Chapter 545: Draco Malfoy's Confession
Chapter 545: Draco Malfoy's Confession
"He succeeded", Harry murmured.
"Potter, come with me to the Hospital Wing. You need a good night's sleep", Professor Mcgonagall said.
"No, wait, Professor Mcgonagall. I know what Voldemort has been up to all this time! It's a wand, a powerful wand."
Professor Mcgonagall stared at him, her mouth tightly pressed. After a long moment, she said, "If you're talking about the Elder Wand, Professor Hep has already debunked that rumor..."
"It's not the one in the professor's possession", Harry said loudly. "It's too late. He obtained a wand from under a yew tree. It looked extraordinary, like a legendary wand..." His voice slowed, his mind racing. "It's the yew wand! He has Salazar Slytherin's yew wand."
Several people gasped.
"The seventh-ranked wand among the top ten?" Ron asked.
"What? Oh." Harry said blankly, still lost in his thoughts. "Yes, that's Voldemort's goal. He doesn't care about the Elder Wand... or rather, he does, but getting it from Professor Hep is too difficult, and there's no guarantee it's real... So he deliberately stirred up trouble to distract the professor while he investigated other wands..."
Snape looked at Harry with a complex expression.
"But how did he know the location of the yew wand?" Professor Mcgonagall asked dryly.
"He has been following similar rumors, and many people have gone missing", Sirius said. "For example, the owner of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Shop. We suspect he was taken because of this. He—"
"He is a descendant of Hogwarts' former Headmaster Dexter Fosco, and there is a legend in his family about a powerful wand", Hermione said sharply, then glanced cautiously at Sirius. "I only found out recently, right?"
Sirius smiled at her.
"It all fits", Harry said, punching his palm. "He went through great lengths to finally get the wand that suits him best."
"Where has the Dark Lord gone?" Snape asked abruptly.
"I don't know", Harry shook his head. "I only saw a cluster of buildings on a mountain, somewhat similar to Hogwarts... Yes, there were two massive statues on either side of the entrance."
"A mountain top, similar to Hogwarts, and two statues at the entrance..." Hermione wracked her brain, trying to recall where she had heard this before. A few seconds later—
"Ilvermorny!"
"Ilvermorny."
Hermione and Neville said simultaneously.
Everyone looked at Neville, who scratched his head. "Byers told me a lot about his school, including the tree you mentioned. You know, I'm interested in Herbology, so I asked more questions... But what I heard was different. Byers told me that the two founders of the school planted an unknown yew tree outside the school grounds, which could not be cut down or destroyed. Later, people discovered that the leaves of this tree had powerful healing properties."
"I'll inform Dumbledore immediately", Professor Mcgonagall said decisively. She drew her wand, and a silver Patronus emerged from the tip, flying off into the distance and vanishing in a blink.
Harry felt a bit relieved.
"So, Potter—" Professor Mcgonagall looked at Harry.
"I don't need to go to the Hospital Wing", Harry said quickly. "I'm fine. This has happened before... I just need some rest, or some fresh air." He found an excuse for himself.
Sirius cleared his throat. "Hmm—I'll take him for a walk, just nearby."
"Very well, I will report everything to Dumbledore as it is", Professor Mcgonagall said reluctantly, then hurried off.
The others were also preparing to leave when they suddenly noticed someone else present—someone other than Snape, whose presence was so strong that just standing there made him radiate a cold aura, scaring off the other students—another person hiding behind Snape.
"Draco Malfoy!? What are you doing here?" Ron nearly dropped his jaw.
Harry and Hermione’s breaths caught. Malfoy knew! He knew that Harry could see Voldemort’s thoughts! If Malfoy knew, then Lucius Malfoy knew, and what about Voldemort?
The remaining five people simultaneously realized this. An unsettling silence followed.
Sirius silently drew his wand, and Snape slowly said, "Leave him to me, Black—"
"Back off if you don’t want to get hurt. I’m not joking", Sirius said.
"Is that so?" Snape’s hand moved toward his pocket, where his wand was, and he said expressionlessly, "You’re still as impulsive and arrogant as ever, never considering the consequences."
"I know what I’m doing", Sirius said coldly.
Draco took a step back, his face pale with fear.
Snape stared at Sirius and whispered, "Oh? You know what you’re doing... just like when we were at school, in the Shrieking Shack?"
Sirius’s facial muscles suddenly trembled with agitation. He knew what Snape was referring to. They were mortal enemies back then, and if there was a chance to get the other expelled, they wouldn’t hesitate. Snape spent a lot of time tracking him and James, even getting close to uncovering the truth about Remus being a werewolf. Tired of being pursued, Sirius impulsively told Snape the location of Remus’s transformations. If James hadn’t pulled Snape out of the Shrieking Shack, who knows what might have happened.
Snape could have escaped with the secret and spread it around, forcing Remus to leave school. Or Snape could have been torn to pieces by the werewolf, drawn by the scent of human blood.
Sirius hesitated for a moment, but his gaze hardened when he looked at Harry.
He had already made one terrible mistake with Peter Pettigrew, and he couldn’t afford to leave any more loose ends.
"Just a memory charm... Snape, Harry... I can’t take the risk", he growled, his eyes growing increasingly wild.
"Best to wait for Dumbledore to return before making a decision", Snape said, gripping his wand tightly in his pocket. "If our Headmaster finds out you attacked a student..."
"I don’t care!" Sirius said madly, his wand spitting out a few hot sparks.
Snape immediately drew his wand, and the two men pointed them at each other, just as they had over a year ago in the Shrieking Shack.
"But I do care, Sirius", Harry said.
Sirius immediately turned to look at him. Harry met his gaze firmly, and after a moment, Sirius looked away.
James...
"I won’t tell anyone", Draco said suddenly.
Everyone looked at him.
Draco’s face was even paler, and a few sweat drops appeared on his narrow nose.
"You’re lying!" Ron said. "If we let you go, you’ll go straight to the authorities! He has a record, remember? Buckbeak—"
Draco glared at him angrily and said to Harry, "Potter, I have something important to tell you... something only you need to know."
Harry looked back at him. Draco’s expression was anxious and his body was trembling.
"Alright", Harry said.
"Harry?"
"Harry!"
"It’s fine, let’s hear what he has to say", Harry said, giving Draco a deep look. "Malfoy, even if you didn’t do this, I wouldn’t let Sirius use a memory charm on you. Not because I trust you, but because I saw what happened that night... I just don’t want Sirius to leave school because of you, because... it’s not worth it."
A faint blush appeared on Draco’s pale face, almost as if Harry was pointing a finger at him and saying, "I know your father is a Death Eater, so I don’t believe you can keep a secret."
“We’ll come too,” Ron said, “Hermione, Neville, and I.”
Draco turned to glare at him.
“We’ll stand far away and won’t eavesdrop,” Ron muttered under his breath. “Who knows if you might take the chance to cast a nasty spell on Harry.”
Draco responded with a mocking sneer. “Fine.”
They descended the steps, with Ron, Hermione, and Neville trailing far behind. Harry turned his head and could see Hermione hugging her arms, while Ron and Neville were whispering to each other, pointing fingers. Further back, Sirius and Snape stood on the stone steps, neither looking at the other.
They walked for a good distance, leaving the Greenhouse and Hagrid’s Hut behind. The iron gates of Hogwarts loomed ahead, the boar wings on the gate barely visible. Harry finally grew impatient, feeling that his presence here was a mistake.
“How much longer are you going to hesitate?” Harry said.
Draco finally stopped and glanced at the three people trailing far behind, ensuring they wouldn’t hear what he was about to say. He moved his lips slightly, barely audible. “I support Professor Hep.”
“What?”
“I said, between that person and Professor Hep, I support Professor Hep.” Draco tried to keep his tone calm, but when he saw the utterly surprised look on Potter’s face, as if he were talking about a fairy tale, he suddenly felt a surge of anger and wanted to punch him.
But he didn’t dare, with three followers still trailing behind them.
“Don’t think I’ll believe anything you say, Malfoy.” Harry said.
“Fine, I can tell you a secret. You swear not to tell anyone.” Draco said reluctantly, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Harry blinked. “Alright, I swear.”
“You answered too quickly! You have no sincerity at all.” Draco said angrily.
“I don’t have time to waste,” Harry retorted. “You can choose to believe me or not, but at least my credibility is better than yours.”
Draco’s gray eyes were full of disdain. He sized up Harry, a situation he had never encountered before. He had to force himself to consider a question: Was it worth it to entrust this secret to Harry Potter?
Draco took a deep breath. “Alright, remember what happened in second year, the Chamber and the Basilisk?”
“Of course I do.” Harry said, his face strange. Was Malfoy going to say he knew about him and Ron using Polyjuice Potion to get information from him? That would indeed be troublesome, as they had broken several school rules, and Hermione even sneaked into Snape’s private storage to steal unicorn horn and African tree snake skin.
“That diary, I once possessed it.”
“What?” Harry was taken aback, not because of the content—Dobby had already told him about it. What puzzled him was why Draco Malfoy was telling him this, when he should have kept it a secret.
Draco’s expression also became strange.
“I followed you to an abandoned girls’ bathroom and was discovered... When I returned to investigate, you were already gone. I only found a diary on the ground...”
“Then what happened?” Harry asked, having discussed these events with Ron and Hermione.
“Some things happened in between...” Draco said vaguely. “Later, I gave it to Professor Hep, and Professor Hep destroyed it.”
“You handed it to the professor yourself?”
“Yes, I asked him to keep it confidential. I couldn’t be involved in this matter.”
Harry stood frozen, his mind reeling. He had always thought the professor had discovered the anomaly and confiscated the diary (Horcrux) from Malfoy. They had even mocked Lucius Malfoy for tying his own hands, almost harming his son... But the truth was that Draco Malfoy had personally handed the diary (Horcrux) to Professor Hep, leading to the destruction of the first Horcrux.
It was too absurd.
He felt dizzy, the scene around him blurring, his consciousness sinking. His scar began to throb.
(End of Chapter)
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