Switching Sides

Chapter Seven
The Secret

~~~~~Last Time~~~~~

"To Mad-Eye," she said.

Grumbling awkwardly, Bill Weasley grabbed a glass and joined in. Seeing that the matter of a possible traitor had been put to rest for the moment, everyone else, including Draco himself, took a glass and followed their lead. A chorus of somber voices called out.

"To Mad-Eye!"

Harry's POV

Harry awoke early the next morning, his scar burning. Echoes of Ollivander's tortured screams still played in his head. It took him a few moments to shake the frail voice away and remember what Voldemort had been saying in his dream. Voldemort knew that Harry's wand had somehow performed its own magic; he knew it was not impossible. He also now knew just how strong the connection was, and that using another's wand did not help - but what does it mean? Perhaps the connection is not between the two wands, perhaps it exists between them. But why? Harry lay in bed for what seemed like hours, but could not decipher any more meaning from it.

The next few days passed far too quickly for Harry's liking and he was hoping to use the time to plan before leaving the safety of the Burrow. However, the antics of Mrs Weasley prevented anything of the sort. Mrs Weasley kept them busy with preparations for the wedding, which were usually tasks that meant he was separated from his friends. When she had no choice but to allow them to work together, she asked Malfoy to tag along and help; an arrangement neither of them were pleased with. She insisted it was so they could get to know each other, but Harry was not fooled. He suspected she had an ulterior motive.

Several days passed until he found himself alone with Ron and Hermione. The three of them were sorting out the master bedroom, ready for Mr and Mrs Delacour's arrival the next morning, before the wedding. Taking advantage of their situation, they all broke out into hurried whispers.

"Where do you think we should go first? I was thinking, maybe – " Hermione began thoughtfully.

"Do you know where any of them are - ?"

"Or what they are?"

Harry had to think for a moment before answering. He hadn't been expecting to be bombarded with questions.

"Except for the real locket, I'm not quite sure. I do have a few ideas, though." He paused, expecting Ron or Hermione to interrupt, but when neither did, he continued, "Dumbledore thought that he might have used other objects from the founders of Hogwarts. So I was thinking that maybe something of Hufflepuff's, Gryffindor's or -"

"Gryffindor? Why would You-Know-Who make something of Gryffindor's into a horcrux?" Ron said, forgetting they were supposed to be quiet. He covered his mouth in shock, as the door opened and Malfoy walked in.

"Mrs Weasley said I have to help you," he said emotionlessly.

The three of them, now joined by Malfoy, went back to working in an uneasy silence.

Draco's POV

Draco was in his temporary room, enjoying the few hours of solitude in which Mrs Weasley had not found any chores for him to do. He found it extremely tedious; he had never worked so hard in his life. Back at Malfoy Manor, the house-elves did all of the cleaning and other household work. He couldn't understand why Mrs Weasley was trying to get him to spend so much time with the other three. She said it was so they could get to know each other, but he suspected a different motive. But what was it? He had noticed how she had been trying to keep them separated, though he had no idea why.

He was becoming frustrated. He hadn't minded it that much at first, but since Potter came everything had been different. The three of them kept whispering to each other when they thought no one could hear them. When he had walked in on them, they were talking about something called horcruxes…Draco knew he had heard that term before, but could not remember where. What did it mean?

Draco's musings were interrupted by Mrs Weasley's voice, calling him and the others down for dinner. Reluctantly leaving his room, he went downstairs, to find no-one in the kitchen. Confused, he peered out of the window to find everyone sitting along a large table, on top of which was what looked like a giant golden snitch. Oh yeah, he thought, it was Potter's birthday. How could he forget? Earlier that day, Potter had come down to breakfast, receiving many congratulations and gifts, whilst Draco didn't know what he should do. He had mumbled a quick 'Happy Birthday' before going upstairs to his room.

Draco pushed the door open and went outside, stopping when he realised the only seat left was at the end of the table, next to Potter. Hesitantly, he sat down, noticing that Mrs Weasley, who was sitting opposite him, was staring worriedly at the gate. He looked around, wondering why, when a silver animal – a weasel, perhaps? – glided into the garden and spoke in the voice of Mr Weasley, 'The Minister for Magic is coming with me', before vanishing. Draco was staring, surprised, at the place where it had disappeared into wisps of smoke. He had never seen anything do that before.

"Oh dear," Mrs Weasley cried, getting off her seat and walking over to him. At the same time, Lupin and Tonks said quick goodbyes and left the garden.

Mrs Weasley towered over him. "Quick – I'd better disguise you," she said, whilst tapping his hair with her wand and muttering under her breath.

"That should do it," she said, admiring her work. Draco's blonde hair was now slightly longer, and a fiery red colour. His face was now dotted with a multitude of freckles. The Minister would not doubt that he was a Weasley. "If he asks, your name is Barry," Mrs Weasley added, before hastily returning to her seat.

The gate opened. Draco's head whipped around to see the Minister for Magic walk in. He looked exactly as Draco remembered, having met him several times when he and his father would accompany him somewhere. His father had liked to acquaint himself with top Ministry Officials. He walked towards them with a slight limp, with Mr Weasley following behind with a perplexed expression on his face.

"I would like to speak to Mr Ron Weasley, Miss Hermione Granger and Mr Harry Potter," the Minister announced impatiently. "Privately. Let us go into the house." He began walking towards the house, not bothering to check to see if they were following him, knowing they would not disobey his authority. Draco saw the three of them throw each other confused looks, but they all got up and followed the man back into the house.

"What do you think he wanted?" Mrs Weasley asked her husband, a worried tone in her voice. "You do think it's safe, don't you?"

"I think so," Mr Weasley said quietly, but he did not sit down. He remained standing, facing the house so he could enter immediately if it sounded like trouble.

Those remaining in the garden sat in silence, not wanting to start eating without the trio. Draco looked around at those sitting around him, all of whom were wearing puzzled expressions. After a few minutes, Draco could hear the unmistakable sound of raised voices coming from the house. Mr Weasley responded immediately, rushing forwards and disappearing into the house. He returned a little later, with Potter, Weasley and Granger, Scrimgeour limping along behind them, looking thoroughly disappointed and annoyed. Without another word, he slammed open the gate and left.

"What did he want?" Mrs Weasley asked, her curiosity showing clearly in her voice.

"To give us the contents of Dumbledore's Will," Granger said, sniffing. She showed Mrs Weasley the book she was clutching in her arms. "I don't understand what any of them mean, though."

The three items were passed around the table; Draco particularly liked the snitch, although he could not understand why the former Headmaster had given them. Potter dismissed suggestions that the Snitch would respond to flesh memories, saying he had already touched it and nothing had happened. The Deluminator was also interesting, although Draco could not see how it did anything except for turning lights on and off. The book, to him, seemed pointless. Most wizard children already knew the stories in them, and he was sure that Granger must have read them before. After the interest in the objects died down, Mrs Weasley summoned the food and they all began to eat.

That evening passed quickly, and before Draco knew it, the first day of August had arrived. He was not looking forward to the day ahead. He had always disliked big events like weddings, preferring to keep to himself. He had dealt with the birthday dinner okay, but it had only been a small affair compared to the wedding that was bound to have lots of guests. He would have preferred to be back in his bedroom, even if it meant he would be re-reading 'Hogwarts: A History' for the third time since his arrival at the Burrow. Instead, he found himself with Potter and the twins, outside the wedding tent, disguised and wearing robes which were slightly too short for him. They had previously belonged to Percy Weasley, who he had been surprised to discover had abandoned his family for the Ministry. He was disguised in the same fashion as the day before and in a similar fashion to Potter. It would be too risky to have Potter out in the open with so many guests.

The wedding ceremony itself was simple and short, but Draco knew he had to stay for the party afterwards as well. He kept out of the way of the other guests most of the time, and found himself sitting alone at a table, watching the dancers. He thought back to the Yule Ball a few years ago, thinking of how different the situation was. Everything had changed so much since the Dark Lord came back.

His memories were interrupted by the arrival of a girl with waist-length dirty blonde hair. Draco felt as though he recognised her from school, but could not think of her name.

"Hello, I'm Luna. Are you a relative of Ron's?" she asked in a vague, dreamy voice.

"Yes," he said, hating that he had to pretend to be a Weasley.

"I thought you were," she said, smiling. "We live just over the hill. It was so good of them to invite us. You look young, do you not go to Hogwarts? I've never seen you before."

Draco did not know how to answer this, but luckily he was saved by the arrival of a very eccentric looking man, who was unmistakably a relative of Luna's. He put his hand on the girls shoulder. "Come on Luna, we'd better go home," he said, his voice bitter. The two of them walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

Once again, Draco found himself alone. Unfortunately, it did not last long; Granger had come over.

"Oh, hello," she said, much too politely. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

Draco was very confused at this, wondering why she was being so friendly to him. The explanation was clear when she continued to speak. "Harry? What's wrong?"

"Er – Hermione?" the real Potter said, appearing behind Granger.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, blushing. "Sorry – "

But the rest of her speech was lost as a large, silver animal glided into the garden, and, as Mr Weasley's had done, began to speak. Its voice was identical to Kingsley Shacklebolt's.

"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

There was a split second of silence as the guests processed the information. Many were gazing, shocked, at where the silvery animal had been moments before, and Draco was one of them.

Then came the screams. People on all sides were crying out and many others were disapparating. Draco could hear Granger's panicked voice beside him screaming, "Ron! Where are you?", and a voice replying, 'I'm here!" Draco looked around in shock, just as a dozen hooded, masked figures forced their way into the garden. Draco yelled out in shock, and, turning to run, tripped on a discarded bottle of Butterbeer. Fortunately, someone had caught him before he hit the floor. He felt a strange sensation of spinning as he was pulled into darkness.

Then light reached his eyes again and he was standing in a street, far away from the Burrow…