Chapter Twenty – Draco the Dragon

"I can't understand it, Ron," Hermione said, biting her fingernails. "I'm so worried...where could he possibly be?"

Ron forced a reassuring smile. "He's probably with Dumbledore or something. Nothing could have happened: this is Hogwarts."

"But don't you think he would have been back by now? It's time for class! Dumbledore wouldn't really want Harry to miss class, would he?"

Shrugging, Ron sighed. "Maybe. I mean, maybe it's something serious they're talking about."

Draco listened to this conversation from a safe distance, and a sinking feeling entered his stomach. If Harry was missing, he could only think of one explanation: Neville had done it. He frowned deeply. He didn't think Neville would have done it so quickly. He thought he had more time to fix the whole mess. But obviously, he had underestimated Longbottom.

He had to do something. He hurried over, though cautiously, to Hermione and Ron, and interrupted. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation."

"Oh Malfoy, no body really cares what you have to say," Ron groaned, rolling his eyes.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I have an idea about where Harry is. But, if you really don't care..."

"Where?!" Hermione asked quickly, forgetting that it was Draco Malfoy who she was talking to.

Draco frowned, despite his relief that she was willing to listen. "I'm afraid he may...I think he's with Voldemort."Hermione and Ron both just stared at him, disbelief in their eyes.

"Listen, I can prove this to you. I have proof that Neville Longbottom is working with Voldemort."

Hermione jumped in surprise. "Neville?!" She turned to Ron. "He's missing too."

Draco frowned. "Well? What are you going to do about it?"

"Ron, we have to do something," Hermione said, staring up at Ron.

Ron nodded, and sighed. "Okay Malfoy...what do you know?

*^*^*

"Oracle? I've heard of those!" Hermione exclaimed, hurrying into the Gryffindor common room. "Does Harry really have one?"

Draco nodded. "And Voldemort needs it. He needs it to gain power. But the Oracle is only useful to him if every single male Potter is dead. Therefore, he needs Harry gone."

Ron glared at him. "How do you know this?!"

"I used to be a Death Eater before I wised up, remember?" Draco said darkly. "I'm surprised you forgot."

"And how do I know you're not just doing this to capture me and Hermione and bring us to Voldemort?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, Ron! Hush up! And it's Hermione and me—the person speaking is always mentioned last—"

Ron's glare cut Hermione off. She turned back to Draco, and asked, "What do we do?"

Draco blinked at her. "What do you mean? We go find him, of course!"

"What?!" Ron shouted. "Find him? What are you talking about?!"

"Yes, find him!" Draco glared, imagining a stake being driven through Ron. "What else did you expect? We can't let Voldemort win!"

Ron scowled while considering his options. Death lingered on his mind, but not his death: Hermione's. He couldn't put her life at risk, never mind the fact that Harry was also in danger. If this is all true, of course, thought Ron, still skeptical of the reality of this surreal situation. Yet something about Draco seemed trustworthy, and though Ron loathed him, he chose to follow Draco's steps, and help save Harry.

While Ron did this, Hermione was also debating. She would put her life at risk in a second, if it meant saving her best friend. But when it came to Ron, she was not sure if she could handle it, knowing is he was in such a dangerous position. The family had already lost their eldest boy, and she wasn't about to let them lose the youngest.

And throughout their pondering, Draco prayed that Harry was still safe, and the Oracle was still in it's place. The most frightening thought was the notion that Voldemort already had the Oracle, and was now finding the Hand of Midas.

"We have two choices," Draco piped up, causing Hermione and Ron to break out of their thoughts. "We can either go to Voldemort and try to find Harry, or..." he considered his words carefully. "We can go looking for the Hand of Midas," he said, unable to state the adventure any better than that.

Ron rubbed his eyes. "Which do you think would be more effective?"

Draco shrugged. "Depends. If Voldemort has already found the Oracle, then that means Harry is dead, probably, and we'd need to go protect the Hand. If Harry's still alive, I suggest rescuing him."

While Ron debated these options, Hermione stated her position without a second thought: "Find Harry. We should at least have hope: we go find Harry first, before trying anything else."

Draco bit a lip. "You realize, you'll probably end up going into Voldemort's hideaway?"

"I don't care."

Looking at Ron: "Well?" Draco asked.

"Let's do it," Ron said, a smile appearing on his face. "Let's do it!"