A/N: One werewolf transformation later...
Chapter XII: A Hint of Darkness
"Good evening, Mr. Britches."
The frightened man was thrown forward; he was shaking from head to toe, both from fear and the cold. Off to his left, he could see the dark abyss that ended with the crashing waves below.
"You do know why you are here tonight, Mr. Britches?"
The man's voice was smooth as velvet, yet there was something inhuman in its coldness.
"N-no," Mr. Britches managed to stammer.
"You betrayed us, good sir," he continued with the same chilling tone. "You do know what the punishment for betrayal is, don't you?"
The poor victim's jaw shook, but he did not reply.
"You're right, it is death."
"I'm gong to die?" he repeated faintly.
"Yes," the man nodded.
He looked at the company of associated around him. "Let this be a message to all of you. Betrayal is punishable by death. Just a friendly reminder."
"Now, sir?" one of the two burly men who stood on either side of Mr .Britches inquired.
"Do dispose of him."
The guards grabbed the victim by the arms and carried him towards the cliff edge. Despite his shouts and struggles, he was helpless. They held him over the blackness for several seconds before throwing him to the rocks below.
Soon, the dying scream could not be distinguished from the crash of the waves.
**
Regulus awoke in the morning feeling thoroughly exhausted, and the pounding headache did not help matters in the least. He rolled over on his back and opened his eyes.
Once again, he was lying on a bed in the hospital wing. Groaning inwardly, he tried to move to make sure everything was working in order. Thankfully, it was only his sore muscles that complained, but other than that, there was no damage.
"Mr. Malfoy, you're awake," the familiar voice of Madam Pomfrey carried over.
"Yes, morning," he rubbed his eyes, trying to keep still for the sake of his headache.
"How are you feeling?"
"Just brilliant," he muttered, "must have been quite the night."
"Here, drink this tonic, it will resolve your headache," Madam Pomfrey said. "Typically happens after the first few transformations."
"Thank you," Regulus pushed himself up to take the remedy.
The effect was nearly instantaneous. The throbbing pain just melted away...
"Thanks again."
"Don't mention it," Madam Pomfrey told him. "Now, for the other half of the news. All you have is muscle fatigue. It will go away on its own. However, I do recommend you stay away from any strenuous activities for a few days."
"You're sure there is nothing else wrong with me?"
"I am positive," Madam Pomfrey replied patiently. "You may dress in your uniform and leave."
Feeling much better, Regulus threw the covers back and stood up. The muscle fatigue was greater than he expected, though, because he swayed dangerously before managing to grab a hold of the bed railing to regain his footing.
Tentatively, he put on his uniform with care, ensuring his body did not surprise him unpleasantly. Then he tried walking out of the hospital wing, not being able to help feeling a little drunk and disoriented. As such, walking in a straight line was somewhat of a challenge.
Not too long, he was back at the portrait of the fat lady in a pink dress.
"Password?" she prompted him.
"Wait, I know this," he pointed his finger at her.
The lady in the portrait raised an eyebrow. "Password?" she repeated.
"I got it!" he looked alleviated. "Dumbledore!"
"Correct."
The entrance to the common room swung open and he climbed in. As it was barely six-thirty in the morning, nobody was awake. The walk back from the hospital wing was not long either, but he was overcome by the same tiredness he felt when he first woke up. Neither could he refuse the fire and the inviting couch, beckoning him to catch a few moments of shut-eye.
"Oh, you know it," he muttered more to himself than the couch and without further hesitation, found himself lying on the comfortable furniture.
The same dream that woke him up in the hospital wing came into his mind again. It was that smug face of a pale man in a black cloak who just stood on the same spot and looked at him. Something about him terrified Regulus, but he could not betray his fear and instead maintained a lock on his icy blue eyes. There was something that he did not know, but there was no way he could figure it out. The man kept staring at him, he stared back, feeling a mounting pressure with no apparent consequences.
"I know you, Regulus Malfoy, I know you," he had uttered those words last time too, but Regulus had no idea what they could signify.
"What do you mean!"
"Goodbye, Regulus, goodbye," the man gave him a cold smile, before gradually fading into complete blackness.
Regulus shot awake. Heart beating his fast, he took a moment to realize he was in the Gryffindor common room still. Glancing at his wristwatch, he registered that barely half an hour had passed, but judging from the sound of moving feet above him, people were beginning to stir.
Soon enough, he heard the early birds coming down from the girls' dormitories. Several third years, followed by their fourth year counterparts and finally, he noticed Andromeda make an appearance.
"Hi, Regulus," the younger girls greeted him first, suddenly appearing wide awake upon realizing he was there.
"Morning," he waved at them too.
He was still craving more sleep, but did not want the dream to return.
"Hey," Andromeda came right up to him. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"Believe me, I didn't either," he agreed. "I ended up in the hospital wing again."
"Really? Have you talked to Slughorn or Michaels?" she quizzed him.
"Not yet," he admitted.
"Well, you should," she instructed him. "Is anything broken this time?"
"No, thankfully," he reassured him. "Pomfrey said it was nothing more than muscle fatigue. Said I should rest for a few days."
"And she's right," Andromeda told him. "You don't seem to have gotten much sleep."
"No, I haven't," he admitted a second time. "I thought I could catch up by the fire here."
"Well, so much for that plan," she pointed out. "Why don't you go up to your dormitory?"
"I didn't want to wake Albus and Otto, you know Albus is a light sleeper."
"Now I do," she said. "Are you hungry?"
"No," he lied, but at the same instant his stomach complained loudly.
"Right," Andromeda shook her head. "I'll bring you up some food."
"You don't have to," he tried to deter her. "I'll help myself when I wake up."
"I'll be amazed if you can make it down a flight of stairs without collapsing," Andromeda raised a sceptical eyebrow at him.
"Made it here in one piece, didn't I?" he offered a smug, tired smile.
"Yes," she agreed. "Go up to your dormitory, I'll bring you food."
Deep down, he was grateful for the offer. "All right. Thanks."
"Don't mention it," she dismissed him. "I'll be back."
While she exited the portrait hole, Regulus forced himself to his feet and trudged across the common room to the staircase that led to the boys' dormitories.
Albus was already out of bed, while Otto continued to sleep soundly.
"Morning, mate," Regulus muttered.
"Oy!" Albus nearly jumped from the shock of seeing him. "Welcome back."
"Thanks."
"What happened last night?" Albus asked him.
"Well," Regulus smiled sardonically, "turned into a werewolf, ended up in the hospital wing, I should be lucky to make it down the stairs in my present state and the only thing I want right now is sleep through the weekend."
"Lean on me," Albus came up to Regulus as he swayed involuntarily.
"Thanks, mate."
"No problem. Now come on over, sit down on your bunk..."
"Can you two keep it down," Otto murmured into his pillow.
"Otto - "
"Regulus!" Otto jumped as if burned with a branding torch. "Good to see you! How are you!"
"Just fine," Regulus grimaced, as Otto's enthusiasm reanimated the dull headache at the base of his skull. "Good to see you too."
"Feeling alright?"
"Yes, yes," he waved him off. "Just need sleep, is all. Lots of sleep."
"You are going to tell me about being a werewolf, right?" Otto insisted.
"If and when I wake up, definitely," Regulus nodded.
"Take it easy, mate. We'll see you in a few hours. Come on, Otto," Albus said.
"Yeah, give me a minute to get my robes on," Otto told him with a hint of annoyance. "Anything you need, Reg?"
"Nothing, just sleep."
"That's fair, we won't disturb you," Otto nodded. "Let's go, Albus."
When they walked out the door, Regulus collapsed on his bunk and was asleep almost instantaneously.
"You think the transformation was really that awful?" Otto asked Albus as they walked down the staircase.
"I don't know," Albus shrugged. "It definitely took a lot out of him."
"Yeah, and he'll have to do it in another month."
"It might be better then, compared to now. You know, give him time to prepare mentally for it," Albus reasoned.
"I don't know," Otto expressed his doubts. "What if it kills him next time?"
"That's impossible," Albus dismissed him. "You ever hear of someone dying mid-transformation?"
"No," Otto admitted. "But it's not impossible."
"Can you stop worrying?" Albus sounded half-convinced. "He'll be fine."
They reached the common room. Around the fireplace, they saw Holly and Jane. Andromeda was nowhere to be found.
"Morning, ladies," Otto walked up right up to them bravely. "How's it going?"
"Good morning," Holly and Jane replied one after the other. "Seen Andromeda?" Holly asked.
"No," Albus shrugged. "Regulus is upstairs, sleeping."
"Oooh," Holly nearly jumped with excitement. "Is he alright?"
"Seems so," Otto told her. "Just exhausted from the experience, I reckon."
"There were no injuries on him?" Jane wanted to be reassured.
"None we could see," Otto said. "He is fine."
"What do we open the morning with?" Albus opted for a change in topic.
"History of Magic," Holly replied promptly. "But we're still talking about Regulus."
"I know," Albus said, "but until he wakes up and tells us about it, there is no point talking about it."
"He has a point," Otto supported his friend.
"Alright then, let's wait for Andromeda and when she arrives - "
Jane's words were cut short by the opening portrait hole and Andromeda's entrance, which saw her carrying a tray, laden with scrambled eggs and sausage, a glass of orange juice and a piece of delectable Sheppard's pie.
"Wow, you wanted to eat up here?" Jane reformulated her response quickly.
"Oh, this isn't for me," Andromeda said. "It's for Regulus."
"It's for him?" Otto raised the question. "But he's sound asleep."
"Did he go upstairs?"
"Yes."
"Fine, I'll take it up to him and come back," Andromeda said. "Be right back."
"Don't wake him up!" Holly called after her.
"I don't think there's a chance of that happening," Albus told her with a slight smile.
Andromeda had returned within the minute, having accomplished her mission successfully. The group of five then departed towards the lower levels, where the History of Magic classes were held.
"Two hours of boredom ahead," Otto complained loudly.
"What would you rather do?" Jane jabbed him sarcastically.
"Anything, but listen to Binns," Otto answered.
"Yes, but our first NEWT level is going to be in History of Magic. Attending every class is crucial!"
"You just keep telling yourself that," Otto returned her jibe. "I'll just wing it."
"As if," Jane roller her eyes, "I'm not sure Binns even knows who you are."
"He doesn't know who anybody is, Mary," Otto emphasized the name, to which Binns had grown accustomed to calling Jane.
"Fine," she conceded the point. "But that doesn't mean you're not going to be there."
"You can't make me go to that class," Otto waved off her argument.
"Fine," Jane challenged him. "If you don't go, I'm not going to either and that means that if I fail my NEWT, it will be your fault."
"Excuse me?"
The challenge caught Otto off-guard. "You heard me," Jane stood her ground.
"Why would you do that?" he was at a loss to explain her words, as they descended the last staircase before turning right.
"Do I need a reason?"
"Um, yes," Holly's voice interjected. She had been listening to their entire conversation.
"It's to make him come to class," Jane said quickly.
"It's not going to work," Holly pointed out.
"Yes it will," Jane defied her.
"No, Holly is right," Otto smiled. "Oy, Al!"
Albus turned. "Yeah?"
"Do me a favour, take notes in class today. I've a bet to win."
"Done, mate," Albus gave him a knowing smile.
"He's not taking notes, is he," Jane inquired testily of Otto.
Andromeda's patience at the whole exchange finally gave away. "You know you're all going to come to me for notes," she said in exasperation. "Now, can you quit with this stupid competition? Especially you, Jane!"
"No!" Jane protested. "I want to prove a point!"
Andromeda's expression flared dangerously. "If you're going to use Otto like you did Regulus, don't bother. I'm onto you."
"What?" Andromeda's outburst threw Jane in complete confusion.
"You know what I'm talking about," Andromeda's fierce gaze did not leave Jane's face.
"No, I don't!" Jane was beginning to grow exasperated on her own turn.
"Well, ladies and gents, I'll be out by the lake, if you need me," Otto took the opportunity to announce his departure, meters before the entrance to the classroom.
"Oh, no!" Jane replied. "I'm coming with you! And you and I are going to pick this up later!" she spat at Andromeda.
"Have fun in there, mate," Otto winked at Albus.
"Oh, you know it," Albus gave him the same enigmatic smile.
With that, Otto detached himself from the group and went back towards the staircase, without waiting to Jane.
"Wait, you idiot!"
"Catch me if you can, you hag!" he shot an ironic insult back without turning around.
He heard running feet behind him and within seconds, Jane was by his side. "If you're failing, so am I."
"I still don't know why you're doing this," he shrugged his shoulders.
"I have my reasons," she turned slightly red and avoided his eyes.
"What might those be?"
"I might tell you at some point, but not now," she cut him off. "Now, where are you going?"
"Was thinking the Shrieking Shack," he said contemplatively. "If you want, go ahead and I'll catch up."
"Oh, no, this is not going to work on me," she wagged her finger threateningly. "You'll just leave me there!"
"No, I won't."
"Yes, you will! I'm staying with you."
"Why do I need a babysitter again?"
"I'm going to change you," she declared with conviction.
That comment genuinely made him laugh with mirth.
**
"My lord, when are we going to execute the Hogwarts Plan?" the impatient lieutenant inquired of his leader.
"The time is going to come," the cloaked man said, "but you need to be patient."
"But - "
"Patience is a virtue, Mr. Mihailov."
"Yes, sir," the lieutenant bowed respectively.
"You may go. As I gather, you have a mission to carry out tonight."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
MIhailov left the chamber and directed his steps to the back of the manor, where the rest of his team was waiting.
"Valeriy!"
He recognized Jones' voice. "What?" he turned, impatience seeping into his tone.
"Wow, easy on the spite," Jones commented. "Just wanted to ask how you were."
"Kamm is still putting the hold on the Hogwarts Plan. He knows we could have taken the school twice by now!"
"Valeriy, relax, will you!" Jones clapped him on the back. "Kamm knows what he's doing. He came out of nowhere from under Voldemort. After Bellatrix died, he's the most promising leader we've had! No one in the lieutenant core has his knowledge of experience."
"Well, that doesn't make his judgement impervious, does it?" Mihailov asked with considerable sarcasm.
"Well, no," Jones opened the door for him. "It would be best to focus on the mission at hand. Your job is to take orders. Leave the planning to Kamm."
"What about the others?"
"Shhhh," Jones grew from complacent to very nervous in under a second. "You don't talk about the others."
"I know about them," Mihailov challenged him.
"That's my fault, I know," Jones became even more insistent. "Put it from your mind and don't mention it, or you might just end up on the receiving end of an Avada Kedavra. You have no idea how close you're treading as it is!"
"Fine," Mihailov said. "Try not to be Kamm's on-call bitch so often."
"Just go do your mission," Jones told him sourly. "Hope you get killed."
"You might just get another biscuit for that," Mihailov gave him a sarcastic smile. "See you soon."
"Are you maggots ready!"
"Yes, sir."
Mihailov looked down on the five rookies about to follow him on their first mission.
"Tonight's objective is to gather intelligence on Harry Potter and assassinate at least one other Auror. Do you think you can handle that without screwing up?"
"Yes, sir!" came the obedient reply.
"You know the apparition point. Let's go."
Valeriy Mihailov was the first to arrive. Behind a grove of trees, he saw the wizard in question investigating the ruins of a house. It was the same house he had torched on a solo mission about a week previously. The flames had killed one of the key advisers to the Minister of Magic. The incident was not reported by the Prophet, but the case was given as a top priority to the Auror Department. What had happened to the other advisors to the Minister, he did not know, but assumed they were transferred to secure locations very quickly afterwards.
Five other silent pops in the air behind him indicated the arrival of his team.
"Observe what he does, carefully. With him are two other Aurors. The one on the right is our target. Kingston and Doppler, this will be your assignment. Do not disappoint. The rest of you, find out what he is saying. I will be evaluating your performance."
"Yes, sir!"
Strangely, he was beginning to grow tired of this monotonic answer.
"Mr. Potter, there are no other signs we can gather here," one of the Aurors turned to Harry.
"Keep looking. The body was burned beyond recognition and the destruction can give us information as to the spells that were used," Harry told him impatiently.
The Aurors were oblivious to the enemy hiding within the trees.
"Expelliarmus!"
The blast of red light came from the grove and hit one of the Aurors in the back. He plunged forward and his wand went flying somewhere into the darkness.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The second spell finished the poor victim off.
"Get out!" Harry shouted at the second Auror.
He did not need a special invitation. With a swish, he was gone. Harry immediately created a powerful shield around himself, right before several more offensive spells bounced harmlessly off it.
"Don't engage him! Go!"
Mihailov's voice echoed through the night. Yet, it was too late. Harry had seen his two attackers.
"Perpetuum immobile! Incarcerio!"
The two of them fell to the ground, completely still. Harry maintained his shield as he approached them, ready to strike of any additional attacks game.
He heard several pops to his right, which meant there were more than two of them. He cursed in anger over missing their presence, and instead moved up to the two lying motionless on the ground.
"You're coming with me," he said to them.
Binding them with additional spells, he levitated them from the ground, along with the body of the dead Auror.
"I don't know who's pulling your strings, but you two will be the first to pay for this Auror's death."
With that, Harry apparated back to the headquarters of the Auror department. After he left, the ominous quiet overtook the night again, as if it had never left in the first place...
A/N: Say hello to the action...
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