Draco opened his eyes, then closed them again, pretending he was anywhere - anywhere - else. His beleaguered mind struggled to make sense of who he was seeing. There’s no way, he thought. No way. I come all this way, and this … ? His mind drifted away into unconsciousness again as he struggled to hold on to a coherent thought.

It could’ve been anyone else, but the person currently looming over Draco had to be one of his least favorite people. Draco lifted his pounding head to look around him, noticing with surprise that he seemed to be rather well taken-care of. He was in what seemed to be a makeshift infirmary, with starched, spotless white sheets, a fluffy pillow on the bed he was currently in, and a bedside table lined with a variety of rather intimidating-looking potions. He finally turned his head to the person who, apparently, had been his savior, expecting a kind word and a dash of sympathy.

Unfortunately, this expectation was not to be fulfilled. ‘Yeh got summat to tell me?’ Hagrid asked, looking angrily at Draco. ‘Like, fer instance, how did yeh get yerself here? Been workin’ for days an’ I’ve got no idea what’s wrong with yeh.’

Draco sighed. Time for the Malfoy charm? he wondered, finally deciding against it after glimpsing a threatening glint in Hagrid’s eye. Evasion it is, then. “It’s just a long story … I don’t quite know where to begin, and my head’s starting to hurt again…� He couldn’t keep the whiny tone out of his voice, but decided it would work in his favor – maybe. Besides, it was true; he could hardly see straight due to the pounding in his head.

Hagrid, sadly, wasn’t fooled. ‘How abou’ startin’ with the fact tha’ yer obviously hiding somethin’?’

Draco could see this was going nowhere, and he definitely was not in the right state of mind to deal with all this questioning. “Well,� he said, after a pause, flagrantly abandoning all attempts at pretense, “I came here because I found … this.� He took a small, airtight glass box from his pocket and motioned for Hagrid to lay it on the floor. “Engorgio!� he said, and the box expanded to fill nearly a quarter of the room, clearly revealing what was inside.

Both of them were silent for a moment – Draco could see Hagrid balancing his natural instinct to know more about the strange creature against his protectiveness of any Hogwarts student (However much he may hate them, apparently, Draco thought wryly).

“Is tha’,� Hagrid said, finally, not taking his eyes off the box, “a dead Nundu?�

“Well, yes,� Draco began –

Hagrid never did find out what he had to say, though, because Draco’s face took on an expression of agony, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he flopped (elegantly – he was still a Malfoy, after all) back on the bed, unconscious once again.

***

When Draco next opened his eyes, he was unsurprised to see that he was in what appeared to be a private room at St. Mungo’s, surrounded by a horde of people he had only ever previously termed “annoying.� And that’s not even including the ruder things I’ve said about them over the years, he thought dryly. Good God, it’s almost like a Potter-Weasley family gathering. So many redheads in one place ought to be illegal.

“He’s awake,� said Harry Potter softly, the first person Draco had noticed upon waking – and, predictably, the first person to notice that he had awoken as well.

Draco couldn’t resist. “Congratulations, Potter. An excellent observation, if I do say so myself. Now feel free to leave,� he said, trying not to sound like his body was being repeatedly rammed with anvils - which, incidentally, was exactly how it felt, anyway. Bloody Nundu, he thought irritably.

Harry, apparently, was thinking nothing quite so profound – luckily for Draco, he didn’t seem to have noticed his remarks, either. Draco did see that he waved to everyone else to leave them alone, however.

Great, Draco thought. Let’s all watch Potter work his magic one more time – ‘I saved the world, Malfoy!’ ‘You wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for me, Malfoy!’ ‘I want to know your deepest secrets, Malfoy!’ ‘Let me help you, Malfoy!’

Draco was so absorbed in his mental impression of Harry that he was only brought back to earth by the sound of impatient rapping on the bedside table. “Hello?� Harry said, apparently not for the first time. “Hagrid told me that you brought something very special back with you, Malfoy. Care to share exactly what happened?�

Draco’s remark was as short as it was cutting; he convinced himself he was being witty and biting rather than admitting that he didn’t feel up to saying anything more at the moment for fear of throwing up all over the room. “No.�

Harry looked weary; clearly, he had been expecting something of this sort. “Just start talking now, Malfoy,� he said. “It’ll make it easier, and we won’t have to go to the Auror Department to find out exactly what’s been going on.�

Draco sighed. “Can’t,� he said after a minute, hating himself for admitting weakness. “Too … tired …�

“Oh,� said Harry, looking as if that statement were totally unexpected. “Here you go, then.� He handed Draco a potion that looked utterly foul. “A Healer gave this to me, just in case; it’ll make you feel completely normal for a while, but remember, it’s only temporary. It's not a cure, Malfoy, but they’re working on it. In any case, start talking – and fast. No one else knows you’re here or what you’ve brought back – other than my relatives, obviously, and they won’t tell anyone. You have four days to make your story clear to me before it goes to either the papers or higher up in the Auror Department, Malfoy.�

Draco drank, shuddering deeply as the potion worked its magic all the way through. The effect was immediate, exhilarating. I could run a mile, he thought, marveling. Harry cleared his throat. Right. The story. Where do I even begin with this one?

“Well,� Draco said, “I was in Suffolk last year, for family reasons; I needed to just … get away from things� – his tone of voice challenged Harry to ask more questions, but Harry remained silent – “and I saw a headline in The Cavendish Examiner talking about a sighting of a very special creature.�

Harry nodded. “I couldn’t resist,� Draco continued. He didn’t really know what had originally possessed him to speak, but he now felt propelled by an unknown urge to spill everything that had happened. “It was the first sighting of a Nundu in two decades! I wasn’t going to give that up, now, was I? The timing–� Draco checked himself just in time. What was I going to reveal? he wondered, shocked at his own stupidity. Shut your mouth, and keep it shut, Draco.

Harry noticed (Of course he would). “Timing?�

But Draco wasn’t fazed - he wouldn’t have been a Malfoy, after all, had he not had the ability to come up with a convincing tale in practically any situation. “Well, in the sense that I had no time to waste. I needed to find this Nundu–�

“Why?� asked Harry, interrupting with a curious expression.

Draco continued as if he hadn’t spoken, and apparently Harry had taken the not-so-subtle hint; he didn’t interrupt again. “I decided to go after the author of the article, and Merlin knows that was hard enough. Apparently this article was a one-time, anonymous contribution. No, Ansley Dalton wasn’t easy to find, but I have my sources, after all. His house was across the world, somewhere in the middle of a strange forest…�

Draco looked around at the luminous forest, concentrating on the little cabin in the middle of the woods that was his destination. So this was what rural America looked like – Draco had been all around the world before, of course, but never like this. If Draco had been less focused on his mission to find Ansley Dalton, he might have noticed the true natural beauty of his surroundings: the way the trees seemed to glow; the way the Rocky Mountains framed the lovely horizon; the way the air shimmered, as if with a dozen untold secrets. Draco was thinking about only one thing, however: why couldn’t he go any further?

“What do you mean?� asked Harry. “You couldn’t go near the cabin?�

“Ansley Dalton is a paranoid little freak, Potter,� Draco replied, disdain in his voice. “And no, I couldn’t get any closer, so I called out to him with a Sonorus charm. About an hour later, after he had finished de-warding his entire cabin, I was finally able to talk to him about the Nundu. A team of wizards had spotted it halfway around the world, and yet he had been the one to report the story, and I wondered why; he told me it was because they didn’t, and I quote, ‘want nobody touchin’ their property.’ They didn’t want their discovery to be reported, either, but they weren’t able to stop Dalton from running his story.�

“Their property?� Harry asked. He had been under the impression that the other wizards who had seen the Nundu had been, well, somehow official. “You mean there were other wizards after the Nundu?�

Draco sneered at Harry like he was asking an extremely stupid question. “Well, of course, Potter, you don’t think I’m the only person interested in this sort of thing, do you? In any case, I traced them to Greece,� he continued. “As it turned out, ‘they’ were a group of wizards you’ve probably never heard of: the Knights of Walpurgis. They’re a secret society and, although their existence is rather commonly known – among pure-blood wizards, anyway – what they actually do isn’t. I found out in Greece that they were after the Nundu for their own selfish reasons…�

The village had been on top of a small hill – the entire place had looked like it was about to fall off entirely – but Draco had heard it was one of the oldest wizarding villages in Greece and therefore the perfect place to find information about a group that didn’t, apparently, exist anymore, according to every source he had asked. He had had to pull some major strings, too – the people he knew, while loyal, were afraid to even mention the name of the society in public.

The woman he was looking for was standing on the main street, obviously waiting for him. She reminded him strongly of Professor Trelawney, but had an air of intelligence and knowledge about her that he had never encountered. He didn’t even know her name, only that she was the person everyone had pointed to – only referring to her as “Her� or “The Woman� – whenever he had brought up the Knights.

“Come with me,� she said. “We will talk, and then you will leave and never return again, Draco Malfoy.�

How did she know his name? His face betrayed no surprise, however, and he followed in silence. When they sat down under a tree after a while, he finally spoke. “What do you know about the Knights of Walpurgis?�

“They are evil,� the woman said simply. “They wish to make deadly venom from the breath of the Nundu you are seeking – ah, yes, I know about that – and they will not stop until they find the Nundu, which was never seen again after that one sighting you no doubt read about.�

“Is it possible to stop them?� he asked.

“You may try,� she said, and then, before he could ask anything else, simply got up and left. Draco never saw her again.

“Wow,� said Harry. “What happened next?�

Draco opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it. “I’m tired, Potter,� he said, “and the potion you gave me is wearing off. Find me a cure to my illness, and I’ll tell you the rest of the story.�

***

The next day, Draco awoke rather suddenly before sunrise. Oh, he thought with surprise. I can’t … move.

***

Two hours later, Harry walked in, stiffening as he saw Draco lying on the bed, an expression of agony on his face. “What’s going on?� he asked, striding quickly to Draco’s side.

“Can’t … move,� Draco replied, nearly choking.

“Oh, Merlin.� Harry handed him a potion. “Why didn’t you call someone?� He was rewarded with silence. Rolling his eyes, he said, “Drink this. Now.� He poured it (surprisingly gently) into Draco’s mouth, and Draco swallowed reflexively. The effect was immediate – it was as if he had taken the previous day’s potion, except this one felt more … real.

Gingerly moving his arms and legs, Draco sat up slowly. “Am I cured?� he asked hopefully.

“You wish, Malfoy. That was the first dose. The lucky part is, we know how to cure you, at least. If you take a potion every four hours for the next two days, you should be fine. Your contact with the Nundu was indirect, so you escaped with only a near-fatal illness.� Harry smiled – a genuine smile.

Draco was too thrown to respond for a moment. “Well, that’s a relief,� he finally said, his tone removing some of the sarcasm from the statement.

“Can you continue, then? I really need to get a report to the Auror Department – I’ve been waiting on informing anyone about your situation and condition until I could hear the whole thing,� Harry said apologetically.

“It’s your job, Potter. You don’t have to apologize to me. And I’d appreciate it if you kept this whole thing a secret until I’m better and am able to deal with all of it.� Harry nodded, and Draco went on. “Well, after the incident in Greece, it was all a matter of trial and error, really. I was no closer to finding the Knights than I had been, although I did travel to some strange places looking for it: America again, Brazil, even Mongolia.�

“Mongolia?� Harry asked, amusement in his tone.

“As it turned out, that was a complete waste of time. My so-called guide couldn’t speak any Oriental languages, and I only know so much Mandarin … suffice it to say that the Knights weren’t located in a strip club, Potter.� Harry laughed at that, and Draco smiled back. Almost friendly, he thought. Who would’ve guessed?

“In any case,� he went on, “Mongolia was what you might call a wash-out. No, the Knights weren’t in Mongolia–� Harry leaned forward to hear the end of the sentence.

Draco put on his best I’m-so-sick expression. “Anyway, I’m actually really thirsty, hungry, and a lot of other things, Potter, and it’s barely seven in the morning. Why don’t you come back at a more normal time? Say … two o’clock?�

Harry stood up, his expression immediately contrite. “Right. Well, er, I’ll just be going, then. And I’ll send a Healer in with the, er, potion.� He looked around, clearly wanting to stay. “Right.� He turned on his heel and walked quickly out of the room.

Draco smiled at no one in particular.

***

Draco looked up from his reading at two o’clock on the dot to see Harry stride energetically into the room. “Hey there,� he said. “Here’s your potion.�

After Draco was done drinking it, Harry looked at him expectantly. Draco couldn’t resist. “So … how was your day, Potter?� he asked lightly.

“Okay, now I know you’re just winding me up, Malfoy. Why don’t you just continue your story and tell me where the Knights actually were?�

Realizing any further evasion would probably earn him a hex with no concern for his health, Draco sighed and began to speak. “After the pointless expedition to Mongolia, I heard from a source within the Ministry that there was someone willing to speak to me within the Transylvanian Ministry of Magic, so I Flooed straight there. The person I was looking for was someone named Diana Florentin, and you will not believe how long it took to track her down–�

“Why was the Nundu so important, anyway?� Harry asked, as if he wasn’t able to hold the words in any longer.

Draco just stared at him, amazed. “Why? I thought it was obvious. Don’t tell me you don’t know, Potter. Don’t tell me your friends didn’t know it either, even the know-it-all …� Harry’s expression said everything. Draco laughed, the first time he had really laughed in weeks. “You didn’t know that the blood of a Nundu holds one of the most valuable Healing Charms? It’s irony, Potter – the breath of a Nundu causes widespread disease and death, yet its blood can cure some of the strangest diseases known to wizardkind: Spelltropy, the Sleeping Beauty sickness…�

Harry looked bewildered. “Okay … so? Why were you looking for this Nundu, Malfoy?�

Draco looked tired, as if the flesh would fall off his bones at any moment. “I need to do something to restore my status in the wizarding world, Potter, or have you not noticed how people look at me? How people stare at me in distrust and fear? Bringing back a creature that has never been subdued single-handedly before would be an Achievement, one with a capital A. It was a chance for me to finally escape my last name.� Draco stopped rather abruptly, glancing at Harry as if to say, Don’t ask me any more.

Harry seemed to accept this explanation, and something in his eyes softened. Thank Merlin, Draco thought. Another minute of soul-revealing, and I would’ve had enough. “Okay, well, what happened with Diana Florentin?�

Draco paused for a moment, then said, “She was murdered, Potter, about a day after I got into Transylvania … which, by the way, was a total pain in and of itself. Apparently my Floo license had been suspended for unknown reasons – obviously, I suspected the Knights, even though there was no evidence – and I spent almost a week at the Transylvanian Floo Network Headquarters trying to prove that I wasn’t some sort of criminal.� Catching sight of Harry’s expression, he added, “Well, not anymore, anyway. In any case, I finally proved to those poor Transylvanians that I was a Malfoy, and they suddenly seemed a lot more inclined to let me into the country. They might even have apologized.�

“Thank you for spending so much time on a topic that is utterly unrelated to the main point, Malfoy,� Harry said sarcastically. “I think you may have buried the lead here – what do you mean, murdered?�

“I meant just what I said, Potter, unless you weren’t quite listening. Dead. Killed. Not alive anymore. After one of her friends submitted a report to their Ministry of Magic saying that she hadn’t been seen in two days and that her family was beginning to worry, Transylvanian officials finally found her with her throat cut near the Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie mountains the day that I was supposed to meet her.�

“But why?� asked Harry.

“Who knows?� replied Draco. “Maybe a Knight got to her before she could get to me.�

A chilled silence filled the room for a minute, then Harry simply said, “Wow. What happened next?�

“Well,� said Draco, “I laid low in Romania for a while. My family’s had a mansion on the banks of the Danube for centuries, but because I couldn’t risk the Knights getting word of my presence there I had to stay in wizarding hotels, like a common tourist.�

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Oh, how devastating for you.�

“I don’t expect you to understand, Potter,� Draco sneered back. “My stay in the hotel turned out to be productive, however – I was sitting in the hotel café one morning when a stranger came in and asked if he could share my table.� Draco paused for the moment, as if to build the suspense. It’s all about staging. “He said his name was Andrei Florentin.�

Harry’s eyes widened involuntarily, although Draco could see that he caught himself almost immediately, returning to his official manner. “What did Mr. Florentin have to say, then?�

“Isn’t it time for the next dose of my potion, Potter?� Draco asked, almost smiling, his tone light.

Harry grinned back – as always, ready to take the first friendly step. “Luckily for you, Malfoy, I brought the dose with me, so you don’t have to interrupt your storytelling.�

Draco smiled back now. “Good on you, Potter. Andrei Florentin was there because he had information for me on the Knights of Walpurgis. ‘Just get them,’ he said. ‘That’s enough for me. I can’t go after them myself because I’m bound by my duties here, but I know you are hunting them, albeit for a different reason. I want revenge, and you will be my means of getting it.’ It was an easy promise to make, considering that I was thirsty for any possible leads at all. It was easy to find historical information on the Knights, of course, but Andrei had details of current meeting times and places – not to mention a special assignment simply called The Calamity Project. It was to find out more that I went to my next destination.�

***

“… all that in Egypt?� Harry asked, his eyes widening. “I do believe you are joking, Malfoy.�

“No, really!� Draco insisted, but his almost-smile gave it away.

Harry narrowed his eyes and strode closer to the bed. “No way, Malfoy. There is simply no way I will believe that you had to fend off a team of Arabic-speaking Veela while simultaneously tracking down a vicious leader simply known as Calamity. I, of all people, can tell when you’re just winding me up, you know…�

Draco shook his head in mock sadness. “I guess I’ll just have to do better, Potter. What if I say I had a secret meeting behind the famous Great Sphinx of Giza in Cairo?�

“Well, that,� Harry said, “sounds like something you might do …�

The midday sun was burning down with a vengeance, and Draco was sweating in a most undignified manner. He was pacing up and down the little walkway that led up to the Sphinx, muttering to himself about people with a distinct lack of punctuality. Vendors tried to approach him with offers to take pictures or to give him “gifts� that they obviously expected payment for, but a single Malfoy glare from him sent them all scurrying – and quickly.

A woman in a black burqa walked up until she was right next to him, then asked in Arabic, “Are you the Seeker of the key to the Project?�

“What project do you mean?� Draco replied, feigning ignorance –

“Hold on,� said Harry, interrupting Draco’s narration. “You speak Arabic, too?�

“Well, yes, Potter,� Draco replied, shrugging. “A global education, and all that…� Draco rolled his eyes. “Do you want to hear my story or not?�

“Oh, sorry,� said Harry, looking contrite immediately. “Continue.�

�What project do you mean?� asked Draco, feigning ignorance.

“The project,� the woman replied simply. “Do not lie to me, Draco Malfoy, for I know you are the seeker of what you know as the Calamity Project – the one you believe is run by the Knights of Walpurgis and requires Nundu venom to complete.�

There was obviously no point in lying, so Draco simply nodded. “Yes, I am seeking the Knights of Walpurgis for the Nundu I believe they are now in possession of. I–�

“What your own motives are for reaching them, I am neither a part of nor concerned with,� the woman interrupted. “I only have one piece of advice for you. If you are serious about finding the Nundu – and I believe you are – then I would suggest you start with Cairo itself. Your fruitless searches have led you to strange places and even stranger people, but eventually it will be time to go home.�

Draco nodded slowly. “Start with Cairo?�

“Yes,� the woman said, nodding. “Think like a sphinx, Draco,� she continued (rather cryptically, in Draco’s opinion; obviously she was taking her own advice) before turning around.

“Wait,� said Draco impatiently, “what do you even mean? I–�

But she was gone.

“What did she mean, ‘think like a sphinx’? Sounds like a load of–�

“That’s exactly what I thought, Potter,� Draco replied. “But only until my sources in Cairo sent me word that the Knights had been spotted again – with the Nundu – and you won’t believe where.�

There was silence for a moment – Harry just stared at Draco, uncomprehending. “Was ‘think like a sphinx’ a clue, then?� he finally asked. “What did the woman mean?�

“Well, actually,� Draco said, almost laughing, “I had no idea what was going on with the ‘think like a sphinx’ comment; I was just joking there. I actually think she was just insane. I did talk, though, to an official at the Egyptian Ministry of Magic, and he told me that the Knights of Walpurgis were done with the Nundu and, as far as they were concerned, the Nundu should go right back where it belonged: the jungle of the Congo.�

“You didn’t let that happen.� Harry’s tone indicated it was a statement, not a question.

“Of course not! I couldn’t, Potter! How could I ever have lived with myself, knowing that I had come so far and was so close to catching the Nundu? I knew what I had to do: I had to go after the Knights as they were bringing the Nundu back to Africa. I couldn’t defeat them all on my own, of course – I was resolved to leave that particular aspect of it to someone else. I did know, however, that I wanted to single-handedly bring the Nundu back, at least so that someone would believe my story. I went to Africa, and it was the hardest week of my life – and not just because I didn’t have silk sheets to sleep in, either…�

The camping was the worst part. The loneliness, the desperation, the hunger … Merlin, Draco had never been this hungry before, or surrounded by so many creatures of unknown origin and definite nastiness. Draco had been following the Knights for a week now, although he was no closer to finding out their true identities – they wore robes of black and masks over their faces, and acted in such a protective manner that Draco began to wonder if even the members knew who the rest of them were. His source in the Congo had parted with information as easily as Draco had parted with Galleons, and now here he was …

The Knights were careful and meticulous, always taking care to check their surrounding areas before they camped, and again before they moved, but Draco was easily one step ahead of them, for he was just as trained in the Dark Arts as they were. The reason they were taking so much care to bring the Nundu back safely became apparent to Draco after a few days – it finally answered the question of why the Knights hadn’t simply killed the Nundu in the first place after they had taken its venom. As far as Draco could gather from overheard snippets of conversations, Nundu venom was only effective as long as the Nundu was actually alive, although its blood could be used even after.

After six days of torture, the Knights finally reached their destination: a remote village in the middle of the Congo Basin. The Nundu – which, Draco saw, was being kept in a glass box – was taken out of the Knights’ tent and placed in the middle of the forest. The Knights all backed away quickly from it, and Draco knew what they were going to do next: in order to escape the Nundu breath, they would break the box so it could get free, then Apparate away immediately, which gave Draco a very short amount of time to kill it before he could get away, too.

It all happened in a split second – the Knights were Apparating away, and the Nundu was already starting to move, but Draco waited an extra second to be sure that the Knights were gone before casting Avada Kedavra, Reparo, Reducio, and Accio in quick succession. He was only a second too late.

Draco took one extra breath of the foulest thing he had ever smelled, then turned on the spot to Apparate – only to find that, halfway through his Apparition, he simply fell through, unable to stand anymore.

“… which is why I landed near Hagrid’s hut in the middle of some forest, I suppose,� Draco finished.

“You did it!� said Harry, who had been listening intently, his tone now jubilant. “You brought it back! You got everything you wanted, Malfoy – and by killing the Nundu, you made the Knights’ venom unusable as well. So why do you look so unhappy?�

“There was just no point,� Draco said. “After all that, the Knights are still out there somewhere … but I know they can be caught – and I know that, if it’s at all possible, I’d like to help catch them. Even more than bringing a Nundu to St. Mungo’s, that would do wonders for my reputation, don’t you think?� His tone was light, but something about the way he spoke gave away the fact that he clearly meant the words. Harry waited, wondering if Draco would say anything else.

“The ‘think like a sphinx’ comment still confuses me, though,� Draco finally admitted after a long pause. “I spent days trying to figure out what the woman had meant, but I’m no closer to finding the real truth of that statement. Finally, I just gave up – I think I’ve learned enough over the past few years, Potter, to know that you can never really find the answer to some questions.� He paused, as if something was running through his mind – a memory, perhaps.

“Maybe the point was,� Harry said, “that some riddles are basically unanswerable.�

Draco simply shrugged.


When Harry entered the room a few hours later, Draco was looking much more cheerful.

“Why the happy mood, Malfoy?� he asked. “Not that I’m complaining, of course …�

“I received an owl from my mother today, Potter. Apparently, an owl arrived at Malfoy Manor this morning from the Transylvanian Ministry,� Draco replied. “Auror Blair Proudfoot is now stationed there, and he wants me to come join his team. They have a special squad of people who are trained in capturing criminals, and they think I would be a good addition.�

“That’s excellent!� said Harry. Draco was surprised to see that he apparently meant it. Amazing, he thought. Is it possible to really let go of the past, then?

“Yes, Potter, it is, rather. I was wondering about what I was going to do after I left here, actually.� Harry looked stunned to see that Draco was actually opening up to him – somewhat, anyway. “You probably have no idea what it takes to build an image, Potter, seeing as how your image has been pretty … consistent, to say the least, but I needed something to prop me up in the wizarding world, and I was nearly at my wit’s end about it all. Finding the Nundu and bringing it back is one thing, but it wouldn’t have been enough, and this letter is a gesture of true support – which is why it means a lot to me. It opens up a whole new set of avenues.�

“That’s excellent, Malfoy!� Harry repeated. “I have to say I wasn’t expecting you to become an Auror’s assistant, of all things, but I’m truly glad it’s what you’ve chosen.� He gave Draco a warm smile.

Draco returned it. We might be getting somewhere, he thought, something like a smile crossing his face.

***

By the next day, Draco was progressing very well indeed; he was almost fully recovered, although the true nature of the Nundu was still a secret – Draco had almost begged Harry to not commence any research until he could reveal to the world that he had been the one to find it (Draco viciously shut that memory away when it threatened to surface; the idea of begging anyone for anything was worse than poison to him, and he was surprised he had even managed it without needing major therapy).

In any case, he was almost ready to leave – almost. He still had a few things to do. Draco carefully took the last dose of his potion, then looked outside his room to see if anyone else was there in the hallway. Seeing no one, he quickly crossed the hall to another room – the room that he had seen Harry (and every Healer) enter almost every day, where the airtight box with the Nundu was still kept for study. “Reducio,� he whispered, tucking the now palm-sized box into his pocket and striding out.

He heard voices from across the hall and gently walked closer to hear what they were saying.

“Harry, you moron!� The voice was immediately recognizable. The Weasley girl, he thought. He had heard she was a Healer. “The blood of a Nundu doesn’t have healing properties! Why didn’t you tell any of the Healers that Malfoy told you that?�

“I didn’t feel the need to! I assumed what Malfoy was saying would be true. Why else would so many Healers be interested in it?� Harry’s voice was thick with anger – and maybe – betrayal.

“Maybe because its breath causes disease? Is that not a good enough reason?�

Harry sounded defeated. “It’s all right; so he had an ulterior motive. The rest of his story was pretty convincing–� Harry interrupted himself. “Is that today’s Daily Prophet?� Apparently he was reading out loud. “‘Murder Shakes Small Town, by Diana Florentin’ – ‘The murder of Ansley Dalton is still under scrutiny by wizarding officials. The thirty-five year old Ministry worker was found dead in his flat yesterday due to unknown causes.’ There’s an ad next to the article about the release of a new action figure, part of a series called the Knights of Walpurgis …�

Draco remembered holding the Nundu box in his hand and feeling the first wave of sickness come on. He had had no choice – going to St. Mungo’s on his own would’ve meant a distinct lack of anonymity, and staying away would’ve meant certain death. Draco had chosen a middle path – one that had made his worst enemy his dearest protector. Draco smiled to himself, wondering if Harry would remember that there had also been travel brochures on the table next to his bed – “Visit the Rocky Mountains,� “Greece: A Perfect Vacation,� “The Exotic Far East,� and a thousand others. But then that’s always been your problem, Potter, he thought. You are, and have always been, much too trusting, and I have always been an extremely talented liar.

“Oh, Merlin.�

There was a moment of silence from inside the room. Draco walked away in quick strides, almost at the exit now.

“Malfoy! Stop!� The cry came from across the hall, and Draco turned around to see Harry running towards him, wand outstretched.

Draco smiled, turned on his heel, and Apparated away.

THE END