The Prince Returns

Chapter Twenty-Five

By the time Regan, Harry, and Hermione made it back to the Gryffindor Tower, it was getting late. However, the Halloween party in the common room was going strong. They entered the common room to noise and confusion. The room was filled with students. There were several different games of Exploding Snap going on. Food and drinks covered the tables and even the floor. Hermione noticed with some satisfaction that several Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes were being used. Good for Fred and George. Hermione did a brief, habitual glance of the room for red hair. She found Ginny talking to some sixth-year that she did not know. Then she found Ron. He was in the corner of the common room that had obviously been designated for snogging sessions. He and Lavender were sitting on a sofa, permanently connected at the mouth. Hermione tried not to gag. "I'm going to bed. It's late," she said, practically yelling over the noise.

"Me too," Regan said. Harry glanced over at Ron.

"Are we telling him about the Amulet?" he asked.

"Why?" Regan demanded. Hermione gave her a warning look.

"Of course, Harry. Tell him," she said and headed for the stairs. Regan followed her. Harry went over to Ron, who detached him from Lavender upon seeing his friend.

"Surely a teacher will stop that nonsense," Hermione said as they made their way up the stairs.

"You're Head Girl. Can't you do something?" Regan replied. Hermione shrugged and entered their room. The girls changed clothes and got into bed.

"I really don't want to be awake whenever Lavender and Parvati come back," Hermione said, sinking into her pillow.

"I agree," Regan mumbled. Hermione looked at the other girl's bed. She could barely make out her shape in the darkness, but Hermione marveled at her ability for sleep. It did not take much for her to slip into oblivion.

"Are you going to tell your father?" Hermione asked. She wasn't ready to go to sleep. Her brain was still processing too much.

"What?" Regan muttered, already sounding sleepy.

"About the Amulet. are you going to tell him?"

"Yes. You know, I'm going to have to tell Draco about it, if you want those ingredients."

"He probably already knows. Why else would he give me the books?" Hermione asked.

"True. I'll tell Dad in the morning, then I'll give Draco the list of ingredients we need."

"Do you think Lucius will send them?"

"Probably. We'll see."

****

"What? Malfoy apologized?" Ron demanded. Harry sighed. He had spent the last hour in their empty bedroom, explaining the past day to Ron. Even after all the Amulet of Rah information, Ron focused on Malfoy's attempt at being human.

"Yes. Were you listening?"

"Yeah. But he was apologizing?"

"Yes, Ron."

"All of this information about the Amulet, Hermione got it from Malfoy's books?"

"Yes. I told you that-"

"I know, Harry, but listen to yourself. All of this comes from Malfoy's books. Even the potion. The potion that you are going to make. The potion that Richard, Regan, and apparently even Braydon are going to willingly take came from a book that a Malfoy gave Hermione. Willingly gave Hermione."

"So?" Harry said, frustrated. Didn't Ron understand?

"So? So maybe the book is not exactly honest. Maybe Malfoy charmed the book. Maybe he replaced the potion with another potion. A potion that could cause harm. A potion that maybe even gives Voldemort the soul of Rah, if all of that was true, which it might not be. It came from Malfoy's books, remember?"

"Oh," Harry said lamely. "But Hermione and Regan seem to trust it..."

"Talk to them. Explain to him that, while Malfoy may be cute, he certainly isn't a saint. Maybe remind them that he is Draco Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed.

"You think Malfoy is cute?" Harry asked, trying to suppress his laughter.

"That's not the point Harry," Ron said with indignation.

"Snape is going to create the potion because Hermione and Regan can't. He will be able to recognize what it truly is."

"Now we're trusting Snape and Malfoy?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows. Harry was silent.

"Yes, Ron, we are. This is a war, remember? I'd rather have Snape and Draco on our side than on the other one," he said.

"It's Draco now?" Ron demanded.

"Yes, Ron, it is Draco now."

****

Richard Prince wished that they had stayed in New York. When Braydon first went to Voldemort nearly a year ago, Richard had considered the notion that things would have been different if they had stayed in New York. When Laura died, he knew that things would have been better in New York. Over the past several months, such ideas had turned to wishing, to strong yearning for things to be different. That Halloween night, he stayed in his office long after Halloween had left and the first day of November had taken its place. He was still in his office when the sun rose. Though the night, he wondered where they had gone wrong. Had it happened when Braydon was young? Had they made a mistake leaving New York? Or should they have stayed in England, never moving to New York? Richard had no answers and he was used to having answers.

By the time the new sunlight filtered through his windows, Richard gave up on any sleep. He thought about going to Snape for a potion. Something to give him some energy, make up for sleep lost. Maybe a potion that would make him a little more cheerful. He was about to leave his office when he heard a pecking noise coming from his window. He turned to see a large black owl at his window, demanding entry. He sighed. He knew that owl. He went to the window and let the owl in. The owl went to his desk and stuck its leg out, waiting. Richard recognized the Malfoy seal on the letter and sighed.

He went to the owl and untied the letter-he noticed with distaste that the ribbon was green and silver. Malfoy was always a true Slytherin. Of course, Richard had once been a Slytherin as well. Richard opened the letter. Though he approached the letter and its contents with caution, somewhere in the back of his mind he had been expecting something like this.

Richard,

Though I would like for this letter to remain friendly, I have urgent business to attend to. I shall begin by thanking you for raising such a remarkable young man. Braydon has truly been of great use and help. I hope that my own son will be able to assist our cause in a similar way.

As I am sure that you know, the Dark Lord has obtained the Amulet of Rah. Last night, there was a great ceremony. However, it did not go as planned. It appears that there is so much more to the Amulet than history has led us to believe. So now I ask you, as a friend, please send me all the information you have on the Amulet. My own house-elves are now searching my library, but to no avail. I know that you also have an extensive literary collection. Or maybe your brilliant daughter and her friends would have some idea.

As a father, I would think that you would want your son to succeed. After all, the Amulet was Braydon's task. If Voldemort cannot find the information he needs, I would be afraid that he would have to unleash his frustrations on poor young Braydon. Voldemort was very upset with the Amulet's resistance. He will soon want actions to be taken.

For the time being, Braydon is in target practice. Yes, I wrote that correctly. I have hired several capable gunsmen to train Braydon. Your son's aim is not acceptable. Hopefully, with the right teaching, Braydon will not miss next time he uses a weapon.

Lucius Malfoy

Richard laughed a mirthless laugh after finishing the letter. He was truly astounded by Malfoy's audacity and high opinion of himself. To write such a letter certainly took courage. Or maybe Malfoy was too stupid to know better. Richard reread the letter. He knew little about the Amulet. He also knew that he had limited reading material on the Amulet. What little he had Braydon had taken. Hogwarts had no information on the Amulet. At least, no information that Voldemort would not already have. Richard was surprised that Lucius Malfoy would need him for this sort of thing. He was sure that Malfoy would have the needed reading material in his own library.

Richard looked over the letter again. Malfoy had implied that Braydon was in danger. Richard knew that Voldemort would not hesitate to hurt, or even to kill, one of his own men. Still, Richard thought that Braydon's connections assured him some time. Richard decided that he would ask Regan and Hermione about the Amulet. They were two smart girls. Maybe they knew something he didn't. Richard wondered if he would reply to Lucius, give him the information he requested. Braydon would be harmed or possibly killed. Richard wondered if his own son's life was worth the information. Richard thought that maybe he would let Voldemort have his son. After all, he had already given him his wife.

****

In the Great Hall the next day at breakfast, Regan was dreading the morning post. She knew that the Daily Prophet would have cover story on the attack on Arthur. She was not sure if her brother's name would be mentioned or not, but the student body did not need a name. Any more, all they needed was the mention of a Death Eater and they immediately looked to Regan. She didn't understand it. Everyone knew that Draco's father and most of the other Slytherin parents were Death Eaters, or at least Voldemort supporters. When asking Hermione what made Braydon so special, Hermione went off on a small speech that gave Regan the impression that the other girl had given it a lot of thought.

According to Hermione, the other students could understand that parents did stupid things. After all, they also had parents who embarrassed their children on a regular basis. The students thought that the children had no control over the parents. However, the students thought differently about students. According to Hermione, the other students considered a sibling an equal. Therefore, whatever one sibling was capable of, so was the other. Sisters and brothers talked and did things together. They had the same ideas and opinions, generally, after living together for so long, uniting against the parents. Hermione finished her speech and looked at Harry and Regan. Ron was sitting next to Harry, diagonal from Hermione, but she refused to look at him.

"Aren't you an only child?" Regan asked.

"After six years with Ron and Harry, I feel like I have several brothers to take care of," she said. Regan caught a flash of something in her eyes, but then the other girl closed off her emotions. Regan wondered what she thought of Ron, if she still considered him like a brother. Of course, they had been dating for quite some time, so maybe the feelings weren't exactly brotherly-sisterly.

"The post isn't here yet," Harry said, trying to sound certain of himself. "You don't know what is going to be in it."

"We'll see," she said, shrugging. She was interrupted by her father, who had entered the Great Hall and headed straight for their table.

"Good morning," he said, forcing a smile. Regan thought he looked worse than he had the previous morning, something she had considered impossible until he had proved her wrong.

"Professor Prince," Hermione said, smiling up at him. Ron and Harry mumbled greetings.

"Regan, Hermione," he began, "I would like to see the two of you in my office after breakfast. It's important." With that, he left, leaving the Great Hall, presumably to go to his office.

"Does he not eat breakfast anymore?" Ron asked.

"I don't think he eats at all," Regan replied, looking after her father. She refused to worry about him. He was a grown man who could take care of himself. Of course, until recently, he had had a loving wife to help him, but Regan refused to think about that. The Great Hall became flooded with owls as the morning post arrived. All thoughts of her father were pushed from her mind as she saw the Daily Prophet in Hermione's hands. Hermione looked at Harry and Regan before unfolding the paper to reveal its cover.

"Go ahead," Harry urged. She sighed and opened the paper. She looked confused, her forehead wrinkled, her eyes squinting, as if looking closer at the paper, which was already dangerously close to her face.

"Your eyesight will suffer if you continue on like that," Regan warned, trying to get a glimpse of the cover.

"What is it?" Harry demanded. She looked up at them, handing the paper over. Harry and Regan spread the paper over the table so that they both could read it from the opposite sides of the table. Regan almost laughed out loud. The cover title for The Daily Prophet was Secretary of Magic in North America will visit Minister Fudge.

"What is that?" Harry asked, also suppressing chuckles.

"Is there even a mention of Arthur's attack?" Ron asked from the side. Hermione shot him an unreadable glance before turning back to Regan and Harry. It was Harry who finally acknowledged Ron. He sighed and handed over the newspaper. Ron opened it and quickly scanned the paper.

"There is a tiny mention on page three. They're calling it an attempted burglary," Ron said in disbelief. "Dad was so excited. He thought that it would be in the paper, him taking a bullet for the Order. Two bullets actually. He wanted it in black and white that he had survived an attack against a Death Eater armed with Muggle weapons."

"Your dad will be disappointed?" Regan asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes," Ron replied, still looking at the paper. Regan could feel the anger manifesting.

"Your father should be thrilled that it didn't make its way into the paper. A Death Eater easily sneaked into the Order Headquarters. You want that spread around?"

"You just don't want anyone to know it was your brother!" he shot back, his voice louder than he wanted it to be. Several heads turned in their direction.

"I think it is quite pathetic that your family gets their accolades from being shot. He is a sad Muggle-lover. You'd think he would be more considered with what that Death Eater stole!" she exclaimed, her own voice rising as she stood out of her seat. Ron stood with her.

"Death Eater? You mean your brother? I'm sorry if my father is trying to look at the brighter side of things. I don't know if you remember, but he has had a rough year so far!"

"Yes. Right. While my family has been at Disney Land!" Regan yelled. By this time, all heads were turned in their direction, including the teachers. Regan noticed out of the corner of her eye the teachers glancing at each other. They were trying to decide who got this one. In the end, Professor McGonagall had the honor.

"Mr. Weasley! Miss Prince!" she exclaimed, quickly joining them at the Gryffindor table. "Stop this at once. My office. Now."

She turned and walked towards the Great Hall entrance, not looking back to see if they were following her. Ron and Regan shot daggers at each other before following her.

****

"Fighting!" McGonagall exclaimed once they were in her office. She stood behind her desk while Regan and Ron sat in hard wooden chairs across from it. Ron winced, though he still managed to look angry. Regan sighed.

"We were having an argument," she said, trying to look innocent.

"Again," McGonagall added. Regan and Ron both sank lower into their chairs, starting to look guilty and maybe even ashamed.

"She started it!" Ron said suddenly.

"You did!" Regan replied. McGonagall looked at them both in shock.

"Stop!" she exclaimed. They both stopped and looked at her. "You are young adults now. In just a few months you will be leaving Hogwarts and entering the world as functioning members of society, or at least I hope you do. What was the point of this display at breakfast?"

"He and Hermione-" Regan began.

"That has nothing to do with it!" Ron exclaimed, blushing.

"So this is that sort of thing?" McGonagall said knowingly.

"No!" Ron said quickly, but Regan nodded.

"This is a learning environment. I do not care what sort of teenage drama may be going on. You will conduct yourselves properly! Now, punishment," she said. Ron gulped. Their last punishments for fighting were still fresh in his memory. "Next week, I expect to see each of you in my classroom immutably once your last class for the day is finished. You will serve detention until it is time for dinner."

"A week? That's it? But last time Snape-" Ron said.

"Do I look like Professor Snape?" McGonagall asked. "It is Professor Snape, Mr. Weasley. Of course, I suppose I could reconsider your sentence. Maybe two weeks-"

"No. One week is sufficient," Regan interrupted, shooting daggers at Ron.

"Right. You may go. I believe that most of the students are leaving the Great Hall now," she said, turning to papers on her desk. Ron and Regan decided that this was their cue to exit and left the room.

"You are a moron," Regan said once they were in the hallway.

"Excuse me?"

"A week? That's not nearly long enough, Professor," she said, mimicking Ron. She rolled her eyes. "A complete moron."

"And you're a bloody genius? You started the fight to begin with!"

"I only have two words for you: Lavender Brown."

"You're insufferable."

"Whatever. I have to go meet my father in his office. Later, Weasel." She took off in the opposite direction, leaving Ron to glare after her.

****

Harry was not sure how to proceed once he left the Great Hall. Hermione had hurried off to Richard's classroom. He considered searching for Ron, but decided to just head back to the common room. He had homework that he needed to complete. He grabbed his books from his dormitory and went back down to the common room. He sat in a comfortable arm chair in the corner that he, Ron, and Hermione usually occupied. The floor next to the arm chair was littered with books and parchment. A few of them were recognized by Harry. Hermione had left her books in the common room. Harry saw Magical Entities and Their Story and People Every Knowledgeable Witch or Wizard Should Know About. He was surprised that Hermione had left these books lying around. Shrugging, he picked them up. They seemed more interesting than his homework. Flipping through Magical Entities, he came across a page which Hermione had bookmarked. It was the page which had the potion on it. He quickly looked through the ingredients list. Deciding to be helpful, and avoid homework, he copied down the ingredients they would need.

root of asphodel

essence of belladonna

bezoar

Centaur teeth

dragon heart

fluxweed

hellebore

moonstone

puffer-fish eyes

scarab beetles

crushed snake fangs

unicorn blood

Harry sighed once he had finished copying the list. It was one of the longest lists of ingredients he had ever seen. The potion itself also looked complicated and complex. He took a closer look at the ingredients. Snape would have a few of them, but he knew that Snape would be more likely to help if they came to him with at least most of the ingredients first. Harry was pretty sure that Richard had several of the ingredients in his own potions laboratory at the house. For the first time in his life, Harry Potter hoped that Lucius Malfoy would help them. Surely he had some of these ingredients. To Harry, they sounded like they would be used in Dark Magic. Still, he had no idea where they would get the unicorn blood or Centaur teeth. He doubted that even Malfoy would have those lying around.

****

"Have a seat," Richard said when the two girls entered his office. Regan was pleasantly surprised. She had expected a long speech about conducting herself properly, especially in the Great Hall. Instead, her father looked resigned. She and Hermione sat down in chairs across from his desk. Unlike the chairs in McGonagall's office, these were comfortable, made of fine leather and allowed the occupant plenty of room. Richard sat in the chair behind his desk and looked at the girls. After a few moments of silence, he grabbed a paper from his desk and handed it to Hermione. "Read."

Regan and Hermione leaned their heads together so that they could both read the paper at once. It was the letter from Lucius.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked, giving the letter back to Richard.

"I'm going to ask you girls what you know about the Amulet of Rah," he said, sick sort of amused expression on his face.

"Are you going to tell Lucius what we tell you?" Regan demanded. Hermione remained silent.

"If I tell you I am going to tell Lucius, will you tell me?" Richard said in a carefree tone that irritated his daughter.

"Lucius will go to Voldemort. You know he already has the Amulet. All he needs now is the information," Regan said sternly. Hermione was still silent, but she had a thoughtful expression that Regan had come to recognize.

"Do you have the information that Lucius wants?" Richard asked, ignoring his daughter's previous statement.

"Yes," Hermione said suddenly, not allowing Regan to reply. "We know how to make the Amulet work, but we also know how to destroy the Amulet."

"It can be destroyed?" Richard asked, obviously surprised.

"Yes. It can," Hermione repeated. "And we know how to."

"How do you know?" Richard demanded, leaning forward in his seat with an interest that Regan found almost foreign in her father.

"Draco gave us a couple of books. Both were very rare and gave us the information we needed," Hermione said.

"Draco Malfoy?" Richard said, laughing. The interest was gone. "Draco Malfoy gave you the books?"

"Yes," Hermione said, looking frustrated.

"And you trust it? I thought you two were smarter than that," Richard said, stopping the laughter.

"We don't have any reason not to trust Draco," Regan said, looking sharply at her father.

"You know who his father is. You know who is at his own house. He's playing host to the Dark Lord himself. No, I don't see any reason not to trust him," Richard said.

"He gave us the books because of the information inside of them. We have them now, not Lucius," Regan said. Hermione said nothing, but she looked hopeful.

"This is all coming from a stupid teenage crush. I thought you had more sense than this, Regan," Richard said, an anger flashing in his eyes that Regan knew all too well. "Lucius probably told Draco to give you those books. He probably wants us to believe what is in those books. No doubt trouble will come from it."

"Why? Why would Lucius want us to have such information? Why would he even want us to think that the Amulet could be destroyed? Why would he go to you, asking for the information in the books? Why?" Regan demanded, her voice rising.

"I don't know, Regan, but I want those books. I need to see them. I don't want the two of you to get any ideas or notions," Richard said sternly, standing up.

"Give you the books? So you can send Lucius the information he wants and save your traitorous son?" Regan yelled. Hermione and Regan both stood. Richard blinked, clearly not expecting his daughter's anger.

"Is that what you think, Regan?" Richard demanded. Regan felt her heart sink.

"I didn't mean it like that," she said, calming down.

"I think you did," he said. "You girls can go. Do what you want with the books. Believe them. Trust a Malfoy. Fine. I suppose you're old enough."

He sat back in his seat. The room, which had been full of tension moments ago, suddenly seemed cold and depressing. There was nothing in the atmosphere but a sense of sadness and regret. Regan and Hermione both headed to the door. Regan looked back at her father. He was staring off in space, looking out his window. She turned back and left the office.

****

"Why would your father even consider sending Lucius that information?" Hermione asked once they had left the office. She had been very surprised at Richard's reaction. Though she still did not know him that well, she had thought that he was the type of man to completely ignore Malfoy's letter. Hermione remembered Regan's insistence last year that her father would remain loyal to the Order no matter what. Hermione wondered if Regan was still so sure of Richard Prince.

"I don't know. I don't understand. After everything that Braydon's done....I don't think Lucius would hurt Braydon. I mean, if they made him a Death Eater, surely they need him for something," Regan said, a thoughtful expression on her face. Hermione looked closely at the other girl. Her previous anger was gone, replaced by worry.

"Are you going to give him the information?" Hermione did not know what she would do if she were in Regan's place. Though she did not have a brother, she knew that she would do whatever it took to protect her family. However, she had the feeling that the Prince family was very different from the Granger family.

"No," Regan replied with such rancor that Hermione was taken aback. "I can't trust Dad anymore. If I give him the information, he might go to Lucius. He's already lost his wife. He would do anything not to lose his son also."

"But hasn't he already lost his son? To Voldemort?" Hermione persisted. She still respected Richard. She wanted to be able to still believe that he was a good man, a man on their side.

"I guess," Regan shrugged, though she still looked thoughtful. "Maybe he prefers him alive and with Voldemort than dead. Still, Dad knows that Braydon was partially responsible for the attack on our house. He knows that Braydon killed Tonks and almost killed Arthur. He also knows that Braydon is his one weakness. As long as Voldemort has Braydon, he has something against Dad. Not only is Braydon his son, Braydon is also capable of getting onto the grounds. He has information that no one else has."

"Do you think Voldemort will kill him?" Hermione continued, wanting to know more.

"I don't know. Maybe," Regan said with finality. Hermione knew that the subject was now off limits. She sighed.

"What do you want to do with the purifying potion?" she asked, thinking of the books she had left in the common room last night.

"I still think that we should do it. I know that I can take it, probably Dad will. Maybe even Braydon. If we have the books, Voldemort won't know what to do with the Amulet. Right?" Regan asked, looking at Hermione for answers. Hermione knew that the books that she had were priceless. That information could not be found anywhere else. She nodded. Regan smiled. "We'll get the ingredients, then, and get started. How long does the potion take to make?"

"About two months. If we get started on it in the next few weeks, Snape should have it ready for us by the time we return from Christmas break," Hermione said, her brain switching gears. She began thinking of ingredients and potions methods. "Do you think that Mal-Draco will be able to get us the ingredients?"

"Probably. As long as Lucius doesn't figure out he was the one who took those books," Regan said.

"And your father?" Hermione said carefully, not wanting to approach the subject again.

"He will," Regan said slowly. "Of course, we may not be able to tell him what the potion is for. Or maybe we'll have to make something up."

"Trust me, we'll be able to make something up," Hermione said with a smile, thinking of all of her adventures at Hogwarts with Harry and Ron. The smile slowly disappeared as she continued to think of Ron as the two girls made their way to Gryffindor tower in silence, both immersed in their own thoughts. Hermione no longer knew what to think of Ron any more. Part of her wanted the old Ron back, the friend she had cherished for six years, but the other part of her kept remembering what he had done to her. She wished that they had never even tried to date. She worried that it had ruined their friendship.