Chapter 10
Draco tripped on his way through the hole and rolled gracelessly into the room. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the gloom, but as the room took shape, it became apparent that they were in one of the other house’s common rooms. There was a cluster of sofas near a fireplace, and study tables were scattered throughout the room. Even though, by all accounts, this room should have been covered in a decade’s worth of dust and grime, it looked perfectly preserved, as if students would appear in the room at any moment. Draco turned to Theo as he ducked through the hole.
“Do you know which house was red? Was it Hufflesnuff?”
“I believe you mean Hufflepuff, and no. This is not the Hufflepuff common room. This is the Gryffindor common room.” Theo looked around with a sneer and a sniff. “They certainly liked their lions, didn’t they?”
“Why are we in the Gryffindor common room? Why would the mirror send us here?”
Just then, the dormant fireplace roared to life, the flames turning green. Just as suddenly, a man appeared in the fire and stepped out. Draco and Theo looked at each other, wide-eyed with fear. The man stepped out of the fireplace and began brushing soot off of his dusky blue robes. He was an elderly man with long hair and a long beard that reached almost to his waist. He looked down his nose at them, through the half-moon spectacles he wore.
Draco and Theo both drew their wands and pointed them at the man, shouting curses to immobilize. Draco shouted “who are you?” At the same moment, Theo yelled, “Identify yourself!”
The old man just chuckled. “Well done. Excellent reflexes. It would seem Severus has at least taught you boys to defend yourselves, but there is entirely no need for those. If you have managed to find your way here, I can assure you, you may count me your friend.” The boys did not lower their wands. The man muttered something the boys did not catch, and freed himself from their enchantments. He walked over to a sofa and sat down.
“My name is Albus Dumbledore. I was the headmaster here before Voldemort took over.” The boys winced at the sound of the Dark Lord’s name. “I would ask your names, but given where we are, I believe I can figure it out myself.” He turned to Draco. “You are obviously the son of Lucius and Narcissa. You look remarkably like your father, with just a touch of your mother around the eyes. Let me think… Draco, was it? Mmm. And you, young sir, remind me very much of a student I had many years ago, Theodosia Longbottom. She was a favorite student of mine. Incredibly bright and kind. I was upset to learn her parents had arranged a marriage for her to Lysander Nott. I had him as a student also, and I must say I was less than impressed with Mr. Nott.”
By this point in the speech, the fight had gone out of the boys and they had lowered their wands. Draco was still skeptical and determined to be on his guard, but he was unsure what to make of this strange wizard who knew so much about their families. The man- Dumbledore- continued, “If I’m remembering correctly, Theodosia named her only child after herself- perhaps trying to distance her son from his father as much as possible- so that would make you Theodore. Am I correct?” Theo nodded reluctantly.
“Very well then. Now that introductions are out of the way, I’m assuming you would like some answers.” The boys nodded in response. “Please, take a seat and I’ll tell you what I can. Fourteen years ago, when Voldemort murdered Neville Longbottom and began his rampage across the United Kingdom, I began setting up certain safeguards around the school. I knew it was only a matter of time before he came to claim the school, and I knew what he would do once he got here. So the teachers and I set up the strongest protection charms we could muster around the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor houses, as well as other important areas of the school which I desired to keep private. My colleagues wanted to lock these areas up tight so that no one but our secret keeper could gain access, but against their wishes, I decided to leave behind a key.
“I had hopes that one day there would be a student whose views and motivations would align with ours. I hoped that should such a student ever grace these halls, we would be able to connect and help one another. And somehow, despite the odds, here you are!” Dumbledore gave the boys a grandfatherly smile and looked at them as though he expected some sort of response, but they had none to offer. Draco was still unsure of this man and his intentions. For all he knew, this man could be as evil as the Dark Lord. Undeterred, the old man went on.
“The long and short of it is that the Room of Requirement was enchanted to only admit someone pure of heart, uncorrupted by dark magic, who had a sincere desire to defeat the Dark Lord.” Draco was quite taken aback. How could this be true? He certainly didn’t feel pure of heart, and he’d been practicing dark magic since he was a small child. There was no way he could be uncorrupted.
The old man continued, “Ah, I see you are skeptical. That is a good thing.
There are very few people who are completely trustworthy, and I am certainly not one of them. However, I am being entirely truthful on this score. Dark magic is not, in fact, entirely evil, and does not always cause corruption in its users. Like so many other things, it is how you use the power that is important. It is the negative desires of our hearts that cause corruption and not the curse itself. For example, if one casts the killing curse because one is protecting oneself, or because they are forced to do so, no corruption will occur. But if one casts the curse with the express desire to cause harm, destruction, and sadness, well... That is a different story. Rest assured, as long as your motivations are pure, you will remain free of corruption and madness.
“Allow me to cut to the chase. We are losing this war. Voldemort is going to win unless something changes soon.” The boys cringed again at the name. “We do have one excellent source within the Death Eater organization, but we need more. I do not wish to underestimate the risk you would be taking. You would be putting your lives and all you hold dear at risk for an infinitesimal chance of success.”
Draco took a moment to reflect. This is what he’d wanted since he was a child- a chance to put an end to the Dark Lord’s reign. If he did nothing, the Dark Lord would expand his terror to cover the whole world, consuming everything in its wake, including Hermione. There was no other choice. He might lose his home, his family, even his life, but if that meant Hermione would live and be happy, it was a price he was willing to pay. He could see the same answer shining from Theo’s eyes as they turned to the man and said “We’re in.”
A wide grin lit up Dumbledore’s face as he considered the boys. “Excellent! That’s excellent news! And quite serendipitous, as you are about to head home for the holiday. Mister Malfoy, I have a very important mission for you. Somewhere in your father’s library is a very old, leatherbound journal That contains no writing, and absorbs any ink placed on its pages. Have you ever seen it?”
Draco racked his brain, but did not know of any such book. He shook his head.
“That is quite alright, quite alright. Here’s what I need you to do...”
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Hermione paced back and forth in Andromeda’s living room while Andromeda lounged on the couch. “Sit down. You’re making me seasick. He’ll get here when he gets here,” Andromeda said. Just then, the fireplace burst to life and the flames turned a sickly shade of green. A moment later, a cloud of green smoke invaded the room as an old man in dark blue robes stepped out of the fireplace. He shook soot out of his waist-long beard and glanced up over his strangely shaped glasses. He smiled when his eyes found the older woman.
“Andromeda. It is so lovely to see you again! I have a letter here from Tonks.” He rummaged around in various hidden pockets until finally finding what he was looking for and handing it to Andromeda.
“Thank you, Professor. It’s nice to see you as well.”
“Now, Ms Black. It has been a very long time since I was a professor, and even longer since you were my student. Please, call me Albus.”
Andromeda looked uncomfortable with this request, but said, “Alright… Albus.”
Dumbledore then turned to Hermione and said, “You must be Hermione Granger. You probably don’t remember meeting me, seeing as you were very small at the time, but it is nice to see you again.” Hermione suddenly felt awkward and was unsure how to respond, so she simply nodded. “Now, what is it that has you sending international owls to a crotchety old man halfway across the world?” he asked kindly.
Hermione took a deep breath and began the speech she’d been working on since her conversation with Sirius. “We would like to talk to you about Draco Malfoy,” she began, but stalled as she saw the look of shock on Dumbledore’s face. He motioned for her to continue. “You see, due to some… unforeseen and difficult to explain circumstances, I recently became acquainted with Draco, and have grown to care for him very much in the short amount of time I’ve known him. I know that it might be hard for you to trust him, or me by association, given who his parents and aunt are, but I assure you, he is a good person with a good heart. He doesn’t want to be a Death Eater, and wants to see Voldemort defeated. He is an extremely talented wizard, and he would be a great asset to the resistance. We were hoping you would help us rescue him.”
She tried to stand tall and still, clasping her hands behind her back. She wanted to appear cool and calm, but her heart was beating out of her chest. Dumbledore sat heavily on the armchair behind him. Hermione couldn’t quite determine the expression on his face. There was surprise, but also calculation, mixed with humor and interest. He began to chuckle.
“This has been quite an extraordinary day. Please, sit. I have something to tell you. I have actually just come from a meeting with young Master Malfoy. I agree with your assessment. He is a very talented young wizard, and will be an excellent addition to my forces. But I have to wonder, how did you manage to become acquainted with him?”
“Wait, what do you mean you just spoke to him?” This question came from Andromeda, who looked confused.
“I believe my question came first, but that’s alright. I’ll answer first, and hopefully give Miss Granger a reason to trust me with her secrets. Before leaving Hogwarts, we set heavy enchantments to protect the three dormitories and various other areas of the school we knew would come under attack once the Death Eaters took over. During this process, I placed a failsafe in a hidden room in case a situation arose where a student with a pure heart desired to be removed from their current circumstances and join the resistance. None of my colleagues believed that this was a project worth my time, but I have now been proven correct. Mister Malfoy and his friend found the failsafe, and I was able to speak to them face to face.”
It was Hermione’s turn to sit heavily in surprise. “So, does this mean that you helped him escape? Is he safe?” she asked breathlessly, her heart pounding.
Dumbledore gave her an apologetic look, and Hermione saw Andromeda’s shoulders sag from the corner of her eye. “Mister Malfoy and Mister Nott have made the decision to use their current positions to assist the resistance in ways only they can provide.”
Andromeda made a disgusted sound. “You made them spies? They are children!”
Dumbledore looked at Hermione and asked, “Do you consider yourself a child? If you were in their place, would you choose to be rescued and taken to safety like a child, or treated like an adult and given the chance to use your power to make a difference in the world?”
Hermione thought seriously about the question for a moment before answering. “I am not a child, but also not an adult. In a perfect world, Draco and I would just be two normal Hogwarts students, with no worries bigger than passing our NEWTs. But that’s not the world we live in. One of the biggest casualties of war is childhood, and Draco’s lived in a war zone his whole life. The things he’s had to witness and experience…” she shuddered, “stole his innocence a long time ago. If I were Draco, I probably would have made the same decision.” She looked at Andromeda apologetically, and she nodded in understanding. The wind taken out of her sails, she sunk into a chair, unsure of what to do or say next. She’d been so intent on finding a way to help Draco, she hadn’t thought about anything else.
“It is the choice I like to think I would have made myself if I were in his position,” said Dumbledore. “He is a very brave boy. Now, my dear, I believe it is your turn. How did you come to meet a boy who lives on the other side of the world, in one of the most magically protected buildings on the planet?”
Hermione wasn’t sure she wanted to share this information with Dumbledore. He had been the shadowy figure behind the curtain of every bad thing that happened in her life, but she also knew that every adult in her life knew and trusted this man with their lives. He was also the man who would be her commander if she ever decided to go back to England to serve in the resistance, which was something she was considering now more than ever.
“I can astral project,” she blurted, and watched for the scheming calculation she knew would enter his gaze. She decided to give a modified version of the facts. “I discovered the talent completely on accident. I still don’t fully understand what happened. One minute I was doing meditation exercises, the next I was standing in Hogwarts, looking at Draco.”
She couldn’t tell if Dumbledore believed her tale or not. “Interesting. Very interesting,” he said while stroking his beard. “Astral Projection is an incredibly rare talent, and very difficult on the mind.” He was searching her face for traces of falsehood.
“Yes. It certainly is. I slept for more than a day afterwards and woke up with an unbelievable migraine. The aftereffects are only now wearing off.”
“Which room did you see? Can you describe it?”
Hermione felt a blush creep onto her face. “It was a boy’s dormitory. The walls were green, and there was a strange window at one end. There were four poster beds, each draped in black silk.”
Andromeda gasped. “That’s the Slytherin dormitory!”
“Indeed it is,” said Dumbledore. “Ms. Granger, are you considering joining the resistance once you graduate?”
“Yes, sir. I am now, sir.”
“Good. The implications of having someone with the ability to Astral Project are… limitless. Your talent could turn the tide in our favor. If you are strong enough to enter Hogwarts, you could become the greatest intelligence asset in our arsenal.”
Hermione felt flattered, but also hesitant. Her life so far had been idyllic. The thought of throwing herself into a war was chilling. Andromeda was looking at her with apprehension, but she reminded herself that she was doing this for Draco. “I would be happy to help in any way I can.”
“Very well, my dear. I wish you luck in your final semester. I very much look forward to working with you in the future. Andromeda, darling. It was wonderful to see you. I will speak to Draco of you if I have the chance. Please tell Ted I’m sorry to have missed him.”
“I will, sir. I’ll send along your love. One moment.” She walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a tupperware container. “Can you give this to Nymphadora for me? It’s her favorite.”
“Absolutely. I’ll take the floo straight to her. Never fear.” With that, he entered the fireplace, threw down his floo powder, and shouted “Grimmauld Place!” In a flare of green flames, he disappeared, leaving Hermione and Andromeda alone with their thoughts.