Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. If I did there would be no Tonks and Ginny would be dead. I'm just using them for a little while.

Author note: This story is a spoiler for book six. You have been warned. This story will become slash. I'm still working out the plot. So I have no idea how long it will be.

A/N 2 there is a Harry/Ginny relationship because it is cannon but there relationship as a couple will not play a big role in this story. P.S I hate them together but the relationship was need for the plot.

Parings: Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny (only because it's cannon) Harry/Draco

Dumbledore Lessons

Chapter one

It was at the end of a long dirty day that we found him. Actually, Hermione found him, in an ally in muggle London. A little after sunrises we found and destroyed a Horcruxes then spent the rest of the day dodging spells and curses. Death Eaters were hunting us. We split up around three in the afternoon with plans to meet up at our spot; a dance club in muggle London. Death eaters have no sense of humor. They find muggle dance clubs distorting, drunken muggles don't take them seriously.

Around seven, I got a text message from Hermione ordering a meeting three hours earlier than normal outside the club instead of at our usually table. Cell Phones have become our mode of contact. Text messages are more reliable than owls. Death Eaters can't track muggle technology. I meet Ron half way. We walked the rest of the way together in silence.

He was in the alleyway between the club and a doctor's office, curled up in a pile of blankets. Hermione was standing over him, frowning. She didn't look angry just worried which was odd. The worrying was out of place, not the lack of angry. I told them what happen up in the tower. Ron thought he was a coward. Hermione reserved judgment and I didn't care either way. All I wanted was Snape and Voldemort dead.

Ron and I step into the ally. Hermione looked up from the pile of blankets. Ron was getting impatient. He wanted to go home take a shower. He was not alone in this; a day spent dogging Death eaters is always dirty work.

"Why are we standing in the ally looking at a bum?"

My voice came out sharper than I intended. Hermione shook her head, pushing hair out of her face. Her ponytail that had been so neat this morning now hangs in sloppy tuffs, her bangs standing straight up from her head, face a bright red. I wonder how long she's been standing out here.

"It's not a bum, it's Malfoy. He's dying… I think."

Ron stepped forward "I thought the big bad evil had Malfoy."

Hermione hunched down beside the pile of blankets and pulls back the top layer.

He lay curled up on his side, blond hair shaved down to peach fuzz. He looked dirty really dirty, there was a long angry red slash on the side of his pale face. For some odd reason he reminded me of Sirius. That made me angry. Sirius would never have even thought of killing Dumbledore even if it meant lost of his life.

"Hermione, Ron we should get going. For all we know this could be a trap. He is a Death Eater."

Hermione shook her head; she looked incredible sad.

"No Harry he's not."

"Hermione I saw him in the tower. I don't care why he did what he did. He was still there. Only Death Eaters could get past the shield in the tower! Death Eaters scum, just like his ass fuck of a father and Snape!

"Harry" her voice was low and miserable. "He's not. Not anymore." She reached forward and tugged on Malfoy's arm rolling him until he lay on his left side. I could see that he was awake now. Gray eyes large, mostly empty glazed over in pain. She said he was dying. She pulled on his right arm and shoved back the sleeve. A few inches below the elbow, his right arm was gone, a sharp piece of bone jutted out of pink mangled flesh. Ron dropped to his knees beside Hermione.

"Malfoy what did you cut this with?" He actually manages to sound like he cared.

Malfoy said nothing. He gives Ron a rather kind smile and shakes his head.

Hermione pulled down the sleeve.

"He doesn't talk just pats my hand. If I say something truthful, he gives me a hug. I would assume it was something muggle and sharp but not sharp enough. He did it himself. He made that much clear. It wasn't magic. It would have been a clean cut if he used magic, besides he broke his wand and threw it away. Possibly, in the same location he disposed of the arm. The wound is infected and it's making him sick."

"And what would you have us do? Take him home and patch him up?"

"Dumbledore would have forgiven him. He would want us to help him."

"Dumbledore was not the best judge of character." It still hurts to think that, even more to say it but that was the truth. Dumbledore bargained with his life when he trusted Snape. Snape fucking double-crossed us and murdered the man who protected him, looked out for him, trusted him. Dumbledore gave him a second chance when everyone else would have seen him locked away in Azkaban. Snape, the man that got my parents killed. I turn my back on them and head towards the mouth of the ally. Dumbledore would have wanted me to watch out for Malfoy or at least make sure he got his arm fixed. He cut off his arm to get rid of the dark mark, hacked it off with some fucked up muggle knife. I never would have thought Malfoy had it in him. Ron came to stand at my side.

"You know I never liked Malfoy but Hermione is right. Dumbledore would not have left him here in a fucking ally, in the middle of winter. He's not Snape, Harry. He's too vain to cut off his arm just to set a trap for you. This is Malfoy, he wouldn't senselessly hurt himself not even for you know who."

"How do you know that Ron? How can you even think of trusting him? That whole house is bad. Nothing good ever comes out of there…you told me that yourself. We can't protect him. We can barely protect ourselves right now. He's going to hold us back, he's half dead and he doesn't even have a wand."

"He doesn't need a wand. He's less dangerous to us without it. I don't think we should keep him forever but I do think we should help him. He put down his wand Harry. He wouldn't have killed Dumbledore… he didn't want to. Dumbledore knew that and so do you."

"I was there Ron! I fucking know what I know."

"We should help him."

"He is Malfoy!"

"Anyone who can hack of their arm to get away from Vol- you know who needs a second looking at."

"He was in league with Voldemort."

Ron shrugs. He turns his head to look back at Hermione and Malfoy. "He was a silly kid Harry. He didn't know any better. His father and mom were big supporter of you know who. He thought it was cool. When he got in he saw it was bad and he was smart enough to try and get out." Ron shakes his head hard. "I can't believe I'm defending Malfoy to you."

"Me neither. Are you sure no one put a spell on you?"

"Wouldn't know if they did. What I do know is I could really go for a hot shower."

"Me too. Are we really going to take him home? He could have a tracking spell on him."

Hermione comes to stand by Ron; she seems to automatically lean into his space.

"He has nothing, I checked. He doesn't even have a magic signature. Anyone would think he was a muggle or a squib. It's cold out here Harry and the arm is infected."

"Fine, we take the fucking rat home. If he gets us fucked remember I never wanted to take him."

Hermione hugged me hard and goes over to talk to Malfoy. Ron pats me on the back.

"It's the right thing to do and you know it."

He's right of course. Dumbledore was always going on about how love separated me from Voldemort. I'm starting to understand those lessons. Love, kindness, friendship, compassion, forgiveness; these are gifts that makes me stronger than Voldemort.