Draco Malfoy and the Deathly Hallows (BOOK 7 of 7)

Chapter 25-Bathilda Bagshot?

"Harry, I'm not so sure about this," Hermione whispered as they followed Bathilda Bagshot into her home.

"Just keep your wand out. We'll be fine."

As Hermione entered through the door, she caught a whiff of something potent. "Ugh, it smells like—like rotting meat or something."

The two of them looked around the dark house.

"Lumos," Hermione whispered. Harry inched closer to a shelf on the wall. He was looking at a framed photograph.

"Who is it? Herimone asked.

Harry turned to her. "Remember when I saw You-Know-Who threatening that man about the Elder wand? Gregorovitch, most likely."

"Is that him?"

"No, but it's the wizard who stole the wand from him."

Hermione stepped forward to examine the picture. "I think I've seen his face before somewhere but I'm really not sure."

There was a clatter and the two Gryffindors whipped around to see Bagshot staring at them with emotionless eyes. She beckoned for Harry to follow her upstairs.

"I'm coming with you," Hermione told him.

"I don't think she wants that. Maybe she doesn't know if she can trust you yet."

Herimone reluctantly gave in. "Just be careful."

"She's an old lady, Hermione, what can she do?"

"It's not her I'm worried about. For all we know, someone could have laid down a trap here without here even knowing."

"I'll be fine."

Harry slowly followed Bagshot up the stairs. Hermione took the woman's absence to look around. It seemed like no one had been living here for some time. Dust was collecting on the furniture, the books seemed untouched. In fact, everything except the photograph on the shelf seemed like it hadn't been moved in ages.

She carefully approached the shelf and picked up the picture. Where had she seen him before? Rummaging through her bag, she pulled out a few books and flipped through them before tossing them back in. Finally, she pulled out The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. It was growing more familiar. She kept turning the pages until—there it was—the same boy from the photograph.

"Gellert Grindelwald." The dark wizard? She'd only flipped through the book before and hadn't actually read this section. "Bathilda Bagshot's great-nephew..."

Apparently Grindelwald and Dumbledore had been friends when younger, a friendship that ultimately ended with the death of Ariana Dumbledore. Some time later, Dumbledore defeated Grinelwald to get the Elder Wand. If Voldemort found out Grindelwald stole the wand from Gregorovitch, there would only be one more step until he realized Dumbledore had it last and the wand was most likely buried with the headmaster. That couldn't happen—who knew what Voldemort would be capable of with the most powerful wand on Earth in his possession?

Suddenly, there was a shout and a smash.

Harry! she thought.

She quickly clambered up the stairs and followed the thumps to a room where a snake was coiling itself around Harry.

Instantly, she shot the snake with a Knockback Jinx, sending it flying away from Harry.

"Hermione, my wand!"

Hermione looked around frantically as Harry ran past her into another room. She finally spotted it just as the snake leaped back at her. Hermione rolled away before the snake could get her, grabbing the wand as she left.

Ignoring Hermione, the snake slammed through the brick wall into the room Harry was in. Hermione followed it through the hole.

Harry was jumping from side to side without as the snake kept trying to attack him.

Harry jumped to the right as Hermione pointed both wands at the snake and yelled, "Confringo!"

The blasting curse exploded the window across from Hermione and dropped the snake through a newly formed hole in the ground. Half of Harry's wand clattered to the ground, having broken off from the curse. She quickly swept it up before running to Harry.

"Hermione, it's his snake. That's—"

"We need to leave now. It's already—"

"Watch out!"

As the snake leaped from the hole, Harry grabbed Hermione's arm and jumped backwards out the window.

"Hold on!" Hermione yelled before apparating them to safety. Just before they disappeared, Voldemort whisked onto the scene and watched them vanish.

Meanwhile, not thrilled to be spending Christmas Eve alone for once, especially since last year was much more eventful, Draco was at a Muggle theater to see the Muggle play A Christmas Carol when it happened.

He was pushed into a cold, black night in an old village. It was suddenly clear he was in Godric's Hollow. His eyes were like a camera as they pushed into a house and the first thing he saw was a man who looked uncannily like Potter. Was this his father?

Potter Sr. looked like he was going to fight Draco but in an instant, there was a blast of green light and the man fell to the floor. Draco realized he was reliving the night the Potters died through Voldemort's point of view.

Up the stairs he went, following the sound of a baby crying. He entered the room the sound was coming from. A red-haired woman was trying to console an infant boy. Potter and his mum.

"Shh," she was whispering. "It's all going to be okay. Mama loves you."

She whipped around and cast her body over Potter as the green light hit her right in the stomach. Potter began wailing loudly. A third strike of green, and then nothing.

Draco was back in the theater. The ghost of Christmas past had just dropped Scrooge back at his home, passing him onto the ghost of Christmas present. Draco rose from his seat at the edge of the aisle and left the theater as quickly as he could. Within seconds, he was back home, awaiting Voldemort's arrival.

Only he didn't come alone.

A/N: I encourage you all to share this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!