Chapter 13: Support Harry Potter Party

"And to Draco Malfoy, an award for loyal service and dedication to the school." Snape pointed his wand and a large, golden medal floated down from the staff table and pinned itself on to Draco's robes. Draco smiled as the Slytherin table applauded him, the rest of the Great Hall scowling and muttering. They dared not raise their voices any higher, however, and this only made Draco smile wider. "Only last night Draco chased away a group a renegade students attempting to vandalize the school," Snape went on. "Though the students escaped before they could be apprehended or identified, Hogwarts appreciates Mr. Malfoy's valiant effort." More applause from the Slytherin table and Draco returned to his seat.

"Wish I'd have been there," Nott said eagerly. "We'd have caught the half bloods and blood traitors if I had."

"Of course," Draco agreed. "Instead I was stuck with these louts." He gestured at Crabbe and Goyle on either side of him. Normally, the two of them could handle tasks like "Get him!" with an odd sort of grace. Last night, however, they had let the members of Dumbledore's Army escape. Malfoy had as well, he supposed, but he had an excuse and hadn't messed up nearly so bad.

"I heard they grabbed Filch by mistake," Blaise Zabini put in. There were a few snickers from around the table.

"He was in the shadows, sneaking about," Crabbe said defensively. More laughter.

"More like he was trying to catch them as well," Nott said. "And what happened to you, Malfoy?"

"It was Finnigan. The half blood," Draco said. "I'm sure of it. He transfigured the floor, made it trip me, and got away." Draco knew this story too was open to ridicule. However, though the floor had quickly changed back leaving Draco no evidence, no one had questioned his story.

After breakfast, Draco walked with Pansy to their first class, Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid had been out all week, replaced by the old witch Grubbly-Plank. Draco didn't mind her, or at least he despised her far less that Hagrid. The oaf, as Draco liked to think of him, had been in the Hospital Wing all week. Word was he'd been attacked by a werewolf. Draco had to snicker when he heard people wondering how it could have happened.

"Today," Grubbly-Plank said, "we will be going over Stutes." She pointed to a number of medium sized squealing furry creatures. "As you may know, Stutes are one of the few mammals capable of magical flight. As a result, they have been extensively hunted for their fur, which can be used to make flying carpets and enhance brooms. However, there is far more to a Stute than that…"

Draco's mind drifted away. Stutes held almost no interested for him. They could fly, big deal. They looked like colorful rats. Instead, Draco thought of what else he might do to Potter's friends. They had been shaken up following their detention in the forest. Draco had initially thought that far too light a sentence, but after overhearing Amycus and Fenrir Greyback talking in Amycus' office, and then hearing about the werewolf attack, Draco realized what had happened. He should have known Snape had something more than a walk through the forest planned. A shame none of them been bitten. But they had been hiding in their rooms ever since that night, giving Draco the chance to really organize the Slytherin night patrols. They worked in shifts, and no part of the castle would ever be vacant for more than ten minutes at a time. Not perfect, but more than Snape or the Carrows were doing.

Magical Creatures ended soon enough and Draco walked back to the castle.

.

The day was otherwise uneventful till dinner. Draco and Nott had sat in the back during Charms making jokes. Flitwick could hear them, but didn't bother reporting them. He knew Snape wouldn't do anything.

Potions was fine. He didn't care for Slughorn as much as Snape, of course, but Slughorn had stopped giving him the cold shoulder since the beginning of the year, though he still wasn't exactly friendly.

Walking into the Great Hall for dinner, Draco heard Finnigan and Longbottom talking about some sort of party. Not such a big deal- the Slytherins had parties in their common room all the time- but something about their undertones made Malfoy suspicious.

"What are you two talking about?" Malfoy called after them. Longbottom and Finnigan turned back to look at him guiltily. "Not planning a secret party, are we? Nothing seditious I should hope."

"Not secret a party," Finnigan said casually. "Just not for your type."

A wave of rage swept over Malfoy, but he calmed it. "It's rude to exclude people," Draco said snapped. "Especially your betters. So what's going on? Your birthday, Longbottom?"

Before Longbottom could reply, Nott spoke up. "Maybe you'll get another Howler from your grandma this year." A few clustered Slytherins laughed. "Oh, or another Rememberall."

"I remember the last one got Gryffindor its best Seeker in years," Longbottom said slowly. "One you never managed to beat, Malfoy." Though Longbottom's tone was uncertain, Finnigan laughed uproariously. Draco felt the blood rush to his face, and barely restrained himself from reaching for his wand. "And actually, I've still got the old one." Longbottom pulled a small, clear orb from his robes. "I don't need it anymore. Catch." Longbottom threw the Remeberall at Draco full force. Draco's hand shot out, missed, and the Rememberall shattered against the wall. Laughter erupted from the crowd, with a few Slytherins joining in. Longbottom and Finnigan turned to walk away. Draco wanted to rush after them, but Nott laid a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get them another time," he said.

"What's going on?" Professor Sinistra finally managed to work her way to the front of the crowd.

"Those two threw something at us," Nott said quickly, pointing at Longbottom and Finnigan. They turned around to see what was happening. "Them! Those two!"

"Five point from Gryffindor each!" Professor Sinistra said, looking around nervously. She looked like she might say something else, but then quickly turned and left.

"There, see?" Nott said with a smirk. "Keep your head and an opportunity will present itself. We need to find out what they're doing." They went and sat down in the middle of the Slytherin table.

"All I heard was something about a party."

"That all?" Nott blinked. "Just a party? It probably is Longbottom's birthday…"

"No, no," Draco said, shaking his head. "They wouldn't keep something like that a secret, would they? There's no reason."

"Maybe. I'll keep my ears open." By then Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini and Pansy had come to join them. He half listened to Zabini go on about the Abbot girl again. He'd taken quite a liking to her. Draco thought she was attractive enough, but he couldn't stand Hufflepuffs. Dinner ended and he went back to his tower for the night.

.

Draco heard nothing of the secret party for the next few days. He began to suspect the party may really have been something insignificant, or that it had already happened. Yet he noticed that students from other Houses tended to either stop talking when he came by or always seemed to be talking about potions. It just felt wrong.

Unfortunately, his confrontation with Longbottom and Finnigan had not gone unnoticed. Though they had been punished, younger students from every other house threw things at him all weekend. Even when Draco caught something and threw it back the mocking continued. It left him in a bad mood all week.

The next Wednesday, on the way to dinner, he fell in behind a group of Hufflepuffs talking about a party.

"Grab one," Draco ordered Crabbe and Goyle. The Hufflepuffs heard them coming and tried to scatter but they managed to grab one. "Against the wall." The embarrassment of the past week still burned him.

"Let me go!" The Hufflepuff squirmed but Crabbe and Goyle were far too strong.

"What's this party I keep hearing about?" Draco said smoothly. He took out his wand and held it at his side.

"I don't know!" the boy said.

"You're a poor liar." Draco waved his wand in front of the boy's face, making a scolding noise. "I can find out the hard way, if you like."

"Use the Cruciatus Curse," Crabbe said eagerly, smiling. "Really make him squirm."

Draco ignored the remark. He felt very uneasy about that particular curse since the incident over the summer.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Draco said. Crabbe looked a bit disappointed. "Our friend looks ready to talk." Draco traced his wand along the Hufflepuff's face. His eyes went wide and tried to follow the wand without moving his head.

"It's for Harry Potter," the boy said finally. "Professor Hagrid's throwing a support Harry Potter party as soon as he gets out of the infirmary on Saturday."

Draco looked at the boy for a long moment, and decided he believed him.

"Will Finnigan be there? And Longbottom? The Weasley girl and Looney Lovegood?"

"I don't know!" the boy said, nearing tears. "I just saw a notice in the common room."

"Very well. Let him go." Crabbe and Goyle let the boy go and he ran off down the hall and out of sight.

"Are you going to bust up the party?" Goyle asked.

"We could do that. It might be fun," Crabbe went on.

"No. There will be too many of them," Draco said, recalling Crabbe and Goyle's blunder with Filch. "And Hagrid has magical resistance."

"No one's immune to the killing curse," Crabbe said. Goyle nodded in agreement.

"Oh come off it. I don't know the killing curse," Draco said. "Let's get some dinner." Crabbe and Goyle could be distracted from almost any thought at the mention of food.

.

Draco quietly told Nott what he'd learned over dinner. He didn't want anyone else to overhear and do something stupid. Nott took it all stoically, keeping his comments to a minimum. After dinner, however, he hung back with Draco.

"So you want to handle it yourself?" he asked softly, looking around at the other Slytherins.

"I'd like to," Draco said, nodding. "Merlin knows Snape doesn't have the spine to anything." Nott let out a laugh. "I couldn't do it on my own. There's too many of them."

"What are you thinking then?"

"I may go to the Carrows."

Nott considered this for a moment. "That seems best." Draco began to walk toward the dungeons, but Nott pulled him aside. "No time like the present." Draco decided not to protest. The sooner he got it over with the better. He only hoped Alecto didn't take it as an invitation to get closer to Draco.

The Carrows shared the office that previously belonged to Charity Burbage. Though her body had never been found, Draco knew what had happened to her. He was one of the few that did. He thought of Nagini, her body swelled with the body of a teacher he had known. Though the woman was the worst kind of blood traitor, Draco would have preferred to exclude her, not actually harm her…

He knocked on the door as soon as he arrived so he wouldn't have time to rethink his decision.

Alecto opened the door. She grinned when she saw Draco. "Oh, Draco. Come in." Alecto gestured for the students to enter.

"Ah, young master Malfoy. And Master Nott, I believe?" Amycus greeted from his desk. "What brings you to our office?"

"I have something to tell you, Professor Carrow."

"Draco, please. Call me Amycus."

Draco cleared his throat. "Alright. Amycus."

"Much better." Amycus grinned in an unnerving way. "So, Draco, what do you have to report?"

"I believe… I heard that Professor Hagrid plans to throw a party for students in support of Harry Potter."

"Have you now?" Amycus leaned towards him.

"Yes. I believe it will be in his hut on Saturday. Once he gets out of the Hospital Wing."

Draco expected an angry reaction. Alecto did snort angrily, but Amycus only leaned back in his chair and smiled wider.

"Thank you, Draco. It was good for you to come to me. You have not informed Professor Snape?" Draco shook his head. "Then please keep it that way. I shall handle the situation, make the appropriate contacts…" Amycus leaned over his desk and grabbed a piece of parchment. "I have much to do. Is that everything?"

"," he added after a pause.

"Good. You may go now." Amycus and Alecto immediately became engrossed in plots and ideas. Though they all sounded like good, Draco didn't want to spend any more time around them, so he and Nott let themselves out.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Nott said.

"No," Draco said.

"And now you know it will be handled properly."

"Yeah," Draco said. "You're right. Let's go to the common room."

.

Draco grew more and more excited as the week went on. He'd missed it, the last time they'd driven the oaf away, with Umbridge, but this time Amycus promised he would get to watch. There were some perks to having the Carrows like him. Besides his growing anticipation, the week passed without incident until Friday night.

Draco awoke quickly when he felt a weight on his bed. For a moment he thought it was Pansy coming for another late night visit, but it was too heavy to be her. Draco opened his eyes and saw a large figure looming over him.

He tried to cry out and reach for his wand, but the figure was too fast. A wand pressed against his throat, and a nonverbal spell took Draco's voice while his wrist was slammed down with a painful crack on his bedside table. He tried to scream, or even whimper, but found he could do neither.

"Lumos," a cold, sharp voice spoke. The tip of his assailant's wand lit up, revealing the long, twisted face of Antonin Dolohov. "We need to talk, Malfoy," Dolohov said. He spoke softly, but his voice lost none of its usual menace. "If I return your voice, will you promise not to scream?" Draco nodded. Dolohov was not someone you disagreed with. Dolohov touched his wand again to Draco's throat. Draco could tell his voice had come back, but he suppressed even light whimpers over his wounded hand.

For a long moment, Dolohov said nothing, the wandlight casting shadows across his twisted face. Draco didn't even try to meet his gaze.

At last he spoke. "If you ever hurt me again, Malfoy, with the Cruciatus Curse, I will kill you." Draco swallowed, but Dolohov kept talking. "I don't care what the situation is, or the reason. No one does that to me. The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because you're too young and stupid to know better."

"He made me…" Draco said with a shaky voice. "You know what happens to those who defy him…"

"I don't care." Draco looked into Dolohov's eyes and saw nothing he could reason with or appeal to.

"And if I have to replace that half breed giant freak when we take him, if they make me stay here the rest of the year, it will go badly for you. I know you're the reason they're getting rid of him." He let the statement sink in. "Bad enough that I have to come here as much as I do." Draco tried to speak, tried to even say that Hagrid would probably be replaced by Grubbly-Plank but he couldn't find any words.

"Nox." Dolohov's wandlight went out. Draco watched his dark form walk across the room and leave. He didn't start shaking until the door closed all the way.

Eventually he calmed himself down. His right wrist was broken and it throbbed painfully. But the last thing he wanted was to be found weak and wounded by one his night patrols, or Filch. He found a way to rest his hand in a way that wouldn't hurt much and hoped he wouldn't roll over in his sleep.

.

Draco woke up early and went to the Hospital Wing before breakfast. He told Madam Pomfrey he had tripped on the trick step and she didn't question him. She cast a quick spell to reset the bone and then gave him a sip of Skele-grow to ensure it healed properly. By the time he reached the Great Hall he could move it properly, though it still felt funny.

"It's tonight, isn't it?" Nott whispered as Draco sat down for breakfast.

"Do you want to watch?"

"Of course!"

"We'll have to leave around seven-thirty. They're going for him at eight. We'll find a place to watch with Amycus."

"He's not going to help?"

"No, they called in some outside help."

The rest of the day seemed to fly by. Draco's wrist felt perfectly normal by lunchtime. He glanced over some of his homework, but didn't do any of it. He knew that no teacher would dare fail him, save maybe McGonagall. He wasn't taking Transfiguration this year, though, so he had nothing to worry about.

Just after seven Nott wandered over from the pretty 6th year girl he'd been trying to win over . "Time to go?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's get out of here." Inconspicuously as they could, Draco and Nott left the common room and walked through the dungeons. They soon emerged into the cool night air. Amycus was waiting just outside the door.

"Ah, Draco. Just in time. You brought a friend? That's fine. Come along and stay out of the way."

They followed Amycus toward the Greenhouses. Several men and women waited just out of sight of the cabin. Some wore the uniform of Aurors, but others Draco recognized. Dolohov, Jugson, Avery, and Crabbe's father were among them.

"Ten of you?" Amycus said. "Isn't that a bit… excessive?"

"He took out… took out five or six of us two years… last… erhm, the other time," an Auror answered.

"You sure you're alright, Dawlish?" another Auror asked.

"Fine," Dawlish said. "We move on your mark," he said to Amycus, which made Dolohov snort.

Amcyus clapped his hands together. "Then let us begin!"

The Aurors and Death Eaters marched toward Hagrid's cabin. It had been decorated with balloons and streamers for the party. The oaf had even made a crude sort of banner which hung over the door.

"We wait here," Amycus said.

Draco watched as the Aurors and Death Eaters silently surrounded the little hut. Occasionally Hagrid's voice would drift by on the wind; it sounded like he was singing. Once the hut was completely surrounded wands were raised, and red light shot from the tip of each wand. The spells crashed through the windows and doors. Hagrid would have been hit no matter where he was.

"Fools," Amycus muttered under his breath. Draco echoed the comment silently. Simple stunning spells wouldn't work on Hagrid.

The cabin had gone silent. The attackers began to slowly converge.

One of them started up to the front door while a few others waited at the foot of the steps. Others gathered at the back door and by the windows. The one by the door, an Auror, reached out slowly. The door had been blown inward and was just barely hanging on its hinges. He looked around carefully, hoping to spot Hagrid before entering the cabin.

The door burst outward, smashing the man in the head and knocking him backward. He landed several feet away, groaning. Hagrid stood in the doorway armed with a crossbow, a pink umbrella strapped to his back.

"He's armed!" one of the Aurors shouted.

"Disable!" Dawlish called out. "Don't kill…" But Jugson and Crabbe, who had been waiting at the bottom of the stairs, both shot off killing curses. Hagrid ripped his front door off its hinges and used it as a shield. The green bursts knocked him back but did not hit him.

Hagrid tossed the door at Jugson, hitting him in the head and knocking him over. Crabbe raised his wand and started to speak. "Avada-"

Hagrid leveled his crossbow and shot Crabbe in the chest. The old wizard dropped his wand and looked down at the arrow in his chest. He reached for it before falling to the ground.

Draco jerked with Crabbe's father hit the ground. Nott did the same a few feet to his left. Amycus snorted and started tapping his foot.

The other Auror's fired off a variety of spells. Most of them reflected harmlessly off Hagrid, barely slowing him down. One spell struck his crossbow, breaking it in his hands. Hagrid tossed the pieces aside as more spells struck him to little effect.

Hagrid lashed out with his hands and feet and knocked two more Aurors away. Avery came around from the side of the house and shot a killing curse, but it missed Hagrid and struck the ground. Hagrid looked to Avery and drew his pink umbrella. Draco has seen the thing before but never understood why the oaf had it.

"Expelliarmus!" Hagrid yelled. The spell shot from the end of the umbrella, going just over Avery's head.

"What the hell?" Avery shouted. "He's not a wizard, is he?"

"He just cast a spell, moron," Dolohov's voice shouted back from somewhere. Hagrid tried the spell again, but this time it only produced a loud crack and a flash of light that blinded Draco. When he could see again Hagrid was lifting Avery by the neck in one hand and snapping his wand with the other.

Dolohov appeared from nowhere and jumped on Hagrid's back. He must have dropped his wand during Hagrid's failed spell. Hagrid tossed Avery against the hut where the Death Eater crumpled to the ground.

Dolohov was the only Death Eater Draco knew that he trained his body in addition to his magic skills. He might be able to strangle the oaf. He was the only one who had a chance, anyway. Hagrid reached back and tried to grab hold of Dolohov, but the Death Eater was just out of reach. Hagrid's movement became more sluggish and Draco thought Dolohov might actually pull it off.

Then Hagrid fell on his back, smashing Dolohov to the ground. Draco heard a crunching sound and smiled a little. Poetic justice.

With the Death Eaters down, though, the rest of the Aurors stood no chance. They wouldn't use Unforgiveable Curses, and nothing else would work. Finally Dawlish got the right idea. He magically hurled Hagrid's own door at him just as Hagrid was confronting another Auror. The door hit him in the back of the head and shattered but Hagrid only stumbleed forward. He picked up a piece of it and cracked the Auror across the head. Then it was just Hagrid and Dawlish.

"Twice yeh've come after me, Dawlish," Hagrid said. "Thought we were friends once. Thought you were better'n that."

"Long… time ago," Dawlish said. "Got my orders."

"Do yeh?" Hagrid shouted. "Orders more important than old friends?"

"Draco, Nott, step back," Amycus said "I believe I will have to get involved." Amycus drew his wand and began to creep closer. Draco and Nott stepped away, their eyes still locked on Hagrid and Dawlish.

Dawlish raised his wand and started to cast what sounded like the Body-Bind Curse but fumbled the incantation. He held his wand up to his face, looking confused.

A stunning spell from Hagrid's umbrella caught him in the chest. He landed a few feet away and didn't move.

"Well," Hagrid said. "Best I be getting' out o' here…"

"You will not be leaving," Amycus said, walking down the hill toward Hagrid. Hagrid's umbrella jerked toward the voice.

"Professor Carrow?" Hagrid sounded confused. "Be best if yeh get out o' my way. Much as I'd like to hurt yeh, I need to get goin'."

"Can you not hear? Does all that hair impede the sound's progress to your ears?" Amycus sounded annoyed. "You are not leaving. You will be taken to the castle till men from the Ministry come to claim you."

"Only way yeh'll stop me if yeh kill me."

"Oh, I think you'll find me more creative than those Ministry brutes." Amycus flicked his wand. Hagrid braced for a spell, but the attack came from behind. A rock from the hut's chimney hit Hagrid in the back of the skull. He rocked forward, but didn't fall. Apparently deciding Amycus wasn't worth the trouble, he tried to turn and run and found he couldn't. Amycus had transfigured the ground to cover and bind Hagrid's feet to the ground, rooting him to the spot.

More bricks game from the chimney. Hagrid managed to weave away from some, but most caught him in the head, body, and back. Amycus brought several around front and stuck him in the face. Hagrid slumped over, face a bloody mess, and hit the ground. Amycus waved his wand and the ground seemed to swallow him.

Amycus walked over and stood by Hagrid. He groaned but said nothing.

"The Aurors are skilled, but lack the drive to do what is necessary," he said slowly. "As you can see, I do not. Your strength is nothing against a real wizard, you half breed freak."

A few of the Aurors and Death Eaters were finally starting to rouse. Amycus flicked his wand and Jugson was jerked unsteadily to his feet. Amycus magically shook him till Jugson's eyes focused on him. "I have subdued your target. I trust you can take him to the castle."

"The… castle?" Jugson said blearily. "Shouldn't we take him on to the Ministry?"

"After that display, you think I trust you to transport him? No, I will request an additional escort." Amycus turned, flourishing his cloak. "Besides, I want them to know who really caught the freak," he said over his shoulder. "Come, Draco."

Draco and Nott followed, talking excitedly about the battle. Draco found it hard to feel sorry for Crabbe in light of all the excitement. He didn't think he was close to his father anyway. Crabbe rarely talked about him.

Amycus eventually left them behind while they talked. They were both quite certain they could have done a much better job that the Aurors did, and some of the Death Eaters too. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice the small group of Longbottom, Finnigan, the little Weasel and Looney Lovegood till they had nearly bumped into them.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" the Weasel demanded.

"Just coming back from a show," Draco said happily. "A private one." The look that spread over their faces was priceless.

"What's happened?" Finnigan demanded.

"Don't take that tone with me, half blood," Draco snarled.

"Professor Carrow and the Ministry took care of some subversive activity," Nott answered. "Professor Hagrid has been taken into custody."

"Malfoy, you bastard!" Finnigan shouted, drawing his wand. Malfoy and Nott did likewise, and the others followed suit.

"Your voice gets so high when you're mad," Draco said wryly. "Must be the weak blood from you dad." Finnigan raised his wand but Longbottom grabbed his hand and pulled it down.

"Finally you show some sense, Longbottom. Learned the value of turning tail and running," Draco said. Nott laughed again. He and Draco put away their wands and brushed past. "Or maybe you just learned who your betters are."

The two of them returned to the castle, smiling.