The Scent of Lightning

Chapter Eleven

It was cold and it was wet and Draco felt exactly like he had before every Quidditch match with Gryffindor. The sinking feeling of inevitability that he was going to end up in pain or humiliated. Now he could add "or dead" to the list. He pulled up the collar of his cloak and sidled a little closer to Greg, who blocked the wind somewhat.

The docks were pitch black, with only a few distant streetlights casting a dim glow over the place. Draco's eyes strained through the darkness to try and find The Mermaid. "See it yet?" he murmured.

Greg shook his head. Ron was somewhere behind them, skulking out of sight, just in case there was trouble. Draco would have preferred to have him in front - him and about five well-armed goblins. He felt horribly exposed and every splash and drip of water practically gave him a heart attack. The smart thing would be to turn around and tell Ron to have a large squad of Aurors go pick up the manticore venom. But then Nott would get away.

"There it is," Greg said suddenly, and Draco's heart began pounding. Sure enough - there was The Mermaid tied up to the dock and bobbing gently. Draco drew his wand.

"Watch my back," he murmured to Greg. "Weasley probably fell asleep back there."

There were no lights on the ship, and Draco could see no one. "Hello?" he called out cautiously as they drew near.

A figure stepped out from behind a pile of crates and came forward into the light. It was Nott.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, raising his wand a little.

"I'm here to pick up the manticore venom," Nott said, nodding toward the box he was carrying under one arm.

"Then why the hell did you send us here, too?" Draco growled.

"Because it's the perfect place." Nott grinned. "The perfect place for the Aurors to pick you up."

"What?" Draco's heart froze somewhere between his chest and his mouth.

"I doubt they'll believe you're just out for the night air. Not with another ex-Deatheater who isn't supposed to have any contact with the wizarding world. Not next to a ship know to carry illegal cargo. Not with the tip I owled in a few minutes ago."

"This is ridiculous," Draco managed to sneer over his pounding heart. "I'm on your side in this, Nott, you idiot. You'll lose a valuable ally if you turn me in."

" 'Valuable ally'? Wouldn't 'spy' be a more appropriate term?" Nott stepped a few feet closer, and Draco saw that his hand was also clutching his wand. "You're working for Weasley, Draco. I've known since the beginning. What did he promise you? Money? Or did darling Potter make you do it?"

Draco stood there for a few moments, his mouth dry. "How?" he finally managed to say. "How did you know?"

"It was your precious Harry," Nott replied with a malicious smile. He glanced at his watch. "And now, Draco, I'm afraid I must leave you. Perhaps they'll let you and Goyle share a cell."

"Impedimenta!" Draco shouted, but too late. Nott had Disapparated. "Shit!" Draco swore, and that was all he had time for before four pops heralded the arrival of the Aurors.

"Get down!" Draco yelled at Greg and dived for a pile of scrap metal, shooting a Stupefy over his shoulder. He hit the ground and scrambled to get behind the pile. A jet of red light hit the metal with a sizzling sound.

He cowered down to the ground for a few moments as spells whizzed over his head and hit the metal in front of him. He risked a quick look over the top. Two Aurors were facing him, another two were approaching the open door of a rotting warehouse, where Greg must have run. "Expelliarmus!" an Auror shouted, and Draco's wand soared out of his hand.

He ducked down again. "You are unarmed and defenseless!" the Auror shouted. "Come out with your hands raised!"

"Where the fuck are you, Weasley?" Draco shouted.

There was a second of silence and then one of the Aurors shouted and there was a horrible crash. Draco chanced another peek.

The pile of crates that Nott had been behind had fallen on top of the two Aurors. One was unconscious, but the other must have gotten up a partial shielding spell because he was crawling to his feet. Draco was casting around for a suitable missile when Greg stepped over the crates and gave the Auror a resounding thump on the head. The Auror slumped to the ground beside his partner.

"Thanks," Draco said, scrambling to his feet. "Where did the other two go?"

"Don't know," Greg said, stooping to pick up Draco's wand and handing it to him.

"We better find them before they find us." Draco headed for the decrepit warehouse, Greg close behind.

Crouching down, Draco cautiously approached the door and chanced a quick look inside. It was pitch black - he couldn't see a thing. Using Lumos seemed like a bad idea, so instead he motioned for Greg to follow and stepped carefully inside.

"Watch out for - " Greg began.

Swearing, Draco rubbed his head where he had bumped into an overhanging beam.

"I did that, too," Greg said.

Still rubbing his head, Draco moved forward, then dropped to the ground again when there was a sudden burst of light and shouting from an adjacent room. He looked up to see Ron stepping through the door.

"Those two won't be giving us any problems," Ron said, twirling his wand. "Did you hit your head? It looks a little red."

"And where have you been?" Draco snapped. "Getting your beauty sleep?"

"Looks like you two managed fine without me," Ron said. Draco gave him a glare.

They went back outside to the other two Aurors. "Sorry about this," Ron said and cast Obliviate on both of them.

"You think that's going to fix it?" Draco said incredulously. "They must have filed a report! Told someone where they were going!" His voice rose in panic. "There's probably another squad of them waiting for me in Godric's Hollow!"

"Calm down," Ron said. "First of all, I doubt that Nott gave them your name specifically. It would be much more believable to just make it sound like he had heard about this illegal shipment coming in that was going to be picked up at such and such a time."

"A wonderful theory." Draco gave him another glare. "But I don't want to trust my life on your brains."

Ron glared back. "Second of all, I'm going to go straight to the Ministry and ask for a warrant to raid Nott's house. I'll make it out that Nott called in the tip just to throw the scent off him."

"And you think Nott is going to be there?" Draco asked in a biting tone.

"If he isn't we might be able to tell where he went to," Ron shot back. "Now would you get moving?"

"I'm not going near any place that might have Aurors."

"Fine. You two go to the apartment. Hermione will look after you."

v.v.v.v.v.v.

Harry had been staring at the fireplace for hours, with occasional checks on the door. He felt trapped and useless. He had wanted to go with Draco. Had wanted to go along with Ron on back-up. But what could he have done without his magic?

So he felt bitter and worried and angry instead. The hours dragged slowly by, and Harry knew that something had gone wrong. Draco might be dead or injured somewhere, and he couldn't do anything. If Draco was dead -

Then, as he stared at the cold ashes in the fireplace, he remembered what Professor Dumbledore had once told him. "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

He couldn't do magic. He could choose to let that limit him or choose to go ahead anyway.

v.v.v.v.v.v.

Hermione started as a loud pounding on the door rang through the apartment. "Someone must have got through the wards! Go to one of the back rooms," she hissed at Draco and Goyle. She waited until they had disappeared, then approached the door.

"Who is it?" she called out.

"It's me, Hermione."

"Harry!" she exclaimed, jerking the door open. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Draco," Harry replied.

"How did you get here?"

"Took a cab."

"But - the wards," Hermione stuttered. "Ron put them up before he left for the Ministry!"

"And did you every bother to check if they repelled non-magical persons?" Harry asked, with a slightly ironic grin.

Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times. "Draco's in the back," she finally said and shouted down the hall, "It's okay, you two! You can come out!"

Goyle appeared first, and then Draco. He saw Harry and launched himself down the hallway.

"Never again," Draco murmured, wrapping his arms tightly around Harry. "I am never going anywhere that is not well-lighted and dry."

Harry laughed and ruffled Draco's hair. "I take it things didn't go as planned?" he added in a more serious tone.

"No." Draco scowled. "Nott knew what we were up to from the beginning. He set a trap - Aurors almost got us."

"How did he know?"

Draco looked at him, then over at Goyle. "He - didn't say." Goyle nodded.

They gathered in the living room - Harry and Draco on the sofa, hands clasped tightly, and Hermione and Goyle in chairs. Hermione was happy to see that Harry was acting more like his old self. Hopefully he had realized that they would never abandon him, no matter what.

Finally they heard the doorknob turning, and Ron stepped into the room. He looked tired.

"Nott was gone," he said. "Looked like he had left in a hurry, too. Oh, hi, Harry. Everything - okay?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded.

"Did you find any clue as to where Nott might have gone to?" Hermione asked.

Ron shook his head. "There was some Muggle money in a drawer. It's a good bet he's holed up somewhere in London at a Muggle hotel. It'll take weeks to search. Our contacts with the Muggle police are so tenuous." He sighed and sat down on the arm of Hermione's chair. "Now we have two Dark wizards on the loose."

"Well, with five of us, we should be able to make a good try at finding them," she said, squeezing his hand.

v.v.v.v.v.v.

Clearing his throat nervously, Ron shifted from one foot to the other.

"Who did you say you were?" The police woman behind the desk asked, her eyes narrowed.

Hermione had already left that morning, so Ron had been forced to fend for himself when dressing as a Muggle detective. He was getting the feeling that polka dot ties and bowler hats were far off the mark. "I'm Detective Chudley," Ron said again. "Here to see Captain Taggert." He leaned his elbow on the desk in an attempt to look casually at ease, then jumped back as he accidentally pressed a silver globe which rang like a bell.

The police woman put her hand on a large black stick tucked in her belt. "Captain Taggert is not available this morning."

"Do you know when he'll be in?"

"No."

"Oh, well." Ron pulled out a sketch of Nott and handed it over. "We're looking for this man - wanted for, er, drug dealing."

"I can ask the Captain to give it out to the patrol officers," she began, then stopped, staring at the picture.

To his horror, Ron saw that the Nott in the picture was winking at the police woman. He had never thought to tell the artist not to do it with wizard paints! Lunging forward, he ripped it from her hands. "Thanks for the help! Much obliged!" he shouted behind him, racing for the door.

v.v.v.v.v.v.

"I'm looking for a friend. Thought he might have checked in here."

The balding owner of the motel looked at Harry. "What's his name?"

"Nott. Theodore Nott."

"Nobody here by that name." The man peered at him. "What do you want him for?"

"Um, well, he - he's not really my friend," Harry stammered. "More like my mother's sister's cousin. Which would make him my mother's cousin, too, actually. And she, um, wants to...to see him."

"Your aunt?"

"No, my mother."

"Uh huh." The man scratched his chin. "Nope. I haven't seen him."

v.v.v.v.v.v.

"Mr. Malfoy! I didn't expect -"

"You should always expect the unexpected, Mr. Borgin," Draco said softly, pushing back the hood of his cloak, motioning for Greg to do the same.

"It is a...pleasure, Mr. Malfoy."

"I don't expect that it is a pleasure for either of us. Show me any new items that you have," Draco commanded, sitting back in his chair.

Borgin bustled about, returning with a scattering of items on a tray. "Is this it?" Draco poked through the offerings with his wand, lifting up a rusty bracelet. "Business hasn't been so good lately, I presume."

"If I may point out, Mr. Malfoy, that this cup here comes directly from China and is imbued with a curse -"

"I'm not interested in your trash, Borgin. What about any new customers? Seen any unfamiliar faces lately?"

"With respect, Mr. Malfoy, may I remind you that any deals are strictly confidential - " Draco laid several Galleons on the table. "But I can tell you that I have not seen anyone unusual or unfamiliar to me." The Galleons vanished into Borgin's pocket. "Ever since, well, you know what," Borgin continued in a bitter tone, "I can't turn around without finding some damned Ministry representative peering over my shoulder."

"Well," Draco fished out a few more Galleons, "you'll let me know if that changes, won't you?"

v.v.v.v.v.v.

"Do you know any spells," Hermione asked carefully, "for locating a specific person?"

"Certainly." Geoffrey frowned. "I would imagine that you know them as well - a bit elementary, really."

"Of course I know all those," Hermione replied, miffed. "But they all require something like hair or blood from the person. That isn't available in this case."

Geoffrey considered, shook his head. "No, I'm afraid I can't think of anything."

Hermione sighed and slumped further in her chair.

"I can recommend a few books," Geoffrey continued.

"No, no. I'm sure I've read them all," Hermione concluded gloomily. "How is your research going, by the way?" she added, trying to smile. "You still haven't told me what exactly it is you're doing."

"As a matter of fact, I'm almost done," Geoffrey said. "I'll probably be leaving in a few days for the university to present my work."

"How exciting! So, what is it about?"

Geoffrey shook his head, smiling. "Not yet, Hermione. I want to dazzle you with my achievements - not have you poke holes in all my theories."

"I wouldn't do that!" Hermione protested, laughing. "Can't you let slip a few details?"

"Not yet," Geoffrey repeated, and then he leaned closer. "I bet you could learn and master any spell - even a really difficult one - extremely quickly."

Hermione cleared her throat. "Well, I usually could perform most spells on the first try when I was at Hogwarts." Then, not wanting to sound too vain she added, "Except those in Defense against the Dark Arts."

Geoffrey shrugged. "That wouldn't matter," he said, almost to himself.

v.v.v.v.v.v.

"Any luck?" Hermione asked without real hope, looking at the dejected faces surrounding her.

"No," Ron sighed, loosening the tie he was wearing.

Harry and Goyle both shook their heads.

"And I'm not going back to Knockturn Alley, either," Draco snapped, looking in no good mood. "All it takes is for one Auror to see me there and that's it."

"We're all taking risks, Draco," Hermione said, feeling irritated. "If Robards finds out all that Ron has been doing behind his back, he'll be in big trouble."

"Look," Harry said, forestalling Draco's angry response, "we only have three days left until Slytherin opens the portal again. We're running out of time!"

"You know," Ron said, "I can't help wondering about how he's going to open the portal. He can't do it himself."

"He must have found another wizard to help him," Harry said.

"It will have to be a powerful one." Hermione shook her head. "The portal spell in his book is extremely complicated and requires a great output of magical energy."

"Could any of us do it?" Ron asked. "Maybe we could open it before he got there and be waiting for him."

"Of the five of us, only Harry or I could do it," Hermione replied. "Harry...can't and I wouldn't dare to try. There's no telling what would be on the other side of it. We might get trapped there ourselves or never even encounter Slytherin."

"Ron, you have other Aurors out looking for Nott, right?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Ron nodded. "They aren't having any more luck than us, though."

"Well, since Beltane is so close, I think we should all concentrate on trying to find Slytherin. Nott will just have to wait until...afterwards."

They all agreed, and Harry, Draco, and Goyle left shortly afterwards, leaving Ron and Hermione sitting on the couch together.

"Once this whole mess gets straightened out," Hermione began slowly, "we need to sit down and talk together. And I mean really talk - no yelling involved."

"You're right," Ron said, and reached out to take her hand.

v.v.v.v.v.v.

"I don't want you to come, Greg."

Harry and Draco had brought Goyle back to his apartment. Harry was sitting on the couch, but could hear what Draco was saying to Goyle in the kitchen.

"But Draco -"

"No." Draco cut him off. "You can't do magic, Greg. We're going to be facing at least one opponent who can. All you could do would be to run around ducking spells."

"Harry is going."

Small pause from Draco. "I'll talk to Harry later. Please, Greg - promise you won't come? I already have Vince on my conscience, I don't need you there as well."

"Okay." Greg sighed. "I promise."

Draco came out of the kitchen and motioned for Harry to walk out with him. Draco Apparated both of them back to Godric's Hollow, although to a meadow in back of the house.

"Is this where you're going to 'talk' to me?" Harry asked.

The only illumination came from starlight. Draco's face looked pale and indistinct. "It's true, Harry. You shouldn't come."

"I have to come. I'm not going to let you, Ron, and Hermione face this alone."

"I knew you'd say that." Draco turned away and looked up at the stars. "It's your choice, Harry," he whispered. "I can't - won't - make you do anything."

"Thank you," Harry replied softly. He wrapped his arms around Draco's waist. "I love you."

"Love you, too."

v.v.v.v.v.v.

"Tomorrow night," Ron said gloomily. "And Merlin knows what Slytherin will have with him - probably a few trolls." He, Draco, and Harry were sitting at a table in the Hanging Bat, resting after another day of fruitless searching.

"Maybe the White Horse won't come to him," Harry said. "Maybe the bridle isn't enough."

Silence. "But it probably will be," Harry concluded with a sigh.

"I'd better be heading home," Ron said at last. "Hermione will want to know how the day went." Hermione had joined them that morning, but was working at St. Mungo's for the afternoon.

"Tell her to brush up on her hexes," Draco said as Ron stood up.

"Hermione doesn't need to brush up on anything," Ron said in a tone of defensive pride. "We'll see you both tomorrow night."

v.v.v.v.v.v.

When they got home, Draco went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Harry could tell Draco wanted to try again to talk him out of coming tomorrow, despite what he had said the other night, but Harry avoided looking at him. Instead, he occupied himself with reading the latest Quidditch scores. The Cannons were still in the running, but falling farther behind. He hadn't been able to stop himself from listening to the last game and knew exactly the spot where he could have caught the Snitch had he been there.

"She's gone!" Harry whirled around to see Ron's head sticking up in the fireplace. "Harry, Hermione's gone!"

Harry bent over him. "Slow down there, Ron. What do you mean, she's gone?"

"Someone's taken her, Harry! There's no sign of her, no note, nothing. And I found this." He held up a small box. There was a needle sticking from the bottom. "There are traces of sleeping potion on it."

Harry's insides became steadily colder at Ron's words. "We'll be right there."