Chapter Twenty
The Midnight Duel: Part 2
Author's note: Sorry this chapter was so late. I got a little sick. I actually intended for this chapter to cover a lot more, but it got to be too long so I decided to just make the duel one chapter. But I have the next chapter ready too so I will post that tomorrow. Anyways, I hope you like the duel!
Harry and Ron stayed in the Room of Requirements for a while and discussed strategy for Harry's upcoming duel. In truth, they just wanted to put off going back to the common room for as long as possible so they wouldn't have to answer any questions from Hermione and Ginny about what they were discussing.
"You've dueled against much more experienced opponents than Malfoy." Ron said. "I think the biggest thing you have to look out for is him doing something cheap."
"Don't worry." Harry responded. "I'll stay on guard the whole time."
"And I'll make sure who ever Malfoy brings as his second doesn't try anything." Ron said as he began to twirl his wand between his fingers. "It shouldn't be too difficult. I'm sure he'll bring one of those great oafs with him."
Harry nodded. "What time is it?"
"It's after 11:00 Harry. Should we just stay here until it's time to head to the trophy room?" Ron asked.
"Yea, good idea." Harry answered. "Hermione and Ginny are probably waiting up for us and it would be hard to sneak right back out without them coming with us."
They spent another forty-five minutes in the Room of Requirements waiting for midnight to approach. The sat mostly in silence, occasionally making small talk. Harry wasn't scared of Malfoy, but he knew that he couldn't underestimate what Slytherins were capable of.
"It's almost midnight." Ron said breaking Harry's train of thought. "We should get going." Harry nodded in agreement and they were quickly out the door.
"We have to get down to the third floor." Harry said as they approached the staircase. They were scurrying quickly down the stairs and made it down a couple of flights before they started to move.
"Bloody hell." Ron said in anticipation. "Hang on." Harry and Ron hung on as the staircase began moving upward. It actually took them to the six floor before letting them off. Luckily, they caught another moving staircase that was going down and it took them to the third floor.
"Come on." Ron said rather loudly. "It's already midnight and we don't want Malfoy having the satisfaction of saying we didn't show up."
"Alright, but we have to be more quiet." Harry replied. "We don't want to get caught out of bounds." Ron nodded and they proceeded cautiously down the corridor. They were ducking behind statues and easing around corners to make sure that no one was around.
"I wish we had your map." Ron whispered as the trophy room came into sight. It definitely would have been a lot easier to manipulate the hallways if they had the Marauders Map Harry reasoned.
Once they figured that the coast was clear, they approached the door and found that it was unlocked.
"Thankfully I haven't been in here for a while." Ron said as they entered and began keeping their eyes peeled for Malfoy. "I hated serving detention in this place."
It was very cold and musty in the trophy room. There was a large glass case right in front of them that held trophy's and awards that had been given to students over the years. They made their way to the right to an adjacent room, which had suits of armor on either side and a long walkway in the middle. And there at the end of the walkway was Malfoy.
"So you decided to show up this time." Harry called out as he and Ron began walking towards him.
"You're a little late Potter," Harry heard Malfoy say as he got closer. "Having second thoughts."
"You wish." Harry replied.
Draco just laughed and nodded to someone who was lurking in the shadows behind one of the suits of armor.
"This is Blaise Zabini, my second." Draco sneered. "Of course I won't be needing him. He's here more for his amusement than anything. He jumped at the chance to see me take you apart." Blaise was fairly tall, but not any taller than Ron and definitely hadn't filled out as much as Ron or Harry. He had jet-black hair and eyes that looked equally black in the dim room.
"And look." Malfoy continued. "Potter has brought King Weasel as his second."
"Better a weasel than a ferret." Ron said stepping forward next to Harry. Malfoy cringed, and then turned around and started walking away slowly.
"It's a pity you didn't bring Granger with you." Malfoy hissed. "I would have loved to teach that filthy mudblood a lesson." Ron sprang forward and would have probably ripped Malfoy's head off before he even knew what happened. But Harry anticipated Ron's move and held him back before any contact had been made. Curiously, Blaise hadn't even made a move and was still just watching.
"Watch yourself Weasley." Malfoy said. "This duel is between me and Potter. If you get involved than Zabini will get involved and you don't want that. He is a genius at transfiguration."
Ron continued to struggle in Harry's grasp and had a look of intense hatred in his eyes. Harry turned to him and gave him a look, which made him calm down rather quickly.
"I will take care of him." Harry whispered. "Don't worry. Just watch my back and make sure you keep an eye on Zabini." Ron gave Harry an understanding look and stopped struggling.
"You ready then?" Draco asked as he made his way to the center of the room with Zabini following closely behind. Harry just nodded and met him in the middle with Ron right behind him. Harry took out his wand and starred intently at Malfoy. The swished their wands up in the air and began to turn around but were interrupted.
"Stop." Zabini said harshly. He had a very deep voice that some would probably find intimidating. "Proper etiquette must be maintained." Malfoy rolled his eyes as if this was something that he had dealt with before and Zabini approached Harry and Ron and bowed. Although they were surprised, Harry and Ron didn't know what to do so they bowed back and he made his way back behind Malfoy. Malfoy ignored the whole incident and was instead concentrating on Harry.
Again, the two young wizards swished their wands into the air and then turned around and began pacing. Ron and Zabini both made their way off to the side and after twenty paces Harry turned around.
Both boys had their wand at ready and were waiting for the other to act. Harry had wanted Malfoy to act first. He figured he would try a disarming spell first and that would be very easy to block. It seemed that they were starring at each other for ages until finally Harry's patience paid off.
"Expelliarmus!" Malfoy yelled as a jet of red light shot out of his wand. This had been exactly what Harry had wanted.
"Protego." Harry said calmly as the light approached him. The spell bounced off the barrier and ricocheted back at Malfoy who had to jump out of the way to avoid getting disarmed by his own curse.
"Engorgio!" Harry shouted taking the opportunity to strike. He shot the spell straight at Malfoy's wand hand and hit directly. Before Malfoy knew it, his had had swelled up to about three times it's normal size. Malfoy was temporarily paralyzed by the sight of it and even dropped his wand. "Stupefy!" Said Harry and shot a red light at Malfoy. He was trying to end the duel quickly but Malfoy snapped out of his trance quickly and had picked up his wand with his left hand and dove behind one of the suits of armor as the spell shot passed him. Harry heard Malfoy muttering to himself behind the armor as he began to approach him.
He walked forward a little more and then saw Malfoy jump out with his hand back to normal and shout out an incantation that Harry could not make out. But before he knew it, an arrow had shot out of Malfoy's wand and was heading straight at Harry. Luckily, Harry had extremely quick instincts, which had been finely tuned as a result of playing seeker. However, as quick as he was, he was not able to avoid the arrow completely. As he dove down to avoid it, it grazed his back ripping his robe and leaving a fresh cut which Harry could feel blood seeping out of.
Harry quickly found cover behind one of the suits of armor and while he was gathering himself he had an idea.
He jumped out from behind the armor and yelled "Serpensortia." A large snake shot out of his wand straight at Malfoy.
"Evanesco." Malfoy shouted with a satisfied grin as the snake vanished. However, this had been all the distraction that Harry needed.
"Stupefy!" Harry yelled quickly and set a curse that hit Malfoy directly in the chest. He toppled over on his back and Harry satisfied with himself began to approach his unconscious nemesis. He looked around the room and got a congratulatory nod from Ron. Then he looked for Zabini and found him standing in the same spot as he had the whole time. The duel was not over until Malfoy was disarmed and as of now, he still had his wand clutched in his lifeless hand.
Harry stood over the fallen Slytherin and reached down to take his wand out of his hand, when he was hit was a curse on his right shoulder. Consciousness slipped away and the world went dark.
"Ennervate." Ron said. Harry woke up behind a large pillar and saw Ron standing over him.
"What happened?" Harry asked, still a little groggy.
"You got hit by a curse." Ron answered. "I immediately froze Zabini and pulled you back here behind this pillar. You've only been out a couple of minutes."
"Bloody Slytherins." Harry muttered to himself. "I shouldn't have taken my eyes of Zabini."
"No it's my fault." Ron said as he helped Harry to his feet. "I was supposed to be watching Zabini for you. He wasn't doing anything and I just glanced at you for a second to watch you disarm Malfoy and you got hit."
"Don't worry about it." Harry replied. "Where are they now?" Ron and Harry both peered around the corner and noticed that the body of Malfoy was gone, however Blaise Zabini was still there lying completely still.
"That's typical of Malfoy." Harry said. "Leave one of his friends behind. Come on we can take his wand away and then unfreeze him. I'd like to know why he stunned me especially after being such a stickler for protocol." Ron nodded in agreement and they began to head down the walkway between the suits of armor until they were standing over Blaise Zabini. Harry reached down and took his wand out of his hand.
"Enner..." Harry tried to get out but was cut off by the screams of Expelliarmus coming from different directions. Harry and Ron were both launched about ten feet on to their back as their wands flew from their hands.
"All right Ron?" Harry asked as he got to a knee and was looking around for his attacker.
"Yea." Ron replied. They got to there feet and began looking for there wands when out from behind three separate suits of armor came Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.
"Looking for these." Malfoy said smugly as he picked up Harry and Ron's wands and tossed them to his two cronies. The three of them made their way towards Harry and Ron.
"I should have known that you'd bring those two around." Harry said. "I knew that you could never have a proper duel against me."
Draco just laughed at that suggestion. "That's his problem." Malfoy said as he nudged an unconscious Zabini with his foot. "He's always worried about doing things the proper way too. But look where that got him, and look where it got you. I have your wands and you're at my mercy."
"Your nothing but a coward." Ron shouted and spat right in Malfoy's face. This infuriated him and he made a motion for Crabbe and Goyle to grab them. Ron and Harry were strong and either of them could easily handle Malfoy, but Crabbe and Goyle were huge for their age and as far as pure strength went they were superior.
"You need to watch your mouth Weasel." Malfoy said as he violently punched Ron (who was being held by Goyle) in the face. Ron went down pretty hard and Goyle let go of him. Harry was trying to get away from Crabbe but it was a futile attempt. He looked down at Ron and saw a great deal of blood rushing from his face.
"Give me their wands." Malfoy said to Crabbe and Goyle. They handed them to him and he studied them both. Harry was beginning to be reminded of his encounter with Malfoy in the owlery where he snapped his wand. Although a memory charm made sure Malfoy wouldn't remember, this was starting to look like a repeat of that situation.
"This is a nice wand Potter." Malfoy sneered. "But I don't think you'll be needing it any..." Just then three separate shouts of "Stupefy" rang out from behind them. Harry felt Crabbe release him and fall harshly to the floor and saw Malfoy take a jet of red light right in the chest and quickly fall to the ground. Similarly, Goyle was piled up in a heap on the floor next to Ron who was slowly getting to his feet but still bleeding.
Harry turned around to see Ginny, Hermione and Neville running towards them and was never so happy to see them in his life.
"Are you guys alright?" Hermione said as she gave Harry a quick hug and then went to help Ron up.
"Oh Ron what happened." Ginny said as she conjured a towel out of thin air and handed it to Hermione who put it up to his nose.
"We're okay thanks to you." Harry said as he shook Neville's hand and hugged Ginny.
"How did you know we were here?" Harry asked.
"I'm afraid that was my doing." Ginny said sheepishly. "Extendable ears. We were eavesdropping on your conversation outside of the Room of Requirements. Of course we knew that you could handle yourself and I didn't blame you for wanting to duel Malfoy but we figured we'd grab Neville and hide out to make sure their was no funny business."
"We would have been here earlier but we had a hard time getting here." Hermione added. "The staircases kept changing and sending us to the sixth floor."
"Well I'm not exactly happy that you were listening to our conversation." Harry said with a very stern expression. "But I'm sure glad that you came." He quickly lost his frown and flashed both girls' smiles.
"So what are we going to do with them?" Neville spoke up pointing to the fallen Slytherins.
"We're going to get some answers." Ron said as he released himself from Hermione and took the now red towel away from his face. He was still bleeding but not as much as he had been. He went over to Malfoy and grabbed all three wands that were in his possession. He flipped Harry his wand and Malfoy's wand and then studied the Slytherin before pointing his wand at him and shouting "Ennervate".
Malfoy woke up and was immediately greeted with Ron's fist. The punch connected to Malfoy's nose and he was bleeding in a similar fashion to Ron. The girls screamed and Harry went to Ron's side to make sure he didn't do anything further.
"Calm down Ron." Harry said grabbing the side of Ron's robe.
"Don't worry Harry, that was just payback." Ron said as he checked his fist and then bent over and grabbed Malfoy by the shirt.
"Where's Hagrid." Ron shouted.
"I don't know." Malfoy shrieked. Harry could tell that he was very afraid of Ron at this point.
"I don't believe you." Ron said as he raised his fist again.
"No please." Malfoy begged as he threw his hands in front of his face.
"We know he's at your house Malfoy." Harry chimed in. "Who is the secret keeper?" Malfoy's expression quickly changed and he gave Harry a brief questioning look. It was obvious that Malfoy was surprised that they had this information.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Malfoy said in a much calmer tone.
"I think you do." Ron said as he raised his fist again. This time Malfoy flinched but did not cover his face.
"Stupefy." Hermione said and knocked Malfoy out once again. "There's no need Ron, I think we found out all that we were going to."
"What do you mean?" Ron said. "I think I could have beat a few answers out of him."
"No Hermione's right." Harry added. "We at least confirmed that Hagrid is at Malfoy Manor. Did you see the look in Malfoy's eyes? He was surprised we knew that much. And anyways he probably doesn't even know who the secret keeper is. He wouldn't have had a reason to go home yet."
"He might know more than you think." Ron said, holding up Malfoy's limp right arm. It had a big white bandage on it. Ron began peeling off the bandage and revealed the Dark Mark.
Author's note: Sorry this chapter was so late. I got a little sick. I actually intended for this chapter to cover a lot more, but it got to be too long so I decided to just make the duel one chapter. But I have the next chapter ready too so I will post that tomorrow. Anyways, I hope you like the duel!
Harry and Ron stayed in the Room of Requirements for a while and discussed strategy for Harry's upcoming duel. In truth, they just wanted to put off going back to the common room for as long as possible so they wouldn't have to answer any questions from Hermione and Ginny about what they were discussing.
"You've dueled against much more experienced opponents than Malfoy." Ron said. "I think the biggest thing you have to look out for is him doing something cheap."
"Don't worry." Harry responded. "I'll stay on guard the whole time."
"And I'll make sure who ever Malfoy brings as his second doesn't try anything." Ron said as he began to twirl his wand between his fingers. "It shouldn't be too difficult. I'm sure he'll bring one of those great oafs with him."
Harry nodded. "What time is it?"
"It's after 11:00 Harry. Should we just stay here until it's time to head to the trophy room?" Ron asked.
"Yea, good idea." Harry answered. "Hermione and Ginny are probably waiting up for us and it would be hard to sneak right back out without them coming with us."
They spent another forty-five minutes in the Room of Requirements waiting for midnight to approach. The sat mostly in silence, occasionally making small talk. Harry wasn't scared of Malfoy, but he knew that he couldn't underestimate what Slytherins were capable of.
"It's almost midnight." Ron said breaking Harry's train of thought. "We should get going." Harry nodded in agreement and they were quickly out the door.
"We have to get down to the third floor." Harry said as they approached the staircase. They were scurrying quickly down the stairs and made it down a couple of flights before they started to move.
"Bloody hell." Ron said in anticipation. "Hang on." Harry and Ron hung on as the staircase began moving upward. It actually took them to the six floor before letting them off. Luckily, they caught another moving staircase that was going down and it took them to the third floor.
"Come on." Ron said rather loudly. "It's already midnight and we don't want Malfoy having the satisfaction of saying we didn't show up."
"Alright, but we have to be more quiet." Harry replied. "We don't want to get caught out of bounds." Ron nodded and they proceeded cautiously down the corridor. They were ducking behind statues and easing around corners to make sure that no one was around.
"I wish we had your map." Ron whispered as the trophy room came into sight. It definitely would have been a lot easier to manipulate the hallways if they had the Marauders Map Harry reasoned.
Once they figured that the coast was clear, they approached the door and found that it was unlocked.
"Thankfully I haven't been in here for a while." Ron said as they entered and began keeping their eyes peeled for Malfoy. "I hated serving detention in this place."
It was very cold and musty in the trophy room. There was a large glass case right in front of them that held trophy's and awards that had been given to students over the years. They made their way to the right to an adjacent room, which had suits of armor on either side and a long walkway in the middle. And there at the end of the walkway was Malfoy.
"So you decided to show up this time." Harry called out as he and Ron began walking towards him.
"You're a little late Potter," Harry heard Malfoy say as he got closer. "Having second thoughts."
"You wish." Harry replied.
Draco just laughed and nodded to someone who was lurking in the shadows behind one of the suits of armor.
"This is Blaise Zabini, my second." Draco sneered. "Of course I won't be needing him. He's here more for his amusement than anything. He jumped at the chance to see me take you apart." Blaise was fairly tall, but not any taller than Ron and definitely hadn't filled out as much as Ron or Harry. He had jet-black hair and eyes that looked equally black in the dim room.
"And look." Malfoy continued. "Potter has brought King Weasel as his second."
"Better a weasel than a ferret." Ron said stepping forward next to Harry. Malfoy cringed, and then turned around and started walking away slowly.
"It's a pity you didn't bring Granger with you." Malfoy hissed. "I would have loved to teach that filthy mudblood a lesson." Ron sprang forward and would have probably ripped Malfoy's head off before he even knew what happened. But Harry anticipated Ron's move and held him back before any contact had been made. Curiously, Blaise hadn't even made a move and was still just watching.
"Watch yourself Weasley." Malfoy said. "This duel is between me and Potter. If you get involved than Zabini will get involved and you don't want that. He is a genius at transfiguration."
Ron continued to struggle in Harry's grasp and had a look of intense hatred in his eyes. Harry turned to him and gave him a look, which made him calm down rather quickly.
"I will take care of him." Harry whispered. "Don't worry. Just watch my back and make sure you keep an eye on Zabini." Ron gave Harry an understanding look and stopped struggling.
"You ready then?" Draco asked as he made his way to the center of the room with Zabini following closely behind. Harry just nodded and met him in the middle with Ron right behind him. Harry took out his wand and starred intently at Malfoy. The swished their wands up in the air and began to turn around but were interrupted.
"Stop." Zabini said harshly. He had a very deep voice that some would probably find intimidating. "Proper etiquette must be maintained." Malfoy rolled his eyes as if this was something that he had dealt with before and Zabini approached Harry and Ron and bowed. Although they were surprised, Harry and Ron didn't know what to do so they bowed back and he made his way back behind Malfoy. Malfoy ignored the whole incident and was instead concentrating on Harry.
Again, the two young wizards swished their wands into the air and then turned around and began pacing. Ron and Zabini both made their way off to the side and after twenty paces Harry turned around.
Both boys had their wand at ready and were waiting for the other to act. Harry had wanted Malfoy to act first. He figured he would try a disarming spell first and that would be very easy to block. It seemed that they were starring at each other for ages until finally Harry's patience paid off.
"Expelliarmus!" Malfoy yelled as a jet of red light shot out of his wand. This had been exactly what Harry had wanted.
"Protego." Harry said calmly as the light approached him. The spell bounced off the barrier and ricocheted back at Malfoy who had to jump out of the way to avoid getting disarmed by his own curse.
"Engorgio!" Harry shouted taking the opportunity to strike. He shot the spell straight at Malfoy's wand hand and hit directly. Before Malfoy knew it, his had had swelled up to about three times it's normal size. Malfoy was temporarily paralyzed by the sight of it and even dropped his wand. "Stupefy!" Said Harry and shot a red light at Malfoy. He was trying to end the duel quickly but Malfoy snapped out of his trance quickly and had picked up his wand with his left hand and dove behind one of the suits of armor as the spell shot passed him. Harry heard Malfoy muttering to himself behind the armor as he began to approach him.
He walked forward a little more and then saw Malfoy jump out with his hand back to normal and shout out an incantation that Harry could not make out. But before he knew it, an arrow had shot out of Malfoy's wand and was heading straight at Harry. Luckily, Harry had extremely quick instincts, which had been finely tuned as a result of playing seeker. However, as quick as he was, he was not able to avoid the arrow completely. As he dove down to avoid it, it grazed his back ripping his robe and leaving a fresh cut which Harry could feel blood seeping out of.
Harry quickly found cover behind one of the suits of armor and while he was gathering himself he had an idea.
He jumped out from behind the armor and yelled "Serpensortia." A large snake shot out of his wand straight at Malfoy.
"Evanesco." Malfoy shouted with a satisfied grin as the snake vanished. However, this had been all the distraction that Harry needed.
"Stupefy!" Harry yelled quickly and set a curse that hit Malfoy directly in the chest. He toppled over on his back and Harry satisfied with himself began to approach his unconscious nemesis. He looked around the room and got a congratulatory nod from Ron. Then he looked for Zabini and found him standing in the same spot as he had the whole time. The duel was not over until Malfoy was disarmed and as of now, he still had his wand clutched in his lifeless hand.
Harry stood over the fallen Slytherin and reached down to take his wand out of his hand, when he was hit was a curse on his right shoulder. Consciousness slipped away and the world went dark.
"Ennervate." Ron said. Harry woke up behind a large pillar and saw Ron standing over him.
"What happened?" Harry asked, still a little groggy.
"You got hit by a curse." Ron answered. "I immediately froze Zabini and pulled you back here behind this pillar. You've only been out a couple of minutes."
"Bloody Slytherins." Harry muttered to himself. "I shouldn't have taken my eyes of Zabini."
"No it's my fault." Ron said as he helped Harry to his feet. "I was supposed to be watching Zabini for you. He wasn't doing anything and I just glanced at you for a second to watch you disarm Malfoy and you got hit."
"Don't worry about it." Harry replied. "Where are they now?" Ron and Harry both peered around the corner and noticed that the body of Malfoy was gone, however Blaise Zabini was still there lying completely still.
"That's typical of Malfoy." Harry said. "Leave one of his friends behind. Come on we can take his wand away and then unfreeze him. I'd like to know why he stunned me especially after being such a stickler for protocol." Ron nodded in agreement and they began to head down the walkway between the suits of armor until they were standing over Blaise Zabini. Harry reached down and took his wand out of his hand.
"Enner..." Harry tried to get out but was cut off by the screams of Expelliarmus coming from different directions. Harry and Ron were both launched about ten feet on to their back as their wands flew from their hands.
"All right Ron?" Harry asked as he got to a knee and was looking around for his attacker.
"Yea." Ron replied. They got to there feet and began looking for there wands when out from behind three separate suits of armor came Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.
"Looking for these." Malfoy said smugly as he picked up Harry and Ron's wands and tossed them to his two cronies. The three of them made their way towards Harry and Ron.
"I should have known that you'd bring those two around." Harry said. "I knew that you could never have a proper duel against me."
Draco just laughed at that suggestion. "That's his problem." Malfoy said as he nudged an unconscious Zabini with his foot. "He's always worried about doing things the proper way too. But look where that got him, and look where it got you. I have your wands and you're at my mercy."
"Your nothing but a coward." Ron shouted and spat right in Malfoy's face. This infuriated him and he made a motion for Crabbe and Goyle to grab them. Ron and Harry were strong and either of them could easily handle Malfoy, but Crabbe and Goyle were huge for their age and as far as pure strength went they were superior.
"You need to watch your mouth Weasel." Malfoy said as he violently punched Ron (who was being held by Goyle) in the face. Ron went down pretty hard and Goyle let go of him. Harry was trying to get away from Crabbe but it was a futile attempt. He looked down at Ron and saw a great deal of blood rushing from his face.
"Give me their wands." Malfoy said to Crabbe and Goyle. They handed them to him and he studied them both. Harry was beginning to be reminded of his encounter with Malfoy in the owlery where he snapped his wand. Although a memory charm made sure Malfoy wouldn't remember, this was starting to look like a repeat of that situation.
"This is a nice wand Potter." Malfoy sneered. "But I don't think you'll be needing it any..." Just then three separate shouts of "Stupefy" rang out from behind them. Harry felt Crabbe release him and fall harshly to the floor and saw Malfoy take a jet of red light right in the chest and quickly fall to the ground. Similarly, Goyle was piled up in a heap on the floor next to Ron who was slowly getting to his feet but still bleeding.
Harry turned around to see Ginny, Hermione and Neville running towards them and was never so happy to see them in his life.
"Are you guys alright?" Hermione said as she gave Harry a quick hug and then went to help Ron up.
"Oh Ron what happened." Ginny said as she conjured a towel out of thin air and handed it to Hermione who put it up to his nose.
"We're okay thanks to you." Harry said as he shook Neville's hand and hugged Ginny.
"How did you know we were here?" Harry asked.
"I'm afraid that was my doing." Ginny said sheepishly. "Extendable ears. We were eavesdropping on your conversation outside of the Room of Requirements. Of course we knew that you could handle yourself and I didn't blame you for wanting to duel Malfoy but we figured we'd grab Neville and hide out to make sure their was no funny business."
"We would have been here earlier but we had a hard time getting here." Hermione added. "The staircases kept changing and sending us to the sixth floor."
"Well I'm not exactly happy that you were listening to our conversation." Harry said with a very stern expression. "But I'm sure glad that you came." He quickly lost his frown and flashed both girls' smiles.
"So what are we going to do with them?" Neville spoke up pointing to the fallen Slytherins.
"We're going to get some answers." Ron said as he released himself from Hermione and took the now red towel away from his face. He was still bleeding but not as much as he had been. He went over to Malfoy and grabbed all three wands that were in his possession. He flipped Harry his wand and Malfoy's wand and then studied the Slytherin before pointing his wand at him and shouting "Ennervate".
Malfoy woke up and was immediately greeted with Ron's fist. The punch connected to Malfoy's nose and he was bleeding in a similar fashion to Ron. The girls screamed and Harry went to Ron's side to make sure he didn't do anything further.
"Calm down Ron." Harry said grabbing the side of Ron's robe.
"Don't worry Harry, that was just payback." Ron said as he checked his fist and then bent over and grabbed Malfoy by the shirt.
"Where's Hagrid." Ron shouted.
"I don't know." Malfoy shrieked. Harry could tell that he was very afraid of Ron at this point.
"I don't believe you." Ron said as he raised his fist again.
"No please." Malfoy begged as he threw his hands in front of his face.
"We know he's at your house Malfoy." Harry chimed in. "Who is the secret keeper?" Malfoy's expression quickly changed and he gave Harry a brief questioning look. It was obvious that Malfoy was surprised that they had this information.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Malfoy said in a much calmer tone.
"I think you do." Ron said as he raised his fist again. This time Malfoy flinched but did not cover his face.
"Stupefy." Hermione said and knocked Malfoy out once again. "There's no need Ron, I think we found out all that we were going to."
"What do you mean?" Ron said. "I think I could have beat a few answers out of him."
"No Hermione's right." Harry added. "We at least confirmed that Hagrid is at Malfoy Manor. Did you see the look in Malfoy's eyes? He was surprised we knew that much. And anyways he probably doesn't even know who the secret keeper is. He wouldn't have had a reason to go home yet."
"He might know more than you think." Ron said, holding up Malfoy's limp right arm. It had a big white bandage on it. Ron began peeling off the bandage and revealed the Dark Mark.