Chapter 14 – Instructions

Darren could feel his anger swell as he saw Lucius Malfoy again. It had been almost a year since he last saw the man, but his feelings for him had not, and probably never would subside. Malfoy had the same imperious and obnoxious air about him that his son had, but Darren had always thought that Lucius Malfoy was always a bit more of a man that his son. Draco was just a spoiled little brat, but his father was truly an evil and vile human being. What Darren did not know was what he would be instructed to do, but he knew that was soon to be forthcoming, and he was certain that he would not like it at all.

"I am glad to see that you were able to follow your training, so far at least. The fact that you were not followed shows that you do have some ability, ad that maybe we were not wrong in choosing you for this mission," Malfoy told him.

'I hope he's not trying to ease me into whatever he wants,' Darren thought to himself. 'If he is, it won't work.'

Malfoy cocked an eyebrow at Darren and continued.

"Two years ago, in the summer after your fourth year at Hogwarts and the same summer that the Dark Lord returned, you were, as I am certain you remember, chosen for a purpose. At the time, the Dark Lord did not know for certain what you would be used for, but he knew that a source inside Hogwarts would prove to be invaluable. The information you gave us last year regarding a certain teacher proved to be of great use and the Dark Lord thanks you for you good work."

Malfoy paused to let the small but of praise sink in, but Darren did not say anything, or show any reaction to what he had just been told. Instead he thought 'Then why doesn't he come tell me thins himself then?'

"I will continue then Clarkson, since you have nothing to say."

Malfoy then cleared his throat before continuing and squared his shoulders in a manner that made Darren wonder if he was trying to intimidate him. Malfoy's wand, which had Darren's full attention, was in his right hand, and Darren made a mental note to keep one eye on it at all times.

"You have done well so far Darren. The switch between houses appears to have gone smoothly, didn't it?"

"Yes, it went as expected" Darren replied.

"And Dumbledore did not read your thoughts or otherwise make any attempts to try to find out why you acted the way you did?"

"He did try to read my thoughts, but I didn't see or feel any serious attempts, in fact, he seemed rather amused by it all."

Malfoy let out a thin smile. "I am not surprised the old fool would think it humorous at all, but you are sure he did not use his Legilimens ability on you to attempt to read your thoughts?"

"No, I am certain he didn't." Darren's answer was an attempt to end this part of the conversation and to get Malfoy back to why they were here in the first place.

"Very well," Malfoy said with a sideways look. "Now, as I am sure you know, there was an incident last June in the Ministry of Magic. Are you familiar with it?"

How could Darren not have been familiar with it? Lucius Malfoy and a group of Death Eaters had attacked Harry Potter, Weasley, Granger and some other students and then been caught and sent to Azkaban Prison. When Darren had heard about it, he had been happier than he had been in a long time.

"Yes sir, I know about it. It was in the Daily Prophet, and your son talked about it all the time in the common room."

"Good, then I don't have to go over old news to keep you informed. Harry Potter is in possession of something that the Dark Lord wants. He has the knowledge of a prophecy that was made almost seventeen years ago, and the Dark Lord wants it."

"Now wait a minute here. I am perfectly willing to give information I find out, or to pass along observations, hell, I even switched houses and made friends with Neville Longbottom like I had been prepared to do before the school year started, but why am I supposed to do this? Potter, even if he does have this information, would never give it to me willingly. And even if I tortured him or something, I would end up in Azkaban and what I might find out would be of no help to anyone then."

Malfoy just stood quietly as Darren talked. When he finished, he surprised Darren even more.

"Your 'friendship' with the Longbottom boy is what may help you succeed. He was one of the students that was with Potter in the Ministry that night last June, and he was also the last one standing with Potter when the prophecy was destroyed and lost to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord has reason to believe that Longbottom may have the memory of the prophecy in his mind and not be able to remember it, or unwilling to remember it. That is where you come in Clarkson."

Darren was stunned, shocked actually. The fact that Ron and Hermione were there with Harry was no surprise. They were always with him everywhere he went. But Neville? How could the shy and awkward kid he hung around with at school help Harry fight off a group of Death Eaters?

"Are you through now Clarkson?" Malfoy asked.

Darren looked at him in surprise. 'Can he read my thoughts?' he asked himself.

"Yes, I can," Malfoy answered. "Now, may I continue, or do you have something else more important than your duty to the Dark Lord on your mind?"

"No sir, sorry," Darren said as convincingly as he could.

"Good, then I will continue. The Longbottom boy, as I said before, was present when the prophecy was destroyed. He may know what it said, but not remember it. Longbottom we know has a notoriously poor memory, the lasting effect of the memory charm put on him by Dumbledore when he was a small child to make him forget his parents and what happened to them. Unfortunately for us, it had made his memory poor even to this day, so we need to use other measures to get what we need. That is why you are to use this to try to get him to remember."

Malfoy held out a small vial that in the night looked to be empty. Darren took it, and when he held it up, he could see it was a clear liquid.

"Veritaserum? I can't use this. It is strictly controlled by the Ministry. It will get me sent to Azkaban as quickly as anything else I might try."

"You only need three drops Clarkson, in his food, a drink, or even hold him down and pour it into his mouth. His memory is so poor he wouldn't remember it anyway. When you do use it on him, you are to ask him if he has any memory of the prophecy, no matter how minute it may be. Even a piece of it could be enough to give the Dark Lord the information he wants."

"And what do I do if the Veritaserum fails? What is Neville doesn't have any memory of this prophecy? What then?" Darren asked.

"You will use the Imperius Curse to use Longbottom to try to find out from Potter for you. You do remember how to use that particular spell, don't you?"

"Yes, I remember," Darren answered.

"Good, and if that fails, your 'special talent' should be put to use to get close to Potter."

"What about when I get it, what then? Do I just put the information in a letter addressed to you, or what?"

"No Clarkson, very funny. You are to leave school and fly your broom to your grandfather's estate in Cork. We will meet you there to receive the information."

"And then what?"

"And then your services will no longer be required. You can go on with your life in whatever way you see fit."

"Whatever way I see fit?"

"Yes, we made a deal, and there is no reason to believe that we would not honor our end of the agreement, is there?"

"I guess not."

Malfoy didn't speak for a few minutes. He seemed to want Darren to take in all that he had just been told.

"Do you have any other questions Clarkson?"

Darren couldn't think of any, at least any that he could ask right then at least. "Just one question sir," he answered.

"Very well then," Malfoy said.

"What will be done with the information when I get it?

"That is none of you concern Clarkson, so don't trouble yourself with it. Also, I understand that there are two openings on the Gryffindor quidditch team now. I think it might be good to try out for the team, just so it will enable you to stay close to Potter at times you otherwise would not. You never know when you might learn something."

Darren was a bit shocked that Lucius Malfoy said this about the quidditch team.

"So, Draco told you about his victory then sir?"

"Draco? I haven't heard from him in over a month. Just remember, you are not the only person at Hogwarts that is a source of information."

Malfoy did not say anything for a minute in order to let the last bit of information sink in. When he did speak, it was direct and to the point, as usual.

"Are there any other questions then?"

"No"

"You had better get back to the school then before you are missed. That social gathering is probably winding down now and you may be missed."

Malfoy turned to go but Darren did have one other question to ask.

"One other question Mr. Malfoy."

"What is it?"

"Your son."

Malfoy's back straightened. "What of him?"

"Am I to acquiesce to him, or what?"

"No, I think your running feud with my son is a good cover to throw others off any trail that might be picked up. Who would suspect a Gryffindor that is fighting with Draco Malfoy to be secretly working for his father? Do what you must to keep up appearances, as it is of no consequence or interest to me what happens between the two of you. Good night Clarkson."

Then Lucius Malfoy disapparated with a loud crack, leaving Darren alone in the tress with only his thoughts.

For a few minutes, close to an hour actually, Darren stood rooted where he had been standing during his conversation with Lucius Malfoy. He was too shocked to move, and he had a lot on his mind. What he had been told to do was nothing like what he had been asked to do before. Last year he had been asked only to provide any thing he might know about the student's and staff's reactions to the actions taken by the Ministry of Magic and that Umbridge woman. Later in the year he had been able to get information out about how Umbridge had been persecuting Potter and anyone she thought did not fit in her ideas of how the school should be run. He was sure his information had led to the forming of the Inquisitorial Squad, which had almost helped Umbridge rid Hogwarts of Dumbledore.

'How the hell am I going to do this?" Darren thought. 'Getting close to Potter will not be easy at all. It will be impossible actually. He is never without Weasley and Granger and he doesn't really hang around with anyone else at all.'

Darren knew that sometimes Seamus and Dean were around Harry's group, and Neville too, but none of them were ever close enough to help him. This would take some doing, and it would have to happen quickly, because Darren did not think he could wait much longer for his agreement with the Dark Lord to come to an end. It was getting too dangerous, especially now.

On the walk back to Honeydukes, Darren started to think of his father, and how he had come to lord Voldemort's attention. It was not something he wanted to remember now, so he tried to shut it out of his mind. It wasn't working until Darren ran into a fence behind the Hogshead Inn and a goat started bleating loudly because he had startled it. The back door opened and Darren saw the bartender in the door frame.

"Who goes there?" he said.

Darren stood behind a large tree, hoping he would not be seen, knowing if he was, it was all over. The goat was still making all kinds of noise, but the bartender just muttered a curse under his breath and told the goat to be quiet.

The rest of the walk was no problem. Darren made it through town and back into Honeydukes without any problems. In Honeydukes cellar he made sure everything was back to the way it was when he had come in, and that the trap door was closed completely to cover any hint that it had been opened. The walk back seemed to take less time than the walk to the town, because Darren was still thinking about what he had been instructed to do. He could not believe the situation he was in, but he could also see no way out. Now that he was in, he was in. Period. He did not think too many people had left Voldemort's service and lived to tell the tale. In fact, he was certain of it. Lucius Malfoy was evil incarnate and Bellatrix Lestrange were awful, horrid in fact. Her enthusiasm for sadistic and vile acts seemed unquenchable to Darren, and he remembered that idiot Peter Pettigrew teaching him about the castle and all the hidden passages he had learned about in his time at the school. But none had scared him like Voldemort. The Dark Lord actually liked it when people were scared of him, and he had made it abundantly clear to Darren what the consequences would be if he failed. It was something Darren feared above anything else. Above everything on fact, and he knew that he had to succeed, or his worst fears would come true.

As Darren emerged from the witch's hump, he made sure that no other people were around. Being seen coming out of a secret tunnel would end his night quickly. He reached in his pocket and took out the other note he had been carrying around that night. He opened the envelope and re-read the note to make sure he was going the right way.

Darren,

Meet me in the Room of Requirement tonight at one A.M. It is in the seventh floor corridor across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Balmy. Walk in front of the tapestry and think of me. Do this three times and a door should appear. I will be inside waiting. See you then.

Cho

There was a lipstick print that was made by Cho kissing the note. It was purple, the same color as the lipstick she had worn to the ball. Darren checked his watch. It was twelve forty five, and he had four floors to traverse, and he had to make sure that he was not seen by Filch, his damned cat, a teacher, or Peeves. He hurried as best he could and got to the seventh floor with five minutes to spare. In front of the tapestry, he started to pace the hallway while thinking 'Cho' the entire time.

On the second pass, he could hear Peeves coming. He was making all sorts of racket and Darren was sure he would love nothing more than catching a student out of bounds. He turned around and hurried back as he kept thinking of Cho and to his surprise he saw a door appear. It looked solid, and Darren opened it just as Peeves came around the corner. As the door closed Darren could hear Peeves humming and singing to himself as he went on down the hall to do whatever mischief he had in mind for that night.

When Darren turned around, he saw her. She was lying on a huge bed that was on a raised dais in the middle of the floor. The bed was golden and covered with huge pillows and what looked like silk sheets. Cho was naked and smiling at him.

"Hello Darren," she said. "Welcome to the Room of Requirement."

Darren's curiosity could not be stopped, even by the sight of the beautiful woman in front of him.

"What is this place?" he asked.

Cho walked slowly to him and ran a finger over Darren's chest as she answered him.

"It is a room that will give you whatever you need, as long as you think of it as you pace the hallway in front of where the secret door is located. In fact, we are not alone in here."

Darren looked around but didn't see anyone else.

"What do you mean we are not alone in here?"

Cho still was running her finger over him, but she was now walking around him and rubbing her hand over his body in a very seductive manner.

"Well," she said with a smile. "There are a bunch of other couples here as well, but since each couple wanted something just for themselves, we can all share the room and not see, hear, or even really sense that we are all in here. The room gives the person that wishes for something exactly what that person wants, and the next person will get what they want, and so on and so forth. So you see, the room can host a bunch of people just like us, and we will never see them."

As she finished explaining the room she ended up in front of Darren. She leaned forward and stood on her toes in order to give him a soft passionate kiss. Darren felt her hands on his as she pulled a hand up to her breast. He could feel her soft flesh in his hands and then she folded herself into his arms. Darren allowed himself to be taken by her. He had no intention of resisting her and he only wanted to be with her, right then, that night. Cho leaned backwards and pulled Darren down onto the bed with her and everything that Darren had been worried about that night, everything that had terrified him that night went away.