Marked

Twenty Muggles Die In Attacks Throughout Bedford. Ministry Promises Answers Soon. Harry read the Daily Prophet headline again, slower the second time, hoping another read would somehow erase what he felt was his own history repeating itself. There had been numerous attacks on Muggles over the weekend, but the one that had happened late Monday night was far more brutal than the previous attacks. Unsuspecting Muggles had been attacked on the street, their beheaded and mangled bodies left in plain view for the frightened and confused local police to clean up.

It was more vile than anything Harry could remember reading about. The lack of communication from Dumbledore since their conference the previous Friday had done nothing to quell the rising suspicions about what was happening outside Hogwarts. The Death Eaters were getting more bold in their attacks and Harry felt sure it was because they were becoming more secure in their position--and that of their leader.

When Draco walked into the mostly empty Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Harry felt Hermione stiffen next to him and shared the small amount of animosity he could feel coming from her. The Slytherin was still putting on the show of friendship he'd begun days before, but Harry knew that secret smug smile he let show every so often was coming from somewhere, from something he'd done to help his aunt. McGonagall had quickly dismissed the suggestion that Draco was working with Dumbledore against them, but hadn't denied that he'd been asked to pass on information Harry wouldn't be comfortable with Bellatrix possessing. Then she'd clammed up as well, forcing Harry to rethink his association with the one adult ally he'd come to rely on to be truthful with him.

As Draco approached him, an unnaturally friendly smile taking over his face, Harry knew he'd have to be on his guard more than ever. It wasn't just his and Neville's lives he had to think about now. If Voldemort was able to come back and organize the followers who were currently spreading chaos around Britain, with most of the Wizarding world unaware, the scale of the war would be too huge for even the Ministry to contain. Assuming, that is, they wanted Voldemort and his followers contained. Harry couldn't imagine why they wouldn't, but then, he had never pretended to fully understand how or why Dumbledore operated the way he did. He just wanted to make it through the entire mess alive.

"Can we help you with something?" Hermione asked. Her tone was polite enough, it might even be mistaken for nice by someone who hadn't heard the language she'd been using to describe Draco the night before. Harry had and knew she was a few short comments from attempting to hex Draco, resulting detention or no. She trusted him even less than Harry, if that was possible, and grew more jumpy every time he came within a few feet of her boyfriend. Harry would've found her defensiveness comforting if it didn't give the overall impression that he couldn't defend himself against Draco if he needed to.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing, Harry," Draco said, ignoring Hermione. "When we talked yesterday, you were a little quiet."
"I have nothing to say to you," Harry said simply. He put on his own fake smile. "Unless you have some news of your...family to share with me."

"I wish she'd told me something," Draco said. "She hasn't talked to me since Friday."

"How exactly is she talking to you?" Hermione asked. Harry could feel her anger growing and took her hand in his. He shifted closer to her as they leaned against Professor Lupin's desk.

"Don't worry about that."

"How can we not worry about it?" Harry asked. "You want me to trust you, you need to give me a real reason. After all the time we've been friends, you can't expect me to overlook your betrayal and believe you want to go back to the way things used to be." Draco flinched at the word betrayal and Harry fought the urge to smile. A few more comments like that and the little faker would crack and show his true self.

The smile gone, Draco studied Harry's face for a long moment, his eyes lingering on the lightening bolt scar. "We haven't been close for a long while now and I think you know why," Draco said. He didn't look directly at Hermione as he said this; Harry winced when she squeezed his fingers. "I don't know what you want from me. You want me to give you a reason to trust me, but I need a reason to trust you again," he said. "You claim you weren't responsible for what happened to my father, but you aren't exactly defending me to Dumbledore. I'm not responsible for what he did. I'm not responsible for Aunt Bella. Just like no one is blaming you for what your stepfather did."

Harry's eyes narrowed at that, but he didn't respond, preferring to let Draco expose his motives, if that was where this was headed. He had half a mind to stop him as the whole thing was sounding more ridiculous by the minute. But, it was almost amusing these days to see just how people who wanted his trust went about proving they should have it. If Dumbledore's reasons involved a never ending search for Horcruxes and the fulfillment of an ominous prophecy, whatever Malfoy had to say might prove equally interesting.

"I don't see why you and I can't take ourselves out of whatever they were up to and whatever Aunt Bella is doing now," Draco said to Harry's surprise. "We don't have to be involved. I'm sure if you take yourself out of whatever's going on, Dumbledore won't force me to spy on her and then maybe we can talk about being friends again. In spite of all that's happened."

"Whatever's going on?" Harry asked. "Don't tell me your dear aunt still hasn't explained things to you. Or Dumbledore."

"Not in so many words," Draco replied. "I know the Key is important, but I was never told why they wanted it."

Harry lifted his copy of the Daily Prophet and threw it at Draco. He waited for the other boy to scan the front page. "You may not have known everything, but you must know your father was a Death Eater. That's their doing." Draco's eyes lifted from the page to study Harry's face again. "You're not naive," Harry said. "It may not be common knowledge, but it can't be a secret in your own house."

"What does that have to do with--?"

"With a few dozen people getting hurt or killed the past few days? Before Professor Snape was killed, your father arranged for a few Death Eaters to be broken out of Azkaban," Harry said. He waved down Draco's pending interruption. "I don't know why Dumbledore only charged him with trying to kill me, but the breakout was in the Prophet a couple of weeks ago. They--your aunt, your father and Snape--had been working to bring Voldemort back."

Harry was surprised to see Draco flinch at the name the same way Ron and most others did. Belatedly, he remembered that very few people referred to him as anything but the Dark Lord, even his own followers.

"That's not possible," Draco said. "He's been gone since--"

"Since he tried to kill Neville," Harry said. "I'm not going to get into the details of why, but he's going to do it again, once they're able to bring him back into a body." He motioned to the paper Draco held. "These kinds of killings on Muggles are going to spread everywhere, with Muggle-borns and so-called blood traitors added to the numbers. Voldemort is going to try to kill Neville again and maybe me and Dumbledore and anyone else who'd stand against him."

Harry frowned, remembering the picture he'd been shown of the members of the first Order of the Phoenix, the majority of whom had been dead within months of the picture being taken. He took a deep breath and prepared to say something to Draco he never would've imagined saying before.

"I don't know if it even matters to you. You're Pure-blood and two members of your family are high in Voldemort's inner circle. But, this matters to me. I can't sit by and let him come back and kill all these people. I can't watch him try to take over the Wizarding world and turn me and people like me into slaves or kill us all off." Hermione squeezed Harry's hand and his voice rose. "I'm not going to stand by and watch while he and everyone who supports him destroy everything we know and love. This is the family legacy your aunt wants you to protect."

Steeling himself, he looked into Draco's eyes and added, "I'm not going to be friends with someone who isn't firmly on my side. Dumbledore shouldn't have to force you to spy and I shouldn't have to feel I need to watch my back whenever you're around," Harry said. "You want to know why I continue questioning whether we can be friends? Now you know everything you need to know. Either you're on my side or you aren't. And if you're not, not only will I not care if you get locked up for helping your aunt, when it comes down to a battle, I will not spare you from whatever I have to do to protect myself and my friends." His voice was quiet now, but the words rang with a powerful clarity that bespoke the conviction Harry felt.

"I don't expect you to make a decision now, but you need to do it soon," Harry said. "There's not much that can be said for being on the side of Death Eaters, but standing in the middle is just as bad in my book. Besides, you're not the type to not have an opinion one way or the other. I expect we'll know how you really feel soon enough." When Harry finished, he was gratified to see that Draco looked shaken by all he said, though he masked his surprise quickly. He could practically see the other boy thinking through his words, attempting to come up with some response on the spot to the information he'd been given. After a minute, Draco merely nodded, his eyes dropping briefly.

"I'm going to talk to my aunt again later," Draco said. "If you want to know what side I'm on, you'll find out soon enough." He turned to walk away and then stopped, turning back to Harry. "Thank you for being honest with me. It's sad that you feel like you have to question my loyalty to my friends, but--"

"I'm not questioning that," Harry said, cutting him off. "But, as you said, we haven't been close for a while. Your loyalty is divided, mine isn't. You heard what I have to say about it. I'm not going to change my mind. It's up to you to decide what you stand for and what you'll stand against."

Before Draco could counter this with another defense of his loyalty or something similar, voices were heard in the hall just before Neville, Ron, Lavender and Parvati walked into the room, loudly talking and laughing. The smiles quickly dropped as they spotted Draco with Harry and Hermione, Neville scowling the most as he slipped his hand into his pocket. Quickly, Draco slipped out of the room, leaving behind a tension Harry knew he'd feel until his so-called friend exposed the real person behind that cool mask. He only hoped Draco could see past the way he'd been raised enough to even consider the other side. He couldn't imagine having to kill someone again, but if he had to, he'd have no trouble taking out a threat closer to him than Snape had ever been.

"What was he doing here?" Neville asked.

"He's been around for days," Lavender said. "Haven't you noticed?" She glanced at Harry. "Something else you haven't told us? This is the person whose word you trust?" she asked Neville.

"Would you just stop it?" Hermione said. She stood from the desk and came forward, pointing a finger at Lavender. "I'm sick of you and this stupid attitude where Harry is concerned. He's almost been killed by a member of Draco's family and his aunt is aiming to try it again and you want to know if Draco and Harry have some sort of secret friendship going? I always suspected you might be a little simple since you never have anything more complicated to talk about than which lipstick goes better with your favorite shirt, but I never thought you'd try to prove it to me."

"Now, hold on," Parvati started.

"No!" Hermione said. "I don't know how much Neville has told you, but this is a life or death situation. I don't care if you trust Harry or not, but you will not get in the way if he wants to help Neville. He's my friend too and dealing with your silliness is the last thing he needs if he's going to beat this."

"Beat what?" Lavender asked. Her eyes had filled with tears and her hands began shaking; her eyes drifted to Neville. "Everyone knows what's going on but me and I'm tired of being left in the dark." Absently, she brushed Hermione's hand down, turning to face her boyfriend fully as her tears began falling. "I'm not going to do it anymore. I'm not going to write to your grandmother. I'm not going to question what's going on with you and Harry. I'm not going to ask Ron or anyone else what you should've told me ages ago. What am I going to do is go upstairs and wait until you decide I'm important enough to be let it on the big secret." She held up a hand before he could speak. "Until then, I don't want you to say anything else to me."

Lavender turned back to Hermione. "It's nice that you finally told me what you really think of me. I always suspected you thought you were better than us, not just smarter, but I thought you'd prove me wrong one day." She turned and walked from the room. Parvati looked around at them, a mixture of anxiousness and confusion on her face. After a hesitant glance at Ron and Neville, she quickly followed Lavender.

Hermione turned to Neville, her anger from moments before gone. "I'm sorry, Neville. If I'd known she was going to react that way--"

"No, Hermione. Don't worry about it," Neville said. "That's been coming for days. You know she actually told Gran I was deliberately getting into a life-threatening situation or some such rubbish? I don't even know if I can tell her what's going on with You-Know-Who if she's going to act this nutty over something as small as Harry and I working together."

"Still, I'm sorry," Hermione said again. "I doubt she'd want to, but I can talk to her if you want me to."

"I'd much rather practice," Neville said. "Let Parvati deal with her for now. I have a lot to think about with that girl and it'll go better if I can take a few swings at Harry in the meantime," he said with a small smile.

"You forget, I'm not going easy on you anymore. You may need Ron to protect you once I really get warmed up," Harry said.

"Aw, big words from someone who took a pretty hefty spill yesterday," Neville remarked.

Harry grinned as he remembered the lucky jinx Neville had gotten in. "Don't worry about me. Tonight, the real defense practice begins."

A short time later, Professor Lupin arrived and practice began in earnest, Neville and Harry challenging each other in the center of the room while Ron and Hermione dueled on the side. Harry found his focus slipping every few minutes as he thought over what he'd said to Draco. His speech had been unplanned but had come out more organized and honest that he might have achieved if he'd thought about it overmuch. There really wasn't much more to be said. If Draco was to be...well, not trusted, but at least considered as a possible source of information, he couldn't be on the fence about what his aunt was up to. Too many lives depended on what happened over the next few weeks or months.

Before he knew what was happening, Harry was flat on his back, pain radiating through his head from where it had connected with the floor. He grimaced as Neville helped him up.

"Even I know you were distracted on that one," Neville said. "Want to go again or talk about it?"

Harry shook his head, wincing at the small amount of pain. He'd be visiting Madam Pomfrey again before the night was over. "I'd rather just watch these two," he said, motioning to Ron and Hermione.

They'd begun circling each other on the side of the room, moving wider as Neville and Harry propped themselves against the front desk with Professor Lupin. Hermione was getting better with her hexes and defensive spells, more confident than he'd ever seen her since they'd decided to have the practices every day. After the first couple of days, Harry had stopped giving her tips, preferring instead to watch her natural fighting style emerge. Her confidence had carried over outside the nighttime practices, a fact which Harry had begun enjoying. It wasn't having quite the same affect on everyone else, if her earlier conversation with Lavender was taken into consideration.

Ron had been putting on a good show of "letting" Hermione win, but Harry could tell how much it bothered him that she beat him every day, faster each time. It brought back a flood of memories of their Dumbledore's Army meetings, particularly when Fred and George started taking bets on whether Ron would lose to Hermione or their sister Ginny. Soon, the ongoing bet became how quickly it would happen, even when Ron had become a stronger fighter. Watching Hermione smile as she concentrated on her next spell, Harry grinned in response, knowing she'd fell him as easily as if she'd been practicing for months.

"It's Draco," Harry said to Neville. He looked at the other boy briefly to make sure he was paying attention. "Before you got here, I finally told him a little bit about what's going on and that he had to make a choice between our side or his family."

"That sounds pretty intense," Neville said. "If he tells you he's chosen us, how will you know to believe him?" Neville and Harry winced in unison as Hermione hit Ron with a Stinging Hex.

"Don't know," Harry replied. "I suppose I could dose him with a truth serum every time I see him." Harry grinned when Professor Lupin turned to eye him, just catching the end of his sentence. "I have a feeling that would be frowned upon," Harry said, nodding at his professor. "Professor McGonagall would skin me alive if I ever tried it."

"From what you've told me, wouldn't someone else be more likely to do that? And enjoy it immensely?" Neville asked.

Harry shrugged. "I don't doubt that she won't try at least once before this whole thing is over with."

"One of these days," Lupin said, "You're going to have to tell me the rest of the story about what's happening. I understand that your former professor is spearheading a return for Voldemort, but I don't get why you and Neville are connected to it all."

Harry licked his lips slowly, contemplating how much he could tell the werewolf without inspiring the same kind of looks he'd been getting from his classmates for longer than he cared to remember. "How about if I tell you more about it at another time?" Harry asked. "It'll be a long talk. Maybe this weekend. Definitely not a school night. I think I ought to give you an opportunity to get yourself a stiff drink beforehand."

Neville laughed. "He'll need more than one."

"Is that right?" Lupin asked. "Now I'm really looking forward to it."

A scream from the center of the room drew their attention and they all turned in time to see Hermione blow Ron off his feet. His wand flew out of his hand and he slid on his back across the floor, stopping a foot before the desk. Laughing, Hermione jogged over and helped Ron up.

"I'm sorry. Did that hurt?" she asked.

"You know bloody well it did," he said, his mouth pulling into a small pout. He rubbed at the back of his head and neck with one hand. "I have no idea where you get the strength to hurl anyone like that, with the way you used to do Shields and other simple spells."

"Used to," Hermione retorted. "And it's not as if I have to pick you up and actually throw you. It's a matter of focus, really." She grinned at him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Too bad for you, you don't really have the mental strength to fight me. Not a fair fight, I'm afraid."

"What?" Ron asked. His ears turned red at the tips and Harry groped in his pocket for his wand, not sure if Ron was merely upset enough to argue or if he was about to show Hermione a little payback. "Just because I don't want to hurt a girl--"

"Oh, right!" Hermione said. When she laughed again, Ron's face began turning a deep shade of red. "If you could beat me, you would, if only to rub it in my face. Just admit you can't beat a girl and I'll try to go easier on you next time."

"I can beat a girl, I just don't want Harry coming after me if you get hurt," Ron said, jabbing a finger in Harry's direction. Harry was glad he didn't turn at that moment or he'd have seen his roommates laughing behind their hands as they watched the exchange. Harry could hardly believe it, but it was like watching them as he had for years, bickering over the smallest thing and enjoying every minute of it, whether they wanted to admit it or not.

"Harry won't come after you because you'll never beat me. You can't bring yourself to confront a girl about anything, let alone defend yourself against one," Hermione said.

"What? Yes, I--"

"You can't even ask Parvati out and the girl's been drooling over you for nearly a year. You only asked her to the Yule Ball because your best friend was going with her best friend," Hermione said, motioning towards Neville. "Don't think she doesn't know that. She likes you in spite of it. Says you're funny and the two of you had a great time. She even said she thinks you're pretty cute." Hermione paused, restraining a laugh as Ron looked away from her in embarrassment. "I guess she meant when you're not whining and making excuses about a girl beating you."
Ron's eyes shot up. He took several deep breaths, his nostrils flaring warningly. He turned towards the desk. "Harry, you better get your girlfriend before she lands herself in trouble." With one last glare at Hermione, Ron walked across the room to get his wand.

"Aw, whatever you say, Ronald," Hermione called to him as he left. "Just let me know when you're ready and I'll take it slow for you." The slam of the classroom door was her only response. Hermione turned back to the three wizards behind her, all of whom were laughing uncontrollably as she walked closer and into Harry's arms.

"You really shouldn't tease him like that," Harry said. "He may not look it, but he's pretty sensitive about some things."

Hermione kissed him briefly, still laughing. "I'm sorry, but he was kind of asking for it. You heard what he said to me at breakfast about wearing protective padding the next time we duel. Who was he kidding?"

"It's too bad I can't be here tomorrow," Lupin said. "I'm kind of looking forward to the rematch. I have a feeling it'll get interesting."

"Why can't you be here?" Neville asked.

"The first night of the full moon is tomorrow night, isn't it?" Hermione asked. "I'd almost forgotten it."

Alarmed, Lupin looked at the faces of all three students, searching for the fear and shock he'd come to expect when people knew about his condition. "Who told you?"

"Harry," Hermione responded immediately.

Lupin's eyes narrowed on the boy next to him. "And how did you find out? I know Professor McGonagall didn't announce that to any of the other students and I'm fairly certain your mother wouldn't have discussed it with you."

"I...remember when I said I owe you a long talk this weekend about what's going on and my part in it?" Harry asked. "The story is...complicated. Let's just say I know a lot about quite a few people and the whole thing is connected. But don't worry, none of us will tell people your secret."

"Do Ron, Lavender and Parvati know?" Lupin asked.

"I've told Ron everything, but Lavender..." Neville sighed. "I haven't told her anything of Harry's story. If I do, I can leave out the details about you," he added.

"I'd appreciate that," Lupin said. "You'll have an Auror at the school in the morning to teach my classes and she's agreed to supervise your practices. She'll probably offer you better tips than I could. After watching you the past few days, I'm starting to wonder if anyone but an Auror could teach you anything."

Harry grinned. "You're doing fine."

Hermione giggled and snuggled closer in his arms. "Harry, you know the only reason Professor McGonagall has him supervising is because it would look strange if there wasn't a teacher here. No offense, Professor Lupin, but it's not as if Harry doesn't have the experience to do this."

"I'm going to assume that's more of the long story I'll be hearing later, then?"

Harry nodded in response to his question.

"Fine. Would you mind putting the desks and chairs back?" Lupin asked. "I've still got some packing to do before my portkey activates and I don't want to miss it. Dumbledore has arranged for the use of a house in the mountains that's supposed to be pretty secure. Isolated, but that's to be expected."

"I suppose anything's better than the Shrieking Shack," Harry said, earning himself another long look from his professor.

"Yes," Lupin said, "Our conversation is going to be quite interesting." Waving goodbye to the students, he picked up his wand and ducked out of the classroom, followed quickly by Neville.

"Don't let it bother you," Hermione said Lupin was gone.

"Hmm?"

"Draco, don't let the talk you had earlier bother you," she repeated. One hand drifted to the crystal hanging around her neck. "I know it's weighing on you, but you had to say something to him. It was a sight calmer than I might have managed, but it had to be done."

"I know," Harry said, "but that doesn't make it any easier to think about. I never wanted him to know that what she's doing might eventually get both me and Neville killed, but I had to do it. If I was ever in a position close to his, I would want all the facts so I could make an honest decision about what I wanted to do." Harry sighed. "I know it's only Draco Malfoy, but it wouldn't be fair to ask anyone to choose without knowing all of the possible consequences. It's going to affect the rest of his life--and mine. I couldn't live with myself if I'd asked him to make it without the truth."

Hermione stiffened in his arms. Her eyes drifted down as Harry pushed her away so he could look at her face. Her gaze was glued to the space around her feet. "What's wrong?"

"I can't do this," she said. Reminded of Lavender's ultimatum, Harry had to force himself not to panic, suddenly sure Hermione would tell him she couldn't be involved with him knowing the odds against his living if Bellatrix succeeded in getting Voldemort back into human form. This whole situation could be worse--and less hopeful--than the curse Snape had ordered put on him, but Harry wanted to believe Hermione was maintaining her positive outlook. He'd known something was bothering her over the past week or so, but he'd thought it had been about his undeclared feelings, not any real reluctance on her part.

"Whatever you're worried about, don't," Hermione said. "It's not that."

"It's not what?"

"It's not something you can easily guess," Hermione responded, her voice thick. When she looked up at Harry again, her eyes were filled with tears. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner. I was hoping...to tell the truth, I don't really know. Maybe I was hoping to be wrong about something that seems so obvious. I was thinking there's an easy way out of this, that it doesn't seem as hopeless as I keep imagining. But then, if that was the case, Dumbledore would've told you straight out instead of telling me he'd try to look for other answers and never really coming up with anything."
Dumbledore? That's what she's crying over? "Slow down, Hermione. Tell me what the problem is," Harry said. "It can't be that bad."

"It is, Harry. It's the worst possible thing you can imagine," she said. She blinked rapidly and tears spilled down her face. "Do you remember the last day you were in the hospital, when Dumbledore was telling us about someone breaking into Professor Lestrange's office and how she could bring You-Know-Who back?"

"I remember," he said slowly.

"He was explaining to us about the Horcruxes and he said you and Neville have a connection to them no one else has," Hermione said.

"You got very upset," Harry said, recalling how she'd screamed out during the explanation. "Is this why you're upset? Because you don't think we'll find them all? If there are only three--"

"There are only three," Hermione said. "One is that cup Draco was telling us about. Dumbledore thinks it might have belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. The other two were accidents."

"Accidents? How is that even possible?"

Hermione swallowed hard. "Apparently, he'd split his soul so often, it truly was unstable." She closed her eyes and tears fell faster from beneath the lids. Harry pulled her to him as she sobbed, frightened of whatever she'd been holding back all this time if it could make her lose control like this. "Dumbledore said he wanted to tell you that day," she whispered. "He didn't because of how I reacted. That's what he says, anyway." She stood straight again and looked Harry in the eyes. Her gaze drifted to the scar on his forehead and she moved her fingers over it, tracing the bright red mark as she said, "You're a Horcrux, Harry."

He blinked hard, sure he'd misheard her.

"You and Neville. He killed your parents the same way, in the t-time you left and in our past. Your mother protected you in a way that had never been done before and the spell rebounded on Voldemort." Hermione looked back into his eyes again and let her hand drop to his shoulder. "It was a kind of powerful ancient magic that protected you from the curse, but the portion of his soul that had been in his body connected to the only living being in that room when his body was gone."

"That doesn't make any sense, that doesn't..." Harry let his voice fade out as he thought of all the strange happenings that had taken place since he'd started at Hogwarts. The pain he felt any time Voldemort was near him, the connection between their wands, the ease with which he felt Voldemort's feelings or shared his thoughts. Something inside him went cold. There had to be another explanation than...being a vessel for the man who would see him dead.

"Obviously, he can't use it to hurt you because he's not even aware of what he's done," Hermione said. "Or he wasn't when he was inside that snake the other week. If Professor Lestrange knew--"

"She'd use it against us somehow," Harry finished, his voice low.

"She'd kill you without hesitating is my guess. That's the crux of the problem, Harry," Hermione said. "He can't truly be gone for good as long as you and Neville protect pieces of his soul, even unknowingly."

"So, if something were to happen to me now, would that mean the piece of Voldemort's soul inside me could take over my body?" Harry asked. "It sounds like that's what you're saying. If Bellatrix puts the portion of soul she has into a body right now and Neville and I destroy it, that leaves the two pieces we have. But, if we live however long and then die, does that mean he won't die and could stay alive within us? If Dumbledore isn't sure, wouldn't someone have to kill us to find out?"

"I don't know how that would work out, but I didn't like the way he was talking about destroying the Horcruxes," Hermione said. "He told me he's looking for a way to get it out of you that wouldn't kill you, but after the way he spoke to me the other day--"

"When we left you in Professor McGonagall's office?"

Hermione nodded. "I don't know that he is looking for a way to save you. I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you said he might be setting you up. I thought Dumbledore, of all people, would want to save every life he could. He's the Minister of Magic, isn't his job to protect everyone?"

"Maybe he thinks sacrificing two people is worth it if Voldemort can never come to power again. Can you imagine if it were to happen, if Neville or I died and instead of our bodies blowing apart the way Voldemort's did, he could just take over? Take over our lives until he could rise up again?"

"Like a Muggle horror movie," Hermione said, shuddering at the thought.

"Don't tell him you've told me," Harry said suddenly. "I want to see just what kind of lies he'll feed me before I'm able to squeeze the truth out of him."

"He's never lied, just told you parts of the truth," Hermione said. "That's not the only thing that has me worried. What if he told Draco to tell this to his aunt? You said You-Know-Who only heard a part of the prophecy, right? If she were to learn this, she might think killing the two of you is the best way to fulfill the prophecy. In a way, it would be the same thing. Neither can live while the other survives. The portion of soul she has is safe, but either of you could destroy the one you have. Or die along with it. Then she could bring him back without having to worry about either of you being a threat."

"That makes sense," Harry said. "I still want to hear more about it from Dumbledore, though. There's obviously more to this than what he's told either of us and what you might have guessed. I wonder if Professor McGonagall is willing to help me anymore."

"What do you mean? Of course she is," Hermione stated. "She doesn't know about this part of it, but I'm sure she'd help."

"Are you sure of any of the adults anymore?" Harry asked. "Right now I'm only sure of Professor Lupin, my mum and Sirius and that's only because he hasn't gotten to them yet."

"She can still be trusted," Hermione stated firmly. "I can't imagine she'd suddenly trust him wholeheartedly after the disaster that happened the other week..."

The rest of what she said was lost to Draco as he moved away from the classroom door, a contemplative smile on his pale face. So much to think about. He would definitely write to his aunt once he got downstairs and hopefully know how to proceed from her response. Choosing Dumbledore and everyone doing his bidding was not the best option, but if this didn't earn him her respect and his rightful place as her equal, his choice would be clear. Aunt Bella couldn't keep him sidelined for long. Either she elevated his position or got out of his way. If Voldemort was going to change the order of the Wizarding world soon, there would only be a select number of places at the top. Draco planned to make sure he'd secured one of them.