This is a little longer than the last, and explains a lot about things I mentioned in the last chapter.
I hope everyone's curiosity is sated so far. Not as much of a cliffhanger this time. Look for real action in the
next chapter, which will hopefully be up tomorrow.
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Harry regained consciousness slowly. He opened his eyes, recognized the Weasleys' living room. He was lying on the couch, his head on something soft. He turned his head and looked to his left, saw Hermione looking down at him. He was lying in her lap. He groaned, let her help him sit up. He looked around, saw Draco, Ron and Ginny reluctantly sharing the other couch. His gaze fastened on Draco.
"You're getting one chance to explain before I curse your ass."
Draco nodded. "I can respect that." He stood to pace. "I haven't known for long. I thought they were dead, same as you did, though I'll admit I wasn't as torn up as you were. In fact, I was rather relieved when Black bit it. I didn't know your parents, but Dad said they were a pain in the ass." At Harry's sharp look, he got back on topic. "Anyway, I shouldn't even know, but Rufus Scrimgeour had a meeting with the Dark Lord and I was curious, so I listened at the door. Apparently, Scrimgeour has been a Death Eater since the very beginning. When he took over the post of Minister of Magic, he found out. Fudge didn't know. Honestly, the only man who knew who was in that chamber is dead, and has been for over a decade. Scrimgeour found a report shoved into the back of Fudge's desk talking about a sleep chamber. He got curious and found it. When he went in, he found Lily, James and Sirius. He went straight to Voldemort, thinking that the Death Eaters could use the three of them as leverage against you."
Harry nodded. "It would have been a good plan. Probably would have worked too." He sighed, stood to pace the other side of the room. "Does Voldemort have them?"
"No. Only Scrimgeour can get into the chamber, and once he opened it the first time, an investigation was started. He can't go back in and steal them while the investigation is pending. It would raise too many suspicions."
"So we have a window." Arthur said, laying a hand on Harry's shoulder. "And we're going to get them back. You'll just have to give me a chance to find out where the chamber is."
Draco lifted a finger to bring attention back to him. "That's another thing. I know where it is."
Harry sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" He barely noticed when Hermione took his arm to keep him from pacing. "Okay, so where are they and how do I go about getting them out?"
"In the basement of the Ministry. A hidden room, kinda like the Room of Requirement. You have to need it to be what it is." Draco sat down, suddenly tired. Doing what he was doing, going against what he'd always thought was right, was taking a lot of energy and even more of his strength. "It isn't easy to get to. Not for anyone other than the Minister of Magic, which is why none of the Death Eaters have gone in so far. Riddles, magical beasts, tests that you have to pass. A lot of things that no ordinary witch or wizard could overcome."
Hermione sat up straighter. "It sounds like the Sorcerer's Stone. Like all the things Harry had to go through to get to it."
Ron scoffed. "We were there too Hermione."
"I know we were, but Harry was the one to get it out."
"But only because I knew chess and you knew about that plant, and figured out the riddle to the potions. He never would have made it without us."
"That isn't the point, Ronald. The point is, that Harry retrieved the Sorcerer's Stone, and this seems to me like it will resemble the tasks we were required to complete."
"Shut up, both of you!" Draco snapped, and felt very much like clamping his hands over his ears. He looked at Harry. "Do they do this often?"
"More often that I'd like for them to. What kind of tasks, Malfoy?"
"More potion work. Sort of like a Potions test back at school. You're given a group of ingredients and you have one chance to make the correct potion. If you do it correctly, and you only get one try, you get to move on. And all the research I've done has suggested that people have tried to get into this chamber since the beginning of the Ministry. Only two have ever made it past the first task."
"That doesn't matter." Ron said stubbornly. "No one else has been us."
Draco had to grudgingly admit that they were right. The three of them, as nothing more than children themselves, had managed to defeat Voldemort more times that any Death Eater cared to think about. "The second task is much harder. Only one person has ever done it. It's a troll."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "A troll? We defeated one of those in our first year."
"Yes, but not like this. It's a half-breed. Half troll, half-giant, and impervious to magic. The only thing getting you past that is guts and brain. You have to outsmart it, get around it, pick the right key, of which there are twelve to choose from, and get through the door on the other side of the chamber."
Harry didn't seem impressed. "We got past Fluffy, I've handled dragons, and merpeople and mazes with beasts in them. This is nothing new to us, Malfoy."
"Well, Potter, you have to get through the last three of those in this. Dragons, and merpeople and mazes with beasts in them. And then you have to be allowed in by the Unicorn guarding the gate. Only the pure of heart and intention can pass. And after that, the room itself has to let you in. Just like the Room of Requirement."
"Okay. That sounds rather complicated. How many people are allowed in?"
"As far as I can tell, four."
"Great." Ron said, brightening. "The three of us and maybe Charlie, to deal with the dragons."
But Harry shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Ron. Merlin help us, because I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's going to be the three of us and Malfoy."
Around the room, protestations broke out. Hermione waved her wand and a loud blast came out of the tip. "I agree. No matter how much he tells us, Draco still has the first hand information that we need to get through that thing. And no matter how much none of us like it, he has more resources at his disposal. And despite the fact that this is the one and only time I will admit anything like this, he's better than I am at potions. We'll need him to get through. And I've read enough on dragons to get us past just about anything, Ron. I'd stay, but you'll need me for the troll, and the merpeople since I speak Mermish. Harry has to go, because he's faced everything we're going to be facing. Ron, we'll need you for the maze since you have the best sense of direction out of all of us. And honestly, I don't think Harry would work as well if we weren't along. We're used to each other."
"Okay, now that that's settled, we have to decide when to move in." He looked at Draco. "How long is this inquiry going to take?"
"Another few days. The Department of Mysteries is in charge of it."
"Which means they're probably going to work at night." Arthur said. "The Dept. of Mysteries is so busy during the days that they do all of their Internal Investigations at night."
"Great." Harry said sarcastically. "That means we have to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic in the middle of the day." He looked around the room. "I don't want any objections. Because we'll do it with or without them. We'll leave for the Ministry tomorrow morning at nine am. I want the Ministry to be busy with its morning flood. We're less likely to be noticed that way." When no one spoke, Harry continued. "Malfoy, I want you to tell me all that you know about how they got there."
Molly coughed. "I don't think we all need to know this right now. Boys, why don't you run along. You all have jobs you should be attending to. Ginny, Hermione, Ron, I could use your help in the kitchen for a while, and the garden needs degnoming."
Harry looked at Hermione and Ron. "You two stay. You're as much a part of this as I am."
The both sat back down, flanking him in an unconscious show of protection as much as a conscious one of support. Draco took up residence in the recliner directly across from the couch on which they sat. He'd known questions would come up, and was prepared to answer them. Though he still didn't like it.
"I don't know everything. When your parents died, your mother gave her life to save you, and your father did the same for you and your mother. Lily was protected by James' sacrifice, and then you were protected by hers'. Retrospectively, you were also protected by James', which meant that the three of you were connected that night. When Voldemort cursed you, the power of not only your mother's spell, but also of your father's, protected you, and made the spell reflect itself upon him. When that happened, somehow, and I don't know how, the most recent spells Voldemort had cast, were reversed. Fudge wasn't the Minister then, a man named Ricardo Juarez was. The only Hispanic minister we've ever had. The Aurors who were first on the scene reported that Lily and James were still alive, but only barely. He ordered them taken to St. Mungo's, under different names. They were treated, but kept sedated. When they were stable, Juarez had them taken to the chamber beneath the ministry and put into a sleep state. A cryogenic one, if you will. They can only be unfrozen from inside the chamber.
"Juarez and both of the Aurors who knew who was in that chamber were killed barely two weeks later. No one knew about it until Scrimgeour took over. Fudge had received a report on it, but apparently was too busy with keeping things running these past years, that he never got around to going down there. Now here's where the details get a little foggy. From what I know, I can tell you the apparently the thing Sirius fell, or leapt or whatever the hell he did, into that night led straight into that Chamber. When everything had been set up thousands of years ago, it was thought that people might try to break in, and that whoever did would need to be stopped. By falling into that thing. But generations went by and no one ever did, so it was forgotten about where it led. All I can do here is assume that anyone who is placed into the chamber through the Department of Mysteries is automatically put to sleep."
"Do they age?"
Draco nodded. "They do. Just like us. I guess the chamber was never intended for long term use."
"So what does that mean for my parents?"
Draco shook his head. "I don't know. Scrimgeour said he checked their vital signs and everything seemed to be normal. It can be assumed that they're fine."
"I guess assumptions are all that we have right now." Harry said, rubbing his hands over his face. "But if we know all this, it can also be assumed that Voldemort knows more."
"I think it's safe to say without a shadow of a doubt that Voldemort knows more than we do." Hermione corrected. "Draco just heard one conversation, and that was months ago. There's no telling how much more they know."
"Hermione's right." Draco told Harry, leaning back in the chair. "There's no way for me to find out, but I think I might know someone who can."
"Who?"
Draco sighed. "My father. He keeps records. Perfect records that record every detail, and he's a slave to labels. He's also a slave to habits. He'll have kept them in the same place, even though he knows I am well aware of where they are. The only problem will be going to get them."
Hermione grinned. "I can help with that." She stood, walked to her bag and withdrew a scroll of parchment. "I've been working on a cloaking spell. It should make the user able to Apparate into anywhere without being detected. Even blocks and barriers won't work."
Ron gaped at her. "That's a dangerous spell if it were to get into wrong hands."
"The only hands it's getting into are ours. Draco, if I charm you, you'll be invisible for half an hour. So far that's all I've been able to wrestle out of it. You should be able to Apparate through the detection spells and barriers on Malfoy Manor with no problem. But make sure you're only in there twenty minutes. I don't want you to risk detection on the way out."
"Got it." Draco stood and donned his robes over his street clothes. "Let's get this done then."
Hermione picked up her wand and pointed it at Draco. "This is going to feel weird and tingly. When you feel the tingles start to go away, you know the spell has almost worn off."
"Right. Got it. No tingles equals major badness. Do it already, Granger."
Hermione took a deep breath. "Non animadverto invenio." Draco disappeared with a small whoosh sound, and then they heard the tell tale pop of an apparition.
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Draco arrived in the foyer of Malfoy Manor, still tingly, and still invisible. Moving silently, he made his way into his father's office. He wasn't very surprised to find Lucius at his desk, a quill in one hand, snifter of brandy in the other. He slipped around the desk, went to the Muggle style file cabinet. Lucius never looked up. Draco knew his father tended to be completely absorbed in his work and his alcohol when he was in his office.
More confident since the spell seemed to be holding, he slowly eased open a drawer. Working directly behind Lucius like he was would ensure that Lucius didn't catch the motion out of the corner of his eye. It took his until the bottom drawer to find what he needed. It was clearly marked `Potter Sleeping Chamber'. Victorious, he took all the papers out of the file, closed the drawer, and tucked them beneath his robes. He waited until he was back in the foyer before Disapparating. The Burrow was his destination.
He arrived, still invisible, and made everyone wait ten minutes until he became visible again. Once he was, he took out the parchment. "Well, boys and girls, we have here a map of the chamber and obstacles, as well as information on the merpeople, the maze and what kind of dragons they think it could possibly be."
Harry took the map. "This looks like the Marauder's Map."
Draco peered, and sure enough, he saw markings like `dragon' and `merking' moving around. "This is good. This will help."
Harry met Draco's eyes. "Thanks, Malfoy."
Draco nodded. "Don't mention it, Potter."
While Harry didn't doubt he would honor the request, and Draco didn't want to think about what he had done for the man he had considered his archnemesis, both men knew that they had taken the first step toward a common ground.
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