'You know,' said McNair, 'Keeping the Dark Lords message alive among your generation. Making sure the right sort of people get the right kind of message.
Holding Death Eater meetings.' He winked. 'Keeping the Mudbloods down.'
'Oh, yeah,' said Harry, who was shaking with rage and hardly knew what he was saying, 'me and the Slytherins, we all got together and had a bake sale, raised loads of money for evil, no worries there.'
McNair did not seem to have heard this. 'I remember when I was in Slytherin,' he said. 'Those were great days!' He turned to Lucius Malfoy. 'So, Lucius,' he said. 'I wanted to talk to you about the Plan. And about Harry Potter.'
'…And about Harry Potter.'
Harry let go of the sword he was holding; it clattered to the ground with a loud bang, causing Lucius and McNair to glance over at him.
Lucius frowned. 'Yes, Draco? Did you have something to add?'
With an effort, Harry forced himself to speak. 'What about Harry Potter?'
Lucius looked at him hard. 'Draco,' he said to McNair, 'talks about young Harry all the time, don?t you, boy?'
This bit of information did not gratify Harry in any way.
'I–I have to play him at Quidditch,' he said stiffly.
'Where, if I recall,' said Lucius coldly, 'he has beaten you every time.'
Harry couldn?t restrain a broad grin, 'Yes he has!' he said.
Both Lucius and McNair stared at him; finally, to Harrys relief, Dracos father turned back to his friend. 'You said you had news for me, McNair,' he said.
'Please tell me its not yet another harebrained scheme to kill off the Potter boy.'
McNair toed the ground. 'Its a really good scheme this time, Lucius,' he said.
'Its really evil and cunning.'
'Indeed,' snarled Lucius. 'And you said the same thing about the scheme to kill off Harry by sending him a poisoned birthday present at his relatives? house where, I might remind you, he is protected by Dumbledores Familius Charm. All that happened was that his cousin Dudley wound up eating the chocolates and vomited out the window on the Death Eaters who?d come to collect Harrys body.
Do you recall that, McNair? And then there was the time Nott tried to sneak into Hogwarts and abduct the boy, and was decapitated by the Whomping Willow. And when Zabini tried to send the boy an exploding broom, Dumbledore intercepted it and sent it right back in a different package. They had to bury Zabini in a matchbox!' yelled Lucius, waving his sword for emphasis. 'More Death Eaters have been killed by stupid plots to murder Harry Potter than by Hit Wizards from the Ministry of Magic!'
Harry was astounded. He?d had no idea. Well, come to think of it, he?d thought he?d heard yells of horror from the front garden that time Dudley had been sick out the window, but he?d assumed it was nosy Mrs. Figg from next door.
'Come on Lucius,' whined McNair, 'just hear me out.'
Lucius crossed his arms over his chest. 'You have five minutes.'
'Its true the boy is protected while in the care of his family,' said McNair hurriedly, 'and its true hes protected at Hogwarts. We?ve tried before to lure him out of the castle — remember that time we sent him Arsenal tickets? — but Dumbledores never let him go.'
'And that,' said Lucius, 'is not going to change.'
'No,' said McNair, 'We know that. And we?ve thought before of abducting someone close to the boy, so that he?d have to leave the castle to rescue them, but almost everyone dear to the boy is at Hogwarts. He loathes his Muggle family, and the Weasleys are protected by powerful charms.'
Lucius was looking bored.
'But,' added McNair, hastily, 'that has changed. We?ve got someone now-someone the boy will do anything to protect.'
Luciuss cold gray eyes flicked upward. 'So you?ve got someone close to Harry Potter in your greasy little clutches?' he asked. 'Who?'
Harrys stomach clenched in dread. McNair was smiling, the same unpleasant smile that he?d worn when he?d come to Hogwarts to execute Hagrids pet hippogriff.
'Sirius Black,' he said.
Draco found his way numbly back from the hospital wing to Gryffindor Tower.
'Boomslang,' he said dully to the Fat Lady, and stepped through the portrait hole.
Out of habit, he walked over to the fire and sat down by Hermione, who was curled up on a chair with her mangy feline, and Ron, who was reading a grim-looking tome, entitled The Art of Muggle Warfare.
'Dracos dad came and took him back to Malfoy Manor,' said Draco numbly.
'Took him where?' Ron asked, lowering his book.
'Malfoy Manor. Its where they live.'
'Brilliant,' said Ron, starting to read again. 'With any luck they?ll never bring him back.'
Draco made a choked sort of noise. Hermione looked over at him in concern.
'Harry,' she said gently, ''its not your fault, you only hit him because he hit you first.'
Draco did not reply. His mind was full of the image of his father, glaring at him. If Harry didn?t play along — if he resumed his normal appearance — if Lucius Malfoy somehow found out that the boy he?d brought home was not his own son, but the famous Enemy of Lord Voldemort — he would kill Harry. Of that, Draco had no doubt.
