Chapter 21

Jack smoothed his long white beard, and tried to look as wise as possible as a platinum blonde boy stalked across the lawn towards him. Jack and Dumbledore had talked for hours about how this confrontation might unfold, and Jack had practiced the Headmaster's voice until the difference was barely discernable. Now all he had to do was stay calm and hope that nothing went wrong.

Draco was so nervous, he felt beads of perspiration running down his back, despite his summer-weight robes. Scotland was rarely sunny, and today was no exception; the clouds were low and steely-gray. He saw Dumbledore by the lake, alone, and approached as coolly as possible, though he was gripping his wand for dear life. He knew Snape was waiting just inside the forest, and would Apparate to help him if he faltered, but this didn't do much to ease his terror at facing off with one of the most powerful wizards of all time. Dumbledore wouldn't hurt him, he was sure of that, but no matter what happened, it was sure to be horrible. "Good afternoon, Headmaster."

"Mr Malfoy."

Draco decided to cut to the chase. "I'm sorry, sir, but I've been ordered to kill you."

Jack looked at him. The kid really was a mess. He flicked a stray hair out of his eyes, glanced wildly towards the woods for an instant, and continued, "Sir, I have no choice."

"There's always a choice. Come to our side, and we'll protect you."

"My mother is being held at the manor. He'll torture her. I can't let that happen. Please, defend yourself."

Draco stepped back and drew his wand, hand shaking badly as he aimed it at Jack's chest. Jack just shook his head and sighed, according to the plan. "You don't want to do this."

"Of course I bloody well don't!"

They stood like that for more than a minute, until Snape appeared next to Draco with a crack, leveled his wand at Jack, and cast Avada Kedavra without hesitation. Jack crumpled to the ground. Snape stooped over the body and grabbed the wand out of his robes, and then tried to put it in Draco's hand, which was still outstretched. The boy was frozen in place, eyes locked on the form of Dumbledore, and his face was a few shades paler than usual. "Take it," said Snape, trying to prise Draco's fingers open.

"Oh God," said Malfoy, and fainted.

"Stupefy," whispered Harry, aiming his wand at Draco's already unconscious form.

He peeked his head out of the invisibility cloak and said, "That was convenient. He won't even realize he was Stunned."

Snape was kneeling over Jack again, looking very anxious. Harry knelt down next to him and said, "It's not Dumbledore."

Snape nodded once, but didn't take his eyes off the body. Time seemed to slow to a standstill. Just as Harry began to get really nervous, Jack took an enormous gasp and sat up. Snape leapt backwards. Jack smiled at him. "Hello, tall, dark and handsome! I'm Jack Harkness, nice to meet ya!"

Harry wished he had a camera to capture Snape's expression, an odd mixture of indignation, bewilderment, and mortification. "A piece of your hair, please, sir," said Harry, struggling to keep a straight face.

The potions master snapped to his senses, and trimmed a tiny bit of his lank locks for the Polyjuice. "Mr Harkness, you should be aware that the Dark Lord may examine your thoughts to confirm what happened here."

Jack's mouth fell open. "There is no way I can fake that voice."

Again, Harry had to stifle his laughter as he took in Snape's face, which was turning a bit pink. "This is of the utmost seriousness, Mr Harkness. Perhaps you cannot die, but there are lives in grave danger."

Jack drank the potion, and assumed the appearance of Snape. "I get it, I really do. I was being serious…if I have to speak, he's going to know I'm not you."

"We can charm your voice," said Harry. "It won't be perfect, so just stay as quiet as possible, and let Draco go in first so Voldemort reads his mind instead. Besides, I bet he'll be distracted by the wand."

Jack nodded, reassured, and began to strip. "What are you doing?" Snape asked brusquely.

"We've got to switch clothes, don't we? C'mon, take it off."

Harry was really about to laugh that time, but he caught Snape's horrified look as Jack revealed the pale, lanky torso hidden beneath Dumbledore's gray robes, and suddenly understood his discomfort. This wasn't the first time he'd been stripped down against his will, in the presence of people who resembled Harry Potter in one way or another. Snape looked livid, but more than that, he looked terrified and ashamed, clearly reliving his worst memory. Harry quickly turned away, and went to stand behind a tree until he was sure that they were both dressed again. "Here, take my wand. Hopefully, the wards on the manor will detect it and admit you. Remember, don't call him Voldemort. It's the Dark Lord, or my Lord," Snape said, as he applied a glamour spell to Jack's vocal chords.

"Got it. See you guys soon."

The voice was passable enough. Jack grabbed up Draco and the Elder Wand, activated his Vortex Manipulator, and vanished.

Snape turned towards Harry. They stared at each other for a long moment. Snape gestured at his silky, pearl-colored robes, and burst out laughing. Harry joined in eagerly, and they lingered by the lake for longer than was strictly necessary, graced by a few beams of sunlight that had, against all odds, managed to defy the clouds.

Draco regained consciousness on the lawn of Malfoy Manor. "Whuh…what happened?"

Jack just helped him up, handed him the Elder Wand, and pointed towards the house. Draco went directly to the library, where he bowed to Voldemort and presented him with the wand. Voldemort examined it closely, then cast Legilimens on Draco. After a minute, he sighed. "Where is Professor Snape?"

"Outside, my Lord."

Voldemort Apparated from the room, and appeared next to Jack a moment later. "Severus…I'd hoped to avoid this."

Jack looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Voldemort continued, "I told you I wanted Draco to get the wand himself. Do you think that was just a frivolous request? No…I'm sorry to say, it wasn't. The Elder Wand will only obey me once I've won it from its master. And since you killed Dumbledore, that would be you. You have served me well."

Voldemort whirled on him, and Jack felt as if he'd been hit by a baseball bat. A hot gush of arterial blood poured down his chest, and he fell to his knees, then onto his back. Voldemort took his time walking back to the house. Just as Jack was about to lose consciousness, he caught sight of a black shape moving towards him through the grass. As if this couldn't suck any more, he thought, as he bled out.

Voldemort settled back down into his chair in the library, as if nothing had happened. Draco tried to pretend that he hadn't watched from the window, but he felt another fainting spell coming on, and grabbed onto the back of an armchair for support. "You should be pleased, Draco. You'll be seeing your father soon enough."

"My L-lord, you mean…"

"We're going to break them out. All of the Death Eaters must be gathered into an army."

Bellatrix had been hovering by the window, savoring the view of Snape's corpse, but at this announcement she turned toward her Dark Lord and grinned maniacally, displaying her cracked teeth. "And then what, my Lord?"

Voldemort laughed. "And then, we take the Ministry. And then, Hogwarts."

Bellatrix shrieked with demented glee. The sound made Draco shudder.