Chapter 90

Dudley was sitting in the common room, trying to do his potions homework, but he just couldn't concentrate. The fact that Hermione was still unconscious was hard on him. He didn't understand a bit about what he had to write the essay about. The words where swimming in front of his eyes, his mind travelled back to the hospital wing and to Hermione.

Hermione...

All of a sudden he had an idea. Hermione had given him her papers to study, so he browsed them, trying to find something to help him. Soon, he found an essay about the same subject and a sly grin crept on his face.

He placed the scroll of parchment on the table next to him and took his quill. As soon as the quill touched the parchment and he started to copy Hermione's work, the watcher around his chest started glowing ruby-red.

Dudley couldn't see it so he continued to scribble happily.

After another line, Dudley felt the quill in his hand growing warm. At first he thought it's his own body heat causing it, but soon the quill was so hot it was burning his hand.

He desperately tried to drop the quill but it was like glued to his hand.

Scared out of his wits, he jumped from his chair and shook his hand frantically, but the quill stayed where it was. Howling in pain he ran to the bathroom; his mom used to run cold water over his skin when he had burned himself before. Holding his hand under the stream of cold water, he looked into the mirror and recognized the watcher was glowing.

However the water had no cooling effect and the palm of his hand was angry red blisters were forming around the quill and the pain was starting to get unbearable. Searching his mind he was trying to figure out what he did wrong so that the watcher had reacted.

Then something clicked into place and he knew. He wasn't supposed to copy somebody else's notes.

"I swear I won't do it again. Please let go! Let gooo." he whined and shook his hand even harder. The watcher turned blue and suddenly he heard the potion master's voice in his mind.

"You're going to see me in exactly one hour in my office to talk about your behaviour"

Dudley swallowed hard. Oh my god... he can even read my mind,he thought and then started concentrating even harder not to think about anything embarrassing.

Just then, the quill dropped from his hand and the burning subsided.

"The next time you should think twice before you disobey the rules again, Dursley"

Draco was in pacing in his dormitory, waiting impatiently for any news when he was allowed to see his mother. Just when he was about to go to the headmistress and talk to her personally, the door opened and Snape entered.

"You have permission of the headmistress to visit your mother. I will accompany you there."

Draco shot Snape a suspicious glare and arched his eyebrow in a perfect copy of the expression of his head of house.

"I can very well go there alone. I know the way" Malfoy said slightly angry and grabbed his cloak.

"I know you can but you won't. I promised your mother to bring you to her; she has something important to tell you" Snape said calmly, trying hard to bite back his anger about the cheeky statement.

"Let's go"

They flooed to Malfoy Manor although Draco could apparate. When they left the entrance hall and proceeded to the drawing room, Draco saw his mother coming towards them. He felt a sting in his heart when he looked at her attire. She was wearing black velvet robes. His mother despised black clothing, because it always reminded her of the deatheaters. The only time he had ever seen his mother wearing black was at his grandmother's funeral.

As soon as his mother was close enough, she held out her arms and pulled him in a tight embrace. She stroked his blonde hair and kissed him on the cheek.

"It's so wonderful to see you. I just wish it would be under different circumstances."

Draco had to swallow and looked at his mother in utter surprise.

The woman in front of him looked relaxed and totally different than the last time he had seen her. She looked younger than her years and the sour expression on her face had vanished.

To him it looked like her mind was at ease.

"He's dead, isn't he" he said calmly and looked his mother straight in her face.

Narcissa chanced a glance at Severus, who was shaking his head ever so slightly.

"Let's sit down first" she said, her voice trembling and led them into the drawing room.

As soon as they all had found a place she turned towards Draco and stroked his cheek. Draco had never seen his mother showing such affection to him. She had always reminded him of a marble statue; cold and unapproachable.

Why had she changed all of a sudden?

She wrapped her arm around Draco and carefully explained him the situation. The boy didn't show any sign of emotion and Snape didn't know if this was a good thing. It would be better if he would let his emotions out, no matter what kind of feelings he had at the moment.

Severus knew from his own experience what it meant having to hide his feelings all the time. Draco was shocked, although he wasn't really surprised. Somehow he had known that his father wasn't alive anymore.

The reason why he was shocked was because he didn't feel any sorrow.

All his life, his father had been his role model; he always had wanted to be just like him, but he had never loved him. It had never been a secret for him that his father didn't love him either. He had always been the pawn in his father's game, a gift to the Dark Lord. A thought came to his mind. Probably, he could take his father's place in the circle of deatheaters.

Now it was even more important to prove to the Dark Lord that the Malfoys were good for something else than dying of a strange disease, caught from a professional. Narcissa looked at her son and she hoped that she could change his mind on some things. She knew now that Voldemort was insane. He used people for his own purposes. She had already lost her youth to him and his ridiculous cause, but she wouldn't sacrifice her own son. Hopefully, it wouldn't be already too late.

"What happened to him?" Draco said finally and looked at his mother.

Narcissa rose from her place on the couch and walked over to a low bookshelf. The urn with Lucius ashes had been placed there until she and Draco had decided what to do with it.

The witch wanted to include her son into all this to show him that she had changed. Well not really changed; that she was now free to be the way she wanted since he was born. The Slytherin prefect watched his mother when she took the marble container from the shelf and came back to them. His head of house looked at him with an unreadable expression, his hands folded in his lap.

"Where do you think he would want to rest?" she asked Draco, her hands still clutched around the urn.

Draco shrugged. "He's never been much an outdoor person, nor did he have any interests than the dark arts. What do you think Professor?"

If Snape had a say in that matter he would have chucked the whole receptacle with Lucius and all into the next dust bin. Then he had an idea.

"To honor his devotion to the Dark Lord, I would suggest strewing his ashes next to Voldemort's lair. I think he would have like that"

An awkward silence filled the room, while Draco rested his head back on the backrest and closed his eyes.

"I like this idea. Can you take care of that Professor?" he finally asked and looked at Snape inquisitively.

"I would feel honored"

"Will you be alright here alone, mother?"

Narcissa looked at her son and silently hoped that Severus would be able to make her son listen to reason. She had known for quite a while that there was more to Severus than most people knew. His devoting to the Dark Lord was not genuine and he knew that she knew it.

She would have to talk to him about it.

"Yes, my dear. I will be fine. You just go back to Hogwarts and continue your studies. I will let you know if I need you here"

Draco nodded curtly and then moved over to kiss his mother slightly on her cheek.

"Good bye mother"

Before he could move away, Narcissa pulled him in a tight embrace, trying desperately to show him that she did indeed love him no matter what her previous behaviour might have indicated.

"Good by, Draco" she whispered in his ear before he pulled away.

Snape took the urn from the table and looked from Draco to Narcissa.

The witch looked like a curse was lifted from her and in some way he knew it was true.

His upper lip slightly turned upwards and he nodded. Narcissa smiled at him and mouthed 'Thank you'

Just then he turned around, left the room and Draco followed suit.

While Draco went right to his dormitory, Snape crossed the entrance hall of the castle and went outside. It was very cold and he could see the breath in front of his mouth, while he rushed down the lawn.

As soon as he was outside of Hogwarts grounds, he apparated to Diagon Alley.

He had a detailed plan about what to do with the remains of Mr Malfoy and a malicious grin crept on his face when he wondered how much Lucius would have liked his idea. He left Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron and rushed down Charing Cross Road.

The little pub a little bit further down the street was his destination and soon he heard the chiming of a bell when he entered. He had never been in here before; just passed it during some of his missions in muggle London. With a quick glance around the pub, he found a suitable table and sat down.

Only one other table was occupied with 5 male muggles, obviously discussing sports scores. He didn't care about muggle sports so he tuned out their chattering and lowered his gaze on the urn in front of him. The black marble was reflecting the few rays of electrical light that came from the rather dirty lamp above his head.

The whole pub was rather seamy, but it served his purposes.

For some reason, it reminded him of one of his meeting with Lucius at the Hog's Head. Just then he heard somebody approaching and his eyes fell on two rather big legs in fishnet stockings. That sight appalled him terribly and his head jerked back to take in the whole person.

He desperately tried not to scare; he didn't want anything less than encouraging her to believe he was interested in her. The bar maid in front of him was wearing a rather faded green blouse with too many buttons opened which showed too much skin for a decent person. The black leather mini skirt was also too short for her figure.

Even the deatheater deep inside him was repulsed and this part of him normally wasn't picky. Her face was covered with a ridiculous amount of make-up that made her look a lot older.

Well, she most definitely can't afford it, when he saw her shifting from one foot on the other, impatiently waiting for him to place his order.

Severus ordered a plain double Whiskey and his gaze dropped again on the marble urn. The man, whose ashes were now inside the little marble ball, would have obliterated the whole bar within minutes. He could never stand muggles besides for a little rape now and then, but Snape doubted that the worn-out bar wench would be of his gusto.

When the muggle woman returned with his drink, he paid her and waited until she was out of earshot.

Then he raised his glass and swirled the amber liquid in it.

"Well, Lucius; you have never been anything but a pain in the ss for me and mine. So I thought that your final resting place should be were every little sh1t should go"

With a malicious smirk on his face he drowned his glass in one gulp and left the table.

He proceeded right to the bathroom and stood in front of the quite dirty toilet. Unceremoniously he dumped Lucius' ashes into the bowl and flushed. Watching the stream of water washing away the last remains of his former companion into oblivion, he thought about how many lives were safe now that this man was dead.

Very pleased with himself he gave a mock salute to the toilet before he left the bar, humming softly on his way back to the Leaky Cauldron Just when he entered it, his eyes fell on two familiar forms, chatting animatedly over some butterbeer.

The mongrel and his painting, he thought and the familiar scowl was back in place.

Carefully not to draw attention to himself, he stayed in the shadows, before he silently disapparated. What the woman saw in Sirius Black was beyond him, but obviously her sense of good taste had gotten a little rusty while she was locked up in that painting. Maybe in the days long gone, when she was young, worthless show-offs without scruples had been in fashion.

Draco wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel. He most definitely wouldn't miss his father; they had never been real close. While he was sitting on his bed, he tried to come up with a plan to get Dudley to give him the informations he needed. Just then a thought struck his mind and he sneered. Dursley couldn't stand his cousin and saw him as a potential thread. He would take advantage of that and feed him some more horror stories about the moron-who-lived.

That should suffice.

The next morning he witnessed an argument at the Gryffindor table. At first he had dreaded the fact that the Hufflepuff table was right next to the Gryffindors, but now he was thankful. Obviously Dursley wanted to visit the mudblood in the infirmary. She was still unconscious most of the time, but unfortunately it seemed that she was going to make it.

Potter had yelled at him that he was responsible for her condition and that if he would see him anywhere close to her he would hex him to the North Pole. Dursley yelled back at him and soon they were about to pummel each other.

Unfortunately Finnegan and Thomas stopped them before the teachers were alerted. Dudley yanked his arm from Seamus' tight grip and rushed out of the Great Hall, his breakfast just half finished. He was so upset; how did the freak dare to tell him who he was allowed to see and who not.

Just when he stepped into the entrance hall, he spun around and banged his fist against the wall in anger.

"Nuh, nuh... Dudley" he heard a familiar voice drawl behind him.

When he turned around, he was face to face with the Slytherin prefect.

"You... you better leave right now, before I turn your face into a bloody mess" the stout boy growled and proceeded towards the marble staircase.

"I heard your little argument with your cousin. He's dangerous, you know?" Draco said in a mysterious whisper.

Dudley stopped short and turned around slowly.

"Dangerous how?" he said uncertainty edged in his voice.

Draco walked nonchalantly up to the boy and smirked.

"How about a little walk around the lake and I show you the real face of Mr Harry Potter"

Dudley shuddered a little, thinking about the cold weather outside, but his curiosity was stronger.

They walked outside and strolled towards the lake while Dudley looked expectantly at the Slytherin.

"So why is Harry dangerous? Although you don't even need to tell me; my parents thought that he belonged into a correctional facility since he was five."

Draco had a hard time to bite back a sarcastic comment. What did filthy muggles know anyway?

"Your precious cousin wants to take over the wizarding world as soon as he has graduated. He already has recruited his minions as you have seen today and he tries to tell every body what they're supposed to do."

Dudley nodded with wide eyes; not that he was surprised in a way. He had witnessed his cousin's need to show off and to command plenty of times. While they walked around the lake, Draco told him how Harry wanted to control everybody and that somebody had to stop him.

"You're right." Dudley agreed, padding his arms to keep himself warm. "He always thought he was something special"

"There's somebody who wants to help us. He's such a wonderful man and just wants the best for all of us" Draco lied bluntly.

Dudley looked at him with great interest while Draco continued.

"I have told him about you and I thought that you'd be a great asset to our cause. He would like to meet you"

Dudley wasn't sure about how to react. He was still very upset about how Draco had messed up the love potion, but he couldn't deny that the idea of putting Harry in his place intrigued him very much.

"And how is that going to work?" he inquired.

"Well, today is Saturday, so I think we could have a little talk with him. Would you like that?" Draco answered almost sweetly.

"Yeah... why not"

Just when he said that, Draco grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the Hogwarts' gates.

As soon as he was sure that the dragon trainers were not looking at them, they slipped outside. Before Dudley could argue, Draco put his arms around the stout boy from behind and with a plop they were gone.

The Slytherin had apparated to Voldemort's mansion before and so he knew where he was going. As soon as they reached the old house, the old Draco was back.

"When we're inside, you will do as told at all times" he said coldly and dragged the confused boy towards the door.

As soon as Dudley recognized the two cloaked figures that were guarding the entrance, he wanted to just scream and run, but Draco wouldn't allow it. The Gryffindor couldn't break free from the vice-like grip but he kept on trying.

"I have very important informations" Draco barked and the two figures reluctantly let them pass.

Dudley was not sure anymore that this had been a good idea and that his house-mates probably were right about the blond Slytherin. Draco strode through the entrance hall and stopped in front of another door. Just when he was about to knock, the door opened a crack and Wormtail's head appeared.

"He's already waiting for you"

With that, Pettigrew disappeared and the door opened fully.

Dudley swallowed hard when Draco dragged him into a dimly lit room. His heart began to pound harder when even more of those cloaked figures were assembled in the room.

They formed a semi-circle in front of a throne-like chair, on which –

"Oh bollocks" Dudley gasped when he finally fully realized what he had gotten himself into.

The cloaked figures were deatheaters, just like the one that had cornered him before, and the man on the chair was Voldemort. He shot Draco an angry glance when reality hit him. The Slytherin had tricked him with lies to get him here. Draco however gave him a disgusted sneer before he went down on one knee, pulling Dudley down with him.