He was huddled in a small nook of Hogwarts, hoping to avoid the notice of both the forces of good and bad. After so long spent among the dark side, he was sure that any person on the side of light would think he was a death eater. But if he were a death eater, would he be there in that hidden nook behind the statue of some famous lady of the past? No, he'd be out there with the other dark cloaked figures, firing painful and deadly curses at the friends of Harry Potter.
He pushed himself further back into the nook as a blur of red practically flew by, perused by a death eater. He peaked out after a moment; the blur of red was a very frightened Seamus Finnigan, who finally slid to a stop when he met with two other members of Dumbledore's Army. They turned to face the death eater and pushed the cloaked figure down the corridor to the right.
A few minutes later, a frightened bunch of first years ran nearby, pursued by a trio of masked figures. Draco recognized two of the trio, but not the third. His father and aunt Bella. Bella was laughing as she fired spell after spell at the fleeing children. As the children ran, one small blond girl slipped and lay sprawled on the ground near his hiding place.
Dare he reach out and pull her in the small nook, to some safety? If his father, or Bella saw him doing such a thing, he would be punished severely, but not killed. Never killed. Voldemort wanted so much more from him. It wasn't like the shell of a man had only wanted to take Draco's virginity from him, or even his freedoms. No, he wanted more then that, as he often told him.
He had to act quickly if he was going to help the girl, before anyone saw him. Acting on a split second decision, he darted out of his hiding spot and pulled the young girl in. She brought wide, fearful eyes up to stare at him, and almost screamed – before Draco managed to firmly cover her mouth with his hand. He brought his other hand up to his lips and then looked back out into the danger filled hallway. The death eaters had passed; they were safe for the moment.
He took his hand from her mouth, and waited a moment until he was sure she wouldn't try to start screaming. She backed up as far as she could to the other side of the alcove, only about two feet further away from him. Her wide, frightened eyes, moved from his face and pale hair to his wadded up black cloak and death eater mask.
"You're Draco Malfoy." She whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear.
He nodded. "Yes…I am."
"You're a death eater."
He glared at her. "No, I'm NOT." He whispered harshly. "No more so then anyone else who is hiding from those bastards, or fighting them, for that matter."
"Is that why you saved me?"
"I saved you because you needed help, and I was here and able to do it."
"Oh."
They sat in silence until the sounds of battle died down, and Order Members and Members of Dumbledore's Army began sweeping the halls for any remaining death eaters. Harry's Marauder's map was in full use, it seemed, and had led quite a few people, including Harry Potter, to Draco's present location.
His wand was pointed into the nook, towards Draco. "Malfoy, we know you're in there. Release the girl and come out. Drop your wand on the ground and kick it to me."
Draco nodded to the girl who stood shakily and hurried out to her saviors. She promptly did the right thing and began telling Harry about how Draco had saved her. 'Must be a Gryffindor.' Draco thought as he stepped out of the nook himself, while carrying his unwanted cloak and mask. He dropped his wand and kicked it over towards Harry as the Hero of Gryffindor commanded, and stood there silently waiting while the blond girl continued her assurances that Draco had done her no harm.
Harry stooped to pick up the blond man's wand and pocketed it before looking back at the young first year girl who was practically spouting Malfoy's virtues. His eyes moved back over to Draco, down to his reviled cloak and death eater mask, before turning to Tonks and asking her to take Draco to the room with the other prisoners.
The blonds' face and eyes radiated panic. "Potter! I need to talk to you…please. Privately if at all possible."
The Boy-Who-Lived to save the world looked at him and turned back to face him. "Why should I give you even one second of my time Malfoy?"
"Because…I'm not a death eater."
Someone coughed, though the sound that resulted sounded an awful lot like, "Bullshit!" The corners of Harry's mouth turned up in a slight smile.
"I'm serious, Potter, check me for the dark mark…I don't have it!"
"Fine, Malfoy. Say we check you for the mark and we don't find it. What do you want us to do about it? Surely you don't think we'll let you free?"
"No…protection, Potter. I need protection. Voldemort will want me back…he always comes back for me."
Harry's voice was deep and even. "Why?"
"I'd rather not talk about that right now." Draco glanced down at the ground, feeling embarrassed to tell Harry Potter that someone as proud and pureblooded as Draco Malfoy was Voldemort's sex toy and hopeful weapon.
Harry sighed, glanced around the group, ran a hand through his messy, sweat soaked hair. Then he turned back to Tonk's and muttered something to her that Draco didn't hear. She nodded, stepped forward, and took her blond cousin by the arm firmly. "Come on, Cousin. I'll take you to one of the guestrooms until Harry and the others can spare some time to see you."
Draco nodded, relieved to know that he wouldn't have to go in the same room as the death eaters. For now at least.