Chapter 7 – Mystery Evolves

- Harry's Story –

Sunday, September 3rd, 9:31 AM

I got up from the Gryffindor table. Where were Hermione and Ron? I thought to myself, searching for them in the room. Not seeing either, I made my way to the Common Room. I stopped before the Fat Lady and remembered yesterday.

I was sneaking out of the Common Room, planning to go on a mission to attempt to recover a Horcrux, when I tripped over someone in front of the portrait.

"Ron?! What are you doing here?" I asked, lifting my head off the ground.

"Oh, hi, Harry!" he said cheerily, smiling at me. I frowned.

"You didn't answer my question!"

"Oh, er, I dunno…I reckon I fell asleep…" he trailed off.

"Why weren't you in the Common Room?" I continued.

"I forgot the, er, password and fell asleep. I had a dream…a nice one…" he said dreamily.

"What about?" Now I was interested.

"C-Hermione." He looked alarmed.

"Chermione?" I asked, dubiously.

"Um, yea. She, er, changed her name in the, um, dream."

"Right, then. Let's get you inside. C'mon."

I had led him inside, pondering who C- could be, then decided to postpone my journey until I was sure there wasn't anything wrong with Ron. I mean, anything ELSE wrong. I'm just kidding; Ron's my best mate!

- Draco's Story –

Sunday, September 3rd, 9:43 AM

I could see that she wanted to clap her hand over my mouth, but she refrained from doing so. (I guess the fire stopped her…)

"Mother, you're scaring me! What is going on?"

"We cannot talk here," she said in hushed tones. "Meet me tonight in the Hog's Head, at 10. Make sure no one is following you." With that, she gave me one last look, then turned around and stalked out of the room, snapping her fingers to make Jolna follow at her heels.

Sighing, I turned back, pulling my head of out the flames as I did. I was more frightened than before. What is going on? I wondered, then shook the thoughts out of my head and tried to figure out a way to meet Mother at 10.

Ten o'clock at night, alone, into Hogsmeade? Surely the staff wouldn't allow it? I pondered these things as I headed out of my quarters to go see McGonagall.

At a quarter to seven, I still had no idea what to do, (the talk with McGonagall had not gone well, but that was partially my fault, for not bringing up the subject of leaving the grounds), though I spent most of the afternoon looking up secret passages in Hogwarts that led to Hogsmeade.

I found none, and by seven I was utterly discouraged. I headed to dinner feeling very angry, yet afraid, and as I passed the infamous Golden Trio I heard Granger talking.

"No, Ron, I'm going to Hogsmeade tonight," I heard her say to the Weasel who looked sad at her remark. "I need to deliver a package to Mum and Dad from the Owl Post services there. We'll play chess tomorrow, okay?"

Mudblood Granger was going to Hogsmeade. I slowed down a little so maybe I could catch what she said about how she was going to get out of the castle. But she didn't say.

Disappointed yet again, I trudged over to the Slytherin table and took my usual seat. How on earth will I be able to get out? I thought. Maybe if I followed Granger, I wouldn't get into too much trouble, since she's such a teachers' pet.

Then I felt my mind wander over to another topic: What did Mother want to talk about, why in private, and why so soon? I found myself wishing that I would find an easy way out of all this, and later, I did.

It all happened in a very smooth manner. After dinner, I made my way to my room, keeping behind Granger at all times. I waited a few moments before muttering "Fawkes" (What kind of a stupid password is that?), and then entered the Common Room in what I hoped was a casual, nonchalant way.

Granger glared at me, though she didn't say anything, and just to annoy her I made suggestive glances up and down her body, lingering on her legs and chest.

She scowled, turned red, and then grabbed something of the counter. I heard the door slam, and I couldn't suppress a grin.

I then went into my room, and looked at my reflection in the mirror. If I was going to sneak out, I couldn't have my hair give me away, I found myself saying. I tapped my head with my wand, then said a spell quietly. Immediately, my hair grew shorter, and turned a raven black.

Satisfied by the difference, I next turned to my wardrobe, looking for a hooded robe that I could wear. I shifted through robes of various colors, though mostly green and silver, and finally found a jet black one with a hood.

Since it was only a little after eight, I figured I'd catch an hour of sleep, then go to Hog's Head early and get the meeting with my mother over as soon as possible.

A loud THUMP woke me, then a string of curses. I sat up with a snap, then quickly put on my robe and grabbed my wand. I carefully opened my door, and peered out.

Granger was bending over a heavy armchair, trying to stand it up straight. She was muttering under her breath, and I couldn't make out what she said but after a minute the armchair stood up by itself. Sighing, Granger picked something big off the ground, then went to the door.

For a few minutes, she worked on opening the door, then when she finally opened it, she stuck her head out and looked both ways before closing the door quietly behind her.

I moved stealthily across the room, easily opened the arch, and tiptoed out. I followed Granger onto the grounds, then out to the entrance of Hogwarts' grounds.

I did notice that after we left our living quarters, she seemed much more at ease, though I couldn't understand why. More people could find us here, I thought. She didn't care, and I could tell that by the time we got to Hogsmeade, she was very relaxed.

I left her by the owl post services, and headed up to the Hog's Head. I found that I was shivering, but not because it was cold. No, I was shivering because dread had overtaken me.

As I heaved the heavy door open, I breathed in the musty smell of beer. Trying to ignore the stench, I glanced at the hourglass on the counter. Only 9:45. I sighed, then grabbed for a chair next to the window.

Before I could sit down, the chair was yanked out of under me, and I plopped down on the ground like a toddler learning to walk.

Startled, I looked above me, and saw a huge guy, with a mustache and beard, grinning down at me. I decided that it was best to leave him alone, so I said nothing as I walked over to another table. Great, I thought, I just passed two and a half minutes.

For ten more excruciatingly long minutes, I sat and stared out the window, though I couldn't see much. Not because it was dark outside, but because the windowpane was covered in ten centimeters of grime. I was growing more anxious by the minute, and at 10:04 I began worrying that something had happened to Mother.

She was not what people believed her to be like. Everyone who meets her expects something; snotty-ness, proper talk, lady-like manner. And they get just that.

But all that is not because Mother wants to act like that. I remember, in one long letter when she was at an all-time low point, she confessed to me that she was miserable.

Of all the letters that we passed back and forth for the last sixth years, that one was the most important. I still have it, as a matter of fact. Then again, I also have all the other letters that she ever sent me.

I always knew that their marriage was an arranged one, and I expected no love to form between the two of them. But it did. Or at least, Mother fell so hard for Father that she couldn't put it into words, though Father considered her one of his many properties.

She was heartbroken when she realized that he had absolutely no interest in her whatsoever, but she had no choice but to allow him to "see other women". That's how he put it, but they were doing a LOT more than just seeing, I knew that much.

Mother cared for him very deeply, ever since I was born. Maybe even before, but of that I am not sure. When I was born, she was delighted, and she had imagined that she made some headway, but she found him in bed with another woman the following night. During my second year, he extinguished all of her hope, forever, she said, and she was devastated.

Though she never cheated on him, she definitely came close to it, on some of her worse days. Luckily, things always got in the way, before they got too far. I remember one time there was a runaway cat, another time Father came home early, and the latest "incident" was three years ago, when I walked in.

I always felt horrible for Mother, they way she was treated, and for that reason I was so close to her. Closer then I'd ever be with F-.

I was pulled out of my reverie by a shout, then a squeak of a chair. I stood quickly, and whirled around, bumping into a frail figure.

"Mother!" I cried as I caught her.

"Shhh," she said, "lower your voice. Whatever happened to your hair? Oh, never mind." I was startled, but I tried not to show it as I helped her into a chair. I glanced to see what had made the noise, and saw the barman cleaning up shards of glass. I turned back to Mother.

"What is so urgent and secretive that you cannot tell me at home?" I asked.

"Oh, where to start, where to start…" she murmured to herself. "First, what letter were you talking about earlier?"

"Mother, I sent you an owl last night, and I got a blunt response from Father, telling me not to meddle. I was furious-"

"Do you still have it?" she interrupted me.

"Er, yes," I said slowly as I rummaged through my pockets. "But I left it up at the castle." She nodded briskly, then dismissed the idea with her hand.

"Can you recall what he told you?" Was her next question. I was feeling more and more alarmed, but I just started saying what I could remember.

"Er, he said he didn't want me to know of the Dark Lord's affairs, and that he wouldn't allow you to reveal anything to me. Also….he, er, said that the Dark Lord's business should be no concern of mine. And, he forbade me from inquiring after them.

"I was enraged, seeing as I worked as a sort of double agent for hi-" Mother shushed me again, then said:

"That is not the subject at hand. I believe that your father had a right to not ask you to meddle." I started to protest, but stopped abruptly as she continued, in hushed and hurried tones.

"Though I feel that you should know some things, it is not my place to decide that." I raised my eyebrows, indicating that I felt that that wasn't true, but she ignored me.

"Your father has been engaged in other things over the months." I thought that she was going to tell me of his Getting-women-into-bed adventures, but instead she began something that I thought would be impossible.

"You see, your father was always rather unhappy about what has happened in the last couple of years, including the return of Wormtail, and the whole affair at the Ministry. He never did like the power that the Dark Lord had over people, and he and his, er, friends, decided that they would overtake him, in a way.

"What started as a mere idea last January has now evolved into a full-fledged escapade to overthrow the all-mighty wizard. He gathered his most loyal followers, and formed a new group, outside of the Death Eaters. They met a few times over the months, in secret of course, but I noticed that now their meetings grew more frequent." I stared and stared at Mother, almost sure that she was making this all up, but listened intently.

"All the members were not only sworn to secrecy, but they swore on their lives. It was only by accident that I discovered your father's plans in August, and since then I have been gathering information." She sounded almost calm now, rather than the hurried tones she was talking in before.

"In almost no time, I figured out all the members, their ultimate "goal" and the thing of much significance: their plan. I haven't told anyone, and your father has no idea that someone outside his circle of trustees knows of this organization."

"But Mother," I asked, "why are you telling me this?"

"Only because you have a right to know, my Draco. I have kept many secrets, maybe too many, from you for a long time, and this is not one of the things that can wait. In time, I shall tell you all of them, but now is not the time." Again, I began protesting, but she cut in. "This is a public place, Draco, and no matter how quietly we talk someone is bound to overhear. No, I have devised a way that we could talk at regular intervals over the months."

"Well, it can't be by the Floo Network, Father's watching that, and it most certainly can't be owls, for the same reason. I cannot see another way, except me sneaking out here every time," I summed up the ideas, ticking them off on my finger.

"I have a better plan. I will send you an owl whenever I want to see you. The letter, written in code, would tell you to meet me. Whenever you get that, all you have to do is get into the Shrieking Shack." She smiled slyly.

"Um, I can't. The house is boarded up, and there is no way that I could sneak out regularly. Maybe if it was just the grounds…"

"Oh, but it is. There is a special tree on the Hogwarts grounds, that allows access into the Shrieking Shack."

"You don't mean the Whomping Willow?! That bloody tree can kill you!" I whispered loudly.

"And that 'bloody tree' is your way to Hogsmeade. There is a knot on one of the branches, and if that is pressed the tree freezes. From there, you should be able to find your way in."

"What about you? How will you get in?"

"Don't you worry. Oh, and the code is this: If I ask 'And how are things going with Pansy, honey?' then you know to meet me in the Shrieking Shack at 11:00 PM that night," she concluded, then stood up.

"Alright, Mother. Just one last thing, okay?" She nodded, and I asked, "Why are you doing this? You have no particular interest in the Dark Lord, I thought, and if you stopped Father in some way, then you'd be helping him." She didn't seem bothered by my comment, though I thought I had made a pretty good point.

"I have my reasons, and all you need to know is this: YOU are very much involved in this, Draco, maybe even more than me or your father."

I didn't understand what she meant by that, but I had no time to ask her because she had Disapparated before I even began saying, "What do you mean?"

I finished the drink that Mother had ordered for me, a stale butterbeer, and walked slowly to the door. It was 10:41 and I was tired. I was about to pull it open when it slammed me in the head. I staggered backwards, and clutched my forehead.

"Ow! Watch where you're going you-" I spat, before I saw who was standing there.

"Father?!" I asked, astonished. "What are you doing here?"

A/N: Does that stir things up a bit? Well, I hope that you like it, and I'll get Chapter 8 up as soon as I figure out where I go with this. But I promise I'll definitely finish it!!!

Thank you to all you reviewers out there; I love reading what you think, and as always, just tell me what you thought were some bad parts, and I'll change it!
Thank you also to scarletheartedlioness, for her work as my beta, I am very grateful. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!