Malfoy's Disaster

by anthonyxlow

Draco Malfoy gets sorted into Hufflepuff. While trying to prove to his family that he is still worthy of the Malfoy name, he gradually begins to respect the strengths of his new house. Unlikely conflicts and alliances emerge, and a daring rescue ensues. Can Draco Malfoy find redemption whilst still remaining loyal to his family?

Chapter 1

Ron Weasely…

GRYFFINDOR!

Hermione Granger…

GRYFFINDOR!

Pansy Parkinson…

SLYTHERIN!

Vincent Crabbe…

SLYTHERIN!

Gregory Goyle…

SLYTHERIN!

Padma Patil…

RAVENCLAW!

Then HARRY POTTER!…

GRYFFINDOR!

Draco Malfoy…

HUFFLEPUFF!

Shock covered the faces of the professors at the high table. Professor Snape, the potions master, sat quietly with a puzzled expression on his face. His eyes were closed to slits, and his mouth was crooked like he was suppressing a smile. He locked eyes with Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff House, whose mouth, unlike Snape's, was hanging wide open in disbelief. Her eyebrows were arched above her eyes like they had been glued to her forehead. A silent conversation went on between them.

"Why is the boy in my house?"

"He's your problem now."

"Did someone tamper with the hat as a joke? Fred or George?"

"Impossible. Albus would never allow it."

They dropped their gaze and watched Draco Malfoy walk slowly to his new house table.

Slowly and stiffly, as if someone had put an incomplete leg locker curse on his legs, Malfoy shuffled forward. He felt like his walk to the Hufflepuff table was longer than his train ride to Hogwarts. His mind was blank until the terrible thoughts started rushing in.

"Will I ever be accepted as a Death Eater?"

"Will Crabbe and Goyle still fear me?"

But the main thing in his mind was not a question; it was an image of his father's furious face telling him he was not a real Malfoy.

Malfoy sat down and buried his head in his hands as Professor McGonagall took the sorting hat and left the hall. He was barely aware of his dinner in front of him or the students applauding as Dumbledore gave his welcoming speech.

The plates magically filled with a variety of food - pumpkin juice, meat pies, tripe, stew, fried sausages, roast beef and chicken, shepherd's pie, Cornish pasties, lamb chops, soup, steak and kidney pudding, black pudding, jelly slugs, fizzing whizbees, marshmallows, baked pumpkins and more - but even though his stomach was rumbling, Draco did not eat at all.

The Fat Friar, the ghost of Hufflepuff House, glided up to him and boomed, "Why are you not eating, young Hufflepuff? The first night's feast is not to be missed!"

"I don't listen to stupid Hufflepuff morons," Draco spat out the word Hufflepuff with a loud rasp like his mouth was unwilling to give shape to such a disgusting word. The Friar lurched back like he had been shot out of a cannon before gathering himself together in the air and diving back towards Malfoy.

"Are you calling yourself a moron, young Hufflepuff?" The Friar replied huffily and zoomed off to the end of the table.

Once everyone was full, the plates magically emptied. Dumbledore stood up and said, "Prefects, please lead your first years to their house common rooms."

Draco's shoulders were slumped as he plodded out of the great hall. Thoughts kept on rushing in. What will Father do to me? What will the kids think if I cry? He imagined going to muggle school or scrubbing the floor without magic. Father would probably prefer Dobby over me.

When Draco finally got his schedule, he saw that he was already late for Potions and rushed off to his class in the dungeons. When he arrived, Snape barked, "Mr. Malfoy, you're late, close the door after you come in, and take a seat." Malfoy did as he was told and sat down. Snape thought, "Does this idiot boy think he can win me over with good manners? Or does he think being Lucius's son gives him special privileges? I must watch him closely."

Out loud, he hissed, "Never have I seen a Malfoy in Hufflepuff, such a disgrace to the Malfoy name. What will your father think?"

Malfoy's mouth was frozen; he could not speak. "Looks like Malfoy got Silencio-ed," Snape sneered, before suddenly turning on the rest of the class and shouting, "The rest of you idiots, open your books to page 65 and make me a forgetfulness potion by the end of class. If you have done it well you will earn 10 points for your house. 20 points from Ravenclaw for forgetting your book, Padma."

When Snape walked over to Malfoy he thought, "This boy is as different from his father as wood from gold. He can't even make a single potion. What a disgraceful pureblood." He sneered at Malfoy's potion which looked like murky sludge. "What potion is that, Malfoy?"

"Forgetfulness potion, sir," replied Malfoy softly.

"100 points from Hufflepuff for saying the wrong potion," Snape said, his sneer widening. "You forgot to add the most important ingredient to the potion. Without an infusion of wormwood, which you should have added already, this potion couldn't make Longbottom forget his quill."

Finally, it was over and they left for their next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Quirrell. But Malfoy never showed up; he was too embarrassed to even go to his classes anymore. Malfoy sat in the Hufflepuff common room imagining his father's furious face. Instead of going to class, he hid in his dormitory trying to avoid the owls.

The owls had already been sailing in the window from morning to evening. Draco was covered in owl poop and paper cuts from trying to avoid the letters that he knew would reveal the true depths of his father's rage.

By the next morning, he could ignore the letters no longer. He saw it at breakfast: it dropped on his plate with a loud THUMP! the entire hall was silent. In front of him was a red envelope and white paper, with a ribbon for a tongue. It was a Howler. Malfoy tried to ignore it, but after a while, it exploded and the furious voice of Lucius Malfoy filled the Great Hall: "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH OF A DISGRACE YOU ARE TO THE FAMILY TO BE SORTED INTO A WEAK HOUSE LIKE HUFFLEPUFF! AND NOT ONLY THAT, TO FIND YOU WERE TOO BIG OF A COWARD TO OPEN MY LETTERS. I HAD TO BE INFORMED BY SNAPE AS TO WHICH HOUSE YOU WERE IN AND WHAT YOU HAVE DONE."

All eyes immediately turned to Snape, who scowled back, dangerously. The Howler continued, "IF YOU BRING ANY MORE SHAME ON THIS FAMILY, I WILL THROW AWAY YOUR INHERITANCE AND GIVE IT TO DOBBY. I WILL STUFF YOU IN MY GRINGOTTS VAULT UNTIL YOU ROT AND THEN I WILL SELL YOUR DEAD BODY TO A MUGGLE DOCTOR SO THEY CAN DISSECT YOU FOR THEIR SO-CALLED SCIENCE!"

Until then, the other Hufflepuffs had been suspicious of Draco Malfoy, whose family name was well-known in the Wizarding World. Now, after the howler, they started to hate him. Malfoy was as alone as ever, without Crabbe and Goyle to keep him company, since they had been sorted into Slytherin. His isolation was broken only by Professor Sprout, who found him moping in the Hufflepuff common room, and told him, "Professor Dumbledore would like to see you, my child."

As Malfoy walked towards Dumbledore's office, his legs shivered and his hands were trembling like he had flown his broomstick into the Arctic. Finally, he made it to Dumbledore's office. He entered and was stunned by the dozens of buzzing, whirring, silver instruments on the shelves lining the walls. He was awed by the portraits of Hogwarts's headmasters and headmistresses of centuries past. His eyes, however, were locked on the only living person in the room, Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

"How are you today, my boy?" asked Dumbledore, casually. Malfoy stared back in silence, refusing to respond.

"I brought you here to discuss the Howler."

"Why's that?" snarled Malfoy.

"Your father's message this morning was… disturbing," continued Dumbledore.

Malfoy's mouth remained shut.

"Your father stated that Hufflepuff is a weak house. Do you agree with this statement?"

"What do you think?" snapped Malfoy. "Of course, Hufflepuff is a weak house!" But in his mind, he detected the traces of his doubt. No one had ever explained to him exactly why Hufflepuff was considered a weak house. What if Hufflepuff was not as weak as his father had always said?

Dumbledore stared into his eyes, evenly, and Malfoy had a creeping feeling of being exposed. The old wizard looked him up and down, and replied, "It appears you may have mixed feelings about this."

"Mind your own business you old freak!" Malfoy was practically screaming, but Dumbledore just smiled.

"Do you need protection from your father? The Headmaster of Hogwarts has ways to help a wizard in need."

"I don't need anyone's help, especially from a puny wimp from Gryffindor," hissed Malfoy.

Dumbledore just smiled. Malfoy's heart filled with hatred. This must be Dumbledore's fault. He must have influenced the Sorting Hat to disgrace the Malfoy family. Draco wished that he could kill the pompous old man right there on the spot. He had known the words of the killing curse, Avada Kedavra, since almost as early as he began to talk. But he quickly dismissed the idea, since the old man had defeated Grindelwald.

The thought of killing Dumbledore filled Malfoy with dread but also wonder. Father would be so proud!

"Can I go now? I need to sleep, or did you forget with that thick head of yours?"

Dumbledore just smiled but didn't speak. Malfoy snarled, turned around walked to the door, and twisted the handle, but it didn't budge.

"Let me out… now!" Malfoy's voice was so soft it was barely audible, but it sounded like murder."

"I am not your house elf," warned Dumbledore, "but very well my boy."

The doors slid open and Malfoy fell down the stairs.

"Curse you, old man!" Malfoy spat, then slowly walked back to the Hufflepuff common room thinking back on the conversation. What did the old man mean by Hufflepuff not being a weak house? If it wasn't, what would it be? The strongest? That night Malfoy lay in his bed pondering the strengths of Hufflepuff House. They were kind? Father would laugh at that stupid strength. He would call that a weakness. Draco already imagined his father's face smiling at his stupidity. Were they good at Herbology? Father would spit in his face. These thoughts played in Draco's mind as his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.

When Malfoy woke up the next day, Dumbledore still floated in his mind, wearing an infuriating smile. Their conversation replayed repeatedly in his head, making him angrier and angrier as he put on his yellow Hufflepuff robes and walked down to breakfast in a terrible mood. That mudblood lover trying to tell me what to do, trying to protect me. Does he think I need saving? Does he think he's my father?

He entered the dining hall to find himself surrounded by three Slytherin first-years - Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, and Blaise Zabini.

"Oh look! It's the heir of Malfoy!" Pansy pointed and giggled. "Too bad you don't deserve such a high honor."

"Maybe your father will make me his heir instead," agreed Blaise.

"You're such a wimp, needing to go to Dumbledore for assistance," jeered Millicent. Malfoy's face contorted with rage and turned a bright shade of crimson.

"I am the heir of the Malfoy name and you will respect me or have a great enemy," snarled Draco.

"All the Slytherins know that you got kicked out of the house by your father," Blaise retorted. "He cut you right out of the family tree. You'll never be a Death Eater, and now you'll serve us forever."

"Are you going to team up with your new dad Dumbledore and Harry Potter and become friends with all the muggles and mudbloods like Arthur Weasley?"

In one swift motion, Malfoy drew his wand and stepped forward.

"Shut your mouth you Slytherin freak," he spat, eyes bulging out of his crimson face.

"Merlin's beard! You are a Hufflepuff, the rumors are true!" laughed Millicent.

"Don't worry-your new father is sitting right there at the high table. He'll protect you from us bad, bad Slytherins," jeered Pansy.

The three Slytherin first-years swished their cloaks as they turned around in unison and walked back to the Slytherin table, leaving Malfoy with his wand drawn and heart pounding. He lowered his wand slowly and sat down at the table. While the other Hufflepuff first-years gobbled down sausages and bacon, Draco's plate remained empty, and his mouth shut. He stared down at his empty plate, and slowly a deadly thought formed in his mind. I shall murder that old man for all that he's done to me. I am no Hufflepuff; I am a Malfoy! It's only Dumbledore's tricks and lies. He made the Sorting Hat and put me in Hufflepuff to separate me from my father. In the clear red vision of his anger, a plan began to take shape.

"Enjoy your life while you still have it, old man," whispered Malfoy.

Chapter 2

Malfoy's moonlike silver eyes shone back at him in the large, oak-framed mirror. Swirling snow swept out of the thick white fog and through the drafty windows and settled on the Christmas decorations hanging all around the Room of Requirement. He scowled at the bright green and yellow tinsel and baubles; how in Merlin's name did the room get the notion that he required such gaudy decorations?

Malfoy thought of a packet of poison, and it appeared in front of him. He sprinkled the white powder inside of the wine bottle and closed the lid. He left the Room of Requirement and descended to the dungeons.

Malfoy arrived at the door which had the words Η τέχνη της κατσαρόλας που βράζει written on it and shimmering underneath it were golden words reading "The art of the boiling pot" He peeked through the door seeing no one there so he walked through the cracked open door without knocking.

"Who dares enter my office!" snarled Snape.

"I have an early Christmas present for you, sir since you are my favorite teacher," simpered Malfoy.

Snape's eyebrows shot up with suspicion. "How very thoughtful, young Hufflepuff. I see you're taking on your house's trait of loyalty."

Snape ripped open the present and found a bottle of wine. He held it up to the dim light of the flickering lantern, and his face turned redder than the wine in the bottle. His shaking hand held the bottle, while the other raised his wand.

"Malfoy, you have some explaining to do," snarled Snape.

"What are you talking about sir? You're the most excellent Potions Master I could ever have. This wine has been passed down from generations of Malfoys. I had our house elf fetch it directly from our private stores."

"Nonsense, boy! This wine is poisoned! Explain yourself quickly if you want to live to taste this evening's dinner."

Malfoy's mouth fell open in shock.

"Please, sir, I'm not trying to poison you! I knew you wouldn't like this wine and you would give it to Dumbledore," Malfoy stammered.

"You think I am going to believe that, you silly little Hufflepuff child," Snape spat as he gazed intently towards Draco's eyes. "Stop moving, boy! Make eye contact with me!"

Malfoy's whole body shook with fear. His hands fidgeted, his foot nervously tapped the ground, and his face was even paler than usual. And yet, he stared obediently into his professor's eyes.

Snape reared back in shock. Out loud he spat, "You're telling the truth. You are an idiot. Maybe you are a Hufflepuff."

Malfoy's face was boiling with rage; he wanted to punch that stupid Potions master in the face. Snape shoved Malfoy out and slammed the door shut. Malfoy silently crept back to his common room and dropped onto the bed. He dreamed of the Potions master.

Snape gazed at the enchanted black gates, as tall as three of him. The screeching of owls and swishing wings of bats grew slowly louder as he walked towards the manor. He rang the bell. The gate remained shut, and Lady Malfoy's clear high voice rang out of the gloom.

"Severus Snape," said Narcissa warmly, "What brings you here today?"

"Draco," scowled Snape.

The gates slowly opened, and Snape stepped into the darkness. There was no moon, no stars, no light of any kind.

"Lumos!" whispered Snape. He strolled briskly up to the door of the main house and knocked three times.

"Welcome, Severus, come in, what news?" acknowledged Narcissa.

"I must see Lucius," hissed Snape.

"I will get him, he is upstairs," said Narcissa.

She walked out of the room, and Snape allowed his eyes to roam around the large foyer of Malfoy Manor. Hanging directly across from the doorway, dominating the decoration, was a huge painting of Lucius's father, Abraxas, pointing his wand at hundreds of muggles, whom he appeared to be torturing. Snape could see them kneeling on the ground, their eyes full of pain, and their mouths open screaming, while Abraxas's pale face was laughing with glee. In the center of the room, half a dozen dark objects were floating suspended in the air. Snape recognized The Hand of Glory and a pouch of Peruvian Darkness Powder, but the three other objects he had never seen. He slowly walked to the living room and opened a book on dark magic from Lucius's library.

"Ahem," snarled Lucius from the bottom of the stairway.

"Greetings," bowed Snape, "I am impressed, as always, by your collection. I notice you have some new acquisitions floating in the receiving room." He nodded to the dark artifacts floating in the air.

"Ah, those are my inventions," hissed Lucius. "I'm sure you'll admire my Wand Biter, Ray of Spells, and Morpheus Key."

"Intriguing," admired Snape "What do they do?"

"They're all so special," agreed Lucius, nodding proudly, "Which one to start with?"

"Tell me about the Wand Biter."

"The Wand Biter is one of my most valuable dark artifacts. One uses it in duels by throwing it at one's opponent to eat his wand. Made out of gold and shaped like a snake representing the great Salazar Slytherin."

"Intriguing," bowed Snape, "What about the Morpheus Key, what does that do?"

"It can take the shape of any keyhole and open it. Made out of gold and silver."

"And the Ray of Spells?" asked Snape admiringly.

"Yes, the Ray of Spells is my favorite. It shoots out all three unforgivable curses at the same time. As you can see, Snape, the handle containing the ray is made of pure gold."

"Anyway, what brings you here today," asked Lucius.

"Draco," said Snape, inclining his head.

"Oh? What has the boy done now," scowled Lucius.

"An incredibly stupid plan. He tried to give me poisoned wine, and he thought I would give it to Dumbledore," spat Snape.

"What do you mean?" snarled Lucius. His face crumpled in anger and his gray eyes glared with fire.

"Your son brought me some wine and said it was an early Christmas present. Then he told me it was wine passed down from generations of Malfoys. Of course, I saw through those lies and saw that your son had poisoned the wine," explained Snape.

"Why would he do that? He always wanted you as his head of the house," exclaimed Lucius.

"I used Legilimency and found that he poisoned the wine, and thought I would give it to Dumbledore. I think Draco was trying to kill Dumbledore."

"How foolish," exclaimed Lucius.

Lucius's eyes had a hint of moonlight in them. His mouth hung open in shock but jerked back quickly.

"I'll see you at Hogwarts tomorrow."

"Very well." scowled Snape.

Draco Malfoy woke up early and ran face-first into his father. Hanging all around the room were Christmas decorations of all colors around the room. The bright yellow laurels hung around the room while all the paintings were gathered above the portrait of a Christmas tree, in contrast, Lucius wore all black like he was at a funeral except for the shiny strands of hair, like his father he also wore all black Malfoy's face was hard as steel.

"Draco," sneered Lucius.

"Did Snape visit the Manor last night?" asked Malfoy.

"Yes," hissed Lucius. The elder Malfoy had a confused look on his face: one of his eyebrows was raised while the other wasn't.

"Did Snape tell you about my plan?" sneered Malfoy. Lucius's face turned as red as someone who had just eaten a ghost pepper.

"It was a terrible idea to poison wine and give it to Snape," hissed Lucius.

"It wasn't meant for Snape!" scowled Malfoy.

"No matter, dear boy. I admire your ambition. Perhaps the Sorting Hat did indeed make an error. A true Malfoy does anything to achieve his heart's desire."

"Dumbledore made me go into Hufflepuff," snapped Malfoy. "He must have enchanted the Sorting Hat." Lucius's usual sneer had turned into an open mouth and his hands were raised in defeat.

"I know the wine was for Dumbledore, my child. However, you must understand that when you are trying to kill a great wizard, you must move slowly, consult with your father, and use the vast resources of the Malfoy family to your advantage, including the Death Eaters."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

"Ah, Severus," Lucius said, smoothly, as the long hooked nose of the Potions masters entered the room, followed by his body. "Thank you for joining us."

"To what do I owe this invitation, Lucius?" asked Snape.

"Your, em, educational expertise," replied Lucius, smoothly. "I'd like young Draco to learn from his errors. How would you, Severus, go about constructing a more reliable plan?"

"Ahh," said Snape. "If you mean what I think you mean, I would not take stupid risks. I would begin by taking stock of my resources and my allies, and putting them to any use I can to gain an advantage of surprise or unequal strength. That's how any good Slytherin would think, but I'm sure a Hufflepuff would need instruction in these matters."

Draco glared at Snape with eyes that looked like they could kill an adult hippogriff. He clenched his teeth so hard he almost broke a tooth.

"I'm only in Hufflepuff because the old man influenced the Sorting Hat! I am a true Slytherin!" Draco half-shouted in indignation.

"Quiet boy!" hissed Lucius. "Do not talk back to your professors. We will see if you are indeed worthy of Slytherin House."

Snape's mouth curled into a sneer. "Childish, focusing on your emotions and indignation-it will get you nowhere, boy."

"Then how could we gain unequal strength against Dumbledore? Even the Dark Lord at his height did not seek out a fight with the old man."

"If we could catch him off guard, in a place he would never expect to be attacked…" said Snape, thoughtfully.

"We would need to get at least half a dozen Death Eaters into the castle," replied Lucius. "But that's impossible; it's too well guarded."

"There might be a way," said Snape, eyes looking distant. "There is a cabinet, stored now in the Room of Requirement. It can transport a wizard over long distances through most magical barriers. Advanced students sometimes attempt to repair it for extra credit. However, it is only one of a pair, and the other is lost. Without obtaining and repairing the other cabinet, the wizard who entered could end up anywhere in the world. Some have died entering it and being transported into the mouth of a volcano."

"We must obtain this other cabinet," said Lucius, brusquely. "You see, Draco, this is where the vast resources of our family prove an advantage. We may be able to track down this other cabinet, where other wizards would fail."

"I'll do it! I'll track down the missing cabinet!" Draco shouted excitedly, eyes blazing.

"Idiot boy!" shot back Lucius. "I will track down the missing cabinet. You have neither the connections nor the money for such a task. You will remain in Hogwarts and redeem your error by fixing the cabinet that remains in the Room of Requirement."

"Ahem," the cold voice of the Potions master interrupted the excitement. "Are you implying that you actually intend to carry out this plan. I was under the impression that this was a lesson for the boy." Snape fidgeting uncharacteristically, his normal smirk wiped with a cold frown of fear.

"You know what I know, Severus. The Dark Lord is regaining strength. Soon a great ally will be freed from Azkaban. If we knock Dumbledore off the board, nothing will block the Dark Lord from returning to his full power, and he will reward us as his most loyal servants."

"The plan must be executed perfectly, or we will all die," said Snape, flatly.

Lucius walked out of the room with a huge smile on his face.

Chapter 3

Draco Malfoy sat crumpled in a purple armchair in the Hufflepuff common room, simultaneously on the verge of sleep and tears. His hair was messy and his eyes were fluttering trying to stay open. Six weeks had gone by since the conversation with his father and Professor Snape. His father had already tracked down the missing vanishing cabinet, but all of Draco's attempts to repair the broken cabinet that sat in the Room of Requirement had failed.

The clock struck 2am. Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw the only other Hufflepuff still awake stand up from the thick oak table on the other side of the Common Room and walk over to his chair. Despite the lateness of the hour, the other boy appeared perfectly composed and energized. He looked handsome wearing the bright yellow robes of Hufflepuff, and his hair was perfect.

"Hi, I'm Cedric Diggory!" exclaimed the tall boy, sticking out his hand.

"Draco Malfoy," scowled Draco. Draco shook his hand and wiped it on a cloth on the table.

"Why are you staying up so late?" questioned Cedric "Homework?"

"No."

"Well a first year like you should not be out of bed so late You're lucky Sprout isn't as strict as some of the other heads of house, like Professor McGonagall," smiled Cedric.

"I was really busy doing… some things," mumbled Malfoy.

"What could a first-year like you be doing at 2 am?" asked Cedric.

"Um, what were we talking about again I kind of dozed off."

"What were you doing just now, young Hufflepuff?" smiled Cedric.

"Nothing, just… uhm… a cabinet," murmured Malfoy, half awake.

"A cabinet? What kind of cabinet?" questioned Cedric.

"Um, nothing it's just a cabinet" murmured Malfoy.

Cedric's eyes closed with concentration and then suddenly popped open in surprise. "The vanishing cabinet! A lot of students have tried fixing that old cabinet for extra credit. They were much older than you thought. Honestly, it's way beyond first-year magic. Are you doing this for a class?"

"I… yes… I… am an outstanding student of Professor McGonagall's… Transfiguration. If I fix the vanishing cabinet I will earn 300 points for Hufflepuff."

"From what I've heard, everyone who has tried to fix the cabinet has failed because they don't know where the other vanishing cabinet is."

Malfoy's face looked like he was playing poker: at one point he was smiling, and at the other point he was frowning. He raised his head slowly and said, "Really? Tell me more. Maybe if I understand the theory…"

"You would probably need to get a book from the restricted section. I can help you get it. But I still don't think you'll be able to make any progress without the other cabinet. You really ought to wait until at least you've passed your O.W.L.s for that project. Unless you're a real Transfiguration genius or something."

Malfoy's face rushed with emotion and for once he smiled.

"Thanks… why are you helping me?" asked Malfoy.

"A Hufflepuff always helps another Hufflepuff in need," replied Cedric, seriously.

Malfoy's mouth hung open in shock. He let a single tear leave his eyes and he stuttered, "I… I don't know what to say?"

Cedric said nothing but beamed back at him.

"A Hufflepuff always helps another Hufflepuff in need…" repeated Malfoy slowly, as if he were struggling to comprehend Cedric's words.

Cedric leaned closer, "Not to be rude, but I know who you are. I know you wanted to be in Slytherin, but we are happy you are in Hufflepuff, and I hope that everyone is treating you with the dignity and friendship that you deserve."

Malfoy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Ummm, yeah… so, what are you doing up so late? Are you studying too?"

Cedric suddenly looked nervous. He started ruffling his scarf and tapping his foot. "It's Potions," he said with downcast eyes. "I want to get an Outstanding on my O.W.L. but it's so difficult. Professor Snape honestly terrifies me, and it's hard for me to comprehend anything when he's creeping around the classroom all the time staring at us and making those sarcastic comments."

As soon as Draco heard the word "Potions," his back straightened and his voice became smoother.

"Let me help you," said Malfoy, with a ring of pride in his voice. "My father got me tutors for Potions ever since I was seven, and Professor Snape is a friend of the family."

It was 5:00 am by the time Malfoy had finished helping Cedric. He went to bed with a warm feeling in his stomach. Malfoy felt like a hundred pounds had been lifted off his shoulders. And although he told himself it was all because of the progress on the vanishing cabinet, in truth, he was proud that he had finally made a friend.

One week later, Malfoy was sitting in the same purple armchair when Cedric came bursting into the common room holding a large dusty book. "That Potions homework was brilliant!" the handsome fifth-year practically yelled.

Draco smiled in surprise, and then his eyebrows scrunched up and with a growl, he said "Did Snape say anything else?"

"No, but thanks again for everything. Here is the book you wanted; it might be a little dusty. Sorry, I have to go to quidditch practice" said Cedric.

"It's fine, thank you," smiled Malfoy

"I'm confident that Hufflepuff has got a great new first year," said Cedric pompously, puffing out his chest and grinning.

"Don't be too sure," snapped Malfoy.

"Sorry," apologized Cedric.

"I'm only kidding," smiled Malfoy. The young Hufflepuff felt a strange sensation of pride and happiness wash over his entire body as he turned around and went up to bed.

Chapter 4

The room of requirement was pitch black when Malfoy entered. He held a powerful dark artifact in his left hand: The Hand of Glory. It was made of pure silver and held a candle inside of it continually burning.

"Are all of you here?" hissed Malfoy.

"We are still waiting for Bellatrix," replied the darkness.

"We shall wait then," snapped Malfoy.

"No, we should start now!" scowled the darkness, "Why does she get to have all the glory."

"Let's give her five minutes. Either way, the kids go to bed at 9:00 pm."

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Dumby shall die tonight" snarled a new voice. "It is I, the Dark Lord's favorite."

"Hello Auntie Bellatrix," smiled Malfoy "Now let us begin."

The Death Eaters all emerged from the darkness. Draco looked around and saw The Carrows, Macnair, Bellatrix, Crabbe, and Goyle's fathers.

"After I throw this darkness powder, you will follow the light of the Hand of Glory. My father has arranged for the Minister of Magic to send Dumbledore an owl at 9:00 pm, so we know Dumbledore will be in the tower."

"The old man will never know what hit him!" cackled Bellatrix.

"I can't wait to grab him with my wand and throw him into a bucket of Devil's Snare," laughed Alecto Carrow.

"Save enough of him for me to chop him up with an axe," laughed Macnair.

Malfoy shouted, "Accio darkness powder!" The powder zoomed towards him and he uncapped the bottle. While Bellatrix and the others crept outside, Malfoy threw the bottle and the world turned dark except for the light of the hand of glory, which gave all of them light, thanks to a bit of advanced sorcery by Professor Snape. They ascended the stairs quietly and softly, making sure to make no noise, until they reached the door of the mail tower. On a signal from Draco, they burst the doors open and raised their wands. The image of an ancient wizard, sitting calmly on a chair in the center room, his wand pointed directly at them, filled their vision.

"An unwise move," said Dumbledore, flicking his wand which made all the Peruvian darkness powder disappear in a flash, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Dumby is all alone," hissed Bellatrix.

"Looking good yourself Bellatrix, I see you are finally out of Azkaban," smiled Dumbledore. "What brings you here tonight? Searching for mail?"

"You are insane!" snapped Malfoy.

"Draco here planned this entire thing to kill you," glowered Alecto. "This is your death bed."

"Lovely to see the most bloody siblings in the world of magic," smiled Dumbledore.

"You should be trembling, I hold your life in my hands," scowled Malfoy.

"I know that you don't have the heart to kill me, my boy," said Dumbledore softly. "Why don't you put down that wand and let's have some tea?"

Malfoy pointed his wand at Dumbledore but suddenly felt his arms jerk upwards, aiming his wand just above the headmaster.

"Stupefy!" yelled Malfoy. "That was a warning shot. Next time it will be your head."

The ceiling rained down dust and powder.

"If this is my deathbed, why am I not dead yet?" inquired Dumbledore.

"How would you like to die?" hissed Malfoy.

"A quick Avada Kedavra should do the trick," smiled Dumbledore.

Malfoy lowered his wand to Dumbledore's eyes, his hand shaking "Avada Keda….."

Suddenly Malfoy was blasted forward by a spell from behind. He smashed against the floor and dropped his wand, and his head jolted with pain from the impact.

"Kill him!" snarled Malfoy.

All hell broke loose. The ceiling fell apart as members of the Order of the Phoenix came to intercept the death eaters.

"I was prepared, Malfoy," said Dumbledore calmly, still sitting motionless in the center of the room

Malfoy watched the battle from under the rubble. Bellatrix was dueling with Alastor Moody. He only had one real eye but Bellatrix was struggling to fight him.

"Most of your death eaters already lost the first war to these same Members of the Order of Phoenix."

Malfoy looked around the room for Macnair, who was getting hit with so many jinxes that his body seemed like jelly.

"Help!" Macnair cried.

Dumbledore flicked his wand and Macnair flew across the room and slammed next to Malfoy unconscious.

"Catch!" yelled Malfoy.

The Carrows each caught vials of Peruvian Darkness Powder and threw them at the floor.

The room turned pitch black but the darkness vanished in a flick of Dumbledore's wand.

"How?" questioned Malfoy.

"You're not like these Death Eaters, Draco," replied Dumbledore sadly. "The sorting hat made no mistake placing you in Hufflepuff."

"Liar!" screamed Malfoy, but he noticed a quavering in his voice.

The Death Eaters grabbed Malfoy and tried to open the door with all the spells they knew.

"Buy me some time so I can unlock the door!" ordered Malfoy. He opened his bag and grabbed his father's Morpheus key.

"Stupefy!" someone yelled.

It bounced off the wall and right into Malfoy's chest.

Malfoy flew across the room and slammed once again into the wall.

For the first time, Malfoy did not feel confident. Where had he dropped the key?

"Accio Key!" yelled Malfoy.

The Morpheus key zoomed towards him and he caught it he quickly shoved it into the keyhole and the door swung open.

"Got it!" yelled Malfoy, "The door is unlocked… run!"

Bellatrix flicked her wand and everyone flew back except for Dumbledore.

Dumbledore returned the favor by flicking his wand towards the Dark Lord's favorite. From its tip burst out a huge dragon, which flew straight towards Malfoy.

"Duck!" yelled Bellatrix.

But Malfoy was prepared; he grabbed the wand biter and swung it at Dumbledore, breaking his concentration. The Wand Biter missed but hit Moody's wand, which snapped in half with a crack!

"Now run!" yelled Malfoy.

The Death eaters all turned around and started running, but the Order wasn't going to let that happen.

"Stupefy!" Lupin yelled.

The ceiling fell right in front of the death eaters.

Malfoy felt weak in the stomach, but he pulled out the ray of spells.

"Duck!" shouted Malfoy.

The Death Eaters ducked as Malfoy shot the Ray of Spells at everyone else.

"Now run!"

Their boots echoed throughout the entire building.

By the time the Order had recovered the Death Eaters were gone.

"GO! Into the vanishing cabinet!"

The death eaters hopped one by one into the vanishing cabinet and disappeared.

Chapter 5: Occlumency

Draco woke up the next morning with his head pounding. He raised his head, wiped the sleep from his eyes, and slowly realized that the pounding was not only in his head. There was a loud knocking coming from the door of the first-year Hufflepuff boys' dorm. Draco dragged his body across the room and changed into his clothes. Then he walked towards the door.

"Who's there?" mumbled Malfoy sleepily.

The door opened with a creak and a dark shadow loomed.

"Hello, Draco," greeted Professor Sprout.

"Hi, Professor Sprout, what are you doing here?" murmured Draco.

"You need to go to Dumbledore's office," stated Professor Sprout, matter-of-factly.

"Can't I go to breakfast first?" questioned Draco.

"No! Immediately! I better see you in the corridors in five minutes" growled the professor, sounding nothing like her jovial self.

"Yes, professor," mumbled Draco.

Draco left the common room and started down a familiar corridor.

"You seem to have made it," acknowledged Professor Sprout.

"Password?" interrupted the Gargoyle.

"Honeysuckle," croaked Professor Sprout.

The Gargoyle slid open to reveal a spiraling grand staircase encased in gold and silver covered in red-carpeted steps.

"Just like home," thought Malfoy, "except for all that ghastly red."

Malfoy slowly ascended the stairs while rubbing his eyes, which caused him to slip.

"Careful, boy!?" barked Professor Sprout, looking concerned.

"I'm fine," snapped Malfoy.

The door creaked open and he saw an old man with moon-shaped spectacles. The head of Hufflepuff House turned and exited, leaving the two of them alone

"Hello, Draco," smiled Dumbledore.

"Why did you call me here?" interrupted Malfoy "To kill me?"

"Would you like some tea?" ignored Dumbledore. Dumbledore got up and poured hot yellow liquid into a Chinese cup. "I got this cup after a long journey, but that is a story for another time," smiled Dumbledore.

He put down the cup right in front of Malfoy's eyes.

"I am not thirsty" snarled Malfoy.

"Are you hurt?" frowned Dumbledore.

"I am close to becoming the most powerful death eater in the world. You won't be there to see it" sneered Malfoy. "I will be far stronger than my father and I will be You-Know-Who's favorite instead of my aunt!"

"Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself," smiled Dumbledore. "And besides, the title of Lord Voldemort's favorite is not an enviable one."

"You're just scared that I will be a far greater and more powerful wizard than you, old man," sneered Malfoy.

"Don't be so sure, young Hufflepuff," replied Dumbledore, surprisingly sharply.

"You think you're untouchable, but you're not a match for the Dark Lord in a fair fight!" " screamed Malfoy.

Dumbledore sat patiently, saying nothing.

"I tried to kill you! Why are you just sitting there smiling at me? Don't you know I'm trying to have you dead? If you're going to kick me out of Hogwarts just do it already! My father is going to kill me for my failure, why don't you just kill me now?"

"I would never fight a student, much less a promising one like you," smiled Dumbledore.

"Did you just insult me?" growled Malfoy.

"I also had a troubled relationship with my father too, you know. For most of my lifetime he was in Azkaban" ignored Dumbledore.

"Liar!" screamed Malfoy.

"When I was young like you I wanted to be just like him, but after seeing the darkness in him I realized we are defined by our own choices, not by those of our parents."

Malfoy's mouth hung open in shock. "My father is a great wizard and a far greater man than you'll ever be. He controls the ministry and he's the real force behind this school. I bet he could have you removed from that headmaster's seat if he wanted to."

"You overestimate your father's abilities," replied Dumbledore calmly. "No matter. The only one who should be worried about remaining in this school is you, young Malfoy. However, I won't expel you, and my offer to protect you is still open whenever you need it. You may find that those you considered friends and allies may not be as reliable as you'd believed, young Malfoy."

Draco tried to keep a blank face, but his mouth twitched.

"Yes, I see that you are not oblivious to the consequences of a failed attack. It won't be too long before the death eaters whom you brought into the castle last night start making guesses about how I anticipated their arrival."

Malfoy's normally pale face began to flush with fear.

"You are destined for a better life than that of a Death Eater, Draco. And besides, I see that you're already making friends with someone in your house," smiled Dumbledore, eyes twinkling.

Draco's face changed for a second before returning to his usual furious scowl.

"Friendship is the most powerful magic in the world, and the love between friends is the thing that no wizard can truly master except for those with the kindest of hearts," smiled Dumbledore.

Malfoy's teacup shattered and his face turned white with rage. Dumbledore waved his wand and the teacups flew back together.

"You should make more friends with your fellow Hufflepuff. You will find love and a sense of loyalty and family among them," continued Dumbledore.

"Just expel me already. You don't need to stand there mocking me," Malfoy finally spoke. He was feeling so many emotions at once, he could barely hold himself together.

"If I expel you, where will you go? What will you do? Do you think your father and his death-eater friends will help you now after this debacle?" asked Dumbledore.

"You don't know me, old man! You are not a Malfoy and you never understand what it means to be one!" shouted Draco.

Malfoy got up from his chair and marched towards the door.

The door swung open before he could grab the handle. Malfoy tumbled down the stairs so hard he smashed right into the claws of the gargoyle at the bottom.

"Stupid old man," croaked Malfoy.

He returned to the common room bleeding all over his body. On his bed was a pale envelope telling him to go straight back to Malfoy Manor immediately.

With his entire body aching, he dragged himself outside to go on the train back to Malfoy Manor. The train ride was a terrible journey. Every time Draco tried to sleep, his mind would alternate between visions of his father yelling at him, and Dumbledore smiling that infuriating mocking smile. He kept on thinking about how much he would like to strangle the old man with his bare hands. He wondered how he could possibly have known about his friendship with Cedric, but nothing came to his mind. After several long hours, he got off the train to find a tall man with white silk hair and black robes.

"Draco," hissed Lucius.

The trip back to his house was terse. Neither of them spoke a single word. Draco gazed at the familiar black gates.

"Welcome home, Draco," said Narcissa sweetly, and Draco was overwhelmed with gratitude for the kind voice of his mother.

The gates creaked open while bats circled the house.

"Dobby!" screamed Lucius, "Clean my shoes and Draco's!"

"Yes sir!" squeaked Dobby.

Draco and Lucius walked towards Draco's bedroom while Lucius hissed, "Draco you are going to learn Occlumency with your aunt Bellatrix."

"I hate her," spat Draco. "And when did she get out of Azkaban?"

"Your mind is weak, Draco. I cannot give you this information."

Draco felt like a hot iron being pressed inside his mind. His father thought he was stupid, and weak. "I don't have a weak mind," said Draco, sourly.

"How did Dumbledore know of the attack?" roared Lucius. "He was prepared! Half of the Order of the Phoenix was already on scene!"

Draco shut his mouth. He had not had time to even think about this. How had Dumbledore anticipated the attack?

"I believe that Dumbledore performed Legilimency on you, Draco. He read your mind and learned of the attack," hissed Lucius.

"You don't know that for a fact!" shot back Draco.

"You failed to assassinate Dumbledore and made our family embarrassed to the Dark Lord!" snarled Lucius. "You will learn Occlumency from your aunt Bellatrix and prevent a disaster like this from happening again."

Draco had nothing to say. His father's point was irrefutable.

"Now, before you begin, you must tell me, has Dumbledore spoken with you since last night? I believe he will not expel you or make this attack public; it's not his style. However, I expect that he would have summoned you to him and offered you something. Is that true?"

"He offered me a cup of tea," spat Draco.

"You lie, it is painfully obvious. This is why you need Occlumency Draco," stressed Lucius.

"He did offer me a cup of tea!" shouted Draco. "He also offered me protection and said I need to be less like you. He said he had a troubled relationship with his own father, and that we can't always count on our family to protect us."

Lucius's face turned to stone and he clenched his cup so hard that cracks appeared on the glass. When he spoke, his voice was so quiet it was barely audible, but every word was deadly.

"If you don't start acting more like a Malfoy, the old man might be right."

Lucius turned and left his son alone in his bedroom. Draco flopped down on his bed and slept.

The next morning, Draco was woken by a face that looked like it had come back from the dead. It was a face contorted with madness from all those years in Azkaban. He felt cold and weak next to her presence.

"Rise!" shouted Bellatrix Lestrange, commandingly. "To the atrium!"

They descended to the spacious Malfoy atrium, which was still filled with deadly artifacts and a picture of Lucius's father torturing muggles.

"Face me! Yes, like that. Put your wand out. Get ready to block me wherever you think I will cast the spell," cackled Bellatrix. "We will begin with obvious intrusion before we move on to the nonverbal attacks."

Draco's wand hand trembled with fear. He wondered what the spell would do to him if he couldn't block it.

"Legilimens!" shouted Bellatrix.

Draco felt like his head exploded and his head swirled into his thoughts. He saw himself on the Hogwarts train riding with Crabbe and Goyle, joking about being sorted into such a loser house like Hufflepuff. Then the scene changed and his eyes came to focus on Bellatrix's cold gaze.

"You need to block your thoughts!" cackled Bellatrix.

"I'm trying," spat Malfoy. "What am I even trying to block?"

"Crucio," hissed Bellatrix.

Malfoy screamed in pain.
"Bellatrix!" hissed Lucius "You will not hurt my son."

"Next time, warn him never to ask questions."

Lucius left the two of them alone. The cycle continued and at the end of the day, he was drenched in sweat.

"Again," scowled Bellatrix.

"Can I have some chocolate?"

"No, now try again,"

"Legilimens!" shouted Bellatrix.

Malfoy saw him helping Cedric with his potions homework and asking him about what he was working on. Draco tried to will his mind to make it stop. He could feel his heart racing in fear of what Bellatrix would tell his father. His vision slowed down and came back to reality and he saw Bellatrix with a curious expression on her face.

"Who's Cedric?" she asked, cunningly.

Under Bellatrix's cold gaze, Draco found that he had to admit what he was thinking.

"He's… just a stupid Hufflepuff that asked for help with Potions homework," replied Malfoy.

Bellatrix said nothing but stared at him intently.

"Do you enjoy being a Hufflepuff?" questioned Bellatrix, suddenly.

Draco knew he couldn't lie. He so far had been totally unsuccessful in blocking Bellatrix's Legilimency, and she wasn't even giving it her full effort.

"The other students are nice. And I mean actually nice. They're not just acting that way because they want to suck up to my father or they're scared of me."

Bellatrix snorted, contemptuously. "You mean that pathetic happy feeling? That was all sucked out of me in Azkaban, and I'm better for it," laughed Bellatrix. "What is the benefit of being nice? No wonder Hufflepuffs are all such weak idiots."

Draco said nothing.

"Legilimens!" shouted Bellatrix.

Draco saw Cedric rushing up to him, thanking him for help on Potions, and giving him the books on Vanishing Cabinets. He felt a warm feeling inside, like he had at the time, when he felt like he was finally making a friend.

The image disappeared, and was replaced by the hollowed out face of Bellatrix Lestrange. This time, she was livid with rage.

"Stupid child! You put all our lives in danger telling another student about the cabinet! Dumbledore must have read the mind of this Diggory child and deduced your plan."

Draco's mouth dropped. He immediately saw the truth in her words.

"Lucius!" shouted Bellatrix.

"Yes, Bellatrix?" The elder Malfoy swept into the room menacingly.

"Your son asked one of his stupid Hufflepuff friends for help with the vanishing cabinet."

"I didn't think that Dumbledore would read his mind and figure out our plan from it! I'm sorry!" shouted Draco, holding back sobs.

Lucius looked like boils were about to burst out all over his face. His normally pale color had turned as red as a phoenix.

"DRACO ALL I WANT IS AN HEIR WHO DOES NOT FAIL EVERY 5 SECONDS!" yelled Lucius. "HOW COULD YOU BE SO CARELESS? I AM BEGINNING TO BELIEVE THAT THE SORTING HAT WAS RIGHT TO PUT YOU IN HUFFLEPUFF. ARE YOU EVEN A MALFOY?"

"I am a Malfoy, and I am a Slytherin!" screeched Draco.

"You think that you are a true Slytherin?" laughed Bellatrix. "Slytherins are supposed to be cunning. You are the exact opposite."

"You really consider this boy in Hufflepuff to be your friend," hissed Lucius, dangerously. "What could you possibly be thinking?"

"Hufflepuffs are loyal. They don't threaten to disown their children because of a few mistakes." It slipped out before Draco had time to think. His mouth hung open, surprised and what he had said.

"What?!" said Lucius, dumbfounded.

There was nothing for it; Draco found the courage to go on. "Hufflepuffs are like a real family. Unlike Slytherins, we all are on the same status and we respect each other. We do not fear other Hufflepuffs."

"We?" said Bellatrix menacingly. "We?!"

"DRACO LEAVE AT ONCE AND GO BACK TO YOUR SO-CALLED FRIENDS IN HUFFLEPUFF!" screamed Lucius. His chest heaved, his eyes bulged, and he struggled for breath. "You are a disgrace to this family! I do not want to see your face at Malfoy Manor until you have earned the right to my name. Get out!"

Chapter 6

Draco returned to Hogwarts with a devilish smile on his face. "Hi, Justin, what's that thing you're holding?" asked Draco cheerfully.

"Get… get away from me!" replied Justin, sounding scared.

"Just tell me," said Draco warmly.

"Why do you want…to know" screeched Justin.

"Is that a wizard Chess set?" asked Draco warmly.

"Ya," stammered Justin Finch-Fletchley. He had dark curly hair, and he was pretty short compared to the rest of the Hufflepuffs. And, as Draco noted to himself, half-shuddering at the thought, he was a muggle-born.

"Can I play?" smiled Draco.

"Umm… yeah okay!" said Justin, warily. "Have you ever played before?"

"With my parents sometimes," replied Malfoy.

Justin slowly moved his pawn which quickly got stampeded by Malfoy's knight.

"Check" declared Malfoy, confidently. Justin's rook leaped into the air and body-slammed the poor knight.

"Wow, I did not see that coming" laughed Malfoy.

"That's what I love about this game," laughed Justin.

Then Malfoy's queen leaped up and charged the bishop.

"Yes! I took another piece," smiled Malfoy.

"You're good!" cheered Justin.

"Thanks," croaked Malfoy.

They played all through breakfast, and finally, Justin knocked Malfoy's queen off the board.

"Checkmate," said Justin.

"Good game," said Draco, smiling a genuine smile. He walked out of the room and almost crashed into the rest of the Hufflepuffs.

"Sorry," murmured Draco.

"Hmph," said Ernie. Draco walked through the portrait hole while Ernie whispered to his fellow Hufflepuffs.

"A Malfoy," sneered Ernie. "Everyone knows they're dark wizards. As close as you can get to You-Know-Who."

"What should we do?" Hannah Abbott whispered nervously.

"Stay away from him and never do what he says," whispered back Ernie.

After a long day at his least favorite class, Transfiguration, in which he repeatedly failed to turn a frog into a shoebox, Draco slumped down on the bed and took a long nap. He woke up at 4:00am to Justin yelling, "Presents!" Malfoy saw that he had only one Christmas present; it was from Cedric. He opened it to find Chocolate Frogs and immediately ate them. Once everyone had finished opening presents, he stood up and said, "wait!"

The other Hufflepuff first-years all looked up at him with nervous expressions on their faces. Then, slowly, the young Malfoy began to take out boxes of wrapped presents. The other boys looked on in shock as Draco started handing out gifts to all of his fellow first-years, one by one, and at the end, they all were laughing except for one person. Ernie MacMillan's face remained stony.

"What are you up to?" burst Ernie. "Why are you being so nice all the time now?"

"Because I want to betray my father and become friends with you guys," smiled Draco.

All the Hufflepuffs turned around and dropped their presents and ran out of the dormitory, while Draco chased after them.

"Oy! Why are you all running?" shouted Cedric as they tumbled into the Hufflepuff common room.

"Malfoy gave us gifts we think he's up to something," said Ernie.

"Draco is just being nice! He's a great addition to this house and you ought to welcome him. He even helped me with my Potions homework. Honestly, you guys need to be better Hufflepuffs and start being loyal," frowned Cedric.

"He probably was trying to get you to help him with something," snarled Ernie.

Cedric's mouth opened and closed without a sound.

"He was trying to help me with my Potions homework, that's it," said Cedric firmly. "Why don't you invite him to play an exploding snap?"

They slowly went back up and asked Malfoy to join them tonight for Christmas games. He accepted with a big grin on his face.

Christmas break went by quickly, and all the Hufflepuffs slowly began to warm up to the boy with the pale blonde hair and oddly formal manners. Their first class after the break was Potions, and they were huddled together so close that you could see the bald spot on Ernie's head. Malfoy sat happily amongst his new friends looking like he had just won the lottery.

"Today you will be making a Shrinking Solution" snarled Snape.

Malfoy started telling the Hufflepuffs how to make the draught and when Snape finally walked around to check on their potion he scowled.

"Having a fun time in Hufflepuff?" cracked Snape. "Imagine a Malfoy looking so happy to be amongst such a crowd. What would your father say?

His comment was met with laughter from the Slytherin table. Malfoy's face grew red and he was trying to calm the urge to slap the ugly grin off Snape's face. The professor turned and walked away and swooped down on Neville.

"Longbottom, what is this? Milk?"

"Shrinking S…solution," said Neville, stuttering.

"Is it?" asked the professor, mockingly. "At the end of this class, we will try your potion on your toad. I hope he survives the ordeal."

Neville's face turned scarlet and then purple, and his eyes glistened with tears. Draco clenched his fists. Sweat began boiling down his face, like a volcano about to erupt. His anger subsided quickly when he realized who he was thinking of defending. He crept towards the cupboard, and winced as the familiar Click! Clack! rang across the classroom. He opened the cupboard, and grabbed leeches, daisies, and caterpillars. On the way back to his desk, he "accidentally" dropped the ingredients right in front of Neville. Neville, scared he would get in trouble, glared at Malfoy with hot daggers in his eyes.

"Trust me," whispered Malfoy.

He threw in the last bits of the potion ingredients into Neville's pot, and just had time to sneak back to the Hufflepuff's table before Snape said "Time!"

Neville's face was in his hands while Snape fed a drop to Neville's toad. It shrunk perfectly. Snape's mouth hung open for a split second but then he turned around and snapped "Malfoy, detention now!"

At 9:00pm, Malfoy slumped into Snape's office and found a short, skinny boy sitting in the room already. He looked unremarkable, with dark green eyes, black messy hair, and cheap glasses, which were probably bought in a muggle's store. The one thing that made the boy different from everyone else was the dark lightning scar etched in his forehead.

Harry Potter saw Draco Malfoy and jumped up and ran to the other side of the room as fast as he could. Draco accepted the fact that he was considered an enemy and sat down quietly looking at the mop in front of him.

Suddenly there was a loud knocking at the door. It was Professor Mcgonagall.

"Severus, Dumbledore would like to see you," said the Transfigurations professor. Snape turned to the two students in detention.

"Stay here and clean these papers. If one of you tries to leave I will make sure that you never see the inside of Hogwarts again," scowled Snape. The two professors left the room and the sound of their footsteps disappeared from the dungeons in seconds.

"Let divide and conquer, you organize this pile, and I will organize this one," suggested Draco.

"I don't want to do anything with you, and I do not want your help," scowled Harry.

"Hey, I'm just trying to be nice!" retorted Malfoy. "I would have thought that the boy who lived would at least have been nicer than this."

"I am nice to people who aren't bullies like you," snapped Harry.

"How am I a bully? The reason I'm in this stupid detention room is because I helped Neville fix his potion," replied Malfoy, calmly.

"I heard that howler. Your father said terrible things about Hufflepuff," said Harry. Harry slapped down a stack of papers and continued.

"And from what I've heard, you're just like your father. Loyal to Slytherin, hates Dumbledore, and loves Voldemort."

"Like you can understand having a terrible father," scowled Draco.

"A terrible father? I heard you live in a big mansion, and your father gives you thousands of galleons and lets you do whatever you want," retorted Harry.

"Not anymore," said Draco. "My father is threatening to disown me. The last time I saw him he told me I wasn't worthy of the name Malfoy. He made me get out of his sight and told me to never come back to our house."

"What? You're lying. Why would he do that?"

"Because I defended Hufflepuff, and said it's better than Slytherin."

"Why would your father care about that?"

"Because my entire family are Slytherin. We have been for generations. Just being sorted into Hufflepuff was a disgrace to the family. And now that I'm defending it and making friends, he thinks I'm being really disloyal."

"Why should I trust you?" ask Harry, suspiciously. "You're probably just pretending to be friends with the other Hufflepuffs because you've got some plan. That's what any Slytherin would do."

"I have already lost my family and my old friends, what more do you want me to lose?" asked Draco, his voice getting heavier with emotion.

Harry Potter's arched eyebrows turned from tall trees into little gnomes, who sat down patiently while his eyes began watering.

"Okay, I get it, I'm sorry," said Harry, slowly. Malfoy looked down at his desk and said nothing. "I never knew my parents… well, I guess you probably know that. After You-Know-Who killed my parents, Dumbledore sent me off to live with my aunt and uncle. They're muggles and they hate magic. They treated me pretty horribly too.""

"I bet they never threatened to disown you," replied Draco, sourly.

'Are you kidding? Loads of times!" said Harry emphatically. "And when they weren't threatening to disown me they still barely gave me any food to eat and locked me in a cupboard."

"That's horrible," said Draco. "Why would Dumbledore leave you with awful people like that?"

Harry didn't have time to answer. They both jumped and turned around as they noticed the shadow looming in the corner, and realized they'd been overheard.

"Hmm. What's all this chatting? Is one day of detention not enough for the famous Harry Potter, and his sidekick Draco Mop?"

Chapter 7

By the time Draco had finished his detention, it was already past 11pm, and starlight was shining in through the castle windows. He crept back into the dorm trying not to wake the other first years, slipped into bed, and fell asleep before his bed touched the pillow.

The face of Bellatrix Lestrange swam up in front of his eyes like a demon from hell. It zoomed in and out and he saw her press a black mark on her left arm. In a couple of seconds, black vapor entered Malfoy's Manor and a hideous figure emerged, hunched on a chair in the middle of the west tower.

Draco looked on in horror at a short, plump man who looked like a rat with small strands of dark chocolate-like hair on his shiny balding head. He looked like a regular person, except for his eyes, which were gleaming a bloody red. Although he had never seen them before, somehow he knew they were the eyes of the Dark Lord.

"Why have you called me here, Bellatrix," said the short man in a kind of hiss, gasping for breath.

Bellatrix fell to the ground and whispered in a mad voice, "Master, the son of Malfoy has made a friend in Hufflepuff, that disgraceful blood traitor Cedric Diggory. His heart is turning. He feels more loyalty to his new house than to Slytherin."

"How do you know thisss," hissed Voldemort, sounding like a snake.

"His father asked me to teach him Occlumency. I saw it when reading his mind," replied Bellatrix. "Then his father confronted him, and he admitted the whole thing."

"Send in Lucius!" hissed Voldemort, a hint of distrust in his voice.

Bellatrix rose from the snake-green colored carpet and walked out of the room in search of Lucius. A few minutes later the sounds of footsteps grew louder, and then the blonde head of Lucius Malfoy entered the room.

"You called for me, my Lord," asked Lucius, walking purposefully towards the dark figure. Lucius's voice was strong, but his body was shaking in fear. The Dark Lord's eyes bore into Lucius like he was trying to possess him.

"Bellatrix has told me that your son is enjoying his new housssse. He even hasss made a friend, the blood traitor Diggory," hissed Voldemort.

"I believe Bellatrix is mistaken. My son is manipulating his classmates to his advantage," replied Lucius.

"Do not lie!" snarled Voldemort. "CRUCIO!"

Lucius's body crumpled and squirmed on the floor. "PLEASE STOP MY LORD I WILL DO ANYTHING, STOP!" screamed Lucius.

"CRUCIO" continued Voldemort.

"Stop, stop I will do anything please, just stop!" begged Lucius.

"Very well," hissed Voldemort. "To prove your loyalty, you shall kill your blood traitor son."

"No!" begged Lucius, bowing down in front of the Dark Lord. "No, please, I'll do anything else!"

"Your son has chosen his path as a blood traitor. Now it is time for you to choose yours. Prove your loyalty to me, the last descendent of Salazar Slytherin, and throw that Hufflepuff child away," snarled Voldemort.

"My Lord, please, make it anything else. I could never kill my son."

The Dark Lord turned to the large snake curled up beside his chair and hissed, "Nagini, bring Bellatrix to me."

The giant snake slithered out of the room as Lucius sobbed, and returned moments later with the terrifying witch following close behind.

"Bellatrix! Take Lucius and your sister into the dungeons," hissed Voldemort.

"It will be done, my lord."

Draco woke up with tears streaming down his face and his entire body covered in sweat.

"Malfoy! What's wrong?" asked Justin, looking scared.

"N… nothing" mumbled Draco, and he bolted out of the room.

Draco ran downstairs and instead of taking a right turn to breakfast he took a left turn towards the dungeons.

"Where are you going, Malfoy?" inquired Ernie, sharply.

"Ugh? Oh! I am going to the dungeons to find Snape. I must tell him something."

"What are you up to sneaking around all of a sudden?"

"I'm sorry you hate my guts but I need to speak with Snape!" snapped Malfoy.

Draco ran towards the door of the dungeons and found it slightly ajar. He heard no sound coming from behind the door so he pushed it open with a creaking sound.

"Has your father never taught you how to knock?" snarled Snape.

"I thought no one was in here."

"Why do you torture me with your presence? Weren't you here long enough for detention yesterday?" challenged Snape. "Are you back to steal some more potion ingredients to help your friend Longbottom?"

"No, I was looking for you," scowled Malfoy.

"Make it quick then," snarled Snape.

"Sir, I had a terrible dream last night. The Dark Lord was back. He was possessing someone else's body. And… he… he…" Malfoy stammered, choking back a sob. "He was in Malfoy Manor and he commanded my father to kill me. But my father refused so the Dark Lord locked him up in the dungeons. Professor, sir, was the dream real?"

Snape's face was blank and unreadable. He paused for several seconds before replying.

"Dreams are not always real, Draco. As far as we know, the Dark Lord is still in hiding. You should not worry too much about a silly nightmare. You are turning into a Hufflepuff, aren't you now?" Snape's mouth curved upwards in a sneer, but his tone was guarded like he was holding something back.

"Sir, can you please try to find out if my Father and Mother are being held against their will?" pleaded Malfoy. Snape sighed.

"I will look into it, just to teach you not to take such things so seriously, child." And with a sweep of his cape, he left without another sound.

Chapter 8

Just as Malfoy made it to breakfast, Dumbledore rose from his chair at the head table with a "Creak!" and announced, "First Years report to the Quidditch field for flying lessons!"

Malfoy felt like Dumbledore's eyes were piercing him with needles, but when he turned to look, the headmaster was gazing in the opposite direction, immersed in conversation with Hagrid. He turned back to the table and ate his breakfast as quickly as possible. On his plate were pancakes, waffles, fruits, and an assortment of other foods.

"Wow, I can't believe that we are going to learn how to fly!" exclaimed Justin Finch-Fletchley from across the table.

"I know," smiled Malfoy, weakly.

"You look a little down, Draco. Are you ok?" asked Justin.

"I'm fine," smiled Draco.

"Is it about the nightmare you had?"

"A little bit," replied Malfoy, evasively.

"How long have you flown?" asked Justin, changing the topic.

"Over four years," replied Malfoy, sounding like a robot.

"Wow, this is going to be so cool! What happens if I fall off? What if I'm the only one who can't fly or the only one who falls off?"

"You will do great," said Malfoy. "Just remember to keep a steady hand and steer it like those muggle cars."

"Thanks! I'm sure I'll feel confident with you and the other experienced Hufflepuffs there too," smiled Justin.

Justin and Draco finished eating their breakfast and rushed down to the Quidditch pitch, which was covered in turret-shaped shadows as the sun rose over the castle like a great big yellow snitch. It was already packed with first years. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were huddled together, whispering. In contrast, Pansy Parkinson stood with Crabbe Goyle and the other Slytherin first years insulting Madam Hooch's ugly face. He also saw some small-looking Ravenclaws huddled together nervously as a distant hooting sound floated over from the forbidden forest.

"Everyone listen up!" shouted Madam Hooch. "Flying is not an easy thing. Last year we had two broken noses and many more broken bones." She stared around impressively. "Do not fly off on your own. Listen carefully and follow my every command!"

The little Ravenclaws looked more nervous than ever.

"Now, put your hands over your broomsticks. You will all yell, ' Up!'," shouted Madam Hooch.

Everyone yelled, "Up!"

Most of the brooms wobbled a little like they were shaking their heads.

"I can't hear you!" screamed Madam Hooch.

Everyone yelled "up!" again.

"URGH THIS IS SO HARD!" screamed Ron.

Hermione looked jealously at Harry Potter, who had caught the broom faster than her. The only person besides Harry who had been able to summon a broom was Draco Malfoy. The Hufflepuffs looked on in awe and shock, but they were proud that someone in their house was good enough to match the famous Harry Potter.

"Everyone let's try again" screamed Madam Hooch

"Up!"

This time a few people were able to get on their brooms. There was that freckled, red-haired Weasley, Crabbe and Goyle, and, to his own surprise and that of his classmates, Neville Longbottom. Neville's excitement quickly turned to fear when his broom started drifting off the ground, with him on it.

"Neville, be careful!" yelled Hermione from the ground below.

Before anyone else could react, Neville's broom turned toward the stands of the Quidditch pitch and slammed into a statue made of pure iron. Neville crumpled on the ground.

"Everyone stay here," said Madam Hooch. "Nobody touch your broom until I get back from taking Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing."

As soon as she had left, Goyle began rummaging through the grass with his chubby fingers and picked up a little round ball.

"Look! It's his Remeball," Goyle guffawed gleefully.

"No, you dolt! It's called a Rememberall," giggled Pansy Parkinson. "Why don't you go fly and put it somewhere high where Longbottom can't reach it."

"Don't do it, Goyle!" yelled Malfoy, instinctively.

Goyle glared at him and said, "You're not the boss of me, Hufflepuff." He grabbed his broom and started flying towards the topmost tower. Without thinking, Draco grabbed his own broom and kicked off. Out of the corner of his eye, he realized he was not the only one chasing Goyle. Harry Potter had picked up his broom as well and was flying close behind them.

"You'll regret this, Goyle!" yelled Harry.

Goyle kept laughing until he looked down, then yelped and started losing his balance. Draco knew exactly what would happen before it did. Goyle was going to fall off his broom and drop the remembrall.

"Harry, go for the remembrall! I'll catch Goyle!" Malfoy shouted over his shoulder.

The boys split in two different directions. The first year stood with mouths open as Harry swooped into an incredible dive and caught the tiny, snitch-sized remembrall less than three feet off the ground. At the same time, Draco twirled around in mid-air, swooped and sped towards Goyle, catching him about ten feet above the grass of the Quidditch pitch.

By the time they returned to the common rooms, all the Hufflepuffs knew what had happened. Draco Malfoy entered the common room like a hero. Then he saw Cedric running towards him.

"Draco, I heard about your incredible flying today! I'm petitioning Dumbledore to let you join the Quidditch team."

Before Draco could reply, an owl zoomed into the room and sliced off part of Ernie's hair before depositing an envelope in Draco's arms. It was from Dumbledore. Malfoy tore open the envelope. Inside was a single sentence written in neat letters: "come to my office immediately."

Chapter 9

Malfoy fidgeted with his wand in his pocket as he walked up to the familiar stone gargoyle. He wondered if Snape had told Dumbledore about his dream. Would Dumbledore help him to rescue his parents? Did he even want Dumbledore to help? Maybe he just wants to offer me another cup of tea and an offer of protection, Malfoy thought, sourly. He took a long deep breath, pushed open the door

"You wanted to see me?" said Draco, flatly.

"Sit, Draco,"

Draco sat on the old rusty chair in front of Dumbledore.

"Professor Snape told me about your dream," he said, his voice flat. "It appears that the events you saw have indeed occurred."

Silence washed over them as the news sunk in.

"How do you know?" asked Malfoy, his eyebrows scrunching up in fear.

"Why don't you call Dobby here and he will tell you."

Draco slapped his forehead. Why hadn't he thought to ask Dobby himself?

"DOBBY!" yelled Malfoy.

There was a loud crack and Dobby appeared.

"Master called," bowed Dobby.

"You may stand," said Draco.

"Thank you, kind master," smiled Dobby.

"Dobby, did Dumbledore try to extract information from you?"

Dobby looked at Dumbledore's warm smile and said, "Yes, sir, Dumbledore came and asked me to go into the Manor's dungeons."

"What did you see in the dungeons," asked Malfoy, his voice quivering.

"Sir, Dobby saw Master Lucius, and Mistress Narcissa in the deepest dungeon, the one that has no light, and the walls are made of stone. I saw cobwebs, Master, and Dobby thinks he even saw a dead body. Masters are weak; the Dark Lord doesn't give them much food."

"Thank you Dobby, you are dismissed."

With a crack, he was gone. Malfoy couldn't help it. Tears began streaming down his pale face. Dumbledore said nothing, as the young Hufflepuff gave up any attempt to maintain his normal composed demeanor. Malfoy's shoulders shook and he buried his head in his robes. When he raised his head, his eyes were puffy and red.

Dumbledore looked into Malfoy's eyes and said, "I understand that what you are experiencing is a sad thing. If you'll remember, my father was also locked up. When the ministry sent him to Azkaban, I felt hopeless and lost. There is nothing worse for a child than being separated from their parents." A single tear slid down Dumbledore's face too.

"Professor, did you ever try to get your father out of Azkaban?"
"It is impossible to escape from Azkaban. There are too many Dementors, even for a wizard of my abilities. And I was much younger then," said Dumbledore, sadly.

"But that's not true, sir! Bellatrix Lestrange escaped Azkaban, and now she's helping the Dark Lord keep my parents as prisoners!"

"It is true Draco, that it is impossible to escape Azkaban. However, if one were to convince the Dementors to let go of a prisoner voluntarily. In the first war, Voldemort had the Dementors on his side, you know," said Dumbledore, distantly.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Draco. "Doesn't the Ministry know that Bellatrix has escaped? Why has it not been in the papers?"

"I informed the Ministry that Bellatrix Lestrange was at large as soon as you let her into Hogwarts to attempt to kill me," Dumbledore smiled, and Draco winced. "However, they insisted that I was mistaken. I cannot say for sure what the Minister of Magic is thinking. Perhaps Voldemort and Lestrange found a way to make it appear that she was still in Azkaban. Or perhaps the Ministry is aware of the escape, but does not want the wizarding community to panic."

"What about the Dark Lord?"

"Voldemort will remain hidden until he has regained his own body, but it appears that he is working to consolidate his strength and recruit his old allies."

"What allies?"

"His most loyal Death Eaters, of course. And I fear he may also try to recruit the giants, then the Dementors. If he becomes powerful enough, he may try to take over the Ministry of Magic without anyone knowing he's returned."

"How can Fudge not do anything about this!?" Malfoy fumed. "Why won't he even admit that Bellatrix escaped."

"Cornelius is not confident in his office. He suspects that I want to become Minister of Magic and that anything I tell him is a rumor to help bring this about."

"Well, maybe you should try to become Minister of Magic so you can spread the word about the Dark Lord."

"My dear young Hufflepuff!" Dumbledore laughed gently, "Not so long ago you were trying to kill me! Now you want me to become Minister of Magic!?"

Malfoy did not return the smile. "I'll do anything I can to save my parents. I don't care if it means allying with you or losing my connections with all the Death Eaters."

"Your loyalty is worthy of your house. I will do everything in my power to help."

"Thank you, sir. But I'm worried we don't have long."

"I will need some time to think about how we shall get Lucius back. For now, please do your best to continue with your classes. I know it will be impossible to keep your mind occupied, but try your best."

"Yes, sir," said Draco, quietly.

"Ahh yes, and here is maybe something that can distract you. Young Diggory from your house has petitioned to allow you to join the Hufflepuff Quidditch team as the seeker, and I have decided to grant his request," said Dumbledore, smiling. "Of course, if you do not feel up to it given the current situation…"

"Don't worry, I want to play," interrupted Draco.

"Excellent," replied the Headmaster. "I've heard you're already quite accomplished on a broomstick."

"So, can I leave?"

"Yes, of course," smiled Dumbledore. "But first please promise that you will not tell anyone about this dream. Your parents could be in even graver danger if Voldemort found out that anyone knew of his return."

"Yes sir," said Malfoy, seriously.

He left the room and slid down the staircase. When Malfoy emerged into the hallway, he heard the voice of Professor McGonagall, his least favorite teacher.

"Malfoy what are you doing near that gargoyle?" snapped the professor. "You should be at breakfast. 5 points from Hufflepuff!"

"50 points to Hufflepuff for alerting the headmaster of the return of Voldemort," smiled Dumbledore, as he emerged from behind the Gargoyle after Draco.

"Oh, headmaster. I didn't know he was with you," said McGonagall curtly.

"No matter, Minerva. I hope we didn't miss the pancakes."

When they entered the dining hall, everyone stared at Draco walking side by side with Dumbledore. When they walked to the opposite side of the Great Hall and sat down, everyone looked away except for one person. Harry Potter stood up and walked over to Draco Malfoy. When the Boy-Who-Lived finally emerged right next to him, all the Hufflepuff's eyes darted back and forth between the two.

"Thank you, Draco, for defending Neville from those Slytherin bullies," smiled Harry.

"Oh, um, it's nothing. Thanks for catching his remembrall. You flew really well out there."

As Harry walked away, Draco felt like 100 pounds were lifted off his shoulders. He dug into the pancakes in front of him. Across the table, he saw Ernie shifting in his chair. His cheeks turned red and he jumped up when he saw Draco glance at him. After breakfast, he too came over to Draco's side of the table.

"I'm sorry I doubted you," said Ernie seriously. "I'll try to be a better friend in the future."

Chapter 10

Two dozen Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw first years bustled out of the Charms classroom, chatting excitedly about the day's lesson. They had been practicing the Waddle-bird charm, which, when cast correctly, made its target waddle around comically like a bird.

"Oh my god did you see my duck feet? They were so fuzzy!" squealed Hannah Abbott.

"You know Quack! I had Quack! I can't Quack! I will Quack!" tried Justin.

"You really should get Flitwick to fix that for you. I mean, if it wasn't for him I think I'd still be laying eggs," said Ernie.

"Some people just have bird brains to begin with," snickered Padma to her fellow Ravenclaws while the Hufflepuffs shot her resentful glances.

As the last of the purple feathers settled on the cold stone floor, one boy was not joining in the after-class chatter. Draco Malfoy sat at his desk quietly, as pale, austere, and featherless as ever. When the last of the other first years had left the classroom, he walked up to the wooden oak door behind the professor's desk. It was plastered with hundreds of magical locks and keys. He knocked, and with a loud creak, the door swung open. Standing before him was the tiniest professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Mister Malfoy," squeaked Flitwick, "to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Malfoy gazed past Flitwick as his eyes were captivated by the office around him. He saw the trophies and medals that Flitwick had won for Charms research when he was in his 6th year at Hogwarts. He also saw the Zembastinator, a special artifact that Flitwick had shown the first years a few months ago, which was used to quickly freeze an opposing duelist with an invisible freezing charm. Gazing past the trophies, his eyes slid up and focused on the paintings of famous wizards and witches all around the room. Malfoy saw the famous Charms master Judenspicous Arisme battling what seemed to be night itself. Next to him floated a ghost-like form, a Hungarian Horntail blowing ghostly light towards the hooded shadows. He stared at the painting. The place Judenspicous Arisme stood looked like it was right outside of Hogwarts castle. He could see other wizards fighting in the background; one of them had the pale face and long, straight blonde hair of a Malfoy. Draco made a mental note to ask Father if any of their ancestors had fought alongside Judenspicious Arisme, and then he felt his heart jump in his chest as he remembered why he was there.

"Professor," began Draco tentatively, "I'm doing a bit of outside research and I'd like to ask your advice."

"Outside research?" repeated Professor Flitwick, sounding a bit taken aback. "What kind of outside research would a first-year student be doing?"

"Do you know any charms to help escape an enchanted dungeon?" asked Draco.

"An enchanted dungeon," Flitwick repeated, his face twitching nervously. "Who needs to escape an enchanted dungeon?"

"I can't tell you that," said Draco.

"What do you mean you can't tell me? This is theoretical, is it not? I hope you're not suggesting you are actually trying to break someone out of an enchanted dungeon."

"Ahh, of course, yes, it's theoretical, sir," said Draco, haltingly.

"Then what is the nature of the enchantment that has been placed upon this theoretical dungeon?" frowned Professor Flitwick.

"I don't know," said Draco.

"What's the material they're trapped in?" snapped Flitwick.

"I can't tell you that," said Draco.

"If it is theoretical then why can't you tell me?" asked Flitwick, growing frustrated.

"Um, I just want to be able to apply it to any situation," replied Malfoy.

"Are they underground?" bit Flitwick.

"I can't tell you that," said Draco

"Who cast the enchantment?" snarled Flitwick.

"Um, I don't think I can tell you that."

Professor Flitwick waved his wand and slammed the nearest book on charms into the wall, and then he slowly said, "How long has the magic been in place?"

"I can't tell you that," said Draco.

Flitwick's ears turned red hot even redder than a rose and he hissed, "How large is the dungeon?"

"I can't tell you that," said Draco.

Flitwick looked at the clock and shouted, "You have wasted 15 minutes of my time. Is this a joke? Get out!"

Draco began getting desperate. Almost in tears again, he ran down the corridor towards the Transfiguration classroom and knocked on the door of Professor McGonagall's office.

"Come in!" the voice of the professor rang out from behind the thick wooden door. Draco entered. McGonagall's face was made of crinkles and she gazed at him like he was a mouse. "What is it, Draco?"

"Professor, how could I get someone out of a dungeon that is magically sealed," asked Draco.

McGonagall's face turned scarlet. "Do not even thing about trying to break your parents out yourself! Are you out of your mind? You saw You-Know-Who there in Malfoy Manor with your own eyes!" screeched McGonagall.

"But… professor…"

"If you try to get out of the castle and do this by yourself, you will be expelled!" exploded McGonagall. She slammed the door in Malfoy's face.

The door of the library banged open and Draco Malfoy walked in, cursing under his breath. He cursed Flitwick for being such a worthless Charms Professor. He cursed Mcgonagall for threatening him and making him feel like a useless child. He cursed Albus Dumbledore for being so calm when his whole world was collapsing. And finally, he cursed himself for being a stupid Hufflepuff who messed up every plan because he wasn't cunning enough to be in Slytherin.

He raced towards the bookshelves and shouted, "Accio books on magically enchanted dungeons!" Three thousand books zoomed toward him and buried him under a pile of dusty spines and moth-covered paper. Everyone else in the library was silent with awe and their mouths hung open. The voice of Madam Pince cut sharply through the silence.

"No more than a dozen books per student!"

"Yes ma'am," said Draco softly, as he dug himself out of the pile, coughing, and wiping the dust from his eyes.

Seven hours later, the young Hufflepuff boy still sat in the corner wiping his eyes, but now it was tears of exhaustion and frustration he was wiping away. A familiar pattern of footsteps crept closer to his table in the corner. They grew louder and louder as they approached until they reached the table and finally stopped. Draco looked up from his books to see the wrinkly, frog-like face of Professor Sprout.

"I heard a Hufflepuff first year was in the library and looking like he needed someone to talk to," said the professor kindly.

"Good evening, Professor Sprout," replied Draco in a monotone.

"What's the matter, my boy?" she asked gently, smiling, "May I sit down?"

Draco nodded, and the Head of Hufflepuff House slipped into the seat beside him.

"I need to help someone and I can't," said Draco sullenly, after a pause.

"What would you need to help someone with?" smiled Professor Sprout, her cheeks bulging like a bullfrog. "If it's an academic problem, you know that's what we professors are here for."

Malfoy's face turned upward suddenly, his pale cheeks burning red. "Professor Flitwick wasn't much help. He kept asking me for more information, and no matter what I said, he wouldn't help me."

The professor's eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed in calculation. "If Professor Flitwick could not help you, then the problem you're working on is probably too difficult for a first year. I'm not sure I'll be able to help you either."

Draco looked down again and said nothing.

"However, I admire your work ethic, my boy. It seems you have been here a very long time, looking for answers in the library. You are a true Hufflepuff, who understands the value of hard work, and I'm proud to have you in our house."

Malfoy's head shot up. He gave Professor Sprout a murderous glare, while his knuckles clenched around his book and turned as white as paper.

"You Professors pretend like you understand everything! You think you know what it feels like to be a kid, but you have no idea. And when someone comes to you for help, you are useless! Entirely useless!"

Silence hung in the air while Malfoy's hard stare met Sprout's soft one.

"I don't even want to be in Hufflepuff," he said dramatically. "What's the point of working hard if I'm too stupid to figure anything out?"

The professor opened her mouth and then shut it. When it seemed she had nothing to say, Draco began speaking again.

"I need to help them. If I can't figure this out, they're going to be in big trouble. So it doesn't matter that I work hard if I can't get the answer!"

"Help who?" asked Sprout, quizzically.

Draco paused, realizing he'd said too much. He said nothing.

"I see you don't want to tell me," said Sprout. "That's fine, you do not need to tell me. Although you say you don't want to be a Hufflepuff, here you are, working hard to help someone you care about. Loyalty is the most important value of our house. Tell me the problem, and let me see if I can help you."

"I need to get through a magically sealed dungeon."

"Could you give me some more details?" questioned Sprout.

"No, that's all I can say," said Draco glumly.

Professor Sprout looked thoughtful.

"You know, Draco, powerful wizards often overlook things that seem unimportant to them. Strong magical barriers and detection spells are designed to notice and block wizards and magical creatures, but they often don't think about plants. There's a chance that even the most tightly guarded magical prison might be vulnerable to a plant because the wizard simply would not have thought it was a threat."

Malfoy's eyes widened, and the professor smiled. "There is a plant called an Aerophian Bulb. It has exceptionally strong roots, and when encouraged with a certain charm, can open up tunnels even through magically sealed walls of rock." She walked to the other side of the library and returned with a dusty book, with a picture of a thick-rooted plant on the cover."

Draco felt hope rising in his chest.

"Would it pose any danger to a wizard on the inside? Like if it broke through the walls?"

"That is a risk," the professor acknowledged. "However, the Aerophian Bulb does not grow so fast that a wizard could not get out of the way."

Draco looked at Professor Sprout and felt something like the warm feeling that had come to his chest that first night he'd made friends with Cedric.

"Thanks… Professor Sprout," he stammered. "I really can't thank you enough."

"It's nothing, my boy!" said Sprout jovially. "I'm glad I could be of help.

When Draco returned to the common room, he slept the first uninterrupted sleep he'd had in days.

Chapter 11 - The Quidditch Match

"Dobby!" yelled Malfoy. With a loud Crack, the elf magically appeared.

"Young master called for Dobby! Dobby is here. What does a young master need?"

"Dobby! What happened to your clothes?" Dobby looked down at his torn, dirty white rag. It was covered in ash. He looked at Malfoy with his great big bullfrog eyes.

"Dobby's master ordered him to scrub the chimney, sir," said Dobby.

"Dobby's master? You mean my father? S,o is he out of the dungeon then?" Draco grabbed Dobby around the shoulders and the little elf winced with pain.

"Not out, sir. The one who is keeping Master in the dungeon sir. He commands Master, and Master commands me."

Draco's heart sank. But he stayed focused.

"Dobby, there's something I need you to do for me. I think it will help Master and Mistress to escape. Listen to me very carefully."

Dobby's eyes widened and his ears perked up.

"I need you to get a magical plant called the Aerophian Bulb. Go to Borgan and Burkes and tell them it's for Lucius Malfoy. Here are 2000 galleons of Malfoy gold. It's all I have now, but if they need more, tell them you'll pay the rest later. Tell them it's incredibly urgent and we need it by tomorrow evening. Do whatever it takes, don't worry about the cost."

"Yes, Sir!" squealed Dobby. "Anything else sir?"

"That's all. Meet me in the astronomy tower tomorrow at 9pm. Bring the plant. Do not tell anyone, and do not fail!"

Dobby turned and disappeared with a crack. Draco sighed in relief and went quietly to bed.

The next morning Malfoy rose to the cry of a phoenix. He slowly walked down the stairs bumping right into a bulky figure.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Malfoy.

"Oh, sorry," panted Cedric breathlessly, barely containing his excitement. "Have you heard the news? Dumbledore granted permission for you to join the Quidditch team!"

"Ahhh…" Malfoy's drool slid down his face, and he hid his face sheepishly and wiped it away with his sleeve.

"I don't mean to rush you or anything, really, but I hope you're ready because we've got a match against Gryffindor this evening! Do you think you can be up in the air by 8 o'clock?"

"Really? Well, Dumbledore did say I could play so I guess I will," smiled Malfoy.

"Great!" said Cedric, thumping Malfoy on the back, and grinning. "By the way, Gryffindor has a new Seeker too. After those flying lessons a few days ago, they called up Harry Potter, even though he's a first-year as well. I've heard he's amazing, but I think you're better! Well, better be off to breakfast. Don't want to miss the pancakes!"

Cedric turned and strode quickly with his long legs out of the Hufflepuff common room, leaving a sleepy, stunned, pale-haired young boy in the doorway.

As the clock struck seven, Malfoy wiped the last of his steamed fish and mashed potatoes off his dinner plate, and gathered around Cedric with his Hufflepuffs to discuss the game plan.

"Alright, I want to do the diamond formation - two beaters, one in the front, one in the back, and three chasers in a triangle," whispered Cedric. "Just try to keep it close. We've got a new ace seeker on the team and I'm confident this game is ours. Harry Potter might be fast too, but he's got nowhere near the experience of Draco. Let's do this!"

Draco got out of the huddle and turned around to see the Gryffindor team in a huddle yelling "GRYFFINDOR!" He gazed at the shortest kid on the team who gazed right back and waved. They looked at each other for a moment before a surge of Ravenclaw students blocked their views and their teammates swept them out of the hall and down towards the pitch.

"WELCOME HOGWARTS STUDENTS, PROFESSORS, GHOSTS, PETS, MAGICAL CREATURES… OH YES, AND CARETAKER FILCH! I AM YOUR BELOVED ANNOUNCER, LEE JORDAN," boomed Lee Jordan over the magical megaphone.

"MANNERS, JORDAN!" the voice of Professor McGonagall thundered back.

"TODAY'S GAME WE HAVE THE TWO YOUNGEST SEEKERS IN HISTORY: HARRY POTTER AND DRACO MALFOY. I HOPE DUMBLEDORE KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING. WE DON'T WANT TO BE MOPPING THEM OFF THE GROUND BEFORE THEIR CAREERS HAVE EVEN GOTTEN STARTED."

"WHAT A HORRIBLE THING TO SAY, JORDAN!" McGonagall's horrified voice shot back.

"I'M JUST SAYING THEY'RE VERY PROMISING TALENTS, PROFESSOR!"

The sky was dark with thick, heavy clouds. The wing was picking up, and by the time they took flight, it was almost a hurricane, and the rain was pouring down on the Quidditch pitch.

"Alright mates, I know that we might not be the bravest, but we are the kindest and we shall win with loyalty and perseverance!"

"Well said!" smiled Draco

"GRYFFINDOR WITH THE BALL, ALICIA SPINNET DOING A TWIRL AND ZIGZAGGING TOWARDS THE KEEPER! WILL HE SAVE IT? NO! 10-0 GRYFFINDOR IN THE LEAD!"

"NOW HERE COMES THE HUFFLEPUFFS IN RETALIATION. APPLEBEE PASSES TO DIGGORY, DIGGORY DIVES AND HE SCORES! 10-10!"

A cheer went up from the Hufflepuff side.

"ALICIA WITH THE BALL AGAIN AND IS KNOCKED AWAY BY A FLYING BLUDGER, DIRECTED AT HER BY CADWALLADER. DIGGORY GRABS THE BALL AGAIN BUT IT'S STOLEN BY KATIE BELL AND A BLUDGER FLIES OVER HER HEAD… CAN SHE SCORE? BLOCKED BY THE KEEPER! THE QUAFFLE GETS GRABBED BY HUFFLEPUFF… IT'S HEIDI MACAVOY AND SHE'S ZOOMING TOWARDS OLIVER WOOD AND WILL HE SAVE IT… NO! MACAVOY SCORES AND IT'S 20-10 HUFFLEPUFF IN THE LEAD!"

Malfoy squinted and frowned. The chasers seemed evenly matched, but with this weather, the game could easily come down to chance. Whichever seeker happened to see the snitch first would take the game. He couldn't let Harry beat him this time! As he swooped around the pitch, a strategy formed in his mind so that nothing would be left to chance. If he tailed Harry, they would see the snitch at the same time. He was confident that with his experience, he was the better flier, so all he had to do was wait until either of them saw the snitch, and then being an equal distance away from it, he would get there first. Malfoy turned his broom and dove towards the Gryffindor seeker.

"ALICIA GRABS THE BALL FAKES OUT THE KEEPER AND PASSES TO KATIE. KATIE SLAMS IT INTO THE HOOP 20-20"

A cheer went up from the Gryffindor side.

"TIMEOUT GRYFFINDOR"

Everyone flew down and Draco said, "GOOD JOB EVERYONE!"

"That's right, keep on fighting guys," said Cedric.

"THEY ARE BACK ON THE PITCH! ALICIA FLYING THROUGH AND SCORES GRYFINDOR 30-20. CEDRIC TRIES TO SCORE AGAINST WOOD AND HE SAVES IT ALICIA PASSES TO KATIE… BACK TO ALICIA… AND SHE SCORES! HUFFLEPUFF COMING AROUND, BUT DENIED BY A CAREFULLY AIMED BLUDGER BY FRED… THE QUAFFLE GOES TO ALICIA AND SHE SCORES AGAIN! 40-20!"

The crowd started murmuring. Whatever Gryffindor had done during the timeout it was working.

"THE GAP IS WIDENING FOLKS KATIE STEALS THE BALL AND SCORES AGAIN! 50 - 20! CEDRIC THROWS THE QUAFFLE TO APPLEBEE WHO TAKE A CLEAN SHOT… AND HE MISSES! WHAT'S THIS? NOW WE SEE DRACO AND HARRY BOTH OF THEM DIVING… HAVE THEY SEEN THE SNITCH? WOW, INCREDIBLE SPEED AND FLYING… BUT THE STREAK OF GOLD HAS DISAPPEARED."

The game continued in this manner for nine more goals by Gryffindor. Ever since they changed their strategy, Hufflepuff simply could not keep up, and now they were down 140-20.

Suddenly, Draco saw the Snitch. It was hovering right in below him about 30 feet off the ground near the rightmost Gryffindor goalpost. He glanced over at Harry… had he seen it too? No! It was all Draco's. He dove.

Wood saw him before Harry did.

"RIGHT POST, RIGHT POST, POTTER!" Yelled the Gryffindor captain. But Harry couldn't hear him because of the wind. Wood raced towards Harry, leaving the hoops open yelling at the top of his voice to get his Seeker's attention.

KAPLOW!

"OH NO! WOOD HAS GOTTEN HIT BY A BLUDGER AND HE IS FALLING OFF HIS BROOM! WAIT A MOMENT. HAS MALFOY SEEN THE SNITCH?!"

Lee Jordan's voice boomed across the pitch as everything seemed to be happening at once. Draco looked over at the falling Gryffindor captain as he dove towards the snitch.

"IT LOOKS LIKE IS GOING TO FALL! 50ft 40ft 30ft!"

Wrenching his eyes away from the gold glimmer at the bottom of the goalposts, Draco changed course and started accelerating towards Wood. He jumped to the ground just beneath the falling Keeper and stuck out his arms to catch him. The heavy body of Oliver Wood came crashing down and flattened the Hufflepuff first-year underneath.

"THERE GOES DUMBLEDORE'S FIRST PICK… WHAT DID I TELL YOU, PROFESSOR…"

Draco faintly heard the voice of Lee Jordan and saw Harry Potter swooping down towards them.

"HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH IN HIS MOUTH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" shouted Lee Jordan.

The Gryffindors stormed the field and cheered, and Draco Malfoy blacked out.

Draco's eyes opened and he looked around the room to find himself in the hospital wing. "Good, you are awake. Drink this," the curt voice of Madame Pomfrey jerked his mind back to awareness. Draco drank it all in one gulp and made a face.

"It tastes like sawdust."

"You have broken 163 bones, Mr. Malfoy. You should be glad that you are alive and that you're able to grow them back at all."

"How long will it take?" asked Draco anxiously.

"They'll be back this evening, but don't put any pressure on them until tomorrow, or it will hurt," said Madam Pomfrey in a warning tone of voice.

Draco's eyes darted from Madam Pomfrey to the clock, and his heart sank. It was already 9 pm. Dobby would be wandering around the astronomy tower with the precious Aerophian Bulb wondering where he was. There was no other choice; he would have to accept the pain and suffer the consequences later.

Draco waited until Madam Pomfrey left the room to check the other wards, and then dragged himself out of bed with determination as hard as steel. He crept out of the door, leaving it slightly ajar. Draco walked by several statues before he started running. His legs shot with pain and his arms dragged after him like jelly. He reached the top of the staircase just before the final corridor to the astronomy tower, whirled around the corner, and then… smash! He slammed into something hard and fell.

"AHHHHHHHHH" screamed Draco "WHAT KIND OF SPELL IS THIS!"

Two Gryffindor first years emerged out of nowhere in the corridor in front of him.

"It's not a spell-it's us," said Harry Potter, deftly slipping a silvery cloak into his bag. Draco immediately recognized it as a cloak of invisibility. Hermione Granger, the brainy muggle-born, stood next to him.

"What are you doing here? And how did you get that cloak?!" Malfoy sputtered.

"You look worse than I thought. Your arms look like puppets." Hermione replied icily.

"I broke 163 bones."

"Oof," said Harry "What are you doing here anyways?"

"I would like to ask you the same question," wheezed Malfoy.

"We were coming down to see you!" explained Harry.

"See me?" asked Malfoy.

"I wanted to thank you for saving Oliver from falling."

"Really?" said Draco.

"Why did you do it?" Hermione asked half admiringly, half suspiciously. "The match was yours. You were miles ahead of Harry towards getting the snitch. And we all know Dumbledore wouldn't let a student get seriously hurt playing Quidditch."

Draco looked down with a red tint of embarrassment on his face.

"I kind of forgot about Dumbledore, to be honest. You know my family doesn't trust him, so I guess I didn't think about how he would save a student. I saw Wood falling and I didn't think; I just went for it. I guess I thought it was the right thing to do at that time."

Hermione paused, thinking deeply, and then smiled.

"I think that you are a true Hufflepuff and a good person."

"Thank you," smiled Draco. "I wouldn't have taken that as a compliment a few months ago, but I do now."

"So what are you doing on the way to the astronomy tower at night with broken bones when you are supposed to be lying in the hospital wing?" asked Harry.

"I can't tell you that."

"I consider you my friend," replied Harry firmly. "You can tell me anything you want. And anyway, since you're a true Hufflepuff, you should be loyal to your friends and trustworthy," smiled Harry.

Draco sighed and said nothing.

"Are you trying to sneak out of the castle?" asked Hermione. "Because if you are, you might need this invisibility cloak."

Harry, Hermione, and Draco all paused.

"Why are you sneaking out of the castle, Draco?" questioned Harry.

"I told you, I can't tell you!" snapped Draco, his voice getting louder.

"Maybe if you tell us, we can help you," said Hermione, "but you need to trust us."

Draco looked at her angrily.

"If you're my friends, why don't you just give me the cloak and let me take care of this myself?"

"Friendship and trust go two ways, Draco. If you want to use the cloak, you've got to let Hermione go with you on this secret mission."

Draco breathed slowly in and out and whispered, "Fine, you want the truth?"

Harry and Hermione both nodded. Draco picked himself up off the ground and started shouting.

"VOLDEMORT HAS TRAPPED MY PARENTS IN A DUNGEON AND THEY MIGHT BE DEAD SOON AND I WAS GOING TO MEET SOMEONE WHO HAD BEEN TRYING TO DELIVER THE ONLY WAY TO HELP THEM ESCAPE! AND NOW YOU'VE KEPT ME HERE TALKING SO LONG I DON'T KNOW IF HE'LL EVEN BE THERE ANYMORE!"

Draco punched the nearest statue and sat down exhausted.

"I… I am so sorry I didn't know," stammered Harry. "Maybe me and Hermione could help you save your parents."

Draco took a while to think, and then he stood up and frowned and snarled, "Fine, but if you betray me I will kill you."

"We won't betray you," said Harry. "We won't tell anyone."

Chapter 12

Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger walked up the stairs and saw a shadow made of two pointed ears. Both of the boys jumped back, startled, but Hermione said, "It's only a house-elf," rolling her eyes. Draco and Harry looked up to see Dobby the house-elf staring at them with his bulging bullfrog-like eyes.

"Sir, Dobby has got the plant, sir," said Dobby bowing low.

"Thank you Dobby," smiled Draco.

Draco reached out and took the Aerophian Bulb from the little pterodactyl hands of the elf.

"What plant is that?" interrupted Hermione.

"It is an Aerophian Bulb; it is incredibly rare, but that is not the point," reminded Draco.

"Are you sure that plant is safe? Is it legal?" squeaked Hermione.

"It is safe, Professor Sprout has already explained to me how to use it."

"I'm ready to go, but how are we going to get there?" asked Harry.

"Dobby will get us there." He turned to the house elf. "Dobby, can I ask you to please apparate us into the Manor?"

"Yes sir," squeaked Dobby, and they all grabbed his little hands.

"3..2..1!" shouted Malfoy.

Then with a CRACK they disappeared into a void of color. They appeared in the top level of the dungeons. The walls were heavily decorated with gold and silver and the emblem of the serpent hung glistened on the ceiling. Harry and Hermione had slammed into the dark black marble floor. The wind was knocked out of them and they threw up all over the smooth surface.

"Ughhh" Harry groaned.

"Who's there?" the voice of Lucius Malfoy floated up from the level below.

Draco tore off the invisibility cloak and sprinted down the stairs.

"Draco!" Narcissa Malfoy exclaimed in disbelief. "Is it really you?"

"Mom!" Draco half-whispered, half-shouted, and threw himself against the bars of the dungeon.

"Draco, what are you doing here? It's too dangerous!" exclaimed Lucius. Draco ignored him.

"Come on, let's save them now! Hermione put the plant right through on that crack in the corner" ordered Draco. "Now stand back… Engorgio!"

The plant grew to the size of a monster as it consumed the bars of the dungeon. The thick stones broke into pieces as the roots of the plant poked and twisted themselves through the solid material like it was as brittle as breakfast cereal.

"MOM! DAD! Climb out quickly, the plant is going to eat everything!"

Lucius came out first covered in dust, looking proud, starved, and bewildered. Narcissa followed with a big smile on her face. Suddenly, they saw Draco's friends, and jumped.

"What are you with that mudblood and Harry Potter?" hissed Lucius reverting back to his accusing tone.

"Without them, I wouldn't have been able to save you. Anyways, we have bigger problems like getting out alive. Here, get under this cloak!"

"TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" "TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" "TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" "TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

"TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" "TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

"The alarms!" shouted Lucius, anxiously. "We must hurry! We must get to the doors so we can apparate!"

"No need, Dad, Dobby can get us out!" said Draco. He spun around. The house-elf was nowhere to be seen.

"How pathetic…" the cold voice of Lord Voldemort came down from the top of the staircase. "You believed you could escape me with a plant, and an elf…"

"Draco, Narcissa, run! I'll hold him off!" shouted Lucius.

"Stop lying to them Lucius," hissed Voldemort "You are all about to die."

Death Eaters rushed in from the side corridors and surrounded the Malfoy family and Harry and Hermione.

"And he brought Harry Potter right to us!" cackled Bellatrix. "You really are a stupid child, Draco!"

Another crash interrupted her cackling. Dust and rubble crashed all around them. The ceiling had fallen in. Five members of the Order of the Phoenix jumped down and started blasting the Death Eaters with a fury of spells.

Malfoy saw Mad-Eye Moody smash Dolohov into the nearest table with a stunning curse. He saw a woman with pinkish hair fighting Bellatrix. The Death Eaters had quickly recovered from the shock and in a matter of seconds, were surrounding the Malfoy family again.

"Do not lose the Potter boy!" shouted Voldemort. "Do not let him put on his cloak!"

Draco turned and saw Lucius get blasted into the wall by another Death Eater, Yaxley. Them with another loud "Bang!" the Death Eaters all lurched smashing into the wall leaving. The only figure still standing was Lord Voldemort, who had produced a shield charm with incredible speed. A white-robed figure emerged from the dust in pointing his wand directly at the Dark Lord.

"Tom, you never learn, do you? Pushing away your most valuable followers will cost you, my friend," smiled Dumbledore.

"Pathetic, old man. I have risen to be the strongest wizard in the world, not even you can stop me now," hissed Voldemort.

"Get your father's artifacts!" Draco heard the voice of Dumbledore speaking directly in his mind. He crouched on his knees and crawled over to retrieve the artifacts. He kept waiting to be hit by a curse from Voldemort, but when he looked over, he saw that Dumbledore had drawn him into a duel.

"Aguamenti." spat Dumbledore, and an enormous column of water rushed towards the Dark Lord. It disappeared with a wave of Voldemort's wand.

"It was foolish to come here, where I am strongest," Voldemore spoke coldly. "Now prepare to die."

He raised his wand just as Draco returned to his parent's side with the artifacts.

"AVADA KED…"

"EVERYONE GRAB HOLD OF ME!" Dumbledore shouted.

"VRA," snarled Voldemort.

The spell exploded from his wand. It traveled through the empty air where Dumbledore had been standing and smashed into the solid rock behind. Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoenix, the Malfoys, and three Hogwarts students dis-apparated with a pop.

Voldemort screamed with rage and started blasting the killing curse in every direction that he could reach. It didn't matter. The Malfoys and their rescuers had already disappeared. Where they had been standing, there was now only a little cup of tea.