Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
Dumbledore's Discovery
The note had said to meet in the Headmaster office for seven, as Draco read the note he groaned. What did he want now? Hermione had been in the hospital wing for over 24 hours now and news had quickly spread throughout the corridors of her mental break down. He could still see the horrors of her Boggart and though he was curious to see what would have greeted him he was grateful he never got the chance. If he'd had to guess, if someone had pushed him for an answer he was tempted to say Voldemort. The man had terrorised him throughout his teenage years and even now twenty years in the past he was still tormenting his thoughts, the aches and pains of his torture had faded away but the scars left behind were a constant reminder of his struggles. Yet even though Voldemort was the more obvious choice there was another he could have chosen. He could picture it clearly, it's long slimy body slithering out of the doors, she would cover the floor but his eyes would only be on her head. Nagini was terrifying and the attack only a few months ago was still very clear in his mind.
Shaking away those negative thoughts Draco stepped off his bed reached for his cloak he wrapped it around his body and left the dorm room. He wondered if any of the others would have received a similar note. He knew Hermione wouldn't have received a note she was still hospital bound and would remain so until tomorrow the earliest.
He walked past the younger students who were huddled together, why did first and second years always huddle? He did it as a youngster and so on with all the others. Was it a strength in numbers sort of thing?
Upon finally reaching the main corridors he was certain he was going to be late but he didn't care. He knew Dumbledore would wait for him to arrive. He pulled the cloak tighter around him as the cold January wind attacked him through the corridor windows. There was still snow on the grounds and he picked up his pace to get out of the cold. The sooner he got to Dumbledore's office where there was to be a warm fire the better.
Not to his surprise he was the last to arrive. Already everyone was packed into Dumbledore's small office. "So what's so important that we must all be here?" Draco asked as he lent against the wall next to the door.
"I'm glad you asked Draco," said Professor Dumbledore, he was seated at his desk with his chin resting in his hands. "You informed me there are six Horcruxes altogether the last two are Nagini and Salazar Slytherin's locket. I'm under the assumption that I know of the whereabouts of the locket." This caught Draco's attention, he was completely at a blank when it came to the locket. He honestly had no idea where it could be or how they would find it. He and Hermione had tried to do some research into it during the Christmas break but every time they came out unsuccessful.
"Go on,"
"Marvolo Gaunt is currently residing in Azkaban, three years ago Tom Riddle entered Azkaban to visit his maternal grandfather. We are aware he used his ring to create one Horcrux but I believe he buried the locket in the walls of Azkaban only removing it in years to come. I believe it's in Gaunt's cell hidden somewhere, when surrounded by a Horcrux your mental state changes, the rumours are that Marvolo Gaunt is crazy."
"Many said Marvolo was crazy, said Azkaban ruined him but a Horcrux are you sure?"
Dumbledore nodded, "He says he sees things, and Dementors avoid his cell why?"
"If Dementors are avoiding his cell then there's some serious dark magic happening!" said Bellatrix. "Dementors feed off happy thoughts if something is blocking them then they've no need to feed. It has to be incredibly dark magic and the knowledge of Horcruxes are slim anyway."
"Exactly Miss Black,"
"So how do we get into Azkaban?" asked Draco, "not like we can breaking into it like Golden Trio did Gringotts,"
"We need permission off the Minister to enter Azkaban," Dumbledore informed them.
"How do we even do that?" asked Draco. "We can't just walk up to the Minister and go excuse me Sir we need access into Azkaban to see if Marvolo Gaunt has a Horcrux buried somewhere in his cell." Draco frowned harder and Dumbledore smiled, he was clearly amused by the blonde.
"Nope, but I'll need to speak to Alistair Moody, as Head Auror he can request permission and is usually granted. Until then I need you all to stay low key."
"I have a question?" injected Lily. Dumbledore nodded for her to continue. "Where has this idea come from? There must be some clue or discovery to suddenly think Azkaban."
"Right indeed Miss Evans, there are two kinds of guards at Azkaban; you have the Dementors who haunt the building but the Wizards who have to feed the inmates, bury any of those who have passed away. It is very rare you have visitors enter Azkaban. In the last three years only two people have been granted permission to visit a relative. Tom Riddle and the wife of a dying inmate Maria Westmorland. Five days ago a young Prison Warden who had worked in Azkaban just over three years died of a drug overdose, the Muggleborn Wizard was discovered to have been under the imperious curse. After further investigations the young man has been under the spell for 3 years. Moody informed me that on the day of Tom Riddle's visit this young man was the only officer on duty. "
"You think Voldemort imperiod that guy?" asked James, it appeared the others were thinking the same idea.
"It's entirely possible. He had motive, the ability and the wickedness to do so."
"Well Professor you will inform me as soon you have news yes?" Dumbledore nodded and Draco never turned away, he did not trust Dumbledore and he wondered if his future older self-had a higher motive then to simply save a few lives.
"Excellent now that is sorted, how is Hermione?"
Draco sighed and frowned, "She's not too bad, quiet, mainly locked in her head. I think the Boggart is just replaying."
"Why me?" Bellatrix peeped out. "I know of the things I did but did I really kill all those people?" Draco sighed again and shook his head, so far he had managed to avoid talks of Hermione's Boggart with the people in the room but now he was trapped and everyone was staring at him.
"Back in my third Year Remus was our Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor and he did a very similar lesson. When Hermione stood in front of the Boggart there was Professor McGonagall with a failed assessment in her hand telling Hermione she had failed everything. We all laughed back then because of course that would be Hermione's biggest fear failing school but really when you look deeper into it, it was really the fear of failing. Circumstances have changed and so has her life. She's was tortured by Bellatrix, and has watched so many of her friends die. She tries to put her torture to the back of her mind but it's always there even when she's not thinking about it, she's been sent back in time to stop her friends from dying and she just afraid to fail everyone. Her fear of failure has gotten worse as she's aged. It's just really hard to explain, she'll get better but Bellatrix it's not you personally. It's the woman that you were going to be, Hermione quite likes you."
"Thanks, I just hope to not be that woman." She said quietly, Rodolphus reached for her hand and gave it a soft squeeze.
"You'll never be that woman," he said and she smiled at him. Draco watched the couple with fascination. Never had he seen his Aunt and Uncle been intimate. It was clear even to young eyes that his Aunt and Uncle hated the very sight of each other, his mother had once explained that the love they had once shared had faded due to Bellatrix's desire to the Dark Lord and his cause, the deeper the involvement the further they had spilt apart, then the years in Azkaban had broken any desire or love. Upon release they were two strangers bound together only by marriage.
Dumbledore dismissed everyone in the room and Draco was the first to slip out, he wanted to go see Hermione and nobody called out to him to wait, so he powered on towards the Hosptial Wing, as he walked through the corridor people glanced towards him, and he knew the whispers were about Hermione, even here people feared to approach him and it was something he liked.
As he walked into the hospital wing he nodded towards Madam Pomfrey who was fixing a broken arm of a crying Hufflepuff student. He slipped behind the curtain to see Hermione sat up with a book in her hands.
"You look better," he said and her head shot up. It was the first sign that she was on the mend, the book in her hand simply meant that Hermione Granger was recovering.
"Draco, I feel much better actually,"
"Good! What you reading?" he asked perching on the side of the bed.
"It's called Alice in Wonderland, I found it on the book trolley in the Hospital wing," she said and he nodded clearly confused. "It's about a girl who falls down a rabbit hole and in to Wonderland where she has tea with the Mad Hatter and has to fight the red queens Jabberwocky"
"Right, sounds odd."
"It's an amazing Muggle Story. I've read it so many times as a child it was my Mother's favourite book."
"Well I'm glad you've found something to pass your time. Have you been given a release date?" he asked and Hermione shook her head.
"I'd like to leave tomorrow but I'm scared too. So many people saw my melt down, how do I even face Bellatrix after that?"
"I spoke to Bellatrix, I think she understands that it's not her now but the woman she was going to become. Maybe your fear of Bellatrix Lestrange will cause Bellatrix Black to do everything in her power to not be her."
"Maybe,"
"You're one of the bravest people I know, if anyone can come back from this it is you." Hermione simply smiled, she placed a marker in her book and placed it on to the bedside table.
"Any news then?"
"Yes, I've some very interesting news!" said Draco, Hermione moved further across the bed to make room for Draco. "Dumbledore thinks he knows where the locket is." Hermione's eyes widened at the news. "He thinks it's in Azkaban."
"Azkaban?" she asked and Draco nodded.
"His grandfather is in Azkaban and a prison guard who worked their when Voldemort visited his grandfather was imperiod, he died a few days ago and its since his death that they have realised that he has been under the curse for the last 3 years, 3 years ago Voldemort visited his grandfather. Dumbledore is under the assumption that Voldemort has left the locket somewhere in his grandfather's cell, hidden it or something."
"How do we get into Azkaban though?" Hermione asked and Draco sighed.
"Dumbledore has to get permission from the Minister to enter the grounds of Azkaban, I think it'll be Moody that has to ask being head Auror."
"So when the locket is destroyed then there is only Nagini left." Said Hermione, "then we just have to take down Voldemort and then it's done."
"Over, so then what do we do?" Draco asked and Hermione sighed.
"I guess we just leave, and let the future continue without us."
"How long do you think we have left?" Draco asked and Hermione looked at him sadly.
"If the locket is in Azkaban we are looking at a couple of weeks a month tops."
"So really we die in a couple of weeks then, because that's really what happens to us." Hermione nodded and bit down on her lip.
It has suddenly become very real in just a couple of weeks' time the war will have commenced and ended and hopefully Voldemort will have fallen at their feet. Draco reached around to Hermione and pulled her close to him, in just a few weeks' time all this would be over and this precious moment would be forgotten.
I'm aware the time line of Marvolo's imprisonment is way off but for the story to work I've changed it. I don't actually know if Wizards actually work in Azkaban but surely someone must deliver the inmates food.
Hope you all like this chapter, thanks for reviewing previous chapters it'll be great to hear from you all once more.
Until next time...
Lottie!