Dedicated to: My fantastic cousin David.
Chapter 8
Harry's P.O.V
There was a rustling in the bushes behind me which caused everybody to jump around and raise their wands defensively again. A tall figure stepped out, hood pulled over its face and I somehow realised it to be same person that had saved me earlier. He strode over towards the girl, Orla, bending down to check for a pulse and ignoring everybody as they stumbled back away from him a few paces.
"That's your spy Professor." He said simply, turning towards Dumbledore. "We must go back to the castle, now!"
It wasn't a statement, it was a command, one which didn't phase the Professor a bit as he agreed, which I found rather unsettling. He motioned back towards Hogwarts and quickly and silently we all hurried back. Professor McGonagall and another witch, one with bubblegum pink hair who I didn't recognize, stayed behind to deal with Orla's lifeless body.
I stumbled often to my disgust, over the littlest tree roots and weeds, for I was still quite weary and Bill put my arm around his shoulder to help support me. I gave him a grateful smile and he nodded once silently in acknowledgment.
Once in the castle, we turned into what I had once known to be the Great Hall. It was mainly empty, a few people scattered about here and there on various plush settees and comfy chairs that stood grouped around the fire places which were now there. A few people I even recognized, having gone to school with them, though most I didn't. I stared around in awe at the change that had come over the big hall.
Bill suddenly leaned his head towards me and whispered, "Put your hood up. I don't think people should know just yet that you're still alive. Just as a precaution."
I nodded and wrestled briefly with my hood, finally managing to pull it over my head with one hand. We walked up to the stage, where the teachers' high table had once sat, and went through a little door, just visible, off the corner of the stage.
Once in the room, Professor Dumbledore lit a roaring fire while the rest of us settled around the table.
"It should be safe now," Dumbledore spoke directly to the robed figure. "Now Orla's true identity has been discovered, I think it's the right time for you to finally reveal who you are. It was wrong to have somebody so young..."
The robes rustled softly as the figure nodded and with one swift motion he pulled back his hood. A familiar shock of blond hair emerged, and then, to my horror and amazement, so did the visage of Draco Malfoy.
Eyes widened (including my own) all over the room, but by now I think everyone was already in too much shock with the day's past events to react more then that.
Draco didn't bother wasting any time with pleasantries. His face, which I used to think had been twisted into a permanent sneer, instead had a look of great worry on it, which unnerved me more then his sneer had ever did.
"Voldemort knows Potter has escaped. He's sent several people after him; in fact, most of his trusted group he's sent! Potter is very valuable to him, with Potter, he knows you won't attack for fear of Potter's life. That girl was just a scout, sent to find Potter then deal with any guards on her way out. She actually managed to get into the castle, and was on her way back to confirm that Potter had actually made it here. Unfortunately, she also saw me when I was talking with you professor."
"But how?" Dumbledore was at a loss for words. "No one was there. . .And why Orla?"
"Honestly, I don't know sir. As to the reason why the Dark Lord sent Orla, it was because her face is known around here, she'd have quick and easy access to both the grounds and all of Hogwarts Castle." Draco paused to take a quick breath before launching back into re-encountering the days events.
" I caught sight of her when I was heading into the bushes beside Hagrid's hut, just disappearing around the bend in the lake. I perused and confronted her. Unfortunately, she didn't want to come quietly, and tried to attack me. I retaliated, but I over-estimated her dueling skills, and. . . well, it was me who killed her."
I heard the whole story, but it didn't begin to register with me until much later. Malfoy had been the one who had helped save me?
"How can you be sure he's on our side Professor?" I spoke up.
"You must just trust-" Dumbledore started to reply, but Malfoy interrupted him.
"I helped save your life Potter, are you brains so addled that you've already forgotten that? Isn't that enough to gain even a little of your trust-" Malfoy snarled, but stopped as Dumbledore lay his hand on his arm as a sign to stop.
"Of course I haven't forgotten," I retorted indignantly, "and as much as I despise to admit it, I'm grateful towards you. But. . . I've heard of what you've done to Hermione. My god, I've even witnessed what you've done to her. How could anybody do that when you're both on the same side?" I challenged him.
To my astonishment, Malfoy didn't try to defend himself; in fact, he bowed his head to the floor with what I could only guess as embarrassment or regret.
"You're right," he said, "but when you saw what you saw, I had not yet joined the Order! And now, I have no choice! If I am to blend right in with all of Voldemort's other Death Eaters, I have to do the exact same things as they do. But what you saw... I haven't touched Hermione since the day I was sworn into the Order. Now, you should know at least with me, Hermione is kept safe. I make sure of that. And soon, if all goes to plan, she too will be free."
I grudgingly accepted his answer for now, but I still wouldn't forget what he had done to Hermione.
"What made you change sides?" Kingsley's strong voice added itself to the conversation, though he was just as confused as the rest of us. Draco Malfoy would have been the last person we'd all have thought would have converted to the Order. "Clearly there must have been something."
"Yeah, surely your heart isn't that nice all by itself." Bill muttered under his breath.
Professor Dumbledore glared sharply at him and Bill reluctantly mumbled a brief apology.
Draco smiled slightly, the first genuine smile I'd ever seen him give. "No Professor, I deserved that comment. Believe it or not, it was my father who made me change." If possible, there were even more puzzled looks after that comment, and Draco gave them a sad smile before explaining.
"No, unfortunately I don't mean dad's loyalties changed. He was too blinded by the Dark Lord's promises to think of ever betraying him like that. One year after Voldemort's resurrection, when He had just started to regain all of his old power, my father happened to get himself into a bit of trouble with Him. Voldemort gave them a female prisoner to try and extract information from, with the instructions that the girl was to be kept alive." Draco paused briefly, taking a sip of water from a flask on his belt before continuing. "Unfortunately, dad's partner got a little too enthusiastic and his Crusticious Curse caused the girl to go crazy and eventually she died from malnutrition. Both dad and his partner were punished for that; in fact, dad's partner, Nigilus, ended up dying from the punishment. Dad was tortured too, the Dark Lord was in a horrible mood that day; it was just after you had the first big raid with the giants. Anyway, dad never did recover from that attack. You may not of noticed it Potter, but ever since then dad's never been quite fully all there in the head."
"I did notice. . .but I thought it was because of me. Because he let me escape on the night of the Tri-Wizard tournament." I spoke up.
"Well, that is part of the reason also-"
"Wait a minute. . .do you mean Malfoy's gone insane?" Mr. Weasly interrupted, shocked. I too was shocked, though I had noticed Draco's father wasn't his usual self, I had just assumed it was because he was frequently drunk.
"Not so much insane. . .just not fully there. Disconnected. You wouldn't really notice it unless you knew him before hand. It didn't help that Voldemort eventually stripped him of his title, his reputation; he ruined my father! That's when I realized. . .Voldemort didn't care! About anyone, or anything."
"It took your father's demise to see Voldemort didn't care!" Bill spat, disgusted. "What about all the lies he's given, the torturing, the bloody bodies piling up at his feet for crying out loud!"
"Look, I followed Voldemort because of the way I was brought up!" Draco argued back defensivly. "I grew up being taught by my parents that muggles were just like stupid cows; an embarrassment to the magic folk! I was taught that the Dark Lord would protect us, give us power, and money. We'd never have to worry. That the reason my father killed people, was because people were trying to dispose of Voldemort's ideals. Don't you see? I was scared! Those ideals that they were trying to get rid of, was everything that made up my life! Because my father worked for Voldemort we were rich. We had power. People who tried to destroy my perfect little life were the enemies!" He paused scrambling around for something else to say, but instead collapsed back into his seat and took a deep breath to try and calm down.
"Look. . . the point is, when Voldemort did that to my father, he showed that he didn't care about anybody; not even the people who he called his most trusted followers; his elite group. After some serious- and I mean serious!- thinking, I began to realize that your group was the ones who really cared about people's lives. You were the ones doing the right thing after all. You weren't trying to destroy Voldemort's ideals just because you wanted all the power; or because you were just plain stupid. You cared about everybody, took anybody in and offered them care and food, and a home when, for all you knew they could be spies for the Dark Lord. It finally made me realize that I don't need power and wealth to keep me safe in my life. Plenty of people live happily on a fraction of what we had. So that's when I came to visit Dumbledore; ask his forgiveness. That's when I became his most useful spy."
"I must apologize everybody." Professor Dumbledore announced when it was clear Draco was done speaking for the time being. "I kept Draco's true identity a secret from you all because the whole war rested on the information he could provide us. He also kept Voldemort's prisoners as safe as possible, with out blowing his cover.
"It was me who convinced Voldemort to put my father in charge of Potter." Draco added. "My father is constantly drunk now, I thought that might also help us in the future should we get Potter out of there. Which it did." He gave a small, almost gloating smile, which reminded me a lot of the old Malfoy I used to know when we were at school together.
"Look, you've gotten us all off of topic!" Snape suddenly snapped. "What got you so worked up earlier?"
"Oh crap!" Draco suddenly looked furious with himself. "I can't believe I forgot! Look, as soon as Orla was done here, she was to report back the Death Eaters located just outside of Hogwarts grounds. They were to wait there for one hour, while Orla then apparated to Hogsmeade, where there's another group of Death Eaters located, a larger one. Professor," Draco suddenly groaned with the worried look back in his eyes, "I think the Dark Lord has finally lost it. I don't know what he's up to, but he's sent most of his trusted Death Eaters. Just to bring back Potter!"
"But why would he do that?" Kingsley asked urgently, suddenly sitting forward in his seat.
"That's just it," Draco replied. " Voldemort could easily beat us even without Potter, if we took the fight to him. There's simply too many of his supporters! But now he's divided his forces. . . even we can take down all the Death Eaters he's sent. And think of the victory it'll give us! Voldemort will be left without his most valuable warriors, giving us the perfect opportunity to launch our own attack."
"That's unlike him," Dumbledore frowned, "there has to be more to it then we see. But we can't afford to let this chance go by. Do you know where exactly the two forces are located?"
"No, but I could easily find out. They still think I'm on their side, of course."
"When was Orla due to report back to them?" Bill asked thoughtfully.
"Um. . .what day is it today?" Draco asked slightly sheepishly. I chuckled a bit, even with what was going on. I had never seen Malfoy embarrassed like this before!
"Wednesday," Dumbledore answered, and even he too had a small smile on his face.
"Right, thanks. Harry disappeared on Sunday, though the Dark Lord wasn't able to be alerted until the Tuesday, since no one knew where He was. He sent Orla out immediately, gave her as long as three days to find out as much information as she could; how Potter escaped, ecetera. So that should mean we have until Friday evening, absolute latest." Draco concluded at last.
"They probably would prefer to attack us at night." Professor McGonagall thought aloud, both her and the pink haired witch having rejoined the group several minutes ago. "Reduced visibility, and the majority of the people here would be sleeping. Being tired always leads to mistakes, that's what they'll be counting on."
"But, we don't want them to bring the fight to us in this case." Dumbledore realized. "It may lead to more casualties here, what with there being a lot of trainees and orphan children staying here at the moment. No, we should attack them first. They expect Orla to alert them of what's going to happen. . .that means that, for the moment at least, we have the upper hand.
"About bloody damn time." Bill muttered crudely, causing everybody to grin.
Dumbledore chuckled before getting down to business. "Right," he said, "it's time for us to make our attack strategies then."
"It should be simple enough Professor." Mr. Weasley commented absently.
"Oh really Authur, these are Voldemort's best fighters!" Professor McGonagall countered sharply. "They aren't going to be asleep on the job, or cast their spells the wrong way. They've been doing this for years, even since Lily and James were still alive! But this time, we should be able to prevent anybody from our side being killed."
"If you try and save everybody, you'll all end up getting killed. Surely you've learned that by now, Minerva." Dumbledore spoke softly. Shudders went down my spine with that reply.
"And if we keep getting off topic like this, we will be killed!" Snape intervened sharply.
Dumbledore pulled out his wand and gave it an experienced wave, muttering quick word under his breath. I watched him, quite puzzled as he walked over towards the door that we had entered and opened it. A flash of white shot past his head, nearly taking off his ear. It shot around the room once, before flying back to Dumbledore, who grabbed it out of the air swiftly.
He plopped it on the table, and now I could finally see that it was several pieces of parchment; one of which was my Maurder's map! We all poured over the second piece of parchment and the headmaster pointed to one spot on it. "That's the only spot where the Death Eaters located outside of the castle could be with out being seen," he began, "but still keep a close watch on the castle, which I'd imagine they're doing."
Draco nodded his agreement. "In Hogsmeade they'd most likely be here," he said, pointing to another spot, located just outside of Hogsmeade. "Oh, and we've used that one before," he pointed to another, "it's far away from the town so the villagers won't stumble upon them, but still close enough for Orla to have gotten there. Though, there will still be the odd scout lurking around; I bet the two groups keep in contact regularly."
"So that's a problem itself." Bill contributed.
"How so?" McGonagall asked.
"Well, they've got scouts. That means if we were to take out the first group, the second group would be alerted by the scouts which we'd have no way of stopping if we don't know where they are. And I'm guessing the second group is much larger then the first." Bill pointed out to her.
"So we should attack the group in Hogsmeade first." McGonagall pointed out logically.
"But then that works the same way," Snape said bluntly, "but instead the other group is back up. Anyway, how can we attack the second group first? Flying is too conspicuous, and we can't sneak enough of us past the ones stationed outside of the drive, which means we can't apparate. Portkeys are too clumsey. They've got us trapped."
"That's not the only way out of Hogwarts," I interrupted suddenly.
There was a long pause.
"Well, what do you mean Potter?" Snape pressed.
"Well, there's a tunnel isn't there. . .leads straight into Hogsmeade. And," I had a sudden thought, "then you could attack both groups at once. That way you wouldn't have to worry about back up."
"There's a tunnel?" Professor Dumbledore said, astonished. "Where?"
I smiled slowly as a plan began to work itself out in my head, feeling glad to be finally helping in this damn war. Things just had to improve now, didn't they? And. . . a small part of me whispered eagerly, it's finally your time for revenge.
Okay.so that last line makes Harry look a little scary. But if you'd been kept prisoner for four years of your life, only to find out people you loved had been horribly killed, I think you might want a little revenge also. Only a few more to the end, I foresee. Maybe two more? Twice as long as what I had intended it to be anyway.
Thanks so much for your patience! Please review!
Dalamar