FicWad

A/N: This story started out as an ongoing discussion with my children about what we thought would happen in Harry's final year.

A/N: JKR owns everything in the universe and I am just playing in her sandbox.

Chapter 1 - Prologue

Draco ran through the Forbidden Forest in a state of pure panic. The Dark Lord expected all of his Death Eaters to succeed in the assignments given to them. Draco had failed not once, but three times over the year to kill Dumbledore!

The worst failure was leading a team of Death Eaters into Hogwarts itself and choking when he had Dumbledore at his mercy. Draco never respected Dumbledore as most of the other Hogwarts students had done. No matter what tricks Draco had tried, he always got the feeling Dumbledore knew exactly what Draco was up to in the school. Even tonight on the Astronomy Tower Dumbledore had shown that he knew all year that Draco was trying to kill him.

But when the moment had come something in Draco had prevented him from killing the old wizard. Draco did not understand why. All Draco wanted was the approval of his father. Acceptance by his father and admission into the powerful associations that would follow was all Draco ever wanted. So why had he failed to do the one thing that would have guaranteed his admission? If Snape had not intervened at the last minute the Dark Lord's mission would have been a complete failure.

"Stop, boy," a voice hissed out of the shadows of the forest.

Draco skidded to a halt and drew his wand in a single panicked motion.
A quick "Accio wand," pulled Draco's wand out of his hand and flying into the shadows. Stepping forward out of the shadows strode Severus Snape. Snape's greasy black hair hung down in his face and a crazed look Malfoy had never seen before shown forth from his eyes.

Snape threw Draco's wand back at him and snarled, "You fool. I told you all year to let me help you with your assignment. You may have just doomed us and your family with your stubborn, ignorant idiocy!"
"Wh-, what do you mean doomed my family?" Draco gasped as he attempted to get his breath back after his panicked flight.

"The Dark Lord believes in shared blame for his followers' failures. Your idiot father already rots in Azkaban. You mission would have redeemed his failure in the Department of Mysteries, but instead you compound the failure! And like a fool I made an Unbreakable Vow to your mother to ensure your success. Hopefully, the death of Dumbledore will be enough to satisfy the Dark Lord and he will let who actually cast the spell go. But don't expect it."

Snape reached forward and grasped the shocked Malfoy roughly by the shoulder. Pulling him close, Snape muttered, "Now to find out our fates." And with that comment they Apparated away leaving the forest with a loud snap and then silence.


"So, my two servants return. I have felt a great deal of pain from Potter. Tell me of your success." The form seated on a great wooden chair wore a black wizard robe with the hood pulled up over his head. One looking directly at the figure would notice the odd, snake-like distorted face within the hood. But no one in the room had the courage to attempt to look that directly at their master.

Fifteen Death Eaters gathered around their Dark Lord to witness the report of Draco and Snape. They included one Draco recognized as Wormtail, and his Aunt Bellatrix Lestrange. Draco knew that the fact Bellatrix was his mother's sister did not mean he would receive any support from that quarter. The elder Malfoy had warned him in the past she would only support strength or to strengthen her own position.

Draco and Snape knelt before Lord Voldemort. Draco took a deep breath and in as firm a voice as he could manage started to report. "I was able to open the passage way into Hogwarts as we planned. When your agent in Hogsmeade sent word of Dumbledore's return to Hogwarts we left the Room of Requirement and made our way to the Astronomy Tower. Potter's little gang sought to prevent us but I used the Peruvian Blackout Powder to get us past them. The Death Eaters held the entry way while I went to follow you orders to kill Dumbledore."

"Did you succeed in your assignment?" the voice hissed out of the hood.
"I confronted Dumbledore but Professor Snape interfered before I could kill him and did it himself." Draco replied instinctively seeking to place the blame as far from himself as possible.

"The boy froze, m'lord. Dumbledore was wandless, weakened and he still managed to talk this spineless fool into lowering his wand. Yes, I killed Dumbledore to keep the mission from becoming a total failure. I believed you would seek Dumbledore's death no matter who wielded the wand."

With a flick of Voldemort's wand Snape flew across the room to smash into the wall and land at Bellatrix's feet. The Death Eaters stepped away from the groaning man on the floor. Bellatrix drew her own wand with a look of excited anticipation as she glared at Snape.

"Crucio!"

The cry surprised the Death Eaters looking at Snape and they turned to see Draco on the floor grasping as every nerve in his body felt extreme pain like Draco had every experienced. "Did you really think you could deceive me, the most accomplished Legilimens in three hundreds years, with your petty lies? I knew of your failure before you even opened your mouth. Your thoughts announced your failure and guilt even as you schemed to place the blame on Severus!"

"My lord, please have mercy on my son. Isn't the fact that Dumbledore no longer stands to oppose your power enough to grant Draco another chance? Please my lord. My family serves only you faithfully." Draco's mother had entered the room to find Draco writhing on the floor in agony and feel to her knees before Lord Voldemort.

"Ah yes, Narcissa, the third in the trio of Malfoy failures. Do you remember my orders to keep your son's mission a secret? Yet you took it upon yourself to bring Snape into it. I was most put out with you and your sister for that action. Mercy? When have I ever granted mercy? You gambled and lost. But I will promise you this, Draco will live past today. Oh yes, he will."

"Thank you my lord! Thank-"

"Avada Kedavra!" And with that shout, Narcissa Malfoy was hit by a green flash and dropped to the ground dead. "Yes Narcissa. Draco will live past today. And just long enough to see both of his parents dead for their failures as well as their own!"

With a raspy chuckle, Voldemort waved a hand at the wide-eyed Draco staring at the body of his mother in shocked disbelief. "Take him away and secure him someplace until we can reunite him with his father. Once an hour hit him with the Cruciatus Curse until then so he can truly appreciate the weight of his failure to do as I commend without hesitation."

Two Death Eaters dragged the sobbing boy out of the room as Voldemort approached Snape, who had risen to stand during Draco's ordeal. "Well my faithful servant you were correct. I should not have expected the weak-willed child of Malfoy to make that attempt. You counseled me last summer that he would not be able to perform the task. I had hoped with your guidance he would prove you incorrect."

"Master his final plan did succeed in leading to the death of Dumbledore. Draco is a bully but lacks the killer instinct to seize the ultimate opportunity."

"Fortunately that is not something you appear to lack." Turning to face the other Death Eaters in the room, Voldemort glared at them, "I have heard the whispers since my return that I should not trust Severus. That he had truly gone over to Dumbledore's camp. I trust that the questioning of my judgment is at an end for all of my followers." This last was said while looking directly at Bellatrix.

"My lord, I bow again to submission and admit my error. Please forgive my concerns. I only sought to ensure your rise to power."

As the other Death Eaters moved forward to assure their lord of their acceptance of Snape, Voldemort waved them away. "Enough leave me. Snape, take four of your fellows and bring me the father of that young fool. Then we can start planning our final end game to destroy the Ministry, the Order of the Phoenix and, above all, Harry Potter!"


The Hogwarts Professors met in Minerva McGonagall's classroom to discuss the question of the coming school year. The shock of Professor Dumbledore's murder at the hands of one of their own showed on all of their faces.

McGonagall looked at the other professors and sighed, "The governors have decided to allow the school to reopen next year. I have been asked to act as Headmistress for the time being. I don't know how many of our students will be returning but the Ministry has committed to providing a team of Aurors to provide security for those students that wish to return."

Professor Flitwick nodded rapidly, "Yes, I believe that is what Professor Dumbledore would have wanted us to do. I believe it would have broken his heart to know that we failed to keep the doors open."

"That maybe, but how many students will want to return and will their parents allow them to return?" asked Professor Slughorn shaking his head.

"That is a good question, and we will also need to fill two vacancies left for next year. But the biggest question is will Mr. Potter be willing to return. More then he realizes, many of the students will follow his lead in returning to the school. Albus's loss seems to have hit young Potter particularly hard. Do any of you have any idea what Albus and Mr. Potter were doing on the night of the Death Eater's attack?" Prof. McGonagall looked around to see the head shaking of the rest of the staff. "Hagrid, has Harry confided anything to you?"

"No, professor. -Arry hasn't said much of anything since the attack."

"Well, "Professor. McGonagall sniffed, "We shall have to talk to Mr. Potter and see if we can convince him and his friends to return to the school in the fall. Hagrid, I believe the two of us should approach Harry over the summer to get his agreement."

With Hagrid's nod, Prof. McGonagall turned to the other professors. "Please prepare for the coming school year like any other term. If we have any news I will communicate with all of you via owl."


Minster of Magic Scrigeour stalked away from Dumbledore's funeral in a rage at the stubborn arrogance of Harry Potter. Percy Weasley and Deloris Umbridge followed behind him.

"Minister, I am sorry for your rude treatment back there by Potter." Percy whined. "He should repect your position and the importance of working with the Ministry to assure the people that everything is under control."

"That spoiled boy is simply no good, Minister," Umbridge chimed in. "Mr. Weasley is exactly correct. I don't believe all of this Prophecy nonsense. I have never seen anything that would indicate that the boy is anything special. Quite the contrary he never showed any gifts in my class!"

"You are both right and also both wrong. The simpletons of the Wizarding world believe he is special and it gives him a great deal of power, however undeserved it is. Very well, I have agreed to provide Aurors for next year at Hogwarts. It is important to my Government that the school stays open as a symbol. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named seems fixated on our young Mr. Potter. Since Mr. Potter will not work with us, we shall use him as bait to end this war. And if Mr. Potter is stuck in the middle..." the minister shrugged his shoulders and with a nod and three cracks, Apparated with the other two back to the Ministry.