A Slytherin in Gryffindor Clothing

Chapter 3 -

"We're going to what?" Harry said, disbelieving what he'd just heard.

"Spy on Dumbledore," Draco replied calmly, while rummaging through Harry's trunk in the Slytherin dormitory. "Spy on all the staff, actually. Now where is that invisibility cloak of yours?"

Harry reached past Draco, found the cloak, and handed it to him. Draco immediately examined it with unholy glee. Pushing a hand under it, he watched in fascination as his hand seemed to vanish.

"I don't know why we have to get involved."

"Who else is there? Some Ravenclaw? A Hufflepuff? Please." Draco swirled the cloak around. "Oh, the things I could have done with this. Did you ever sneak into the girls' showers?"

"No. Why does anyone have to be involved? I'm sure the adults are seeing to it. Maybe even the Ministry."

"The Ministry couldn't see to it, whatever it is, even if it came with an instruction booklet." A devilish grin lit Draco's face. "Did you ever sneak into the boys' showers?"

"No. Dumbledore."

"You sneaked into Dumbledore's shower? You are one sick puppy, Potter."

"No! I meant Dumbledore could handle this. He's supposed to be a powerful wizard."

"I've never really seen him do much of anything. Do you suppose Granger and Weasley should come with us?" Draco looked at the cloak critically. "It's pretty small, much too small for four people."

"Could you put the cloak down for a minute and pay attention?" Harry said, exasperated.

Carefully, Draco draped the cloak on a chair and faced Harry. Once Harry had his attention, however, he seemed to be at a loss of words. He began to pace.

"You're getting us involved in something that's dangerous, Draco. I...I didn't sign up for this."

Draco knew quite a bit about Harry from his world. Thanks to Ginny Weasley spouting off about her rescue, he knew all about the Chamber of Secrets. He'd been in the audience when Harry had portkeyed at the end of the Triwizard Tournament. His father's imprisonment after the debacle at the Ministry had made all the papers. There had been other doings, some as far back as when they were eleven, which hinted that Harry had fought against Lord Voldemort year after year. He was The Boy Who Lived, after all.

Draco had just never truly realised before that Harry had never had a choice.

"You're right," Draco said quietly. "You didn't volunteer." Picking up the cloak, Draco looked at Harry. "Do you mind if I borrow this...just for the spying, not for anything else?"

Harry nodded. Clutching the cloak in his arms, Draco left Harry's dorm, exited the Slytherin rooms, and headed toward Gryffindor.

Draco was about to do something stupidly brave. He hadn't known that Gryffindor values were contagious.

He only hoped that if he started liking red and gold, someone would kill him and put him out of his misery.

* * *

Draco stood in the corridor near the staff room, waiting for someone to open the door so that he could sneak inside.

He'd considered telling Granger and Weasley about spying, but had decided against it. They probably would've wanted to come with him and there was no possible way for three to fit under the cloak. Two would be fairly tight. He doubted if one of them would agree to do anything without the other, so going alone was the only option.

After a quick detour through Hufflepuff territory, where he charmed the badger over the fireplace to say 'Justin Flinches Fetchingly', Draco had headed toward the staff room to start his career in espionage after deciding that Dumbledore's office would probably be too difficult to invade.

Hearing footsteps hurrying down the hall, he flattened himself against the wall and hoped whoever it was, would open the staff room door wide. When Potter came charging around the corner, holding a piece of paper in his hand, Draco was stunned.

"Malfoy?" Harry whispered, glancing around.

Draco watched as Harry consulted the paper in his hand, and then looked up, straight at him.

"Malfoy?" Harry walked towards him. When he came close, Draco reached out, grabbed him, and pulled him under the cloak.

"How did you find me?" Draco hissed in Harry's ear. He'd been right. It was a tight fit with just two under the cloak. Even pressed against Harry's chest, he wasn't sure if they were entirely covered.

"I used this," Harry said, holding out the paper and Draco took it from him. "It used to be my father's. Sirius, my godfather, tracked it down and gave it to me as a gift when I started at Hogwarts."

It appeared to be a map of the school, but something wasn't right.

"What are these markings here?" Draco asked, pointing at them.

"Those are secret passages. And see, each dot represents a person so that you know where they are. That's how I found you."

Harry Potter had a map. A map that showed secret passages. A map that showed where everyone was.

Draco smacked Harry in the head.

"Ow! Why did you hit me?"

"On general principle."

Harry rubbed his head and scowled. "How come your general principles keep telling you to hit me?"

Draco ignored him, studying the map for a moment. It looked as if a few professors and Dumbledore were inside the room and he wondered if there was a meeting in progress. Then the movement of a dot grabbed his attention.

"Quiet. Snape's heading this way."

Draco quickly shoved the map in a pocket, then, in silence, watched Snape approach the staff room. As the Professor entered, Harry shot out a hand to catch the door open. Quickly, the two students slipped through and edged along the wall to the corner of the room.

The room was large, with dark paneling and wooden chairs. A large wardrobe for robes stood against one wall. None of the chairs matched, and Draco decided that with all the wizarding skills at hand, they still hadn't been able to come up with a tasteful decorating spell.

The Headmaster was there, along with McGonagall, Sprout, and Waxington. Dumbledore was drinking tea with a plateful of pastries on the table beside him. He smiled at Snape, who greeted him with barely a nod as he sat in the chair next to McGonagall.

"I do believe that everyone who needs to be here has finally arrived."

Dumbledore's eyes flickered to the corner where Draco and Harry stood and Draco was sure they were about to be discovered. He pressed back further so that Harry was sandwiched between his body and the wall. They were so close under the cloak that Harry's breath spilled over his ear and cheek and Draco could feel Harry's chest against his back.

After a moment, Dumbledore glanced away. "Severus, how is your research proceeding?"

"Poorly. I have found out nothing that we did not already know."

"But are we sure about this?" Professor Sprout asked. "It's quite possible that we're panicking about something that won't occur."

"All the signs are there." Snape rubbed his forehead with a hand as if trying to erase a headache. "It would be foolish to ignore them. Damn Lucius for not being a few seconds faster."

At his father's name, Draco sucked in a breath. Harry put a hand on his arm in an unnecessary effort to restrain any movement.

"Now, Severus, the man died saving the Wizarding World. One should not berate his memory due to a lack of timing." Dumbledore took a sip of his tea, and then looked at Snape. "Have you had any success in creating a potion that might mask the parentage of the imbiber?"

"None. I was certain that a modified form of the Polyjuice Potion might work, but have been unable to discover the correct formula. If only I had more time."

"The Ministry might be able to--" began Professor Waxington, but Snape interrupted her.

"Those imbeciles at the Ministry refuse to believe that there is even a threat. They still deny that Voldemort let loose such a monstrous curse, much less that the curse is about to be fulfilled. By the time they realize the extent of their incompetence, it will be far too late for them to do anything against the Progiscor."

As the professors began to discuss the failings of the Ministry and various public officials, Draco found himself concentrating less on the conversation before him and more on the body against his. Harry's hand was still on his arm, but now the fingers were moving, feeling almost like a caress.

The air under the cloak was becoming much too warm to be comfortable, he decided. That had to be the explanation for why he seemed to be having difficulty breathing.

Once again, Draco strained to pay attention to what the professors were saying. The consensus seemed to be that the Ministry, whether by intention or ignorance, would be of no help.

"Then we must do our best to insure that the children remain safe," McGonagall said. "The wards will hold, won't they, Albus?"

"For a time. But while Hogwarts holds the children of Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Weasley, Potter, Longbottom, and others, the Progiscor will be constantly at the walls.

With requests that Severus continue looking into potions while the others were to begin to quietly strengthen the wards, Dumbledore ended the meeting. Discouraged, the professors filed out, until only Snape and Dumbledore remained.

"Severus, the last time we talked of the other significant concern, I came away worried that you were about to act rashly."

"Something had to be done. Our previous effort obviously failed. Years ago, you stood aside and did nothing, resulting in catastrophe. I was not willing for that to happen again."

"You have no faith in people, my dear friend." Dumbledore shook his head sadly.

"Which has been entirely justified by experience."

Draco wasn't sure what they were talking about. He turned his head slightly so that he could see if Harry seemed to know. He was surprised to see Harry staring at Professor Snape with a deep intensity. Anger swept through Draco. He was the one who should be the focus of that attention, not Snape. A part of him wanted to scream 'Mine, mine, mine!'

With possessiveness, he shifted a bit, and then ground his buttocks against Harry's crotch.

A small gasp escaped from Harry's lips.

Smiling, Draco ground back again, and was met this time by a growing hardness.

His hands reached back and slid up and down Harry's hips, before traveling farther to the curve of his arse.

From what seemed like far away, he could hear Dumbledore and Snape still talking as he pulled Harry even closer. Draco felt tentative fingers creep across his abdomen and he rewarded the initiative by grinding again. He tilted his head back until it fell on the shoulder behind him. When he felt Potter's mouth on his neck, he let out a low moan.

Damn.

Dumbledore and Snape's conversation halted and they were now looking directly at the corner where Draco and Harry were frozen in their hiding place beneath the cloak.

Snape was frowning, his eyes narrow. Dumbledore, however, was smiling.

"I do believe that Peeves might be trying to play a trick on us." Dumbledore took Snape by the arm and began to steer him toward the door. "Come now, let's be off and spoil whatever surprise he might have in store for us."

Snape turned toward Headmaster. "Before we leave, I must first know if you are going to interfere with my plans."

"I won't intervene," Dumbledore replied, shaking his head. "But I don't believe any action on your part will be necessary. I believe the situation is resolving even as we speak."

"I highly doubt that. The child needs guidance."

"Or a good friend."

Letting out a snort, Snape opened the door to leave. "Which is exceedingly unlikely when one considers the company the boy is keeping."

The door closed firmly behind the pair, and Draco and Harry were alone in the staff room.

Draco pulled off the cloak and took a breath of the cooler air. "I was beginning to think they were going to yammer all night." Turning toward Harry, he was surprised by the expression of hurt on his face. "What's wrong?"

Harry backed away. "I need to go."

"Go? I was hoping that we could maybe spend some time together." Draco reached out and stroked his fingers along Harry's arm.

Harry flinched back. "Don't touch me. Just...just leave me alone."

Spinning away, Harry yanked the door open and raced out.

"Harry?" Draco watched the boy turn the corner and disappear.

A heaviness filled Draco as he rolled the invisibility cloak into a ball and stomped back toward the Gryffindor rooms.

Potter had rejected him. Again.

* * *

"Now you're sure it was a Progiscor?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry and Draco seated on the other side of the library table.

"For the third time, yes." Draco sneaked a peek at Harry, who seemed intent on memorising the wood grain of the table.

That morning, he'd given Hermione and Ron a rough outline of what had been going on, the conversation with Globby, and the spying on Snape and Dumbledore. He could tell that they were upset that he hadn't told them earlier and more than a little bothered that he'd been with Harry Potter instead of them.

A meeting in the library after dinner had been set up. When he'd entered the Potions classroom a little later, he'd tried to pass the information about the meeting to Potter. However, when he'd edged up close and moved to whisper in his ear, Harry had moved away. Draco would've made another effort, but Snape had snarled for him to get to his seat, and then watched him carefully for the rest of the period.

Standing in the corridor after class, he'd waited for Potter to emerge, which he did, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. The two boys were on each side of Harry, more bodyguards than friends. Draco intercepted them.

"Move or we'll make you move, Malfoy," Goyle threatened.

"I just need to speak to Potter for a moment."

Crabbe glared at him. "Don't think he wants to talk to you."

"Potter...Harry, it's important."

Harry raised his eyes to look at Draco. "Fine, go ahead."

Draco looked pointedly at Crabbe and Goyle "It's private."

"Whatever you have to say can be said in front of my friends." Harry crossed his arms and waited.

Draco made his voice as low and seductive as possible. "Remember the other night. That conversation we had during dinner together. I've been thinking about it...a lot."

Crabbe and Goyle looked as if they'd been punched in the stomach while Draco smiled with false shyness.

"Then what we did last night, it meant so much to me. But it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough. I need to see you again. Tonight. After dinner, at that table in the library where we...well, I'm sure you remember."

"Um...maybe Crabbe and I should leave you two alone," Goyle stammered.

"Oh, the two of you can join us tonight, if you wish. Hermione and Weasley will be attending, as well." Draco smiled as Crabbe and Goyle both took a couple of steps away from him. Harry, however, just gave him a look of disgust.

"We'll be there," Harry told him.

"Good." Draco turned his back on the trio and headed toward his next class. He heard Goyle talking as he left.

"Harry, did we just get invited to an orgy?"

Goyle and Crabbe were now seated at the table on the other side of Harry, both wearing a vague look of disappointment.

"Never heard of a Progiscor," muttered Crabbe.

"Bet you've never heard of a bath, either," Ron said.

"Ron, don't," Hermione scolded.

"It's just that I don't even know why the two of them are even here."

"They're friends," Draco and Harry said simultaneously, and then turned to look at each other.

"I mean, they're friends of Potter's," Draco amended hastily. "Besides, they were named as being in danger. It's their right. In fact, the only one named who isn't here is Longbottom, while Granger wasn't mentioned at all. I'd suggest we do a switch but I doubt we'll have a dire need for exploding cauldrons."

"The point is, " said Hermione, trying desperately to get back on topic, "that no one has heard of a Progiscor. I've already spent most of this afternoon researching it and have found absolutely nothing."

"Have you looked in the Restricted Section?" ventured Harry quietly.

Hermione frowned. "We're not allowed in there. That's why it's called restricted."

Draco cocked his head to one side as he studied her. "Aren't you Head Girl? Surely you can walk in and look around a bit."

"If I could do that, Draco, then by the same logic, as Head Boy, you could do it, too."

Straightening up in his seat so suddenly that he almost lost his balance, Draco yelped, "I'm Head Boy? Thought it was Weasley."

Ron's eyes opened wide, but Draco ignored it.

"Why didn't someone tell me? To think that I could've been lording it over everyone, ordering them to do my bidding."

"And that's so different from the way you normally act?" Harry commented.

"No, but I could've done it with authority. Why do I not have my own room? And my Head Boy badge. Where is my badge?"

Ron cleared his throat. "You said you wanted to stay with your friends and that the badge seemed pretentious."

"But...pretentious is good." Shaking his head, Draco said in disgust, "I truly was a Gryffindor idiot."

Crabbe, Goyle, and Potter murmured their assent to that statement, while Granger and Weasley looked mildly offended.

"Well, if there is information in the Restricted Section on the Progiscor, then how do you suppose I retrieve it?" Hermione asked. "It's not as if I can just walk in."

"You could use my invisibility cloak," Harry offered.

"Maybe you could just walk in," said Draco slowly. "All of you could, if you had a proper diversion."

Draco turned to Harry.

"Think you're ready to roll about on the floor in combat with me, Potter?"

* * *

In less than an hour, Draco had retrieved the invisibility cloak for Hermione to use, in case the diversion didn't work. The others would be on their own.

Hermione had instructed Crabbe, Goyle, and Ron on where to search and the type of books that might be most helpful. The four of them edged closer to the Restricted Section, doing their best to look innocent, which was nigh impossible for Crabbe and Goyle to pull off, while Harry and Draco stationed themselves in the corridor directly outside the library.

"What are we supposed to fight about?" Harry whispered to Draco.

"Leave it to me. I do have some experience at this sort of thing."

In response, Harry gave Draco a funny look, but said nothing. The strange thing was, despite fighting with Potter for a good portion of his life, it felt a little awkward to Draco to be doing this.

Taking a deep breath, Draco pushed Harry against the wall.

"I thought Slytherins were supposed to be cunning. Didn't know the lot of you were cowards."

"I'm no coward." Harry returned the push much harder than Draco had expected. He also seemed much angrier than he should be.

A small crowd began to gather in the narrow corridor to watch, but Draco did his best to act as if he didn't notice.

"You were scared. You ran away. From me." Although this fight was supposed to be fake, Draco could feel real rage surge inside of him as he remembered Harry leaving him alone in the staff room. He clenched his fists in Potter's robes as he slammed his opponent against the wall for a second time. "What's the matter? Not tall, dark, or greasy enough for you?"

Harry's eyes narrowed.

"Shut up, Malfoy."

"Or maybe it's because I don't come with the requisite parental disapproval. You want to tell Daddy to shove it when you're getting it shoved up your--"

Harry's fist rammed into Draco's jaw.

Stumbling back, still holding onto Harry's robes, Draco lost his footing and fell to the floor, pulling Harry down with him. He rolled so that he was on top of a furious, struggling, Potter.

As they rolled, the growing crowd scrambled back to keep out of their way. Draco could hear Madame Pince's voice calling for the students to disperse, but doubted if anyone was listening to her. A few students were shouting encouragement as he and Potter threw punches at one another.

The only problem was that he was holding back his strength and Harry wasn't.

Frantically, Draco grabbed Potter's wrists and held them against the floor. Leaning down, he whispered, "Remember - it's not real."

"It's not real for anyone, is it?" Harry pulled his hands free and pushing Draco over to roll on top of him.

Draco shielded his face as Harry rained blows down.

"I won't be used and discarded," Harry snarled. "I won't. I'll show you. I'll show everyone."

Reaching out in desperation, Draco grabbed the back of Harry's head and pulled it close. He strained upwards until his mouth met Harry's.

Everything stopped.

Harry ceased struggling, stiff with shock.

The students cheering the fight subsided into the silence of disbelief.

The only thing that kept moving was Draco's mouth. He continued to kiss Harry for all he was worth. Pausing to breathe, he slid his mouth along a cheek to Harry's jaw, then back up to his lips. Taking the bottom lip in his teeth, he bit down, causing Harry's stupor to dispel and for him to pull back.

"Not planning on discarding you," Draco murmured. "Though the using part does sound interesting."

Releasing his hold on Harry's head, Draco let his hands glide down past shoulders and over chest muscle. "Might be up to being used myself."

A fierce expression spread over Harry's face before he swooped down and returned Draco's kiss.

The students surrounding them finally shuffled to the side enough to allow Madame Pince through.

"Boys, this corridor is no place to...." The librarian's voice trailed off for a moment as she saw what was happening before returning in a roar. "Cease and desist at once!"

Harry and Draco reluctantly broke apart and got to their feet.

"What is the meaning of this display?" Madame Pince demanded in a high-pitched tone.

"My apologies, " Draco said, trying and failing to hide a smirk. "Potter, clumsy git that he is, fell and I was helping by giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."

The librarian folded her arms across her chest and looked her sternest. "You don't need mouth-to-mouth for a fall."

"You don't?" Draco feigned surprise. "Suppose you don't need it for a sprain or headache, either. No wonder everyone wanted to be my partner during Muggle First Aid Class."

Madame Pince glared. "Go, both of you. Now." Turning toward the still milling students, she made shooing motions with her hands. "All of you, back to your studies."

Draco and Harry hurried away, bounding down staircases until they finally halted at the door to the Slytherin dormitory in the dungeon.

Avoiding Draco's eyes, Harry asked, "Do you think it worked? Do you suppose the others found what they needed?'

Giving Harry a full body scan, Draco smiled. "If they didn't we could always have another go at creating a diversion."

Harry flushed then glanced at Draco's face. "You might want to visit Pomfrey, for those," he said, indicating the bruises that were forming.

"I'll get Hermione to heal me."

"Oh. Well, I'd better be getting inside.

Moving closer, Draco gently placed a finger under Harry's chin and tilted his face up. "Fine, as long as you're not running away. You're not, are you, Potter?"

Giving Draco a small smile, Harry shook his head and turned away to give the current Slytherin password 'Victorious' then move inside the open entrance. Before he could take another step, Draco grabbed him by the robes, spun him around and planted a quick kiss on his mouth.

"See you tomorrow, Potter," Draco said as he pulled back.

A few minutes later, humming softly to himself, Draco stepped into the Gryffindor common room to be greeted by assorted cheers and catcalls from the students waiting inside. Unfortunately, he was only able to hex four of them before they disarmed him.

Draco really, really, hated being a Gryffindor.

* * *

Ron plopped down on the bed next to Draco. "Rise and shine."

Draco groaned and sat up. "Tell me, how bad is it?"

"How bad is...oh, right. Well, you and Potter do seem to be the main topic of conversation."

Putting his head in his hands, Draco groaned again.

"You have to look on the bright side," Ron said quietly, placing a hand on Draco's shoulder.

"I have become an object of speculation and I doubt if derision will be far behind. What bright side is there, Weasley?"

"Well...you kissed him and he kissed you back. Which means you both like each other and that's good, right? Also, as a diversion, it was excellent. We found what we needed."

Lowering his hands, Draco looked at the grinning freckled face near him. Weasley would never win any beauty pageants, but there was something that drew you to him. Perhaps it was that sense of solid reliability. Or it could be the almost endless supply of good will. Draco, personally, found good will to be quite annoying.

"Weasley," Draco asked quietly, "why are you friends with me?"

The grin slowly melted from Ron's face to be replaced by a serious expression.

"Never really thought about it. You were just there. Didn't hurt that you were the son of Lucius Malfoy and wanted to be my friend."

"So you're friends with me because of my father?"

Ron shook his head, wrinkling his forehead with thought. "No, that's not it. You're a good mate, have a good sense of humor, always ready to stand up for your friends, but there's more. I suppose it has something to do with me growing up in a big family. You're an only child, so you wouldn't know, but in a family, there's always something going on, some energy buzzing about. You get used to it. It feels right."

Raising his eyes so that they met Draco's, Ron continued. "You have that same energy. All by yourself."

Draco mouth curved up into a smile. "So you weren't friends with me because I was brave and good?"

"Worried about that a bit, actually. Seemed as if you were always trying to prove yourself worthy of being a hero's son. Now, it's like you don't give a fig. Like you've finally let yourself be who you truly are." Ron began to grin madly. "Too bad who you are is a git."

Draco punched Ron on the arm. Ron, good naturedly, punched Draco's arm in retaliation, and then stood up.

"Hope you're ready to go to breakfast, now, because I'm starved."

"Go ahead. I'll be down in a minute."

As Ron turned away, Draco spoke quietly. "Thanks, Ron."

Ron nodded and exited the room, leaving Draco to get ready for the day ahead.

* * *

It was late that night when Draco opened the door to the common room and let Potter, Crabbe, and Goyle enter. He'd tried to ask Hermione several times throughout the day what she'd found out, but had been continuously shushed and told "later." This lack of information irritated him immensely.

It hadn't helped that he and Potter had been the focus of most eyes wherever they went. Fortunately, today was not one where they attended classes together, or Draco was sure it would've been worse. He certainly didn't want to think what Snape would do during the next Potions session.

The only real incident had occurred at breakfast when a Ravenclaw had begun a speech concerning the uncontrollable impulses and hormones of teenage boys. When a bowl of porridge was magically dumped over his head, Draco didn't even pretend innocence.

Draco had stood up and declared that he was obviously just a victim of uncontrollable impulses and he was quite worried because some of those impulses were murderous. When wary glances were sent his way, he sat down, pleased. Consequently, there were no similar incidents during lunch or dinner.

As the Slytherin trio entered, they glanced around the Gryffindor common room, no doubt noting differences between it and their own, before finding places to sit. Although Draco had made sure that there was an empty place on the couch between him and Hermione, Harry ignored it, to sit in a chair. Crabbe ended up sitting there, instead.

Perhaps there would be time to talk with Harry afterwards, Draco mused. And if the talking turned to snogging, well, that wouldn't be bad, either.

In the meantime, Draco kept his eyes focused on Hermione, who had a book open on her lap and was busy recounting the search through the Restricted Section.

"...and so Ron quickly closed the book that had been shrieking and we were absolutely positive we were about to be discovered, but it turned out that no one was paying any attention because of Draco and Harry. Then Vincent found this marvelous book."

Hermione turned and patted Crabbe's arm proudly. If Crabbe had been a dog, Draco thought, his tail would've been wagging a mile a minute as he ate up the attention. Ron, on the other hand, didn't appear to be as thrilled. Draco spoke up in an effort to diffuse the situation.

"I assume that this book has information concerning the Progiscor."

"Yes, and it really is extremely fascinating. It seems that three thousand years ago there was a powerful--"

"Right. Cut to the chase, Granger. What is it?"

"What it is, is a powerful entity created by a very specific curse. Although created by the curse, it can only come into existence when the planets and moon are aligned in an exact way." Hermione glanced down, consulting the book for a moment before continuing. "It appears at the point where it was called. In this case, that's the field outside of Hogsmeade where the final battle was fought. The Progiscor must fulfill the requirements of the curse before it can roam freely, causing destruction and terror."

"And what are the requirements of the curse?" Draco leaned forward, so that he could see past Crabbe to Hermione's face as she answered.

Hermione's voice lost some of its confidence, becoming slightly shaky. "It's a curse of vengeance."

"And..." Draco prodded.

"To kill the offspring of the enemies of the one who called it."

The room was silent as that information was absorbed. Voldemort had called it. Except for Granger, whose parents were Muggles, all of them were targets because all of their parents had been Lord Voldemort's enemies at some point. They weren't even the only ones, Patil, Brown, Boot; the list was impossibly long.

Draco studied his companions. Ron had paled, his freckles showing starkly on his face as he contemplated the annihilation of his brothers and sisters. Goyle seemed as if he was still taking in the information. Crabbe, next to him, was whimpering slightly, while Harry...Harry was looking at him. He figured the entire group was teetering on the edge of panic. Swallowing, he squashed the inner voice that was currently running around and screaming, and assumed his most bored expression.

"You do have to admit, Voldemort did have a certain panache."

The others stared at him and he shrugged.

"It's almost poetic. His final gasp - causing pain, sorrow, and destruction years after his death. Reaching out from the grave to pull us into it." Draco's voice hardened. "Now, Granger, tell us how to kill it."

Hermione stared at the page and read slowly and quietly. "There are four ways to rid the world of a Progiscor. The first is for the one who called it to rescind the curse."

"That's out," said Ron, and the rest nodded.

"The second method is for there to be no offspring of the enemy alive when the Progiscor activates so the curse cannot be fulfilled."

"That one's out, as well," Harry stated.

"The third way is for a wizard, a witch, a centaur, a goblin, and an elf, to perform a rite of banishment at the exact site where the curse was uttered." Hermione lifted her head. "This one is doable...just not by us."

"I suppose it's too much to hope for that the fourth way is for us to hit it on the head and say, "Go away," drawled Draco.

Hermione shook her head. "The final method is for the Progiscor to be killed by the stare of a basilisk."

Draco began to laugh.

"He's gone loony again," whispered Ron.

Crabbe shifted slightly away from him while Goyle stared at Draco in fascination as he continued to laugh.

"He's hysterical," said Hermione.

Harry stood and moved towards Draco, then looked at Hermione questioningly. "Should I slap him out of it?"

That sobered Draco instantly. "There will be no slapping, or at least none done by anyone but me. I'm simply laughing because I was under the impression that getting rid of the Progiscor might be difficult."

The others looked at him in confusion.

"You see," Draco continued, "I just happen to know where there's a basilisk."

TBC