Chapter Nine: Save the Serpent and the Grader

"I think Hermione Granger should do for the next. It's time we stop playing with small game like squibs, and move onto bigger meat. Don't you agree, Draco?"

Draco looked up from the tip of the shoe he was studying in the palm of his hand to see his father standing in his bedroom doorway. Draco narrowed his eyes and stood up, "You're not really my father. I remember now. You and mother died almost seven months ago."

"Nonsense, Boy. We just wanted people to think that," Lucius stepped farther into the room, and Draco noticed this time his father looked the way he once had: regal and aristocratic. He even had his serpent-headed cane in his hand. His hair hung thick and long down his back, his flesh had taken on that ethereal glow once more, and his features were relaxed, and youthful.

Draco took a step back, "No. I don't know who you are, but you aren't my father."

Lucius gave his son a sinister smile, "Honestly, Draco. Did all of that time in the states turn you into a buffoon?"

Draco swallowed. Though he knew the man before him couldn't possibly be his father – if Harry Potter was to be believed – the man was doing a damn awful good job of it.

Taking his son's silence as acquiescence, Lucius asked, "Now, did you hear what I said?"

Draco found himself nodding, despite himself.

"Granger then. And…try not to be so messy this time."

Draco nodded again, but this time, he was completely aware. He knew what hisfather was telling him to do, and he also had confirmation that he was the one behind all of those homicides Potter had accused him of the day before.

God, how had his life gotten turned so upside down in just over thirty-six hours?

"You just sent me out earlier," Draco spouted, trying to buy himself some time. He needed to stop himself. He didn't like Granger – true, he hated the bloody mudblood – but he didn't want to kill her.

Lucius shrugged, "Yes. I did. Because it was the right time for you to go. Now is the right time for Granger. She's alone."

Draco stepped forward, forgetting his fear, "Why are you doing this to me? Who are you?"

A glimmer of something that can only be described as the very epitome of evil flashed across Lucius' features, before he gave Draco a winning smile, "Granger. Now."

Draco nodded again and felt his feet ushering him forward, "No. No, I don't want to." But, despite what his mouth said, and his brain thought, his feet kept on moving.

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Harry nearly jumped out of his seat when Ron appearated right in front of him, "Bloody hell, Ron! What the fuck?"

Ron didn't even apologize, instead he reached down and grabbed Harry's wand off the table, and then extended it to Harry, "Here. Let's go. Now."

Harry stood up from the couch and took his wand, "Go? I can't go anywhere. I'm waiting on someone."

"To hell with waiting on someone. We go. Now. There's been another murder. Another one of your squib's."

"Shit. Hold on, let me get my shoes." Harry went into the hall and had his foot shoved into his loafer when he realized there was a hole in it. Cursing violently under his breath he turned, and headed into his bedroom to dig into his closet for another pair.

He could hear Ron talking from the living room, "She was found an hour ago by a neighbor. The report is that it's a bloody mess over there – her apartment trashed, blood all over the place, the poor woman blown to tiny fucking bites. It's absolutely atrocious."

Harry stepped out of the closet and moved to his bed where he sat down and started pulling his shoes on. He called out to Ron, "Why are you here though?"

"The ministry said this case is getting out of hand, especially with the latest homicide. They wanted you to have a partner, so they sent me an owl, telling me to come get you on my way to the crime scene. Right bad fucking time too. Hermione and I were in the middle of-"

But Harry didn't hear what Ron said after that because he was too surprised by the sudden cracking noise behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Tibs standing on his bed. The house-elf wasted no time on formalities; instead, he rushed forward at Harry, grabbing onto his shoulders, "Harry Potter must save Tibs Master. Harry Potter must go now. Master is going to do it again."

The house-elf had a wild look in his eyes and Harry stood up, "What? What's Malfoy going to do?"

The house-elf's lips curled inwards for a moment before suddenly exploding open as Tibs yelled, "Kill a grader!"

"A grader? What the hell is a grader?" Harry asked, his eyes just as wide as the elf's now.

"Tibs doesn't know! But Harry Potter must go save Tibs' master, and the grader!"

"I don't understand, Tibs. Wait-" Harry frowned, because he had been hoping it wasn't true – even though he hated the fact that he had been hoping that – "Are you saying that Malfoy is the one behind all of those murders?"

Tibs' eyes welled up with tears, and Harry didn't know if it was because the house-elf was scared for Draco Malfoy, himself, or because of the pain he was causing himself by biting so hard into his bottom lip that blood dribbled down his chin. Regardless, the elf nodded frantically at Harry.

Harry cursed again violently.

"Harry! What the hell are you doing? We have to – who the hell is that?"

Harry turned to see Ron standing in the doorway, "Do you know what a grader is?"

Ron looked blankly at Harry, "What? A grader? Are you trying to tell me that house-elf is a grader?"

Harry shook his head and gave Ron a very exasperated look, "No. This is Tibs. He's Malfoy's house-elf."

"Malfoy's - …why the bloody hell is Malfoy's house-elf in your flat?"

"Because…" Harry almost told Ron why. He almost told Ron that it was because Malfoy was the one committing the murders, but he bit his own tongue, and shook his head instead, "He was delivering a message. And I have to go."

"You have to go…because Malfoy's house-elf…delivers you a message?" Ron looked bewilderingly at Harry, "What the hell is going on, mate?"

"I can't tell you. I have to go." Harry finished pulling on his other shoe and then stood up.

Tibs, still standing on the bed, was smiling through the tears streaming down his face, "Thank you, Harry Potter, Sir. Thank you so much. Tibs will be forever in your debt. Forever."

Ron looked from Harry to Tibs and then back to Harry, "What the hell, Harry?"

Harry shook his head, "I can't. I have to go. You go onto the scene without me. Tell them…tell them you couldn't find me."

Ron took a few steps into Harry's bedroom, a very worried look pulling at his handsome features. His voice was low when he spoke, "Mate…what's going on?"

Harry only shook his head once more, "I have to go. I have to go find…a grader."

And then there were two CRACK'S and both the house-elf and Harry were gone, leaving Ron so confused he felt dizzy.

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Draco reached up and grabbed onto the door frame of the hallway entrance his feet was trying to lead him down. As his feet kept moving, and he didn't want to, Draco tripped and fell flat on his face. Before he could start walking again, he sat up, grabbed his legs, and crossed them in a meditation-style. For a moment, it was as though it had worked, and then Draco found himself on his feet once more, walking down the hall.

"Shit. Shit. No. No. Stop. Stop. Stop!" But on he went, and he knew he was being pulled to the door at the end of the hall.

Draco did some fast thinking then, and started yelling, "GRANGER!! GRANGER!!"

As though only a split second passed, though it was probably more, the door at the end of the hall was flung open, and Hermione Granger, bushy hair and all, was seen standing there. She looked down the hallway to Draco moving toward her, and raised a brow, "Malfoy? What are you doing?"

"Go get Harry!" Draco yelled as he clung to another doorframe that he was passing as his feet ran out from under him. He crashed down on his ass to the floor.

Hermione stepped out into the hallway, giving Draco a look that declared her mistrust of him loudly.

"Look, Granger, just do what I say, all right? That is, if you'd rather live than die?"

Hermione whipped her wand out from her back pocket and aimed it at Draco, "What are you up to, Draco?"

"Oh, bloody hell, Granger! Just do what I fucking say!!" Draco bellowed at her. The door frame he was clinging to was then suddenly filled by another person as the door opened.

An overweight, balding man looked down at Draco on the floor and then to Hermione, who had quickly hidden her wand, "Is everything all right out here?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes. Fine, thank you. He just fell, is all."

The man looked between the pair again, and then down to Draco, "You need a hand getting up?"

Draco glared at the man, "Get your fat muggle ass back inside your flat and leave me the fuck alone!"

Hermione gave a nervous giggle as she rushed forward toward Draco, "Sorry – he's really drunk. He gets angry when he's wasted."

The man narrowed his eyes at Draco, his cheeks red with embarrassment. He then looked to Hermione again, "You want me to call the cops?"

Hermione shook her head, "No. No thank you. Please, don't let us bother you anymore."

The man looked between the pair once more, and then, with a little nod of his head, pulled back into his flat, and shut the door.

Hermione immediately withdrew her wand, "Muffliato," she then turned her enraged gaze back to Draco, "What are you doing here, Malfoy?"

Draco had regained his feet, but was still clinging to the doorway. Hermione eyed him uneasily, taking a couple of steps backward. Draco gave her a pleading look that was so out of character she half lowered her wand, "Please, Granger. Just get Harry for me. Please?"

Hermione rose a brow, "How do I know you won't hurt him?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? It's not like he's a goddamn half-wit, Granger! He can defend himself if he wants to!"

Hermione actually jumped at Draco's outraged roar. She then was in mid-step, turning away from him to go do as he asked, when there was a loudCRACK and Harry was standing a few feet behind Draco.

He was staring at Hermione so determinedly, however, he didn't even notice Draco off to his right, "Hermione! I need to know what a grader could be!"

"Harry!" both Hermione and Draco cried at the same time and Harry looked to Draco bewilderingly.

A myriad of expressions passed over Harry's face then, before he mumbled, "Grader? Grader…grad…er….GRANGER!!" Harry screamed at the end.

Hermione jumped and wore such a wide-eyed look she reminded Harry strongly of Tibs as he turned to look to her, and then back to Draco. His face was red, and Hermione could see utter fury in his emerald eyes as he pulled his wand and directed it at Draco, "You were going to-"

"I told her to call for you! I don't want to, Potter! I'm trying to stop myself, but I must be…under…a curse!" And his nails grasped for the frame, but his feet had him in a full-out run toward Hermione, that Harry stepped in front of.

Harry caught him in his arms, and Draco unhesitatingly wrapped his arms tightly around Harry, and then bent slightly to bury his face in the other man's neck so he couldn't see Granger standing just behind Harry, and before himself.

"Harry," came Hermione's cautious voice, "What in the world is going on?"

Harry didn't turn around to look at Hermione. Instead, he wrapped his arms even more tightly around Draco, who was still clinging to Harry as though he were his lifeline.

"Harry?" came Hermione's voice again. "Harry, please. Tell me what's going on. Why aren't you with Ron? Why are you here? What's he doing here?"

"Don't."

Hermione's brow lifted at the dangerous undertone that Harry's voice carried with that one simple word. She swallowed, worry for her friend overwhelming her to the point where she had tears shining in her eyes, "Don't? Don't what, Harry?"

"Don't…say 'he' like that," Harry answered, his voice softer.

Hermione watched as one of Harry's hands rose to rest on the back of Draco's head, almost as though comforting him, and Hermione was convinced then that Harry must be under some sort of spell, "Harry! I don't know what spell or curse-"

Harry shook his head, "No curse. No spell," he looked over his shoulder to Hermione, "But Ron and you always did know me best."

Hermione gave Harry a very confused look. Her best friend, the only other person she cared about as much as she cared for Ron, gave her a small smile, and then – CRACK! – he was gone, and so was Draco.

Hermione bit into her bottom lip as a tear slid down her cheek, "Harry?" she said into the silence of the hall.