The Second Day - Part 6
"Lumos," Harry said quietly, as he led them up the broad stone staircase at the end of the corridor. The portraits along the wall were as empty as the ones downstairs. As they reached the top of the stairs they saw another long corridor with five or six doors on either side. The first door on Harry's right was open and from the dim silver firelight he could see a richly decorated bedroom, with silvery curtains and bed hangings and furniture of dark wood. A thick Persian carpet covered a patch of floor beside the bed.
Harry looked inquiringly at Draco, as they walked into what appeared to be the master bedroom. Draco picked up one of the hairbrushes on the dresser and absently stroked the soft bristles with his thumb.
"This is my mother's room. We won't find anything here."
"They didn't…your parents were…" Harry stammered.
"They had separate rooms, yes. His is at the other end of the hall." Under his breath but loud enough for Harry to hear, Draco added, "She stayed with him out of fear--and for me."
Four doors farther on they found the room they were looking for. From the moment he saw it Harry knew it had to be the private domain of Lucius Malfoy. In the huge, irregularly shaped room, Draco's father had recreated the oppressive gloom of the Slytherin Common Room. Heavy green damask fabric covered the walls and the leaded windows. The bed, chairs, and dresser were intricately carved in black ebony. An umbrella stand made of entwined silver serpents, their mouths agape, held half a dozen skull-tipped canes like the one Harry had seen Lucius use to strike Dobby all those years ago.
The room was immaculately clean, and a silent fire was still casting eerie green shadows across the floor. Suddenly Harry heard a soft swishing noise. He immediately darkened his wand and crept forward a few steps so he could see the recess in the wall on the other side of the massive bed.
On her knees with her back toward him was a tiny House Elf, sweeping soot and ashes from the floor. Her shapeless smock was well worn and darned in many places, but it was clean and neatly pressed
"Beaton, what are you doing here?" Draco asked.
"Master Draco, you're back!" the elf replied. "We had a terrible storm early this morning, right before dawn. The wind came down all the chimneys and scattered ashes everywhere. Beaton has been cleaning all day. Master doesn't allow us to use magic for this work. Your mother's room is finished. Will she and the Master be home soon?"
"I'm afraid not, Beaton. They will be engaged at the Ministry…for some time." Draco took a deep breath and plunged on. "Voldemort has been defeated, Beaton. He's dead, and the Death-Eaters are finished, including my father. I have been pardoned-I'm trying now to help those who were injured in the battle."
Beaton's wide grew wide and she stared at Draco and Krum and a third man she didn't know.
"Draco, you are the master here now," Harry said quietly, nodding at Beaton.
"Yes, I am. Which means I can do this," Draco said, pulling the stocking cap from his head and handing it out to Beaton. "Take this….please. Loyalty won by fear and violence is no loyalty at all. You're free."
Beaton hesitated a moment but then extended her scrawny arms and took the cap. She pulled it over her head so it rested loosely on her shoulders.
"So Beaton is like Dobby now?" she asked tentatively.
"Yes, like Dobby," Draco replied. "And Winky and Kreacher-remember them? Winky used to serve Barty Crouch and Kreacher was with the Blacks?"
"Yes, I think so."
Harry stepped forward and crouched down so he was on eye level with the elf.
"Beaton, I'm Harry Potter. I'm the one who freed Dobby. I'm very sad to say that Dobby died. He was killed by Bellatrix-she threw a knife into his back in this very house-but he brought us all to safety. He died saving me and my friends."
This was too much for Beaton to take in all at once and she stumbled forwards and fell to her knees.
"Dobby was always brave," she whispered. "I always hoped I'd see him again."
"Will you help us, Beaton? Help us save my friend. For Dobby."
"Yes I will. Anything I can," she replied.
"The knife Bellatrix used to kill Dobby was buried with him, but Fenrir Greyback dug it up. We think he brought it here. We need it back. Have you seen it?"
"Yes, yes. I have," she said excitedly. "He put it in the master's silver chest. He should not have done that. He should never have come in this room at all. When he left the house this afternoon, I took it."
"Took what, Beaton?" Draco asked.
"Took the chest-and hid it. All the Master's most precious belongings-he loved to take them out and look at them. I couldn't let him-that creature--touch them."
"Where is the chest now?" Harry asked.
"In the compartment behind the wall-there," she said, pointing to the wall above the dresser. In an instant a hidden door appeared in the wall and swung open, revealing an ornate silver chest with the Malfoy crest. Draco took it carefully from its hiding place, set it down on the table, and stepped back. Harry pulled a pair of Ron's old Quidditch keeper gloves from his knapsack and put them on. Then he laid Slughorn's leaden casket on the table.
Slowly he lifted the lid. At first he didn't see the knife, but as he pushed aside the assortment of weapons and instruments of torture, he found it, jammed into the back corner-the short silver knife that he had pulled from Dobby.
He took it from the chest and held it between his fingers where the haft met the blade. In the light from the fire and Viktor and Draco's wands the jagged double S could clearly be seen.
"This was your aunt's knife, Draco?" he asked.
"Yes. A present from Riddle. Yes."
"I saw her with it many times, Harry," Viktor added. "She carried it with her always."
"There doesn't seem to be any potion on it, though. No visible stains. We'll see what Slughorn can find out." Harry put the knife in the box and returned it to his knapsack.
"Will you come with us, Beaton? Back to Hogwarts? Winky and Kreacher are there. It'll be safer for you than here."
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Potter. I will-I just need a few minutes to gather my things."
At that moment a loud crash came from the drawing room below. Harry's fingers tightened instinctively around his wand. "Is there another way out of here?"
"Yes. Follow me," Draco said, grabbing his pack and rushing out of his father's room without a backward glance.
"Go to the old fountain-on the other side of the hedge. I'll meet you there," Beaton said quickly. Then she snapped her fingers and vanished from sight.
Harry and Viktor followed Draco down a narrow spiral staircase at the far end of the long hall. At the bottom they almost fell into an old wooden door, swollen from the rain. It resisted their first attempts to open it but yielded at last when Viktor pushed against it heavily with his shoulder.
They reached the hedge, and concealing themselves behind it, quickly reached a stone fountain near the front gate, where Beaton was waiting for them.
"I suggest we fly to the circle of stones and apparate from there to Hogsmeade," Draco said. "Beaton-you remember seeing the Slytherin Common Room when you went to Hogwarts with my father last winter?"
"Yes, and a cold, dank place it was," she replied.
"Apparate there now. Find Professor Slughorn and tell him we have the knife and we'll be there as quickly as we can."
Beaton had barely opened her mouth to answer when her face froze into a look of horror. An invisible hand picked her up and threw her against the hard stone of the fountain.
"Revelo," Harry said. The shadowy shape of Yaxley appeared just as he was about to clamp his fingers around Viktor's exposed neck. "Petrificus totalis," Harry shouted. Viktor watched, stock still, as Yaxley's body went rigid and fell to the ground at his feet.
"Keep your wands out," Harry ordered. "Greyback has to be around here somewhere. Draco, where's the rope?"
Draco crouched down and began rifling through his pack. In rising panic, he tossed out his minimized broomstick, a tin of Darkness powder, the Hand of Glory. "I know it's here," he said, shoving his hand desperately into the bottom of the stiff leather sack. "Yes, here it is," he said, holding out the coiled rope to Harry.
As Harry reached out to take it he heard an unearthly growl. A huge grey animal appeared out of nowhere and lunged at Draco, knocking him to the ground. Harry hurled himself at the wolf and pinned it on its back.
"Harry--it's Greyback," Viktor shouted. "His legs. We have to tie his legs." The two men pressed down on the werewolf with all their weight, as he writhed and snapped at them with his huge jaws. Draco grasped each leg in turn, wrapping the rope around the ankles over and over, tighter and tighter. Greyback squirmed and twisted, contorting his body to try to escape the silken bonds.
"Hold him as still as you can. I have to tie his jaws shut," Draco said. "Then we'll be able to Stun or Petrify him."
"All right. Just hurry," Harry snapped, his face drawn tight with the effort of keeping Greyback in place.
Draco bent down, taking the loose end of the rope from where it was tied around the legs. He brought it cautiously around the back of Greyback's head, avoiding the snapping jaws and sharp yellow teeth. He looped it around the wolf's jaws but could not tighten it, as Greyback strained against the rope and focused all his strength on keeping his mouth open. Again and again Draco yanked at the rope, but Greyback was too strong. In desperation, Draco reached out to grasp the wolf's muzzle with his hand. He forced Greyback's jaws shut and, holding them closed with his left hand, began to wrap the rope around them with his right. Twice, three times, four times, the rope encircled the werewolf's jaws. Finally, Greyback stopped resisting and was still. Draco looked up at Harry and Viktor and a ghost of a smile crossed his face. All he had to do was tie the rope and the spell would be complete.
Carefully he let go of the werewolf's jaws and, using both hands, began to work the complicated knot. Intent on remembering the seven steps, he didn't notice Greyback's muscles twitch and go taut as the werewolf made a final effort to free his mouth. Caught by surprise, Draco dropped the rope and pressed down on Greyback's jaws with both hands. Just as Draco seemed to be succeeding, his left hand slipped on the werewolf's wet fur. Greyback twisted his head and snapped his jaws shut on something white, which fell to the grass with a dull thud. Draco gave out a small cry and fell unconscious to the ground.
"Harry, you must do it," Viktor said. "I can hold him."
As Harry moved aside to let Viktor take control of the wolf's body he caught a glimpse of the wolf's face and looked directly into his sallow yellow eyes. Harry held Greyback's gaze. Startled, Greyback stopped struggling just long enough for Harry, using both hands, to force the jaws shut. "Constringo," he said, spitting out the Binding spell through clenched teeth. The loose end of the rope wrapped itself round and round Greyback's muzzle, pulling ever more tightly against the straining animal. Finally, the rope looped back on itself to create an intricate knot. Greyback stilled, his eyes open but the lids slack in defeat.
Harry drew out his wand and pointed it at Greyback's prone body. "Petrificus totalis." The wolf went rigid and fell over on his side.
"Viktor, leave him," Harry said. Viktor was still holding on to the wolf, checking the security of the rope. "It's fine. But Draco…" Harry motioned frantically to where Draco lay a few yards away, his head at an odd angle and his mouth open.
Viktor crawled toward Draco. "Where's his hand?" he said, swinging him arms through the thick grass in wide circles.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"His hand. Draco's hand. Fenrir must have bit it off."
A sickening horror clenched at Harry's stomach. He realized now that the flash of white he'd seen when Draco was attacked was Draco's left hand.
"I know where it is. I saw it fall. Turn him over. Raise his arm and make a tourniquet," Harry ordered. "And we'll need the elixir."
Harry found the severed hand easily, as the patch of almost translucent white skin reflected the shimmer of the moon. Holding it firmly at the wrist, he brought it to where Viktor was elevating Draco's arm.
"Good. Now where's the elixir?" Harry asked.
"What elixir?" Viktor said gruffly. "We left it all at Hogwarts, remember?"
"We don't have time for this. I know you have some-I saw the vial in your pack."
Viktor was on the point of trying another denial, but he knew Harry would see right through him. "Slughorn said it was only for you. No one else. Not me. Not Draco. No one but you. He made me swear."
"But I don't need it-Draco does. He'll bleed to death if we don't do something. Here-I'll hold his arm and hand together. You apply the elixir. Now!"
Viktor made no reply, but he nodded his assent and pulled his wand and a tiny red vial from his pocket. While Harry held Draco's arm and severed hand together, Viktor opened the vial and dipped his wand in the golden liquid. He drew his wand in a circle around Draco's wrist: "Coniunctio," he and Harry said together.
Almost before the word was spoken the flesh and bone and skin of Draco's wrist knit back together. Cautiously Harry let go of Draco's hand and laid the healed arm on the grass. "Enervate," he said. Draco opened his eyes slowly and tried to sit up. But his head lolled on his neck like a rag doll's and Viktor had to catch him to prevent him from falling over.
"Harry, I will take care of Draco. I know someone in the village here. I will call him to help me. You must go back right away. Hurry. I will join you when I can."
Victor's mounting alarm told Harry that Viktor knew something he wasn't telling him-but what? Harry desperately wanted to know but fear of what he might learn kept him silent. He looked past Draco to the fountain and the unmoving figure of the house elf he had hoped to rescue. She was half sitting, half lying against the base of the fountain, her head drooping forward and her chin resting on her chest. Harry felt cautiously around the back of her head until he found a bump the size of a pelican's egg.
"Enervate," he said quietly. "Please, Beaton, I need you. I have to get back to Hogwarts. There's no time to lose." Far in the distance, the clock in the village church began to toll-one, two, three.
Beaton's saucerlike eyes opened wide, full of fear, as she recalled the last few moments before she lost consciousness.
"All you all right?" Harry asked.
"I think so," she said feebly, rubbing the back of her head and wincing with pain. More chimes-four, five, six.
"Do you know the Potions classroom? Can you take me there instead of the Slytherin Common Room? We could save some time." Three more chimes.
"Yes, Beaton can take you there. No," she corrected herself quickly, "I will take you there." Three final chimes. It was midnight.
Author Note: This is, obviously, the end of the Second Day. (It's a bit longer than usual so I could finish the whole scene.)
Just one more day to go.
For anyone interested in the alchemy woven into the story I've started a thread about it in the PK forums.
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