” Nevra stated poisonously.

Blaise’s face grew wiser than his years. (On anyone but him, it would have been smug) “Denying
love is a dangerous thing to all involved. Especially the love of your magnitude. I have no idea
when or why, but the ties of love connecting you two are stronger than any other couple I have
seen, stronger than the ties of the Innocuroso Binding of the Trio. Denying those ties is already
splitting apart the Trio…it will eventually lead you both to desperate measures to find a way back
to Happiness. Breaking the ties…well, it probably would kill you both.”

“He won’t let me forget about him, will he?”

“It’s not just him, Nevra. You confuse him and throw him off balance. Careful you two figure
each other out before this confusion of emotion gets you both killed. You know how mistakes can
come back to haunt you in the Dark Side.

A/N – I think that JKR said that Neville/Luna will never happen. There is a brief mention of
Neville/Luna in this chapter. I know what JKR says, and that can happen in her books. Her genius is
acknowledged. However in this story, my imagination creates the rules. Enjoy! – Kumy

The Reaction

She turned to leave, and Blaise grabbed her arm, stopped her. His eyes were glazed over and the
words came out in a rush. “Draco has been lying to you…or at least not telling you. He killed Bill
and Fleur Weasley over a year ago on their two year wedding anniversary. He tortured them into
giving information about the whereabouts of Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood as well. The Dark
Lord wanted Longbottom dead because he was the second boy that could have been involved in the
prophecy. Luna was carrying his child out of wedlock at the time. Draco killed them both a week
later when he found them in the Forbidden Forest looking for a wild ‘gobbledygook’, whose sightings
had just been published in the Quibbler.”

Blaise’s eyes refocused suddenly and he released his grip on her arm. “Weren’t you leaving,
Nevra?”

She looked at him hard. “Did you conduct the Word of Power spell to see if Elenia Parkinson was
lying?”

He nodded. “Oh, yeah. That’s what I forgot to tell you about. Since we are bound with the
Innocuroso Binding, any one of us can wield the Power of the Trio. So, I did it last night. Draco
knows already. She was telling the truth. We have a deserter in hand. By the way, we need to meet
after you and Draco figure your…disagreement…out. To see what we are going to do with Elenia
Parkinson.”

She smiled grimly. “The Reaction came already, Blaise. You just told me how my brother and his
wife, my best friend and her husband died…and you said Draco might be able to love. How? When he
could kill two pregnant women and two good men in cold blood? Without evidence of a threat…just
speculation. Killed them…Blaise, that means the thousand tears I cried for them all, I can lay at
the feet of a man you say loves me. If he can hurt someone he loves like this, I dread to get on
his bad side!” She laughed, her laughter bordering on the edge of tears.

Blaise winced. “Well, to state the obvious, Draco didn’t love you then. We are lucky that the
Reaction came with the Trio…or maybe not. This could destroy us.”

Her eyes were pure fire. “God, you know, I still can’t put the feeling of his arms wrapped
around me out of my head. He killed people I love, and I can’t forget one minute of memories.” She
reached out blindly for comfort, for something to hold on to.

Blaise sighed and stroked her hair as she sobbed on his shoulder. “That’s love for you, Nevra.
It hurts, but eventually, believe it or not, it’s worth it.”

She gently removed herself from his embrace. “I think that this Binding weakened me more than it
helped.” She joked weakly. “I haven’t cried this much in years.”

He looked at her seriously. “It did in a way. It opened your mind to me and Draco…so I guess
it’s normal to feel a bit more emotional.”

“So why aren’t you both breaking down constantly?”

“Because you have been holding emotion inside since you came to the Dark Side. Draco and I have
shown it with each other and Pansy. We have less emotion pent up inside us to explode out like
yours does. It will get better though.”

She sighed. “People seem to be saying that a lot to me these days. I just hope it can’t get any
worse.”

She never should have said that. Because as always, things could get worse. And they did.



9. Chapter 9
------------

A/N – Edward Parkinson is Pansy’s father and Elenia’s husband. Enjoy! – Kumy

Doubts

Draco popped into sight, his back towards Nevra. She held in a gasp at the sound of his voice.
She couldn’t face him now. Not after this! She would say something that she would regret later.
No…no regrets, not for this man. She stifled a sob at the thought of Bill and Fleur lying in their
coffins, their faces masks in Death. Sort of like the mask Draco wore in front of others.

He began talking to Blaise immediately, not noticing Blaise’s frantic glances towards an area
behind his back in his rush to tell him the information he had found out about today. “Nevra’s
going to be Initiated. We have got to tell the Dark Side she is part of the Trio…without the
protection of our alliance, she will be eaten alive by our fathers…oh and Edward Parkinson, as
well. Especially since she is so young to become one of the Inner Circle. We were an exception…I
mean, we had been training for this since we got out of the cradle, but she, she is an outsider.
And they will not take her in easily. Even with the protection of the Alliance. We *must*
tell…no matter the effect on our plans. Nevra is too valuable to lose because of a bunch of
hard-headed…not to mention chauvinistic…old Dark fanatics like our parents and their like.”

“Get it right, Draco. I am the youngest Death Eater ever to be Initiated. That is only because I
am bringing the Dark Lord the Sorting Hat – in essence giving him Hogwarts. The ultimate proof of
Dedication…the Betrayal of a place I consider my home.” She laughed bitterly. “Anyways, because I
am as young as I am, the Inner Circle members have the right to Test me. Not even the Dark Lord can
stop them. So they will eat me alive…it’s their duty to make sure I am ready for the job. I don’t
need the protection of the Trio. I survived without it long enough to become second-in-command.
Don’t feel *obliged* to help me, Malfoy.”

He spun around in a flash. The only sign of his surprise was a slight widening of his eyes.
Before he could say anything, Blaise cut in.

“Don’t be stupid, Nevra. The Inner Circle is a entirely different ball game from the rabble you
dealt with as student leader…actually, you still deal with them, don’t you? Anyways, they are
pretty straightforward in their politics.”

Nevra remembered all the lies she had caught Death Eaters in, the subterfuge surrounding her.
The constant battle to keep her position in the Heirarchy. Blaise called that simple…if that were
true, and the Inner Circle politics were “complicated,” Blaise was right. She would be in way over
her head. She nodded reluctantly.

“You’re right. I guess we will have to make a formal announcement…but I want to talk to my
followers first. That way they won’t think I was keeping secrets from them, and our trust and bonds
will remain just as tight…my connection with common Death Eaters is important to the Trio, you
know.”

She didn’t like being defensive. After what Blaise said, she felt like they looked down on
“commoners” as if they were inferior. That bothered her. It was a side they had never shown her.
She was a commoner herself…only wits and skill and lots of luck had gotten her this far. She didn’t
like not knowing everything (or at least nearly everything, this was the Dark Side after all) about
people she needed to trust…was putting her life in danger for. The doubts that she had pushed to
the back of her mind, the risks she was taking, came into vivid focus.

Oblivious to her turn of thoughts, Draco nodded in relief. She had accepted the need. Nevra
could be stubborn at times. He didn’t understand the feelings he had for her…so he didn’t consider
them at all. She had made it clear it didn’t matter. Strangely, for the first time in years, he had
felt like he had lost something then. He can’t believe he had actually cried in front of that
cottage. Even thinking back, he could feel a prickle behind his eyes…distant memories told him that
was a signal of imminent tears. He hastily pushed those thoughts away and resumed his mask. He had
made a mistake he would never make again…opening himself up entirely to another human being…letting
down all of his guard. He had no idea why he did it, only that he had wanted to stop her tears…heal
her pain so badly, that he would have done anything.

That was weakness. And weakness scared him. If these…*emotions*…became a factor in his
plans…everything could fall apart. Because the expendability of people was something he had
depended upon to work in his favor. But if people weren’t expendable anymore…if Nevra wasn’t
expendable…his plans would fail. He couldn’t allow that to happen. That was the bottom line. With
that, he stopped the internal struggle – at least until the doubts began gnawing at him again.

He turned to ask Nevra how she was going to get the Sorting Hat from Dumbledore. What he saw
shocked him to his core…their relationship seemed to have taken a 180 degree turn. There was barely
controlled fury raging in her fiery eyes…her stance was tense as if instead of a trusted ally, he
was an enemy.

What had happened since the cottage? Since she told him that she could have fallen in love with
him?

If her eyes were really showing hate rather than anger, then it was all over. Because what he
had found out in the past few days, is that he desperately wanted her to fall in love with him…that
he was beginning to love her. His love couldn’t seem to be restrained, and if her hate for him was
true, she would use his love to hurt him.

What a horrible mess…he supposed he deserved it for letting down his guard at last. Something he
would never do again.

Pretending

Nevra abruptly spoke when Draco’s eyes met hers. “I’ve got to go. See you guys later.” She left
before she could do or say something she would regret.

Draco turned to Blaise. “She’s furious…at me. What is going on? What happened?”

Blaise grimaced. “I don’t think you want to know.” At a glare from Draco, he hurried on. “Okay,
okay! The Reaction to the Word of Power I used to test Elenia’s letter – by the way, it was true,
did I tell you? It came today. I…I told Nevra about you killing Bill and Fleur Weasley – and
Longbottom and Lovegood.”

Draco groaned. “We were going to tell her that after she realized that the Dark Lord can use
Compulsion to make people do things…that after he spelled me into doing that, I couldn’t sleep for
a week.”

Blaise sighed. “I sensed as an Empath that it would be better if the “explanation” came from
you…she would think it was fake consolation coming from me. I know the Reaction came at an
inappropriate time…but that *is* what it is supposed to do. We’re lucky it happened within the
Trio, and not in front of the Dark Lord. Now that would have gotten us killed.”

Draco said scornfully, “Lucky? This could break up the Trio…yet the problem is we would still be
bound under the spell even if we never spoke again. One of the disadvantages of the
Innocuroso…there’s no release until Death. Or until Voldemort magically reveals how he broke
free.”

Blaise sighed. “I had hoped that Nevra would have known enough about you to understand that it
wasn’t something that you would do voluntarily…I mean, kill unborn children.” Draco looked away in
disgust. “But I guess she either hasn’t seen enough of you.” Draco laughed in disbelief. “*Or*
she doesn’t believe fully what she sees…and I suspect it’s the latter.”

Draco looked at Blaise with tortured eyes. “Kind of ironic. The first person I open up to
totally believes I am not what I “seem to be.” Believes I am a man who could kill unborn children
against whom I have no grudge.”

Blaise looked at him earnestly. “Don’t be bitter. She is lost and confused right now. She has no
friends, no family, standing behind her…there is only the Dark Side. This Alliance and the bond to
the Dark Lord have to be the only commitments she has in her life right now. She is betraying
Hogwarts, her strongest connection of all. To find out that a person she is trusting her life with
killed people she loved…no matter why or how…has to be scary.”

Draco scowled. “You can be too fair, sometimes, Empath.”

Blaise smiled, acknowledging the jest. “She loves you, Draco. She is denying it, pushing it as
far away as she can, but the love is there. “

Unconscious of the hope flooding his eyes, Draco stood. “She won’t ever let herself love me…she
told me that herself in Denmark.”

Blaise hesitated. This could break Draco Malfoy…but if he wasn’t told, Blaise was afraid that he
would cease to feel. And that by far would be the worse fate. So he spoke the truth he had been
hiding for so long. “You’re scared, Draco. Scared that she won’t love you. Denying the possibility.
And do you know why? Because you love her as much as she loves you. The irony is, as perfect as
your love could be, you both are denying it…out of fear.”

Draco’s eyes filled with a rage unparalleled by anything Blaise had ever seen. “I DO NOT LOVE
HER!” But the light of realization shone in his eyes before he Apparated away.

Blaise smiled inside. He did love her. The darkness in him…the inner torment between what was
right and what was his duty was fading away within Draco.

What scared Blaise was that the darkness Nevra held was growing ever greater. And what Blaise
knew was that, at this moment, only Draco had a bond deep enough with her to save her from herself.
He hoped they would realize their feelings in time to save one another. This was something they had
to find out for themselves.

Sometimes it was frustrating knowing other people’s emotions. Humans were so stupid and stubborn
about these things sometimes. They couldn’t even see something if it was shoved in front of their
eyes. They tried to pretend it wasn’t there.



10. Chapter 10
--------------

Blood On Her Hands

Two days later, Dumbledore knocked at Nevra’s door. The Sorting Hat was in his hands.

“Come in, Headmaster. Would you like some tea?” She asked politely.

“No, thank you, Ginny. Well, here is the final key to the plan.” He held the Sorting Hat out to
her.

She reached to take it, then hesitated. He watched her carefully with those keen eyes of his.
Taking a deep breath, she took it in her hands. The thing that would Betray her home…the place that
had sheltered her for so many years. The thing that would kill innocent children. Just for a chance
to destroy Voldemort.

She supposed many would consider it a fair bargain. But to her, the deaths of children held an
immeasurable price. Even the destruction of the Dark Side didn’t seem worth it. But she would
follow orders. Dumbledore rattled off some final instructions and she nodded briskly.

“It will be done, Dumbledore.”

“The Light willing, we shall prevail.”

“The Light willing.” She prayed it would be so. Children would die for this.

She scrawled out a quick message to Blaise and Draco, and copied a second time to mail to the
Dark Lord.

*I have the Sorting Hat. When should we reveal my part in the Dark Trio. - N*

By nightfall she had received three different replies.

*Your Test will begin tomorrow at dusk with the presentation of the Sorting Hat. The Alliance
will be announced to the Inner Circle 3 days after you pass the Test presented by the Inner Circle.
If you pass the test, your initiation will be 12 days after the Test date at dusk. I leave it to
your discretion when to announce it to your followers. Be wise in your decision. – Lord*

*Follow what the Dark Lord says…if you don’t you will not be Initiated. It is the only option
left to us. – B*

*Announce the Alliance to the commoners alone a few hours before you announce it to the Inner
Circle. No chance for gossip to get around, yet enough time to prove you trust them and to
strengthen their trust in you. I will announce it to the Circle and you and B will accompany me,
because I am the highest rank (as Heir). - D*

She took a deep breath. So began the betrayal of Hogwarts. So she would enter the highest ranks
of the Death Eaters. She supposed Blaise had not told Draco about the reaction…unless Draco simply
did not care what Nevra thought of him.

She pushed away hurt. She had no right. She didn’t mean anything to him. Yet she couldn’t help
remembering how Harry had treated her so long ago. How the Light treated her as a tool. She
couldn’t help comparing that to the way Draco had held her as she cried in Denmark. To the way she
had felt in his arms…protected.

If that time in Denmark was the true face of the Dark Side, and Harry the true face of the
LIght…than what was to prove that the Light was the right side? If she was a person on the Dark
Side, and merely a tool to be used until she was dead on the Light…was she a fool to align her
loyalties the way she had?

No. Never. She knew the Dark was wrong. But damn it! She still couldn’t forget the vulnerability
of Draco’s eyes when she said she could love him …she couldn’t forget his arms wrapped around
her…she couldn’t forget the feelings she tried to deny.

But she could ignore. And ignore she would. Because the Light was the Light…and the Dark was the
Dark. Was wrong…was evil…

She hoped the belief she had held all her life were truly right. If it weren’t…she would have
the blood of the only friends she had really had all her life on her hands without the water of
righteousness to cleanse them. She would be a murderer…plain and simple.

She laughed to herself. Who was she kidding? She already *was* a murderer. The blood of
countless numbers of Dark spies (on the Light), and nameless Muggles were on her hands…in the name
of duty. In the name of Duty, she could pretend that it was alright. But deep inside, she would
always know… she was a murderer.

Early Morning Conversation

The next morning, Nevra opened her eyes to knocking on the door. Wrapping a robe around herself,
she hurried to the door, opening it a crack.

“Potter? What are you doing here? It’s just past dawn.”

“I am hoping I can shock you into talking through our problems while you’re still too tired to
really think about it.” Nevra smiled bitterly.

“There’s nothing to talk about. It’s old history.”

“Ginny, we need to work together as a team. The only way we will be able to do that is if we
become comfortable with each other. Which means we need to “make up” as your mother would put
it.”

Nevra said bluntly. “She isn’t my mother. She stopped being that when she filed the papers of
disownment at the Ministry. In fact, she told me I should consider myself privileged that she let
me keep the family name. The only reason she didn’t take that away from me was because Bill stopped
her. Said I was still the baby of the family and I needed something to hold on to.”

He sighed. “Where did we go wrong, Nevra?”

“When you decided your love for my family was more important than your love for me. When you
turned my back on me because I wanted to work for the Cause that you would have died for.” He
winced.

“Touché. I get the point. Your mo – Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley are like parents to me. Your
brother is my best friend…what did you expect me to do?” He looked at her with the killer smile and
the look that seemed to say “Nothing is ever my fault.”

“Potter, we were going to get married! You picked your would-be in-laws over your fiancée of
three years! The woman you *said* you wanted to spend the rest of your life with!”

He looked at her stubbornly. “That’s the point. They weren’t just my in-laws. They were the only
family I had. I couldn’t give up family…not even for you.”

She smiled wistfully. “And that, Potter, is where we went wrong. Is where every friendship or
relationship I ever had went wrong. People picked my family over me, pure and simple. I don’t
really care anymore. It used to hurt, but it doesn’t anymore. The fact of the matter is I will
never trust a single one of you lot again. You betrayed my trust, my love for my family when you
said you would love me forever. I can’t trust a man who breaks a promise like that. Who breaks my
heart. I’m not angry…I just can’t trust you anymore.”

“Ginny…I still love you…I will love you forever.” She cut in. She was tired of this
conversation. Nothing was going to make this okay. Potter was too used to having his way. But
unlike everyone else with the Light, she didn’t give a damn that he was the Boy Who Lived.

“The bottom line is, you loved my family more. And for that…for taking my heart and making me
believe you, and then betraying it…throwing it all away – for that I will never trust you. Don’t
worry, you’re quite forgiven. I think you’re fake, but I have forgiven you. The only thing I will
never give you again is my trust. I will give my life to save you, the Hope of the Light…I will
give you my blood…anything really. But you will never ever again have my trust or my love.”

The look on Potter’s face was quite satisfying. This was probably the first time he had been so
thoroughly verbally dressed down without a hint of anger. Civilized, *vicious*
conversation…what a great way to start the day. She felt much better after letting out all those
feelings. And even better that he had practically asked for it.

“And now, I feel like getting the rest of my beauty sleep, Potter.” She briskly shut the door in
his face with a satisfying thud, and proceeded to get back into bed. There were still a couple more
hours that she could sleep before breakfast began in the Great Hall.

Skillful Deflections

Nevra returned from the Great Hall to the sanctuary of her own room. She sighed. All the
teachers had been told of Potter’s presence. Nevra had long since weeded out the Dark spies from
the teachers – there was no danger of Harry being discovered by the Dark Side through Hogwarts.

Potter, being the man he was, had told everyone about their early morning
conversation…conveniently leaving out that he was to blame for their rift in the first place. All
she had gotten at the breakfast tables were glances of disapproval. No one had said a word to her
about it, though, she thought in satisfaction. They had gotten a taste of her temper all too often
to risk an argument in front of the students.

The comments would come in a few days when she was forced to go to meet to “discuss curriculum”
with the Hogwarts Professors. Abington professed he wanted to send his students to the Infirmary
for a few months to get some “practical experience” for their Healing Exams at the end of the year.
She suspected that would not be the focal point of the conversation, however.

She sighed and donned her robes for the upcoming Test.

Dumbledore knew about it already…he didn’t seem concerned. As if he was confident she would make
it. Overconfidence seemed to be a weakness for him. She herself wasn’t half as sure. The Dark Side
could be ruthless in culling out cowardice and incompetence…it was necessary to be the best of the
best in order to pull off the complex maneuvers used in battle and even in practice.

The compromise was that she would reveal the Alliance to her followers just hours before the
Initiation…after she passed the Test. The Alliance would be revealed to the Inner Circle at the
reception following the Initiation…then after the closing ceremonies, Nevra would Summon her
followers to announce the Initiation to the Inner Circle and to introduce Blaise and Malfoy to the
group. Then, they would “mingle” until the time came to leave. They would Apparate together to
Malfoy’s residence because it was the most protected against “surprises” like assassins. The newest
addition to the powerful in the Hierarchy would be a target until the Dark Side discovered she was
not easy prey…not vulnerable. But first, she had to pass the Test.

The time came. She Apparated to the place of the Test with the Sorting Hat in her hands…the
Malfoy Manor in Tuscany was beautiful. She arrived in the center of a ring of masked faces. She
found Blaise’s sapphire eyes, Malfoy’s silver ones…for some reason, it didn’t make her feel any
better to see them. The Dark Lord was standing beside her…actually slightly above her on a
platform.

“Nevra, do you stand ready to be Tested?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“This is your Test. Bind yourself to me with the most powerful Binding Spell ever possessed by
the Dark…the Innocuroso Charm.”

She hesitated. It was rumored terrible things could happen when the Binding occurred twice to
two different loyalties. Malfoy’s mouth opened and she held up a finger to stop him.

“That could destroy us.”

“Pray tell, Nevra, how could it do that?”

“It will not bind to the Freed. And you are one of them.” Voldemort’s eyes glowed with a reddish
tint of annoyance.

“And how do you know that which the Dark Lord knows not?” Blaise’s eyes pleaded with her to be
careful. She suddenly heard Blaise’s voice in her head.

*Another gift I have of which you knew nothing about. Mind Speaking is a special talent that
Empaths have. Be steady…think about what you say and do now. The situation is critical. Although,
your maneuvering is excellent, I must say.*

She was lucky her mask hid her expressions. Blaise could *talk* with her in her own head!
The secrets even the Bound kept from one another…she reined in her reeling mind. Now was not the
time.

“Read the spell, my Lord. It says, ‘*Our bonds do defy every promise and lie, that we have
made before this day*.’ When you have been freed of the bond once…the spell can no longer apply
to you because the bond had already been made…it was just broken…somehow.” There was a slight
question in the last word…a last hope to discovering the secrets of the Innocuroso. Dashing her
hopes, the Dark Lord ignored it.

“Skillfully deflected, Nevra.” There was a slight smile on his face, and his eyes glowed ever
hotter with anger.



11. Chapter 11
--------------

Oblivion

Nevra smiled on the surface, while inside her mind was in turmoil. She spoke, praying the Dark
Lord didn’t know the truth. “Of course, I don’t want to be bound eternally to you…you could make me
do anything…even make me take my own life. I don’t like the idea of *anyone* having that much
power over me…even you , My Lord.”

The bluff worked. The Dark Lord smiled, the anger in his eyes fading. “I thought it was
cowardice that inspired you to reject the Binding…only you, Nevra, would have the courage to tell
me expressly that you did not want to follow an order.”

The smile disappeared…but no anger showed in his eyes. “I will let you slip, Nevra. You do not
have to be Bound. Your loyalty to me is in your hands…you have given me a precious gift…given the
Dark a precious gift. With the Sorting Hat, we will take Hogwarts!” Nevra took care to conceal the
hurt behind her emotional mask…made sure her face was controlled, blank.

Lucius Malfoy stepped forward. “My Lord, I hesitate to interrupt.” That was merely a formality.
Malfoy knew that he was powerful enough that even the Dark Lord would not offend him without just
reason. “This *girl* has not proven herself to the members of the Inner Circle. I, personally,
would not accept her.” His glance around him proved that he knew, as well as the rest of them, that
whatever Lucius decided would be what the Inner Circle did. He held them in the palm of his hand.
He was the ultimate power here.

Voldemort’s eyes blazed in open fury. “You dare, Lucius? You dare question my authority? This
girl has done what you and 20 others could not. She has given me the key to Hogwarts. She has
followed more faithfully than my son the Heir.” Lucius barely held back a contrite reply. Everyone
here knew that Draco was biologically his. The adoption was only held because Lucius had permitted
it. Not that he wasn’t glad to be rid of the responsibility of the boy.

“You are glad to be rid of Draco, Lucius. Don’t pretend to be the father you never were. But
since you are so eager to use him as leverage...keep a closer eye on him. He just removed your wife
from Saint Mungo’s a few weeks ago against my express orders merely because we were considering
attacking the hospital. Her location is currently concealed. Since you can not keep tabs on your
“biological son,” maybe you should clean up the mess. Find her and report to me on your
findings.”

Lucius cursed inwardly. He had forgotten how adept the Dark Lord was at Legilimency…lowered his
shields just a fraction in order to spare some power for some Potions he had in the works, and the
Lord was in his mind. He stepped back into ranks hastily before the Dark Lord could come up with a
harsher punishment. “I hear and obey, my Lord.”

Voldemort turned his attention back on Nevra. His gaze was calm, but hard. “No matter how loyal
you are to me, Nevra, I cannot allow open defiance to go unpunished. It would be a bad example, one
others would want to follow. I admire your courage…but obedience is by far the greater trait,
Nevra. I hope you learn the lesson of today. Crucio!”

Suddenly, her mind and body were both engulfed by pain so enormous that she couldn’t stop the
tears from flowing down her face, burning acid tracks down her cheeks. There was no way to deal
with Unforgivables except through sheer will power. The important part was keeping her mouth shut.
Under this sort of pain, she could reveal anything by accident. Thankfully, Darkness invaded her
mind, and the pain abruptly stopped.

*Be strong, Nevra. We’re waiting for you.* Blaise’s voice was the last thing she heard
before slipping over the brink of Oblivion.

She never felt Draco’s arms around her, catching her before she hit the ground. Never saw the
look of astonishment in the Dark Lord’s and Lucius Malfoy’s eyes. Or the triumph that blazed in
sapphire eyes meeting silver over her body. The protectiveness of the silver eyes as his arms
tightened their grip on her.

She was his…to hold, and protect for as long as she needed. That’s all Draco could think of as
he held her. That he would do anything for her. Not because of the Alliance, not because of the
Dark Side. Things that were so important before, now seemed trivial. Because of the way she made
him feel, as complicated as it was.

He would protect her. No matter what.

Waiting For Her

Ginny had still not arrived back at Hogwarts by the next morning, and Dumbledore was beginning
to get nervous. He went down to see if Harry could assuage his fears.

“She’s not back, yet? But why?” Harry’s emerald eyes filled with worry. “She could be hurt, she
could be in danger, she could – they could have found her out! We have to do something!”

Dumbledore sighed. Silly mistake to tell Harry about her. He would only complicate things. He
seemed to be making a lot of silly mistakes recently.

“I’m afraid, Harry, that all we can do is wait…going after her would only endanger the
mission.”

“Screw the mission! Dumbledore, that’s Ginny Weasley out there! The girl who risked everything
to fight for the Light! And we can’t risk everything to save her? Is that what you are saying?”

“Yes, Harry. Because on her shoulders rests the fate of one mission. On our shoulders rests the
fate of the world. We all do what we must.”

He laughed bitterly. “Duty binds me tighter than love ever did. Dumbledore, I *love* her…I
know she doesn’t believe it. Hell, she has reason to…she thinks I picked our – I mean, her – family
over her. But I do love her…more than I have right. We aren’t friends, aren’t even on good terms,
but I love her still.”

Dumbledore sighed in regret. He hoped he would not have to tell Harry this. He had enough
burdens to bear. But what must be done, must be done. “She does not love you, Harry. Her heart
belongs to another.”

Harry started in surprise. “How do you know that?”

“Because I tried to use the Felis Semper spell to bind her to the Light. She is slipping away
from us, Harry. I thought she still loved you, that the love was buried beneath anger and bitter
frustration, but I was wrong. I tried to use her love for you to bind her to you…and therefore to
the Light. But I couldn’t because there is no love there to bind. I am sorry, Harry.”

His eyes, brimmed with tears, looked up at him. “Do you know who it is?”

Dumbledore sighed. “If I did, I wouldn’t tell you…but I can’t find that out. All I know is that
she is meant to be with him…their destinies are bound. And that their love could decide this
War…which is why she needs to remain sided with the Light.”

“I shouldn’t have hoped. Time and time again, my fate, my destiny has taken away things from
me…my parents, my family, my loved ones…Ginny, too. There doesn’t seem to be anything left to
lose.”

Dumbledore sighed. “The Weasley family magic was too strong. Your magic was too strong, Harry.
Your love – and their love - shined like a beacon within Ginny. A beacon that Voldemort would have
surely seen. You and the Weasleys had to break away from her, or she would have been discovered.
Would have been killed.…I had hoped that after the War, you and her family could explain to her why
you all pushed her away, but now, that isn’t possible.”

“Wait, I thought the Weasleys were against her becoming a spy…”

“The Weasleys had to push her away for the same reason you did. The problem is, that she has
stopped loving all of you. Her bonds to the Light are truly broken. There are only three people she
is bound to…her love, a Ally bound to her by a spell, and Tom Riddle.”

“She is bound to the Dark Lord?”

“No, to Tom Riddle. The seventeen year old boy who she opened her heart to so long ago. The one
she still cries over deep inside. That is a bond she has told no one about, because Voldemort would
surely exploit it.”

“Dumbledore, Voldemort is Tom Riddle…isn’t he?”

“Tom Riddle was still a boy when he left this school. Voldemort isn’t human anymore…he’s become
a sort of monster.”

“What are we going to do…she must be brought back to the Light…right?”

“Yes, Harry. We will see...we may not need to do anything. She is still bound somehow to the
Light…because she is still making her reports and missing no information except about the Dark
Trio. However, they are above her, so she may very well not know the information we are given.”

“How do you know that?” Harry’s eyes were full of suspicion.

Dumbledore chuckled. “Do you think we would depend on only one spy in the Dark Side to get
information, Harry? Be realistic. There are casualties, there are betrayals…the Light protects
itself against that sort of thing.”

“So now we wait for her?”

“Hopefully she will return soon…but yes, we wait.”

The two men sat down, minds in different places. But both were hoping for one thing...albeit for
different reasons. One praying she would return for the hope of the Light and one praying she would
return because he loved her. Even if he had no hope of having her.

In The Hospital

Draco paced back and forth in front of the bed that held Nevra’s prone form. The Dark Lord had
made him wait with her head cradled in his lap and her heart beat growing ever slower as he
announced that she had passed the Test…and then made them stay to discuss plans to attack Hogwarts.
Draco could barely listen to anything but the slowing of Nevra’s breath.

He had brought Nevra to a hospital recommended by the facility that now housed Narcissa Malfoy.
He would have brought her to the same hospital, but now that his father had placed a Tracking spell
on him, he couldn’t very well lead him right to her. (His shields didn’t prevent spells only
alerted him of their presences because the enemy could always be fed wrong information.)

Now all he could do was wait and see whether she would wake up. Blaise had gone home to try to
see if there was any way the Innocuroso Binding could speed the healing process.

The hum of machines and the beep of a heart monitor filled her ears. She opened her eyes slowly,
the black fading away from the edges of her vision. She could see Draco’s blonde head pacing in
front of her. Her voice came out in a bare whisper, to her horror.

“Draco?” He looked up, and she could see his mask was down entirely. His eyes were full with
mind-shattering relief.

“Nevra! I – I mean, we – thought we had lost you! Thank Merlin!” His hands unconsciously
smoothed her hair away from her face and stroked the top of her hand, clasping it gently.

She removed her hand from his grasp hastily. She couldn’t, couldn’t, couldn’t love him. Not now
or ever. “You know Merlin is a wizard of the Light,” she said with laughter in her voice. “Kind of
ironic…why am I in a Muggle hospital?”

“Because the Dark Lord doesn’t like his work being undone…but you would be dead without help. So
I had to take you to a place where he would never follow.”

“Why would you help me?”

He hesitated. “Consider it a debt repaid…you healed me once from the Dark Lord’s Cruciatus
Curse…now I healed you. I don’t like owing anyone anything. And some selfishness. The success of
our plans depend on you in part.”

“You’re hiding something...you hesitated.” He laughed bitterly.

“Trust me; you don’t want to hear it.” His eyes told her what he said was true. She let it
be.

“How long have I been out?” She had a meeting to get to.

“A day and a half or so.” He looked tired to her…like he hadn’t slept in a while. But if she
asked him whether he had stayed with her the whole time and found out she had…it would raise a
temptation to test whether she had a chance with him…even though she knew she didn’t.

She couldn’t. Couldn’t love him…She seemed to be saying that a lot recently. Suddenly she
remembered the meeting with Abington and the other professors.

“Dumbledore will be looking for me. A Healer can’t be gone for too long.” He looked like he
wanted to stop her…frankly, if he had tried, she wouldn’t have been able to resist him. She still
felt weak. But he stopped himself and she was free to stand of her own accord.

Her knees gave out and she fell into his arms. He took a deep breath and helped her get her
balance. “What excuse are you using?”

“Um, I don’t know yet…I’ve been having some problems dealing with nosy teachers lately,” she
lied, thinking about her spat with Potter. “How about taking time to figure out my problems?”

“Will Dumbledore buy it?”

“I think so.”

“Then it works. You should get on your way if you think they might try to track you down.”

“Um, yeah…as soon as you let go of my arm.” He looked down in surprise and released his grasp on
her elbow.

She looked at him for a second, then Apparated away. He stared at the spot she was at seconds
before, his eyes full of what he had wanted to say…but she had said she didn’t want to love
him.



12. Chapter 12
--------------

Upon Return

Potter and Dumbledore were waiting for her when she popped into her office. Potter immediately
stood up and took a step towards her…Dumbledore merely watched with those smug, all-knowing
eyes.

“Ginny! You’re back. Are you okay? What happened?” He held out a hand to her, as if to help her.
She took a step back.

“None of your business, Potter. I needed your care then…I don’t need it now.” He winced, looked
at her as if *she* was in the wrong, and sat back down.

“I’m sorry. I was just worried.”

“You don’t need to be. Not anymore.”

At this, Dumbledore broke in. “Ginny, what did I tell you about letting bad blood sit so we can
win against the Dark?”

She whirled on him. “*Me*? Albus, *all I want* is to be left alone…no one can seem to
do even that for me! I will work, I will fight, and I will die for the Light…as long as I don’t
have to associate with the *followers* of the Light. Is that too much to ask?”

Harry sighed. “We all care about you, Ginny…and we are worried about you. We don’t want to leave
you alone.”

She laughed in his face...and he looked at her, surprised. “*Worry* about me? All of you
w*orry* about me? Potter, you are sadly mistaken. Neither of you have ever worried about
me…you worry about how you feel, the Light, my family…but not me. Something is always more
important to everyone on this side than me.”

Dumbledore looked at her carefully. “Is that really what you think, Ginny?”

Nevra turned her back on them both. “I will fight for you, Dumbledore. I will even die for you.
But do not ask me to like you. Yes, I believe that. I am just a tool in the War…someone to be used
and then thrown away. I know that and you know that as well.”

Harry took a step towards her. “We are all tools, Ginny. My death would be worth little besides
the victory of the Light. What makes the difference is that you are an indispensable tool…we can’t
lose you. Just like we can’t lose me, or Dumbledore…or your family. Every single one of them is
fighting for us, you know. We can’t lose them all.”

Nevra turned to face him and smiled, then slapped him and stepped away. “Don’t lie to me,
Potter. I have grown so accustomed to it now that I don’t even have to look at you to tell you are
lying. I am just as dispensable as Snape was…and he’s as good as dead. You can lose me…you lost me
when you betrayed every trust I had ever had in the Light. The only reason I fight for you is
because I remember that the world would be worse with the Dark Lord in it. Sometimes, now , even
that is in question.”

Harry recoiled from her, and tears trickled down the creases of Dumbledore’s face. Harry asked
pleadingly, “How can you say that, Ginny? The world *will* be worse with Voldemort in it. You
know that. Don’t you? Ginny?”

She laughed bitterly. “It will be for the Weasleys, for you, for Dumbledore. But you forget, I
stand in the Dark Trio…I am an Ally of the Heir to the Dark Throne. The world would be very, very
sweet for me if Voldemort wins the War.”

Dumbledore withdrew his wand as did Harry. They were looking at an enemy now. She held up a
hand. “Don’t worry, sirs. I have not and will not turn to the Dark Side. I pledge my allegiance to
the Light…because the Dark does not believe in Love. My loyalties are to Love…and since the Dark
does not believe, I can not support it.”

Dumbledore smiled and put his wand back in his robes. “If you believe in Love, Ginny, you will
never turn to the Dark. You are safe.”

Ginny smiled. “Let us hope so, Dumbledore…you really don’t know everything, do you? I used to be
so innocent and sweet, but you all seem so – human – now. So tainted. So imperfect. Potter, who
betrays Love…and Dumbledore, who is so confident of his All-Knowing that he makes mistakes that
kill thousands.”

Both the men looked away from her. Potter discreetly rubbed his cheek. She smiled inside her
head. She had wanted to do that for so long. “Anyways, I have a meeting with Abington to go to. Was
there anything you wished to say?”

“Did you pass the Test?”

“I am just a tool, aren’t I?” She laughed. “Yes, I passed the bloody Test…nearly killed myself
doing it, but no one cares about that. Good day, Dumbledore. Potter, exercise some self-restraint
and don’t search my desk. Thank you both.”

She flew out the door, slamming it behind her. The men looked at each other.

“I did ask her how she was…she told me it was none of my business.” Harry said in
self-defense.

Dumbledore sighed. “She is scared…she knows she is losing a battle. She does not know what she
battles for. But it scares her. She is tearing herself apart.”

“What is she battling for, Dumbledore?”

“Why, her soul, Harry. You should know that. She is struggling to stay in the Light. The Dark
can be intoxicating, tempt you in. She is fighting to keep her soul to herself. We cannot help. It
is a battle only she can fight.”

“Will she win?”

“Only time can tell. But Victory of the Light depends on it. That much I have learned.”

Apprenticeship

Nevra approached McGonagall’s office just across from the Gryffindor Dormitories. “Nevra – I
mean Ginny Weasley…McGonagall is expecting me.” She said to the portrait of the dragon…it breathed
fire in response and slowly let her in.

She walked in to see McGonagall and Abington sitting around the table – but no Dumbledore. She
took a seat in a hardback chair – McGonagall’s office was all hardwood, no cushions or rounded
edges, all angles…representing her rigidity to the rules in a way. Her office was carefully
decorated in all lavender… purposefully not a House or school color.

“Aren’t we discussing curriculum…shouldn’t Dumbledore be here?” McGonagall looked at her
sharply.

“Albus has already approved the plan that Rose (Professor Abington) created…since it requires
your cooperation, we needed to review it with you.”

Nevra smiled at the two women apologetically. “I should have known that you would take care of
everything. I apologize if I seemed…curt.”

Rose Abington smiled quickly. She was a rather timid lady except when she needed to make a
point, but she still liked to avoid fights. “It’s quite alright, Ginny. I’m sure you were just
making sure our time wouldn’t go to waste.” McGonagall nodded reluctantly in agreement.

Nevra wanted to hurry with this business. “So what’s up? What’s the plan?”

Professor Abington began. “Well, you see, my Healing class has basically finished the
textbook…they pick up quite quickly as a class. The War has practically come to our doorsteps. I
think that they should be trained as apprentices to the school Healer – you – so that we will be
prepared to handle a crisis…if it comes.”

“Sounds reasonable. How many students?” Nevra asked. More than reasonable…this would enable them
to handle the chaos of war and keep the number of fighters up while the Dark would have to leave
the wounded on the ground, unable to fight. This may swing the battle in their favor. And no one
could deny that this battle was crucial to the War.

“Well, that’s the issue we would like to discuss. There are 10…and we know there is no way you
can handle that many at one time.” Nevra nodded in agreement.

McGonagall broke in at this point. “We were thinking we would rotate them through two at a
time…that way each student could get one day a week in the Infirmary. The rest of the days they
would have a open period with Rose in Healing and they would make up the work they missed in their
other classes while they were in the Infirmary.”

Nevra smiled. “Well, ladies, you’ve covered all the bases. I can accept your plan. When would
this begin?”

“Next week if you are amenable,” said McGonagall.

“No problem…just one issue.”

“Yes?” asked Abington.

“McGonagall has told you that I may have to take leave some days due to other obligations
previously discussed with the Headmaster.” Ginny stated.

“Yes, Albus and Minerva have both told me they will inform me if you leave suddenly. If you are
absent they will stay with Hermione Granger in her job at Saint Mungo’s.” Abington said
earnestly.

Nevra’s smile disappeared. Granger would be taking the students in her absence? “Does she know
she will be taking them from me?”

“No…I just said they were doing internships with a Healer.”

“Keep it that way, and we should be fine.”

“Why can’t we tell Hermione? I am sure she would be able to show them more appropriate cases if
she knew they were training with the school.”

Nevra grew irate. “I am the Healer…and I say that I don’t want Granger knowing who she is taking
over for if I am absent. Personal matters should not interfere with a student’s education, don’t
you think?” She said bitingly.

Abington said hastily, “Certainly. I didn’t mean to question your judgment, Ginny.”

“Quite alright, Rose. I am sorry for losing my temper. I can’t seem to stay in a good mood
recently.” Nevra sighed. “I must leave…I have obligations I must meet. Good day, Professors.”

Nevra strode out the door. She needed to get back to Malfoy’s flat. Before the overprotective
boys came after *her* thinking she couldn’t take care of herself.

Trust Her

Draco had met with Blaise after he left the hospital where Nevra had been staying. Blaise was
now staying at Draco’s house waiting for Nevra to return there after her Test…as had been
planned.

“Where could she be, Blaise? She *knows* that she needs to come here.” Draco was pacing
back and forth in front of the fireplace.

“She said she had business at Hogwarts, right? You need to calm down…spending a couple of hours
at work is not abnormal. Moreover, she can take care of herself, Draco. She’s a very capable
witch.”

“I KNOW THAT, BLAISE! BUT SHE’S BEEN GONE –“

At that point, Nevra Apparated in…right in front of Draco. Literally. They were mere inches
apart. Pretending she wasn’t concerned about the distance between them, Nevra smiled.

“Worried about me, Draco? I’m shocked.”

“Of course I’m bloody worried about you, witch. You could have been killed. Where the hell were
you? It’s been hours since I last saw you at the hospital.” Draco murmured angrily.

Nevra’s grin grew wider. “Can’t live without me, Malfoy?”

Draco was livid. “THIS IS NOT A GAME, NEVRA!”

Nevra’s smile disappeared and her eyes burned with fury. “I know that, Draco. You don’t need to
remind me. I am not a child, nor a defenseless female that you are used to carrying about on your
arm.”

He looked down...she *was* different. She deserved better. “I know. I am sorry.”

Blaise gaped at Draco in shock. Nevra’s eyes widened for an instant and she quickly stepped away
from him. She couldn’t say a word. Suddenly she Apparated away. She couldn’t fall in love with
him…she couldn’t.

Draco looked up to see why she wasn’t saying anything and she was gone. HE turned to ask Blaise
to see Blaise gaping at him.

“What are you looking like that for? You look like a suffocating frog.”

Blaise sounded like one as well. “You – you *apologized*! You have never done that before
in your life to anyone…well, but Narcissa, but she’s the exception to every rule with you. You
*love* her.”

Draco smiled sadly. “Maybe I love Nevra as well. Maybe she’s the exception to every rule. But
it’s hopeless. She can’t even accept an apology from me.”

Blaise laughed and Draco looked at him questioningly. “Oh Draco, you fool. You blind fool! She’s
scared as hell that she is going to accept the apology. That’s why she ran away from you!”

Draco said, “Well, we aren’t all Empaths…I’m not getting it. Explain.”

Blaise groaned in frustration. “Argh! She doesn’t want to feel anything good around you…when you
apologized you were looking down at your feet. You missed the joy in her eyes. That scares her like
hell…she doesn’t like feeling, when all she is trying to do is stop herself from falling in love.
She doesn’t want to open herself to get hurt.”

Draco said fervently. “I would never hurt her.”

Blaise looked at him. “She’s heard that before, and someone broke that promise. She doesn’t want
to fall again.”

Draco turned to go use a Locator spell. “Hey, Draco.”

“Yeah, Blaise?”

“Don’t go after her. She needs time…time to think. She can’t deal with you right now.”

“She could be in danger.” Draco said urgently.

“She’s not.”

“How do you know?”

“Trust me.” Blaise said quietly.

“I don’t trust anyone.” Draco said in a serious voice.

“Then trust her.” Blaise said, staring at Draco’s back.

Draco turned back to Blaise. “Her?”

“She won’t die with your love waiting for her. She knows you love her…she just can’t admit it to
herself.”

Draco smiled at Blaise. “Alright.” Blaise clapped him on the shoulder. The men both turned their
backs on the fireplace and separated to go to their own rooms for the night.



13. Chapter 13
--------------

Hadn't Couldn't Wouldn't

She appeared in front of the cottage in Denmark…she hadn’t thought about where to Apparate, just
wanted to get away. So this, of all places, was where she came to.

She walked inside and checked all the security spells. Each was attuned specifically to her, so
in this place, she was practically invincible. She turned and locked the heavy oaken door behind
her, then leaned against it, welcoming its strength as she slid down to the floor. Tears ran down
her face as she listened to the silence...Draco’s words whispered hot in her ear in her memories.
Try as she might, she still wanted his arms around her. More than anything.

He could be a good man…he was a good man. But he chose the wrong side to fight for. Was that
really a crime? People picked the wrong side for family, for blood, even for love in smaller
matters. Why was it a crime if you picked the wrong side in a war? He had said - so long ago it
seemed, when she drowned thinking she was alone rather than seeing the faces around her, struggling
- that his loyalties did not belong to the Dark Lord or the Dark Side, but to something else.

Was it Narcissa? Was it Pride? Was it Family? What pushed him to side with the Dark, when it
forced him to kill. Forced him to kill? How did she know he wasn’t a killer…hard and cold and
brutal? She just knew…or didn’t want to know. She denied it…denied that a man she lov – cared about
– was as bad as the rest.

Blaise Zabini wasn’t a bad person. Neither was Pansy Parkinson…or her mother. Did all the people
who fought for the Dark become bad people…or were they just mistaken? Was Draco evil…or mistaken?
Questions tumbled through her head as she struggled to figure out her thoughts.

All through this she saw the bloody pictures of Neville lying on the floor, beautiful sensitive
brown eyes unseeing. The pictures of Luna and Fleur, their eerily blonde hair spread across the
floor, matted and stained with rust-colored blood…the stab wounds in their stomachs…the lives
within them dead. The pictures of Bill, long lanky frame bent and folded, eyes bleak, dragon fang
earring stained red, hair ragged. All she could see was her family crowded around the bodies,
looking at dreams lying shattered on the floor. And all she could remember was Draco had done
it…killed the dreams, the hopes, the lives.

All she could hope was that he wasn’t as bad as he seemed. Wasn’t the man she knew he could be.
Not yet. But she didn’t know…and for that, she didn’t know *him*. It pained her to know that
the man that her heart reached out to…she didn’t know at all. But the heart has a will of its
own.

She couldn’t fall in love with him. She wouldn’t fall in love with him. She pushed away the
nagging feeling that said that she already had. She hadn’t, she couldn’t, she wouldn’t.

Making Up Over Breakfast

Draco opened his eyes slowly, looking at the light filtering in through the window shades. He
got up, stretched a bit, and walked to the kitchen. The smell of eggs wafted through the
corridor.

Nevra was in the kitchen, cooking. “Good morning. Glad to see you are back.” Nevra turned at the
sound of his voice. She looked at him, unfazed by his degree of undress.

“Glad to be here. Had to think some things through.” She smiled, then turned back to the
stove.

“So Blaise said.” She stiffened.

“He knows not to look inside my head and then tell other people what I am thinking.” Her voice
was angry.

“I am the exception to every rule.” Draco said smugly. Nevra laughed.

“You bet you are… Boxers aren’t exactly appropriate attire in mixed company, you know.” She said
with laughter in her voice. He shrugged. As he moved to get milk out of the fridge, she said,
“Don’t bother making breakfast…I’ll cook for all of us.”

Blaise joined them a few minutes later to find the table set and the two people eating together
and talking as if nothing had happened the night before. They were both characters.

“Morning, all.”

“Morning, Blaise.” They chorused then glanced at each other. To Blaise’s utter shock, they
*both* began giggling to no end.

“Did you drug this food, Nevra? I have *never* seen Draco giggle in my life!” Blaise said
teasingly.

Draco glared at him affronted. “I was *not* giggling.”

Nevra laughed. “Yes, you were. But Blaise and I pinky-swear not to tell.” She cracked up all
over again.

Breakfast at the Malfoy Flat had never been so relaxed. The Darkness that she fought against
faded just a little…and she hadn’t been as hopeful for the future as she was today for a long
time.

Revealing The Alliance

“Well, are you two ready?” Nevra called up the staircase. These boys took longer to get ready
than even she did! “You know you don’t have to do your makeup…you’ll be wearing a mask.” She yelled
sarcastically.

Draco called down. “We’re ready, mother! And just because you are wearing makeup doesn’t mean
you can make us wear it as well. Keep your cosmetics to yourself…we’re pretty enough without
them.”

She laughed. “Pretty enough to scare away the Death Eaters even before I get to talk to
them?”

Draco and Blaise ran down the staircase. Worry shone through the eye slits of Blaise’s mask.
“Are we late?”

“Fashionably, as always. Plus, it’s good to exercise your superiority once in a while, reminds
the Death Eaters who’s boss around here.” Nevra said soothingly.

Draco interjected at this point. “That would be me.”

“Not in this crowd, Draco. Don’t get overconfident.” Blaise said tensely.

“Relax, Blaise. They *are* on our side, after all. They won’t attack you or anything.
Besides, Draco was only joking…I hope.” Nevra said.

“Well, let’s go,” Draco said, holding up a Portkey.

“Remember you two stay out of sight until I say your names. Got it?” Both men nodded. They each
touched the Portkey.

“On three,” Draco said, “one, two, three.” A tug behind their navels suggested the Portkey
worked.

They appeared amidst the crowd of Death Eaters. Draco and Blaise quickly Apparated to behind the
stage while Nevra prepared her grand entrance. She Conjured a platform above the crowd, floating in
midair. She created the shields that would protect her as she stood on it – no need to provide a
still target for an assassin. Then she Apparated onto the platform and magnified her voice.

“Greetings, my fellow Death Eaters.” The crowd quieted. “I have an announcement to make, as you
all know. Let me be to the point. In a few hours, I am to be Initiated…into the Inner Circle. I
will remain leader of the Student Death Eaters. My Initiation will merely mean that we will get
more information faster and more accurately. I will be a representative of our group in the Inner
Circle. My allegiance lies with the Dark Side, and as long as yours does, we work together. As
always. I also bring to the group an Alliance. A few weeks ago I was Initiated into the Dark Trio
following the unfortunate death of one of its members, Pansy Parkinson. I present to you my Allies.
They are a part of us now…and you will suffer my wrath if you do not give them due welcome.”

The threat was blunt, out for everyone to see. In fact, the entire speech had been blunt. But in
this group, any flowery speech, saying things indirectly, would be viewed as conspiracy, as deceit.
That had the same punishment anywhere in the Dark Side. Death.

“Draco Malfoy. Blaise Zabini.” As she said their names, she Conjured two more floating platforms
slightly below her. Since she was the leader in this group, she would be superior among the Trio in
this setting. Both the men appeared on their platforms. “Welcome them as your own.” The crowd let
out a cheer.

They all knew this would make the Student Death Eaters a known and respected force within the
Dark Side. Allied with both the Dark Trio and the Inner Circle, Nevra now became one of the most
powerful of the Dark Side in a moment. Since she remained connected with the Student Death Eaters,
she would bring them up the power ladder with her. For that, they cheered with all their might.

She undid the Magnification Spell and spoke to the two men beside her in a lowered voice. “We
pulled that off quite nicely. Let’s hope the Inner Circle goes half as well.”

Draco smiled through his eyes as he looked up at her. “With me presenting? It will go twice as
well.”

They stopped talking to look at the roaring masses. To look at the loyalty they had inspired
with one Alliance. An Alliance that would change the world.



14. Chapter 14
--------------

The Revelation

After they were done talking with the Death Eaters, they moved away from the group. “Ready for
your Initiation, Nevra?”

“Depends. Is it as bad as the Test?”

“Just a formal ceremony.” Draco said casually.

“Oh my god.” Nevra realized something.

“What?” Blaise tensed at the sound of panic in Nevra’s voice.

“Will this bond – to the Inner Circle – come *before* the Dark Trio…I take it after I took
the Innocuroso.”

Draco sighed in relief. “No. Anything connected to the Dark Mark or the Dark Side…including the
Initiation will be second to it. Because we cut over the Dark Mark…you know.”

Together they Apparated to the site of Initiation. The Inner Circle formed a ring around them.
Voldemort approached.

“Do you stand ready to accept the responsibility of Initiation?”

“I do.”

“Are you loyal in every way to the Cause we serve?”

“I am.”

“Who here will welcome her to our Circle?”

Draco and Blaise stepped forward…two were required, and the Initiated would ask two members
before her Initiation to stand for her. That had been easy for her…the Dark Trio was loyal to each
other first, which meant they would stand for her whether she asked or not.

“Who here will deny her entrance?”

No one came forward, although Lucius Malfoy made a start. No one would anger the Dark Lord by
rejecting his selection.

“So are you bound,” the Dark Lord said as he pulled up her sleeve and made a long cut down her
inner arm, spilling her blood onto the ground. He did the same for his arm. Then he pressed them
together, mixing their blood, binding them.

She tensed at the pain. Pure Dark magic flowed into her, making her stifle the screams that
rose. Blood was always the best conduit of magic. Magic thrived in the life blood. It seemed
appropriate that the Dark Lord’s blood held pure Dark Magic. Even the worst of humans held a mix of
good and bad. Her suspicions were true – the Dark Lord wasn’t even human anymore. He couldn’t
be.

Suddenly, the pain disappeared. He had pulled away his arm. She looked down at the thin scar
covering the pale skin of her arm. How had it healed? She forgot what she was thinking when he
removed his mask. His eyes glowed in the darkness as he smiled.

“You are strong, Nevra. You will do well. Welcome to the Circle.”

The Inner Circle stepped back a pace, leaving a spot open for her. She stepped back into it.
Voldemort spoke.

“The Dark Trio lost a member recently. Pansy Parkinson has been replaced. The Alliance is once
again complete.”

Draco stepped forward. “We welcome a newcomer to our Alliance. She stands under our
protection…and has the gift of our guidance. She brings her own strength to the Alliance. A
strength that you can be sure we will use.” His voice carried hidden threats that did not go
unnoticed by the Circle. Everyone was tense.

Blaise now stepped forward. “She brings her wit, her strength, and her cunning. Her independence
and all the traits that the Dark Lord values in his followers. Above all, she binds us to the
common Death Eater.”

Finally Nevra stepped forward. “I am an Ally. The Dark Trio is complete.” At that, all three
took off their masks, revealing their faces to the Circle. Draco’s father took a step forward, his
mouth open and wand unsheathed.

Draco said nothing, merely stepped up to meet his father. A solid magenta shield went up around
him. Everyone looked at Nevra, but her wand was not out. Draco smirked. “We have gifts that are
rare and precious. Ones that people know not.”

Lucius sputtered futilely. Finally, he backed down. The shield, however, remained. Sneak attacks
were common in the Dark Side. No need to invite them. Draco stepped back to Blaise and Nevra as
well. “Thanks.” He whispered in the redhead’s ear. She nodded in reply, not looking at him, but
instead at the Circle surrounding them.

The Revelation was complete. The Dark Side knew of the Dark Trio and of the Inner Circle. The
path she traveled grew ever more dangerous…but it was one she must travel.

The Breakdown

Voldemort stepped forward. “Now that our newest member has been Bound, we must get back to
business.”

They all turned to face him. He looked at each pair of eyes through their masks before speaking.
“We attack Hogwarts in 3 days. Be ready. This meeting is done. I will call you at the time of the
attack.”

Nevra, Draco, and Blaise all Apparated to Draco’s flat. Tears were running down her face as she
turned her back to the boys.

Draco and Blaise looked on in shock as she ran to a room and shut the door, blinded by her
tears.

“She went into my bedroom!” Draco said indignantly.

Blaise smirked. “So go get her.” Draco hesitated.

“Blaise…is she ready?”

“I don’t know.”

“Am I ready?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know or you won’t tell me?” Draco asked suspiciously.

“You know the answer to that.” Blaise said smugly. He smirked as Draco walked over to the door
and opened it, shutting it behind him.

Blaise smiled to himself. He loved it when people were forced to grow up. Stop pretending. Stop
being stupid.

Maybe he would read that book about Felis Semper bonds that he had wanted to look through since
a few months ago. They would probably be closeted in there for a long time.

Tears In The Bedroom

Draco slowly eased the door open. Nevra, with her face buried in one of his *silk* pillows
(those were expensive!), didn’t hear him over her sobbing. He sighed, then sat down on the other
side of the bed next to her.

At this, she turned to lie on her back, eyes bloodshot, cheeks red…still crying.

“What are you going on about, Nevra,” said Draco resignedly.

She stiffened. “Go away. It’s none of your business.” He smiled, trying to hide his
annoyance.

“Well, considering you are on *my* bed, ruining *my* bed sheets and *my* pillows,
you made it *my* business.”

She sat up. “You know what? You are a jerk, Draco Malfoy. I’m surprised I ever thought you could
be anything else.”

He hid the hurt behind eyes of steel. “Of course, Nevra. I never claimed to be anything other.”
She laughed bitterly, and covered her face with her hands.

“No, you didn’t. I just thought…Forget it, Malfoy.” She swung her legs onto the ground and stood
up.

“Wait, Nevra. What is bothering you? I really want to know.”

“Right now? You. What I was crying about? We’ve already discussed.”

He reached out and grabbed her wrist, tugging her back on the bed. “Screw the bed…you‘re
hurting. What’s going on with you?”

She looked at him…his mask was down, eyes soft as ever. She resisted the urge to hold onto his
hand (on her wrist) and the urge to curl up under his chin and cry into his shirt…he’d probably
complain about the shirt next!

“Everything. Attacking Hogwarts, you, the Inner Circle. Just about everything.”

“Why is the attack on Hogwarts bothering you?”

“Because I will be killing people I know. Because I will be destroying a place that has been a
refuge to me for so long. After my family and friends turned me out, that was the only place I
could go that didn’t care about my past, just about who I was at that time, at the present. The one
place I didn’t feel *out* of place, or ostracized, or a failure.”

Draco slipped his hand down from her wrist and held her hand, squeezing for an instant. He said
gently, “Nevra, why’d they turn their backs on you?”

She spoke the lie that Dumbledore had prepared long ago for her. “Potter wanted to marry me, and
I turned him down. I was in love with him, but I wasn’t ready for that. My family and friends
valued him more than me, I guess.” She looked down, but she couldn’t stop the single tear that fell
onto her hand.

“Hogwarts really shouldn’t bother you...Nevra, you’ve killed people you know before.” Fury
burned in her eyes, hot and sudden. What had he said?

“Damn it, Draco! It is not the same! These people are people who never did a thing to me…never
hurt me! I have to kill them because they *live* in the wrong place!”

“You do what you must do, Nevra. That’s the way the world works.” Draco said harshly.

She jerked her hand away from his hold. “You bastard! You *must* kill two innocent
children…two women who did nothing to you…two men who were on their *honeymoons*!”

Draco’s eyes widened. “What the hell?”

She spat out poisonously. “Luna Lovegood. Fleur Delacour. Neville Longbottom. Bill Weasley.” She
let out a desperate sob. “Anastasia Longbottom. Elizabeth Weasley. They never even had a chance to
live at all before you killed them, too.”

His eyes burned with hurt, stormy grey with pain. “*I did what I had to do*.”

“They never did anything to you.”

“They worked for the Light. That was enough.”

“The babies…*they* worked for the Light?”

“I didn’t know they were pregnant.”

“Liar. They both were stabbed through the stomach…you *wanted* to kill their babies, didn’t
you?”

Draco looked away from her disbelieving eyes. “I had orders.” She threw herself at him in rage,
hitting anything she could reach. He let her. She had the right.

“Draco, I *loved* them! You killed people I loved! How could you…How could you *do*
that?” She said when she finally stopped hitting them.

Suddenly he was angry. He fought for the Dark Side and so did she. That did not make him a bad
person. “I didn’t love them. I didn’t know you. And I had orders.”

“You had orders? You had orders to keep loyalty to the Dark Lord first…it’s not your first
priority. You had orders to spy on me…you didn’t.”

“Wait, what?”

“Two years ago, when we were students at Hogwarts. Dumbledore knew about it, and told me when I
went ranting about how you couldn’t possibly be Head Boy. He told me you had refused, for reasons
unknown to me.”

“You never did anything to me. And spying on you would have betrayed my position…although it
seems like the Headmaster already knew my position. Why didn’t he eliminate me when he had the
chance?”

“Those children you killed never did anything to you. The Headmaster is a good man…he believes
people can change.”

“Can they?”

“I pray they can. But then again, you proved me wrong on that point. But as you said, you
*are* the exception to every rule. I’m just not sure that is a good thing anymore.”

She turned to walk away. She had thought there was good somewhere in him. Prayed there was
humanity left. But he was pure Dark Side…through and through.

“Nevra?” She turned to face him. To her utter surprise, tears filled his eyes.

“I am sorry…so sorry. About everything.”

Impulsively, she turned back and sat next to him on the bed, wrapped her arms around him and let
him cry into her shoulder as she held him. She had never noticed with her pain, that he was hurting
too.



15. Chapter 15
--------------

Anticlimatic

Draco made no sound, but Nevra could feel the tears soaking through the cotton of her robes, and
then through her shirt, wetting her skin with their saltiness. There was nothing she could say. She
could merely hold him, and wait for him to cry himself out.

Finally he pulled away, his blonde lashes wet, his eyes unusually clear. “Thank you.”

“No problem. This never happened…I assume you want it that way.”

“Of course.” He seemed to pull back even further.

She looked at him steadily. “Draco, what’s going on with you? You never let anyone in…never let
anyone see what you are thinking…and that is hurting you. Let me help you...let someone help
you.”

Draco looked at her strangely. “Why do you care?”

“You dolt! Of course I care! You…I…I care, okay?” Confusion dominated her face, then calm
strength.

He smiled. “Okay.”

“So what’s bothering *you*?”

“The Dark Lord doesn’t trust me anymore…I can feel it. I feel a change in the Hierarchy coming,
and that scares me. I don’t know if I am ready to bow down to someone else…My mother – well,
Narcissa – I don’t know how long I can hide her from Him. I need to protect her, though…need to
keep her safe. Then, there’s you.”

“Me?”

“You confuse me. You – I don’t know – I guess you make me feel things. I haven’t let myself feel
in a long time. I wouldn’t be able to survive if I did. The guilt, the anger, the fear would
overtake me and at the top of the Hierarchy, you just can’t allow that to happen. There’s no one to
cover for you. You make me vulnerable, and I can’t afford that. The scary part is that you don’t
*try* to do it. You aren’t looking to move up in the Hierarchy, aren’t looking to take me
down, you just take my shields and rip them apart. Like now – you could use this information for
anything.” He laughed, desperation filling him.

“I won’t, Draco. Promise.”

He smiled at her. “That’s where I got lucky. Out of all the people who could have been able to
do this to me, I got you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have morals, values. You are so much…better than the rest of us. You believe in something
higher than the Dark Lord – some greater Cause or something. I don’t know. You just are…you. That’s
special.”

Her eyes filled with fear. What had he said? “Draco, I have secrets that I can never tell you. I
have secrets I can’t let be found by others – including you. I have secrets you would have to kill
me for. Please, please, please, don’t go searching.”

“I came close to the truth there, didn’t I, Nevra? You serve another Cause, don’t you?” She
looked away. He cupped his hand under her chin and made her look at him. He said softly, “Nevra,
remember the shore that first day we talked? As long as your loyalties don’t lie in the way of my
agenda, you aren’t a threat. As long as you aren’t a threat, I won’t hurt you.”

“You are loyal to the Dark Side, though. And for my secrets…you would have to kill me. Even if
you were only loyal to the Dark Side in a tiny part of you…this is so bad, you would kill me. I
would bet my life on it…in fact, I already am, aren’t I?” For some reason, she wanted so bad to
tell him the truth. She nearly had already. But she couldn’t. Not now or ever.

He looked at her hard. “My loyalty comes first to the Dark Trio – to you – and then the Dark
Side.”

“The *Dark* Trio…that is part of the Dark Side. Just leave it, Draco.”

“Alright, then. Whatever you say.”

“Why did you tell me all this, Draco? Why me?” Nevra asked softly.

“Because I trust you.”

“You trust Blaise as well.” Nevra said, protesting.

Draco took a deep breath, and said the words that had never touched his mouth before. Opened
himself completely…made him complete. “Because I love you.”

Nevra pulled away, shaking her head…her eyes filled with longing. “No, you don’t.”

Draco said patiently, “I do.”

“You can’t love.”

“Do you really believe that?”

She got up quickly and walked out the door.

Draco smiled. Finally he had brought himself to saying the thing he had felt for such a long
time. After all the drama, the conversation had been anticlimactic, in his opinion.

Irritating Empath

Nevra leaned against the shut bedroom door in the hallway, her hand pressed against her mouth to
stifle her breathing. Damn it! His eyes when he had said that…that was another memory that would
never go away ever again. But he couldn’t love…if there was any capacity to love within him, he
could never have killed.

*He can love…and dream as well.* It was a shock to hear Blaise’s voice in her head. She
walked over to him. He turned towards her…of course he already knew she was there…he could feel
her. Suddenly it occurred to her how careful he had to be to hide his Gift, and what Death Eaters
would do to someone who had it. After all, it gave you superhuman senses in a way…people with
strong advantages were always eliminated in this game by lower levels. She pushed away these
thoughts to come back to them later.

“Didn’t I tell you that telepathy is “not the answer”? It freaks me out.”

Blaise smiled. “It also gets through to you better than words. You needed to know what I told
you.”

“It doesn’t matter what you say if I don’t believe it.”

“Number one, you do, I can feel it and I know. Number two, you’ve killed people and I’m sure
there are people you love in this world.”

Nevra thought, then laughed bitterly. “Actually, I am not sure whether I love anyone anymore.
There isn’t enough feeling left in me for that. Amazing that you are an Empath and can’t realize
that.”

“You love someone…you just can’t admit it.”

“Blaise! The trying to pair up me and Draco is getting really tiring…and it isn’t working!”

“How do you know?”

She sighed. “Because my dislike for him is staying the same.”

“Better than increasing. Besides, your other feelings are increasing.”

“Why, I *love* having someone else here to explain myself to me.” She said sarcastically.
“Tell me the rest, please.”

“Admiration, Sympathy, Care, want to name some more?”

“No. Blaise, this conversation never happened. And, you can’t convince me so don’t try.”

“I am not trying to convince you. I am trying to get you ready for the day everything you’ve
been denying finally hits you. So you won’t fall apart.”

“Thanks, Blaise. Much appreciated.” Nevra said bitingly.

Blaise ignored the insincerity and smiled. “Any time.”

Intervention

Nevra paused. “Why hasn’t Draco come out of his room yet?”

“Maybe he knows we’re talking.”

“His hearing isn’t that good.” She walked to the door and opened it quietly. Shut it just as
quietly and twice as fast. She turned to Blaise in a near panic.

“Lucius Malfoy is in there! How did he get past the wards? They have their wands out…but they
didn’t notice me.” Blaise merely nodded. Nevra looked at him strangely, then spoke. “Do they do
this often?”

“Yeah…about once a month or so. We’ll step in if it comes to spell work. I will shield Mr.
Malfoy, you do Draco.”

“Why? They are father and son.”

“You must have noticed things aren’t the best between them.”

“So? They are still family.”

“Blood only counts for so much with Lucius Malfoy. In fact, if Draco wasn’t his only heir and
the Heir to Voldemort, I’m sure Lucius would have killed him – or tried to – by now. The harsh
truth is, though, that Draco is more powerful than Lucius within the Dark Side, and that killing
him would give Lucius a much worse fate.”

“Than Death itself?”

“The Dark Lord has his ways…what are they arguing about, by the way?”

“Um…I think…*me*. And the Dark Trio and Inner Circle…and me.”

“Well, if they are talking about that…I should be included. After all we pick the Dark Trio
together…Draco may be the leader by name, but he is an equal in this group.” Blaise actually
sounded irritated.

“Um…does it annoy you that people automatically think he’s in charge.”

“I’m used to it.” Blaise avoided answering the question as he strode into Draco’s bedroom and
shut the door behind him firmly. For extra insurance he locked it with an unbreakable spell. Well
not quite, but the standard “Alohomora” wouldn’t do, either. He was sure Nevra could find a way
round it, but it would take time, and he would know when she did. Just in case she decided they had
been in here too long. Intervention between Malfoys was deadly when you didn’t know them well. He
doubted Lucius Malfoy would hesitate at killing a Weasley who stood beneath him in the Inner
Circle.



16. Chapter 16
--------------

Back To Hogwarts

Well, they would be in that bedroom for a while. She had to speak to Dumbledore anyway, about
the upcoming attack. She disappeared with a pop landing just outside the door of Dumbledore’s
office and knocked briskly twice.

“Come in,” said Dumbledore.

She walked in to see nearly the entire Order there. She hadn’t been to an Order meeting in
months…she couldn’t afford to be seen by the Dark. Snape had never been as high in the Hierarchy as
she was now. To be seen would be a fate worse than Death…as Blaise said, the Dark Lord had his
ways.

She looked around quickly. Saw the red hair that betrayed her, the pity in the eyes of others.
She didn’t want it, didn’t need it. In fact, it infuriated her. To think they thought she was
pitiful. But it didn’t affect her the way it would have a month ago, before this maelstrom of
changes spun its course. Before she was part of the Dark Trio. Part of a higher cause.

She didn’t want to waste time in the company of people who didn’t know her. She merely looked at
Dumbledore, who watched her with guarded eyes. She nearly laughed. He looked at her as though she
needed to be watched. She wasn’t weak, she wouldn’t break or turn traitor. In fact, the greatest
danger lay within the loyal themselves. They were weak enough to jeopardize the victory of the
Light for their feelings.

“The Death Eaters will attack in three days. I have matters to speak of with you, Dumbledore. At
your *convenience*, please come to my office. I will be waiting.” She swept out, robe
billowing behind her in a flurry of black as the door shut with a heavy thud.

The Order murmured and whispers began. Meanwhile, a redhead slipped out of the room
unnoticed.

For The Light

A/N – Ok, some of you are going to laugh. Ron called his little sister “Gin-Gin” when they were
kids (at least in my imagination). He mentions the nickname in here, and it’s cheesy (it’s meant to
be). Just so you all don’t get confused, he began calling her Ginny (upon her insistence) in public
and all the time as soon as they came back from the Chamber.

The door to Ginny’s office opened. She stood up, thinking it was Dumbledore. “Albus, I –“

“I’m not half as old as Dumbledore.” Ron Weasley stepped into the doorway. Ginny abruptly sat
back down.

“Get out.” Her eyes were burning into his. “Get out before I hurt you.”

His eyes pleaded with her. “You wouldn’t do that.” She laughed in his face.

“You don’t know me at all if you really think I wouldn’t. You don’t *mean* anything to me
anymore, Mr. Weasley. God, if any of you did, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. I’d be back at
home cooking and cleaning for you.”

“Everything isn’t as it seems, Nevra. We did want you to fight for the Light.”

“Yet you pushed me away because I couldn’t be a Healer…I had to be on the front line…just like
you, and Bill, and Charlie and Percy, and George and Fred – notice none of you were turned out of
the family.”

“It really isn’t like that. I can’t tell you more, but –“

“Shut up, Weasley. I can lie to the Dark Side, say that it was because I rejected Harry’s
proposal…one which he betrayed, not me…so that they don’t realize that Harry Potter is not valued
higher than everything but life on the Light’s side. But I don’t lie when I don’t have to…and I
don’t have to now. I think each and every one of you are pathetic.”

Ron recoiled. “You - you aren’t my sister. You can’t be. Damn it, Ginny, we’re family.”

She said bluntly. “No we aren’t. Not anymore. And you have no one to blame but yourself.”

“Mom was the one who –‘

“That’s just like you – to blame it on someone else. Like when we were little and we did pranks
together, you always ran away and left me with the punishment. Whatever, it’s long past. But it is
your fault…the whole family’s. Because everyone stepped back and *let* Molly Weasley do it. No
one said a word in my favor.”

He just stood there, looking at her. He had been about to reveal it all, say that Molly Weasley
had been the one who made the decision to push her away to save her from the scrutiny of the Dark
Side. But there was no response he could make to her. He hadn’t said a word against her
disownment…to protect her. To save her. He couldn’t tell her that it had hurt them just as much as
it had hurt her. That Molly Weasley had cried for a month…that she still cried every night when she
looked at the clock, now missing Ginny’s name. He couldn’t. They still had to protect her, even if
she didn’t realize that they were doing it for her.

“Get out, Weasley.” He looked and wished he could say something. Since he couldn’t, he merely
walked away.

On the way back to Dumbledore’s office, he walked by Dumbledore himself. Suddenly fury filled
him. He stepped in front of the old man, who stopped and said, “Yes, Ron?”

His words were poison. “You killed our family. I don’t have a sister anymore. She – she’s let us
go. This isn’t protecting her – this – this – it’s killing who she used to be. And I don’t like who
she’s becoming!”

Dumbledore looked at him sadly. “It *is* protecting her from being found out as a spy. And
you do believe that, or you would have told her the truth. We all do what we must for the Light –
even sacrifice our loved ones. But just because you don’t know the person she is becoming, doesn’t
mean she’s becoming a bad person.”

“She isn’t feeling anything anymore! You call that not bad?”

“She isn’t feeling anything for *you*. That doesn’t mean she isn’t feeling.”

“Who, then? Who does she feel for?”

“That is her business. Not that I have any idea. All I know is that she told me that her
loyalties are to Love itself…and as long as that remains she will be loyal to the Light, because
the Dark never has believed in Love. Ever.”

Ron turned his face away from Dumbledore’s gaze. “The “higher good” doesn’t seem to matter. All
I can see is my baby sister, my Gin-Gin, is changing into this jaded, hateful thing. And I could
make it better if I just told her. I could bring her back to us.”

Dumbledore sighed. “We all do what we must. For the Light.”

Ron nodded. “For the Light.”

Dangerous Thoughts

**July 16, 2005** – Hi guys! I’m speechless (not wordless, note the chapter below!). The
sixth book…well, my predictions were right about who dies…but the Half Blood Prince…I could have
never guessed. Anyway, I am attempting to integrate this story into the new circumstances of book
six, so please go back and read the A/N edits of chapters 2 and 4 to get more information. Also, to
adjust…Draco freed Lucius after he attained the Dark Mark as his Initiation to the Inner Circle.
More details about that in this chapters. Details about Snape being loyal to the Light and
Dumbledore being alive will come in later chapters. Now…on to the story! Enjoy!

Blaise turned from the doorknob. Neither of the men before him glanced in his direction, their
focus fully upon each other. He casually gestured with a hand, raising a wall of sapphire between
the two. Draco started in surprise, Lucius whirled to face him.

Blaise smiled. “Well, I can’t have you two throwing spells at each other when I’m in the room,
can I? Might destroy my pretty face if you miss.” Neither showed signs of amusement. Lucius
actually sneered at him.

Blaise addressed Draco. “I am assuming this is about that *lovely* redhead just outside
your door? If it is, shouldn’t I be included…considering I was the one who suggested her?” Blaise
asked as he walked over to stand beside Draco.

Lucius took an involuntary step toward him behind the sapphire wall, his wand out. “You?
*You* suggested that – that whore – for your Trio. *You*?”

Draco’s jaw clenched and Blaise’s hold on his arm tightened as he smiled at the old fanatic
through the blue haze. “Hmm, yes. Although I must say, insulting powerful females’ virtue is the
oldest slander in the books…and nearly always wrong. Nevra could have never gotten where she’s at
if she bedded every man she saw.”

“No, she just beds the ones that count. Even a Zabini should exercise *some*
self-restraint.” Blaise ignored the innuendo involved with that statement. It didn’t matter.

Finally Draco spoke, his voice ice. “Nevra has been Initiated into the Inner Circle and Allied
with the Dark Trio. You have no say in the matter and never did. This talk is over.” Lucius
sneered.

“Going to turn out your own father for the girl. She must be something wild. Don’t even think
you’ll get your inheritance after this.” Draco tensed again then relaxed.

“My father is Tom Riddle now. I have no need of the Malfoy inheritance when I can have the world
from my father.” Lucius’s eyes widened and Draco smirked. “You never really are truly loyal to
anyone, are you, Lucius? Not even the Lord that has ruled your life…not even the Lord that freed
you from Azkaban.”

“The Dark Lord didn’t do that, you did.”

“But I never would have unless He had made it a requirement for my Initiation into the Inner
Circle. Things are so much easier when you are locked away so you can’t hurt yourself. But the Dark
Lord rewards his followers…loyal or not.”

Lucius’s eyes were filled with an unknown emotion as he stepped into the green fire and spun
away on the Floo network.

Draco smiled. “I have never seen that look on his face before…but I think it’s a good thing for
me that he looks that way.”

Blaise knew instinctively what Lucius Malfoy had felt. “He’s scared.”

He grinned at Draco…who grinned back, the reckless smile lighting his grim features for an
instant, the reminder of youth and innocence poignant. The memories of countless pranks at Hogwarts
and merry laughter. Blaise sighed in regret. What he wouldn’t do for another year of that…of
innocence and childhood.

Draco sighed as well. “He’s scared of me…kind of ironic. Remember I used to hide in the Room of
Requirement whenever he used to come to school…he never did find me…but I don’t admire him anymore.
I’m not scared of him. He’s not the idol he used to be. He’s just a weak, old, Dark fanatic…Is that
what will happen to all of us as time passes? Will we fall from being the best of the best, to
someone disdained as old and past our time? When Voldemort is gone –“

“Don’t Draco. Lucius, and you and me…we may come and go…maybe even Him someday. Not that it’s
likely – I don’t think he’s human anymore. But don’t hasten your fall from glory by thinking
thoughts like that. As skilled an Occlumens as you are, you can’t hide thoughts like that from the
Dark Lord. Better not to have them at all.”



17. Chappter 17 and 18
----------------------

Nevra stayed seated when Dumbledore came in. “Have a seat, Headmaster.”

Dumbledore looked at her carefully. “You wished to tell me more about the attack?”

“Yes…several things. First, Rose Abington’s students are to be used as Healers…I will have to
fight on the other side, you know.”

“Yes…we will miss your expertise.”

“I’m sure Granger will be *ecstatic* to fill in.” Nevra said tartly. “Anyway, I wanted to
make sure that you knew who I will be fighting for in the Battle. Oh, and to ask you how exactly
Potter is going to manage to get inside Voldemort’s head. And where you will be during all this
chaos?

“You will be fighting for the Light, I am sure…wearing a mask will never change that, I hope.
Harry…no one knows that but him. And I…why I will be wherever I am needed most at the time.”

“Harry wouldn’t have been able to cope without you. But…you shouldn’t be on the front line in
two days.”

“Just because I was brought back from the Afterworld doesn’t mean I am any weaker than
before.”

Nevra reached over her desk to pull back his robe, exposing a well-scarred hand. “But it doesn’t
mean that you are any younger or any faster…or any better. Plus, you do have added weaknesses…if
someone were to hurt Fawkes in any way during this battle…you would – well, I don’t really know
what would happen…but something would – something definitely not good.”

“Fawkes will be kept safe during the battle. He is very intelligent. I do not trust just anyone
to carry my soul within them.”

“What I don’t understand is how he managed it…first finding your soul in the
Afterworld…swallowing it….carrying it back to the Living World…and then keeping it within him until
we used the Rejuvenation Spell to bring back your body.”

“As I said, he is an amazing animal. Phoenixes have remarkable powers over someone they love.
What *I* could never understand is why the Rejuvenation Spell works on the physical body…but
can’t bring back the soul.”

“Once long ago, certain wizards could go to the Afterworld traveling in their minds and bring
back a soul through the Rejuvenation Spell. The skill was lost to us before Gryffindor died. He was
the last of the Soul-Searchers. But why Fawkes couldn’t feed all of your soul into your body…why he
had to keep the essence of it within him…that is a mystery.” Nevra looked at him searchingly.

“No…it isn’t. Part of me wanted to stay within him – where only noble thoughts were thought –
where I was safe and loved. Try as he might, he couldn’t *force* all of me to leave him…so
part of me stays within him, where it is happiest. Simple, really.” Dumbledore smiled wistfully at
her.

“All right. Well, that’s all I needed to say. Right now, I have obligations to fulfill. Death
Eaters will begin to be suspicious.”

“Yes…Ginny, do you know anything about the attack?”

She smiled at him. “No…Dumbledore, I’m sorry. But Voldemort never reveals his plan until hours
before the attack. And if I were to go missing then, to tell you, upon return I would be killed. He
doesn’t take the possibility of spies lightly after Snape’s great Deception…that’s another thing
that would have been worthless had you not come back to prove his innocence.”

Dumbledore smiled. “Voldemort fears betrayal because he is a traitor himself. He betrayed the
Light long ago when a plan of ours failed. But…but Snape…I believe he would have found a way to
give the Light his crucial information even without my help. I always told you I had a piece of
proof that bound him to us forever.”

“To think that Voldemort raped his mother…that just that incident was enough to turn him against
the Dark…none of us would have guessed. But without him, we would have never known that the Dark
Lord possesses the leaders of any of his attacks because he does not trust them to do well. We
would not have known that he is his most vulnerable during battle when his concentration and mental
power are focused within the commanders of his forces. We just would have killed the commanders
thinking to cut the head off the snake, only strengthening Voldemort to his full mental capacity
even as he continued to order his forces in attack.”

“Yes. A bond between a parent and child can be one of the strongest ever made between two people
even husband and wife. In fact there is only one stronger…Felis Semper…True Love.”

Nevra laughed. “True Love? Do you really believe there is such a thing?”

“Magic has proved it. In times of great trouble, those bound by this bond can combine their
hearts, spirits, magics, and minds to save their love…save what they believe in…to do a task they
both want desperately to do. They can save each other from death, feel each other’s presence…even
half of the powers that result from this bonding have not been discovered. Only one thing is
known…that they are bound from birth and their lives will always, always, eventually meet. And from
that point on, they cannot walk away. Whether they know it or not, deny it or embrace it, they will
never completely leave their partner’s side…they can’t, it would kill them. Much more powerful than
love created…this is love destined…thousands of times more powerful than any other bond in the
universe.”

“How many pairs have there been?”

“In the past 3,000 years…one. Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw… they used their power to
combine together to create magic to protect Hogwarts for the rest of time. Although the Four
together created it…the pair alone created the shields and barriers that would protect the students
that walk through these hallways for the rest of their lifetime…and many more.”

“It’s scary.”

“What?”

“That you could leave the world behind for that partner if you were Bound like that. That you
couldn’t walk away.”

“Who would want to? Love is a wonderful thing.”

“Reality doesn’t always accommodate love.”

Dumbledore smiled at her. “Ah, but Ginny, destiny and reality don’t often clash…when they do,
destiny tends to win. Because reality is just what happens, while destiny is meant to be.”

Dumbledore walked out the door. Nevra Apparated as soon as he left. Blaise should have broken
the two Malfoys up by now. She had a sinking feeling that this was about her. If it was…well…she
should be there.

Unexpected Visitor

Nevra appeared in front of Blaise and Draco. They both had grim looks on their faces. “What’s
wrong, you two? Where’s Lucius?...I wanted to have a talk with him anyways.”

Draco actually laughed. “You won’t have to. He’s *scared* of me.” Nevra’s eyes widened.

“That’s funny?”

“It’s hilarious.” Draco said cryptically.

Nevra looked at Blaise for an answer. He shrugged at her. “It’s Draco’s business, not mine.”

“But you know.” Nevra wasn’t asking.

Blaise’s tan cheeks turned pinkish. “Yeah.” Nevra sighed.

“Boys will be boys.” They both glared at her. She grinned.

Draco changed the subject. “What took you so long?”

“Ran into my brother. Had a talk.” Blaise and Draco looked at each other quickly.

Draco smirked. “I think it was probably similar to the conversation we had with my father.”

“I agree.” Nevra smirked right back at him.

The fireplace suddenly turned green and the three turned to greet the person spinning in the
flames.

Nevra was the first to speak. “*Elenia Parkinson*?” The lady, regal in her lavender silk
robes smiled nervously.

“Yes…you must be Nevra. I corresponded with you, I recall?”

The three looked at each other and Nevra nodded firmly. Draco spoke. “When you correspond with
her, you correspond with the Trio.” Elenia looked shaken, but quickly regained her composure.

“I see. Well, I’m afraid that my husband has guessed about my doubts. He threatened to kill my –
well, someone close to me – if I left the house.”

Blaise gave a bored sigh. “Draco, Nevra, she isn’t telling the whole truth. She’s guilty about
something. I can’t be sure…but maybe it’s something she’s hiding.” Elenia looked shocked.

Nevra smiled at her. “Everyone has tricks up their sleeves, Madam Parkinson. Does your husband
know where you are at?”

Elenia looked relieved to hear a friendlier voice. “No. I placed an illusion on him.”

Draco interjected. “One that will deceive touch.”

Elenia smiled. “Yes. It’s the one art I have perfected…I do not have much interest in magic, but
this was necessary, otherwise I would get nothing done at all. My husband tends to be…a little
jealous.” Nevra, who noticed the bruises on Elenia’s wrist when she arrived, looked at Draco
sharply. He took the hint to move on. Nevra would talk to Elenia later about that.

Draco smiled superficially and made a wide sweeping gesture with his arm. “Well then, do sit
down, Madam. We have much to talk about.”

The Secret Narcissa Knew

They all sat down. Blaise began, “There’s no need to feel tense or insecure, Mrs. Parkinson. You
trusted Nevra enough to tell her your doubts. Trust her to pick the right people to trust as
well.”

Draco smirked. “We read the whole letter. Including the part about you saying that we two had
too much of our own agenda to follow to help you. That would be true if your doubts didn’t fit in
with our agenda.” He stopped talking abruptly. He was revealing too much. Blaise was glaring at
him, and Mrs. Parkinson was looking at him in shock. Nevra was tight-lipped, her eyes full of
worry.

Nevra said quietly. “But since *you* approached *us*, we have the advantage. You have
to trust us fully for us to even consider helping you. Again, Blaise said you were hiding
something. What is it?”

Elenia hesitated. Nevra merely sat back and waited. The ball was in her court now. “My husband
threatened to kill my son.”

Blaise leaned in and looked hard at Draco. “She’s telling the truth, Draco, I can feel it.”

Draco’s eyes sharpened. “I wasn’t aware the Parkinsons had a son.”

Elenia said miserably, “They don’t. He isn’t Edward’s…only mine.”

Nevra’s eyes widened. “A bastard heir? Not to be harsh, but why hasn’t Mr. Parkinson killed him
before now…as soon as he found out?”

Elenia’s eyes hardened. “Because I have ways to protect him. *Marcus is my son*. “

Draco’s eyes had softened. He remembered his sister, killed at birth. “It is your right to
protect him. But why didn’t Edward kill you? Infidelity is a crime on the Dark Side. And why isn’t
that protection enough anymore?”

Elenia smiled bitterly. “Yes, I remember your sister well. Ophelia was a beautiful baby.
Narcissa loved her to death.” Draco flinched. Elenia continued hurriedly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t
realize your feelings were so strong…after all you didn’t know her at all.”

Draco growled, “You didn’t answer my questions.”

“Edward didn’t kill me because I was the perfect wife. I didn’t ask any questions. He could do
whatever he wanted. Half the time, he forgot I was there. I was suitable for his needs…and
besides…I got pregnant because of rape. The only reason I was allowed to have the baby is because
it got Edward favors with the rapist.”

Nevra looked at her and said bluntly, “Why didn’t you mention your son in your letter.”

“Because I guessed you would tell someone…and I didn’t want to reveal it to anyone other than
people I knew I could trust.”

Draco interrupted. “Who was it?”

Elenia feigned confusion. “What do you mean?”

Draco snapped, “Your rapist…who was it?”

Elenia looked away. “You don’t want to know, Draco. Please don’t ask.”

Draco moved to kneel in front of her. “*Who was it, Elenia*?” His voice was low and
hard.

Sobs caught in Madam Parkinson’s throat. Blaise’s eyes widened then filled with sadness. “Trust
me, Draco, you do not want to know.” Nevra looked at the three, her eyes confused.

Finally a whisper broke the silence. “Lucius Malfoy.” Draco stiffened, then strode to the
opposite corner of the room, his back towards them.


”I have a brother.” It wasn’t a question.

“A half-brother,” Elenia amended. Then, as if on an impulse she added, “I’m sorry, Draco…Your
mother knew about Marcus. She was – my best friend. I couldn’t keep it from her. Lucius thought he
was the only one besides me and Edward who knew, but Narcissa knew.”

Draco broke down at last, leaning against the wall with his face in his hands as he fought the
emotions raging. Nevra walked up behind him and guided him by his shoulders to his bedroom. She
pushed him in and shut the door behind him. Then she walked back to the sitting room.

“Blaise, go talk to him. You will handle this the best. Besides, Elenia and I have things to
talk about.” Blaise nodded briskly.

Talking Woman to Woman

Nevra turned to Elenia as Blaise turned away. She decided it was best to act like she already
knew, rather than guessed. “Edward will kill you someday if you don’t get out.”

Elenia stiffened. “What? What do you mean? Edward would never hurt me.”

Nevra frowned. “Do *not* lie to me, Elenia…even if you lie to yourself.” She pulled back
the lavender sleeve revealing five small bruises like fingerprints. “It’ll get worse. Trust me I
know.”

Elenia looked at her strangely. “You…know?”

Nevra scrutinized Elenia’s face. “Well, since I could kill you and no one would care, I guess I
can tell you.” Elenia flinched.

“You need to face the truth…your husband doesn’t love you if he does this.” Elenia shook her
head quickly.

Nevra sighed. “Before I came to the Dark, I was involved with Harry Potter.” Elenia gasped.

“The Boy Who Lived?” She said incredulously.

Nevra smiled tightly. “Yes. Please don’t interrupt, or I’ll never get through this. He used to
be an alcoholic…he was trying to dull his pain…he lost so many people he loved. At first it was
just light pushes, as if jokingly. Then it went to grabbing my wrists hard enough to bruise.” She
gestured at Elenia’s wrist as the lady recoiled.

“One day, he slammed me into the wall so hard I had a concussion when my head hit the wall. It
was then that I realized that, even if this wasn’t really him…that the sober him could be sweet,
caring, kind…loving…that these drunken rages were *real*. I could be killed next time he did
this. So I walked out…and my family and friends took his side. So I came to the Dark, where I could
start over.”

Elenia shook her head. “Edward isn’t a drunk.”

Nevra laughed. “That’s even worse. He hurts you to make himself feel powerful. He is in control
of his thoughts…he does it purposefully. It doesn’t matter why…just that it can and will eventually
intensify to a point where he will kill you. You need to leave…there are places that can help
you.”

Elenia looked away. “Not on the Dark Side.”

Nevra looked at her hard. “Maybe not. But if you leave, I will lend you my protection. I stand
above your husband in the Dark Lord’s favor, I believe.”

“And if you fall out of favor, what will become of me?”

“Trust me. I will take care of you. Believe me…you’ll be safe with or without me. I’ll make sure
of that. In memory of your daughter…in memory of my mistakes…I will make sure that you can live
free. But you have to take the first step.”

“Well, I’ll take it now. If I wait, I’ll start to hesitate.”

Nevra smiled at the older woman. “Great. I’ll talk to the Dark Lord about this.”

At this, Draco and Blaise walked into the room.



18. Chapter 19
--------------

Telling Him The Truth

Nevra’s eyes held a silent question for Draco as he walked in beside Blaise. He nodded in
answer; he was alright. Abruptly turning to address Elenia, he spoke, “I was Bellatrix’s child,
Marcus was yours…did my mother ever have a child of her own?”

“Ophelia…Ophelia was her baby. She loved her so much.” Elenia paused then added as if on an
impulse. “But Draco…you were her son…she loved you that much. She didn’t care whose blood ran in
your veins…and neither did you. That’s all that mattered.” Draco’s eyes held a slight sheen. He
took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“So where can we find Marcus now?” he said, changing the subject.

Elenia eagerly went along with the question, “We put him up for adoption to a pureblood
Slytherin family. The Flints adopted him several years ago. They nor Marcus know of his real
parentage.”

Draco and Blaise looked at one another. Blaise spoke, “Marcus…Flint? The boy who – “

“Who was the Slytherin Quidditch Captain before me. We never got along. He thought Malfoys were
weak pansies who used money to get their way in everything. He prided himself on working to get
what he wanted…very Hufflepuff-ish of him. Ironic that he will now inherit the money.”

Nevra spoke in surprise, “He’s an illegitimate heir, Draco! You inherit, not him!”

Draco smiled grimly. “We forgot to tell you. Lucius came here to disown me. I am no longer the
Malfoy Heir. Marcus will get the money…and consequentially, a significant amount of power as
well.”

The three looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Blaise spoke this time. “So we will tell
him about his real parents. It will get him on our side…and with the power he stands to inherit…our
plans can benefit greatly.”

Tears ran down Elenia’s face. “You will ruin his life.”


Draco spoke, “Not ruin, necessarily…more like upset. But Elenia, trust me, he’ll find out
eventually. And it’s better someone tell him than he find out by default. I know what it’s like,
remember? If someone had given me a choice, I would have liked to know as soon as possible.”

Elenia sighed, then spoke to Nevra. “I never thought you could get enmeshed in the Dark so early
in power, Nevra. I thought that maybe you would help me out of the goodness of your heart rather
than advantages and agendas.”

The sadness in her voice hurt. Nevra explained. “We are helping you both. You are under my
protection now. Your son will never be hurt when he is allied with the Dark Trio. Alone, we may not
be powerful but together we stand high in the Dark Lord’s favor. It’s just that helping you will
also help us.”

Elenia sighed and shook her head. “You are using this to your advantage…I don’t know. I thought
you were different.”

Nevra smiled sadly. “We are using you like any other Dark member would do…but we consider what’s
best for you as well, which is more than any other would. They would use it however they wanted…we
could blackmail your husband or Lucius…but we aren’t. Telling Marcus the truth will help you as
well, and we can incorporate it into our plans as well.”

Elenia asked, “What plans? Whose side are you really on?”

The three looked at each other. Blaise shrugged. “Not the Light, not the Dark…the Trio’s.
Whatever holds our best interests is what we will do…that means the Dark and it always has. But we
don’t follow blindly and we do what we please.”

Nevra spoke. “Let’s go to Denmark. We have things to discuss. Elenia, stay here. You will be
safe.”

Draco asked, “Her? Safe from what?”


Nevra eyed him icily. “None of your business. Just know she is under my protection now. And that
she is *not* going back to Edward Parkinson.”

Draco hesitated. “Not that I don’t trust your judgment…but letting a stranger in the house
–“

“In Denmark, Draco,” said Blaise quickly, glancing at Elenia.

Draco nodded. “In Denmark.”

Evil Traditions

They appeared in front of the familiar stone cottage surrounded by thick green forest. Draco
pushed away memories of the last time he had been here…that could never become real…Nevra wouldn’t
let it.

Nevra immediately turned. “We used a Word of Power…stranger or not, she is telling the truth.
The truth allies her to us whether she likes it or not…she knows that as much as we do. She can’t
live there anymore…it’s too dangerous.” Nevra snapped.

Draco was taken aback. “Okay, okay! Nevra, relax! Sorry I asked!”

She looked abashed. “Sorry I overreacted. My problem, not yours.” She muttered.

Draco looked at her strangely. “It’s all right.”

Blaise looked at them both, checked their emotions, and decided it was time to change the
subject. “So when and how are we going to tell Flint?”

Draco nodded briskly. “I know where he is…he is an assistant at Borgin’s and Burke’s.”

Nevra interjected. “I think we should wait until after the attack on Hogwarts…we don’t have
enough time to convince him…only a few hours until he calls us, I think.”

Draco and Blaise nodded in assent. Draco spoke, “Should we approach him together, or just
me?”

Nevra considered. “Just you. We don’t want to reveal our closeness…and it would be logical that
you find out considering he took your inheritance. No one really knows how little you care about it
and you can use that to your advantage.”

Blaise nodded at Draco, and Draco shrugged. “Sounds good. So Nevra, you seemed pretty
agitated…was there anything besides this you wanted to discuss?”

Nevra hesitated. “Edward Parkinson hurts his wife.” Blaise and Draco both looked at each
other.

Blaise added, “Yeah. What’s your point?”

Nevra looked at him in shock. “*What’s my point*? What, is domestic abuse common around
here.”

Draco looked at her curiously. “Yeah. Nearly every pureblood Slytherin girl is trained to handle
it, and boys are taught to show aggression. Not all men are like that…but it isn’t something we
consider out of place.”

Nevra looked disgusted. “That kind of abuse can kill. Does kill. You just let people do that?
Don’t speak up or protest? Or even help the victims?”

Draco and Blaise looked at each other, then shrugged. Nevra walked into the cottage and slammed
the door behind her. Both the men followed her.

Nevra was standing in a corner, back to them, shaking with fury. Draco said softly, “Nevra, not
all men here are like that. Most of the younger generation won’t accept it anymore. But the
old-school purebloods…it’s kind of – well – *expected*.”

Nevra’s words were poisonous. “Expected? What – you aren’t a man if you can’t hurt a woman half
your size and totally under your domination? You have to prove that you have power over a person
who is supposed to be your partner in life? A person you love?”

Draco looked at her questioningly. “Love? Marriages were arranged for power and reputation,
Nevra. Most of the older generation never loved their spouses. Liked, maybe, cared for, less
likely, but loved? No, not then. Now, yes…because people aren’t forced into their vows any
longer…but then?”

Nevra bit back a fierce retort. They wouldn’t understand. After all, this was why she was not
loyal to the Dark Side. It’s just that she had never expected her friends – no, her allies – to
support something like domestic abuse.

Blaise interjected. “Nevra don’t think that. We don’t support it. It’s dying out with this last
generation. But…they’ve done it like this for centuries.”

Fury seeped into her voice. ”Don’t look inside my head, Blaise! And tradition doesn’t make it
right!”

Draco went up and gripped her arms gently as he spoke. “We would never do it…and most of our
peers wouldn’t. But we accepted it among our parents, because they have never known any other
way.”

Nevra shrunk into the corner even further. “Don’t touch me! Don’t – just don’t…” Sobs built up
in her voice. Draco backed away and looked at Blaise, signaling him to come outside.

The Summons

They walked out of the cottage. “What’s going on with her?” Draco asked Blaise.

Blaise shook his head. “She asked me not to get inside her head.”

“That’s never stopped you before.” Blaise sighed.

“It’s not in her best interests this time.”

“Blaise, I need to know. I need to know the secrets she’s hiding. Not for a plan or security…but
just because I need to know about her. Because she’s her.”

Blaise sighed again. “She dated Potter before she came to the Dark Side.”

“She told me.”

“Yeah, well she didn’t tell you why they broke up…they were engaged, you know. He was an
alcoholic…the pressure got to him, so he drank. He ended up hurting her in one of his drunken rages
and she realized that this would kill him…and it could kill her…if he didn’t stop. So she left. I
think he’s stopped drinking now, her memories weren’t clear on that part, but anyways…she hates
domestic abuse with a passion, because she walked away on a relationship because of it.”

Draco held back a gasp. “My god, why didn’t you look before? We must have alienated her so
much…”

“We would have alienated her more if she knew I could look not just for her thoughts but through
her memories as well. Besides, there’s one secret that she is hiding even against Empaths.”

“I thought that was impossible.”

“So did I…but it has barriers that I can’t cross. So she is hiding something. Something
important.”

“Not that important. The Innocuroso binds her to us now. We are her first priority. If the
secret was something that would harm us, she would tell us. She would be magically forced
to…right?”

“I hope so.” At that point, they both stopped talked. Heat blazed up their arm in a blinding
flash and their Dark Marks seared black.

Nevra joined them. “It’s time to go.” Draco, still holding his arm gingerly began to speak.

“Yeah, I think we figured that one out.” He said drily. Then more seriously, “Are you
alright?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Sorry. I will even if I try not to. Are you *sure* you’re okay?” Nevra looked at both of
them.

“You know, don’t you? About Harry and me. Blaise looked, didn’t he?” Their silence was enough of
an answer for her. Her eyes hardened and she looked at Blaise. “Do it again, and I swear you will
find a nasty surprise waiting. Empaths aren’t affected by mind shields…but there are other ways to
shield your mind. I’m tired of you searching through my head.”

Blaise looked taken aback at this sudden hostility. “You never minded before.” Nevra
laughed.

“That was before I realized that Draco already had Empath shields…if he doesn’t have to put up
with it, neither do I.”

Blaise looked at Draco sharply and Draco said sheepishly, “Blaise actually didn’t know I had
them…I never used them, just made them. Just in case I didn’t want anyone knowing what I was
thinking.”

Nevra looked at Draco in shock. “Oh my god!...I’m sorry. I should’ve known you two wouldn’t put
me on an unequal footing. I’ve just been so – tense – lately. I really don’t want to attack
Hogwarts. It’s starting to bother me more and more.”

Blaise grasped her shoulder in sympathy. “We all do what we must. Speaking of that, we must go
now, or the Dark Lord will have a fit.” Nevra held back a giggle at the image of the Dark Lord
turning red and jumping up and down, screaming at the three of them as they said the spell.

“Regresa Maestro.”



19. Chapter 20
--------------

Revealing the Plan

They appeared in the midst of a crowd of Death Eaters packed tightly. Draco nudged the two
people at his side. “The signal. The Inner Circle is over there.” He gestured over at a spot where
a snake with red eyes slithered around a crumbling brick.

“Is – is that the Dark Lord?” Nevra asked. Both men shook their heads as they began wandering
casually towards the brick. “Is the brick a Portkey?” Blaise nodded curtly and held her arm tightly
as Draco touched the brick.

They appeared, this time, on the perimeter of the forces. Lord Voldemort looked at them tapping
his long fingers together rhythmically. “Nevra, go organize the forces. I want three divisions…one
special attacks, one strongmen, and the rest in the last. Special Attacks is our main force,
strongmen clear the way…the rest are decoys. You know the drill – everyone thinks they’re the main
force.” Nevra nodded, then hesitated.

“Shouldn’t I be here to listen to the attack plan? My Lord.” She added quickly. Voldemort
laughed his eerie laugh.

“I see the boys have been teaching you their bad habits. Follow orders as always.” Nevra nodded
again, bowed deeply, and disappeared. Voldemort turned to the rest of the Inner Circle. He spoke to
Lucius, who groveled unashamedly. “Lucius, come. You are to command. Let me inside your head.”

Draco tensed in disgust. To let someone – even the Dark Lord – possess you, let you into every
hidden thought and feeling was worthless. Even if it made you Voldemort’s favorite for the day.
There were other ways to move up besides acting like a dog.

Together, they listened to Lucius speak the Dark Lord’s words. The plan for attack was
remarkably simple. But after all, the magic barriers had been the hardest part. No one would expect
them to get through that at all. The attack would be like shooting at sitting ducks. Draco pushed
away feelings of guilt…he could never back out now. He had chosen his side, and he didn’t have time
to regret it. Period.

Back in the hall with the masses of Death Eaters, Nevra waved her wand in a sweeping gestures.
Torches magically lit, and Nevra’s banner, the Fire Salamander, fell from every wall. Silence
suddenly reigned over the masked faces. She took off her mask to reveal her face and spoke. “Three
groups. Divide yourselves into special attacks and strongmen…the rest go in the third group.” Then
she went to each group and told them how the attack wouldn’t work if they didn’t do their part.

She had to be especially careful what she told the special attack group. They would be the ones
whose spells reflected off the magical barrier between the top and bottom of the Great Hall. “They
need to be annihilated. Can you do that?” She didn’t specify which they…the Light would be
protected, but these spells would rebound and destroy the Death Eaters. Their fierce nods and
revealed wands made her smile. She let the expression show. Let them think that she was excited to
destroy her old school. Hogwarts *would* survive. It had to. It – just – It just had to.

The rest of the Inner Circle magically appeared just behind Nevra. Draco stepped up. “Are you
men ready to fight for the Dark? Fight for immortality?” The deafening roar that was the reply made
Nevra’s heart sink. They were going to do it. They were going to attack Hogwarts. And she gave them
the key to the door.

Mindlessly she walked, Draco and Blaise at her side keeping time. The mask over her face felt
hot and uncomfortable, but she was glad of it. No one could see the tears rolling down her cheeks.
All they saw was burning hatred in her eyes…it never occurred to them that it was for herself.

A Thousand Deaths

Dumbledore nodded at Harry, who was sitting with his head in his hands. “I can see them
coming.”

“Where’s Fawkes?”

“Safe…I don’t want Voldemort to find out where he is if he is too powerful and possesses
you.”

Harry laughed grimly. “I wish he would try. It would kill him at the very least.”

Dumbledore shook his head. “You don’t know that. What you do know is that it would kill you. And
we can’t have that, now can we?”

Harry looked at Dumbledore. “You said…you told me that it would kill him. Back in the Department
of Mysteries.”

“A lot of things have changed since then. Are you ready, Harry? Ready for the fight of your
life?”

“Of my life…more like for my life. But yes, ready as I’ll ever be. Ready as I can be.”
Dumbledore sighed.

“Then it has begun. Send the students to their dormitories. Send the teachers to protect the
Great Hall. If their way is open, they will begin to suspect false play.” A smoky phoenix flew out
the window into the starry sky. “The Order should arrive after hearing my message. Go to your
place, Harry. Be ready. This is all for your chance. Make the best of it.”

Harry stood up and walked to the door. He turned to face the man he now called friend. “Albus…if
I don’t see you…thank you. Thank you for all the years of being here even when I didn’t deserve it.
For guiding me. For giving up your life for me…for risking it even now. I mean, even for Albus
Dumbledore, you can only come back from Death once. Thank you for everything.” Before the old man
could respond, Harry Potter was gone. Dumbledore stifled the tears for running down his wrinkled
cheeks.

They all did what they must for the Light. Silently he thought about Ginevra Weasley, marching
out there with a mask on her face and ice in her heart. Yes, even destroy a innocent girl…they all
did what they must. It was that or Darkness. And Albus Dumbledore would die a thousand deaths or
kill a thousand people before he let Darkness envelop the magical world.

The Hierarchy Upset

The Death Eater approached the door and Voldemort swept his hand to the left. They silently
turned and walked around the walls surrounding this ancient school. Voldemort’s red eyes glowed
scarlet with the closest thing to love that he could ever feel. Hogwarts would finally be his. His
to cherish, to teach. His Hogwarts.

His eyes found his Heir…yes, Draco was becoming too dangerous. But he had so much potential. He
called for him under his breath, “Llamada Draconis.”

Draco jerked when he felt his Dark Mark burn. With a whisper to Nevra he silently made his way
to the Dark Lord. “Yes, Master?” Voldemort turned to him and smiled.

“You grow rebellious, Draco. I will not have my Heir working against me. And I will not have my
Heir crossing lines that are not crossed.” Draco bowed his head, the perfect act of remorse. The
problem was, Tom Riddle had acted that act before, and knew every line of the script.

“Sorry, my Lord. I grow forgetful that you see all.”

“Ridiculous. You are lying to the best deceiver of all. Heir you are no longer.” Then he spoke
the formal words to break the bond. It was too bad. Draco really did have so much potential. But
Voldemort refused to have a unruly Heir. “Renunciada Finite.” Draco stumbled in shock. He was no
longer Heir…he no longer was second in command. He – everything had changed.

He walked back to the Trio, his gait unsteady. Nevra didn’t turn to look at him, but felt his
uneasiness. “What’s wrong, Draco?”

His voice came out shakily. “Nevra…I – I am no longer Heir. After three years, he decides I am
too disobedient…he severed the bond in front of me. I *felt* a piece of me rip out…like
ripping a piece of paper away from a whole sheet. He…I feel incomplete…like I’m missing an eye or
something. I am not Heir.” Nevra and Blaise both walked on in stunned silence.

Everything had changed. Their worlds were turned upside down in an instant. Draco Malfoy was no
longer Heir to the Malfoy fortune. Draco Malfoy was no longer Heir to the Dark Lord.

At the back of the masses, Voldemort had already moved on to calculate who would be the next
Heir. Someone young, healthy, powerful and loyal. He was stuck in his thoughts when suddenly a
wraith swept across his path and barred his way. “Let me through, ghost.” He said to the weeping
ragamuffin.

She looked up at him. “Oh, what has become of you, son? My Tom…my little baby. Why are you doing
this to me? This is Hogwarts, the best place in the world. You will taint it with blood and gore
and death. Why?”

Voldemort stared, stunned. “Merope…Slytherin?”

The witch-ghost smiled. “Merope Riddle. Even though he didn’t really love me. He married me and
had my child. We had you. How could you do this? How could you become this? From my son…to a
monster? I can’t see my baby in you. I cherished the memory of your sweet face… the last emotion I
felt before becoming this shadow was overpowering love. But I can’t love you. Not the thing you’ve
become.”

Voldemort merely stood there. A distance part of him felt pain…but he had been split for so long
from his humanity that it was a mere pinch. His mother didn’t love him. That was all right.
Hogwarts was going to be his at last. He was going to rule the world.

She flew past him and he quickly gave the order to follow the plan. The strongmen led the way up
the Whomping Willow. Slowly he smiled. The attack was going to work. He thought about the last
Horcrux…not one wizard ever suspected that Voldemort had created one before he left Hogwarts…that
the Horcrux was inside Hogwarts itself. And now that he would take over Hogwarts…no one would be
able to touch the last Horcrux. And he would be immortal.



20. Author's Note
-----------------



Author's Note:

To All Readers,

I'm currently rewriting all my older one-shots and this could take up to a year. Once
I'm done with my 30 or so D/G one-shots, I'm going to come back to this story and finish
it. I've currently hit a sort of road block with this story, and I've felt sort of rushed
through it.

So I'm going to take a long break (I realized it's been a long time since my last
update). I'm going to fix all my older pieces, and add some more detail and development to this
story. I know this will disappoint many of you, but I feel it's necessary in order to write
this piece well. I hope you can be understanding of the situation.

Thank you. Your reader-ship means so much to me, and I hope y'all will return when I
continue this story. I promise to never give up on this fiction, no matter how long it takes me. I
hope you will not give up on it either.

Sincerely,

Kumy

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