Ivy and Osanna both jumped? Could he SEE them? How could they have been so stupid?
They looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes, wondering what to do or say
"This way ladies" Lucius directed them down the corridor. They followed him and at the end they reached a rather solid looking wall. Lucius removed his wand from his cane and tapped the wall; he whispered something indefinable and the wall slid sideways to reveal a staircase. Again they followed him into the depths of the Malfoy Mansions dungeon. At the end of the darkness they emerged into a large room, lit by a huge candlelit chandelier, that was the very epitome of elegance and style.
Huge overstuffed Couches and armchairs sat upon deep piled black carpets. The walls were on three sides hung with rich tapestries depicting the history of the dark arts. The fourth wall however contained something far different; a floor to ceiling glass tank filled with cobras, vipers and pythons wriggling and writhing in an unending knot. In the center stood five men wearing masks similar to their own.
Lucius Malfoy watched the two women closely as they took in their surroundings. They were careful not to show anything on their faces. But their minds ran rampant.
"Remove your masks Ladies"
They did as he asked, but the five men kept their faces hidden. He directed them to the smallest couch and they sat down after the six had been seated.
"Do you know who we are?" The tallest man asked
"You are the DeathEaters. Wizards who practice the dark arts and seek domination over the forces of good" Ivy answered keeping her voice steady and even, not betraying that her heart was beating like a steam train.
"Loyal to the great Lord Voldemort, the greatest of the dark practitioners" Osanna added trying to be thorough
Lucius allowed himself a little nod of approval
Another man spoke "WE know much about the two of you as well. You attended all 23 Magical academies in the seven years of your magical education and managed to be expelled from all of them. Yet you were never actually caught in the act, merely chief suspects enough times to count against you. But at Hogwarts you excelled yourselves. Ivy Cariad, you graduated not only top Slytherin in your year but with the highest grades of the whole school. You were also one of the best students in the history of Hogwarts when it came to dark arts."
Ivy fought to control the flush of pink that was fighting its way to her cheeks.
"And Miss Osanna October" He continued, "You were top of your house, Ravenclaw. A pathetic attempt by Dumbledore to separate the two of you and prevent your evil schemes. You excelled in Potions under the tutelage of Severus Snape and reputedly the best handler of Magical creatures that had ever been seen in the craft. Even if you do insist on keeping that midget dragon alive."
Osanna, not sure what to do, simply nodded slowly.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lucius point his wand in the direction of Ivy�s lap. His lips moved imperceptibly.
A flash and a cobra appeared upon Ivy, his hood opened and ready to strike. Ivy forced her muscles to stay relaxed and eyed her friend. Osannas eyes flashed at Lucius and she quickly spoke to the snake in Parseltounge, asking it to leave Ivy and go across to the other side of the room and enter the glass tank. The snake was halfway across the carpet when, with a small flourish of his wand, Lucius vanished the snake.
"So you speak parselmouth Osanna. Very interesting" He mused
"We are interested in your future in the darkness and would like to offer you the chance to join us" He rose as he stood and towered over them.
"Damn" Thought Ivy " Now there is a force of energy"
He continued " However, you still need to prove your worth and dedication to both us and Voldemort. To do this you must bring us something of great worth, be it information or object, that we may use to finally remove that fool Dumbledore from his position".
They nodded and there was a flash. They were back in the school grounds, just in front of their house.