A flash of lightning split the sky, as the clock in Hogwarts' clock tower struck midnight, the sounds of the bells drowned momentarily in the rumbling thunder. A storm had been raging over the castle for hours on end already, and there wasn't a sign it would stop any time soon. Still, a lone figure stood at the gates a distance away, his back towards the castle, his attention focused on the grounds and forbidden forest in the distance. Draco Lucius Malfoy had been waiting out here in the rain for some time already; he had been early for his meeting with a fellow student - a student who appeared to be late. The rain kept battering down upon the world while Draco remained where he was, waiting for the other person to arrive.
Slowly but surely, a person clad in a heavy, thick cloak was moving through the hallways of the third floor of Hogwarts Castle. He knew he was running late, and was silently cursing himself for it under his breath. Draco wasn't a person one left waiting, especially not in times like these. This had to happen. Carefully, he started to round a corner, trying not to draw the attention of anyone else whom might possibly be out here at this time of the evening, but almost immediately, he stopped dead in his tracks and pressed himself against the wall at the sight of Argus Filch patrolling the hallway he had just been about to head into. He was lucky the caretaker's back was turned towards him, and it seemed the old Squib was heading down the hall away from him. Would Filch have caught him out, the resulting delay would surely only add to the problems. Let alone the troubles Filch would try to pin on him for being out at this hour of the night.
He waited quietly for several long moments while the caretaker walked further and further away from him. Chances were slim a professor or prefect was patrolling this close to Filch, but he could only hope Mrs Norris was ahead of Filch, not behind him. Deciding not to gamble on it, he pushed himself off the wall and headed into the hallway after Filch. After several yards, he turned another corner and found himself exiting the castle and walking down the pathway to the school gates. Draco seemed not to have noticed him yet, so he walked a little closer to Draco until he was standing several feet away from the Slytherin and finally spoke. "Enjoying the weather, Malfoy?"
Draco remained where he was, a small smirk on his lips, not even bothering to turn around to face the new arrival. "Potter," he spoke, slowly drawing his wand. "You are late." Another flash of lightning split the heavens, this time striking down into a large tree far into the Forbidden Forest as Draco turned on his heels, his gaze locking with Harry's. Moments passed, during which neither of them moved an inch, before a third flash of lightning crackled through the air. "It is time." Draco said, which Harry only answered with a curt nod. Both wizards rose their wands simultaneously, and in the blink of an eye, both of them had disappeared - the sounds of their disapparition drowned by the sounds of thunder echoing around the school.
Far away from Hogwarts castle, the two wizards apparated back into existence, although, based on the weather, one could think they would not have gone far. Even here in the far South of the British Isles, a storm was raging in the skies above. Here too, flashes of lightning lit up the heavens and surroundings, maybe even more frequent than they had done at Hogwarts. Draco turned to face Harry as the house crests on their chests reflected the lights cast by the violent discharges high above their heads. The silver serpent on a field of green shone proud on the robes of both Draco and Harry. "This way, Potter." Draco said, indicating which way to go to the other Slytherin.
Just a little further down the road, the destination of the two came into sight; towering over the high hedge surrounding it was the tall, handsome manor house that was home to Draco Malfoy and his family. The mansion almost seemed like a castle, with several towers piercing up high into the sky, as if the building was daring the storm to strike down lightning at its peeks. A wide, long driveway seemed to be the only entrance to the dark gardens surrounding the mansion, were it not for a pair of wrought-iron gates barring them entry. Harry eyed Draco while the two walked toward the gates, waiting for the latter to open the gates in either magical, or conventional manner. With every step, however, Harry started doubting more and more whether or not Draco would act, or whether the gates would open by themselves.
As it was Harry's first visit ever to the Malfoy Manor, he was surprised to see Draco walking straight up to the gates, and through them, passing through the metal as if he were smoke. He had to quickly correct himself, not to let the other Slytherin see the surprise on his face. But then he remembered what Draco had told him several hours earlier when they had spoken of the meeting they were about to attend. Never would he have been able to guess how to get past these gates by himself, had Draco not informed his about their workings. Still, Harry was sure Draco would not have told him everything there was to know about them. Nodding lightly to himself, Harry stepped forward towards the gates and he, too, passed through them. It was a clever piece of magic, in Harry's opinion, to have one's property protected by such subtle magic.
The rest of the short walk down the driveway went without surprises or interruptions, giving Harry some more time to take in the full glory and majesty of the manor. Draco was happy to spend the walk in relative silence, the sounds of thunder drowning out pretty much everything else. Without looking back at his fellow Slytherin, Draco went straight toward the front door of the mansion and walked into the entrance hall. He had no intention of being late, especially not if it were due to Harry slowing him down. From here on, it would be easy enough for the other to find the drawing room where the meeting was to take place, so it wouldn't matter much if Harry lagged behind.
Noticing the sounds of the front door opening, Harry's attention shifted from the grandeur of the mansion and its surroundings back to his companion and he realized they had to get to the meeting straight away. Harry immediately followed Draco, being only a few steps behind. Even though it was only dimly lit, the entrance hall, again, was another sight of beauty and wealth, a grand carpet covering a majority of the hallway's stone floor, and Harry had to remind himself again of the lack of time to admire the place.
The two walked down the entire length of the entrance hall and up the stairs leading to the first floor. Even though it wasn't too hard to find the room in which the meeting would take place, Harry was glad he had Draco with him to guide the way. Now, at least, he was sure they got there the quickest way possible, which meant they could possibly still make it in time. Draco pushed open the grand double doors granting access to the drawing room and walked in, not having said a word since they had arrived on the Malfoy Manor grounds. Harry didn't mind, though, and just followed the other Slytherin in to be greeted by the sight of another majestic room.
The drawing room was a room of wide proportions with high dark purple walls which were covered with many portraits and large crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. A large fire was burning in a fireplace framed by an ornate mantelpiece crafted from marble. But what really caught Harry's attention in the room was the large ornate table - a table surrounded by more seats than Harry imagined would be required for the meeting. And his assumption was, to him, proven by the fact the vast majority of the seats were still empty.
While Harry had been taking in the room, Draco had moved to sit down at his place around the table. The seat at the table's head was still empty, but the two seats to either side at the end of the table were occupied by people Harry knew already. Severus Snape was sitting to the empty seat's right, while the other seat was taken by Lucius Malfoy. The other people at the table, save for Draco, sitting at his father's left hand side, Harry didn't know by face. Some, he would likely know by name from the many stories he had heard and read in the past years. Most were great wizards and witches, many drawn to the dark arts for years, or even decades. Harry didn't mind it all too much. He knew he would need these people sooner or later.
Harry took one moment to look each of the wizards and witches present in the eye, nodding lightly at each of them, after which he walked to the seat at the table's head. Before he sat down, Harry turned to face the other people present. "Thank you all for attending this meeting." Harry spoke. "And thank you, mister Malfoy," he continued, turning his head toward Draco's father, Lucius, "for opening your amazing home so this meeting could take place." Lucius nodded slightly, waving off the words of thanks with a slight movement of his hand, but the small smirk on his lips betrayed the fact Lucius liked to receive as much praise for his actions as he possibly could.
As Harry sat down, Lucius rose from his seat, and started to speak. "To all of you," he said, making a grand gesture with his left arm, indicating everyone present at the table, "I would like to say - welcome to my home." His gaze rested upon his son for a second, before he looked back at the other wizards and witches present. "You all know why we're all here. So, I would suggest we cut straight to the point." At the end of his sentence, Lucius' gaze moved to meet Harry's. "Mister Potter, how would you suggest we take down and replace the Dark Lord?"