The Hospital Wing and the Astronomy Tower, the Sequel

Lucius ducked out of the way just in time as a figure ran into the hospital wing, attempting to hit him over the head with an armour helmet.

Draco and Ginny watched, paralysed with shock, as Madam Pomfrey fell to the floor with a clatter, dropping the helmet she had been trying to hit Lucius with.

"I thought you said I'd killed your matron," said Lucius, getting steadily to his feet. "Now it appears your matron is trying to kill me. How does this work?"

"Madam Pomfrey?" said Draco. "But..." He pointed to the matron's office, where her body lay unconscious.

Ginny stared, bewildered at the woman before her.

"Now what is going on here?"Â Lucius demanded. "I may not be very well liked at this school, but that is no reason to whack me over the head."

Madam Pomfrey (the one who was conscious), stood up gracelessly. "Weasley," she said, voice cold and unlike the Madam Pomfrey they knew so well, "I told you to stay here!"

"Well, she is here," said Lucius. "So what is your point, exactly?"

"Who are you?" said Draco to Madam Pomfrey (the conscious one).

"Madam Pomfrey," she replied. "And you Malfoy, I told you to stay away."

"Did not," said Draco. "You gave me fifteen minutes."

"Wow, this is mad," said Ginny. "I think Madam Pomfrey is 'Bob.'"

"Well obviously," said Draco. "Now let's find out who it really is."

The conscious Madam Pomfrey turned as though to run, but Lucius did not need commanding, so he flew to the door and slammed it shut, then turned to Madam Pomfrey.

"Move out of my way or I'll call Dumbledore," she said.

"I'd like to see you try," said Lucius. "Seriously, I'd really like to see you try."

"Professor Dumbledore!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked at the top of her lungs.

"Don't do that!" Lucius snapped.

Madam Pomfrey stopped her shrieking, seeming afraid of Lucius.

"All we have to do is wait an hour," said Draco, "maybe less, and the Polyjuice Potion will wear off, then we'll find out who this really is."

"Or we could bring your real matron back to consciousness," said Lucius, "then she could tell us who this imposter is."

"Either way, mystery solved," said Draco. "That was easier than I imagined."

"And I told you it wasn't your father," said Ginny. "Now you believe me."

"You trusted me, Weasley?" said Lucius.

Ginny shrugged. "I knew it wasn't you somehow."

"You couldn't have been more wrong," said Madam Pomfrey, and her voice became deep suddenly. Her hair turned white blonde, her eyes cold grey. She had transformed into Lucius in a matron's dress.

Draco and Ginny stared at the two Lucius's before them.

"I knew it," said Draco. "You can't trust my father that easily; he's messed in the head, really."

"Then who's the other one?" Ginny asked.

"It's my unevil twin brother," said the Lucius who had just appeared, who was cleaner than the other Lucius, so we will refer to him as clean Lucius.

"Does he look like someone who has just escaped from Azkaban?" the other Lucius (who we shall refer to as scruffy Lucius) asked, pointing at clean Lucius.

"Well, if I know Lucius Malfoy, and believe me, I do," said Draco, "he wouldn't be dirty in the first place."

"Then who is the dirty one?" said Ginny.

"Someone else," said Draco. "Maybe he's 'Bob.'"

"But Lucius is 'Bob'," said Ginny. "Didn't we just agree on that when Madam Pomfrey turned into Lucius?"

"No, actually we didn't," said Draco.

"I am Lucius!" shouted scruffy Lucius. "I did not have time to clean up!"

"You are not!" shouted clean Lucius.

Draco looked frantically from one Lucius to the other. "It's the clean one," he said. "It would have to be. I mean, the Polyjuice Potion just wore off."

"But then who's the other one?" Ginny asked. "Someone else who has used Polyjuice Potion to become Lucius?"

"I told you, my unevil twin brother," said Lucius.

"Hold on a second," said Draco. "Neither of these men is my father."

"Why would you say that?" asked Ginny.

"Well, first of all, my father would never, under no circumstances wear a dress," said Draco. "And second, my father would never walk around looking quite so scruffy." He gestured toward scruffy Lucius.

Suddenly, the door behind scruffy Lucius opened, admitting yet another Lucius into the room.

***

Peter Pettigrew stumbled to his feet. "Potter," he said. "Harry, will you help me?"

"No," said Harry coolly.

"Blaise?" said Pettigrew, turning to Blaise. "Please, I need your help."

"This is ridiculous," said Blaise. "You've sent us running around the school, and now here you are, asking for help."

"I haven't sent you running around the school," said Pettigrew. "I only just arrived inside."

"Do you think we should believe him?" Blaise said. "After all-"

"No," Harry cut her off. "He's not to be trusted."

"But my master," said Peter, "he escaped Azkaban, and Lucius Malfoy is after him. Please, you can't let Lucius get to him."

"Your master," said Harry, "is out to kill me."

"No, I assure you he isn't," said Pettigrew. "You are no longer his target, Harry Potter. He is out to slay Draco Malfoy."

"And why is that?" asked Harry. "Has he given up all together on me?"

"He has," said Pettigrew. "I swear it. He doesn't care anymore. But now he wants to kill Draco Malfoy. And Lucius is out to stop him. Whose side are you on?"

"Neither," said Harry. "Voldemort killed my parents, and nothing will ever change that. Ever. And I don't believe Malfoy would ever oppose Voldemort."

"My lord could bring your parents back," said Pettigrew. "But I don't think you'd want him to. Not now, at least. We can give you power, Potter. All the power you'll ever need."

"I don't want power," said Harry. "I will never ally myself with the dark side, and you're mad to even think for a minute that I would."

"This is only the beginning of the war," said Pettigrew. "And it's not yet too late, Potter. It's a civil war, and you can choose the winning side."

"I'm on the winning side," said Harry. "I couldn't be happier, and I don't need power from you or your lord."

"We could rule, Potter," said Pettigrew. "Just the three of us. We could watch Malfoy fall."

"That's not what I want," said Harry. "I'd like to see Voldemort fall, and he'd pull you down with him. I'd like to stay where I am."

"You're allied with all the weasels of the wizarding world," said Pettigrew. "The Weasleys, the Malfoys, the half-bloods, the Mudbloods; every single loser."

Harry felt his face burn in rage. "The only loser here is you."

"We'll win Potter, just you watch," said Pettigrew. "Don't join us, and you'll fall."

"No, Pettigrew," said Harry. "You'll fall."

"And you Blaise," said Pettigrew, turning to Blaise, "Certainly you'll join your lord?"

"Not this time," said Blaise.

"You're all talk, Pettigrew," said Harry.

***

Sirius rushed into the astronomy tower, to find Remus Lupin, crouched on the floor, studying a glass bottle.

"Remus?" said Sirius.

Remus put down the bottle and looked up at his friend, a faint smile on his face. "Sirius," he said. "What brings you here?"

"Pettigrew," said Sirius, "he escaped from Azkaban, and no one knows it save Malfoy and myself. I was trailing Pettigrew, and he came here. I know he's inside the school, but I don't know where."

"Malfoy?" said Remus.

"No, Pettigrew," said Sirius. "I don't think Malfoy's in the school at this time."

"You're working with Malfoy?" said Remus. "How did this come to pass?"

"I'm not certain, Remus," said Sirius. "But I think I can trust Malfoy this time; the Veritaserum never lies."

"Veritaserum?" said Remus. "So you knew Malfoy's whereabouts when he escaped?"

"No, I helped him escape," said Sirius. "I wanted some answers the night after Voldemort escaped, so I went to Malfoy of course. And I knew he'd lie if he wasn't forced to tell the truth, so I took some Veritaserum with me, and I got the whole truth out of him."

"What did he say?" asked Remus.

"He said Voldemort was after Draco," said Sirius. "Meaning he'd come to Hogwarts. Of course, I knew I could count on Dumbledore to keep him out, but nobody's seen Dumbledore as of late. The last anyone saw of him was yesterday evening at supper."

"I know," said Remus. "I know that he got to his office safe last night, but I didn't see him this morning. I thought perhaps he was busy today, having no time for meals."

"I haven't spoken with Lucius yet," said Sirius. "I'm not exactly certain where he is, but he was going back to his manor last I saw of him. I saw Pettigrew come inside the school, but after that, he seems to have vanished."

"We can't have him in the school!" cried Remus. "He'll harm the students!"

"We're going to search the school," said Sirius. "It's late, so most of the younger students will be in their dormitories."

"Harry was just here," said Remus. "He and Blaise, and I don't think either of them have gone back to their dormitories."

"We can't let Peter get to Harry," said Sirius. "Or Draco Malfoy for that matter."

"Let's go then," said Remus, making for the door.

Sirius followed, and together they hurried around a small part of the school, until they came to a suspicious room. It was voices coming from the room which made it suspicious.

Sirius lurked outside the doorway of the room, Remus behind him.

He recognised the voices as those of Harry Potter, Blaise Zabini, and Peter Pettigrew. They seemed to be talking about the dark lord.

When he heard Harry say, "You're all talk, Pettigrew," Sirius decided to step in.

Blaise was first to notice Sirius's presence, but she did not say anything, only looked at him curiously.

"You'll see, Potter," said Pettigrew. "Me and my lord will kill you in a second."

"I believe it should be 'my lord and I,' Peter," said Sirius, "not 'me and my lord.'"

"You!" shouted Pettigrew. "Where did you come from?"

"Originally I came from Scotland," said Sirius. "But I moved to Wales as a child. After that, I moved to England, by that time, I was about ten."

"What were you saying, Peter?" said Harry, a wide grin on his face.

***

"Now who's this?" asked Ginny, pointing at the Lucius who had just entered the hospital wing.

"This is my father," said Draco. "And don't point, it's rude to point."

"Draco?" said Lucius.

"Father," said Draco.

"What's going on in here?" said Madam Pomfrey, who had just come to. "Who are all these people?"

Clean Lucius and scruffy Lucius both looked scared, nervous and shocked.

"I'd like to know the same," said Ginny, crossing her arms. "Who are all these people?"

"I told you, I am Lucius Malfoy," said clean Lucius.Â

"But that's quite impossible," said the Lucius who had just entered. "Because I am Lucius Malfoy, and of that, I'm quite certain I am not mistaken. Besides, no Malfoy would ever shame himself enough to wear a dress."

"I agree with that," said Draco.

All of a sudden, clean Lucius bolted out of the hospital wing, knocking over the Lucius who had just entered. At the same time, scruffy Lucius opened the infirmary window and climbed out.

"Is that proof enough?" said Draco.

"Okay," said Ginny. "But who were they?"

Draco shrugged.

"Honestly Weasley," said Lucius. "You couldn't be any slower, could you?"

"I suppose you know who they were?" said Draco to his father.

"Well, obviously one was, ah, him," said Lucius. "And the other was, ah, that other man."

"Very clever," said Draco.

"What is going on?" shouted Madam Pomfrey.

"Nothing for you to be concerned about," said Lucius. "I think what you need is a good rest."

"So do I," mumbled Madam Pomfrey.

"So why don't you take a rest while sort this problem out?" said Lucius.

"No," said Madam Pomfrey. "You are not to be trusted with these pupils. You should not even be in the school. I must call the headmaster!"

"Stupefy," Lucius muttered, pointing a wand at Madam Pomfrey.

Madam Pomfrey fell backwards, once again knocked unconscious.

"Where did you get a wand from?" said Draco. "Didn't you just come from Azkaban?"

"I went to the manor prior to this," said Lucius. "I suppose you'll want to know why I'm here?"

"I'm only slightly curious," said Draco.

"Well, it all starts here," said Lucius. "Lord Voldemort has made an escape from Azkaban, and he set out to find you, Draco. He's decided to take revenge on me for the ridicule you caused earlier this year. And if you ask me, the least thing he could take from me is you, but some Auror seems to think I should fight for my son, which is absurd. So he freed me from Azkaban, and I suppose that's the only reason I agreed to coming here in the first place. Believe me Draco, I could care less if the dark lord disposed of you."

"Thank you, father," said Draco. "Thank you very much."

"Also, as it turns out, that coin I gave to you has more power than I thought," said Lucius. "It doesn't do anything, but it can rot a person's heart, you know. Not very nice for a Weasley to have. And the Auror who freed me told me I could get the Dementor's kiss for even owning such an object. So anyway, it was first made to turn a person dark."

"When was that thing made?" asked Draco.

"Not long ago," said Lucius. "See, Voldemort decided he couldn't risk convincing people with his words anymore, so now he's formed a magic which turns pure-bloods against Mudbloods. And it's not just a coin, oh no, he even has a potion."

"A potion?" said Draco. "What, is that a mind-controlling potion?"

"Oh yes," said Lucius. "He calls it MacRiddler's, not quite certain why, but it's Voldemort, who knows why he does anything?"

"MacRiddler's?!" said Ginny. "MacRiddler's is a mind-controlling potion?"

"I just said that," said Lucius. "Pay attention, Weasley. Anyway, if Voldemort succeeds in doing what he is planning on doing, every pure-blood will hate Mudbloods, and Draco will be long gone. And also, Potter will have joined the dark side, but who cares about Potter these days anyway?"

"Not me, for one," said Draco. "I love all this attention. It's about time too, isn't it?"

"Yes, I should say so," said Lucius. "Now that you two know exactly why I'm here, do you care to help me?"

"How?" asked Draco and Ginny at the same time.

"Well, Sirius Black told me to rescue my son," said Lucius. "And I think I've just about got that covered. He also told me he'd be at Hogwarts, and I should contact him as soon as possible, should I make any progress."

"Are you no longer a death eater?" Ginny asked the question which seemed to be nagging at her mind.

"No, I'm not, Weasley," said Lucius. "But I'm no Mudblood lover, either."

"Oh, who needs Mudbloods?" Ginny realised her words too late, and when she did, she was beyond shocked to hear such a thing coming from her own mouth.

"My sentiments exactly," said Lucius. "So I don't suppose either of you has seen Sirius Black?"

Ginny and Draco shrugged.

"Well," said Lucius, thinking hard for something intelligent to say.

"What about those two imposters running around?" said Ginny. "We distinctly saw one transform from Madam Pomfrey into Lucius Malfoy. Besides, I don't think it's safe to have them running around Hogwarts, whoever the Hell they are."

"One changed into me?" said Lucius. "That would be thanks to a Tri-Polyjuice Potion, but you would know all about that, wouldn't you? Very complex potion to make, and I didn't even know a recipe for it still exsisted."

"How does it work?" Ginny asked.

"It's very complex," said Lucius. "But it doesn't make sense as to how those imposters got a hold of my DNA."

"We still don't who 'Bob' is," Draco mumbled.

***

Verity and Seamus were strolling down a corridor, but when Verity heard the voice of Sirius Black from inside a room, she found the need to investigate, so she and Seamus entered the room from which the voice was coming.

"You!" Seamus shouted upon seeing Peter Pettigrew also inside the room. "You're that idiot who-"

"What are you doing here?" Pettigrew grumbled.

"He goes to school here," said Lupin. "But you do not, nor do you teach here. In fact, you've no right whatsoever to be here."

"I-I'm here to s-seek console," Pettigrew stammered, cowering in front of Remus Lupin. "I've forgotten my e-evil ways. I've left the dark lord. We-we're on the same side now, Remus."

"We are not," snapped Remus. "Get up you filthy little mouse."

Pettigrew staggered to his feet. "Please, Remus," he said, putting his hands together as if in prayer.

Remus crossed his arms sternly. "Sirius, what do you plan to do with this rat?"

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think Blaise could come up with something interesting," he said.

Blaise sneered at Peter, who suddenly disappeared, replaced by a fat, little mouse.

"Catch that rat!" Remus shouted, lurching at the spot where Pettigrew had stood.

"Set it on fire!" shouted Seamus, whipping his wand around in the air.

"Oh my God, it's Lucius Malfoy," said Verity, suddenly noticing Lucius Malfoy's presence at the door.

"No it's not," said Blaise. "Lucius Malfoy wouldn't be caught dead in a dress; least of all a matron's uniform."

Lucius looked around the room wildly, looking terrified.

"Where's the rat?!" Harry hollered.

"This is all too much," said Verity, clutching her forehead. "If I go into shock, will one of you please get me to the hospital wing?"

"That's not Lucius!" Blaise shrieked. "Lucius doesn't get scared like that!"

Lucius screamed a high pitched scream before sprinting off.

"Malfoy!" Sirius shouted, running after him. "Malfoy! What are you doing?! When did you get here?!"

"I found the rat," said Seamus, dangling a fat mouse by the tail. "If anyone cares, that is..."

"He'd better not transform back," said Blaise, "his robes are still on the floor."

"Well, that's one problem solved," said Harry. "We found the rat. Now onto the next problem: that coin Malfoy had."

"What about it?" said Blaise.

"Haven't you had Defense Against the Dark Arts yet?" Harry asked.

Blaise shook her head. "First thing tomorrow," she replied. "And as far as I can see, either Professor Black is back, or Professor Lupin's back. Either way, I'm pleased."

Remus blushed very slightly.

"No, the real problem," said Verity, "is the problem concerning 'Bob.'"

"It was Lucius Malfoy," said Seamus. "We just saw him."

"Bob?" Remus asked. "Care to explain?"

"Someone's running around disguised as various Hogwarts pupils," Verity explained. "And we're not certain who it is."

"It isn't Lucius Malfoy," said Remus. "Lucius Malfoy is here working with Sirius to find Pettigrew."

"Then why'd he run away like that?" Harry inquired. "Unless that wasn't the real Malfoy?"

"No, I don't think it was," said Remus. "But we really should find out who it was."