Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Oath Breaker ❯ Lake Destroyed ( Chapter 22 )

Part 22

Flanked by several Slytherins, Ron and Hermione stepped into the common room, both of them holding their wands in their hands. When he saw that, Draco leaned a little closer to Harry, and the movement caught both of the Gryffindors' attention. Hermione frowned as she tried to understand what it meant, and while Draco didn't think Ron understood either, no doubt the pureblood thought that Malfoy had done something to Harry. For several seconds, everyone froze. Although every Slytherin knew that Harry belonged to Draco now, no one knew how the Gryffindors would take that revelation. Dozens of dark wizards and witches tensed, hands ready to grasp wands and fire a thousand curses to defend one of their own.

Despite his own feelings about them, Draco hoped that Harry's friends didn't do anything stupid like attack. When neither of them moved and the tension grew even thicker, he found his lip curling in impatience. What a wonderful relief that familiar emotion was. He could hide his cowardice behind a veneer of disdain.

"You're amongst serpents," he said to them. "Even lions would do well to tread carefully."

Behind the two, Theo visibly relaxed. The whole house seemed to let out a thankful sigh. Draco knew why. They wanted his leadership, but not if he was on the verge of panic. At least now he'd managed to get a hold of himself.

"What have you done to him?" Ron asked, sounding as if he'd fight despite being surrounded.

"You mean Pomfrey and Dumbledore really managed to keep this a secret?" Harry asked.

"Keep what a secret?" Hermione asked.

"I asked you a question, Malfoy," Ron said, stepping closer. "If you've hurt him--"

"Oh, be quiet," Pansy cut him off, stepping up behind Draco's seat and flanking him like a bodyguard. "We're the ones with a real grievance against your house, after what Potter did."

Draco raised one hand as if to quiet her, and he held his smile as she crossed her arms and stood still. His other Slytherins stood either at the door or seated themselves around him, creating a court-like atmosphere. It wasn't at all intentional, merely the result of living so close for so long, but it gave them an air of strength, something they desperately needed if they were to deal with Hogwarts.

He almost laughed. He'd felt so alienated from them, and yet he found himself fitting easily in their midst.

"I think we can forgive Harry's transgression ," he said, as if speaking to Pansy. "It had such a happy outcome, after all."

If Harry felt that was a cheap shot, he kept it to himself. Draco wondered if he was feeling guilty or just didn't want to start arguing in front of his friends.

"I won't ask you again," Ron growled in warning, shrugging off Hermione's arm when she tried to hold him.

"I suppose the way you see things," Draco said, "I forced Harry to rip into my head and drag out my true feelings for him. Yes, it still hurts, and no, I cast no dark spells on him."

"Draco," Harry whispered sharply. "They're here to talk, not fight."

"If they're going to come in here with nothing but accusations, I don't see why we should bother."

"Harry said we needed to talk," Hermione said, shooting Ron a look when he seemed ready to mouth off again. "And obviously we do. Besides, we've already come down here, and that wasn't easy. Our whole house thought we were mad, walking out with Slytherins like an armed escort."

"They did that for their protection," Draco said. "You can't honestly tell me that you'd feel safe in Hogwarts if you were a Slytherin."

"If I was a Slytherin," she said, "I don't think I'd feel safe anywhere right now."

His eyes narrowed as he searched for any hint of sarcasm in her voice. When he found none, he sighed once and waved at the couch next to them. "Have a seat. We're probably going to be at this for awhile."

"At what?" Ron asked, still glaring as he sat down. "And I still want an explanation for why you two are holding hands."

Draco opened his mouth to answer but froze, his voice suddenly unwilling to work. Because I love him and he loves me, he wanted to say, but he'd only just admitted that to himself. Admitting that to a room full of people was ten times harder, even if they already knew.

"I love him, Ron," Harry said, meeting his friend's eyes dead on. "And he loves me."

To Draco's surprise, Ron fell absolutely silent while Hermione squeaked.

"You mean," she said, one hand against her mouth, "every time you two were alone, you were--?" She couldn't bring herself to finish that thought, blushing as she crossed her fingers.

"Of course not," Draco snapped. "Maybe you don't mind rampant--"

He quieted as Harry squeezed his hand, but he glared, ready to snap at him for interrupting. Then he noticed Harry's wary expression and followed his look to Ron, who had yet to do anything but stare at them both. The room grew tense as everyone waited for Ron to act, and as the time stretched, Draco wondered if Ron was as stupid as he always thought. The Gryffindor looked ready to fight, den of Slytherins or not.

And then Ron started to laugh. The sound was not pleasant. Derisive, it reminded Draco of the mocking taunts of a mob gathered around a stake.

"Him? This dark little snake?" He snorted and looked over Draco as if looking for something to like. "Don't know if anyone told you, Malfoy, but Harry doesn't go for cowards. You'll have to lie better than that."

Draco schooled his face not to flinch. It wasn't the first time his cowardice had been thrown in his face, but said while he sat next to Harry, worse, to hear it from an outsider, made him itch for a fight.

"We're not lying," Harry insisted.

"You've been given a love potion," Ron said with a smile. "Or a love charm. But don't worry, Dumbledore'll put a stop to that. Everyone saw us come down here, so even if they--" he nodded at the Slytherins "--try anything, they'll still get caught. Thank Merlin. You and that bastard, that's a laugh--"

"Shut up!" Harry snarled. "You might not want to believe it, but it's true."

""Don't be stupid," Ron growled, coming to his feet. "He's dark! They can't love, they only know how to fake it with potions--"

"I looked into his mind," Harry said, satisfied when Ron's jaw snapped shut.

When no one else spoke, Draco winced and lowered his head. His Slytherins weren't stupid. They knew that must have happened when Harry chased him out of the common room. And they all knew how hurt he'd been after, left so weak from the mental attack that Severus had to carry him. He hoped they all had the good sense not to bring up the fact that Harry had to drag the truth out of his reluctant thoughts.

"Harry," Hermione finally ventured. "Have you gotten better control over your legilimency?"

"Um...not really."

Hermione winced. "Then you must have hurt him--"

"Whatever happened is between him and me," Draco said. "And I see no reason to discuss it. With anyone," he added for his Slytherins.

"Then why'd you bring us here?" Ron said lowly. "To gloat?"

Draco opened his mouth to do just that, but Harry's hand fell on his shoulder again. They couldn't afford to alienate potential allies. He took a breath to calm himself.

"No," Draco said. "We asked you here because we hope that, no matter how much you hate us, you would rather not see war between the houses."

"We don't hate you," Hermione said, ignoring Ron's snort. "It's just...you're all so difficult. You're mean to everyone. And if half of what those books said about dark magic is true--"

"Some of it is," Draco said. "It's true about night rides and cross-breeding and killing muggles. But tell me, did your books tell you anything about our point of view?"

"You mean what you told me in the library?" she asked, shaking her head. "They really do make themselves out to be blameless."

"And we are!" Ron said. "We've been defending ourselves from them for centuries. You heard him, they're all killers and monsters."

"Then why did you say you'd help him," Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes. "'Gryffindor will honor that trust', what happened to that?"

"'Cause he was helping us against You-Know-Who," Ron said. "And his house burned down and his parents are dead and--we couldn't just toss him out, it would've been heartless."

Draco closed his eyes for a moment. His parents were not dead, he simply could not believe that, but hearing Weasely say it seemed to make it real for a moment.

"'Sides," Ron continued, "enemy of my enemy and all that."

"But what about after the war--" Hermione's started, but her voice faded when Draco waved her down.

"After the war can wait," he said. "We need to win the war first, and for that we need to be sure that we won't be cut down just because Harry loves me."

Looking like he was being forced to swallow something extremely sour, Ron leaned back in his chair and stared at Harry. "You really love the little bastard?"

"Hey--!"

"Yes," Harry answered.

"Even after all the horrible things he's put us through? After nearly getting Buckbeak killed, the inquisitorial squad, all that?"

"After he saved my life and shared his secrets," Harry said. "I know he loves me, Ron, and I'll stop anyone who tries to hurt him."

Again, silence as Ron thought it over. After a moment, he glanced at Harry from the corner of his eye.

"Will you let me cast finite incantatem on you?"

Everyone stiffened except Harry, who didn't seem to notice. "And then you'll believe I'm telling the truth?"

"I'll believe you're not under a spell." Ron sighed. "I guess that's the best I can hope for."

"Fine," Harry said, standing up.

Ron stood up with him, then froze as every single Slytherin drew their wands and held them at the ready. Draco aimed his wand at Ron's chest, the slender bit of wood shaking in his hand.

"If I hear anything other than that spell," he hissed, "it will take you years to die."

Nothing else needed to be said. Ron didn't even argue. Moving extremely slowly, Ron drew out his wand and aimed it at Harry, trying not to stutter as he cast a finite incantatem at his friend. The spell washed over Harry and faded almost immediately, and despite themselves, the Slytherins all leaned forward to hear what Harry would say, their wands slowly lowering back to the ground.

"You still love him?" Ron asked.

"Yup," Harry nodded. "Satisfied?"

"You're sure he's not using a potion or charm or something?"

"Ron--" Harry snapped.

"Okay, okay," Ron said, sitting back down. "You're both poofs. I'm convinced."

Ron's voice faded away as Draco grabbed Harry's arm as he sat down again, tugging him up against his side. His hands shook and he couldn't hang on very tight, but he did manage to dig his fingers into Harry's skin.

"Never let someone point a wand at you ever again," Draco whispered. "Ever."

"It's all right," Harry said, wincing as Draco clutched too tightly, but he didn't try to push him off. "I'm fine. We're all fine. Hermione and Ron believe us and they'll help us now. Right?"

"Right," Hermione nodded, nudging Ron with her elbow to make him nod. "If we want to win this war, interhouse unity is a must."

"I don't care if the three houses work with us," Draco said, turning his head just enough to see her out of the corner of his eye. "Can you keep them from trying to kill me or Harry for this?"

Hermione started to answer, but she paused in surprise as Ron leaned forward to answer instead.

"It won't be easy," he said bluntly. "They don't know Harry like we do. They once thought he was the heir to Slytherin and a dark wizard himself. It'll be easy for them to go right back to thinking that."

"Not all of them," Hermione murmured, but she didn't sound confident.

"I'm not saying it can't be done," Ron said. "The muggleborns'll believe us fairly easily. But this is politics of blood, Malfoy, and you know how hard it is to change pureblood minds."

Draco reflected on his own conversion from loyal believer of Voldemort to a Knight of Walpurgis flying through a frozen sky. Changing a pureblood mind wasn't impossible, but it usually required a lot of pain and fear first.

There wasn't much to say after that. Draco remained silent while Harry thanked his friends for their help and walked with them up the stairs again, talking in hushed whispers that still carried through the cavernous common room. Without the threat of a potential fight, the tension in the room eased and the Slytherins started to relax, speaking with each other about what their next move might be. Draco listened to their thoughts for awhile, ideas of barricading themselves in their house, of escaping Hogwarts in the dead of night and flying to the continent, even the drastic suggestion of coming out of the common room and trying to reason with the other students.

Everything was up in the air and he didn't want to think about it. Not being able to change anything or even decide what to do tangled a knot of anxiety in his stomach. He had to get up, move, anything to work out this nervous energy. He stood and walked over to Harry, ignoring his Slytherins' curious glances.

Just as he reached the top step, a powerful blast like a thousand cannons shook the dungeons so hard that Draco was thrown to the floor. No one had time to scream as they were sent tumbling. As he pushed himself to his knees, Draco wondered if the strange noise had done something to his ears because he thought he could still hear its rumbling. After a moment, the rumbling grew steadily louder and he felt the floor vibrating beneath him.

"What the hell?" Ron got to his feet and looked down the long corridor. "Sounded like something exploded."

"Ron," Hermione whispered, her voice nearly lost in the growing echoes. "Something's coming."

"Draco!"

Suspecting what he would see, Draco turned and spotted Pansy by the huge glass window to the lake. Instead of the normal view of placid fish and dappled sunlight, strong currents pulled fish and merfolk and everything else in the lake, uprooting plants and hurling huge stones all in one direction. Like a window to a hurricane, he watched the lake swirl violently, growing dark with disturbed mud.

He grabbed his wand and pointed it at Ron and Hermione as they stared in shock down the hall. Waving them back inside, he had just enough time to see the wall of water crashing towards them before the door slammed shut. The wall shuddered as the wave struck it and passed, but Draco had no doubt that the dungeons were now flooded to the ceilings.

"It's started," he whispered.

Filch's runes was his first thought. They must have missed some of what he'd drawn, the little markers that would key certain areas to explode. They were cut off from the rest of the castle. He wondered how high the water would rise through the school or if anyone would be able to come for them.

But perhaps they were safe. Filch had been drawing on their door when he was caught. Voldemort had meant for their common room door to explode when the walls between them and the lake did, drowning them all in one fell swoop. He frowned. No, that was too easy. Voldemort had weeks after Filch's capture to alter his plans. There had to be something else.

He glanced over his shoulder. The glass had no cracks. No one had been allowed inside their house who wasn't trusted. He looked back at the door, a wall of stone that only opened with magic. Swallowing once, he touched his fingertips to the surface. The door was damp and drops were beginning to coalesce.

Somehow the water was eating through the magic in the door. He didn't think it would take very long before they drowned anyway.

Only now did he hear people screaming and yelling at each other. Walking by Slytherins accusing Gryffindors and other Slytherins babbling in confusion, he grabbed Pansy's shoulders and gave her a quick shake to cut off her questions.

"Get the children," he told her. "Bring everyone here."

"But Draco, what--?"

"Just go!" he hissed, almost throwing her towards the bedrooms. The push was all she needed and she ran into the darkness.

That left him with a room full of noise. He looked around at the handful of Slytherins who'd curled up in a corner, trying to make themselves as small as possible. How tempting that was, to simply close his eyes and pretend none of this was going on, hoping someone else would save them. But he knew better than to believe that anyone was coming to help, and the thought of drowning in the dark scared him so much that he couldn't trust anyone to rescue him better than he could rescue himself.

"Fyria raebaena!"

The bright ribbon flashed through the air and exploded in a shower of sparks that caught everyone's attention, but he knew their silence wouldn't last long.

"Shut up!" he yelled. "Quit acting like Hufflepuffs. You're not going to drown just yet. With any luck, we'll be out of here in a few moments."

A yelp of surprise came from the door as one of the girls noticed water starting to trickle in. "Oh God, it's not stopping--"

"I bloody know!" Draco snapped. "But if I'm not panicking, you damn well don't have an excuse."

"You have a plan?" another girl asked.

He nodded once. "Potter," he said, reverting to the familiar aloof last name. He couldn't afford to let himself panic and the name Harry triggered too many emotions to risk it. "Does the Gryffindor common room have a fire place?"

"What? Yes, of course--"

"Is it connected?"

"What do you mean?" Harry walked towards him, not understanding. "I talked through it before--"

"But can you floo--oh never mind." Draco summoned a bottle out of the cabinets, breaking the door in the process. "Blaise, get over here!"

Still nervously watching the door, Blaise hurried over with one of the children in his arms. Draco set the bottle on the floor and took the girl out of Blaise's arms, pushing her into Harry's without a look.

"Blaise, listen. You have to floo to Gryffindor."

"What?!" The Slytherin stared at him in shock. "That's impossible."

"They're fireplaces, aren't they? It's our only way out."

"But no one's ever done that! Don't you think the Weasely twins would've tried it?"

"Blaise--"

"We don't even know if they're hooked up to the network--"

"Potter says he's spoken through the Gryffindor fireplace, so they must be linked, at least to each other. Hell, Dumbledore might've done something the moment we flooded. It's our only way out."

"Why me?" Blaise demanded. "You came up with it, you try it."

"Think, dammit," Draco said. "What would those Gryffindors do if I came tumbling out of their fireplace? They'd hex me! But they'll listen to you."

"But--"

"There's no time," Draco said, holding the bottle of what was now obviously floo powder to him. "Go. The children are coming right behind you."

Looking like he still wanted to argue, Blaise grabbed a handful of powder and stood in the fireplace. With his eyes shut tight, he held his hand up.

"Oh God please, Gryffindor!" And he flung down his handful. Flames shot up around him as he disappeared.

"He didn't burn to death," Draco said to himself. "Good. That means it's open. Pansy--"

She beat him to it, bringing the children up youngest first, making them take a handful of powder and sternly ordering them to say Gryffindor through their tears or else she'd smack them.

A soft pop from the door made him whirl, afraid that the water had suddenly broken through. To his relief, Granger was kneeling beside the growing puddle as something smoked on the floor in front of her.

"This is bad," she declared, looking at him. "I tried drying it up, but it just ate the spell. I think it eats magic."

"I guess that means bubble charms are out," Ron said. "We won't be walking out of here."

Draco looked over his Slytherins. There were so many of them that he knew they wouldn't all be able to floo before the water reached the fireplace and destroyed the magic inside. He aimed his wand at the mattresses and blankets piled along the walls and toppled them over.

"Help me make a barricade," he said, pushing the first mattress up against the door. A moment later the Gryffindors and a few of the older Slytherins were moving anything that wasn't bolted down, bookcases overturned and couches tipped over to absorb the growing puddle and give them a few extra seconds.

"Weasley, Granger," Draco said. "You'd better go."

"I'm not leaving--" Ron started angrily.

"This isn't about being brave," Draco cut him off. "There are dozens of Slytherins invading Gryffindor right now, and Blaise is probably up against a wall with a hundred wands pointing at him."

"He's right," Hermione said. "Ron, this might not be the only attack. You need to go back. Everyone will listen to you."

"I can't leave you here--"

"They might need me," Hermione said. "And besides, there's only so much time. I couldn't go knowing I took some child's spot."

Torn and not knowing how to argue her out of her, Ron cast a desperate look at Harry.

"Sorry," Harry said. "But she's right. You've got to go."

Hesitating just a moment longer, Ron finally yelled in frustration and went to the fireplace. The Slytherins were up to third years, and they made a space for him in line so that his departure would waste no time. A few seconds later, he was gone.

With the only sound in the room coming from each escaping student, they all gradually became aware of the growing noise of water splashing behind the barricade of furniture. It pooled out from under the couches and made its way across the blankets that did little to sop it up. Draco winced.

"Who's crossbred with something that can swim?"

No one answered at first. Secretive creatures by nature, dark wizards hid their crossbreeding from each other, sometimes for no other reason than embarrassment.

"I'm half selkie," Vincent finally said.

Pansy hesitated before answering. "Half siren. So's May and Daphne."

"Half mer," Nott admitted, crossing his arms.

"No one else?" Draco asked. No answer. "Then we're the last to go."

They all grimaced but didn't argue.

Alarmed at the reality that some of them would not be leaving dry, the students tried to disappear faster, slurring the word Gryffindor so that Draco had to hope they were going to the right place. Now the rugs were slowing the advancing water. Everyone watched it creep towards the fireplace with nothing else to get in its way. The sixth years finished and then it was the seventh years. Nott gathered up several of the books that had fallen when they moved the shelves and lined them up in a half-crescent wall around the fireplace. It bought them a few more seconds and they all gathered close. Draco started to hope that they might all be able to floo out.

A loud crack of stone breaking made him close his eyes. Too late, he thought again as the force of the released water threw aside the make-shift barrier and came towards them like an avalanche. The torches blinked out and the room went black. Hermione screamed and somehow Harry found Draco, wrapping him up in his arms as if he could protect him with his body.

Bracing himself for the impact, Draco slowly relaxed as he felt the water swirl around his feet and lap up against him but rise no further. Hermione cast a lumos spell and held her wand up high, but the light barely cast a small glow around them. Draco had to squint to see who was left. Theo, Harry, Hermione, Vincent--he froze.

Water filled half of the common room with the furniture floating around in front of the door. Although most of it had been stopped, some of it covered the entire floor, and now that he could see, he noticed that it was still flowing in, only at a much slower rate. A table and half of a couch had been shoved at them with such force that they had cracked the window behind them, only narrowing missing smashing the three girls standing with their hands clasped so tight that they trembled but never wavered as they sang.

"Wirds dauncen en ath, ic sawol claspen to ic sang." Less like a song than a chant, Pansy stared with wide eyes at the water she and her reduced gang of girls held at bay. "Daunciers vindr an wæter, auncien honos treysta. Wirds dauncen en ath..." Over and over, they repeated the words endlessly, their voices combining into one. May and Daphne huddled close to her, refusing to open their eyes.

"Why are we still alive?" Harry whispered.

"Sirens can summon up waves," Hermione said softly, afraid to speak and distract the three. "I guess they can force them back, too."

"But not forever," Theo said. He glanced at Draco while he undid the top of his robes. "I take it we're swimming out of here?"

"We'll see how long they can sing," Draco said, "but we'll probably end up swimming part of the way." He undid his own robes as he sank to the floor.

"Draco, wait," Harry said. "Let me carry you. The water's too cold--"

"Pretty warm, actually," Draco said. "Must be all the magic it's swallowing. I won't be comfortable, but I don't think I'll freeze to death."

He took a deep breath and summoned his transformation much as he had when he first turned into a snake with wings. Once again his skin felt like pins and needles, and he winced as he forced his legs to merge and his scales to form faster than before. His body flailed at the sudden sensory overload and he fell totally into the water, trying to rush it along.

When it was over, he pushed himself back up and leaned against the closest thing, Harry's feet, panting from exertion as he curled his tail beneath himself. His hair straggled over his face and he gingerly pulled them aside with his claws.

"Let me," Harry murmured, kneeling beside him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Draco's ribbon, using it to tie his hair back. "You forgot it on the nightstand."

Draco half-smiled. "You're so calm. I guess you're used to fighting for your life."

"Just a little."

"You two done?" Theo asked, sitting on the broken sofa. He could sit on it without breaking it now that his body was thinner, almost gaunt. His unnaturally wide eyes didn't blink but shimmered with a protective film. Webbing lined his hands and feet and gills breathed gently on his sides. "I'd like to go now."

"Vincent," Draco said, "you'd better change. Stay near Pansy in case they need help. You too, Theo. Harry and Granger can hang onto me if the water gets too deep but I want those girls singing as long as they can. Once you've changed, we go."

"Are you sure we're the only ones left?" Hermione asked, looking like she'd wade through the dormitories to make sure.

"There's no time to check," Theo said.

"But everything happened so fast--children hide when they're scared--"

"You've never been in our house, Granger," Draco said, balling his robes up and tying the sleeves around his waist. "The halls are dark and serpentine. We'd drown long before we found anyone."

"If anyone's left, they have to save themselves," Vincent added as he slid his bulk free from his clothes. His weight, too heavy for a human, made for a reasonably healthy seal. His transformation didn't stop the way Draco's did, though. Brown fur continued to cover his shoulders while his arms pulled in to make flippers. A few whiskers and one black nose later and Vincent could no longer speak, barking once and flashing a set of very sharp teeth.

"He's actually kind of cute," Hermione said despite the water creeping up her legs. She spotted his wand lying amongst his clothes and bundled it up, tucking it under her arm.

Taking a deep breath, Draco crawled forward and eased into the deeper water until his tail no longer dragged on the floor but undulated behind him, helping him move through the water like a true serpent. For a moment he forgot the deadly threat beyond the door in his newfound weightlessness and grace. Even the darkness became a comfort as his eyes adjusted more than he'd ever thought possible. The flooded and silent dungeons became damp caverns that felt like home.

"When I rebuild the manor," he vowed, "I'm adding a pool."

One by one, he pushed the bobbing furniture out of the way and cleared a path for Pansy to slowly follow after him. Hermione and Harry walked in front of her to keep the heavy bookcases from hitting her or Daphne or May as they waded into the deeper water. Her girls whimpered in their chant as the water rose up over their hips, but with each step the water flowed around them and filled the space they'd just left, leaving them only half-submerged. Vincent swam beside them while Theo brought up the rear, his eyes reflecting in the faint darkness.

"Can you keep that wand above water?" Draco asked Hermione.

"I think so," she said.

They came out into the main hall. Now the siren song revealed its full potency, pushing the water out in all directions so that the level lowered as far as they could see. Aside from the constant chant, they heard water dripping from the ceiling and snuffed torches and the echoes of their own breathing.

"Look at all the bodies," Harry said, pushing a dead grindylow out of his way. Lifeless fish floated on the surface alongside uprooted plants and merfolk.

"I hope they're just bodies," Draco replied. He looked up and down the hall, knowing that if they made a wrong turn, the castle wouldn't be able to change the walls for him. "This way."

Several minutes passed as they waded through the dark corridors. Occasionally Draco would ask Theo's opinion of which way to go, but neither could be sure with every wall covered with slime and silt and every corner hidden in darkness. A route that they both could have run in a few moments and would have sworn they could run blindfolded now became a labyrinth without end.

The force of the initial blast of water ultimately saved them. Draco spotted a door floating not far away and swam closer, diving under the bodies for a moment until he got close enough to surface. When he recognized what it went to, he grinned and looked around in excitement.

"It's our door to the kitchen," he called back to them. "The one to the ladder."

He swam along the walls for a few seconds, ignoring Harry's worried cry to come back, coming back up when he discovered the exposed passage and the ladder leading up and into the kitchen. He looked inside and saw that the trap door had also been broken off, leaving their way inside clear.

"Found it!" he cried. "Vincent, change back so you can climb."

"Think the kitchen was flooded?" Theo asked as they waded closer.

"If it was, it's clear now," Draco said. "Go on up."

"Wait, Pansy should--"

Draco shook his head. "They have to go last or the water'll sweep us away. Go make sure it's safe."

With a reluctant grumble, Theo didn't waste anymore time arguing but climbed right up. Draco turned to tell Hermione to go next, but she went right after him, turning once she reached the top and holding her wand as low as she could so they could see.

Next went Vincent, his robe hastily draped over his shoulders. Not bothering to change since it would take too long, Draco swam behind Harry and put his arms around his neck, wrapping his tail around Harry's waist.

"Think you can carry me up?"

"No problem." Harry reached up to grab the first rung.

They were all swept off their feet before they realized something had hit them. Momentarily stunned, Draco blinked a few times before whipping his tail around and righting himself, swimming back to the surface. Water rushed around him in a strong current and he sank his claws into the wall, swimming against the waves as the water started to rise again. Harry cried out beside him, hands reaching for his. Draco caught his arm, but their skin was too slick. As Harry started to slide out of his grip, Draco panicked and drove his claws into Harry's arm. Harry cried out but didn't fight to get loose.

Over the violent crashing of water against the walls he heard screams replace the chanting and strained to see through the churning froth. White tentacles curled over the waves and snatched Pansy off the ladder as the water finally hit the ceiling again. Though his eyes could see underwater, the silt made it nearly impossible to see her fighting against the tentacle wrapped around her waist.

Draco tried to pull himself forward but the current still dragged everything by him, pelting him with bodies and shattered bits of stone. As some of the water cleared, he saw Pansy open her mouth in a scream that pierced the water as the squid moved to tear her in half.

Something bright red flashed in the water, striking the squid's side. To his surprise, the squid flinched. Either whatever force in the water that swallowed magic could no longer swallow any more or the will behind that spell was especially strong.

Hopefully both, he thought. The squid flinched as several more red bursts hit it, obviously weakened but still potent enough to cause pain. It let go of Pansy and drew its injured tentacle into itself, its eyes blinking rapidly. As it flailed, Draco finally got a good look at the large rune in the center of its head, pulsating with black and green light like a festering wound. Perhaps the rune itself allowed magic to work around it.

He saw Pansy's legs kicking frantically as she fought her way up into the tiny passageway, finally disappearing as the squid backed away. He hoped the other two girls had survived and realized he had no idea how to escape now.

Draco blinked. The squid wasn't backing away, it was coming towards him. With the kitchen cut off, he had to turn and swim in darkness, putting one arm around Harry's waist as he flew with the weakening current. It was only when he felt Harry's arm go slack around him that he remembered that Harry couldn't hold his breath the way he could.

He turned to look over his shoulder. Tears stung his eyes when the saw the squid gaining on them, its own eyes wide and unblinking, its body driving towards them with single-minded intent. Its rune provided the only light in the gloom. He swam as fast as he could, but his body had never been designed to run for long. He was more suited to hiding and cowering in the shadows, but even if it he could have transformed into a little snake again, he couldn't bring himself to let go of the boy in his arms.

While he was looking behind, he struck something hard beneath himself and tumbled up onto a wet stone floor. Delicate bones in his right arm broke and his scales tore on the rough surface. Harry was ripped from him by the impact but only by a few inches.

Whimpering in pain, Draco dragged himself across the floor and put his good arm around Harry, trying to pull him away from the water. Torchlight told him they'd come up beyond the flood's reach, but the water in front of them churned as the squid came closer, bursting from the surface and spreading its tentacles in all directions as it gained its balance.

There was no way he could run any more. Draco lay on top of Harry's prone body and curled his left hand's claws. As the squid came closer, extending a tentacle towards Harry's leg, Draco fell on it, slashing and biting when that wasn't enough. His teeth gouged through the soft skin and then ripped across the surface as it snatched its arm back, streaking his mouth with blood.

He knew he couldn't stop it forever, but by God, he would go down fighting.

"Sectumsempra!"

The squid fell back in a spray of blood, but not until it floated in two unmoving halves on the surface did Draco realize it was dead. In shock, he started to shiver and had only enough presence of mind to turn and watch as his master appeared next to them, kneeling next to Harry. Severus turned Harry on his side and pressed his wand against Harry's back, pushing hard with a short spell that sounded more like a bark than a word.

Harry violently coughed several mouthfuls of water from his lungs and took a choking breath as he lay on his back again.

"Draco, hold still," Snape commanded, singing his apprentice's bones back into place.

This time he had no pain killing potion and Draco bit his lip, his sharp teeth slashing his own mouth as his bones knitted. In a moment, that slash itself was healed and the rest of his injuries flicked away. The shock didn't fade but aside from the feeling that he might throw up and the fact that he couldn't stop shivering, Draco felt enough like himself to meet his master's eyes.

"Ch-children," he stammered. "Th-they--"

"They all arrived in Gryffindor," Snape said, drying off his hair and plucking off his own robe to put around Draco's shoulders. "And I will never call you stupid again. That was a stroke of genius."

Rare praise indeed, but he would savor it later. "It's all fl-flooded. Think P-Pansy got away, but th-the others--"

Footsteps interrupted him and he tried to turn, but his tail refused to cooperate. It twisted so that he slipped on the wet stone and fell sideways, just catching himself on his elbow. He abruptly tasted the squid's blood in his mouth and spit it out, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.

"Wyvern claws and teeth against a kraken," came a familiar voice. "My God, there's a little courage in this family after all."

As if to belie that, Draco refused to move, refused to believe that he wasn't hallucinating. Only when strong hands took his arms and helped him sit up again, when he saw the silver ring with its green serpent crest, did he let himself look up into his father's kind, arrogant eyes.

TBC...

Author's Notes:

1. betrothal from troth, from the Old English, tréowth, pledged fidelity or truth

2. fyria raebaena -- from old English fyr, fire, and old French riban, ribbon

3. wirds dauncen en ath
(word dance) song of our oath
ic sawol claspen to ic sang
my soul joins to our song
daunciers vindr an wæter
words of wind and water
auncien honos treysta
ancient honored trust