Chapter 22. In the Chamber.

Severus Snape was at his wits' end. This could not be happening! How in the nine hells had the Dark Lord managed to crack the fidelius? It was absurd! And they had not known about it on time! He and Nott should be inside the damn house! But they had been stupid enough to stay back when they had been called. Both of them had been making themselves scarce under the pretense of being in the field, tracking rebels. A mistake that had earned them the Dark Lord's suspicions. They had only known about what was happening because Pettigrew had been gloating about how it was likely that they got severely punished for not assisting in such an important raid! And now they were all in the back garden of Grimmauld place, fighting against a special ward that didn't allow entering, and at the same time imprisoned the ones inside!

Anaximas had called the others and ten of them were weakening the wards, but they were not fast enough. They needed to get in! The Dark Lord could not be allowed to get Draco!

The wards were finally starting to crack when they felt the ground began to tremble. All ten people looked astonished as one section of the wall that should be part of the third floor exploded outwards, effectively taking down the wards around the building. Everyone scattered, trying to get cover from the debris falling, especially when half the house began to collapse. Snape was sure that he could hear a loud roar, just a moment before his magic got sucked out of him. His gasp of surprise was repeated by everyone in the near vicinity. At his side Nott hissed and the roar was heard again.

"We're so fucked up!"

Severus thought the very same thing, but he tried to ignore it and stay calm. He focused on the rush of his magic leaving his body, and followed the direction of the flow, making his way among the debris. By then all hell had broken loose. There was dust and smoke everywhere and he could hear shouting and hexes been fired. He couldn't see clearly where he was heading, but he desperately tried to find Draco. In a moment he dropped to his hands and knees and searched around among the carcass of the house. The stone felt hot under his hands, but surprisingly not enough to burn.

He cursed under his breath. He didn't know how it was possible, but Draco's dragon had apparently physically attacked. The dragon was trapped inside of the boy's body, that much Severus knew. For it to attack it must have used a great amount of magic, and the results didn't look too efficient. That was no good. He needed to find Draco quickly before it was too late.

The pull on his magic grew stronger and finally he found a limp body with a blond head. He manoeuvred the unconscious boy out of the rubble as fast as he could. He was dimly aware of people yelling at his back.

As soon as he had Draco safely in his arms, he stood up and looked around, his mind quickly going over all possible places where he could take his charge, and only one came up that was safe enough. He spotted Moody getting an unconscious Potter from under some blocks of concrete and a destroyed armchair, and beyond him people were throwing hexes at each other. The dust was starting to settle down and he could distinguish a couple of figures running to the back of the garden. He frowned, wondering where they intended to go when Moody hissed at his side.

"There's a magic door on the back wall. We must go quickly!"

Snape frowned and shook his head.

"No. Draco needs a place that can supply him of magic or he's going to die. You go ahead. I'll take him to the chamber."

He started to make his way out of the wrecked house. Moody followed him, quite shaken.

"You can't! He can't be parted from Potter now! He needs him!"

"Bring the little pest in then! Draco needs to obtain magic and there's no other place in the whole of Britain where the Dark Lord wouldn't find him!"

"But Potter can't enter the chamber!"

"Of course he can! They're bonded for Merlin's sake! And he's already reached the peak of his magical power; it's time for him to meet a dragon. The fact that there's none around doesn't take the power from him. The only thing he can't do is stay in the chamber for too long!"

Moody didn't look very convinced. He wanted to argue more, but both men felt at the same moment an overwhelming release of dark magic. They gasped and Draco whimpered in Snape's arms. Severus started to run in the direction of the garden's entrance to the Chamber. Moody had no choice but to follow. They miraculously sorted the debris around them, and practically jumped into the open hole. The door closed behind them and disappeared from view, just when a very irate Voldemort freed himself from the big pile of rubble that had been burying him, and started sending curses to everything that was moving.

In the dungeons of Malfoy manor, about a dozen prisoners were suddenly startled when the doors to their cells opened. Two house elves appeared and nicely invited everyone to vacate the premises, signalling that they were no longer welcome in the property. The prisoners, along with their four Death Eater's guards, looked astonished at the elves long enough for the little creatures to lose their patience, and sighing at the wizards' lack of reaction moved their hands and conjured a rather powerful wind that forced the lot of them all the way to the closest entrance.

Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, they were outside the property's wards, looking in bafflement as the gates closed firmly in their faces. The Death Eaters were too shocked to even react when some of the prisoners decided to take a chance and try to rid their captors of their wands.

Harry came around slowly. All his body ached and his head was hurting big time. He felt a bit nauseous, but not enough to compel him to stand up and look for a bathroom. He remained lying on the bed without moving and not opening his eyes. He was aware of people near him and urgent whispers. He tried to ignore it. He wasn't sure of what was happening or how the hell he had ended up in a bed instead of a dungeon or worse. He felt incredibly tired. That thing that had appeared when Draco had been cursed had done quite the number on them. It was a miracle that they were still alive.

A doubt entered his mind and he wondered where Draco was. He forced his eyes to open and turned his head a bit to the side. He sighed quietly in relief upon seeing the blond head beside him. His hand wandered under the covers until he found one of the other boy's hands. He squeezed it slightly and closed his eyes again, content that apparently no one had noticed his small movements.

He was drifting into sleep again when a particular voice hit a cord in his brain. He frowned and started to pay attention. A woman was speaking at the moment, saying something about Hogwarts. A man answered in a sombre voice and Harry thought that he could hear something resembling Moody's growl in the background. Then came that voice. Harry tried to focus and remember where he had heard it. He succeeded at least in understanding what was being said.

"There is no point in worrying about it. Hogwarts is not an option. We have to find a suitable refuge for them and do it fast. Potter is not going to be able to remain here for long."

The voice pronounced his surname with a certain drawl that made Harry open his eyes wide in panic.

'Snape!'

He struggled to lift his head and take a good look around while at the same time pull himself closer to Draco. They were in a big bed, with soft, cream covers that looked to be expensive. The room was small and entirely white. The walls had something curious about them. They appeared to be glowing. There was a door on the far corner of the room and a small tea table with three armchairs around it at his right. There were four people, three sitting on the armchairs and one leaning on a column on the corner opposite the door. It was no problem to recognize Moody. Snape had been sitting, but he stood up when he noticed that Harry was awake. His movement made the boy sat completely straight on the bed, trying to protect Draco as much as he could. He looked for his wand, but it was nowhere in sight. Moody approached the bed and Harry tensed.

"Potter, at least you are awake now. We need to discuss some things."

Harry snarled at the man, who stopped his advance warily.

"Potter?"

"Don't get close to me! You traitor! How could you?"

Moody looked confused for a moment, but then Snape sighed and took on himself to make a quick explanation.

"No one gave away the headquarters' location Potter. It just happens that the Dark Lord finally found a spell that allowed him to break the Fidelius without the aid of the secret keeper."

Harry didn't change his position. He glared at his ex-potions professor and tried to move even closer to Draco.

"I don't believe any of it Snape! You're a murderer Death Eater!"

Snape was unaffected.

"Regardless of your incredulity Potter, the fact remains that the Dark Lord has now the means to find any hiding place we can think of. Which puts us in a very difficult position, and makes necessary to share certain things that you should not been privy to."

Harry clenched his fists. The nerve of the man! He was about to say something that would surely bring him a lot of troubles when the witch talked.

"Severus, don't be so childish. One thing is that we find ourselves unable to give him the entire information and quite another his right to it. You know that, if not for the curse, he would have his mentor with him already."

Snape sneered, obviously not pleased with the woman for having interrupted his interaction with Potter. But he backed off and the witch stood and smiled pleasantly. Harry didn't relax. He was determined to not let his guard down, no matter how much the woman's posture reminded him of Dumbledore.

"Where are we? Are you Death Eaters too?"

The elder witch didn't stop smiling. In fact, she seemed amused for a moment.

"Oh no Mr. Potter. I can assure you we are not Death Eaters. Neither are we on Voldemort's side."

Harry looked at her suspiciously and then glared at Snape.

"Then why is this murderer here? He has the mark!"

The potion's master was ready to retort, but the witch raised a hand and stopped him. She continued talking, apparently non-affected by Harry's aggressive tone.

"Severus' mark ceased to represent his beliefs a long time ago."

Harry did a disgusted face.

"Really? And by any chance has he tell you that he killed Dumbledore?"

Harry knew that the details of the old Headmaster's decease had been kept from the public until further investigation, which never came. He looked hatefully at the man, waiting for some kind or reaction from his audience that told him that this people were on the right side. The witch's face turned sad, but she remained too calm for Harry's liking.

"That was an unfortunate necessity and Albus only trusted Severus' hand to take over that particular task. It's regrettable that it had to happen like it did. Albus made a mistake. He was careless. But perhaps he felt that his time was long overdue."

The boy practically gaped at her. She had a faraway look on her eyes that made Harry wary. He glanced at the only wizard he didn't know and saw that the news had not taken him by surprise either. He wondered who were this people and why hadn't he know about them before. Finally the witch sighed and recovered her smiling face.

"It's no use to brood on the past. I know that you have never even heard about me before now. My name is Salamanca Witters. I used to be one of Albus' closest friends."

Harry debated whether he should believe that. The fact that they consorted with Dumbledore's murderer talked against them, but why were they apparently helping him and Draco? Just then, a faint pained moan behind him made him look at the other boy in concern. The Slytherin was curling into a foetal position and trembling. Harry touched his face gingerly and tried to see what was wrong. The wizard that had not yet introduced himself was over them instantly.

"Allow me." He said, taking out his wand. Harry immediately bristled.

"No! You can't use magic on him! You could hurt him!"

The man pressed his lips together. He couldn't very well explain to Harry why Draco's apparent reaction to some spells seemed to be so aggressive. Salamanca intervened.

"That's not a problem right now Mr. Potter. Mr. Malfoy's levels of magic had lowered dangerously. He's too weak right now, and he's in danger of loosing the baby. His core is trying to feed on whatever source of magic it can, more than retaliate he's going to absorb the spell. You can trust in Paraximedes, he's an excellent mediwizard."

Harry looked worriedly at Draco's quivering form and regretfully made space for the mediwizard to do is job. He did so quickly and gave Draco a potion that had been on the bedside table. Harry frowned, but the blonde's body relaxed and his face recovered some colour.

The mediwizard covered Draco with the comforter and the blond almost immediately turned to the side, reaching towards Harry.

The Gryffindor looked at the other boy tenderly for a moment before a yawn took him by surprise. With all the excitement he hadn't been truly aware of how tired he actually was. Salamanca smiled at him.

"I think that you still need rest. We can talk later."

It was evident that Harry was not really convinced of their good intentions. He glared at Snape and Moody and looked distrustfully around the room. He really didn't want to fall asleep while these people remained with them. Salamanca sighed and produced a wand from inside her robes. She offered it to the young boy, who eyed it warily before reaching for it. He noticed that Snape looked crossed.

"This is Mr. Malfoy's wand." Salamanca explained. "I'm afraid that we don't know what became of yours. It won't be the same, but I think that you'll be able to use it without problems."

Harry looked at the wand and frowned.

"How do you...?"

"Please, we will explain what we can later. For now, it's better that you recover your strength."

Harry pressed his lips tightly. He didn't like the situation. He didn't trust these people. The only thing that was giving him pause was that they had not hurt Draco or himself, and they seemed to know how to deal with the blond boy's situation. He sighed and got closer to Draco without completely relaxing. The elder witch smiled and signalled the others to get out of the room, following them closely.

Once the door was firmly closed, Harry put a charm on it, that would send an alarm if it was opened again. Then he got himself comfortable under the covers and pulled Draco slightly. The blond boy moaned and curled readily against his side, getting his head nested on Harry's neck. The Gryffindor put his arm around Draco's waist and gingerly touched the blonde's belly, just to be reassured that his child was still there. Finally he closed his eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep.

Harry paced restlessly from one side of the room to the other. He wanted to go outside and demand to know what was happening in the wizarding world. So far, the only thing he knew was that Voldemort had been searching like mad for traces of him and Draco. Moody had disappeared, supposedly keeping Harry's friends safe, and had not made contact, at least not that Harry knew about.

He looked at the bed, where the blond boy was sleeping, and sighed. He wanted to go out and do something useful, but he didn't dare to get too far away from Draco. He still was trying to make sense of the information that the witch and the mediwizard had given him. He knew about the bond that existed between him and Draco, and that the blonde's magic had been feeding from his for a while now. That was the reason why they had taken them both to the hiding place. They didn't dare to keep them apart. They had stressed the fact that it was really important that Draco's baby survived, but hadn't explained why, or how they came to know about the child.

Harry had the suspicion that the creature that had attacked Voldemort had something to do with all the mess, but no one would tell him anything about it! The mediwizard had mentioned the curse that prevented them from talking freely with him, and the boy was left with the impression that he couldn't really trust anything this people told him. From the little he got answered he understood that they had been part of a group that shared a powerful secret, they had gotten betrayed and Voldemort had hunted them. In retaliation, Sirius' brother had cursed the traitor, but he had messed up with the words and managed to curse everyone in their group.

Harry had asked why Voldemort had tried to force Draco to call a dragon. The witch had been pressed lipped and the wizard had denied vehemently the existence of anything resembling dragons. Upon his insistence they finally had admitted that Draco was in possession of a source of power that the Dark Lord had been looking for, for years. No one had explained how the boy had acquired such power to begin with, or what it was exactly. All Harry knew was that whatever it was, it was consuming Draco's magic at an alarming rate and without the support of Harry's magic it would likely kill him.

Of course, the Gryffindor boy had demanded that something get done about it, but all he had gotten for his troubles had been a shook of heads and the sentence that there was nothing to do, but to let Draco's core feed from the magic around him and wait. Harry was absolutely not happy with such state of things.

He looked at Draco again and walked to stand by his side. He ran his fingers a couple of times through the blond hair and sighed again. On the two days that hey had been in the room, Draco had waked up sporadically, always confused and afraid, anxious for his baby and sometimes even calling for help. Harry had managed to calm him down every time and put him to sleep again. He had not eaten or stayed awake for more than 10 minutes and Harry was extremely worried for him.

He scanned the pale face and considered that it looked more peaceful. That at least was an improvement. He sat besides the sleeping figure and started messing his hair, while thinking about what to do. Snape had been supposedly looking for a safe place for them, but he didn't trust the man. No matter that Mrs. Witters had explained how Dumbledore had planned his own death, he still thought Snape had not had a hard time complying.

A low moan pulled him out of his thoughts and he turned to see Draco's eyes flutter open, for the first time in two days without utter fear in them. Harry sighed in relief and put himself into Draco's line of vision. The blond focused on him and half-smiled.

"Hi."

"Um... Harry..."

"How are you feeling?"

"I don't know... tired." Draco's sight roamed around the room and his eyes narrowed. He sat upright with some help. "Where are we?"

"It's a long story. We were rescued by some kind of crazy Secret Association and we're in what appears to be their secret base, or something like that." Said Harry.

Draco looked baffled at him and looked again at the room and the glowing walls.

"We... are here? But... how?"

"Not so secret to you I see." Harry arched his eyebrows and Draco blushed in embarrassment.

"I have been here before... Assuming that this is the same place I know, I don't remember seeing any rooms. But maybe it isn't because I do remember someone telling me that you weren't allowed in."

"Well, apparently I am now. Something to do with you feeding from my magic, or so they tell me."

Draco was even more embarrassed and covered his face with his hands.

"Oh gods. Harry I'm so sorry...!"

"Hey." The Gryffindor boy took Draco's hands and forced him to look into his eyes. "It's ok. You didn't ask for this, that much is clear. I don't know how this happened or why, but it seems that your magical core is weakening and it's pulling magic from viable sources."

Draco trembled slightly, and nodded to the other boy. He was still waiting for an angry reaction on Harry's part, but he understood that the boy couldn't know everything yet. He sighed and put his hands over his belly.

"It's because of this. I'm not supposed to be able to get pregnant, and I know it's consuming my magic." He gulped and closed his eyes, trying to feel Sally. He couldn't reach her. Her energy was gone. He gave a shaky breath and opened his eyes again. "Harry... I-I... I'm not gonna make it, I..."

"Sht. Don't talk like that. You're gonna be fine. There is a mediwizard here that seems to know how to attend you, and this is a special place. They say that it has powerful magic and that it will help you recover. We can't stay here for long because apparently it has some kind of protection and it'll banish us in a week, more or less, but they are looking for some other place where you can be safe. And it seems that you can return here as many times as you want."

Harry hugged Draco tightly and the blond boy sobbed. It would not be enough. Sally was too weak and his magic wasn't going to be able to maintain the bond with the dragon and the pregnancy at the same time. It was going to kill them. Harry's hands dried his tears tenderly and Draco felt totally lost.

"I'm scared Harry. I may never see my child..."

"You will. I'm here Draco. I won't leave you. My magic is going to help you, and Voldemort is not going to find us again. We are going to find a place for you to recover and then you'll be strong once more. Don't give up Draco. Please."

The blond cried quietly for some minutes, feeling the warm of Harry's body around him. The Gryffindor's hands on his hair and belly were comforting and he wished that the circumstances were different. After a while, Draco's stomach churned and the boy bit his lower lip.

"Sorry. I think I'm hungry."

"Good. I was starting to worry. You were practically unconscious for two days. It's about time that you feed."

Harry helped Draco to lie down comfortably amongst the pillows and stood up.

"I'm going to look for someone and ask for food. You'll be ok for a while?"

Draco nodded and watched as Harry exited the room cautiously, in search for the mediwizard.

The black-haired boy found himself in a big corridor full of portraits, all the people in them were sleeping. He walked along it without paying much attention to the portraits, and asking himself if the eerie glowing in the walls was because of the accumulation of magic in the place. He had not walked long when he perceived voices ahead of him. He started to go faster and eventually found a set of stairs. The voices came from downstairs, so he hurried to climb down and arrived to what looked like an enormous chamber. He looked around in awe for a moment. It was bigger than the Chamber of Secrets. A few paces from him were two armchairs, where Salamanca and Snape were talking. No one had noticed him yet. The boy listened intently to the conversation. They were saying something about Lucius Malfoy.

Severus was almost growling when he arrived to the chamber. They had dared to destroy the house at Spinners end! The Prince's manor was now back to its original location. Still unplotable, but not as safe as it used to be. Nott had barely been able to get his family out of his own home before the Death Eaters attacked.

The Dark Lord had finally understood that they had something to do with the dragons, and was furious. He had sent some of his Death Eaters to capture Severus. The potions master scoffed. The idiots were no better than a bunch of troublesome doxys! But Snape had been able to extract information from them. And it was very interesting news indeed. He needed to confirm them immediately. They might have a chance to secure a hiding place for Draco. They had to hurry, because if they were forced to get the boy out of the chamber without a powerful house to go to, Draco might not be strong enough to continue the pregnancy.

He found Salamanca on the chamber, sitting on an armchair and reading. She put the book down as soon as she noticed him and lifted an eyebrow in askance.

"What's the matter Severus?"

The man conjured another armchair and took a seat.

"The Dark Lord is getting desperate. He sent the Carrows and Rozzier to catch me. He thinks he knows all my hiding places."

"What about Nott?"

"He's safe for now. But we have to keep moving, so they won't get the chance to find us. However, I was able to trap Rozzier and I got interesting information."

The woman moved her head indicating for him to proceed. Severus started talking.

"It seems like Draco's little reprisal in Grimmauld place had more than a few consequences. We felt that he was trying to absorb as much magic as he could manage, and apparently the ones that were closer to him were the most affected."

"How much could they have been? Mr. Potter didn't seem too weak."

"Potter was already giving a good deal of magic. But I have the impression that his core resisted when Draco tried to suck an even greater amount of it from one second to the other. It could also have been conscious on Draco's part to try and stop the oncoming flow of magic from Potter, so to not damage him. Whatever had happened, the fact is that Draco needed the magic in great quantity for him to attack in the way he did. If we are to believe Potter's claims, he was able to manifest his dragon, which would have called for a great effort on his part."

"That's very likely. Do you know how much damage that did to You-know-who?"

"I'm not sure. Rozzier only babbled about the Dark Lord being mighty furious that the boy had escaped him again. He seems to be under the impression that Riddle was referring to Potter."

"Not enough damage to leave him unconscious then. What about the others? According to Mr. Potter, the Lestranges and Draco's father were there."

"That's where the interesting part comes. Rozzier had not seen any of the four Death Eaters that were in the room when Draco retaliated. And no one is brave enough to ask the Dark Lord directly. There are rumours among the Death Eaters that they are probably dead. Specially Lucius Malfoy."

Salamanca raised her eyebrows in interest.

"Why would they believe that? Surely Riddle has no need to hide his follower's deaths. Unless he's planning something?"

"That might be, but I have my reservations. The rumours were started by the fact that apparently the Malfoy's house-elves had evicted everyone out of the property and had closed it. Much like Hogwarts."

Salamanca made a curious gesture.

"That's... odd."

"If Lucius is indeed dead, maybe we could use the manor. If Draco is strong enough to perform the necessary spell we'll be able to transform it, like the Prince's manor."

"But Severus, the boy is in no condition to do anything like that!"

"That's right! Draco is not going to do anything that could risk him!"

Snape and Salamanca turned around to find Harry looking angrily at them. Snape narrowed his eyes.

"Potter! How long have you been overhearing?"

"Long enough to tell that you're barking mad Snape! Malfoy manor is one of Voldemort's strongholds! Whatever makes you think that we can just go and enter it? Even if Lucius is dead, which would be certainly a welcome notice, I'm sure that Riddle is not going to let go of it!"

Snape fought to remain calm, but he couldn't prevent himself from sneering at the boy.

"He won't have other choice. He can't enter it. Malfoy manor is very old. At one time it was capable to house up to five house-elves, though at the moment it only has two. It is attuned to the family and the magic answers only to the Head. The fact that the house-elves have thrown out everyone means that the Head of the family has changed, and they are waiting for instructions from the new Head. The wards of the property won't let anyone inside if the Master hasn't approved of."

"And do you seriously think that that is going to stop Voldemort? He broke the fidelius charm! He can as well tear the wards apart!"

"That would take time, and he's now pretty much occupied. He believes that you'd go to your friends and that you'd take Draco with you. That's why Moody has been moving from one place to the other along with them!"

"Severus." Interrupted Salamanca. "The boy may have a point. How long do you think it would take You-know-who to suspect that the Malfoy boy may try to return to his home?"

"We can do the spell. With our help Draco will be more than capable of it. We only need a few minutes and Malfoy manor will be a wandering building."

Harry put on an incredulous face.

"What on earth does that mean?"

"It means that we will be able to move it from one location to other. It makes it unplotable as it won't be attached to one specific location." Said Snape condescendingly.

"Why can't we do that with other house? Even better, with a building for the rebels! Or even St. Mungo's!"

"It is very special magic. It does not work for everyone, or for whatever building you decide! You must be a pureblood and the Head of the family. Also, the only building you can affect with the spell is your ancestral home. Which by the way must be old enough to at least have housed seven generations. The spell is oral tradition. Some families have it written on personal diaries that the Head passes along with valuable heirlooms, intended only for the heir. Many have already lost it. The manor would be ideal in the state Draco is. We have to put him in a place that would continue feeding his magical core. His ancestral home is in fact the most convenient choice!"

The last words he spoke directly to Salamanca, summarily ignoring Harry. The boy clenched his fists, but whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the witch saying:

"That is truth, but we may proceed cautiously Severus. It'll not do to risk the boy unnecessarily. By the way, is he awake now Mr. Potter?"

Harry started, remembering the reason why he was downstairs to begin with.

"Oh, yeah! Draco's awake. He looks better, and he's hungry."

Snape was on his feet in an instant, and walking hurriedly towards the stairs.

"Why didn't you say it earlier boy?"

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

Harry was ready to stop Severus' advance, but Salamanca grabbed his arm gently.

"Wait! Harry, he's genuinely worried about Draco. He won't hurt him. I know that you don't trust him, or any of us yet, but please believe me when I say that we mean no harm to either of you."

Harry moved uncomfortably under the woman's gaze. He looked at Snape's retreating figure and a shiver ran down his spine. He disentangled himself from the woman's grasp carefully, and spoke in a clear voice.

"I'm sorry. That may be true, but you are not telling me many things, and I still am not comfortable leaving the man that killed Dumbledore alone with Draco and my child."

He turned around and practically ran to catch up with Snape. Salamanca sighed in resignation looking at him.

"We're so close. Soon you'll be one of us. Then you'd understand."

She turned around and went in search of something light for Draco to eat and drink. She imagined that the boy should be thirsty too.

Snape checked up Draco while Potter stood at the other side of the bed, watching the man's every move like a hawk. When Salamanca arrived with the food Harry had backed of a bit, due to Draco looking glad that Snape was there, but he didn't relax. The potions master frowned at the weakness of the blonde's boy magic and suggested that the mediwizard see to him. He gave him some potions that Harry looked suspiciously at, but Draco ingested without question.

While the Slytherin boy was eating what little food he could stomach, Snape explained again the situation with Malfoy manor, and the rumours about Lucius death. The boy was wary of the subject. At first he didn't want to believe that his father could be dead, but there really was no other reason for the elves apparently acting against Lucius' specific instructions. He agreed to try to open the portal to the manor, which was one of the many still closed, so Snape could go and investigate.

Salamanca was still dubious about Draco's strength. The boy looked really pale, and she could notice him wincing slightly from time to time. He finished the plate of soup with some effort, and by the time that it was decided that Snape would go to the manor the next day, the boy was struggling to keep his eyes open. Harry noticed this too, and was quick to get both adults out of the room, so he could see to Draco's needs. Snape was indignant, but Salamanca told him that they should discuss more about his venture into the manor, and the convenience of not going alone, as there was still the possibility of a trap. They left the room, and Harry helped Draco to walk to the bathroom, and pampered him for a while before the blond was sound asleep again.