Finally, Draco got up the strength to get off the box and began to pace around the attic. Having never cleaned before, he had no idea where to begin. Finally, he walked back to the entrance of the attic.
"Mrs. Granger," he called, "Where's the feather thing that you shuffle dust around with?" Within minutes, Hermione's mother was up the attic steps and holding a duster in her outstretched hand. Draco eyed it doubtfully, for it seemed more like a cloth, and didn't seem to be made of anything remotely resembling feathers.
"Here you are, dear," said Mrs. Granger cheerfully. "Although if I was you, I would sort things first, so they'll be up off the floor and you can get a clear view of all the really bad dust." She looked down at the duster in her hand for a moment. "Although, if I recall the chore list, I don't actually remember writing down that you had to clean the attic. I believe I just wanted you to sort out all the knickknacks so that the place looks neat and we won't have to worry about twisting our ankles every time we want to come up here." At that point, she paused and eyed the dusting cloth thoughtfully. "However, would you mind cleaning things up too, as long as you're in the mindset to do so anyway?"
Draco nodded half-heartedly. "Of course Mrs. Granger." He looked at the cloth she held in her hand.
"Are you absolutely positive that's a duster? It doesn't look like any duster I've ever seen."
Mrs. Granger put the cloth in her pocket and looked Draco over. "And where did you see pictures of dusters?" she asked.
"In some really old books in our attic back home," Draco confessed. "They looked like big wads of feathers."
Mrs. Granger sighed. "Well, those books must have not been too recent if all you saw were pictures of feather dusters. This is what we use now; it picks up dust, I promise." After she saw that Draco had a firm grip on the dusting cloth, she went back down the attic steps.
"See what you can do in half an hour," she called over her shoulder. "After that, I'll get Hermione out from the garage to come and help you."
As soon as she was gone, Draco came to the decision that he would begin with the sorting as Mrs. Granger had suggested. That would take up all his half hour, and technically, he wouldn't actually be cleaning.
He started with a large sea trunk which took up a good corner of the attic all by itself. He grabbed both sides of the trunk, and, cursing its weight, pulled it to the center of the attic, huffing, puffing and moaning the entire time.
When the trunk was firmly settled in a good location for sorting, he wiped the sweat off his brow and released the lock on the trunk, getting to his knees so he could get a better glimpse of what was inside.
At first, all he could see were stacks and stacks of old books and he pulled them out one at a time, setting them hard upon the wood floor and coughing as the dust from the covers flew up into his face.
Eventually, he reached the last book, and was a bit surprised when a crinkly cream-colored slip of paper fell out from beneath the front cover.
He picked it up and did his best to straighten out the creases so he could read what it said. He had to squint to see the writing, because it had faded significantly over the years. Finally, after reading it several times, he understood what it said. He blinked a few times and read it once more to himself.
Valerian M.
I have made the switch, although it pained me very much to do so. We must hope against hope that Grindelwald will sense nothing. But even if he does realize that I have switched Lydia and Ariella, I am not worried. I have lived long enough and there is not much left in the world for me to accomplish. I have done my share. After all this misery is through, you shall be handsomely rewarded for your support. I shall give you my living daughter's hand, for I know that is what you desire most.
A. Dionis
Draco set the paper down and shook his head. A. Dionis. That was Lydia and Ariella's father, he remembered that much. And he was writing to someone named Valerian M. Was this person significant? Who was he? And what did Ailbert mean when he said that he'd switched Ariella and Lydia?
At that moment, a knock sounded at the attic door, interrupting his thoughts. He looked up from the paper to see Hermione staring back at him.
"You look comfortable," she observed. "Have you found anything interesting? Mum sent me up here to help you if you need it."
Draco nodded. "You have good timing." He held the note out to her. "I found this in one of the books in the sea trunk. Read it and see what you can make of it."
Hermione took it obligingly and looked it over. "It's really faded," she observed. "I can't make anything out."
"Look on the back," Draco instructed. "I wrote it out for you."
"Thank you." Hermione turned the note around and began to read. When she had finished, she looked at Draco again, setting the paper on her lap.
"Do you know who wrote the letter?" he asked. Hermione shook her head no.
"I believe that this letter was written by Lydia's father to another one of Grindelwald's henchmen just before the Arion incident," Draco said, "But what do you think he means by the bit about switching Ariella and Lydia?"
Hermione thought a moment. Then, her eyes widened. "Do you think it means that Ariella is still alive?" she asked.
"How could that be?" Draco was skeptical.
"Well, Ailbert really didn't want Ariella to be sacrificed, right?" Hermione asked.
Draco nodded. "Right."
"So don't you think that he could have done something to make Lydia and Ariella switch bodies before the sacrifice was to take place?"
Draco inhaled sharply. "That seems very interesting."
"Where's the book that this fell out of?" Hermione asked.
Draco rooted around on the attic floor and finally found it. It was a handsome book, bound in maroon leather. On the front in neat gold script was written A. Dionis.
Hermione opened the book and read over the first page.
"What is it?" Draco asked, looking over her shoulder.
"I think it's Ailbert's diary," Hermione replied. She cleared her throat and read a page from the middle of the diary.
"September 1, 1940
Another meeting at Ramstock tonight. Lord G. wants the vampires on his side and he says we'll need to bribe them if we have any hope of doing so. As the majority of vampires are men, it is certain that the sacrifice will be one of our most beautiful girls. That has me worried, for Lord G. has mentioned in the past about using my Ariella if anything like this ever arose. But I cannot let that happen, although it will mean death for me. I love her too much. But there is hope. Her sister, a squib, is just as pretty as she, but a stain on the family name. If I were to work up a spell to make them switch bodies, I could save my darling daughter. But it is complicated and I shall require assistance. There is a young man who has been after Ariella for some time now, a lad named Valerian Malfoy. I shall tell him that if he gives me his assistance, I shall give him Ariella should she survive this ordeal. When I see him tomorrow, I shall-"
"Stop!" Draco cried.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked. "I was just getting to the good part!"
"And the name you just read doesn't interest you in the least?"
Hermione looked down at the name again, then back up at Draco. "Who was he?"
Draco swallowed. "He was my grandfather's father."
"All right," Hermione closed the book and stood up. "So we know now that your great-grandfather, and my-"she paused and counted on her fingers. "Great-great grandfather were in dealings to get Ariella out of being sacrificed."
Draco nodded.
"Do you think it actually worked?" Hermione asked. "Do you think they actually switched their bodies?"
Draco paused. A scrap of the dream he'd had in the car on the way over here came to him again, a vision of Gammried telling a younger vampire that Lydia was more valuable to them as a sacrifice then Hermione could ever be. Was that because she was actually Ariella in Lydia's body, and the girl he'd seen burned alive in the fire was actually Lydia?
"There's an easy way to answer that," Draco answered calmly. "We need to go back to the Clan Castle. Ailbert's there. We can ask him in person."
Hermione nodded. "That sounds like a plan. But we need to do a few things first: Number one, make progress with the attic. We won't get any breakfast if we don't. Two, we have to write Professor Dumbledore to tell him what we found, and three, one and two is enough."
And with that, she grabbed the dust cloth and began wiping things off. Eventually, Mrs. Granger came up and told them they had worked enough for the day.
"Thanks Mum," Hermione said as she and Draco followed her mother down the stairs. "But after we eat, Draco and I have to leave again. Another part of the school project just announced itself."
Mrs. Granger protested, but eventually waved the two of them out the front door.
"Where to first?" Hermione asked as the two of them got into the car.
"I need to pick up a few things at home, and then we'll head to the Clan castle."
Hermione nodded. "All right," she then paused, looking wistfully up at her house.
"Don't worry," Draco said. "If all goes well, we'll be back in a week."
Hermione sighed. "Remind me why we're doing this?"
Draco narrowed his eyes. "Aside from the vampire connections, there might be the possibility we're related."
Hermione frowned. "We aren't, right? We don't know they got married."
"That," Draco said, "is what we need to find out."