Emma Potter; Going to War

61: Obliviate

I spent  a lot of the last week of the holidays pondering the meaning of Draco's behavior in KnockturnAlley. What disturbed me most was the satisfied look on Draco'sface as he had left the shop. I though that perhaps, a gift for his mother or someone? He had always spoken adoringly about his Mum. Harry seemed to be more obsessed and suspicious. 

 "Yes, I've already agreed it was fishy, Harry," said Hermione a little impatiently. She was sitting on the windowsill in Fred andGeorge's room with her feet up on one of the cardboard boxes andhad only grudgingly looked up from her new copy of AdvancedRune Translation. "But haven't we agreed there could be a lot ofexplanations?" 

"Maybe he's broken his Hand of Glory," said Ron vaguely, as he attempted to straighten his broomstick's bent tail twigs. "Remember that shriveled-up arm Malfoy had?"

 "But what about when he said, 'Don't forget to keep that onesafe'?" asked Harry for the umpteenth time. "That sounded to melike Borgin's got another one of the broken objects, and Malfoywants both." 

"You reckon?" said Ron, now trying to scrape some dirt off hisbroom handle. 

"Yeah, I do," said Harry. When neither Me, Ron nor Hermione answered, he said, "Malfoy's father's in Azkaban. Don't you thinkMalfoy'd like revenge?"

 Ron looked up, blinking. My head snapped up from Standard book of spells grade 6.

"Draco, revenge? What can he do about it?"

 "That's my point, I don't know!" said Harry, frustrated. "But he'sup to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father'sa Death Eater and —"Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open.

"Harry?" said Hermione in an anxious voice. "What's wrong?" 

"Your scar's not hurting again, is it?" asked Ron nervously, glancing at me.

 "He's a Death Eater," said Harry slowly. "He's replaced his fatheras a Death Eater!" 

There was a silence; then Ron erupted in laughter. "Malfoy? He'ssixteen, Harry! You think You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join?" 

"It seems very unlikely, Harry," said Hermione in a repressivesort of voice. "What makes you think — ?"

 "In Madam Malkin's. She didn't touch him, but he yelled andjerked his arm away from her when she went to roll up his sleeve.It was his left arm. He's been branded with the Dark Mark."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. I was narrowing my eyes at him.

"Well . . ." said Ron, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

 "I think he just wanted to get out of there, Harry," said Hermione. 

"He showed Borgin something we couldn't see," Harry pressedon stubbornly. "Something that seriously scared Borgin. It was theMark, I know it — he was showing Borgin who he was dealingwith, you saw how seriously Borgin took him!"

 Ron and Hermione exchanged another look. 

"I'm not sure, Harry. . . ."

 "Yeah, I still don't reckon You-Know-Who would let Malfoyjoin. . . ."

"Your just prejudiced against the fact that his dad's a death eater" I sneered

"And your just prejudiced against the fact that your precious little boyfriend can do anything wrong!" snarled Harry "name one time, one time, where you haven't stood up for him."

"When he got us in trouble for Norbert," I began, my voice shaking with surpressed rage "When he called Hermione a Mudblood, when he nearly got Buckbeak executed, When he supported those "Potter stinks" badges in our fourth year, when he started "Weasly is Our King" and insulted Mum and Dad. I am not blind to the fact he had faults, thanks very much."