CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

A Licensed Betrayal

Harry pulled the blanket off the back of the seat behind them and draped it around Eva. She was still sobbing softly. He tried to soothe her. He rubbed her back, he kissed her tears, he pulled her closer to him every time she seemed to be slipping away. But he just had to ask. He had to find out. Maybe it would be better if she talked about it.

"How do you know him?" he questioned softly.

Granted, he'd rarely met anybody who had met Malfoy and not wanted to kill him. But that was only witches and wizards. Eva was a Muggle. The Malfoys wouldn't even associate themselves with Muggles, let alone recognize one from the other. Clearly, Draco had recognized her.

He had to know. "How do you know Draco Malfoy?" he asked again.

Eva's face was buried against his chest, but when she mumbled her reply, she was so close to Harry that he could hear her. "I… I don't. Not really." She glanced up at him. "He… he…"

Perhaps it was the magic of the room or because of how close they were, but somehow, it only took one small glance for Harry to see what she couldn't say.

Eva was in a room—a bathroom—peering between the door and the frame out into a kitchen. She could hardly see anything, just a boy pointing a stick at her mother. She heard a man's voice shouting.

"Do it boy! Do it now! Are you a coward! KILL HER!"

The boy shouted words that she couldn't understand. A green light erupted from the tip of his stick and shot straight to her mother. In one horribly silent moment, her mother's body fell to the floor. Eva knew she was dead. She could see there was no life left in her eyes.

Her little sister was in the bathroom with her, and up until now Eva had been covering her ears. The little girl was about to scream, but she covered her mouth just in time. They had to get out of the house. They had to run away before that boy turned his stick on them.

"The evidence is still here. It needs to be disposed of."

The older man—the boy's father—marched up the stairs of their small house, hunting them. His long, pointy nose even seemed to sniff like a bloodhound's.

Her little sister was whimpering. She could hear whispers of her mother. Somehow, she gathered her strength. She had to keep herself together or they would both wind up dead.

Quickly, she quietly closed the bathroom door. She got down on one knee so that she was eye-level with her sister and whispered into her ear.

"You need to be brave now, Nora. I need you to stop crying. Don't make a sound. We're getting out of here."

She sprang for the bathroom window which was right above the countertop. It would be barely big enough for her to fit through. She stepped up onto the counter and quietly opened the window. One of the hinges squeaked, but the sound only made her move faster. Her little sister was still standing by the doorway, motionless.

"Come here."

She held out her arms to the little girl. In one swift motion she pulled her from the floor and pushed her out the window. However, as she lifted her leg off the countertop to pull herself out of the window, she knocked over a canister of bath beads. The metallic container hit the floor with a loud crash and the beads rolled across the floor. It was as loud as thunder.

The door flew open. The boy who slaughtered her mother stood there with his wand raised. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't scream.

She was dead.

"Run."

She didn't believe him at first. She was frozen on the spot, with her hands on the window frame, leading to the only chance to save herself and her sister. However, she didn't need telling twice. With one last glare into the boy's beady eyes she hoisted herself out of the bathroom window and hit the ground running.

She had not slowed since.

Harry was shaking with absolute fury. He had never made the connection before. The night of the Yule Ball during fourth-year, on Christmas Eve, Malfoy's first kill was Eva's mother. How could he not have recognized Nora's eyes in her Muggle mother? Or the curly hair that fell over her face the same way Eva's did?

If Eva was not still in his arms, he would have chased after Malfoy himself. He would have made no hesitation in using any sort of curse on that bastard. He didn't even deserve to live. He had taken away their mother, a perfectly harmless Muggle.

The more Harry thought about how innocent Eva's and Nora's mother was, the more he realized that the murder had been planned. Lucius Malfoy walked in—somehow—on Draco's night with Pansy and told him he would become a real man that night. He would perform his first Muggle kill.

And what had stopped Draco from killing Eva and Nora? Did he dare think it was mercy? Was Draco feeling guilty for killing their innocent mother and let them go because there was some, small piece of good in his heart?

No. There had to be another reason.

He was also bothered by the way Lucius spoke of the sisters. They were "evidence." Evidence of what? What was the link between Lucius and their mum?

Eva had finally stopped whimpering in his arms. Her breathing had returned to normal. Harry could feel her heartbeat against his own chest. She was asleep.

Harry tried to fight the exhaustion that was overpowering him, but it was no use. His eyes fluttered shut, and despite his anger, he dosed off. When he woke up, the room was no longer pitch black but seemed to be lit from an imaginary light source on the ceiling.

He checked his watch. It was 11:30 in the morning. He'd slept right through Potions and Eva was due back down in the dungeon in thirty minutes, and he still didn't have his invisibility cloak.

And he still wanted answers from Eva.

She stirred in his arms when he moved to check his watch. Her eyes were still filled with rage and confusion, he could see it.

Harry decided to speak first. "I know what he did," he said simply. "I know Malfoy killed your mum."

Eva stared at him. "How do you…?"

"I can't tell you how I know," Harry interrupted. "But I know. I always assumed that he was a horrible bastard of a wizard, but I never thought…" His voice trailed off. "What I don't understand is why. Why did Draco Malfoy kill your mum?"

Eva sighed. Harry could feel how desperate she was. How furious. "Harry, there's something that you don't know…"

Suddenly, the door to the Room of Requirement flew open and ricocheted against the wall with a loud bang. Ron and Hermione burst inside, both looking very distressed and equally irate. "Harry! We've been looking for you all morning!" Hermione cried. "Oh… Hello, Eva." Hermione studied her, a foreigner in the midst of the school, very closely.

Whatever Eva was about to say, whatever secret she was about to confess, disappeared off her tongue. Harry saw that he'd lost his chance. It was as though he'd opened something up inside of her, and now the interruption had closed it off again. The moment was lost.

Eva gave a little wave. "Hello, Hermione. Nice to see you again. You too, Ron."

Ron looked sheepishly at Harry and shrugged his shoulders, almost as a sign of apology. Harry could tell that he thought that they had walked in on something romantic. He swiped his fingers through his red hair and put his hand on the back of his neck. "You missed Potions," Ron said. "Dumbledore is looking for you. We all thought something terrible had happened."

Something did, Harry thought. "I'm fine," he replied. "I don't care about Potions. Some things are more important." He glanced at Eva, who looked a little red in the face.

"Dumbledore wants to see you immediately. He's furious, Harry," Hermione added. "You really shouldn't keep him waiting."

"I've got to get Eva back to where she belongs," Harry replied. "Then I'll go see him. But I need a favor."

"A favor?" Hermione questioned.

"I need the two of you to run up and get my invisibility cloak. It's in my trunk," Harry said.

Hermione looked as though she was going to protest, but Ron tugged on her arm. "C'mon, 'Mione. Let's go."

"But why do both of us need to go?" she asked. Ron gave a nod to Harry and pulled her out of the room with him.

Harry turned to Eva, very serious. "This conversation isn't over," he said. "You've got to explain. What don't I know?"

Eva got up from the couch and began folding the afghan she'd been wrapped in. She wouldn't look him in the eye. "There's not enough time to explain, Harry. I've got to get back to the kitchen and you've got to see Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore can wait," Harry said. "Eva, you have got to tell me what's going on."

"I will," she said. "I promise. But you're just going to have to wait." She laid the afghan over the back of the loveseat. Harry pulled her down onto the couch next to him, so that one of her knees was on either side of his lap. "You've just got to trust me this time. Please, Harry."

Harry felt the guilt of their fight and the ordeal with David wash over him. He had no choice. He had to trust her. He owed it to her. Besides, he would be able to find out the whole story in a matter of days. It was Eva's birthday on the same day as their trip to Hogsmeade. Before they got into the spat, they were planning on spending all day and all night together, celebrating. Harry could wait a few days—and do his own investigation. "Eva, you've just got to be careful. Now that Malfoy knows you were here…"

"I know how to take care of myself," she snapped. She put her hands on his shoulders. "But Harry, you've got to promise me that you'll watch over Nora. Please, whatever you do, don't let her out of your sight. You have to protect her. I have half a mind to steal her right now and take her away."

"She's safe here," Harry said. "Dumbledore's here. And I won't let anything happen to her. I promise."

Eva smiled meekly. She leaned forward and kissed him, and Harry eagerly kissed her back. He didn't know what was so intoxicating about her that drove him crazy, but he couldn't keep his hands off of her. He tried to keep them positioned firmly around her waist, but they tended to travel both upwards and downwards as his mouth continued to search hers. He could feel the coarse cloth of the buttoned shirt she was wearing and the softness of her skin beneath. Before he could stop himself, he'd popped the top button off and started working on the next.

"Ahem," Ron said, standing at the doorway and pretending to clear his throat. Hermione stood next to him, shocked.

Eva quickly got off of Harry's lap and crossed her arms over her chest, pulling the neck of her shirt together where the button had popped off. She was blushing furiously.

"H-here's the invisibility cloak," Hermione said, handing him the silver cloak. She looked from Harry to Eva and back again. "Harry, I don't think…"

"I'll explain it all later," Harry interjected. "After I see Dumbledore."

Dumbledore was already in the kitchen with Remus, waiting for Eva to arrive before noon. Harry had rarely seen him so angry. After Remus and Eva left, he brought Harry up the back stairs to the hidden room where he had his Legilimency training.

"Harry, I don't believe you understand the seriousness of your situation. If the two of you were found out, there's no telling what sort of danger you'd be in. What you did was extremely irresponsible. Letting you see Eva here is a privilege, and one that I won't hesitate to take away."

Harry hung his head. He sat in the over-sized chair across from Dumbledore's desk and tried to look as guilty as possible. He felt horrible for abusing his privilege to see Eva, but it was a circumstance that couldn't be helped. Even if Dumbledore refused to let him see her anymore, he'd find a way to get to her. Especially now that he knew Malfoy had killed her mum.

"You were very lucky, Harry. And despite the fact that you've promised to never do it again, I must punish you. You must learn that not all rules are made to be broken."

He glanced up at Dumbledore. His face looked old and worn-out. He had enough to worry about without having to deal with Harry's skiving. "Yes, sir."

"And unfortunately, because the class you chose to miss was Potions, you'll be spending the evening in detention with Professor Snape."

"But sir…" Harry began. He hadn't been alone with Snape since before Christmas. If he was in a room alone with him it would be difficult for Harry to contain his emotions and keep his part of the deal.

"I'm sorry, Harry. You'll just have to be more responsible. Learn from this mistake."

Harry sighed, defeated. He got up from his chair, wincing and sore from sleeping with Eva in his arms all night.

"Hold on, Harry. I'm not finished with you yet." The spark came back into Dumbledore's eyes. "How is your investigation going?"

He sat back down again. "We've decided to use Polyjuice Potion, sir," he answered. "I'm not exactly sure who I am going to be yet, but the potion will be ready in the next few days."

"I see." Dumbledore stroked his beard. "Do you know what you are looking for in him yet?"

"Not exactly," Harry replied. "I need to know about the owls, certainly." And what he was up to last night that he was on the seventh-floor corridor in the early morning hours, and why he killed Eva and Nora's mother.

"Mr. Malfoy will not give his answers out to just anyone, Harry. Think carefully of who you're going to portray," Dumbledore warned. He paused. "It's nearly time for afternoon classes."

Harry glanced at his watch. He was due in Transfiguration in ten minutes. "Yes, sir." Harry got up from his chair and headed towards the door that led back down to the kitchen. He had to double-back down and then go to McGonagall's class.

"Be careful, Harry."

"I don't care if I have to be a girl, even if I have to be Pansy Parkinson!" Harry cried. "I'm going to do it. I've got to change into the right person so that Malfoy will spill his guts to me."

He, Ron, and Hermione were in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Hermione was near the cauldron, tending to the Polyjuice Potion. She was a regular expert at it by now. Ron was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, watching Harry pace back and forth.

"Perhaps there are other options," Hermione suggested. "What about Crabbe or Goyle?"

"They're too stupid," Harry replied. "Malfoy stopped trusting them long ago."

"And who really wants to become one of them again, anyway?" Ron questioned. "Mangy gits."

"Are you sure that Malfoy even trusts Pansy?" Hermione asked. "Just because he was snogging her after the Yule Ball and the two of them are quite the item this year doesn't mean that he's telling her his deep, dark secrets."

"You're right," Harry agreed, secretly relieved that he would not look in the mirror and see Pansy's horrid reflection staring back at him.

"What about Michael Corner?" Ron said. He balled one hand into a fist and pounded it into the other. Harry told him about his plans for Ginny. Ron went crazy. It took a lot of restraint on Harry's part to keep him from strangling Michael. "He seems to have taken a turn for the dark side, that bastard."

Harry sighed. "No, I don't think Michael would work either. Malfoy doesn't trust him anymore after he gave him the wrong owl potion." He paused. "There's got to be someone who he trusts. Someone who he talks to. It's not his dad."

He frowned. He had to find out who Malfoy confided in before he told someone about seeing Eva. He was surprised that he hadn't told Dumbledore or that the word was out. What was Malfoy waiting for?

"The potion is ready whenever we are," Hermione said, eyeing the cauldron with great disgust. "We've just got to decide who to impersonate."

"It will have to wait," Harry replied. "I've got detention in a bit. I'm sure Snape has missed working with me since Christmas."

"That's it!" Hermione cried.

"What is?" Ron asked.

"Harry, didn't you say that Dumbledore told you that Draco was having private lessons with Snape?" she asked.

He nodded. "Of course! Why didn't I think of it before? I'll be Snape!"

"Disgusting," Ron said. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather be Pansy?"

"Look, turning into Snape isn't exactly my wildest dream," Harry replied. "But Hermione's right. He's obviously the best choice. He's an adult figure who Draco looks up to. He's a Death Eater, he's the potions master, and he's his head of house."

"And that means you can collect something off him tonight," Hermione said, "during your detention."

"Yes! Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed. He had never looked more forward to a detention with Snape in his life.