Chapter 2: The Plan
Shaken, Draco and his mother left Spinner's End. Draco couldn't believe what had happened. Him? A Death Eater? It was a strange and unsettling thought, though, surprisingly, Draco didn't feel scared, or sad; he felt proud. He would show his Bellatrix Lestrange that Draco Malfoy was not about to give his aunt another reason to tease and taunt him. Maybe Lucius would be proud of him for completing the task as well, proud of Draco for once in his life.
Once they had returned to Malfoy Manor, Draco followed his mother upstairs. Her room came before Draco's, and when she reached it she lunged for the door and closed it rather roughly behind her. Within seconds, Draco heard muffled sobs coming from behind the closed door.
Draco honestly felt sorry for his mother. First she had to deal with Lucius's arrest, and now this. Draco feared all this would be too much for his mother to handle.
Though Draco would admit it to few, he truly did love his mother. She was the only one he knew who actually loved him and cared about him, unlike his father and all his friends. Draco had always had the feeling that his father only tolerated him because he needed an heir.
Draco sighed, unsure of how he would deal with the task himself. How was he supposed figure out how to let the Death Eaters into the castle and kill Dumbledore? Sighing again, Draco decided that he needed a plan.
Hours later, Draco found himself in a pile of worn leather books in the middle of his father's massive study. After cautiously opening the door to the study-it had been in Draco's experience that his father had set wards against intruders- Draco had pulled a few books off of the large bookcase that took up half of the room. He then settled himself into one of the four green and black armchairs that were in the room and began poring over dusty volumes and tomes on the Dark Arts. But even after pulling hundreds of books from the shelves, Draco still hadn't found a way to kill Dumbledore. Growing desperate, Draco began rummaging through his father's writing desk, and soon extracted a large black book from one of the drawers. The book was titled The Wizard's Guide to Dark Objects: London Edition. Eagerly, Draco opened the book. After searching through the index for a few minutes, he found just what he needed:
"...This cursed necklace is extremely dangerous. At the slightest touch, the victim will either be sent into a coma-like state, or will be killed. Can be bought at Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley..."
Immediately, immense relief flooded Draco's body; all he had to do was buy the necklace from Borgin in his next trip to Diagon Alley, then get someone to give the necklace to Dumbledore. Then-presto!-dead Dumbledore.
Nevertheless, Draco's ecstasy did not last long, and he felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he realized that there was more to do: he still had to figure out a way to get the Death Eaters into Hogwarts.
But how? All the secret passages out of the castle would be blocked this year; security was being tightened so much. He couldn't even get them in through the Shrieking Shack- all the teachers knew about that passage.
Draco dropped his head into his hands. He had to figure out how to do this. He had to get it right. Then, he could prove to his father that he was more than an heir. He was a son.
Draco sat in the armchair for half an hour, staring at the open page of the book. The words became blurry to Draco as he stared at them. Finally, Draco blinked, and the words came into focus again. He stared at the page again, reading the paragraph about the cursed necklace again.
"Can be bought at Borgin and Burkes..."
Suddenly Draco's head snapped up. He had just remembered something. Hadn't Montague left Hogwarts the previous year without anyone noticing? Hadn't he said he had reached Borgin and Burkes? Through...
"The Vanishing Cabinet!" Draco exclaimed aloud. He knew just what he had to do now. There was a Vanishing Cabinet in Borgin and Burkes, and one at Hogwarts. And if Montague had managed to get to Borgin and Burkes from the one in Hogwarts, that meant the Death Eaters could get from the one in Borgin and Burkes and into Hogwarts.
Of course, Draco knew it wouldn't be as simple as that. Montague had not actually been able to enter Borgin and Burkes from the Cabinet because it was broken. To get the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, he would have to fix the Cabinet. And he had no idea how to do that.
Well, thought Draco proudly, I'll figure it out.
Quite pleased with himself, Draco went to the kitchen to celebrate with a bag of sweets. There, he found his mother, sitting at the kitchen table, her hands wrapped around a cup of tea.
"Draco," she whispered. "I want you to be careful." Her cheeks were still stained with tears.
"Oh, Mother, don't worry about it. I have a plan." Draco reassured his mother casually.
Narcissa looked skeptical. "Are you sure?"
Yes, Mother," Draco replied calmly. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."
His mother looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm just so scared," she said quietly. "I don't want you to die."
Draco hurried over to his mother and gave her a hug. "Please don't cry, Mother. I'll be fine. Besides, Severus will be there in case I get in trouble."
Something clicked in Narcissa's eyes. "Yes, Severus will be there, won't he?" Draco nodded. "Excuse me Draco," his mother said in a breathy voice. "I have to go see something." She left the kitchen in a hurry.
Draco suddenly stiffened. He hoped she hadn't gone to ask Severus to help him! He had only told his mother that Severus was going to be there to make her feel better- he wouldn't be able to stand it if Severus was constantly swooping over him, trying to help. Draco was sure that he was completely capable of completing the task himself.
Narcissa's sudden departure had added a complication to his plan: trying to complete his task while also avoiding Snape.
Draco rubbed his forehead; all this was giving him a headache. He trudged upstairs to his bedroom and returned to his previously abandoned book. Eventually, sleep overcame him, and he drifted off with the book left open over his face.