Кассандра Клэр - Draco Sinister

"No. The inquest is horrible. They just don't know what to make of Lucius' death at all, and all his old papers have to be dragged out and gone over — " she broke off. "Never mind that, how's Remus? Did you get the doctor to come see him?"

"Yes," said Sirius, as they started along the path towards the Burrow.

"But he couldn't do anything. He looked at me like I was a complete nutter, too. Which was a bit discouraging."

"Sirius, I think we'd better bring Draco back to the Mansion. You can't keep running back and forth between sickrooms, you'll drive yourself round the twist."

"I know, you're right. You know, I had another thought. I didn't want to go to the College of Aurors, but what about old Mad-Eye Moody? He's a bit of an iconoclast, and he knows more about the History of Dark Arts than anyone. I'm sure he wouldn't feel like he had to tell the Ministry about Remus."

"Mmm. Maybe. You know who else might be able to help?"

"Who?"

"Severus Snape."

"No."

"Sirius, don't be stubborn."

"I'm not being stubborn. I just said no, that's all. Because I hate the little rat bastard and I'm not asking him for anything."

They were coming into sight of the Burrow now. Narcissa gave an exasperated sigh. "He knows a lot about being Called-"

"This is the second time you've suggested Snape; I'm starting to think you know him better than you let on."

"Well, there was that one mad weekend we spent together in Bora-Bora."

"I have now gone to a very bad mental place and it's entirely your fault."

"Sirius, don't be stupid. I do know him, because he and Lucius were practically inseparable for years before he left the Death Eaters. He really knows a lot about — "

She broke off.

Sirius turned to look at her. He caught a single brief glimpse of her face, wide-eyed with horror, staring off past him, before she screamed.

"Narcissa?"

She tore past him, not even looking at him, hurtling down the path towards the Burrow. Sirius spun around in astonishment — and froze.

No. It can't be.

He stood where he was, too stunned to move, at least physically. His mind had already flown back, fifteen years back, to another night like this one, a night that was no longer dark but filled with the light of leaping orange flames — the house with its side caved in as if it had been kicked by a massive foot, the choking cloud of dust and plaster that burned his throat, stinging his eyes as he crawled through broken slabs of rubble towards the sound of a baby crying -

and over it all that deadly greenish-black cloud, its shape unmistakable, as it was unmistakable now:

A skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth, its dead black eye sockets filled with stars.

The Dark Mark.

References:

1) The section that begins "Harry, Draco tried to say, but his own voice made no sound" and ends "He was looking at Harry's parents" is inspired by passages from Pamela Dean's book The Hidden Land (pp 144-46), Phillip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass, and The Odyssey, chapter Eleven: "Odysseus Meets the Shades of the Dead."

2) "You died. I think the words 'I told you so' are a tad redundant at this juncture." — Buffy.

3) " Standing on a hilltop during a lightning storm wearing a wet suit of armor and yelling 'All gods are bastards!' at the top of your lungs. - Terry Prachett.

4) " I've come to regard you as someone…as someone…someone that I've met." — Red Dwarf.

5) “I never thought death had undone so many” — The Waste Land, TS Eliot.

a fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi

"Enervate."

Hermione swam up through blind darkness, blinked her eyes open, and saw more darkness. She cried out in a muffled voice, and the darkness vanished, replaced by pale yellow light and an anxious face bending over her. It was Sirius, holding a damp cloth in one hand. "Hermione," he said. "Are you all right? Do you know who I am?"

She nodded, feeling sharp pain blossom behind her eyes as she did so. Slowly, her senses began to register her surroundings: she was lying on a couch in the Weasley living room, and there was a blanket over her. "Harry," she whispered. "Draco? The others…?"

"Ron and Ginny are still unconscious," said Sirius, not quite meeting her eyes. "They were hit with Stunning spells, like you were." He hesitated. "Neither Draco nor Harry are here. Hermione, what happened?"

Tears burst from her eyes. "They're not here? Where are they?"

"I don't know."

"Sirius, they could be-"

Sirius held up a hand. "They're not dead," he said. "Harry, at least, is fine, and I can't imagine that whoever took them would have killed Draco and left Harry alive."

"How do you know Harry's fine?"

Sirius leaned forward and pulled up his right-hand sleeve. On his wrist was a flat silver bracelet Hermione vaguely remembered having seen before. In it was set a dark red stone that gleamed the way Crookshanks' eyes gleamed when the light hit them right.

Leaning closer, Hermione could see that this effect came from a brilliant point of light inside the gem itself. "I Charmed this bracelet a while ago, just using some hair I took from Harry while he was sleeping. It's a simple Vivicus charm. As long as the gem glows steadily, Harry is alive and healthy." He smiled at Hermione — not a real smile, she knew, but he meant it to comfort her, and she appreciated that. "My Auror training was not entirely wasted, it seems."

Hermione shut her eyes, trying to think through the pain in her head, which beat in steady pulses that said plaintively: Harry-Draco-Harry. "Where's Narcissa?" she whispered. "And why haven't you woken up Ron and Ginny?"

"Narcissa Apparated to the Ministry to alert the Weasleys — they should be here any second. And I haven't woken up Ron and Ginny, Hermione, because — because Charlie is dead."

That brought Hermione into a sitting position, despite the shooting pain in her head. "Dead? Charlie?"

Sirius nodded, his face drawn and somber. "We found his body in the kitchen. Someone hit him with the Killing Curse." He paused.

"Hermione — who was it? What happened?"

Hermione shook her head, bewildered. Charlie wasn't dead, he couldn't be dead, it didn't make any sense; there was something wrong, something very, very wrong, a piece of the puzzle that didn't fit- Hermione's right hand went up automatically and closed around the Lycanthe. Immediately she felt calmer, more able to breathe normally. She looked up at Sirius, saw the grief in his face, the terrible worry.

"Sirius," she said. "Let me tell you what happened."

*** Four hours earlier.***

Staring after Ginny as she raced out of the kitchen to fetch Draco, Ron shook his head. "I don't get what she sees in him," he said grimly, glaring down at his milk. "I just don't get it."

Hermione looked as if she was about to say something, then returned hastily to her book.

"Ron, you don't know anything's going on between them. Maybe they're just friends," said Harry diplomatically.

Ron looked over at Charlie where he stood at the stove. "What do you think?"

Charlie shrugged. "It's Ginny's business, isn't it?"

Ron tapped his finger impatiently on the table. "Come on, Hermione, you're both girls. She must have said something to you about Draco."

Hermione didn't look up from her book. "She said he's a Viking in the sack."

Ron choked on his milk.

Hermione looked up and grinned. "Just kidding." She returned to Lives of the Hogwarts Founders. "Ginny's never said anything to me about Draco. Yeah, I think she likes him. Does he like her back? I don't know. He's been pretty busy lately, so I think his mind is on other things besides girls. On the other hand," she added, "this is Draco we're talking about, so maybe not."