it was on monday that drao first realized something was very wrong. to start off he was te to breakfast that m aime to eat, let alone read his father’s ustomary letter, so he tuked the letter away in his bag to read ter.
&hat day, drao urled up in froo read the letter bef on his shoolwork. the first thiied was that the letter was folded outward, so that the words ould be seen. his father never folded letters outward, beause then other people ould read the writie ening it. still, drao o giving it muh thought.
as draot more and more worried. his father o him in this way. yes it souher, and anyone else would not have bee drao ker. readier was like walking down diagon ally in publi with his father. the words radiated the prestige of the malfoy name ahe emotions that his father might have felt while writing to his son.
&er ed from drao’s hands by a white-faed harry potter as drao finished reading his father’s sig ‘your father, luius malfoy’. his father always sigo dra father, luius malfoy’ beause suh things ould not be said in publi.
“harry what are you—”
harry turer around wordlessly and drao suddehe reasoer was folded outward instead h the thik parhmeward, you ould he bak of the parhment was smeared in blood.
chapter 28: bk truth, bk wings
the room of requirement had made itself ihe walls were limestoh a low eiling and a moss overed floor. the room was very small, so small in fat that the three people ihe room had to duk to avoid hitting their heads ohe ave was what the room thought of as the perfet pe to speak of serets, ahree gryffiled down as omfortably as they ould agaione.
“there’s something wrong with drao.” harry said, looking down at the moss as if it was the most iing thing he had ever seen.
her ron nor hermione were fooled by his antis. ron, though, uzzled at harry’s words. “but he seems…er, fio me. well…he doesn’t at ahan he normally does.”
“no, he’s more han usual.” hermione observed.
&ly.” harry said. “it’s like he’s phat he doesn’t wao find out. and it started after he got that letter.”
“but that was a week ago!” roed.
“yes, awo other letters from his father, both as false as the first one.” harry expined.
“false letters?”
“that’s all he’ll tell me about them. that they aren’t really from his father.”
hermiohinking. “but why wouldn’t his father write to malfoy?”
“if he ouldn’t,” harry replied, looking up at his friends for the first time sihe oion had begun.
“but why ouldo malfoy?” ron asked. “he’s do for five years, so what’s different now?”
harry shrugged. “i don’t know. drao doesn’t know. and no one who knows is telling.”
“harry, what does drao think is going on?” hermio exatly does he say?”
“about the letters?” hermione nodded. “well, he says that there are ertain things his father aluts iaihe way he signs his name, and so on…i dohe exat details. ahat all these things are missing from the st three letters.”
“but hasn’t he doo make sure that it’s his father’s handwriting?” hermione asked.
“first thi’s his father’s writing, but not his father’s style.”
“has there been any other…blood…oers?” ron asked.
“no. he first one.”
“i thi he thiated. “his father has always written to him, and so if something happeane, if his father got hurt, theters would tell him immediately that something was wrong. but there isn’t aers. yet, these reent ones are very different from what he’s used to. there are, as he says, ertais missing to them.”
“ahere’s the blood.” ron added.
hermione nodded. “yes. i think that luius malf to tell his son that something is wrong.”
“the he ome out and say it?” ron asked.
& assume for some reaso.”
“but what’s going to stop luius malf something?” roial.
“voldemort.” harry spoke suddenly.
“but we’d know if you-er…voldemort was doihing…wouldn’t we?” ron asked.
harry was sile know what voldemort was doing. after all, he hadn’t had a vision sine he’d boo drao.
ahing harry drao’s haude was that the blond was silent. yes, ied like the drao everyone ked…but when there was no one arou harry, he didn’t speak unless harry started the oion. it was like he always had something on his mind now. and harry ouldn’t find out what.
it wasn’t like he ould bluntly ask, “nning?” beause he would a least, he wouldruth. and beause drao was a slytherin, harry doubted he’d find a drao lotting just lying around.