“Yes, we decided to put the Dark Mark over the tower and get you to hurry up here, to see who’d been killed,” said Malfoy. “And it worked!”
“Well … yes and no …” said Dumbledore, weighing Malfoy’s words, “But am I to take it, then, that nobody has been murdered?”
“Soone’s dead,” said Malfoy imdiately, and his voice seed to go up an octave as he said it. “One of your people … I don’t know who, it was dark. … I stepped over the body. … I was supposed to be waiting up here when you got back, only your Phoenix lot got in the way. …”
“Yes, they do that,” said Dumbledore.
“And there’s Fenrir Greyback, that brutal werewolf — he and his lot went toward the Gryffindor common room. He’s definitely going to bite a lot of people,” Malfoy added vengefully, as if Dumbledore’s calm expression had angered him. “That’s what…”
He stopped again and turned his head to look behind him.
There was a bang and shouts from below, louder than ever; it sounded as though people were fighting on the actual spiral staircase that led to where Dumbledore, Malfoy, and Harry stood.
“Letting a werewolf into the castle is the worst mistake you have made tonight. If Greyback really bites a student, it will be the most terrible disaster. I don’t want that to happen, Draco, and I know you don’t want that either,” said Dumbledore. “Now, there is little ti, one way or another. So let us discuss your options.”
“My options!” said Malfoy loudly, panting heavily. “You can’t do anything. I’m not as fragile as you believe. I don’t care about the safety of those Mudbloods, or who the werewolf bites! Right now, I’m standing here with a wand — I’m about to kill you —”
“Enough, my dear boy, let us have no more pretense about that. If you were going to kill , you would have done it when you first disard , you would not have stopped for this pleasant chat about ways and ans.”
“No, I…”
“You’re not a Death Eater, you haven’t fallen that far yet!”
“But… I haven’t got any options!” said Malfoy, and he was suddenly white as Dumbledore. “I’ve got to do it! He’ll kill ! He’ll kill my whole family!”
“I appreciate the difficulty of your position,” said Dumbledore, “And that brings us back to the question you asked earlier — why, knowing everything, I stood by and did nothing. As I told you, I was trying to protect you. Why else do you think I have not confronted you before now? This was not a good way, but I had to do it because I knew that you would have been murdered if Lord Voldemort realized that I suspected you.”
Malfoy twitched in fear, as if thinking of the horrible picture.
“I did not dare speak to you of the mission with which I knew you had been entrusted, in case he used Legilincy against you,” continued Dumbledore. “But now at last we can speak plainly to each other. … No harm has been done, you have hurt nobody, though you are very lucky that your unintentional victims survived, and there will be no greater casualties tonight. … I can help you, Draco. Trust !”
“No, you can’t,” said Malfoy, his wand hand shaking very badly indeed. “Nobody can. He told to do it or he’ll kill . I’ve got no choice.”
“I understand, but you can choose to co over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send mbers of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Your father is safe at the mont in Azkaban. … When the ti cos, we can protect him too. Co over to the right side, Draco … you are not a killer, you are not capable of doing this. …”
Malfoy stared blankly at Dumbledore, as if he couldn’t believe what the older man was saying.
“But I got this far, didn’t I?” he said slowly. “They thought I’d die in the attempt, but I’m here … still alive … and I let the Death Eaters in…”
“That, too, was a trap … one set by ,” Dumbledore interrupted him. “As I said, I’ve known for a long ti that you would try sothing tonight. I chose this night to leave Hogwarts for that very reason, and I made sure Madam Rosrta saw leave. The defenses at Hogwarts tonight are not as weak as you think. You and those Death Eaters have no chance of success. Instead, you will be caught in one fell swoop by the Order of the Phoenix.”
“But…” Malfoy murmured, “Greyback and the others went to Gryffindor…”
“I must admit, that part was beyond my expectations. But if you look closely, you’ll see that each House in the school has Order mbers stationed there. Greyback and his pack won’t gain the upper hand,” Dumbledore’s voice was gentle. “Besides, Evan has gone there as well. I don’t think Greyback stands a chance.”
“My — my plan failed?” Malfoy asked in disbelief.
“There was never any chance of success from the beginning.”
“No, impossible, I succeeded! You’re bluffing! You’re in my power. … I’m the one with the wand. … You’re at my rcy. …”
“No, Draco,” said Dumbledore quietly. “It is my rcy, and not yours, that matters now. Put down the wand, my dear boy.”
Malfoy did not speak. His mouth was open, his wand hand still trembling. Harry thought he saw it drop by a fraction —
Because of Dumbledore’s words, Draco seed to have given up completely!
Harry’s tense heart had just relaxed, and it suddenly rose again.
Suddenly, footsteps were thundering up the stairs, and a second later Malfoy was buffeted out of the way as a group of people in black robes burst through the door onto the ramparts. …
……………………………………………………………………………….
Transford into a black cat, Evan sprinted swiftly along the dim, narrow corridor toward the Gryffindor tower. At the far end of the hall, he heard the maniacal laughter of the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback.
“Hahaha, Hogwarts! Look at these sweet little children — what a delicious treat! So many throats to rip open — what a wonderful taste, what a wonderful taste!” Greyback cackled, using a long yellowed fingernail to pick at his large front tooth, while baring a savage grin at the students before him
Facing him, Hermione, Ginny, and several other students who had just rushed out of the Gryffindor common room after hearing the commotion all gasped sharply. They trembled, staring in horror at Greyback standing outside the common room. The werewolf’s appearance was utterly terrifying.
Even though it wasn’t a full moon night, his figure was still unimaginably horrifying. …
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