Harry yawned as he padded downstairs. It was five in the morning and the sky was still dark with night. He flicked on the lights of his living room, pulled one of the armchairs close to the fire and sat down. After nearly half an hour the flames of the fireplace suddenly began to glow green, and Draco's head appeared.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Draco said, coughing through the smoke. "Claridina was in this room later than usual, and I wanted to wait a good hour after she went to bed to make sure she was asleep."

"That's fine," Harry said. "How are you doing there?"

"She's definitely putting more and more trust in me," Draco replied. "That's one big difference between her and Voldemort, anyway."

"What's been going on with her?" Harry asked.

"That stunt at the Quidditch game was planned," Draco said at once. "She knew he would be caught."
"We know," Harry nodded. "But why did she do it?"

Draco frowned. "I thought that was obvious. She needed to distract the Ministry. She noticed more Auror's being placed on duty at big events, and she figured that you suspected something…"

"She's right. Ever since you told us about that plan of hers we've been tightening security everywhere."

"Yes, well, she was hoping you and the Ministry would lighten the security after that whole incident. She was thrown back a bit when you didn't, but she's still convinced she can beat you and everyone."

Harry nodded. "So her real plan…how's that coming along?"

Draco's face grew grave. "It's almost done."

"What is it?" Harry asked frantically. "Do you have any-"

"She may trust me," Draco said. "But she's still secretive. There are five of us, and each of us was assigned one task to carry out, and none of knows the others. We're forbidden to speak about it with each other. She'll kill us if we do, and trust me, she'll know if we do."

"What's your part then?" Harry asked.

"To train Thestrals."

"What?"

"They're not normal Thestrals, though," he said, his eyes growing wide. "Not the ones we had at Hogwarts. These aren't gentle. They eat human flesh, they crave blood and will attack to get it. I had to keep them in restrains while I was working with them; stunning spells don't work with them."

"But what exactly were you training them to do?"

"A week ago she gave me a list of witches and wizards who I'm supposed to train them to recognize and hunt," Draco said softly. "You show the Thestrals a picture of the person and then whip it over and over again until it forms a negative association."

"Who's on the list?" Harry asked, afraid to know the answer.

"Kingsley, McGonagall, the headmasters of Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and other schools throughout the continent, the muggle prime minister…you."

Harry nodded. He suspected as much.

"And Granger and Weasley as well," Draco said. "And all of your Aurors. There's another list she's working on, but I haven't seen it yet."

"So she's going to try to take over the ministry then?" Harry said, trying not to picture the terrifying creatures. "And the schools?"

"Yes," Draco nodded.

"We can kill these Thestrals, right?" Harry asked.

"Yes, they can't survive a killing curse," Draco said. "They're bloody fast, though, so you'd better have good aim."

"That's fine if they attack at the Ministry, there are plenty people there is trained for combat like that, but at the schools? The muggle ministry? They wouldn't stand a chance. I'm going to have to pull Aurors from patrolling the streets and place in each of those places. Now, are you sure you don't know about the other parts of the plan?"

"I've heard only bits and pieces in passing," Draco said. "But none of it makes too much sense, but from what I gather, someone's attempting to infiltrate Gringotts, and then another person is working with fire."

Harry nodded. "That's all?"

"I've heard her mention Hogsmeade a few times too," Draco said. "But I could never get close enough to hear any details on that."

"The schools, the Ministry, Hogsmeade, and Gringotts is in Diagon Alley…it seems like she's taking over every major place."

Draco nodded. "She's said that it's going to be a new era soon, and that nobody, not even the Boy Who Lived, can stop her."