An Uneasy Alliance - Part 9

Harry scowled, making Ginny giggle.

The girls bade them goodnight and returned to their own room. It took Harry a long time to fall asleep, and when he did his dreams were marred with visions of werewolves, locked boxes and green smoke.

Harry's heart pounded as he paced inside a small room off the main hallway in Grimmauld Place. Amazingly, Moody had agreed very easily to Harry's request to question Malfoy. Harry's expression must have shown his surprise, because the old Auror began to chuckle.

"I figured you were working with Dumbledore on something, and I reckon you're going to carry on with it. If Dumbledore didn't think it was something I needed to know, that's good enough for me. Constant vigilance, Potter. The less people who know what you're up to, the less chance there is for a leak," he said. "I gave my word to Dumbledore that I'd see this through. If that means helping you with whatever it is you're doing, that's just what I'm going to do."

Turning, he stomped out of the room to fetch Malfoy, his wooden leg thumping on the floor with each step.

Harry moved to the back of the room and took a seat in a darkened corner, hoping for the chance to observe Malfoy's interaction with Moody before he was alerted to Harry's presence. He was doubtful that Malfoy would cooperate, but if he had any information that could aid him in any way, Harry was determined to get it.

Hearing voices in the hallway, he ducked into the shadows and waited.

"Just because I am forced to survive in these less-than-stellar accommodations does not give you the right to barge into my room uninvited, Mr. Moody. Decent wizarding manners dictate the necessity of sending an owl to arrange an appointment. Despite your lack of breeding, I expect you to uphold these common niceties," Malfoy sneered as he entered the room, sat down on a stiff-backed chair and placed his feet on the matching footstool.

Moody followed closely behind wearing an amused expression. He sat in a chair opposite Malfoy and leaned towards him so that their noses were nearly touching. "Listen here, Darren, and listen good–"

"It's Draco," Malfoy spat, affronted.

Moody continued as if there hadn't been an interruption. "You're not here as a houseguest, you're here because if you were anywhere else, you'd be dead already."

"And without the information I can provide, you lot won't be long behind me," Malfoy replied, although he had paled slightly.

Harry took a moment to take a good look at Malfoy's appearance. He'd lost the dark circles beneath his eyes, and his skin no longer had an ashen pallor, but he still appeared pale and drawn. He spoke with all the haughtiness and bravado Harry had come to expect, but there was an air of brittleness beneath it that hadn't been there in the past.

"We've been through all of this already and agreed to come to an arrangement that could be mutually beneficial," Moody said, sounding weary, as if he'd been over this same conversation many times already.

"That doesn't mean you can barge into my chambers–"

"I knocked on your door, David," Moody said dryly. "I have a few questions that need answering."

"It's Draco," Malfoy said through gritted teeth, "and when my mother hears about this, she won't be pleased."

Moody nodded his head towards the door. "By all means, if you need your mummy present, go and fetch her."

Malfoy puffed out his chest indignantly. "I won't be treated as a common house-elf, and I'm perfectly capable of handling my own affairs."