Chapter Six: A Way In
"Shhh."
"You're standing on my foot!"
"Get out of the way, then."
"Would you all shut up?"
Draco, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all crowded into a dark alleyway behind Borgin & Burkes in Knockturn Alley. The sun was just beginning to rise over the tops of the buildings, leaving most everything in shadow on the streets. Draco stuck his head around the corner then quickly ducked back behind the garbage bins that hid them from view. He waved the others down just in time; a large pack of Death Eaters walked by, wands at the ready.
"Why are there so many Death Eaters here?" Harry whispered.
Draco shook his head. "I'm not on the inside anymore, remember?"
Harry pulled his Invisibility Cloak on. "I'm going to go take a look around. Maybe I can figure out what's going on."
"Wait, Potter!" Draco hissed in the direction Harry's voice had come from, but he received no response.
They waited in a tense silence for a long time. Draco was just beginning to think Harry had been caught when he heard noises come from the opposite end of the alley. His head snapped in that direction. He motioned for Ron and Hermione to stay where they were, then crept in the direction of Borgin & Burkes' front door. When he snuck a peek around the corner, he had to stifle a gasp. Half a dozen Death Eaters were stationed around the entrance to the Dark artifacts store.
"This is a bloody waste of time," grumbled one of the Death Eaters. Draco immediately recognized the voice as belonging to Rodolphus Lestrange, his uncle.
"Why did the Dark Lord put us here?" whined another that Draco knew to be Antonin Dolohov.
"You know why!" snapped Rodolphus. "He doesn't want Potter to be able to sneak into Hogwarts using the Vanishing Cabinet here."
"I don't understand why he doesn't just destroy the damn cabinet," Dolohov said grumpily.
"You're an imbecile. What if he wants to use it again?" Rodolphus said.
"Yeah, well at least I'm not—'" Dolohov stopped talking.
Draco wanted to sneak a peek around the corner, but knew he couldn't risk it with the Death Eaters so close.
"What do you want?" Rodolphus asked someone grouchily.
"I'm here to put up the Anti-Apparation wards the Dark Lord requested." Draco thought the voice belonged to Rabastan Lestrange.
"Get on with it then!" Rodolphus barked. "You were saying?" he directed at Dolohov.
"Never mind," Dolohov griped. "You know what else I don't get? Why the Dark Lord even thinks that Potter and his band of idiots would think to use the Vanishing Cabinet in the first place."
"You're even thicker than I thought," Rodolphus sneered. "Have you already forgotten how my wife messed up? The young Malfoy is with Potter now. He'll have suggested it."
"But why is it such a big deal if Potter gets into Hogwarts? Wouldn't that just make things easier for the Dark Lord?"
"You two are clearly not privy to the Dark Lord's reasons," Rabastan gloated. "But I'll let you in on a little secret. Potter broke into Gringotts to steal a Horcrux. The Dark Lord has another one hidden at Hogwarts, and he doesn't want it to be destroyed. That's why we're here. Now will you both just shut up?"
Draco moved back towards Ron and Hermione as quietly as he could.
"We have to get out of here," he whispered hurriedly.
"Why?" Hermione asked.
"For starters, there're all these Death Eaters. But we also have no way into Borgin and Burkes now. They're putting up wards to keep us out." Draco looked around the cramped space. "Where's Potter?"
Hermione shrugged. "He hasn't come back yet."
"We may have to leave without him," Draco said. "I have a bad feeling that the Anti-Apparation ward isn't just going up around the store."
"We can't leave without Harry!" Ron whispered harshly. "He's the one that's going to end this bloody mess, we can't just leave him at the mercy of You-Know-Who."
"What mercy?" Draco asked darkly.
A loud crash sounded from the other end of the alley. Draco spun around, but he could only see a recently fallen garbage can still rolling around. Suddenly, Harry's head appeared several yards away. He was clearly running towards them, a look of panic on his face.
"We have to go!" Harry shouted.
"What happened?" Ron asked.
It turned out that Harry didn't need to answer—a swarm of Death Eaters came hurtling into the alley behind him. Harry was halfway through the alley, the Death Eaters closing in rapidly.
"Come on!" Draco yelled at Ron and Hermione.
He ran towards Harry, a hand outstretched. Hermione caught on first and darted after him, pulling Ron along with her. Draco's fingertips had barely brushed Harry's wrist when Hermione had a hold on his other hand; he attempted to Apparate them out of Knockturn Alley. Nothing happened. Harry looked at Draco in confusion, but Draco turned and fled out the other end of the alley, gesturing for everyone to follow along behind him.
A ray of green light blasted into the wall of the store in front of them. Draco dared to glance back at the Death Eaters chasing them. For the moment, they had the advantage; they were younger, faster. But it wouldn't last long. There were so few places to hide inside of Knockturn Alley, something that was surely not coincidental.
"We have to get out of Knockturn Alley," Draco panted to the others.
"How are we supposed to do that?" Harry gasped. "There's only one way out, and the Death Eaters are blocking it."
"We have to create a distraction," Hermione wheezed.
"We have to split up," Draco said.
They raced into another alley and pressed their backs to the side of the shop. Half a minute later the group of Death Eaters that had been chasing after them raced past their hiding place.
Between huge gulps of air, Draco said, "Of everyone, the Dark Lord will want Potter and me. Granger, you and Weasley wait here. Potter and I will lure the Death Eaters away from the entrance to Diagon Alley. When you see red sparks in the air, run to Diagon Alley. We'll meet you back at the cave."
Ron glared at him. "Why do you get to order everyone about?"
"There's no time to argue, Ron," Harry said impatiently. "Just keep Hermione safe. If we're not back by dark, go into the school without us."
"Harry." Hermione looked as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't continue.
"Don't worry. I've got his back," Draco said.
"Yeah, that's not at all reassuring," Ron spat.
Draco narrowed his eyes. "It'll have to be."
Without waiting for more arguments, Draco took off running back to the main street of Knockturn Alley. Harry followed closely behind him. Not entirely certain where the Death Eaters would be most likely to congregate, Draco headed in the direction of a rather shady pub his father had taken him to once. Halfway there, they ran past a dark alleyway full of Death Eaters.
"Hey! Over there!" The shout was followed by thundering footsteps.
Forming a plan quickly in his head, Draco raced into an alley that he knew had a dead end.
"Why did you come this way?" Harry shouted. "We're trapped!"
"Just get ready to send up sparks from your wand!" Draco said gruffly.
Draco silently cast a Shield Charm in front of them just as the Death Eaters reached the opposite end of the alley. He raised his wand in preparation, noting that Harry did the same. Harry watched him carefully. Then, just as the Death Eaters reached the halfway point, Draco waved his wand in a complex swirling pattern in front of him.
"Iacta Augue!" he shouted, thrusting his wand forward.
A ball of fire erupted from the end of his wand and hurtled towards the oncoming Death Eaters. The few unfortunate people at the front of the group just had enough time to look frightened before the fireball exploded in their midst. Severed limbs and blood flew everywhere as the Death Eaters met an untimely demise.
"Now!" Draco yelled to Harry.
Harry silently shot up red sparks.
"Come on, we've got to distract the others."
Draco ran through the gory mess and turned towards the entrance to Diagon Alley, not noticing the figure hiding in the shadows near the pub. Just as he was about to turn a corner, a powerful spell hit him between the shoulder blades and sent him sprawling in the street. A blistering pain welled up where he had been struck and slowly began spreading across his back and shoulders. He didn't know what curse it was, but it hurt like hell. Behind him, he could hear Harry dueling with the unexpected Death Eater; a loud thud told Draco that Harry had gotten the best of him.
Gingerly, Draco heaved himself back to his feet, determinedly trying to ignore the pain that was making his eyesight go black around the edges. Harry came up behind him and draped something across his shoulders. When he turned to see what it was, Draco realized he had disappeared.
"Go find the others," Harry whispered urgently. "Hermione can help you." Then he ran off down a side street.
Completely invisible now, Draco quietly followed behind Harry, knowing that he would be screwed if he left Harry to fend for himself. Harry had barely made it ten yards when another dozen Death Eaters exited a store and surrounded him. Moving behind the edge of a building, Draco shot a hex at the back of one of the Death Eaters. He dropped to the ground. Then he ran across the street and fired another spell at a Death Eater, who also fell.
Vaguely, as Draco darted around the street taking out Death Eaters, he heard Harry mutter, "Sectumsempra," that curse he'd used last year in the lavatory. Five Death Eaters slumped to the street, blood blossoming through their robes. Draco smiled wickedly. It really was a great spell. Somehow, Harry managed to take down the last of the Death Eaters without being injured, and he raced off again.
A couple of times, just as Harry was about to be ambushed, Draco would shoot a spell at the oncoming Death Eater so Harry could keep moving. It took them nearly fifteen minutes, but the entrance to Diagon Alley was finally in sight. Harry put on a burst of speed and managed to get through without incident. Draco followed, his movements starting to slow from the curse he'd taken earlier.
They were only a few shops away from the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione and Ron appeared from inside the abandoned shop that Ron's twin brothers used to own—Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Draco thought it was called—and raced alongside Harry. Draco made sure they were protected, tossing random hexes and spells over his shoulder at the few Death Eaters that had continued to follow them. Then they were through the Leaky Cauldron and out onto the streets of Muggle London.
"Where's Draco?" Hermione gasped.
Harry looked around, bewildered. "He's not with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I sent him ahead because he got hit with a curse," Harry explained quickly.
"I'm right here," Draco said, yanking off the Invisibility Cloak. "Come on, we've got to get out of here."
Hermione took Draco's hand in one of hers and grabbed hold of Harry with the other. Harry made sure to have a grip on Ron and then Apparated them back to safety. They tumbled to the ground near the edge of the Black Lake where Draco had first seen Hermione's Patronus. Draco lay there, panting amongst the dirt and weeds. Hermione sat up, pushing Ron off of her torso. Harry got to his knees. After taking a few minutes to recover, Draco turned on Harry.
"What the hell did you do back there?" he bellowed.
"It wasn't my fault!" Harry yelled back defensively. "One of the Death Eaters had Moody's old glass eye, and he saw through my Invisibility Cloak."
"Well how did they get ahold of Moody's eye?" Draco demanded.
"Hell if I know!" Harry shouted.
"Wait a minute," Ron interrupted. "Are you saying You-Know-Who made one of his Death Eaters remove an eye so he could use Moody's magical one?"
Harry nodded, looking a bit green.
"Obviously You-Know-Who knows about your cloak, Harry," Hermione said somewhat hysterically. "Otherwise he wouldn't have sent the eye along with the Death Eaters. He was anticipating our arrival."
"Now what do we do?" Ron asked, dropping his head into his hands.
"We'll just have to find another way into the school," Hermione replied firmly.
"Hermione, I don't know how we're going to get access to the castle's pipes," Harry said, sounding defeated. "It's most likely that the pipes come up at Hogsmeade Station, and there's no way we'll be able to get there without being seen."
"Well, at least one of us could," Draco said. "The Invisibility Cloak would get someone there and back, but it would be dangerous to go alone."
"Not to mention stupid!" Hermione snapped. "We can't send one person in there! Not alone! It would be suicide!"
"But it would be worth it if that person managed to destroy the Horcruxes first." Draco folded his arms.
Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You're volunteering, aren't you?"
"I'm fine with that," Ron pitched in.
"Ronald!" Hermione spun to face him. "He's done nothing but help us since he rescued us from the manor. Be nice!"
"There must be a way we could all go," Harry said quietly. "I don't feel comfortable just sending in one person. Hermione's right: it's a death sentence."
They looked around at each other for a while, Draco wearing a scowl on his face, trying to mask the mounting pain he was feeling. Whatever curse he'd been hit with had completely engulfed his back and was spreading around his torso and down his legs. After a moment, Hermione's eyes brightened and she shot to her feet. She pulled out her small handbag and dug around in it until she extracted three blankets from its depths. Draco watched her curiously.
"We can cast Disillusionment Charms on the blankets," she said excitedly. "They'll work just as well as an Invisibility Cloak."
"Only at night," Draco said. "Don't forget that light catches any movement from something with the charm on it."
"Then we'll just have to sneak into the castle tonight, after it's dark." Hermione folded her arms, a triumphant smile on her face.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't look so smug. We haven't actually found out if it works yet."
"It will work," Hermione insisted. "I'll be casting the spell. I never fail."
"And I thought I was conceited," Draco muttered to himself.
Harry caught Draco's eye and began laughing. Draco smirked at him.
"Shut up, Harry!" Hermione said, smacking his arm.
"Sorry."
Hermione pulled out her wand and began casting the Disillusionment Charm on the blankets. Within a couple of minutes, the first blanket was a flickering lump of distorted light on the ground. Several more minutes and a complex wand maneuver or two later, and the other two blankets were the same. Now all they had to do was wait for dark to see if the charm had worked.
"Now what?" Ron asked.
"Now we wait," Harry said dramatically.
Draco rolled his eyes. "I'm going for a walk."
He stood up slowly, brushed the dirt from his slacks, and headed along the lake in the direction of Hogwarts. Draco shoved his hands in his pockets, ignoring the pain in his back. Alone for the first time that day, he finally allowed himself to think about the night before. He still had a hard time believing that he had told her he liked her—and he'd been completely sober to boot! He had to figure out a way to take back what he had said without hurting her feelings. At least, without hurting them too much.
After several minutes of quiet contemplation, Draco heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind. He turned around to see Hermione headed his way. As she drew closer, he could see that she looked panicked. His earlier resolution to cut her off wavered at the sight.
"Hey, Granger, what's wrong?"
Hermione didn't respond right away. Instead, she flung herself at Draco, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. Surprised, Draco didn't know how to respond. He stood there with his arms slightly raised, only able to ignore the pain her touch brought because it was her. Slowly, he settled his arms around her shoulders.
"Hermione," Draco whispered.
She finally pulled away. "Sorry."
"What happened?"
"I should be asking you the same question!"
"What do you mean?" Draco asked, not unkindly.
Hermione scowled. "Harry already told us you were hit with a curse. Just now, he told me what he suspects it was."
Draco's eyes widened. "He did?"
"Yes. He thinks you were hit with the Sarkefahito Curse." When Draco looked at her in confusion, she continued. "It's a flesh-eating curse. It spreads rapidly, and if left untreated, will kill you. So take off your shirt." She sat on the ground, folding her legs beneath her.
Sighing, Draco sat beside Hermione, unbuttoning his dress shirt. "I don't know how bad it is."
Hermione gasped when she saw his back. "Oh my God," she cried. "Why didn't you let me help sooner?"
Draco moved to shrug, but winced at the movement. "Because I'm a moron, obviously," he answered sardonically.
He really tried not to look down at his bare chest, but the pull of curiosity was too strong. When he caught sight of what the curse had done to him, he shuddered. His chest was a sickening grey-green color; patches of skin had seemed to just melt away, leaving behind raw sores. Bemusedly, he thought he looked a bit like moldy Swiss cheese.
Hermione dug around in her bag and extracted a bottle of Dittany, along with a book on healing spells. She flipped through the book until she found what she was looking for. "Hold still. This will probably hurt."
Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw her begin waving her wand. He was in no way prepared for the scorching pain that ran tongues of flame up and down his back. He just barely managed to hold back a scream, but couldn't help the growl that slipped out.
"Sorry," Hermione said softly. "It's the counter-curse."
After several excruciating minutes, she moved to face him and began the same process on his chest, which had been completely covered by the curse at that point. He was a bit surprised when Hermione moved to his arms to perform the counter-curse. He glanced at his right arm, horrified to see just how much the curse had spread.
"Er, Hermione?" Draco said uncomfortably. "I think it's spread to my legs as well."
Hermione's cheeks flamed, but she managed to keep any other signs of embarrassment hidden. "Well, then you'll just have to remove your trousers."
Silently, Draco slid out of his slacks. Upon a quick inspection, he determined that his boxers had to go, too. Now completely nude, he began feeling a bit awkward. "So . . ."
"Yes?" Hermione asked without looking up from her task.
"Don't you find it odd that you're staring at my bits?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Draco! That's not what I'm doing!" Her cheeks blazed even brighter.
Draco smirked. "That's a shame." He had to do something to distract himself from the horrid pain of the counter-curse doing its work down there.
"Shut up and let me finish working!"
"And then what?" he asked suggestively.
"Stop it!" she screeched.
"Calm down," Draco said with a chuckle. "I'm just having a bit of fun."
Hermione sighed. "We'll have to get rid of your clothes. The curse will have stuck to the fabric, and wearing them now would essentially be just like being hit with the curse again. Now turn over so I can get the back of your legs."
"Oh?" he asked interestedly. "And am I just supposed to walk around completely exposed while we finish this ungodly quest?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course not. I'll make Harry lend you something."
Draco crinkled his nose as he rolled onto his stomach. "Do I have to wear his clothes?"
"It's either Harry's or Ron's."
"Fine." She was being a very literal pain in the ass at the moment. Stupid counter-curse.
After another few minutes, Hermione finally finished performing the counter-curse on Draco and moved on to healing his injured skin with the Dittany. That stung a little, but was nothing compared to the pain of the counter-curse. It didn't take her very long to finish.
"Now, you stay here and let the Dittany do its job while I go fetch you something to wear."
Sitting up, Draco grunted in acknowledgment. As Hermione walked away, Draco couldn't help picturing the look on her face when he'd completely stripped. The look that had stayed there the entire time she was working. He didn't know what that look meant, but he did know that it wasn't a look of disgust. He was confused. Had Hermione enjoyed seeing all of him? He began to wonder what she looked like completely nude, but promptly forced himself to stop that thought in its tracks. Now was certainly not the time to fantasize about what lay beneath her clothes.
Hermione was gone for a very long time, and when she finally did return, a stack of clothes in her arms, Draco noticed tears were streaking her face. Unthinking, he shot to his feet. Hermione's eyes moved to linger where they shouldn't for a moment before she met his gaze.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked.
"It's Ron," she sighed.
"What did he do this time?"
"Apparently he overheard us talking last night."
"What?" Draco nearly shouted.
"Yeah, and he's being irrationally jealous about it."
"Well that's just stupid!"
Hermione looked at him gravely. "It didn't help that I was over here with you, alone, while you were nude. Ron is being so insecure. I mean, I thought we'd worked that out when he destroyed the locket Horcrux, but apparently not."
"To be fair," Draco joked. "I am ridiculously good looking without any clothes on."
She ignored his attempt at humor and handed him the pile of clothes. "I don't know what to do about him anymore. I keep thinking that if I just give him one more chance, he'll be better, but he never rises to the challenge."
Draco rolled his eyes as he began dressing. "Of course he doesn't. Weasley is lazy. He always has been."
Hermione glared at him. "He's not that bad."
"Isn't he?" Draco raised an eyebrow.
"No!"
"I'm not saying that he doesn't have his redeeming qualities. I'm just asking if those qualities are enough for you."
"I—of course! You don't understand." Hermione folded her arms obstinately.
Draco pulled the shirt over his head. "Maybe I don't. But you shouldn't just stay with him because you'll feel guilty if you don't."
"I don't know why I bothered talking to you," Hermione retorted. "I should have known better."
"Yeah, you should have. We've known each other long enough now for you to know I don't care about other people's problems," he lied.
"Then why are you even here?" she shouted. "If you don't care about other people's problems, what the hell are you still doing with us?"
"I don't know!" Draco yelled back. "Maybe I'll just take off on my own and leave the Golden Trio to their thankless task!"
"Maybe you should!"
"Fine! I will!"
"Fine!"
Draco stormed away without once looking back. He continued walking for several miles, all the while thinking that he should just Apparate out of there. It was all too clear now that none of the others really wanted him around. No matter what he did to help them, they would never be able to see him as a decent person. Maybe that was his own fault for treating them so badly for the last six years, but it was also their fault for refusing to move on. Forgive and forget, right?
So why couldn't Draco do the same thing?
Draco wandered around the edge of the lake for hours, halfway hoping that Harry, Ron, and Hermione would decide to leave him behind. That way he wouldn't have to make the decision himself. A part of him knew that he couldn't truly leave Hermione until the war was over and he could be sure she was safe. That same part of him realized, however, that if he stayed that close to her for that long, he would never be able to let her go. The other part of him just wanted things to go back to the way they were before: easy, uncomplicated, boring. But Draco knew he wouldn't win either way.
When the sun finally began to set, Draco started to walk back to where he had left the others. He dragged his feet, not really wanting to face any of them, least of all Hermione. After he had yelled at her, he had felt guilty instantly—much in the same way he had felt guilty every time he insulted her after third year. She was just so infuriating sometimes. It was a knee-jerk reaction for him to hurt her and push her away. After all, he'd been fighting his feelings for years. Why stop now?
When Draco was a few yards away from the others, he heard them talking in harried tones.
"Why would you say that to him, Hermione?" Harry said.
"I was angry. He stomped off before I could even apologize."
Draco was fairly certain he hadn't stomped.
"Who bloody cares where Malfoy is?" Ron said smugly. "We don't need his help."
"Maybe not," Harry replied patiently, "but if he wanders off alone, he will certainly be captured and killed. We can't let that happen."
"Why not?" Ron asked rudely. "It's not like we owe him or anything."
"Actually, Ron," Hermione said primly, "we do owe him. Our lives. We would all have been killed in Malfoy Manor if he hadn't interceded."
"You don't know that," Ron snapped. "Harry had been looking in his shard of mirror. He asked the person on the other end for help just before Malfoy came downstairs. For all we know, help could have been on the way."
"Maybe that would have worked for you," Hermione said. "But I would have been dead. Bellatrix was just about to use the Killing Curse on me when Malfoy stepped in. You should be more grateful."
"Would you two stop fighting?" Harry asked tiredly.
Before Draco was aware of making the decision, he stepped closer to the group. "Are we gonna do this thing or what?"
Harry's head turned toward him. "Actually . . ."
"What?" Draco snapped.
Harry sighed. "Hermione told me how badly you were affected by that curse, and I think we should wait for a little while before we try anything."
Draco scowled at him. "I'm perfectly fine."
Hermione stood up. "Personally, I'm exhausted. I'm going to go get some sleep."
"What?" Draco shouted at her retreating back. "You can't go to sleep! We have to get into Hogwarts!"
She ignored him.
"Let's give it a couple of days, all right? It'll be better for all of us if we take a break to recuperate from the last couple of weeks." Harry followed Hermione back to the cave.
After glaring heatedly at him, Ron did the same.
Draco flopped to the ground angrily, wondering more than ever what he was still doing with them. As he contemplated his situation, his mind began to wander, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Four days later, Harry finally announced that he thought they were ready to enter Hogwarts. Additionally, Voldemort had left, so the coast was clear of at least one foe. Now that it was dark, Draco was huddled back beside the Black Lake with the others, preparing to find the pipes that would lead into the school. Hermione handed Draco a blanket without looking at him, gave one to Ron, and wrapped the third one around herself. Immediately, the only part of her that was visible was her head. Draco was impressed at the strength of her Disillusionment Charm, even though he had already known it was going to be brilliant.
"Should we just Apparate to the train station and start from there?" asked Harry.
Draco shrugged.
"Do you really think the pipes will surface at the train station, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Dunno. But it's the best guess we have."
"Then let's go." Hermione pulled a rope out of her bag and handed one end to Harry. "Tie this around your waist. It will make sure we don't lose each other when we're all invisible."
"Won't it look odd to have random bits of rope floating in midair?" Ron asked.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "The rope is enchanted. As soon as we're all covered, the rope will be just as invisible as we are."
"Oh." Ron took the spot right behind Harry and tied the rope around his own waist. "Good idea."
"Thanks," Hermione said sarcastically, looping the rope around herself. She handed the end of it to Draco.
Draco took it and tied it securely around himself. Then he draped the blanket he was carrying over his head, making sure his feet were covered. "There's just one other thing," he said reluctantly.
Harry turned to look in his direction. "What?"
"The Dark Lord put up a Caterwauling Charm over Hogsmeade. If we Apparate there, it'll go off. We have to walk."
He nodded. "Guess we're walking, then."
Nearly two hours later, they finally saw Hogsmeade Station in the distance. It appeared to be abandoned. It was strange, because Draco had expected there to be Death Eaters at least guarding it. Harry stopped them just before they ascended the platform steps.
"Keep your eyes peeled for anything that might help," he instructed in a low whisper.
Draco looked around, trying to spot anything that looked like it might lead underneath the Black Lake. There was nothing that stood out as far as he could see. He was just about to say as much when he was being tugged by the rope to the opposite side of the platform.
"What the hell is going on?" he whispered fiercely.
"There's something over here!" Ron said excitedly.
Draco stumbled along after the others, still not sure what they were supposed to be looking at. He didn't figure it out until the stars suddenly winked out above him. They were in some kind of musty tunnel now, and he realized that there had been a small patch of darkness that appeared denser than the rest as they approached their current location. Apparently the weasel had night vision. Harry pulled the hood of his Invisibility Cloak back. Hermione and Ron quickly followed suit. Sighing, Draco did the same.
"I think we should split up once we get inside the castle," Harry said quietly. "We'll be able to get in and out faster that way."
"Is that really the best idea, Potter?" Draco asked, eyebrows raised. "After all, there's safety in numbers."
"No, it's definitely better this way."
"Harry—" Hermione began.
"Just go with it, Hermione," Harry said. "Everything will be fine."
Hermione pursed her lips but nodded her assent.
"Keep yourselves covered. We don't know who or what we'll encounter in these pipes." Harry pulled the hood back up over his head.
"We ought to cast that charm that hides the sound of our footsteps," Draco said. "Pipes tend to echo, and we don't want to alert anyone to our presence by walking too loudly."
"Good idea," Hermione said. "You know how to do it, right Ron? Harry?"
They both grumbled at her in the affirmative. Draco smirked to himself, more pleased than he should have been that Hermione didn't doubt his own skill. He silently cast the charm on his feet and drew the blanket back over himself. Hermione and Ron both disappeared shortly after.
Harry moved forward, slowly drawing the others after him. Draco silently trudged along, wishing he had the sound of his feet splashing in the shallow water to keep him occupied. The pipe was absurdly dark. Draco reached out his hand and trailed it along the wall of the pipe next to him; it was damp, sticky, and covered in some kind of mildew. He wiped his hand on his pants. Gross.
The four of them walked for what felt like an eternity, the pipe remaining straight the entire time. Draco didn't notice it at first because it was so gradual, but he soon realized he could make out the faint outline of the pipe walls around him. If he squinted, he could see the texture of the mildew coating the cement structure. He was about to mention his revelation to the others when they arrived at an intersection in the pipe. It split off into two directions, forming a Y in front of them.
"Now what?" Hermione whispered.
"I suppose here is as good a place as any to split up," Harry suggested.
"Hold on," Draco said. "How do we even know if we're going in the right direction?"
"Well, the Chamber of Secrets was below the east side of the castle," Harry said. "So we just have to determine which pipe heads the most in that direction."
Draco pulled his wand out of his pocket and held it in his open palm. "Point me." His wand swiveled to his left, pointing north at a ninety-degree angle from where he stood. "Whoever is going to the chamber needs to go down the right tunnel."
"Hermione and I could—" Ron started.
"Oh, no. I'm not going anywhere with you," Hermione interrupted. "I'm still angry at you."
"Then Ron and I will head to the Room of Requirement," Harry said. "Hermione, you and Malfoy go to the chamber. Meet us in the corridor outside of the Room of Requirement when you're finished, and remember to stay hidden."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Anything else, boss?" He could imagine Harry's frown of disapproval.
"Just hurry," Harry said shortly.
Draco watched Hermione's wand appear in front of him and swipe through the air. A slackening of the rope around his waist indicated that she had severed it between herself and Ron.
"Good luck," she said quietly. "Be careful."
"Aren't I always?" Harry replied.
Hermione scoffed. "Hardly. But get a move on."
Draco allowed Hermione to take the lead as she headed down the pipe on the right. This segment was very windy, full of sharp turns and switchbacks, but never any extra branches of pipe. It was odd, he thought, that there would be so few pipes in this area, but perhaps the school had come up with better ways to run water and sewage than through the ancient plumbing.
It wasn't long before the lighting in this pipe began to change, too. It became lighter, suffused with a greenish glow. And suddenly Hermione was pulling Draco out of the pipe and into a smelly stone corridor. After a few more feet and a sharp right turn, they entered a cavern. On Draco's right, carved into the wall was a strange depiction of Salazar Slytherin's head. The mouth was wide open, revealing a hole that had a dark, foreboding presence. Laying on the ground in front of Slytherin's head was the mangled skeleton of a giant snake, the skin long since sunken and dried out.
"Holy shit," Draco whispered. "The Chamber of Secrets."