Interim Status
That night Draco couldn’t sleep. He had just kissed Harry Potter! Where did this even come from? Yes, Harry had drawn the attention to the fact that they were standing under the mistletoe and had thus implied that they should kiss. BUT! Draco was the one doing the kissing. Granted, it was just a little peck on the other’s lips, but it counted. And Draco had initiated it.
And all that touching during the gift exchange? That was also Draco’s doing. He could put on a necklace on his own just fine. He didn’t need Harry's help, he just wanted to feel him. And hadn’t he indirectly confessed to liking Harry? Merlin, this was embarrassing. Draco usually wasn’t so courageous. The Gryffindors were rubbing off on him.
Out of embarassment, the Slytherin spent the rest of his stay at the burrow expertly avoiding Harry. Too soon for Draco's nerves to settle, he was confronted with Harry’s proximate presence again.
Sirius had come to escort both Harry and Draco to Malfoy Manor. At the Manor, they were shooed into Lucius’ office where the man himself and Dumbledore were already waiting. Draco and Harry were seated next to each other before the men.
The black-haired boy yawned and stretched, letting his arm fall onto the back of Draco’s chair. Draco could feel the other's body heat near his shoulders and his own cheeks heated.
“Boys, I’m very pleased with your work so far. Everything seems to go smoothly at Hogwarts. You are here right now because we wanted to discuss with you the recent progressions of our alliance.” Dumbledore greeted and started the meeting.
“I have to admit that I did not plan on informing you of all this. But as Sirius pointed out, despite your young age you both play important roles in the upcoming war. Especially you, Harry. You have the right to know what is happening.” The headmaster inclined his head in Sirius direction who winked at Harry.
“So best to start at the beginning. Voldemort’s real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He is the son of the witch Merope Gaunt who died due childbirth, and the muggle Tom Riddle Senior who was entangled into a relationship with Merope trough a love potion. Voldemort thus lived in an orphanage until I found him. Now, have you heard about Horcruxes?” Harry shook his head, Draco nodded.
“It’s the splitting of one's soul and embedding the splitted part into an object of one's choosing. To split the soul, you have to do something truly evil like murder.” Draco explained, full in lecture mode. “Why are you asking this? Has the Dark Lord created one?”
“Yes, that’s exactly it. In fact, Voldermort has purposefully made six Horcruxes.” Dumbledore said and Draco gasped. “That many? Is that even possible?”
“It is possible. In consequence, Tom has lost his humanity and can’t be defeated before destroying all Horcurxes. Thus far, we have identified all Horcruxes with Mr. Malfoy’s help.” The headmaster continued.
“In your second year, Harry destroyed Tom Riddle’s Diary. This Horcrux was made when Tom killed Myrtle Warren who now haunts the girls’ lavatory on the first floor. This summer I located the second Horcux, a ring that belonged to Tom’s wizard grandfather. This one was created when Tom killed his own father. I managed to destroy the ring but suffered a severe curse in the process.” Dumbledore showed his right hand which was tarnished black. By now, Harry had put his arm around Draco’s shoulder for real because the blonde was so excited he squirmed in his seat. He had so many questions. Harry’s presence stilled his impatience in a way but only because Draco barely dared to breathe while Harry held him.
“Thanks to the Malfoy library and immense knowledge about the Dark Arts, the curse was prevented from spreading and killing me. But I lost severe amounts of my magical power. Well, going on, Sirius found Slytherin’s Locket, the third Horcrux. His late brother Regulus Black found out about the Horcruxes and set on destroying it in the first war. He didn’t succeed in exterminating the Horcrux but he hid it away safely. We destroyed it with the sword of Gryffindor.” By the mention of his brother, Sirius face turned sad.
“A fourth Horcrux, a Cup of Helga Hufflepuff, was easily obtained thanks to Mr. Malfoy. This one we already crushed, too. That leaves only two more. Through Mr. Malfoy’s intel, we know that the remaining Horcruxes are Tom’s snake Nagini and Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem. I belief the Diadem to be located in Hogwarts. If you want to, you both can assist me in finding and destroying it. Killing the snake is a bit more tricky without raising the suspicion that someone is betraying Tom in his ranks. I believe, the chance to do so will be given in the ultimate battle. Now, there is another complicated matter. I told you, Tom Riddle created six Horcruxes purposely. As it happens, Voldemort made a seventh Horcrux unintentionally. In the night, he gave you that scar, Harry, Voldemort split his soul and a piece of it clung to you.”
“Harry is a Horcrux?” Draco asked mortified and clutched Harry’s hand without thinking.
“Indeed.” Dumbledore nodded gravely.
“So…so what are you saying?” Draco paled and squeezed Harry’s hand painfully. Harry himself looked numb, resigned. “You are not going to kill him, are you?” Draco was terrified. They couldn’t do that. His father would never allow it, would he? He was obsessed with the Potters after all. And what about Sirius? He surely would protect his godson!
Dumbledore calmly said “I believed Harry’s death to be the only option.” Draco leaped up and stood protectively in front of Harry. Merlin, he really adopted some Gryffindor traits.
“But after some more consideration and research I’ve come to the conclusion that Voldemort’s soul, which was embedded into Harry, vanished when Harry got bitten by the basilisk in second year. Basilisk venom is fatal to Horcruxes and Harry would have died, too, if it wasn’t for my phoenix Fawkes who rescued him. Mr. Malfoy has a spell that can identify Horcruxes. We will now test my theory, to determine whether Harry still carries Voldemorts soul.”
Lucius gently nudged his son out of the way and performed the spell. He then turned to the other men in the room and declared “There is no trace of another soul.”
Relieved, Draco sank back onto the chair. Thank Merlin, Harry was ok!
Dumbledore got up, his eyes twinkling merrily as his gaze lingered on Harry and Draco. “Well, then. I have to go back to Hogwarts. Sirius, Mr. Malfoy, I will be in touch for the next steps in our plan. Boys, enjoy your holiday!”
Miffed, Draco marched into the Manor’s kitchen. Everything was alright, the crisis was averted. But Draco had the inkling feeling, Dumbledore would have scarificed Harry if he deemed it necessary for the greater good. And Harry would go with it without complaint. It made Draco sick. Resolving to teach Harry some sense of self preservation, the blonde demanded a hot chocolate with lots of cream from the nearest house elf.