The Long Night

Epilogue: An Unexpected Visitor

Snape turned from the potion ingredients he was chopping to look at Draco. The boy's pale hair was dripping with sweat, but he was carefully keeping it out of the hot cauldron as he stirred the contents. It ought to be near done now, Snape calculated, if the boy had not blown it. It would mean a sleepless night for Snape if he had, Snape knew, because the Dark Lord had ordered the Veritaserum antidote to be ready the following morning.

He gave the roots a final couple of chops, then straightened and swept over to Draco. He noted with satisfaction that the contents had, indeed, achieved the vivid dandelion yellow of the final product. Wordlessly he took Draco's ladle and spooned up the potion, allowing it to fall back into the cauldron. Draco looked on with some trepidation.

"Good," Snape approved. Draco's shoulders sagged in relief.

"Tonight's the night," Snape added. "Potter is back at home, and I have the information you will need. You remember where I hid it?"

"Yes, the supply cabinet, and I know the spells to unseal it," Draco said. "But does it really have to be Potter, Professor?"

Snape could hardly explain that the Horcruxes were a secret with which Dumbledore had preferred to trust as few as possible.

"We've been over this," he said, letting some of his irritation show. "It should be someone you know. The Order members you know are the Weasleys-"

Draco shook his head, mutely.

"Professor McGonagall-there is no way you're getting to her without running into a Ministry representative first, she's at Hogwarts. Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks-but you don't know where either of them lives. And that leaves Potter. Anyway, Potter's the one you need to convince, he knows of Dumbledore's offer." Draco nodded.

"Well, I'll be off then. See that you succeed, Draco," Snape said. He strode from the building and hid himself. A couple of minutes later, he saw Draco come outside and Disapparate.

The die was cast, but whatever the outcome, he would have a little bit of time. If Draco succeeded, great. If he, somehow, was caught by the Ministry before he could get to Potter, Snape could try and get the information to Potter in some other way. But if Draco managed to blow it so badly that he was brought back by a Death Eater...then the information was likely to be lost for good. It was time to take out some insurance against the worst case scenario, then. Snape sat down at the end of the workbench, unrolled a piece of parchment, and dipped his quill in the inkpot.

Potter:

If you are reading this letter, then I am dead, and the circumstances of my death might lead you to give its contents some consideration. I have learned that the Dark Lord has in his possession the wand once used by Rowena Ravenclaw. Like a certain ring and diary with which you are familiar, it is one of his most prized possessions, and thus protected with the most powerful Dark Magic that he could devise. Attached is a description of its location and the protections that surround it.

Dated 5 July, 1997

-H. B. P.

Hastily, he scribbled out two additional copies, addressed to Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, and then conjured three copies of the diagram he had left for Draco. He sealed each in an envelope and tucked them inside his robe.

Three days, he figured, was enough time. He would arrange to have them sent out in three days, unless he destroyed them first, which he would do the moment he knew Draco had made it.

***

"We don't want any more of your kind here. Get lost!" Uncle Vernon bellowed.

When angry, Vernon Dursley could be heard throughout the house; Harry's bedroom was no exception. Harry understood immediately that by 'your kind' his uncle could only mean a wizard. He bolted through his bedroom door and towards the stairs to see who his unknown visitor might be. Ron, who had been perusing the Quidditch standings in the Daily Prophet, was right at his heels.

"I told that boy when he brought those other freaks here," Harry heard as he approached the stairs. For the landing, he could see his uncle's body shaking with anger. "No more! Owls swooping in at all hours, dishes flying about the kitchen...I won't have it. GO AWAY!" With these final words, Uncle Vernon tried to slam the door.

The wizard outside adroitly stuck his foot in the door. Harry started down the stairs, and saw that the shouting had also attracted Hermione's attention. She was standing behind Harry's uncle in the entry hall, doubtless having come from the sitting room. Her curiosity had been sufficiently aroused that she had not even brought the book she had been reading with her. As the unknown wizard opened the door wider, Hermione whipped out her wand at pointed it at the door.

"Ron! Harry!" she shouted in alarm, her voice thin and high. "It's Draco Malfoy!"

Vernon turned around to look at her and recoiled at the sight of her wand, as Harry and Ron arrived beside her. Through the doorway, Harry could now see that his visitor was indeed Malfoy. His pointed face was as pale as Harry had ever seen it, and there were dark circles around his grey eyes. Behind Draco stood Narcissa, the arrogance Harry remembered from their last meeting at Madam Malkin's notably absent, as she looked anxiously about.

"Malfoy!" said Harry, stopping a half step in front of Hermione, his wand now also in his hand. "You have some nerve, showing up here after what you did."

"Yes, I know," Draco replied quietly. "Could we discuss this inside?"

"Don't let that little snake in here, Harry," Ron said. "Let me Apparate to Dad, he can have Tonks and some other Aurors here in a jiffy to take them away."

"You can send for them after we talk," said Draco. "There's no hurry." A smirk crossed his lips as he looked at Ron. Harry felt himself getting angry and took a step towards Malfoy.

"Please, Potter, I'm just asking you to hear me out," Draco added softly, his face again serious.

Harry thought for a moment. Ron's offer was tempting, but the memory of Draco, his hand shaking as he lowered the wand he held trained on Dumbledore, stayed him. The option would still be open to him after Draco said his piece, after all. "Uncle Vernon, let them in. I am going to talk to him."

Mr. Dursley glared at Harry, puffing out his chest. But as his gaze again landed on the drawn wands of Harry and his friends, he stepped out of the way without further argument to admit Draco and Narcissa, and then shut the door hastily behind them.

"Very well, let's make it quick. Come on up to my room, both of you," Harry said brusquely. He turned to go up the stairs, and saw that his Aunt Petunia had also come out of the kitchen to see what the fuss had been about. Dudley stood behind her, seemingly trying to hide his enormous bulk behind the tall, thin figure of his mother.

Hermione joined Harry, while Ron, his blue eyes narrowed suspiciously, waited for the Malfoys to follow them.

"Could I speak with you privately?" Draco asked.

Harry turned back and looked at Draco coldly. "No, Malfoy. Whatever it is that you have to say to me, you can say it in front of my friends."

Draco flushed. Turning to Narcissa, he said softly, "Mother, I believe it would be best for me to talk to Potter alone. Could you wait here for me?" Narcissa nodded her agreement, pursing her lips nervously.

"Harry, we can't just leave a Death Eater like her down here alone," Ron warned. "She could get up to anything!"

Draco spun around angrily to face Ron, but before he could do or say anything, his mother placed a restraining hand on his shoulder, and then swept gracefully past him and approached Ron.

"Mr. Weasley is quite right, Draco," she said, smiling up at Ron, who eyed her with some confusion. Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Your care for your friend's safety is commendable," she continued, looking up into his face. "My wand," she added. Ron grasped the wand she proffered awkwardly and tucked it away in his back pocket.

"Now that that's settled...." said Harry, turning back to the stairs. Draco waited for Hermione to start up as well, and then followed her, with Ron bringing up the rear. As they climbed the stairs, Harry could hear Narcissa's cultured tones, attempting to apologize to Aunt Petunia for the unconventional style of her visit.

Harry strode into his room and sat down on the narrow bed, where Hermione joined him. Draco, looking awkward and very alone, stood just inside the room. Ron came in and closed the door behind him. He sauntered over to the pile of three trunks and leaned back against them. Fixing Draco with a baleful stare, he kept his wand trained on him and waited.

Malfoy looked at Ron uncertainly.

"Weasley...Ronald..." he stammered.

"You heard Harry, Malfoy, get on with it!" said Ron angrily.

"I just wanted to say, before...what I need to talk to Potter about. I read about your brother, Bilius, in the Daily Prophet. I, I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't know Greyback would be coming. I would never-"

"Oh, that's just great," Ron interrupted sardonically. "So instead, one of the other goons you did mean to sneak in could have killed Bill, and that would've been just fine!"

"Well, yes. That is, no," Draco said, clearly flustered. "I mean, you are right. Anybody could've been killed by the Death Eaters I brought to...to Hogwarts, and no, that wouldn't have been a good thing."

"Oh, sure. Good thing nobody did get killed," Ron said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"And anybody could've been killed by the poisoned mead I arranged for Professor Slughorn to give to Professor Dumbledore, as well. That was my fault, Weasley," Draco admitted.

"Yeah, thanks. Harry told me all about it," Ron said. "And you nearly got Katie killed, as well."

Draco hung his head. "Yes," he agreed.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

"Great. You're sorry. Guess what? We don't care," said Harry from the bed. "So, what is it you need to say to me before I send Ron for the Aurors? That you're sorry Dumbledore is dead too?!"

"I am, but that is not why I came to talk to you. I came to ask...to beg...for your help," said Draco.

"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for you," Harry stated flatly.

"I think there is," said Draco. "You see, Dumbledore made me an offer. I should have taken him up on it more quickly! If we had left before-"

"Before Snape showed up and killed him!" shouted Harry.

"Before the others showed up. I have no idea how Snape got there," Draco corrected him. "If we'd left before, Dumbledore was going to hide me and my parents. You heard him, you were there," Draco looked at him appealingly.

Harry nodded grudgingly, wondering how Draco knew that detail. It had not been in the papers. He could ask, he realized. If Draco was begging him for a favor, he could hardly refuse to answer.

"How did you know I was there?" Harry asked.

"Snape," Draco answered shortly. "I saw the second broom too, but Snape was sure you were there after you accused him of killing Dumbledore."

"You have seen him and talked to him, then?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Draco replied. "At first he hid with my mother and me. Later, the Dark Lord assigned me to assist him. So, I know you heard the whole conversation."

"Sure, but what do you want me to do about it?" asked Harry.

"What Dumbledore said, about faking our deaths-a plan like that would have to involve more people," Draco said. "The Order of the Phoenix must've been helping Dumbledore to do something like that. I want you to tell that person what Dumbledore said, I want to accept the offer."

Harry laughed bitterly. "Why should the offer still be open?" he asked. "Dumbledore is dead. Why the change of heart, now? Is Voldemort angry that you did not kill Dumbledore yourself?"

At the mention of Voldemort's name, Draco paled and suppressed a shudder.

"So that is why you are here!" Harry exclaimed. "Snape stole your glory, and now Voldemort is angry with you. Did he Crucio you? It does not seem such a good idea when it happens to you, does it?"

Draco, though it had seemed impossible, grew even paler, and started to tremble. In a voice so quiet as to be barely audible, he answered, "The Dark Lord tortured my mother. I stood by and did nothing to stop it."

Hermione gasped, and then covered her mouth with her hand, her dark eyes wide.

"If I fail him, he'll do it again. Please," Draco said, fixing his eyes on Harry's, "my mother isn't a Death Eater. She wasn't involved in the plan at all. If you would at least ask them to hide her..." he broke off.

Harry glanced at his friends. Ron still stared balefully at Malfoy, though it seemed to Harry that some of the fire had gone out of his eyes. Hermione looked back at him, a frankly horrified expression on her face, but she, too, said nothing. Draco's story was reawakening the pity he had felt on considering the threats Draco faced from Voldemort, yet something in the story rang false to Harry, something he could not nail down...

"Why are you coming to me now?" Harry asked, as he suddenly understood what it was. "It has been weeks since Dumbledore's murder."

"I had to wait for a couple of days for my mother to recover," Draco explained. "She was in no condition to Apparate. And then I was afraid that you wouldn't help me, that you wouldn't believe-"

"That's right, Malfoy! Why should we believe you?" Ron interrupted.

"I was afraid that's what you would think, Potter, so I waited," Draco replied, "to be able to make a deal. If you help my mother, I will tell you everything I know, answer any questions you may have, and if you want to turn me in to the Ministry, I will tell them whatever they want to know as well. But I really didn't know much. Nothing that I could hope to exchange for my mother's safety. But now I do have something, Potter. And I'll give it to you, if you give me your word that you will do all you can for my mother."

"What is it?" asked Harry.

Draco withdrew a folded piece of parchment from his robes. "This," he said simply.

"What is in it?" asked Hermione. "Harry should have some way to judge whether it's important, before he agrees to anything."

Draco glared at Hermione. She turned to Harry in mute appeal.

"She's right, Malfoy," Harry agreed.

"This is about some sort of special weapon or wand that the Dark Lord has, that belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. It describes the magical protections under which it was placed, and gives the location where it is hidden," Draco said. An object of Ravenclaw's, Harry thought excitedly. Could this be a clue to the unknown Horcrux? He, Ron, and Hermione exchanged excited glances.

"Draco, we're not stupid!" Hermione said heatedly, recovering first from the surprise caused by Draco's claim. "Lord Voldemort would never trust you with something like that."

"That's right!" Ron agreed.

"He didn't," Draco agreed with them both. "He entrusted it to Snape."

Harry felt his anger and grief welling up in his chest as Draco spoke that hated name.

"I stole it, just this evening," Draco continued. "Snape is the Dark Lord's favorite now. A couple of weeks ago, he had a long, private meeting with the Dark Lord; I know because my Aunt Bella was complaining about it. She's jealous."

"You know where Bellatrix Lestrange is hiding?" Harry interrupted.

"Yes," Draco confirmed. "Mother and I were staying in a Muggle flat she uses as a hideout in London. I can give you the address, though I doubt anyone can sneak up on her. She makes that Moody lunatic who taught Defense Against the Dark Arts a couple of years ago seem careless."

"I will want that address," Harry stated flatly.

"You can have it, when I have your word," Draco replied immediately.

"And where Snape is staying," Harry added.

"I don't know where he's living," Draco replied. "I know how to Apparate to the laboratory. I could take you-"

"Harry, this could be a trap!" Hermione interrupted.

"I could take a team of Aurors," Draco amended.

"Very well," Harry said. "You were saying that Snape had a meeting with Voldemort?"

Draco resumed his account. "Anyway, as I left Snape's laboratory the evening after that meeting, he was still working on something. I snuck back, and saw him take this parchment out of the supply cabinet. Since he performed a counterspell to the Disillusionment Charm, and a couple of other counterspells I had never heard of before, I guessed that, whatever it was he'd hidden there, it was important. Ever since then, I've been waiting for my chance to be alone long enough to look at it, and hoping that it would still be there. It finally happened this evening. Now I've seen it, and I think it is important enough."

"We should just take it from him, Harry," Ron grumbled.

"I though of that, Weasley," Draco said. "I put a spell on it. You won't get it open without damaging it."

"Harry, Snape will notice this is missing sooner rather than later," Hermione said earnestly. "Time may be of the essence."

Harry nodded, and got up from the bed. She was right.

"Malfoy, you have my word," he said, extending his right hand. "Give me that, and I will see what I can do for you and your mother."

Draco heaved a huge sigh of relief. "I need to use my wand, to remove the spell," he warned. Harry nodded his understanding. Pulling out his wand, Draco passed it over the parchment a couple of times, muttering under his breath as he did so, then handed it over. Harry accepted it, and opened it. Inside was a diagram, and notes written in a small, cramped handwriting Harry knew he could never forget.

***

The owl bearing the day's issue of the Daily Prophet flew in through the open window. Snape reached into his pocket for the coins to pay it, and tucked them into the pouch attached to the bird's leg. Unfolding the newspaper, he took in the day's lead article:

Dumbledore Murder Suspect Killed

Acting on a tip from an informant, Aurors raided a Knockturn Alley boarding house late last night. Death Eater Draco Malfoy and his mother Narcissa were both killed while resisting arrest.

Malfoy was wanted in connection to the murder of Hogwarts Headmaster Professor Albus Dumbledore in June. Mrs. Malfoy (wife of Azkaban prisoner Lucius Malfoy and sister of fugitive Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange) was sought for questioning regarding her son's whereabouts. The alleged mastermind of the murder plot, Death Eater and former Hogwarts Professor Severus Snape, is still at large. Kingsley Shacklebolt, who led the raid, said the Auror Office will be strenuously pursuing any leads the search of the premises develops. (For more on the Snape manhunt, see story on p. 2).

Injured Auror...

The mention of the boarding house, not at all where Draco was hiding, had suggested the deaths were not for real, but the involvement of Shacklebolt clinched it. Draco had made it to Potter, and his story had been accepted. Snape put the paper down and allowed himself a smile.

THE END