Taboo

Malfoy woke up several hours later, feeling refreshed.

"Ah, you're awake," said Madam Pomfrey, bringing over a tray with breakfast on it.

Malfoy tugged at the bandages wrapped around his cheat. 'When can I get these off?"

"Wait just a moment, dear," said Madam Pomfrey, chuckling at his eagerness.

He ate his breakfast as he waited, wrinkling his nose at the glass of orange juice. He wanted his morning coffee. He sighed and drank the juice anyway.

"You can go once I'm finished with these," said Madam Pomfrey, coming over to snip away the bandages. Once they were off, she examined his skin for scarring. Satisfied that there wasn't any, she let him leave. His clothes (which had been washed) were neatly folded at the foot of his bed. He put the on and pushed the curtains aside, then stepping outside into the hall. Suddenly, his mind clouded. What time was it? More importantly, what day was it? Luckily, he saw Crabbe and Goyle coming down the staircase.

"We were just coming to get you," rasped Crabbe.

"For what?" Try as he might, he couldn't remember. Had Potter's curse erased his memory too?

"It has been fixed," said Goyle, giving him a meaningful look.

"What--ohhh!" He finally remembered. "Then it's ready?" he asked excitedly.

"It's in the room," answered Goyle vaguely, as a bunch of Hufflepuffs passed, glaring at them suspiciously.

"Can I see it? Can we go up now?"

"I guess," grunted Crabbe, shrugging. They led Malfoy up to the seventh floor.

Malfoy held his breath in anticipation as he turned the handle to the Room of Requirement. He stepped inside and looked around at the mountain of junk. He exhaled, disappointed.

"Where is it?"

"It's in the back."

He followed Crabbe with Goyle trailing behind, dwarfed by their bulk. They wove through what seemed like miles and miles of shelves and random items, ranging from socks to books to broken Dark Detectors. Then Crabbed stopped so suddenly that Malfoy crashed into him. Malfoy muttered something rude.

"There," said Crabbe, pointing.

Malfoy craned his neck around Crabbe. He could only see part of it. He stepped around Crabbe, and there it was, in all its glory: the Vanishing Cabinet. It had been broken last year when the Weasley twins shoved Montague into it. But Malfoy had paid a handsome sum to have it repaired. He'd also purchased its pair. He stood before it, and he knew that this time his plan would not fail, could not fail.

He turned to his minions. "Did you test it?"

"Yeah," said Goyle slowly, remembering how dizzy he'd felt. He'd almost puked. "I got in and out in the back room. Then I got back in and it took me here again. Goyle was here to make sure nothing happened to me." He wiped away the beads of sweat forming on his brow. It took a lot of effort for him to articulate such a long speech.

Goyle had a lot of secrets. He liked to think of himself as the Ultimate Secret Keeper. (That was one of his secrets.) Everyone automatically assumed he was stupid because it took him so long to respond to things. In reality, he wasn't stupid, just a slow thinker. (That was one of his secrets too.) He knew that people probably wouldn't believe it if he said he wasn't dumb, so he didn't waste his brains trying to convince them. Let them think what they want.

His deepest, darkest secret was the he had three loves: his master, dessert, and a girl. His master made him feel important, even though he was a rather frightening man. He wasn't quite sure eh approved of what his master was doing, but then again, no one had asked for his opinion. He just did what he was told.

His other two loves were connected, in a way. The girl he fancied was Pansy Parkinson. He thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world, with her rose-red lips and shiny hair. He desperately wanted her to notice him, but she didn't even seem to know that he existed. He was by no means ugly, just a bit bulky. He thought that maybe if he lost a few pounds, she'd like him better. But he could never seem to keep off the weight. He'd skip meals and lose a couple pounds, but the next day, they'd put out something absolutely irresistible for dessert. It was already difficult enough to resist the creamy mashed potatoes and gravel and all the other delicious food. He just didn't have enough self-restraint to walk away from dessert as well. His favorite was apple pie with fresh cream. Whenever they served apple pie for dessert, the other Slytherins would pass it down to his end of the table. He would manage to grunt a "thank you," and then attack the dish with gusto. When he finished, he'd wipe his mouth on a napkin and lean back contentedly. That is, until he remembered that he was on a diet. That was when the guilt hit.

But anyway, it didn't really matter how much weight he lost. He could never catch her ye. She'd belonged to Draco and then Blaise, both exceptional examples of the male species. But now she belonged to nobody, soon to become somebody. As hopeless as it seemed, Goyle wanted to be that somebody.

"Um, hello?" Malfoy's impatient voice cut through his thoughts. He'd been babbling enthusiastically about the plan (or The Plan, as Goyle thought of it) the whole time Goyle was daydreaming. "Were you even listening to me? You looked like you were staring off into space."

"You were talking about..." Goyle frantically searched his mind. "Oh yeah, the plan."

But Malfoy had already turned away, and was now telling them about how Dumbledore frequently left the castle. His mind wandered off again, and he envisioned himself on a sunny, tropical island, with Pansy lounging beside him on a beach towel.

"Cocktail?" he offered the imaginary Pansy.

"Goyle!" He quickly lowered his hand.

Oops. Must pay attention now...

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Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all in the common room, furiously working on homework and studying for exams. Ginny noticed Ron frequently look up at Hermione, as if he wanted to say something to her. Wanting to give them some privacy, she announced that she needed to go to the library.

"Why do you need to go to the library?" asked Harry.

"I need you to come with me," said Ginny, grabbing his wrist. Ron gave his sister a grateful look.

Once they were gone, he cleared his throat. Hermione didn't look up. He stood and approached the table where she was working.

"Hermione?'

"What?" she snapped, still not looking at him.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said nervously.

"Well, you're already doing that, aren't you?" she said rudely.

"Why are you being like this?"

"Well," she said sardonically, "you may recall that the last time we had a conversation, you clearly stated that you didn't want to be friends anymore."

"I didn't mean that, Hermione."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I lost my temper that day. I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything I said." He paused awkwardly. "I still want to be friends, Hermione. I mean, I don't know if you still want to, but I-I'll always be here for you." He gulped, waiting for her response.

"That's very touching, Ron," she said, trying to sound indifferent. But on the inside, she felt her defense weakening. "But don't you think you should be saying this to Lavender instead?"

"No," said Ron bluntly. "No, I don't. I'm saying this to you, and I'm telling you that no matter what happens--if Malfoy dumps you or something--you have me to come back to."

"He's not going to dump me," she said defiantly.

"He might," said Ron.

"You want him to break up with me, don't you?" she said accusingly.

"Well, yes," admitted Ron. "But not because I hate him--because I love you." There He had finally said it. Now it seemed like he couldn't stop. "I've always loved you. I know I haven't always been nice to you, and I've said things that hurt you, but you've got to forgive me. Forget everything else I've ever said. Just know that I love you."

She felt the expression of indifference melting away from her face. She set down her quill and stood up. "I thought that you really hated me," she said, her eyes moist.

"I never did."

"I was devastated the night you told me you wanted to end our friendship."

"It almost killed me to say it, but I said it anyway, just to spite you."

She crossed the room and threw her arms around his neck. "I missed you," she said softly.

"I missed you too," he said, burying his face in her hair. What he would give to hold her like this forever. Reluctantly, he let her go. "Let me know when you two break up," he joked.

"You'll be the first to know," she promised, laughing.

"Thanks," said Ron, grinning. "Oh, by the way, I need help with this essay. Snape said two rolls of parchment, but I've only got one and a quarter, even though I wrote really big."

"Oh, Ron," she said, rolling her eyes. "Hand it over."

He sat across from her and happily chatted away as she edited and added sentences. This was how it was meant to be.

------------------------

Malfoy could hardly contain himself during Potions the next day. He was so jittery that he kept knocking things over.

"What's the matter you today?" asked Hermione, wiping up the latest spill.

"Nothing," he said innocently.

"If it's nothing, then why are you being so clumsy?"

"I'm just happy," he said, shrugging.

"What about?"

He didn't answer her and stirred his cauldron. Hermione caught Ron looking over and smiled at him.

"You've made up, then?" said Harry, looking to see who Ron was smiling at.

"What? Oh, yeah." He dropped a handful of crushed beetles into his cauldron. "We had a talk last night."

"I guessed as much after Ginny dragged me into the library." They laughed.

"It's not so bad having her as a sister."

After Professor Slughorn dismissed them, Malfoy filed out with the rest of the class, giddy with anticipation. He eagerly climbed up to the seventh floor where Crabbe and Goyle were already waiting. He didn't need them to lead this time; he'd memorized the exact spot where the cabinet stood.

"I'm going to test it," he said Crabbe and Goyle. "I should be back in five minutes or so."

He approached the cabinet, pulsing with adrenaline. He stepped inside and shut the door, encasing himself in darkness. He felt himself spinning. A few seconds later, he clambered out, staggering with dizziness. He was inside the back room at Borgin and Burkes.

"Amazing," he breathed, looking around at the dusty boxes covered in cobwebs.

"It works?" said a voice behind him. He whirled around, drawing his wand. A masked man stood before him. "It is only me," said the man, removing his mask. Malfoy relaxed.

"How long have you been waiting here?"

"Perhaps ten minutes." The man shrugged. "I received your owl last night. You are sure this will work?"

"I have word that he will be leaving the castle tonight," said Malfoy reassuringly.

"From a reliable source?"

"Very reliable." He sneezed. "Go, alert the others. Be here at seven o'clock sharp. I'll be waiting."

"Very good." The man pulled the mask over his face and Disapparated.

Malfoy opened the cabinet doors and got in again. He heard the roaring in his ears as he passed through the vortex. Crabbe and Goyle looked at him expectantly as he brushed the dust off his robes.

"I've alerted the others," said Malfoy. "The headmaster is leaving the castle tonight. That is when we strike."

Crabbed and Goyle nodded.

"We will meet here at seven o'clock for preparations," continued Malfoy. "Understand?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

"You can go now," he said, waving them away. They trudged away obediently. Malfoy sat cross-legged in front of the cabinet, gazing at it reverently. "I will not fail this time," he said aloud. "I will make this plan work, and then no one can ever say that I'm useless again."

--------------------------

"Harry, I'm supposed to give this to you," said Katie Bell, handing him a note.

"Thanks, Katie," he said, unfolding it. "Blimey! It's from Dumbledore..." He quickly scanned it.

"What's it say?" Hermione and Ron both tried to read over his shoulder.

"He wants me there now," said Harry.

"Do you think he's found--?"

"Maybe," said Harry excitedly. "I'm going to go grab the Prince's book on the way. I'll meet you back here later."

He hurriedly bounded to the Room of Requirement. He paced in front of the door and pushed it open. The room was pitch black, and he could hear hushed voices talking excitedly.

"Who's in here?" called Harry. The voices fell silent, and he felt himself being thrown from the room. He landed hard on the marble floor. The door had disappeared, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not persuade it to open again. He decided not to waste his time and sprinted to Dumbledore's office.

"Professor," panted Harry, once he was inside the office. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I did, Harry." He raised his eyebrows. "But I daresay you are in much more of a rush to see me."

"I was just inside the Room of Requirement," said Harry. "I heard voices and then someone threw me out."

"Indeed," said Dumbledore, assessing him calmly.

"Professor, I think it was Malfoy," he blurted. "He's been planning something, and whatever it is, he's going to do it tonight."

"I have found another Horcrux," said Dumbledore, acting as if he had not heard Harry's comment.

"I--you have?"

"I believe so," said Dumbledore, clasping his hands together. "Do you wish to come with me?"

"Come--come with you?" repeated Harry stupidly.

"You don't want to?"

"No--no, I mean, of course I do," said Harry breathlessly.

"Then you must agree to one condition: you must obey any command that I give you."

"Yes, of course, Professor."

"If I tell you to run away or to go back, you will obey me?"

"Yes, Professor."

"And if I tell you to save yourself and leave me?" he asked quietly. "Will you obey?"

"I--"

"Harry?"

He looked into the headmaster's blue eyes, which were blazing more brightly than ever.

"Yes, Professor."

"Very well, Harry. Then I would like you to bring your Invisibility Cloak and meet me here in ten minutes."