Letter from an Unlikely Person
Draco decided that he didn't want to come out to the other students of Slytherin that night. He could only hope that Pansy would be smart enough not to say anything to them. Around 10:30 both he and Harry decided to go to bed.
Draco tossed for most of the night, resulting in neither himself nor Harry getting much sleep during the night. Draco awoke finally at 5:30 and stepped into the shower. Normally he would have woken Harry and had him shower with him, but he knew that Harry had not slept either. Draco washed himself quickly and dressed in his best dress robes and walked over to the bed. Draco shook Harry slightly to wake him up. "Hey Harry, I'm leaving now."
Harry yawned and turned over to face Draco. He looked over at the clock and said, "It's only 6:00. Why are you leaving so early?" Draco smiled, "I've got to have something to eat before I leave." Harry propped himself up on his elbows and looked into the gorgeous blue eyes of his lover. "Alright, have a safe trip." Draco leaned in and kissed Harry gently. "I'll hurry back."
Draco turned and walked out of the bedroom and down the flight of stairs. He left the apartment and walked down to the Great Hall. He got half way there before he realized that no one would be there to serve him food. He decided he would travel down to the kitchen and hope that the house elves would have something he could eat. He arrived just as Dobby was walking inside the kitchen. "Dobby, wait up." Draco ran and entered the kitchen right behind Dobby.
"Good morning Draco Malfoy, sir. What can Dobby do for you?" "I was wondering if you might have something I can eat. I have to leave at 7:00 and I won't have time to eat in the Great Hall." "Of course sir, I will fix you a plate of something right now." Dobby rushed off and came back in a few moments carrying a plate heaped with food. "Thank you Dobby." Draco sat down and began to eat.
Meanwhile.
Harry tried to go back to sleep after Draco left but it was to no avail. He finally crawled out of bed and walked over to the window. He was about to look out when a snowy white owl approached the window. Harry opened it and Hedwig flew inside. She dropped an envelope on the bed and landed on the bedpost. She hooted softly and looked at Harry. "Good morning Hedwig." Harry walked over to the bed and picked up the letter. It was addressed to him, but the handwriting was strangely familiar. He turned the envelope over and opened it slowly.
Harry Potter,
We are writing to inform you that we need to come and see you next Saturday. Your Aunt has something that she needs to give you, but we can not send it by "your way". Send a response as quickly as possible telling us how to get to your school.
Vernon Dursley
Harry closed the letter with shaking hands and hurriedly put on a set of robes. He walked downstairs and left the apartment. He needed to speak with Dumbledore. He walked up to his office and rapped on the office door. "Come in Mr. Potter." Harry opened the door and smiled at the Headmaster. "What can I do for you Harry?" Harry gripped the letter tighter and walked up to his desk. "Sir, this came for me today." Harry held out the letter to Professor Dumbledore who took it and read it carefully. Dumbledore put the letter down and looked up at Harry. "Well this is definitely interesting. Your Aunt and Uncle will not be able to drive to Hogwarts. I will write to them and tell them that I will have the train pick them up at King's Cross in London. As they are already familiar with Hagrid, I shall send him to meet them. Will that be okay?" "Professor, do you know what it is that Aunt Petunia needs to give me?" "Your mother and father knew that they would die during their fight with Voldemort, and that you would end up living with your Aunt and Uncle. They told me that they left something with your Aunt to give to you once you turned 16. Since you spent most of your holidays with Mr. Weasley, your Aunt wasn't able to give it to you. I don't know what it was but it must be extremely important for your Aunt and Uncle to be coming here to give it to you."
At that point Draco stepped into the office. "Harry, what are you doing here?" "I received a letter from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. They are coming here on Saturday." "Really?" "Yeah, apparently Aunt Petunia has something extremely important she has to give me." "Oh, well I will try and be back by then." Draco looked at Professor Dumbledore. "I'm ready sir." Dumbledore pulled out an old boot from behind his desk. "Here you are Draco. Have a safe trip." Draco took the boot and disappeared.
Draco appeared outside of the Malfoy estate moments later. He looked at the estate and walked up the front walkway to the front door. He entered the house and saw Mr. Cabbott sitting in the parlor. Cabbott looked up and saw Draco standing in the doorway. "Ah, Mr. Malfoy I am sorry for you loss. I'm sure you will want to see your parents before we continue." "No, I want to go ahead and prepare the funeral. I need to get back to school as quickly as possible." "I'm sure that the Headmaster of Hogwarts will understand that you will need time to grieve. I have arranged for us to be at St. Mungo's this afternoon to see your parents." "Of course, but before then, let's arrange the funeral." Draco sat down at his father's desk and gestured for Cabbott to sit. "Now Edward, tell me what all I need to do to prepare for this funeral." "Well all the arrangements are already made, except for when. Both your mother and father already made arrangements for how their bodies were to be handled. The only thing that needs to be decided is when you want to hold the service." Draco raised an eyebrow at this, wondering why his parents would have prearranged their funerals. They had both been very young, there would be no need to prearrange anything. But then Draco understood why they had done so. With his father working for Voldemort, they both knew that their own deaths could come at any time whether it be from Voldemort himself or from someone working against him. "Let's have the service on Friday at 9:00am. That will give the family a week to make arrangements and come in. That will also let me leave on Friday evening to get back to school." Cabbott nodded and continued. "There is also the matter of the estate. Your father of course left all of his possessions to your mother, with you as second beneficiary. Your mother left everything to your father, with you again as second beneficiary. You are the sole heir to the Malfoy fortune and estate." Edward reached into a coat pocket and pulled out three keys. "These are the keys to the three vaults your family kept at Gringotts." Draco took the keys and looked them over carefully. "Thank you Edward. Now if you would be so kind as to make the arrangements I've requested, I think I need a few moments alone." Cabbott stood and nodded to Draco, then turned and left the room.
Draco all of a sudden felt the emptiness of the Malfoy mansion. He had lived here all his life, but it had never quite felt this empty. He also became very much aware that he was being watched. Draco looked up and saw a dark, hooded figure standing in the doorway of the study. "Who are you?" "A friend." the voice hissed. The figure glided into the room and stopped in front of the desk. "Draco felt a twinge of fear. "What do you want?" The head lifted up and Draco could see the outline of a face. Two hands reached up and pulled the hood off of the head. "I wanted to present my most sincere sympathies on your parents passing. Your father was one of my most.loyal followers." Draco's eyes widened as he realized who this person was. "You're Lord Voldemort!" he exclaimed. The figure laughed. "You're a very bright young man. I would do well to have someone like you in my corner." Draco was fighting the temptation to pull out his wand and curse Voldemort into the next century. "I know the truth about what you did to my father. I will never join you." Voldemort then raised an eyebrow and stared at Draco. "You know what happened to your father? But how could you know, the meeting was a complete secret. Only my most trusted associates attended that meeting." Draco suddenly realized he shouldn't have said anything, but kept a calm façade. "I guessed what happened. I know my father was a follower of yours and when our lawyer wrote to tell me he died at a business meeting I assumed that it was a meeting with you."
Voldemort chuckled, "Very clever indeed. I regret that I had to kill your father, but his failure almost cost me my chance to regain power. That is why I have come to you. You may be able to actually succeed in this task." "I will not help you regain power." "Don't be hasty dear boy. I know of your relationship with young Harry Potter. You wouldn't want to see anything happen to him now would you?" Draco kept the cool façade but his mind raced, trying to figure out how Voldemort had discovered his secret. "What is it you want me to do?" Voldemort smiled, which really showed how evil he was. "The only person standing in my way is that fool Albus Dumbledore. Your father's mission was to kill him, but as you already know he failed. Since you attend Hogwarts, I think you would be more suited to the task and have more of a chance at success." Draco's mind raced as he tried to come up with a solution to his current problem. "I will have to think about your proposal. Let me have 48 hours to think it over and I will give you an answer then. Now if you will excuse me Lord Voldemort, I have to go view the bodies of my parents and finalize their funeral arrangements." "Of course Draco. I will see you in two days." Voldemort pulled the hood back over his head and walked out of the office. Draco stood up and walked out of the office and up the flight of stairs to the second story. He walked down the corridor and into his parent's bedroom. He opened the closet door and pulled out a broom. He walked with the broom back downstairs and into the front yard. He cast an invisibility spell around himself and the broom and mounted it. Kicking off from the group Draco made his way back to Hogwarts. His plan was simple enough, tell Dumbledore what it was Voldemort had wanted and hope that he had a plan to prevent it.
Draco decided that he didn't want to come out to the other students of Slytherin that night. He could only hope that Pansy would be smart enough not to say anything to them. Around 10:30 both he and Harry decided to go to bed.
Draco tossed for most of the night, resulting in neither himself nor Harry getting much sleep during the night. Draco awoke finally at 5:30 and stepped into the shower. Normally he would have woken Harry and had him shower with him, but he knew that Harry had not slept either. Draco washed himself quickly and dressed in his best dress robes and walked over to the bed. Draco shook Harry slightly to wake him up. "Hey Harry, I'm leaving now."
Harry yawned and turned over to face Draco. He looked over at the clock and said, "It's only 6:00. Why are you leaving so early?" Draco smiled, "I've got to have something to eat before I leave." Harry propped himself up on his elbows and looked into the gorgeous blue eyes of his lover. "Alright, have a safe trip." Draco leaned in and kissed Harry gently. "I'll hurry back."
Draco turned and walked out of the bedroom and down the flight of stairs. He left the apartment and walked down to the Great Hall. He got half way there before he realized that no one would be there to serve him food. He decided he would travel down to the kitchen and hope that the house elves would have something he could eat. He arrived just as Dobby was walking inside the kitchen. "Dobby, wait up." Draco ran and entered the kitchen right behind Dobby.
"Good morning Draco Malfoy, sir. What can Dobby do for you?" "I was wondering if you might have something I can eat. I have to leave at 7:00 and I won't have time to eat in the Great Hall." "Of course sir, I will fix you a plate of something right now." Dobby rushed off and came back in a few moments carrying a plate heaped with food. "Thank you Dobby." Draco sat down and began to eat.
Meanwhile.
Harry tried to go back to sleep after Draco left but it was to no avail. He finally crawled out of bed and walked over to the window. He was about to look out when a snowy white owl approached the window. Harry opened it and Hedwig flew inside. She dropped an envelope on the bed and landed on the bedpost. She hooted softly and looked at Harry. "Good morning Hedwig." Harry walked over to the bed and picked up the letter. It was addressed to him, but the handwriting was strangely familiar. He turned the envelope over and opened it slowly.
Harry Potter,
We are writing to inform you that we need to come and see you next Saturday. Your Aunt has something that she needs to give you, but we can not send it by "your way". Send a response as quickly as possible telling us how to get to your school.
Vernon Dursley
Harry closed the letter with shaking hands and hurriedly put on a set of robes. He walked downstairs and left the apartment. He needed to speak with Dumbledore. He walked up to his office and rapped on the office door. "Come in Mr. Potter." Harry opened the door and smiled at the Headmaster. "What can I do for you Harry?" Harry gripped the letter tighter and walked up to his desk. "Sir, this came for me today." Harry held out the letter to Professor Dumbledore who took it and read it carefully. Dumbledore put the letter down and looked up at Harry. "Well this is definitely interesting. Your Aunt and Uncle will not be able to drive to Hogwarts. I will write to them and tell them that I will have the train pick them up at King's Cross in London. As they are already familiar with Hagrid, I shall send him to meet them. Will that be okay?" "Professor, do you know what it is that Aunt Petunia needs to give me?" "Your mother and father knew that they would die during their fight with Voldemort, and that you would end up living with your Aunt and Uncle. They told me that they left something with your Aunt to give to you once you turned 16. Since you spent most of your holidays with Mr. Weasley, your Aunt wasn't able to give it to you. I don't know what it was but it must be extremely important for your Aunt and Uncle to be coming here to give it to you."
At that point Draco stepped into the office. "Harry, what are you doing here?" "I received a letter from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. They are coming here on Saturday." "Really?" "Yeah, apparently Aunt Petunia has something extremely important she has to give me." "Oh, well I will try and be back by then." Draco looked at Professor Dumbledore. "I'm ready sir." Dumbledore pulled out an old boot from behind his desk. "Here you are Draco. Have a safe trip." Draco took the boot and disappeared.
Draco appeared outside of the Malfoy estate moments later. He looked at the estate and walked up the front walkway to the front door. He entered the house and saw Mr. Cabbott sitting in the parlor. Cabbott looked up and saw Draco standing in the doorway. "Ah, Mr. Malfoy I am sorry for you loss. I'm sure you will want to see your parents before we continue." "No, I want to go ahead and prepare the funeral. I need to get back to school as quickly as possible." "I'm sure that the Headmaster of Hogwarts will understand that you will need time to grieve. I have arranged for us to be at St. Mungo's this afternoon to see your parents." "Of course, but before then, let's arrange the funeral." Draco sat down at his father's desk and gestured for Cabbott to sit. "Now Edward, tell me what all I need to do to prepare for this funeral." "Well all the arrangements are already made, except for when. Both your mother and father already made arrangements for how their bodies were to be handled. The only thing that needs to be decided is when you want to hold the service." Draco raised an eyebrow at this, wondering why his parents would have prearranged their funerals. They had both been very young, there would be no need to prearrange anything. But then Draco understood why they had done so. With his father working for Voldemort, they both knew that their own deaths could come at any time whether it be from Voldemort himself or from someone working against him. "Let's have the service on Friday at 9:00am. That will give the family a week to make arrangements and come in. That will also let me leave on Friday evening to get back to school." Cabbott nodded and continued. "There is also the matter of the estate. Your father of course left all of his possessions to your mother, with you as second beneficiary. Your mother left everything to your father, with you again as second beneficiary. You are the sole heir to the Malfoy fortune and estate." Edward reached into a coat pocket and pulled out three keys. "These are the keys to the three vaults your family kept at Gringotts." Draco took the keys and looked them over carefully. "Thank you Edward. Now if you would be so kind as to make the arrangements I've requested, I think I need a few moments alone." Cabbott stood and nodded to Draco, then turned and left the room.
Draco all of a sudden felt the emptiness of the Malfoy mansion. He had lived here all his life, but it had never quite felt this empty. He also became very much aware that he was being watched. Draco looked up and saw a dark, hooded figure standing in the doorway of the study. "Who are you?" "A friend." the voice hissed. The figure glided into the room and stopped in front of the desk. "Draco felt a twinge of fear. "What do you want?" The head lifted up and Draco could see the outline of a face. Two hands reached up and pulled the hood off of the head. "I wanted to present my most sincere sympathies on your parents passing. Your father was one of my most.loyal followers." Draco's eyes widened as he realized who this person was. "You're Lord Voldemort!" he exclaimed. The figure laughed. "You're a very bright young man. I would do well to have someone like you in my corner." Draco was fighting the temptation to pull out his wand and curse Voldemort into the next century. "I know the truth about what you did to my father. I will never join you." Voldemort then raised an eyebrow and stared at Draco. "You know what happened to your father? But how could you know, the meeting was a complete secret. Only my most trusted associates attended that meeting." Draco suddenly realized he shouldn't have said anything, but kept a calm façade. "I guessed what happened. I know my father was a follower of yours and when our lawyer wrote to tell me he died at a business meeting I assumed that it was a meeting with you."
Voldemort chuckled, "Very clever indeed. I regret that I had to kill your father, but his failure almost cost me my chance to regain power. That is why I have come to you. You may be able to actually succeed in this task." "I will not help you regain power." "Don't be hasty dear boy. I know of your relationship with young Harry Potter. You wouldn't want to see anything happen to him now would you?" Draco kept the cool façade but his mind raced, trying to figure out how Voldemort had discovered his secret. "What is it you want me to do?" Voldemort smiled, which really showed how evil he was. "The only person standing in my way is that fool Albus Dumbledore. Your father's mission was to kill him, but as you already know he failed. Since you attend Hogwarts, I think you would be more suited to the task and have more of a chance at success." Draco's mind raced as he tried to come up with a solution to his current problem. "I will have to think about your proposal. Let me have 48 hours to think it over and I will give you an answer then. Now if you will excuse me Lord Voldemort, I have to go view the bodies of my parents and finalize their funeral arrangements." "Of course Draco. I will see you in two days." Voldemort pulled the hood back over his head and walked out of the office. Draco stood up and walked out of the office and up the flight of stairs to the second story. He walked down the corridor and into his parent's bedroom. He opened the closet door and pulled out a broom. He walked with the broom back downstairs and into the front yard. He cast an invisibility spell around himself and the broom and mounted it. Kicking off from the group Draco made his way back to Hogwarts. His plan was simple enough, tell Dumbledore what it was Voldemort had wanted and hope that he had a plan to prevent it.