AN: Here's the fifth chapter! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! I appreciate it!
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Chapter 5: The Plot and the Counterplot
Rumors flooded the school for the next few days. No one, apart from Draco, knew where Harry, Ron, and Hermione had gone. Finally, four days after the attack on the Grangers, the Daily Prophet reported on it, and everyone guessed from there what had happened.
Draco wished he could go to the funeral. He knew it wouldn't do anything, or help anyone, but somehow he wanted to pay his respects. However, Draco was aware that no one would want him there and highly doubted that Dumbledore would give him permission. With that in mind, he did not even broach the subject with the headmaster.
Exactly one week after the assault, Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to school. It was that same day, when Draco received his first letter from Voldemort since becoming a member of The Order.
He recognized the writing when Raptor dropped the envelope into his hands. Trembling, he worked quickly to open the letter and read on in horror.
Draco,
Your have proven to me that you are a solid investment. More of your work will be needed soon. Tomorrow be at your manor at 8 PM.
L.V
Awkwardly, Draco stood up. His head was pounding. He told Crabbe and Goyle he had forgotten his quills and would catch up with them later. He scanned the teacher's table for Dumbledore and did not see him. Practically running through the halls, Draco made his way towards Dumbledore's office. He gave the password ("Phoenix!"), which Dumbledore had entrusted him with.
The headmaster was sitting at his desk, scribbling furiously, and Draco suspected that he was composing a letter. He noticed Draco's presence as soon as he entered the room and his face twisted into an anxious expression. "What is it Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked wearily.
"I received a letter from Voldemort this morning," Draco began. "He wants me to meet him at my Manor tomorrow at eight." Draco handed the letter to Dumbledore who read it carefully several times before filing it away in a drawer.
"I must keep all of the letters. You never know when they could become of use." Dumbledore said. "Now your moment has come Mr. Malfoy. You will do exactly as you're told. Tomorrow you will go to that meeting. You will attempt to sabotage any plans that Voldemort has without revealing yourself. If you are dismissed while other Death Eaters are going somewhere else, report to my office immediately and let me know what is going on. Lives are in your hands. After the meeting you will come to me with every detail you can remember. Take note of who attends every meeting. Keep in mind that Professor Snape will be providing this same information for me. Any attempt to deceive me will not go undetected." He finished sharply.
Draco nodded, hoping that no situation would come down to saving a life or revealing himself. He didn't really want to make that choice, even when Dumbledore was clearly telling him to remain undercover, it still seemed wrong somehow.
Dumbledore dismissed him and Draco made his way to Potions feeling very lonely. No one knew what was going on, at least no one he could confide in. He couldn't tell Dumbledore how scared he was or talk to Professor Snape about his anxiousness. Crabbe and Goyle were oblivious to everything that had gone on since Draco had become a Death Eater.
He passed Harry, Ron, and Hermione on his way inside the dungeons and was not surprised when Ron glared at him menacingly. They probably know that I was involved with the attack somehow. Draco thought to himself. He did not smirk or send any taunts their way. Ever since the day he had participated in the torturing of Harry, he had not done one thing to provoke them. It just didn't seem right after his actions.
Draco watched Snape pace around the classroom as he lectured on the usefulness of a Bravery Brew. Draco felt entranced as he watched him. Cold and cruel, Snape descended on Harry demanding to know the answer to a question that had nothing to do with the current lesson. And suddenly, for the first time, Draco noticed how unfair Snape really was to Harry. He had to keep up the image and Draco knew that he would have to do the same. He couldn't be nice to the Gryffindors, he couldn't show a sudden sense of compassion, and he couldn't let anything show that might give away his current position as a member of The Order. Anyone in his own house could be connected to the Death Eaters in numerous ways. Most of them were. And if they saw a sudden change in his behavior, he was done for.
He still resolved to not taunt people. That was something he could do. Smirking and arrogance were allowed. They were his trademarks. He had to smirk. He had to be vain and arrogant or he wouldn't be Malfoy and people would realize that something was up.
That night, Draco dreamt of the scene at the Grangers. It had been happening every night since he had participated in the attack against them. He couldn't seem to shake it off. Worse was the thought of watching as more people were tortured and killed, feeling powerless to stop it, but Draco knew that that was what lay ahead for him.
*~*~*
Overcome with fatigue, Draco laid down in his bed, hoping to sleep. Instead he was filled with restlessness and a terror that the nightmares would return to him. A few minutes later Draco sat up again, resigning himself to staying awake for the remainder of the night.
He couldn't seem to shake the memories that formed vividly in his mind. Strange how he could remember every detail of the worst moments in his life, but if asked what the best moment in his life was…well he probably wouldn't even remember what had happened.
Memories were really all he had left. Disowned by his family, and never having any real friends, Draco found himself alone after the war. Odd, how he had survived. He never thought he would have. That night, before his first mission as a member of The Order, Draco had started on a path of redemption, but that path still remained incomplete.
*~*~*
The day seemed to fly. First he was eating breakfast, class began, class was over, and then lunch, another class and here he was at dinner. Draco pushed his Shepard's pie around distractedly. How could he eat, when he felt the strongest urge to vomit? "Something wrong, Draco?"
He turned sharply in his chair to see Blaise Zabini looking back at him curiously. He grinned, an actual smile, not the usual smirk he usually tossed out to everyone. Blaise was the only Slytherin in Draco's year whose parents were not involved with Voldemort. Blaise would not have his future already planned out. He was not destined to become a Death Eater. This thought made Draco feel oddly happy, and he realized he didn't want anyone to go through what he had. He realized to late that being a Death Eater was not what he wanted and there were repercussions to his actions that he had not seen before. Thinking of Blaise now, he seemed oddly innocent in Draco's eyes. "Nah, Blaise. I'm all right. Just thinking."
Blaise nodded and went back to his food. Soon dinner was over and Draco found himself sneaking out of the castle to find a good place to Apparate from. Draco was breathing heavily by the time he found himself in Hogsmeade. There was a slight chill in the air and Draco wasn't sure if it was the weather or what he was setting out to do. He walked all the way up to the Shrieking Shack, hoping to delay the meeting with Voldemort for as long as he could.
Finally, resolving to the fact that there was no way to avoid the situation, Draco Apparated and appeared at his Manor a few minutes after eight.
He scanned the faces of the Death Eaters, committing each of their names to memory. Nott. Crabbe. Goyle. McNair. Snape. Parkinson. Malfoy. It was a small group of them and Draco wondered why everyone was not present.
"Now that everyone has arrived." Voldemort began. "We can put our minds onto more important matters. In two days, there is a Hogsmeade weekend. We will be attacking there. Nowhere is a better place to attack. Unsuspecting wizards and the children of Hogwarts? A double target. Everyone here will be participating in the assault as well as a few others who have already been briefed. Draco you are to warn your fellow Slytherins of the impending attack. They can either stay at Hogwarts or help us."
Draco nodded, but he had no intentions of telling his fellow Slytherins anything. Plans of sabotage were already running through his head, but he knew he would consult Dumbledore before he did anything rash.
"I want destruction!" Voldemort continued. "People, dead and tortured. Buildings, crumbling and falling down. We will do everything in our power to make sure that wizards everywhere realize who is in control. Now all of you need to warn anyone who follows me. Severus, I have a special job for you. Your current position as a teacher in Hogwarts is ideal for this situation. Make sure that Dumbledore and his followers are there on Saturday. We will teach them a lesson."
Snape gave a short curt nod, and a cold smile played across his face. If Draco didn't know any better, he would say that Snape is the quintessence of evil. Just as bad as Voldemort, really. Draco supposed that Snape had been playing a Death Eater for so long that he had picked up a lot of their tendencies and expressions. He played the part perfectly. Draco was in awe at the fact that these adults were sitting around planning the deaths of kids his age. It was unthinkable.
Voldemort continued talking for over an hour. Outlining the plans for the attack on Hogsmeade. Telling everyone where to be and when. Draco listened carefully, trying to burn every detail into his memory. He eagerly awaited the end of the meeting, so he could run to Dumbledore and tell him everything he knew.
Soon, Voldemort let them go.
When he did get to Hogwarts, Draco strolled right up to Dumbledore's office, where the headmaster was waiting. "Hello Mr. Malfoy. What do you have to tell me?"
Draco launched into the explanation. He told Dumbledore everything; who was there, what Voldemort was planning and the things he and Snape were supposed to do. "What should I do, Professor? About telling all my housemates? And the attack itself?" He was anxious to receive orders from Dumbledore.
Dumbledore sighed and paused for a long moment before answering. "I cannot instruct you on the attack. I can tell you to be where Voldemort instructed you to be and try not to let any Death Eaters see you helping people. You must not do any lasting damage to anyone, but be sure to do something. Help people when the Death Eaters aren't looking, but most of all never reveal yourself. As for your housemates, tell them not to be in Hogsmeade that day. Do not tell them that they have the option to help. If they hear it from their parents then there is nothing we can do, but we can try to keep them out of the way so they don't help Voldemort and they don't get hurt."
Draco scowled. "But who cares if they get hurt?" He said rather callously. "All they want to do is assist Voldemort."
Dumbledore smiled. "Draco, I think you, if anyone, should understand the importance of second chances. There is always the prospect of someone changing."
Draco smiled sheepishly, before answering, "You're right Professor."
Dumbledore dismissed him shortly after and Draco wandered back to the Slytherin common room feeling optimistic. He knew he could make a difference in the impending battle on Saturday. If he used his head and didn't do anything stupid, he could help the Light Side and keep his identity a secret. No one would find out that he was a member of The Order.
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