Harry Potter and the Summer of Secrets

Chapter 1: The Mercy of Lord Voldemort

It was an ironically beautiful night; the crescent moon shone brightly illuminating his surroundings. He was standing in a courtyard of stone - a graveyard.

He took a few steps forward only to trip over a fallen headstone in the desolate and neglected cemetery. He kept one eye on the sprawling ivy-covered mansion in the distance as he waded through the overgrown grass to sit on a fallen tree.

He buried his head in his hands waiting for the calming draught to take effect; it was lucky he had remembered to bring it. A few feet away stood a dark-haired man with a hooked nose and a sallow face with black eyes. He was talking with a rushing urgency in his voice.

"...be very angry indeed, Draco, but he will, perhaps, reward you for introducing Death Eaters into Hogwarts. In the end, the job was done."

His eyes flashed in anger as he looked Draco. "Are you even listening to me? You need to prepare yourself; he will call soon."

Draco merely nodded, looking rather ill. He closed his eyes and tried to empty his mind. He found it quite difficult; all he could see was Dumbledore; weak, wandless, begging, then dying.

He had been the greatest wizard of the age, and now he was gone, all because of him. It was useless; he opened his eyes and looked intently at the man beside him.

"Why did you kill him? You disobeyed a direct order from the Dark Lord."

Snape sighed and replied bitterly, "I made the Unbreakable Vow to your mother to protect and aid you, and in the event of your failure, carry out the order."

Draco looked taken aback. "My mother?" he snorted. "Some support system..."

"Your mother was trying to protect you," Snape cut in, infuriated.

"You still didn't have to do it," Draco said, beginning to get angry.

Snape strode forward, grabbed Draco by his robes, and pushed him against a nearby tree.

"Don't you think I know that? I had to do it, he..."

He stopped abruptly gripping his arm tightly, and Draco pulled back his sleeve just as the Mark turned a livid black. He bit back a cry of pain as it burned his flesh more than on the day he had received it. Snape grabbed his arm and they apparated.

They were in a dark room lit only with candles; Death Eaters surrounded them, the firelight dancing eerily on their masks.

"Ahh... Draco, Severus."

Draco turned to face the Dark Lord, and his face cleared as he remembered what his father had told him: To show fear is to show weakness.

"My Lord," he said, kneeling, and he heard Snape do the same beside him.

The Dark Lord sat on a silver throne encrusted with diamonds and emeralds; Nagini hissed from her place at the base of the throne. On his left side stood Fenrir and Narcissa. Draco was shocked to see his mother bound and gagged. He tore his eyes from her frightened, tear-stained face to glare at the maniacal werewolf.

"I hear tales of two rebellious Death Eaters at Hogwarts School tonight, that you both decided to disobey direct orders. Severus, you were not to participate in Draco's task, you have compromised your position as spy," the Dark Lord hissed as his eyes narrowed in anger.

Snape stood and looked him in the eye.

"My Lord, Draco introduced Death Eaters to Hogwarts; the Order sent for me to help fight them. I saw a Death Eater dead, and the others I found at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Dumbledore was weak and wandless, he could barely stand, he begged me for his life, but I took it anyway. The Order was closing in, and we needed to leave quickly before anyone knew what had happened. Potter chased us, attacking, until we apparated at the gates. My Lord, the deed was done; he is dead."

The Dark Lord's snake-like eyes narrowed dangerously as he stood and walked towards Draco.

"It is true that he is dead, but it was Draco's task, yet the others tell me you could not do it, why?" His voice was murderous as he drew his wand.

Draco got to his feet as the door flew open letting in a wide pool of light, a warm breeze, and a hooded figure. The late arrival walked quickly past him and stood on the empty side of the Dark Lord's throne; she leaned over and whispered something into his ear.

He nodded and, as she straightened back up, Draco caught a glint of coppery red hair. He raised his eyes to the snake-like face of Lord Voldemort and grinned slightly.

"Actually, he looked like he was dying anyway, and I, personally, was waiting for him to keel over," he said, suddenly unable to control himself.

He paid for his remark and hit the floor from the pain of the curse.

"Enough with the misplaced wit, Draco, or it will soon be the death of you. What do you mean he looked half-dead anyway?" The Dark Lord looked curious for the first time.

Draco answered quickly as he stood and brushed the dirt from his robes. "He could barely stand. I disarmed him in about two seconds. His hand has been looking black and shriveled up, like it was dead, since the beginning of first term. I'm sorry, my Lord, but that is all I know."

The Dark Lord raised his eyebrows. "Now that's very interesting. Very well then, Draco, for being the first to introduce fellow Death Eaters into Hogwarts, bringing about Dumbledore's long overdue death, you have earned the lives of your mother and father."

He motioned to Fenrir who released Narcissa, pushing her towards Draco, a look of extreme disappointment crossing the werewolf's face. She sobbed when Draco untied her and muttered her thanks to the Dark Lord.

He took a deep breath as the Dark Lord's face broke into a murderous smile. "However, you disobeyed a direct order, the penalty is death."

He watched numbly as the Dark Lord strode forward pointing his wand directly at his heart.

He stood his ground and found himself saying, "As you wish, my Lord."

The Dark Lord looked surprised, and Draco felt him trying to get into his mind. To his amazement, the Dark Lord stepped back, again looking disappointed.

"Unfortunately, someone has offered a compromise for your life; you have the mercy of Lord Voldemort."

Draco sighed with relief and bent his knees again. "Thank you, Master, you are truly a merciful lord."

"As for you, Severus," the Dark Lord continued as if Draco had already gone. "Let this be the day no one questions your true allegiance, my friend. You shall be rewarded above all others. Come, let us discuss your reward, the rest of you are dismissed."

****

Draco lay awake in bed at the manor two nights after the meeting with the Dark Lord; he had given up on trying to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Dumbledore dying again and again.

"It's entirely my fault," he thought guiltily.

He wondered why the Ministry had not yet come for him; all his mother would say was that the name Malfoy still commanded respect. He looked around his room, dimly lit by the dying embers in the fireplace, wondering where he would hide out if they did come.

A sudden movement in the shadows next to his wardrobe caused him to sit bolt upright and grab his wand.

"Lumos."

He was temporarily blinded by the wand light, but heard a silky voice come from the corner with his desk.

"Hello Draco, long time no see."

He lowered his wand and sighed. "Enough with the games, take it off," he said as he walked over to the desk and lit a serpent-shaped candle.

"Well, you are simply no fun at all, are you?" the voice said as he pulled off the cloak to find a girl his age with long, curly hair and green eyes.

"I came all this way to see you," she pouted.

"Iris, why do you always have to wear that damned invisibility cloak? No one here will prevent you from entering, or do you just like to fuck with me?" he asked angrily.

"Did you ever think that maybe I did not want to be seen?" she shot back before turning away.

He grabbed her arm and said, "I have questions and I want answers."

She pulled her arm from his grasp and sat on the bed, her red hair seemed to glow in the firelight.

"Fine," she replied, "but I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"First of all," Draco said, sitting beside her. "Why am I not dead? Why did I receive mercy?"

She shifted a little and answered, "Someone made a deal with him. They offered him something he wanted much more than your death..."

She broke off and looked at the floor.

"Who? What?" he asked anxiously and, after receiving no answer, shouted,

"ANSWER ME!"

Iris jumped. "It was me. I could not bear to see him kill you, I had to do something."

He stared at her, and it was clear he was choosing his words carefully when he spoke again, "What did you have to give him for my life?"

Her eyes clouded briefly, and for a moment he did not want to know the answer.

"I agreed to take on a job for him, one he's tried to persuade me to do since his return," she answered, pulling up her sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark; it was not black like the others, but silver.

"I have agreed to become his Diviner."

Draco sighed and snapped, "Why the bloody hell did you do something that stupid?"

Iris glared at him and said, "I love you, arsehole. Now come on, the Ministry is coming for you tonight."

She grabbed his school bag and began to stuff clothes into it. She then went to the fireplace and opened a small box of Floo powder before handing Draco a piece of parchment. He opened it curiously and read:

The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at number twelve,

Grimmauld Place.

In the distance, they heard the sound of the front door crashing open.

"Shit, come on," Iris said as she stepped into the emerald flames, and Draco, not knowing any other escape from Azkaban, followed quickly.

**After the funeral**

As the Hogwarts Express raced toward London, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat quietly in a compartment by themselves. Hermione was reading and Ron was looking through his Chocolate Frog card collection.

Harry, however, just stared out the window, lost in thought. The past year replayed in his mind: Dumbledore, Ginny, Snape, Voldemort, Malfoy... Harry's mind lingered on Malfoy; he had been so sure he was like his father, like Voldemort. Yet, he had lowered his wand and had not killed Dumbledore, maybe he really wanted to switch sides.

"Harry, are you coming, mate?" Ron asked loudly kicking him in the leg.

"We're there already?" he asked, grabbing his trunk and following him off the train.

Mrs Weasley stood waiting with three Aurors, who loaded their trunks onto trolleys. They waited silently until Ginny finally came after most of the other students had gone. The ride turned out to be very awkward, and when they pulled into the driveway at the Burrow, they piled out of the car in a hurry.

As soon as they had arrived at the Burrow, Harry bolted up the stairs to Percy's old room, locked the door, and sat down on the bed. He had been dreading the wedding and just wanted to begin looking for the Horcruxes. He subconsciously gripped the fake Horcrux in his pocket, 'The locket, the snake, the cup, something of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.'

He was so lost in thought that he did not notice the owl fly into the room until it landed on his knee. Without thinking, he untied the note from its leg. As it took flight again, he opened the note and read:

1. The Locket- cave- missing 2. The Diary- Lucius- destroyed

3. The Ring- Little Hangleton- destroyed 4. The sword- Hogwarts- safe

5. The Cup- Orphanage- unstable 6. Voldemort himself (Tom Riddle)

7. Ravenclaw's?- ?- heavily protected

The first will come to you.

Harry gasped and read the list several times. It didn't make sense, the only other mark on the parchment was an ink stain shaped like a bird. He stuffed the note in his pocket and hurled down the stairs, looking for Ron and Hermione.

He found them in the garden, apparently in deep conversation, but breaking off when they saw him coming.

"Take a look at this!" he practically shouted at them.

"Harry, where did you get this?" Ron asked curiously.

"I had an owl about five minutes ago who brought me this. What do you think it means?"

Hermione exchanged a nervous glance with Ron before carefully saying, "Well, I can't read it, all I see are a bunch of squiggly lines. Tell us what you see."

Harry looked at them suspiciously but said, "It's a list of locations for the mission."

"Is it in code?" Ron asked.

"No," Harry answered as comprehension dawned on his face, "it's written in Parseltongue."

"Harry," Hermione cut in, "the only other known Parselmouth is Voldemort, and I hardly see him telling you where he hid them. Unless it's a trap."

"Why would it be a trap? Hermione, this is the information we've been looking for, maybe one of his followers sent it," Harry argued.

She looked skeptical. "Maybe, but why send this to you, not knowing if you'd even receive it? All our mail is being searched by the Ministry, remember? Why not come see you personally?"

"I don't know," he answered, irritated. "Maybe they thought I wouldn't trust them."

"Then maybe you shouldn't," she shot back hotly.

Harry felt the rage boil inside him and when he spoke, his voice shook.

"It all fits, they know about the orphanage, about the locket, about Voldemort. I need to know what they know, I'm lost without Dumbledore, and I can't sit around waiting for him to come after me."

A loud crack came from overhead as a branch broke from the tree they had been sitting under. The huge branch fell directly between them, narrowly missing Hermione's head. She screamed and glared up at him.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, I didn't mean to. I just lost control of my magic," he said, concerned and pleading.

Mrs. Weasley called them to dinner, and Harry bolted back to the house.

"Where are Fred and George?" Ron asked as they sat down.

"They spend all their time at the joke shop; their business is booming. Mostly owl deliveries..." Mrs. Weasley answered, breaking off to glance at her clock.

All nine hands were still stuck on 'Mortal Peril,' but jumped around to 'Work', 'Home', and 'Traveling'.

Harry choked down his hot stew and asked, "They're living in Diagon Alley? Still? They must be the only shop still open. Tell them to be careful, I had a dream just last night that they were raided and captured by Voldemort."

Mrs. Weasley raced to the fireplace, and for some reason Harry began to laugh softly.

"That's not funny," Ginny scolded. "Mum's very sensitive."

Harry looked at her, confused, but said, "It's true though; I did dream they were raided by Death Eaters."

"Well, what's so funny about that?"

She looked as though she would like nothing more than to smack him, and he flushed.

"I don't know, it's not, I mean, I know it's not funny," Harry stammered as an odd, sick look came about his face. "I think I need to lie down."

He headed up the stairs to his room and locked the door. He threw himself on the bed, feeling guilty about his outburst.

"But really, why should I feel guilty?" came a voice from the back of his mind. "They didn't complain when I saved them, did they?"

He jumped up and paced the room, reading the note once more.

"I can't stay here," he said aloud.

He grabbed his trunk and Hedwig before stomping back down the stairs. He stopped at the door and turned to face his friends.

"I'll be at the Dursleys', just like I promised Dumbledore."

His hand again gripped the fake Horcrux as he heaved his trunk out the door.

"Leaving so soon, Harry?" Bill asked, having just apparated from work.

"Yes, I promised Dumbledore I'd go to my aunt's. I'll try to make it back for the wedding."

"Harry, I feel obligated to give you some advice: Don't trust ANYONE. If someone seems to be acting oddly, send dad an owl immediately. It seems that the members of the Order who have been guarding your aunt's house have lost one of the family. Your uncle left late one night and has yet to return."

Harry looked shocked, but nodded and said, "Thanks, Bill, I will owl you if anything is wrong."

He stuck out his wand arm to summon the Knight Bus. The purple, triple-decker appeared with a loud bang and he was surprised to hear a familiar voice.

"Hello 'Arry!"

Harry smiled at the conductor of the Knight Bus and replied, "Stan? They finally let you out of Azkaban?"

Stan smiled as he loaded his trunk. "Thanks to you 'Arry. They said that you convinced the Minister o' my innocence. How can I ever repay you?"

"You can't, ever," Harry answered, climbing onto the overcrowded Knight Bus. He sat on the only empty bed and paid the fare.

"It's about a two hour wait, dependin' on where you're headin'."

"Surrey," Harry answered.

Stan jotted it down, then headed back to the front to collect more passengers.

Harry was very aware of the stares from every direction and lay down, and covering himself with the blanket, tired of all the attention.

His mind raced; he needed a plan. The first thing he would do is find whoever sent him the owl. He yawned and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

He woke over an hour later when he almost slid right off the bed as the bus stopped abruptly. He pulled down the covers to see the first floor was nearly empty. He decided to go back to sleep, knowing Stan would wake him when they came to his stop. He had just closed his eyes when he heard his name.

"...Potter, I don't believe it."