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CLAWS
OF A RAVEN
by Tyde
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Chapter Thirty Three
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It was a small, non-descript shack on the side of the hard-packed dirt road. Weeds had grown up the sides of it, twining themselves around the chimney and pushing through the thatched roof. It leant slightly to the left and looked ready to fall over at any moment. The door was barely hanging on by it's hinges and the glass that was left in the windows was speckled with dirt. Just inside the window, sitting on a pouf was Lucius Malfoy's only son. His cold grey eyes were concentrated on his childhood home just 50 metres away that seemed to be having a fireworks display going on inside of it. The curtains light up in an array of colours as more charms were cast. If he strained to listen, faint sounds of destruction could be heard.
It was only three hours previously that Voldemort had told him to pack his things and find them a place to hide nearby. Draco remembered playing in the shack as a child. It was as good a place as any to hide he decided, especially after he had made a few improvements to the interior. A sound him tore his eyes away from the window. Voldemort was settled in a chair behind him, lazily stroking Nagini whose head was resting in his lap. "You were right, my lord. They have arrived"
"Of course I was right and I am not deaf boy. I can hear them"
"Sorry" Draco cringed at the sound of an apology coming out of his mouth. "I just thought-"
"Don't think...it is not your best quality. Fetch me my travelling cloak"
"Yes, my lord" he scurried away, having already adopted the movements of Voldemort's previous assistant. He pulled open the wardrobe door and took out the heavy black cloak to bring back to his master. Across the road he could hear the faint blasts of spells and charms that were capturing the population of Death Eaters that had been holed up in the dungeons below the Malfoy Manor. Draco looked out of the window and saw golden-cloaked people lining the edges of the property, all with wands held aloft and all muttering to themselves. They were putting up defences of the likes of Hogwarts – that meant no Apparition out of Malfoy Manor. The Death Eaters were trapped.
"HURRY UP!" the voice yelled from the other room and Draco found himself running and almost tripping over the dark cloth.
"Where are you going master?" he asked with his head bowed and hands folded in front of him, a signal of respect.
"You ask far too many questions" Voldemort snatched the cloak from his hand and got out his wand. "Did you handle that situation with the Auror like I told you to?
"Er...y-y-yes my lord. I only exist to do your bidding" Draco found himself shivering as he spoke. He was angry with himself for not killing the man. He had tried with all his might but he had not been able to administer the Killing Curse on him. Draco was deeply ashamed of himself and he only hoped that in the struggle someone else would off him so the Dark Lord would not discover his disobedience.
Voldemort looked at him suspiciously, but there were more pressing things to do. "Good. You will stay here. While the stupid fools are occupied I will be on my way to a cottage in the Cotswolds that houses a certain boy wizard that does not deserve to live"
"Potter" Draco snarled with venom. That's the real reason he'd joined the Death Eaters – to rid the world of that insufferable sod.
The Dark Lord looked surprised at his tone. "I may make something of you yet boy" And with a swirl of dark green he Apparated out. Draco breathed a sign of relief and went back to the window to watch the Order of the Phoenix trounce his childhood home. As his nose pressed itself to the window pane a large face suddenly loomed out of nowhere and grinned at him. It wasn't a friendly grin.
"Draco Malfoy if I'm no mistak'n" Hagrid boomed and reached through the broken top half of the window, grabbing a hold of the back of Draco's robes and pulling him outside. Shards of glass tinkled to the muddy ground. "Yer comin' wit me. There's people lookin' for ya and they aren't all together happy".
Draco squirmed but could not get out of the firm grip of the half-giant. "Don't go try'an escape. I reckon dem Aurors over there'yd sooner kill ya than stun ya" Draco glowered at Hagrid but didn't try to struggle again as a large hand closed itself over his mouth to stop him from shouting out.
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The firelight flickered on the faces of Harry and Ron as they sat relaxing by the fireplace. The sun had set only moments before and the little cottage had been plunged into darkness. Hermione lit an oil lamp on the table and brought two steaming mugs of hot chocolate over to the boys who had decided to have a quick game of wizard chess. Their game interrupted they took the drinks gratefully and sipped at the liquid, both burning their tongues at exactly the same time. Hermione just gave them a look that said "Well I did say it was hot"
One of Harry's pawns on the board began doing what could only be described as a victory dance when it saw Ron getting burnt by the drink. Harry frowned and sent it into battle, immediately having it trounced by one of Ron's pieces. Harry grinned, although it meant he was losing. Hermione had yesterday's edition of the Daily Prophet spread out on her lap as she sipped her tea. The front page was swirling with pictures of Dark Marks in various locations around the United Kingdom.
"I wonder how it's going," said Ron looking at the pictures. "Dad was in charge of it you know. Finally getting the recognition he deserved now that Dumbledore is in charge" A proud smile adorned his face.
"Well when I looked out the window I didn't see any Dark Marks in the air and there have been no emergency owls from Sirius or Remus or any of the others. I'd say it's going rather well"
"Do you think they've caught...him...yet?"
"Don't know. Sirius said he'd come back as soon as they did, to let us know"
"I hate this waiting around, not knowing" They sipped their drinks in silence. "I wonder when they'll open the school again"
"They have to capture Voldemort first"
Ron cringed only slightly at the mention of the wizard's name. The more Harry said it the more he got used to it, but he still didn't like it. Right now though he was too filled with pride that his father was a part of this mission to think on it a moment longer. "That'll be a cinch. The best wizards are out looking for him"
"He may not be very successful at killing me Ron, but he's very good at eluding capture"
But the redhead's mind seemed to be running at a mile a minute, new ideas just kept popping up. "Do you reckon they'll send Malfoy to Azkaban? I mean, he is a Death Eater and he did perform an illegal Curse"
"Isn't he too young? I thought you had to be over eighteen for that" They both looked to Hermione for an answer.
She looked up from the paper and her face reddened ever so slightly. "I...er, I haven't um...I ah, I don't know" she looked embarrassed and suddenly found the carpet a very interesting place to focus her attention.
Ron grinned. "Someone take a photo and record that moment. Hermione Granger the smartest girl in the whole wizarding world not knowing the answer to something"
"Oh shut up Ron" she swatted at him playfully.
Harry watched his two best friends have a playful squabble and smiled. No matter how much danger they were in, Hermione and Ron still found time to nit pick one another. He quietly wondered if they knew half of Gryffindor had bets on them getting together in the future. As his mind further explored that possibility a vague tingle travelled it's way around his forehead.
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Author's note: I know nothing about chess. Hence the vagueness. Three chapters to go!
