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Chapter Sixteen

The next thing he knew, Draco was being shaken awake. He opened his eyes and yawned, looking around. Apparently, he had fallen asleep outside and used his bag as a pillow.

"Were you going somewhere, Draco?" Hermione asked sharply.

Draco yawned again and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He raised his hands in surrender. "Don't hit me again."

"No chance." She grabbed his bag from underneath his head and started pounding him with it. His head hit the ground.

"I didn't—I wasn't—"

"Don't lie, Draco!"

Draco looked around and saw Harry asleep against the nearest tree trunk. "Harry!" he yelled.

"I saw your bed this morning, Draco!" she cried out. She looked mad with her hair flying around everywhere. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes had a crazy glint to them. "All your things were gone! You were going to leave!" She continued to pound him with his bag.

"Y-y-ye-yes, but no!"

"Shut up, Malfoy!"

"Hermione, leave him alone. He's not going anywhere."

At once, she stopped. Draco sat up and smiled gratefully at Harry. "I think she's getting used to hitting."

"I've never seen you this worked up, Hermione," Harry said amusingly.

"Shut up," she said curtly. "I have to talk to you about something, Harry."

"Where's Ron?"

Hermione ignored the question. "I want to go and see Xenophilius Lovegood."

"That nutter—" started Draco. He stopped at the look on her face.

"Sorry?" Harry asked.

"Xenophilius Lovegood. Luna's father. I want to go and talk to him!"

Draco rubbed his head where it had hit the hard ground. He looked up, hearing footsteps from the tent and saw Weasley standing there with a sheepish look on his face. Draco ignored the urge to pound his face in.

Weasley sat down, furthest from Hermione, and it so happened to be right next to Draco.

"Hey, um, Malfoy…I heard what you did for them. Saving their lives and all."

Draco nodded in response. "And I hear you destroyed a Horcrux."

"Oh, it was nothing."

"Doesn't sound like a normal Weasley. I would expect you to be boasting about it from here to Majorca."

"…right, Draco?" Hermione was saying. She glanced at Draco.

Draco looked up in surprise. "Yeah, right. Whatever Hermione said, Harry."

"And what was that, Draco?" Harry asked, teasingly.

Draco threw him a dirty look. "Going to see Xenophilius Lovegood."

"Draco couldn't find the symbol in any of the books, either."

"Yeah, I couldn't find it anywhere," he repeated.

"Even Dumbledore—"

"Wait, the symbol—the one that he signed that letter with?"

"Yes, Draco, that's what we've been talking about."

Draco nodded in comprehension. "Yes, of course. Still a bit sleepy."

"It won't be like Godric's Hollow," Weasley said. "Lovegood's on your side, Harry. He's been for you all along, The Quibbler keeps telling everyone they've got to help you!"

"Why would Lovegood know what the symbol is?" asked Draco.

"He was wearing it around his neck at Bill and Fleur's wedding," explained Harry. "But I don't see why—"

"Maybe it's something that Dumbledore wanted you to find out on your own," said Hermione.

"Yeah," added Weasley. "That makes sense."

"No, it doesn't!" snapped Hermione.

Draco bit back a laugh. He glanced at Harry, who still looked unsure.

"I think we should vote on it," Weasley said. "Those in favor of going to see Lovegood—" His hand flew up before Hermione's. She looked at him suspiciously as she raised her own. "Outvoted, Harry, sorry," he said, clapping a hand to Harry's back.

"No," Harry said, gesturing to Draco. "Draco, do you think we should go to Lovegood?"

Draco looked between Harry and Hermione. "Yes, of course I do," he answered quickly. Hermione glared at him suspiciously.

"Fine," Harry said with a mixture of amusement and irritation on his face. "Only once we've seen Lovegood, let's try and look for some more Horcruxes, shall we? Where do they live anyway?"

Hermione headed back into the tent and Harry rounded on Draco and Weasley. "You two only agreed to try and get back into her good books."

Draco shrugged as Weasley glanced at him in confusion. "For some reason or other, Hermione seems to think that punching or hitting me is her new favourite sport."

"Just wait till she sets birds on you," Weasley replied.

"Well, that was a disaster," Draco replied blandly. He raised his wand and began setting up the protective wards around them.

"He was just desperate," protested Hermione. "Is everyone all right?"

"Here's the Cloak," Draco said, handing it to Harry. In order to protect Draco's identity, Harry had insisted that he should be under the Cloak the entire time they were at the Lovegoods. Good thing, too, because Death Eaters went to the house at Lovegood's call.

"That treacherous old bleeder!" Weasley panted. He helped Hermione pull out the tent poles from her bag. She waved her wand and set up the tent magically. Weasley examined his torn jeans and the cuts on his legs. "What d'you reckon they'll do to him?"

"I hope they don't kill him!" groaned Hermione. "Hopefully the Death Eaters were able to get a glimpse of Harry before we left so they knew Xenophilius wasn´t lying!"

Draco walked along the perimeter of their new camp site, murmuring a number of words to set up the protective wards. He listened to the others as they talked about Luna Lovegood, Xenophilius' loony daughter and followed them into the tent. He pulled out the essence of dittany and passed it around.

"Oh, why'd we go there?" groaned Hermione after a few moments of silence between the four of them. "It was Godric's Hollow all over again. The Deathly Hallows….what rubbish…although he must've made it up, right?"

Weasley shook his head. "I don't think so. It's a hell of a lot harder trying to make things up when you're under stress. When the Snatchers caught me, it was easy being Stan because I knew things about him. I bet Lovegood was just killing time to keep us there until the Death Eaters got there."

"Which ones were they, Draco?" asked Harry.

"Travers and Selwyn. They were Death Eaters before, too, not one of the new ones."

"Well, the Deathly Hallows is complete rubbish anyway, so it was a complete waste of time," said Hermione.

"Hang on, though," said Weasley. "The Chamber of Secrets was supposed to be a myth, wasn't it?"

"Did you guys really find it in second year?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, with Lockhart, remember him?"

"Of course. Where was it?"

"It was in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

Draco looked surprised. "Wait…that's how she died? She was the Mud-sorry-the Muggle-born who died the last time it was opened?"

Harry nodded. "The basilisk took a look at her when she was in the bathroom—"

"Because she was bullied by that Hornby girl or something."

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"I-I…she…Myrtle told me last year."

"Why?" asked Weasley. He looked genuinely curious.

"Because she was the…the only one that I could talk to at school. She wasn't going to tell anyone else. About what I had to do."

"You told her that you were supposed to kill Dumbledore?" asked Harry.

Draco shook his head. "No, I was forbidden to talk about it. But she helped me get through it…made it…I dunno, easier to live through, I guess. Which is funny, because she's dead." He looked up at Harry and saw that he, too, remembered when Harry burst in on him in the bathroom when he was talking to Myrtle.

Hermione stared at Draco for a few moments. She looked into his eyes, wondering what else he kept bottled up. "Well the Deathly Hallows can't exist, Ron!"

"You keep saying that, but one of them can," said Ron. "Harry's Invisibility Cloak—"

"The Tale of the Three Brothers' is a story," said Hermione firmly. "A story about how humans are frightened of death—"

"We could do with an unbeatable wand to survive," said Harry.

"There's no such thing, Harry!"

Draco looked between Harry and Hermione as they continued to argue about the Deathly Hallows. He had never heard of them before and was sure his father would've mentioned something to him if they were worth retrieving. Draco saw the longing look in Harry's eyes as he talked about the second brother living with the dead and exchanged a look with Hermione.

"So that Peverell bloke who's buried in Godric's Hollow," Harry was saying. Draco could tell that Harry was trying to change the subject. "You don't know anything about him, then?"

"No," Hermione replied. "I looked him up after I saw the mark, but the only place I've managed to find the name 'Peverell' is in Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. I borrowed it from Kreacher."

Draco listened to them again as they talked about old Wizarding families and how the Peverells were among some of the earliest to grow extinct in the male line. He stayed silent as he heard that Harry seemed to grow excited at the prospect of the ring being a Horcrux.

"What if it's the Resurrection Stone?" Harry exclaimed.

Draco thought quickly. If Harry indeed had the Invisibility Cloak, all he needed were the Resurrection Stone and the Elder Stick to complete the Hallows, if it was a true story. He was doubtful about the story, but Harry's Invisibility Cloak seemed to give him some sort of evidence. But where would the Stone and the Stick be?

Harry pushed something into Hermione's hand and dropped his open moleskin pouch on the couch. Something fell to the floor and rolled, glittering, and came to rest in front of Draco. He picked the old Snitch up and tossed it to Harry, hearing something in it.

"IT'S IN HERE!" Harry yelled, catching the Snitch. "He left me the ring—it's in the Snitch!"

Weasley and Hermione looked at each other, both taken aback and both had looks like they didn't believe Harry. Harry looked between the both of them and glanced at Draco with pleading eyes. Draco could see it. If Weasley and Hermione didn't believe him, then Draco was his last hope to believe him. But was it true? Draco didn't know, but he could see that Harry truly believed it was.

Draco gave him a slight nod. Harry smiled gratefully at him. He seemed to be thinking about something and it looked as if he had just had an epiphany.

"That's what he's after."

Harry's voice dropped a few octaves and grew low. Weasley and Hermione exchanged a worried look while Draco leaned in.

"You-Know-Who's after the Elder Wand," Harry said. "It's what I've been seeing in my dreams. And it has become so much clearer after Draco gave me the pendant. You-Know-Who's been after the Elder Wand. That's why he´s got Ollivander as a captive."

Hermione gave Draco a dirty look as if it was his fault that Harry put so much faith in the Deathly Hallows. "You're getting carried away, Harry. If the Deathly Hallows really existed, and Dumbledore knew about them, and the possessor of them really became the master of Death, why didn't he just tell you about it?"

"It's supposed to be a Quest, Hermione! You've got to find out about them for yourself!"

"Maybe," Draco said, interrupting Hermione and Harry's argument, "Dumbledore wanted Harry to know about them, but knew that you'd stop him from going after the Hallows, Hermione." He understood Dumbledore a bit more now. And respected him. He turned to Harry. "You've got to get the Horcruxes and destroy them and maybe after that, you could go after the Hallows and then find You-Know-Who."

"No," said Hermione firmly. "Dumbledore left you very specific instructions, Harry. Find and destroy the Horcruxes! Forget the Deathly Hallows, we can't afford to get sidetracked. We've only destroyed one Horcrux and we don't even know where to find the rest."

"Hogwarts," said Draco. "Harry thinks one of them is at Hogwarts."

"But You-Know-Who couldn't just stroll into Hogwarts and leave a Horcrux there!" She appealed to Weasley. "You don't believe in this, do you?"

Harry and Draco looked at Weasley. He hesitated.

"I dunno…I mean…it sort of fits together," he said awkwardly. "I think we're supposed to get rid of Horcruxes, Harry. That's what Dumbledore told us to do. Maybe…maybe we should just forget about this Hallows business."

"Thank you, Ron," Hermione said. "I'll take first watch."

She strode past Harry and Draco without a second glance. Weasley shot Harry an apologetic glance and began to get settled on his bunk. Harry and Draco sat across from each other.

"You believe me, don't you?" Harry asked quietly.

Draco took his time answering. "I think it'll give you a better chance if you were possessor of the Hallows. And I think Dumbledore knew that. But Hermione's right. You've got to go after the Horcruxes and destroy them. I say let's find them and destroy them first and then we can go off in search of the Hallows."

"But if You-Know-Who's after the Elder Wand—"

"Well, he doesn't have it yet, does he? If we could just hurry and find the rest of the Horcruxes, it'll bring us closer to going after the Hallows." Draco saw the disbelieving look on Harry's face. "Look, Harry, if they don't want to go after the Hallows with you once you've destroyed the Horcruxes, then fine. I'll go with you. And we could find the Elder Wand. Just…put it from your mind for now, all right? Let's just focus on the Horcruxes for now. I believe you about the Hallows, but…it's important to get the Horcruxes."

Draco stood and headed for his bed. He heard Harry get into his own bed a few moments later and hoped that Harry would listen to him. Harry looked as if a fire was lit inside of him, but Draco wasn't sure if it was the right one. He knew that being on the run and being so unsuccessful at finding the Horcruxes was wearing on Harry's mind and it seemed that this new information gave Harry a desire like no other.

The next morning, they packed up and moved on through a dreary shower of rain. Harry didn't say another word about the Hallows, but Draco kept a close eye on him. Hermione and Weasley discussed locations of the Horcruxes, with Draco interjecting every so often and Harry murmuring words of agreement. As the days went on, Draco could see Harry isolating himself from him, Hermione, and Weasley, obsessing over the Hallows. Hermione and Harry often had snippy conversations when they talked about the Hallows and the Horcruxes.

With Hermione and Harry often at each other's throats, and Draco keeping a close and silent eye on Harry, Weasley seemed to be taking charge. He was encouraging them to continue and often forced them to repeat where the Horcruxes could be. They discussed Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, the Riddle House, Borgin and Burkes, Albania, every place that they knew Tom Riddle had ever lived or worked, visited or murdered. Draco even brought up his own house, Malfoy Manor, since it was where the Dark Lord had set up Headquarters, but was quickly shot down by Hermione, saying the Horcruxes were made during the First War.

"But Nagini," pressed Draco. "Surely the snake would be at the manor."

"Unless he's set up another trap for us to fall in," Hermione replied.

"Well, where else would we go? Hogwarts?" Draco had become a proponent of a Horcrux being at Hogwarts and since Harry seemed to be completely useless at trying to discover where the Horcruxes were, he took it upon himself to argue for Hogwarts.

"No, it can't be at Hogwarts. Not with Dumbledore at the school for so long. Dumbledore was a teacher when You-Know-Who was at school and became headmaster right after. He never left Hogwarts."

Weasley kept leading them to different Wizarding villages, believing that You-Know-Who may have hidden things there, just in case he wanted to live there. These frequent forays into the Wizarding world brought them within the occasional sight of Snatchers.

"Some are supposed to be as bad as Death Eaters," said Weasley. "The lot that got me was a bit pathetic, but Bill reckons some of them are really dangerous. They said on Potterwatch—"

"Wait, what?" asked Draco.

"On what?" said Harry.

"Potterwatch, didn't I tell you that's what it's called? The program I keep trying to get on the radio—"

"Oh, that's what you've been doing?" said Draco. "I thought you were just passing time, playing with it."

"It's the only one that tells the truth about what's going on." Weasley continued to blather on and on about Potterwatch and spent nearly every evening using his wand to beat out several rhythms on top of the wireless. He said there was a password, normally something to do with the Order.

It wasn't until the snow started to melt around them that Weasley finally figured it out. Draco estimated it to be sometime in March since it was still cold, though the sun was out.

"I've got it!" Weasley exclaimed. "Malfoy, get Harry! The password was 'Albus'!"

Draco jumped up and threw down the book, ignoring Hermione's dirty look. He stuck his head out of the tent flap. "Harry, Weasley got in. He's got Potterwatch on the radio!"

Harry hurried into the tent after Draco and kneeled in front of the wireless, between Hermione and Weasley. Draco knelt down next to Hermione. Weasley and Hermione exclaimed at the sound of the familiar voices.

"…important enough to mention." Draco hadn't heard Lee Jordan's voice since he used to do the commentary for the Hogwarts Quidditch matches. "It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell."

Draco felt as if all the air had been sucked out of his body. His heart started beating quickly and sweat filled his hands. He felt as if he couldn't breathe and felt dizzy. He saw Weasley and Harry exchange a look of horror and Hermione looked at him with tears in eyes. She put her arms around him and hugged him tightly as Weasley turned the volume louder.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him. "I know how much he meant to you."

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but found his breath caught in his throat. "I-" He started to hyperventilate, still holding on to Hermione. Tears filled his eyes and he didn't bother to stop them as they flooded down his cheeks. Hermione just held him tighter, not caring that his tears and his snot were getting all over her.

She let go of him and gave him a small smile. Hermione took Draco's hand and squeezed it and didn't let go of it as they continued to listen to Lee Jordan.

"…new Wizarding order is affecting the Muggle world."

"Thanks, River," said an unmistakable voice, deep, measured, reassuring.

At once, Draco's heart leapt. Kingsley was still out there, somewhere safe. Even on the radio, his voice still maintained its reassuring quality to it. He sniffed and wiped his face with his other hand, still in shock over hearing that his uncle had been murdered. He listened with Harry, Hermione, and Weasley as Kingsley told them about the Muggle world.

"…We're all human, aren't we?" Kingsley was saying.

"Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving," Draco said along to Kingsley.

Harry, Hermione, and Weasley looked at him in surprise. Draco shrugged.

"It's what Kingsley told me when we were moving in with my aunt and uncle. It's what I remember most from him."

Hermione gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand. They turned their attention back to the radio.

"…Pals of Potter.'"

"Thanks River," said another familiar voice.

"Remus!"

Draco's heart swelled at hearing his voice. He wondered where his mother was and if she was there, with them. He remembered that there was another part of the plan, one that he was not privy to, but he hoped that whatever it was, it kept his mother safe. And his aunt and cousin. Especially his cousin.

"…Lupin's living with Tonks again!" Weasley said with a surprised grin. "And apparently, she's getting pretty big, too…"

"Really?" asked Draco. He longed to see her again. Even though they didn't get to spend much time with one another, he thought of her as an older sister.

Weasley nodded at him. "Yeah, she's—"

"Shh!" hushed Hermione. She gestured to the radio again.

They quieted down and Draco half-listened to what they were saying. He thought about Remus and Nymphadora and desperately hoped that he would someday meet their child. That is, if they all survived this war. He wondered where his aunt was and was about to ask Weasley if he had heard anything about her, but stopped when he saw the grins on their faces.

"Good, eh?" said Weasley happily.

"Brilliant," said Harry.

"It's so brave of them," Hermione added fondly.

Draco nodded and forced a smile. He was glad to have heard them on the radio, it had been reassuring to hear Kingsley and Remus' voices again and it was amusing to hear whichever Weasley twin had been speaking, but it didn't take away the pain he felt when he thought about his Uncle Ted. He felt tears in his eyes again and tried to hide a sniff.

Hermione looked at him sympathetically and gave him another hug. "I'm sorry about your uncle, Draco."

Harry nodded. "Ted was a good man."

Even Weasley looked sad for him.

"Thank you," Draco said softly. He tried to pull his hand out of Hermione's, but she shook her head and gave him another hug.

"Talk to us if you need to. We're here, you know," she said quietly. "Don't shut us out."

He nodded. "I know." He looked up at Harry. "So…You-Know-Who's abroad. Does that mean that he's—"

Harry nodded excitedly. "That's exactly what I was thinking! Vol—"

"HARRY, NO!" yelled Weasley.

"-demort's after the Elder Wand!"

"The name's Taboo!" Weasley bellowed. "Malfoy, get the wards back up—quickly, we don't have time, it's how they—"

He stopped talking and they all fell silent. The Sneakoscope on the table lit up and began to spin. Draco felt as if the floor had been ripped from underneath him. He was scared, scared for himself, and scared for the three people he was with.

Voices were coming nearer and nearer. They sounded happy, excited. Weasley pulled the Deluminator out of his pocket and clicked it. They stood in darkness.

"Come out of here with your hands up!" came a rasping voice through the darkness. "We know you're in there! You've got half a dozen wands pointing at you and we don't care who we curse!"

Malfoy Manor is up next! Draco finally comes face-to-face with his father and dear Aunt Bellatrix.

Thanks for reading and please review!