Draco's Detour

by tangledhair

Having fallen into a trap, the Gryffindor Trio realize they have revealed top-secret information to the wrong people, and go to set a trap of their own. Pre-slash one-shot, HPDM

Challenge: Write a story using JKR's title for Chapter 6 of Book 6, "Draco's Detour". Challenge by Azhure and Wintermoon2.

Summary: Having fallen into a trap, the Gryffindor Trio realize they have revealed top-secret information to the wrong people, and go to set a trap of their own. This story is written as if it actually is Chapter 6 of Book 6, which means I reference things that already happened in the book, but do not explain them, and that I foreshadow things to come that I will not ever actually write. This is a one-shot pre-slash that I will not update, since I'm missing valuable plot points, such as who the half-blood prince actually is. Enjoy!

XIXIX

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 6

Draco's Detour

XIXIX

The three Gryffindors stared at each other in horror as Hermione held out the smashed pin in her trembling hands. There was no denying that whoever had planted the charmed pin in Ron's shabby clothing had been the same person who ransacked their room. Harry was breathing hard, his eyes half-wild in fury.

"It was Malfoy! I know it was," he hissed.

"Shh…" said Hermione crossly. "There are bound to be more. I don't think we should speak about anything important until we've found them all."

"And destroyed them," spat Ron. "When I get my hands on that rotten ferret—"

Hermione hit him upside the back of his head. "Shut up, Ron!

Ron clenched his fists tight and began striding the length of the room with his long, gangly legs. An angry flush was rising to his face as he paced. "They sabotaged my clothing, 'Mione! They've been listening to us!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes and ground out through clenched teeth, "They might still be listening to us,Ronald, so shut the hell up!"

Ron glanced down to his clothes in disgust. Then his eyes widened unnaturally and he turned to Harry, the color draining from his face. He opened his mouth and closed it several times. Hermione was shaking her head furiously that Ron should not speak. Harry was looking between the two of them, but all he really saw was red. He was going to kill Malfoy for this.

Ron began gesturing wildly, but without any success at being understood. With a sudden burst of inspiration, he pulled out his wand and flicked it, conjuring a misshapen piece of parchment, a nearly empty bottle of ink, and a scraggly-looking feathered quill. Hermione looked at him like she was about to start lecturing him on how to conjure items properly, but Ron shot her a look that managed to silence her tongue.

He waved Harry over and scrawled out in big, messy letters, "They know we're here. Not safe. Castle. NOW!"

Harry nodded once. Hermione closed her hand around the bent pin and tucked it safely in her pocket. Ron raised his wand and hastily cleared away the items he had conjured and headed to the front door, but Hermione stamped her foot.

Ron and Harry both turned around to see her pointing at the trap door on the other side of the room. Ron nodded and started that way, but Harry held out his hand to stop his friend. He looked between them and then tilted his head back to the front door. Hermione looked horrified and furious as she shook her head. Harry knew what she was thinking.

If Death Eaters knew they were in the Shrieking Shack, they may be laying in wait just outside, or anywhere along the road from the Shack to Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. It was a long way for them to be sitting ducks. Harry couldn't disagree with that.

But if Death Eaters knew they were there and were watching them, they would certainly notice if the three Gryffindors never exited the building but somehow made it back to Hogwarts. Harry didn't want to risk the exposure of the secret passage. It could very likely prove to be useful to them yet. He shot Hermione a pleading look, hoping beyond hope that she would just trust him despite everything. He couldn't explain his reasons now. They could not have this conversation out loud.

Hermione shook her head again, her eyes desperate with worry. Harry looked to Ron. Ron held his eye for a second, and Harry knew that his best friend was wondering if he could still trust Harry after recent events.

"Please," he whispered, and then he mouthed silently, "Trust me." He looked back to Hermione, but she did not seem convinced. Harry tried to control the fury that threatened to arise in him. He deserved this. He did.

He pointed at the trap door, then pointed to Hermione's pocket, then pointed outside the window. 'They would know about it,' he thought, but he didn't know if they would understand what he meant.

Ron nodded slightly and then caught Hermione's eyes. They shared a look for what seemed a long time. Neither of them seemed sure of their decision, but they both moved to the front door simultaneously.

Harry flattened his mouth in what would have been a smile in happier times. He drew his wand as he slowly opened the door, and he saw Ron and Hermione do the same. Looking about themselves alertly, the three made their way quickly to the bustling town.

It was already mid-afternoon, but there were still students everywhere. Hermione's shoulders relaxed a bit when she caught sight of several members of the DA. Surrounded by people, they were certainly less exposed. But they never let their guard down, even after they had made their way back to the castle. Not until they were in Gryffindor Tower did they lower their wands, and even then they did not speak more than a few words to each other.

They spent the rest of the afternoon tearing apart Harry and Ron's dorm room, casting every revealing spell they could come up with. Their saboteurs had been very crafty. They had concealed magical transmitters everywhere. Hermione even found a thread woven into one of Harry's school robes that had been charmed. Disabling the charms was easy. The hard thing was to find the cleverly hidden items.

XIXIX

Ron slouched back onto his bed, exhausted from their search. "Is that everything, do you think?" he asked wearily.

"I think so," said Hermione, and Ron sighed deeply, reading her meaning. 'I think so' would translate to 'I'm positive'. If she had been uncertain at all she would have said 'No' and just kept looking.

Harry was sitting on the floor amidst a large pile of his belongs from his trunk. He ran his fingers through his hair in a distracted manner. All throughout their search he had been replaying endlessly the conversations he, Ron, and Hermione had had over the past few days. It was terrifying to think about what they had said, what had been passed on to the enemy.

"They know about the Prince, then, don't they?" he asked, knowing that Ron and Hermione feared the same.

Ron closed his eyes and turned away. Hermione nodded her head sullenly.

"Damn it to hell!" muttered Harry angrily, his voice barely above a whisper. Hermione winced anyway, as though he was shouting, and Harry wondered again if she was afraid of him now. She certainly wasn't acting the same around him the past few weeks.

"We should go to Dumbledore," said Ron quietly, clearly not liking the sound of the words coming out of his mouth.

Harry was about to argue, but Hermione beat him to it with an emphatic, "No!" She stood up suddenly and went to the window. She didn't seem to be staring past the glass, though, and Harry got the impression that she was studying her reflection rather than the school grounds. "We can't," she said. "You know we can't."

Ron didn't look up as he countered, "Look, I don't know that we can trust him, but I don't know that we can't trust him either. He's still the leader of the Order, and he'll need to know if You-Know-Who has certain informa…" Hermione turned her eyes to Ron and he trailed off, his argument running out of steam.

Harry studied the interaction between his two best friends and felt a leaden weight in his belly. It was certainly his fault that their trust in everyone was slowly disintegrating. Now more than ever Harry regretted his actions on the Hogwarts Express. If they couldn't even trust Dumbledore anymore, it became even more important that they be able to trust each other.

"Ron, 'Mione," he spoke quietly, and his friends turned to him. "I'm sorry," he said. "I never should have—"

"Leave it, Harry," Ron interrupted. "Don't worry, mate. We understand."

Harry nodded, grateful, but he knew he didn't deserve their unquestioned forgiveness.

"Holy Hera!" shouted Hermione suddenly, "What time is it?!"

Understanding immediately, all three heads snapped to look at the clock on the wall. A thin golden arrow pointed to "Very late for dinner." The three stared at it in silence for a long, tense moment.

Ron broke the silence. "It is possible that only Malfoy knows," he said.

"Right now at least," agreed Hermione.

"Then we have to stop him," said Harry.

They looked at each other for another long moment, each waiting for someone to argue that they had been told not to interfere, but no one did. Brandishing their wands again, they flung their belongings into a haphazard semblance of order and rushed out of the Tower.

If the magical transmitters had indeed been placed by Malfoy, he may or may not have been the sole receiver of the information that had been discussed by the Gryffindors over the past two days. If their conversations had been transmitted outside of Hogwarts, it was too late already. But if only Malfoy had heard, there might still be time to stop him before his rendezvous in the Forbidden Forest with the unknown Death Eater.

Most of the students were in the Great Hall for dinner as Harry, Ron, and Hermione slipped out of the castle and into the brisk evening air. It was dusk, which made it hard for them to make out exact shapes as they looked around the grounds, but the dim light offered cover for their movements as well, as they headed past Hagrid's cabin, whispering to each other frantically.

"What exactly are we going to do?" hissed Hermione. "We can't very well say, 'Excuse us, Draco, but could you please not report the Prince's identity to You-Know-Who?'"

Her uncharacteristic sarcasm surprised Harry, who shot her a look. "We can set up some sort of diversion so that he never makes it to the rendezvous point," he offered.

"We can block the trail with an illusion of a fallen tree, right past the first fork," suggested Ron, clearly in his element now that they were strategizing. "Malfoy'd never go through the Forest without being on a trail. When he goes off the other way, we can get him."

"Get him how? Stun him? Obliviate his memory?" Hermione made a face, clearly indicating that she didn't think too highly of that idea. "We need an exact plan."

"You're right," said Harry, but he was thinking back to that look he had seen in Malfoy's eye that day in Potions class. "I think we should talk to him first."

"Talk to him?" squeaked Ron. "What, have you gone nutters?! You don't talk to Draco Malfoy!"

Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and turned him around to look her straight in the face. Harry held her eye. He was determined that this could work.

"Maybe Harry's right," said Hermione, presumably to Ron, but still looking deep into Harry's eyes. "We don't talk to Malfoy, but Harry can."

Ron looked at her incredulously. "But they hate each other!" he shot.

Hermione turned to him and said reasonably, "But they respect each other. It might work."

"And if it doesn't?" Ron challenged.

Hermione shrugged. "Obliviate him."

Harry grinned. That was his 'Mione.

"We're running out of time," he said, and the three got to work on the fallen tree illusion. Within five minutes they had created a believable, and very dangerous-looking illusion of a hollow, rotten, jagged tree that had fallen and splintered, completely blocking the path to the clearing where Malfoy's weekly rendezvous took place.

"You guys wait here, just in case he sees through it," said Harry. "Stop him at whatever cost."

Ron and Hermione nodded. "The other fork veers sharply to the left about a quarter of a mile in," said Hermione knowledgeably. "You can wait just past the turn. He won't see you until he's right on top of you."

Harry nodded and Hermione reached out to squeeze his hand. "Be careful, Harry," she said.

"Yeah, mate," agreed Ron, and Harry took off.

Just as Hermione said, about a quarter of a mile down the trail, the path veered to a sharp left so that Harry found himself completely concealed from anyone who might come up behind him. He crouched down and waited.

Within a few minutes, he heard a slight rustling that alerted him Malfoy was on his way. Harry drew his wand and prepared himself for whatever was about to take place. He saw the glow of Lumos from Malfoy's wandtip first, and hit him with a disarming spell before he was all the way in view. Malfoy staggered from shock as much as the force of the magic that hit him. He looked up to see Harry holding his wand, and for a moment, Harry thought he saw relief in the Slytherin's eyes, but it was quickly covered with anger.

"Potter," he hissed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'd ask you the same thing," said Harry calmly, "But I already know why you're here."

Malfoy's shoulders slumped visibly and he looked away. But Harry was close enough that he caught the expression on his face, even in the failing light. It was the same resignation he had seen in Potions class that day. This time Harry was sure that Malfoy didn't want any part of the life he was slated to lead. Harry felt a rush of sympathy toward him, and lowered the two wands as a show of goodwill.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Draco," he said in the same calm tone. "I just want to offer you a way out."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed in anger. "It's too late for that, Potter. There is no way out for me."

He was keeping his voice low, and Harry noticed. Malfoy wasn't trying to be rescued by the Death Eater he was scheduled to meet tonight. He wasn't trying to get Harry captured. That was definitely something.

"Have you taken the Mark yet?" asked Harry suddenly, and Malfoy's eyes flashed fire. "I'll take that as a 'No'," he continued. "And so there is a way out. Just turn around and go back to the castle."

Malfoy shook his head. "Everything's so easy for you and your bloody Gryffindor friends," he spat. "I have to deal with the real world, Potter. If I don't show up for this meeting, I'm dead."

Harry looked around, thinking fast. "Send word that you've been found out," he said quickly. "It's true anyway, since I'm here. That will buy you time before your next meeting. We'll figure something out."

"It won't work."

"It might," said Harry.

They looked at each other in silence for what seemed to be a long time. Harry thought Malfoy was about to agree, but then Malfoy shook his head and repeated, "It won't."

Harry looked away.

In the next moment, Malfoy had stepped up to him and was whispering directly into Harry's ear. "I know about your Prince," he said. "I'm the only one right now. You have to Obliviate me." His voice was nervous. He seemed to be terrified of what he was saying, especially knowing there was a Death Eater deep in the Forest, waiting for him. He took a deep, shaky breath. "It's the only way, Potter."

Harry shook his head, his hair whipping across Malfoy's cheek. "If they discover you've been Obliviated," he whispered back, "They could tear your mind apart trying to find out what you've forgotten."

"I'm a Malfoy; they wouldn't. But they might torture me if I don't tell everything I know. You have to Obliviate me or I'll tell them."

"Don't go to the meeting," whispered Harry desperately, turning to look him in the eye. Their noses were touching. Harry could feel Malfoy's breath on his mouth. "Tell them we attacked you. I can teach you some Occlumency before you have to go back. Then they won't know you're keeping secrets."

Malfoy stepped away, his eyes wide in shock.

But Harry was adamant. "It'll work. You don't have to do this."

Malfoy stared at him hard. "Why are you doing this?" he asked heavily. "Why would you help me? Why would you trust me?"

Harry felt the slow boil of his rage as he thought over his reasons. Very slowly, as though testing out the feel of the words, he carefully enunciated, "Because I know what it's like to be a puppet. And if I can give you a choice… if I can give you a way out…" He looked away. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't offer it to you."

Malfoy just looked at him, weighing his options, weighing Harry's words. Eventually, he nodded. "Out on the grounds," he said. "Attack me where I can be found, somewhere where I was clearly on my way to the Forest. And make sure I'm unconscious. There has to be no way I could possibly make it to the rendezvous."

There was a shuffling behind him and Harry and Malfoy both turned in alarm. But they had not been found by the Death Eater. It was Ron and Hermione, stepping forward carefully with determined looks on their faces. They had clearly overheard enough to know what was about to happen.

Ron held Malfoy's eye in understanding and nodded slightly as he said, "Come on, then."

Hermione and Ron turned and walked quietly back down the path. As they crossed in front of the fork, Hermione waved her wand to take down the illusion. Malfoy snorted as he realized he had been duped. "Not bad," he whispered to Harry.

The four walked on in silence. They stopped at a point between Hagrid's cabin and the Forbidden Forest. Malfoy closed his eyes. Hermione and Ron raised their wands, but Harry stepped forward.

"Here," he said, pressing Malfoy's wand back into his hand. "Let me know after you've sent word that you've been discovered. Buy as much time as you can. We'll start Occlumency training immediately, okay?"

Malfoy nodded. "How should I reach you?"

Harry shrugged and looked around. Owls were too easily traceable. Maybe a note passed in class?

Ron spoke up. "Flip us the bird," he said with a smile. "People will think you're just being a prat like normal."

Harry cut him a look, but surprisingly, Malfoy laughed. "Sounds good. Then we'll meet in that Requirement Room, after hours. I assume your Prefect friends can help you sneak out," he said, motioning to Ron and Hermione. He slipped his wand into his pocket and closed his eyes again. "But seriously, Potter," he said. "You really ought to Obliviate my knowledge of you-know-what. You don't want the Dark Lord to know about it. It would be the end."

The Gryffindor Trio raised their wands and a moment later Malfoy hit the ground, his memory firmly intact.

Hermione turned around unsteadily. It didn't sit well with her that they had just hexed someone who wasn't putting up a fight. But it also didn't sit well that they had left Malfoy his memory when he knew so much incriminating information.

"Can we trust him?" she asked.

Harry nodded yes, but he said, "Probably not. Time will tell."

XIXIX

Rumor had it that Draco Malfoy had been attacked pretty badly not too far from the Forbidden Forest Saturday night. Hagrid found him in the early hours of Sunday morning on his way into the Forest. Nobody knew what had happened, and Malfoy wasn't talking, but he was in the infirmary all day Sunday.

Monday morning, Harry picked at his breakfast and listened half-heartedly as Seamus and Dean argued about Quidditch. When the owl post came, he turned to Hermione who was scanning the pages of the Daily Prophet for news of Death Eater attacks over the weekend.

"Nothing," she said after a few minutes, relief evident in her voice.

Only then did Harry look up across the Great Hall to see Malfoy reading some mail of his own. Malfoy looked up and caught Harry's eyes on him. Sneering maliciously, he held up his fist and extended a long, elegant, middle finger. He said something quietly and the Slytherins around him burst into a fit of snide laughter.

Harry looked back down to his breakfast, willing himself not to smile.

XIXIX

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