Joined (A Drarry Fic Not Written By Me)

Part 2: Chapter 17

Yay, I wrote something! Turns out all I had to do was ask my best friend for ideas, who is way better at plots and details than me. I think she also came up with the idea of poisoning Harry in the first place... She doesn't have an account on here anymore, but you can thank her in the comments! Enjoy this nice long chapter to make up for last chapter!

*Author-san is very happy to get this chapter out. Enjoy it guys.*

"I can't believe this, they must be wrong, or... I mean, how would she even get in here?"
Draco was pacing back in forth in the Gryffindor common room. Or at least, he kept trying to; Harry pulled him back down onto the couch each time he tried to get up. He and Harry had immediately gone to Gryffindor Tower to inform Ron and Hermione on the news of the test results.
"Well, there are loads of ways, aren't there?" Ron said. "She could've apparated here and be using an invisibility cloak, for all we know."
"You can't apparate on Hogwarts grounds," Hermione and Draco said in unison. They looked at each other for a moment, shocked, before smiling.
"Yeah, alright, I know," Ron said impatiently, glaring at the two. "But I'm just saying... I mean, Crouch's son fooled everyone into thinking he was Mad-Eye Moody, didn't he?"
"But... But they wouldn't be stupid enough to use Polyjuice again," said Hermione, who was staring into space and visibly trying to analyze the situation in her head.
"That's exactly what you said about the poison," Draco said slowly. "You said they wouldn't be stupid enough to use the same trick twice, and they obviously were. She's not all right in the head, my aunt. She's not the cleverest at this sort of thing unless she's been ordered to do something specific..."
"Actually, it's quite smart, in a way," Hermione said. "It's reverse psychology. She knows that we'll doubt the same trick happening twice, which is precisely why she did the same trick."
"So... You said unless she's doing something specific... So does that mean you think this was her own idea?" Harry said. "Not Voldemort's?"
Everyone winced. "Maybe... she's disgustingly loyal to him, and I mean disgustingly," Draco said, making a face. "I swear, I think they've been up to things other than plotting to kill Harry, just the two of them."
"Anyway," Hermione said firmly as Harry grimaced and Ron sniggered. "What were you saying before that?"
"Right, I was meaning to say that coming up with some plan to kill Harry on her own to surprise You-Know-Who with sounds like just the sort of thing she would do."
"I thought he wanted to kill me himself," Harry said.
"I suppose, but the Death Eaters forget that pretty easy," Draco said. "They just know he wants you dead, and that they're living to serve him."
"Alright... So we think Bellatrix Lestrange has been using Polyjuice Potion to disguise herself as someone in this school in order to poison Harry?" Ron said.
"More or less, that's the theory, yes," Hermione said.
"Well, if it is Polyjuice, who is she disguised as?"
"Well... Have you noticed anything strange about any of the teachers?"
"Have you?" Ron asked.
"No, I don't think so," Hermione replied. "But... Professor Anglia..."
"What?" Draco said in surprise. "Why her?"
"Well, she's the only new teacher this term, and did you see how excited she seemed all throughout the process of finding out who poisoned Harry?"
"But would she really be that involved in finding out who the poisoner was if it was her?" Ron said.
"If she expected no one to catch on to the Polyjuice Potion idea a second time, then she would want to be as involved as a regular teacher might be to misdirect our attention," Hermione said thoughtfully. "She would want us to think exactly what you just said, Ron."
"I'm confused," Ron said.
"It's just her way of thinking. Reverse psychology, like I said."
"Well, what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Draco said. "The teachers aren't going to believe us if we tell them we think it's Anglia. Snape's said he's known her for a long time."
"And again, it wouldn't look so good for Dumbledore," Hermione added.
"Well, still, Harry can't just keep being—" he was interrupted by a pecking sound at the window. Draco turned his head to see an owl trying to get in. Hermione got up and opened the window and the owl fluttered onto a table, holding a letter and looking expectantly at them. "It's for you, Draco," Hermione said, handing him the letter. Draco recognized the handwriting of the address immediately. He snatched it out of her hands and tore it open. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stared at him, waiting for his reaction. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and thoughtfulness, and he glanced up at them before scanning the letter again.
"What does it say?" Harry asked. "Is he coming here again?"
"No," Draco said, still staring at the letter. "He says he wants to see me, though... Harry, you should read this..." He handed the letter to Harry, looking away and staring at the wall in disbelief. Harry read through the letter and then looked at Draco with the same confused look on his face. "Did you tell him...?"
Draco shook his head. "I didn't tell him anything. The last time I spoke to him was when he visited us during Care of Magical Creatures."
Ron and Hermione were looking between them both, trying to figure out what was going on.
"...Well, then you also never told him about the bond," Harry said slowly. "He must've assumed... And our reactions probably reinforced that..."
"D'you mind maybe explaining this to people who have missed out on the details?" Ron said.
"My father... He says he knows about our relationship and he... He accepts us," Draco said.
"Well... Well, that's wonderful!" Hermione said.
"No," Draco said. "I don't believe it."
"Why not?" Hermione said. "He's your father, Draco, he cares about you..."
"He cares about me until I'm something different from him," Draco said. "He has his own ideas on who he wants me to be, and I can guarantee this is not it."