Paid In Blood - Revised

Chapter 11

"What exactly do you mean by 'Voldemort made his move'?"

With a sigh, Harry explained, "Dumbledore died while we were aboard the Express. We didn't even hear about it until the day after, when it was reported by the Daily Prophet."

Daphne's head was practically spinning as she considered the implications.

"How?" she asked.

"It was reported as being due to natural causes, but we knew it was because of the Rotting Curse on his hand combined with the effects of potion. What we didn't know was that Snape helped him along, all thanks to Malfoy."

"What do you mean?"

"I mentioned that Malfoy was attempting to bring Death Eaters into Hogwarts, but did you consider why?" he asked her, and she raised an eyebrow in response. "It was to help him kill Dumbledore. That was Malfoy's mission."

Daphne gaped at him for a moment.

"You're joking," then replied. The whole idea seemed so farfetched.

"Oh, no, the idiot actually confessed later on," Harry replied, suppressing a snort.

"His mummy and auntie dearest managed to convince Snape - who was also a Death Eater, by the way, although he spied for our side - to make an Unbreakable Vow that he would help Malfoy kill Dumbledore. It turned out that Dumbledore knew all along, and he actually begged Snape to kill him. The old bastard knew he wasn't going to live much longer anyway, so he figured Snape could help save Malfoy from himself while also solidifying his position as a spy."

"We didn't learn those details until much later, though," he added.

While Harry was speaking, Daphne couldn't help but notice the disgruntled look on his face whenever he mentioned Malfoy.

"If you hate Malfoy so much, why do you even tolerate him?"

"Malfoy fancies himself a leader, but in reality, he's a spineless coward who hides behind his daddy's money and power," Harry said derisively. "He's a little shit that doesn't even deserve my attention, let alone my respect."

"It's hard for me to disagree with you there," Daphne allowed.

"I've been tempted to make him cause his own death by breaking the oath ever since my first night as a Slytherin," Harry continued. "Why I haven't yet is beyond me. My only excuse is that I want to break him first. I'll make him see what a pathetic wizard and a person he really is, and then I'll crush him once and for all," he said, his eyes glinting.

"However, I do have more important things to deal with at the moment, so he'll have to wait his turn," he added, as an afterthought.

Daphne gave him a slight smirk and considered his words carefully.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about what happened to Lucius Malfoy, would you?" she asked, again raising her eyebrow. Harry sat back and examined his fingernails, considering his next words.

"The thing about that is, Dobby and I needed some equipment to start collecting the Horcruxes. One night, we decided to pay a visit an armour shop in Knockturn Alley, and who should we come across but dear old Lucy? He was rather inebriated at the time, so Dobby and I decided to help sober him up."

"Go on," Daphne said. She tried to give him a stern look, which was undermined by the obvious amusement in her voice.

"Dobby beat the crap out of him first, as payback for the horrific treatment he received when he served the Malfoys. After that, I may have...hypothetically...damaged his magical core?" he said, saying it more like a question, since he was a bit uncertain of how she would react.