'Only temporarily,' said Rowena. 'A Source is meant to be used as an amplifier of power, a focusing device. A Source is not to be relied upon to provide the magic a wizard lacks. Such a connection would drain the Source and kill them slowly. He will need another Source soon, and another, and another.'
'Is that why he wants Harry?' Hermione demanded numbly.
'No. He would not waste the Heir of Gryffindor like that and besides, a Source must be willing. He knows it cannot last — he is propping up his powers for as long as he needs to find the Orb.'
Ginny looked as bewildered as Hermione felt. 'The Orb?'
'I stripped Slytherin of his powers before I imprisoned him,' said Rowena, a little breathless. 'Because of the sword, he could not be killed. So I did the next best thing; I imprisoned him in stasis, hid his body away in his castle which is likewise hidden from all save those who already know it is there. His powers I drained into an Orb, and because I could not destroy it I hid it away where it would be protected by the fiercest monster Salazar himself had ever created, so if he were to rise again, he would be weak and powerless.
Unless,' she added, 'he can get the Orb back. It cannot be smashed or destroyed, but it can be opened. Should he succeed in doing that…' She shook her head. 'But he could not kill the manticore. Not weakened as he is. It is far too deadly.'
Hermione suddenly flashed back to the creature engraved on the box that had held Ginnys Time-Turner. 'A manticore?'
Rowena nodded. 'It is hidden inside the manticore, which is itself immortal and impervious to most types of magical harm. It would have to be killed for someone to retrieve the Orb from it.'
'But if he did,' said Hermione. 'If he did kill the manticore, and if he had the Orb — then what?'
'The Orb can only be opened in the presence of all four Heirs. Each must touch it, and speak an Opening Charm, and they must do so by choice. Words spoken under the Imperius Curse would be ineffective.'
'Does Slytherin know that?'
'No. But he is clever. He knows me, as well. He heard the Charm I spoke that imprisoned him in the first place. Given time, he could work it out.'
'So he won?t hurt Harry,' said Hermione, her shoulders sagging in relief. 'He can?t — he still needs him.'
Rowena looked at her, and Hermione realized who her blue eyes reminded her of. Dumbledore. They were so steady and calm, so piercing. 'You love him,' she said.
'Yes,' said Hermione, feeling unable to lie. 'More than anything else in the world.'
'What about Salazars Heir?' Rowena said softly. 'What of him?'
For a moment Hermione thought Rowena was asking if she loved Draco as well, and she simply stared. It was Ginny who answered.
'There in an Heir of Slytherin, if thats what you mean.'
'And has he joined with Salazar?'
'No. He was kidnapped, along with Harry, otherwise he would be with us. He wouldn?t join with Slytherin, though. He just wouldn?t.'
'Perhaps he has not joined with him yet,' said Rowena gently. 'But that is what the prophecy has said will happen. It was foretold. I?m sorry, if hes a friend of yours.'
Ginny shook her head in denial.
Hermione agreed, 'Draco wouldn?t do that.'
Rowena flinched. 'Is that his name?'
Hermione was taken aback. 'Yes,' she said slowly. 'Draco Malfoy.'
'Malfoy,' echoed the woman in the bed. 'That sounds like Salazars idea of a joke, that name. Mal fait, a bad deed. And creating an Heir was the worst of his.' Rowena was looking off towards the window.
'I wish I could believe in his goodness, for your sakes.' She turned to Hermione. 'But you love him. Don?t you?'
Hermione goggled, and said nothing. Beside her, Ginny tensed slightly.
'Love is a blinding force,' said Rowena. 'If he is truly Salazars Heir, then in his blood runs dark wizardry. By the time Salazar created the veela who bore his children, he was so far gone into the Dark Arts that when he was cut, he bled not blood but fire. And I knew this and still I did not believe he would hurt me until it was too late.' She raised her eyes to Hermione and Ginny. 'It is possible to be so mistaken in someone you have loved that you think you can never trust yourself again. I hope, for your sakes, that that will not happen. Could you kill him, if it came to that?'
Hermione felt the shocked blood surge through her veins. 'Kill Draco?' She closed her eyes, pictured him against her inner lids, smiling as he did only at her, his gray eyes darkening into slate, mouth curling up at the corners. She couldn?t imagine killing anyone, much less a friend, much less Draco. It was a ridiculous impossibility. 'Of course not.'
Ginnys whole body was vibrating with tension beside her. 'None of us could hurt him. None of us would. We want to know how to stop Slytherin, not Draco. Hes not like that. I?ve seen him do good things, heroic things. Hes saved Harrys life, and Hermiones. He might have dark wizardry in his blood, but in the end its his choice, isn?t it?'
'Salazar has a way,' said Rowena, 'of not leaving much of any choice. What matters to him — to Draco? Whats the most important thing in the world to him?' she asked Hermione.
Hermione almost smiled. 'Besides himself?' She thought for a moment. 'Harry.' Tears suddenly prickled the backs of her eyelids.
Resolutely, she stared them away. In a halting voice, she said, 'I have to tell you something. When we used the Turner, when we were in-between Time, I thought I saw him, saw Harry. Just for a second.
He was in a blue room, his arms were chained behind his back. It wasn?t any place I?ve ever seen before.'
