Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter 7: News from Malfoy's Family

Harry was smiling as he greeted his secretary on Monday morning. "How was the match?" she asked.

"Wonderful. The Harpies won and invited Ginny to their victory party. The children enjoyed it and Ginny was up all night last night visiting with her old teammates."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." She returned his smile as she shuffled the papers on her desk. Then she handed an envelope to Harry. "Mr Malfoy was here when I arrived and gave me this. He has been trying to reach you all weekend."

Harry took the envelope. "Thank you." He opened it and read,

Potter,
We need to talk. I visited my parents on Saturday and returned home to find my wife gone and divorce papers on the drawing room table. Her note said she's returned to Belgium. Also, Father had some insights regarding my son.
Malfoy

Harry looked up at his secretary. "I have to go. When Parvati arrives, ask her to meet me at Malfoy Manor."

"Yes, Sir."

Harry entered his office long enough to collect his file on Scorpius, then headed to the Ministry's atrium. Twenty minutes later, he was standing in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor, brushing ash from his robes.

Malfoy motioned him to a seat and offered him a glass of wine. "Remember this room, Potter?"

Harry looked around slowly. "Is this where Bellatrix tortured Hermione?"

"Yes. Through that door is the corridor to the cellar. I never go there anymore except to check the wine racks. Too many bad memories."

Harry knew nothing about wine, but asked anyway, "What kind is this?"

"One of my favorites, dandelion, though my father used to make an excellent dry cherry as well."

"Your father made wine?"

"As do I. My grandfather did get one strain of grapes to grow here, but when the crop fails, I import them from France. Dandelions and several kinds of berries grow in abundance though." Malfoy sipped his wine again, clearly savoring the taste, then set the glass aside. "You are not here to discuss wine, though. On to business." Malfoy picked up several papers from the table beside him. "The divorce papers," he said.

Harry took them and gave them a cursory glance. "I've asked Parvati Patil to join us here. Divorce is her area of expertise, not mine. She should arrive shortly. In the meantime, was anything amiss when you arrived home on Saturday? Items missing or damaged?"

"I spent most of yesterday checking the house and resetting the wards. I've only done about half of it, though. I have not checked the grounds or Scorpius' rooms. The only things missing were of no consequence, vases and the like, but one of my house elves reported finding two of my father's peacocks dead after she left. It said they had been killed, but refused to implicate her."

"None the less, Parvati will probably want to see the birds. Do you know how to contact your wife's family in Belgium?"

"Yes, and so does the Ministry. She wrote the address on the divorce papers."

"Good. We will need to follow up with her. How was your visit with your parents?"

Malfoy gave Harry a weary look. "It was Azkaban. That place is dreary enough to depress a Hufflepuff."

"You mentioned in your note that your father had some ideas about Scorpius."

Malfoy nodded. "He said around the time the Dark Lord vanished the first time, there had been talk of starting a training camp for the children of Death Eaters, a military camp. When the Dark Lord returned, that idea resurfaced and the first steps were taken to create such a camp. I, Greg Goyle, Vince Crabbe, and Theo Nott all would have gone there directly after finishing Hogwarts, as would many others, if you had not killed the Dark Lord first. Father believes someone may be trying to build the camp anyway, gathering recruits two or three at a time."

"Wouldn't the children be detected when they do magic, though? Wouldn't one of them have gotten a message home somehow?"

"No, Potter. Their wands would have been taken and the place would be heavily warded, both to keep aurors out and to keep recruits in. Besides, potions, spells, brainwashing, and psychological torture could all have been used to ensure compliance."

"That's sick."

"No sicker than muggles, if the reports of child soldiers in central Africa are to be believed."

"True. Does your father have any idea where this camp would be?"

"No, but Theo's father and Macnair were both involved in planning it. Macnair's insane now and Theo's father's fled the country, so I don't know how much help they will be."

"Could you ask Theo to contact his father? I think his son was taken by the same people who took Scorpius."

"I can ask."

A moment later, Parvati stepped through the floo. Harry set down his now empty wine glass and stood. "I will leave you two to go over those papers. Draco, if you can think of anything else of use, let me know." Harry made a mental note to ask Parvati later to contact the Belgian Ministry of Magic to learn whether Scorpius had been kidnapped by his mother. He doubted it, but the possibility seemed at least as likely as a death eater boot camp.

~O~

7 July 2018

Dad told me today your mum left. I'm sorry, Scorpius. That's got to be hard, or it will be, once you get home. You will come home, understand? I can't imagine my life without you anymore. Last night, I kept wishing I could roll over in the inn's bed and see you writing in your journal by wandlight. After I closed my journal, James made some cruel comment about you, but mum punished him for it. I'm glad I'm in my own room again tonight, though. It's a lot easier to write when I don't have to worry about him looking over my shoulder.

I miss you, Scorpius. Please hurry home.

Your best friend, Albus

Author's Note: For those of you wondering about the title, it will be explained later.