"He must have used an accomplice then" said Harry. "Crabbe or Goyle- or, come to think of it, another Death Eater, he'll have loads better cronies than Crabbe and Goyle now he's joined up-"...

"It wasn't a very slick attack, really, when you stop and think about it," said Ron... "The curse didn't even make it into the castle. Not what you'd call foolproof."

"You're right" said Hermione... "It wasn't very well-thought-out at all."

"But since when has Malfoy been one of the world's greatest thinkers?" asked Harry.

Neither Ron nor Hermione answered him.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, page 241 Chapter 12 [Silver and Opals.]

26th September

After dinner I slip upstairs to the Defence Against The Dark Arts classroom, now occupied by Snape.

It's considerably darker than the corridor outside, and whatever light there is shines on gory images of torture, despair and death.

"I love what you've done with the place."

"Thank you," Snape smirks. "It's not as if you could have done any better. Knowing you, you'd have painted the walls some ridiculous colour, have more bookshelves than the school library and enough candles around to burn down the school in one sitting."

I turn sternly.

"At least I know that poor lighting is not good for your students' eyesight. How on earth do you expect them to read when it's this dark? They'll have difficulty finding page 394, let alone turning to it."

He sits down at his desk with a sweep of black cloth.

"So do you have any purpose here other than as a pest?"

I shrug. "Just thought you might like some information."

"About what?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"About what?"

"No, it's really not that important."

"Tell me."

"Well, you might not need to know-"

"Marion Popyngcart, tell me NOW!"

I grin and slump into the chair opposite his desk. "Alright then. Seeing as you put it like that- I am allied with Draco."

"Really?" Snape sneers at me. "I take it then he is ignorant of your true nature? That he is unaware that you will dictate his every move, be jealous of his seeking help anywhere else and, should all go awry, abandon him without so much as a word in his defence (unless you still require his help) in favour of saving your own sallow skin by means of a predetermined escape plan?"

I gulp. My throat is dry. "It's not like that," I say hoarsely. "I want him alive. It's as much of a moral standpoint as a strategic one." I shift nervously in my seat, because that's eerily true. That's what the love potion hiding in my back cupboard is for. At a moment's notice all I have to do is leave it lying around uncorked or in food after I've eaten and nobody will be any the wiser. I'm a teenage girl, I'll admit Draco is handsome- nobody will suspect a thing. Much more of a convincing alibi than pretending to be under the Imperius Curse.

"Of course it is." Says Snape sarcastically. "In your eyes, morality and your plans are equable. You're almost as arrogant as Potter."

"What's he said now?"

Snape eyes flare.

"'No need to call me Sir, Professor.'"

I burst out into gales of laughter and Snape looks angrier at each snigger.

"It was not funny!"

I wipe my eyes. "I think, Severus, you will have to let him win that one."

He scowls at me. "I thought you had something important to tell me?"

"Yes. Draco has been frequenting the seventh floor and has spent hours there. Since he and I joined forces we have met several times, mainly in passing. He has clearly not forgotten our conspiracy. From what I hear of his teachers, his schoolwork has been neglected- although Slughorn did say he showed particular eagerness in a bid to win a bottle of Felix Felicis. He is yet to reveal his plans, though I am certain we will do so at some point. Has he told you anything?"

He shakes his head. "No. He blames me for his father's imprisonment."

"There's irony for you. I had far more involvement in Lucius Malfoy's incarceration than you ever could have. But he seems to have airbrushed that."

"Keep an eye on him. I may be his Head of House, but I can't observe him constantly. Make sure he doesn't do anything against Dumbledore without your involvement. Most of all, none of his plans must be allowed to succeed until Dumbledore wishes it- and I do."

I square up to him. "OK. I'll take that. But don't forget my orders come from three men only; Albus Dumbledore, Alastor Moody and Rufus Scrimgeour. No Malfoy is on that list, and don't forget that neither are you. "

He narrows his eyes. "Get out."

"Have a nice day." My attempts at pleasantries earn me a grunt in return.

27th September

Neville and I- we don't speak to each other anymore. I passed Draco in the corridor, and I smiled at him and made a joke. Neville was there too, and I saw the look he gave me. He wasn't angry, just sad. I knew what he thought of me. The time when we were best friends, study partners, pen pals, is over. And I have to wonder how many more friends this alliance will cost me.

19th October

At last, progress is made!

"We need a system to communicate in secret," he said to me, as I idly swatted at some queasy-looking Cornish pixies in the Room of Requirement. "There must be no more long breaks between meetings. I need to get to you quickly."

I pull out a fake Galleon and flick it to him. "Where d'you get this?" he asked me.

"I stole it off a girl called Marietta Edgecombe. She was in the DA, and they used these to communicate. If anybody turns out your pockets, all they'll see is that- given your massive wealth, nothing strange."

"Don't you think they'll suspect us of using their means of communication?"

"Why should they? After all- who could possibly have known that, and told you?"

"Good point." He pockets the coin.

"For what do you require my help?"

"I have a plan at last- to kill Dumbledore without actually having to watch."

"What, shut your eyes and hope not to miss?"

"No- I have a cursed necklace, and-"

"Draco, you imbecile!" I shriek. "OK, I'll admit Dumbledore's flamboyant, but he'll never wear a necklace!"

"He doesn't have to wear it," Draco says exasperatedly. "He just has to touch it."

"Oh." Now I understand. "So you'll have it delivered up to the castle, he will touch it and boom."

"Boom."

There are so many flaws in that plan; I don't even want to start. And I won't. Because there's nothing I want more than to see this ill-fated plan be botched up right royally, as it deserves to be.

"And when will this necklace be delivered?" Please don't let it be too soon was the only thing going through my head give me time to think

"I thought you might be able to come up with something."

"When are you completely busy with something you cannot want to do, or possibly avoid, which will absolutely keep you away from Hogsmeade?"

He pauses. "I have detention with Professor McGonagall next week. Catching up on missed work."

I am so overjoyed I have the sudden urge to grab him around the head and give him a kiss on each cheek. I don't of course. For once I show an ounce of self-restraint.

"Brilliant! I have never been so glad to see you failing school!" I manage instead. "Be there then."

The hour passes in his explaining further details of the plan, which seems less of a problem the more he talks.

"So, your plan is that you will give the necklace to Katie Bell, curse her, she will take the necklace to Dumbledore- in a nutshell?"

"That's right."

"First things first. You must not give the necklace to Katie: because if this all goes wrong she'll remember you being present when she was cursed. Also how are you supposed to give the necklace to Katie and then be at your detention on time? You won't. You mustn't be late, if anything you must be early.

Make sure McGonagall is with you the entire detention. If she looks as if she is about to leave, pretend to be confused by something and ask for help. Not odd behaviour- Transfiguration is a tricky subject. Also, under no circumstances look nervous, anxious, or in a state of anticipation. Just look bored. She will suspect nothing.

Meanwhile, I shall manage things myself. I can go places you can't-"

"Oh like where?" he says testily, his pride stinging.

"Women's bathrooms, idiot."

"oh right."

"Again, another way of distancing this from you. I will give Katie the necklace and her instructions. Voila. Any questions?"

"Yes" he says slowly, as if addressing someone of very slow wit. "How do you intend to smuggle the necklace to Katie in the first place?"

"I've been smuggling things since the age when you would be learning your ABCs. Took a lot of practice. Besides, my greed when it comes to jewellery is common knowledge. Nobody would look twice to see me with a necklace in my bag. But I have one more thing to ask of you-"

"Just one?"

"Give me the necklace the night before. For one thing, the less you handle the necklace the better in terms of covering this up. And for another, I can keep it much safer than you ever could. Where could you possibly keep it? In the room of requirement? You'd lose it. In your dormitory? Please, a house-elf would find it, and you can't tell them to leave your dormitory alone- Draco Malfoy turning down the opportunity for someone to clean up his room? Ridiculously suspicious. "

He continues to argue but I batter him down with experience, common sense and downright bullying. It takes me hours, but I'll take as long as I need to. He gives me full control of the errand, and promises to deliver the necklace the day before the necklace must be delivered.

29th October

I never meet with Draco in the Room of Requirement, but as he's passing between lessons and I'm leaving one post to take up guard on another, we cross each other's paths on the covered bridge at the edge of the school. I catch his eye, and find that I know exactly what he's going to do next.

We both collide into each other and he gives a disdainful sigh, brushing me off. I scoff and turn away from him. "You're not the only one using this corridor, Malfoy!" I shout at him, and then continue on my way, an oblong package wrapped in brown paper bumping against my side, hidden in a pocket Undetectably Extended in my coat.

Who would have thought it- that this exchange has happened under everyone's noses- literally, for mere moments away Filch is searching people entering the castle. And I will pass through unblamed, for why on earth would Marion Popyngcart receive a cursed object in a public place, if at all? Doesn't make any sense.

And that is why I won't even be suspected.

Later

I have to act fast. Draco expects Katie to receive the necklace in ten hours, and it will take me at least six hours here, in an abandoned laboratory in Aberdeen.

I have decided that I am going to try to break the curse on this necklace. Not completely, obviously. That is far, far beyond my power as a witch. If I try I will undoubtedly fail and most likely kill myself in the process. I'm no Bill Weasley. I'm a curse maker not a curse breaker.

But I can blunt its strength as much as I can. This is my last resort, in case Katie is somehow able to deliver the necklace to Dumbledore. The curse will still be painful, still hazardous- but with any luck it won't be deadly.

It takes me hours and hours, and even by my standards it is dangerous work. The chemicals I use to try and crack the stones make me cough and splutter. At one point my mouth goes completely black from this stuff and I spend about half an hour frantically brushing my teeth at a sink in the corner. Breathing gets harder and harder and I'm sure I'm doing my health no favours.

But at last, after hours of pulling and smashing and boiling and burning and cursing and testing and stabbing, I am rewarded. I put the Imperious Curse on a rat, and send it scurrying over the necklace. It goes into some sort of fit; it flies up in the air as if suspended, in agony. If anyone does get cursed, and finds out I'm even partially responsible, they'll kill me, the pain is that bad. To be partially cursed is almost as bad as to be fully, because you bear the full brunt of the pain and there is no oblivion, no relief or end to it. But though the rat is weak, it is still most definitely alive, and shows no sign of permanent damage after a few renervating charms. It's not a desirable solution, it's still a risk. But it is the best chance I have.

30th October 1996

I perch up on a stool at the Three Broomsticks, pretending to be reading. But all the time my mind is whirring. I am to give the necklace to Katie in the girls' bathroom, and she is to deliver it.

I watch as Harry, Ron and Hermione enter the pub, and I almost fall off my chair in fright. Of all the people, it had to be them. I curse my bad luck. I have to credit them; they are three very astute people, easily matching half the people I've worked with. (Though some Aurors are as thick as two short planks.) Trouble is, they don't miss much. I need to distract them, in order to reach the bathroom on time and undetected.

I watch them as they find seats at a table and order Butterbeer, and I am still too nervous to move. But then I spot an opportunity- Ron is watching Madam Rosmerta, the pretty barmaid.

The curse is too difficult for me to do non-verbally, so I use the book I am holding to hide my face as I whisper the incantation. There is the satisfying splashing sound of running water that tells me that I have burst a significant pipe in the kitchen. Rosmerta hurries off to fix it, taking the curious gaze of the three with her.

"I expect "nothing's" in the back getting more Firewhisky," said Hermione waspishly.

At that I make for the girls' bathroom with that awkward I-need-the-toilet face. The moment I am behind the door the facade is dropped completely. I hide and wait for Katie.

I'm not strong, certainly not as strong as she is, but I have the element of surprise. The moment she comes in I leap at her and pin against the wall. The shock almost sends her flying.

"Listen to me" I hiss. "And listen very carefully." I pull her own wand out from her pocket and point it at her. "Imperio."

She looks almost indignant at the idea of being imperiused by her own wand, but soon her eyes go vacant and glassy.

"You have been told to deliver a package to Dumbledore. You will do this, but I have further instructions for you. You will make your friend Leanne accompany you. You will tell her you have a package to deliver to him. But you will not say what is in it, when she asks, you will tell her the truth: you do not know what it contains. You will not make any efforts to hide the package, you will hold it out at arms length and treat it with caution. You will be indiscreet and arouse as much suspicion as possible. If Leanne tries to take it off you, you will fight her over it. You will appear to be far more concerned about delivering it than logically you should naturally be. Do you understand?"

She nods, passive as a doll, and I hand her the parcel. She trots off, looking nervously around her, and I know it will not be long before the plan fails.

And so I find a spot some distance from the Three Broomsticks. I sit down and begin to wait.