Knock, knock. Harry was so surprised, he almost dropped his book. It had been almost three days. The knocking repeated itself.
"Come in," Harry called hesitantly. He jumped to his feet when the door opened and he saw who it was.
"Malfoy! I knew it! What do you want?"
"Now, now…" The older Malfoy answered with an amused smile. "I wanted to invite you for dinner, that's all."
Harry backed up a step. "What sort of game are you playing? Why aren't you in Azkaban, where you belong?"
The amused smile faded a little. "No one ever taught you about courtesy, did they, boy? Well, it's no surprise, with these 'relatives' of yours…"
"You are a Death Eater! You kidnapped me and locked me up in this room and you expect courtesy?"
"What do you not like about the room? I'm sure, whatever it is, the house-elves can fix it."
"It's a prison! It's not where I want to be!" Harry hissed.
"Oh, well, that's sadly unavoidable." A brief smirk flitted across Lucius Malfoy's face. "I brought you something to read, though."
He tossed a newspaper onto the table.
"And this." From his hand dangled a silver necklace. "Once you've decided to put this on, you can leave this room and join us for dinner."
"What's that?" asked Harry.
"An enchanted necklace. It makes it so you can't leave the building."
Harry crossed his arms. "No."
Mr. Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "So you prefer being locked up in this room? Please. Do give it a thought."
He laid down the necklace next to the newspaper. "In case you change your mind, dinner is at six. Simply ask one of the house-elves where the dining room is. They'll come when you snap your fingers."
He stopped on the threshold. "And one more thing: I have a wand and you don't. This building is thoroughly shielded, meaning I can speak whichever spell I wish. Even if it's one of the unforgivable curses."
"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Harry hissed.
"I don't waste my time on threats. It's something for you to think about. If you're capable of that."
With that, the man left the room, locking the door behind him. Harry grabbed the nearest object and threw it at the door. It turned out to be a candle that didn't break half as beautifully as he would've wished.
He could've sworn that he heard Malfoy laughing outside. Harry cursed and glared at the newspaper he left behind.
Dinner… did Malfoy say 'us'? Us… the Malfoys? Was he at their manor? Things kept getting weirder. Well, Harry certainly wasn't about to dine with them. The last time Harry saw that man was just before his godfather died. Sirius… Harry shook his head to rid himself of the memory. Sirius's death was on him. He just had to stop thinking about it.
Why had Malfoy left him those newspapers?
Harry grabbed the one on top and froze as he saw the front page. It was the newest issue of the Daily Prophet. A huge photograph took up the top half of the page. The familiar row of houses of Privet Drive made his blood run cold.
Instead of the house he spent most of his youth in, there was a smoldering, black pile of rubble. Robed figures moved back and forth between collapsed beams and leftover walls. They were Aurors.
And hovering above everything, green and ugly, the dark mark. Harry's knees grew weak, and he sank to the floor. There was a difference between imagining something, and seeing it in black and white. He stared at the picture for a while before his eyes wandered over to the article below.
The Boy who Lived killed by Death Eaters
Scandalous cover-up by the Ministry
The Daily Prophet managed to unearth a never-before seen scandal. Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, apparently tried to keep a terrifying catastrophe hidden from the wizarding world. On the night of the 15th July, Death Eaters attacked the home of the Boy who Lived, Harry Potter, as a picture taken three days ago in Little Whinging, Privet Drive, proves. At the time, he was at home for his summer break with his Muggle relatives Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley.
Further inquiries revealed no survivors. The house burnt down. The ministry refused to give a statement as to why Harry Potter wasn't under special protection, after he had only just stopped a Death Eater attack on the Ministry a few months ago.
"Indeed, this leaves us to question the current Minister's capacity to govern," explained Lucius Malfoy, currently independent consultant of the ministry. "This is but one of many lapses in judgment by Minister Fudge - despite repeated objections from concerned citizens like myself. It's an example of the sort of misguided politics that many have been complaining about for some time now." Mr. Malfoy had only recently been the victim of this lapse of judgment (see page 6).
"We weren't allowed to talk about the events," said a concerned party who wants to stay anonymous. "Employees of the Ministry were threatened with the loss of their jobs and memories. But I can't keep silent. The wizarding world has a right to know what really happened."
According to witness reports, the Aurors were alerted by the collapse of the protection spells around 4 Privet Drive. Once they arrived at the scene, the house was already ablaze. Spells stopped them from saving the victims while they were still alive, until the fire was out of control. Our journalist was able to get exclusive interviews with some of the Aurors, who were deeply shocked by…
Harry couldn't bear reading any further. The newspaper slipped from his grip as he started shaking. Everything hit him all at once. His last relatives were dead. Whatever he had left of his parents, of Sirius, was destroyed. Sirius' mirror, his dad's cloak of invisibility, the Marauder's Map, the broom that Sirius had gifted him, the photo album with pictures of his parents… all of it had been in that house… his school supplies, all those gifts from Hermione, Ron, the Weasleys, anything that ever meant something to him, his entire life… and his friends, everyone he knew, they thought him dead… he might as well be. Harry screamed in despair before crumbling to the floor and crying.
Harry didn't know how long he had been crying. He felt hollow inside. At some point, he had found the energy to check on the second newspaper. It was an older issue of the Daily Prophet, reporting on Lucius Malfoy's release from Azkaban.
Apparently, multiple captured Death Eaters had made confessions under Veritaserum about how Malfoy had been under the Imperius Curse. Harry had no idea how that snake of a man had managed this, but it had worked. It was nothing but more salt in the wound.
Just two months ago, the man had tried to kill Harry, in the middle of the Ministry itself, and the Ministry let him go – only for him to kidnap Harry and kill the Dursleys. Malfoy seemed to get away with everything. Harry stared at the picture in front of him, too hollow to pull himself together and get up.
Instead, he traced a finger across the ugly dark mark in the newspaper. He didn't feel anything. Nothing but all-encompassing emptiness.
At some point, he must have fallen asleep, for he awoke on the floor. Outside, the sun had started setting. Harry struggled to his feet and stared at the newspaper for a while, before going to the bathroom. He stood in the shower, letting the water patter down on him without watching the time. It was relaxing, a bit like washing away the desperation.
Harry had no more tears to shed. He couldn't exactly feel compassion towards the Dursleys… they had never been his family… everything he felt was loss. He had lost everything he ever owned, leaving behind this strange emptiness.
It wasn't like the pain he went through at Sirius' death. Back then, he had been sad, angry, and full of guilt. The thought of it still hurt. Now, he was simply numb.
Harry got dressed and mechanically ate his breakfast before grabbing a book. It had almost grown into a routine. Yet, after some time, he realized that he wasn't focusing on the book. Instead, his thoughts kept drifting and he stared at nothing in particular.
His eyes kept drifting to the necklace. It was made from heavy silver, with a silver pendant. The pendant formed two snakes, winding around a sword made of diamonds. The eyes of the snakes were sapphires. This was obviously a highly valuable piece of jewelry.
Hadn't he seen those two snakes before? Finally, he remembered the brooch that had likely been a portkey. He had forgotten about it, but now that he thought about it, it had disappeared.
Harry brushed his fingers along the chain, feeling a faint prickle from the magic inside. He took the pendant and studied it more closely. He had no idea what Malfoy wanted. There was no guarantee that the necklace did as the man claimed. Maybe he had placed an insidious curse upon it.
But why bother? Malfoy was right. Harry was at his mercy. Whatever he wanted from him, Harry couldn't resist. It didn't make a difference. Maybe this necklace could offer him a few answers.
Harry tried to continue reading, but his mind kept returning to Malfoy's invitation. Noon passed and evening grew closer.
On a whim, Harry took the necklace and put it on. The magic sent faint dizziness running through him. He blinked and waited until it subsided. Once it did, everything was the same as before.
He checked the time. It was almost six. Hesitantly, he rose, smoothing over his robes. Was he ready to come to terms with the fact that he'd have to face Malfoy eventually? No, he'd never truly be ready.
Harry stepped towards the door and attempted to open it. To his surprise, it offered no resistance. He entered a broad corridor with wood-paneling. To his right and left were more doors. Between them were wall-mounted larger-than-life portraits of wizards and witches in archaic clothing. Most of them had the blond hair and gray eyes of the Malfoys. Some watched him and whispered among each other.
Harry took a deep breath and snapped his fingers. It felt strange, like he was one of the arrogant snobs who had kidnapped him. Almost immediately, a house-elf appeared in front of him, staring at him with large eyes.
"What can Dilly do for you, Sir?"
"Um… could you please show me to the dining room?" Harry asked hesitantly.
The elf smiled widely. "Of course, Sir. Please follow Dilly, Sir."
She bowed deeply and waddled down the corridor on her short legs, turning a corner at its end. Harry followed her down a wide staircase and into a great, empty hall. Dilly pointed at a tall, two-winged door, flanked by two suits of armor.
"The dining room, Sir. Is that all, Sir?"
"Yes, thank you, Dilly."
The elf beamed at him. "Oh, Dilly is most delighted to be able to help. Whenever the Sir needs Dilly's services, Sir."
She bowed again and vanished. Harry sighed and stared at the door. A sudden urge to turn back came over him. He heard whispers and noticed that the portraits in the hall were watching him.
Harry braced himself. He couldn't hole up in that room forever. He needed to find out what was going on. Harry gathered himself and opened the door. It led into a large, long room, countless portraits covering the walls. At the center of the room was a long ebony table with several empty seats to both sides. Two huge candelabras lit up the room with magical fire.
Harry closed the door with a resounding bang. The three people at the table looked up. Their glances twisted his stomach. The table was set for four. Mr. Malfoy and his wife sat at the head, with Draco to the left, next to his mother. The seat next to Lucius Malfoy was free.
Slowly, Harry moved towards that seat. Mrs. Malfoy smiled briefly, before she continued eating. Draco simply stared as if he was seeing a ghost. Mr. Malfoy only grinned. The closer Harry got, the slower he walked. It was like he was fighting his way through a viscous fluid. Suddenly, Draco jumped to his feet. His chair slid backwards before crashing to the ground, interrupting the silence.
"What is HE doing here?" hissed Harry's greatest enemy from school without ever taking his eyes off of him. "He was supposed to be dead!"
"Sit down, boy," said Lucius Malfoy calmly.
Draco whipped around to face him. "But Father, this is…"
"I said sit!" repeated Mr. Malfoy, this time more sharply.
Draco froze before slowly obeying. It was obvious that he'd have loved to curse Harry instead. Now, he could only stare at him in hatred. Harry returned his glare coolly.
"I see you've decided to take me up on my invitation. Please, have a seat."
Mr. Malfoy invitingly pointed at the chair next to him. Stiffly, Harry pulled back the chair and set down.
"Let's settle a couple of rules. I don't tolerate quarrels at this table. Our guest will be treated with courtesy and respect. Is that clear?"
Mr. Malfoy regarded his son. Draco looked first at him, then at his plate.
"Yes, Father."
"Good."
Harry watched as Draco's fingers clenched the cutlery.
"Have a nice meal," said Mr. Malfoy.
Harry didn't answer, but it didn't appear to be expected of him anyway. He watched Draco and his mother, but both of them were focused on their plates. While Narcissa seemed to be smiling on occasion, Draco was obviously fighting his own rage. Food appeared on Harry's plate and he sluggishly began to eat without any hunger. No one said anything. The silence was almost eerie. Finally, Mr. Malfoy clapped his hands.
"I believe it's time to answer some questions."
Draco looked up. His face was a mask of barely suppressed rage. Mrs. Malfoy smiled and rose elegantly. Mr. Malfoy followed suit.
"We should go to my study."
Draco stood abruptly, so Harry did the same. Both of them followed the adults without so much as a glance at each other.