They didn't do anything with the horcrux. There was nothing they could do. Regulus only had theories about how to destroy them, all of which were exceedingly dangerous. There was nowhere else to put it and it was probably safest in the Room of Requirement anyway.
After the initial wave of dread, Draco had just felt numb after learning the truth. It felt like he had accepted defeat, despite not doing anything, but there was something that bothered him. They should have been researching horcruxes all along. A soul trapped in an object, even if it was only part of a soul, was a way better lead to getting Regulus's body back than anything he'd heard of before.
"Did you really avoid having me research horcruxes because you didn't want me to know about it?" Draco demanded of Regulus.
"Yeah." Regulus at least looked a little embarrassed by it.
"It would've been so bloody useful! It's literally magic meant to keep a soul in an object. We should have been trying to figure out how the Dark Lord got his body back!"
"Probably, but I can't stomach thinking about it and I didn't want you to find out." At Draco's noise of protest, he added, "At least not yet."
Unsurprisingly, when Regulus had initially learned about the locket from Kreacher, he had spent time figuring out what it could be. He started closely listening to the Dark Lord, noticing every brag or unusual statement. Part of Regulus's role as a Death Eater had been to research dark magic, so he had already known about horcruxes as a concept. It only took weeks before he had put together what was really in that cave.
As for how Regulus had figured out the diadem so quickly, part of it was the dark sensation he had felt coming off of it. They were both confused by how Regulus could feel the diadem, but they assumed it was probably something to do with them both being souls. The other part was recognising it as a Ravenclaw artefact. From what Regulus had said, the Dark Lord was obsessed with Hogwarts. The locket was Slytherin's and while Regulus had first assumed that he just picked his favourite house to make the horcrux, the use of a notable Ravenclaw artefact meant that there was a very high chance of being at least two others.
But they didn't really know; no one really knew anything about the horcruxes other than the Dark Lord himself. It was depressing to think about and Draco couldn't stop thinking about it. Nothing could stop the Dark Lord.
When Regulus mentioned that they needed to make another attempt towards Dumblwdore. Draco hadn't fought it. None of his actions felt like they had much purpose, there was no way out. At least he could make Regulus happy.
With the vial he had saved from the potion accident, they recruited Kreacher to lace Dumbledore's cup with it. All Kreacher had to do was make sure he was the one to serve the staff's table, specifically Dumbledore. The elf had taken on the task elated to be back helping Draco.
The first day it was supposed to happen, Draco pictured it clearly in his mind. The headmaster's goblet would magically fill, he'd reach forward for a sip, and the moment the juice touched his lip, his heart would stop. It would be too late before anyone else even knew what had happened.
Much to his dismay, Dumbledore didn't so much as touch his goblet. Draco tried to convince himself it was just a coincidence. But when it happened every meal, every day for the remainder of the week they realised the headmaster must know something.
"Why doesn't he figure out who's been poisoning it? Kreacher says no one has approached him," Draco asked, a little worried.
"Maybe the other elves saw?" Regulus proposed, but he was just as clueless as Draco.
"But why hasn't he put a stop to it?"
Regulus grimaced. "He probably doesn't see it as a real threat."
Draco sighed. They were going to have to try a lot harder.
Draco didn't know if Potter had noticed his recent mood change, but Potter did try to keep their conversations lighter than normal, joking even. It failed to improve his mood, if anything he felt like Potter was patronising him.
"So any grand plans yet?" Draco asked snarkily one evening while Potter was complaining about their defence essay.
Potter frowned. "Not yet."
Feeling validated Draco continued, "See there isn't another option. Either I kill Dumbledore or the Dark Lord kills me. All I can do in the meantime is delay the inevitable."
"I won't let you," Potter said, frown deepening.
"You can't stop me."
Potter took a moment before speaking again. "Would you meet someone in the order?"
"I told you I am not running off to Dumbledore," Draco said defiantly.
"Not him. Someone else. They could answer all your questions about how safe the Order is."
"I couldn't trust them."
"I'll vouch for them."
"I don't even trust you." Potter almost looked sad at that.
"Fine. What would it take?" Draco took a there a way he would trust someone to know he wanted out of the Dark Lord's grasp?
"They couldn't know why I needed the information. They can't know I'm a death eater."
Potter considered. "Okay. That's probably for the best so they don't think you're a spy. We can use your father as an excuse." Draco opened his mouth in protest, but Potter continued, "You're going home for the holidays right? Maybe we could meet at the station? I assume it'll be harder to get away from your mother once you get home."
"I could probably make that work. I could convince my mother she didn't need to get me." Well, more like he could convince his mother he needed to work on his task in secret and then floo to the manor from Borgin and Burkes.
"It's a plan then," Potter said, determined.
A week passed and it was Potter's turn to be in a sour mood. He looked horrible and Draco of course pointed it out.
"I didn't sleep well," Potter said, annoyed.
"Lost your blanket? Your favourite stuffy?" Draco teased.
"Not now, Malfoy."
"Oh, don't worry, I get it. No one brought your bedtime snack?" Draco snickered.
"Stop." He didn't think Potter had even not been in a mood to banter. Friendly or not.
"C'mon it's no fun when you don't bite back," Draco complained.
"Like I said, I haven't been sleeping, so excuse me if I don't have the energy to deal with your nonsense right now," Potter was getting very annoyed now.
"Then go to sleep earlier or something. Don't make it my problem."
"It's not that easy," Potter bit out.
"Why? Do Gryffindor dormitories have lumpy beds? Is that what makes you all so reckless? You have such bad back pain, you don't care if you die?" Potter didn't laugh, he collapsed tiredly into a chair.
"It's nightmares," Potter said. Draco felt the mood shift, it would probably be bad to tease Potter about this. He was just trying to be honest with him.
"What are they about?" Draco asked unsure.
"What do you think?" Potter said exasperated.
Draco shrugged. Recently, his nightmares were about failing to kill Dumbledore and then being under the imperious curse for the rest of his life so he couldn't make 'mistakes' anymore. When he was younger, it was about his father's punishments. He doubted either would be relatable to Potter.
"They used to be of Cedric in the graveyard." Draco swallowed nervously, he'd almost forgotten Potter had actually seen death. "Now it's Sirius and I can never get to him before he falls through the veil."
"The veil?" Draco asked. Regulus's head snapped to look at Potter at the mention of Sirius.
"There's a veil in the ministry that separates life and death," Potter said sadly. Draco had known about the veil, he'd read about it in his research last winter trying to guess what his father wanted from the Department of Mysteries, but he didn't know what it had to do with Sirius's death.
"How did Sirius die?" Draco asked carefully. Potter took a deep breath.
"He was duelling Bellatrix and he called something out to me and was distracted and she got him with a spell. He fell through the veil."
"So she hit him with the killing curse?"
"No, I don't know what it was, but the sparks were red."
"Then why…" Draco trailed off and Potter just looked at him confused. If Sirius was alive before crossing the veil, that meant he probably didn't die just from crossing it. Lots of Unspeakables had attempted to cross the veil and return, and while most got lost and were as good as dead, one had come back after. It didn't kill you, it just kept you in the space between.
He looked over at Regulus. He was staring at Potter in shock.
"He fell through the veil. He's gone," Potter choked on the last word.
Draco could hardly believe what Potter was no one think to check how the veil worked before declaring him dead?
"He's not dead," Regulus said quietly.
Draco bit his lip. He didn't know what to tell Potter. Regulus was right, Sirius probably wasn't dead, but he wasn't really alive either. He was trapped in the veil and would likely never return. He couldn't imagine giving Potter that hope and then ripping it away when they couldn't save him. Instead, he decided to help Potter another way.
"Kreacher!" The elf appeared instantly.
"Yes, Master Malfoy?" He spotted Potter and added with a grumble, "And the other half-blood master."
Potter rolled his eyes as Draco asked, "Can you fetch some Dreamless Sleep? There is a stash in the infirmary."
"Of course," Kreacher croaked. Potter looked surprised by the request.
It took less than a minute for Kreacher to reappear with 3 vials. When Kreacher held them out to Draco, he shook his head.
"They're for Potter."
Kreacher looked baffled but turned and placed them at Potter's feet.
"Is that all?" Kreached asked, still a little confused.
"Yes, thank you, Kreacher." With a crack, he was gone.
Potter knelt to inspect the vials. Deeming them to in fact be Dreamless Sleep, he placed them in his robes.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," Draco said simply and left Potter in favour of working on the cabinet. He needed a moment to think. Regulus was as straight-faced as always, but Draco knew that the news probably disturbed him. He had been upset when Sirius had 'died' and now that it was being challenged, Draco felt sorry for him. He mentally groaned since it added another thing for them to worry about, but he knew it was something Regulus wouldn't want to drop.
The next time they met, Potter was blessedly in a much better mood.
"Let me see your arm," Potter asked boldly.
Draco was hesitant, but he knew they were building up to this since Draco had first told him about how he got the mark. They pulled two wooden chairs opposite each other. Draco rolled up his left sleeve and then slowly unwound the bandage over it. He didn't want to risk anyone accidentally seeing it, including himself.
When it was fully uncovered, Potter frowned a little but didn't react the way Draco had feared - with disgust and judgement.
"Is it painful?" Potter asked gently, grabbing his forearm and twisting it to see the skull and snake from different angles.
Draco shrugged. "Sometimes. It's been getting better. Usually, it just itches."
"Do you mind if I try to speak to the snake?"
"That's the only reason I'm doing this."
Potter snorted and started hissing. It was bizarre hearing Potter's mouth make such unnatural noises. After a few seconds, Draco could feel the snake moving faster, almost like it was agitated.
"Did that make it hurt?" Potter asked, switching back to English.
"No. Just feels like something is crawling under my skin."
"Yeah, I'd guess I'd expect that," Potter said and then transitioned back into Parselmouth.
Draco had no clue what Potter was saying to the snake on his arm, but it was intriguing watching him do it. His lips moved effortlessly. Notably, the snake on his arm never responded audibly.
"Well, this might take a bit longer than I hoped," Potter sighed and leaned back in his chair, letting go of Draco's arm.
"Did it speak back to you?"
"No, but I could sense it. It could understand me, I'm sure of it. It was just being stubborn I think." Potter frowned at the wriggling snake. Feeling self-conscious Draco started to wrap it again.
"You'll let me try again?"
"Yeah."
The appearance of trees in the great hall reminded him of the impending holidays. His mother had barely contacted him, but he knew he had to return the manor. With his father still in Azkaban he couldn't let his mother be alone.
It was Draco's idea to poison a mead. Poison was impersonal and at least let them try something while they came up with another plan. Between Kreacher working in the kitchen, giving them access to plenty of supplies, and Slughorn's holiday party, it was a decent opportunity to make another attempt. All Draco needed to do was get someone to convince Slughorn to gift the poisoned mead to Dumbledore.
Regulus had taken it upon himself to eavesdrop in all of his classes, listening to the rumours sprouting up about Slughornn's party. They needed to determine if any guests could be used. Sure enough, Madam Rosmerta was employed to provide the refreshments, something many students were delighted about considering the easy access to firewhiskey.
They couldn't pass up the opportunity, knowing that she would easily fall under the curse again. The evening of the party, they stalked outside of the room watching as the decorations and food slowly started to arrive. Madam Rosmerta was one of the first people there.
"Imperio," He whispered under his breath. It was almost familiar the way her mind went blank. As expected, she didn't put up any fight.
Continue to set up for the party.
He pushed the bottle of mead into her hands.
Keep that safe.
"Keep the touch light. She'll likely fill in what feels natural to her and it'll make her actions less suspicious," Regulus advised.
Draco, now used to how the spell felt to the caster, loosened his hold, keeping just a thread attached to her. She bustled about, preparing for the night. As the other guests and students started to arrive, he felt her anticipation. He waited hours until the party was in full swing.
Find Slughorn. Give him the bottle, say it's Dumbledore's favourite.
It was strange to feel the events happen through her mind. It was just vague impressions of the actual conversations. Draco breathed a sigh of relief and he sensed Slughorn's excitement about the mead. It was up to him now to actually give it to Dumbledore.
He cancelled the spell and realising he had already been out later than he intended, headed to the Room of Requirement to work off his nervous energy. That's when Filch happened to spot him.
"What's this? A student out of bed?" He asked, beaming at Mrs. Norris. Draco froze, weighing his options.
"I'm headed to Slughorn's party."
"Oh, it started hours ago," Filch sneered.
"I was doing an assignment for class," Draco quickly defended himself.
"We'll see about that." Filch strode up to him, grabbed him by the ear, and tugged him down a flight of stairs to where the party was in full swing.
It was still packed, filled with eager students and wizarding celebrities. Draco would have been impressed with the attendees if he wasn't so annoyed at being treated like a child.
"Professor Slughorn," Filch announced, "a student was found suspiciously hanging about upstairs. Says he was invited to your party."
Slughorn looked puzzled. There was no way Slughorn would've ever invited him to this. Potter, standing nearby, caught his gaze and gave a confused look. Draco couldn't risk anyone questioning why he was hanging around.
"Just say you were trying to gatecrash," Regulus suggested. Draco grimaced but used the excuse.
"I was trying to gatecrash, alright?" He pulled out of Filch's grip.
"Oh," Slughorn looked between him and Filch, frown softening, "I knew his grandfather and it's Christmas. Let the boy stay!" He clapped his hands, clearly not wanting to continue the mood-dampening discussion.
"But it's against the rules," Filch protested.
"We can let them slide a little right?" Slughorn said with a wink. Draco stepped forward further away, knowing Filch disagreed wholeheartedly with that statement.
"Thank you, Professor. My grandfather only spoke highly of you," Draco said in a rush, thankful it seemed like he was getting off the hook.
"Actually, I will speak with Draco now." Snape stepped out from where he was waiting behind Slughorn.
"Oh Severus, no need to be like that!" Slughorn protested and took another swig of his wine.
"On the contrary, I am his head of house and I determine what is appropriate," Snape said coldly.
Slughorn looked disappointed but didn't fight. Snape grabbed him by the shoulder and led him out of the party. As soon as they were out in the hall, Draco shook himself free.
"I'll be off now, Professor."
"No, you won't. You have been avoiding me. We are ."
Snape led him to the end of the hall and opened up the classroom door for Draco. As soon as the door was shut, he started demanding answers.
"You were reckless with the stunt with Katie Bell. You could easily be expelled. Do you know what will happen if you are?"
"I didn't have anything to do with it. She must have some enemy -"
"You can't fool me, Draco," Snape interrupted. Draco felt a presence in his mind as he looked at Snape's eyes. His heart rate picked up, but he instinctively pulled on his training from Bella and gripped his rings on the other hand. He could pull them off if Snape started to get too deep.
He didn't, pulling back after only a brush against his mind. Snape apparently had reservations about ripping into a student's mind that Bella didn't.
"I see your aunt has been teaching you occlumency."
Draco gave him a smug smile.
"You are avoiding me for no reason. Between Bell and your vain attempts at poisoning," Draco blanched, "you clearly need assistance. I want to help, I have made an Unbreakable vow with your mother to see the task done."
Draco fumed at dare his mother keep meddling? "You'll have to break it then. It's my task."
"Draco you can't do this alone."
"I'm not," Draco said thinking of Regulus.
"Who is helping you?" Draco just glared back. "What were you up to tonight? I need to report something to the Dark Lord about your progress."
"Then tell him I am up to something big. I'm sure you can come up with something."
"You were almost expelled last time. He does not trust you and neither do I."
"I told you I am not alone, so drop it. I am more than capable of doing this."
"Draco -"
"No. I see what you are trying to do, you want to steal my glory."
Regulus let out a frustrated sigh and said, "You don't need to make him angry."
But it was too late. Snape was visibly enraged now.
"You're acting like a child," he spat. "I know your father's imprisonment was upsetting to you, but -"
"Just leave. He won't stop you." Regulus advised.
And Draco did, slamming the door open and leaving Snape to seethe alone.
Between the ploy with the mead and getting caught, Draco was still feeling on edge, so he decided to head to the Room of Requirement before returning to his dorm. It would feel good to make progress on the cabinet. They were getting close to completing Burke's instructions. He had just reached the cabinet when he heard the door to the Room of Requirement open along with some footsteps.
"I thought I might find you here," Potter announced.
"I needed some space."
"I heard your conversation with Snape." Draco tensed.
"I hate that cloak of yours." It was truly unfair how Potter could get away with sneaking around.
"I didn't realise Snape was reporting to Voldemort about you."
"Of course he is. I told you he is loyal to the Dark Lord."
"What's going to happen if he doesn't think you are making progress?"
"Torture me. Maybe kill me." Draco said bluntly.
Potter looked genuinely upset at that. Potter had always been worried about the destruction he would cause along the way, but this time it looked like he was upset solely because Draco was the one in danger.
"Let me see your arm. I wanna try something."
They took up the chairs again, Draco presented his left forearm, and Potter cradled it gently, letting Draco's hand rest on his leg. He started to hiss.
"What are you saying to it?"
"That it doesn't need to do what it's been told, that it could be free. It's stupid, but maybe it hadn't heard that before."
Potter gave a small smile and started hissing again. He was focused on whatever he was saying to the snake, biting his lip and scooting closer to the edge of his chair. Draco could almost feel his breath against his arm.
After a minute, Harry looked up at him, pride written all over his face. "It's listening. I think it's going to loosen up. It shouldn't be as painful in the future."
Without realising what he was doing, Draco grabbed Potter's chin, tilted it towards him, and kissed him. He had no idea what overtook him. Maybe it was the way Potter had looked so concerned by the thought of Draco getting hurt. Maybe it was the way he was charging ahead at full speed to help when Draco's own family hadn't shown that kind of devotion. Maybe it was just because he was a lonely teenager excited that someone was touching him. Maybe it was because the way Harry's lips moved while speaking parseltongue was so damn hypnotising.
He could feel the frozen shock on Harry's lips, but after a second he relaxed and he started kissing Draco back. It lasted only a few seconds. As Potter started to push forward, Draco pulled back sharply.
"I'm sorry," Draco said, staring wide-eyed at Potter.
"Uh, it's fine," Potter said awkwardly, licking his lips. "I'm not, uh, I -."
"I think you should go," Draco said quickly, not looking at him. Draco didn't think he could stand.
"Yeah." Potter practically jumped up. "Uh, hopefully, the arm is less painful," He said in parting and swiftly headed for the exit.
"Draco, breathe." Regulus had come to stand in front of him. His face was written with concern. Draco gasped when he realised he hadn't gotten in a breath since Potter stood up to leave.
"Fuck, why did I do that?" Draco asked Regulus frantically.
"You're panicking, you need to calm down."
"I'm not like you."
"I know."
"I don't, I'm not - "
"It's okay."
"It's not!" Draco shouted.
"It is. You don't have to tell anyone. Potter probably won't."
"How do you know?" Draco asked pathetically.
"I've literally been in your shoes. If Harry is anything like James, he won't use this to tease you. He won't hold it against you." Draco didn't know if he could believe that.
"Fuck, I kissed Potter. What if someone finds out?" He asked, if the Dark Lord found out?
"They won't. Put the memory in the ring, you'll keep this a secret."
