Chapter 13: A Meeting with Malfoy

Harry set his wand down beside the small night stand next his bed, and turned to face a mirror drawing his own reflection. Although the candle in his room burned brightly, it was mainly the moonlight that lit the room. His green eyes, bloodshot and weary with bags underneath them were portraying Harry exactly as he felt: Lousy. The Battle of Hogwarts, (what the Daily Prophet had now christened it), had apparently taken a lot more out of Harry then he thought. Hogwarts was not a particularly safe place anymore, and he was, for the first time since fifth year, not unhappy to leave it.

There was a hesitant knock on his door, bringing Harry's thoughts back down to Earth. Curious, he quickly strode towards the door. When he opened it, it was hard to conceal his surprise, mainly because he had lost control of his jaw, which was hanging out towards the ground as low as possible. There were many people Harry would expect to see come to his cabin in the dead of the night on the S.S. Hogwarts. Ron or Hermione, to pay him a friendly visit and to discuss their plans in the foreign countries that they were to travel too. Possibly Neville, to be consoled by Harry because of a bad dream he had concerning his grandmother and him shaming his family name. He would even have expected to see his Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, to speak to him of pressing, upcoming matters more than the persons standing before him now.

Who he did not expect to see, was a depressed and disgruntled looking Malfoy flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

"What do you want!" said Harry in disgust, not easily forgetting his fathers attempt to murder him and his friends not long ago the previous year. Malfoy made a movement of his head, as if to indicate that he wanted to enter. Some strange emotion overtook Harry, curiosity no doubt, and inclined him to move his body out of the doorway and allow Malfoy to proceed into his room. "No cronies." Harry put up his hand to Crabbe and Goyle, who also moved into the room. Malfoy turned to them and gave each of them a silent nod, sending his best mates away in mere seconds.

"I suppose there is a reason you're here?" asked Harry aggressively, curling his lip while addressing Malfoy. Only deepest resentment towards the person sitting now in front of him would allow him to speak to any human being the way he was.

"No need for the tone Potter, if I wanted a fight, I wouldn't have sent away Crabbe and Goyle," replied Malfoy, though his lip was also curling. Harry thought he had a fair point, and began to undo the great ball of tension whirling inside of him. "Especially since I just arrived from my Wiltshire Mansion less than an hour ago, and almost missed the departure. So anyway, I thought that the first thing I should do is come to Harry Potter!

Harry for a moment, thought this was some big Slytherin hoax, that the whole thing was a joke, and he had already been dumb enough to let Malfoy inside in the first place. But something about the way Malfoy had finished his sentence, in some sort of a business-like form; it made him feel like Malfoy was serious.

"You may have heard of my father's appeal, in which he was released from Azkaban only a month ago?" started Malfoy maliciously. Harry nodded, remembering reading it furiously in the Prophet not too long ago. "Well, I was given a message from my father, in this envelope. My father states that it is from one of his business associates, some bloke named…err…Tom Marvolo Riddle! That's right, never heard of him before. Anyway, the letter is from that Tom guy, and was given to my father which was given to me, which I have been told by my father to give to you."

Malfoy dropped the letter on the table. Clearly inscribed on the front of the yellow envelope, in black ink was the name TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE. There was no address as to where it came from or where it was going. Malfoy snorted disgustingly, looking at Harry with utmost rancor, and strutted off out of the room, closing the door sharply behind him. Harry could tell that the envelope had been jinxed with an unbreakable charm, so that Malfoy could not have read the letter beforehand.

Harry's heart was beating at the speed o light. Lord Voldemort had sent him a letter. What could be inside? A trap possibly? Would a terrible liquid come seething out the moment he opened it, scalding his hands? Undoubtedly foolishly, Harry made to open the letter, but then checked the other side of the letter to see if there where any other marks. There were, as Harry read:

TO MR. HARRY JAMES POTTER,

S.S. HOGWARTS, HOGWARTS LAKE

This was absurd. It was probably, as Harry had suspected, a prank by Malfoy, who would definitely think it funny to see him opening a note that he thought from Voldemort.

But the second Harry opened the letter and read what it said, he realized this was no prank, this was no prank at all.