Following the attack on Hogsmeade, Draco was a bag of nerves as he waited to see what The Dark Lord's next move would be. He'd heard enough to know the attack on Hogsmeade was to draw Blaise and Theo out of Hogwarts, and he knew Voldemort wouldn't stop there. However, for the rest of the holidays The Dark Lord made no more moves to try and get his hands on Draco's two friends. Draco suspected he was waiting until everyone went back to school so that the other Slytherins could fill him in on what Blaise and Theo were up to. Although that idea would also cause problems, as Draco knew neither of his friends were still at Hogwarts. Now, it was just a waiting game to see what Voldemort would do when he discovered that Theo and Blaise had slipped through his clutches.
On the day school restarted, Draco was nervous all day as he waited for word to get back to Voldemort about his missing friends. Surprisingly, the day passed without incident, as did breakfast the following morning. It was nearly midday before Draco spotted an owl flying towards the manor, from his vantage point sitting on the balcony of his bedroom. Of course he wasn't sure if the owl was from Hogwarts until The Dark Lord's loud bellow of rage sounded throughout the manor.
"What on earth?" Narcissa asked, jumping slightly at the sound of Voldemort's anger. She'd been sitting with Draco, trying to ease his nerves, but her son was still clearly worried about his friends.
"I'm guessing he knows Blaise and Theo have gone," Draco replied in a quiet voice. He'd already informed Narcissa that his friends were safe, as he knew she's also been worrying about them.
"I wonder what will happen now," Narcissa mused.
"He's not going to give up," Draco said sadly. "But I guess we'll have to wait and see what his next move is."
Less than ten minutes later they discovered The Dark Lord's next move as Lucius appeared in Draco's room, informing him Voldemort wished to speak to him. Draco took a few moments to shut down his nerves, and becoming the stoic wizard his father had taught him to be from a young age. He also took a few minutes to lock his thoughts about Blaise and Theo out of his mind. His mother had taught him some occlumency way back when Voldemort first came back, so he knew how to hide his thoughts. However, he didn't know if he was skilled enough to keep everything a secret if The Dark Lord thought he was lying to him and really made an effort to get into his head. He was just hoping he could persuade Voldemort that he knew nothing and keep him from delving deeper into his mind.
When Draco and Lucius arrived in Lucius's study, Voldemort was angrily pacing the floor while Bellatrix sat perched on Lucius's desk. Draco could feel the anger coming off Voldemort, and he felt a shiver of apprehension run down his spine. In this mood, the dark wizard was pretty unreadable and Draco was worried in case he snapped and did something rash like destroy Lyra's ribbon.
"Get off my desk, Bella," Lucius snapped, practically pushing his sister-in-law off his neat desk.
Bellatrix glared at Lucius, and instead settled herself down in the comfortable chair behind the desk. Draco could see his father preparing to yank Bellatrix out of his chair, but just then Voldemort stopped his pacing and turned his fierce red eyes on the two Death Eaters. Draco couldn't see what sort of look he gave them, but it had them both dropping the animosity towards each other and moving to the two seats in front of Lucius's desk. Voldemort then settled himself in Lucius's chair, and finally turned his attention towards Draco.
"Do come in Draco," Voldemort said, beckoning to the teenager who was still hovering just inside the doorway.
Slowly Draco moved forward so he was standing in front of Lucius's desk, in between the two chairs containing his father and his aunt.
"Do you know why I've called for you?" Voldemort asked, leaning back in his chair and studying the blond boy in front of him.
"No, My Lord," Draco replied.
"I've just had a very interesting letter from Miss Parkinson," Voldemort said in a low growl. "It would appear your friends, Zabini and Nott, have left Hogwarts."
"Left?" Draco frowned, doing his best to appear surprised by the news. "What do you mean, left?"
"I mean, they've gone," Voldemort replied. "Vanished. Their belongings have gone, and apparently none of the Professors know where they've went."
"They've ran away?" Draco said, framing his words as more of a question.
"Possibly," Voldemort said, giving Draco a thoughtful look. "Although they're not the only ones gone from school. Your mudblood tart and her brat are also missing."
Despite the fact Voldemort and Lucius always referred to Hermione and Lyra in derogatory terms, Draco still couldn't help but react. Almost subconsciously, his face transformed into an angry glare, before he regained control and pushed down his emotions. However, he knew Voldemort always saw his anger, which was likely why he continued to call Hermione a mudblood whenever she was mentioned.
"You don't seem worried," Voldemort noted. "You were expecting this?"
"Honestly, yes," Draco replied, making sure his voice didn't betray how much he wanted to hurt Voldemort for speaking badly about the witch he loved and the daughter he cherished.
"You've been in contact with her?" Lucius snarled angrily.
Draco turned his head slightly and gave his father an unimpressed glare. "And how would I do that? I've been stuck her for the last few months with no contact with the outside world."
"Then why aren't you surprised?" Voldemort asked, regaining the young wizard's attention.
"Hermione wasn't sure about going back to school after she'd had Lyra in the first place," Draco explained. "But now she's alone, I'm guessing it's too much for her to cope with looking after Lyra and still trying to attend classes. To be honest, I'm surprised she didn't leave as soon as I did."
"And just where do you think your little tart would go with her half breed brat?" Voldemort asked, smirking happily as Draco showed yet another glimpse of his anger. Normally the boy was quite good at controlling his hatred for him, but every time his girlfriend or daughter was mentioned, his mask slipped and Voldemort got to see just how much Draco still despised him. However, he wasn't worried as he held all the cards, and there was nothing Draco could do to free himself from the prison he'd found himself in.
"I'm not sure," Draco replied carefully. The last thing he wanted was to mention someone and send Voldemort after them.
"The Order?" Bellatrix questioned.
"Possibly," Draco said. "We never spoke about the Order, but she's obviously got ties to them."
"You never spoke about joining them?" Lucius asked with a disbelieving cackle. "Even when you knocked her up? You never considered joining the Order."
"No," Draco replied. "Mother and I thought we were safe."
"Yet you had Order members staying with you," Voldemort pointed out. "You and your mother must have gone to the Order."
"They were there for Hermione," Draco insisted. "She confided in Dumbledore and he agreed to help her. Mother and I never joined the Order, or spoke about how we could help them."
Voldemort was silent for a couple of minutes, while he studied Draco, before he nodded his head. "Fine. We'll leave that for now. But back to your mudblood. Do you think she's with the Order?"
"More than likely," Draco admitted, knowing he had no other choice but to agree with Voldemort's logic. "It's not like she's got any family any more, is it?"
"No, I don't suppose she does," Voldemort said with a dark laugh that sent chills down Draco's spine. "So the mudblood and her brat is with the Order. What about young Nott and the Zabini boy?"
"What about them?" Draco asked. "I haven't had contact with either of them since I left Hogwarts."
"Maybe not, but they're been awfully protective of the mudblood and her daughter," Voldemort replied. "And now all of them are gone from Hogwarts. Do you really expect me to believe that Nott and Zabini would have left her? No, they're with her, I know they are."
"I wouldn't know," Draco replied with a shake of his head. "It's a possibility, I suppose. Or they could have left when Hermione told them she wasn't going back to school. Since I'm not there, I really don't know what's going on."
"Really?" Voldemort questioned, before abruptly launching himself into Draco's head.
Draco winced at the brutal intrusion, but he remained calm and after less than five minutes he felt Voldemort withdraw. Looking at the dark wizard, he had no idea if he'd found anything to contradict what he'd been telling him. Voldemort had a good poker face, and at the moment Draco was getting nothing from him.
"You may leave," Voldemort suddenly announced.
"Yes, My Lord," Draco replied, knowing better than to ask why he was suddenly dismissed. "Thank you, My Lord."
After bowing his head in a gesture of respect everyone in the room knew he didn't mean, Draco hurried out of his father's study and back towards his bedroom. He had a bad feeling building in the pit of his stomach, and he just knew something terrible was going to happen. He just didn't know if the terrible thing was going to happen to him, or if it was going to happen to someone else he cared about.
When Draco returned to his room, Narcissa was waiting for him. More than likely she hadn't left the room as she waited to see what had happened with her son.
"They know," Draco whispered.
"Know what?" Narcissa asked warily.
"That Blaise and Theo are gone," Draco answered. "They also know Hermione and Lyra are gone as well."
"And they think they're all together," Narcissa surmised.
"Of course they do," Draco replied. "And I don't think they're going to let it lie. I think they're going to go after the Order, since that's where they think they are."
"We should warn them," Narcissa said.
"No, not yet," Draco said. "I think they suspect I'm still in contact with Hermione. They might be watching us. We can't tip them off about Tipsy. I think for the time being its best if we don't use her."
"And what about the Order?" Narcissa asked quietly. "If an attacks coming their way, they need to be prepared."
"They do," Draco agreed. "But I just can't risk him finding out I'm in contact with Hermione. He would go ballistic, and he might destroy Lyra's ribbon. I'm sorry, but unless we can think of some other way of contacting them, they're on their own for the moment. I have to put Lyra first. Besides, they should be well protected. Hermione promised me that no-one could get to her and Lyra, and since Blaise and Theo are with them, they're also safe. We just have to hope the rest of the Order are as safe and they won't get hurt in the crossfire."
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Following Draco's departure, there was a moment of silence in Lucius's study, until Bellatrix broke it by getting to her feet.
"So what now?" she asked. "I think it's clear the most likely explanation is that Nott and Zabini are with the mudblood and the Order."
"Yes, that does seem to be the case," Voldemort said with a thoughtful nod.
"Do you think Draco already knew they were gone?" Lucius asked The Dark Lord.
"He's your son, Lucius, what do you think?" Voldemort countered.
"I think he's an embarrassment," Lucius snarled. "I thought I'd raised him right, but clearly something went wrong along the way. These days I don't trust him at all. For all I know he's still in contact with that mudblood bitch."
"I don't think so," Voldemort said quietly. "I believe him when he says he didn't know about his friends. As for him being an embarrassment to you Lucius, that will all change once he truly joins us."
"That won't happen," Lucius snorted, thinking about everything Narcissa had told him the night she and Draco got back to the manor. At the time he'd dismissed her words, thinking that he could turn Draco back into a son he could be proud of, but the more time that was passing the more he was coming to realise that his wife had been right and he'd never had any hope of turning Draco to the dark. "I hoped that being involved with us, and getting his hands dirty would show him what he was truly capable of, but we all know he's holding back. He won't commit to us, his heart still lies with the light."
"Then it's time we snipped those heart strings," Voldemort announced. "It's time we ended his hope of ever being free of us."
"You're going to kill the mudblood and her half-breed brat?" Bellatrix questioned in obvious delight.
"I am," Voldemort confirmed with a nod. "Along with the Nott and Zabini boys. They all need to go."
"But how will you then keep Draco in line?" Lucius asked. He was well aware that without the leverage of his daughter, Draco would not be doing as they asked. He would have likely refused and gotten himself killed.
"His daughter is not the only one he loves," Voldemort replied with a casual shrug. "We have his mother in our possession. And even though he might rebel after the death of the mudblood and her child, he won't risk his mother's life. Once we've disposed of his outside ties, we will then use Narcissa to control him."
"Let's hope it works," Lucius said, not at all bothered at the thought of using his wife as it had been clear for a long time that the witch he'd loved had turned soft and abandoned him. Although he wasn't really sure if they would hold enough sway over Draco just by using Narcissa, but he had to trust The Dark Lord's judgement and hope he was proved right.
"For it to work, we need to do things right," Voldemort said. "Firstly, I need to speak to both Nott and Severus."
"Why Severus?" Bellatrix asked.
"I need to know what the staff have been told about the departures of Draco's friends," Voldemort answered. "And as for Nott, it's time he went and made a fuss about his missing son. While Dumbledore is distracted by dealing with Nott, we can strike at the rest of the Order. I'm thinking the Weasleys will make the perfect targets."
"Definitely," Bellatrix agreed with a wicked grin. "Those redheads do love a good fight. It's always pleasing to take one of them down."
"I intend to take the entire lot down," Voldemort replied.
While Bellatrix basked in the idea of taking out the Weasleys, Voldemort got to work by summoning Snape and Nott. First he sent for Snape to find out what the situation was up at Hogwarts. Of course, it was the middle of the day so they had to wait until the Potions master was free before he arrived in Lucius's office a couple of hours after being summoned.
"How are things up at school, Severus?" Voldemort asked.
"I take it you know about Blaise and Theo's departure," Snape guessed. "I was planning on coming to see you this evening about them. As it is, I've only got a few minutes before my next class starts."
"Well then, you better quickly tell me what you know," Voldemort said.
"That would be nothing," Snape replied with an unimpressed snort. "Dumbledore is saying very little. He gathered the staff after dinner yesterday evening and explained that Hermione Granger and her daughter had left the school and were now safely tucked away somewhere. He also mentioned Blaise and Theo had gone, but he apparently doesn't know where."
"He's saying they ran away?" Voldemort questioned.
"He's saying they just vanished and not one member of staff knows where they've gone," Snape answered.
"And has he contacted their parents?" Voldemort queried.
"I have no idea," Snape replied. "Even as Head of Slytherin, I'm excluded. Dumbledore is adamant he will handle things himself."
"Keep me informed," Voldemort ordered.
"Yes, My Lord," Snape replied, bowing to The Dark Lord before he headed back to school before he was missed.
Once Snape had gone, Voldemort sent for Nott. When the wizard appeared, he was clearly nervous and the first thing he said was that Theo had gone. Apparently, Dumbledore had contacted him earlier that day to say Theo was missing, but that the school were doing everything in their power to find him. Dumbledore had told Nott that it was nothing to worry about, and that he had everything in hand.
"I think not," Voldemort snorted. "Nott, I want you up at that school causing a fuss. Take Lucius as a governor, and I want the pair of you to give him hell. Alert the authorities, the press, whatever. I just want Dumbledore well and truly distracted."
"And what about Theo?" Nott asked cautiously.
"Don't worry about your son," Voldemort said, giving Nott a chilling smile. "I think I know where he is. I promise you that we will find him."
Nott nodded, but it was clear to everyone that he wasn't sure if he wanted Voldemort to find his son. Even without it being said it was very clear that Theo was in big trouble. If Voldemort found him, he wasn't guaranteed to survive, and Nott knew that. He just had to hope that his son wouldn't be caught. Of course that might mean he would face the wrath of The Dark Lord, but in his eyes it was preferable to his son facing it. Nott would rather be killed than have his son stuck serving Voldemort as a prisoner like poor Draco Malfoy.
