Annabeth Chase and Things Are Getting Intense

Chapter Seven

During the last week of summer break, Annabeth pondered what they'd heard in Knockturn Alley. It was strange, how Malfoy had acted in that shop. Yes, he was rude and aggressive, but he'd also seemed... scared. The kind of scared Luke had been that day he'd asked her to run away with him.

Like he was in over his head, and he didn't know how to escape.

He needed something fixed, but what? And why? What could be so important that he'd had to threaten the shopkeeper in order to get it done?

Harry seemed equally as interested in what had happened, though unlike Annabeth (who tended to keep things to herself until she was sure about what she thought), he was very vocal about his suspicions. In fact, it was all he seemed to talk about, to the chagrin of Ron and Hermione.

"Yes, I've already agreed it was fishy, Harry," Hermione said, sitting on the windowsill in Fred and George's room with her new copy of Advanced Rune Translation. "But haven't we agreed there could be a lot of explanations?"

"Maybe he's broken his hand of glory," Ron said, looking up from the tail of his broom, propped up on his leg while he tried straightening out the twigs. "Remember that shriveled up arm he had?"

"But what about when he said, 'don't forget to keep that one safe?'" Harry insisted. "That sounded to me like Borgen's got another one of the broken objects, and Malfoy wants both."

"It could mean a lot of things," Annabeth said. "We can't say anything for sure unless we know more about what he's doing."

Harry blew out a puff of air through his nose, agitated. "Malfoy's father's in Azkaban. Don't you think he'd like revenge?"

"Malfoy, revenge?" Ron snorted. "What can he do about it?"

"That's my point, I don't know!" Harry exclaimed, frustrated. "But he's up to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father's a Death Eater and—"

He cut off. Hermione shot Annabeth an exasperated look, but Annabeth just watched Harry. His eyes had widened, and his mouth was moving slightly, like he was thinking something over. He looked up.

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

There was silence for a bit. Annabeth furrowed her brow, thinking. It wasn't likely; Malfoy was young, but then again, who was she to say that? She was literally a child soldier. Though that was out of necessity. If Annabeth didn't train, the monsters would get to her, and she'd have been dead a long time ago. The idea that Voldemort would let Malfoy join him...

Ron burst out laughing. "Malfoy? He's sixteen, Harry! You think You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join?"

"It seems very unlikely, Harry..." Hermione bit her lip. "What makes you think—?"

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

Annabeth frowned. "That's not the only explanation."

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

"He showed Borgin something we couldn't see," Harry pressed. "Something that seriously scared Borgin. It was the mark, I know it—he was showing Borgin what he was dealing with, you saw how seriously Borgin took him!"

"It's possible," Annabeth said pondering, "but that's still a lot of conjecture. This is a serious thing to be talking about."

"Yeah, I still don't reckon You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join," Ron said.