Thank again for all the reviews people. I love reading them. I'm in a good mood today 'cause I've done quite well at the Lancashire track and field championships, although I did plow my way through two hurdles and my knee is the size of a melon but never mind, it's not exactly the first time it's happened, so that's why I thought I'd be nice and update again ;)
Anyway back to the story...I've caught up with myself, writing/posting so it might be a bit longer before the next one...that and I've got a degree to finish! lol Again, let me know what you think, hope you like. Cheers
Step XxXxX ;)
Chapter 30
'You want…freedom?' Harry asked, repeating what Malfoy had said.
'Yes.'
Harry thought for a second. Hermione had a shrewd idea of what Malfoy wanted but she kept quiet. Harry could sort this out.
'What do you mean exactly?' he asked the blond wizard.
'I mean I want to be taken off the Ministry's wanted wizard list. I want them to stop looking for me so I can try and get back to having something of a normal life.'
'What makes you think there's even a glimmer of hope that that will happen? You're a Death Eater, there's a ten thousand galleon price on your head and to be frank the Ministry's not that bothered if it's still attached or not.'
Hermione grimaced at the thought. Malfoy, however, smiled.
'Believe me Potter, I know. I'm quite flattered actually that they I'm worth that much to them!' Harry smirked, 'But as I said, I have information the Ministry will find useful and I'm willing to give it up in return for them leaving me alone.'
'I hate to put a huge dint in your plan Malfoy, but no one at the Ministry is going to believe that you'll just disappear quietly and not try and become Voldemort's successor! They aren't going to trust you for as long as you live.'
'I know, that's where you come in.'
'What do you mean that's where I come in?' Harry said slowly his eyes narrowing, knowing he wasn't going to like what he heard.
'Well I know that the fact you killed the Dark Lord has made you a hero in everyone's eyes, and I'm guessing that you can ask for anything you want and it'll be handed to you on a silver plate with the words 'We love Harry' engraved around the edge. So, if you tell them you trust me and ask them to leave me alone then they probably will.'
Hermione stole a quick glance at Harry, the corner of her mouth twitched, she knew what Harry was going to say, she just wasn't sure how he would phrase it.
'Let me get this straight,' Harry said, 'you want me to tell the Ministry of Magic that I trust YOU!'
'If you don't mind,' Malfoy replied, quite unabashed by Harry's disbelief.
Harry went to reply but closed his mouth after he hadn't managed to make a sound, his amazement overtaking him for the moment. He looked at Hermione who understood how he felt.
'I'll do it Harry, it's ok…Malfoy,' she started, 'how do I put this? Erm…what in Merlin's name makes you think we would ever trust you? I mean, you do understand where I'm coming from don't you? You haven't quite lost your mind? You do understand the utter disbelief we're feeling?' Her tone hadn't escaped Malfoy's attention.
'Yes Granger I do understand,' his face had suddenly turned serious and concentration filled it as if he wanted every word to count in case he didn't get the chance to say them again. 'I'm not trying to deny that we've hated each other since the day we met but I'm asking you to try and put that behind you and try and look at me in a new light. I've changed since we last saw each other. I don't know if you know but I left the Death Eaters months before the final battle. I couldn't do it anymore, I had to get out. I didn't understand it all properly when I joined their ranks.'
'Don't give me that Malfoy,' Hermione said, 'you knew exactly what Voldemort had done in the past and was doing after he came back, your father was a Death Eater for God's sake! You can't possibly expect us to believe that you didn't know what you were getting yourself in to. And let's say, for arguments sake, that you didn't know what becoming a Death Eater entailed, you should have caught on when your Dark Lord instructed you to kill Dumbledore!' Hermione shrieked.
Malfoy looked at her then looked at the floor.
'I couldn't do it though could I?' he said quietly.
Hermione stared at him, she had never in her life thought an admission of failure would come out of Malfoy's mouth.
'You were there Potter, although I wasn't sure of it at the time. You could see there was no way I could have done it.'
He looked at Harry and for the first time Hermione thought she saw an almost pleading look in his eyes, as if he was hoping against anything that Harry would believe something, anything, he said.
Harry paused for a few seconds before he spoke, 'yeah I saw,' he admitted quietly, 'you er…you lowered your wand. I knew then you weren't…that you weren't going to do it.'
'Look,' Malfoy continued, all arrogance gone from his voice, 'I know I don't deserve anything from you, I suppose I don't deserve to be alive, but you have to know that I never killed anyone…I…I cursed people, of course I did, but I couldn't kill anyone. I mean I can use the curse, my father made sure of that when he thought I was old enough to start following in his footsteps, but I never used it on another human being, wizard or muggle. You have to believe that.'
Harry looked at the floor; he started to feel a bit uncomfortable.
'I was tortured for not doing it on a few occasion,' Malfoy continued, 'I was such a disappointment to the Dark Lord, his youngest recruit was thinking far too independently and not taking His word as gospel. A few months before the end I realised I had become surplus to requirements, I overheard him talking to one of the others that I was soon to be disposed of, and being a Slytherin through and through I decided to risk running away in a feeble attempt to save my own neck. Think of me as a coward if you want, I doubt either of you would have done any different.'
He stopped talking and looked disgusted with himself, it was as if his admissions had hurt him physically, for a moment he looked like he was going to be sick, but a second later he had wiped his face blank of any emotion and looked up at Hermione.
'So what now?' Harry asked.
'I suppose I need to show you that you can trust me. That's the only way that I'm going to get you to agree to my requests isn't it?'
'It would be a start,' Hermione replied.
'Well, in which case I'll do what I said I would. I'll tell you how to revive Weasley.'
Hermione glared at him, the hope in her heart threatened to burst out of her chest and illuminate the whole cave, but she quickly suppressed it, not letting herself think that way.
Harry looked up at Malfoy in disbelief. Malfoy used the silence from the two of them as a sign to continue.
'I told you that the counters were complex, well you'll realise why in a minute. Instead of there just being one spell needed to revive the person who was hit, you need three. One goes part way to waking them up, one gives them the energy needed to wake up, and the third restores all their mind to them.'
'What are the spells? And actually what's the incantation for the spell itself?' Hermione asked.
The spell itself is Somnus Aeternus, and the counters are Vita Renovatio, Vis Donatus and Pretiritus Memor.'
'So all that is needed is for three people to cast those spells on Ron?' Harry asked hopefully.
'No, there's more to it than that.'
'Of course there is,' Hermione sighed.
'Basically the spells are sensitive to a specific type of wand core, they'll only work with those types and none others.'
'What are the cores needed?' Hermione asked quickly.
'Luckily for you they're the ones Ollivander used: dragon heartstring, unicorn hair and phoenix tail feather.'
'Well that's one thing at least.'
Malfoy went quiet.
'There's something else isn't there,' Hermione asked, she felt the panic rise up her throat.
'Yes, well there might be, I'm not exactly sure.'
'What do you mean you're not sure?' Harry demanded.
'I mean…I don't know whether they'll have made it so only Death Eaters can use them and counter the everlasting sleep spell. They might not have done, but it seems like something-'
'A Death Eater would revel in the thought of,' Hermione finished for him, bitterness emanating from her.
'I thought you said you knew how to wake him up! Harry shouted at Malfoy, he stepped two paces forward as he did so.
'I do and I've told you what I know!'
'But you just said we might not be able to do it!'
'That's hardly my fault! I didn't invent the spells. And anyway if I'm one of the three that performs one of them then my dark mark might be enough to work. I know it's not the best but it's something. And you're a hell of a lot nearer to waking him up now than you were an hour ago!'
Harry said nothing, knowing Malfoy was right. There was still a chance.
Hermione was looking at Malfoy and she knew what he had told them was true.
'So what now?' she asked.
'I suppose that's up to you,' Malfoy replied quietly.
'Well we'll have to get you into St. Mungo's somehow, so you can perform the counters with us.'
'Hey hang on a minute Hermione! Shouldn't we-'
'What? Shouldn't we what?' she snapped in reply.
'I dunno, discuss this first or something?'
'What's there to discuss? We know how we can try and revive Ron, surely the only thing we need to discuss is how and when?'
Harry looked at the determined way she had set her jaw, it was uncannily like the way Ron did when he was determined to get his own way. Apparently his expressions had rubbed off on her somewhat.
'I know that all you want to do is try out the spells, but there's a bigger picture here. Don't look at me like that,' Hermione's eyes had suddenly become wider than he had ever seen, he turned to Malfoy, 'you need to tell us exactly what you'll want from us if you help us with the spells.'
Hermione went to open her mouth in protest, she felt unbelievably angry with Harry. Since when was he one to look at the bigger picture? This was the boy who ran away from home at thirteen years old with nowhere to go! She went to argue the point but he cut her off.
'Hermione please. Don't make this harder than it already is. I know how you feel but we cannot rush into this.'
Hermione stopped trying to interrupt but carried on glaring at Harry.
'Look, I just think we have to take things slowly, so there's no mistakes made in any part of this. Please tell me you understand that.'
She lowered her gaze to the floor but her displeasure was still obvious to see.
'Fine,' she spat.
'Good,' he turned to Malfoy, 'Now, what is it exactly you have to tell the Ministry, I don't mean specifics but what are we generally talking about here.'
Malfoy cleared his throat.
'Well…I can tell them the rest of the spells they invented which are like the everlasting sleep spell, I can tell them where some of the Death Eaters are hiding who have yet to be captured and I can tell them the location of one of the places we used to work from.'
'Only one?'
'Yes only one,' he said angrily, but quickly calmed himself down. 'Some Death Eaters were made secret keepers, one for each of the buildings, that way if any of us were caught and forced to reveal anything then only one place could be revealed.'
'Wasn't that a bit risky?' Hermione asked, 'And very trusting of Voldemort?'
'I thought the same, but it was impractical for the Dark Lord to be keeper for everywhere, he didn't like to…er…associate too much with us lowers, so he spread the responsibility around.
'I'm still confused,' Hermione said, 'if you were a 'lower' as you put it, then why were you trusted with a secret like that?'
'Ah, well that was more of an act of desperation than anything else. Goyle had just been killed by one of the Ministry's hit wizards and he was one of the secret keepers. They had to act fast to replace him and I was the only one there who wasn't already one.'
'Oh, ok.'
'So is that everything?' Harry asked.
'At the minute, I know the more information I have then the more likely the Ministry will leave me to my own sad little life, so I'll try and get more information.'
'Not wishing to sound like I care about you Malfoy,' Harry said, 'but won't your Death Eater mates be a tiny bit annoyed when they find out you've been giving the Ministry information about them?'
'Don't worry yourself about me Potter, I can look after myself, and besides, I intend to leave the country if I get the chance.'
'Then why haven't you left already? Why didn't you disappear when you left the Death Eaters?' Hermione asked, hoping that she hadn't just put the idea in his head.
'Because if I leave I'll have no money and it would make things much easier if I did. I can't exactly stroll into Gringott's and ask for a withdrawal with things as they are can I? And if I just disappear I'll always be looking over my shoulder, I don't want to live like that. And believe it or not I want to do the right thing. I need to try and rectify the stupid mistakes I've made in my life, if that's at all possible.'
'I never thought I'd see the day when I'd hear those words come out of your mouth Malfoy.' Harry said quietly.
Malfoy smirked, 'neither did I Potter, neither did I. But as Granger here said earlier, people change.'
'Dare I breach the subject of how we get Malfoy into the hospital again?' Hermione asked Harry.
'Before you say anything Potter, I'll make my offer. I'll come with you to the hospital and help you try and revive the Weasel, and then you can talk to whoever you need to at the Ministry, I can't do more than that can I?'
Hermione looked taken aback, but inside she was doing a dance, this way, whatever happened with the Ministry, there was a chance they could wake Ron up.
'No you can't,' she replied for Harry.
'Then I suppose I just have to wait for you to tell me when you want to do it. I'll await your message. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be leaving.'
He waited for either Harry or Hermione to protest. When they didn't he turned and walked to the entrance of the cave.
'Malfoy!' Hermione said just as he was about to disappear from her sight. He stopped and turned back towards her.
'I er…I…'
'Don't worry Granger, I won't make you say the words.'
He pulled his hood over his head and turned on the spot, leaving a trail of dust swirling on the ground as he did so.
