"Harmonia Nectere Passus. Harmonia Nectere Passus." Draco ignored the blood leaking from his nose, his hands shaking as he held them out against the Vanishing Cabinet. His muscles ached horribly and he could feel the beginnings of a migraine throbbing in his temple.

Barely halfway, he thought miserably. I'm running out of time. When he couldn't take it anymore, he dropped his hands and his nosebleed subsided. He stumbled backward, suddenly dizzy, and the room instantly slid his preferred armchair right behind him. He collapsed into it gratefully and cupped his pounding head in his hands.

"What if I can't do it, Room?" he asked quietly, his breaths coming in short gasps. "What if I can't get it to work?"

His detention with Ginny the night before had thrown him off his game. He didn't know what Snape was playing at, but if his goal was to rattle Draco, he had succeeded. There was so much that was outside of his control, and the control he did have felt like it was slipping all the time. Those few weeks in December had been a pretty illusion - just when he had thought he had everything handled, Trelawney had to go and issue a prophecy that ruined absolutely everything.

Why did it have to be Ginny? Why couldn't it be literally anyone else? If it was anyone else, anyone at all, this would be easier. Or better yet, have it be someone who wasn't at Hogwarts, let another Death Eater deal with it. But no. Fate seemed to have a cruel sense of humor where Draco was concerned.

"I was chosen," he murmured to himself, trying to get himself to believe it. "I was chosen." His father certainly thought he was. Lucius had taken to waxing poetic about the future whenever Draco would check in with him, reminding him of what the Malfoy family stood to gain by Draco's success. They would surpass their former glory, be guaranteed a position of honor in the Dark Lord's new world, be favored above all others. He did not need to say what would happen if Draco were to fail. The pressure was enormous, and Draco often ended their calls feeling like he was suffocating.

The waves crash ever on and on, but beneath, the sea is calm, he repeated, hearing the subtle roar of the water in his mind. He had taken to repeating this phrase like a mantra, over and over again until his heart slowed and his breathing returned to normal. It was the constancy of the sea that he liked, he had decided. The intensity of the waves would change with the tides, but it was all part of one big cycle - it flowed, as he had said, ever on and on. Predictable in its chaos. Stable, despite being ever-changing. Easy, despite its dangers.

He had needed to repeat the phrase for nearly fifteen minutes last night when he had awoken from a nightmare. He had arrived home to find his father's head mounted on the sharp spires of the entry gate, his dead eyes cloudy and unseeing, just like Trelawney's had been. His mother's broken body had been strewn over the edge of the fountain in the gardens, the water slowly but surely running red with blood. She was face down, and he knew with horrible certainty that he didn't want to turn her over, that he didn't want to see her brutalized face. And then suddenly he had been at Hogwarts, and there were bodies all over the ground, and Fenrir Greyback had a screaming Ginny Weasley pinned to the floor in the Great Hall, and-

Enough. It was a nightmare. It's not real.

The waves caressed Draco's feet gently, and he willed his muscles to relax as he felt the sun shine down on his face. He held the scenes from his nightmare in his arms, little orbs just like he had found in Crabbe's mind weeks ago. He didn't look at them, keeping his gaze on the horizon as he waded out thigh-deep into the water.

Take this from me, he willed the sea, letting the orbs tumble out of his grasp, to be carried away by the tide. It's not real. It will never be real. I was chosen. I will return my family to a place of honor and glory. Ginny will be safe under my protection. I will be a hero in this new world, exalted above all others. I was chosen.

He watched the orbs grow smaller and smaller, bouncing along the waves as they were washed out to sea. Finally, they sunk, and Draco breathed a sigh of relief before coming back to himself.

"Room, sometimes I think I'm going mad," he said. "Although I suppose talking to a magically animated room isn't exactly a point in my favor there."

The wood in the fireplace snapped loudly, as though the room were protesting being lumped in with his supposed madness.

"Sorry," he said with a laugh. "But you have to admit, for anyone observing..."

As though determined to prove how very sane it was, the room brought forth a damp facecloth for Draco's head as it dimmed the candles.

"You're right, Room. You're perfectly sane and very attuned to my needs. Thank you."

He sat in silence for a little while, letting his migraine recede. He had been hard at work all day; he deserved to take a break. When the pulsing finally subsided, he leaned back in the chair and let out a great sigh. He couldn't take a break now. If he ran into Ginny again, he needed to be prepared.

"Alright, back to work. Room, show me all the books you have that mention Loxias or the Deathstick."


The next few days passed relatively quietly for Ginny. She had returned to her dorm late on Friday night thanks to Snape's detention, late enough that Kathleen had already been asleep by the time Ginny had climbed into bed. Her mind had been racing after her unexpected conversation with Malfoy, but she had determined to temporarily put it aside in favor of the Quidditch match the next morning against Hufflepuff. Harry and Ron would be serving detention with Snape - she had selfishly hoped that he had given them an equally gross task as the toads - so she would be subbing in as Seeker for the Gryffindor team, along with Cormac McLaggen for Keeper and Dean Thomas filling in Ginny's Chaser position.

The match was a disaster, of course. They hadn't had time to practice with Cormac or Dean, and without Harry there to reign him in, Cormac had proved himself to be every bit the bossy, arrogant git he had been in tryouts. The match ended with an abysmal score of 320 to 60, in Hufflepuff's favor. Ginny had stormed off the field in a terrible mood, cursing at McLaggen in a fit of temper that rivaled her mother's infamous rages at the twins. It had taken her the rest of the day to calm down again, and the day was only redeemed by having tea with Hagrid, who agreed heartily that McLaggen was pond scum that didn't belong within fifty feet of a broom.

That evening, she had recounted her detention with Malfoy to Kathleen, who had listened with rapt attention and agreed with Ginny's renewed commitment to investigate the matter further. Kathleen had been unbothered by Malfoy's odd behavior, reminding Ginny that they had been in front of a teacher and it would have been unwise for Malfoy to start a fight. Ginny had reluctantly agreed, unable to come up with a good counterargument. She had fallen asleep that night dreaming of Malfoy's eyes locked on hers.

Do I look like I'm laughing, Weasley?

No, he certainly didn't, and Ginny wasn't laughing either. Malfoy had been determined to assure her that his statements at the party were purely hypothetical, but Ginny wasn't buying it. While his words were designed to set her mind at ease, he had tensed at key moments of her questioning, proving in Ginny's mind that something more was going on. What that was, she didn't know, but she was determined to find out.

As such, she and Kathleen had spent every bit of free time they could spare in the library, pouring over books about anything and everything they could think of. Hermione would have been an immense help if she had been inclined to assist, but though they had made up from their fight last week, she was still firmly of the mind that any energy spent on Malfoy was energy wasted.

While no research expert, Harry also would have been helpful in their quest, given that he knew Malfoy - and truly, the Death Eaters as a whole - better than Ginny did, but she couldn't bear to bring up the party again. Harry had finally apologized to her for jumping to conclusions, and she had hesitantly accepted, but she had no desire to reopen the doors on that conversation. It was so awkward now when they talked, like they were little better than acquaintances. She hated it.

Frustrated, she slammed her book shut and pushed it away, earning a glare from Madam Pince. Deciding to ignore the librarian, Ginny slumped forward in defeat, putting her forehead against the table.

"We're never going to find anything," she grumbled. "At least anything useful." They didn't have enough information to go on, and even with the information they did have, they hadn't found anything that seemed to fit. Malfoy had said the weapon would amplify You-Know-Who's power... but did he mean it figuratively or literally?

"Maybe it's not a wizard's weapon," Kathleen said in a thoughtful tone, apparently undeterred by Ginny's pessimism. "I think I've heard some Mermish tales about a trident - why don't we go look in that section?"

"You go," Ginny said without looking up from the table. "I give up for now."

"None of that," Kathleen chided. "The Ginny Weasley I know never gives up. Let's go."

Ginny groaned before sitting up slowly. "Fine. But that's the last one for the day - I want to go down to the Black Lake with Luna later, the ice is finally starting to melt."

Kathleen nodded her agreement as she stood up and grabbed her bag. Ginny reluctantly followed suit, grumbling all the while. The idea of You-Know-Who storming the castle with a giant trident was pretty funny if she let herself think about it, but it was absurd enough that she thought it was pretty unlikely to pan out. Still, Kathleen was right - she wasn't a quitter, so if Kathleen thought this was worth checking out, Ginny would give it a chance.

"Ok, let's see," Kathleen murmured, turning down the aisle that held books related to the Merfolk.

"You said it was a trident?" Ginny asked, skimming the titles.

"Yeah, but I don't remember what the story was called."

Ginny groaned again. "Great," she said, and pulled off a book at random, thumbing through it.

They continued like that for a few minutes, thumbing through books looking for any mention of a trident or anything else worth taking back to their desk.

"I don't know, Malfoy, this probably isn't the place to be talking about this," Blaise Zabini said from around the corner. "Aren't you worried about someone overhearing?"

Ginny froze.

"What about-" Kathleen said as she examined a book, but Ginny shushed her.

"I won't be worried about it if you lower your voice," Malfoy hissed. They were coming this way. "Besides, no one ever uses this section anyway."

Kathleen's eyes were wide. Not giving herself time to think, Ginny grabbed Kathleen and hurried toward the far end of the row of books, tucking in behind the edge of the shelf.

Ginny's heart was pounding in her chest, and she forced herself to breathe slowly. What was she about to overhear?

"Alright, this is far enough," Malfoy said, turning onto the row she and Kathleen had been standing on only moments before. Ginny held her breath.

"What do you know about the Deathstick?" Malfoy asked. Zabini scoffed.

"That it's a right stupid name," Zabini said. Ginny privately agreed. "I've never heard of it before. What is it?"

"It's a wand. An unbeatable wand."

"Your wand not doing it for you anymore, eh Malfoy - ow!"

"Stop making stupid jokes," Malfoy said, venom in his voice. "I'm not looking for it for me. I'm looking for it...for someone else."

"Ahh," Zabini said in a knowing tone. "Yeah, I do suppose an unbeatable wand would be handy in that case. But what does that have to do with me? And why you specifically? You can't exactly get much searching done while you're at school."

"I'm not the only one looking for it. They're all looking for it. It's been lost for over a century, and no one's seen it since."

"Great starting point. Ow! Will you get a grip?"

"I have to find it first, Zabini. My father needs to be the one to present it. I may not be able to leave school, but I have access to something the others don't - one of the greatest libraries in the world."

"I'm not following. You said it was lost a century ago - how is a book going to help?"

"It's not lost because historians don't know where it went - it's lost because there's too many options. Over a dozen people claimed to have killed the wand's owner. I'm going to research them, and I need your help."

"What's in it for me?"

"How about honor and glory in the new regime?"

"I would settle for your undying gratitude, but that's nice too. Ow! Lighten up, Malfoy, learn to take a joke."

"We can joke after we've found what we're looking for. Come on, let's ask Madam Pince for help on our History of Magic essay."

Zabini laughed, and their footsteps moved away. Ginny hardly dared to breathe, her wide eyes locked with Kathleen's.

How about honor and glory in the new regime?

"Not so hypothetical anymore, is it?" Kathleen asked in a worried voice. Ginny's hands tightened into fists.

"I have to tell Harry."


"Ok, I'm going to tell you something important and you have to promise not to freak out."

"Ok, I won't," Harry said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "What is it, Ginny?"

Wood snapped in the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, making Ginny jump. She hadn't been able to catch Harry until the end of the day, and she had pulled him aside at dinner insisting she needed to talk to him after the meal was over. Luckily, he hadn't asked too many questions aside from if she was alright.

How much to tell?

"I was in the library studying with Kathleen," she said, wringing her hands in her lap, "and I overheard Malfoy and Zabini talking." Harry tensed.

"What were they talking about?"

"A weapon called the Deathstick," Ginny breathed, her heart beating a little faster at the memory. Malfoy had sounded so different in that conversation compared to how he had in detention. He had sounded... like a Death Eater.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "The Deathstick?"

"I know it's a stupid name," Ginny said hastily, "but it's the name of a wand, apparently. An unbeatable wand."

"Are you sure this isn't some stupid euphemism-"

Ginny smacked him on the knee. "No! Malfoy promised Zabini honor and glory in the new regime if he helped him look for it."

That got Harry's attention. His green eyes flashed in the firelight as he leaned in closer to Ginny. "At Slughorn's party last Christmas, I overheard Malfoy telling Snape about an assignment, that Voldemort would have all the information he needed to fulfill a prophecy. Sound familiar?"

Ginny nodded along, feigning surprise. Harry had never actually confided this information in her - she had only known thanks to the Extendable Ear.

"This has to be connected, right?" Ginny asked, relieved to be being taken seriously for once. "Malfoy said they're all looking for it... and I assume they means the Death Eaters. We should tell Dumbledore, right?"

"Definitely," Harry said fervently. "I'm meeting with him tomorrow night - I'll tell him straight away."

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. "Good," she said, leaning back in her seat. "That's good. Thanks for listening to me, Harry."

"Of course - thanks for telling me. And I'm sorry again for blowing up on you before - I shouldn't have done that."

Ginny fidgeted a little in her seat. She hadn't told Harry about her conversations with Malfoy at either the Valentine's Day party or in detention. This most recent encounter in the library didn't require larger context in order to make sense, and in her rush to get the details out, she had focused solely on today's incident. As far as Harry knew, she had happened upon the conversation entirely randomly.

Should I tell him?

The memory of Malfoy's eyes flashed in her mind and her heart skipped a beat. How on earth could she explain that? It wasn't so much what he said, it was how he said it... Was that why Hermione had misunderstood her so badly?

I'd like to actually enjoy my evening.

Potter didn't realize how lucky he was, did he?

Do I look like I'm laughing, Weasley?

Ginny shook her head. No, there was no explaining any of that. Not to Harry, not to anyone. Not even to herself.

"I forgive you, Harry. Let me know what Dumbledore says."


Two days later, Ginny hurried anxiously to breakfast, making a beeline for Harry at the Gryffindor table. He and Ron were sitting together, though Hermione was nowhere to be seen.

"Morning," she said as she dropped down onto the bench across from them.

"Morning," they greeted. Harry looked up from the Daily Prophet, a tight frown on his face.

"Anything?" Ginny asked.

"A Muggle bridge was destroyed in Bristol," Harry said. "Thirty people died. The Prime Minister is blaming terrorists, but Kingsley made a statement this morning confirming it was the Death Eaters."

"That's awful!" Thirty innocent people... it was almost too horrible to contemplate.

"What's Scrimgeour got to say about it?" Ron asked. "He'll have a tough time keeping this one quiet."

"Nothing," Harry said flatly, dropping the paper. "Scrimgeour didn't make a statement, just Kingsley."

"Figures," Ron said darkly. "Rotten git. He's better than Fudge but only barely."

"What about Dumbledore?" Ginny asked, being mindful to keep her voice down. "How did your meeting go last night?"

Ron raised his eyebrows, surprised that Ginny knew about Harry's meeting.

"Not great," Harry said with a grimace. "I'm supposed to be getting a memory from Slughorn, and I, uh... haven't given it my best effort."

"A memory from Slughorn?" Ginny asked, nonplussed.

Harry leaned forward, lowering his voice still further. "My lessons with Dumbledore are about Voldemort's past. Slughorn was one of his teachers while he was here at Hogwarts."

Ginny's eyes widened. "And Dumbledore needs Slughorn's memories of You-Know-Who?"

"Well, one memory in particular, but yes. One that Slughorn is reluctant to give up. But I'll just have to keep trying."

Ginny turned this new information over in her mind, intrigued. Though it was hard to imagine Professor Slughorn talking to You-Know-Who in modern day, she could easily imagine him chatting with handsome, charming Tom Riddle.

She shuddered as she always did when she remembered the diary. "What about Malfoy?" she asked. "What did Dumbledore say?"

Harry scowled. "He said it's been handled. He assured me that Malfoy's wasting his time, but wouldn't say much more about it. He wasn't too happy with me that I brought him up again, to be honest. He didn't want to hear it when we came back from holiday and he especially didn't want to hear it when I didn't have good news about Slughorn."

Ginny blew out a breath, frustrated. "Well, what do you think? What should we do?"

"We shouldn't do anything," Harry said. "I'm going to refocus on Slughorn, and I assigned Kreacher and Dobby to tail Malfoy in the meantime. They'll report on anything suspicious. You should keep studying for your O.W.L.s."

"You can't be serious. I want to-"

"Oh lay off it, Ginny," Ron said. "Dumbledore said it's been handled, alright? Stop trying to stick your nose into everything."

Ginny let out an outraged gasp as she smacked Ron from across the table. "Since when are you one to back down from trouble?"

"I'm not backing down from anything," Ron said hastily, rubbing his arm. "But Harry's right - we can't tail Malfoy everywhere, it's impossible. Let the house-elves do it. And maybe if Harry's able to get that memory from Slughorn, Dumbledore will explain more of what's going on with the…what did you say it's called?"

"The Deathstick," Ginny said with an eye roll. Ron snickered.

"Stupid name."

Ginny sighed. "Alright fine. I'll leave it alone, I guess."


"Well this won't do at all." Draco leaned forward in his seat, irritated. "She was supposed to take the information and run with it, not dump it in Potter's lap."

"I couldn't stop her," Kathleen said with a grimace. "She practically ran out of the library as soon as you left. And I think if I had tried any harder, she would have gotten suspicious."

Damn impulsive Gryffindors.

"No, you were right to leave it alone," Draco said with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Tell us again what happened, love," Blaise said. "What did she tell Potter?"

"Just about the conversation in the library," Kathleen said. "Harry took it to Dumbledore, but I guess he told them to leave it alone."

Draco ran his hand through his hair again, worrying his lip. Why on earth would Dumbledore dismiss Potter's claim, when the Headmaster knew exactly what the Deathstick really was?

"Ginny wanted to keep looking into it, but Harry told her to focus on her O.W.L.s instead," Kathleen continued. "And that he would have his house-elves follow you and report on anything suspicious."

"His house-elves?" Draco exclaimed, outraged. Kathleen had left this out in her first retelling of events. "What house-elves?"

"I believe their names are Dobby and Kreacher."

Draco scowled. He had never heard of Kreacher before, but he knew Dobby quite well.

"How dare Potter use my own house-elf against me! That bastard."

"Does it still count as yours if Potter freed it?" Blaise asked, causing Draco to turn his scowl in his direction.

"Dobby's line of elves has been in my family for-"

"It doesn't matter how long they've been in your family if they won't answer to you," Blaise said. "Sounds like Dobby the free house-elf has made its choice."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Whatever, semantics. Either way, this is a problem. We need Ginny to keep investigating, and we need Potter to stay out of it."

"I suppose that's where I come in," Blaise said. "They're not tailing me, or Kathleen for that matter."

Draco's eyes widened. "Shit." He looked at Kathleen again. "I can't be seen with you. When I leave the room today, you and Blaise will stay here for twenty minutes, and then you can leave. Same for future meetings - I'll show up twenty minutes after you and leave twenty minutes before you. In fact, unless it's an emergency or I summon you, you'll give your updates to Blaise from now on, and he'll fill me in later. That way we don't risk an accidental discovery by elves, of all fucking things."

Kathleen nodded. "I'll see if I can get Ginny to persuade Harry to get rid of them."

"No, Potter will think that's suspicious. It's a necessary sacrifice, I suppose. I'll just have to be careful. They can't see inside this room, we just can't be seen entering or leaving together. And I trust Blaise - at least with this." He saw Blaise give a mocking salute out of the corner of his eye.

Kathleen nodded again. "So what would you like me to do?"

Draco turned to Blaise. "What do you think? Especially about Dumbledore's response. It's odd."

"Well, he's an odd duck, isn't he?" Blaise asked, but his thoughtful tone confirmed he was taking the matter seriously. "If he has the wand and he knows he has it, maybe he doesn't want Potter to figure that out? He said it's been handled. Maybe he has some protections on the wand, so he's not worried about someone trying to steal it?"

Draco bit his lip again. He still didn't understand how this was supposed to work. If the wand - not to mention Potter's cloak - was at Hogwarts, how was Ginny going to Godric's Hollow going to result in the Dark Lord getting the Hallows? The only person who would possibly know was dead.

"Why wouldn't he want Potter to know?" Draco asked, grasping onto the more concrete part of the problem.

"Well it's not something you generally advertise, right? Judging by the history books, that's a great way to end up dead. And as for Potter, didn't you say Snape said that Potter was shit at Occlumency? Not the person I would be confiding my darkest secrets to."

Draco couldn't resist smirking at that. Being talented at something Potter couldn't do was immensely gratifying.

"Fair point," he agreed. "Too bad Trelawney's not around to ask about any protections on the thing. But I guess we just have to go off what we have."

"And what we have is darling Kathleen to save the day," Blaise said, slinging his arm around Kathleen's shoulder. "Do you think you can persuade Ginny back to the library, love?"

"I should be able to, just not right away," she said, appearing unbothered by Blaise's misplaced display of affection. "We should let it cool down for a few days."

"That's for the best, anyway," Draco said. "Gives me time to let Potter's stupid elves find a whole lot of nothing. Let me know once she agrees to go back, and tell me once you've gone through all the books - you have the list I gave you, right?"

Kathleen nodded. "It'll probably take her a couple weeks, altogether. Longer, if you want me to throw in some random ones."

"Let's go for longer," Draco agreed. "I want her on the right track, but not too quickly. This needs to coincide with…some other things in motion."

The cabinet loomed large behind Kathleen, who was blissfully unaware of its existence.

"When she's done with those," he continued, "I will give you a special book. You're to say that you found it in the library, that you must have overlooked it before. It's vital that Ginny reads this book, do you understand?"

"I understand."

"Good. Alright, I can't let you leave yet. Work on some homework or something. I have a prophecy to puzzle out."


Albus Dumbledore sighed heavily, twirling a quill between his fingers.

"I am running out of time, Severus," he said in a tired voice.

"Time, Headmaster? Time for what?"

Albus put the quill down and looked out the window of his office to the Black Lake far below. Spring was on the way. The ice was melting.

"Time to prepare," he said, knowing that Severus likely found his non-answers infuriating.

"Is it your hand?" Severus asked.

"Among other things." Far below, there were a handful of students playing in the lingering snow. Albus watched them with gentle curiosity, smiling as one student pelted the other with a well-aimed snowball.

"If you tell me, perhaps I can help," Severus said, irritation creeping into his voice. Albus looked back at him then, his smile fading.

"I've told you as much as I can, Severus. The rest falls on Harry. There is information I need him to gather, badly. Only Harry can do it-" he interrupted himself, saving Severus the trouble of volunteering to take on the task himself. Severus' open mouth snapped shut. "But I fear that this business with the Malfoy boy is distracting him, despite our best efforts. He must be redirected."

"I will advise Draco to be more cautious, though I am afraid that Lucius has poisoned his ear against me. He may not heed any warnings from me."

Dumbledore frowned and picked up the quill again. Yes, Lucius Malfoy was a problem. A very slippery problem, as the Order had still yet to find him. Albus was sure a Fidelius Charm must be in effect, but he had hoped that it would break upon poor Sybill Trelawney's death. No such luck, however. Wherever Sybill had been hidden was where Lucius was likely to be, but where that was, he could only guess.

"Headmaster, do you not think…" Severus hesitated, piquing Albus's interest. "Do you not think that if perhaps Potter could find a way to thwart Draco's efforts-"

"No, I do not think," Albus said firmly. "To focus on Draco Malfoy is to win a battle. To focus on Lord Voldemort is to win the war. No choice is without its cost, but this one results in the least loss of life. Harry must stay focused, for there will come a time all too soon when I will not be here to guide him."

The silence between the two men became palpable, the looming murder hanging heavy over both of their heads.

"There must be another way-"

"It is a mercy, Severus," Albus said gently. "I have paid a great price for my arrogance, and you will see to it that I do not pay an even greater one at the hands of Voldemort's fanatics. You can show an old man mercy, can't you?"

Severus said nothing, merely pursing his lips. Albus sighed. He seemed to be doing a lot of sighing these days, whether from disappointment or fatigue.

"I will trust you to do what I ask when the time comes, Severus. And as for Draco... I can assure you that I've placed every protective enchantment imaginable on both the wand and the stone. Tonks reports no odd behavior on Ginny Weasley's part, aside from attending a rather illicit party earlier this month. She spends a lot of time in the library, from what I'm told."

"You would think that such a serious student would be able to turn in her assignments on time," Severus said with a sneer. Albus chuckled.

"Ah, but Severus, if she had not failed to turn in an assignment, you wouldn't have been able to put her in detention."

"I would have found another way," Severus muttered.

"How did it go, by the way?"

"They didn't attack each other on sight, if that's what you mean. They've clearly spoken before, though, and I wasn't entirely able to discern what about, though it was apparently at this party you mentioned. Miss Weasley suspects something, but it wasn't clear if these are the same suspicions Potter's had for months, or something new."

Albus pondered this for a moment, tapping his fingers together.

"See what you can find out, Severus, but know that Harry cannot get involved in this. He must-"

"Remain focused," Severus finished. "Yes, I know. What do you want me to do about Draco?"

"Observe, try to learn what you can, but don't push too hard. We don't want to inadvertently drive him further into Lucius's clutches."

"Yes, Headmaster."