Undercover

Chapter Four

When I came to, my head was pounding. It was the kind of pounding that occurs after you've been sobbing hysterically. I opened my eyes to find Draco sitting in a chair next to me. I was back in his bed. I sat up slowly and swung my legs over the side. Draco looked really stressed, but when he saw me sit up, he relaxed a bit. "I seem to be forming a habit of fainting into your arms. I promise I don't usually faint this much" I said. I rubbed my eyes and gave him a pathetic smile. He shook his head and sat next to me on his bed. "I'm just glad I was there to catch you" he said, chuckling slightly. I nodded. I still felt a bit woozy and pale. "How about I go make us some tea and then you can finally explain whats going on". I nodded again. It was time. Draco left me in his room as he descended the stairs to the kitchen. I stood up and walked over to Draco's desk where his computer was. I picked up the piece of paper upon which I had so furiously recorded the names of the dead. It seemed the names of the dead were always growing in numbers. I sighed and shoved the paper into my pocket before descending the stairs and joining Draco in the kitchen. He handed me a mug filled with pipping hot black tea. The aroma of the tea helped calm my anxiety. I looked into the dark swirling hues of the liquid and took a deep breath. Draco was looking at me, the anticipation of answers radiating from him. So, I began my story.

"Almost immediately after I finished school, I joined a special task force that is part of a secret sect of the Ministry. The task force is so secret that the names of the other agents on the team are not supposed to be known by any one except the boss. The Minister doesn't even know who is on the team, just that it exists. My job has been to discover, hunt down, and bring active Death Eaters to justice. A few months ago, I was assigned to go undercover and infiltrate a group of Death Eaters that call themselves 'The Dark Saints'. They've been kidnapping, torturing, and killing muggle-borns. I was supposed to gain their trust, and gather as much information as possible. Our intel said that they were being funded and protected by someone in the Ministry. I had to do some really terrible things. I never killed anyone....but I had to stand by and watch as people died...good people."

I paused and tried to control my breathing. It was difficult not to immediately start crying as I remembered the people I let die. Draco took my hand. I knew he could sympathize with this situation. After all, he was practically the poster boy for being forced into standing by as people died. "You did what you had to" he said, trying to comfort me. I shook my head. That was the furthest thing from the truth. I wiped my nose on my sleeve and continued.

"Any way, something I learned a long time ago is that you always need insurance when you're involved with something as secretive as my job. Not just insurance that you still exist, but insurance that there are others you can rely on or use as contacts. I would go into the office after hours and look through every case file I could get my hands on and document them. But, the biggest reason I went through the files is because I make a point of knowing every agent that goes undercover. Even though we shouldn't know who we work with, I make it a priority. That way, if anything happens to them, there's someone who remembers their real name and mourns them. I was so focused on remembering them, I forgot to look for them when their names started to disappear. When I searched the obit section of the Daily Prophet, I noticed that in the past two years, there are almost 20 people I know to be agents listed as dead. Each circumstance of death is just similar enough to create a pattern, but not enough to make it overtly suspicious. Usually things like drownings or falls from great heights."

Draco stopped me. "Now that you say that, I realize that we have seen more and more people in the hospital who have been found half dead in bodies of water or from broken necks...we haven't been able to save any of them. So what does that mean in connection with the Dark Saints?" he asked. "I realized that the deaths of agents started to coincide with a disappearance or death of a member of the Dark Saints. There were only four consistent members of the group and the other five or six would almost cycle through. This made me realize the key piece of information I was missing." Now I stopped feeling as sad and started to get angry.

"My boss is the one financing the killings. When I looked in that book, I saw only four names out of the group of ten I was with that I recognized. I also saw my boss's name in the book. I don't think anyone knew or knows he's a Death Eater, I mean hell he's in charge of hunting them down! He must have devised this scheme to kill muggle borns and get rid of his agents. To avoid suspicion, he's been using agents to go 'undercover' in the gang that he created. This way he's getting rid of agents and getting more and more people to do his bidding. They thought they were helping... I thought I was helping. Whenever an agent realized they were actually just helping the Dark Saints or wanted to leave the case, they were killed. He also used this as a way to help real Death Eaters stay under the radar. He knew the agents would never get the actual mark so he used this as an excuse to have a sanctioned way to create an untraceable and removable Dark Mark."

Draco looked stunned. "I see why you passed out. Thats a lot to take in". I nodded. My hands were balled into fists. My boss had fooled everyone, and I was furious. "What is your boss's name?" Draco asked. "Hiram Baxter" I replied. Draco looked away and his expression changed. He looked like he was searching his memory for something involving that name. His eyes suddenly widened. "Have you ever heard of the Death Eater called 'the Barbarian'?" he asked. "Yeah of course. We all have he managed to evade everyone. No one even knew his name. Why what are you saying?" I could barely believe what I was asking. "I remembered hearing my father talking about the Barbarian once and he referred to him as 'Baxter the Barbarian'. I think your boss is the Barbarian". I felt my blood boiling. I stood up and let out a scream. I never knew I could feel this amount of rage. "That bastard is going to pay!" I said. Draco nodded. I began to cry again, but this time not from sadness, but from frustration. "I'm going to need your help Draco. With your evidence, we may be able to bring Baxter down. We just have to live long enough to get to trial." Draco gulped. "I-I don't know if I can. I've been successful in distancing myself from dark magic and I don't know if I can do it." "But, you would be helping put a stop to a growing collective of dark wizards." I stammered. He looked down. "I'm sorry". I took a step towards him and held his hand. "Draco...please". He pulled his hand away and turned his back to me. "You should go now. I've already gotten too involved." I was stunned. The tears from earlier had returned and were threatening to flow down my cheeks like raging waterfalls. "Don't forget, it was you who brought me here! It was you who got yourself involved in the first place!" He didn't move and I continued to scream at him. "I was the one who told you to leave me alone and what did you do?! You kidnapped me!" His shoulders shook slightly, but not because he was crying. He turned to face me, his face red with anger. "I was just helping a patient! I never needed to know or be involved in this!" He screamed back. He slammed his hand on the counter. I was taken a back. He looked into my eyes and and for this first time he saw a flicker of fear. He hadn't seen fear in some ones eyes due to his actions in a long time. He felt sick.

I was trembling and did my best to hide it as I began to speak. "You're a coward Draco Malfoy. The changed man I heard rumors of is a lie. I only hope that when I'm dead, you'll do something about it." I fished out the list of names from my pocket and threw them on the counter. Then, I removed the colored contacts from my eyes that had only barely hidden me and waved my wand, removing the glamour concealing my hair. For the first time since Draco Malfoy had laid his eyes on me, he saw me as I truly was, as he remembered me. I looked more like the girl who had been traumatized by the war, just as he'd been. I looked more like the girl Draco had silently pined after before he became a Death Eater. "If you don't do it for me or even for yourself, do it for the muggle-borns I couldn't save and the ones who are going to die very soon." And with that, I ran back to his bedroom, pulled on my back pack, and disapparated. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I was no longer safe with Draco Malfoy.

Draco stood in his kitchen. The screams from moments before left a now deafening silence. He picked up the list of names and crumpled it up, throwing it off to one side. He knew Y/N was right but he was terrified. It was like he was 17 again. He was alone, and had a burden of knowledge that if he shared would get him killed. But, he did have one thing he didn't have all those years ago. He had Harry Potter, an acclaimed Auror and friend on his side.