Saving Draco

chapter fifty-one

Tala. 35 days before the Battle of Hogwarts.

"Are you thinking there's a Horcrux in Bellatrix's vault?" Hermione asked.

"I bet you there is, there's another piece of Voldemort's soul there." Harry replied.

I was now under the stairs of the shell cottage, eavesdropping on their conversation. The trio had just talked to the goblin, something about having to break into Bellatrix's vault. All I understood was the horcrux, because I knew Harry himself was one from Snape's memories.

But Harry doesn't even know that himself.

The three then walked into Mr. Ollivander's room, and so I walked up the stairs again to follow them behind and eavesdropped through the door.

"Would you mind identifying this wand? We need to know if it's safe to use." Harry asked Ollivander.

"Walnut, dragon heartstring, twelve and three-quarter inches, unyi -- unyielding," Ollivander started, "this belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange. Treat it carefully."

"How about this one sir?" Harry asked again.

"Hawthorn, unicorn hair, ten inches -- reasonably pliant," Ollivander continued, "this is the wand of Draco Malfoy's. Use it well."

"And lastly, this one?"

"Eight inches, sycamore wood, dragon heartstring," Ollivander paused, "this was the wand of Tala Blackwell."

    Um, come again?

Was?

"Was? Is it not still?" Harry asked at the same time I thought it in my head.

"Perhaps not, if you've won it from her. I sense it's allegiance has changed."

What the hell, even my own wand flaked out on me.

I kept listening as they talked about the Deathly Hallows, remembering reading about it in the library the night before Slughorn's christmas party. I didn't know then that the same wand from the story was the Elder wand, unlike I do now.

     I already knew the Elder Wand was Dumbledore's but now it belonged to the Dark Lord.

    Snape told me himself on the night we made the Unbreakable Vow.

I've seen the Dark Lord kill hundreds of muggle borns and traitors back in the manor with it. The wand he used to point against my own neck the night I got the dark mark was the Elder Wand itself.

But something was missing.

      How did my own wand change allegiance?

I'm still alive.

      I kept repeating it in my head as the trio talked to Ollivander on the other side of the door. I had my fingers up to my temples before putting it down to my lips to tap it, pacing around in thought.

And then it clicked.

Ollivander's words.

"Perhaps not, if you've won it from her. I sense it's allegiance has changed."

The Deathly Hallows story.

Another wizard stole the wand that night, and it then answered to him.

      Harry won the wand from me and the wizard in the story stole the wand and it answered to him.

     Both wand's change of allegiances had one thing common.