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

Chapter 31-Skirmish at Malfoy Manor

"Malfoy, get up!"

Draco's eyes shot open to see the Snatchers Evans and Ross standing in front of him.

"What do you think you're doing in my room?" Draco demanded.

"We got Potter!" Evans exclaimed.

Draco sat up straight. "You what?"

Ross nodded excitedly. "Got Potter and there's these two others with him."

"But we ain't sure it's him," Evans added, "so we need you."

Bloody fantastic, Draco thought, getting out of bed. "Very well, let's go." He followed Evans and Ross down the stairs and into the room just above the dungeon. They met with the other Snatchers, save for Scabior, who followed Bellatrix from the dungeon, dragging...was it Potter?

The leader threw Potter in front of Draco. Turning to Bellatrix, Scabior handed her three wands.

"This one," he said, waving a very familiar wand, "belonged to Yaxley."

"Did it now?" Bellatrix cackled as she turned to Potter.

"An' we took it from the ugly one 'ere."

"Yeah, what happened to his face?" Draco asked.

"We shall find out," Bellatrix replied, taking the three wands in one wand. "Priori Incantatem!" She smirked as she saw Hermione's wand had last used a Stinging Jinx. "Go on, Draco," she nudged. "We've got to be absolutely sure it's him before I call the Dark Lord."

"Before you call the Dark Lord?" Scabior stepped in. "An' who was it that caught the boy and his friends?"

"And who was it that required our assistance?" she shot back. "Never mind him, Draco. Tell us—is this Harry Potter or not?"

It was, without a doubt, Harry Potter. But Draco knew he couldn't give away The Boy Whose Life Draco Always Saved. He knelt down to match Potter's eye level. Just barely, Draco could see the infamous scar.

"I can't be sure," Draco told Bellatrix. He could tell the Stinging Jinx was slowly fading. Potter needed to get back to the dungeons, and Draco needed enough time to plan an escape. What could possibly serve as a distraction?

Thankfully, Scabior unknowingly came to the rescue. "Don't be brushin' me off that quick," he said to Bellatrix. "These kids ain't all we found."

With that, he pulled the sword of Gryffindor from Hermione's bag.

Bellatrix gasped.

Oh, great, Draco thought. He'd completely forgotten about that incriminating piece of evidence.

"Where did you get that?!" his aunt demanded, using her wand to choke Scabior with the pink scarf he was wearing. A rather peculiar decoration for a man of his type, Draco reckoned, but people could dress however they liked.

"Aunt Bella," Draco intervened, "release him or he can't explain himself.

After a few more seconds, she complied.

"Where did I get it?" Scabior repeated, gasping for air. "I just pulled it ou' o' this bloody handbag! Belongs to the girl—said 'er name was Penelope Clearwa'er, but I seen 'er in the Prophet. She's the Granger girl, daughter o' the squibs."

Bellatrix grabbed the sword and bag from Scabior, throwing the latter on the ground. "Then take this one," she nudged Potter with the hilt of the sword "and bring me back the girl!"

Glaring and muttering under his breath, Scabior stepped around her to pull up Potter and drag him to the dungeon. Just then, Wormtail entered the room, escorted by a couple Snatchers.