Disclaimer: Not mine. Please don't sue I don't have any money
Pairing: (Eventually) Harry/Draco

Author: Catium

Beta: No one I read it over my self
Rating: PG – 13 (for now).
Word Count: (This chapter)
Genre: Romance/ Drama.
Status: In Progress.
Warnings: (For now) Language.
Summary: What happens when that thin line between hate and love starts to disappear? Starts in the Half Blood Prince then moves on to year 7. The Deathly Hallows never happened.

There Is A Thin Line Between Hate And Love

Chapter. 1 – Dumbledore's Death And The Escape From Hogwarts

He looked at Dumbledore while he was speaking, although he didn't hear anything that he was saying. It was dawning on him that he wouldn't be able to do it, despite everything that he had put himself through. He wouldn't be able to kill Dumbledore and since he wouldn't be able to kill Dumbledore… he would be as good as dead.

All of sudden he was yanked out of these thoughts, when what Dumbledore had been saying managed to sink in.

Dumbledore had been saying something about he had knew about his mission, but had been afraid to speak of it until now, fearing that Him would use Legilimency against him. But now they could speak plainly with each other. No harm had been done, he hadn't hurt nobody, though he had been lucky that his unintentional victims had survived. Then he added

"I can help you, Draco".

"No you can't,"

Draco said and realized that his wand hand was shaking. A lot.

"Nobody can. He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I have no choice."

Draco sincerely hoped that the hysteria in his voice had been his imagination but not real.

"Come over to the right side, Draco", he heard Dumbledore say, "and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban... when the time comes we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco. You're not a killer."

Draco stared at Dumbledore and couldn't believe his ears. Dumbledore had been offering him a protection. Him who had been given the mission to kill him. Him who came from a family, where everyone until now, had either been Death Eaters or agreed to The Dark Lords ideas.

"But I got this far, didn't I?" he said slowly. "They thought I'd die in the attempt, but I'm here and you're in my power. I'm the one with the wand. You're at my mercy."

"No Draco", he heard Dumbledore say quietly. "It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now."

Draco couldn't say anything. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. His wand hand was still trembling. All of sudden he made up his mind. He lowered his wand tiny bit. He was going to accept Dumbledore's offer about protection, about joining, like Dumbledore had said, the right side. Not just because of him, but because of his family. Because of her. He loved her so much. He couldn't let her join the Dark Lord, like the rest of the family. He just knew that if hecouldn't follow the Dark Lord orders about committing murder, then how would she be able to do it? She wasn't even…

Draco was all of sudden brought back to the reality when he heard footsteps coming closer. Then he was pushed aside when four persons in black robes came running through the door on to the ramparts.

"No", Draco said so low that nobody heard him. It was to late. He couldn't accept Dumbedore's offer now, he would have to finish the mission that he had been assigned.

Then Draco started looking at whom it had been who had interrupted this important moment. But he didn't have to, Dumbledore saved him the trouble and he heard him saying.

"Good evening, Amycus, and you've brought Alecto too, charming."

Draco could also see that Fenrir Greyback was there along with the fourth man that he didn't know the name of. He heard that Dumbledore was speaking to Alecto and Amycus and then to Greyback but he wasn't really listening. He didn't care for what they were saying. That didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore. Now it was to late for him to turn back. The path that he had chosen was now closed up behind him. He would have to go on, on that path that he knew would lead to nothing but more murders and bad deeds for the Dark Lord. He would be just like his father. A Death Eater. He should have said no. Should have said no to Him when he gave him this mission. Do the right thing and dying knowing that he had done the right thing. But he had chosen the easy way. What Dumbledore had said during his fourth year had come true. He had been forced to choose between what is right, and what is easy and he had chosen the easy way. Chosen to life his live as a bad person, instead of dying for the right cost. He saw it now. What Dumbledore and the Order were doing was the right thing. This was wrong. What he was doing was so wrong.

Draco heard that the talk has been directed to him. Dumbledore had said he was shocked that he would invite Fenrir Greyback into the school where his friends live.

"I didn't," Draco said and tried to look anywhere else but at Greyback. "I didn't know he was going to come."

Greyback said something more but Draco wasn't listening.

Then the stranger starting to speak and said

"No. We've got orders. Draco's got to do it. Now, Draco, and quickly."

Draco looked at Dumbledore's face, which was pale and much lower than usual, since he had slid so far down the rampart wall.

Dumbledore and two of the Death Eaters exchanged more word.

Amycus said, "Come on, Draco, do it!"

But at that moment, Draco heard sounds from below.

A voice said, "They've blocked the stairs – Reducto! REDUCTO!

"Now, Draco, quickly!" the stranger repeated.

Then Draco made his decision. He would have to do this. He didn't have a choice. This wasn't just about his own life, but about Snape's life too. He had swore the unbreakable vow, swore to help him finish his mission, even though he had known that if he didn't complete it then he would be dead. This was also about the life of his family. His mom and dad and…If he would accept Dumbledore's offer about protection and if Dumbledore would survive this night, then he wouldn't only been singing his one death sentence but also the death sentence of four others people. If this was about killing Dumbledore and saving his live and four others life's. Or not killing Dumbledore and then risking his own life and four others life's. Then the choice was easy.

He raised his wand but his hand was shaking so badly that he couldn't aim properly.

"I'll do it," Greyback said and starting walking towards Dumbledore.

"I said no!" the stranger said and used a spell to blast the werewolf into the wall.

"Draco, do it, or stand aside so one of us..."

Alecto said. But at that precise moment the door opened again to the ramparts and Snape was there, holding his wand in his hand. Draco saw Snape looking around at the scene before him, from Dumbledore slumped against the wall, to the other four Death Eaters, including the werewolf and finally looking at him.

"We've got a problem, Snape," Amycus said who was both looking at and pointing his wand at Dumbledore, "the boy doesn't seem able..."

"Severus" someone said and Draco couldn't believe his own ears. Dumbledore was begging, he really was begging.

Snape didn't say anything but then Draco felt himself being pushed aside and Snape walked in front of him. The other Death Eaters stepped aside without saying anything.

Draco could see the way Snape was looking at Dumbledore, his face just screaming hate and repulsion.

"Severus…please…"

Draco couldn't believe this, wouldn't believe this. "It can't be, no, I don't believe this", he said oh so quietly. Dumbledore that even Him was afraid of, seemed to be frightened by Snape and was begging him.

Then like in a nightmare, Draco watched when Snape raised his wand and pointed it at Dumbledore.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green light was shot from the end of Snape's wand and hit Dumbledore in the middle of his chest. Draco had to restrain himself so he wouldn't scream. He watched, helpless, when Dumbledore blasted into the air, hanging there for a split second, before starting to fall backwards, over the battlements and out of sight.

Draco didn't get any time to process what had just happened.

"Out of here, quickly,"

Snape said and then Draco felt Snape grab him by the scruff of his neck and push him through the door and down the stair. The others followed.

He heard someone behind him say "Petrificus Totalus!" and someone else falling down, probably the one hit by the curse, though he didn't knew how had cast the curse or how had got hit by it. Although he thought he recognized the voice of whom that had thrown the curse.

On they went down the stair and when they came to the hall below the stair, Draco saw how the hall was filled with dust. Half the ceiling seemed to have fallen down. A battle was racing but Draco couldn't see, because of the dust, who was fighting whom. Snape dragged him through the hall and managed buy some strike of luck to get through without anyone trying to stop them. He heard someone saying that the Room of Requirement had been closed so it was no way they were getting out that way.

When they reached the corner, Snape turned around and screamed,

"It's over, time to go,"

Then he turned around and was on the move again. Still holding tightly on to the scruff of Draco's neck, so he was forced to follow.

They ran away and the sounds from the battle starting to diminish until they vanished completely, but the battle went on despite Snape's order that it was time to go.

They kept running and didn't meet anyone except some students how had probably, like the whole castle, Draco thought, woken up when the ceiling fell down, and decided to check and see what was going on. He was surprised though that no one had tried to stop them jet, not even the Order members how had been in the battle. Then he remembered that Snape had told him that the Order thought he was spying for it on the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord. Some students tried to stop them, when they saw a teacher, trying to get explanation on what was going on and it everything wasn't all right. But Snape just kept running and if they weren't quick enough in stepping away, he simply ran them down.

When they got close to the Marble Staircase and the Entrance Hall, Draco saw a terrifying sight; the oak front doors were locked and would not open easily.

"Now they will catch us for sure," Draco thought, "I just know it."

But Snape kept running and starting to go down the Marble Staircase. He lifted his wand, aimed and screamed some curse. He missed. The curse hit the Gryffindor Hourglass instead, which exploded with a thud, and the rubies started to fall out of it. Few students who were standing there in their pajamas, Draco saw they were Rawneclaws and Slytherins, screamed when the glass fragments rained over them and cut few of them.

Snape swore silently, aimed again and this time he hit the doors and they opened but didn't blow up like the hourglass.

They ran across the Entrance Hall and out. But their trouble didn't end there. Now Hagrid appeared out of his cabinet. Snape kept running and ran past him. Again no one tried to stop them. Hagrid didn't seem to realize what was going on. Then he saw the Dark mark and seemed to come to a realization.

He screamed so loudly that Draco's ears hurt,

"Your traitor, that you could do this after everything Dumbledore has done for you."

Snape Ignored him and kept on running. Draco ran with him forced, like before, but turned his head to see what was going on behind them and saw, to his horror that Hagrid was going to stop them.

Then he got hit by a curse and Draco saw that a blond Death Eater that he didn't know, started to throw curse, after curse at Hagrid how seemed like he didn't even feel them.

"Probably because of his Giant blood," Draco thought.

Then he saw another person far, far away, how he thought he recognized and unintentionally he connected the voice he had heard in the tower sending the curse on one of the Death Eaters to that person in the distant, and then he realized. It was Potter, he had been in the Astronomy Tower the whole time. The whole time during his encounter with Dumbledore. But why he hadn't seen Potter and why Potter hadn't trying to stop him from killing Dumbledore, Draco didn't understand. Possibly he had been under some kind of a spell from Dumbledore, to stopping him from reacting, stopping him in getting hurt and Dumbledore had sacrificed his own life to make sure Potter didn't get hurt. That was probably the reason why Dumbledore had, had his wand in the air but hadn't reacted as soon as Draco came into the ramparts.

"That is so like Dumbledore," he thought, "wanting to make sure like always that nothing would happen to his favorite. Was… was so like him", he corrected himself, and a shudder went through his body. Dumbledore was really dead. He could hardly believe it.

Then, a curse went right past Snape's head.

Potter had thrown it.

Snape let go of Draco and stopped, Draco stopped too and looked at him.

"Go on Draco, run, run through the gate and Disapparate yourself away, you know where we were going to meat.

Draco just stared at him and asked

"What are you going to do with him?"

"Nothing," Snape answered.

Draco still stood there motionless and stared at him, he didn't belive him.

"Seriously Draco," Snape said louder, sounding annoyed, "nothing, he belongs to the Dark Lord and whoever who would do anything to him. Anything serious," he added, "would be immediately punished."

"Run, Draco," he screamed and sounded really angry.

Draco reacted right away, turned a round and starting to run, cursing himself.

"That was really stupid," he said ashamed of himself, "you made it sound like

you give a damn about what will happen to Potter."

"But you do care, don't you?" a little voice was saying inside of himself, "you don't want him to die anymore than you wanted Dumbledore to die."

"That's not true," he argued with himself, "I did want Dumbledore dead and I do want Potter dead. I hate them. Both. I…I. I just couldn't kill him myself, that's it. I just need more practice, that's it. The next time I will be given the mission to kill someone then I will do it, then I will have rehearsed more and then I'll be able to do it. Then I'll be ready."

Draco ran the last few steps outside the gates and turned around. He saw Snape's back and Potter facing him, his face filled with hate, while he tried to send curse after curse at Snape, how blocked them all.

That was the last thing he saw.

One second before he Disapparated the little voice, who he thought he had beaten in the discussion, added.

"But you didn't want him dead and you don't want Potter dead either. You don't need any more practice, you have more practice than your father did before he killed his first. You were ready, you just don't have it in you to kill people. You are not like your father. Not in any way. You didn't hate Dumbledore. You don't hate Potter. It's the contrary. Am I right?" the little voice asked who wasn't so little anymore.

Draco had to admit himself defeated.

"Yes," he sighed, "this is right, all of it. But especially that last one. I don't hate Potter. On the contrary."

His eyes got bigger in surprise, when he realized what he had just said.

"No" he sighed.

But at that exact moment, the Disapparation took place. He felt that weird feeling that always came with Apparation, and Hogwarts, the scenery before him disappeared.

He disappeared and nothing was left, except the pressed down grass, which bore witness that someone had been standing there, just one second before.

TBC

Author's note: Review and tell me what you thought.