Fixed thanks xTeionx for pointing my error out ^^

Beta: voldyhasnonose

Chapter Sixteen

In Which Voldemort Becomes Bolder

Someone was screaming.

The castle halls were dark and Draco fumbled with his wand to cast a Lumos. The castle was still and freezing as the screams reverberated off the walls around him. Shivering Draco slunk down what seemed to be an endless corridor, his wand poised before him until a small sliver of light on the tip greeted him. Draco stopped as the screams turned to sobbing, The Great Hall stood before him.

The doors sat open an inch, whispers crawled out towards him, his name on each. Clutching his wand, Draco started moving as the walls trembled and moved in on him. His hair stood on end and he started to run. The floor curved and dipped before him dragging the hall doors just out of his reach as the walls closed the path behind. Draco stumbled as he pulled his arms free of his robe caught in the walls grip. The floor before him trembled and collapsed into a black empty space, he jumped.

The double doors opened a few more inches as Draco stepped warily towards them. He peered through the opening and gasped at what he saw. Neville was knelt in the center of the hall sobbing, while all of the Gryffindors and professors stood around him.

At the center of the mob, standing directly over Neville was none other than Harry Potter. Laying in the Boy-Who-Lived's arms was a small, squirming bundle.

"Admit it, Neville," Potter hissed. "Admit you're a Death Eater!"

Neville sobbed louder and shook his head, "I'm not! I swear! Please give me back my baby."

Harry just shook his head at the wizard. "You can't be trusted with a baby Neville. You'll make him evil," he said making Neville sob even harder.

"That's our baby!" Draco yelled as he yanked at the giant double doors, trying to the pull them open, so he could save his lover and his child. When the doors wouldn't give, he tried to use magic on them, only to have his spells bounce back. "It'll be okay Neville!" Draco yelled as he discarded his wand and kept trying to pry the doors open. "I'm coming!"

"Don't worry," Potter said as he ignored Neville's pleas. "He won't remember you," he said as he handed the Weaslette the baby.

Neville sunk into himself, "Please don't take my baby! It was Draco! Draco did it! Draco did everything!"

Draco, who was becoming livid at the scene that was unfolding before him, pressed himself between the double doors squeezing his lithe body through. "They won't take our baby, Neville," Draco hissed as he stumbled through.

Neville looked up at him with red and angry eyes. "It's your fault Draco," he hissed.

"I know it is Nev-"

"You're the reason my baby's a monster!" Neville yelled as the Weaslette, unwrapped the wailing infant in her arms.

Draco looked the baby over and screamed.

"DRACO!"

Draco jerked awake as he heard the shrill scream and felt a cold wet cloth placed on his face. "What?" he exclaimed as he looked around the room to find his mother sitting on the edge of his bed. Her hair was in a loose bun at her neck and she was in her night robe. "Mummy?"

"You were just having a nightmare, baby," Narcissa said as she stroked his hair. "It sounded worse than last night's," she whispered.

Draco just nodded in agreement.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked worriedly.

Draco nodded as he sat up slowly, "I was in Hogwarts. Neville had already given birth to the baby. Potter took it from him because he thought Nev would make it evil. But... when I saw the baby... it was... deformed," he muttered.

"That won't happen Draco, he-our lord will be freeing the prisoners, your father, it'll be fine. We've almost won."

"I know, I know, but I can't help but miss him."

Narcissa sighed and kissed her son's cheeks, "You'll be with him soon enough dear. Now get dressed. Last night's raiding party is back and the Dark Lord wants an audience."

Draco grimaced and rose slowly from his bed. "Time to celebrate more slaughter," he muttered.

Narcissa turned around at the door, "Draco, you shouldn't-"

"Yes, mum. I know," he said with a heavy sigh. "I'll meet you in his throne room," he said as she left him to dress.

oOoOo

Draco stood in the back of the 'throne room' watching as the Dark Lord's ranks filed in and flocked to the returned raiding party, his aunt at the center. Draco tapped his nearly empty tumbler of Fire Whiskey against his thigh as he listened to Bellatrix recount the attack on the Weasley hovel wedding. He was less than enthused to hear about it.

"That is the last thing you should have in your possession, Draco."

Draco rolled his neck and glared at his godfather, "What's it to you?" he hissed.

"My potion stores are running very low. You would bleed to death if you get any more ideas to carve it off," he sneered.

Draco pushed away from the wall, "Piss off," he said as he walked over to stand by his mother as the Dark Lord entered the 'throne' room. Everyone kneeled as Voldemort walked to his throne.

Voldemort smirked down at his followers as he situated himself in his throne. "We achieved a great victory last night and thanks to Bellatrix," he said and looked at her with a proud expression, "the Order of the Phoenix is depleted and scattered."

Bellatrix preened under the Dark Lord's attention.

Draco scoffed silently at his aunt.

"They were foolish to think a large gathering such as a wedding would go unnoticed," Voldemort continued. "in honor of this momentous achievement, I have decided to move the date up for our prison break and the takeover of the Ministry. We will do it all at once," he said with a look on his face so evil it could curdle milk.

A few of the followers gasped in apprehension, but most grinned in excitement.

"Soon we'll have it all and we'll end our conquest with a wedding of our own," Voldemort grinned and everyone looked back at Draco.

Draco bristled under the attention, but he nodded his thanks to the Dark Lord.

Voldemort nodded back and looked at Severus, "Severus. I trust you to collect the Longbottom boy. After all, he does have a wedding to start planning."

oOoOo

Neville rubbed the swell of his pregnant belly as he wandered the corridors of Longbottom Manor. The candles flickered to life as he was walked by them, but with a flick of his wrist, he dimmed them. He sighed heavily and rubbed his temples as he leaned against the wall outside the main room.

"He's getting bolder."

Neville frowned and stood up straight as he heard his Hogwarts Head of House's voice, in the room he'd assumed to be empty. He moved closer and peered through the ajar door to see his grandmother at the floo.

"He would have never been so bold as to attack a wedding with Albus around. It's a losing battle, Minerva. Our savior is on the run, there's nothing to fight for."

Neville muffled a gasped and put his back to the wall.

"Don't think that way Augusta some good is happening."

"With no help from my house," she said indignantly.

Minerva sighed at the woman, "how is Neville?"

"Pathetic!" Augusta bellowed. "He insists on keeping that parasite. He might be the end of our bloodline, Minerva."

"You can't know that for sure. Has he seen a med witch?" Minerva asked genuinely concerned for Neville's wellbeing.

"Yes, he's so weak, it's safe to assume he'll be a squib in the end. You can strike him from the Hogwarts list."

At hearing this said about himself and his child, Neville tightened his robes around himself and started walking towards his only refuge: his greenhouse.

The greenhouse was hot, as it should have been. He found the heat to be more of a comfort that stifling as some unaccustomed to it would. He slid his robe off his shoulders and tossed it carelessly over a vine covered bench. He stretched his arms over his head and took in the mixed smells of herbs, ripening fruits and budding flowers. The familiarity nearly brought tears to his eyes.

He wandered the rows of tables neglected during his time away at Hogwarts. He sat undisturbed while he weeded and trimmed each individual plant by hand until a familiar set of hoots and flutters drew his eyes to the far side of the greenhouse. Neville grinned up at Draco's owl fluttering in and out of the greenhouse through a broken skylight.

Dusting his hands off on his trousers he followed the bird out of the greenhouse and down away from the house.

"Arnu?" he asked as the owl perched himself on the fallen corpse of an oak tree just outside the grounds wards. The owl stretched his leg out, a folded note attached to it. Biting his lip Neville glanced back to the manor, before he stepped past the wards taking the note from the bird. Draco's elegant scrawl greeted him.

Don't fight him.

Neville cocked his head to the side and asked, "Fight who?" as an arm wrapped around his middle and a hand clamped down over his mouth.

"Good evening Mister Longbottom," Neville twisted around eyes wide to greet his captor, his professor, Severus Snape. "The Dark Lord as requested your presence," he said before activating his portkey.