Disclaimer: All characters are property of J.K. Rowling and are being used
without permission. No attempt has been made to copyright this work. This novel
is purely for the entertainment of the author and readers and is not being used
for profit of any sort.
Author's note:
For those of you who haven't read it recently, I suggest a perusal of chapter 5 before you read this one. I'd also suggest reading the last paragraph of the last chapter as well.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
BEST SERVED COLD
Harry stared at the letter in his hands. What on earth is Malfoy up to? It must be some sort of prank.
Harry grabbed the nearest piece of paper and wrote out a simple reply.
"Sod off, Malfoy."
"Come here Pig." he said to Ron's tiny post owl. "I've got a job for you. Sorry Hedwig, but this has to be secret. You'd be too noticeable."
Hedwig turned her head away from him, obviously feeling slighted.
Harry attached his letter to Pig and told him to deliver it to Draco. Once the little bird was gone, Harry went to bed.
Harry awoke the next morning feeling a bit grumpy. Ron was already awake and heading out the door for breakfast. Harry looked around to see if Pig had returned, but there was no sign of him.
Harry spent the rest of the morning and afternoon chatting with the Weasleys and discovering the properties of his new seven-lock trunk. The seventh lock revealed a chamber with white walls that was roughly six feet on all sides. The little room even had purple carpeting.
Late in the afternoon Pig returned to Harry, flitting madly around his head. He was obviously quite happy with himself.
"What's he got for you Harry?" Ron asked, puzzled as to where Pig had been off to.
Harry took the small note from Pig's leg. It was very short.
"She's moving."
"It's just Draco being Draco." Harry replied to Ron dismissively.
"Ahh." Ron said. "Make sure you give him a nice holiday greeting from me."
Harry smiled faintly as he wrote his reply.
"Why should I trust you?"
Harry attached the note to Pig and sent the eager owl off again. For the rest of the evening, Harry didn't give Draco a second thought. He spent his time playing chess with Ron and listening to Charlie talk about the new dragon family that had taken up residence in Guernsey. Night eventually came and Harry went upstairs for a little time alone. He was surprised to find an old looking tawny owl sitting outside Ron's window. It was one of the Hogwart's owls.
Harry quickly opened the window and let the poor freezing owl in. The bird hooted its thanks and stuck out a leg for Harry to retrieve the note it carried.
There was only one word on it...
"Grimmauld."
As in Grimmauld Place. The street that the Black House was on.
The house that Lupin was living in.
Did Draco mean that Bellatrix Lestrange was heading there? If she was, that couldn't be good for Lupin.
As much as Harry hated it, Draco had succeeded in baiting him. Though the chances were slim, there was a remote possibility that he could be telling the truth. Harry couldn't afford to wager against that. Besides, it would only take a trip back to Hogwarts to shut Draco up. Harry was sure that Hogwarts was safe, and there would be no traps waiting for him there.
Harry hurried back downstairs. Ron was asleep in a chair, his long legs splayed across the floor. Fred and George had appeared and were dressed rather nicely. Mr. Weasley was assisting the twins with their ties.
"Hey there Harry, what's up?" George beamed.
"I need to head back to Hogwarts for something. It's uh...kind of important."
"Something the matter, Harry?" the elder Weasley asked.
"No...there's just some...things I need to study for Legilimency. Max would kill me if he thought I was slacking." It wasn't really a lie. He really had left the Legilimency book back at Hogwarts, and if Max found out he hadn't been practicing...well, Harry really didn't want to be on Max's bad side. "I would be back tomorrow morning." That was something Harry was sure would happen. If Malfoy wasn't lying, then he'd just tell Mr. Weasley about it and he'd take care of it. If Draco was lying, he'd just beat him to a bloody pulp and head back.
It was all quite straightforward. Nice and easy.
"And how do you plan on getting there, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked. "The Hogwarts Express isn't running today."
"Er...I didn't think of that." Maybe things wouldn't be so nice and easy.
"We'll give you a lift Harry." Fred said with a wide grin. "We're headed up that way. George and I have a bit of a rendezvous with some Scottish twins tonight...and tomorrow, and the next day if we're lucky."
"Great." Harry said with a huge amount of relief.
Harry got into the back of the twins' shiny black Mini Cooper. George got behind the wheel, and soon they were in the air, flying at a rather high velocity.
"Made a few new adjustments." George said over his shoulder to Harry. "She's a lot quicker than the old Ford."
The Mini was indeed fast, and the trip to Hogwarts only took several hours. Harry wasn't sure, but he thought they had broken the sound barrier in the little car.
The twins made a soft landing on the road that led to Hogwarts and let Harry out at the main door.
"Ah, Hogwarts." Fred said dramatically. "I almost miss it. Well Harry have fun. We sure will!"
Harry entered the school and began looking for Draco. In just a few minutes he found him sitting on one of the benches in the main hall.
"I was wondering when you would get here." Draco said nastily. He seemed awfully nervous, something that Harry wasn't used to seeing.
"I'll be heading right back out if you don't have something convincing for me." Harry replied.
"Here." Draco said as he handed Harry a small mirror. "Have a look at that."
Harry looked into the small pocket mirror. The image showed a grimy, run-down neighborhood with rubbish littering the streets. "That's Grimmauld Place."
"Indeed it is." Draco confirmed. "That mirror was set up for surveillance after Kreacher tipped the Death Eaters off. She's waiting in that house across the street from Number 12."
"This isn't very convincing." Harry said skeptically.
"Tell the mirror to show you the image from..." Draco checked his watch, "3 hours, 5 minutes ago."
Harry cast a doubtful glance at Malfoy, but complied. "Show me three hours and five minutes ago."
The image in the mirror began to blur, like a videotape rewinding. All of it sudden it stopped, then started to play at normal speed again. The view out of the window now showed daylight. Harry could see a woman pass in front of the mirror. She was tall and thin, with heavily-lidded eyes and a brutal look on her face. There was no doubt that it was Bellatrix. Harry would never forget that face.
"She's a powerful witch," Draco said, "but I think we can get the drop on her."
"We?" Harry asked.
"I'm assuming that you won't trust me if I don't tag along."
"You're certainly right about that. She'll know you sold her out though." Harry told him.
"That's nothing a well-placed memory charm can't fix."
"Why is she there, anyways?"
"Isn't it obvious? She's there to kill Remus Lupin."
Harry's heart skipped a beat. "What?!"
"The Death Eaters can't seem to kill you, but they can certainly hurt you through your friends. I guess this is supposed to be the first in a series of attacks on your loved ones. I remember her saying something about the plan the last time she visited Malfoy Manor, but I didn't think they would start with him."
"But...Lupin isn't stupid. He knows the Death Eaters know about him and the house. I'm sure he's always careful."
"Right you are, Potty. The Black House is still very safe, since no one can see it or enter it without permission. The problem is, the house is too secure. The only way in or out is the front door. Anyone watching the street outside the influence of the Fidelius spell will see you coming or going. Lupin has an interesting habit. Apparently, after each full-moon he likes to go outside for a little walk. He never arrives or leaves without some friends for backup, but tomorrow morning will be different."
"Different how?" Harry asked.
"Christmas holidays." Draco replied simply. "No one around. Everyone's still scattered about the country with their families. Imagine for a moment Potter, when he comes out of the house after a long night of howling at the moon. He'll be very tired, but glad to get some fresh air. He'll assume that the risk is worth it. It's the holidays after all, what could happen?. That's when my dear Aunt Bellatrix will put him down like the dog he is."
"He might decide to break his habit this time." Harry protested.
"He might, but do you want to risk it?"
"I have to warn him."
"Too late. The moon is out. He probably locked himself up hours ago anyway, just to be safe. That's what they do you know, their kind. They lock themselves up like animals. It's appropriate, since that is exactly what they are."
Harry thought for a moment. He knew that the Wolfsbane Potion could help Lupin keep his wits about him during the transformation, but he was pretty sure that Snape wasn't providing it to him anymore. There weren't too many other potions masters that could make it. Even if he could get Lupin a note, in his uncontrolled wolf form he'd probably just tear it up.
"Why didn't you tell Dumbledore?" Harry demanded, trying to keep his rising anger in check.
"Oh don't think I didn't try, but he's gone for the holidays! No one knows where the hell the old codger goes for Christmas. At the earliest he'll be back tomorrow morning, but by then it'll be too late."
"Then tell Professor McGonnagall."
"I can't trust her. You remember what happened with Mad-Eye Moody two years ago? How do I know that McGonnagall hasn't been Polyjuiced? Dumbledore's too smart to fall for that though so I can trust him somewhat, and no one's going to try that trick with you."
"Why not?"
"Because, dimwit," Draco said impatiently, "you're surrounded by a gaggle of protectors all the time these days. They're all being very careful that no one will try that. Besides, if any Death Eater got close enough to get a sample of your hair they would just kill you and be done with it. So, whether I like it or not, you and Dumbledore are the only ones I can trust with this."
"Let me be the one to tell them." Harry said. "They don't need to know the information came from you."
"If you tell anyone they're going to want to know where you got your information. Even if you lie, questions are going to be asked. Suspicions will be raised. It'll just be a matter of time before someone figures out your source. If we capture her and bring her here though, you can just say that you beat her when she tried to break into Hogwarts. I have a little practice with memory charms. I'm sure I could make her forget what she was really doing after a few of tries. It's perfect."
Harry considered Draco's words. He was making sense, but Harry still didn't trust him. "Stay here, I'll be back."
Harry ran up to the Gryffindor dorms. He needed his invisibility cloak. There were still a few instructors in the school, and Filch could be running around. He didn't want to have to explain himself to anyone on his way to Dumbledore's office.
Harry met Neville in their room. "Hey Neville. How was your Christmas?"
"Quiet."
"Sorry." Harry felt a little bad that Neville had been alone.
"Don't be," Neville replied, "it was a good thing. What are you doing back so early?"
"Er...some unfinished business."
Harry furtively walked over to his dresser and found the Marauder's Map hidden in its usual spot. He bundled up his invisibility cloak and left the room. Once outside he put the cloak on and told the map that he swore that he was up to no good, and the usual display of dots and names came up. There weren't as many dots as Harry was used to seeing though. Oddly enough, there weren't any Filch or Mrs. Norris dots. Harry couldn't see one labeled Dumbledore either. Still, he needed to go to the Headmaster's office anyway.
The first thing he noticed when he arrived was that Fawkes wasn't there. "He must have taken him with him." Harry thought. The phoenix was Harry's last chance of contacting Dumbledore in time. Still determined to prove Draco wrong, Harry turned to the portrait of Phineas Nigellus on the wall.
"Felix Natalis Christi, Mr. Potter! That's Latin for Merry Christmas by the way. Belated, though it may be."
"Merry Christmas to you too Phineas."
"What are you doing here, lad?"
"Phineas, do you know where Dumbledore is?"
"Afraid not, Harry. Christmas is the one time of the year that the man shuts everyone out. Everyone needs that, especially someone in his position in these dark times."
"Could you do me a favor?"
"I need you to go to the Black House and check on Lupin."
"You mean the lycanthrope that has taken up residence in the most noble house of Black?" Phineas didn't seem too happy about the situation.
"Yes, Phineas. Please. It's very important."
Phineas let out a but of a "HURRUMPH" and disappeared. A few minutes later he returned with a very troubled look on his face.
"Is he there?" Harry asked nervously.
"Yes. He was in the second bedroom upstairs."
"Does that room have a fireplace?"
"A small one, yes."
"Great. Where does Dumbledore keep his Floo powder? I need to have another go at that fire-talking thing."
"I don't think you want to see him like this, Harry." Phineas objected. "Dreadful thing."
Harry looked out of the nearest window and saw that the moon was gleaming brightly in the dark sky.
"It looks like he's put restraining spells on all the windows and doors." Phineas added. "He won't be able to get out and terrorize the public."
"I have to see him with my own eyes." Harry said. He had to be sure Lupin was there. They had fooled him once with Sirius. It was not going to happen again.
Harry found Dumbledore's powder on his desk. He tossed a handful of it into the fireplace then stuck his head in and yelled "Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Second Bedroom!". He didn't have to wait long. The image of a large wolf pacing the room appeared amongst the flames. Harry had seen Lupin in his wolf form one other time, but he didn't remember him looking as ferocious then.
Harry tried to talk to the wild looking wolf. "Lupin, don't go outside in the morning! Lestrange is-"
Lupin started barking and growling madly, no doubt startled by the vision of the fire talking. Harry pulled his head back out of the fire. "This is hopeless, he's in no condition to listen to anybody."
But he is there. And in the morning...
Harry ran back downstairs to the main hallway. Draco was still there, pacing the floor frantically.
"Where did you go?" he asked worriedly. It was the first time Harry could ever remember him showing concern about his whereabouts.
"I had to go confirm some things." Harry replied.
"So are we going or what?"
"We're going, but there's one other person you're going to have to trust."
"Who?" Draco asked in shock.
"Neville."
"Longbottom?!? WHY?"
"Because it'll take more than two sixteen year old wizards to beat Bellatrix Lestrange, and I'm not stupid enough to go anywhere alone with you."
Draco stood with his arms crossed for a whole minute before he responded. "Fine. Tell him. He's not spy material, it should be okay. Let's hurry it up though, there's not a whole lot of time."
"Not yet. Not before I get some questions answered. Why are you doing this?"
"I'm a spy, aren't I?" Draco said with a nervous grin. "It's my job."
"No, Draco, that's not good enough. You're related to Bellatrix. Why would you stick your neck out to bring her in?"
"Maybe I just like Professor Lupin."
"That's bull. He's a werewolf, and you don't have the heart to see past that. You despise him, and you always have. Give me the real reason or I leave right now."
It was times like these when Harry really wished that Snape hadn't taught Draco Occlumency. Luckily, Draco didn't seem to be in an evasive mood tonight. "I have a score to settle with her."
"What?"
"You heard me." Draco said angrily. "I owe her one. You know those Ashwinder eggs? The ones that blew up Hogsmeade? Guess who bought them. Me."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I didn't know what they were." Draco continued. "She just told me to go there and pick up a package. She said it would look less suspicious if I went. I've been to Borgin's shop plenty of times, so it wasn't a big deal. She never bothered to tell me what they were. The bitch never gave me a warning to not go to Hogsmeade either."
Harry remembered that day in Diagon Alley. It had been months ago, but he vividly recalled seeing Draco duck into Knockturn Alley alone.
"She played you."
"Yes, Potter, she did. You of all people should know how much I hate that. More to the point though, she virtually tried to kill me by not telling me."
"So this whole spy thing has been for revenge."
"Mostly."
"You're some piece of work, Malfoy." Harry sighed, shaking his head.
"Like I care what you think." Draco said. "Go get Longbottom, I'll be in the Slytherin dorms. And hurry up! This is probably the only chance we'll have to get her."
Harry headed back to the Gryffindor dorms to chat with Neville. He had no idea what he was going to say to him, or how he would react. Harry needed to do this though. He needed someone he could trust.
He found Neville on his bed, reading. "Hey Harry, what's up?"
Harry took a deep breath and prepared himself. "Er...Nev, we need to talk."
Harry told Neville the whole story while he paced the floor nervously. He was still very nervous about the whole setup, and he wouldn't blame Neville if he jumped up and told him that he was insane for even considering this stunt.
"So that's how it stands." Harry said when he had said everything he could think of. "There's no one else around that we can both trust, and we need to act fast. If you don't want any part of this I totally underst--."
"I'm in." Neville said without hesitation.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. I have a big score to settle with her."
"This shouldn't be about settling scores." Harry said softly.
"I also owe Professor Lupin a lot." Neville added as he got off his bed and grabbed his coat. "No one ever gave me as much confidence as he did. If he's in trouble, I'm helping."
"Alright then." Harry agreed. "Let's go get Malfoy."
***
They met Draco in the Slytherin dungeons. He had donned a heavy winter cloak that contrasted greatly with Harry and Neville's Muggle-style jackets. Draco also had a large black bag with him.
"Neville's in." Harry said plainly.
"Great." Draco sneered. "We're like the bloody Three Musketeers."
Neville ignored him. "How are we going to get there?"
"That part is easy." Draco said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a large toy train. "It's a portkey to King's Cross station. We used it all the time. We can walk from there to Grimmauld Place."
"Alright, so that's how we get there. How do we get back?"
"That's a little trickier." Draco said as he reached into his bag again, this time recovering a large piggy bank. "It's also a portkey. It'll bring us just outside the main gates. There's supposedly some kind of spell that keeps anyone but Dumbledore from making a portkey directly onto the grounds, so we'll have to walk back up to the school."
"Was that a gift from your father, Draco?" Harry chided, wondering why Draco would have such an item with him.
"In a way." Draco replied. "I'm sure he meant to give it to me some day, so I took the liberty of taking it. The point is, we can get back with our captive fairly quickly. We can keep her here until Dumbledore shows up."
"You know we don't have to take out Lestrange." Harry commented. "I can get into the house. How about I just go in and wait for Lupin to come out at sunrise. Then I can warn him."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Draco said. "First off, he's locked himself in there. You'd probably have a hell of a time getting past his protection spells. Besides, we can't risk waiting until the morning. We'll have to go tonight. She'll have her guard down since Lupin won't be showing his face until the sun is up. We might even get lucky and catch her asleep."
"And what if we're unlucky?" Neville asked.
"Well, that's when the amazing Harry Potter saves the day." Malfoy joked. "Shall we get going then?"
The three of them gathered around and touched the toy train. They instantly found themselves in a familiar area, in an alley near King's Cross station.
"Time to disappear." Harry said as he took out his Invisibility Cloak. "Tuck under here."
The three of them easily managed to fit underneath the cloak. It somehow always managed to accommodate Harry's needs.
"I always knew you had one of these." Draco said without a hint of surprise in his voice.
"Jealous, Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"Hardly. Alright, Potter." Draco said. "Lead the way."
"Why me?"
"Well, I've never actually been there." Draco admitted.
"Fine."
The trio headed carefully out towards Grimmauld. The streets were empty, and they encountered no troubles during the twenty minute walk to the Black House. When they arrived, Neville spoke up.
"Which building is it?"
"That one." Harry said, pointing to a derelict apartment building. "It's directly across from where the Black House would be."
They snuck across the street and swung around to the back of the house.
"So how do we do this?" Neville asked as he tried to open the back door. It was locked tight.
"Well," Harry said, "let's give the old trick a shot. Alohamora"
The door silently swung open.
"Step one complete." Draco whispered as he peered into the dark building.
"Now what?"
Draco reached into his special black bag again and pulled out a withered hand.
"What the hell is that?!" Neville gasped.
"The Hand of Glory." Harry remembered seeing it in Borgin & Burkes.
"Familiar with it, are we Potty?" Draco chuckled as he pulled out a candle and lit it. He then placed it into the hand. "Yes, it's the Hand of Glory. It'll give us the light we need, but no one else will see it. Cast a cushion spell on your shoes, that'll keep the floorboards from creaking."
"You've obviously had quite a lot of practice in breaking and entering." Harry commented as he cast the spell on his shoes.
Draco said nothing as he led them inside.
***
The building was dark and musty. The Hand of Glory only provided light to Draco, so Harry and Neville were forced to follow closely behind him in single file. Harry didn't like the situation at all, and he kept his wand lodged in the small of Draco's back just to make sure he didn't get any ideas.
They crept quietly up the stairs, checking every room for signs of Bellatrix Lestrange. It wasn't until they got to the top floor that they found their first sign of her. They could hear her voice.
"There, there. Don't worry. We'll have him soon."
"Is she talking to herself?" Harry whispered in disbelief.
"I told you she was crazy." Draco said as they ducked behind a corner. "Alright, give me the Invisibility Cloak. I'll go in and finish this."
"I'll do it." Harry objected quietly, still not trusting Draco completely.
"Fine. Whatever. Just make sure you bring her down. You may not get a second chance."
Harry took the cloak and crept silently towards the room the witch was in. His heart was beating madly, and he was sweating in his heavy coat. The short walk to the room seemed like a mile to Harry, but he did make it to the doorway.
Harry slowly entered the room with his wand ready. It was a very large area, and the only source of illumination was the moonlight that streamed through the window in the front. There, sitting cross-legged on the floor, was Bellatrix Lestrange.
By her side, there was a very vicious looking crup.
Draco hadn't said anything about that.
Suddenly, the little creature was sniffing the air, tilting his head in Harry's direction. It could smell him.
Then it started barking, and all hell broke loose.
Bellatrix jumped to her feet with her wand at the ready. She started blindly firing bolts of blue flame from her wand. Harry fell to the floor in his haste to avoid them. The spells exploded against the walls around him, throwing dust and blue flame everywhere.
Neville jumped in from the hallway and cast a stupefy spell that just barely missed her. She fired back, missing Neville by a good margin, then she bolted towards a flight of stairs on the other side of the room.
"Damn it, Potter! She's heading for the roof!" Draco screamed.
"I got her!" Neville yelled as he sprinted after her.
Harry gave up trying to stay hidden and pulled the invisibility cloak off him. The crup was chasing after him, fangs bared.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry shouted as he pointed his wand at the creature. It came to a sudden halt and skidded across the floor, motionless.
"This is not going well." Harry said to himself as he ran up the stairs to help Neville and Draco.
On the roof he found them in a heated battle. Draco had used the Serpensortia spell to conjure up several large cobras to do his fighting for him, while Neville and the witch were firing spells at each other. Whenever Neville ducked for cover she banished another one of the snakes away.
"Expelliarmus!!"
Lestrange had just thrown one of the snakes back at Draco when Harry's spell hit her. Her wand flew up into the air and towards him. Neville took the opportunity and threw something at her feet, then he cast a spell.
"Germino!"
The small green object sprouted thick tendril-like vines at an incredible rate. They enveloped Bellatrix in an unyielding grip, leaving her helpless.
The battle was over. They got her.
Harry and Neville approached the writhing mass of vines carefully.
"Devil's Snare." Neville said. "It's an Insta-Sprout variety I've been working on."
"Very nice." Harry smiled. "We'd better get her out of that before it kills her though."
"Yeah," Neville said reluctantly, "or we could just let nature take its course."
The thought was tempting, it was VERY tempting, but Harry couldn't let Neville turn down that path. "We're better than that, Neville."
"Yeah...we are." Neville agreed with tears in his eyes. "Incendio"
The thick green vines curled away from the flames that shot from Neville's wand, revealing a half-strangled Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry immediately cast a binding spell on her.
"Well done boys." Draco said behind them. He seemed to have escaped being bitten by the snake the witch had thrown at him.
"Draco, you little coward!" Lestrange shouted when she saw him. "I knew you didn't have the stones to be one of us! My sister has spoiled you rotten. Just wait until your father finds out! Voldemort will take great pleasure in punishing you for your treachery. You know what he does to traitors."
Draco leaned in close to her, waving his wand around menacingly. "Voldemort's never going to find out."
"HA! Oh he has ways of dealing with rats like you, Draco. You think you're clever, but you're worthless! It wasn't even you that caught me. It was a bloody LONGBOTTOM, and they're not good for anything but screaming."
"Shut up!" Neville yelled furiously. Harry had to hold him back.
"Why don't you make me?" Bellatrix challenged. "You got lucky with your little pet weed. Give me my wand back and we'll see if you fare any better than your pitiful father."
"Don't tempt me..." Neville said with his wand clenched tightly in his hand. He was able to curb his anger though, and Harry was able to lead him away from the spiteful witch.
"Don't walk away from me boy!" The mad woman was now struggling to her feet, an impressive task considering half her body was bound. "I'm not done with you!"
"Nev, look out!!"
Neville didn't seem surprised at all and he braced himself to face her, but before he could do anything Draco ran up to her and pushed off the side of the building. She let out a frightful scream that froze Harry in his tracks...
And then the night was silent again.
Harry ran to the ledge and looked over it. He could see Lestrange's limp body far below.
"Maybe...maybe it's a trick." Neville said in a shaky voice.
But Harry knew she wasn't faking. He could tell by the awkward angle of her head. Not even Merlin himself could survive a broken neck.
She was dead.
Harry turned to Draco, his mind whirling in a confusing mix of emotions. "You killed her!"
"She was attacking Longbottom! I saved him!"
"She had no wand! She was in a binding spell, she could barely move! What was she going to do, bite him to death?"
"I'm sure the hag would have tried." Draco said with an evil little grin.
At that moment something clicked in Harry's head. Suddenly everything made sense.
"You planned to kill her all along, didn't you?"
Harry's accusation wiped the smile off of Draco's pale face. His expression was stern now, cold. Harry instinctively used his Legilimency skills, hoping to get any impression of what Malfoy was thinking. He could only get a sense of the strong emotions running through Draco. There was certainly remorse, Harry was sure of that. But there was something else...something stronger. It was a feeling he couldn't really identify at first, but then it hit him.
It was...satisfaction.
It was the same feeling Harry felt in his own heart.
"I don't see why you've got your knickers all in a bunch, Potter. You wanted her dead, I know you did. So what's your problem?"
"My problem," Harry fumed, "is YOU. You're a bigot, and a liar...and now you're a murderer".
Harry could tell that his last accusation hit Draco hard. He could see it in Malfoy's face, he was scared and unsure of himself. Harry didn't need Legilimency to know that Draco was struggling to come to terms with what he had just done. Draco looked over the ledge, gazing at the mangled body of his mother's sister. Then he finally spoke, in a voice that was little more than a whisper. "She deserved it, Potter. You know that."
Then it was Harry's turn to be stricken with self-doubt. He himself had wanted to kill her in the Ministry, and if he had possessed the ability to do so at the time, he probably would have. As much as Harry wanted to argue with him, as much as he wanted to condemn him for what he did...he couldn't deny that there was a part of him that was glad Malfoy did it. Even if he had known all along that Draco was going to do it, he wouldn't have stopped him. He wasn't like Neville, Draco was already rotten to the core. A little blood on his hands wouldn't make a difference. And she did deserve it. Harry turned to Neville, and his all too sensitive Legilimency skills told him that he felt the same way. In that moment, the last bit of their childhood was forever gone. They had taken the final step, past the point of no return.
*******************************************************
Author's note:
Finally some character development for Draco! Though it probably wasn't what most of you expected. :-)
Mad shouts out to:
Quoth the Raven, for the extremely eloquent reviews on ff.net
Butler, for sticking around for so long.
And all my homies at harrypotterfanfiction.com, for keeping the site alive!
Author's note:
For those of you who haven't read it recently, I suggest a perusal of chapter 5 before you read this one. I'd also suggest reading the last paragraph of the last chapter as well.
BEST SERVED COLD
Harry stared at the letter in his hands. What on earth is Malfoy up to? It must be some sort of prank.
Harry grabbed the nearest piece of paper and wrote out a simple reply.
"Sod off, Malfoy."
"Come here Pig." he said to Ron's tiny post owl. "I've got a job for you. Sorry Hedwig, but this has to be secret. You'd be too noticeable."
Hedwig turned her head away from him, obviously feeling slighted.
Harry attached his letter to Pig and told him to deliver it to Draco. Once the little bird was gone, Harry went to bed.
Harry awoke the next morning feeling a bit grumpy. Ron was already awake and heading out the door for breakfast. Harry looked around to see if Pig had returned, but there was no sign of him.
Harry spent the rest of the morning and afternoon chatting with the Weasleys and discovering the properties of his new seven-lock trunk. The seventh lock revealed a chamber with white walls that was roughly six feet on all sides. The little room even had purple carpeting.
Late in the afternoon Pig returned to Harry, flitting madly around his head. He was obviously quite happy with himself.
"What's he got for you Harry?" Ron asked, puzzled as to where Pig had been off to.
Harry took the small note from Pig's leg. It was very short.
"She's moving."
"It's just Draco being Draco." Harry replied to Ron dismissively.
"Ahh." Ron said. "Make sure you give him a nice holiday greeting from me."
Harry smiled faintly as he wrote his reply.
"Why should I trust you?"
Harry attached the note to Pig and sent the eager owl off again. For the rest of the evening, Harry didn't give Draco a second thought. He spent his time playing chess with Ron and listening to Charlie talk about the new dragon family that had taken up residence in Guernsey. Night eventually came and Harry went upstairs for a little time alone. He was surprised to find an old looking tawny owl sitting outside Ron's window. It was one of the Hogwart's owls.
Harry quickly opened the window and let the poor freezing owl in. The bird hooted its thanks and stuck out a leg for Harry to retrieve the note it carried.
There was only one word on it...
"Grimmauld."
As in Grimmauld Place. The street that the Black House was on.
The house that Lupin was living in.
Did Draco mean that Bellatrix Lestrange was heading there? If she was, that couldn't be good for Lupin.
As much as Harry hated it, Draco had succeeded in baiting him. Though the chances were slim, there was a remote possibility that he could be telling the truth. Harry couldn't afford to wager against that. Besides, it would only take a trip back to Hogwarts to shut Draco up. Harry was sure that Hogwarts was safe, and there would be no traps waiting for him there.
Harry hurried back downstairs. Ron was asleep in a chair, his long legs splayed across the floor. Fred and George had appeared and were dressed rather nicely. Mr. Weasley was assisting the twins with their ties.
"Hey there Harry, what's up?" George beamed.
"I need to head back to Hogwarts for something. It's uh...kind of important."
"Something the matter, Harry?" the elder Weasley asked.
"No...there's just some...things I need to study for Legilimency. Max would kill me if he thought I was slacking." It wasn't really a lie. He really had left the Legilimency book back at Hogwarts, and if Max found out he hadn't been practicing...well, Harry really didn't want to be on Max's bad side. "I would be back tomorrow morning." That was something Harry was sure would happen. If Malfoy wasn't lying, then he'd just tell Mr. Weasley about it and he'd take care of it. If Draco was lying, he'd just beat him to a bloody pulp and head back.
It was all quite straightforward. Nice and easy.
"And how do you plan on getting there, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked. "The Hogwarts Express isn't running today."
"Er...I didn't think of that." Maybe things wouldn't be so nice and easy.
"We'll give you a lift Harry." Fred said with a wide grin. "We're headed up that way. George and I have a bit of a rendezvous with some Scottish twins tonight...and tomorrow, and the next day if we're lucky."
"Great." Harry said with a huge amount of relief.
Harry got into the back of the twins' shiny black Mini Cooper. George got behind the wheel, and soon they were in the air, flying at a rather high velocity.
"Made a few new adjustments." George said over his shoulder to Harry. "She's a lot quicker than the old Ford."
The Mini was indeed fast, and the trip to Hogwarts only took several hours. Harry wasn't sure, but he thought they had broken the sound barrier in the little car.
The twins made a soft landing on the road that led to Hogwarts and let Harry out at the main door.
"Ah, Hogwarts." Fred said dramatically. "I almost miss it. Well Harry have fun. We sure will!"
Harry entered the school and began looking for Draco. In just a few minutes he found him sitting on one of the benches in the main hall.
"I was wondering when you would get here." Draco said nastily. He seemed awfully nervous, something that Harry wasn't used to seeing.
"I'll be heading right back out if you don't have something convincing for me." Harry replied.
"Here." Draco said as he handed Harry a small mirror. "Have a look at that."
Harry looked into the small pocket mirror. The image showed a grimy, run-down neighborhood with rubbish littering the streets. "That's Grimmauld Place."
"Indeed it is." Draco confirmed. "That mirror was set up for surveillance after Kreacher tipped the Death Eaters off. She's waiting in that house across the street from Number 12."
"This isn't very convincing." Harry said skeptically.
"Tell the mirror to show you the image from..." Draco checked his watch, "3 hours, 5 minutes ago."
Harry cast a doubtful glance at Malfoy, but complied. "Show me three hours and five minutes ago."
The image in the mirror began to blur, like a videotape rewinding. All of it sudden it stopped, then started to play at normal speed again. The view out of the window now showed daylight. Harry could see a woman pass in front of the mirror. She was tall and thin, with heavily-lidded eyes and a brutal look on her face. There was no doubt that it was Bellatrix. Harry would never forget that face.
"She's a powerful witch," Draco said, "but I think we can get the drop on her."
"We?" Harry asked.
"I'm assuming that you won't trust me if I don't tag along."
"You're certainly right about that. She'll know you sold her out though." Harry told him.
"That's nothing a well-placed memory charm can't fix."
"Why is she there, anyways?"
"Isn't it obvious? She's there to kill Remus Lupin."
Harry's heart skipped a beat. "What?!"
"The Death Eaters can't seem to kill you, but they can certainly hurt you through your friends. I guess this is supposed to be the first in a series of attacks on your loved ones. I remember her saying something about the plan the last time she visited Malfoy Manor, but I didn't think they would start with him."
"But...Lupin isn't stupid. He knows the Death Eaters know about him and the house. I'm sure he's always careful."
"Right you are, Potty. The Black House is still very safe, since no one can see it or enter it without permission. The problem is, the house is too secure. The only way in or out is the front door. Anyone watching the street outside the influence of the Fidelius spell will see you coming or going. Lupin has an interesting habit. Apparently, after each full-moon he likes to go outside for a little walk. He never arrives or leaves without some friends for backup, but tomorrow morning will be different."
"Different how?" Harry asked.
"Christmas holidays." Draco replied simply. "No one around. Everyone's still scattered about the country with their families. Imagine for a moment Potter, when he comes out of the house after a long night of howling at the moon. He'll be very tired, but glad to get some fresh air. He'll assume that the risk is worth it. It's the holidays after all, what could happen?. That's when my dear Aunt Bellatrix will put him down like the dog he is."
"He might decide to break his habit this time." Harry protested.
"He might, but do you want to risk it?"
"I have to warn him."
"Too late. The moon is out. He probably locked himself up hours ago anyway, just to be safe. That's what they do you know, their kind. They lock themselves up like animals. It's appropriate, since that is exactly what they are."
Harry thought for a moment. He knew that the Wolfsbane Potion could help Lupin keep his wits about him during the transformation, but he was pretty sure that Snape wasn't providing it to him anymore. There weren't too many other potions masters that could make it. Even if he could get Lupin a note, in his uncontrolled wolf form he'd probably just tear it up.
"Why didn't you tell Dumbledore?" Harry demanded, trying to keep his rising anger in check.
"Oh don't think I didn't try, but he's gone for the holidays! No one knows where the hell the old codger goes for Christmas. At the earliest he'll be back tomorrow morning, but by then it'll be too late."
"Then tell Professor McGonnagall."
"I can't trust her. You remember what happened with Mad-Eye Moody two years ago? How do I know that McGonnagall hasn't been Polyjuiced? Dumbledore's too smart to fall for that though so I can trust him somewhat, and no one's going to try that trick with you."
"Why not?"
"Because, dimwit," Draco said impatiently, "you're surrounded by a gaggle of protectors all the time these days. They're all being very careful that no one will try that. Besides, if any Death Eater got close enough to get a sample of your hair they would just kill you and be done with it. So, whether I like it or not, you and Dumbledore are the only ones I can trust with this."
"Let me be the one to tell them." Harry said. "They don't need to know the information came from you."
"If you tell anyone they're going to want to know where you got your information. Even if you lie, questions are going to be asked. Suspicions will be raised. It'll just be a matter of time before someone figures out your source. If we capture her and bring her here though, you can just say that you beat her when she tried to break into Hogwarts. I have a little practice with memory charms. I'm sure I could make her forget what she was really doing after a few of tries. It's perfect."
Harry considered Draco's words. He was making sense, but Harry still didn't trust him. "Stay here, I'll be back."
Harry ran up to the Gryffindor dorms. He needed his invisibility cloak. There were still a few instructors in the school, and Filch could be running around. He didn't want to have to explain himself to anyone on his way to Dumbledore's office.
Harry met Neville in their room. "Hey Neville. How was your Christmas?"
"Quiet."
"Sorry." Harry felt a little bad that Neville had been alone.
"Don't be," Neville replied, "it was a good thing. What are you doing back so early?"
"Er...some unfinished business."
Harry furtively walked over to his dresser and found the Marauder's Map hidden in its usual spot. He bundled up his invisibility cloak and left the room. Once outside he put the cloak on and told the map that he swore that he was up to no good, and the usual display of dots and names came up. There weren't as many dots as Harry was used to seeing though. Oddly enough, there weren't any Filch or Mrs. Norris dots. Harry couldn't see one labeled Dumbledore either. Still, he needed to go to the Headmaster's office anyway.
The first thing he noticed when he arrived was that Fawkes wasn't there. "He must have taken him with him." Harry thought. The phoenix was Harry's last chance of contacting Dumbledore in time. Still determined to prove Draco wrong, Harry turned to the portrait of Phineas Nigellus on the wall.
"Felix Natalis Christi, Mr. Potter! That's Latin for Merry Christmas by the way. Belated, though it may be."
"Merry Christmas to you too Phineas."
"What are you doing here, lad?"
"Phineas, do you know where Dumbledore is?"
"Afraid not, Harry. Christmas is the one time of the year that the man shuts everyone out. Everyone needs that, especially someone in his position in these dark times."
"Could you do me a favor?"
"I need you to go to the Black House and check on Lupin."
"You mean the lycanthrope that has taken up residence in the most noble house of Black?" Phineas didn't seem too happy about the situation.
"Yes, Phineas. Please. It's very important."
Phineas let out a but of a "HURRUMPH" and disappeared. A few minutes later he returned with a very troubled look on his face.
"Is he there?" Harry asked nervously.
"Yes. He was in the second bedroom upstairs."
"Does that room have a fireplace?"
"A small one, yes."
"Great. Where does Dumbledore keep his Floo powder? I need to have another go at that fire-talking thing."
"I don't think you want to see him like this, Harry." Phineas objected. "Dreadful thing."
Harry looked out of the nearest window and saw that the moon was gleaming brightly in the dark sky.
"It looks like he's put restraining spells on all the windows and doors." Phineas added. "He won't be able to get out and terrorize the public."
"I have to see him with my own eyes." Harry said. He had to be sure Lupin was there. They had fooled him once with Sirius. It was not going to happen again.
Harry found Dumbledore's powder on his desk. He tossed a handful of it into the fireplace then stuck his head in and yelled "Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Second Bedroom!". He didn't have to wait long. The image of a large wolf pacing the room appeared amongst the flames. Harry had seen Lupin in his wolf form one other time, but he didn't remember him looking as ferocious then.
Harry tried to talk to the wild looking wolf. "Lupin, don't go outside in the morning! Lestrange is-"
Lupin started barking and growling madly, no doubt startled by the vision of the fire talking. Harry pulled his head back out of the fire. "This is hopeless, he's in no condition to listen to anybody."
But he is there. And in the morning...
Harry ran back downstairs to the main hallway. Draco was still there, pacing the floor frantically.
"Where did you go?" he asked worriedly. It was the first time Harry could ever remember him showing concern about his whereabouts.
"I had to go confirm some things." Harry replied.
"So are we going or what?"
"We're going, but there's one other person you're going to have to trust."
"Who?" Draco asked in shock.
"Neville."
"Longbottom?!? WHY?"
"Because it'll take more than two sixteen year old wizards to beat Bellatrix Lestrange, and I'm not stupid enough to go anywhere alone with you."
Draco stood with his arms crossed for a whole minute before he responded. "Fine. Tell him. He's not spy material, it should be okay. Let's hurry it up though, there's not a whole lot of time."
"Not yet. Not before I get some questions answered. Why are you doing this?"
"I'm a spy, aren't I?" Draco said with a nervous grin. "It's my job."
"No, Draco, that's not good enough. You're related to Bellatrix. Why would you stick your neck out to bring her in?"
"Maybe I just like Professor Lupin."
"That's bull. He's a werewolf, and you don't have the heart to see past that. You despise him, and you always have. Give me the real reason or I leave right now."
It was times like these when Harry really wished that Snape hadn't taught Draco Occlumency. Luckily, Draco didn't seem to be in an evasive mood tonight. "I have a score to settle with her."
"What?"
"You heard me." Draco said angrily. "I owe her one. You know those Ashwinder eggs? The ones that blew up Hogsmeade? Guess who bought them. Me."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I didn't know what they were." Draco continued. "She just told me to go there and pick up a package. She said it would look less suspicious if I went. I've been to Borgin's shop plenty of times, so it wasn't a big deal. She never bothered to tell me what they were. The bitch never gave me a warning to not go to Hogsmeade either."
Harry remembered that day in Diagon Alley. It had been months ago, but he vividly recalled seeing Draco duck into Knockturn Alley alone.
"She played you."
"Yes, Potter, she did. You of all people should know how much I hate that. More to the point though, she virtually tried to kill me by not telling me."
"So this whole spy thing has been for revenge."
"Mostly."
"You're some piece of work, Malfoy." Harry sighed, shaking his head.
"Like I care what you think." Draco said. "Go get Longbottom, I'll be in the Slytherin dorms. And hurry up! This is probably the only chance we'll have to get her."
Harry headed back to the Gryffindor dorms to chat with Neville. He had no idea what he was going to say to him, or how he would react. Harry needed to do this though. He needed someone he could trust.
He found Neville on his bed, reading. "Hey Harry, what's up?"
Harry took a deep breath and prepared himself. "Er...Nev, we need to talk."
Harry told Neville the whole story while he paced the floor nervously. He was still very nervous about the whole setup, and he wouldn't blame Neville if he jumped up and told him that he was insane for even considering this stunt.
"So that's how it stands." Harry said when he had said everything he could think of. "There's no one else around that we can both trust, and we need to act fast. If you don't want any part of this I totally underst--."
"I'm in." Neville said without hesitation.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. I have a big score to settle with her."
"This shouldn't be about settling scores." Harry said softly.
"I also owe Professor Lupin a lot." Neville added as he got off his bed and grabbed his coat. "No one ever gave me as much confidence as he did. If he's in trouble, I'm helping."
"Alright then." Harry agreed. "Let's go get Malfoy."
They met Draco in the Slytherin dungeons. He had donned a heavy winter cloak that contrasted greatly with Harry and Neville's Muggle-style jackets. Draco also had a large black bag with him.
"Neville's in." Harry said plainly.
"Great." Draco sneered. "We're like the bloody Three Musketeers."
Neville ignored him. "How are we going to get there?"
"That part is easy." Draco said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a large toy train. "It's a portkey to King's Cross station. We used it all the time. We can walk from there to Grimmauld Place."
"Alright, so that's how we get there. How do we get back?"
"That's a little trickier." Draco said as he reached into his bag again, this time recovering a large piggy bank. "It's also a portkey. It'll bring us just outside the main gates. There's supposedly some kind of spell that keeps anyone but Dumbledore from making a portkey directly onto the grounds, so we'll have to walk back up to the school."
"Was that a gift from your father, Draco?" Harry chided, wondering why Draco would have such an item with him.
"In a way." Draco replied. "I'm sure he meant to give it to me some day, so I took the liberty of taking it. The point is, we can get back with our captive fairly quickly. We can keep her here until Dumbledore shows up."
"You know we don't have to take out Lestrange." Harry commented. "I can get into the house. How about I just go in and wait for Lupin to come out at sunrise. Then I can warn him."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Draco said. "First off, he's locked himself in there. You'd probably have a hell of a time getting past his protection spells. Besides, we can't risk waiting until the morning. We'll have to go tonight. She'll have her guard down since Lupin won't be showing his face until the sun is up. We might even get lucky and catch her asleep."
"And what if we're unlucky?" Neville asked.
"Well, that's when the amazing Harry Potter saves the day." Malfoy joked. "Shall we get going then?"
The three of them gathered around and touched the toy train. They instantly found themselves in a familiar area, in an alley near King's Cross station.
"Time to disappear." Harry said as he took out his Invisibility Cloak. "Tuck under here."
The three of them easily managed to fit underneath the cloak. It somehow always managed to accommodate Harry's needs.
"I always knew you had one of these." Draco said without a hint of surprise in his voice.
"Jealous, Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"Hardly. Alright, Potter." Draco said. "Lead the way."
"Why me?"
"Well, I've never actually been there." Draco admitted.
"Fine."
The trio headed carefully out towards Grimmauld. The streets were empty, and they encountered no troubles during the twenty minute walk to the Black House. When they arrived, Neville spoke up.
"Which building is it?"
"That one." Harry said, pointing to a derelict apartment building. "It's directly across from where the Black House would be."
They snuck across the street and swung around to the back of the house.
"So how do we do this?" Neville asked as he tried to open the back door. It was locked tight.
"Well," Harry said, "let's give the old trick a shot. Alohamora"
The door silently swung open.
"Step one complete." Draco whispered as he peered into the dark building.
"Now what?"
Draco reached into his special black bag again and pulled out a withered hand.
"What the hell is that?!" Neville gasped.
"The Hand of Glory." Harry remembered seeing it in Borgin & Burkes.
"Familiar with it, are we Potty?" Draco chuckled as he pulled out a candle and lit it. He then placed it into the hand. "Yes, it's the Hand of Glory. It'll give us the light we need, but no one else will see it. Cast a cushion spell on your shoes, that'll keep the floorboards from creaking."
"You've obviously had quite a lot of practice in breaking and entering." Harry commented as he cast the spell on his shoes.
Draco said nothing as he led them inside.
The building was dark and musty. The Hand of Glory only provided light to Draco, so Harry and Neville were forced to follow closely behind him in single file. Harry didn't like the situation at all, and he kept his wand lodged in the small of Draco's back just to make sure he didn't get any ideas.
They crept quietly up the stairs, checking every room for signs of Bellatrix Lestrange. It wasn't until they got to the top floor that they found their first sign of her. They could hear her voice.
"There, there. Don't worry. We'll have him soon."
"Is she talking to herself?" Harry whispered in disbelief.
"I told you she was crazy." Draco said as they ducked behind a corner. "Alright, give me the Invisibility Cloak. I'll go in and finish this."
"I'll do it." Harry objected quietly, still not trusting Draco completely.
"Fine. Whatever. Just make sure you bring her down. You may not get a second chance."
Harry took the cloak and crept silently towards the room the witch was in. His heart was beating madly, and he was sweating in his heavy coat. The short walk to the room seemed like a mile to Harry, but he did make it to the doorway.
Harry slowly entered the room with his wand ready. It was a very large area, and the only source of illumination was the moonlight that streamed through the window in the front. There, sitting cross-legged on the floor, was Bellatrix Lestrange.
By her side, there was a very vicious looking crup.
Draco hadn't said anything about that.
Suddenly, the little creature was sniffing the air, tilting his head in Harry's direction. It could smell him.
Then it started barking, and all hell broke loose.
Bellatrix jumped to her feet with her wand at the ready. She started blindly firing bolts of blue flame from her wand. Harry fell to the floor in his haste to avoid them. The spells exploded against the walls around him, throwing dust and blue flame everywhere.
Neville jumped in from the hallway and cast a stupefy spell that just barely missed her. She fired back, missing Neville by a good margin, then she bolted towards a flight of stairs on the other side of the room.
"Damn it, Potter! She's heading for the roof!" Draco screamed.
"I got her!" Neville yelled as he sprinted after her.
Harry gave up trying to stay hidden and pulled the invisibility cloak off him. The crup was chasing after him, fangs bared.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry shouted as he pointed his wand at the creature. It came to a sudden halt and skidded across the floor, motionless.
"This is not going well." Harry said to himself as he ran up the stairs to help Neville and Draco.
On the roof he found them in a heated battle. Draco had used the Serpensortia spell to conjure up several large cobras to do his fighting for him, while Neville and the witch were firing spells at each other. Whenever Neville ducked for cover she banished another one of the snakes away.
"Expelliarmus!!"
Lestrange had just thrown one of the snakes back at Draco when Harry's spell hit her. Her wand flew up into the air and towards him. Neville took the opportunity and threw something at her feet, then he cast a spell.
"Germino!"
The small green object sprouted thick tendril-like vines at an incredible rate. They enveloped Bellatrix in an unyielding grip, leaving her helpless.
The battle was over. They got her.
Harry and Neville approached the writhing mass of vines carefully.
"Devil's Snare." Neville said. "It's an Insta-Sprout variety I've been working on."
"Very nice." Harry smiled. "We'd better get her out of that before it kills her though."
"Yeah," Neville said reluctantly, "or we could just let nature take its course."
The thought was tempting, it was VERY tempting, but Harry couldn't let Neville turn down that path. "We're better than that, Neville."
"Yeah...we are." Neville agreed with tears in his eyes. "Incendio"
The thick green vines curled away from the flames that shot from Neville's wand, revealing a half-strangled Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry immediately cast a binding spell on her.
"Well done boys." Draco said behind them. He seemed to have escaped being bitten by the snake the witch had thrown at him.
"Draco, you little coward!" Lestrange shouted when she saw him. "I knew you didn't have the stones to be one of us! My sister has spoiled you rotten. Just wait until your father finds out! Voldemort will take great pleasure in punishing you for your treachery. You know what he does to traitors."
Draco leaned in close to her, waving his wand around menacingly. "Voldemort's never going to find out."
"HA! Oh he has ways of dealing with rats like you, Draco. You think you're clever, but you're worthless! It wasn't even you that caught me. It was a bloody LONGBOTTOM, and they're not good for anything but screaming."
"Shut up!" Neville yelled furiously. Harry had to hold him back.
"Why don't you make me?" Bellatrix challenged. "You got lucky with your little pet weed. Give me my wand back and we'll see if you fare any better than your pitiful father."
"Don't tempt me..." Neville said with his wand clenched tightly in his hand. He was able to curb his anger though, and Harry was able to lead him away from the spiteful witch.
"Don't walk away from me boy!" The mad woman was now struggling to her feet, an impressive task considering half her body was bound. "I'm not done with you!"
"Nev, look out!!"
Neville didn't seem surprised at all and he braced himself to face her, but before he could do anything Draco ran up to her and pushed off the side of the building. She let out a frightful scream that froze Harry in his tracks...
And then the night was silent again.
Harry ran to the ledge and looked over it. He could see Lestrange's limp body far below.
"Maybe...maybe it's a trick." Neville said in a shaky voice.
But Harry knew she wasn't faking. He could tell by the awkward angle of her head. Not even Merlin himself could survive a broken neck.
She was dead.
Harry turned to Draco, his mind whirling in a confusing mix of emotions. "You killed her!"
"She was attacking Longbottom! I saved him!"
"She had no wand! She was in a binding spell, she could barely move! What was she going to do, bite him to death?"
"I'm sure the hag would have tried." Draco said with an evil little grin.
At that moment something clicked in Harry's head. Suddenly everything made sense.
"You planned to kill her all along, didn't you?"
Harry's accusation wiped the smile off of Draco's pale face. His expression was stern now, cold. Harry instinctively used his Legilimency skills, hoping to get any impression of what Malfoy was thinking. He could only get a sense of the strong emotions running through Draco. There was certainly remorse, Harry was sure of that. But there was something else...something stronger. It was a feeling he couldn't really identify at first, but then it hit him.
It was...satisfaction.
It was the same feeling Harry felt in his own heart.
"I don't see why you've got your knickers all in a bunch, Potter. You wanted her dead, I know you did. So what's your problem?"
"My problem," Harry fumed, "is YOU. You're a bigot, and a liar...and now you're a murderer".
Harry could tell that his last accusation hit Draco hard. He could see it in Malfoy's face, he was scared and unsure of himself. Harry didn't need Legilimency to know that Draco was struggling to come to terms with what he had just done. Draco looked over the ledge, gazing at the mangled body of his mother's sister. Then he finally spoke, in a voice that was little more than a whisper. "She deserved it, Potter. You know that."
Then it was Harry's turn to be stricken with self-doubt. He himself had wanted to kill her in the Ministry, and if he had possessed the ability to do so at the time, he probably would have. As much as Harry wanted to argue with him, as much as he wanted to condemn him for what he did...he couldn't deny that there was a part of him that was glad Malfoy did it. Even if he had known all along that Draco was going to do it, he wouldn't have stopped him. He wasn't like Neville, Draco was already rotten to the core. A little blood on his hands wouldn't make a difference. And she did deserve it. Harry turned to Neville, and his all too sensitive Legilimency skills told him that he felt the same way. In that moment, the last bit of their childhood was forever gone. They had taken the final step, past the point of no return.
*******************************************************
Author's note:
Finally some character development for Draco! Though it probably wasn't what most of you expected. :-)
Mad shouts out to:
Quoth the Raven, for the extremely eloquent reviews on ff.net
Butler, for sticking around for so long.
And all my homies at harrypotterfanfiction.com, for keeping the site alive!