Chapter 6
Draco's Stock Goes Up!
Disclaimer: own nothing but a few plotting Hobgoblins
The summer after fifth year was not all that great for Draco. He and his mom spent a lot of time tying up loose ends, separating estates (Narcissa had a fortune of her own), as Lucius was now in the hands of the authority. Draco loved his mom and would do anything for her, but he feared his dad, and he knew that when the ministry started to investigate, they would find plenty of evidence of his family's involvement with the Dark Lord, which will upset his dad, when he escaped. Draco never voiced his concerns about his dad breaking out. His father was the only one involved with the Dark Lord in the Malfoy family, although it was rumored that his grandfather had been a supporter. Narcissa had seen it coming in the past year, and moved quickly with the plan she had developed in secret. Draco had been quite upset at discovering that it was Potter and his friends' fault that his father was imprisoned, but when questioning his mom about what they were going to do about Harry, his mother was very clear with her response.
"Draco, you must listen and understand what I am going to tell you, as it is not going to be easy for you. Your father has chosen a path that has led him to where he is today. He knew, or should have known, the consequences of his actions. He is not being controlled by Him, but is doing it of his own volition. He was bested by kids your age, and got caught. We must accept this and move on; put your rivalry aside and understand, or you too will end up on the short end of the stick. Soon you will be asked to kiss His hand and take on the Mark. This will be your choice to make, and yours only; but make no mistake that once you do, you will never be allowed to come back."
Draco listened, but could not understand, as the feelings of hate he felt for Harry overwhelmed him. Near the end of summer, the ministry let it be known of its intent to seize the assets of convicted Death Eaters. The Malfoy estate was to be one of the first to be investigated. The inquisitors arrived the day Draco left for school.
On the way he met up with Crabbe and Goyle and they boarded the train going back to Hogwarts. Draco did not waste any time as he sought out Potter and his group of friends. Spotting them, he turned to his flunkies and said, "this time, we get some revenge". Both idiots chuckled and prepared to back him up. Inside the room were Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Luna and Neville: the group that got his father in prison.
"Potter, you're going to pay for what you did to my father!"
Harry just looked at Draco and smiled. In a soft but commanding voice he said, "I have bigger fish to fry then you Draco. If I were you, I would quickly decide whose side your on before someone makes that decision for you. You do not want to end up like your father, or even dead do you?" As he spoke, his green eyes bored into Draco, making him feel as if he was looking straight into his soul and judging him. Draco was so furious at the feeling of being judged by Potter, that he started to think about hexing Harry, but even before the command left his brain and reached his voice, Harry flicked his wand casually (no one had seen him pull it out, it just kind of appeared) and closed the door and cast a rebounding charm on the door. Draco and his friends all cast stunning spells at Harry (since no one anticipating the door closing), which just rebounded back at them, stunning all three. Harry turned back and continued chatting with the rest of his friends as if nothing had happened. After about fifteen minutes later, some Slytherins came by and got Draco and his flunkies up and back to their own room on the train.
Throughout the first month, Draco decided to change strategies and keep an eye on Harry a bit more to find a weakness and prepare for an ambush. He still could not believe Harry had been so fast on drawing his wand back on the train, and that maybe it had just been an illusion of some sort cast before he and his goons had arrived. Watching Harry, he seemed to have grown like the rest of the boys from the same year, but the difference with him was he also seemed to have broadened quite a bit, walking lightly on his feet like some of those people Draco had seen at Muggle movie theaters. He also appeared to have gained that air of extreme confidence in himself, which made many of the witches (and some wizards) stare in awe. He had decided one day to start testing Harry's defenses when he cast a very minor hex at Harry from behind his own invisibility cloak. He had been far enough away, as he knew Harry could somehow detect him if he was too close. His aim had been true, timed just so that the direction would be camouflaged, but as the spell approached, Harry erected a shield spell without anyone noticing, and then he dispelled the spell after it bounced, so that no one would get hit. Harry then spun around looking for the culprit. His eyes settled on Draco's, making Draco sweat just a little, but Harry just bowed slightly and winked at him.
Draco needed more information, and since the DA had started up again with Dumbledore's blessing, he decided to request permission to join, which was granted immediately by Harry. After a few sessions, Draco noticed that the main group of six stayed behind for a bit after, exiting completely fatigued, except for Harry who just looked a little disheveled. Draco also noticed that Harry had an eye for Ginny, especially after one weekend where the group had disappeared and came back looking a little beat up. After one of the sessions of the DA, Malfoy snuck back in and hid in the corner to watch what happened, and what he saw was amazing.
It started of with the group creating a real fighting environment, with chairs, tables, books, statues, and dishes. Then the group teamed up against the other, with real hexes flying out. Each combat lasted five minutes before they changed teams again. Then after three different matches, Harry went at it alone against the group, and to Draco's amazement, he took them all out, even after being hit by a Jelly Leg spell from Ginny, which only affected him partially for reasons he did not know then, but discovered later that Harry wore Dragon skin pants underneath his robes. Neville had also hit Harry with a stunning spell, but with no affect. Ron and Luna were clearly the weak link in their group, but by far better then anyone else in school. Hermione, clearly the smartest witch at school, did not cast as many spells as the rest, but they were clearly powerful and varied. She never cast the same spell twice, and often more to affect Harry's movement or decision making. In the end, the group left, and as Harry was about to follow the group out, he mentioned something about catching up to them later. He turned back towards the center of the room and said, "Learn anything new?" He was talking directly to Draco.
Puffing out his chest and putting on a smug look, Draco took off the invisibility cloak, "That was nice demonstration Potter, do it all just for me?"
Harry got that smile he had on the train and looked at Draco, and Draco could just look at Harry's green eyes, noting for the first time that he did not wear his glasses during DA sessions. Harry just kept on smiling and said, "let's talk". Harry pulled out his wand, and with a few twists and flicks, created a couple of comfortable chairs near the fireplace, with a small table in between. The table had some food and a pitcher of pumpkin juice on it with glasses. The clutter in the room disappeared and light dimmed so that most of the light came from the fireplace, giving it a comfortable atmosphere. Liking what he saw, Harry sad down in one of the comfortable chair and poured two glasses of juice, offering one to Draco. Draco just kept on looking at Harry, transfixed with his eyes, and sat down, picking up a cookie and taking a bite out of it. Once Draco was sitting, Harry then proceeded to put his glasses on, which surprised Draco, taking him out of his reverie. Harry shrugged and answered "I still need to wear them once in a while." Draco looked around and noticed where he was, and was about to leave, when Harry asked him to listen to him for two minutes. Draco, looking for options, agreed. Draco had been a little nervous lately as he had not heard from his mom since leaving for school. He had heard that things were going poorly for them, but nothing more then that.
"So Draco, tell me what's on your mind."
"Why do you care? It seems to me that everything is going your way: Captain of the Quidditch team, Prefect, you have your own followers hanging on every word you speak. You have all the girls you want, all the money..." At this, Harry gave him a quizzical look.
"Draco, this might all be true, except the money part. Both Sirius's and my parents money is nowhere near the Malfoy's estate, even after the ministry is through with it."
"What do you know about what is happening with that?"
"I know that they have keeping your mom under house arrest until all this is settled, and that they are finding many 'questionable' things; other then that, not much more. If you want, I can make some inquires, even get a letter to your mom if you want. If it's money you need, I can..."
"I don't want your money."
"Well, what is it you do need? You might not have noticed, but things are really brewing out there. The line in the sand has been drawn, its time people make a stand. You have the chance to decide for yourself; you have not taken the Mark as both Crabbe and Goyle have." This time it was Draco who gave him that look.
"They were 'marked' before the start of the school year. Have you not noticed them hanging around Pansy more and more?"
"I thought it was because she put out, and liked them big and dumb."
Harry chuckled at this, "they were told to keep an eye on you and to take direction from her. By Halloween, you will be forced to decide. I can help protect you, but only if you are ready to help us in return. In fact, I am prepared to help you out now as a measure of good faith. The headmaster will announce that students will be allowed to visit Hogsmeade this Saturday. Meet me at the Three Broomsticks at 10, alone."
"And why should I do that?"
"Because I am your only hope."
With that, Harry got up and walked out of the room, leaving Malfoy to ponder some more. The next day, like clockwork, Dumbledore announced the Hogsmeade visit. Malfoy was quiet during the next few days, contemplating his discussion with Harry. He had also noticed that Crabbe and Goyle now kept an eye on him, instead of walking with him, and that Pansy would often whisper to them while looking straight at him. That Saturday, he left early so as to be able to lose his tail; the frustrating part was that it had been so easy that he had to sit around and wait a full hour before Harry arrived. With just a nod, he indicated for him to follow him out to room in the back. He followed him out to the back where he met Remus Lupin and another, who Harry introduced as Kingsley Shackelbolt.
Remus spoke up, "Mister Malfoy, we will be taking you to see your mother now, so that we may talk in private. As you are aware, or not, Harry here has been petitioning on your behalf to try and alleviate some of the issues revolving around your family estate. If you would please take hold of this Portkey, we will be under way." Looking at Harry with a little suspicion in his eyes, he took hold of an old hat and all four were transported back to Malfoy Manor. He found his mother with a a few other Aurors around. He hugged his mom, and being the proud man, hid his tears from the rest.
Narcissa looked up to Harry, "thank you Harry for helping me bring him home. You have been wonderful. Now Draco, we do not have a lot of time, as no one is to know you have come here." Leading the group to the study, she had Draco sit behind the desk. "Son, do you recognize any of those documents?"
"Yes I do. These are some of the companies dad owns. Why?"
"What can you tell me about them?"
Picking up one of the documents, he started to point out the insignia at the top, "This is the head of dad's Muggle head office here in London. We went there once last year. He was showing me around at all the Muggles that were working for him. He was quite proud that through this company, he was controlling companies around the world. It is a legal company, as far as I know. Why?"
Kingsley stepped forward. "The company is very legal; unfortunately, it is being used to hurt Muggles. Through this company, he is able to control almost 20 sweat shops from around the world. We also think he is playing a role in the trafficking of Blood Diamonds out of war torn Africa. The problem we have is that we are unable to find this building, as we have searched everywhere in London, but we cannot find it. Can you help us with this?"
"This company represents a very large portion of our Muggle holdings. How do I know you're not just looking to take everything away from us? How do I know the Ministry isn't just trying to fatten its purse?"
"The Ministry is not above the law, but if this company is causing harm to Muggles, we must put an end to it. All we can promise is that anything legal, in both Muggle and Wizard world, will remain untouched, but everything else must be stopped."
"I want some time to think about it. You are asking quite a bit much. If my father discovers that I helped you out, my life is forfeit."
"I understand your situation, but one way or another, this matter must be resolved. You have twenty four hours to decide. We will see you in professor Dumbledore's office. Please consider that this act will go a long way within us."
"I am not sure the Ministry can do anything for us?"
"I was not talking about the Ministry, I was talking about the Order."
With that, Remus handed a piece of cloth to Harry and told them the Portkey would transport them behind the Three Broomsticks. With that, Draco kissed his mom goodbye, and together with Harry, they both arrived behind the Three Broomsticks and made their way back to Hogwarts.
On the way, Harry spoke up, "this would be a great way to help us out."
"And what do I get in return?"
"How about a clear conscious for once?"
"And why do I need a clear conscious?" And with that, Draco split up with Harry upon entering the school and headed for the dungeon level, and Slytherin's common room. Harry shrugged and went directly to Dumbledore's to report.
The next morning, Draco received a package during mail call. Harry noticed that after he opened the package, the color drained from his face. Draco left the table quickly and headed back towards the dungeon level. Harry looked towards Dumbledore, who then indicated to Snape that he should investigate. Breakfast was quickly finished, and before Professor McGonagall could approach Harry to invite him to the headmaster's quarters, Harry was already on his way.
Snape caught up with Draco, somewhere near the Potion Masters classroom. Snape asked, "what seems the problem, Mister Malfoy?"
"I think we'd better see Harry and the Headmaster about this."
"Follow me."
Snape took Draco the long way around, ensuring they went through passages seldom used by students. They arrived at the Headmasters quarters and moved up the rotating staircase. Professor McGonagall, Remus, Tonks, and Harry were sitting and discussing something. As soon as Draco arrived, the talked stopped to look at him. Without wasting time, he pulled out the letter and read it: "Son, I have been freed from Azkaban and will need your assistance in clearing up a few matters. Go to the Three Broomsticks tonight at 8 PM with both Crabbe and Goyle, someone with an orange hat will meet you; follow him, and he will transport you to me. We will then discuss the issue of your mom' treacherous ways. Signed Lucius." Draco folded up the letter very carefully and placed it in a pocket. He then turn towards the group, looking at directly at Harry, "You want my help, it will cost you? You get my mom out alive, and I will tell you everything I know about my dad and his businesses. Now I have to go to Arithmacy class, so please excuse me. I want to hear a plan by noon today, or I will have to go to my father alone and try to rescue my mom."
The morning went very slowly for Draco, and as lunch approached, he realized he had lost his appetite. While making his way to the Slitherin tables, he noticed Ginny Weasley approaching him with what appeared to be a small piece of paper in the palm of her hand. As he passed her without a glance, he felt rather then saw her place it in one of his robes pockets. It was so well done, that it took him a few minutes to find it. 'Be at Potions five minutes early'. Draco had a light lunch and went to Potions as told. Here, he met with Snape and Harry and they went over the plan. Before the students arrived, the plan was accepted.
That night, there was a DA meeting, but when Draco arrived, Harry was missing. Many of the students wondered where he was, but with Hermione leading the session on shields, everyone just seemed to follow along. At around seven thirty, Draco looked around but did not see Harry anywhere, so he made his way out and met up with Crabbe and Goyle. They were very distant, not even acknowledging him, and Draco felt more as prisoner being led then anything else. As they approached one of the secret passages out of the school, they heard a shout from behind and saw Harry running towards them. Not wasting a moment, Draco lifted his wand and cast a blasting charm at Harry, knocking him off his feet and over the banister. "Let's go before anyone else approaches". With a stunned look on their face, Crabbe and Goyle followed Draco to Honeyduke's, then to the Three Broomsticks. As they were early, Draco bought them all a drink. At eight, a man in an orange hat approached them and they followed him out. From there, they took a Portkey to wherever. They arrived in an old manor, covered in dust and cobwebs. They walked into a room containing a few Death Eaters and Lucius, sitting at the end of an ornate table, eating a meal. Upon seeing his son, Lucius took on an icy smile and walked towards him. From about five feet away, he pulled out his wand and cast 'Crucio'. Crabbe and Goyle both laughed at seeing Draco writhe on the floor.
"Now, what it is it I'm hearing about you and your mother?" as he lifted the curse, and motioned to a pair of Death Eaters to bring in his wife. She looked the worse for wear. Her clothes were torn, her face carried some discoloration, and she seemed to holding her left arm. Draco resisted the temptation to run towards her, and just stood there catching his breath.
Crabbe then spoke up, "Sir he did manage to knock Harry off the banister from the third story."
To which he replied, "Did you see him hit the ground?"
"No sir, we had to leave quickly."
Without hesitation, Lucius cast the Cruatius Curse at Crabbe, then Goyle. "Next time, check. Now Draco, what about my question? What are you and your mother doing collaborating with the ministry? Do you not think I would not find out? Of course not, you both are nothing more then morons, leaching off my hard work. It is a pity, you were going to be offered a chance to join me to fight alongside my Master, but alas, this stupidity of yours has cost you both your retched lives." Crabbe took a hold of Draco, and Goyle took out Draco's wand and handed it to Lucius.
"This is not your wand, where is it?"
"I find it works better then the one you gave me, as it is less foul," replied Draco.
"You little toad, that was my father's wand. You are not even worth being called a Malfoy." He pointed the wand at his son, and with a cruel smile he said "Avada Kedavra"
Nothing happened.
At first.
Then the wand shot back at the caster a goop of slim, similar to ectoplasm, which encompassed Lucius, then solidified him into a cocoon, with the hand and the wand still pointing out. Draco grabbed his mom and threw her to the ground just as the wand exploded, knocking out both Death Eaters who had brought Narcissa, and Crabbe and Goyle. Shouts could be heard, with running steps coming towards the noise of the explosion. Draco cast a hex on the cocoon, then left a few little surprises for anyone left, like replacing some of the wands with trick ones; Fred and Georges had some real nifty stuff. As he approached Narcissa with the Portkey, she smiled and lifted his hair off his face, looking at the lightning bolt scar of Harry's. Kissing him on the cheek, she thanked him and took hold of the Portkey. They both disappeared before anyone got there on time.
They had not killed Lucius, although he did lose his hand in the explosion. It will also take quite a bit of time to get him out. They were also able to find the home used, and many Death Eaters had been arrested, including Crabbe and Goyle. Narcissa stayed at Hogwarts for a few days, before leaving for someplace only Dumbledore knew of. Although saddened by her departure, Draco was more then happy to know she was safe. Working with the Aurors, they were able to identify all of Lucius' companies and seize almost everything. In return, with Harry's influence, many of the assets were separated to ensure that not only the Malfoy's, but also any other family would not suffer for the poor choice their family members took.
Sixth year ended well for Draco, returning to his mom for the summer, even meeting up with Harry and friends, using the excuse to celebrate his birthday as way of ensuring the estate was still safe.
Seventh year saw a new and more relaxed Draco. In exchange for the help Harry gave him in training, Draco helped Harry out with business planning. Hogwarts was not well suited to teach anyone about running a business, and although Harry spent a bit of time with Fred and George, Draco's knowledge of business was quite advanced. Draco even managed to get Harry to take Arithmacy in seventh year. Although Draco had become a staunch supporter of Harry's during his battle with Voldemort, he still competed against him at everything else.
During one Quidditch match against Gryffindor, he had bet Harry that it was his Firebolt that made him great. Harry had switched brooms and taken an old Nova 87. Everyone thought it was funny at first when the broom hardly moved at Harry's request, but when the Snitch appeared, Harry used his own internal power to get the broom going. He still managed to catch the snitch, although the broom was left smoking quite badly. Since he had won the bet, Draco died his hair Gryffindor gold and maroon, and wore it like a Mohawk for the rest of the week.
In DA, Draco had really improved, to the point he actually stayed behind to fight Harry. By then, even with some teachers, Harry was unbeatable, with most curses not affecting him at all. By this time, Harry had discovered his Phoenix form, and although he kept that secret from anyone but his inner circle of friends, he still enjoyed flying while fighting. Draco and Hermione found an old spell that allowed the caster to fly, but the spell only lasted a few minutes, unless he remained in concentration.
Draco had pointed out to Harry that some of the members might be better at fighting different things then other casters like Death Eaters. He used Hermione and Susan as an example of witches who could let loose a lot of spells, but were more effective casting longer, more powerful spells, and that spell casters like Neville, Ginny, Collin, and himself were more capable of handling multiple opponents. Justin, Blaise, and a fourth year student named Marissa were very advanced in Care of Magical Creatures, and so best suited to tangle with any Dark Creatures. Harry used this information to modify their training schedule, having them work in their respective groups half the time, while the other half was spent as group planning over strategies, and looking over new spells. Although Neville and Ginny were by far the better casters over Draco, Draco still had that leadership ability, and the capacity to see the goal with all of hell breaking loose.
Before the Christmas break, Voldemort decided to test Hogwarts defense. While all the students were preparing to leave, Voldemort sprung a surprise attack on Hogsmeade, drawing some teachers and Harry to investigate and fight. While that was happening, another group rushed out of the Forbidden Forest and attacked the school. Draco had just been walking near the lake when the attack started; he was able to contact Hermione and Neville to prepare the DA group for the attack, since he knew Harry and the teachers would not be back in time to help fight. It was a stunning victory for the students of the DA as no one was killed, although many were injured as the younger students were running around in a panicked state. Unfortunately, things did not go well for the teachers, as Dumbledore himself was seriously injured when he took on 8 Vampires before anyone could help. It was Harry who saw him go down and attacked with his Phoenix form. Some of the Death Eaters had escaped though, so news of Dumbledore's injury and Harry Phoenix form would become valuable information for Voldemort. Draco had proved himself capable in battle, and was then included in Harry's middle circle, which included most of the teachers and members of the Order.
Although many used the holidays as a time to recover, including Dumbledore, Draco used it as a time to gather information. He had convinced Harry that even though Voldemort received some valuable information, he still lost both battles, especially the one at the school, and that a counterstrike would hurt him more so. He told him that the fear of death might persuade some of His followers to rethink their allegiance, or at least not worth the cost involved. Harry had taken this idea to Dumbledore and the Order. It was agreed upon that the group would shift gears and become more proactive in their fight, not allowing Voldemort to regain strength.
The plan seemed to work, with Harry and his group lending a hand when needed. Draco pointed out that he would focus his attention to Voldemort's source of funding, trying to cut off his sources. Draco had taken some of the DA group who had shown a flair for this type of work, including Susan Bones, who he was now dating.
In the early spring, Dumbledore invited Giranose Frodinus, the world's best Wizard Chess player to attend a small tournament that was going to be held for all students and teachers of Hogwarts. There was going to be 2 formats, regular and speed; the winner of each would then each play Giranose. Speed Wizard's Chess was adapted from the Muggle form of Speed Chess. Some of the notables that entered the classic format were of course Ginny and Ron, with Susan Bones, Professors Snape and McGonagall, and Draco. In the Speed Chess, Harry had put his name down, and since everyone wanted to compare themselves to Harry, many of the students also signed up. The result of the Speed Chess took no guesswork as Harry blew everyone away, sometimes winning in 9 moves that were done so fast, students would be questioning their thirty seconds of shame; although Harry did congratulate each one for trying, making it worth it for the student. Giranose actually put up a good match, but as he was more of a classic Wizard Chess player and not a Speed player, he also succumbed to Harry. For the regular match, the last remaining four were Ron versus Snape and Draco versus McGonagall. Both Ron and Draco won their respective matches, although it took Draco nearly four hours to win. Ron then went on to win against Draco, but when talking Hermione, he confessed to her that the match could have easily gone the other way, and that Draco's stock had gone up as far as Ron was concerned. Ron did lose against Giranose in a close match, making Giranose actually sweat. He told both Ron and Draco that he was looking forward to seeing both at the next World Championship in four years.
By the late spring, Harry had been going out every weekend to help with the attacks, then working with Draco during the week to help coordinate those raids on Voldemorts and his Death Eaters assets. Draco had questioned Harry about taking time to study, voicing the concerns of the rest of inner circle. Harry confessed to them all that he had already done his Newt exams the Sunday after the Chess tournament using Hermione's time turner. It had been kept a secret by Dumbledore, at Harry's request to ensure his full attention went towards fighting Voldemort's support. Draco seized this information to push Harry further into assisting him, even pushing for Harry to try and use his mind connection to Voldemort to get more information, although it was revealed that Voldemorts did not have a clear understanding of finances, and let Lucius manage most of it.
In the end, Draco helped uncover the Butterbeer connection to Voldemort and other large assets. This in turn caused Voldemort to attack Hogwarts prematurely as he knew his funds were at a critical level, and although casualties were high on both sides, the end result was that Voldemort was defeated, and that many different people were able to put things to rest; Voldemort unfortunately killed Dumbledore, as he had not fully recovered from the attack before Christmas and would not listen to anyone, Neville killed Bellatrix, Draco killed his father, and Harry killed Voldemort. During the battle, Harry had actually never referred to him as Voldemort, but as simply Tom Riddle. Harry had explained to Draco and his group that Voldemort was just a name used, just like American wrestlers use names like Stone Cold, or The Rock; Tom Riddle was his real identity, and that is what Harry concentrated on. In the end, Tom's body was burned with the rest of the Death Eaters that died during the final battle. Draco used a Fire Bomb spell to light his father's pyre.
One year later, Draco is engaged to Susan Bones, he runs one of largest corporations in the Wizarding world, and is still very competitive with Harry.
