As soon as the trio walked through the door, Malfoy looked up expectantly. Harry nodded tersely.
"We'd like you to do it." Malfoy nodded in return.
"Very well," he said calmly, though a little paler than usual. "I assume I'll be swearing to you, Potter?"
Harry, caught off-guard, looked back at his friends for confirmation. Hermione nodded encouragingly, while Ron had a look on his face that clearly said 'Better you than me.'
"Yes," said Harry firmly, hoping he knew what he was getting himself into. "Er...what do I need to do?"
"Just kneel down in front of me and take my right hand in yours," Draco said, lowering himself so he was kneeling on the tile floor. Harry knelt down in front of him and grasped the proffered hand. It was ice cold.
"Ok," Harry said, still unsure. "Now what?"
"Now," said Draco intently, "we need a Bonder." His eyes were fixed on Hermione.
"A...a what?" asked Harry, completely at a loss.
"The Bonder is the one who actually performs the spell and oversees the vows," recited Hermione, a bit nervous. "Professor Flitwick's mentioned it at least twice in class, Harry you ought to know by now. I've read all about the theory, but I don't know if...I've never actually done it, of course...and so many things can go wrong..."
"I have complete faith in you," said Ron encouragingly, hugging her around the shoulders. Harry gave him a surreptitious thumbs-up behind his back. Ron grinned. Harry felt Draco stiffen in his. Hermione rewarded him with only a tentative smile, but she looked more confident as she moved to stand between the two kneeling boys.
"Well...alright, then, Harry," she said, pulling out her wand and placing the tip on their linked hands. "Tell him what you want him to swear. And be formal."
"Er...alright, then," said Harry. His knees were starting to feel sore on the hard floor and he really just wanted to get the whole mess over with. He thought back to his History of Magic lessons.
"Do you, Draco Malfoy, solemnly swear to never reveal any piece of information given to you concerning Dumbledore's Army?" A flicker of confusion shot across Malfoy's face. Harry realized belatedly that he had never actually told Malfoy what the D.A. was, but Malfoy quickly said, "I swear."
A thin tendril of brilliant fire snaked out of the end of Hermione's wand and wrapped itself around Harry and Draco's joined hands. Harry shied away from the flames, but he felt no heat, merely a pleasant tickling sensation.
"Do you promise to always keep all information about Dumbledore's Army secret and in no way reveal let on to the Ministry that we have formed such a group?" Again, with no hesitation, Malfoy said "I swear."
A second flame intertwined with the first, weaving a fine red chain.
"And do you swear that, no matter the circumstances, you will ally yourself with us and do all in your power to promote our cause?"
Harry stared intently into Draco's eyes. He knew this would be the real test: at this point, words meant nothing. In order for them to trust Malfoy completely, they had to be sure he would follow them fully. He saw Malfoy's eyes flicker over to Hermione, then come back to lock with his. Harry felt that those pale eyes were staring into his very soul, examining him. At last, Malfoy drew a deep breath, then whispered, "I swear."
A third line of fire wove around the first two, forming a thick glowing snake that twined and twirled around the boys' hands. The red light reflected off the pale white tiles and danced across their faces. Then, all at once, there was a great flash of light, a swearing pain, and the fire was gone.
Harry fell back, rubbing his hand. The pain had gone as quickly as it had come, but he could still feel the aftereffects. Malfoy, too, was shaking out his hands. Harry stood up, groaning at the pain in his knees. He faced Malfoy, whose face was as closed and as haughty as ever. Harry shook his head.
"Well, even if we don't like you, at least we know we can trust you."
Ron laughed. Malfoy didn't smile, but a pink tinge touched his pale cheeks. "Funny," he said. "Really witty. Now. You wanted my help? You're going to have to give me some more information first."
"Yes," said Harry, reflecting that he seemed to be giving an awful lot of explanations recently. "Well, it's a long story..."
Harry waited nervously in the Room of Requirement as the last of the D.A. trickled in. He had asked Malfoy to wait nearby-he would send Hermione for him once they were ready. When at last everyone had taken their seats, Harry cleared his throat. All chatter died away instantly.
"Hello, again, everybody." He waited for the chorus of hellos to fade, smiling slightly. As soon as everyone was quiet, Harry continued.
"As you may or may not have heard, Cho has been found. She's currently locked in a hidden dungeon protected by some sort of magical barrier. We don't know what it is or how to get through it yet," said Harry in answer to the unspoken questions in everyone's eyes.
"Yet?" asked Fred loudly.
"Well," said Harry, nervous again, "we may have someone who can help. Hermione, if you would." She nodded and slipped out of the room. "Now, promise you won't get upset," he said to the room at large. "We can trust him." People were firing questions at him, but he answered none of them, merely signaled for them to wait.
When at last Hermione returned with Malfoy, the room exploded. People were screaming, threatening, the twins were looking as though they might punch Malfoy. Luna simply stared. "Everybody calm down," said Harry loudly. No one heard. A whistle, he thought desperately, I need a whistle. He looked around and spotted one lying on a table nearby. He snatched it up and blew it, hard. Everyone froze. "Thank you," he said calmly into the sudden silence. "Now. Before you all protest any further, I'd like to say a few things. First: Malfoy has sworn an Unbreakable Vow not to tell anything about us. So trustworthiness is not an issue. Understand?"
Muttered assent spread throughout the room. "Second: we are doing our best to fight anything that would drive us apart, including blood prejudices, the Ministry, and Voldemort." He waited for the shrieks and starts to pass. Harry noticed that Malfoy hadn't flinched. He was merely staring at the ground with a blank look on his face, uncharacteristically humble.
"We-that is, Ron, Hermione, and I-believe that Malfoy can help us with this. And with freeing Cho. Any questions?"
There were none. The various members of the D.A. were watching Malfoy with varying stages of dislike etched on their faces. Harry sighed. He knew this move was going to be an unpopular one, but it had to be done. They had to be united if they were ever going to do anything.
"Ron, if you could tell us again what you saw last night."
Ron quickly described the barrier, then Malfoy explained what he knew. There was silence for a few moments as everyone digested all that they'd heard. At last, Neville raised his hand. When Harry called on him, he asked quietly, "Does the barrier have to be keyed to Umbridge? Wouldn't there be other people as well? She can't do all of this alone, surely. She's not even here very often now that she's Minister of Magic."
Harry was dumbfounded. Somehow he had automatically assumed Umbridge would be behind everything. Torturing students really seemed like her style. He clenched his fist and saw his scars stand out white on the back of his hand: I must not tell lies. Yes, Harry thought. Torturing students is definitely her style. But even so, it seemed unlikely that she would come all the way from the Ministry, a place with much more scope for nastiness, just to torture one girl.
"The Carrows," said Luna dreamily. Harry started. He hadn't thought she was paying attention. "I'm sure that's who's doing it," she continued. "Haven't you noticed how many meals they've been missing?" Harry had to admit that he hadn't. "So either they've swallowed a Caratax, or they're doing something else. And what else could they be doing?"
"What's a Caratax?" asked Seamus.
"Oh, it's a little creature that likes to impersonate food, and when you swallow it, it lives in your belly and makes you feel full," explained Luna. "My aunt reckons she swallowed one once. She didn't eat for days. Finally the Healers had to reach in and-"
"The Carrows certainly are mean enough," interrupted Hermione hastily. "Yes, I'm almost certain she's right."
The room erupted in discussion. Harry let it continue for a moment, then blew his whistle again. As they quieted, Harry pocketed it-a whistle really was a useful thing to have around. At last, he said, "Ok. So assume Luna's right. How are we going to get them down there?"
"Not just that," said Malfoy quietly. "They have to get Cho out as well."
Ron flared up. "Fine," he said loudly-rather more so than the occasion warranted, in Harry's opinion. "Fine, Malfoy. What'd you think we should do?"
"Oh, it's simple, really," said Malfoy with an odd little smile. "All it would take is one simple spell."
"And what's that?" asked George, clearly skeptical. Murmurs of agreement rose around the room.
Malfoy waited a beat, then said, "The Imperius Curse."
A.N: Hello! First off, let me offer my most sincere apologies about the delay. I have been thoroughly busy and unmotivated (yes, I'll admit it). I'll admit to that I can't give you any indication of when the next chapter will be up because I just don't know. Although lovely reviews do make me ever so much more willing to write...
Anyway, I would just like to be clear: you may recognize sections of this chapter from J.K. Rowling's novels. That's because they are from J.K. Rowling's novels. I did my very best to stay as close to her descriptions as possible (although I did have to make up the end of the Unbreakable Vow. I hope it seemed plausible?) But I would just like to say again that I claim absolutely no rights.
With that being said, I do hope all of you liked it. I'd love to hear what you think. Maybe you could leave me your favorite moments? Also, I would again like to extend my plea for new title ideas. I just am not terribly fond of the one I've got-I just needed one quickly, and that's what I came up with. So if you've got a better idea, anything at all, PLEASE tell me!
Thanks so much for reading, and for reviewing if you do. You sure ought to know my now that your reviews mean the world to me. You are my inspiration.
Much love!
-Forever the Optimist