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The rest of the semester passed quickly and thankfully, uneventfully. Their group, now also including Neville, met quite often, but Draco also met with Neville on his own, to work towards finding a cure for Neville's parents and for Astoria. It was nice to finally have someone he could really talk to. They talked about his wife, his son and the time travel. Draco could finely bounce ideas off someone regarding the blood curse of his wife. On a bad day, when he really missed his son or wife, Neville would listen to him and cheer him up. It made his everyday life a lot easier to bear. But he also knew that someone knowing his secret made it more likely that others found out about it, and it also meant danger for not only him but also for Neville. If anyone ever found out Neville knew such details about the future, he would become a target.

During the last week of the semester, Dumbledore called him into his office.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy. Please, have a seat," was the first thing Dumbledore said when Draco entered his office. "Would you like some tea?"

"Ehm- yes, sir," he said while sitting down in front of the headmaster.

Dumbledore had already had the teapot in front of him when Draco had entered the room. He poured tea into two cups, not saying anything.

"Is this about Sirius?" Draco finally asked, having no idea why he was summoned.

"No," Dumbledore said, "but perhaps you would like to hear that things are going well, we are using all the resources at our disposal – as is your mother as I have been told - and I expect him to be freed of all charges at the trial in August."

That was good to hear.

"What then," asked Draco, "do you want to talk to me about?"

"I would like you to tell me how Harry was able to kill Lord Voldemort."

Draco flinched at the use of the name.

"Haven't I already told you?" he asked, but then added a "Sir," because he did not want to sound disrespectful.

"In our first meeting we have focused on the most important memories and the bigger picture. The gist of things, if you will. Now I would like to know more about the details."

Letting out a slow breath, Draco began to retell what happened during the battle. "Potter killed him by deflecting the Dark Lord's Avada Kedavra, so that it rebounded and destroyed him."

"Please try not to occlude," said the headmaster. Draco hadn't even noticed that he had. He just didn't want to relive that day if he could help it. "We need every detail you can remember. It will be easier for you to remember if you do not occlude."

He gulped and lowered his mental shields, breathing slowly and deeply.

Memories of a bloody, disheveled boy flashed before his eyes and how the black-robed enemy finally fell. Then another memory flashed before his eyes.

"He used my wand," Draco said, remembering the shock of seeing it in Potter's hands. "And he told the Dark Lord that he was the master of the Elder Wand."

"Really?" Dumbledore did not seem very surprised. "The Elder Wand is just a myth."

"Well, neither Potter nor the Dark Lord thought so. And neither do you," his eyes darted towards the wand of Dumbledore, which was lying on the table. "That's it, right there."

"Is that so?" asked Dumbledore, glancing down at his own wand.

"Stop that," huffed Draco.

"My apologies, Mr. Malfoy. I wasn't aware anyone knew about the dark history of my wand."

"Well, no one does know… yet. The only reason I do is because I already knew half the story when Potter told it."

"Because you were given the task of killing me?"

Draco flinched. Would he ever get over this? He slowly nodded his head, not looking the headmaster in the eyes. "I successfully disarmed you that night," said Draco.

"That made you the master of the Elder Wand?" Dumbledore asked, not fazed by the topic of their discussion.

"That's what Potter said," said Draco. "But the Dark Lord thought that the person who killed you was the master of the Elder Wand."

"So he killed Professor Snape?" asked Dumbledore evenly.

Draco inhaled sharply. How could he just say things like that? Did he care at all?

"Yes," croaked Draco. "He should have killed me. I was the master of the Elder Wand. At least, until Potter disarmed me."

"Ah, so Lord Voldemort tried to kill Harry with a wand which was not loyal to him but his supposed victim?" asked Dumbledore, examining his own wand. "This is very useful information. Is there anything else you can tell me about that night?"

Draco considered this. There was something else. "Potter had been searching for something. In the Room of Hidden Things. A tiara."

"A tiara?" asked Dumbledore, leaning forward, giving Draco his full attention.

The memory flashed before his eyes, filling him with the same terror he had felt when it had happened. The fire, Crabbe… Draco and Goyle had been slumped on the floor in the corridor in front of the burning Room of Hidden Things. Mourning their fallen friend. They both hadn't had any wands and had just been saved from the fire by the golden trio. Even though they had tried to kill them, they still risked their lives to save Draco and Goyle. Something Draco would eternally be grateful for.

"Harry, what's that on your arm?"

"What? Oh yeah –"

It had been a tiara of sorts. It had been blackened with soot. A bloodlike substance, dark and tarry, leaked out of it. It vibrated violently and then broke apart, letting out a scream of pain.

"It must have been the Fiendfyre!" whimpered Hermione.

"Sorry?"

"A horcrux. They were looking for a Horcrux," Draco suddenly said.

He could see Dumbledore's face fall.

"What do you know about Horcruxes?" he asked sternly.

Draco didn't know why, but Dumbledore's voice made him uncomfortable. "Nothing. No idea what they are. But I remember Granger saying "Fiendfyre – cursed fire – it's one of the substances that can destroy Horcruxes…" or something like that."

"Do you know of any other objects that Harry might have been searching for?" he asked urgently.

"No," Draco said, confused. What were Horcruxes? "Oh, wait. Granger said something about a snake right after she said that about the Horcruxes… I guess she meant the pet snake of the Dark Lord. Nagini," Draco shuddered. What a vile creature that was. He had found it cool, but that had changed the first time he saw that beast kill someone. "And they broke into Gringotts a few days before the final battle. I think they stole something from my aunt's vault," he thought some more, "that's all I know."

Dumbledore stayed silent for a while, going through all of this information. There was a gleam in his eyes that unsettled Draco.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. That was some very useful information." Dumbledore studied the Elder Wand, clearly lost in thought. When his gaze finally left the wand and landed back on Draco, his whole expression had changed. Gone were the stern look and unsettling gleam, as if they had never discussed anything more serious than the weather. "Do you have any problems adapting?" Dumbledore finally asked, changing the topic completely.

"Not really. Classes are really simple, but I can't deny that I have forgotten a thing or two, so the revision doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would."

"I am glad to hear that," said Dumbledore. "If you need anything, let me know. You may return to your dormitory now."

Draco stood up to leave, but then stopped in his tracks. "Don't you want to tell me what these… Horcruxes… are?"

"In due time. You do not have to worry yourself with things like these right now."

Draco shook his head. "I am not really a child, you know? You can tell me."

"I would like to do some investigating before I explain. Let's talk again at the beginning of next semester."

Draco sighed. "Alright. But you are planning to do something about it, right?"

There was this annoying twinkle again. "Yes. But don't worry about that now."

Draco felt a bit irritated. He should be happy he didn't have to bring down the Dark Lord on his own, but the old man didn't seem to understand that if he wanted to change things for the better, they needed to work together.

"Well, at least I won't have to worry about the things which originally happened next year, since Professor Lupin hasn't resigned."

Dumbledore looked at Draco. "Actually, and I am sorry to say that, he has handed in his resignation this morning."

"What?" Draco nearly yelled. "Why?"

"That, I am afraid, you must ask him yourself. He is, I believe, in his office, packing."

Draco didn't even hear his last words as he had already stormed out of the office.

TBC

Hmmm, finally a bit more action. What do you think?