Author: skarch86

Rating: NC-17 

Warnings: some graphic violence, implied violence, character deaths (none of the main ones) 

Notes: Thanks to periazhad for beta'ing, alexia75 for Britpicking, violetfishy for reading, s8219 for letting me whine, and bellamorte19 for being there since the beginning. Also to my f-list, for their patience and support. 





"Run, Draco!" 

He ran as fast as his feet could carry him. The trembling didn't help him and he tripped, landing flat on his face. Forcing himself to get up, he managed to make it to the school gates just when he heard a loud screech and the flapping of enormous wings. The oaf's bloody chicken. Turning around, he saw someone on the ground and Snape running towards the gates. Within seconds Snape was at his side, yelling "Grab my arm!" And in his state of panic and confusion, he did... 

Suddenly, everything went black. He felt the air around him pressing him, forcing the oxygen out of his lungs. Before he knew it, he was gasping for breath. Draco opened his eyes and confirmed that he wasn't at Hogwarts anymore. 

His voice was a strained whisper. "Where are we?" Draco hoped they weren't going to meet the Dark Lord. He knew that wasn't going to end well and he wasn't sure if Snape was still willing to protect him.  His thoughts jumbled together, most of them incoherent. 

"Spinner's End. Shut up and follow me," Snape ordered him sharply. 

Draco followed him numbly, still in shock.  The functioning part of his brain noticed that every house seemed to be falling apart. Surely the Dark Lord wouldn't be hiding among Muggles. Draco assumed that his life was probably not threatened at the present time. Snape stopped at the very last house, motioning for Draco to stay outside. He opened the door, aimed his wand and yelled "Stupefy!" 

A thump in the house made Draco release a breath he didn't know he was holding. Snape grabbed his sleeve and forced him into the house. 

Draco followed Snape automatically around the house as he took a bag and started tossing things haphazardly in it. 

"Listen to me very carefully," said Snape slowly, as though waiting for every word to sink in. "If you want to survive, you'll do whatever I tell you. The Dark Lord will hear what happened tonight. He will want you dead. I can hide you. Do you want me to?" 

"But my mother? My—my father..." Crap. All this effort and they were all going to die in the end. The Malfoy family reunion in the afterlife would be very pleasant. 'Hello, Mother. You're dead because I couldn't kill someone. Oh, look, there's Father. He'll be pleased to know that he would still be alive if his own failures hadn't brought me into this mess in the first place.'  

"Your father is safe. The Dark Lord cannot hurt him in Azkaban. Your mother is a different matter. I can protect her, but only if you agree to follow my instructions." Snape's tone was as close to soothing as Snape's voice could get, but it wasn't enough to ease Draco's panic. 

"Yes. I'll do anything. Just don't let her get hurt," Draco replied, still in shock from everything that had happened. 

"Good," Snape said flatly. He pointed his wand at the bag and the fastenings clicked. 

Countless questions were floating in Draco's mind. He had no idea which one he should ask first, so he looked around him, trying to think of something. 

"Professor, who is that fat lump lying unconscious on the sofa?" he asked when he spotted someone sprawled gracelessly on the tattered cushions. Why didn't he notice him before? He really should start paying attention if he was going to run away from everyone. 

"Wormtail." Draco was about to ask who that was, but Snape interrupted him before the words left his mouth. "Peter Pettigrew." 

"Peter Pettigrew?" Draco squeaked. Fantastic. They had just knocked out the Dark Lord's lapdog. Smooth escape, really.  

"Yes." Snape drawled. There was a glint in his eyes that Draco thought was amusement. How could Snape be laughing at him in a situation like that? 

"But...but...he's going to tell Him!" He would start hyperventilating any minute now, he could feel it. Clearly luck was not at his side that night. 

"Draco. Get a grip on yourself. He was sleeping before the hex hit him, so he has no idea what happened. It just bought us time. The Dark Lord will not hear anything useful from him. Now follow me. I still have to hide you and your mother before I report to the Dark Lord." 

::

They Apparated in front of an abandoned shack, hidden in the middle of a forest. Snape used his wand to unlock the door and ordered Draco to stay in there until he got back, almost slamming the door to his face. 

Draco sighed. Even though he was exhausted, he felt like he wouldn't be able to sleep. The events of that night were too much for him to handle, so he pushed those thoughts away, trying to make himself comfortable. That is, after he Scourgified a corner of the room, throwing in a couple Cushioning Charms for good measure. It worked. Within minutes he was falling asleep, tightening the hold on his wand as he did so. 

He didn't move until the next morning. Right in the middle of a bizarre dream, which included Chocolate frogs, a rabid Krup and a Weird Sisters' concert, the Krup started barking like mad and he was suddenly brought back to reality. Well, almost. 

"Draco, wake up!" the Krup barked and started morphing into Snape, until Draco opened his eyes, only to come face to face with a large crooked nose. 

Draco jolted and his head knocked against the wall. He looked around the room and then glared at Snape, rubbing his head where he was sure a bump would appear later. So that's who was actually barking... Draco would have started sniggering by now if he was in an entirely different situation, but he was on the run right now and his family was in danger.  

"How's my mother?" he asked, now fully awake. 

"Anyone who tries to find her at the Manor will think she has disappeared. But she is actually hiding in the cellars." 

Draco frowned. 

"You're actually expecting my mother to live down there?" he scoffed. Not in a century. Narcissa would never abandon her rooms to stay underground, surrounded by Lucius' wine collection. Even if she drank half of the bottles, she wouldn't be plastered enough to put up with it.  

"Of course not. She's under the Fidelius charm. I'm the Secret Keeper. She will hide in the cellars for a few days, just until everyone thinks she has run away, and then she will start using the rest of the house again. I informed the house elves. They will do their best to take care of her, I'm sure." 

"Oh. Professor..." He had to ask. It didn't matter if he sounded like a child. His mother got on his nerves ever since Lucius got locked up in Azkaban, but now that they were in danger more than ever, he felt that he needed to see her again. Even if it was just to reassure him that he hadn't gone through all that trouble for nothing. 

"Yes, Draco?" 

"Will I see her soon?" There. It wasn't so difficult.  

"I hope so, Draco. I hope so." 

::

Harry was back at the Dursleys. Because Dumbledore wanted him to. Every night he dreamed of the night Dumbledore died—"No! He was murdered!" he corrected himself. The dream always started at the cave, at the point where he forced Dumbledore to drink the emerald liquid from the basin. And it always ended on the top of the Astronomy Tower, with Snape firing the Killing Curse at Dumbledore and throwing him off the tower. Every time Harry woke up screaming like he did that night. Or at least feeling like he was screaming even though, like that night, he never made a sound. 

After every dream, he saw the same images replaying in his mind. Dumbledore's face when he drank the emerald liquid and when he was pleading with Snape and...the image of Dumbledore blasted into the air...the image of Malfoy lowering his wand....Snape's face right before he killed Dumbledore... 

The Dursleys had stopped pestering him. Maybe they had realised that something was wrong. Harry would bet all his Galleons that it was probably because they would get rid of him permanently after his birthday. He still had to help with the housework, but only Aunt Petunia talked to him and her words were along the lines of "Wash the car" and "Do the dishes". Uncle Vernon just grunted when he saw him and Dudley was out of the house all day. 

This was probably an improvement. 

Harry himself hadn't spoken more than five times during the last weeks. He focused all his energy into thinking about the remaining Horcruxes. Every thought brought him to a dead end. He just couldn't imagine where Voldemort could have hidden them. 

He thought of ways to torture Snape at least twice a day. Each scenario ended with a badly injured Snape at Harry's feet, begging for his life. And each time Harry aimed his wand at him, bellowed, "Avada Kedavra," and watched Snape's face as he died. 

Harry really believed he could do it. 

Ron and Hermione sent him letters at least three times a week. Hermione would go to the Burrow a few days before Harry. Maybe things will work out between Ron and her. He smiled. He couldn't wait to be with his best friends and the Weasleys again. And Ginny—he wanted to see Ginny again. Although they had broken up, he missed her, but he knew that he couldn't be involved with anyone, at least until he killed Voldemort. 

Voldemort. It always came down to him. 

Harry knew he wouldn't be able to rest until he made sure Voldemort was gone for good. So many people had suffered because of him. It was his responsibility not to let others have the same fate. That thought kept him going as he washed the car, dug the garden, scrubbed the pans, made the beds... 

Like now, when the Dursleys had just finished their dinner and he was left alone in the kitchen to clean up after them. He thought of Voldemort and attacked the pan with the scourer. 

Panting, he looked up and saw the full moon through the window. 

::

After living in the abandoned shack for a few days, Draco started getting used to it. Needless to say, he hated the place and wished it looked more like his rooms at the Manor, but if living under these circumstances was the only way to stay alive he was more than willing to do it. 

Snape was away most of the time. He usually came once every two or three days to check up on Draco and bring him food. But he didn't talk much. 

Draco was getting bored. 

That was why he started leaving the shack for a walk in the forest. Every time he walked even further than he had before. He was sure Snape would be furious when he found out. However, neither that nor his fear of wild animals and unknown forests was enough to discourage him. Boredom made him restless. 

That afternoon, like he had done many times before, Draco pocketed his wand and left the shack. After fifteen minutes of following a path through the trees, he finally reached the river. He looked at the sun. "About an hour until sunset," he thought. 

A breeze rustled the leaves of some nearby bushes. Draco shivered. 

Halfway through his walk he felt like he was being watched. He shook off that feeling and blamed the breeze for making the hairs on the back of his neck stand. After all, it was the middle of July. He was sweaty and he felt chills at the back of his neck because of the wind. It was perfectly normal. 

It was perfectly normal. 

Repeating the same phrase in his head was probably not a good sign. 

Especially when someone grabbed him from behind and placed a bad-smelling hand on his mouth. 

During the last moment he had before panic overtook him, he glanced at the hand and saw the long yellowish nails. When he recognised them, he started screaming and thrashing immediately. 

::

Don't panic... It's not dark yet... 

He was tied on a tree five minutes before dark. On a full moon night. With Fenrir Greyback pacing calmly in front of him. 

"You know, the Dark Lord will be extremely pleased, no matter how this is going to turn out." 

Draco tried to speak through his gag, but he produced only a few muffled grunts. 

"There are two options, you know. One, I bite you and stop there. You turn into a werewolf." Greyback said, lifting a finger. "Or two, I bite you again and again and again, ripping the flesh off your bones, splattering your blood all over the place..." He looked dreamingly at the second finger he lifted. 

Draco wanted to throw up. 

Greyback looked at him, continuing his speech. 

"Not that I'll be aware of what I'm doing...I don't tend to hang around my victims. But I've gathered that it's quite messy!" 

He emitted a disturbing bark-like laugh, just as darkness fell and the full moon appeared in the sky. 

The transformation started. 

Greyback started to shake. His head and body were lengthening; his shoulders were hunching; hair was sprouting on every visible patch of skin— 

The werewolf in front of Draco growled. 

Please, let me die... 

The beast lunged forwards. As its jaws locked around his calf, Draco let out a scream. It wasn't the pain that scared him, but the realisation that if he survived, he would have turned into a werewolf. A half-blood freak.  

He felt like ages had passed, though it was only seconds later when someone appeared out of nowhere and attacked the werewolf with an axe. The black robes that swirled around as that person landed the axe repeatedly on the wolf's back reminded Draco of Snape, and he hoped he was right. Pained howls pierced Draco's ears, his head was hurting, he didn't even feel his leg, blood was everywhere... 

The wolf let out a whimper and stopped moving. Finally Draco felt the ropes being removed from his body and strong arms supporting him, but he was dizzy and tired and just wanted to die. He thought he got his wish when everything around him blurred before turning black. 

::

Harry was in the hall of the Dursleys' house, sitting on his trunk. He glanced at his watch again. 

Eleven fifty. 

Dudley had gone out hours earlier. At this hour he would probably be in the park with his friends, beating up some poor kid who couldn't defend himself. Uncle Vernon was in the living room, watching something incredibly boring on the telly. Aunt Petunia was pacing nervously in the kitchen, occasionally poking her head in the hallway to look at him. 

Eleven fifty-two. 

The last minutes of his stay at the Dursleys seemed to last forever. In eight minutes, he would turn seventeen. He would have liked to celebrate his birthday with his friends, but since Dumbledore wanted him to stay there until then... 

Eleven fifty-three. 

Hedwig hooted softly from her cage. 

Harry realised he was fidgeting. 

He started humming a tune to take his mind off the wait. This cheered him up a little and he hummed louder. Aunt Petunia's head appeared in the kitchen doorway. 

"Shhh!" 

"Sorry..." Harry muttered. 

Eleven fifty-eight. 

Harry got up from his trunk and stood outside the living room. 

"Goodbye, Uncle Vernon!" 

  His uncle grunted, never taking his eyes off the telly. Harry went to the kitchen to find his aunt. 

"Goodbye, Aunt Petunia." 

She tried to scowl, but ended up nodding her head before turning her back on him. Harry returned to the hall to take his things and go outside. Just as the hands of the clock pointed at midnight, Harry looked at the house and saw a previously invisible barrier around it glowing softly for a moment before dissolving in golden sparks. 

He held his wand and lifted his arm. 

With a loud "bang", the Knight Bus appeared in front of him. 

::

Harry arrived at the Leaky Cauldron thirty minutes later. The ride had left him slightly dizzy, but thankfully Tom the innkeeper was there to help him with his things. He was probably bored out of his mind now that the Leaky Cauldron was empty most of the time. From what Harry had read in the Prophet, people were avoiding Diagon Alley even more than they had a year earlier. After what happened at Hogwarts, they believed that no place was safe anymore. Harry was glad of this, because it meant that no one would bother him. 

Tom led him to his room. When Harry was alone, he didn't even take his clothes off before collapsing onto the bed. He was asleep within minutes. 

::

Early the next morning, after an appetising breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry went to the Ministry of Magic. He wanted to get his Apparition license as soon as possible because he was sure he was going to need it during the next few months. 

Fortunately his test didn't last long and the Apparition Instructor seemed pleased with him. After completing his registration, which involved signing numerous Ministry forms, he made his way to Arthur Weasley's office. He was about to knock when the door opened and Arthur Weasley bumped into him. 

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't—" he started, but then broke into a wide smile as he saw Harry's face. "Harry! How are you? What are you doing here?" 

"Hello Mr. Weasley. I had some things to do here today before going to the Burrow and I thought I'd wait for you to get off work." 

"Ah, yes. Of course. Come in, come in! I won't be long." He motioned for Harry to enter the office and disappeared down the hallway. 

Harry sat on a chair in front of the desk. Mr. Weasley returned a few minutes later and picked up his cloak. They made a short stop at the Leaky Cauldron to get Harry's things and then made a Floo trip to the Burrow. 

::

As he walked out of the fireplace, Harry was suffocated by a squealing and bushy-haired head. 

"Hello, Hermione!" he tried to say, but his friend's hair muffled his voice. 

"Oh, Harry! Happy birthday! We missed you so much!" 

"For Merlin's sake, Hermione, stop it! You're choking him!" called Ron's voice. 

  Harry spent the next few hours catching up with his friends. The subject of Dumbledore's death was mercifully left out of the conversation and Harry started feeling better. He was with his best friends at the Burrow. Nothing could go wrong. 

That night Harry, Ron and Hermione had to go to bed early, as they had a long day ahead of them. Bill and Fleur's wedding would take place in the afternoon and everyone would assist the preparations to make sure everything was perfect. Even Ginny, who used to dislike Fleur, had talked during the entire dinner, going on and on about Fleur and Bill's robes and Aunt Muriel's tiara—"Goblin-made, of course. It looks beautiful on Fleur's hair, you have to see it!"  Harry suspected that her change of heart had to do with Fleur's reaction to Bill's injury.  

When Harry returned from the bathroom, Ron was already asleep with his mouth half open. Harry smiled and flopped onto his bed, falling asleep shortly after. 

::

"I'm so glad we can finally use magic!" said Ron, sitting on his chair in the garden. "If this had happened last year, we'd have to carry all this stuff! I get tired just by thinking about it!" 

Everything was ready for the wedding. Ron and Harry had set the chairs in the garden, Ginny had dragged Hermione to Fleur's room to help her get ready and the guests had started arriving. Harry thought it was like a Weasley convention; the amount of red heads walking around was making his eyes hurt. Of course, when Fleur's family got there the effect was blinding as the red heads mixed with the silver-blonde ones. Harry was glad that the crowd consisted of not only the Weasley and Delacour families. He wasn't sure his eyes could stand that much shiny hair everywhere. 

Tonks showing off her new hairstyle—and in a violent fluorescent green shade—didn't help the situation. 

Suddenly music surrounded them and everyone moved to their seats. Bill stood in front of the crowd, waiting for Fleur, who appeared moments later behind Ginny and Gabrielle. Hermione slid into a seat between Ron and Harry once Fleur had taken her spot next to Bill. 

Mrs. Weasley sniffled the entire ceremony. 

So did Fleur's mother, though she was doing a very good job of hiding it. 

Fleur looked stunning in her shining white robes. Bill couldn't take his eyes off her and his face looked so happy that no one seemed to care about the ugly scars marring it. As the ceremony ended, Bill planted a soft kiss on Fleur's lips and the guests applauded. 

As expected, the crowd proceeded to the tables within minutes. Harry's stomach growled. Maybe weddings have this effect, he thought. The guests all look like they could eat a Hippogriff.  

::

Snape reached the decrepit mansion as the sun disappeared behind a nearby forest. His Mark was burning and he felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Mentally cursing Voldemort's choice of attire for his followers, he reached the front door and murmured an incantation. The door opened, hinges creaking, and two other hooded figures beckoned him to enter. 

Voldemort was sitting in the dining room having a conversation in soft hisses with his snake. When he saw Snape approaching, he conjured a stool a few feet in front of his armchair. 

"Sit, Severus," he said, waving his unnaturally long and white fingers in the direction of the stool. 

Snape did as he was told. 

"Have you found the Malfoy boy yet?" Voldemort's voice echoed in the room. 

"No, Master. He seems to have disappeared." 

"And Narcissa?" 

"Narcissa as well. I suspect that he returned home after he escaped from me. The Manor seems to be empty. Her rooms indicate that she left in a hurry." 

"Is that so?" 

"Unfortunately, my Lord. I searched the entire house and found nothing but house-elves. Narcissa's wardrobe was half-empty, as was the one in her son's room." 

"Ah, yes...And what are your thoughts on this matter?" 

"I believe they have left the country. So far, no one has been able to locate them in England. It's probable that they're hiding in France. I know Lucius has some connections there, people who might be willing to hide Narcissa and Draco." 

"I see...Your next mission will be to investigate this possibility." 

"Yes, my Lord." 

Voldemort emitted a slow hiss and his snake stirred before slithering away. When the end of its tail finally disappeared from the doorway, Voldemort shifted a little and leaned towards Snape. 

"Severus, I have received some rather...unpleasant news. It appears that Fenrir Greyback is dead." 

::

An hour later Snape was entering the abandoned Muggle building in the middle of nowhere, where he kept Draco hidden. After Greyback's attack, Snape had wasted no time and quickly found a new hiding place, which he warded heavily to avoid other unwanted visitors, although he still had no idea how Greyback had found them to begin with. Passing through the protective barriers he had placed, he climbed the creaking stairs and went to the second door in the first floor corridor. 

Draco was lying on a dirty mattress, tangled in some ragged sheets they had found. He was thrashing around, panting, and Snape was at his side immediately, placing a hand on his forehead. Great. He's burning up.  

"Draco, wake up." 

No response. 

"Wake up!" he barked. 

Draco opened his eyes abruptly. His gaze seemed unfocused for a while, until he looked at Snape. 

"What...?" he croaked. 

"You have a fever. Move, I need to check on your leg." 

Draco obeyed. 

"What—" he stopped to clear his throat. "What happened?" 

"The Dark Lord knows that Greyback is dead. He's not very pleased about it." 

"Oh." Draco flinched when Snape placed some healing salve on his wound. "How does it look?" he asked when Snape was done. 

"Horrible, just like it should look. And your face has turned into an alarming shade of green." 

"Slytherin colour." Draco tried to smirk. 

"I wouldn't say so. It's more like the colour of armadillo bile." 

Draco's smirk faded and he glared at Snape before sinking back in his mattress. 

::

Harry was walking between Ron and Hermione as they headed towards the village. It was fun, he thought, standing between them watching as once in a while one would cast a quick glance at the other and immediately turn away. One of these days he would have to talk to them about it. 

At the village they bought ice creams and sat on a bench to eat them, watching people as they passed by. The wedding had provided enough material to keep them entertained even two weeks later. They still laughed between licks of ice cream at remembering that evening's events. 

"Still, I can't believe Aunt Muriel threw herself at Fleur's cousin! Did you see the guy's face?" Ron's smile revealed some chocolate chips stuck on his teeth. 

"Honestly, Ron! You're such a pig!" 

Harry laughed at Hermione's remark. 

"Why? What did I say?" Ron tried to sound hurt. 

"Ron, seriously. You have to look at your teeth!" 

  Ron turned around to look at the window behind them. When he saw the state of his teeth, he turned at the others and glared. Then he pointedly looked straight ahead, avoiding their eyes. 

"Thanks for mocking me," he muttered. 

Harry and Hermione looked at each other shortly and started apologising to him. 

"Ron, I didn't mean to—" 

"Ron, mate, don't—" 

Ron turned his head slowly and smirked at them. 

"I can't believe you fell for that!!" 

  Harry's eyes went as wide as dinner plates, while Hermione's narrowed dangerously. Letting out a growl, they both jumped at Ron and started tickling him, making him drop his half-eaten ice cream on the ground. 

::

That night the three of them were sitting in the garden, sharing some Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen washing the dinner dishes and Mr. Weasley was probably rearranging his electric plug collection somewhere. Ginny had left two days ago to stay at Luna's house. 

Harry decided it was time to reveal to his friends what was on his mind. 

He cleared his throat. Ron and Hermione stopped munching the beans and waited for him to speak. 

"I—uh..." He gulped. "I am going to Godric's Hollow." 

"Great! When are we leaving?" asked Ron. 

Hermione remained silent, having sensed Harry's uneasiness. 

"I'm going alone." Ron's face fell. "And before you start protesting, let me explain. I do not plan on going after the Horcruxes by myself. You both want to come with me and I really appreciate and respect that, but..." He drew a deep breath. "I need to go to Godric's Hollow alone. That's where everything started, that's where my parents lived, that's where I was supposed to be living before Voldemort—" 

He stood up and started pacing agitatedly. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he went on. 

"Just trust me on this one. I need to do this. After that, I'll come back and we'll do everything else together." 

Ron nodded. 

"Right. How will you go there?" asked Hermione. 

"I'll take the Knight Bus. I'll also take my Invisibility Cloak, in case anything happens." 

"Well, make sure nothing happens!" said Ron hoarsely. 

"Don't worry, Ron. I will." Harry smiled and popped a bean into his mouth. "Eww, it tastes like feet!" he yelped, spitting the bean on the ground. 

The three of them doubled over in laughter under the full moon. 

::

Early the next morning, to avoid bumping into Molly Weasley, Harry left. Ron and Hermione stayed with him until he got on the Knight Bus, to send him off and to advise him to be careful. Harry had one last fleeting look at them as the bus started its hurtling course. It felt strange to ride on the Knight Bus without Stan Shunpike on board, he thought. 

He didn't notice a black-cloaked figure in the back of the bus. 

The ride was shorter than he thought it would be. Twenty minutes, to be exact. It was probably because the bus was almost empty and stopped only to drop a drunken old wizard at his house. Now it was in Godric's Hollow. Harry was home. He took his backpack, said goodbye to the driver, and stepped off.  The bus took off again while he looked at his surroundings and— 

A flock of sheep was heading straight at him. He jumped aside and wrinkled his nose. It was too early in the morning to deal with the smell of sheep. The shepherd appeared a few steps behind them. 

Harry asked him for directions. The old man was more than happy to help him. He showed him the way to the graveyard but, no, he didn't know where the Potters' house was, however there was a place that might have been it once, and of course he would show Harry. 

Harry had no other option but to follow the sheep. 

::

It was like he thought it would be. An empty piece of land with only a few traces that a house had once been there. He walked around for a while, trying to locate something—anything -  that would make it real. 

Nothing. Unless one counted the foundations of the house that were visible through some patches of grass. 

He turned around and made his way to the graveyard. 

::

His parents' graves were under a willow tree. 

Harry knelt in front of them, thinking about what he was going to do next. Talking to them was not an option. They couldn't hear him, for starters, and a part of him felt that if he started talking he wouldn't be able to stop. 

So Harry tried to smile. As the corners of his mouth turned slightly upwards, tears started escaping his eyes. Not bothering to wipe them, Harry leaned forwards and placed one hand on each gravestone. 

Something was off. 

For some reason, he remembered being in the cave with Dumbledore. He also remembered the Gaunt house. Where the ring had been hidden. 

Something inside him clicked. He transfigured a branch into a shovel and started digging. He had no idea what he was doing and why. He only knew that he had to keep digging. His shovel hit something metallic. 

Clearing the rest of the dirt with his hands, he dug out a cup. A small golden cup with two finely wrought handles.  

He should have been ecstatic that he had found one of the Horcruxes. On the contrary, he was furious. 

"In my mother's grave..." he growled. "YOU BASTARD!" The growl turned into a roar. 

Harry dropped the cup on the ground and had his wand pointed at it in a heartbeat. Soon he was throwing every hex and jinx and curse he could possibly think of and he didn't care, he just wanted to get this over with and be able to live, actually live again— 

...when one of his spells, or maybe more than one, backfired and hit him straight in the chest. He fell backwards and saw everything slowly fading to black before his eyes and a figure covered in black was towering over him, but he didn't have a chance to worry about that. He saw nothing but black as he finally passed out. 

::

"It's been three days since he left! He was supposed to be back yesterday! What are you getting paid for? He's Harry Potter!" 

A fuming Ron, whose face had turned a shade even redder than his hair, was pacing around the kitchen, glaring at the Aurors. Hermione was on the verge of tears. 

"And the owl came back with the letter?" asked the shorter of the two. 

"Yes! She always found Harry up until now! If she can't find him..." Ron's voice cracked. 

"Did you find anything in Godric's Hollow?" asked Hermione. 

"An old shepherd, a Muggle, saw him the morning he went there. Other than that, he seems to have vanished. And we searched the entire village." 

Ron felt his eyes water. Hermione let out a sob. Ginny, who had returned to the Burrow that day and had stayed silent until then, lost her patience. 

"Will you listen to yourselves?" she said, hands on her hips, glaring at Ron and Hermione. "He is not dead." Ron flinched at that point. "He could be in danger, but if you keep acting like that, you're not helping anyone! These people are here to help. So, Ron, I suggest you shut up for a minute. And it wouldn't hurt to have a little faith in Harry. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to unpack." 

She turned on her heel and left the room, rushing past her mother, who had tear streaks on her face. 

::

Harry woke up. He had no idea where he was, how long he had been there or why he couldn't move. He tried to say something. No, that's not working either, he thought. He had almost started panicking, when the door opened and Snape came into the room. 

Harry lost it. 

He tried to move in order to attack Snape, but his body betrayed him. Only his face turned red from the effort, but other than that, nothing changed. Snape started speaking. 

"Once again, you have proved that you really are an imbecile, Potter, going around on your own hexing cups, for Merlin's sake!" 

Harry glared at him. 

"I have had it! We all go to hell and back to keep you safe and you go and do something so monumentally stupid and almost ruin everything!" 

Harry had no idea what Snape was talking about. 

"You have been unconscious for four days. Right now, you are under a Full Body Bind. I am sure that had it not been for it, you would have been trying to strangle me by now. If you want me to take it off, you have to trust me. And to do that, you need proof. Well, here's your proof," Snape concluded, pointing his wand at Harry. "Fight back and see for yourself. Legilimens! " 

Dumbledore was falling off the tower again...Malfoy was lying in a pool of blood...Ron was convulsing, foam dribbling from his mouth... 

He started pushing back. The memories began to fade and Snape grew clearer. Suddenly, Harry's mind was filled with memories that were not his own. 

And Harry saw the truth. 

::

Minutes later, Harry lay panting on the bed. He felt Snape lifting the spell from his upper body and found out he could use his voice again. 

"As you see, I had no choice." Snape sounded tired. 

"How do I know these memories were real?" Harry asked. 

"Really, Potter! Even someone as daft as you could tell the difference!" 

"Insulting me isn't the best way to get me to trust you, you know!" 

They both glared at each other. Snape was the first who spoke. 

"They were real. Dumbledore wanted me to get as much information as I could out of Narcissa about Draco's mission. That's why I took the Vow. We never knew what that mission was until the very end. Dumbledore told me to kill him that night. I had to do it. That way, I would appear loyal to the Dark Lord, protect Draco and keep the Vow at the same time. Not to mention that Dumbledore was never going to make it after drinking all that poison." 

"And he told you all that on the tower? In what, five seconds? You really expect me to believe it?" 

"Dumbledore was much better at Legilimency than I ever will be. He told me what I needed to know." 

"Wrong answer!" 

Snape lunged forwards and grabbed a fistful of Harry's hair. 

"You never learn your lessons, do you? You are going to respect me. I saved your life out there, if that makes any difference to you," he growled and stepped back. "The Ministry is looking everywhere for you. I can't let you go. Once we get a chance, we'll go to Hogwarts. Dumbledore's portrait might be able to convince you." 

"When will I get my wand back?" Harry asked. 

Snape observed him for a short time, looking like he was trying to sort out his thoughts. 

"Are you going to run away or attack me?" he asked finally. 

"No." 

"Do I have your word?" 

"Yes," he said through gritted teeth. Well, that didn't mean he was going to keep it.  

"Good. You will get your wand back when you get well. That was a very...interesting combination of spells. Apparently the Hurling Hex caused the Reductor Curse to backfire and it hit you in the chest. Though I can't understand why you wanted to destroy a cup." 

The mention of the cup roused Harry immediately. 

"The cup! Where is it?" he burst out. 

"With your wand. You'll get it later," Snape said. He lifted the Body Bind from Harry and left the room, muttering something about annoying teenagers as he closed the door. 

::

Harry spent the next few hours alone. He was sure the door would be locked and had decided to be agreeable until he found a way to escape. In addition, the wound in his chest caused a discomfort in his breathing and it would be a problem if he tried to escape before it felt better. 

The sound of approaching footsteps alerted Harry and he tried to sit up. Snape entered the room once more. 

"If you are hungry, you can come to the kitchen and prepare something to eat." 

He turned to leave. Harry decided he should get up and follow him. Snape headed towards the stairs. When they got to the lower floor, Harry asked where they were. 

"It's an old Muggle inn, abandoned for years. It's also Unplottable and protected by various enchantments." 

Harry didn't ask why. 

After another flight of stairs they reached the ground floor. Snape walked along a corridor with mouldy walls, stirring the dust on the floor with every step. At the end of the corridor a door, which Harry assumed led to the kitchen, stood half open. Harry thought he heard clattering noises from that direction. 

And he was right. 

When he entered the room the first thing he noticed was the third occupant of the building, bent in front of a cupboard, blonde hair swaying back and forth as he rummaged through the pots. 

Draco Malfoy. 

Before Malfoy had time to turn around, before Snape realised what was going to happen, before Harry even was aware of what he was doing, he howled and pounced on Malfoy. He didn't mind the pain in his chest. He didn't care that Snape could hex him. He only wanted to keep punching Malfoy, who was currently trapped beneath him, too shocked to fight back. 

Strong arms grabbed him and pulled him away from Malfoy. 

"Stop it this instant!" 

Harry had barely stopped kicking and punching the air, when Malfoy broke out of his daze and decided to retaliate. In a swift move that startled Harry, Snape had grabbed Malfoy's collar and stopped him before he had a chance to punch Harry. 

"Listen very carefully," he said in a whisper that sent chills down Harry's spine. "You," he looked at Malfoy, "will sit in this chair. Now. You," he glared at Harry, "will sit in that one." The chairs were at opposite sides of the table and far enough to make it impossible for either of them to reach the other. 

They did, however, start a glaring contest. 

"I am not here to baby-sit you. If I ever catch you fighting again, both of you will regret the day you were born. I'm trying to keep both of you alive, not playing referee to your fights. Ungrateful brats!" 

Harry had a feeling that the last comment was directed mostly at him. He looked at Malfoy's face as his expression changed gradually. He must have just realised what Snape said, thought Harry, and he wanted to laugh at the horrified face in front of him. 

He suspected that Malfoy had no idea that Snape wasn't exactly a loyal Death Eater. 

::

"What did you just say?" 

Draco slapped himself mentally. He couldn't believe he had just squeaked. 

"I suppose you don't mean the part where I called you an ungrateful brat." 

Draco glared at Snape. 

"I said that I'm trying to keep you and Potter alive. And I don't really need to explain myself to you." Snape turned his back to him and picked up a pot. 

"Potter? You're trying to protect him? What is going on here? Next thing you'll be telling me that you're working against the Dark Lord and spying for the Order of the Phoenix!" 

Draco was seething. Snape just looked at him and cocked one eyebrow, which made Draco slightly nauseous as realisation hit him. 

"You are, aren't you? Wait until he hears about you. He's going to rip you apart. But if I am the one who tells him..." 

Snape moved too fast for him to react and grabbed him at the throat. He couldn't breathe. 

"Don't even think about it. I did everything within my powers to protect you and your mother. If you turn your back now, I'll make both of you suffer." 

He removed his hand and Draco gasped as air rushed into his lungs again. 

"I asked you before and I have to ask again. Do you want to stay alive?" 

"Yes," Draco managed to rasp. 

"Then you'd better hope Potter here wins. The Dark Lord, as well as some of his followers will take great pleasure in torturing you before they kill you. You cannot go back to them. Now you have a choice. Do you want to keep running for ever, or offer your help to Potter to fix this mess as soon as possible?" 

Draco had no idea what to answer to that. His jaw had started to hurt and he couldn't tell whether it was because of Potter's punches or from trying to keep his murderous expression. He couldn't stay in that room any longer. 

Taking in a sharp breath, he got up and left, limping because of the strong pain in his leg. 

::

Harry's gaze followed Malfoy's retreating back until he disappeared at the end of the corridor. He noticed Malfoy's limp and wondered if he got injured during their fight. "No, he would have started acting like I chopped his leg off" , he thought as he remembered the Buckbeak incident back in his third year. Malfoy hadn't mentioned his leg once, which in Harry's opinion showed that he didn't want to draw attention to it. 

There was definitely something about that injury that embarrassed Malfoy, and Harry was going to find out what it was. 

Snape was scowling at him. 

"What?" he protested. 

"I trust you not to pummel him again like you did today when I'm not around." 

"Are you serious? First you tell me I have to stay in this dump, then I find out Malfoy's going to be here too and now you want me to behave when you're on your 'business trips'?" 

He could see Snape was trying very hard not to reach for his wand and decided not to push his luck. 

"Fine. Fine! You know what? I am going to behave. But if that wanker even thinks about coming anywhere near me, he's going to have a lot more to worry about than a beat-up leg!" 

Harry sat back in his chair crossing his arms and looking at everywhere but Snape. 

"Don't...talk about things you know nothing about..." Snape rasped and left the room, slamming the door closed on his way out.  

::

Two days later he was awoken by Snape. It was still dark outside. He informed Harry that he wouldn't be gone for long and gave him his wand back, threatening to kill him in a very painful way if he found Malfoy in pieces when he returned. Harry grudgingly agreed and stuffed the pillow over his head to muffle Snape's voice and get some more sleep. 

It was noon when he finally managed to wake up. The sunlight was reflected on something gold and the glow went straight to his eyes. Harry put on his glasses to see what it was. Snape had left Helga Hufflepuff's cup next to his wand. 

His stomach was growling too much to ignore. He pulled on his robes and went down to the kitchen. 

No sign of Malfoy. Good. 

He found some leftovers from the day before and scoffed them so quickly that he got a stomach ache. While he was wondering why his stomach felt like it was about to burst, he heard footsteps in the corridor. 

Malfoy. Damn. 

Harry got up quickly to leave the room, when Malfoy entered. They both froze. Malfoy's eyes flashed momentarily and he knocked his shoulder into Harry on his way to the sink. Harry grunted and left, slamming the door as hard as he could. 

::

The cup was gleaming in the sunlight. Harry kept staring at it, trying to think of a way to destroy it. There were no visible signs that it could be a Horcrux. Harry shuddered as he realised that a piece of Voldemort's soul was trapped in it. His index finger traced the rim of the cup, moving on to the engraved badger. 

He needed his friends' help. 

Harry got to his feet and started packing his things. He stuffed the cup in his backpack, got his wand and left the room quietly. Tiptoeing on the stairs as he reached the lower floor, he avoided the floorboards he knew would creak and held his breath until he got his hand on the front door's handle. 

Yes... 

A light breeze ruffled his hair as the door opened. He closed it carefully and took a few cautious steps towards the front gates. When he was about thirty feet away from the building, he met an invisible barrier. 

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.  

He took his wand out and started casting any spell he could think of. All of them gave out bright sparks as they hit the barrier. He was getting desperate and was about to cast a Severing Charm, although he knew it probably wouldn't work, when he heard someone approaching. He turned his head and saw Malfoy running at full speed, his eyes wide and his face ghost white. Malfoy leaped when he got closer, tackling Harry to the ground. 

"No, you idiot! They're going to find us!" he roared, and grabbed Harry's arm, trying to get him back in the house.  

Harry tried to resist, but Malfoy used so much force it was almost impossible not to follow him. When they finally made it to the entrance, Malfoy closed the door and sealed it. He held his wand in a way that reminded Harry of horror movies, just when the protagonist realised that a mass murderer was in the house. Malfoy peeked through the curtains, his breath coming out in short puffs. 

"What the hell are you doing, Malfoy?" he growled. 

"What the hell are you doing? If the barrier dissolves, both the Ministry and the Death Eaters will be here before you even have time to blink! I don't care what's going on inside that thick head of yours, but I don't really want to be found by either of them right now." Malfoy closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He moved his hands to his face and started rubbing his temples, continuing his speech in a tired voice. "No, you know what? I'll be locked up in my room. You deal with them when they come. I don't particularly want to die today." 

And with that Malfoy climbed the stairs, limping once again and leaving a very confused Harry in the entrance hall. 

::

Harry spent the next twenty-four hours on the second floor. His injured chest still hurt, especially after the events of the day before. The enormous bruise, covering the entire area from his right collarbone to his stomach, had started turning into an ugly dark purple colour. He couldn't believe that it had been caused only by a Reductor curse. Only something much worse would look that bad after all the potions Snape claimed to have fed him. 

He was getting bored again. Cursing himself for letting Malfoy's presence get to him to the point where he isolated himself in his room, he decided to go to the kitchen again and ignore the annoying bastard if he met him. Instead of running into Malfoy, he found Snape sitting at the table, reading a tattered copy of the Daily Prophet. Harry sat on the table across Snape's seat. 

Without uttering a single word, Snape pushed the paper in front of Harry. He curiously picked it up and started reading the front page. 

HARRY POTTER DISAPPEARS. SCHOOL GOVERNORS ANNOUNCE HOGWARTS WILL NOT REOPEN.

 

A week ago Harry Potter, age 17, disappeared from Godric's Hollow. The Ministry has tried to cover up the incident, but after we received our information from a source that wishes to remain anonymous Ministry officials have reluctantly answered some of our questions. 

According to some of Potter's friends he was in Godric's Hollow to visit his house, where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was defeated sixteen years ago. He was spotted by a Muggle and mysteriously disappeared hours later, leaving no traces of himself behind. 

This incident was the confirmation of the school governors' fears. Governor Arnold Sykes stated, 'After the events of past June, we realised that the school was no longer safe. The Board members were doing their best to assure parents that security measures would be taken to ensure their children's safety. Unfortunately, after Mr. Potter's disappearance, we received several letters expressing those people's wishes to remove their children from Hogwarts. At the rate these letters are coming, there won't be enough students left to keep the school open.' 

Students who wish to continue their education at Hogwarts are advised to contact other schools, as Hogwarts will remain closed until further notice. (More information on page 4, column 2)

"Right. So what happens now?" Harry asked when he finished the article. 

"Now...Now we can go to Hogwarts." 

::

Harry locked himself up in his room for hours. He didn't want to go to Hogwarts. Dumbledore's portrait would confirm Snape's innocence, meaning Harry would have no reason not to trust him any more. And he didn't want to trust him. He desperately needed to hate Snape. Then there was the Malfoy issue. 

Malfoy was just scared out of his mind. Somehow this didn't seem a reason good enough to trust him. Harry was sure that Malfoy would never manage to murder someone, but he wasn't so sure that Malfoy wouldn't sell them over to Voldemort if he thought it would be enough to save his life. 

He wished that those were the only reasons that made him reluctant about visiting Hogwarts, but there was something else, something he didn't want to think about. 

Harry wasn't sure if even his famous Gryffindor bravery would prevent him from breaking down in front of Dumbledore's portrait. 

::

Over the next few days Harry and Snape planned their trip to Hogwarts. Much to Harry's annoyance he finally realised that when Snape said 'we', Malfoy was included as well. Although absent during the first few planning sessions, Malfoy finally decided to show up, doing his best to ignore Harry while scrunching up his nose at his suggestions. 

One of the things that worried Snape was getting into the school without being seen. Hagrid was still living there and would be probably checking the grounds with Fang. Snape had been silent for a long time, probably thinking of ways of sneaking in unnoticed and looked like he was rejecting his ideas, furrowing his eyebrows every once in a while. 

Harry finally decided he had let him suffer long enough. 

"I know how we can get inside the castle without crossing the school grounds." 

Snape broke out of his thoughts and looked at him. So did Malfoy, for the first time in days. 

Harry thought it was wise not to let them in on all the details of the secret passage, so he just announced that they had to break into Honeydukes. Snape bit his tongue, but nodded eventually and continued planning...and planning...and planning. 

::

They had arranged to leave on September the 1st. It was a Sunday, so Honeydukes would be closed.  

Snape woke Harry up hours before sunrise. He wanted nothing more than to sink back into the mattress and ignore him, but he reluctantly got up and put on his robes. Minutes later he went downstairs, having stuffed his Invisibility cloak in his pocket. Malfoy was at the table, looking like he was about to fall asleep. 

Harry had just started munching a piece of toast when Snape entered the room. 

"Ready?" he asked them. 

Malfoy nodded and got up. Harry mumbled a 'yes', trying to swallow his mouthful. 

They followed Snape until they reached the barrier. He pointed his wand in the air and chanted a spell, sending out a white beam that opened a hole large enough for all three of them to exit. When they were finally out, he sealed the opening and cast a Disillusionment charm on Malfoy and himself. Harry just put on his cloak. And with three soft pops, they Disapparated. 

::

When Harry opened his eyes again, he was in front of Honeydukes. There was no trace of Snape or Malfoy around him. 

"Where the hell are they?" he wondered and the thought of getting as far away as possible entered his mind before he heard Snape's whisper.  

"Potter! Front door." 

When Harry's gaze settled on the front door, it opened with a soft click and the air in the doorway rippled as the Disillusioned forms of Snape and Malfoy rushed inside. Harry followed them and closed the door behind him as silently as he could. 

Snape had just taken the charm off himself and was pointing his wand where Malfoy must have been standing. Harry removed his cloak and put it in his pocket. When he lifted his head, Malfoy was visible again. 

Walking as silently as he could, Harry made his way to the counter and motioned for Snape and Malfoy to follow him. He crept through the door behind the counter and climbed down the stairs, using his wand to illuminate his path. When he reached the trapdoor, he pulled it open and waited for the others to catch up before disappearing through the dark gap. 

::

Draco followed Snape as he disappeared through the trapdoor. If Potter was right about that passage... No, he wouldn't let himself think about it. He kept following Snape down the worn stone steps, trying not to think of what could be waiting for him at the other end of the passage. Soon the steps ended and Potter led them down a passage. Draco felt they kept getting deeper. Tiny beads of sweat had formed on his forehead and he lifted his arm to wipe them away with his sleeve. 

The path's uneven floor slowed them down because Draco kept stumbling every few steps. After many twists and turns the passage stopped and Draco saw that they were standing at the foot of a long stone slide. He felt the veins in his head pounding. Before he had time to catch his breath, Potter pointed his wand at the slide and a rope appeared. 

Great. Now they had to climb. 

Potter went up first, Snape following closely behind. Draco found it difficult to climb with Snape's arse almost shoved in his face. He tried not to think about it. In all honesty, it was too early in the morning for him to crawl through tunnels with Snape's arse blocking his range of vision, no matter how much he respected the man. 

A few minutes later, his professor's arse disappeared and revealed a fairly small opening at the top of the slide. Draco climbed the last few feet and poked his head through the hole. 

He couldn't believe his eyes. Potter was right. They were in Hogwarts. 

He had spent an entire year trying to fix a Vanishing Cabinet to get the Death Eaters in the school, when there was a passage under his nose all along. And naturally, Potter was the one who knew all about it. Draco fought the urge to start hexing everything around him and climbed off the statue's hunch. 

::

Harry waited patiently for Snape to cast a Disillusionment charm on himself and Malfoy before pulling on his Cloak again. Although the only person near Hogwarts was Hagrid, who wasn't even in the castle, they didn't want to risk revealing their presence. They still had to hide from the ghosts and the paintings. Trying to stay as silent as possible, they slowly made their way to Dumbledore's office. 

"I need to go alone first," said Harry the moment they stopped in front of the gargoyle statue. 

A jet of light flew towards the gargoyle, clearly sent by Snape. The gargoyle leapt aside and Harry was pushed by Snape towards the stone staircase as it started moving. 

"You have ten minutes until we come up," Harry heard Snape saying, just when he saw the oak door of Dumbledore's office. He was surprised by how easily Snape seemed to have given up, but he figured that he was just planning to barge in the office before Harry's time was up. Sighing, he placed a hand on the brass griffin and pushed the door. 

The room was covered in warm yellow light, as the sunlight poured through the windows. Harry's eyes travelled all over the room, pausing momentarily on Fawkes' perch before finally resting on the portrait he came to see. The figure stirred and smiled at him, as he closed the door behind him. 

"Good morning, Harry. I was wondering when I'd see you again." 

::

Even as a portrait, Dumbledore still had that familiar twinkle in his eyes. Harry stared at him and tried to speak, but he stopped every time when he felt a lump rising in his throat. After his fifth effort and the encouraging smile of the portrait, Harry finally managed to say something. 

"Professor..." he croaked. The sound of his voice embarrassed him. Harry had promised to himself that he wouldn't break down and it took him only a couple of minutes to fail miserably at that. 

"It's nice to see you again, Harry. The last time we were...interrupted before I could explain everything to you. I suppose you have some questions you'd like to ask me." 

"Snape is here." 

Harry waited for some kind of sign that would alert him to grab some Floo powder and get the hell away from there, but it never came. 

"Is he? Splendid! I have some matters to discuss with Severus." 

Twinkly eyes, check. 

Cryptic smile, check.  

"Sir, I need to know if I can trust him. He showed me what happened, but I need to hear it from you. Did you really order him to do what he did?" 

Portrait-Dumbledore sighed. 

"Harry, sometimes we all have to make sacrifices. At that point there was no other option." Portrait-Dumbledore shifted in his painted chair. "You were not supposed to find out. I admit that I had my suspicions all along, but I wasn't willing to take any risks. Why do you think I finally allowed Professor Snape to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts?" 

Harry opened his mouth but snapped it shut immediately. 

"It was because I knew he would eventually have to leave the school. I trust Severus. He has a difficult task and so far he has helped us immensely. But that wasn't good enough. It seems that Lord Voldemort wasn't entirely convinced of his loyalties." 

Harry started fiddling with his sleeve, while Portrait-Dumbledore continued his speech explaining what happened during the year. In the end Harry had no other option but to allow himself to believe what Snape had told him. 

::

Portrait-Dumbledore had just stopped speaking when Harry heard a knock. 

"You can come in," he said, raising his voice loud enough so that Snape could hear him through the thick oak door. 

Snape entered the room in a swirl of robes, followed by a Malfoy who looked like a drowned cat.  Harry wondered how he had not noticed Malfoy's appearance. His hair was stuck around his face, while some locks stuck out from the top of his head. He suppressed a snort and decided to focus on Snape's face instead. What he saw there was quite different from what he expected. 

Snape looked...pleased? Relieved? Harry couldn't decipher that expression, but it was the first time he saw Snape looking like that. For all he knew, Snape could be on drugs at that moment. Snape ignored Harry and stood in front of the portrait. 

"Headmaster," he greeted the portrait, bowing his head briefly. 

"Severus. I see you brought young Mr. Malfoy along." Portrait-Dumbledore directed his gaze at Malfoy who was suddenly very interested in the carpet pattern. 

"He won't be a problem," replied Snape. And with that, he turned around and sent a Muffliato towards Malfoy. 

"Hey!" Malfoy tried to protest, but a glare from Snape shut him up. He sat in an armchair and sulked, while Snape continued his conversation with Portrait-Dumbledore. 

"So Severus, how did you and Mr. Potter end up here?" 

Snape explained how he had seen Harry on the Knight Bus and decided to follow him. When he described the scene he faced at the graveyard, Portrait-Dumbledore's eyes twinkled alarmingly and Harry felt his cheeks flush. 

"Very good, Harry. I didn't expect you to find another Horcrux so soon." 

Harry's heart skipped a beat. Why on earth would Dumbledore talk about the Horcruxes in front of Snape? He opened his mouth to voice his doubts, but Portrait-Dumbledore had started speaking again. 

"Given the circumstances, I believe it would be favourable to let Professor Snape help you locate and destroy the remaining Horcruxes." 

"But...But, sir—" Harry spluttered. 

"Harry, if you return to your friends, everyone will wonder where you have been. Furthermore, the Ministry is planning to keep a close watch on you once you reappear. It will only obstruct your task." 

::

For the next hour Harry reluctantly explained to Snape what he had learned about Horcruxes during the past few months. Portrait-Dumbledore merely nodded along, although his mouth twitched from time to time. Harry couldn't believe that Portrait-Dumbledore was amused by his behaviour. When he was finished, he looked at the portrait and waited for him to speak. 

"Excellent! I see that you have not forgotten our lessons." Portrait-Dumbledore beamed at Harry. 

Harry offered a small smile in return. 

"I am very pleased that you thought to search for a Horcrux at the graveyard. I must admit I'm quite surprised that Lord Voldemort decided to place the cup there, as I'm sure that this wasn't its original location. Tell me, Harry, do you see a pattern in the places he chooses to hide these items?" 

"Yes, sir." 

Portrait-Dumbledore waved his hand, urging Harry to go on. 

"He chooses places that have been important to him in the past. The ring had been hidden in the Gaunt house. It's his connection to Salazar Slytherin's bloodline. The cave was where he had terrorised two children from his orphanage. That...That's where he used his magic to threaten others. To 'make them hurt if he wanted to', like he said. And..." Harry paused, not wanting to break down. "And my mother's grave. It was my mother's sacrifice that stopped him before." 

"Very good, Harry. And if you had to make a guess as to where you'd look for the next Horcrux, what would you say?" Portrait-Dumbledore looked like he was sure Harry would give him the right answer. 

That was all the encouragement Harry needed. He was sure that the first thought that crossed his mind that moment would be the answer Portrait-Dumbledore was looking for. 

"The orphanage. I'd check the orphanage." 

::

Portrait-Dumbledore had seemed very pleased with Harry's answer. He was about to explain to them the steps of destroying a Horcrux, when Harry decided to tell him that the locket was still missing. Portrait-Dumbledore remained silent for a while. Snape removed some nonexistent lint from his robes and Harry simply stood there, waiting for Portrait-Dumbledore's response. Just when he started thinking that the portrait wouldn't speak again, Portrait-Dumbledore cleared his throat. 

"Well, I cannot pretend this does not hinder our plans. Perhaps it would be best if you didn't worry about that for now. If there's anyone who can find that locket, Harry, it's you." 

Harry wanted to crawl under a large rock and never come out again. Finding the Horcruxes was difficult enough, but finding a locket which could be anywhere in the world was going to be impossible. Portrait-Dumbledore's voice brought him back to reality. 

"Now, I think it's time to teach you how to destroy a Horcrux. It's quite simple in some cases, like in the diary, as you remember. Other objects require a different approach. I'm guessing the cup is a case similar to the ring. The first step will be to..." 

Harry immediately grabbed a quill and a piece of parchment from Dumbledore's desk and started taking notes. 

::

Draco was furious. He couldn't believe they had dragged him along, only to make him sit in the same room and cast a spell to prevent him from overhearing their little reunion. So he did what he knew best; he sank in an armchair and wore his 'You-can-drop-dead-for-all-I-care' look. 

The only problem with that was that after the first hour the muscles in his face had started going numb. Draco decided the look was being wasted anyway, so he decided to try and get some sleep. He pulled his legs up and tried to get more comfortable. He had almost fallen asleep when he suddenly heard Snape's voice. 

Right. Now they decided to take the spell off.  

"Draco, wake up. The Headmaster wishes to have a word with you." 

Draco sat up quickly. He had managed to avoid the portrait so far. Unfortunately it seemed that he wouldn't get away that easily. Talking to Dumbledore's portrait meant that he'd have to deal with a lot of things he had managed to avoid so far. After all, he had spent an entire year trying to kill the old man. 

He crossed the room and stood in front of the portrait. When he couldn't put it off any longer, he raised his head and met Portrait-Dumbledore's gaze. 

"Good morning, Draco. How are you feeling?" 

Draco cleared his throat. "Fine," he replied, trying very hard not to avert his eyes from Portrait-Dumbledore's face. 

"A few months have passed since our last meeting, which I'm afraid ended rather abruptly. We never had a chance to end our discussion." Portrait-Dumbledore's soft voice sent a shiver down Draco's spine. 

"Yes," he replied, not knowing what else to say. 

"The offer I made that night still stands. I suppose you had enough time to reconsider." 

Now everything made sense. What Snape had done for him was the same thing Dumbledore had suggested. 

"I didn't have a choice in the end." Draco paused for effect, only to see that Portrait-Dumbledore didn't seem impressed. "I failed my mission. My options were clear enough after that. It was either dying or accepting your offer. Although I was tricked into it," he gave a pointed glare at Snape at that point, "I don't really want to die. And since my former side wants to kill me, it seems I'm stuck with yours." 

Draco still hadn't sorted out his thoughts on that matter, but he realised that at least he really believed the things he just said. Portrait-Dumbledore responded with an enigmatic smile. Draco felt more relaxed than he had been since the night he left Hogwarts and for some reason he thought that Portrait-Dumbledore wasn't alarmed by the fact that he had spent an entire year trying to kill him. 

"Very well my boy. I am sure Professor Snape will take good care of you." 

Draco felt much better when he saw the shocked look on Potter's face. 

::

They spent the rest of the day in Dumbledore's office, since it was too risky to leave the school before dark. Draco resumed his place in the armchair and tried to sleep again. The next full moon was close and he felt drained, as his body was not used to the changes it suffered during a lunar month. Draco had fallen asleep listening to Snape's whispering voice talking to the portrait. 

Right in the middle of a very pleasant dream, where he was in the dining room at the Manor, emptying countless dishes of the most delicious foods, he felt someone shaking his shoulder. He felt his head spinning and he slowly opened his eyes to find Potter standing over him. 

"Snape says you should come and eat," he pointed at a tray of sandwiches on the desk. 

Draco barely had time to reply when Potter turned his back and headed for the food, ignoring him once more. When his stomach growled, he got up and went to the desk, grabbed a few sandwiches and returned to his seat. He didn't get up until it was time for them to leave. 

::

It was very late when they arrived at their hideout. The moment they entered the building, Harry ignored the others and went to his room. Dropping his robes in a messy pile on the floor, he stretched out on the bed and fell asleep right away. 

He didn't wake up until noon. Realising that they would be destroying the Horcrux that day, he jumped off the bed and hastily threw on some clothes. The cup was still where he had left it, hidden under a loose floorboard near the wall. Harry grabbed the cup and made his way to the kitchen. 

Once he got there, he saw Snape hunched over a bubbling cauldron and a familiar smell reached his nose. No, it can't be... He cleared his throat to announce his presence. 

"Sit. We'll start working on the cup in a few minutes," said Snape without averting his eyes from the cauldron. He put out the fire and let the potion cool down. 

"Is that Wolfsbane potion?" Harry asked as he sat at the table, using the most nonchalant tone he could manage. 

Snape turned around in a swirl of robes and an amused expression formed on his face. 

"Well, Potter...It seems you actually learned something about potions after all..." 

Harry thought he should protest, but Malfoy chose that moment to come into the room. He ignored Harry completely and approached Snape, whispering something to him. Snape replied in a similar voice. When he picked up a cup and poured some of the potion in it, offering it to Malfoy, Harry had to blink to make sure the scene in front of his eyes was really happening. At that point, Malfoy picked up the smoking cup and carefully took a sip, while an expression of disgust formed on his face. 

Harry felt his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, but after a moment decided not to mention anything. If he was right, it would be better if Malfoy didn't know that he had discovered his secret. 

::

Half an hour later the three of them were sitting at the table with their eyes focused on the cup. They had been like that for at least twenty minutes. No one seemed to be willing to start. 

Malfoy shifted in his chair. Snape cleared his throat. 

"I guess we should destroy it, then," Harry mumbled, deciding this had gone too far. 

Snape took his wand out. 

"Wait!" Malfoy cried out. Both Harry and Snape turned to look at him. He continued in a lower voice. "What am I supposed to do?" 

"Oh, for..." Harry let his hand drop on the table. It was the third time Malfoy asked that question and Snape had already explained everything to him twice. "You just have to sit there and give us a few drops of your blood when we need it. And if something happens and we fail and a soul fragment starts floating around the room, you'll have to kill it!" He needed to calm down. Malfoy wasn't paying attention and it was getting on his nerves. 

His outbreak earned him a sneer from Malfoy. Harry did his best to ignore him from that point on. 

A bright jet of light erupted from Snape's wand, hitting the cup and making it shimmer. When the cup started shaking, Harry grabbed the knife he had brought on the table for the occasion and cut the skin on his palm. The pain made him hiss and he pushed the knife towards Malfoy. 

"Your turn..." 

Malfoy looked like he was two steps from fainting. Despite that, he still grabbed the knife and repeated Harry's actions. They waited for Snape's signal while the blood had started flowing out of their wounds. 

"It's almost time..." Snape sounded tired. It seemed that it took a lot of effort to maintain that spell. "Do it...now!" 

Harry reached out his hand and let his blood drip on the cup. Malfoy did the same once Harry was finished. 

As the last drop of Malfoy's blood fell on the cup, its surface blurred and it looked as though something transparent was trying to come out. The light from Snape's wand disappeared and that thing kept growing. The moment it had completely left the cup, Harry grabbed his wand, intending to hit it, but Snape was quicker. His wand was already aimed and the words were on the tip of his tongue. 

"Avada Kedavra!"  

Everything in the room flashed green as the curse hit the piece of Voldemort's soul. Harry watched it as it wavered, before finally dissolving in a puff of smoke. He turned his head to see Snape wiping the sweat off his forehead. 

"You should check up on your obsession with that curse. It can't be healthy," Harry said and got up to leave the room. He was sure he heard a snort as he reached the door. 

::

Harry closed the door behind him and collapsed on his bed. Seeing Snape using the Killing Curse again reminded him of the night Dumbledore died. It didn't matter that he knew the whole truth now; it was still painful. He needed some time to calm down. 

Then there was that other... thing. Malfoy was a werewolf. There was no other reason for him to be drinking Wolfsbane potion. Certainly Snape was an evil bastard, but even he wouldn't be brewing something that difficult in this situation and making Malfoy drink it. People like them—Slytherins? Death Eaters? Mental cases? — did a lot of strange things, but Harry doubted that one of them was starting their day with a steaming cup of Wolfsbane potion. 

He didn't know exactly what day it was, but he guessed it had been almost a month since he left the Burrow. It felt longer, but he remembered that he was with his friends on the last full moon. What would his friends be doing now? Harry missed them terribly. He knew that they'd be worried about him. A part of him hoped that they'd try to find him, but he knew that it would only put them in danger. 

At some point Harry opened his eyes and realised he had fallen asleep. Judging by the sounds his stomach was making, he was hungry. He got up and looked out the window. It would be dark soon. 

Shoving his wand into his pocket, he left the room and headed towards the stairs. His foot had just touched the first step when he heard voices coming from the first floor. Trying to remain as silent as possible, he moved a few steps lower and crouched in the shadows. 

Malfoy was in front of the second door in the corridor with his hands holding Snape's arm in a death grip. He looks like shit.  

"Can't...It hurts too much..." 

And with that he fell on Snape and started sniffling on his robes. Snape seemed like he was torn between feeling awkward and mildly disgusted. He grimaced when he looked at his robes, but raised his free arm and tried to pat him on the back. 

Harry almost burst out with laughter. Almost.  

Laughing at Snape's discomfort was one thing. But making fun of Malfoy's pain at that moment seemed just wrong. Harry remembered what happened the last time he saw Malfoy crying and shivered. If Malfoy saw him now, he wouldn't bother with the Cruciatus. He'd go straight to the Killing Curse. 

Fortunately Snape managed to push Malfoy into the room and Harry waited for a while before going downstairs. 

He had just finished eating when Snape appeared in the kitchen. Harry's empty plate seemed very interesting at that moment and he decided to study the leftover crumbs. 

"Draco may have been too distressed to notice you, but don't think that I didn't know you were there."  

Harry tensed. 

"Be careful, Potter. Don't even think of mentioning to Draco that you know about this. If I find you using this against him, I guarantee you that I'll hex your limbs off one by one." 

After making his threat, Snape turned his back and went to the sink to clean his cauldrons. Harry stayed long enough to show him that his threat hadn't scared him before returning to his room. 

::

Drip. Drip. Drip.  

"Mmm...Stop. I'm cold..." 

Drip. Drip. Drip drip drip.  

Harry opened one eye lazily to see which idiot decided to play a prank on him while he was sleeping. A look at his surroundings, although blurry, reminded him where he was. He grabbed his glasses and put them on, jumping off his bed at the same time, and then he looked around to see what had woken him. 

Water from the ceiling was dripping onto his bed. 

Looking through the window, Harry realised that it was raining heavily outside. The water had made it through the roof and the situation seemed to be getting worse by the minute. 

"This is ridiculous..." he muttered to himself. There was no way he'd manage to sleep again after that. 

Harry started checking the rest of the floor to see if there was another room he could move into, but it seemed that with every door he opened, he found something even worse. In some of the rooms the floor had collapsed, in others there were holes on the walls and the last two had no roof. Sighing, he decided to go downstairs and try his luck there. 

That's how he almost crashed into Malfoy two minutes later, as he was coming out of the bathroom. He had a ragged grey blanket draped around him and didn't seem to be wearing anything underneath. Harry tried to get rid of that thought by focusing on other parts of Malfoy. His eyes landed on an ugly scar on Malfoy's leg. 

Malfoy quickly rearranged the edge of the blanket to cover it and sneered at him. 

"What are you doing here?" 

Harry wasn't affected by the sneer. It didn't seem to be working when Malfoy's face seemed so tired and pale. 

"Trying to find a room. The rain's getting through the roof in mine," he replied, surprising himself with how calm he sounded. 

Malfoy turned on his heel and went to his room, closing the door behind him with a loud bang. 

Harry stood there awkwardly for a moment, confused.  Had he just been nice to Malfoy?  Admittedly, Malfoy looked horrible and it didn't seem right to pick on him just then...but still!  This was Malfoy, and it was weird to be nice to him. 

He might have stood there a long time, musing, but Snape had heard the noise and poked his head through his door to see what was happening. Harry explained the situation to him and Snape pointed to another door in the corridor before disappearing in his room again. The new room wasn't much better than the previous one, but at least there wasn't water dripping all over the place. 

After placing his things in the wardrobe, Harry went downstairs to make some breakfast. With that weather a cup of hot chocolate seemed like a good idea. 

::

During the next week Harry was desperately trying to find ways to escape his boredom. His new room was as clean as it could get, the door was swinging smoothly on its hinges and the bathroom sink was no longer dripping during the night. His most recent discovery was a room on the ground floor that must have been used as an office. Everything was covered in dust, but after a few cleaning spells the room looked decent again. Harry noticed a few books on the shelves and decided to look through them. Maybe I could read instead of playing maid for the ex-Death Eaters.  

  That was where Snape found him hours later, stretched out on the sofa with his face buried in a book. He announced that he had to leave for a few days and told Harry that he'd appreciate it if he and Draco didn't kill each other before he came back. Then he said that they'd start looking for the next Horcrux after he came back and left the room with his robes billowing behind him. 

Harry sighed and closed the book. It wasn't as interesting as he'd hoped. Besides, he could make an effort to talk to Malfoy instead of just sitting there on his own. It certainly seemed more interesting than the book. Sure, the whole thing could end up in a brutal fistfight, but it would still feel more... normal. All this reading for fun seemed incredibly odd. Even Hermione would think he was under the Imperius curse if she knew how much he read. 

He reached Malfoy's door without realising he had moved.  He saw his hand reach out to knock, still unsure of what he would say. 

::

"What?" 

Draco couldn't believe what he had just heard. 

"I said 'Would you like to come downstairs and sit with me'?" Potter said through gritted teeth. 

He's got to be joking... 

"And why would I want to do that?" he replied, narrowing his eyes. 

"Argh! Malfoy, you're impossible. I can't do this..." And with that, Potter turned around and headed for the stairs, running his hand through his hair and muttering to himself. 

Draco was already reconsidering his decision. He had distanced himself from his friends during the past year and he had no one to talk to but Snape ever since he ran away from Hogwarts. Spending some time with Potter, even if they ended up hexing each other after a few minutes, was starting to sound like an interesting idea. Although it would be better to wait for a while before going downstairs; he didn't want Potter to think that he had given up so easily. 

He started looking for Potter an hour later. 

::

Potter was in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a steaming cup of tea in front of him. 

"I made tea," he mumbled without bothering to look at him. 

"I can see that," Draco replied, trying very hard to keep his voice calm. He reached for the pot and poured some tea in a clean cup. Once he felt confident enough that he wouldn't snap at Potter immediately, he sat at the table and avoided looking at him. 

He was taking a sip of his tea when Potter spoke. 

"So, um...How have you been?" 

Draco spluttered his tea all over himself. He felt his hands stinging and wiped them on his robes after placing the cup on the table. Well. That was unexpected.  

Potter was looking at him like he had sprouted horns. He decided he should probably give him an answer. I hope you're ready for that explosion, Potter.  

"Fine. That is, if you ignore the details, like how I'm hiding from everyone, how I'm not allowed to meet my mother, or how I haven't seen my friends in months. Then there's another, far less important detail, where my father's friends are out there looking for me and thinking which way of presenting my corpse to the Dark Lord would please him the most. Not to mention that I'm supposed to be on your side, because that's the only way I can survive. But then I guess you never have to worry about such trivial things." 

Draco glared at him through his entire outburst. Potter had turned red and seemed to be trying really hard not to start shouting or strangle him. Or both. 

They remained silent for a couple of minutes. 

"I was on the tower that night. I saw everything," Potter said eventually. 

"What night?" Draco snapped, having a bad feeling about where the discussion was heading. 

"The night you left. I know that you were trying to kill Dumbledore." Potter paused shortly before continuing in the same strained voice. "I also know that you wouldn't do it...Couldn't do it." 

Of course...I fuck up and Potter already knows all about it.  

"Oh yeah, rub it in, Potter! I'm sure you had a good laugh with your friends when you told them what a weak, worthless coward Draco Malfoy was—"  

"Wha—" Harry spluttered, "What the hell is wrong with you? Weak?"  

"Yes. Weak. That's what everyone will say," said Draco, looking away from Potter's face. No wonder Snape doesn't tell me anything about my mother. She's probably wondering how on earth she raised someone like me.  

"Well, Malfoy, I've got news for you. You are many things. My first answer would be 'pain in the arse', although 'stupid' seems more fitting at the moment. But you're wrong if you think that not being able to kill another person makes you weak. If anything, it makes you human, which is something I seriously doubted until that night." Potter sounded like he was talking through gritted teeth. 

Draco had no idea how to respond to that. Potter saved him the trouble by getting up and leaving the room, slamming the door on his way out. 

::

What the fuck did I just tell him? Why the hell did I tell him that?  

Harry collapsed against the door in his room as soon as he closed it. So much for having a normal conversation with Malfoy. Spending the rest of the time until Snape came back hidden in his room suddenly seemed more interesting now. 

::

Snape came back four days later. Harry had been spending most of his time in the office, and that's where he found him again, sitting at the desk with his back turned to the door. He had been so focused in the book he was reading that he didn't hear the door opening. When Snape cleared his throat, Harry turned around so quickly that he almost fell out of his chair. Mentally showering Snape with a string of insults that would have made Mrs. Weasley have an aneurysm, he tried to look merely annoyed instead of startled. 

"Dinner is in thirty minutes. We'll discuss our plans afterwards," Snape announced with a scowl on his face, before disappearing into the hallway. 

Harry glared at the door for the next minute. Being confined in that building had started making him edgy and he was irritated by Snape for reminding this to him. He spent the biggest part of the next half hour reading the same paragraph over and over, until he realised it was almost time for dinner and threw the book aside. After stretching his back, he got up and headed towards the kitchen. 

The sound of plates being set on the table was clear from the moment he reached the corridor that led to the kitchen. As he got closer to the door, he made out some hushed whispers coming from the other side of it. Harry moved slowly and leaned against the corridor wall, trying to stay in the shadows, and made an effort to listen to the conversation. 

"But—but how can she know? What did she say?" Malfoy sounded panicked. 

"Nothing out of the ordinary for her, but enough to make me wonder if she suspects something. It's probably just her acting paranoid again, but it's better to have our backs covered from now on." 

There were sounds of shuffling feet, which Harry guessed were of Malfoy following Snape around. 

"How can you be sure she hasn't followed you? You don't know her like I do! She's—" 

"Believe me, Draco, I know her much better that you do," Snape interrupted him. "Control yourself. I've tricked her more than once. You have no reason to question my ability to keep her away. This discussion is over. Now sit down! You're giving me a headache." 

Malfoy must have obeyed, judging by the scraping sounds of the chair dragged on the floor. Harry decided it would be a good time to enter, before they started talking again. The moment he opened the door, Snape acted like nothing had happened and Malfoy almost jumped up, but covered it up immediately by looking at everything in the room except Harry. 

Soon the food was served. The greasy pork chops didn't look very tasty, but Harry ate them nonetheless, although he refused to eat all the peas. He kept pushing the leftovers around his plate, waiting for the others to finish their food so that they could finally have their discussion. 

"Are you finished, Potter?" asked Snape with a slightly disgusted expression on his face. 

Harry nodded and pushed the plate away. With a flick of his wand, Snape vanished the food and made the plates fly all the way to the sink. 

"First of all, Potter, make sure you have all your things packed from now on. There's a chance we might have to make a quick escape soon." 

Harry gulped. "Why? Who's coming?" This is about what they were discussing earlier.  

"No one!" Snape barked, but continued in a calmer tone. "Yet. Some people seem to suspect me and I'm sure they will try to...investigate in order to find this place. I have another hideout ready, but there's no reason to worry about it yet." 

Harry wanted to find out more, but Snape cut him off once he opened his mouth. 

"Now. We are visiting the orphanage tomorrow. Here's what we'll do..." 

::

They had spent hours planning their task and didn't get to sleep until much later that night. Getting up in the morning seemed difficult, but Harry was alert once he thought about what they were about to face. When he went downstairs he found Snape transfiguring Malfoy's clothes into a Muggle suit, his robes already turned into a grey pinstriped one with a dark green tie completing the set. For some reason seeing Snape in these clothes made Harry want to laugh, but he stopped himself just in time to see Snape pointing his wand at him. He felt his clothes changing and looked down to see what had happened to them. 

Great. Me and Malfoy are a matching set now... 

Both of them were now dressed in black from head to toes. Harry felt the tie choking him and tried to loosen the knot a bit. He was sure Snape did that on purpose. 

"Do you have your wands?" Snape asked, straightening his jacket. 

Harry mumbled a 'yes' while Malfoy nodded weakly. 

"Good. We're leaving. Hold my arms." 

They obeyed. Harry barely had enough time to think about how much he hated the feeling of Apparition before he opened his eyes again and discovered they had reached their destination. The three of them, dressed in formal clothes, looked entirely out of place in that dirty alley in Muggle London. Snape walked towards the main street, leaving Harry and Malfoy to follow him. 

It was the same street Harry had seen in Dumbledore's Pensieve. He recognised the iron gates of the orphanage a few buildings away. Snape waited for them to catch up before he entered the courtyard. Harry felt his stomach twisting and turning. He was nervous and excited at the same time; nervous because he didn't know what they would face in the building and excited because he would be one step closer to Voldemort's destruction. If he had been right about the location of the Horcrux. 

Once they reached the front door, Snape knocked. Just when Harry thought that no one would answer, the door opened and revealed a short, plump girl with blonde curly hair. 

"Good morning. My name is Reginald Hill. I'd like to speak to the matron." 

Harry shuddered. Snape was creepy most of the time, but the silky drawling tone he was using at that moment was incredibly disturbing. 

"Yes, sir. Please, come in. I'll get her immediately." 

The hallway looked the same as well; the black and white tiles on the floor still looking spotlessly clean. Harry eyed the stone stairs leading to the upper floor. Where Riddle's room had been. The sound of heels clicking on the tiles made him turn his head to see the woman approaching. She reminded him of a younger version of McGonagall, especially when she looked at them before she stopped in front of Snape. 

The girl who had opened the door was standing a few feet behind, looking at Harry and batting her eyelashes. He thought she just looked like Miss Piggy. 

"Hello. I'm Margaret Elliot, the matron. You wanted to see me?" the woman said. 

"Yes, Mrs Elliot. I'm Reginald Hill," Snape said in the same tone he had used earlier, holding out his hand to greet her, "And these are my sons, Tobias and Derek. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?" At this he glanced towards the girl. 

"Of course." She replied and turned to the girl. "Peggy, go to the kitchen and see if the cook needs anything." The girl mumbled something and hurried away. "Follow me, please." The woman turned around and led them to the room that Harry remembered was used as Mrs. Cole's office. Once they got inside, Mrs. Elliot closed the door and indicated the mismatched chairs. "Please, have a seat." She proceeded to sit behind the untidy desk. 

"So, how may I help you?" she asked, eyeing them warily. 

"I'll get straight to the point, Mrs. Elliot. Twelve years ago, my wife and I decided to adopt a child. We had our Tobias, of course—" he paused to look at Harry, "Anyway, we visited this place and found Derek. We adopted him as soon as we could. He and Tobias got along perfectly." He paused again, forcing his face to look like he was reminiscing. Harry suppressed a snort. He and Malfoy getting along perfectly was so far from the truth that Snape's story made him want to start laughing. "Last year my wife became ill. The doctors couldn't do anything, unfortunately..." he pulled out a handkerchief and sniffled. "Excuse me...She passed away last month." 

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that. My condolences..." Mrs Elliot seemed nervous. "Who wouldn't be, with someone like Snape acting like that in front of them? " Harry thought. 

"Thank you." Snape slipped the handkerchief back into his pocket. "Derek wanted to find out who his birth parents were, but he didn't want to upset Eileen. So we waited until now to visit you. Is there any chance you can help us?" 

Malfoy was trying very hard to play the part of the poor orphan, but Mrs. Elliot didn't seem to be buying the story. Harry was sure she was going to refuse and one look at Snape convinced him that he was thinking the same thing. Everything was going to fall apart, he could feel it. He looked at the matron, trying to think of something to say that would do something to prevent this disaster, when he saw her gaze turning blank and unfocused. She seemed to be in some kind of trance. 

Harry and Snape snapped their heads to look at Malfoy, who had his wand pointed at the woman. 

"What?" he protested. "Your sob story wouldn't convince her! I had to do something!" 

Snape looked like he wanted to strangle Malfoy, but after a moment or two he gave in. 

"Tell her to let us search the place for a while, because you are looking for your room. After we leave, she has to forget we were here," he grumbled. 

Malfoy concentrated and looked at the woman. When he stopped, she blinked once and then started acting like she had just realised they were there. 

"Right. I'll show you to the upper floor. No one will bother you." 

She got up and left the room, following the same route Mrs. Cole had taken when Dumbledore had been there. When they got to the upper floor, however, she stopped. 

"Feel free to call me if you need anything," she said and left them. 

Now all they had to do was search for the Horcrux. 

::

"Your call, Potter," said Snape. 

Harry felt they had to check in Riddle's room first. "Up here," he moved to climb the next part of the stairs, with Snape and Malfoy following closely behind. 

When he reached the second landing, however, he didn't find what he was looking for. 

"The door is missing!" he exclaimed. "It used to be right here!" He pointed angrily at the solid wall in front of him. 

Snape pushed him aside and took out his wand, casting some spells that Harry didn't recognise. "True. There's something here," he announced a few minutes later. The next spell made the wall shimmer, revealing the door at its original place. 

Harry felt his frustration fading at once. They were getting somewhere. 

Now they had to get into the room. It couldn't be that easy. Harry reached his hand to touch the door handle, but Snape snatched it in time. 

"No! Don't you see, Potter? It's trapped!" He conjured a worm and levitated it towards the handle. When the worm touched the metal, it twitched violently and dissolved with a hissing sound. Snape scowled at the door. "Blood," he muttered. 

"Again? " Harry protested, earning him a sneer from Snape, who took out a knife and slashed his palm before leaving a bloody handprint on the door. With a soft click, the door opened slowly. Harry peeked through the opening. 

The room was still the same, so much that Harry almost expected to see Tom sitting on the bed. He gulped and turned his eyes to the wardrobe. 

"There," he whispered to Snape, pointing at the shabby piece of furniture. 

They moved into the room and stood in front of the wardrobe. Snape cast another set of spells, sounding very similar to the previous one, and the doors glowed in several different colours. 

"What's that?" Harry asked. 

"There's something in there. It's not protected by anything...lethal. Which seems unusual, compared to what was used on the door." 

Harry shook his head. At this rate, it would take forever to get the Horcrux. He took one step forward and opened the wardrobe door. The entire thing burst into flames, making the three of them jump back. 

"How stupid can you be, Potter? Are you trying to get us killed?" Snape looked murderous. 

"I bet you ten Galleons you'll apologise for that in the next three minutes," replied Harry, looking straight at the wardrobe and moving towards it again. 

The fire wasn't real in the memory... 

Harry threw his hand into the flames, too focused in his thoughts to notice the loud gasps Snape and Malfoy made, and reached for the top shelf. Just as he suspected, something was there. He took it out; it was the cardboard box from the memory. Taking a deep breath, he tossed the lid aside and looked inside the box. 

He saw his face looking back at him on the surface of a bronze hand mirror. Its handle was sparkling in the firelight. 

"It's not real..." Malfoy mumbled, staring at the flames in awe. 

And just like that, the flames disappeared. Harry picked up the mirror and turned it around. On the back was an engraving of an eagle with its wings spread. "Yes!" He stuffed the mirror in his pocket. 

"Are we done here?" asked Snape. 

"Yes." 

"Let's get the hell out," he growled and left the room, with Harry and Malfoy following closely behind. 

As they reached the front door, they came face to face with the short girl. 

"Are you leaving so soon?" she asked, looking at Harry. 

"Our business here is done. Thank you, you have been very helpful," Snape replied in the slimy tone he had used earlier on the girl and grabbed Harry's arm to lead him outside. Harry caught a glimpse of the blushing girl before Snape slammed the door in her face.  

Harry cast a sideways glance at Snape, ready with a comment on his behaviour around the Muggles.  "Not a word..." Snape grumbled. 

Harry would snigger, but he was interrupted by the unpleasant feeling of Apparition as Snape transported the three of them back to their hideout. 

::

Draco opened one eye lazily and peeked at the window. It was late, but he couldn't leave the bed yet. He let out a groan, pulling the blanket over his head. 

They would be destroying the Horcrux later that day. Snape had explained to him what the Dark Lord had done. He had to admit that it was a good plan in theory, but must have had many flaws if Potter managed to find the Horcruxes that easily. 

Potter...Draco had finally managed to ignore him during the previous year. He was too busy doing other things. And look where that got you.  

Living around him hadn't been as difficult as he would have thought. Potter was avoiding him most of the time, save for the time he tried to talk to him. At least he seemed to be changing his mind about him. Having the Golden Boy's approval could be useful in the future. He already had to work with him against the Dark Lord if he wanted to stay alive, but he had to be covered. If he got out of this mess alive, he would need to clear his name. No, he wasn't going to stoop so low as to ask Potter to do anything for him in that way. Potter would most probably do it on his own. 

But Draco would never, ever play the werewolf card to invoke his pity. The longer Potter didn't know about it, the better it was for him. He couldn't stand the thought of having the side of Light feeling sorry for the 'poor pureblood heir-turned-half-blood-freak'. However, he wouldn't put it past Potter to use this against him. It hurt too much and Potter would know it. Even he would be able to see how much power it gave him over Draco. 

Draco couldn't decide which option was worse. Then again, Potter's opinion was the least of his worries. What mattered to him was his mother's reaction. 

Snape refused to tell him more about her, but claimed that she didn't know he was bitten. For all Draco knew, she could have known all about it and written him off. He didn't even want to think what Lucius would do if he knew, but Narcissa wouldn't want a werewolf for a son. 

It was funny how he spent their last summer together avoiding her and going into a snit at every sign of her over protectiveness, when he would give up anything to have her make a fuss over him at that moment. 

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" he muttered and kicked the blanket away before getting up. 

::

Potter had decided to grace them with his presence. He mumbled something about packing his things and took a seat. When they had all finished their dinner, Potter placed the mirror on the table. Snape said he needed to check something upstairs and left the room. 

Draco looked at the mirror. He reached out his hand to touch it, glancing at Potter out of the corners of his eyes. When he finally picked it up, Potter glared at him and started fidgeting. Draco studied the engraving for a while, decided it was boring and turned the mirror around to look at his reflection. He moved his head up and down, left and right, trying to see his face from different angles. When he scrunched up his nose, Potter decided to speak. 

"Could you stop that? Voldemort's soul is in there." 

Draco barely managed not to flinch at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. He put the mirror back on the table and tried to look offended, crossing his arms and clenching his jaw. Right when Draco started tapping his foot, Snape came back. 

"Let's start," muttered Snape, pushing the knife towards Potter, who took it immediately and held it, waiting for Snape to cast the spell. 

Exactly like the last time, Snape's spell hit the mirror and Potter cut his hand once it started to shake. Draco took the knife from him and slashed his palm, biting his lip as he felt the wound stinging. He started trembling. 

"Drop it!" Snape ordered. 

Potter dropped his blood on the mirror, his face twisted in a pained expression. Draco reached out his hand to do the same. He was shaking so badly that some of the blood ended up on the table instead of the mirror. He felt the room spinning. When the soul fragment emerged from the mirror, he was feeling so cold that his teeth started rattling. 

"Avada Kedavra!"  

The room was filled with a green light, but all Draco saw was a set of sharp teeth glistening in the moonlight. No... 

"Dementors! Hold them back!"  

Snape left the room and Potter did something with his wand. Something silver leaped out and went...somewhere... Draco couldn't keep his eyes open. He felt the werewolf's jaws closing around his leg again and started screaming at the top of his lungs. It seemed to last forever, until suddenly someone grabbed his arm and he was squeezed from all directions. 

Everything stopped. The hand left his arm and closed his mouth to stop his screams. Draco finally opened his eyes. 

They were standing in front of a small cottage. Its façade was covered in vines, reaching all the way to the roof. The windows were barely visible through the leaves and the paint on the front door was peeling off. Snape left his side and started walking towards the house, holding three bags in his hands. Draco thought it would be best if he followed him. 

He took one step forward and lost his balance, but Potter grabbed his arm in the last minute and supported him. Normally he would have pushed Potter away, insulting his friends and parentage at the same time, but all he wanted now was to go somewhere safe, and fast. So he swallowed his pride and let Potter lead him to the house. 

Snape had already lit a fire when they got inside. Draco stumbled all the way to a sofa in front of the fireplace and collapsed on the cushions. They smelled like they hadn't been used in decades, but he found himself too worn-out to care. Then someone was pulling a blanket over him and he let himself fall asleep. 

::

Harry followed Snape the moment he disappeared into one of the rooms. He closed the door behind him, sure that he'd end up yelling. There was no need for Malfoy to hear that. 

"What the hell happened back there?" he growled, not bothering to wait for Snape to turn around and face him. 

"Dementors. A simple explanation, even for you." 

Harry clenched and unclenched his fists. He had managed to keep himself from attacking Snape all this time, but every time it took a lot more effort to do that than the previous one. 

"How did you know? How did they find us? Why didn't we leave earlier? And when are you planning to start telling the fucking tru— " 

"It was cursed, Potter!" Snape cut him off with a snarl. "The Dementors were drawn to the mirror from the moment we started destroying it! And it wasn't the only one. Do you remember how easy it was to find the cup? The curse on it was ten times worse and you would have been dead by now if I hadn't found you. Now go to sleep. It's late and we're all tired. I'm not willing to discuss this again until tomorrow morning," Snape said and turned his back to him. 

Harry kept himself from yelling after Snape at the last moment. He couldn't believe that after all this time people still insisted on not telling him everything, especially when he was involved. He left the room, frustrated by the fact that he couldn't do anything more that night, and went into another bedroom, slumping on the bed and sulking for a long time before finally falling asleep. 

::

It seemed that a few hours of sleep and a decent breakfast were enough to make Snape more agreeable than the previous night. He explained to Harry how the curse on the mirror had worked and why he had not warned them, emphasising the fact that he only found out what was really going on the moment they started destroying the mirror. It hadn't been difficult to connect it to the curse on the cup after that. 

He was still adamant on not revealing everything to Harry though. Harry had been angry, but a glare from Snape forced him to let it go. At least for the moment... 

Malfoy had kept quiet during the first days. Harry guessed he was ashamed of breaking down like that during the Dementor attack, especially since he had been mocking Harry's reaction to them back in their third year. He finally decided to ignore Malfoy, but it was more difficult than before because the house was smaller and they kept bumping into each other. 

Harry had to admit that the house was far better than the other building they had been living in. Although it smelled a bit bad, it was pleasant living there after letting the windows open for a while to let fresh air into the rooms. And it was definitely not as neglected as the Inn; the roof and floors were intact, and it didn't take long to clean up the dust that had piled in during the years. 

After a few days Snape started disappearing again. He always came back holding parcels which he stacked up in the kitchen cupboards. One time he brought a new cauldron. It was then that Harry understood what he was doing. The next full moon was getting closer and closer and Malfoy was going to need the Wolfsbane potion soon. Harry decided to keep an eye on the moon. It would be best to stay out of Malfoy's way near the transformation; he would be irritable and, surprisingly, Harry wasn't in the mood for a fight. 

There was no need to check the moon every night. True enough, Malfoy was more jumpy as the days got closer. 

It was already two weeks into October when Harry went into the kitchen one morning to find Snape lining up potions ingredients on the counter. The cauldron was already set on the gas stove, although there was no fire lit underneath yet. 

Snape paid no attention to him while he took out a set of knives and arranged them next to the ingredients. Harry was about to sit at the table when a thought crossed his mind. 

"Could I help?" he asked before he could stop himself. 

Snape went rigid for a fraction of a second, but then he whipped his head around and scowled at him. 

"I highly doubt it." He watched Harry for a few minutes without speaking, clearly contemplating something. Then his expression changed for a moment and he looked like he had just taken a dose of U-NO-POO. 

"Oh, what the..." he muttered. "Get up. Pay attention and don't botch this up!" 

Harry moved and stood next to Snape. They started working on the potion, Snape giving instructions and making Harry chop and dice and crush the ingredients while he made a show of demonstrating the correct order of adding them and the way the potion should be stirred. Harry wasn't sure why he had asked to help. Maybe he wanted to aggravate Snape. Maybe he wanted to show that he wasn't useless when it came to potions. Maybe he just wanted to learn how to brew Wolfsbane potion. It didn't matter in the end. 

They managed to brew a successful batch of Wolfsbane potion and Harry felt a small smile forming on his face. 

::

Draco should have known from the start that it was going to be a horrible day. A ray of light had been slipping through the curtains right on his eyes and almost blinded him when he opened them. His left arm was numb from being stuck under his body at an awkward angle during the entire night. And his mouth felt like he had drunk troll piss. 

But nothing, nothing, had prepared him for what he heard when he was about to enter the kitchen. 

He could smell the Wolfsbane potion being brewed even from his bedroom doorway. Just as he reached the kitchen door, however, he heard Snape's voice giving instructions. 

"Crush the root. No, not like that! We need it powdered...When you're done, chop the Mandrake leaves in even pieces, like the one over there." 

"Right. Why are we using Mandrake leaves?" 

"They counteract the poisonous qualities of the Wolfsbane root. Pay attention!" 

"I am!" 

Draco made out the sound of a pestle as it crushed something dried up in a mortar, followed by chopping sounds and the bubbling of a potion in a cauldron. He tilted his head to peer through the gap of the door and saw Potter standing next to Snape, slicing some leaves as Snape stirred the liquid in the cauldron with a wooden ladle. 

He was furious. What on earth was Potter doing with his potion? Why had Snape told him about it? Draco felt the urge to rush into the room and pour the contents of the cauldron on both of them, and thought that shoving some Wolfsbane root down their throats would make the result even better. 

But he just stood there, watching them as they worked on the potion. His eyes followed their movements as they prepared the ingredients and dropped them into the cauldron, as Snape stirred the potion and as Potter washed his hands in the sink. When the potion was ready, Snape put out the fire and set the cauldron on the counter, away from the stove. 

"Now the potion needs to settle for two minutes. When it's ready, the steam will double in quantity and become thicker. Any questions?" Snape drawled out the last part. 

"No." 

"Good. It's your turn to make breakfast." 

Potter rolled his eyes, but started cooking without complaining. Draco waited a few more minutes before entering the room with a scowl on his face. Unfortunately this didn't seem to impress anyone. Snape poured some of the potion in a mug and left it on the counter next to the cauldron. Then he raised an eyebrow at Draco and went to sit at the table. 

In order to get to the mug Draco had to pass behind Potter. With a last glare at Snape, he moved to get it. When he entered Potter's field of vision, Potter stopped stirring the pan and looked at him. 

Say anything. I dare you.  

Draco sent him a glare filled with all the hate and anger he could find inside him. Without averting his eyes from Potter's, he took the mug and downed the potion in a few gulps. When he finished, he slammed the cup on the counter, sent a sneer at Potter and went to sit next to Snape. 

He got the impression that Potter had been amused instead of intimidated by his little performance, and that made him even angrier. 

::

On the next day Harry noticed Malfoy taking another dose of Wolfsbane potion after lunch. He went to the living room afterwards and curled up on the sofa, staring at the glowing embers in the fireplace. Harry stayed on the other side of the room. He sat in the armchair next to the window to read a book. As the light outside started dimming, Snape appeared and said something to Malfoy before leading him to his room. 

Malfoy paused outside the door, muttering something to Snape and fiddling with the sleeve of his robe. Snape seemed to be getting impatient. He hissed something back, but Malfoy kept muttering and looking at him. 

"No, Draco! I already told you that you have to do this alone. Now get in there!" 

Malfoy's eyes flashed angrily for a moment and then he turned on his heel and entered his room, slamming the door closed behind him. Harry thought he saw Snape flinch as the door banged against its frame. He buried his nose in the book and tried to act like he hadn't noticed a thing when Snape turned around. 

When the moon appeared over the treetops, Harry thought he heard a soft wail coming from Malfoy's room. He closed the book and went to his bedroom, stuffing the pillow over his head once he fell on his bed. 

::

When Harry was about to enter the kitchen in the next morning, he paused in the doorway the moment he heard Snape muttering angrily. He craned his neck to see what was happening. 

Snape was at the table, pressing his fingers to his temples. 

"Spoiled brat...Throws a tantrum when he doesn't get his way..." 

Harry was certain that Malfoy had caused this. He waited for a while, a part of him enjoying Snape's suffering, before finally going into the room. Snape spun his head so quickly that Harry thought it would come off, but when he saw who it was, he scowled at him. 

"Oh, it's you." 

Malfoy must have really done it this time, Harry thought, if Snape acts like that to me." He was about to start piling food into his plate, when Snape interrupted him. 

"Before you eat, I need you to take that to Draco," he said, pointing to a tray on the table. 

Harry almost told him where to put his stupid tray, but thought better of it. Let Malfoy get on Snape's nerves today. I do that well enough during the rest of the month.  

"Erm..." he said instead. 

"He is locked up in there and won't open the door for me. He might open it for you if you mention you're bringing food." Snape looked annoyed. 

"Right." He left his plate on the counter and took the tray, heading over to Malfoy's room. Once he reached the door, he balanced it on one hand and knocked on the door with the other. 

There was no reply. He reached for the handle, but it wouldn't move. 

"Malfoy, it's me. Open the door." 

"Go away..." came Malfoy's muffled response. 

"I've got your food. Either you open the door right now or I'll leave it here and you'll have to get your arse out of bed to get it," Harry snapped. 

A click came from the lock and the handle trembled slightly. Harry lifted his hand and opened the door. 

Malfoy was lying on the bed, covered with a blanket up to his nose. He had just set his wand on the nightstand and was now dragging his arm back into the covers. For one moment, Harry though about checking it to see if Malfoy had the Mark, but changed his mind immediately. Besides, it was his right hand, so he wouldn't have seen it anyway. 

He walked towards the bed and set the tray on the nightstand, pushing Malfoy's wand on the side. 

"Do you need anything else?" he asked, trying to sound polite. Well, as polite as he could be to Malfoy. 

Malfoy shook his head. 

"Right. So...If you need anything later, just...you know." What am I telling him?  

And with that, Harry almost ran out of Malfoy's room and disappeared into his own. The moment he closed the door he paused and shook his head. "Seriously, what did I tell him? And why? What was I thinking? Great, now he'll be thinking that I want us to be friends or something..." 

::

The next day Snape knocked on his door, asking to speak to him in private. Harry let him in reluctantly. 

"I'm bringing Draco's mother here in a few days for a visit." 

"WHAT?" Harry burst out, but Snape shushed him. 

"Stop yelling Potter! You won't tell him anything. He's not supposed to know about it. I'm only telling you this because you'll have to hide at that time. It's... She still doesn't know we're working with you. And I'd like things to remain that way until the Dark Lord is defeated." 

"And you think that he's not going to tell her anything? He's going to spit it all out the moment he sees her!" 

"You have no say in this. Just make sure you stay hidden in here in four days without making a sound. And don't tell him anything!" 

And with that, Snape turned around and left the room, leaving Harry alone and angry. He kicked the wardrobe and ended up on the floor, clutching his leg and moaning in pain. 

::

Snape hadn't been lying. Four days later he announced that he had to leave for a few hours, giving Harry a pointed look as he pulled on his cloak. Harry sighed, picked up his things and headed to his bedroom. Malfoy seemed a little puzzled by that exchange and kept sipping his tea while casting nervous glances around him. Harry closed his door and dragged a chair behind it. 

He had been told to stay in his room. He hadn't been told not to watch what was happening. The keyhole was just the right height and angle to offer him a great view of the entire living room and the door was thin enough to allow him to hear almost everything. 

It didn't take long for Snape to get back. Until then Harry had to watch Malfoy sitting at the dining table and acting as if the Death Eaters were about to attack. When Snape opened the door Malfoy flinched, but when Snape stepped aside to reveal the person standing behind him Malfoy jumped up so fast that Harry had to suppress a chuckle. 

"Mother!" He was noticeably restraining himself from running to her. 

"Hello, Draco," she said, removing her gloves and looking around the room before turning her eyes to Malfoy. Snape closed the door behind her. Malfoy was swaying back and forth slightly, like he kept himself from moving at the last moment. 

"Well," Narcissa Malfoy said, "Given the circumstances, I think we are allowed to..." she gulped and looked at her hands, "act a little emotional, don't you think so?" 

That was it. Malfoy rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, burying his face in her neck. She looked surprised for a second, but then smiled and hugged him back. Snape pointed to the sofa and she slowly led Malfoy to sit there. 

"Mum, I'm sorry, so sorry!" he mumbled, still hiding his face in her neck. 

"Shh, Draco, baby. Don't worry now. Everything is going to be fine." She ran her fingers through his hair and rubbed his back with her other hand. Harry thought that it seemed a bit silly for Malfoy to be acting like an oversized baby, but didn't have the heart to chuckle over that scene. 

  "No!" he wailed. "Didn't Professor Snape tell you what happened to me?" When he didn't get a reply, Malfoy pulled away from his mother and looked at her with wide eyes. "Oh no! He didn't tell you, right?" He looked like he was going to be sick. 

"Don't be ridiculous, Draco. Of course he told me." 

"But then how...? Why...? If I'm a—" he spluttered. 

Narcissa smirked and reached out her hand to stroke his cheek, wiping a tear—When did that get there? —with her thumb. 

"You thought I'd be ashamed of you? That I'd try to get rid of you?" 

"Well, I—" He paused and looked at her. "Are we talking about the same thing?" 

"We are talking about your... condition, yes." 

"Then why are you so calm?" 

Narcissa took his hand and entwined their fingers. "Because you're still my son. And be glad that Severus killed Greyback, because otherwise I'd be hunting him down instead of being here with you." And with that she planted a kiss on his f