Previous / Return to Scene List / Next

Title: ‘B’ Makes Contact

Contributors: dm_fugitive, artweasley

Edited by: Carla Lute

Posted: 2006-01-24 to 3-06

Game Date: September 10th

Disclaimer: No one at Levicorpus owns Harry Potter, the world or its characters. We just like to play in J.K. Rowling’s world.

* * * * * * *

Draco found a hooded robe. Not black, but dark brown. He secured the extra wand his father had given him under his shirt. He dressed neatly, brushed his hair and arranged it as best he could. He tried a few different facial expressions in the mirror, from haughty to penitent to somber, and settled on something rather grim but determined. He took a sip of some of Snape's Strengthening Solution just as a precaution, and then, gripping his wand tightly, he apparated to London.

* * * * * * *

It had been a long night and as usual, number twelve Grimmauld Place was quiet. Of course, the quieter it was, the better it was for all of them, but working security on a night such as this . . . well, Arthur didn't wonder why some of them, occasionally, fell asleep on the job. He was increasingly beginning to regret turning Molly's offer down, although she hadn't seemed particularly keen on standing watch with Arthur, he certainly would have valued her company.

His wand was loose in his limp hand, and he attempted to stifle a yawn, when suddenly Arthur looked up. Carefully scanning the darkness, he could just barely make out a shadowy figure. His eyes narrowed, there was only one reason anyone would come here hooded the way this person was, and Arthur didn't like it. Not one bit. A chill ran through him at the memory of his encounter a few weeks earlier with Malfoy, Snape and Adara and the wand became firm in his hand and he took careful aim before the figure spotted him. Petrificus totalis.

Draco caught the faintest glimpse of a wand, and his instincts took over. His own wand was already out, and he non-verbally cast Protego!, blocking the spell. "Take it easy," he hissed into the night. "I'm B."

Arthur still didn't lower his wand, squinting into the gloom and trying to get a clear glimpse of the visitor. "What do you want?"

"To talk," Draco said. "Preferably inside. Look, I'll put my wand down. You can hold it until, you're sure of my intentions." Draco turned his wand so that it was no longer pointing at Arthur. He slowly laid it on the ground, keeping his other hand visible, and took a few steps back, both hands in the air and empty.

Arthur's eyes narrowed, but he slowly slipped the wand away from the new arrival and into his pocket. "Alright." He began to turn and then thought better, opening the house door and motioning for Draco to go through it. At this time of night the house was practically deserted anyways, and he motioned for Draco to have a seat at the kitchen table. "Alright," he repeated. "What is it you want to talk about?"

Draco had not recognized Arthur at first. He felt a fresh new set of misgivings when he did, but so far he seemed willing to listen. Draco would talk.

He followed Mr. Weasley inside and took a seat at the table, glancing anxiously around to see if anyone else was present. He steeled himself and dropped his hood. "I think we can help each other," Draco said, pleased by the evenness in his tone. "I want to help the Order."

Arthur stared ahead, not entirely sure what to think. "You want to help the Order," he said, more repeating it than asking. He tried to think of a question, but all that came out was "Why?"

"When I was much younger, I used to hear how much better life would be if You-Know-Who came back," Draco began. "Before he came back, I lived in a Mansion with my parents, who had respected places in society. I went to the best school in Europe, where I did well and roomed with my best friends. And despite what I've been told, I'm not seeing my life get better.

"And the further I look ahead the worse it looks. If the Ministry catches me at this point, they're likely to do with me what they did to Yaxley. If I screw up again, the Dark Lord is likely to do the job for them. I don't want to live in the world he's making." He had tried keeping eye contact at first, but he soon found his gaze drifting. Not really looking at anything in particular, just avoiding Mr. Weasley's steady gaze.

"I want to believe you, Draco." Arthur leaned back in his chair. There was something about Draco that made him curious. He had been here before, but on much different terms. Now he wanted to become an ally, to help the Order of the Phoenix. "How can you prove to me that you really do want to help? What do you know?"

"The watch," Draco said quickly, feeling a rush of relief that he did have something. "The one Neville Longbottom has. It's a transmitter. It works something like a Muggle radio, in that it has a different frequency than the usual Wizarding Wireless. We...the Death Eaters can hear everything that goes on around Longbottom."

Draco's comment struck a chord with Arthur. Neville was becoming more and more important in everything. "What have you heard from the transmitter?" He asked.

Arthur sighed. "I will consider any help you give us. But do remember that it is not entirely up to me; I must discuss this with the Order. It will take a lot to earn trust."

"We haven't heard anything important," Draco said. "Not yet, but as he's sharing a dorm with Potter that could just be a matter of time." Draco shifted nervously. "Mr. Weasley, please. Keep my involvement to as few people as possible. Maybe only one or two other contacts. He can read minds, Vol-the Dark Lord can, if he get the slightest hint that I've betrayed him-" he broke off meaningfully. "And I know it's important to get that watch off, but I really need you to wait a few days if possible. Only two of us know about that watch now, and he'll know it’s me. Please give me a little time to bring some others in." Draco did look Mr. Weasley in the eyes now, but he realized he was looking up. He had hunched his shoulders down as though fighting a sudden chill.

"We won't destroy the watch immediately. I will give you until the end of next week, and then it will be gone. I can't promise it will stay with Neville though. It may find its way into his trunk." Arthur stood up and moved over to the stove as he talked. "Tea?" He asked.

Draco started to pass but decided he could probably use something. "Please," he said. I'm in love with Ginny, part of him wanted to call. Mr.Weasley didn't seem to hate him, maybe he wouldn't mind...but then he might see another side of the seemingly mild man if he brought his rendezvous with his little girl up. So Draco kept his mouth shut, twiddled his thumbs, and looked about the kitchen as he waited for his tea.

Arthur finished making the tea in silence, watching Draco out of the corner of his eye. The kid shifted nervously in his seat.

He sat back down and passed a cup across the table to Draco.

"You're a good kid, Draco. A good head on your shoulders, I'm glad to see you making good decisions like this."

The look Draco gave Arthur when he called him a good kid was pretty close to shock. No one had called him a good kid in...had anyone ever called him a good kid?

He opened his mouth. Good enough for your daughter?...can't say that. "I'm of age now," he said instead. "I have...I have things I want. In exchange for the information I give you."

Now, if I could just sound less like a scared kid and more like an adult... Draco took a deep breath, straightened himself up, and took a sip of his tea.

And the negotiations begin, Arthur thought. Far is fair, though.

"Okay, what do you want?" Arthur smiled inwardly at the look on Draco's face. He apparently hadn't received many compliments lately.

"You work for the Ministry," Draco said. "I'm sure you can't be the only one in the Order who does. I want you to vouch for me. If...when You-Know-Who is brought down, I don't want to go to Azkaban. I want to be pardoned for helping." He began to say like Snape was last time but he decided that was a bad comparison to make at the moment.

"I'm sure we could work something out," Arthur said. That's it? thought Arthur. Shouldn't be terribly difficult. "Azkaban isn't a picnic, that's for sure. If you help us, we can help you."

Draco nodded, feeling a bit of relief and decided to press on. His voice finally carrying the confidence he had been hoping to have all along. "And I want to be able to go back home to the Malfoy Manor. I don't want the Ministry to confiscate it." Draco pressed his lips together and made his last request. "And I don't want them to execute my father. If he survives this war, and the Ministry takes him again, I just want him to have a prison sentence, ten to twenty years at most."

"As much as I want to help, Draco, I can't promise anything. I will say this though: I'll try my hardest to help you. I don't know why, but I really want to help you, I feel I should." Arthur took another sip of his tea, considering the young man across the table from him. He seemed so young, but had been through more than he should have for his age. He reminded him a lot of Harry. "We know what we're going to do now, so let's work out how we are going to do this."

"I've use it before," Draco said. "But maybe a protean charm on a coin would work? When one of us changed the information on the coin, the other's would grow warm..." Draco sort of faded off, hoping he would not have to explain when he had used the coin, wondering if Mr. Weasley already knew about Rosmerta.

"Ah yes, the coins." Arthur said. "You would know about them. Coins are good, but not to send info. I want to meet. I say we use the coins just to let each other know when we have information that requires discussion. What do you think?"

Draco nodded. That's what he had meant. "Good idea," he said. "I can come here again next time we have them. The Death Eaters still don't know that the Order uses this place."

"I want it to stay that way," Arthur said, standing up. He walked to the desk and pulled out two galleons. He tinted them silver so they would be distinguishable from other galleons and not accidentally used.

He laid both coins out on the table and cast a warming protean charm on both. "When you need to meet, just tap your wand to the coin twice. It will glow and grow warm for a few seconds, then return to normal." Arthur explained as he handed one of the coins to Draco. "Mine will stay warm until I have noticed and tapped my wand to it. Yours will then display a date and location to meet. And vice versa, if I need to speak with you."

Arthur placed his coin in his pocket. "Thank you, Draco, for wanting to help."

"Right," Draco said, taking the other coin. "Be sure to set the date as soon as possible since there's no way to convey the urgency of the information, and if I can't make the date you set, I'll tap the coin again."

"I will do that." Arthur reached into his robes and retrieved Draco's wand. "Have a good night Draco. I look forward to hearing from you soon." He handed the wand over to Draco.

Draco took his wand and pocketed it. "There's one more thing. You probably ought to know," he began. He hesitated, not really wanting to bring it up after things had gone so smoothly. "Aunt Bella found a way to reclaim the Black fortune. That's why I sent the warning note about Grimmauld Place, and another saying it was safe now. I took the potion too, implied that I wanted the House as a starter home for me and Pansy-eh-anyway, the House recognizes me now as its owner." He fought a wince as he waited for Mr. Weasley's reaction.

Arthur started to turn until Draco mentioned Grimmauld place. He fought hard to stay calm. Arthur had just shown Draco a good amount of hospitality, and was just told that Harry's inheritance belonged to Draco.

Arthur took a deep breath. "You own Grimmauld Place."

"Technically," Draco said. He could tell Mr. Weasley didn't like the idea one bit. "It was the only way to keep it out of Bella's hands. But you needed to know. There are a lot of items marked by the Black family. Bella will have a certain claim on those things. I couldn't keep it all away from her."

"Do you know what she has taken?" Arthur sat back down, taking a nervous sip of his tea. "I'll be honest, I'm surprised I'm staying this calm. At least you kept it from Bellatrix. You do realize that it can't stay yours. We need a way to return it to its proper owner. I can understand that it can't change hands immediately, though, it would be too noticeable." He chuckled a bit. "You should be very glad that Molly isn't here, she'd beat you with that very teapot."

Draco scowled. The words It's mine! My family's! You can't take it. jumped into his head, even though he really had no attachment to the place. From what little he had seen, it made Riddle House look rather cheery. And what right did Molly Weasley have to get mad when he risked so much to keep their little place secret. But these too were words that wouldn't be helpful. "Nothing that I know of yet. She mainly seemed interested in the Black manor and the gold...though I'll be surprised if much of that is marked, not practical...then again the Black's weren't always practical." Draco took another drink of his own tea. It felt strange to be in Grimmauld Place. He had heard so many stories about it growing up. The dark halls and the elf heads on the wall.

Mustn’t reveal too much, Arthur thought. We need this place.

He watched the look on Draco's face. "The Black fortune was left to Harry Potter. It was a magical binding, and will not truly be fulfilled until the house recognizes him as its owner." Harry needs this place to defeat Voldemort, he thought. He said: "We will discuss this more at a later date, but in the end it must be returned to its rightful owner."

"I don't care about the house," Draco grumbled. He knew about inheritance laws and thought Mr. Weasley was bluffing. That was the whole point of the potion, to return Black property to Black blood, which to his knowledge Potter lacked. But it wasn't worth arguing. He wanted the Malfoy Manor back; that was his home. He wouldn't dream of asking Ginny to live in this creepy old place. He felt a fresh rush of irritation with himself, and the situation, and Mr. Weasley. It was this man's fault that Ginny didn't have a Q in her dictionary...but then, she had still come out all right. Draco bit back a sigh and pulled his hood up. "I should go."

Arthur walked to the door, opening it for Draco. "I feel we accomplished a lot tonight, Mr. Malfoy. I will keep this from as many Order members as I can. I hope you gain my trust, and I hope to gain yours."

He cautiously walked Draco outside. "Good evening, Draco. I will wait to hear from you."

Arthur walked back inside, watching out the window as Draco disapparated.

Previous / Return to Scene List / Next