Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling, Scholastic and WB. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

AN: To any old readers who may have received an alert for this chapter but not the first, I have decided to rewrite this story which is why the chapters have all disappeared. I'd recommend rereading the first chapter as the plot is explained more clearly, but it is not majorly different.

Many thanks to CleopatraisMyName for doing such a wonderful job of betaing the first two chapters.

-O-O-

Defected

Part 4: The Chosen Two

A week later, Tuesday 19th May 1998

The Chosen Two sat opposite each other at a table for two in a Muggle pizza parlour near Diagon Alley. Initially, not knowing what to do for their scheduled time together, they had opted for a walk around the main Wizarding town but the press had hounded them, desperate for the first sighting of a Death Eater after the war, and of course, yet another picture of The Boy Who Lived. Draco claimed it was more because he was in the company of the Saviour than his former Death Eater status, but he still felt uneasy at the negative stares he knew were directed at him.

They eventually retreated into Muggle London when it became clear that the constant camera flashes and lack of topic prevented conversation. Harry suggested getting a pizza when they stopped outside The Leaky Cauldron and Draco agreed happily, not passing up on the opportunity to go somewhere he could be completely anonymous. He rarely got to go into the Muggle world as his parents deemed it too distasteful. They were probably scared of not being treated like royalty in the Muggle world.

After ordering, they sat there in silence for a while once they had exhausted the topics of the weather, Quidditch and pizza toppings. Although the beginning of the meeting had been far from hostile, if not a little strained, they had only touched on small talk and nothing serious. Wanting to take advantage of the lull in conversation, Draco asked, "What do you normally talk about? With Weasel-ley and Granger?" He leaned his elbows on the table, genuinely curious about what the Gryffindors talked about all day. The Slytherins rarely talked as freely as they did and it had intrigued him for a while now. Might as well take the opportunity to ask while the conversation had died and Potter was feeling talkative.

Harry shrugged, ignoring the slight insult to Ron's name as there were much worse things to hate Malfoy over. It was not something he had ever thought about before; his two best friends were always there for him, he did not need much else. "We don't really think about making conversation, it just sort of happens. At school, it's just the normal stuff about homework and lessons and stuff. I guess even from first year we had research to do so we would share what we found with each other. Ever since then we've always had something to work towards. Now the war has ended…"

He trailed off, not wanting to admit that he felt a bit like a loose end. Ron had Fred to grieve and Hermione to pursue, while she was busy trying to learn all she had missed the previous year. Despite Professor McGonagall telling them they could reenrol when the school was rebuilt, Hermione insisted she needed to study for the next year in preparation, despite already knowing more highly advanced spells.

The Burrow was the closest thing he had to a home aside from Hogwarts, but with survivors floating around offering to help, the guilt was impossible to escape. It hid in the heavy sighs people issued when they thought no one was around; in the blank looks and the red-rimmed eyes. He had lost his parents, his godfather, his headmaster and his favourite DADA teacher. Mr and Mrs Weasley did their best to fill the absent roles in his life, but he knew they needed space to grieve for Fred.

Draco cleared his throat nervously, "Potter, if I may ask, why did you agree to do this?" He had Potter had never been on the, best of terms let's say.

The Malfoy Harry had previously seen was guarded and misanthropic, but today he seemed open and genuinely wanting to understand the people he had tormented. When Kingsley first suggested the idea of befriending the Slytherins, he thought it was awful. Seven years of growing up with Slytherins, the insults, all the jinxes and hexes they had thrown at him protested at even the mention of becoming friends. Even now while having a reasonable conversation with one, the whole experience felt surreal. They could exist in a civil public relationship, but never as friends. Even if he redeemed himself as much as Snape did, Harry would never trust him.

The first time Harry had heard of Slytherin house, it was spoken of in admiration from the very boy in front of him. The second: a factory for evil. The third time, he was told that it would take him to greatness, and if he had not been forewarned, he might have just ended up dressed in green. That was the reason he, Harry James Potter, agreed to Kingsley's absurd plan.

"The first day of school, the day we got sorted, something happened that most people don't know about. I was almost sorted into Slytherin. It was only because I followed my parents' footsteps and the advice given to me that I chose Gryffindor. Just like you did really." Revelations were supposed to make you feel lighter but Harry was doubting that advice.

Draco was stunned. To hear that the Golden boy had almost been sorted into Slytherin changed every opinion he had ever thought about him. The world famous Harry Potter, the Chosen One, could have been one of them. Subjected to prejudice from all teachers except Snape, and most likely expelled by fourth year at least. Shocked by the revelation, he took a swig of his drink, eyes never leaving the boy across from him.

Draco tried to speak but he could not form a coherent sentence. "Wow." He finally commented.

"Yeah," agreed Harry, giving Malfoy a nervous smile and laugh.

Thankfully, the pregnant pause was broken by the arrival of their meal, and being hungry boys, they devoured it almost immediately. When it came to paying the bill, Harry insisted that Kingsley had given him money for this exact purpose and did not listen to Malfoy's protests that he would not live off the Ministry if he could help it. He was still proud enough to want to provide for himself, hence why he lived at the Manor rather than taking the Ministry offered accommodation.

They walked together until they reached a shadowed alleyway to apparate, followed in by the Auror who had been assigned to chaperone them.

Draco faced Harry and said, "It's been alright Potter, thanks."

Harry replied with a pat on the shoulder, "Yeah. Just don't go round telling everyone my secrets; I've got a reputation to uphold." He smiled good-humouredly before nodding, and Apparated away.

"Are you ready to leave Mr Malfoy?" Due to his direct involvement with the Death Eaters, Shacklebolt deemed it prudent to enforce an anti-Apparation binding on Malfoy until he could be trusted. He nodded his confirmation and the Auror Apparated him back to Malfoy Manor.

-O-O-

Part 5: Housewarming

The next day, just before noon, Wednesday 20th May 1998

Ron nervously knocked on the door of the address he had been Apparated to, wishing again that he could be somewhere else. It was the first time he had been to visit the Slytherins in the Accommodation the Ministry had provided them, and even from the entrance the converted office starkly contrasted with the warmth of his own home. He hadn't wanted to come, but Mrs Weasley had firmly taken him by the arm and walked him out of the house to the Apparation point.

She regularly brought food over to the Accommodation upon finding out that Daphne had exploded some potatoes because she forgot to poke them. Ever since then, she popped over once a day, sometimes even twice, with food, cookbooks and fresh ingredients. Ron had heard that she had taught Parkinson and Greengrass to make a lasagne that had gone down extremely well and now Zabini wanted to help as well.

The first few times the whole household had to deal with hearing her rants about how even young pureblood witches and wizards should be taught how to cook, and as a result, Ron had been in the kitchen peeling potatoes and carrots all week. He muttered a lot about it being House Elf work which Hermione turned into an opportunity to recruit Mrs Weasley to S.P.E.W.

Today she had sent him over with a medical kit and the ingredients to make spaghetti. Mrs Weasley had tried to convince him to visit earlier by saying he would be better company to the group of teenagers than she would, but he had evaded it up until now. It was not due to Mrs Weasley's convincing but Harry's comment that everyone except him had contacted someone and if he did not make an effort with the Slytherins he would not be able to come to the next debriefing with them. It was a low blow and Harry knew it because he whispered to Ron afterwards that he didn't want his best mate to be kicked off the team.

The teenagers had deliberated over the list of names for almost a week so they could avoid getting in contact. Kingsley got so impatient he assigned them a partner and set a deadline: if they did not get in touch by the end of the week then they could not be part of the Order. The others had all arranged meetings with their charges except Ginny. She had been running errands to the Accommodation and so Mrs Weasley said she could be exempt from individual meetings for now.

Harry had been surprisingly indifferent about his meeting with Malfoy yesterday. He had not said much except that it was weird and Malfoy had not been a prat. He also said it wouldn't hurt to do what Kingsley said for now. It may not hurt but it was certainly bloody awkward.

Daphne Greengrass was the one to open the door, at first surprised but then she smiled at him unexpectedly. "Oh hello, Ronald. I thought it would be your mum; has she come with you?"

Ron winced as he replied that she had not, Daphne's face fell and an awkward silence fell between the two. Ron couldn't look her in the face with feeling uncomfortable for staring, so he stared at his shoes while Daphne thought of something to say.

"Oh, well you could come in I suppose?" Despite the invitation, she sounded very uncertain and remained standing in the doorway so there was nowhere for Ron to move to.

As much as Ron wanted to decline, he couldn't just leave because he came here to deliver something and his mum would kill him if he just left. "Here." Ron shoved the bag out in front of him, trying to prove that he had a reason to come other than just standing in the doorway awkwardly.

Daphne took the bag with thanks and looked at the contents before finally clearing the doorway and placing the bag on the worktop in the kitchen. "You honestly don't know how lucky you are to have your mum's cooking every day. She's the most amazing cook." She gave him a smile and began putting the food in the fridge and the medicine in the cabinet.

Ron stood for a second in the doorway, not sure what to do now his duty was mostly complete, but Greengrass seemed to want to talk now so he followed her into the living room, stopping just shy of the kitchen. "Yeah, well it sours it a bit when you have to help chop all the vegetables for hours," grumbled Ron.

"I know," replied Daphne with her back to him. "I have to make the meals for us now, remember?" She turned around and gave him a pointed stare.

"Um, yeah sorry," mumbled Ron awkwardly. He stood there for another few minutes while Daphne started the dinner preparations, trying to work up the courage to say something. "Is- is Goyle around?" He winced at the question himself; it sounded so out of place.

Daphne turned around and gave him an inquisitive look. "Greg? Yeah, let me show you his room."

He followed her self-consciously through the main living area and down a dim looking corridor. Hermione had told him that it was a converted office and the dull interior displayed it down here.

She stopped with her hand on the doorknob and spun towards him. "Just be," she paused, trying to think of a better word than 'gentle' to use with young hormone driven lads. "…careful with him. He's still a bit, you know, after," she finished her sentence with awkward shrugs and left him to find out for himself what she was talking about. He knocked on the door cautiously and opened it after hearing a grunt that he took to be a yes.

"Um, hi," said Ron. If talking to Greengrass had been awkward, then talking to Goyle was a hundred times worse.

Goyle's eyebrows creased in a confused expression and Ron felt compelled to explain that he did not just drop by for a girly chat.

"Just dropped off some food. Was told to say hello. I'm off. Bye." He released his brief sentences in a series of short breaths and then escaped the oppressive room as quickly as he could. Back down the corridor and past the kitchen; he mumbled an awkward goodbye to Greengrass and then left.

If one was not Ronald Weasley and actually possessed more than the emotional range of a teaspoon, then one may have discovered that Gregory Goyle was not as okay as he appeared to be.

-O-O-

Part 6: A Meet of Minds

A few hours later, a coffee shop in Diagon Alley, Wednesday 20th May 1998

An outsider may have mistaken them for childhood friends who had changed so much they did not have anything in common anymore. One was perfectly manicured with a made up face and dyed blonde hair falling softly around her face. The other had frizzy brown hair and eye bags under her eyes from the nightmares she had not wanted to relive. A passer-by would not notice that the girl daintily drinking her tea had a smile painted on her face almost as realistic as the dreams she spun to escape from her nightmares.

After fifty seven seconds of uncomfortable tea sipping and frequent glances out of the window, Hermione could not stand the calmness that Daphne possessed. Serene and perfectly poised, she knew when to smile and exactly how to charm certain redheads. Ron had spoken as much as he could about the blonde haired girl in the short time between his meeting with her and Hermione's, in order to convince everyone that he was being nice to them, but it had irritated Hermione to no end. They had one conversation and now Ronald was acting as if she was the loveliest person in the world.

Obviously irritated, Hermione muttered across the table. "How can you sit there, with a smile on your face like we're best friends? The cameras know we're not talking, they're not stupid."

The smile on the blonde girl's face disappeared. "A picture means a thousand words. One shot of us smiling will provide all the conversation we need."

Hermione was smart enough to know that Daphne was right. For Kingsley's plan to work, they needed to appear as if they were becoming friends.

"And besides," continued Daphne, "It wouldn't kill you to become friends would it?" The Gryffindor girl surprised her; she assumed that by instigating a meeting she wanted to become friends. Granger had always been someone she considered nice and when she received an owl inviting her out for a drink that theory was confirmed. Now that she was actually here, that belief had now changed.

"Alright," agreed Hermione begrudgingly. It was not that she had anything against Daphne, she just barely knew her.

Hestia Jones had apparated Hermione to a renovated building somewhere in an abandoned part of Diagon Alley to meet Daphne. The eldest Greengrass girl was surprisingly friendly and Hermione chastised herself for judging her on appearances too easily. Ginny had said her younger sister Astoria was a manipulating bitch and Hermione expected Daphne to be the exact same.

Determined to make more of an effort, Hermione smiled and asked, "Who else is at the Accommodation with you?"

She knew from Harry that Malfoy was still at his Manor and Molly had said Parkinson and Zabini were also at the Accommodation, but she did not know who else had forsaken their pride for safety.

"Everyone is at the Accommodation except Tracy, Millie and Draco. He says he wants to stay at home with his mother, but I think he's just adamant about not taking any help from the Ministry. Pansy's mother has gone on holiday so she doesn't want to be alone. Blaise's mother is either out or she brings her latest husband home and Blaise has to stay out of the way. It's easier for him here, he's more relaxed. Greg's dad is in Azkaban, he doesn't like going home. Theo," she faltered and blushed at the mention of his name. Schooling her expression, she continued, "Theo is the same as Greg really."

Hermione was surprised at how much Daphne had volunteered and at those who simply did not want to go home. She would have thought that family life was important to purebloods. In a way, she was slightly envious that they could escape the atmosphere of home life. At The Burrow, there were simply too many people around who needed her for something or wanted to recount stories about how great the dead were. The moments she could slip to Grimmauld Place were ones of relief.

"Daphne," the name felt underused on her tongue. "Do you mind if I asked why you chose to stay?" It seemed to Hermione that Daphne was deliberately hiding the reasons for her staying by offering other information to distract her.

"I needed to get away."

Hermione tilted her head, indicating that her answer was not sufficient.

"My mother was trying to marry me off." Her tone was final, now shutting down when it came to information about herself.

"To whom?" Hermione pressed further. Daphne had refused to open up about her life to the psychologist and Hermione was desperate to find out more.

"Draco."

Hermione could not say she was surprised, but she was annoyed that someone so flawed could be considered decent enough to marry. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Daphne let out a breathy indignant laugh and shook her head pitifully at Hermione. "Of course you would ask. Is it not your job after all? To befriend us and to find out as much information as you can. A perfect job for a nosy little know-it-all like you."

Hermione felt a twinge of guilt at pushing Daphne into answering like that, but she felt uncomfortable being forced into this by Kingsley and angry at Daphne for insulting her. "At least I value intelligence over looks." She spat, her voice rising in fury.

"Watch it Granger," responded Daphne. "Just because people don't flaunt their intelligence like you do, doesn't mean they don't have it." She kept her tone calm and level so not to attract attention of other people in the café. It would be unwise to reverse the intention of this meeting.

Her composure made Hermione feel like her outburst was foolish and so she tried to mask her rage. "Well then, why do you feel the need to do all of that?" She asked, gesturing at Daphne's hair and makeup.

"What?" said Daphne genuinely confused. "My hair?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, and your makeup and stuff. It's all so trivial." Hermione's hair would be lucky to be brushed once a week. Such things just did not seem important anymore. Most of the time she allocated herself to get ready in the morning was spent staring blankly in the mirror wondering how something so unchangeable as blood could cause a war that ended up killing children.

Daphne was more than bemused. She had been taught to always take pride in her appearance, not simply to look good, but also to cover what she did not want to reveal. "What's wrong with taking care with how I look?"

"It's just after all we've been through, appearance isn't important anymore." Hermione became blasé in her anger, using superfluous arm movements to expend it.

Daphne knew that the best thing to do in such circumstances was flatter and praise an angry person to take them off the topic. "Hermione, remember the Yule Ball?"

Hermione nodded, not quite knowing where Daphne was going with this.

"Not only were you the most beautiful girl there, you also came in on the arm of the most famous Seeker. Everyone was jealous of you, even the Slytherins." For the most part, it was true. There were other people there that looked just as pretty, but Hermione really stole the show by coming in with Krum. The bitching that followed lasted for days in every girl's dormitory.

"I don't get what you're trying to say." Hermione had been thrown by the change of conversation and her anger temporarily dissipated.

It was exactly as Daphne planned. "Hermione, you need to take care of yourself. You've got bags under your eyes and your hair looks like a bird's nest-"

Automatically furious again, Hermione began to stand up, "How can you say-"

"No, listen to me for once," Daphne interrupted, nodding her head at her to sit down. "You are the golden girl. You're the one everyone is looking towards as a role model. If people see you breaking down then how can they be expected to cope?" She softened her tone when she saw that Hermione was not taking it well. "I know you have a lot to cope with. And I know you're not really here for the reasons you say you are."

"How would you know?" sulked Hermione. No one had tried to reprimand her for not taking care of herself, if anything, they avoided mentioning anything that may upset her.

"I'm not here to hurt you. Enough people have done that already." She looked at the window and then back at the girl who was far too interested in tealeaves for someone who hated Divination.

Daphne took a deep breath and did something she would never usually do. Extending her hand towards Hermione she said, "I came here today to gain a friend. We all need someone we can trust."

Hermione eyes were full of wariness but she accepted the hand offered.

"Why do you think I could trust you more than I can trust my friends? Even if I ignore all prejudices, I've still known them longer than I've known you." Hermione could not bring herself to trust someone who was in the house associated with lies and deception.

Daphne folded her hands and began, "Because you care about them too much to let them suffer the pain you're going through as well as their own. Therapy is surprisingly useful, if you are not going to talk to me then at least talk to someone else. You are letting it erode you from the inside."

Hermione had avoided eye contact for the last few minutes. "How do you know anything about my life? How do you know anything about what I've been through? "

"Then tell me. Prove to me that you have a right to appear in public like this. Everything is about appearances Hermione, the sooner you understand that, the better."