Happily Ever After?

Chapter 8 - 31268 Augury Lane

Draco paused mid-stride. You - you figured it out?

I did.

How...?

I told you... Laura sent me this book...

Well? What is it?

And the answer is... Harry cleared his throat. Mongooses, also mongeese.

HA! HA, I WAS RIGHT AND YOU WERE WRONG! It's mongeese! HA, HA, HA! IN YOUR FACE!

Well, you don't have to rub it in...

HA!

Harry sighed. Satisfied now, Draco?

Yes, Lily... yes, Lily, I am satisfied.

Of course I could have told you that...

You could have? Harry groaned. And saved me all this research?

Hey, Laura told me about the book. It's not that difficult, it might take you two minutes, tops.

And those were some of the most tense and stressing two minutes of my life.

Harry... it's nine-twenty five.

Nine-twenty five? Harry went white. Oh Merlin, I'm going to be late... Harry grabbed his bag and sprinted out of the library, Madam Pince shouting out after him. When he finally came to the door of the DADA classroom, Draco was just about to open the door.

"About time," he muttered. He pushed the door open.

"Right on time, as always," Arabella said with a smile. "You've got my books, Harry?"

"Yup," Harry said, pouring the stack of books onto her desk. The two of them sat down at empty desks.

"You missed the post," Hermione hissed, shoving a few envelopes into his hand. "There was this huge commotion... one of the owls started attacking Ron..."

Ron was sucking his thumb. "It bit me!" he exclaimed. Harry laughed.

"Harry," Parvati said exasperatedly. "Tell those two," she said, waving a hand at Padma and Hannah, who giggled, "that I have not had a thing with Neville!"

"You haven't, have you?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not!"

"Well there are those times when he walks into the room looking breathless..."

"Harry!"

"Or was that Seamus...?"

"Harold James Potter!"

"Oh, fine. Parvati doesn't have an affair with Neville."

"Thank you," she said. "Ha!"

"His hands were behind his back," Hannah pointed out. "He probably had his fingers crossed."

Padma nodded feverently. Parvati looked like she was about to blow up.

"Looks like we're just waiting for Dumbledore," Arabella said, satisfied.

"No, no need to wait, I'm here."

Dumbledore walked into the room looking quite jolly. "Good morning," he said, dropping the large book he had brought on Arabella's desk.

"Good morning," said the seven students brightly.

"I hope you all brought plenty of parchment," Dumbledore said cheerfully. They all scrambled to bring some out.

"Now," Arabella said. "First and foremost..." She handed them each a little packet. "Those are your pins. Yes, pretty, aren't they? Remember, wear them all the time, but secretly..."

Harry looked down at the tiny gold pin. It was in the shape of a phoenix, with extreme detail. In the middle was emblazoned three names.

Harold Potter

James Potter

Harry Potter

"You'll notice each pin has three names on it," Dumbledore said. "That is because only seven of these pins are in existence, and they've still got quite a few decades' wear in them. The names of two former Order members are on it, along with your own."

Harry felt that it was no accident that he had gotten this particular pin. He pinned it on the inside of his breast pocket.

"Who got mine?" Arabella asked, looking around.

"I did," Hannah said, smiling.

"Excellent." Arabella smiled.

"Now, onto business..." Dumbledore said. "There's research that needs to be done." Hermione sat up straight, a look of satisfaction on her face. Arabella beamed at her.

"That's my bookworm," Arabella smirked. "Now..."

"You'll be split into teams," Dumbledore continued. "Teams will rotate constantly, so you'll be with different people. Two groups of two, one of three. Simple enough."

"Group one..." Arabella said, taking a moment to shuffle her parchments. "Padma and Hermione." The two girls smiled at each other. "Group two... Ron and Parvati." Ron and Parvati exchanged shrugs. "Which leaves... Draco, Hannah, and Harry. You're group three. Break up... we'll come tell you your assignment." Draco and Harry took seats next to Hannah.

"Well," Draco said cheerfully. "Looks like we'll be stuck together for a while."

"I can't believe you're so - happy," Harry said shaking his head.

"After...?"

"Yea. After the... the lullaby thing."

"I'm always happy. It's a gift. I make people around me happy, too."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Just keep thinking that. Your ego needs it."

"Lullaby thing...?" Hannah asked, clueless.

"Don't even ask," Harry said. Dumbledore walked over to the three of them.

"I have a feeling this team will provide fruitful research," he said with a grin. "Now... Draco..."

Draco looked up from his parchment, giving Dumbledore a steady gaze. "I notified Sirius and your mother. I figured they'd like to know. As for the issue at hand..." He sighed and shook his head.

"Your assignment is to research lycantortapy and the effects of the Retanytullibibius Charm, especially for a way it can be reversed." Draco did not react any further than writing down the assignment.

"Contact me immediately if you find anything," Dumbledore explained. "I think the reason we need the information is pretty self-explanatory. To give you a head start..." He dumped three books on Hannah's desk. "You'll be presenting to the rest next Saturday. Good luck, and remember, have a little bit of fun, if you can." He walked away. Draco sighed and shook his head.

"Lycantortapy?" Hannah asked, wrinkling her brow. "Retanybitilus? Self-explanatory? Huh?"

"It's Retanytullibibius," Harry said quietly.

"It's... well, the Retanytullibibius Charm causes a person to become a... to suffer a case of lycantortapy," Draco said, not looking up.

"That's when... well..." Harry found himself choking on his words. It was so awful trying to explain it to someone who didn't know, who didn't understand...

"A lycantort is sort of like werewolf," Draco said evenly, still not looking up. "Except for one key difference. On the full moon, the lycantort loses its mind, like a werewolf, but it doesn't physically transform. On the other hand, on the new moon, the victim physically transforms into a wolf, but keeps its sanity."

The tranquility in Draco's voice scared Harry.

"How is that self-explanatory?" Hannah asked, ignoring Harry, as it was obvious he wasn't going to give her any answers. Harry grabbed Draco's hand. He shook his head slightly.

Do you want to do this?

I'm just going to keep out of this...

She's going to find out sooner or later.

OK...

Draco leaned over and whispered something in Hannah's ear. Her eyes widened as Draco apparently told her everything. When Draco pulled back and looked at her, Hannah smiled weakly.

"Oh," she said.

"You told her everything?" Harry asked quietly. Draco shrugged.

"For some reason, I don't seem to care as much anymore."

"You took a Serenity Solution, didn't you?"

"I was about to hyperventilate."

"Oh."

There was silence for a moment. "Well, let's take a look at those books, then, shall we?" Hannah asked, handing them each one as she took one herself.

"Retanytullibibius To You Too - A Complete Guide to Lycantortapy," Harry muttered. "What a stupid title."

"Retanytili-what? Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Lycantortapy (But Were Too Afraid to Ask)," Hannah read out loud. "I hate these long titles!"

"Look at this one..." Draco said with a slight smile. "So You Want to Be a Lycantort. Yea, right. I suppose I'll be the only one to ever read this thing."

"So..." Hannah said, dividing her roll of parchment into sections. "We'll all look through these, and we'll meet up in the library, say, Wednesday at seven?"

"Make it the Quidditch pitch at ten," Draco said. "I should be able to get away then."

"All right then," Hannah said, sticking her book in her bag. "That's settled. I'll see if I can find any more books in the library... preferably ones with reasonable titles... and I'll get them to you somehow."

"Why do I have this insane idea that you and Hermione are going to hit it off smashingly...?" Harry sighed.

"Has everyone had a chance to discuss their plans with their group?" Arabella asked. Everyone mumbled various forms of yes. "Good. Now, remember, we're not trying to be slave drivers, but you all agreed to work..."

"We know," Padma said.

"It's worth it," Harry agreed.

"Now, someone else said they'd be here... or two people, to be precise..." Dumbledore said. "They should be here any minute..."

"No... no, we don't need a minute, we're here."

"Mum?" Harry said, surprised. "Dad?"

"Lily?" Draco coughed. "Prongs?"

"Good morning, yourself," said James. "Some greeting."

"Lily," Dumbledore said, smiling. "It's so wonderful to see you so... well, alive."

"You too," Lily said, grinning back.

"And James... not too much trouble last night, I suppose?"

"No, sir, none at all," James smiled.

"Well," Arabella said, grinning uncontrollably. "For those very unfortunate to not have met them, that's Lily and James Potter for you."

"We were in the Order twenty years ago," Lily said, smiling vaguely. "We just wanted to see how things were going so far..."

"If there's any way we can help..." James said.

"You've already done more than enough," Dumbledore assured them.

"But you could help us watch seven rambunctious teenagers," Arabella said. "Yup, that'd be appreciated."

"You know, the word rambunctious is so old-fashioned..." James said with a smirk.

"James?"

"Yea?"

"Shut up."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Harry said in a voice that was very childlike.

"Didn't you read the owl we sent you this morning?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harry looked down at his bulging pocket. "I was... preoccupied."

"Preoccupied trying to beat the crap out of Draco," Arabella muttered.

"What?"

"Now that," Draco said, frowning, "is an overstatement."

"What did you do to each other?" Lily asked, almost scared.

"They would have beaten each other senseless if I hadn't stopped them," Arabella said. "Honestly, I..."

"Harry..." Lily said, scolding. "What were you thinking?"

"I was minding what you said!" Harry exclaimed. "Pretending that it never happened!"

"And we were doing quite a good job," Draco agreed, "until this old lady came along and..."

"Besides, we were already both mad because of - " Harry broke off and looked at Draco. Draco looked like he was about to burst.

"Because of what?" James asked. "Because of what?"

"Just don't mention it again," Lily said. "Just - don't. Please. My head can't take it."

"Must... kill..." Draco muttered, clenching his fists.

"Whoa, Malfoy, cool it," Ron said, fear in his voice as his eyes widened. "Calm down... it can't be that important..."

Harry felt like knocking Ron out, and almost did before a horrified Hermione grabbed his fist.

"HARRY!" Her face was flushed with anger and embarrassment. "Draco! CHILL!"

The two of them paused. The whole room was staring at the two of them with different expressions. Padma and Parvati were looking shocked, Hannah and Lily were scared, James was about to stop them, Ron was shocked and horrified, and Arabella was about to shout. Professor Dumbledore was looking as though he was torn between laughing and crying and screaming.

Hermione glared at Harry and Draco. "Just - shut - UP!"

Draco regained his power of speech. "No. Tell them."

The words echoed through the room. Draco's face was set on her. "Tell them," he repeated. "Tell them what he does to you. Tell them. Tell them."

Ron's expression changed from horrified to angry. "You told them?" he asked, waving a hand at Harry and Draco. "You TOLD them? You little - "

"WEASLEY, DON'T YOU DARE!"

That was Draco. He was looking as though if Ron moved, he was dead. Draco had his hand positioned in front of him as if he were cornering him.

"SILENCE!" Arabella screamed.

Everyone but Draco paused and looked at her. Draco didn't move, just continued glaring at Ron with all his strength.

"You," she said, poking Draco, "you cool it. You - Ron - don't you move. You - Bookworm - explain."

Hermione took a deep breath and let the whole story out. She told about how Ron was abusive to her, how Harry and Draco had found out, even though Ron had made her swear not to tell anyone. Dumbledore turned onto Ron.

"I hope you realize the seriousness of what you have done, Mr. Weasley," he said sternly. The glow that was usually in his eyes was completely extinguished. "You have brought serious harm onto another human. This is not just a violation of school rules, but of wizarding law. Therefore - "

"But that's not all," Harry said suddenly. "Is it, Ron? Or maybe I shouldn't call you Ron, should I?" Ron looked at Harry.

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean," Harry said. "You forgot to take your Polyjuice Potion..." Harry grabbed Ron's arm and turned it upside down. Upwards shone the Dark Mark. "Pettigrew."

There was complete silence in the room. Lily and James's eyes lit with anger.

"You see, Professor," Harry said, holding Ron/Pettigrew's arm tightly, "this isn't Ron. This hasn't been Ron. Ron's been gone since the beginning of summer vacation. Voldemort kidnapped him. Isn't that right, Wormtail?" The man was growing fatter, and his eyes were growing smaller.

"Voldemort needed to send in a spy. A spy who knew Ron well enough to act reasonably like him. A spy who could find a way to sneak away from us to report. So who was the obvious choice? Besides, Pettigrew was probably so annoying even Voldemort wouldn't want him around."

Ron had now completely transformed into Pettigrew, silver hand and all. "Did I get it right?" Harry hissed at him. "And if you transform I'll do exactly what Sirius should have done two years ago. You can't escape."

"Let go of me," Wormtail hissed. "You little squirmy brat!"

"Don't you dare insult my son, Wormtail!" James hissed, holding up his wand.

"James," Wormtail laughed. "James Potter. Oh, I've waited years to do this..." He pulled himself out of Harry's grasp and kicked James in the shin. He winced and leaned over. Wormtail looked at the people surrounding him, only the slightest hint of fear in his eye.

"Who's next?" he asked, holding up Ron's battered wand. "Lily?"

"Peter," Lily said calmly. She didn't draw her wand. "After so many years."

"Lily Evans," Peter said, shaking his head. "What happened to you? My Master tried to - "

"I'm Muggle-born," Lily said, glaring. "Your Master would have killed me."

"Oh, no," Peter said, shaking his head. "No, you're far too valuable, mind-reader."

Lily smiled lightly. "Oh, that's what you think."

"And Dumbledore," he said, turning to the older wizard. Dumbledore did not move at all. "Miss me?"

He's mad, Harry thought.

Bonkers.

"Young Mr. Pettigrew," Dumbledore said, shaking his head sadly. "I had such high hopes for you. You were once not the vile creature you are now."

"Well put," James wheezed.

"Shut it, Prongs," Peter snapped, glaring at him. "I am powerful enough to kill you all right now, should I choose to."

"Oh, Wormtail," James asked, laughing. "What has happened to you? You weren't always like this. You were our friend, remember? Our best friend. Why did you turn?"

"I was never your friend," Peter said good-naturedly, as if he was amused. "You never paid as much attention to me as you did to Remus and Sirius!"

"Nonsense!" James chuckled. "I trusted you with my life, remember?"

"Only when you had no one else to turn to!"

"No... no, Peter, that wasn't it at all. I trusted you. I could have chosen Remus. I even could have stayed with Sirius. But I chose you. I trusted you. We trusted you. Don't you remember, Peter? I told you I trusted you. Even you should know I don't lie."

Peter turned from his old friend to Harry. "Your father is arrogant," he hissed.

"And you're crazy," Harry said, shaking his head. "We all have our faults. Yours just show more."

"An excellent point, Beaky," Draco smiled.

"Oh, young Draco Malfoy," Wormtail sighed, turning to him. "We had such high hopes for you! Your father had - "

"OK, I've had enough of this," Draco said. "Stupefy!" The spell hit Peter, but... nothing happened.

"You underestimate me," he said, grinning manically. "You shouldn't." He cleared his throat.

"I'm taking you all with me to my Master. He'll find out what to do with you." With a snap of his silver fingers, everyone in the room was bound tightly with rope. "Now, Arabella, this is your office, where is your Floo powder? Ah... here it is..."

"Nice try, Pettigrew," came a laugh from the back of the room.

It was Draco.

Harry snapped his fingers. His ropes disappeared. "No, it really wasn't," Harry said, shaking his head. "It was a pathetic try."

"One underestimation deserves another," Draco said, smiling. Before Pettigrew could react, Draco smacked him across the face.

"That was for being a git," he said calmly. "This..." He pushed him down to the ground. "... is for befriending my father. This..." he said, stepping on his regular hand with his heel while Pettigrew yelped, "... is for Lily and James, and this..." He kicked Pettigrew a few feet across the room while he howled in pain, "... is for hurting Hermione," he said through gritted teeth. "Have a nice day."

"Or not," Harry added.

"Yes, not is preferable," Draco smiled. Pettigrew passed out. Harry and Draco glanced at each other before simultaneously snapping their fingers. All traces of rope in the room were destroyed.

Hermione swept Draco into a hug. "Oh, you little brat! You're so... noble!"

Draco looked surprised as Hermione let go. He blinked. "Uh... thanks."

"So... how did you figure all that out?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Did you know it all already?" Arabella asked him.

"Or did you just figure it out?" Lily added.

"Or did you guess?" Hannah said. "That was... amazing. I mean, both of you... you were..."

"Really brave," James finished. "And really clever, Harry."

"I - I had been guessing," Harry admitted. "I've known since last night that Ron wasn't here. Because Ron would never hurt Hermione. Ever. And then... his fingertips were turning silver. And I just... knew."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him. "I call this meeting of the Order of the Phoenix back to order," he said. "Everyone sit. We have more things to discuss now than ever. Arabella, please take that pin from Pettigrew and give it to me. Thank you."

The four adults in the room stood by Arabella's desk. Pettigrew lay between her desk and the students. Harry and Draco glanced darkly at each other.

"Hermione," Dumbledore said softly. "Are you hurt?"

Hermione blinked. "No, Professor," she said softly. "No, I went to Madam Pomfrey this morning." She looked down.

"Good," Dumbledore said. "That is the most important thing. Now, I want you all to forget completely the assignments we had given you, for the moment at least. Think. We have a missing student on our hands. What should we do?"

"You're asking us?" Parvati said. "How should we know?"

"Lily - James - Arabella - please leave for a moment," Dumbledore said softly. "You are needed elsewhere. Lily, continue your research - you can use the library. Don't leave school grounds. James, Arabella, help her. I will send for you later." The three adults left without question. Dumbledore turned to his students, a gleam in his eyes.

"This problem," he continued, "has a solution. I want you to find it. Miss Abbott, what do you think should be done first?"

Hannah was silent for a moment. "Make sure Pettigrew's really out cold," she said reasonably. "And that he's not listening."

Draco got up and kicked him. He didn't move. Draco sat down again.

"Out cold," he reported.

"Parvati," Dumbledore said. "How can we find out where Ron is?"

"Question Pettigrew."

"But how can we be sure he's telling the truth?" Padma asked her twin. "We need something that will let us know that he's not lying."

"Veritaserum," Harry, Draco, and Hermione said as one.

"Exactly," Dumbledore said. "Padma, go find Professor Snape. Ask him for the ingredients of Veritaserum. Tell him I sent you. If he doubts you, show him your pin. He'll know. Come back quickly." Padma rushed out of the room. Dumbledore turned to the remaining five.

"I hope you still have that parchment. I'm going to tell you how to make Veritaserum."

They all scrambled for parchment and looked up at Dumbledore expectantly. They wrote down his instructions word for word.

"Memorize this," he said sternly. "Veritaserum is best when fresh. Should you ever need it, you should make it new. Oh, very good, Padma, thank you," he said as Padma put the ingredients on the desk. He brought a cauldron out from a closet and set it on the desk. He stared at them.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Aren't you going to do it?" Hermione asked.

"I want to see how you handle it," Dumbledore said, sitting back in his chair. "Remember, a student's life is at risk here. And he might wake up at any moment. Chop, chop!"

"This is insane," Harry muttered as they started to work on the potion.

"No," Draco said, shaking his head. "He just wants to see how well we could do this on our own. Hand me that aconite."

The six of them worked fast, with productive results. "It's perfectly clear," Draco smiled as it cooled. "Just the way it's supposed to be."

"With blue smoke that cleared fast," Hermione added. "It's perfect."

"Well done," Dumbledore smiled. "Harry, why don't you administer it? Three drops should do it."

"Gladly," Harry said, taking an eyedropper and filling it. He knelt next to Pettigrew and tilted his mouth open. Draco held it open for him as he carefully dropped three droplets of the liquid onto Pettigrew's tongue.

"Enervate," he whispered. Pettigrew sat up, rubbing his head.

"Can you hear me?" he asked. Pettigrew opened his mouth.

"Yes."

"Be gentle with him," Harry whispered to the five students crowding around him and Pettigrew. "Whatever you do, whatever it takes, be gentle with him."

"Do you know where you are?" Hermione asked.

"Hogwarts... Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"What is your name?" Hannah asked.

"Peter Pettigrew."

"It's working!" Padma said, excited.

"Shh!" Draco said. "Do you know what happened to the weasel?"

"Draco! Be specific!" Parvati hissed. "Do you know where Ronald Weasley is?"

"Yes," Pettigrew mumbled.

"Where is he?" Harry asked. "Tell us."

"Ronald Weasley is at... 31268 Augury Lane, London."

Harry gasped. "What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked. "What's wrong?"

"That can't be right," Harry muttered under his breath, standing up. "No, he can't be there..."

"Spit it out, Harry!" Draco said, shaking him by the shoulders. "What is it?"

Harry gulped. "That's Laura's house."

"You're kidding!" Hermione exclaimed. "You have to be... you are kidding, right?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I'm not."

"He's not," Draco agreed. "But I just don't understand why."

The six of them had completely forgotten that Dumbledore and Pettigrew were in the room as they discussed in grave tones the future of their classmate.

"What do you think they're doing to him there?" Padma asked in a whisper. "Do you think he's all right?"

"Am I really supposed to care?" Draco yawned. Harry kicked him.

"Shut up," he muttered. Draco obediently shut his mouth.

"So... if that's really - you know, Laura's house, do you think there's a possibility that she's there?" Parvati asked.

"She has to be," Harry said, wrinkling his brow. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter. He cleared his throat.

"Dear Harry,

"Lily told me what happened and I can't believe it - I'm in the public library right now, actually, looking for information on it - do tell Draco we're looking, won't you? Well, Draco, there you go... I hope you've been getting enough rest, you need it... I know you try to be careful, but you don't do a very good job sometimes... oh, thanks a lot... I have a hard time believing that Snape is not as tough as Theorax, because they were always so close it was disgusting... not that you would know about that... I'm sure you'll find the plural amusing... oh, hardy-har-har... Write back soon, Love, Laura. You see? No mention of being sabotaged by Death Eaters who need makeovers." Harry shoved the letter back into his pocket and looked at them. "It doesn't make sense."

"There is a possibility," Hannah said. "This Laura woman - she could be a Death Eater."

Harry went slightly pink. "No... no, that's not it. I'm sure of it."

"Well, Harry," Hermione said, blushing, "you kind of have a biased opinion..."

"No, you don't understand, that's just not possible..."

"I agree with Harry," Draco said. "You don't know Laura. I did. She's not like that."

"People change," Hannah said vaguely.

"That's not it," Harry said, shaking his head. "Honestly, that can't be it. You've never met her."

"They could be forcing her to write," Hermione said. "Or it could be the Imperius Curse."

"Or maybe it's just some huge mistake," Padma said. "Veritaserum only makes a person tell the truth as far as they know it. Maybe he doesn't know. Maybe they moved. Or maybe Laura isn't there at all. Maybe she doesn't know."

"All possibilities," Dumbledore said from the corner. They all looked up, startled. They had forgotten he was there. "They will be taken into consideration. I will send in some people to - "

"You mean, that's it?" Parvati said. "We don't get to do anything else?"

"It's far too dangerous," Dumbledore said. "You're still children, now."

"Children?" Draco sputtered. "Children? I think we qualify as more than that! Even if Weasley isn't my favorite person, I don't want anyone to give those Death Eaters amusement, or satisfaction, for that matter!"

"We're old enough," Harry added. "And smart enough. We're all willing to do it. Besides... if Voldemort is there, can you think of anyone better to send? The Heirs of the Houses and the smartest witch since Rowena Ravenclaw herself." Hermione blushed.

"And," Hannah added, "we're convenient. If anyone's going to save Ron, it's got to be quick. He could be near dead, for all we know."

Dumbledore stared at them. "Your parents - "

"You can go ask," Harry said, slightly irritated. "I know what they'll say. But just letting us go saves time."

Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his temples. "Fine. Fine, I can see there's no point in arguing with you. But I'm sending an adult with you."

"Who?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment. "Parvati, go to the library. Bring James Potter back here."

Harry smiled slightly.

"I'm not happy about this," Dumbledore added as the five remaining pupils grinned at each other. "Not at all."

"Doesn't really matter," Draco shrugged. "We'd have found a way to go anyway."

"You'll have to take a Portkey," Dumbledore said. "I've got a blank one here somewhere..." he dug around in his pocket. "Ah, yes. Here we are." He pulled out a box with a Galleon in it. "Just say where you want to go when you touch it. You can use it to get back, too. I can't believe I'm letting six fifteen-year olds do this..."

"Start believing," Draco said simply. "What should we do about it?" He toed Pettigrew.

"Bring him with us?" Padma suggested. "Does it matter?"

"Leave Pettigrew here," Dumbledore said. "He'll be taken care of."

At that moment Parvati and James entered the room. "I can't believe you're letting six fifteen-year olds do this!" he exclaimed.

"Start believing," Dumbledore answered simply. "I... I believe in them." He smiled at the teenagers. "So I guess you've been informed?"

"Yes," James grumbled. "Narcissa's going to go ballistic..."

"I'd go with you," Dumbledore said, "but someone has to notify the Weasley's. Harry, I believe you know the address. Good luck. Do be careful. Voldemort might be there."

It struck Harry as odd that Dumbledore was being this submissive. When he looked him in the eye, he saw something he had never seen in Dumbledore before - fatigue. Exhaustion. Age. Harry shook himself out of these thoughts. James opened the box and Harry touched the Galleon. Everyone gathered around and touched part of the Galleon.

"31268 Augury Lane."

They were gone.

When the seven people reappeared, they formed a quick circle, their backs facing each other. They surveyed the area.

They were in Laura's front yard. Harry knew it. He would recognize that chimney anywhere. They blinked furiously in the sunlight... it couldn't be later than noon.

"What are we supposed to do now that we're here?" Hannah hissed.

This was the question on everyone's minds.

"Just follow my lead," James whispered. "Parvati, Padma... you stand out here. Keep guard. If you hear anything going wrong... run. Run and get help. You - you're an Abbott, aren't you?" Hannah nodded. "OK, I want you to go around back - Hermione, you stay with her - don't leave each other alone, whatever you do - and watch each other's backs - go around back and don't let anyone get out. Same for you, Parvati and Padma. Stay hidden. Any sign of danger, run for your life. We'll yell for you when we get Ron." James took a deep breath. "Harry, Draco, and I will go in."

"Why them?" Padma hissed.

"Yes, why us?" Draco complained. "I'd rather stand guard than rescue the Weasel."

"You know perfectly well, why, Boa," James hissed. "You and Harry are - well, you know. You're Bades. And Animagi. You can get out quickly. Besides, you two are a perfect team. And I know for sure your guardians would approve. So... move it! And be careful!"

"Hey, Mione!" Harry hissed. Hermione turned.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful. There are gnomes. And they're pretty nasty. Almost bit my finger off."

Hermione smiled. "You be careful too, Harry, and you too, Draco!"

Draco smiled at her and she turned and ran after Hannah into the backyard. James turned to Harry and Draco.

"We're going to go in, grab Ron, and get out. OK? No detours."

"Then why are there three of us?" Harry asked.

"Because I don't know how many Death Eaters are here. Voldemort might be here himself. That's why." James sighed. "OK, we're going to burst in, and we're going to form a circle, back to back. We cover for each other. If we don't work as a team, we're all dead meat. Use any kind of hex - preferably Stun them. Disarming is a solid backup plan. OK?" Harry and Draco glanced at each other and nodded.

"If we have to get out... or if something happens to me..." James gulped. "Don't wait. Summon the Portkey, grab Ron, run for dear life. Harry... if anything happens to me, I want you to make sure everyone gets back safely. Draco, you have to help him. OK?"

"Nothing's going to happen to you," Harry said, his eyes aflame. "Or Draco, or me, or anyone."

The three of them cautiously walked up to the front door. Padma and Parvati sat in the bushes, their wands drawn. They winked. As Harry, James, and Draco stood on the front step, James whispered.

"You got your hands ready to do some serious Stunning?" Harry grinned and poised his hand so that he could easily cast a spell. "Count of three. One... two... three!"

The three of them burst into Laura's living room. There was shouting. Harry didn't look where he was pointing, or even see who was there, he just shouted, "STUPEFY! STUPEFY!" A few robed figures fell to the floor. Harry heard shouts and screams and curses, but just kept his eyes screwed shut and kept shouting Stunning Spells straight in front of him. He knew it was working because he heard thuds in front of him.

"OK, guys, I think we're good for the moment," Harry heard his father whisper. Harry opened his eyes.

At least a dozen Death Eaters were on the floor around them. He, James, and Draco were back to back, watching the rooms for any sign of movement. "They're all Stunned," Draco mumbled. "Hey, is that Uncle Zachary...?"

"SHH!" Harry hissed. Silence took over the living room.

"That was easier than I thought," James hissed. "They must have thought we'd never guess..."

Suddenly there were footsteps coming down the hallway. They were hurried. The three of them tensed.

"It's a woman," James hissed. "Do you hear the footsteps? Men take longer strides... make less noise... and I think she's wearing high heels..."

A hooded figure appeared in the room. It gasped.

"Ja - James? James Potter?"

James's eyes widened. "Is that... it can't be..."

"I haven't seen you in years!" the voice laughed. It was most definitely female. "And I didn't think it would be under these circumstances..."

"It is you!" James hissed. "Susie! Susan Brown!"

Draco choked. "Wha - what? What are you doing here?"

"Is that you, Draco Malfoy?" The figure removed its hood and Harry saw that it was indeed Susie, older though she looked. "Still upset over that stupid Ball?" She laughed. "And then there's Harry Potter. Oh, I should have known. I should have known it wouldn't take you long to guess. Too clever for your own good, just like your father."

"What are you doing here?" Harry hissed. "Where's Laura?"

"Laura? Laura? You want to know where Laura is?" Susie laughed shortly. "Laura is dead, boy! She's been dead for hours!"

This news hit Harry like a bullet. Harry felt Draco's hand grasp his own, but Harry didn't back down. His hand was pointed straight at Susie.

"No," Harry whispered. "No, I got her owl..."

"I wrote that owl, you idiot boy!" Susie snapped. "I got Laura under the Imperius and Flooed your mother. Draco Malfoy, the lycantort. Do you think you're cured? There's no chance. You'll never be cured." Draco paled.

"Shut up," Harry hissed. "Laura's not dead. She can't be."

"She is," Susie snarled. "Killed her myself. Dang nuisance, she was. Kept asking why I turned, for how long."

"Why did you turn, Brown?" James asked, frowning. They were no longer standing in a circle now. Harry stood in front, his hand still pointed at Susie, Draco stood right behind him, holding his hand tightly, and James stood, wand drawn, hovering over the two of them. "You had everything. Friends, family, a good home. Why did you turn when you had everything to lose and nothing to gain?"

"There is everything to gain," Susie cackled. "Family means nothing to me. My master is my only family. Friendship is meaningless. As I showed Laura."

"That's not true," Draco said stubbornly. "Friendship is something. Friendship is everything. Don't you listen to her, Harry."

"Your love is dead, Potter!" Susie shrieked. "Don't bother looking for her! I burned her alive!" Harry felt like he was shrinking to a tiny ball and that Susie was about to kick him.

Laura was dead. Dead. He would never hear her laugh, nor see her smile again. As soon as he had gotten her back, she was taken from him forever. She was dead.

Somehow, Harry couldn't feel it. He knew she was dead - he understood that - but he felt no pain. It was like... like the shock numbed it. Or something like that. But that didn't matter. He'd feel the pain tomorrow. He'd have the rest of his life to feel the pain. For now, he just had to grit his teeth and move on.

"Friendship is something," Harry said finally. "Friendship is love. Love is powerful. More powerful than hate." Harry paused. "It was love that brought Voldemort down in the first place. My mother's love saved me. I know that her sacrifice looks different now... all she did was save me from a Memory Charm, really. But it was the love behind that selfless act that saved me and betrayed your Master.

"It was love that brought his memory to an end, too. He didn't understand the love a phoenix can have for its friends. That saved me and killed his memory.

"Love is something. Love is everything. And Voldemort doesn't understand that. He never will. He understands nothing, and yet you call him your master. You turned from the wise and understanding people who know love and are therefore powerful to the soulless and evil creatures who inhabit this earth. You're pathetic."

"Stupefy."

Susie fell to the ground instantly. James let out a sigh. "Sometimes, Brown, you say too much," James whispered.

"Harry..." Draco said, gripping his hand even tighter. "Are you all right?"

"I - I - I - no. But I will be. Are you?"

Draco looked down at Susie's body. "Never better. Let's just go get the Weasel and scat. I think I've had enough fun for one day."

They walked down the hallway that Susie had walked down and came to a door. Harry tried it. It wouldn't open.

"That's the guest bedroom," he said. "I think Ron is in there. Seems a good a place as any."

"But it won't open," Draco said, as if it were obvious. "Ergo... this stinks."

"Alohomora," James muttered. Harry tried the door again. It was no good. It wouldn't open. He pushed and he pulled, he yanked and he shoved, but the door wouldn't open. Finally he sank down across the hallway and glared at it.

"Why don't you just open already?" he asked irritably.

"Hey... what's this?" Draco picked a piece of parchment off the ground.

"The password is the answer to this riddle;

When is a door not a door?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" James exclaimed. "A door is always a door!"

Harry grabbed the parchment and read it. "Its just logic," Harry said, as if it were obvious. "Most wizards don't have an ounce of logic."

"Which is bad," James said with a sigh. "We're pureblood to the core."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I've got eleven years with Muggles to help me. It's not that hard, you see? Just give me a second... I'll have it..."

"Make sure you're right," Draco said warningly. "Dark wizards have this tendency to be a little impatient. If you say the wrong one, the door might give you a splinter. I've still got marks from the doorknob of my father's study."

Harry paced the hallway for a moment. When is a door not a door? It's obviously a play on words, a pun... probably from some cheap Muggle joke book... Hermione's better at this stuff, maybe we should go get her...

But Harry didn't give up. Finally, the answer came to him. Duh!

"Got it!" Harry said happily, throwing the parchment in the air. "When it's ajar."

The door creaked open. James stared at him.

"That was too easy."

"Riddles often are," Harry said. "If you think too hard, you won't get it. Well, we'd better get a move on."

Draco pushed the door open slowly, hand ready to attack. The room was empty, however... except for two bound figures.

Wait a minute... two? Harry frowned softly.

The first figure Harry recognized immediately... how could he mistake that mop of flaming red hair? Harry grabbed it and quickly undid the binding.

"Ron!" Harry hissed. "Ron! Oh, Ron, wake up!" Harry's voice was desperate. "Ron, come on... please wake up..."

Meanwhile, Draco had glanced over to the other person who was bound and gagged. Draco found himself gasping.

"Hermione! Harry, look at this..."

Indeed, it was Hermione Granger. No one else could possibly have hair that bushy. Her eyes were closed, as were Ron's, in a way that made it seem as if they were sleeping.

"If that's Hermione..." Harry said slowly, "then... who's out there?"

There was a long pause. "How do we know this is Hermione?" Draco asked. "Maybe it's the other one..."

"It can't be," Harry said, standing up. "Give me a minute..." He thought for a long moment. "Do you remember... the whole Christmas fiasco?" Draco looked a little pale, but nodded. "Well, maybe it was just me, but she was acting a little... unHermioneish."

"Is that a word?" James asked.

"If it is," Draco pointed out, "it probably means ugly and stupid."

"No, Draco, I mean... it just isn't like Hermione to do something like that. Which is why I was so upset." Harry was pacing now. "So the question is... who's the fraud?"

Another long pause. "I don't really think it matters who the impersonator is," Draco said slowly. "I think the bigger question is why? Why would Voldemort send in two spies? And apparently they don't know the other is a spy."

"Probably to be sure they don't let anything slip," Harry said. "Maybe the Hermione impersonator was just sent in to make sure old Wormy didn't mess everything up."

"Then what about these two?" Draco asked, gesturing to the motionless bodies. "Are they...?"

"They're not dead," James announced. "They've both got a pulse. A low one, true, but it's there. Probably a Soporific Solution. Makes the victim feel heavy and sleepy. They're bound to have some antidote at Hogwarts. If not, they can just brew some up." He hesitated. "I don't know what to do about the not-Hermione girl..."

"Just knock her out and bring her along with us," Harry suggested. "Can't do any harm."

"Right..." James scratched his head. "Yea, that's best."

"What about those Death Eaters?" Draco said. "We shouldn't just let them walk out."

"Floo some Aurors, I guess," James shrugged. "What else is there to do? Here - let's drag these two out there, make sure all those Death Eaters are still out of it, and go Stun that impersonator. I guess I'll just put wards up so they can't leave the room and we'll get someone to come get them once we're safe at Hogwarts."

"Let's get out of here, then," Draco said. "I don't like the décor, and it's messing up my karma."

"Wait," Harry said softly. He walked over to the dresser and looked at the picture on it.

It was of Laura and him. Taken a day before the Founder's Day Ball of 1974, it was probably the only picture of them together that existed. The main part was of Laura in the library, but in the background, Harry could see himself staring at her. He grabbed the picture and shoved it into his pocket.

"Let's go," he mmbled.

Solemnly, the three of them walked out of the room, Harry carrying Hermione gently and Draco dragging Ron ruthlessly by the arm. James walked slightly ahead of them, his wand drawn and eyes alert. He quickly cast a few wards upon the living room and, making sure everything was in place, turned to Harry and Draco.

"Stay here while I knock out the fraud," he muttered. "I don't want her to see the real Hermione." He walked quickly out the back door and there was a muffled scream and a loud thud. James came back in smiling, a confused Hannah on his heels.

"What did you do that for? Did you take out all those Death Eaters? And who in Merlin's name is that?"

"No time to explain," Harry said. "Go grab that other girl and let's get out of here."

Hannah, still confused, darted off and came back a second later carrying the Hermione that was not Hermione.

"You needn't be gentle," Draco assured her. "Please, be rough. She - or he, maybe - hell, it could be an it - deserves it."

Hannah raised an eyebrow at him. James was calling the twins.

"Parvati, Padma, get in here! Hurry! We want to get out of here!"

Parvati and Padma rushed into the house. Seeing their puzzled faces, Hannah smiled.

"Don't worry - I have no idea what this is about either," she consoled.

"Forget that - gather round so we can go back," James said impatiently. They all gathered around the box again.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Before Harry could give the room one last glance, he felt a jerk behind his navel and they were gone.

They arrived back to find Sirius, Narcissa, a person Harry didn't know, and Lily screaming at Dumbledore.

" - DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE DOING, SENDING THEM OFF LIKE THAT, THEY COULD BE DEAD!" Lily screamed.

"A MAN WHO SENDS SIX CHILDREN AND A GUY WHO'S BEEN PRACTICALLY DEAD FOR OVER A DECADE INTO A DEATH EATER LAIR IS MOST CERTAINLY OUT OF HIS MIND!" cried the unknown man. James chuckled.

"Nice to see you too, Munny."

The unknown man, "Munny," turned around and smiled broadly. "Oh Merlin, James, you're back! And Hannah - and you're alive!"

"Of course we're alive," Padma said, sounding offended. "And I don't know who you are, but I know that I'm not a child."

"Typical of you, Mundungus," Hannah said, rolling her eyes. "No proper introduction whatsoever."

"You've returned," Dumbledore said, a glint in his eye. "Perfect timing, too."

Narcissa was busy trying to smother Draco. "Merlin, I can't believe Dumbledore let you go off like that! Scared the living daylights out of me! And you, going along with it! If I weren't so happy you're alive I'd smack you, Draco Malfoy!"

"Mum," Draco choked. "Cutting... off... circulation..."

Narcissa ignored him. Meanwhile, Lily was going through the same process with her son and husband.

"I can't believe you two!" she exclaimed. "You're both such idiots to go ravaging across the countryside like there's no tomorrow, and if you hadn't been careful there wouldn't have been a tomorrow for you fools, you selfish, arrogant fools that I love so much..."

You can see the effects grief and anger can have when mixed.

While this was happening, Sirius was still shouting at Dumbledore.

" - and Patricia downright refused to leave Remus's side but wishes to make it quite clear of what she thinks of a man who lets six teenagers go into Death Eater country on a rescue mission - "

Mundungus - Mundungus Fletcher, Harry guessed - was telling Hannah off for not being responsible. " - could have gotten yourself bloody KILLED - "

No one seemed to pay any attention to the three stationary bodies lying in the middle of the room. At least, not until Dumbledore pointed them out.

"Er - you know, Mrs. Weasley will be here in a minute, along with the rest of the Weasleys, and I don't think they'll be pleased to find their son so - shabbily placed. As for the others... I think some explanations should be given."

"Damn right they should!" Lily exclaimed, seeing two of her almost-daughters scattered on the ground, one with what looked like a severe head injury. "What in the name of Quidditch -?"

"This," Harry said, kicking the bloodied Hermione slightly, "isn't the real Hermione. She was a spy. For how long, I'm not sure... but a little of that Veritaserum would help. We found the real Hermione tied up with Ron."

"Oh, when I get my hands on that Susan Brown..." Draco growled, cracking his knuckles.

"RON!"

A horrified Molly Weasley rushed into the room and threw her arms around the stationary Ron. "Oh - oh Merlin - oh no - he's not...?"

"Dead?" James asked. "No. A simple Soporific Solution, most likely. But before that..."

"Oh... oh... Oh no..." Molly cradled her son in her arms. "Arthur is on his way... where is Ginny? And Fred and George?"

"They should be coming..." Dumbledore said, frowning. "Hannah, would you run down and fetch Professor Snape? Tell him to bring some Soporific Antidote."

The moment Hannah had left, the door burst open and two people rushed in.

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed. "Bill! Look at him! Look at him! Our own son, Arthur, and we never guessed..."

"Mrs. Weasley, it's not your fault," Harry said, shaking his head. "I never noticed either. And look at Hermione... look at Ron... if only I weren't so stupid, I would have noticed and then none of this would have happened..."

"It's no one in particular's fault," Bill said after a long pause. "It's everyone's fault. That and no one's. We all fell for it. They fooled us."

There was a long, resounding silence, broken only by Mrs. Weasley's occasional sobs and Mr. Weasley's whispers of comfort. Those who had known Ron were wallowing in guilt... those who had not, or had not known him as a friend, gave respectful silence.

Suddenly Lily broke down. She rushed to the real Hermione's body and grabbed it, holding it close to her heart. Harry saw silent, hot tears fall down her cheeks as she cradled the child that was almost hers in her arms.

James knelt down next to his wife and held her. He looked down upon Hermione and Harry saw his Adam's apple swell.

"James... she's so cold... so cold..." Lily whispered.

Dumbledore leaned down to the not-Hermione and peered at her through his glasses. "A glamour, if I am correct."

"A glamour." Harry's voice was flat. "A glamour. A simple glamour kept us from discovering a spy. Who knows what they've done to Hermione, or what they've discovered. If... if it wasn't for me, then..." Harry couldn't find the words.

"No one blames you, Harry," Sirius said quietly.

"No," Narcissa said, shaking her head. "No, it's not your fault..."

"Then why was it Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked flatly. "They knew I'd do anything... and everything... for them. But what if everything wasn't enough? What if something's happened to them? What if Voldemort has stumbled upon valuable information?" Harry shook his head and slid against the wall. Only Draco didn't move. He just shook his head slowly.

At that very moment, Hannah entered the room, followed immediately by a stern-looking Professor Snape. Mrs. Weasley let Ron limp immediately.

"Help him," she whispered.

Harry wanted to shout at her and tell her she was mad. Why should Snape help any of them? He'd always been a nasty git, why should he change now?

But he didn't. He didn't shout. He held his tongue. And it benefited him.

Snape pulled out a small bottle of a translucent purple liquid. He knelt down and was just holding it to Ron's lips when the door burst open again.

"Don't you touch him!"

"GEORGE!" Arthur shouted. "You - be quiet! Severus knows what he's doing, much more than you do!"

Ginny shoved her brother aside and rushed down and looked at Ron. "Oh no," she said. "Oh no, is he...?"

"He's not dead," Snape said impatiently. "Nor will this kill him. If you'll step aside, Ms. Weasley..."

Grudgingly, Ginny stepped aside. Fred and George stood in the doorway, goggling as Snape poured a few drops of the liquid into Ron's mouth. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

"What...?" He swallowed. "Where am I?"

"Oh, Ron," Mrs. Weasley said, gently pushing Snape aside so that she could see her son. "Ron, you're at Hogwarts. You're safe. You're safe now."

"But... the girl... that woman... Brown..."

"Do you remember her?" Harry asked, kneeling next to him. "Do you remember her at all?"

"Harry...?"

"Ron... you're safe now. Away from her. Just tell me what you remember."

"There... there were these people... dark figures... they just grabbed me... Wormtail... Wormtail was there... I don't remember much..." He sat up and rubbed his head. "But then... then he was there... You-Know-Who... and... so was Hermione... Hermione, where's Hermione?" he asked, looking around quickly.

"She's here too," Harry said. "She's safe."

At this, Snape moved toward Lily, who was still rocking Hermione's body back and forth. Then his eyes shifted to James. They stared at each other for a long moment, each with a look of extreme unpleasantness on his face. Finally, James gestured slightly towards Hermione. Snape continued to stare for a moment before kneeling down to Hermione's level. The whole room watched in tense silence. Lily watched Snape intently as he poured a little of the liquid into her mouth. She opened her eyes and blinked several times.

"Hermione..." Lily whispered.

"Mum?" Hermione asked, wrinkling up her face. "Is - is that you?"

"Hermione... I'm right here..."

"But Mum... I can't see anything..."

"Mione?" Harry asked. "What - what happened?"

"Harry? Where am I? The last thing I remember is that awful woman taking out a flask..."

"You're at Hogwarts, little bookworm," Arabella said. "You're away from that God awful place."

"Who - who are you?"

"She... she really doesn't know," Draco said. "She really has no idea." His voice was shaking.

"Malfoy?" Hermione said. "What - what are you doing here?"

Draco made a pained face and looked at the floor.

"Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed. He seemed to have gotten his strength fast. He jumped up. "Why are you here? If you had anything to do with this, I'll - " He made a move towards Draco before Harry stepped between them.

"RON! What do you think you're doing?"

"I think," Dumbledore said loudly, "that it would be best if we pick up this... impersonator before she is trampled on and unable to tell us anything."

"Right," James muttered, picking her up and shoving her onto the teacher's desk.

"There should be some Veritaserum left," Hannah said.

"That is, if you kept it, sir?" Padma asked Dumbledore.

He smiled at her and pulled a vial out of his cloak. Sirius choked.

"Veritaserum? You made Veritaserum?"

"And it... it worked?" Hermione added in awe.

"Of course it did," Parvati said offhandedly. "Why wouldn't it?"

"How else could we have found out where you were?" Harry said.

"Did a damn good job, too, for their first time," Arabella said proudly.

The adults in the room stared at the teenagers, dumbstruck. Snape sniffed.

"Well, I'm glad to see that some of my students listen," Snape said. "Anyone can make Veritaserum with a bit of concentration and the right materials. But only a true Potions master can make the serum so that it works to cause the victim to reveal their truths."

"Ah, how true, Severus," Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eye. "So I expect you will give extra credit to Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, the Patil twins, and Miss Abbott?"

Snape looked utterly miffed. He did not answer. Dumbledore handed the small vial to him.

"Here, Severus. I assure you, it is quite potent and quite fresh. Take her away and question her. Arabella - why don't you join him?" Arabella smiled forcefully at him before leaving the room with Snape, who still looked annoyed.

"You ought to go off, too," he added to the Weasleys. "Take Ron to the infirmary, will you? I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will want to see him, and I'm sure you wish to be with him."

"Wait," Ron said. "I want to know what's up with Malfoy."

Harry glanced behind him and saw Draco staring back at him. Well? What are we supposed to say?

Don't tell him now, Lily said. He's too tired, he should rest.

I don't give a -

We KNOW you hate Ron, Boa, but Mum's right.

Harry turned back to Ron. "Later. I'll explain everything tonight. I promise."

Ron looked at him for a minute before nodding. "R - right."

"Take care, Potter," Fred said shortly as he escorted his little brother out of the room.

"You might as well go, too," Dumbledore said to Hannah, Mundungus, Sirius, Narcissa, and the twins. Reluctantly they obliged, glancing at Hermione over their shoulders.

Now only Dumbledore, his parents, Hermione, Draco, and himself remained. He sighed.

"Well," he said wearily. "I'm going to have some fun trying to explain that."

"What - what's going on, Harry?" Hermione said, her voice a bit higher than it usually was. "I - I don't understand..."

"Here," Draco said. "Let me help you up, Winger... I mean, Hermione..."

"Don't touch me, Malfoy!" Hermione snapped. "Oh, if I could see you..."

"Here," Harry said, helping her up. He settled her on a desk. "Drop it for now, Boa."

"You - you can't see a thing?" Lily whispered. "Nothing at all?"

"No... I can't see anything... Mum, how did you get here?" she asked, suddenly alarmed. "Muggles can't see Hogwarts... I don't understand... this must be a crazy dream..."

Lily laughed gently. "Oh, I'm far from Muggle. But... you really have no idea, do you? You have no idea who I am?"

"I - well, I thought you were my mum."

"I - I was - no, that's not it, I will be - if, of course you sign the papers..."

"What? I don't understand..."

"You will," James said gently. "You will understand, Hermione, you will."

"Who - who are you?"

James blinked. Harry sighed.

"I guess we should start from the beginning..."

Harry explained everything that had happened since the beginning of the school year to Hermione, with Draco adding in comments here and there. Hermione was completely silent through the whole thing.

"And then... then, just this morning, we came here, to the Order of the Phoenix, and... well, you know the rest."

Hermione was silent for another moment. "Where - where were we?" she asked. "Where were we all that time? I remember... there was another girl with us, a woman... with brown hair, and blue eyes, like mine... but she was older... but that was in the second place... we were in that bedroom, I guess that's where you found us... but she was only there a few days... when we woke up this morning she wasn't there..."

Harry's mouth opened in shock. "Harry..." Draco muttered. "I think..."

"Laura?" Lily asked, looking at Harry.

"After - after she left that morning... she must have found them there..." Harry muttered.

"Didn't you see Ms. Hillman?" Dumbledore asked, peering at him overtop his glasses.

Harry closed his eyes. "She - she's dead," he said loudly. "Susan - Susan Brown killed her. She's a Death Eater."

"Oh, yes she is," Draco said angrily, "the rotten little - "

"Draco!"

"Yes, Lily?"

Lily made a face at him and turned to her son. "Harry... I - I can't believe it..."

Harry bit his lip. "So..." he said to Hermione. "That - that's what happened."

"So... your parents, they're standing right in front of me, they want to adopt me, and you're best buds with Draco Malfoy, who you went back in time twenty years with, and now you're both in the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry and Draco glanced at each other.

"Yup," Draco said. "That's the gist of it, yea."

"I can't believe it."

"Well... it's kind of hard for you to ignore it," Harry pointed out. "Because... er... well, the two of us were 'best buds' with your impostor, too... Marauders forever, right?"

"Forever," James said forcefully.

"So that means... the woman I thought was my mum, and a guy who spent fourteen years in an insane asylum... they're Harry's parents, and they want to adopt me. Malfoy's mum is marrying Sirius, and I kissed Malfoy while I was going out with - er - Harry. Double yuck. Harry's next door neighbor is teaching at Hogwarts, and Professor Lupin fell in love with Parvati Patil's mother."

"It sounds rather odd from an outsider's point of view, doesn't it, Harry?" Draco said offhandedly.

"Odd is a bit of an understatement, don't you think?" Hermione added freshly.

"Well, it's all true," James agreed. "But just because I spent almost half my life in a nuthouse doesn't mean I'm mad."

"And just because I'm not your biological mother doesn't mean I don't care for you," Lily added.

"And just because you're not chummy with the Patils doesn't mean Remus can't love their mother," Harry added.

"And just because I acted like an incredible git to you, doesn't mean I am one," Draco said with all sincerity.

"And most of important of all," Harry said again, "just because things are unusual, doesn't mean they're bad."

"I think that's enough explaining for now," Dumbledore said calmly. "I believe there are more important matters at hand."

"Such as...?" Draco asked.

"Hermione, do you have a fever? Do you feel woozy?"

"I feel perfectly fine," Hermione said. "I've felt perfectly fine, except for my eyes, the whole time I've been gone. They weren't exactly as horrible as you'd think they'd be... I mean, we had food, and we had water, and we had enough... but they weren't exactly congenial with us, if you know what I mean."

"Have your eyes been bothering you for more than twenty-four hours?" James fired.

"N-no, I've been seeing quite fine until... well, I was knocked out, Ron too, because the woman didn't want us making noise... and I've been fine until I woke up just now."

Draco's face was concerned. "She should see Madam Pomfrey."

"Right you are," Dumbledore said. "And Professor Snape, too, I should think, after he's done questioning. Just for routine blood check."

With that, Harry led Hermione up to the hospital wing, careful to tell her exactly when to turn or how many stairs there were on a staircase, Draco closely following him.

For Harry and Draco, the rest of the afternoon was spent in the hospital wing, next to Hermione and Ron. Harry sat on a rickety old chair in between their cots and Draco sat in a squishy armchair by Hermione. They both had a large stack of books they were looking through... having looked through their books on lycantortapy and found absolutely nothing, they had moved on to books on potions or spells that affected sight. Even Ron joined the effort. Sirius and Narcissa had dropped by to tell Draco they were leaving, and to be careful and all that good parental stuff.

"Oh, I wish I could read something," Hermione said, frustrated. "And I'm still not too keen on sitting in the hospital wing next to Malfoy. How do we know he's changed, Harry?"

"I second that," Ron mumbled.

Draco cleared his throat. "I am here and perfectly capable of hearing you."

"So?" Ron snapped.

"Ugh!" Harry said. "Just - cut it out, will you?"

"I believe, Beaky, that I was offended," Draco said firmly. Only Harry, who knew Draco better than anyone, knew that their was hurt in his voice. "I'm devastated now. I have to go curl up in a corner and cry."

"Mione," Harry sighed. "Draco's not going to hex you, unless you really, really deserve it. I won't let him. Ron... you're just pissed off that you haven't got me all to yourself anymore. Gah."

Before Hermione or Ron could respond, someone entered the hospital wing.

"'Lo there, Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ron," she said cheerfully. "How are you?"

"Oh - er - Hermione, Ron, that's Hannah, Hannah Abbott," Harry said quickly. "You met - well, she met - you know what I mean, right?"

"Nice to meet you," Ron muttered. Hermione nodded.

"We're feeling fine, though a bit - frustrated."

"There's nothing in any of these, nothing!" Draco exclaimed, slamming yet another book closed. "I'm telling you, there's no point."

"Did you find anything in that book?" Harry asked Hannah. "You know, the one about..."

"Absolutely nothing of use," Hannah sighed. "Though did you know, Draco, that if you touch a pure gold shoe you'll contract a serious case of dragon pox which can only be cured by swimming in a bath of porridge, a Muggle thing called laundry detergent, which is some kind of devise for cleaning clothes, and Strengthening Solution at midnight on the third Wednesday of a month with an odd number?"

Draco blinked. "Er..."

"Is that on the midnight that will make it the third Wednesday of the month, or the midnight that makes it the third Thursday of the month?" Harry asked matter-of-factly.

"On the midnight that makes it go into Thursday," Hannah answered.

"Oh. Then I don't think we'll have much to worry about, Draco, unless you have footwear tendencies that I'm not quite familiar with..."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Feeling decidedly perky," Harry answered. "Thanks very much."

"Er... anyway..." Hannah said, shuffling through her bag. "I have - " she dropped some books on the end of Hermione's bed - "a few more - " she added a few more - "books for you - " the pile grew ever higher - "to look through." At least two-dozen books were on the edge of Hermione's bed. Harry and Draco groaned. "Oh, be quiet... about half are about... our assignment... the others are for looking up about poisons that affect the eye..."

"Great," Harry mumbled. "More junk to shift through."

"Oh," Hannah said. "I almost forgot... Hermione, I found something for you to do... I figured you'd be feeling pretty bored, so..." She pulled out a sheaf of parchment with raised dots on it.

"This is the Braille alphabet," she informed Hermione. "I'm sure you've heard of it..."

"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed eagerly. "I did a whole report on Louis Braille in primary school..."

"Excellent," Hannah beamed. "Well, I put the alphabet in order from left to right, there are five letters on each line, and one that's the odd one... and if you can remember it, I found a spell that can make all books translate into Braille... hold on a minute..." She dug deeper into her bag and pulled out a scrap of parchment.

"Ah, here it is... Legeratus Braille. I'll leave it here," she added, putting it on the bedside table. "And you just tap the book once with your wand, I tried it, then Finite Incantantem will reverse it."

"Oh, thank you!" Hermione exclaimed. "You don't know how wonderful this is..."

Hannah grinned widely. "I just thought..."

"Told you, Draco," Harry said loudly. "Told you they'd hit it off."

Draco coughed obviously. "Well, I'd have to stay you were right, Harry, for once. Don't get used to it."

Hannah and Hermione ignored them. "I'm off to the library," she said, throwing a glare at the two grinning boys. "Anything you want me to pick up?"

"Oh... if it isn't too much trouble, could you check out Great Wizarding Events of the Twelfth Century?" Hermione asked eagerly. "I was doing a little background reading for History of Magic and..."

"Sure," Hannah smiled. "I was off to get that as well! I'm sure they have more than one copy. I'll stop by again later. See you all... and make sure you read all those books, you two!" she added as she exited the wing. Harry and Draco sighed. Ron looked appalled.

"Hermione, we're studying the Eighteenth century!"

Hermione chose to ignore him.

"The Retanytullibibius Charm and Its Aftereffects," Draco read plainly as Hermione set about learning Braille. "Well, at least it's a sensible name."

"Better than So You Want To Be A Lycantort," Harry agreed, picking up An Inside Look At Eye Poisons, Haha, Look, Do You Get It? "I'm not sure if this is a Potions volume or a joke book," Harry said offhandedly as he flipped through it. "Although it looks like someone was trying to be funny while writing this, and did a really bad job."

"Don't know where that library gets its books from," Ron said, shaking his head and throwing Ailments of the Outer Eye over his shoulder. "The Outer Eye... sounds like Trelawney wrote this..."

"For once, Weasley, we agree," Draco said nastily. "I - "

"Quit bickering," Hermione snapped. The wing stayed silent for a long while... eventually Hermione switched to reading the actual books, slowly at first, but gradually faster. The silence prevailed until another visitor appeared.

"'Lo, everyone," Arabella said cheerfully. "Thought I'd see how my little bookworm and Ron were doing..." She observed Hermione reading and smiled. "Nothing stops the bookworm, does it, Hermione?"

Hermione looked up aimlessly. "Hello, Professor Figg."

"Arabella," she said, annoyed. "How are you?"

"Fine. Hannah brought me a spell that translates these books into Braille..."

"Speak of the kneazle..." Ron said offhandedly.

"Hello there," said Hannah. "I brought your book, Hermione. Oh, hello, Arabella. Mundungus was looking for you earlier. He said that he had to go, and that he sends his farewell."

"Ah," Arabella said. "Well, if everyone's all right, then, I ought to go send him an owl. By the way... Sirius tells you to read your mail already, Harry!" She hurried out of the wing. Harry blinked and reached into his pocket as Hermione and Hannah started chatting.

The first letter was written in a familiar scrawl.

Dear Harry (and Draco too) -

As there's no use saying this twice, make sure Draco sees this too.

Yes, and we're looking up things about the - er - issue he had for him!

As you can probably see, we're using a Quick-Quotes Quill, modified so it actually writes what we're saying and not some twisted version of it.

Well, not that we would consider even using it in its regular state -

Anyway, we've just written to tell you both that we've decided to have the wedding over spring break, here at Malfoy Manor. You're welcome to invite anyone you know, as... well, Narcissa here wants it to be a big celebration...

It's an important day!

Yes, anyway, whether I like it or not, apparently, we're having the traditional week-long party... Harry, you probably wouldn't know, but all pureblood wizarding families have big wedding celebrations.

Oh, and Draco, dear, we - well, Sirius has decided that it's up to you. I mean... if you want to change your name to Black. It's your decision, really, in two years you'll be seventeen and you won't need a guardian anymore anyway.

Er... yes, what your mother said.

Write back soon!

Yours,

Sirius & Narcissa

Harry grinned. He made the parchment into a quick paper airplane. "Draco, read this," he said, throwing it to him across Hermione. Draco frowned.

"You have the nose all wrong, its not aerodynamic, it won't land straight," he said, miffed.

"Just read the damn thing!"

Draco unfolded it and started reading. Harry opened his next piece of parchment.

Harry-

Taking a tip from Sirius, using a modified Quick-Quotes Quill.

Yes, I'm here too. Still working on Draco's - problem.

Yea, she told me about it, tell him I hope he's all right.

Well, anyway, onto a more pleasant subject.

We've moved back into Hermione and Lily's house, although we still have stuff to bring over from the Manor.

Yes, yes, and I was starting to wonder... did you ever read those letters in the envelope? And if so, did you find my little memory thing?

Yes, and have you been causing enough mischief? What about Quidditch?

Well, write us soon.

Love,

Mum and Dad

Harry sighed. He would have to write back later. He looked up and saw that Hannah had gone and Hermione was reading again. He picked up his last letter.

Harry -

Thanks yet again for the Wolfsbane Potion. It truly helped. I've been without it for a while, and... well, thanks. Tell that to Hermione and Draco, too.

Just wondering... have you used any of your potions yet? Because if you have, I want a full, in-detail account of what happened, and I'm sure James and Sirius would say the same thing.

Cheers,

Remus

Harry smiled. "Remus says thanks for the you-know-what, Mione and Draco," Harry grinned. "Says it helped a lot."

Draco grinned. Hermione frowned.

"Huh?"

"Oh..." Harry said, grin fading. "That's right, you don't know... we gave Remus Wolfsbane Potion for Christmas. And last night was the full moon."

At this, Draco yawned. "Getting... tired," he yawned. Harry looked at him critically.

Did you get any sleep last night?

Draco didn't answer.

Draco, did you?

"No," he muttered.

Harry sighed. "No? Tonight, then. I mean it. What time is it?"

"Nine thirty-two and forty-two seconds," Draco yawned.

Harry bit his lip. "We'd better go."

"Yes, you'd better, I'm surprised Madam Pomfrey hasn't ordered you out yet!" Hermione exclaimed. "I had no idea it was this late! Curfew was almost an hour ago! You'd better not get caught, Harry!"

"Oh, and you don't care if I get caught?" Draco asked sweetly.

"No," Ron said. "See you, Harry. Hoping I won't see you, Malfoy."

"What he said," Hermione mumbled. "I'm so glad I can read in the dark..."

Harry yawned. "Come on, Draco, let's go." They both got up and tried in vain to pick up all of their books.

"You can just leave them here," Hermione said, hearing their struggle. "I'll go through some of them, and you won't have to carry them."

"You're less likely to get caught," Ron added.

"Well... thanks, then," Harry said. "'Night."

"'Night."

Harry and Draco walked out of the hospital wing. "Wish I had the Invisibility Cloak," Harry muttered. "Or at least the Marauders' Map..."

"Shh!"

Harry and Draco walked in silence until they reached the hallway where they had to split up.

Sleep tonight.

I'll try.

I mean it.

So do I.

Harry paused. "'Night, Boa. See you in the morning."

"'Night, Beaky."

The two stared at each other for a moment before turning and heading to their respective common rooms.

Draco yawned as he entered the Slytherin common room. He bounded up the stairs, thankful that he hadn't been caught out after curfew.

And in his bedroom, he met the one person in the world he least expected to be there.

"Bulstrode?" Draco hissed. "What -?"

"You're late," Millicent Bulstrode said, crossing her arms across her chest as Draco closed the door behind him. "You missed curfew."

"No one caught me, did they?"

"Malfoy... listen..." Bulstrode said, leaning closer to him. "I was thinking about what you said, and I didn't know whether to believe you... but I overheard them talking, and - "

"What are you on about, Bulstrode?" Draco yawned.

"What I am trying to say is, they already came for me, they tried to get me, just half an hour ago, and they're coming for you... they saw you with Potter... they'll be here any - "

There were footsteps in the hall. Bulstrode went white and darted into his closet just as the door opened.

"Why, hello there, Zabini," Draco smirked. "And Crabbe and Goyle. Oh, and hello to you too, Parkinson. Is that Avery or Nott back there? Ah, both of them, I see. What are you doing in my humble abode?"

The six Slytherins entered his room wordlessly. Nott shut the door behind them.

"We're here to bring you down, Malfoy," Zabini said tonelessly.

"Ah, I see. Where are the mangoes, Blaise? Oh, and by the way, it's mongooses or mongeese, either is acceptable."

"Avery saw you!" Pansy shrieked. "He saw you acting all chummy with - with Potter!"

"Didn't I tell you," Zabini said calmly, "that I pitied anyone who called him their friend?"

"Yes... yes, I do seem to recall something like that," Draco said, still smirking. "Would you please exit out of my room? You're invading my personal space." Oh hell, he thought. There are too many, they're all bigger than I am...

"You and Bulstrode have to die," Avery said simply. "You know too much."

"What in Merlin's name does Bulstrode have to do with this?"

"So you admit that you were hanging around with Potter?" Crabbe said gruffly.

"That wasn't smart," Goyle said.

"I hardly think you should be telling me that I'm not smart, Goyle," Draco said coolly.

"You're a spy, Malfoy," Zabini said. The group advanced on him, leaving him backing up slowly until he was flat against the wall. The fire in his eyes, however, had far from burned out. "You don't deserve to be in the honorable house of Salazar Slytherin, nor do you deserve his noble blood to run through your veins."

"Yea?" Draco said, raising an eyebrow. "What are you going to do about it, Zabini?"

"I'll tell you what we're going to do!" Pansy shrieked. "We're going to stop it from running through your veins."

"Pansy," Draco said, shaking his head sadly. "And I thought you liked me. Well, you weren't my type, anyway. No biggie."

"What is your type then?" Avery asked. "Bushy-haired Gryffindor Mudbloods?"

"If you mean Hermione - "

"See? He's even on first-name basis with her! She's a Mudblood, for crying out loud!"

Zabini grabbed Draco by his collar and held him up to the wall. "Blood traitor," he hissed.

"Don't quite know what you're talking about," Draco said, an air of cheerfulness still in his voice. "Didn't you know that Slytherin and Gryffindor were the best of friends?"

There was a silence in the room.

"You didn't know?" Draco asked, smirking. "The Houses were united, once. And they will be again. So says the prophecy. You know, the prophecy by Ravenclaw? She was a Seer, didn't you know? And division will be their bane... but, after many years of turmoil, they will be united once again. Yes, Gryffindor and Slytherin were quite the pair of chums. So maybe it's you lot who are the blood traitors." Draco smirked, satisfied that he had actually told the truth.

There was a silence for a moment. Trembling, Zabini drew his wand.

"Crucio."

The pain hit Draco suddenly and unexpectedly. He fell to the floor, trying not to scream. He felt like a thousand white-hot knives sticking into him. He bit his lip and held the scream in his throat. He twitched and fidgeted and closed his eyes... it hurt like nothing else had ever hurt... he wanted to die...

At that moment, a door opened in the wall behind Draco. And suddenly it all stopped. Draco blinked a few times, dusted himself off, and stood up.

"'Lo, Harry," he said weakly. "Long time, no see."

"Three minutes. Three minutes I leave you on your own, and you go get yourself bloody attacked."

"Actually, it was - "

"What... how...?" Pansy stuttered.

"You know, Parkinson, it's terribly rude to interrupt," Draco said. "Where did you learn your manners?"

"Same place you did, Malfoy," Nott whispered. "Hell."

"Now, that wasn't very nice," came a voice to Draco's left. "You ought to apologize. Oh, wait... I guess I forgot who I was talking to, didn't I?"

"Bulstrode?" Zabini asked, amused. "So you came running to Malfoy? Were you two in it together?"

"Nope," Draco said. "Nope, I'm proud to say we both did it on our own. Well..." he added as an afterthought, smiling at Harry. "Not quite alone."

"Told you they're friends!" Avery exclaimed.

"Oh, is that what this is about?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, Boa, we weren't very careful, today, were we?"

"I probably used up my quota of cautiousness when we were on our dashing rescue mission," Draco said thoughtfully.

"Well," Harry said, kicking the door shut behind him. "We'll just be going now."

"You wait right there, Potter!" Nott hissed, poking Harry in the chest with his wand. "I know the Killing Curse, and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Really?" Harry asked. "Is that so? Well, I know how to break your wand in half, and I'd not hesitate to do that, either, so I guess we're even."

"Even?"

"Is there an echo in here?" Draco snapped.

"Forget them for now, get her!" Avery said.

"I don't have time for this..." Zabini muttered. "Nox Nellius!" Bulstrode froze and slipped to the floor in a dead faint. Draco bit his lip.

"Nox Nellius!"

This curse, whatever it was, hit Draco in the stomach. He leaned over for a minute, clutching his stomach, while the Slytherins watched gleefully.

Draco fought the curse. He struggled to hold on to consciousness while he fell to the floor. It felt like his stomach was trying to eat him. He let out a tiny whimper as he keeled over again, flaunting on the floor. No... no, don't take me...

Draco heard a shout and saw blurred red light, but his eyes were filled with hot tears of pain... maybe he should just let go...

Before he could, however, he blacked out. He knew no more.

When Draco's eyes fluttered open at last, he saw someone standing over him.

"Harry?" Draco asked, squinting. "What happened?"

"You gave Harry here quite a scare, Malfoy!" Hermione said, scolding. "We thought you might be - "

"Oh, never mind, what time is it?"

"I'm not the one with the watch," Harry mumbled.

"Oh... right..." Draco looked down at his watch and sat up straight. "One thirty-six and twelve seconds? How long was I out?"

"Quite a while," Ron mumbled. "I knew it was too good to last."

"Rest," Harry ordered. "You need to rest. What are you doing?"

Draco scratched his head as he looked around. "Tell me what happened."

Harry sighed. "After you got hit with that spell - we're not sure what it is, yet - well, you kind of - you started twitching, and you were screaming... it was freaky. We're not sure why it had Bulstrode down so quickly and took so long on you... then again, I have my guesses."

"Bulstrode..." Draco said. "She's here, I presume?"

Harry hesitated. "Yes."

"What happened to her?"

Harry bit his lip. "She... she isn't well. Not at all."

"How so?"

Harry sighed and stood up, pacing. "First she was really pale and clammy. This morning she showed signs of fever. By noon she was practically burning up, she'd start thrashing about, throwing off the blanket... then, the next minute, she'd be shivering and the fever would be gone completely. Blood like ice. Hasn't spoken an intelligible word at all. She has a huge boil on her upper arm, where the spell hit."

"How is she now?"

"Still unpredictable temperature changes," Harry muttered. "And it looks like she's losing weight for some reason. She's skin and bones."

"What - what happened after I was knocked out?"

"Well, I was getting sick of playing games with them, so I just sent out a few powerful Stunners that got them all, I grabbed you and Bulstrode and ran up here. You've been out cold since."

"Harry hasn't left your side once," Ron noted. "Kind of creepy, really."

"He'd do the same for you if you were hovering between life and death," Hermione hissed. "So shut up."

Ron, offended, threw the library book he was reading at her. Hermione made an unpleasant face.

"Well," Draco said, a slight note of cheerfulness in his voice, "at least the two of you aren't treating me like dirt anymore."

"Oh... I'm sorry, did I make the impression that I don't think you're dirt?" Ron said nastily. "Must have been a horrible mistake on my part."

"Well, I suppose if Harry trusts you... doesn't mean I do, quite yet..." Hermione mumbled.

"I can live with that." Draco looked around. "What happened to those bastards - I mean, Slytherins?"

"Suspended for a month, the lot of them," Harry smirked. "And you - you and Bulstrode have been assigned separate dormitories. Out of the Slytherin common room, I mean. Dumbledore - wow, I ought to go get him and tell him you're awake." Harry stood up. "Be right back." With a soft pop (A/N: I know JKR said in OotP that it sounded like a sharp crack, but before she said a pop, so that bothers me... I'm staying with pop), Harry Disapparated.

"Impossible!" Hermione exclaimed. "It's not possible! He just Apparated on the Hogwarts grounds, didn't he?"

"Of course he did," Draco said, relaxed.

"But - but - no!" Hermione said loudly. "NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

"Obviously not," Ron observed.

"But he doesn't have his license! And - and you can't Apparate on the Hogwarts grounds, it's IMPOSSIBLE!"

"For a Bade it is," Draco said easily. "Oops... we forgot to mention that, didn't we? Harry and I are Bades. How could we have forgotten to say that?"

"NOOOOOO! THE LAWS OF PHYSICS! MERLIN'S PRINCIPLE! ALL PROVED WRONG! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

"Hermione, calm down!" Ron exclaimed. "Just because Hogwarts, A History was wrong about one tiny little issue - "

"THIS IS NOT TINY!!! HARRY JUST APPARATED ON THE HOGWARTS GROUNDS, RON!"

Ron blinked, startled.

"Uh... sorry if I - er - offended you, Hermione..."

Hermione, still steaming, started reading. Her fingers darted across the page like Firebolts. It was like she had been blind all her life.

It was at that moment that Harry reappeared, looking worried. "He's not in his office..."

"Well," Draco said, almost annoyed, "he wouldn't be a very good Headmaster if he sat around his office all day, would he?"

Harry scowled. "It was worth a try."

"Harrypotteryoujustapparatedonthehogwartsgroundhowcouldyouhowdareyouhowdidyouohallmyresearchhowwashogwartsahistoryeverwrong!" Hermione said extremely fast.

Harry blinked. "Er..."

But Hermione hadn't finished. "Youreabadesincewhenthatswhatmalfoysaidheslyingisnthethatsimpossibletherehasntbeenabadesincegodricgryffindorbutthenhowdidyouapparateonhogwartsground?"

"I want to talk to Bulstrode," Draco announced, ignoring her. He stood up.

"Sit. Rest," Harry said sternly. "She hasn't spoken a word all day."

"I feel fine," Draco said haughtily, "and I didn't say I expected her to talk back. Where is she?"

"You're not fine," Harry said. "If - if you hadn't fought against that curse, then you'd be just the way she is."

"But I did," Draco pointed out. "I did fight. Therefore I am fine, and I want to see her. Where is she?"

Harry looked at him and sighed. "Just in that door down there," he said, pointing to the end of the wing.

Draco strolled down to the end of the wing and opened the door.

"Mister Malfoy!"

"I'm fine," Draco said to Madam Pomfrey, the slightest air of annoyance in his voice. "And you," he added to an older wizard whose name he did not know, "you're that mediwizard, right? How is she? Harry told me she's awful, but I'd much rather here it from a professional."

"There's no need to be irritable, Draco," came a voice from behind him.

"I'm in a hospital wing, my friend is blind, Bulstrode's here half-dead, the only friends I ever had for more than half my life hate me, and I'm not getting any answers," Draco snapped. "I think, Dumbledore, that I have the right to be a little annoyed."

Dumbledore smiled lightly at him. "She's - not good," he said finally.

Draco stared at him. "Where?"

Dumbledore pointed to a bed with a curtain drawn around it. Draco had only taken one step towards it when Madam Pomfrey spoke up.

"Dumbledore," she pleaded, "this boy - "

"Has been through a lot," Dumbledore finished. "And deserves a chance to see what might have happened."

" - needs bed rest," Madam Pomfrey said. "He - "

"I'm fine," Draco said, fully annoyed now. "Just let me talk to her." Without waiting for an answer, Draco pulled the curtain aside.

It was true. Bulstrode did look bad. She was deathly pale and surprisingly thin. She tossed and turned and groaned and moaned and kicked. Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes were slightly open and bloodshot, and on her arm was a huge boil that throbbed a bright red color. Draco's expression did not change. He stared at her for a long moment. Then he reached out and put his hand on top of hers.

She stopped turning at once.

"Hey, Bulstrode," Draco said quietly. "It's Malfoy."

Bulstrode sat up like a bullet, some of the color returned to her face. "Malfoy?"

Madam Pomfrey and the old mediwizard gasped. Dumbledore smiled.

"Malfoy?" Bulstrode said again, running her hand through her hair. "What -?"

"Hold on," Draco said to her. He turned. "If you'd be so kind..."

Dumbledore ushered the other two out of the room, still smiling. Draco looked back at Bulstrode. The color had fully returned to her face.

"What happened?" Bulstrode asked.

"They got you with some spell," Draco shrugged. "Knocked you right out. Got me a minute later. Thing is, I fought it. So... yea, well, I just woke up a minute ago. So that's what happened." Draco paused. "I just wanted to ask you why you did it."

"Did what?"

"I mean, why did you turn? You were so close... you were with the inner circle... so why did you give it all up?"

"Same reason you did, I suppose," Bulstrode said with a shrug.

"Oh, your father slit you open when you were a kid, put some Imperius Potion and Voldie blood in you, sealed you back up and cursed you into oblivion, too? What a coincidence."

"I mean," Bulstrode said, annoyed, "that we both couldn't bear to kill someone. Like you couldn't kill Harry. So you gave up."

Draco paused. "H-how...?"

"How did I know that?" Bulstrode asked. "Guessed. But - "

"Who...?"

Bulstrode blinked. "My - my mother," she mumbled. "She - didn't want to be a Death Eater. So they told me to kill her. I couldn't."

"Oh," Draco said, looking down. "Sorry." There was a pause. "What happened to her?"

"Dead," she said quietly. "They got her anyway."

"And they didn't kill you?"

"Father convinced them I was just too young," she mumbled. "I was only six."

"Sorry," Draco said. "I - I know the feeling."

Bulstrode looked up at him and smiled slightly. Draco smiled back.

"I don't - believe this," Harry panted.

"Neither do I," Draco said, smiling slightly.

Harry sat down on the huge bed. "Maybe I should get some of the Gryffindors to attack me."

Draco sighed, shook his head, and looked around his new bedroom. A small nightstand and a large wardrobe of Wiggentree wood, which was enchanted to never scratch or fade, accompanied the huge bed. There was a large desk in the corner, and a window with shocking pink curtains that looked over the lake. The floor was wooden, but in the center of the room there was a navy blue rug. Draco glared at the curtains.

"These will have to go," he said, drawing his wand and tapping them. They changed to a shade of dark blue to match the walls, which were a paler shade of blue.

"Never knew you were into interior decorating, Boa," Harry said, almost amused. "You should have told me."

"Ah, shut up," Draco muttered. "This place is too empty. I'll be right back to get some of my stuff."

"I'll come," Harry said, standing up.

"Oh, no you won't," Draco said. "You see, the Slytherins aren't feeling too chummy towards you right now..."

"They're not exactly pleased with you, either!"

"True. But at least if I go alone they won't have the urge to make us body slam into each other. Try to find the entrance to the lobby," Draco added, "I haven't a clue where it might be."

"Why don't you just use magic?"

Draco made a face. "Well, every time I try the Teleport Spell, everything always ends up strangling me to death, and the items tend to turn pink afterwards... and if I used a Summoning Spell, someone might be on their way down to dinner and they'll run into my underwear. So I'll just go get them. Look for that door for me, will you?"

"I'll try," Harry sighed. "Hurry up."

Draco exited the room through the dropped jaw of Benjamin the Befuddled and started walking down to the Slytherin common room. When he entered it, a chill of unwelcome came over him. He shook it off and headed to his old room.

Just as he had gathered all of his things into his trunk and bewitched it to be feather-light, the door opened. Draco looked at the door and smirked.

"'Lo, Blaise," he said quietly. "How are you on this fine evening?"

"Traitor," Zabini said almost inaudibly. "That's what you are. A blood traitor."

"Don't know what you mean," Draco said softly.

"I think you do," Zabini hissed.

"Listen to me," Draco said, pointing to Zabini. His tone was completely different - throaty and cold. "You - you almost ruined it," he hissed.

"R-r-ruined what?"

"The Plan," Draco hissed. "You almost ruined the plan."

"W-what plan?"

"The plan was to befriend Potter," Draco hissed. "To make him trust me. Merlin, you're thick! Did you think that I had no blood loyalty at all? I was to make him trust me so I can bring him to the Dark Lord!"

"The Dark Lord has declared you traitor!" Zabini whispered. "You - "

"When Potter and I went back in time," Draco continued, as if Zabini had not said a thing, "I had the idea. Don't you think I tried to tell Master? I couldn't get away?"

"Then why didn't you tell us?" Zabini hissed. "Why didn't you tell us last night?"

"I knew Potter would be coming!" Draco said. "He had told me at breakfast that he had overheard the new password!"

Zabini blinked. "B-but he came through the wall..."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "The wall? Zabini, old friend, you're delirious. He came through the door. You know the thing over there that opens with hinges? Yes. The wall doesn't open."

"What about Bulstrode?" Zabini asked. "H-how... is she...?"

"She's the traitor, not me," Draco said. "She has to die. Killing is the only was to handle traitors."

Zabini smiled slightly. "I - I should have known you would never betray us... forgive me..."

"I'll forgive you," Draco hissed, pushing him towards the door, "as long as you tell Master the Plan. And as long as you don't do anything that messes up the plan again! Now Potter and the Muggle-lover, our Headmaster, think they have to - protect me from you!"

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave," Zabini said, brushing himself off. "I'll inform the others."

"You do that," Draco hissed. Zabini hurried away. Draco rolled his eyes. "Locomotor Trunk."

As he floated his trunk towards the statue of Benjamin the Befuddled, he ran his Plan over in his head.

Oh, what a surprise Harry Potter was in for...