Previously: Draco accepted Harry's offer of being the Black Heir. He now acts according the Black Family values, surprising and shocking everyone.
The kidnapped young Rosier is found by the lake. Harry meets with Draco that night in Salazar's chambers in order to fill him in.

'His Heir looked up, fear all over his face. "It's happened again. Another one has gone missing.'

Chapter 23. Conversations

"What?" Harry gasped, trying to comprehend what his ward was telling him.

"I'm sorry." Draco squeaked, his voice trembling, "I should have done better. I should have kept them safe, I know that. I thought –"

"No, Draco." Harry interrupted him, "Of course it's not your fault. Why would you think that?" But as he was asking it, he realised how much of a hypocrite he was being, as if he wouldn't have thought the same. "Never mind. You've been doing all you can, do you hear me? I realise it's hard, but you shouldn't feel that way."

His Heir still looked unconvinced, but that was something he'd had to fix later. "Now calm down and explain what is going on. Who was taken and when did you find out? Start from the very beginning."

Draco nodded fiercely and sat up straighter in his chair. "I was sitting in the common room when a group of second year Slytherins informed me that you had found Rosier. I immediately went to the infirmary with his older brother Morsus to check on him. He hadn't arrived yet when we got there, so we waited." He breathed in deeply. "Of course when Madam Pomfrey finally arrived, she wouldn't let us in. She just snapped at us that she hadn't had time to examine him properly and warded the door. I spent the next fifteen minutes trying to calm down the Heir Rosier and we went down to lunch together."

Harry did remember Draco sitting with Morsus Rosier while trying to attract his attention. "So at that point you didn't know the next one was missing, correct?"

The blond shook his head in misery. "No, everyone was talking about Rosier, trying to remember if they had seen anyone by the lake. We thoroughly interrogated the second years, but it seemed that they were with Madam Pomfrey when Heir Longbottom came to get her. They didn't know anything else."

Disappointment coursed through Harry's body. He couldn't deny having hoped for a moment that at least someone had seen something, but apparently that was too much to ask. "So when did you find out about…?" He asked carefully.

Draco gripped the armrests on his chair in anguish. "Well as it is Saturday no one had any classes. It took until after dinner, when I did my curfew headcount that I realised someone was missing. The third years confessed one of theirs had not been seen since Rosier was found. At first they thought –" He swallowed, "They thought he was running an errand for me, as Eldrick Jugson tends to hang around me most of the time. But at that point, of course, they realised something else must have happened."

Harry felt a rush of empathy for this ward, it had been someone Draco knew well. No wonder he blamed himself. He must have been taken in the confusion of Rosier being found. Not a bad tactic, he admitted grudgingly. "Did you inform anyone?"

"Professor Snape." He replied. "And he promised to go to Professor Dumbledore at once." His ward looked up at him, looking uncertain.

"That was well done." Harry said reassuringly. "But why did you want to speak at me in the first place? You didn't know anything of this business when you asked to meet at lunch?"

"I wondered if you had some more news about Rosier I could tell his brother?"

Harry grimaced. He had been to the hospital wing before coming here. "He is being held in a magical coma for now. Madam Pomfrey says she was able to heal almost all physical damage, but she can't say anything about his mental state yet. His magic was drained to a dangerously low level."

Draco looked horrified. "Do they- Do they know what might have happened to him?"

The Potter Heir shook his head. "Not yet. It looked like he was tortured and neglected during the fortnight he was gone, but there is no indication it was done by magic, which means it could have been done by anyone. There is no magical signature to trace. Whoever it was, planned this." His stomach turned while he was speaking.

"But why," the Black Heir asked, his voice nearly breaking, "It's just a young child. Why would anyone torture him? He wouldn't have had valuable information about anything!"

"I don't know." Harry admitted. "Maybe it was Voldemort who needed a sacrifice or maybe they wanted something from his parents. We hope he can tell us more when he wakes up."

Draco nodded. "Do you know if his brother can visit him yet?"

"Tomorrow I think." Harry said slowly. "It depends on Madam Pomfrey though."

Together they sat there for a long time, staring into the flames. Draco was still jittery and Harry felt he wanted to say something else, but he allowed the other boy to take his time. Finally Draco spoke again, very softly in a shaky voice. "What if it's my father?"

The Potter Heir frowned. "Why would he be involved? Did you hear something?"

The blond shook his head slowly, "No, but he disowned me and needs a new heir. The kidnapped boys are both young enough to shape to his expectations, of a respected pureblood family and not the heirs of their own family." He choked. "I know of rituals, Dark rituals, that allow for a kind of forced magical blood adoption. That would also explain the drainage of Rosier's magic."

Harry's mind went into overdrive. "Did you mention this to Snape?"

"No. I didn't know about the lack of magic then, I hadn't connected the dots yet."

"But you think it's something your father would do?" he asked carefully, not wanting to hurt his ward by assuming too much.

Draco swallowed and gave him a curt nod.

"I'll take care of it." Harry promised, "I'm going to Dumbledore straight after I've gotten you back to the Slytherin common room."

Draco obviously felt very relieved as he didn't even try to argue and get Harry to change his mind. They stayed in the room for a moment longer, until both of them had regained their composure. It was close to midnight when Harry escorted Draco back to the dungeons and used the Marauders' map to get to Dumbledore's office, breaking his own rule of not going anywhere on his own for once.

He was admitted into the office without even having to speak a word, let alone a password. Obviously the Headmaster had given some kind of order to let him through. The Professor was sitting at his desk, wearing a soft, light grey evening robe. As Harry came in, he looked up curiously. "Harry, my boy, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I am sorry to disturb you at this hour, Professor," Harry began, "but I have come across some information you need to hear immediately."

Dumbledore turned serious at once. "I assume it's about the new disappearance? I won't ask how you have found out already. Please sit down"

Harry took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the large desk. "I will tell you anyway. This is not the moment to waste time playing word games. Draco and I met just now and he believes his father might be involved in the disappearances in order to find a replacement heir. I don't know if it's actually the case, but I felt you had to know as soon as possible."

The Headmaster nodded gravely. "I had not considered that possibility. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. When Professor Snape told me about the second missing boy I started investigating the edges of the wards, trying to find a spot where it might have been breached, but nothing seems amiss. This means Lucius Malfoy did not cross the boundary himself, as the wards would have informed me. Hogwarts only allows people without ill intent to enter the grounds without permission from the Headmaster.

"If Lord Malfoy was involved, he had to have had help from inside the castle. I shall instruct the Professors to keep an eye on the students whose parents are closely connected with the House of Malfoy. In the mean time we will continue our search. Chances are high that the student is still on school grounds. He cannot have been kidnapped through the wards, though it is of course possible he crossed them of his own accord and was taken afterwards. I shall warn the students not to leave the grounds for any reason." Dumbledore looked at him sadly, "If the situation cannot be resolved by the end of the week, I shall have to involve the Ministry."

"I didn't know about the wards preventing kidnapping." He frowned. "How come the Triwizard cup was able to take me to the graveyard then?"

Dumbledore sighed softly, looking at one of the whirling instruments on his desk.

"The wards prevent the use of portkeys in general unless I have made or authorised them. They also make it impossible to apparate, but I trust you know that. The borders of the school are warded against physical kidnapping. These measures combined prevent almost all kinds of abduction." Dumbledore smiled sadly, "Unfortunately the cup was always meant to be a portkey. It was only supposed to bring you from the heart of the maze back outside to face the audience. The imposter was smart enough to change the coordinates of the destination, but in theory I had created the portkey, so the wards did not stop it. A mistake I regret dearly, my boy."

Harry shook his head. That was not really important right now. "Is there anything else I could do?"

"I'm afraid not, my boy. You have been a great help already."

"Any more news about Rosier?"

The Headmaster rose, an angry glint in his eyes, "No, the boy is still unconscious. His injuries were very serious, though none of them were inflicted using Dark magic. Only average and low level spells were used, as well as physical violence. This does not rule out a Dark ritual however. I hope the boy will be able to tell us more when he wakes up."

The silence that followed made it clear that they were both thinking the same: if he woke up.

The next day Harry addressed the entirety of Gryffindor House before breakfast. He warned all of them, not only the members of the DA not to go wandering about on their own. He hoped the non-members would still take him seriously.

Harry passed by the hospital wing after classes, but Madam Pomfrey informed him Rosier had still not woken up yet, which was to be expected considering the severity of his injuries. She did promise to let him know when he did woke up, if only to stop him coming by twice a day. Again none of his paintings or elves had seen anything, and he had to admit that, whoever was behind this, had planned everything carefully.

They had a DA meeting that evening and as soon as he set foot through the door to the Room of Requirement he was flooded with questions. He held up his hands, "Please, calm down. One at a time, I suppose everyone wants to know about Rosier who was found yesterday?"

The yelling subsided to a soft murmur.

"That's what I thought." An unspoken request to the Room made soft cushions appear all over the floor. Harry gestured to them and waited until everyone had settled down before continuing. "Physically Mr. Rosier will be alright, but Madam Pomfrey can't say if the same is true for his mind or his magic. He has not woken up yet."

Worried glances were exchanged among his fellow students. "Can we visit?" a second year Ravenclaw named Bowen asked timidly.

Harry shook his head. "Not yet. Madam Pomfrey is still watching over him. Only his brother might be allowed to go in tonight." He hesitated. "I'm sure you have all heard rumours of a second disappearance?"

"Is it true?" Richard Sky's deep voice questioned him.

"I-" he couldn't say it, not out loud, so he just nodded. A few of the younger students burst into tears. "Mr. Jugson was last seen just before we discovered Mr. Rosier at the lake. I believe, and so does Professor Dumbledore by the way, that he was taken during the confusion afterwards. The announcement will be made tomorrow morning, if the boy hasn't been found by then."

Several Hufflepuffs were sobbing quietly, and Harry could see hidden tears in the eyes of a few Slytherins as well. He continued in a soft voice. "I know that this is very difficult, but I want you to think if you saw Mr. Jugson yesterday. You can come to me or any Professor if you think you can help."

A few Gryffindors nodded furiously and Harry could almost see the gears in their heads turning in trying to remember. He hoped they had seen something. Gryffindors were the most likely people to have been outside or lounging about on a Saturday.

"Please remember to always stay together when you are not in your common room. The older students will remember the measures that were taken when the Chamber of Secrets was opened, I am pretty sure those will be reinstated. If not, I'd like for the older students and prefects to take the roles of the teachers and escort classes in the corridors. Those willing can stay behind and we will work out a schedule to accompany the younger years."

Already he could see a few people whispering to make arrangements.

"We can't let this person, whoever he or she is, let us down. We are stronger together. In the coming DA meetings we will work on identifying cursed objects and seeing through illusions. I had planned to do that later this year, but it's too important right now. We'll have the meetings together, both groups at the same time, so we can meet more often. I'll lift part of the secrecy spells so you can teach your friends, though you'll have to say you learned the spells from books or an older student. I want to protect as many people as I can." He ruffled up his hair, ignoring his Grandmother's voice in the back of his head.

"Captain?" Colin Creevey asked, "Do you know who is behind this?"

Harry sighed. "I'm afraid not, Colin. We have a few possible suspects, but nothing we know for sure. I hope Mr. Rosier will be able to tell us something when he wakes up." He then thought of something else. "Professor Dumbledore thinks Mr. Jugson might still be on the grounds. If you know any hiding places you think no one else is aware of, please come forward. You never know if the kidnapper might be using them."

He saw a few troublemakers exchanging nervous looks. Harry grinned involuntarily. "I promise you won't be in trouble."

As he drew the hangings on his bed that night, activating the silencing charms woven into the fabric, Harry hissed softly for Sentar to come out. The snake slithered from between the headboard and the matras and settled on his preferred spot on Harry's left forearm. He supposed it was a remnant of having been created as a Dark Mark.

"Have you found anything?" Harry asked the snake.

Sentar moved his head from left to right, he was picking up human mannerisms from spending time with his young wizard. "No, Master. There were no scents where the young snakeling was found. They were washed away by the lake."

Harry grunted in frustration. Whoever was behind this was either very skilled or very lucky. Even with all his sources around the castle no one had seen a thing.

"Master, I would request you reconsider about the meetings." His snake hissed softly.

The young wizard's eyes snapped open, his green eyes glowing. "I can't risk your safety like that. We are bonded, remember? I don't want to lose you."

"There would be little risk." Sentar hissed persuasively. "We would learn much if you would allow it."

Getting more comfortable on his bed, the raven haired teen brought his arm closer to his face. "But you still wouldn't understand a word of what they are saying."

The snake stared at him. "Wizards know of ways to share memories, do they not?"

Harry hesitated. "I am not sure legilimency would work on snakes, and I'm afraid what taking your memory would do to your thoughts."

"You should find out. Ask your bushy haired nest mate." The snake did not relent. Harry knew he had already lost the discussion.

He sighed. "Fine." He gave in. "I'll ask Hermione to do research. But if she can't find anything, we are not going through with it, alright?"

The snake hissed his consent, then curled up more tightly around Harry's arm, resting his head on the boy's skinny wrist.

Harry laid staring at the ceiling of his four poster for a long time, worrying. Sentar had been feeling every call for Death Eater meetings and subconsciously knew that he was able to apparate through the focus it provided. He wanted to go over to spy and Harry had to admit it would be really helpful, but the snake did not understand a word of English, which rather limited his information. So far, he had not wanted to let his snake go, for fear that he would be discovered, but with the current events he knew his protests were becoming pointless. Sentar had a very strong sense of justice, especially if 'snakelings' or children were involved. He rather suspected it was enhanced by his own feelings.

He closed his eyes with a sigh. He would ask Hermione in the morning.

Did you enjoy the chapter? Any updates on your ideas of who took the boys? And how? And where they are being kept?

I'm sorry for the time I'm taking in between updates, but I'm really busy with work for Uni. I've been writing this on breaks and evenings off, but it takes a bit of time.

Please review!

Sincerely
Dolceconbrio