The Rhetoric of Irony, part II

Chapter 11

Draco began to explain, "I had one of our spies gather information about a potential future associate…Nikita Korolev."

"Ah yes, the Potions Master."

"Among other things, he has a deep knowledge of cauldron creations. Our spy was posted outside Korolev's home, when he turned up. He drank Polyjuice Potion before visiting Korolev, and turned himself into another wizard. Our spy recognised the Polyjuice form as Reginald Dupont. He used to be a Death Eater, and I thought he was dead. But since some of his tissue had to have been used for the potion, I reckon he must still be alive."

"Not necessarily!" Anastasiou said. "This isn't widely known, but there is a potion that keeps tissue samples fresh for years…it's even better than Preservation Charms. Even in my time, they had an assortment of hair and skin belonging to those they'd captured, stored in jars filled with that potion. They kept them in case they needed to blend in with the Dark wizarding community."

"Why don't we have such resources?"

"I don't have someone who knows how to brew that particular potion working for me. I estimate that about two dozen Potions Masters know how to brew it, and those who know never tell anyone that they do. Perhaps Korolev knows…

"Second," Anastasiou continued, "it wouldn't do us much good anyway. It is completely normal for a so-called dark wizard to disappear for months on end, only to reappear months, or even years, later. That's probably why Korolev wasn't surprised to see the ersatz Dupont show up on his doorstep. Disguising yourself as an ordinary wizard would have to be preceded by kidnapping the wizard in question, learning his habits, and most importantly, keep him out of the way somehow."

Draco nodded. Hiding the original was extremely important, lest someone discover him and sound the alarm.

"The whole procedure takes too much in the way of planning, and unfortunately I don't have many people who are intelligent enough to impersonate people like Mr Crouch managed to do." Anastasiou said wistfully. "Maybe…if I ever find someone capable of brewing the potion, I'll consider that this course of action be taken in certain situations."

"A good thing our spy has a small Animagus form, although that silver paw is a bit conspicuous. He has to muddy it constantly to obscure it. Still, Korolev's place was filled with rats, so Pettigrew could watch the events at his leisure. Imagine his surprise when the creation…a Cauldron Clone, turned out to be an exact duplicate of Harry Potter."

Anastasiou glanced back into the dungeon. "Why would he want a copy of Potter?"

"All in good time." Draco smirked. "Don't you want to you how I got him here?"

"Very much."

"Good. Pettigrew reported back to me and described the Ranger. I ran it against our data on the Rangers…Maximilian Donovan Wolfe. Now, I realised that whatever he was up to wasn't standard operating procedure in the Order of Illumination, so I assumed he'd had to go behind people's backs. Remember how our remaining spy in Concordia hinted at Wolfe having been punished for something…shortly after he retrieved Ginny Weasley from the Micronesian compound?"

"The theory was that he used her as bait, correct?"

"That's right." Draco nodded. "That goes against the Order's code, so I assumed he was punished for it. However, that was minor compared to creating a Cauldron Clone. I knew that if he were caught, the punishment would be much more severe."

"For something like that, one would be sent to Azkaban." Anastasiou frowned. He looked at Draco approvingly. "I bet you read that in the files about my days as a Ranger."

"As a matter of fact, I did. That's why I mobilised spies to keep an eye on Azkaban and similar places. Sure enough, he was sent to Azkaban soon after. I still had a bone to pick with him for what he did to me, so I negotiated an exchange with the Dementors. For the price of three souls, they removed some of his hair when he was asleep and handed it to our operatives who'd been watching the place. I personally went to Korolev and had him create a Cauldron Clone. Then, on the fifth, we took the real one and left the clone behind." Draco grinned triumphantly. "The Rangers believe that he's dead, because they buried the clone."

"They went back for him? Why? After what he'd done…"

Draco shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe they changed their minds. Who knows? Maybe we'll solve that puzzle when we know why he needed a clone of Potter's."

"So you don't know!"

"Not yet. They tried Veritaserum, but he seems immune. Then the Imperius was attempted, but he threw that off…and he was drugged! They tried torture, but pain doesn't seem to bother him much." Draco sighed. "I'd have killed him right after I captured him, but knowing why he had a Potter Clone made was an itch I just had to scratch. Bloody hell, four wizards were needed to get through his Shield Charm and stun him."

"You did well, Mr Malfoy," Anastasiou said quietly. "Make sure the wizards keep out of his line of sight, and only let golems get close. We don't want to him gather information from their minds…and he's still extremely dangerous."

"All right. But what if he can't be broken?"

"Everyone can be broken, Mr Malfoy. Some more easily than others, but no one is unbreakable. Although I dare predict that Max Wolfe will be the toughest one yet." Anastasiou shrugged. "And if all else fails, we can still try that new mind-reading potion of Yamato's to learn uncover his secrets."

Draco frowned. "Are you sure that'll work? I heard that a Mind Reader could be blocked. Wolfe's got a strong mind."

"The way I understand it, one can only block a Mind Reader if one is prepared. He doesn't know about the potion, so as far as he's concerned we don't have that option open to us. I learned from Selene that eye contact, while preferable, is not necessary. Only line of sight is needed, unless a person is so distressed that he's broadcasting. So whoever is chosen to read him can stand behind him."

"The person asking the questions will have to be out of his sight as well, to prevent him from finding out what we're doing."

"Unless you want to blindfold him. But that would just make him suspicious, and suspicion closes up the mind." Anastasiou began pacing back and forth, deep in thought. Then he abruptly stopped. "Mr Malfoy, we have to move him to a more secure compound. I'll let you know which one in a few hours. Arrange the transfer!"

"All right."

Anastasiou briefly frowned at that, no doubt having expected something like, 'as you wish, my lord.' However, Draco guessed he must have been too excited about their captive to care, at the moment. He let it slide without commenting.

Draco allowed himself a smirk. As long as he kept Anastasiou happy, he had nothing to worry about. And if he kept this up, soon he would be replacing the vampire.

*

It was now mid-October. The more senior Rangers had worked non-stop for a month, and were due to be temporarily relieved, which was why Harry, the Kelly brothers, and some others, were now en route to a deserted area in Georgia.

Gudrun would actually be getting off with them, leaving Lieutenant Gaal in charge of the Cruiser. She was nervously checking her gear, which she hadn't donned in while because she hadn't been required to enter the line of fire. Harry shared her nervousness, but for different reasons.

Gaal was in charge of the overall mission, having the highest rank, and Doc would be in charge in the field. But if a fight broke out, they would look to Harry, since he was the most senior Combat Ranger present. And that thought terrified him. He wished that Wolfe were there to lead them. He'd always known what to do when the going got tough.

"Don't be nervous, beautiful," Matt teased Gudrun. "I'll be around to protect you in case we run into any bad guys."

Gudrun, for once, wasn't amused. "This isn't a game, surfer boy. You could get hurt if you lose your focus."

"I know," Matt said seriously. "But we've still got a little while before we arrive where we need to be. There will be plenty of opportunity for anxiety later. No use in worrying when everything's fine." He reached over and patted her knee.

"Keep your hands to yourself," Gudrun snapped.

"What in the blazes crawled up you arse?" Matt asked, slightly taken aback. "I'm not coming on to you. I know it's not the time. If it bothers you so much, I'll never touch you again, all right?"

Gudrun's expression softened slightly. "Sorry. It's not you. It's not even the mission."

"If there's something that's been bothering you, you should've told command about it and asked to sit out this one," Harry interjected.

"It's not that bad. Not bad enough for me to sit out the mission. All the other candidates already had another assignment, and they could hardly let Ginny or Rachel Esklove go on this mission."

"Want to talk about it?" Matt asked, looking genuinely concerned.

"There's nothing to talk about." Gudrun sighed.

"Well, if you don't want to talk, fancy a quickie in the restroom? I've heard of the Muggle thing called the mile-high club." He winked and grinned.

Harry smiled and shook his head. Matt was unbelievable sometimes. But then, to his surprise, Gudrun looked up at Matt curiously, a small smile appearing on her face. Then she rolled back her eyes and shook her head. "Don't you have anything else on your mind?"

"Now that you mention it,"—Matt gathered a lock of his long blond hair and held it in front of his face—"have you got any tips how I can prevent split ends? I've had to trim some off a few times this month…"

"I don't think the bad guys will care how you look, Captain Gigolo." Gudrun smiled.

"I'm not being serious. But I got you to smile again, at least…Super Slut!"

"I'm not a slut, I'm a temptress…whoremonger!"

"Fancier name, same thing…Jezebel!" Matt retorted playfully.

Harry grinned and looked at two other Combat Rangers. He hadn't really seen them that often before, but they started out in the Order at the same time as Mayumi and Galatea. Farouk was a twenty-six-year-old Iraqi wizard with the added magical weapons expertise, like Mordecai had. Lota, a stout wizard from Zambia, was the other. They were playing the complicated strategic game that Ron and Clara Da Silva loved to play, although neither seemed to be very good at it.

A small Colombian Ranger Fourth Class from Intelligence, Gloria Delmar, looked on as the two wizards played. She'd be the second ranking Ranger while they were in the field. Harry didn't know her too well, although Hermione knew her, since Delmar doubled as an Analyst as well. She had to be one of the smallest Rangers in the Order, being barely five feet tall.

The hulking form that was Nathan Kelly huddled in a far corner of the cargo bay, scribbling feverishly on a piece of parchment. Harry got up and walked over to him. "What're you doing, mate?"

Nathan stared at Harry, as if he were deciding whether or not he ought to tell him. He shrugged, deciding that it could do no harm. "Writing to Helga. We always write love letters to each other. We keep trying to find interesting ways to express how much we love each other."

"Oh!" Harry blushed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I'll leave you to write—"

"No, don't worry about it. Actually, I'm stuck…maybe you could help me out."

"I'm not much of a romantic." Harry frowned. "Maybe you ought to ask your brother."

Nathan sniggered. "I don't think so. Matt is hardly romantic. He can be one hell of a sweet talker when he wants to be, but I wouldn't count on him to do anything romantic anytime soon. You know, maybe you ought to try and write something like this for Ginny. She strikes me as the kind of girl who'd love it."

Thinking about it, Harry realised the big Australian was probably right. But he wouldn't know what to write. "I'd probably just make an ass out of myself."

"Practice makes perfect. I can help you, if you want to."

"Thanks, but I'm not the sappy love-letter type. If I start writing to Ginny like that, she'll think there's something wrong with me."

"Maybe at first." Nathan laughed. "But once she gets used to the idea I think she'll really appreciate it."

"All right." Harry shrugged. "It's worth a try." He glanced at the bottom of the parchment and read, Nathan. B. Kelly. "What does B stand for?"

"Blue-Ocean," he muttered, looking slightly embarrassed. "My mother loved the whole Muggle flower-power thing. I'm not even sure if it counts as one or two middle names. I mean, I know it's just the B, but you'd think that it would be two, right?"

Harry frowned. "Isn't that flower power thing a little before your time?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, she's still into it. Blue-Ocean…Blue Ocean…I wonder how the heck she came up with that. I guess it could have been something worse, like Cosmic River."

Harry glanced at Matt, who seemed to be searching for split ends in his blond hair. He wondered whether it was a good idea for a Combat Ranger to have hair that long. It was between shoulder and elbow length. Harry thought it would just get in the way, although Matt seemed to have found a solution by gathering the hair from the top of his head at the back, to keep it from falling into his face. Since the hair growing from the back and the sides wouldn't likely bother his vision, the Australian kept it loose, save for two thin braids near the temples, which were tucked behind his ears.

For a moment, Harry envied Matt's easily manageable golden locks, which could easily have belonged to a fairy-tale prince, as opposed the scruffy-looking thatch on his own head. But Ginny seemed to like his untameable hair very much, so the envy drained away as quickly as it had surfaced. "So…does Captain Gigolo there have an embarrassing middle name too?"

Nathan nodded "Green Leaf …odd, really, how our mum managed to mess things up. Matt loves everything that's got to do with water and gets Green Leaf, while I love the forest, but I'm stuck with Blue Ocean. Good thing our dad had enough sense to give us regular first names."

A circle detached itself from the ceiling on glided down, carrying Doc and Ivanova, who could patch up injuries. Harry knew she could handle herself in a fight. She'd done well in India, about a year ago. Serafina Esposito was onboard too, as a second mediwizard and second pilot. It was a good thing that she would stay on board, because Harry didn't want to worry about her too.

"Twenty minutes," Doc said. "Be ready to move out."

Harry rose and addressed his fellow Combat Rangers. "All right, check all your equipment." He tried to recall all the things Wolfe would say before he addressed his fellow Combat Rangers. "It's our job to keep the others safe while they do the important stuff."

Everybody laughed at that, letting some of the tension drain away.

"Lota…you've got the Spinner, right?"

The wizard nodded.

"Farouk?"

"Crossbow," the Iraqi wizard replied, showing a small and compact crossbow used for short distances. It was a magical version of a Chinese repeating crossbow, making a much higher rate of fire than a Muggle crossbow could ever produce.

"Have you got some Erumpment Fluid-tipped darts?"

"Seven."

Harry nodded and looked at Nathan, who was folding away his parchment. "Nathan?"

"I'll just be carrying the telescoping staff," he said, holing out a foot-long hollow tube that looked a little like a scroll container. The he pressed a button, transforming the foot-long tube into a six-foot staff.

"That's it?"

"I have to carry the explosive charges too, remember?"

Harry nodded. Only Nathan was strong enough to physically carry the load without being too impaired. "Gudrun, are the charges okay?"

"I'll pretend that I didn't hear that," Gudrun said, as she finished strapping on her armour.

"Matt?"

"I have no idea how this place we're going to looks on the inside, but I reckon a hybrid-bow might come in handy in case we need to take out a target quietly and it's beyond the crossbow's range."

Harry nodded. While they could shoot arrows out of their wands, they were on a stealth mission and could therefore only use their wands when secrecy was not an issue anymore. The bow also had several enchantments that silenced the thwang of the bowstring, and even the faint whisper of the arrow in flight. A simple command could also activate an enchantment in the bowstring, making it razor sharp, and allowing the bow to function as a slashing weapon.

"I'm taking the Tuning Sword too, in case we have to knock someone out without harming him too much," —he patted the sides of his armour, where two slender daggers with blades over a foot long, hung suspended on the same belt that strapped the arrow quiver to his back— "But I have no idea where I can leave it…"

"I'll take it." Gudrun said.

"Do you know how to use it?" Matt frowned.

"Want to find out?"

"No thanks!" Matt said.

Harry slung the scabbard containing Wolfe's Phoenix Katana over his shoulder and belted it in place. He'd been surprised to find out that Wolfe had left him the sword. It hadn't rejected him, something these types of magical weapons did sometimes, so apparently he'd been deemed worthy. He'd spent as much time as possible training himself in its use.

He couldn't tell whether it was his imagination or not, but it felt like the sword exuded warmth, through the armour and against his back, as if Wolfe were watching over his shoulder. He swallowed. "Eighteen minutes to touchdown."

*

Harry peered through the greenish looking landscape. There wasn't anything in sight, living or undead. The entrance to the underground complex had to be around there somewhere. Why did they always have to be underground? He hated going underground. It made him feel boxed in.

"I found the entrance," Doc's voice sounded through his ear-piece. "I don't like the looks of this, though. Let me see if there's another way in."

They walked for half a mile, while Doc sniffed around for another entrance.

"Come on, Doc," Matt complained. "Why can't we just go in?"

"My instincts tell me that something isn't quite right with that entrance. It was well hidden, but the location was too obvious for my tastes. Call it Goblin instinct. I know when I'm being set up."

"Ah, here we go!" Doc said after about ten minutes. "Okay, we're going to do this a bit differently. "Nathan, give me your smallest charge, please."

"Doc, what are you doing?" Harry asked.

"A tunnel comes within four feet of the surface. I'm going to blow a hole that'll function as a makeshift door. Don't worry…echolocation suggests that it isn't a frequently used tunnel, and the walls are uneven, so that sounds of the blast won't carry well. It's the best place!"

It was Doc's call, and he knew what he was talking about. Three minutes later, they were all in a tunnel Harry couldn't wait to get out of. It only allowed them to walk single file, and the ceiling was incredibly low. Harry could walk standing up most of the time, but Matt and Nathan were having a tough time with their heights.

"Stop…silence!" Doc, who'd been leading, hissed. They all stopped and stood as quietly as possible while Doc stared down the tunnel. "Okay, we can go now."

"What was it?" Harry, who was third in file, behind Gudrun, asked.

"I heard footsteps. It sounded human. It had to be. Vampires move too silently for me to hear them at this range," Doc replied.

"Gudrun… the Tuning Sword," Harry said.

"Good idea." Doc nodded. "Shhh…I hear 'em again…bloody hell, there are three, blocking the entrance to this tunnel. They're just talking about stuff…no tenseness. They don't know we're coming."

Slowly, and as quietly as possible moved closer and closer, until they reached a sharp turn. Light fell on the wall, and Harry saw the shadow of a man. Doc turned and looked back at Harry, nodding and raising three fingers.

Harry nodded and tapped his chest, signalling that he'd take care of them. But it was still extremely risky. Then he got an idea. He took off his goggles and pointed from Doc's goggles to his own. Then she stretched out his arm, holding the goggles at an angle. He wanted to be able to look around the corner before he charged.

Doc caught on quickly and grinned. He took off his own goggles and manipulated a few buttons on their side. Soon, Harry's left eye saw a shifting image of the cave through Doc's goggles, as Doc crawled forward and pushed his goggles out so Harry could see around the corner.

Harry closed his right eye to make it easier, and saw what looked like three giants standing there. One of them was smoking a cigarette and kept a casual eye on the tunnel. But he was completely oblivious to Doc's goggles poking around the corner. So Harry wriggled past Gudrun and stepped over Doc. Concentrating, he tapped into the core of his being. He felt himself being filled by the pure energy, seemingly making him lighter than air. Then he disconnected the visual feed from Doc's goggles, activated the Tuning Sword and bolted around the corner much faster than humans could move. Only the guard furthest from the tunnel caught a glimpse of him before being stunned.

They quickly bound the bodies with unbreakable magic cuffs and hauled them into the tunnel, out of sight. Their absence would probably raise a flag in the security network if a patrol came by and found that they weren't there. But their unconscious forms in plain sight would cause a lot more consternation and put the base on full alert instantly. In both cases, they'd be discovered, but the extra few minutes earned by hiding the guards could mean the difference between life and death.

Lota and Delmar remained behind in the tunnel to take care of any patrols that might investigate the lack of contact from the guards. They'd have to be dealt with as well, and even though that wouldn't solve the problem, it would buy the team another few minutes.

Doc also chose to let Ivanova remain behind with them given the fact that her abilities wouldn't be needed if everything went according to plan. And while Harry knew that hardly anything ever went according to plan, he too saw no need for Ivanova to go deeper into the compound. She and the other two Rangers could always be called if they would be needed.

No further opposition was encountered as they carefully infiltrated the base further. Then, after a good half an hour, they came upon what looked like an observation point that overlooked a huge chamber.

As Harry took a peek over the edge, his heart stopped. It looked like some sort of necromancy workshop. An Asian wizard holding a staff that looked like someone's spine, with a shrunken head perched on top, strode around as he if owned the place, giving instructions to some wizards and vampire ghouls that milled about between huge basins filled with preservative fluids. Huge dead monsters floated around in those translucent tanks.

"Hey!" Doc whispered, jumping up and down. He was too short to look over the edge. "What's going on down there?"

"Shall I describe it to you, or should I find you a box?" Matt joked.

Harry glared at him, but he immediately realised that this was Matt's way of dealing with the pressure. "We can't handle this alone. We need backup!"

"We can't!" Doc, who was being lifted up by Nathan, said. "It looks like they're preparing to relocate. At this rate, they'll be gone in a few hours. And that necromancer, that's Yamato! We can't let him get away. We have to find out how they plan to travel, and sabotage it. Gudrun, contact the cruiser and tell them to forward the images my goggles are transmitting to the Citadel."

"Right away," Gudrun said, and began speaking into her broadcaster in hushed tones.

"Doc, we know very little of the layout of the place, and there are hundreds of ghouls down there," Harry voiced his concerns.

"We can always use our emergency Portkeys if things get out of hand," The half-goblin replied. "We have a mission to accomplish, Ranger Potter."

Harry winced at Doc's choice of words…Ranger Potter. He'd been put in his place. Matt's questioning glance wasn't helping either. They probably thought he was a coward, but the fact of the matter was that he didn't feel like unnecessarily risking his neck now that he had Ginny to come home to.

He looked at Nathan, who surely would understand him. He had Helga waiting for him. But the look of grim determination given by Nathan's square and blocky features told him that he was mistaken. Harry took a deep breath, forcing his apprehensive feeling away. Wolfe hadn't died just so he could chicken out at the sight of a daunting enemy. "All right, what's the plan?"

"We cause a diversion and plant tracers on things they're not likely to leave behind." Doc explained, "The moment we reveal ourselves, they'll assume that we've already contacted the Order about this place, so they'll want to evacuate."

"Uh…Doc, Gaal says he isn't receiving a visual feed from your goggles." Gudrun said.

Doc narrowed his goblinesque eyes. "I'm sure they're working. We can't be out of range."

"Unless we're being jammed. Contact with the Cruiser is very shaky…and I'm already using Lota and Gloria's broadcasters as relay points."

Delmar and Lota were still at their stations. Harry sighed with relief. Since this compound was hours from being abandoned, the bad guys probably didn't bother with patrols anymore.

"Patrol," Farouk, who was further down the hall as a lookout, reported though the ear-pieces. "Orders?"

"Damn. Gudrun, how many invisibility cloaks do you have in your pack?"

"Just two," the Icelandic witch whispered anxiously, while she dug in her pack. "You and I could fit under one, and maybe even Harry and I, but the Kellys would need their own—"

"They're coming awfully close," Farouk repeated. "I can't stay here."

Doc spoke into the broadcaster mouthpiece, "Retreat to this position—"

"I've been spotted," Farouk said urgently. "I can give you a minute, but I'll need help."

Not even consciously thinking about what he was doing, Harry began issuing orders. "Doc, you'd better put on your invisibility cloak and get down there to do whatever you have to do. Matt, help Farouk."

"I need someone to help me with setting the charges."

"Nathan will go with you."

Gudrun shook her head. "But I'm more familiar with…"

"How were you planning to carry that pack?" Harry pointed to the huge pack only the Kelly brothers could carry without too much trouble. "Levitate it with your wand? You'll need it to defend yourself! Farouk can only hold them off for half a minute."

Doc took the cloaks Gudrun was now holding and handed one to Nathan. "He's right, Gudrun. We can't share a cloak, we'd move too slowly. It has to be Nathan and me. You're more valuable up here." With that, he and Nathan threw the cloaks over their bodies and disappeared from sight.

"Remember, vampires have exceptional hearing and smell. Try to stay as far away from them as possible. We'll try to focus their attention on us by raising hell." Harry tried to sound confident, despite the fact that his heart pounded in his throat. But now that preventing discovery was not an issue anymore, they might as well try to accomplish the mission to the best of their abilities. "Contact us as soon as you're done, so we can Portkey out."

"What if the transmission gets jammed?" Doc's disembodied voice asked. "Wait…I'll just set off the first three charges in quick succession. That's the alternative signal."

"Good one, Doc," Harry agreed. Then he turned to Gudrun. "Let's go!"

***

musicgirl225: I don't have any Draco bashing planned for the time being, but I may get inspired.

nycgal: Thank you very much. These comments are what make things worth it for me.

Zaz: I am evil, aren't I?

Gogirl: Yep, you were right, as you can see. ;-)

psychochick: The chapter answered your question.

OmegaNY: People are going to die. Whether you choose to believe their deaths is another thing. I only said I wouldn't pretend to kill off Harry. I never extended that to other characters. ;-) If it makes you feel any better, this is the last time I'll pretend to kill off one of the good guys. Can't say the same for the bad guys...no, I haven't planned anything yet in that regard. The unexpected return of a bad guy is a widely used plot point. But I digress…

rowan: Quite simple, as you can see, Same formula, only this time it was the bad guys who came up with it.

Ciara: Sorry it's taking so long. I'll probably pick up the pace of my writing in a month or so. Until then you're going to have to be patient. :-(

Lana Riddle: Yes, Wolfe is still around, for now.

Ginny1946: I noticed that too, that many HP fans have a lot of other common interests.

Petals: No, no, no, sweetheart :-) That's the beauty of point of view writing. Ginny, judging by the look on Harry's face, thought he was dead. But that was from Ginny's POV. And being a character in the story, she isn't all knowing. Hmmm, who is to die next? That's the question, isn't it? I'll work very hard to shorten the update gaps, and The Maker is the word I use to denote the major deity in any given religion. It's a nice and neutral name. I could use God or Allah or Yahweh, but that wouldn't be fair to the rest.

pamela-potter-24: Draco indeed pulled a Max, sort of.

spark37: I tremendously enjoyed writing the Draco bashing.

someone: Thanks, stranger. :-)

Lamina Court: Is Harry going to save him? I dunno, that would be telling, wouldn't it?

Maab: Always write down your ideas.

Bubblez fairy: Updated!

Nosgoroth: Dramatic irony, my friend. I merely informed you how things would seem from Harry's POV. You can't expect me to give away the story, can you?

Kathryn: I stand by what I said. He is expendable. Doesn't mean I'll kill him off, but I will if I have to.

The.grey.lady: Good deduction.

Casual Reader: I didn't see another solution either.

Punkin: How can you be sure that Max will survive this?