Disclaimer: No I don't own the Harry Potter stories, just this story.
Chapter 2
A steaming cup of tea in hand, Draco Malfoy followed Albus Dumbledore into the darkened living room, and sat on the sofa opposite his Headmaster. Setting his drink down on the wooden table in front of him, Draco sighed and began to talk,
"I…I came here to ask you to help me."
He saw Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkling from across the dark room, then the Professor spoke;
"And here you will find help young Draco."
Draco breathed a sigh of relief, but the Professor began to talk again,
"But you must show us that you deserve that help…I have seen what your father has been doing to you…it must stop, but you must prove your worth for the Order first…"
Setting his cup down also, Dumbledore continued talking,
"I know this will be hard for you, as hard as it will be for us, but there are some rules that Order members must abide by…there will be no discrimination Master Malfoy, none of this 'Mudblood' nonsense that I hear you calling Miss Granger: it will end here. Also you have to work with us…if I find out that you are still working for Voldem-"
"I've never worked for him!"
Draco stood up angrily, shouting at Dumbledore – who appeared quite taken aback by this outburst. He sat down and glared at his Headmaster, who began to talk again, in a hushed tone;
"I see…you've never worked for him…good…but if you wish to be part of the Order you must not have any contact with anyone who is not part of the Order – is that understood?"
Nodding slowly, Draco rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock: 7.40am.
Wow it's early, Draco thought stupidly, watching as Dumbledore finished his drink and stood up.
"Now Master Malfoy, I believe it is too early to go to sleep now, and we need to sort out your wounds." Dumbledore eyed the gaping cuts and blood seeping through Draco's clothing and sighed,
"I'll go and get Molly to sort you out – I have to go to the Ministry this morning – I shall see you later Draco"
Smiling at Draco, he exited the room and went upstairs to get Mrs. Weasley, leaving him all alone in the gloomy room. Stretching his arms, Draco stood up and went over to the peachy curtains, opening them wide to let the bright sunshine in, lighting up the room. He glanced outside, the huge lush fields filled with pretty- wait…did I just say that…pretty? God Draco, get a grip you don't find things pretty…
His thoughts were interrupted by the thunderous noise that came down from the hall, I take it they're all up now, Draco thought sadly, he'd been dreading having to see Potter, Weasley and Granger, I can't be bothered to argue with them anymore…we're all on the same side…
Suddenly the door came crashing open, and in came Ron, Harry and Ginny, all angry and shouting at him;
"MALFOY GET OUT OF HERE NOW YOU FERRET!"
"YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE HERE YOU BASTARD!"
Ron was screaming the loudest, his face the same colour now as his hair, a brilliant scarlet.
Here we go…Draco thought miserably, maybe I should just go…
Without a word Draco just walked past them, out into the hall, all they could do was watch in amazement.
Shutting the living room door quietly, he turned around, heading for the door. Before he could, he came crashing into someone, all he saw was bright caramel eyes, full of alarm, before he smacked his head into the wall and blacked out.
x x x x
Gradually opening his eyes, Draco put a hand to the large lump on the back on his head, moaning softly he sat up and found he was lying in a bed, soft cream sheets and pale pink blankets. Rubbing his eyes he tried to find a clock in the room, judging by the bright cerulean sky outside, it must be about midday. Groggily getting out of bed, Draco sighed and tried to remember what happened earlier…except he couldn't.
Great, Draco sighed, how did I end up like this…aargh.
Holding onto the dresser for support, he walked over to a chair on the other side of the room, his robes draped over the back, his hawthorn and unicorn tail wand peeking innocently out of the right pocket.
Right…this is gonna hurt…
Wincing as he shouted 'Scourgify!' Draco was made clean, free of blood and dirt from the night before.
Almost instantaneously, Mrs. Weasley came bursting through the bedroom door, followed by Dumbledore.
"Draco! What are you doing?!"
Draco looked at her naively, his voice barely a whisper,
"I was just cleaning myself, all the blood…"
Her annoyed face turning to a gleaming smile, Mrs. Weasley instructed him to go downstairs and have some lunch with everyone else, Draco could already smell the fresh bread, so headed for the door, his nose leading the way.
Half way down the second story stairs, he abruptly stopped. Mrs. Weasley came crashing into him, followed by Dumbledore.
"Why did you stop, what's the matter Draco?"
Dumbledore looked at him inquisitively; his eyes alight with worry and confusion.
Turning to face them both, he simply said, "But they all hate me."
Her round face softening, Mrs. Weasley pulled Draco into a hug, startling him.
Ahh…What's she doing?!
She let go of him, only to see him staring at her in a shocked way, like he'd seen a ghost.
"Wwhat…what did you just do…" Draco asked slowly, he could feel his bottom lip trembling, painful memories flashed across his eyes, he wanted to shut them out…
"Draco...Draco!" Dumbledore was shouting as the young Malfoy tumbled down the stairs, his eyes wide with horror. Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore clambered after him, but couldn't catch him.
The loud thud resounded throughout the house, as Draco hit the hard stone floor after tumbling down two flights of stairs. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed yet again was the silky, chocolate-colour hair and soft caramel eyes of Hermione, as she ran over to him, screaming at him.
x x x x