Chapter Three

Dumbledore explained the features of the island as he had been told to by Draco. "The guards are meticulous in searching the island. Though they have never been found, they still try their hardest to keep it that way. Five groups of 4 make their rounds at every hour. But don't think that they all go out on the hour of every hour. It's quite sporadic. One team will go out, then another and so one. Takes them approximately 45 minutes for one group to cover their specified area. You'll have to slip in at during one of those periods."

"We have those times?" Harry questioned, his soul attention on Dumbledore.

He nodded and waved at the maps. "Draco has transcribed everyone of them on the maps." Dumbledore smiled grimly. "It helps to be the one who's in charge of the guards..." Sighing forlornly, he tapped a several different points on the map.

"How do we get there?" This time Ron spoke up. He wasn't done sulking after Dumbledore's hard reprimand, but there was a job to get done. If he and Harry were supposed to be on this assignment then he should have more information about it.

"That's one of the problems. Apparation would be the best, but because of the wooded area..." he drifted off, but he didn't need to explain. Apparation may not be perfect, but most of the time it was reliable. It was just that in crowded spaces even the most skilled apparator* can get caught get slip into several pieces. "Even if you were to apparate, you'll have to land here." He tapped an empty space on the map. "But from there, you'll encounter guards here, here. That's going to be a problem since every one of them will be able to detect you because of you're use of magic. We're going to avoid all that by landing here." Dumbledore searched for the spot he was looking and for. Locating it, he jab a finger on the spot. He looked up triumphantly and waited for their reactions.

Confused, Harry glanced at the location Dumbledore was pointing at. It was on the coast, right on the beach, but that wasn't what befuddled him. Dumbledore, only moments ago just stated they wouldn't be able to apparate due to the fact that the enemy would be able to detect the use of magic. But how is apparating on the beach going to be any different? "Headmaster... I'm not sure I understand..."

Dumbledore smiled slyly. "You'll have to take a boat," he said bluntly.

"A boat?" the two guys echoed in unison.

"What's a boat?" Ron wondered out loud.

"A kind of primitive Muggle transportation device that's now used for recreational purposes," Dumbledore tried to explain but the uncomprehending expression on Ron's face didn't leave.

"Kinda like a car, but used on water," Harry tried weakly. Sometimes it was hard for a Wizard to understand Muggle terms, but at times it's harder for a Muggle to get the terms across to a Wizard.

Slowly Ron nodded, but still not really understanding what Dumbledore mean. He had a vague idea in his mind about what this "boat" was, but it wasn't much. I suppose I'll have to see it to understand it.

Rubbing his eyes, Harry sighed. There was so much to go over. "How are we to get to the island, sir? You say by a boat, but I'm guessing that Malos Island is as enchanted as Hogwarts?"

"Of course," Dumbledore retorted, a tad affronted that Harry would suggest otherwise. "But the illusion only extends about 2 kilometers from the coast of the island. The range of the wizards on the island only goes as far as the coast. You'll be able to slip in unnoticed. You'll land at the location--" He tapped the spot again. "--and there you'll meet an associate of Draco's. He or she will led you to the Manor and help you in, but that's as far that person go. You'll be on your own from that point on."

"An associate?" Ron questioned, disbelief in his voice. "He has associates?"

"Oh quite so," Dumbledore answered. He shuffled the maps on his desk a bit, pulling the one of the Manor to the top. "Mr. Malfoy has built quite an organization of men and women who were forced to join the Dark Lord because they had no other choice." Dumbledore paused in thought. "I don't know who will be escorting you, but I've been assured that whomever it is will be there."

Harry exhaled heavily. He didn't like how it the rescue sounded. There were parts of it that bothered him. For one thing, this "associate" of Malfoy's sounded shady. "Sir, I have concerns about this..." he breached carefully.

"Concerns?" Ron snorted. "I have more than concerns Headmaster. How can you be sure we are not walking into a trap? For all we know, this could be a setup. Even if Malfoy was loyal to us, he could have spilled the beans on our operation long ago. How long has he been captured?" He looked sharply to Dumbledore, expecting him to supply the answer.

"Two to three days, but Mr. Weasley--"

"But nothing!" Ron interrupted loudly. Harry's eyes widened as he glanced at Ron. Usually people don't interrupt Dumbledore when he's speaking. "We all know how they operate. Do you really think he wouldn't buckle under the pain and pressure?"

Dumbledore froze, his body not moving an inch. A moment of silence passed and then another, his eyes boring into Ron's agitated body. When Dumbledore still didn't speak, Ron felt the fire that was driving him earlier leave his body and he slumped down in his chair. Fidgeting, Ron's eyes darted from place to place, not staying in one place for too long.

"Well," Dumbledore began, but stopped again. Whatever it was he was going to say seemed to have left him and silence once again reigned supreme. "Draco Malfoy has been working with us since he was 15. If he was going to betray us it would have been done years ago. You have to believe that we would never entrust him with out deepest secrets without making sure he was sincere and reliable. We've used the Veritas Serum more times than we can count to make sure he was as sincere and reliable as he was the first day he came to us." Dumbledore sighed. Rising to his feet, he turned away from the boys and glanced out of the window. "Draco is very dear to me -- as much you two are." He cracked a small smile. "You don't know how it was for him, always living a lie, his parent..." Shaking his head sadly, he tried to remember the day Draco had came to him...

FLASHBACK

"Headmaster Dumbledore?"

Looking up from his book he was reading, he took in the sight of Draco Malfoy, devoid of his usual veneer, insecurity rolling off of him like blue waves. He barely had time to wonder how this student had come to be in his personal quarters before Draco supplied the answer.

"Professor Snape gave me the password... I hope you don't mind..." Draco waved his hands around despondently, his eyes beckoning the Headmaster understand.

Dumbledore placed the book down and regarded the student in front of him. "Not at all Mr. Malfoy. I assume you have a important reason for coming to me at such a late hour?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow. He had happened to catch the time and it was a bit late at night, too late for a student to be out of bed.

Draco nodded. "Yes sir."

Malfoy's humbled manner perplexed Dumbledore. Usually in his presence the young man wasn't as subdued as he was now. He inclined his head to tell him to continue.

"Sir I want to join you," Draco blurted out in a rush. "I know I've been a terrible person but after what happened last year..." He drifted off, his mind on the previous year's occurrences. "With Diggory," Draco continued, his voice choking on the name of the dead boy. "I want to help you."

The Headmaster was rendered silenced. He had hoped for an opportunity such as this one to happen, but he didn't think it would be Draco Malfoy to be the one. He had known from some time about the troubles in the Malfoy home, but he like so many others kept quiet about the things that've happened in the Manor. It was better to kept quiet about it because in the end they knew Draco would not stand to be mistreated any longer and would want to get revenge. At least they hoped it would like that. From what they've learned about Draco Malfoy was that he believed in his father whole-heartedly and that he had a spirit that is not easily overcomed. If Draco's father abused Draco, that would inadvertently drive him over to the other side. A loss for the Dark is a gain for the Light and during times of war, they would need all they could get.

"You do know who this sounds, don't you?"

"Yes sir," Draco answered. "You're wondering if I'm working for You Know Who and if I'm lying. I'm not. You can do all the tests you want. I'm telling the truth."

Dumbledore nodded. He suspected that the boy was telling the truth, but to be on the safe side he would have to verify it first before they go any further.

"I'll do that. But until then, tell me why you want to help us? Especially when your father--"

"Is a Death Eater," Draco interrupted. Wincing slightly, he added, "I know." He sighed. "Last term...it shocked me. I didn't think he would be killed...I may not have known Diggory all that well, but I still didn't want him to...die. And I don't want to be apart of something that makes me sick." Steadily, his voice grew in volume. "I don't want to be a Death Eater, I don't want to kill innocent people, I don't..." he faltered. "I don't want to become my father," Draco whispered, dropping his head.

Dumbledore stared at the display and was still staring at that same exact spot, long after Draco left him to his thoughts. He wondered if keeping quiet about all the happenings in the Malfoy home for so long had been a wise decision. He had seen it in Draco's eyes -- the scars, the pain. He saw that the boy was being haunted by the things his father had done to him by the dark circles under his eyes. Suddenly he was struck with the urge to apologize for being silent all those years, but he pulled himself together, he kept the impulse under control. It was silly really...to be so guilty over things he couldn't change. In his long life, he learned it was useless to beat himself over the facts of life. He could rationalize it all he wanted -- it was for the best of mankind, wizard and muggle alike, it was going to save lives -- but it didn't matter.

But at least his silence did achieve what it set out to do. It drove little Draco Malfoy to him and to his side... It wasn't hard to confirm that Draco was sincere... a few potions here -- brewed by their own Professor Snape and a few spells there -- cast by various other professors at the school, but not by him. No, he stood in the background, looking for every lie, every mistruth, trying to see if this was another ploy by Voldemort to worm another spy into their confidence, but there was none. When they were done, he brought the boy back to his quarters and they...talked.

They talked for quite a while, but it wasn't as long as one might think. They didn't talk for an entire night as the cliché went. It would be pretty hard to do as they had performed the tests in mid-morning and finished by lunch. They spent most of afternoon talking about Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy and the other Death Eaters he had been in company with. With his testimony, they had enough to obtain a search of Malfoy Manor and to finally get the evidence they had been trying to obtain for years. Now all of it was falling onto his lap. Everything they had wondered and everything they needed. He had been shocked at the sheer amount that Draco knew, some of which he didn't even realize the significance of.

They didn't use the information, even though some itched to just put all of Draco's knowledge to use, but it was decided that if they waited and collect enough information, it would be beneficial to their defense in the long run. Instead of taking down one Death Eater or two and risk having Lord Voldemort suspect a traitor, they could get all of them in one swoop and take the Dark Lord in the confusion.

When Dumbledore asked the boy how he gotten all of his information, Draco just shrugged. "My father never really cared what I knew and what I heard. I was his son after all. I was raised "to be seen not heard", as I think the Muggle saying is. Parents like mine think their children aren't threats because we are breed to be silent and to keep things in the family. I'm really not special. Take Pansy...Goyle...hell," he snorted, "even Crabbe... They all know the same things, they just aren't talking."

Dumbledore mulled that over. It was possible that all those children of former Death Eaters were just as acknowledgeable as everybody else. Actually, he thought. They probably know more than we do. They had made the same mistake as their parents. They assumed that they were just children and they would be probably not know anything. But, Dumbledore added in his thoughts. We also assumed they would be on His side anyway... What Draco was suggesting was bring up new ideas and new practices that could be put into use. But first Dumbledore had to make sure he wasn't hearing right. "Are you saying they aren't affable to the idea of...becoming Death Eaters?"

Malfoy sighed and looked downward. "I wouldn't be able to say for all of them, but I do know a number of people who believe there is no hope but to join You Know Who's side." He quirked a sad smile. "The problem with being a Slytherin is that people naturally assume we're the scum of the earth." He looked up again and when he caught my look he blushed. "But...I...uh...I didn't...What I meant to..." Draco took a deep breath and spoke again, "I don't mean you, sir. I know you're fair enough to go beyond. I mean...after all you took in Snape."

It was amusing to see the usually unflappable Draco Malfoy flustered so and Dumbledore could help a small smile. He waved his hand down to stop Draco from backpedaling. "It's all right. I understand, but you've got to understand not even I am perfect. I've made that stereotypical mistake once or twice in my life as well..."

Draco nodded and took it for what it was. They continued their talk and their plans and when they disbanded, they promised to get together soon to formulate a concrete course of action.

They got their little Spy and they got what they needed to take down several high profile Death Eaters, but Dumbledore couldn't help but wonder at what price.

END FLASHBACK

Dumbledore tried to explain to the young men about Draco he knew, but most he kept to himself. There were some things that he didn't feel right about divulging. He did try to tell them about how Draco's early life was, the abuse, the abandonment, but they didn't seem to grasp it, but it seemed to give Harry some thought so he didn't worry too much. He knew his former pupil's actions. Harry would first think about it, think about it some more and then finally reach his answer. Dumbledore had no doubt that he would reach the right one, especially with the similarity between his and Draco's childhood and once he did, Harry would make Ron understand. Soon or later, they would all somewhat understand Draco's motivations.

To ease Ron's mind, Dumbledore finally explained to them about the Forgitius potion.

"It was a potion that Snape developed actually," he began. "not too long ago and has only been in use for the past few years. It's effectiveness is due to the fact that Voldemort hasn't found out about it and we've been giving it out to our most trusted operatives working within the Dark Lord's regime, hidden in hollow molars in their teeth. You know of the Death Eaters' use of cyanide? We placed the Forgitius potion in replace of the poison and no one was the wiser. It worked about the same way for the same purpose. To make sure no vital information is spilled, but our potion doesn't kill the user. It will erase your memory, rendering any torture and the Veritas serum ineffective as the recipient doesn't remember."

Harry rubbed a hand to his cheek. "But...if it erases your memory, how do you control what it erases?"

"We can't," Dumbledore answered grimly. "The potion wipes the last 15 years of your life. We've been working to try and to get it to just erase selective miories, but we haven't quite gotten there yet." Dumbledore paused. "When you reach Draco, he will be about 12 years old and will be somewhat disoriented after the treatment he's been through. You have to take that into account."

Ron raised an eyebrow. If he had been rendered a 12 year old and was being tortured and interrogated by Death Eaters, he would be more than "somewhat disoriented". He was somewhat satisfied that Malfoy wouldn't betray them, but he still didn't feel right about rescuing who was once one of their most bitter enemies. That and the fact that Harry seemed to be taken everything Dumbledore said at face value. There was more to the story that Dumbledore wasn't saying...

They went back to the map, going over times the guards would make their rounds and other unforeseeable consequences, but they knew no matter how many times they went over their plan, they were still going in blind pretty much from the get go. The boat, the Wizard to man the boat and the spell to get them into the vicinity of the island would go without a hitch, but once they land they would be virtually magicless. From that point on they would be dependent on another to show them the way and once they were in, even that person would leave after that. Everything else would be left to them and their ingenuity.

Trying to plan it just so that they had enough leeway time was hard but they did it. They reach the magical border at nine in the evening -- it was winter so it would be dark enough, get to the beach by 9:15, in between the next two rounds made by the guards. They would meet their guide and take approximately fifteen minutes trekking to the Manor. The time was estimated by judging the distance from the landing point to the Manor and at 9:30 they would reach the building just as the next guards leave for their round. They were going on a day that insured that most Death Eaters will be away since there had been prior information of a Muggle attack in Singapore.

From the notes Draco had written on the sides of the maps, they judged that it would take about ten minutes to get to the dungeons, as long as they don't run into any complication on the way. Another ten would be to get Draco out and with him, they would take from 15-20 minutes to get out of the house. They would have to tread lightly for they would be cutting the time a bit close. It would be another five minutes and then the next group of guards would be back from their rounds. Half an hour would then be devoted to getting Draco across the island and to the beach where the boat would be back and waiting. They should be able to get in and out, a relatively simple plan, but there were too many holes in which they could not prepare for until they actually occur.

The rescue was to take place the next night, something that was unavoidable in order to be ready and by tomorrow night they would be treading upon fourth and fifth day of the potion's course leaving them only three to two days for them to get Draco out and with some many unforeseeable, Dumbledore was afraid that he was sending these two men to their deaths. But then he could be just worrying about nothing. They'll just have to see.

*Apparator: I don't know if this is right or not, I don't remember it being mentioned... But if it was and I've got it wrong, sorry... If not, then this is a made-up term.

A/N: Red Danish: Thank you! And by original-ish... do you mean that in a good way?

Kayla: *blushes* Aww... you flatter me... That's probably the nicest thing anyone has said about my about any of my stories. I hope with this chapter I didn't disappoint.

The Perfect Drain: Nice nick, btw! I thought the title would do that and you've got it exactly right!

Anyways, this is it for this week. Hopefully I can get the next part out by next... And please, REVIEW!!! I love reviews!

A little sidenote... while formating this, I ran into a little trouble... if you noticed an old version of this had words like "remember" and "memory" were like "riiber" and "miory", I'm sorry if I confused you... I accidentally replaced "em" with "i" -- all of them. I think I got all of them, but I may be wrong. Please tell me if you spot any. Just give me the sentence, I'll have it fixed in a jify. I caught this early enough so hopefully no one has read the old draft...