Chapter 29
Blaise Zabini,
I had hoped that your pureblood mother had raised you better than to ignore the mail that you have been sent. However, seeing you lack of response, I know that it is not the case. So I will repeat my previous offer, and hopefully this time it will have more of an effect on you.
As you know the number of youths that are currently involved in the ranks of the Death Eaters are scarce. With the death of your dear friend Draco Malfoy, and the runaway Theodore Nott Junior, I am in the need for more of the younger generation to fill the positions of elder members as they are no longer as useful as they once were.
How is that dear mother of yours? Is she still marrying the richest wizards to look her way? It would be a shame if something were to change with the next husband she obtained. It is such a coincidence that all of her previous husbands suffered from unpredictable deaths, what if the roles reversed? It would be such a tragedy if by some odd chance, she were the one to die first next time.
I do hope that you will look upon this letter as the proper motivation for you to change your mind. I do look forward to receiving your favourable response.
Lord Voldemort
Blaise's hands trembled as he read the contents of the letter. Voldemort was bluffing, he had to be. There was absolutely no way that he could get to his mother. She said that they would be safe, she promised. So why was he sweating so heavily over a whole bunch of meaningless words?
He couldn't help but worry about the truth behind the letter. Yes, many of his mother's husbands had died over the years, leaving them to be rather wealthy. He had suspected it on many cases, but he knew that there was no way that his mother could be responsible for their deaths; Slytherin or not, she would never kill another person for money.
All Voldemort had to do was disguise a Death Eater as his mother's next suitor. She was currently unmarried, and that phase never lasted for long. Of course, his mother would make sure about the alliances of any potential husband she took, but there was still a good chance that whoever he was could be fooling her. After all, Lucius Malfoy paraded around the Ministry for years before being suspected of his alliances.
There was really no other option. In the end, Draco couldn't avoid the life, and Theo was probably dead from trying to run. What chance did he stand? If Voldemort wants you, then it is extremely hard to stay away; well unless you're Harry Potter.
Blaise grabbed the letter in his hand and the fireplace. He knew that he could simply send an owl, but he wanted to make one last trip to Diagon Alley. If he was going to do this, then he would do it right. He needed to make sure that he told his mother in person what he was about to do. He needed to let her know that he was doing this to keep her safe, and that he didn't want her to be at risk. He owed her that much.
She would try to talk him out of it; that was for sure. But Blaise need to make her understand. He wasn't a kid any more. It had been a few months since his 17th birthday, and it was time he started to show some responsibility, especially to the woman who went out of her way to raise him properly.
"Diagon Alley," he yelled in a hurry as he dropped the Floo powder into the fireplace.
The streets were packed with busy customers. The alley was slowly getting to be more dangerous, so people preferred to do the shopping they had to during the daylight, when there would be others about. Not that it really made a difference; if the death eaters wanted you, then they got you.
He was so immersed in his thoughts, he didn't notice as he ran straight into someone.
"Watch where you're going!" he snapped. He had no time to deal with this sort of thing. What if someone was already watching his mother at this very moment? No, he needed to send his reply to Voldemort as soon as possible, so he needed to talk to his mother.
"Oh sorry, it must have been the Wrackspurt; they've been swarming me like crazy all morning and it's made me a little out of it," the voice of a female said out. Her voice was a bit dreamy, as if she wasn't completely there.
Blaise looked at the girl in front of him, and saw a face that he recognized; Loony Lovegood. She was a year younger than him in school, and in Ravenclaw; so by all means, he shouldn't know who she was. But with a character like hers, it was hard not to be known in the school. Others in his year were constantly making fun of her, or even stealing her stuff and hiding them in weird locations just for the sake of it.
"I know you. You're Blaise Zabini, aren't you?" she said, peering curiously at him.
"Yes, well if you excuse me, I really need to get going." He said, trying to leave from the conversation that she was about to start.
"You dropped your letter," she called out to him, causing him to stop in his tracks. He turned around to see her holding it delicately in her left hand.
"Give me that," he said as he snatched the letter out of her hand. The last thing he needed was for others to know he was joining the Death Eaters.
"We're defined by the choices we make," she said suddenly. "Sometimes, what we think might be for the good of others, isn't always for the best."
"You don't know what you're talking about," he said in a warning tone. She knew; he didn't know how, when there was barely enough time for her to have read the letter, but somehow she knew what it said.
"Don't I? Just because someone promises that they will stay away from the ones you love, doesn't always mean it to be true. We can't live our lives in fear of what may or may not happen because we don't want others to get hurt."
"Why did you read my letter?" He demanded. "It was private, and you had no right to snoop around. You're lucky if I don't hex you for doing so."
"I didn't," she blinked.
"What?"
"I didn't read your letter. You just looked like you were at war about something with yourself, and I decided just to give you some advice," she said, as she pushed a strand of her long blonde hair out of her face.
"But, how did you know to say that exactly?" he asked her. For a person who was supposed to be certifiably crazy, Luna Lovegood was doing a great job of proving her title.
"You reminded me of my father; with the look I mean. He's been printing articles supporting Harry Potter in his magazine, The Quibbler, and he's started receiving threatening letters from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and even though both of our lives are at risk, he's still doing it. Because he believes that it is what he needs to do, and I completely support him. So I'm sure whoever you're trying to keep safe will understand if you don't do whatever they want you to."
"Uh thanks," Blaise said, as he turned to leave. She was definitely crazy; she had to be.
He hurried down the streets of the city to find his Mother. She was probably still having tea with one of her friends, but what he had to do couldn't wait for her to come home.
Yet he couldn't get rid of the words that Lovegood had parted with him. He tried to shake them from his mind; he couldn't have any hesitation with what he was about to do, not if he wanted to live.
He raced into the store where his mother was, but stopped dead in his tracks. On the rack was a copy of this month's Quibbler.
The main headline of the front cover was some pro-Potter thing, and there were articles about creatures that he hadn't ever heard of. But that wasn't what caught his eye. It was the little subtitle off on the corner.
My Daughter, My Muse: A daughter's words of inspiration.
Blaise picked up the magazine and quickly turned to the page that the magazine had highlighted for the article. He skimmed it quickly; it was about how Luna inspired her father to follow his dreams, even after the death of her mother. Her father said how he was tempted to turn away from supporting Harry Potter just to keep his daughter safe, but in the end, he couldn't. He needed to support Potter, because he was the only hope of making sure nothing happened to his daughter. Because at the end of the day, the Death Eaters could always break their promises, and whatever they promised you could have been in vain.
"Blaise? What are you doing here, sweetie?"
He turned around, and saw his mother looking confused at his presence.
He knew he had two choices. He could go to Voldemort and join his ranks to keep his mother safe, or he could not and endanger his mother. But like Mr. Lovegood said, there was always a risk that something could happen to his mother, despite Blaise's attempts to keep her safe. So there and then, he made a choice; one that would impact everything that happened to him from here on out.
He took a deep breath before speaking, "I just wanted to see you, Mother. I wanted to accompany you on the rest of your shopping now that you're done your tea," he said with a fake smile.
She smiled at him, "Oh Blaise, you're such a good boy," she said, as she joined him.
Blaise wasn't sure if this choice would get them both killed, but he couldn't just join up with Voldemort out of fear. And he was glad of his choice.
Draco wandered down the hall of the residence he was staying in. He had a hard time sleeping that night, and decided just to get up early and get something to eat.
He wasn't sure what exactly caused him to stop precisely in front of the door, but there was something about the room that called out to him.
He turned the knob silently, trying to make as little noise as possible and stepped into the room before shutting the door behind him.
The room was dimly lit, so Draco lit up his wand with a quick Lumos. The light spread through the room, brightening it up quicker than the speed of a Wronski Feint.
On the walls was possibly the largest family tree that he had ever seen in his life. He skimmed the walls and saw that it contained the Black family; his family.
He looked on the wall and saw that throughout the perfect pictures, there were a few blackened spots. He traced his fingers over the spots, Sirius and Andromeda. He followed his aunt's line to his mother, and down to himself.
His picture was still perfectly intact, with his teenage face held high with a look of contempt. It reminded him so much of the person he had tried to be to please his family. He couldn't help but wonder just how much he had changed, and if any of it had been for the better.
"Draco?" he turned around to see Harry standing in the doorway. The boy was in his pyjamas and his hair was even messier than its usual state.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be in here, I just got a bit curious," he apologised.
"Don't worry about it; I explored in here too the first time I came here. You have no idea how much it shocked me to know that you were related to Sirius," he said with a smile.
"Because I was so awful, and he was wonderful?" Draco said bitterly, as he looked down at his hands. He knew he couldn't erase the past, but it didn't stop him from wanting to.
"More or less," Harry confessed, looking guilty. "But Sirius just smiled at me and said that if you go back far enough, most of the pureblood society was related.
Draco sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall, as he brought his knees close to his chest. Harry joined him on the floor
"Sirius would have liked you, you know," Harry said after a moment's silence. "He would have said that you were spunky and a brat, but that you were brave and your heart is in the right place. Sirius always had a way of making people feel good about themselves."
Draco felt a light smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "I wish I could have met him. He might have been someone in my family that I actually could stand. Don't get me wrong, Aunt Andromeda is wonderful, but…"
Harry seemed to understand what he was saying. "I know. Sirius was one of the first father figures I had in my life. I would give anything to have him back, but I'm grateful for the time I had with him. Remus and Sirius, they were my father's best friends, and to be able to know them is like knowing my father."
"You have changed Draco," Harry said suddenly. "I can see it, and I know Hermione can too. We both forgive you for the things you've done in the past, and we don't associate you with your actions from when we were younger. Besides, it's not as if I was innocent in most of our encounters either."
Draco smiled again, "Thanks Harry. I just want to make things right, you know? My father has done so much damage and right now he's probably off torturing muggles somewhere. And I want to stop people like him. If Voldemort wins, it won't be better for purebloods. We'll have to all live under his rule and with one wrong move, we'll be thrown out. But none of the other Death Eaters see how bad it will be if he wins. They just see that they get to do whatever they want.
"I want to keep her safe from all of this. I know we need her if we want to stand a chance, but if it were up to me, I would want her to go with her parents. But that's Hermione; she stays by those she cares for without even a single glance back. She does what she believes to be right and stands up for her friends. And that's what makes her unique. That's what I love about her. But I still want to protect her from everything out there," Draco said as he stared at the wall across from him.
"I'm glad," Harry said. "Hermione deserves someone who accepts all parts of her. She deserves to be loved by someone who won't try to change her, but will respect her and her choices. So if anyone has to end up with her, then I'm glad it's you."
Draco wanted to thank him once more. For once, it felt like he had friends again. He missed both Blaise and Theo, but he knew that it wasn't safe to contact either of them, even if he knew where Theo was. Besides, they both thought he was dead, and if he wasn't, then they would think he was a Death Eater. But all he wanted was to tell them both the truth. Yet even without either of them, he was grateful that Harry was being such a good friend to him, and that he had Hermione.
But before he could express his gratitude, there was a knock on the door.
"Harry, Draco, are you two in here?" a female voice called out.
Draco looked at the door and saw Hermione standing there with a cup of steaming tea in her hands. Her hair was put up in a bun, and she was currently wearing a robe on top of her pyjamas.
"Morning, Hermione," Harry said, as he got up to greet her.
"Good morning. Kreacher has made breakfast, if you two want to go and grab some," she said. Harry's eye lit up and he made his way quickly out of the room.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked Draco as she look at his tired expression.
"Not really, no" he admitted to her. She placed her tea on a table and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He snaked his arms around the small of her back as he pulled her in close.
"Is everything okay?" she asked, as she kept her eyes on his.
Draco gave her a smile before kissing her forehead. "It is now," he said as he broke free of her embrace.
She grabbed her tea and the arm Draco had held out for her, before the two of them made their way down the stairs.
A couple of hours passed before the four sat at the table.
"We need to make a list of every single thing that could possibly be a Horcrux and where it could be," Hermione said authoritatively.
"Well, the diary and the ring are destroyed, and we know that there was a locket. But we don't know if it's destroyed. Also, there's the Hufflepuff cup," Harry said.
"How many do we think he made?" Draco inquired.
"We're thinking seven. Harry said that he's obsessed with the number," Ron said to him.
"So he likes objects of the founders, and items that he feels are important to him," Draco surmised.
"I'll be right back," Ron said, as he excused himself from the table.
"Could animals be used as a Horcrux?" Draco asked, with an idea formulating in his mind.
"Technically, anything could be used," Hermione said.
"Wait, you don't think Nagini is one, do you?" Harry asked him.
Draco shrugged. "It could be anything. But he treasures that snake and he's always so careful with it. So I think it would make sense."
Hermione nodded, "Good, that's number five. We still need to think of two more ones though."
Draco racked his brain for any other item that he could think of. Yet he felt his brain hit a wall deep in his mind.
"Guys, what were the initials used in the note that signed the locked?" Ron asked, as he hurried back into the room.
"R.A.B.," Hermione said. "Why?"
"Because, I think I found him."
A/N: Guys, I've reached 100 reviews! And the amount of views I received this week was incredible. Thank you so much for your continued support and your amazing feedback.