Harry Potter is Dead
Chapter 5 | The Last Horcrux
The kitchen was full of both strange and familiar faces when Ron and Hermione entered. Ron could pick out Kingsley, Fleur, Bill, Charlie, and even Neville's grandmother among the small crowd of Order supporters. They shuffled in place, muttering to one another, waiting for the meeting to begin.
"Please, everyone, feel free to find a seat!" Mrs. Weasley pushed past Ron, holding her wand aloft; a dozen glasses of lemonade set themselves neatly on the table. A few people murmured in thanks.
"Where is he, Arthur?" Boomed Kingsley's slow, deep voice.
"Out back. We didn't take him inside of the enchantments." Mr. Weasley answered.
Kingsley nodded. "Good. Even if we do decide he's telling the truth, I don't think you'd want him in your house."
Mr. Weasley shook his head. "No . . . well, anyway, you're all here, so I'll explain what he said." He spent the next ten minutes referring Malfoy's warning in detail to the Order members. When he was finished, no one spoke for a moment.
"What is a Horcruse?" a man whom Ron did not recognize asked. "He wasn't very specific."
"I . . . don't know." Mr. Weasley said after a moment.
He looked around hopefully at the others, but none spoke up; a heavy silence fell about the room. Ron and Hermione eyed each other almost guiltily. They had never told their family what they were doing with Harry in the year before he died; due to the devastation of their loss at the Battle of Hogwarts, as well as Harry's death, the Order's curiosity had been snuffed out. No one had asked them for the details of their mission since before the Battle. But after a moment, Ron finally spoke up.
"It's actually called a Horcrux." He muttered.
Every head swiveled to look at him. Ron turned slightly red.
Hermione stepped in. "Two years ago we were looking for them with Harry, destroying them. We managed to kill five . . . but You-Know-Who does have one more. We think it's his snake." She said nervously.
"But what exactly - ?" Percy's question trailed off.
"It's an object enchanted by a Dark wizard so that it will contain a fragment of his or her soul. It's a revolting piece of magic, really." There was a short pause as everyone digested this.
"How do you do it, then?" Bill asked slowly. "If we know how You-Know-Who's making these things, we have a chance at stopping him."
"You have to kill someone," Hermione said. "Commit an act so evil that it splits the soul in two . . . and then you'd place that bit of soul inside of an object, and it becomes a Horcrux. Then if you are killed, the bit of your soul within the Horcrux still lives on . . . it's supposed to make your soul really unstable, though; they're so awful, and he made six of them, too . . . " Her voice faded away.
"Six?" Percy asked. "What - "
"We don't know how you do it, don't ask." Ron cut him off.
"In any case, it sounds as if this one he's planning on making now is created by other means than a normal Horcrux." Kingsley said.
"So how do we stop him?" Dean said.
"You forget," Mrs. Longbottom stepped forward, surveying them all with her usual expression of extreme distaste. "That we have no reliable evidence that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is planning anything at all. We can not trust this man."
"She has a point." Mr. Weasley sighed after a moment.
"We'll have to interrogate him, then." Bill said. "We need a reason as to why he's suddenly changed his alliance."
"And anything else he'll be able to tell us about You-Know-Who's plan." Charlie added.
"But did you hear the way Malfoy was talking about You-Know-Who?" Ron said, crossing his arms. "He was pretending like he'd finally seen the light, realized You-Know-Who's a murdering madman, and pretending badly at that. I reckon You-Know-Who finally had enough, tried to kill him, but Malfoy escaped somehow and came crawling back to us. No one on his side'll help him, so he goes and grovels at the feet of his enemies, the lousy piece of scum."
"That could be true as well." Hermione said.
"So you theenk he ees lying?" Fleur asked. "Has he told us a story just to gain ze Order's sympathy?"
"He could be lying." Kingsley rubbed his eyes tiredly. "But he might not."
Bill nodded, but glancing around at the others' confused expressions, he explained, "Well, think about it. If this plan's just something he made up to gain our trust, if we act on it and find out it wasn't real, obviously we're going to be pretty angry with Malfoy. I think he knows. He'd want to be absolutely sure he'd have powerful allies who would keep him safe."
"Cowardly bastard." George muttered.
"George, don't you dare talk like that!" Mrs. Weasley said suddenly, who up until then had been standing still and white faced, her lips pressed tightly together. Now she looked absolutely livid.
"Mum!" George cried, turning red. "I'm twenty-one, are you really going to - !" He began to protest, outraged, but she cut him off.
"Of course I am! I am your mother, and I will not tolerate language like that under my - !"
"Molly." Mr. Weasley said quietly.
Mrs. Weasley stopped short, her husband's soft tone shocking her into silence. There was a tense silence in the room for a long minute, in which Mrs. Weasley and George glowered at each other from across the room.
"Well!" Mrs. Weasley snapped, when the quiet persisted. "How are we supposed to figure out what You-Know-Who is doing if everyone is just standing there like this is dinner theater? I have laundry to do!" She turned and was gone. Mr. Weasley followed her out of the room without hesitation, looking worried. Ron had seen his mother get angry plenty of times, but over much larger issues, and she usually made an effort to control herself in front of guests. He shot a confused glance at George, who mirrored it back.
"So." Bill said pointedly when his parents did not return, in an effort to bring everyone back to the topic at hand. "Er, Malfoy. Can we trust him?"
"I think not." Mrs. Longbottom said, holding her chin aloft. "One does not simply cease to be Death Eater. The fact that Mr. Malfoy could have escaped He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is near impossible. He would have been killed."
"He certainly looks as if he's been tortured, beaten, or chased." Luna said.
"But Malfoy hasn't been in You-Know-Who's good books in years. D'you think he'd have cared that much if Malfoy ran for it?" Charlie added.
"He could be spying for You-Know-Who, though." said George. "It would have been easy. Just invent some story, injure him, and send him our way."
"But 'ow?" Fleur said hotly. "'Ow did he find zis house in ze first place? Eet is protected with every spell ze Order has to offer."
There was a short pause. No one seemed to have any ideas.
"He could have found a loophole somehow," Hermione offered feebly, but this was not an answer. "I mean, have we ever tested the limitations of the Fidelius charm before?" She tried again, voice a bit stronger. "I've never tried to see how much I could say about the location of a safe house before the charm kicked in, and I trust that none of you have. Perhaps . . . maybe someone told Malfoy that the Burrow was in this general area, and the charm doesn't protect against anything but a direct indication of the house's location. Or the charm might only work if the person intends to reveal the place, not if they let something slip by accident, but I doubt that . . . " She appeared to be thinking aloud. " . . . Or he could have been told where the Burrow is a long time ago, before the protections were put in place . . . he might have even known about Ginny's snow on the Muggle radio this morning and guessed that we were nearby."
"Yeah, but the chances of Malfoy listening to Muggle news are about as good as Ronnie here becoming Minister of Magic one day." George flashed a grin. Ron scowled.
Kingsley ignored this. "The snow could have been any underage witch or wizard." He said.
"Well, what about her other reasons, then?" Ron said, rather more angrily than he intended.
"I don't doubt that the Fidelius charm is keeping us hidden. I've never heard of a case in where one has been broken other than instances in which the Secret Keeper revealing the secret. I can check the wards after we're done here to be sure, though. " Bill said thoughtfully. "But your theory about him hearing about our location years ago, Hermione . . . that could be it."
Ron could tell that Hermione was trying very hard not to look pleased with herself.
"So that's three theories we have as to Malfoy's motives," Dean began to count them off on his fingers. "One, he's telling the truth to save his own skin. Two, he's lying to save his own skin. Three, he's lying on Voldemort's orders."
"So which one is the right one?" A woman in the back asked.
"Like I said, we need to interrogate him." Bill repeated. "Use force if we have to, but we have to get as much information as possible if we're going to decide whether or not he's lying."
"No one in here makes a habit of carrying around Veritaserum in their back pocket, do they? Because that would be helpful." George grinned.
A few people cracked smiles, but they also all shook their heads or muttered, "No." There was a short pause.
"Well, that's that, then." Kingsley said. "Who's going to do it?"
"I will," Ron said immediately.
"Ron, No." Bill said, shaking his head. "Let me and Charlie do it, all right?"
"No, I want to help, I want to know what the bastard's got to say!"
"Me too," Said George
"And I as well."
Bill, Charlie, George, and Ron all turned to look at their other brother, who had stepped forward, very red. Percy glanced nervously at each of them in turn, swallowed, and seemed to steel himself.
"Well, seeing as I lost a few years of fighting when the war first began, it's high time I started to pull my weight." He drew himself up to his full height, puffing out his chest with an air of pompous defiance. George jabbed him hard in the stomach and Percy deflated with a great puff, choking and spluttering. Ron stifled a laugh.
Bill frowned, silent for a moment, and then gave a long sigh. "All right, all right. Charlie, George, Ron, Percy and I'll talk to Malfoy and see what we can make of his story. Anyone else can stay and watch."
There was a great amount of shuffling happening in the kitchen; some of the congregation moved toward the fireplace, made up mostly of the Order members that Ron did not know, but most trooped out into the back garden, a group full of familiar, tense faces.
Malfoy had not moved; the Supersensory Charm still hummed quietly in a dome around his broken form. They stepped across the magical protection the Burrow offered, and Malfoy looked up, his bruised and bloody face desperate for a verdict. Each Weasley brother removed their wands from their pocket; Charlie and Percy already had them directed at Malfoy.
"We need answers, Malfoy." Percy began, the forcefulness of his tone betraying his desperation to prove his worth to his brothers. Ron caught George smirking out of the corner of his eye.
Malfoy groveled on the ground as he had before. "Of course - yes, I-I'll tell you anything! Everything!" He spluttered eagerly.
"How did you find us?" Bill demanded
Malfoy did not hesitate, but answered immediately, pleading - "I have known that your house was n-near this village for some number of years - I was merely going my memory, I assure you!"
Ron chanced a glance at Hermione out of the corner of his eye. She was very clearly trying to keep a straight face, but she smiled smugly in spite of herself: Ron remembered she used to make the very same face when a Professor awarded Hermione house points for answering a question correctly . . . Ron had once burst with jealousy whenever he saw her make that expression . . . now it immersed him in several years' worth of happy memories, all in the space of a moment . . .
"Why did you find us?" Charlie asked, pulling Ron jarringly back to the present. "What made you leave You-Know-Who?"
This time Malfoy took his time. He licked his lips, eyes never leaving the ground.
"Answer me!" Charlie demanded. His wand pointed threateningly in Malfoy's face.
For one wild moment Ron thought he might actually burst into tears, but Malfoy merely swallowed and continued on.
"He - he killed Draco." Malfoy's voice cracked. "My son. My only son . . ." He seemed to be at a loss for words that would accurately describe his pain.
A whole host of unpleasant memories quickly replaced the happy ones Ron had been thinking about Hermione. He remembered Draco's death in painful clarity; how he was called forward, after Voldemort was done declaring his victory to those fighters congregated in the courtyard. Ron remembered the relief that had flooded his face when Voldemort congratulated Draco for his efforts, an expression that hand not entirely left Draco's face as Voldemort struck him down with a swipe of his wand. Ron had closed his eyes, but Voldemort's voice drove itself like a nail into his brain: Voldemort kicked over the boy's body with no emotion whatsoever in his face, expressing that he had been so disappointed that Draco had not joined him, that he had failed his final mission, spent his last chance. Lord Voldemort did not forgive any more, he went on, and he would show no more mercy for those who fought against him.
There had been so many times when Ron had wished horrible things on Draco. He regretted them all now.
Ron suddenly realized that Malfoy was still speaking. " . . . at the end of the B-Battle, you were all there . . . to make an example, to strike f-fear in the hearts of his enemies . . . as - as well as his allies." He shuddered and looked up almost defiantly up into Charlie's eyes, suddenly hard and determined. "The Dark Lord killed him, and from that moment, Narcissa and I were no longer his servants."
"And then?" George said.
"We - we spied, we lied, gathering as much information as p-possible, anything we could learn that would help to stop his evil deeds. The D-Dark Lord held many meetings with my sister and law, and precious few more - more trusted servants," There was a bitterness in Malfoy's voice that told Ron he was still resentful about his ranking among the Death Eaters, despite the fact that he had supposedly changed sides. Ron felt rather sick listening to this; he was sure that if Voldemort had still held him in as high regard as he once had, Malfoy would most certainly not be at the Burrow today. "We discovered - as I told you before, with great p-personal risk to ourselves - of his plan to create one final Horcruce - "
"Horcrux." Ron muttered.
Malfoy blinked and then nodded fervently. "Yes, yes, Horcrux, of course . . . we - we learned what we could about The Dark Lord's Horcrux - "
"How long has he been planning? When do you think he will be able to finish?" Bill cut across him.
"It is slow, please, I do not know!" Malfoy pleaded. "He works t-tirelessly, dwells endlessly on both old, forgotten magic and spells of his own invention since the Battle ended. Sometimes he becomes frustrated, destroys things in anger, k-kills house elves or goblins . . . but he m-must draw closer to an answer, however slowly . . . I am sure of it . . . "
"Is there anything else you learned?" Percy demanded.
"No - no. Only that the Dark Lord plans to create a Horcrus - Horcrux . . . that will require many deaths. My wife, Narcissa - she m-might know more, she is still in his service - but there is no way to contact her, she is not allowed to leave our house, and it is so c-carefully watched . . ."
"But why didn't you just leave You-Know-Who right away? Why now?" Ron asked.
"We were waiting until we could gather as many details as p-possible, until we knew the full plan! The goal was originally to tell the Order of the Phoenix of The Dark Lord's intentions, and bring him down . . . for Draco. But then . . . " Malfoy's face crumpled
"You-Know-Who caught you eavesdropping." George said.
"Yes." Ron could almost see the horrible memories replaying themselves on the other side of Malfoy's eyes. "We waited too long. He must have b-been suspecting me for some time . . . he is a most accomplished Legilimens, it is so difficult to hide things from him . . . The Dark Lord punished me, tortured me for my betrayal, and he meant to kill me . . . but I managed to escape." He looked as if he did not quite know how he had managed this feat. "The others - they chased me for days, but as I had n-no wand, I could not Apparate, only steal a broken broomstick someone had left in the trash . . . I lost them in the end. I knew I had to bring the Order of the Phoenix what information I did have . . . and so I walked the rest of the way h-here."
There was a small, empty pause, their questions spent and answered, and then Bill spoke.
"That's all we need, Malfoy . . . we'll need to discuss what to do with you." He gestured to his brothers to step back into the protection of the Burrow, where they could talk with the other Order members without Malfoy butting in.
Malfoy's eyes were shining as they stared worriedly up at Bill; the effect was quite pathetic. "Thank you . . . thank you . . . " He murmured as the Weasley brothers vanished before his eyes. For good measure, Ron kicked him as he passed.
"Well." Kingsley stated, his eyebrows raised, expression somewhere between exasperation and confusion. "Do we believe him?"
"I don't buy it." said Dean. "He couldn't have escaped You-Know-Who without a wand. He's just too good."
"I don't believe he ever mentioned that You-Know-Who himself was chasing him." Luna said. "And we've escaped Death Eaters before."
"Fine, if you want to take him in and give him a room and a hot meal, be my guest." Dean retorted.
"Well, we can't do that," Ron suddenly realized that his mother had returned at the sound of her voice, which was quiet and sighing, all annoyance at George gone ( or at least, it seemed to be gone - Ron suspected she was just saving her outburst for when the guests left. ), her usual, weary demeanor returned. Mr. Weasley eyed her, slightly nervously, from behind her. "I'll not have this man in my house, and I hardly doubt anyone will disagree. It's just not practical, he could be a spy!"
"But we can't really let him just wander off, can we?" Charlie said. "It'd be good if we keep an eye on him, but I agree with mum, bringing Malfoy inside the protection isn't a good idea."
"So what do we do?" said Hermione; Ron looked at her. It was quite a surprise to see her at a loss for a brilliant plan - he had often wondered if she kept a list of them handy for whenever they were in a tight spot.
"Have him make the Unbreakable Vow." Every head swiveled around to look at George. He was leaning against a tree, looking at the ground.
"W-What?" Mrs. Weasley was caught off guard, all anger at George forgotten; only blank shock shone in her wide eyes, an expression that was mirrored in the faces of all but George.
"The Unbreakable Vow." He repeated. "Make him swear not to give us up."
"Doesn't that seem like a little . . . much?" Hermione said uncertainly.
"Well, how else can we know for sure we can trust him?" George said.
" . . . He has a point." Bill said.
"I don't think anyone else here knows the spell, though, do they?" said Mr. Weasley.
"But . . . Fred and George tried to make me do one when I was little." Ron said, confused, before anyone could answer his father. "There can'tve been a spell involved, they didn't even have wands yet - "
"If you do commit to an Unbreakable Vow that hasn't been properly administered, it can go horribly wrong - you might die immediately, or else, be signed to a different set of conditions, things of the like." Hermione explained.
"Not only was I angry with the two of them because they even thought about forcing you to make an Unbreakable Vow, but the consequences of making one without knowing how to do it - let alone without even a wand - would've been even worse." Mr. Weasley said.
"Oh." Ron murmured.
Kingsley stepped forward, at last finding a window to speak. "My old partner from the Ministry specialized with this sort of thing." He said. "He's been abroad for the past few years, You-Know-Who's been trying to recruit him, but I can send him an owl."
"Excellent, Kingsley! But in the meantime . . . " Mr. Weasley's gaze fell on Malfoy, who was once more curled apon the ground.
"We can't let him in, but we can't exactly let him wander around at his own leisure now, can we?" Bill said.
"We could put up a tent." Luna said dreamily. Everyone looked at her. She elaborated further: "We can put up a tent for him to stay in, outside of the boundaries, and keep him within another Supersensory Charm. We can bring him food and talk to him if we need to, but he can't leave, and he can't get inside."
There was a moment's pause.
"That's very smart of you, Luna." said Hermione kindly, though she also looked rather surprised as well as annoyed at herself for not thinking of that first.
"Do you still have that old one of Perkins' in that little bag of yours?" Ron asked her.
She nodded. "I'll go and get it." And then she was gone.
"And I'll send that owl." Kingsley said.
"You can use Hermes." Percy offered, and both of them followed Hermione into the house.
Meanwhile, Luna had stepped forward, out of the magical protection of the Burrow. Malfoy looked up hopefully.
"You'll not be allowed to leave, or enter this house, but for the time being the Order has decided to let you stay nearby." she said, smiling serenely. "We are willing to take your information into account, of you are willing to make an Unbreakable Vow."
He paused only for a moment and licked his lips. Then: "Yes . . . yes, I will swear it"
"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy."
Malfoy's eyes were glimmering with tears. "No - thank you, thank you!"
