I had done wrong; you built your tower…I know I tried. I was not stable and flawed by pride…There'll be no value in the strength of walls that I have grown…You may not trust the promises of the change I'll show but…watch me as I glide before I tumble homeward, homeward…lover of the light.

Mumford & Sons

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"Would you like something to drink?" Hermione offered awkwardly. She didn't know the right way to behave around him. In contradiction to her attitude earlier, she was relieved beyond measure that Harry was there with her.

"Water, please," requested Draco meekly; his mouth was beyond dry, but he was used to it. Thirst and hunger were his constant companions while in Azkaban. It was no longer something he thought to complain about.

Hermione conjured a glass on the surface of her desk and filled it with water emitted from her wand. Harry could see the shakiness in her grip and got up to deliver the water to Malfoy. He interjected, took the water from her and give it to him on her behalf. Hermione didn't object but sat back down swiftly, staring at the ghostly man before her in awe.

"Thank you," said Draco as he graciously took the glass from Harry.

Harry was amazed that Malfoy had just thanked him for anything. This wilted man before them had to be a stranger.

Harry pulled up a chair for himself between the two of them as Hermione regained the courage to speak.

"I have to admit Draco…I'm in shock to see you like this," she admitted bluntly.

Draco shrugged as he brought the glass of water up to his lips and slowly drank from it. The water rapidly quenched his thirst; moistening his parched lips on contact. It was an immediate relief.

"I can't image what I must look like to you." It was easier for him to speak now that his mouth had received some hydration. "I haven't seen myself since before my arrest," he admitted without shame.

Harry and Hermione both knew that there were absolutely no luxuries in Azkaban, which included items like mirrors, but they had never encountered the effects of this face to face. Not really; Sirius had always been very vague about his experience during the few occasions he'd spoken about what Azkaban had been like. They were only teenagers at the time of his escape and he hadn't wanted to scare them; but if living in a cave, feasting on rats was preferable to the conditions at Azkaban then they had gotten a pretty good idea of how hard it was to live through the experience.

"You're probably wondering why you're here? At Hogwarts, I mean…with us," said Hermione, redirecting the conversation.

Honestly, Draco hadn't thought about it too much. It didn't really matter to him where he was, as long as he was away from his line marked cell, and never had to go back. "I just know that my probation officer is supposed to be making contact with me sometime soon. That's all I know."

"That's me," spoke up Harry. "I'll be serving as your probation officer. I requested your case."

He didn't need to explain why to Draco, and he didn't ask. It didn't really matter to Draco who took on the responsibility at that moment, even if it was Harry Potter. What he cared to know about was her…

"Why did you come and collect me?" Draco asked Hermione, looking up at her for the first time since they arrived. "I expected a Ministry officer to be there, my attorney, or even one of my parents. I never thought that it would be you…"

They locked eyes and the impact of it froze her for a moment. His face was worn, beaten down, and his eyes had lost some of their glowing spark, but they still were the same grey eyes that she had always known.

"It's a long story really," she began with a quivering voice. "After your trial I took a position here at Hogwarts as Charms instructor. I just couldn't do it anymore…death eater reformation and all that." She gave off a small laugh. "I'm sure you can understand why."

Draco averted his eyes and stared down at his half empty water glass.

Regaining some strength to her voice, she continued on. "Anyway, Harry took over my position at the department and I came here to work. I resumed the position of Headmistress about three years ago after McGonagall stepped down."

"Why am I here?"

"The reason you're here is because of your father." There was a bitterness in her voice as she said this.

"My father?" Draco spoke up and looked to both of them with an expression of confusion. "I had a falling out with him before my arrest. How does he have anything to do with this?"

"If not your Father, then I'm going to assume it's your Mother's doing. Perhaps working through your Father's authority. I don't know all of the details but for the past few months I have been covering the position of potions instructor as well as my duties as headmistress simultaneously. My previous potion's master decided to transfer to Durmstrang with less than three days' notice. I was forced to accommodate his absence to the best of my ability. I couldn't just hire someone out of nowhere that close to the end of year. During this time, your father or your mother, whichever, decided to use this opportunity to your advantage. The entire board of governors decided in unison to offer the available Potions position to you, seemingly, out of nowhere. I was against it, and I still am, but if the board decides on something unanimously then they are able to overrule almost any decision I make. I have no choice but to accommodate their wishes and acclimate you to the position to the best of my ability. That is why I came to collect you and that is why you are here."

Clearly, she was trying to make it known that she hadn't wanted him here and had had no choice in the matter.

"I know that your parents have deep pockets, and I know that they paid them off to get that accomplished with the Board of Governors. I can't prove it though. I'm not going to waste my time trying to, either I'm a fair person, and if the board has decided they are willing to be swayed by your mother's wealth and intentions by instilling a prisoner fresh from Azkaban as a Hogwarts instructor, then I will indulge them. Should you fail, it will reflect on their poor decisions and not mine. Hopefully, they'll learn a lesson from all of this."

Draco could hardly believe what he was hearing. Could all of this really be true? Why would she lie?

"Be warned, however, that even though I have to accept your employment for the time being, your position here is not guaranteed, nor is it set in stone. Know that I do reserve the right to terminate you after a probationary period of six months, so don't get too comfortable if you can avoid it. Also know that you are required to demonstrate yourself capable of performing the job being offered to you. I'll grant you a month to pull yourself together, and freshen up on your potions skills before I administer a comprehension basement. The term begins in two months so should you pass, you'll only have a month to plan your lesson schedule for the year. It's not going to be easy. Your mother should have realized that this will require a great deal of work from you before she wasted her money bribing my board members."

This was a lot of take in at once. Draco could barely see through the mat of hair dripping from his head, let alone conjure up a delicate potion in a cauldron under the pressure of being judged. He hadn't even touched his wand in eighteen years…But if this is what it was going to take for him to survive outside the walls of Azkaban, then he would just have to find a way to make it all work. Although he was broken, he was still determined.

"I'm assigning you to live here at Hogwarts," spoke up Harry. "I want you somewhere I can easily keep an eye on you. You can apparate where you want within reason, use the floo network, fly even, but you can't leave the country until your probation period is over. You don't need my permission to go anywhere, but keep in mind that I'll be dropping in to check on you periodically and that you are being tracked. Starting tomorrow you'll be able to access your Gringotts account, with a restriction on your withdrawal amounts. Your spending will be monitored and recorded by the Ministry until the next two years, along with all wand activity."

"Do you have my wand?" Draco's fingers were itching to hold it once again.

Hermione pulled it out of her cloak and passed it over to Harry who delicately handed it over to Draco.

The pull was almost too strong for him to bear as he was finally reunited with his wand, the bond to his magic finally restored. He was a man again. More importantly, he felt that he was once again a wizard. A trickle of life buzzed down his spine, a sensation that he hadn't felt in eighteen years. For the first time in a long time, it felt good to be alive.

Hermione and Harry watched as the magic of his wand seemed to reflate him. They gave him a moment to relish in the reunion.

Draco eventually broke away from the feeling. "I know that I don't have any credibility right now and I know that I haven't earned back any sort of trust. If you both still hate me after all these years, I absolutely understand why… I just want you both to know that I am unbelievably grateful for this, for your kindness. You may not view your actions as being kind, but after what I've been subjected to, mere acknowledgement is a great charity to my soul. I owe you my absolute devotion Hermione after all I've done and I will spend my life repaying you if you'll allow it."

"I don't need your repayment. I just need you to do your job," stated Hermione coldly. She didn't want him bringing up the past, especially right now. Things were going along relatively smoothly without the emotional baggage and she intending to keep it that way.

Draco stopped himself from continuing his point. If she didn't want go there then he would respect her boundaries, it was her call. "Very well. I won't let you down then."

"We'll see about that." Hermione didn't want to feel anything for Draco. It was bad enough that she felt compelled to pity him in his current state. She didn't want to let herself forget that long hard road they had endured to get to where they were now. She couldn't afford to slip up. Not anymore. She had more than just herself to think of.

"C'mon Malfoy. I'll show you where you'll be staying," offered Harry as she sensed the tension thickening in the room.

Hermione turned her back to Draco without saying goodbye and began occupying herself with a book pulled off of the shelf behind her. She stayed turned away until she heard them both walk out of the room and the door click shut.

Harry led Draco down to the dungeon area, near the Slytherin common rooms. He would be inhabiting Snape's old living quarters. It was dreary in comparison to some of the others rooms, but vastly more bearable than Azkaban.

There was a bed, a dresser, and a desk already furnished in the room for him.

There was also a mirror.

"Until Hermione allows you to come up to the Great Hall for meals, your food will be brought to you here in the room," stated Harry before he shut Draco's door and left without giving him the opportunity to say anything back.

Draco froze in place for a solid minute before he gained the courage to approach the mirror hanging in the corner of the room. For the first time in his life, he was afraid of himself.

Trembling, he slowly brought himself to walk towards his own reflection, but he didn't recognize the person placed in front of him. Standing paralyzed in front of himself, he stared in disbelief at the corpse like man staring back at him through hollow eyes.

His once platinum blonde hair was now yellow, long and dirty; his fair skin now blanched and ridden with filth; his eyes were foggy, sunken in with dark circles; and his lips were pale and stained with dried blood and bruising from biting down on his lip during his sleep in the midst of the night terrors he'd suffered.

The image before him would haunt him forever. Never again would he die like this. He wanted his life back , no matter what it required to get it...

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A/N: I am happily, and humbly, overwhelmed by the support and responses I've received so far. Thank you! I enjoyed reading your reviews. Some of you are really onto something ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing.