Title: Eyes of the Chosen
Author: Emcee
Summary: Dumbledore speaks to Derek, Harry and Hermione struggle to redefine their relationship, Remus recovers from the moon and Draco visits Professor Snape.
Author's Note: Thank-you to my muses, Rae and Fre and my beta and Pablo. This story is AU to "Order of the Phoenix". It is the sequel to Labyrinth of Illusion.

Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" and the characters, places and things related to it do not belong to me. They are from the brilliant mind of JK Rowling. They belong to her and her publishers. I am not making any profit from this fan fiction.

CHAPTER SEVEN
Unwanted Assignments

The circular office of Albus Dumbledore was the most intimidating room in Hogwarts School. Considering how easy going the Headmaster was with the students, it was always surprising to him to find out how scared students were to be there.

As Albus watched the young boy enter his office, it had never been more evident.

Albus had seen him the day he was born, dubbed 'Thagari' by his mother. In private, later, still tired from giving birth, she told him the name was but Romany custom. His true name was to be the one his father had requested-- Derek.

Albus saw him few times between that day and the day he started to Hogwarts. His business with the Romany was spotty at best and rarely did Derek's mother venture out of the camp.

When he arrived, he showed all of the signs of a boy kept hidden from the world by his over-protective mother. The pity of Cedric Diggory, which grew into friendship, helped bring Derek out of his shell. With Diggory's death, he had retreated back in.

He was staring at Albus with light grey eyes-- eyes Albus was so used to seeing filled with pride and bravado-- and appeared absolutely terrified.

"Thank you for coming," Albus flicked his wand, pulling out the chair in front of his desk. "Please, sit down, Derek. I would like to have a few words with you."

Derek slid into the seat, crouching down, slumping his shoulders. He did everything he could to make himself as compact as he could, which was hard considering he was nearly six feet tall. "O-okay. Is th-th-this a-about yesterday?"

"I think you know it is." Albus surveyed Derek over his half-moon spectacles. Derek's slender hands were trembling slight.

"I-I sh-shouldn't have t-talked t-to Harry?"

Albus nodded, rising. He began to pace behind his desk. "Derek, I can understand your reasons for wanting to talk to Harry. He had a connection you have always been missing. But you know, many efforts have been put into place to hide you. Not just to protect you, but your mother, your sister and your father."

"Why should I protect him when he has done nothing for me?" Derek's voice was a rasping bark. Albus pulled back, surprised at the ferocity. He had never heard Derek utter a word without a stammer.

"You want to know him, that's why you spoke to Harry. Derek, your father wishes to know you so badly. But... He's on the run. He can't be a father to you."

"But he can be one to Harry?" Derek drew himself to full height, taller than Dumbledore. "It's not fair!"

"Life is rarely fair, Derek. If life were fair, your father would never have been taken from you. If life were fair, Harry's parents would be alive so he wouldn't need your father as a surrogate. If life were fair, Voldemort would never have existed. That is not the way the world works." Dumbledore sat back down. "Things will come in time... Be patient."

"Th-that's n-n-not th-the only r-r-reason I'm h-here, is it?" Derek chewed on his lower lip.

"I'm afraid it's not. There has been a tragedy."

****

Remus rubbed his eyes, awakening in Sakura's room. He blinked, trying to adjust to the dim light. "Oh Merlin..." His voice was rough. "I hate transformation without the Wolfsbane... Having this huge block of memory unaccounted for always drives me batty."

Sakura fluffed his pillow, then went to the bedside table. She picked up a goblet, holding it out to Remus. "Drink this."

Blinking, Remus hesitantly reached out.

"It's water." Sakura moved it closer to his hand.

Remus tipped the goblet, draining it. He winced, smoke billowing from his ears. "Liar."

"Pepper-Up. Madame Pomfrey's orders." Sakura took the goblet back. "It's for your own good."

"Why is everything that's good for me disgusting?" He coughed. "What time is it?"

"Two o'clock in the afternoon." She touched his forehead, brushing stray locks of greying hair off his face. "The students have arrived from the station. You were asleep when I came into the Shack. I didn't have the heart to wake you."

"I think last night was a bad night," Remus rubbed his eyes. "I can't remember though."

"You were up all night howling. I heard you. I bet everyone in Scotland heard you." Sakura sat at his bedside. "You get good volume. Are you still tired?"

"Not at all," Remus muttered, his eyes half-closed. "Okay, I'm lying. I want to be caught up on everything I missed. Is Sirius back?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, he's not. We got an owl from him last night. He's with Machka, perfectly fine. He did mention they've had a few rows."

"That's to be expected," Remus snuggled into his pillow. "Those two fought like cats and dogs long before Sirius was accused of murder."

"I remember," Sakura replied. "They never knew how to take the easy route."

"I think they had too much fun making up." Remus smiled. "I dimly recall how that feels."

Sakura stood slowly. "I should let you rest."

Remus reached out, grabbing her wrist. "Stay. I don't want to be alone."

"You should go back to sleep." Sakura caressed Remus' hand, his grip growing weaker.

"Please. I just want to talk."

Sakura sat back down beside him. "And soon it will be 'I just want to hold you'."

"No," Remus opened his eyes, smiling weakly. "It will be 'I just want a friend'."

Sighing, Sakura shifted, lying beside Remus. She draped her arm over his stomach. "Harry is a mess. I saw him before I got you out of the Shack."

"What's wrong?" Remus sat up quickly. He groaned, falling back against his pillow.

"Don't be stupid, Remus," Sakura muttered. "He'll be fine. He needs to give himself time to heal. He has to realise he won't get over Yasha's control in one day."

"That sounds like a certain someone I know," Remus touched Sakura's cheek.

"I know, I know." Sakura rested her head on Remus' chest. "You're supposed to be sleeping."

"May I ask you something?" Remus opened his eyes partially. "Why did you come to get me from the Shack? I didn't realise you knew the way in."

"Madame Pomfrey told me." Sakura smiled. "I wanted... I wanted to take care of you."

Remus put an arm around her. "You always fancied yourself my personal healer." He then grinned, "So why aren't you wearing nurse's robes?"

Sakura gaped. "Someone has been hanging out with Sirius Black for too long." She gave Remus a jab in the side.

"No, this is all me." Remus rubbed her back. "Fourteen years of travelling by foot and fighting the Dark Arts have not hurt your figure at all."

"How do you feel about me in Professor's robes?" Sakura sighed again.

"Hmmm." Remus yawned. "Not as good as a schoolgirl uniform."

"I'm serious. Dumbledore wants me to take over Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"You?" Remus gave a tiny chuckle. "You better get over your fear of kids, my dear Sakura. They'll eat you alive if you don't."

Sakura scowled. "Oh, thanks."

But Remus was already asleep.

****

Ron let himself be hugged one last time by his mother. He felt his ears flushing pink with embarrassment as Fred and George snickered behind them. Neither of them had been hugged by Molly five times.

"Mum." Ron pulled away. Despite the embarrassment, the fact his mum was so worried about him filled his heart. It made him realise how wrong his nightmare had been. "I'm going to be fine. You don't have to worry. Madame Pomfrey says I can even start classes tomorrow with the rest of the students. Just my luck, huh? Spend my whole holiday getting tortured and then recuperating, being better just in time for the start of classes."

"You could use those classes, Ronald Weasley," Molly admonished him. "Your OWLs are coming up. You need all the studying you can get."

"Molly, please," Arthur, put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "I'm sure he'll do fine, just as long as he stays out of trouble. You will be avoiding entanglements, won't you, Ron?"

"As much as I can," Ron replied feebly. "Trouble tends to find me."

"I will keep an eye on them," Dumbledore interjected. He had been watching the good-byes between the Weasleys. "However, knowing your family." He cast his gaze over Ron, Fred, George and Ginny. "They will turn up danger no matter what I do."


"Thank you, Dumbledore." Arthur shook his hand vigorously. "I will contact my associate in Romany relations for you."

"Thank you very much, Arthur. You two have a safe journey home."

With one last kiss on the cheek from Molly to each of her children, she and Arthur both exited the school. Dumbledore gave the Weasley children an appraising look. "I suspect you four wish to speak about Ronald's experience now that the parental eyes are off you. I shall leave you to it." He tipped his hand and left.

George, Fred and Ginny then turned on Ron, firing a million questions at him.

"Did you really face a full grown dragon?"

"Forget the dragon! Did you see You-Know-Who?"

"Did Miss Tsukino really kick your arse?"

"Fred! That's mean! Were you scared, Ron?"

"Hermione said something about your worst fears... What was it?"

Ron sighed, taking in his siblings questions. "Yes. No. It wasn't Miss Tsukino, it was the Kitsune and she only tossed me around a bit. Of course I was scared, I'm not daft. And...." Ron hesitated to answer this final question. Did he really want his brothers and sister to know his worst fear was that he didn't mean anything to the family?

He didn't have time to answer, as he let out a yelp.

He saw blood dripping onto a piece of paper, and the shattering of a crystal ball. He jerked as the pain in his eyes hit him. Something was tearing through the tender tissue, obliterating them.

"Ron?" George caught Ron as he fell over. "Ron? What's wrong?"

Ron rubbed his sore eyes. "Nothing... I just... Had a bad moment."

He felt like he would throw up. It was almost the exact same feeling he had when Jakhori had been murdered. Only this time, he had no face, no name. He couldn't warn whoever was going to be mutilated.

If they weren't already.

****

"Good news, you won't miss any classes." Harry gave Hermione a weak smile as he sat down next to her bed. "Madame Pomfrey says that you, Ron and I are free to go."

"I know. She told me already. Ron is saying good-bye to his parents." Hermione sat cross-legged on her bed, looking down. "I was just waiting to see if you were going to come back."

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, "For everything that's happened."

"Oh Harry..." Hermione reached out, taking his hand. "I don't blame you. What happened was beyond your control. You didn't want to do any of it."

"I did," He replied. "I did want to do it. I mean, I never would in a situation except that one. But the truth deep down is-- I did want to do it. Everything that happened was inside me."

Hermione sighed deeply, letting go of Harry's hand. "Everyone has dark thoughts. You were stripped of all of your reason... Everything that really makes you you. All that was left was baser instincts. Most people would act the exact same way."

"How can I do this, Hermione? Knowing that I really think I'm better than anyone else. That I would be willing to rape someone if I wanted them enough. That there's a deep Slytherin part inside of me."

"Like I said, everyone has a Slytherin part. Harry, Miss Tsukino ate live chickens under the influence of Yasha-- Nothing Yasha had a hand in was normal behaviour. So yes, you do have a dark side. You can confront it and say, this is me-- If I let something mess me up. And then you don't let yourself be messed up."

Harry looked up, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "How can you not hate me for everything I did to you? Even if I was under the influence of someone else, you should be afraid of me."

Hermione shrugged. "For one moment I was afraid of you... But you've also saved my life more times than I can count. You were my friend when no one else would be. You have given me a real purpose in life. I can never hate you, Harry-- I love you."

Harry shut his eyes, taking in every one of Hermione's words. He nodded. "I love you too, Hermione. I would have died a million times over if it wasn't for you and Ron. You guys have kept me from going over the deep end." He let out a nervous laugh. "At least when I'm in my right mind."

"You were my first kiss," Hermione admitted. "In the Girl's Dormitory." She leaned in. "Can you make my second one better?"

Harry let Hermione's lips just brush his, when he suddenly pulled back. "No."

Hermione looked surprised. "What?"

"I... I don't want to do this."

Hermione pulled back, biting her lower lip. "But I thought things were better."

"They are," Harry assured her. "But I can't do this. Not yet."

"It's just a kiss."

"It wouldn't be just a kiss," Harry said. "I meant what I said, Hermione. I love you. That's why I can't do this yet. We have Death Eaters who are pretty damn determined to kill us. We've just gone through emotional hell-- I'm still trying to sort out everything that happened, still fighting off remnants of Yasha's control. And...." He sighed deeply. "I know Ron has feelings for you. And, despite what you have tried to convince yourself, you have them too. It's too much. I need you, Hermione. But right now, I need you as a friend. Maybe some day."

Hermione nodded slowly, smiling. "Some day's good for me."

****

Draco lay flat on his bed, staring up at the green canopy above him. He had barely spoken a word to his fellow Slytherins since he arrived at the school.

Gone was his cocky demeanour; replacing it was an overwhelming sense of paranoia. Crabbe, Goyle, Nott-- Their fathers were all Death Eaters-- He knew that for certain. Many of the others had parents who had either kept their loyalties a secret or were on the cusp. Any of them would more than willingly turn in him to the Death Eaters if they thought it would curry some favour.

Slytherins were born opportunists. Anything they sensed as weakness, they would exploit. It was a trait that Draco prided himself on. When he thought of how it could be turned against him, he was filled with dread and second thoughts.

Could he really do this? Could he turn his back on everything he had grown up with? He had been taught that the Dark Lord was the be-all and end-all of power-- That he could kill Draco with just a thought. That Dumbledore was a pathetic wizard with no more sense than a Chocolate Frog.

Yet Dumbledore had stayed consistently strong for the past fifty years. The Dark Lord only had glimmers of power. Who was the truly weak one? Who would be better to offer Draco the life he wanted for himself?

How was he supposed to do this? How would Draco make his intentions clear to Dumbledore and his pathetic Order, while keeping his alliances a secret from the Slytherins?

Well, there was only one way he could think of doing it. It would be risky. Who knew what side he was truly on? But, it was his only shot.

Draco got up, striding out of the fifth-year boy's dorm, out of the Common Room. He continued down the dank corridor. He stopped in front of a rotting door. A silver plaque read: Professor Severus Snape.

Draco raised his hand to knock, but thought better of it. Yes, Draco had heard from his father Professor Snape's loyalties were in question by the Dark Lord-- But how sure was Lucius Malfoy? Wasn't it possible that Professor Snape was just higher in the Death Eater Hierarchy?

That was ridiculous. The Malfoy family was the top of the Hierarchy. Lucius had brought Snape into the Death Eaters, there was no way Snape could have surpassed the great Lucius Malfoy.

You know, Draco, you need to stop thinking like that if you're going to go through with this, he told himself.

He paced in front of the door, thinking over exactly what he would say. Should he tell Snape he wanted to turncoat and work with Dumbledore? No, because he didn't want that. Draco just wanted to keep his hand clean. Surely Snape would understand that.

Draco was so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't hear the door creak open.

"Mister Malfoy." Snape's voice was a low, testing hiss, "Are you going to be dancing in front of my door all night?"

Draco recoiled. Snape bore heavy bruising and cuts on his face. Something big had beaten him up. Whatever it was, Snape had either foregone treatment, or the wounds were magically inflicted and unable to be healed properly.

"I suppose your father sent you." Snape's eyes glittered menacingly. "Has he heard all about what's happened? Sent you here to gloat?"

Draco blinked. This was the last thing he expected. He had been Snape's favourite student for years. Why the attitude?

"I came to say I'm glad you're back, Professor." Draco pasted on a smile. "We were all worried about you when you disappeared."

"No you weren't," Snape replied tersely. "What do you want?"

Draco pushed past Snape, going into the office. Snape closed the door, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked more menacing and dangerous than ever.
Was this how Longbottom saw Professor Snape?

"My father killed someone."

Snape appeared unfazed. "Neither of us are fools, Malfoy-- We both know your father has killed many people."

Draco sat down in the chair across from Snape's desk. "I meant recently. Yesterday, in fact."

Snape cocked an eyebrow, staring down at Draco. He took a long, even breath before speaking. "Do you know who it was?"

"Yes." Draco replied. "A servant of ours. Martja."

Snape gave a visible shudder. "It is not uncommon for Lord of the house to harm-- or even kill-- their servants when displeased. It is their right as Master."

"Martja hadn't done anything wrong... I think." Draco wrung his hands. "Not a killable offence."

"What did she do?" Snape sat down, his hands still shaking slightly.

"She had a vision." Draco mumbled into his chest.

Snape made a move to stand up, but thought better of it. "You were there for all of this?"

"The vision was about me. She said I would die. I would die as a servant." Draco ran a hand through his pale hair. "Then my father... He butchered her."

"He cut out her eyes, didn't he?" Snape looked paler than usual.

Draco gave a curt nod. "I heard her scream and then I saw... There was so much blood."

Snape narrowed his gaze. "And you don't wish to be either a servant or a killer, do you, Malfoy?"

"What makes you think that?" Draco asked, sticking his pointed nose up in the air.

"Spare me," Snape drawled. "I have known you since you were spawned. You are a coward-- A pompous coward, but a coward none the less. You're going with the side you feel you have the best chance of getting out unscathed with."

"And?" Draco couldn't bring himself to meet Snape's gaze.

"And it just proves you're more Slytherin than I thought. Any means to meet our ends." Snape leaned in. "The Dark Lord is petty and he doesn't put up with incompetence. You wouldn't last a minute with him. But rest assured, if you come over to Dumbledore, you have no chance of going back to your former life. If your father finds out any of this he will kill you. I'm not talking about the Dark Lord-- I'm talking about Lucius Malfoy. He will murder you. He won't care about blood. He's young, he can have more heirs. Most likely, he's already aware of your wavering loyalties. What do you say?"

Draco looked up finally, meeting Snape's cold black eyes. "What do I have to do?"

Review this Chapter

Go onto Chapter Eight