A/N: Happy New Year's everyone! Here's wishing you all a happy, healthy, prosperous 2010!
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Chapter Five
Argus Filch, Sir Nick, and Dobby stood before Albus Dumbledore's portrait.
"I trust all is going to plan?" the former headmaster asked.
"Got Malfoy underway," said Filch.
"I am pleased to announce young Weasley has taken the first step upon his noble quest," Sir Nick doffed his hat and bowed, carefully holding his head in place as he did so.
Dumbledore suppressed a quiet chuckle at the sight, then turned his attention to the house elf. "And my dear Dobby, what of Harry?"
"Harry Potter is where he needs to be, sir." He paused. "It was quite wonderful to see him again." Dobby looked down, his bat-like ears drooping. "If only Dobby could have said a proper goodbye to Harry Potter…"
Dumbledore nodded. "I understand, Dobby. I am truly grateful for your service on this Christmas Eve, and the night is not yet over. Perhaps…"
Dobby looked up, his eyes filled with hope.
Dumbledore smiled.
"Now I would ask you three keep careful watch of your charges. There is still much that could go awry. Inform me when the next stage has been completed."
With that, Filch walked out of the office, Sir Nick simply disappeared, and Dobby vanished with a soft, pop!
"I still think you're going to great lengths and calling in dearly won favors all for a trifle," said a surly voice from a nearby portrait.
"You're ever the romantic Phineus, ever the romantic," Dumbledore chuckled.
~~~~~~~
Silver light streamed from a full moon onto the snow covered clearing below. The surrounding pine forest glittered with frost under a sky littered with stars.
In the center of the clearing were three biers.
Ginny, Luna, and Hermione lay silent and still in enchanted sleep, each one on their own bier. They wore long, medieval style robes in deep blue velvet, each with a long belt encircling their waist; copper for Ginny, silver for Luna, and gold for Hermione.
Out of the clear night sky a single perfect snowflake drifted down to Ginny's cheek, brushing it like a soft kiss.
~~~~~~~
(From Chapter Two)
A scream echoed behind Draco. He whirled around to see a cluster of people down a dimly lit close. He turned back to Filch who was gone, leaving Malfoy alone on a dark, deserted street corner, Merlin-knew-where. Draco drew his wand and made his way toward the source of the scream.
Draco's Quest Begins
The early dark of winter had set in. Occasional flakes of snow flitted through pools of light cast by street lamps, before disappearing against the close's brick walls. There were several cloaked and hooded figures in a knot a little way down the close. The muted sounds of a struggle echoed alongside muted sounds of laughter.
As Draco watched, the source of the sounds became apparent. There were three wizards, dressed head to toe in black hooded cloaks taunting what appeared to be a muggle couple.
"We'll give you whatever you want, just leave us be," the muggle man said. He held out his wallet.
Wand out, Draco crept quietly toward the wizards and muggles. He was close enough to hear what they were saying, but could not see the wizards' faces beneath their cowled hoods.
One of the wizards laughed. "Your muggle money is worthless to us!"
Another wizard moved closer to the muggle lady. As she shrank against the wall, something glittered around her throat in the lamplight. It caught the wizard's eye. "What have we got here?" He used his wand to lift a necklace away from her skin. It was beautiful. It seemed to be made entirely of diamonds, except for an exquisite sprig of holly at the center, made of emerald and ruby. It shimmered almost as if it were alive. Draco had the fleeting thought that it seemed to be enchanted, but that seemed highly unlikely considering it was in the possession of muggles.
"Please," the lady said. "Not the necklace!"
"Fine by me," the wizard said, sliding the point of his wand down her chest. "What we really want is just a little fun."
In one movement, the muggle man stepped in front of the lady and decked the offending wizard, who was caught off guard and stumbled backward to the ground.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Draco couldn't see where the body bind spell came from, but he saw the muggle man go rigid. The muggle lady screamed. The wizard who had fallen picked himself up, his wand out. He traced its tip down the lady's cheek. His voice was menacing. "Now no one will interrupt."
"Stupefy! Impedimenta!" Draco caught two of the wizards off guard, stunning the lady's assailant, and stopping the wizard next to him.
"Crucio!" The third wizard's curse missed Draco by inches, but hit the muggle lady. She crumpled to the ground writhing and gasping in pain.
Draco aimed his wand at her, "Protego!" He hoped the spell would keep her safe from further magical attack. Draco turned his attention to the remaining wizard. "Leave these muggles alone."
The wizard laughed. Something about him was oddly familiar. "Oh, the great Draco Malfoy, muggle defender! You're pathetic! Your father would disown you!"
The wizard's voice was uncomfortably familiar now. Draco knew that voice. "Reveal yourself!" he demanded.
The wizard laughed again, raising his wand with lightening speed. "Sectumsempra!"
Draco dodged, but the spell grazed his cheek. A thin line of blood appeared. "Expelliarmus!"
The wizard's wand flew out of his hand. "You've been spending too much time with Potter! Using his signature spell now, are you?"
Draco's blood was beginning to boil.
"You know, I never would have thought you'd object to a little harmless muggle-baiting," the wizard drawled. "And I really never thought you'd lower yourself to associate with Potter, let alone start adopting his style."
Draco seethed. "Enough! Mobilicuculla!" The wizard's hood flew back. Seeing the wizard's face was like a swift punch to the stomach. Draco shook his head. "It can't be!" His head was swimming; his ears ringing.
It was like looking in a mirror - a horrible, sneering mirror. The wizard before him was Draco Malfoy. He ginned. "I'm you. You're me." He paused. "Well, I'm the Draco you used to be. All this wimpy, muggle-loving nonsense -"
"Avada Kadavra!" Green light shot from the end of Draco's wand hitting dark wizard Malfoy square in the chest.
It was difficult to tell which Malfoy was more surprised. Draco stared at his wand as if he'd never seen it before, stunned by the suddenness and ferocity of his reaction. Dark wizard Malfoy's face was frozen in an expression of shock. But instead of simply falling to the ground, he evaporated into fog-like wisps which disappeared into the night. Draco felt as though some hideous specter had been exorcised, and was relieved to see the wizard vanish.
Still extremely shaken, and not knowing what else to do, Draco turned and released the muggle man from the body bind curse, and checked to see if the muggle lady was alright. The man was at the lady's side before Draco had finished helping her to her feet. Draco stepped back as the two grasped each other in a fierce embrace. They kissed, comforting one another with murmured words and soft touches. A few moments later, they seemed to remember Draco. Turning to him, the man shook his hand, while the lady caught him in a tight hug.
"Thank you so much!" she said.
"We owe you our lives," the man said.
Draco, still reeling from the encounter with the specter of his evil self was now looking at the couple. He shrugged awkwardly. "It's what any decent person would have done."
The man shook his head. "No, it's not. Those were very dangerous men; no ordinary street thugs."
Draco hesitated. It hit him these two muggles had witnessed at least half a dozen spells, yet didn't seem fazed in the slightest. He searched their faces. "How -"
"We're squibs." The woman smiled.
Draco relaxed just a moment, but, "Then you know this is not a good place for -" he hesitated. He didn't want to say, people like you, but they sensed his meaning.
"Our car broke down," the man said. "Not like we can just apparate," he said with a wry smile. "They accosted us as we were going for help."
The light caught the lady's necklace again, drawing Draco's eye. The lady saw him looking at it. "It's enchanted," she smiled.
Draco nodded and couldn't help but smile back. These seemed like such decent people. Pity they're squibs, he thought.
The man and woman looked at each other. Some sort of wordless exchange passed between them. The man nodded and the woman smiled. She turned to Draco. "Just because we're squibs, it doesn't mean we're bereft of magic." The man unfastened her necklace. She took it off and placed it in Draco's hand. "This is yours now."
"No, I couldn't possibly -" The necklace felt warm but light in his palm. It glimmered and glowed, radiating an unfamiliar and odd, yet very enjoyable feeling.
The lady watched him, beaming. "This was meant to be. The necklace is meant to pass through the family, though it chooses who and when."
"But," Draco began to protest.
"Abraxas Malfoy," the man said. "He's my grandfather, too."
Draco was just now beginning to notice the man's light eyes and hair, and how maybe, just in the cheek bones… "How is that possible?"
The man grinned. "Apparently Abraxas had a bit of a secret fetish for muggles. He had a daughter with my grandmother, Lorena Goodspeed, who was an actress in the West End. He never knew. The affair was, 'One night only!' as my grandma would joke. She knew he was different, but didn't know just how different until her baby girl started doing odd things. It all made sense when the letter from Hogwarts came."
The lady said, "I have magic on my side of the family, as well. Unfortunately, it just never manifested in us. However, not all magic is about potions and spells." She smiled again.
"This necklace was mine to give," said the man. He gave the woman a loving look, which she returned.
"Then it was mine." The lady touched Draco on the arm. "And now it's yours. You'll know when the time is right, who the special lady will be to wear it next."
Draco looked down at the necklace in his hand. It was curled up, and for all the world made him think of a softly purring cat. "Thank you," he said.
When he looked up, the couple was gone.