Chapter 8: Diagon Ally

The day was warm and sunny, the four had donned t-shirts and sunglasses to go to Diagon Ally, it was too warm for robes. "Alright boys and girls, please put your tray tables up and keep your arms and legs inside until the vehicle comes to a complete stop." Jack said with a grin, taking the lead and slinging an arm around a red-faced Ron. "Especially you." she narrowed an eye at him. "I've got my eye on you."

Harry rolled his eyes at Hermione, looking over at Ron, who'd been released, his face brilliant day-glo orange. "Bloody hell, if she keeps doing that I think I'm gonna have a heart-attack." he moaned, grasping his chest for effect.

Charley fell in pace beside his little brother. "Don't complain." he winked heartily. "If Nadia wasn't here." he shook his head, grinning.

"Where to first?" Hermione asked briskly, obviously trying to change the subject and sending a murderous look in Ron's direction. "How about books?"

"Florish & Blotts it is." Ginny piped up, heading in that direction.

"Shit, I haven't been here in years." Jack was saying, walking next to Remus who was smiling over at her. "There still that ice cream shop? You remember those Sundays? It was a wonder I wasn't 500 pounds."

A shadow fell across Remus' face. "No, Fortescue was taken." he replied quietly.

"Death Eaters?" Jack asked, her face stunned. "The hell did Fortescue have to do with them?" Remus shrugged. "I think they've just gone absolutely fucking crazy, the people they're taking." she looked up at Olivanders as they passed, shaking her head. "I remember Olivander, a bit Norman Bates, but all in all just a cute old guy."

Moody sighed, looking over at the abandoned building. "It's a shame. Great loss." he shook his head. "I think that Charley, Hagrid and I have it taken care of, why don't the two off you go explore. Things've changed a bit in the last twenty years."

"Shall we El Dorado it a bit, blaze our own trail?" Jack grinned, a gleam in her eye. "I'll bet that Lassco's is still here. Up for a tumbler?"

"It's only noon, Jack, I think that it's a bit early to get pissed." Remus chided, but gave in to her pleading.

"Alright, you three, if I hear you've gotten into any trouble I'll have your testes (and ovaries) for it." she called with a cheerful wave before throwing her arm around Remus, who immediately put his around her waist, and they walked off.

"If you ask me I think she's a little crazy." Harry said quietly, looking over at his friends. "Brilliant, but crazy."

"Just odd." Ginny said thoughtfully. "But I'll tell you this--if she's willing I'd love to learn some of her spells. Did you see that one where she decapitated that Death Eater?" She gushed, not having stopped since the fight at the Burrow. It was obvious that Ginny adored the new addition, which didn't surprise Hermione one bit. She knew how much her friend wanted to be the "bad ass" when she grew up. If you asked her it was because she grew up with so many brothers.

They made it to Florish & Blotts in no time, elbowing their way into the door. "Alright, who needs what?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Ron pulled out his list. "Precise Potionmastery and How to Produce Perfection." he grimaced. "Sounds like a blast. Charms, level 7, Transfiggeration 8, How to Defend Against Magical Monsters and Tame Wild Beasts." He rolled his eyes. "Hagrid always assigns the most ridiculous books. Tamewild beasts? How about how to kill them? Magical Plants and You, and last but not least, The Black Book. Wonder what that is?"

"It's the future book." Charley piped up. "It's a list of all possible career paths, what you need to do to qualify, and what kind of talent or personality-type you need to be successful."

"Does it work?" Ginny asked. "Tell you what you should do?"

"Well it's not designed to do that, is it?" Charley asked, tweaking his youngest sibling's nose, much to her displeasure. "It's meant to be a guide. Not even magic can tell you what you should do when you grow up."

"Weare grown up." Hermione pointed out.

"Oh?" Charley looked at her scrutinizingly, she blushed pink, looking away. It was Ron's turn to roll his eyes. "So you know what you want to do when you graduate?"

"Well, I haven't quite decided. I'd like to work at Mungos, do research, but I'd also like to work in the Ministry, but being an Auror wouldn't be so bad…"

"See?" Charley said. "Don't think that you're all grown up. When you are, it just stops being any fun." he grinned. "Me, I plan on never growing up. What's the use of it? All you do is get grouchy and stop enjoying life." he shook his head.

They rounded up their books, paying for them, and exiting without any trouble. They moved on to get their new school robes and their other such supplies. Diagon Ally was a little eerie, oh it was busy with Hogwarts students picking up their supplies, but some of the businesses were closed and boarded up, and there were very few street vendors. There were also lots and lots of Wizard Wanted posters. Harry passed by three of Bellatrix's before he realized who it was. He pulled one down, taking it over to Ron. "Bloody hell." Ron whispered. "She's--beautiful."

"She used to be." Moody spoke up, surprising them. Of course he'd seen what they were looking at. "Used to call her the Black Widow, she used to seduce wizards into joining--and if they didn't, she'd kill them." He shook his head. "She had great potential, when she was in school, good future laid out, but something in her just--snapped. Some people say she was always mad. Me, I think it was just the power."

"You've met her?" Harry asked quietly, looking down into the dark eyes of the woman who'd killed his godfather.

"Once." Moody replied. "I helped in apprehending her the first time, putting her into Azkaban. I had to testify in front of the tribunal, she just stared at me." he shivered. "She had the deadest eyes I've ever seen. Like she had no soul. Like it'd been eaten. And in a way it had. She was the only one who followed You-Know-Who out of love, instead of fear."

"Love?" Harry asked, furrowing his brow. "What do you mean love?"

"You don't mean…" Ron trailed off meaningfully.

"There were some who said that her relationship with the Dark Lord wasn't quite what you'd call--platonic. 'Course those were just rumors. But she loved him, she did, with what she had in place of a heart. To the end, she never stopped proclaiming him. Even when she was locked away. Her love for him was so terrible that even the Dementors couldn't suck it away. I think that's what kept her alive for all those years."

"So you mean the Dementors didn't have an effect on her?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, they had an effect on her, alright, but sometimes I'd come and look in on her. She'd just be sitting there, staring at the wall--smiling. Most chilling thing you've seen." and he fell back to talk to Mrs. Weasley.

"Creepy." Ron shook his head. "To think someone could actually lovesomeone like You-Know-Who."

"You have to remember how convincing he can be." Hermione spoke up. "He's brilliant, I think he could talk someone into nearly anything, if he really tried." she looked down at the picture, into those dead eyes. She wasn't screaming or straining to get free like the other people on the Wizard Wanted photographs, no, she was just staring out at them, smiling. "Throw that away." she walked off, Ron with her.

Harry looked at the picture for another second before folding it and shoving it into his pocket. He didn't know why, but he couldn't just throw it away. He didn't want to. He wanted to see her--the face of the woman who'd killed Sirius.

He caught up with his friends, a few yards away from the adults who were conversing in front of a bookshop. Ron and Hermione had stopped in front of Forticue's looking at the boarded up windows. "Hell," Ron sighed, "to think we were sitting there only last year. And how he's gone."

Harry's eye was attracted by something white. He looked over just in time to see someone in a white cloak, the hood pulled up, walking on the street parallel to the one they were on. The figure disappeared behind the row of shops. A moment later a second figure appeared, all dressed in black, hunched, footsteps deliberate, face hidden. Harry elbowed Ron in the ribs. "Did you see that?" he asked.

"Ow," Ron complained. "See what?"

"There was a person in white who was being followed by someone in a black cloak." he explained. "It looked like the white person had no idea they were being followed."

"Oy, you think it's a Death Eater?" Ron asked, hushed, wide eyes.

"In Diagon Alley, hardly." Hermione said, but the tension wasn't out of her voice completely. "They wouldn't dare--would they?"

"Why not?" Harry asked. "You see the kinds of people that come to Knockturn Alley, maybe they're just not afraid anymore."

"Well?" Ron asked.

"Well what?" Harry looked at his friend.

"Lets follow them!" he exclaimed, a gleam of adventure in his eye.

"They'd never let us." Hermione said, looking back at the adults. "Just tell them what you saw and--"

"And by then the person in white could be dead. Oh, come on Harry, they're not going to notice." And with no further ado Ron ran off down the street after the two people. Harry looked at Hermione who sighed and gestured for him to follow.

The three of them ran down the street after the two people, they finally caught up, hiding behind a building and peeking around to watch. The two people were talking now, the person in white, whose voice was feminine, was barely audible. "I'm not going to go." She said, her voice was deeply Russian. "I'm not your slave." The other person's voice was inaudible. "No! I vill not be ordered by you to do anything!" she exclaimed. "Now go away." The other person responded. "Are you going to force me?" the woman asked.

Ron elbowed Harry. "He's going to force her to do something!" he exclaimed. "We should go and help."

"For all we know he's her brother whose trying to get her to come home." Hermione pointed out.

"Then why would they be hiding under cloaks?" Ron pointed out.

"Take your hand off of me!" the woman's voice broke through their conversation. That was all that the trio needed, Hermione's qualms sated. They sprung from their hiding place. "Let her go!" Harry yelled, pulling his wand.

The two didn't even hear them, there was a loud crack and they both disappeared. "Damn it!" Ron exclaimed. "Who knows what happened? He could be killing her right now!"

"Just what do you think you three are doing?" Jack's voice came, she stood just behind them, her hands on her hips, her eyes dangerous.

"Oh, Ms. Avvor." Hermione exclaimed. "We just saw this person force this other woman to come with them against her will! We think that it was a Death Eater!"

"You saw a Death Eater, here, in Diagon Alley." Jack asked flatly.

"Yea, we're sure of it!" Ron piped up.

"And you chased it down all by yourselves without telling your escort of well-trained guard dogs." she said just as flatly. "Honestly, I get that you're seventeen and have a independence complex--but are you stupid?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Jesus Christ, it's like dealing with children."

"What were we supposed to do?" Harry asked. "He could've killed her. He could still be killing her."

"And has it occurred to you that maybe you're just a little more important then some random bitch?" Jack asked, leaning down to look him directly in his eyes, all of the humor gone from her steely eyes. "That maybe it's your live that we can't fucking spare? That maybe it was a bloody trap and you're just too much of a bone-headed, over-assured little boy to realize that maybe they're just a little smarter then you. Do you reallythink that Voldemort would risk sending Death Eaters to pick someone up in the most highly populated Wizarding spots in the whole of the fucking Island? And do you think it was just coincidence that they happened to walk right past you just long enough to lure you into a dark and unpopulated part of the Alley? How dumb do you think His Eminence is?" she cocked an eyebrow. "And how dumb do you feel right now." Harry stared at her defiantly, but he couldn't come up with a good enough response. "Move." She said coldly, turning and walking back towards the main street.

When the three of them reappeared Mrs. Weasley gave a cry, running and embracing them, and then swatting their heads. "Just where did you think you were going?" she asked.

"Sorry mum." Ron muttered.

"Sorry." Harry echoed his friend, ashamed. How dumb did he feel?

III

The school things had been gotten and they'd even stopped for food, now they were headed back out into the Muggle world. There happened to be a news stand by the side of the exit, the Daily Prophet caught Ron's attention. On the front of it was a large picture of Victor Krumm. "Hey, wait a tic." he pulled out a few knuts and handed them over to the clerk, picking up the paper. "What the hell?" he exclaimed after a moment.

"What?" Harry asked curiously.

Ron turned the headline towards Harry. It read: A Disappointing Start. And under it wereVictor Krum, not signing on for another season with the Bulgarian Vratsa Vultures. "What?" Harry asked, snatching the newspaper out of his friend's hand. "They mean he's traded, right?" he scanned the first paragraph:

For unknown reasons the most popular Seeker in the Quidditch League, Mr. Victor Krum, has not signed on for another season with the Vratsa Vultures, the Bulgarian National Team. When asked to comment, Mr. Victor Krum declined to make a statement. However, when only slight pressure was placed upon his team manager, Triston Klavov, he said that "He [Victor Krum has left the team for personal reasons. It has nothing at all to do with dissatisfaction with the team or it's owners, or me."

"What the hell?" he looked up at his friend, open-mouthed. "Why would he quit? He was brilliant!" they both looked at Hermione.

"Well don't look at me, I haven't heard from him in months." she shrugged. She actually hadn't heard from Victor in about six months, she was starting to think that maybe he'd forgotten about her. Of course that wouldn't be so bad, not if Ron would open his eyes, but it still stung. She still had feelings for the overbearing Bulgarian.

"Well this just makes my day." Ron exclaimed, tossing the newspaper and heading through the exit.

Hermione picked it up, scanning its headlining stories, besides the one about Krum. They'd left for Diagon Alley before her copy had been delivered, so she hadn't seen it yet. There were the usual depressing stories about people gone missing or new Death Eater attacks, but something caught her attention at the bottom of the page. There, tucked at the bottom right, was a story entitled: The Death of Innocence.

Curious, she read on:

Early this morning Mr. Arnie Wipple, residing in Little Hangleton, went out to fetch his morning newspaper only to find more then he bargained for. For there, in the field across from his home, was the body of a young boy, the Dark Mark still hanging in the sky above him. Terrified, he immediately contacted the Authorities who identified the body as belonging to a Hogwarts Student named Draco Malfoy, who had been identified by…

But Hermione stopped reading, her eyes wide, body frozen, breath caught in her throat. She dropped the paper without even realizing it. "'Mione, what's wrong?" Ron turned around, looking at her curiously. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"The--the--the article at the bottom." she covered her mouth, unable to finish.

Harry picked up the paper, dusting it off and began to read, the adults had stopped and turned to listen: "Early this morning Mr. Arnie Wipple, residing in Little Hangleton, went out to fetch his morning newspaper only to find more then he bargained for. For there, in the field across from his home, was the body of a young boy, the Dark Mark still hanging in the sky above him. Terrified, he immediately contacted the Authorities, who identified the body as belonging to a Hogwarts Student named Draco Malfoy," Harry paused, looking up at the assembled group, stunned, but plunged on, "Draco Malfoy, who had been identified by Harry Potter (the Harry Potter) as being a Death Eater and a plotter in the death of Albus Dumbledore (June).

"Draco, only 17 at the time of his death, had been killed using the Crucio curse, the look of pain and terror still on his young, pale face. When we attempted to contact his father for a statement, we'd found him indisposed. It seems that his wife, Narcissa Malfoy, had expired only a few days earlier from a progressing illness.

"'Draco was a smart boy, very kind and generous, never an unkind word.' His fellow classmate, Pansy Parkenson described him as. 'He just got in over his head with the Death Eaters, and all. He never meant anything by it.' Parkinson, 17, was Draco Malfoy's girlfriend at the time of his death, and shortly after giving this statement fell into shock, and is currently residing at St. Mungos.

"While the reason for his death is still undetermined, speculation is rampant. There are those who say that he was killed by You-Know-Who for not having finished his task, although many claim that the boy was only another victim on a growing list belonging to the Ex-Potions-Master Severus Snape, whose kill list also includes Andrew Payton (Auror), Art Shavez (Auror), James Catton (Auror), Elmer Sparrow (Ministry Official), and most recently Headmaster Albus Dumbledore himself.

"Sources say that Draco Malfoy was last seen with Severus Snape as he fled Hogwarts after murdering Dumbledore. However, no one knows where either of them went after this, although it is assumed that they retuned to the Dark Lord…" Harry stopped. "Draco." he murmured. It wasn't that he was sad that Draco was dead, in fact, it held very little emotional resonance to him at all. But it meant something. They'd known Draco for six years, ever since they came to Hogwarts, and now he was dead.

Hermione held her hand to her mouth, her eyes were still shocked. "I can't believe it."

"He got what he deserved." Ron said darkly. "That's what happens when you fall in with Death Eaters. What did he expect?"

"No one expects to die, Ron." Remus spoke up. "Especially not when you're seventeen. And not even Draco Malfoy deserved what he got."