Chapter 21- 'What I am capable of….'

"We are all equally to blame for this," Narcissa asserted miserably, gesturing to herself, her husband and son. "None of this would have happened, had it not been for us."

"And why do you put so much blame on yourselves?" Snape asked, curious. "Greyback is also to blame here, and probably the one to blame."
"I know, but it- we've been- Draco I can't," Narcissa said looking pleadingly at her son who was sitting next to her, looking very shaky and pale as he sat, watching his mother struggle.

"It's alright, Mother," Draco said, trying to sound reassuring. Of course, he knew she wouldn't be able to tell the truth, especially with so many witnesses and after causing so much trouble, but someone had to tell them what was happening and it seemed that responsibility was down to Draco.

"My mother is being too kind to me-"

"But Draco-"

"Mother, let me tell them," Draco intervened gently. Narcissa held herself back and continued to sob quietly in her chair as she watched her son with wide-eyes.

"Although my mother and father helped Greyback tonight, they are not to blame for the lead up to this moment. That alone rests with me," Draco said, wanting Potter, Snape and the rest of them to understand that if they are to be mad with anyone, it should be him.

"Not long after the Dark Lord was defeated," Draco looked at Harry momentarily. "Greyback was still keeping in frequent contact with my father. They became friends and Greyback, although harsh at times was generally nice to me. Then when I met Astoria and we married, I moved out of the house, still with the understanding that Greyback and Father were still good friends. Father and I kept in contact frequently and I always inquired about Greyback because it seemed he had changed for the better, like everyone else had and I hoped that that would remain so. Unfortunately, when my wife and I gave birth to Scorpius, things changed and I regret it greatly that I didn't tell my father at the time-"

"What didn't you tell me Draco?" Lucius asked, with a slithering edge in his voice; what was it that he didn't know?

"Greyback contacted me soon after Scorpius was born and I was expecting some form of congratulations, but he um…" Draco didn't know where to go from here. Of course the easy way would be to just spill the beans, but it wasn't easy; life had never been the same since that day.

"Greyback proposed that I help him to be a more powerful wizard. He- um- he wanted me to teach him things he didn't already know so that he could improve. He asserted it was purely for his own desire and had no intention of using it to create havoc later down the track. I didn't believe him and rejected his request, saying that I didn't have the time with such a young child. But he insisted and insisted upon it, eventually threatening to bite Scorpius during a full moon. He said he would go to any length to ensure my son was bitten, if I didn't help him. I- I knew what I had to do and yet I also knew that I would be helping Greyback become better and more powerful and I knew one day I would regret it. And that moment is now."

"You never told me this, Draco," Lucius said harshly. "I continued to befriend Greyback during that time, never knowing what kind of a man he is. I had no idea he threatened you and had I done, I would have severed any contact him from that moment onwards! But instead you chose to risk your family, your mother and father because you didn't tell us what you-"

"He made me swear not to tell you, Father!" Draco tried to defend himself.

"Did you make an Unbreakable Vow?" Lucius asked harshly.

"No, but-"

"Then you should have told us! There is no excuse! Greyback wouldn't have known, but instead you help him increase his powers, teaching him Occlumency, Legilimency and I suppose it was you that told him how to release the Dementors?!" Lucius was beside himself, completely ashamed of his son; this is not how he raised Draco.

"Yes, it was me, Father, but he would have hurt- killed my son, my family- I didn't want that, I had to do what he said and just hoped to god that no one would get hurt-"

"Well, that's all very well, Draco, but myself, your mother, Potter and his son have been put in serious danger because of your foolishness and for all we know, if the man succeeds, the world may be in peril!"

"What did you expect me to do, Father? Allow my baby son to be bitten or possibly killed- have him be a werewolf for the rest of his life? You can't tell me you would have preferred to have an inflicted grandson to this!" Draco yelled, with tears in his eyes.

"At least then I wouldn't have had a son who is a disgrace to this family!" Lucius shouted. Tears were still dwelling in Draco's eyes.
"Well what would you have done?" Draco snapped back, still emotional.

Lucius paused at this. He honestly didn't know what he would do in such a situation. He would like to hope that he would outright refuse Greyback and protect his child with his life, but then again…

"I would have done everything in my power to keep this world safe and peaceful like it has been for so many years! I would have denied Greyback and protected you as my son from getting bitten, no matter what it took, though I don't see why I would do that now-"

"Lucius, stop it! There is no need to be so harsh to Draco; I would have done the same!" Narcissa asserted proudly. Unlike her husband, she was proud of her son, proud that he too would do anything for his family, even if that meant risking the rest of the world.

"Hear that? You're just like your mother! Allowing love to come before anything else! Where is your sense?" Lucius asked them both, looking aggressively between the two of them.

"You can't talk Lucius, look what you did tonight; you and I both made an Unbreakable Vow so that we could guarantee the protection of our family. Are you telling me that that wasn't love?"

Lucius was speechless.

"What was it Lucius? Where was your sense?" Narcissa was beside herself; she knew that she and Draco had much sense, they both realised that in making those choices, they were taking a risk, but how was Draco to know what would happen?

"Mother, calm down," Draco said reassuringly, patting his mother's shoulder.

"No, Draco! Your father has to understand-"

"He's different from us, it's-"

"He's not different! That's the problem! He is exactly like us, but refuses to admit it!" Narcissa asserted, pointing dramatically at her husband.

"And that's all the difference, Narcissa! I would hate to think that I would help someone like Greyback rise to power just to protect my family. You could have put up protective spells, kept Scorpius hidden at all times-"

"And stay inside all day, all night? You know he would have found a way, Father. That man is evil and has always desired revenge and payback. At least if I helped him, I could guarantee Scorpius' safety."
"Until tonight, when the boy nearly suffered what he could have eleven years ago. You nearly lost him again because of that man. It would never have come to that if you used your head instead of your heart-"

"Who are you to say what would have happened had I not helped Greyback? For all we know, we could all be dead, so don't you dare tell me what I should and should not have done. What I did, I did many years ago. We have to move on and think of a new plan. These people," Draco said, indicating his former class mates and professor, "Want to know what has been happening, but all we've been doing is sitting here arguing about the choices that I can no longer change! I am sorry for disappointing you, Father-"

"Don't apologise to him!" Harry exclaimed with outrage. Although he never thought he would ever be on Draco's side, now was definitely one of those times.

"You protected your family and I know that I would have done exactly what you did, without a doubt." Harry looked at his fellows and saw Ron, Hermione and Ginny nodding in agreement, Snape remained impassive.

"There is no way you could have known what would come of this and although I would have asserted up until this point that you were not capable of such love, I have now changed my mind. I respect you greatly for the choice you made and now we must focus all of our energy to try to solve this puzzle. We need more information," Harry ended calmly, hoping that now the arguing would stop.

"What exactly does Greyback know?" Harry asked, thinking that that would be a good place to start.

"Or perhaps a better question would be, what did Greyback wish to know?" Hermione intervened and Harry had to agree that her approach was probably going to be more productive.

"He wanted to know anything that could help him," Draco answered, resigned; it would take him a long time to tell them everything Greyback knew.

"Like what?" Ron asked

"I taught him Occlumency, Legilimency and every curse I know," Draco began. "He asked if I knew anything about the Deathly Hallows to which I answered 'no' because I had no idea where they were or if they still existed. Greyback asked me about you, Potter and what you were like in school. I told him that you always seemed to be in the middle of everything, always where the action was and Greyback thought that this would be very interesting. He asked me that, if the Deathly Hallows are real, would I bet that Potter would know something about them, to which I replied 'yes'-"

"How thick can you possibly be, Malfoy? No wonder why Greyback's coming after Harry!" Ron yelled, his usual hatred of Draco returning at full speed.

"He would have figured it out anyway, Ron; it wouldn't take a genius to work out that Harry had the Elder Wand during the battle against Voldemort. How else could he win? Perhaps Greyback just wanted some reassurance that Harry would be the best person to interrogate," Ginny explained harshly to her brother.

"Then he wanted to know how I would recommend catching Potter off guard-" Draco continued cautiously.

"And what did you say to that?" Harry asked, a little harshly but at the same time very curious to see how much Draco knew about him.

"I told Greyback to attack at a place you least expected, such a Hogwarts," Draco mumbled quietly.

An eerie silence followed.

"So I suppose then, Greyback took your advice and used the Dementors to distract me which led to me being unable to produce a Patronus?" Harry asked Draco, a little disturbed by this news.

"Yes. I told him how to release the Dementors, though since they have been put into another enclosure, only specific people know the incantations now," Draco explained.

"I should think so," Hermione asserted a little defiantly.

"But what I don't understand is why Greyback wanted to release the Dementors," Severus said, looking at Draco. "There was no purpose in it."

Draco nodded. "I know, but last year he wanted to test the waters. Greyback was interested to see how the ministry would react to there being Dementors on the loose near Hogwarts. Also he wanted to explore the area surrounding Hogwarts and the security surrounding the place. No doubt he was preparing for the night he attack you and your son, Potter," Draco said looking at Harry, clearly sorry for what he had done.

"Well that makes sense," Harry said.

"And then he realised that he needed to coax one of your son's out of the castle," Draco continued, looking at Harry and Ginny. "So he wrote a letter, trying to mimic something that you would write, Potter. He then sent it by owl and then waited just outside the protections of Hogwarts for your son to arrive. Greyback used a Patronus charm, though not a corporeal one, to tempt your son towards him. With Greyback were the Dementors, as you know and a potion that he believed to be Veritaserum. He intended on injuring Albus enough to make him incapable of moving so that he could get to you, use the Dementors to make you pass out and then feed you the Veritaserum. However, your son must have put up a good fight; Greyback gave up trying to injure him because he also needed to keep an eye on Potter too. So, your son wasn't injured, the potion was not Veritaserum; my father tricked him and then Snape turned up and completely abolished his whole plan. I think you know most of this already…" Draco concluded, thinking he had talked long enough.

"So do you know what he plans on doing next?"

Draco shook his head, Harry was crestfallen. "Ever since Greyback found out that Father lied to him about the colour of Veritaserum, he no longer trusted me. But he did want me to do one more thing, perhaps it will be of some use to you-"

"What is it?" Ron asked, dying to know Draco's final mission for Greyback.

"As a school governor, Greyback knew I was allowed access to Hogwarts. It was the full moon that night and Greyback and I made an Unbreakable Vow that if I retrieved a certain book for him from the library, then he swore to leave my house, otherwise he would bind himself to my manor for the night.

"What book was it?" Hermione asked, extremely interested.

"Moste Potente Potions," Draco answered, thinking that there was no way Harry and his friends would know about the book as there were thousands in the library. But of course, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Severus knew exactly which book it was. Unfortunately, it had thousands of potions in it, all as dangerous and as complicated as the next. It would seem that Greyback was trying to make one of them to use against Harry. Snape was the only one present who knew the effects of every potion in that book, no even Hermione read about them all. Severus knew that almost all of them would be extremely useful for Greyback if he were to obtain information from Harry.

"Did Greyback ask you to help him make it?" Harry asked Draco.

"No, as I said, he no longer trusts me and ever since getting him the book on Thursday, I haven't seen him until today."

"So what happened today? Exactly how many Unbreakable Vows were made?" Ginny asked looking worried for the wellbeing of those in front of her.

"Even though Greyback still visits us from time to time, we know he doesn't trust us anymore because Lucius lied to him," Narcissa explained. "So when he arrived at our doorstep, obviously we refused to let him in. But he then told us that tonight is the full moon and that he was writing a letter to Scorpius to meet Draco outside the castle and he promised us that he would be there to bite Scorpius if we didn't cooperate. A very similar plan to the one he used on your son, I'm sure," Narcissa added looking sincerely at Harry and Ginny.

"From that point on, Greyback always had that threat on us- the possibility that Scorpius would be bitten if we didn't obey. So he asked me to write a letter to Draco, requesting that he notify Scorpius that he was going to pick the boy up from Hogwarts after lunch, asserting that Severus wanted to discuss his marks with Draco at the Malfoy Manor. When Draco arrived with Scorpius, Greyback immediately took the boy hostage and made Lucius and me, as the owners of the house, make Unbreakable Vows promising that if we do whatever he asks of us, Scorpius would not be injured or killed-"

"That means that I shouldn't have made the Unbreakable Vow with Greyback!" Severus exclaimed, outraged. "Whether or not I disobeyed Greyback, he wouldn't have been able to hurt Scorpius without dying himself! I didn't have to send the letter to Potter- none of this should have happened!" Snape was livid.

"That would all be very well, Severus, if Greyback hadn't ordered us to not say anything that would jeopardize the possibility of his success and I am sure that telling him what you propose would have broken that vow," Lucius explained miserably; he didn't like it that Severus was so furious with him and Narcissa.

"So, you knew Scorpius would be safe and didn't tell me? Like Snape, I also made an Unbreakable Vow to protect my son when you already knew he was protected-" said Draco, angry and frustrated that more lives were at risk than necessary.

"Yes, Draco, but as we have just explained, we couldn't tell you as such, could we? Greyback wanted you out of the way for when Harry arrived, so he used the Unbreakable Vow to ensure you wouldn't return- he had no interest in hurting Scorpius from the moment your father and I made the vow, he couldn't change his mind."

Draco was speechless.

Harry was shocked: "As much as I regret saying it, Greyback had this planned out very well."

Narcissa nodded, relieved that Harry and the others seemed to understand the predicament they were in early that night and although they weren't about to defend their actions, she and Lucius were grateful that their actions were understood nonetheless.

"As you can see, Greyback had us where he planned. He then asked me to write a letter to Severus asking him to join us for dinner at the manor to discuss Scorpius' marks. Greyback knew that if Snape came, he was sure to contact Potter and then his plan would be working perfectly. It would seem that Greyback failed because he didn't expect you," she said looking at Harry, "Would bring a few more people to help you," Narcissa said looking approvingly at Ginny, Ron and Hermione.

"Well actually, I only invited Ron. He was the one who thought that perhaps more back up would be necessary as we were hoping to capture Greyback," Harry explained.

"What exactly has Greyback been trying to do?" Narcissa asked with curiosity. Although she knew that Lucius and Severus had spoken briefly about what Greyback's goals are, she had never discussed the matter extensively with Lucius.

"We are almost one hundred percent certain that Greyback is hoping to find and combine the three Deathly Hallows," explained Harry, watching how Narcissa's face changed from interest to concern.

"The Deathly Hallows?" Narcissa repeated. "But they were destroyed, weren't they? You destroyed them," Narcissa asserted confidently looking at Harry.

"I told people that I destroyed them, but the truth is that I didn't. They are still in existence which is why Greyback is hoping to interrogate me without anyone's interference."

"So you know where they are?" Narcissa asked, looking between Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Snape, all of whom nodded except Severus.

"That is why we have been asking you so many questions. We want to know everything Greyback is up to so we can try and avoid his interventions like we have previously. Is there anything else that you think might be of importance to us? Any plans? Any idea why he would want that book?" When Harry asked the latter question he looked to Draco for answers.

"No, it was only recently that Father told me Greyback was going after the Deathly Hallows. I always wondered why he was so determined to succeed in what I was teaching him and now I know why. I would assume that the book I retrieved for him has the recipe for a potion that would help him obtain the information he wants. But as to which potion, I have no clue."

"Do you know if finding the Deathly Hallows was what he always wanted to do? Did you have any indication that his objective changed at any stage?"

"No, I never noticed any changes in him, but right from the start, he wanted to have the ability to detect liars and that has never changed, yet Father and Snape have managed to lie to him without his detecting it, so perhaps he only wants to be able to detect if Potter is lying about the location of the Deathly Hallows."

"Whereabouts are the Deathly Hallows?" Severus asked Harry.

Harry paused. He was surprised no one had asked him this previously. Obviously he was not about to tell them exactly where they are because that would mean the Aurors would need to protect more people than he already indicated to them. But at the same time, Harry felt it was important they, especially Severus, knew that two of the Hallows were at Hogwarts. But if Greyback were to find this out, his children and all the students at he school would be in great danger. Of course, Minerva's protective charms carried over to where the two Hallows reside, but he knew that that alone wasn't enough.

Harry trusted everyone present and knew that none of them would give up the information willingly and seeing as Greyback already believes the Malfoys and Snape know nothing, surely he wouldn't ask again? All eyes were watching Harry think the possibilities over. Ron looked as if he would punch Harry in the face if he uttered a word about the location of the Deathly Hallows whereas Hermione and Ginny seemed purely interested to see what Harry's response would be.

Finally, Harry gave his answer:

"Two of the Deathly Hallows are at-"

"What? You're actually going to tell them?" Ron asked furiously, looking at Harry aggressively. Harry was expecting this.

Harry turned to his best friend and replied: "I'm not telling them exactly where they are; that would be foolish-"

"This is foolish!" Ron exclaimed. "What if they let something slip to Greyback?"

"They won't, Ron. Greyback believes they know nothing about the Deathly Hallows. It is important they know. Don't worry, I have a plan," Harry said calmly, looking at his friend, hoping that he would trust him. Ron's ears were red as he continued to stare at Harry. Finally, he leaned into his chair with his arms crossed.

"As I was saying, two of the Deathly Hallows are at Hogwarts- I'm not telling you where," Harry continued quickly as he saw the expression on Severus' and the Malfoy's faces, "because that's too risky. But they are there and my plan is to ask Minerva to put extra protective spells over them so that Greyback will have a decreased chance of finding them- perhaps I'll add my own charms too," Harry added as an after thought.

"So, if Greyback ever finds out where they are, our children could be in big trouble?" Draco asked, looking pale.

Harry nodded. "This is why it is very very important that Greyback never finds out where the Deathly Hallows are hidden- not only because of the damage he could do to the world in general, but because he will likely use our children as bait and we can't have that."

"So where is the other one?" Lucius asked, completely enthralled by the information he was discovering. He had no intention of looking for the Hallows himself, but he did wonder why the third wasn't with the other two.

"The third is and has always been heavily protected because it is mine and is hidden at our house," Harry said cautiously as he looked at Ginny, hoping she wasn't mad at him for answering such a question.

"You actually own one of the Deathly Hallows?" Narcissa asked with keen interest. "Which one do you own?"

Harry nodded. "My father was a direct descendent from one of the Peverell Brothers. My father inherited the Cloak of Invisibility-"

"You mean the cloak you three used to use at school is one of the three Deathly Hallows?" Snape asked, looking wide-eyed at Harry, Ron and Hermione in turn.

"Yes," Harry replied, smiling slightly by the reaction he was receiving. Also, the look on Draco's face made it clear that had he known that, he would have tried to steal his cloak instead of trying to get him in trouble all those years ago.

"How long have you known this for?" Snape asked.

"Not long after I turned seventeen and heard the tale for myself. After making a few deductions, I realised that Dumbledore took such an interest in my father's cloak because he knew it was one of the Deathly Hallows."
"Do you know who the other ones belonged to?" Draco asked, so interested he was on the edge of his seat. His parents told him of the tale when he was young, but never did he imagine them to be real and not only real but accessible even when he was at school.

After hearing Draco's question, Harry knew it would be foolish to utter that Dumbledore owned the Elder Wand because the wand still resided in Dumbledore's tomb and would be too great of a hint if Greyback ever found out. So Harry decided to give a brief answer.

"We know who owned them," Harry said indicating to Ron, Hermione and Ginny. "But I don't think it would be wise to tell you who-"

"Because it would be useful to Greyback?" Narcissa deduced.

Harry nodded.

"But, it would be so interesting to know. Do we know these wizards?" Draco pressed on, dying to know who owned them; he no longer cared where they were.

Harry looked at his friends and saw that Ron was still pissed off at him for telling them where the Deathly Hallows were in the first place. Hermione seemed to be lost in thought, but Ginny was smiling at Harry, indicating that she felt it was okay to share what they knew.

Harry finally spoke, much to the excitement of the Malfoys and Severus.

"Only because I know Greyback is currently running around some forest as a werewolf, I will tell you, but do not, I repeat do not utter this to ANYONE. Anything we have discussed tonight cannot leave this room unless otherwise specified and this is something I forbid you to utter to anyone." Harry said firmly, hopefully convincing Ron that he was being cautious about the whole situation.

The Malfoys and Snape nodded their understanding; none of them had any intention of telling anyone what they were about to hear.

"The Elder Wand was owned by Dumbledore," Harry began, smiling at the jaws of both Snape and the Malfoys dropped. "If you think about it, it isn't that surprising; Dumbledore was known as the most powerful and intelligent wizard alive, even when Voldemort was at the height of his powers. Of course, this doesn't mean he was useless without the Elder Wand, but he was pretty much unbeatable with it. That is until you," Harry said looking at Draco, "disarmed him on the Astronomy Tower-"

Draco turned pale. "So, for a while, I was the master of the Elder Wand?" Draco asked completely flabbergasted.

Harry nodded.

"Wow," Draco whispered.

"But luckily for me and unluckily for Voldemort, you and I fought at this very manor the following year and I took your wand off you, thereby making me the master of the Wand which is how I defeated Voldemort at Hogwarts that year," Harry explained, almost laughing at the expression on the faces of the people in front of him- even Ron, Hermione and Ginny were greatly amused.

"Although I won't go into details, Dumbledore obtained the Elder Wand after he defeated Grindelwald and was the master of it until he passed away."

"So, who owned the stone?" Narcissa asked, wondering who else they knew could possibly own a Deathly Hallow.

"Probably the Dark Lord," Draco said as a joke, smiling as he suggested it.

Harry smiled back and didn't answer.

Draco's jaw dropped yet again.

Ginny and Hermione laughed and even Ron found it hard not to smile.

"Seriously? But how?"

"I found out that Voldemort, like my father, was also a direct descendent of another one of the Peverell brothers, the one that owned the Resurrection Stone. His Grandfather, Marvolo owned a ring that had been passed down from generation to generation. That ring had the Resurrection Stone in it, but as far as I can gather, he never used it. That ring," Harry said, looking at Snape, "was the one that caused so much damage to Dumbledore's hand. Voldemort turned the ring into a Horcrux."

There was silence. Finally Snape said:

"I've just realised-"

"Realised what?" Narcissa asked.

"Dumbledore- Dumbledore could have joined them…"

There was more silence.

"I know," Harry said breaking the silence. "Dumbledore told me himself when Voldemort failed to kill me in the forest," Harry explained looking at Narcissa for it was thanks to her that he was still alive. "He had the ring in his office, the wand was in his possession and all he had to do was go up to my dormitory and take my Invisibility Cloak. Right then and there, he could have become the Master of Death."

"So why didn't he?" Draco asked, completely bewildered that Dumbledore didn't take the chance.

"Because he knew that his greatest weakness was power. Even without the Elder Wand he was a very powerful wizard. He learnt through his battle with Grindelwald and of course from Voldemort, that power isn't everything. He knew he couldn't be trusted with such power."

"But hang on!" Draco suddenly exclaimed. "If you know where all the objects are…you could join them if you wanted!" Draco looked avidly between Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. The latter three smiled. Hermione replied:

"Harry says that we know where all the objects are, but I don't even know how to get past the protective spells around the cloak and I don't know EXACTLY where one of the others are either and neither does Ron or Ginny. So technically, Harry is the only one of us who could potentially join the Deathly Hallows."

"Why didn't you?" Snape asked, not because he thought it would be a good idea, but genuinely wondering what Harry's logical explanation would be.

"I didn't want power or immortality and still don't. One would have so much power that they wouldn't know what to do with it. I don't want to be responsible for the demise of this world. If I kept the objects hidden, I believed no one would find them and the world would be safe from the most powerful wand of all time and the Master of Death. I had no desire for power or to live forever, so I didn't join them," Harry said simply.

Silence. Snape and the Malfoys could hardly believe the man in front of them wasn't even slightly tempted by such power.

"Are you even human?" Lucius asked Harry, intending it to be a joke, but said it in a serious manner.

Harry laughed. "Yes I am, but I guess as Dumbledore would put it: I care for my friends and family more than I care for power and my own life. I was thinking of them, not of me."

That statement alone made the whole room think for a moment- contemplating Harry's words silently and thoughtfully. Harry could tell, just by watching the facial expressions of the men and women around him, that they had taken in his words- his point of view.

Harry decided to break the silence after a couple of minutes as there were still more things to discuss.

"What are we going to do about our children?" Harry said into the silence.

"What do you mean Harry?" replied Ginny.

"Do you realise that our children could be in great danger if Greyback ever manages to get into the grounds of Hogwarts?" Harry asked the group in general.

"Of course, but there is not much we can do about it except ensure they are responsible and that the placing of protective spells around the castle are designated to one person," Snape reasoned with Harry.

"Do you think we should tell the children what is happening?" Hermione asked, trying to work out where Harry was going with the conversation.

"Maybe… what do you guys think?" Harry asked.

"Remember that your children," Snape said looking at Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny, "already know that Greyback is after the Deathly Hallows."

"I know, but should we tell them that the other two are located at Hogwarts to ensure that under no circumstance do they do something foolish?"

"No," Ron asserted simply.

"Why not?" Harry asked his friend, wanting to know the man's reasoning behind his answer.

"They would know too much. Of course none of our children would willingly tell Greyback anything about the Deathly Hallows. But they are too vulnerable and telling them the other two Hallows are at Hogwarts would be unnecessary," Ron stated matter-of-factly.

"I agree with Ron," Hermione piped up. "There is no need to tell them," she continued firmly.

"Okay," Harry said, now looking at the Mafloys. "How much does Scorpius know about all of this?"

"Nothing, except that I have been teaching Greyback; he has no idea what Greyback's plans are," Draco answered.

"Do you think it would be beneficial to tell him what Greyback is looking for or do you think there is a chance that he may use the information carelessly?" Harry asked, looking at Draco closely. He didn't want the man to tell his son something so important, if he didn't believe Scropius could keep such an important secret.

"I trust my son," Draco said simply, staring right back at Harry.

"So, I suppose you will tell him whenever you can- face to face, of course- about Greyback's plans?"

"Yes, when I get the chance I'll tell him, though it probably won't be until the summer holidays; I don't think I will be able to take him out of school again as I am sure Minerva will be extremely suspicious," said Draco.

"Perhaps I can tell Mr. Malfoy about the situation," Snape suggested.

"If you wish Snape," Draco replied, giving the man every permission.

"Well, if Snape can tell Scorpius soon, then perhaps our children can all stick together and keep an eye out for one another," Ginny suggested, a little amused that Al, James and Rose may soon be befriending Scorpius Malfoy.

"Gryffindors be friends with a Slytherin?" Ron said, looking a little disgusted at the idea.

"Ron, times have changed now; this is more than school rivalry. The students in Hogwarts must stick together regardless of their houses," Hermione said harshly to her husband. "This rivalry between the houses has been going on long enough. Voldemort was defeated long ago, it's time for such prejudices to diminish," she continued strongly.

"I agree one hundred percent, Hermione," Harry asserted in a supportive tone. "I am sure that when James, Rose and Albus understand that Scorpius is also at risk, they will try to help him too. We didn't raise our children to be selfish and uncaring," Harry said looking specifically at Ron who couldn't help but agree. As much as he hated the idea of Rose being friends with Scorpius, he wouldn't expect anything less from her.

"In that case, why doesn't Snape talk to all of our children at once, instead of us communicating with them via owl; you never know, they may learn to distrust letters from now on," Harry pointed out.

"Is that okay with you?" Ginny asked, looking at Severus, who nodded. Now that James no longer despised him, he felt comfortable talking to them about something as important as this.

"Okay, well that's one important thing out of the way. Now the last thing I wanted to discuss is the protections around the Deathly Hallows. I was thinking that if Minerva put up the protections around the castle, then perhaps she could also put some extra ones around the Deathly Hallows," Harry suggested, but Lucius was shaking his head.

"I do not think that would be advisable. If Minerva was somehow interrogated, Greyback would have access to the school AND the Deathly Hallows. I think that someone else should put up the protections around the artifacts."

"Well, I suppose Severus could do it," Harry said, looking at Snape to see his reaction. The man seemed willing to do such a thing and Harry thought that if Snape were to consent, they should probably go to Hogwarts as soon as possible to put up the protections before Greyback had any chance of reaching the artifacts before they did.

"That is fine with me," Snape answered.

"Well, perhaps I will come back to Hogwarts with you and we can put up the protections before we rest for the night."

"But it's already midnight," Ginny pointed out.

"I know, but this is important, Ginny; it won't take long," Harry asserted.

"There is no problem if Potter wants to do it tonight, but I think that before we actively put ourselves where the Deathly Hallows are, we should speak to Albus first- Dumbledore, not Potter," Snape added hastily.

"Hmm, that's an interesting idea. I wonder what Dumbledore would say to this," Ginny said, thinking out loud. "Have you spoken to Dumbledore recently?" she asked Snape.

"No, but I know Minerva talks to him frequently," Snape replied.

Suddenly, Harry had a thought. "Do you know if you can interrogate the truth out a portrait?" Harry asked, looking at Snape and Hermione, thinking that one of them would surely know the answer.

"I don't think you can, Harry. Unlike a human being, portraits aren't affected by curses, hexes and they cannot consume potions. Dumbledore was the best Legilimens and Occlumens of all time, so even if such skills worked on portraits, I don't see any possible way that Greyback could obtain the truth from Dumbledore. Of course, the task of actually getting into the school would be almost impossible for Greyback, but hypothetically, I don't see any possible way that Dumbledore could be forced to reveal the enchantments or locations of the Deathly Hallows," Hermione answered rather quickly as if she was speaking as fast as her mind was thinking.

"I believe that Mrs. Weasley is right," Snape asserted. "I don't see a problem with consulting Dumbledore which is why I suggested it."
"Well, the idea sounds good to me; I would love to speak to Dumbledore's portrait after so many years. Shall we go then?" Harry asked turning to Snape.

Snape agreed. Standing up, Harry walked over to Ginny and whispered:

"I won't be long, don't worry about me; I'll be fine."

"I know you will," Ginny whispered back with a smile on her face. Truthfully, she was worried about her husband going back to Hogwarts, especially considering the last time they were there, but was reassured that at least Severus would be with him.

"We'll keep you posted on what's been happening and I ask that you do the same," Harry said looking specifically at the Malfoys. "Anything you may hear or see with regard to Greyback's plans is something we want to hear about."

Narcissa and Lucius nodded their understanding but Draco was looking a little nervous, wringing his hands and looking away from Harry. Harry recognised the signs well and knew Draco was hiding something.

As Harry was just about to ask Draco what he wanted to say, Draco said quickly and quietly:

"Potter, can I speak to you for a moment?"

Harry paused. He was not expecting this.

"Sure," he replied and then said to Snape. "I'll meet you at the front door, Severus," he said as he followed Draco into the living area, away from the dining room. Harry turned around and saw Ron's concerned and suspicious face as he stared after Draco- it was clear to Harry that Ron will probably never trust Draco after everything he did to them at school.

"What?" Harry said quietly to a more comfortable Draco now that they had left their audience.

"There was something I told Greyback about you, but I didn't want to say it in front of my father," Draco mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

"What did you tell him?" Harry asked eagerly.

"I told him that you have a 'saving people thing'," Draco replied, almost as if he was disgusted at himself for even saying such a thing. "That's the actual reason why he went after your son, he wanted to use him to get to you."
"So he's going to keep using people to get to me, is he?" Harry wondered aloud.

Draco nodded. "I think so."
"Well, that just means I have to make sure the children are on their guard one hundred percent of the time," Harry said, trying to reassure himself that although Voldemort succeeded in using the people Harry loved to achieve his goals, Greyback was an entirely different wizard altogether.

"I'm sorry," Draco muttered.

Harry smiled slightly. "Personally I am surprised you even noticed that about me."
"Well, you always seemed to be rescuing people and helping others- people you didn't even know. So with your family… I figured you would be particularly protective of them," Draco explained.

"Well, you're right of course," Harry replied, still smiling; never in a million years did he think he would ever have such a conversation with Draco Malfoy.

"I apologise for putting your son and Severus in danger, because I know Greyback only used them because of what I suggested," Draco said, lifting up his head to look at Harry. "So, Greyback knows I care about Severus?" Harry asked Draco, wondering how the man could possibly know something that few others did.

"I suppose so… you really care about him don't you?" Draco asked, still looking at Harry. Harry was taken aback by Draco's direct question that all he could do for a few seconds was stare right back at Draco.

Finally he replied: "Yeah, I do."
Draco laughed.

"What?" Harry asked a little aggressively. What was so funny?

"Whoever would have thought that Harry Potter would ever befriend the Potions master who always sneered at him and put him on detention and generally made his life a living hell?" Draco asked, still smiling.

Harry couldn't help it, he smiled too. "I keep asking myself that question everyday."

"You call him Severus now."
"I know, but it's not that weird for me. He's my friend," Harry said a little defensively.

"I can tell. But after everything he said and did to you, I never thought you would be capable of befriending him," Draco asserted, truly amazed by how much Harry was able to put the past behind him.

"I never thought I would be able to either, but- you know what he has done don't you?" asked Harry, wondering if Draco did indeed know about the risks and sacrifices Snape made to ensure his safety all those years ago.

"Snape told my family soon after you killed the Dark Lord. I was there when he confessed to my father his love for your mother and the fact that he had been working for the Order of the Phoenix ever since she died. That is all there is to know about Snape, isn't it?" Draco added, wandering how much more Severus could have been hiding from Lucius that day.

"That is all, but since he has returned to the wizarding world, he seems to be a completely different person and if you aren't too disturbed by me saying so, he seems to be more like the man my mother befriended: more kind and… caring…" Harry trailed off.

"Interesting…"

"Do you think it was stupid of me to forgive him just because he loved my mother and spent most of my schooling protecting me?" Harry asked, intending for the statement to be a joke.

"Well, it is you that we are talking about Potter, so no, I don't think it was foolish, but I must assert that I didn't think you would be capable of such forgiveness," Draco continued, truly amazed by how different Potter was from Weasley, who seems to hold every grudge for as long as he lives.

"And I didn't think you were capable of loving anyone but yourself," Harry said right back at Draco.

Draco snorted. "I didn't love myself. I was simply offended that you ditched me for another pureblood family who Father always said was completely below us. I was hurt and continued to portray myself as wealthy and popular just so you would feel regret. Of course, I now realise that had you befriended me, I doubt the Dark Lord would have been defeated and then we would all be living a worse life than we are now. But I didn't love myself," Draco reinforced seriously; he wanted to make it clear to Harry that he wasn't full of it, just hurt.

"But you love Scorpius though," Harry pointed out.

"Yes, he's a good kid and I am thankful that Astoria and I have been able to raise him differently to the way my parents raised me. I used to think that the Malfoy family was the best there was, that all wizards would give us respect, but now I realise you have to earn it and Scorpius knows that," Draco asserted.

Harry was impressed.

Then he realised how much Draco's statement reminded him of what Dumbledore used to say: "It matters not what we are born, but who we grow to be," Harry said quietly, looking at Draco. "That's what Dumbledore used to say."
Draco smiled. "And he's right, of course."

Harry smiled just thinking about Dumbledore and the many fond memories he had of him.

"How did you react when Snape told you he loved your mother?" Draco asked out of curiosity.

"Honestly? I was shocked, but happy. It explained a lot: why he hated me, why he changed sides- I assumed he wouldn't tell me that he loved my mother unless it were true- he forced me to believe him and I haven't regretted it since. My children have taken a liking to him and I hope that, given time, he will become a part of the family," Harry said confidently.

"And do you think Snape would want that too?" Draco asked seriously.

"I hope so," Harry said. "Well, I had better be going to Hogwarts. Is there anything you want me to do? Check up on Scorpius maybe?" Harry offered.

"No thank you; the poor child has had enough happening in his life for now. I don't think he would appreciate it if Harry Potter walked into his dormitory at one in the morning- no offence," Draco added.

"None taken. Well please make sure you inform myself, Ron or Severus about anything you may hear about Greyback, we must keep an eye on that man and ensure that our children stay safe."

Draco nodded. "We'll keep in touch at the ministry."
"Sure, well thank you for telling me what you told Greyback. Now I know to be even more wary, not so much for my own safety, but for my family's. Thank you for your honesty," Harry said, holding out his hand to Draco, who took it and shook his former nemesis' hand.

"I'm sure I'll see you soon," Harry said as he walked away from Draco towards Severus who was waiting for him as planned.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Severus called to Lucius and Narcissa when he saw Harry approaching.

"Not a problem, Severus. You are welcome at any time," Narcissa replied, looking very tired as she and her husband walked up to their bedroom.

"Where's Ginny, Hermione and Ron?" Harry asked him when he arrived at the front door.

"They went to pick up Lily and Hugo and will then head home," Snape informed Harry. "Your wife said before she left to be careful and to say 'Hi' to Dumbledore for her."

Harry smiled; he was really looking forward to talking to Dumbledore after so many years and wondered what he would think about Greyback, the Deathly Hallows but most importantly, his befriending Severus Snape.

"Let's go," Harry said excitedly as he and Severus walked towards the outskirts of the Malfoy's property and Apparated to Hogwarts.

A/N: As I have said previously, I have posted a poll that surrounds this fanfic and more specifically, Snape's character. You can access it by going to my profile: bumblebee88888 and clicking on the link at the top of the page.

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and that those of you that were wondering who was helping Greyback, I hope the answer and explanations I have provided in this chapter satisfy you and that you do not think it unreasonable that Draco would have sacrificed so much for his son.

Chapter 22 is already underway, but I still have a long way to go before it will be posted up. I am hoping it will not take long to complete, but I assure you that the moment it is done, I will post it up. In the mean time, enjoy reading other fanfics and please continue to review my chapters as they come up!

Many thanks,

bumblebee88888