The Half-Blood Princess

The Second Horcrux Hunt

Since the War, Kingsley (Hermione's Minister of Magic predecessor) had banished all dementors from Azkaban with one exception: they were allowed to patrol the top level of the prison, where those sentenced to death dwelt. Death Eaters and murderers, the lot of them.

However, knowing they deserved such punishment didn't make going to face dementors any easier. So Harley brought along bottles of her Tenebris Exilium for both her and Harry to drink before going in there.

"Thanks. Good thinking," Harry said, downing his. "So, what's your plan to get Malfoy to talk to us?"

"I have two plans. One, I already know what his horcrux is: the crystal serpent that topped his and now tops Draco's wand," Harley said. "If he knows his will be destroyed regardless if he helps us or not, he might perhaps have a change of heart and want the others destroyed...for a sort of twisted revenge."

"And if that doesn't work?"

She held up a third bottle of her potion. "Then I bribe him."

Harry shook his head, showing his Auror badge to the guard at the door. "Slytherin at heart, aren't you?"

"Gryffindor at heart, Slytherin in the head."

They walked up a long, narrow, dark stairwell that gave even Harley the creeps as they ascended to reach Lucius in the conference room Harry had asked the guards to set up for them.

The room was made of stone, no ingress or egress save for the door they had come in. The table was wooden, the chairs iron. It was as dreary a place as any, and Harley felt the deep chill in her bones from the dementors, and she was glad they had both taken their potion. She had a funny feeling that they had entirely different worst memories since both she and her brother had first encountered dementors and she was not keen on discovering them.

"You feel them too," Harry said.

"Indeed I do." Every second was unnerving her more and more, making her feel weepy and anxious. Control, control, control, she thought, gripping her black robes in her hands.

A moment later, the door opened and two guards led in Lucius Malfoy. He didn't look anything like he had when Harley had last seen him on the battlefield. His hair had thinned and got completely white, and his face was drawn in, bearing the marks of longtime treatment from dementors.

"Well well," he sneered as he sat down, handcuffed. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? The Boy Who Lived and the Girl Who Betrayed?"

You filthy bastard, Harley thought. It should be you who's dead. You should have been poisoned by the Dark Lord, not my father. You never deserved life and yet you're still here, wasting oxygen while he's gone.

Out loud, she said, "I won't beat about the bush with you, Lucius. We discovered some information that we need you to elaborate upon."

He scoffed, looking amused and very much like his younger self. "And what makes you think I will acquiesce?"

"Because you've got nothing to lose." Harley gestured to Harry and he put the parchment on the table.

"This is a list of horcruxes Voldemort made his followers create. We already have yours and a way to destroy it. We just need to know exactly what all of the others are and where to find them," Harry explained.

The surprise that passed the Death Eater's face was hard to miss. He moved the parchment closer and began to examine it, reading the list. When he got to the end he narrowed his eyes, as if confused. The expression cleared and he pushed the paper back towards Harry.

"You'll accept my apologies that I do not wish to assist you with nothing in return. I am going to assume, Miss Snape, that you came prepared for negotiation?" he said.