The Siren's Call (A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction)

86. Retribution

"Professor Dumbledore," McGonagall said. "Potter has had a...well, a nightmare. He says-"

"It wasn't a nightmare!" Harry protested.

"Very well then, Potter," she said. "You tell the headmaster about it."

"I...well, I was asleep, but it wasn't an ordinary dream," Harry explained desperately. "It was real. I saw it happen. Ron's Dad, Mr Weasley, has been attacked by a giant snake."

"How did you see this?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well...I don't know," Harry admitted angrily. "Inside my head, I suppose-"

"You misunderstand me," Dumbledore said. "I mean...can you remember - er - where you were positioned as you watched this attack happen? Were you perhaps standing beside the victim or else looking down on the scene from above?"

"I was the snake," Harry said, still rather irritated and panicked. "I saw it all from the snake's point of view..."

"Is Arthur seriously injured?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes!" Harry cried. "And I saw others! Students!"

Instantly Dumbledore was on his feet. Striding over to Harry, he demanded, "Are they hurt?"

"I didn't see!" Harry defended. "I woke up before I could find out!"

"Who?" Dumbledore asked.

"Andre, Imani, Blaise Zabini, Draco, and...Dioleh," Harry explained.

Dumbledore sighed, backing away from Harry as he said, "They've gone after the Elixer of Death, invented by the Ministry to kill their kind."

"What?" McGonagall gasped.

"Please go and fetch the other Weasleys," he requested, moving over to his desk and grabbing a pot. After hitting it with a quick spell, Dumbledore watched as the pot turned blue before quickly writing on a piece of paper and dropping it inside. Next moment, the pot disappeared.

⥖✦✧⦽✧✦⥗

The snake lunged toward Blaise just before he drew his wand. Andre jumped forward, knocking Blaise out of the way just as the snake clamped down his jaws. He screamed as the fangs pierced his flesh. Imani cried out, rushing toward him. Before she could think better of it, Dioleh rushed in front of her friends, shielding them from the snake. As it lunged again, she thought she heard a dull thunk. The snake turned, just before it would have struck and stared at the pot.

Instantly, it began to slither away. Dioleh turned, instantly looking to Andre. His blood shone bright red against his rapidly paling skin. "We need to get out of here," Blaise said as Dioleh looked at the pot.

"It's Dumbledore," she said hollowly, picking up the sheet. "He says that this will take us back five minutes after it appeared."

"That should be any minute now," Draco said, rushing forward. Imani helped Andre grab onto the pot as Blaise joined the quickly forming circle of people. "What about him?" Draco asked, stopping just before the pot and gesturing back to the man that none of them had taken a moment to look at.

"Arthur," Imani said, recognizing him.

"Dumbledore said to leave him, let's go!" Dioleh shouted in a panic. She had no idea when the portkey was going to take action. "Come on, Dray!" After another moment's hesitation, he grabbed on and the next moment, they were harshly jerked upward just as the harsh rattling of the lift reached their ears.

When they landed, Dioleh found herself completely disoriented. She was gasping for breath and had no idea where they were. Soon she calmed enough to hear Imani give a little sob. Crawling forward, Dioleh saw Andre was still bleeding. Imani quickly lay him down and Dioleh pressed into his stomach. "Come on, Andre!" she cried as Imani cupped his cheek.

"Move aside," a severe voice ordered. Dioleh instantly did, moving aside for the tall figure now moving by him. With a flick of Dumbledore's wand, Andre was bandaged.

"How do you know he won't just bleed through?" Imani asked tearfully.

"The venom shouldn't react to his body as it would mine," Dumbledore said. "Cellular regeneration in sirens is much faster than in humans. I believe Madam Pomfrey can save him easily. Ms Kanumba, Mr Zabini, please take him to the hospital wing. Mr Malfoy, get yourself to bed." Draco rose hesitantly to his feet before helping up Dioleh. For the first time, she glanced around and realized that they had landed in Dumbledore's office.

When Draco still hesitated, Dioleh said, "Go. I'll be fine."

He was almost to the door when Dumbledore said, "Draco. Leave the bag." After glancing at Dioleh for confirmation, he took it out of his pocket and set the bulging bag on one of the many small tables. Once the door had shut softly behind Draco, Dumbledore turned, fixing the young siren with a fiery gaze.

In a voice of forced calm, he said, "When I told you I would do all that I could to ensure that potion never touched the waters of your people, did you not believe me?"

"It wasn't-" Dioleh began.

"And did you not trust that I would fight the Ministry with every breath?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then why!" Dumbledore thundered, "did you feel the need to plan and carry out your own plan to break into the most secure part of the Ministry!" Dioleh's face flushed in anger.

"Because you can only do so much from behind your diplomatic soap box!" she snapped back.

"I have connections, I have resources!" Dumbledore cried.

"We did what we had to!"

"NO!" Dumbledore roared, his eyes blazing. "You did what you wanted to! Breaking into the Ministry, bringing in Malfoy and Zabini! That was all you!"

"Without them, the three of us wouldn't have made it," Dioleh retorted. "We used the knowledge of those around us, people we trust."

"You acted without thinking!"

"How dare you," Dioleh said lowly. "How fucking dare you! Do you have any idea what it's like to have entire government organizations not only pitted against you but also trying to kill you? No, of course not because you're a wizard. You don't believe we were thinking? Well, have you ever thought about what thoughts run through our heads every time we see a Ministry official? Every time we see an adult who doesn't know? Whenever we dare a chance out into the lake? We live in fear every day. We took from them because they have done nothing but take from us. THEY HAVE TAKEN EVERYTHING!"

"It was reckless!" Dumbledore snapped back.

"It was courageous," Dioleh retorted heatedly.

"In your case, they tend to be one in the same," Dumbledore said humorlessly.

After releasing a small breath, Dioleh remarked, "They have a tank in there full of the bodies of sirens. Including my mother." Dumbledore's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Do you know what we do to our people when they have died? We take their bodies out to sea and their closest family holds them at the surface. Beyond them, their friends circle, and so on until only those who didn't really know them are circled. We sing the song of mourning, which varies between tribes, and then the chief or chieftess step forward and say a single line depending on how they died. Blesséd life, for those who lived their full. Brief gift, for those who die before age five. Do you know what they say when a siren has been killed?" Dumbledore was silent. "Much retribution."

"And now, because of me, they have even one tiny part of it," Dioleh continued. "You can scold me all you want. You can believe what I did was reckless, but don't you dare act as though in my place you wouldn't do the exact same." Turning toward the door, she stated, "I'm going to see Andre because unlike you, I actually care." And with that, she was gone.