Chapter 27
A Potion for Draco
"Draco!" Harry and Ginny shouted back in unison at the twin's revelation.
"That's impossible." Ginny added. "They would never leave that kind of information in the hands of a child."
"Don't be so sure." Fred chimed in. "It's actually quite brilliant."
"No one would ever expect it." George continued.
"He's right Gin." Harry said. "It's just like with my parents. Everyone expected Sirius to be their Secret Keeper. So they made it Wormtail. They thought no one would expect it." Harry's throat choked up a bit and he sat back into his chair to gather his thoughts. The mention of Sirius' name had caused everyone to reflect a bit.
"So what do we do now?" Ginny said breaking the tension.
"We get the information out of Draco at all costs." Harry replied. "Any ideas?" He said glancing at the twins.
"Well we're brewing more Weasley's Secret Stripper but it won't be ready for a week." Fred said glancing at his brother.
"We can't wait that long." Harry responded.
"We could always beat it out of him?" George said with a twinkle in his eye. The twins had never forgotten Malfoy's part in getting them kicked off the Quidditch team the previous year and Harry could tell that they'd like nothing more than to repay him.
"I'm sure Ron would love that." Harry said. "But there are a couple of problems with that. First, I doubt that there's anything we could do to him that would be worse than what Voldemort would do if we told. Second, even if we got the information he could alert the Death Eaters that we were coming."
"So we hold him prisoner until after we get there and rescue Hagrid." Ginny spoke up.
"It's too risky." Harry continued. "People will notice if Draco goes missing, and I wouldn't doubt if he checks in with the Death Eaters frequently. There are already going to be Death Eaters at Malfoy Manor. We need to surprise them if we have any chance of being successful."
"You're forgetting something Harry." Ginny announced as a smile began to creep across her lips. "Or should I say someone."
"What are you getting at Gin?" Harry asked.
"Hermione." Ginny replied. "She's gotten good at memory charms. She can make him forget whatever we want."
"Of course." Harry said. He almost leaned over and kissed Ginny in celebration but thought better of it in the presence of her brothers.
"Great." George said. "So we can beat it out of him."
"Hold on." Harry replied. "We still have to find another way to get the information. I don't think that you guys realize the lengths that Voldemort will go to cause pain to people that disappoint him. I just don't think that there is anything that we are capable of doing to him that would make him give up this information." Fred and George looked a little disappointed but conceded this fact.
"Well we could get our hands on a little Veritaserum if you think that you could get him to drink it." Fred said.
"Could you get it quick?" Harry asked while glancing at the clock on the wall.
"We'll owl it tomorrow." George replied.
"Great." Harry replied. "Now we better get going. We promised Ron and Hermione that we'd make it back by midnight and it's already eleven-thirty." Fred and George nodded an acknowledgement and got up to exchange goodbyes as Harry opened up the invisibility cloak. He threw it over himself and Ginny as George opened up the door.
"Let us know if there is anything else we can do." George whispered as Harry and Ginny crept quietly by them and into the brisk night air.
The streets were all but abandoned which made it easy for Harry and Ginny to make it back to Honeydukes. Once they were back in the secret passageway, Harry removed the cloak from himself and Ginny and they began to make the trek back.
"Do you think this is going to work?" Ginny asked.
"It has to." Harry replied as he tenderly grabbed a hold of Ginny's hand. The manipulated the rest of the passageway in silence until they got back to the entrance. Harry then pulled out the Marauder's Map.
"Is anyone there?" Ginny asked as she tried to look over Harry's shoulder.
"Just Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger." Harry replied as he showed the map to Ginny. "Come on lets go." But before Harry could open the door Ginny grabbed onto his arm and stopped him.
"Thanks for a great first date." She said flashing her eyes at Harry. Harry smiled and leaned in to kiss her, but she dodged him at the last second which almost caused Harry to fall down the stairs that he had just ascended.
"Sorry Potter, I don't kiss on the first date." She said giggling as she opened up the door and disappeared into the hallway. Harry frustrated picked himself up and followed her out the door.
"What's so funny?" Ron asked as he saw the look on Ginny's face.
"Oh, it's none of your bother." Ginny replied.
"Ssshhhh." Hermione said as she approached the three Gryffindor. "You two better throw the cloak over yourselves." Ginny turned around and looked at Harry still giggling and he couldn't help releasing a smile as he threw the cloak over himself and Ginny.
"So do you have good news?" Ron asked in a very light tone.
"Yea." Harry replied. "We have a lot to discuss. We should go to the Room of Requirements."
"Ron and I have to report to McGonagall first." Hermione replied. "We'll meet you there as soon as we can."
Harry and Ginny made there way up to the Room of Requirements and Harry thought about needing a comfortable place to meet without being disturbed. When the door appeared, Harry and Ginny entered to find a small room with two comfortable looking couches and a fire roaring.
Harry took a seat on one of the couches with Ginny settling in right next to him. Harry put a grumpy look on his face to give off the impression of being mad at Ginny for the incident in the secret passageway.
"Oh are you angry with me Harry." Ginny said amusingly. "You know I am the sister of Fred and George and sometimes I can't help messing with you a little when I get the chance. But I bet if you try to kiss me again, you'll get a better result."
"I don't think that would be a good idea." Harry responded with the straightest face that he could muster.
"Why not!" Ginny shouted at him as she lunged in and smacked him on the arm. Harry caught her hand and pulled her close to him as he kissed her on the lips very passionately. She loosened into his arms immediately and put her hand on the back of Harry's head to pull him closer and deepen the kiss. The energy that the two of them were putting out caused Ginny to fall backwards into a laying position although the kiss was never broken. Harry didn't know what to do with his hand but opted to place it on Ginny's side. The feeling of her warm skin sent an unexpected jolt through Harry. But before he could explore that feeling further, the sound of the door opening sent both of them flying back up into a sitting position.
Hermione was first through the door and smiled curiously as she saw Ginny fixing her hair and Harry moving quickly away from her. Ron followed and obliviously made his way over to the couch opposite Harry and Ginny.
"So, what happened?" Ron asked as Hermione sat down next to him and exchanged a knowing grin with Harry and Ginny.
Harry, eager to move past the current embarrassing situation, recounted all of their discussion with Fred and George.
"So what do you think?" Harry asked when he was done with his explanations. "Can we pull this off?" He was directing the question more towards Hermione because she was the one that would have to perform the memory charm on Draco if this was going to work.
"Have you thought of a way to sneak the Veritaserum to Draco?" Hermione asked. "Because the memory charm will be no problem. After all the studying I've done on memory charms to help Neville, making Draco forget one incident should be no problem."
"Actually, no." Harry replied. "I haven't thought of a way yet." The four of them sat there for a few minutes thinking.
"Hermione, how long does Veritaserum last?" Ron asked.
"It depends on the dose really." She replied. "But a normal dose lasts about an hour. Why? What are you playing at?"
"I say we slip it to him at dinner." Ron responded. The other three Gryffindor's listened intently as Ron began to gather a plan in his head. "We'll have to create a diversion at dinner so that someone can sneak over to him under the invisibility cloak and pour it into his pumpkin juice. That part shouldn't be too hard. The hard part will be getting him alone after that."
"I've got an idea." Harry said as he started looking through the pockets of his robes and emerged with a piece of parchment. "This is the note that Snape left for me on his door canceling my detention. I say that at the same time we slip him the Veritaserum, we slip him a note from Snape saying to meet him in the potions classroom immediately after dinner."
"It's a good idea Harry." Hermione said. "But I'm sure Draco knows Snape's handwriting by now. We'll have to copy it and make it look good."
"Don't worry about that." Ron spoke up. "Dean is an expert on forgeries. I can't even tell you the number of times he's gotten us out of class over the years by writing us notes from Madam Pomfrey. The teachers can't even tell the difference."
"Is that so?" Hermione responded glaring at Ron. "You are a prefect and that is no example to be setting. If I find out that..."
"Hermione, let it go for now okay?" Harry said. Hermione huffed to her self and gave Harry an agknowleding nod before sneering briefly at Ron again.
"Alright, now I will go under the invisibility cloak and slip him the Veritaserum and the note." Harry started. "And you three will have to create a diversion. Then, after Draco leaves the Great Hall, someone will have to make sure Snape stays away from the potion's classroom."
"I'll take care of it." Ginny agreed.
"How are you going to do it?" Harry asked.
"I've got a couple of good ideas up my sleeve." She replied. Harry had no reason to doubt her so he moved on with the plan.
"Alright then. Ron, Hermione and I will leave the Great Hall before Draco and be waiting for him in the Potions classroom and you keep Snape away." Harry explained. Everyone nodded and as exhaustion crept over them a contagious series of yawns rippled through the room. They made their way back to the Gryffindor common room quietly. Harry had the Marauder's map out and was able to navigate them back without incident although the fat lady had some choice words for them for coming back this late.
Harry fell asleep with the sinister face of Draco Malfoy invading his dreams.
The next morning was Sunday and when Harry woke up he found the bed's of all the sixth year Gryffindors empty except for Ron's. He was tossing around in his bed lightly and was not at all happy at Harry when he woke him up for breakfast.
"It's already eleven o'clock and I didn't think you would want to miss breakfast." Harry reasoned.
"I was just having a pleasant dream is all." Ron replied as they made their way to the showers to get ready.
"What about?" Harry inquired. Ron's face reddened a bit which was saying something since his complexion was very pink to begin with.
"Never mind." Ron replied with a laugh.
When they made it to the common room before going down to breakfast, Harry noticed Dean studying in the corner alone so he figured it was a good opportunity to ask him about forging the letter from Snape.
Ron went down to breakfast as Harry approached Dean.
"Hey Dean." Harry said.
"Hey Harry." He replied. "What's going on?" Harry was sure that Dean could tell that he was here to ask him something.
"I need a favor no questions asked." Harry said with a very serious look on his face. Dean nodded and waited for Harry to continue. Harry explained what he needed and Dean was happy to oblige.
"Now remember," Harry pleaded. "You can't tell anyone about this, not even Seamus." It seemed that Dean recognized the seriousness of the situation and agreed. He said that it would only take him a few minutes to practice and then he would be able to do it. Harry thanked him and said that he would pick it up after breakfast.
When he got to the breakfast table, Harry saw that Ron had a small package in his hands. He, Ginny, and Hermione were in deep discussion when he sat down.
"Is that what I think it is?" Harry asked.
"Yea." Ron replied. "It was delivered a few minutes ago."
"Then everything is set." Harry said looking around at the other three. They were all a little nervous but there was no turning back now.
When they got back to the common room, Dean very cautiously slipped Harry the forged letter without a word. Everything was now in place. The day seemed to drag on as the four students waited for dinner time to arrive. Hermione insisted that they get some school work done. So the four of them sat at a table doing work until the strike of the clock told them it was dinner time.
"I'm not feeling very well." Harry said loudly so that almost everyone in the fairly crowded common room could hear him. Why don't you go on to dinner without me."
The three of them joined the crowd that was leaving for dinner and Harry went back up to the sixth year boy's dormitory. He made sure that he had the bottle of Veritaserum and the note from Snape and then threw the invisibility cloak over himself.
When he got down to the common room it was now almost empty except for a couple of third years who were getting ready to leave. Harry followed them out the door and made his way to the Great Hall. It was not easy to avoid people as the crowd was filing in for dinner and Harry even bumped into a few people, but fortunately they didn't think anything of it. He ended up standing against the wall right behind where Malfoy was sitting at the Slytherin table.
It seemed like an eternity for Harry waiting there for something to happen. He couldn't move or make a sound because it would be a disaster if someone found him out. Then, all of a sudden, it happened.
A filibuster firework went off and exploded above the Gryffindor table. A couple of girls screamed as more fireworks exploded. Everyone at the Slytherin table was looking at what was going on, but Harry didn't feel that there was enough commotion to make his move yet. Until Peeves decided to take this opportunity to create some havoc. He started flying to the different tables knocking over bowls of food.
When he made his way to the Slytherin table and knocked a bowl of gravy into Pansy Parkinson, Harry made his move. He slipped his hand out from under the cloak and quickly poured the potion into Draco's glass. Then he slipped the forged note from Snape onto the table in front of Draco. He then quickly made his way over to the Gryffindor table and whispered in Hermione's ear that he was successful. She took that queue to leave along with Ron.
Harry stayed behind and watched Malfoy as the teacher's started to restore order to the Great Hall. He saw him take a big sip from his goblet. A few seconds later, Harry saw him find the note and begin to read. Now as long as Ginny did her job, they would have him.
Harry quickly made his way to the potions room. He opened the door, slipped in, and then closed it quickly. He kept the invisibility cloak on until he found Ron and Hermione ducking down behind a desk on the right side of the classroom.
"It's me." Harry whispered as he pulled off the cloak. "I saw him read the note; he should be here any minute."
"We should all go on different sides of the room." Hermione said.
"Good idea." Harry replied. "I'm going to hit him with a curse. If for some reason, I miss or it doesn't work, then you two do the same." They all agreed and dispersed to different sides of the room. Harry was on the left side of the door and kept on his invisibility cloak for an added advantage. After about two minutes of waiting the door crept open slowly and Malfoy came through. He turned around to close the door behind himself which gave Harry an opportunity.
"Impedimenta." Harry shouted and aimed the curse at Malfoy. It hit him square and froze him in his tracks. Ron and Hermione emerged quickly and the three of them approached the frozen Slytherin. Hermione yanked his wand out of his motionless hand and Ron grabbed him and turned him around.
"What do you think you're doing Potter?" Malfoy said as he came face to face with Harry. "Professor Snape will be down here any second and believe me you will pay for this."
"Don't be so sure." Harry started. "Now Malfoy, I just have a few questions for you and then you can go on your way."
Draco laughed. "You think I will answer any questions from a freak, a blood traitor and a mudblood."
"Yea, I think you will." Harry replied. "For instance, are you the secret keeper for Malfoy Manor?"
"Yes." Malfoy responded immediately. And in a split second his eyes filled with a fear unlike anything Harry had ever seen.
"Excellent." Harry replied. "Now where is Malfoy Manor."
"It's at 3366 Dark Heart Lane Wiltshire, England" Malfoy responded. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all had looks of extreme relief and joy on their faces.
Draco began screaming and Hermione quickly did a silencing charm on him.
"Now what do we do?" Ron asked.
"Hermione, do what you need to do." Harry said. She nodded and went over to Malfoy pointing her wand at his head. He was trying to scream but the silencing charm stopped him.
"Petrificus Totalus." Hermione said. Malfoy's body went stiff as a board and fell roughly to the ground. She then muttered a few more words to her self before crying "Obliviate" and sending a blue jet of light straight at Malfoy.
"Alright were done." Hermione said turning and looking at Harry and Ron.
"Good." Harry replied. "You two get out of here and after a minute I will revive him." They agreed and hurried out of the dungeon. Harry waited until they were a safe distance away and then threw the invisibility cloak over himself. Then he creaked the door open enough to get out and with one foot already out the door he pointed his wand and Malfoy and said, "Ennervate". He heard Draco lazily waking up as he ran down the corridor and up the stairs.
He checked behind his back a couple of times and after getting back to the corridor around the Great Hall, he was finally satisfied that it was clear to take off the invisibility cloak. So he ducked into an empty classroom took it off and then headed straight for the Gryffindor common room. When he got there he saw Ron and Hermione standing over by one of the windows with Ginny. He made his way up to them and was about to congratulate them all on their efforts when he saw what they were doing. Ginny was opening the window for Fawkes who had a letter in his mouth that had the name Harry Potter on it.