Chapter 2 - Out of Hagwarts
Harry lunged for the window, grabbing his clothes in one hand and his wand in the other. He heard the curtains pull back from behind him; Pomfrey gasped, "Potter, what are you doing?"
But Harry was already out the window and into the car.
"Harry Potter, stop!" Pomfrey shrieked, but Harry was already in the car.
As the car turned away and the nurse's cries died away, Harry glanced over the car. "How did you do this?" he asked, looking mostly at his broom. "How did you find me like this?"
Neither the broom nor the car made a reply, and Harry watched as they drove towards the meeting place. He felt shaky and all rattled up; he placed his hands on his knees and practiced the breathing techniques Snape had taught him. He let his shoulders drop, relaxing his neck muscles, and concentrated on drawing air in and out of his body.
How had the broom and the car found him? One of the objects – fine. But both of them at the same time when he had only been trapped for a few minutes . . . it was uncanny, and not in a fun way.
Still breathing, Harry opened his eyes and stared out at the twilight sky. His life had always been odd and uncanny and not good and strange and everything else not normal. He had been called a freak.
"Why should that change now?" he mumbled as he leaned back against the headrest.
He smiled suddenly, remembering the conversation he had had with Snape last summer. Snape said he had driven a car right out of Hogwarts. Harry had always taken that to mean that Snape had driven a car right after he left Hogwarts. But what if that wasn't true? What if Snape had actually driven a car physically out of Hogwarts just like Harry himself had done?
"Another adventure Snape doesn't need to know about," Harry grinned in spite of himself. "I'm scared they might start piling up. You two don't say anything, all right?"
The car dipped down, and the wall came into view with Ron, Hermione, and Luna standing by it. The car landed on the grass and eased to a stop.
Harry opened the door. "Quick, get in. They're onto us."
"What?" Hermione asked. "How can they be onto us already? What did you do?" But she had already gone to the driver's seat while Ron helped Luna in the back.
"I didn't do anything," Harry shut his door. The car rolled down the grass and lifted up again. "I ransacked Snape's quarters and found some potions. I was going to bring them to you, but McGonagall caught me. She thought I was suicidal and she made me go up to the hospital wing."
"That's why you're wearing pajamas," Ron realized. "At least you thought to bring real clothes." He lifted up the clothes to hand to Harry, but all the coins spilled out. "Blimey! Did you rob Hogwarts while you were at it?"
"No, that was from Snape's," Harry ducked down to change clothes, and Hermione looked at the backseat to give him some privacy.
"Snape had this much lying around?" Ron picked up the coins and put them into Luna's cupped hands.
"No, I broke some stuff to find it."
"And then the car just found you?" Hermione didn't look at him, but her voice sounded suspicious.
"Maybe," Harry pulled his trousers up to button them. "I drove it once, sort of. And it rescued me from the spiders in the woods. Ron, too."
"It did, too, but it hasn't been looking for me since," Ron groused. "And it never – Blimey! Your broom's here. I looked everywhere for it."
"It was in the car," Harry rolled the pajamas into a ball and stuffed them on the floorboard.
"That's incredible," Ron shook his head. "You have all the luck – Blimey!"
"Use another word," Harry growled, but Ron ducked his head down.
"Your Cloak is back here," Ron lifted up the Invisibility Cloak.
Hermione looked at Harry, a direct shot that seemed to go right through him in its intensity. "Harry," she pursed her lips together.
"Snape was always after me to tidy up," Harry said weakly. "Maybe he put a lucky spell on me so my stuff would find me and I'd have to pick it up."
"Did you have things appearing before you killed Voldemort?' Hermione asked. "Did any of these things happen to you before you defeated your greatest enemy, and Snape got scattered, and you impregnated a witch on your first time?"
"Sometimes weird things happen to me," Harry didn't know where to look.
"You really don't want to discuss why – oh, forget it," Hermione huffed. "We'll have plenty of time to talk about this later because you know strange things are going to keep happening. But you better watch out for them or you and I will be having a serious talk, Mr. Potter. Am I understood?"
She looked so much like McGonagall that Harry said, "Yes, Ma'am," before he could stop himself.
"Good," Hermione seemed to relax the tiniest bit. "So we have to discuss new plans. They're onto us so we have to move fast. The head-start is gone. They know we're going to go straight to Snape's Manor. Is there anywhere else we could hide until we get our feet under us?"
"The Burrow?" Ron suggested.
"Second place they'd look," Hermione shook her head. "My parents' house is out and Luna's too."
"They know about Grimmauld Place," Harry said. "I never thought how hard it would be to hide from the good guys. I mean, they know all our secrets. They know stuff about us our enemies never knew."
"That's why it's hard to betray someone or change sides," Ron remarked.
"You have to watch your every step," Luna said.
"Give us another reason to respect Snape," Hermione said. "I can't imagine how hard it would be for him to be a spy so long. Your every move would have to be planned well in advance. You can't just fly off on a whim, like some people."
Harry knew that jab was for him, but he hadn't ever thought about how hard playing both sides must have been for Snape when his friends and enemies knew everything about him.
"Hey, no!" Ron bumped his fist into Harry's shoulder. "You can't be looking all sad and mopey like that. You want to go on this mission and find Snape? You've got to start thinking like Snape. How would he get stuff done?"
"That's right," Hermione nodded. "Think like Snape. He gave you all this training, and like it or not, Snape arranged the spell for the mark transfer months ago. Probably as soon as you came in the summer he arranged things with Mrs. Longbottom, Dumbledore, even McGonagall. He was many steps ahead of the rest, meticulously planning everything out."
"That's right," Harry frowned. "And he didn't tell me any of it. He's got a lot to answer for when I find him. Sneaky bastard."
"Now," Hermione admonished, "he was doing the best he could."
"What he thought was best," Ron argued. "I understand why he did what he did, but it pretty much pushed Harry out altogether. Why couldn't he have told Harry about it? They could have worked together and Snape might not be dead – uh, scattered now."
"Harry would have refused," Hermione said. "Harry wouldn't have let him, and then what was Snape supposed to do? He knew an exchange of marks would allow someone outside the prophecy to step in and defeat the enemy."
"It wasn't his choice to make – he should have asked Harry," Ron leaned forward insistently. "When you make decisions that affect other people, you tell them. He didn't and now Harry's on his own."
"Harry has us," Hermione said.
"Harry has a lot to do," Harry said, slumping slightly in the seat. "But putting this whole argument on the side – which frankly I would have liked to have heard in the hospital when I was recovering . . ."
"We didn't want to upset you," Hermione said.
"This was all playing through my head even though everyone kept telling me to be quiet, but putting that to the side, if I'm thinking like Snape . . ." he trailed off, an intense look on his face.
The other three leaned in, barely breathing.
Harry considered it for a second and then nodded. "Yep, that's what Snape would do. Now, should I tell you, Hermione, or should I make my decisions without consulting the group?"
"I'll push you out of this car," she threatened.
"Fine, "Harry grinned. "The best place to go is Malfoy Manor."
Ron's jaw dropped down.
"Think about it," Harry went on. "Draco's there with his mother. Lucius was captured. Draco will help us, even if we have to sneak around Narcissa. He'll hide us, and we can sneak in and out of Snapdragon Manor until we get all we need."
"We have to drag Malfoy into this?" Ron made a face. "He'll be all snobby and pushy and disgusting, and you know he's going to want to sneak over there with us."
"Harry's right," Hermione said. "Draco's our best choice."
"I know Harry's right," Ron kept grimacing. "But can't I have two minutes to complain about it? Let me grouse and groan, and I'll be good once we get there."
"You take all the time you need," Harry said.
Luna looked out the windows dreamily. "I like this group."
HP&HP&HP&HP&HP
It was nearly ten when the car puttered down on the edges of Malfoy Manor's grounds. Harry got out of the car with his wand.
"You all stay here," he whispered. "I'll be back in a minute."
In the dark, he tiptoed to the edge of the huge mansion. The house was nearly twice the size of Snape's, and Harry saw no reason for such extravagance for a family of three, but he supposed he should not criticize the place that he wanted to hide in for the time being.
He stooped down and grabbed a handful of pebbles off the ground. He flung them at a second-story window where a dim light shone out.
Nothing happened.
Grabbing more rocks, Harry flung another bunch of pebbles.
"Draco!" he called out, keeping his voice low. "You stupid prat, where are –omph!"
Something tackled him in the dark, and Harry fell back to the grass and pebbles. A lit wand was shoved in his face.
"Who are – Potter?" Draco's voice said from somewhere behind the wand. "What are you doing here?"
"Trying to call to you," Harry stood, ignoring the pain in his leg from falling. "How are –" he broke off awkwardly.
In the weak light of his wand, Draco's pale visage showed several scars and a white bandage covered his left eye. His cheeks were sallow and thin as always, but he looked more tired than usual.
"It's not so bad," Draco gave a half smile. "It took me a while to get used to only one eye, and my balance is rubbish, but it's getting better. I take the bandage off every now and then to scare the house elf, but Mother screams every time she sees it. I'm thinking about getting a magic eye like Mad-Eye."
Harry stared for a moment, trying to think of something nice to say. What could you say to someone who lost an eye while you were hale and healthy?
"Sorry about Snape," Draco nodded. "Are you back here to take care of the Manor?"
"No, I escaped from Hogwarts," Harry said.
"What! Merlin, you leave for a few days, and Hogwarts makes Harry Potter a prisoner."
"No, it's more complicated than that. We are here to find Snape."
"We?"
"Ron, Hermione, and Luna. I got Luna pregnant, but Snape is alive, and we're going to find him. But all the teachers are onto me by now, and we need a place to hide."
Draco shook his head. "Snape was right. Trouble does find you. I want the whole story, but yeah, bring the whole group in."
Twenty minutes later, they sat in the great kitchen, drinking hot tea and eating muffins while Harry explained what had happened. When he was done, Draco said,
"Sounds about right. Those teachers were always in everyone's business. But I've been out of earshot since the battle. Mother brought me here, and I'm basically under house-arrest for no reason other than the fact that she's hysterical. She's gone for the night to see Father, and she's ordered the house elf to stun me if I step off the property. But Mother didn't say anything about letting guests in, did she?"
The house elf shook her head, but looked worried as she poured more tea.
"If you get her into trouble, I'll be having words with you, Malfoy," Hermione warned. "I don't want her to suffer for us."
"Believe me, we treat our remaining house elf nicer after we lost Dobby," Draco said. He gave Harry a scathing look that wasn't quite as strong as it could be considering he only had one eye, but Harry didn't look guilty in return.
"Dobby's better off without you. But seriously, how long can we stay here before they catch us?"
"A day or two at least. Mother gets back tomorrow, but she stays mostly in her room or has family come over who torture her by asking how Aunt Bellatrix could have turned so evil. Neville killed her, didn't he?"
"Yeah," Harry did feel guilty then. "She was rotten, you know, but still . . ."
"Not a nice woman or a particularly good aunt," Draco shrugged. "She gave awful Christmas gifts, liked to send me pictures of mutilated things, and wanted me to get the Dark Mark on my next birthday. A pure wretch. More tea?"
"How can we search the Manor without the teachers finding us?" Hermione asked, ignoring her teacup. "I don't like sneaking around, but if they find us, they'll send Harry to St. Mungo's and the rest of us back to school or to our parents. We can't do any good from there."
"Well, first off," Draco said, "they'll ask Snape's house elves if they've seen you. But for all they know, Snape is dead so the house elves belong to Harry now. If Harry tells them to keep mum, they have to do it. We can sneak over there at various times in the night to get whatever you need. Should it take long?"
"I don't know," Harry admitted. "There are rooms I've never been in. Remember the room with all the sleeping plants? What if there are more rooms like that?"
"You won't go in alone," Draco said. "We could search in pairs, and maybe Luna not at all since she's knocked up."
"Hey," Harry protested.
"Not a criticism," Draco gave a roguish smile. "You get yours, mate."
"You boys are horrible," Hermione tried to look prim and disapproving. "But we have to be careful. Who knows what is in that big house? Snape kept you out of some of the rooms for a reason, Harry. We can't barge in everywhere."
"I'll draw a layout of the house as best I can," Harry said. "Even if I hadn't been in all the rooms, I know where the doors are. We can start slow and proceed cautiously through each room, hallway, closet, and nook."
"After you find whatever you need, where will you go?" Draco asked.
Hermione took a sip of tea. "We're not sure after that. It depends on what we find."
"Come off it, Granger," Draco said. "You're going out to find Snape. Who knows where it will take you or how long or what you'll do, but you aren't returning to Hogwarts until you find him."
"Maybe," Hermione set the cup down and looked away.
"Well, try this on for size," Draco leaned forward with his hands on his knees. "I'm coming with you for Mission Rescue Scattered Snape."
"No, you're not!" Hermione and Ron barked out at the same time.
Harry slumped back in his seat.
"Oh, yes, I am," Draco stated. "I'm not going to be holed up in here and taken care of like an invalid. Mother wants me to go to a special school for handicapped wizards, and I said 'Over my dead body,' and she cried some more. But I am not staying here, tucked away like a helpless child just because I lost an eye."
"But that's it," Ron said. "No offense, but how can you help us with only one eye? You'll be a liability."
"My father had connections. Dark connections, but people who can help us move from one place to the next unseen. I can arrange meetings with them. Flippin' Potter still has the Dark Mark – that will help too."
Harry awkwardly pulled down his sleeve to cover up all of the skull and snake.
"You need someone who can think outside your pretty little boxes and goody-two-shoes rules," Draco went on. "I can do your dirty work, and you don't even have to thank me. Besides, Snape was my godfather long before he adopted the Wonder Boy."
"If you come and I did say 'if'," Hermione pointed a finger at Draco, "you have to follow the chain of command. Harry's in charge."
"Liar," Draco said. "You want to be in charge."
"Maybe," Hermione looked prim again, "but I'm letting Harry lead this and I'm only offering helpful advice if he asks."
That was another lie, but Harry didn't bother to correct her, mainly because Ron was glaring at Draco and there was no reason to start Mission Rescue Scattered Snape with more fighting.
"Yeah, I'm in charge," Harry said, "but we're all a team. Most of all you have to protect yourself and then help protect Luna."
"Because of the super-strange devil baby she's carrying?" Draco smirked. "Oh, come on, you didn't think no one would find that odd? You impregnated a witch on your first try at a school where it's forbidden. Either it's a possessed birth or you have the strongest swimmers of any British wizard ever."
"You're not so bad, Draco," Hermione tilted her head to the side to observe him. "You might finally fit in with the good side."
"I doubt it," Draco leaned back in his seat. "As soon as this little parade gets under way, I want a pirate eye-patch for my eye. Black, maybe with a skull and cross bones on it."
"A pirate wizard?" Harry lifted his eyebrows. "This will be a weird mission."
"Any mission you're on is a weird one," Draco scoffed.
Harry tossed a muffin at his face.
Draco ducked and protested, "Watch it. I only have one good eye left."
But Harry was already out the window and into the car.
"Harry Potter, stop!" Pomfrey shrieked, but Harry was already in the car.
As the car turned away and the nurse's cries died away, Harry glanced over the car. "How did you do this?" he asked, looking mostly at his broom. "How did you find me like this?"
Neither the broom nor the car made a reply, and Harry watched as they drove towards the meeting place. He felt shaky and all rattled up; he placed his hands on his knees and practiced the breathing techniques Snape had taught him. He let his shoulders drop, relaxing his neck muscles, and concentrated on drawing air in and out of his body.
How had the broom and the car found him? One of the objects – fine. But both of them at the same time when he had only been trapped for a few minutes . . . it was uncanny, and not in a fun way.
Still breathing, Harry opened his eyes and stared out at the twilight sky. His life had always been odd and uncanny and not good and strange and everything else not normal. He had been called a freak.
"Why should that change now?" he mumbled as he leaned back against the headrest.
He smiled suddenly, remembering the conversation he had had with Snape last summer. Snape said he had driven a car right out of Hogwarts. Harry had always taken that to mean that Snape had driven a car right after he left Hogwarts. But what if that wasn't true? What if Snape had actually driven a car physically out of Hogwarts just like Harry himself had done?
"Another adventure Snape doesn't need to know about," Harry grinned in spite of himself. "I'm scared they might start piling up. You two don't say anything, all right?"
The car dipped down, and the wall came into view with Ron, Hermione, and Luna standing by it. The car landed on the grass and eased to a stop.
Harry opened the door. "Quick, get in. They're onto us."
"What?" Hermione asked. "How can they be onto us already? What did you do?" But she had already gone to the driver's seat while Ron helped Luna in the back.
"I didn't do anything," Harry shut his door. The car rolled down the grass and lifted up again. "I ransacked Snape's quarters and found some potions. I was going to bring them to you, but McGonagall caught me. She thought I was suicidal and she made me go up to the hospital wing."
"That's why you're wearing pajamas," Ron realized. "At least you thought to bring real clothes." He lifted up the clothes to hand to Harry, but all the coins spilled out. "Blimey! Did you rob Hogwarts while you were at it?"
"No, that was from Snape's," Harry ducked down to change clothes, and Hermione looked at the backseat to give him some privacy.
"Snape had this much lying around?" Ron picked up the coins and put them into Luna's cupped hands.
"No, I broke some stuff to find it."
"And then the car just found you?" Hermione didn't look at him, but her voice sounded suspicious.
"Maybe," Harry pulled his trousers up to button them. "I drove it once, sort of. And it rescued me from the spiders in the woods. Ron, too."
"It did, too, but it hasn't been looking for me since," Ron groused. "And it never – Blimey! Your broom's here. I looked everywhere for it."
"It was in the car," Harry rolled the pajamas into a ball and stuffed them on the floorboard.
"That's incredible," Ron shook his head. "You have all the luck – Blimey!"
"Use another word," Harry growled, but Ron ducked his head down.
"Your Cloak is back here," Ron lifted up the Invisibility Cloak.
Hermione looked at Harry, a direct shot that seemed to go right through him in its intensity. "Harry," she pursed her lips together.
"Snape was always after me to tidy up," Harry said weakly. "Maybe he put a lucky spell on me so my stuff would find me and I'd have to pick it up."
"Did you have things appearing before you killed Voldemort?' Hermione asked. "Did any of these things happen to you before you defeated your greatest enemy, and Snape got scattered, and you impregnated a witch on your first time?"
"Sometimes weird things happen to me," Harry didn't know where to look.
"You really don't want to discuss why – oh, forget it," Hermione huffed. "We'll have plenty of time to talk about this later because you know strange things are going to keep happening. But you better watch out for them or you and I will be having a serious talk, Mr. Potter. Am I understood?"
She looked so much like McGonagall that Harry said, "Yes, Ma'am," before he could stop himself.
"Good," Hermione seemed to relax the tiniest bit. "So we have to discuss new plans. They're onto us so we have to move fast. The head-start is gone. They know we're going to go straight to Snape's Manor. Is there anywhere else we could hide until we get our feet under us?"
"The Burrow?" Ron suggested.
"Second place they'd look," Hermione shook her head. "My parents' house is out and Luna's too."
"They know about Grimmauld Place," Harry said. "I never thought how hard it would be to hide from the good guys. I mean, they know all our secrets. They know stuff about us our enemies never knew."
"That's why it's hard to betray someone or change sides," Ron remarked.
"You have to watch your every step," Luna said.
"Give us another reason to respect Snape," Hermione said. "I can't imagine how hard it would be for him to be a spy so long. Your every move would have to be planned well in advance. You can't just fly off on a whim, like some people."
Harry knew that jab was for him, but he hadn't ever thought about how hard playing both sides must have been for Snape when his friends and enemies knew everything about him.
"Hey, no!" Ron bumped his fist into Harry's shoulder. "You can't be looking all sad and mopey like that. You want to go on this mission and find Snape? You've got to start thinking like Snape. How would he get stuff done?"
"That's right," Hermione nodded. "Think like Snape. He gave you all this training, and like it or not, Snape arranged the spell for the mark transfer months ago. Probably as soon as you came in the summer he arranged things with Mrs. Longbottom, Dumbledore, even McGonagall. He was many steps ahead of the rest, meticulously planning everything out."
"That's right," Harry frowned. "And he didn't tell me any of it. He's got a lot to answer for when I find him. Sneaky bastard."
"Now," Hermione admonished, "he was doing the best he could."
"What he thought was best," Ron argued. "I understand why he did what he did, but it pretty much pushed Harry out altogether. Why couldn't he have told Harry about it? They could have worked together and Snape might not be dead – uh, scattered now."
"Harry would have refused," Hermione said. "Harry wouldn't have let him, and then what was Snape supposed to do? He knew an exchange of marks would allow someone outside the prophecy to step in and defeat the enemy."
"It wasn't his choice to make – he should have asked Harry," Ron leaned forward insistently. "When you make decisions that affect other people, you tell them. He didn't and now Harry's on his own."
"Harry has us," Hermione said.
"Harry has a lot to do," Harry said, slumping slightly in the seat. "But putting this whole argument on the side – which frankly I would have liked to have heard in the hospital when I was recovering . . ."
"We didn't want to upset you," Hermione said.
"This was all playing through my head even though everyone kept telling me to be quiet, but putting that to the side, if I'm thinking like Snape . . ." he trailed off, an intense look on his face.
The other three leaned in, barely breathing.
Harry considered it for a second and then nodded. "Yep, that's what Snape would do. Now, should I tell you, Hermione, or should I make my decisions without consulting the group?"
"I'll push you out of this car," she threatened.
"Fine, "Harry grinned. "The best place to go is Malfoy Manor."
Ron's jaw dropped down.
"Think about it," Harry went on. "Draco's there with his mother. Lucius was captured. Draco will help us, even if we have to sneak around Narcissa. He'll hide us, and we can sneak in and out of Snapdragon Manor until we get all we need."
"We have to drag Malfoy into this?" Ron made a face. "He'll be all snobby and pushy and disgusting, and you know he's going to want to sneak over there with us."
"Harry's right," Hermione said. "Draco's our best choice."
"I know Harry's right," Ron kept grimacing. "But can't I have two minutes to complain about it? Let me grouse and groan, and I'll be good once we get there."
"You take all the time you need," Harry said.
Luna looked out the windows dreamily. "I like this group."
HP&HP&HP&HP&HP
It was nearly ten when the car puttered down on the edges of Malfoy Manor's grounds. Harry got out of the car with his wand.
"You all stay here," he whispered. "I'll be back in a minute."
In the dark, he tiptoed to the edge of the huge mansion. The house was nearly twice the size of Snape's, and Harry saw no reason for such extravagance for a family of three, but he supposed he should not criticize the place that he wanted to hide in for the time being.
He stooped down and grabbed a handful of pebbles off the ground. He flung them at a second-story window where a dim light shone out.
Nothing happened.
Grabbing more rocks, Harry flung another bunch of pebbles.
"Draco!" he called out, keeping his voice low. "You stupid prat, where are –omph!"
Something tackled him in the dark, and Harry fell back to the grass and pebbles. A lit wand was shoved in his face.
"Who are – Potter?" Draco's voice said from somewhere behind the wand. "What are you doing here?"
"Trying to call to you," Harry stood, ignoring the pain in his leg from falling. "How are –" he broke off awkwardly.
In the weak light of his wand, Draco's pale visage showed several scars and a white bandage covered his left eye. His cheeks were sallow and thin as always, but he looked more tired than usual.
"It's not so bad," Draco gave a half smile. "It took me a while to get used to only one eye, and my balance is rubbish, but it's getting better. I take the bandage off every now and then to scare the house elf, but Mother screams every time she sees it. I'm thinking about getting a magic eye like Mad-Eye."
Harry stared for a moment, trying to think of something nice to say. What could you say to someone who lost an eye while you were hale and healthy?
"Sorry about Snape," Draco nodded. "Are you back here to take care of the Manor?"
"No, I escaped from Hogwarts," Harry said.
"What! Merlin, you leave for a few days, and Hogwarts makes Harry Potter a prisoner."
"No, it's more complicated than that. We are here to find Snape."
"We?"
"Ron, Hermione, and Luna. I got Luna pregnant, but Snape is alive, and we're going to find him. But all the teachers are onto me by now, and we need a place to hide."
Draco shook his head. "Snape was right. Trouble does find you. I want the whole story, but yeah, bring the whole group in."
Twenty minutes later, they sat in the great kitchen, drinking hot tea and eating muffins while Harry explained what had happened. When he was done, Draco said,
"Sounds about right. Those teachers were always in everyone's business. But I've been out of earshot since the battle. Mother brought me here, and I'm basically under house-arrest for no reason other than the fact that she's hysterical. She's gone for the night to see Father, and she's ordered the house elf to stun me if I step off the property. But Mother didn't say anything about letting guests in, did she?"
The house elf shook her head, but looked worried as she poured more tea.
"If you get her into trouble, I'll be having words with you, Malfoy," Hermione warned. "I don't want her to suffer for us."
"Believe me, we treat our remaining house elf nicer after we lost Dobby," Draco said. He gave Harry a scathing look that wasn't quite as strong as it could be considering he only had one eye, but Harry didn't look guilty in return.
"Dobby's better off without you. But seriously, how long can we stay here before they catch us?"
"A day or two at least. Mother gets back tomorrow, but she stays mostly in her room or has family come over who torture her by asking how Aunt Bellatrix could have turned so evil. Neville killed her, didn't he?"
"Yeah," Harry did feel guilty then. "She was rotten, you know, but still . . ."
"Not a nice woman or a particularly good aunt," Draco shrugged. "She gave awful Christmas gifts, liked to send me pictures of mutilated things, and wanted me to get the Dark Mark on my next birthday. A pure wretch. More tea?"
"How can we search the Manor without the teachers finding us?" Hermione asked, ignoring her teacup. "I don't like sneaking around, but if they find us, they'll send Harry to St. Mungo's and the rest of us back to school or to our parents. We can't do any good from there."
"Well, first off," Draco said, "they'll ask Snape's house elves if they've seen you. But for all they know, Snape is dead so the house elves belong to Harry now. If Harry tells them to keep mum, they have to do it. We can sneak over there at various times in the night to get whatever you need. Should it take long?"
"I don't know," Harry admitted. "There are rooms I've never been in. Remember the room with all the sleeping plants? What if there are more rooms like that?"
"You won't go in alone," Draco said. "We could search in pairs, and maybe Luna not at all since she's knocked up."
"Hey," Harry protested.
"Not a criticism," Draco gave a roguish smile. "You get yours, mate."
"You boys are horrible," Hermione tried to look prim and disapproving. "But we have to be careful. Who knows what is in that big house? Snape kept you out of some of the rooms for a reason, Harry. We can't barge in everywhere."
"I'll draw a layout of the house as best I can," Harry said. "Even if I hadn't been in all the rooms, I know where the doors are. We can start slow and proceed cautiously through each room, hallway, closet, and nook."
"After you find whatever you need, where will you go?" Draco asked.
Hermione took a sip of tea. "We're not sure after that. It depends on what we find."
"Come off it, Granger," Draco said. "You're going out to find Snape. Who knows where it will take you or how long or what you'll do, but you aren't returning to Hogwarts until you find him."
"Maybe," Hermione set the cup down and looked away.
"Well, try this on for size," Draco leaned forward with his hands on his knees. "I'm coming with you for Mission Rescue Scattered Snape."
"No, you're not!" Hermione and Ron barked out at the same time.
Harry slumped back in his seat.
"Oh, yes, I am," Draco stated. "I'm not going to be holed up in here and taken care of like an invalid. Mother wants me to go to a special school for handicapped wizards, and I said 'Over my dead body,' and she cried some more. But I am not staying here, tucked away like a helpless child just because I lost an eye."
"But that's it," Ron said. "No offense, but how can you help us with only one eye? You'll be a liability."
"My father had connections. Dark connections, but people who can help us move from one place to the next unseen. I can arrange meetings with them. Flippin' Potter still has the Dark Mark – that will help too."
Harry awkwardly pulled down his sleeve to cover up all of the skull and snake.
"You need someone who can think outside your pretty little boxes and goody-two-shoes rules," Draco went on. "I can do your dirty work, and you don't even have to thank me. Besides, Snape was my godfather long before he adopted the Wonder Boy."
"If you come and I did say 'if'," Hermione pointed a finger at Draco, "you have to follow the chain of command. Harry's in charge."
"Liar," Draco said. "You want to be in charge."
"Maybe," Hermione looked prim again, "but I'm letting Harry lead this and I'm only offering helpful advice if he asks."
That was another lie, but Harry didn't bother to correct her, mainly because Ron was glaring at Draco and there was no reason to start Mission Rescue Scattered Snape with more fighting.
"Yeah, I'm in charge," Harry said, "but we're all a team. Most of all you have to protect yourself and then help protect Luna."
"Because of the super-strange devil baby she's carrying?" Draco smirked. "Oh, come on, you didn't think no one would find that odd? You impregnated a witch on your first try at a school where it's forbidden. Either it's a possessed birth or you have the strongest swimmers of any British wizard ever."
"You're not so bad, Draco," Hermione tilted her head to the side to observe him. "You might finally fit in with the good side."
"I doubt it," Draco leaned back in his seat. "As soon as this little parade gets under way, I want a pirate eye-patch for my eye. Black, maybe with a skull and cross bones on it."
"A pirate wizard?" Harry lifted his eyebrows. "This will be a weird mission."
"Any mission you're on is a weird one," Draco scoffed.
Harry tossed a muffin at his face.
Draco ducked and protested, "Watch it. I only have one good eye left."