Draco Malfoy Must Die

Chapter 3 - A Rather Sinister Twist

A/N: I forgot to say in the summary, this fic is based on the movie "John Tucker Must Die". With a slightly more sinister twist, obviously!

When Draco emerged from the Slytherin common room, feeling quite suave in his dark green robes, he stopped in his tracks at the person who he saw standing outside.

"Potter," he practically spat.

Harry smiled and said, "Oh hey Malfoy. How are you?"

Draco rolled his eyes at the false cheery attitude, "Drop the act Potter, you don't like me and I don't like you. No need to act like we actually find each other's company appealing," he drawled.

"If you insist," Harry said simply.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the Gryffindor.

"I am waiting for my date outside her common room, as is traditional," Harry said neutrally.

"You're going with a Slytherin?" Draco sneered, "Who would be desperate enough to go with you?"

Before Harry could answer, Daphne's voice came from behind Draco.

"Me, apparently," Daphne said as she walked into view, looking particularly lovely in a full length black dress that fitted her figure perfectly.

Draco was speechless for a moment and then said, "You're going with Potter? I thought you had standards Greengrass."

"Apparently not, considering I dated you,' Daphne said coolly, "who are you going with? You weren't invited."

"Well Granger practically begged me to go with her," Draco smirked.

"She must have been desperate," Daphne remarked.

Draco's smirk seemed stuck on as he said, "Actually she asked me before she asked Potter."

Harry grinned, "I think you'll find she asked me first, but I was already taken. Sorry Malfoy, but you were her last resort."

Draco couldn't explain why he felt a little hurt by that, but he did. He decided to quit before he fell any further behind in this battle of wits so he turned and left, walking towards the entrance hall where he was to meet Hermione. He still wasn't entirely sure why he had agreed to this in the first place, but it made him feel normal and that was a feeling he was craving badly at the moment. Going on a date with Granger, that was not normal. But being a snarky, arrogant bastard to Granger was normal, and he had to admit, her retorts were good enough to rival his.

When he walked into the entrance hall she was walking down the stairs and he had to pause and collect himself. He had seen her at the Yule Ball in 4th year and realised how much she had changed, and he had a similar moment as he saw her walking down the marble stairs towards him. She had changed over the summer, her hair was no longer bushy, but curly and glossy, and her teeth had been smaller ever since that incident in 4th year. But she looked less like the awkward girl he saw in oversized Gryffindor jumpers, and more like a woman tonight. He was certainly seeing Hermione Granger in a whole new light, and Mudblood or not he had to admit that she was beautiful.

She was wearing a pale pink knee length dress and silver high heels. As she got to the bottom of the stairs and walked towards him he also couldn't help but notice that the dress was quite low-cut, and he made a point of looking up at her face to avoid being slapped if she caught wind of what he was doing. He had been there before, and it had hurt a lot, he didn't really want to get hit by her again. Her hair was left down, and curly and he could tell she was wearing make-up. When she reached him, he should have said something nice, instead what came out of his mouth was, "Not bad Granger. You almost look worthy to be on my arm tonight."

Hermione rolled her eyes as he extended his arm to her, "Thanks Malfoy," she said as she hooked her arm through his, "Personally I'm thrilled to be seen with a ferret like yourself," she added sarcastically.

"This isn't going to look very convincing if we snipe at each other all night now, is it Granger?" Draco drawled as they walked towards the dungeons.

"Well you lead, I'll follow Malfoy," Hermione said simply, "what is our plan of action?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, "Turn up, look amazing, leave."

Hermione smiled a little, "I think you just inadvertently admitted that you think I look nice tonight."

Draco was prepared for it, and combatted it easily, "Don't be stupid Granger, I was talking about myself."

Hermione shook her head in amusement, "Of course you were, Malfoy," she said as they neared the party and heard sounds of talking, music and laughter ahead.

They did not talk anymore as they walked towards the sounds, and Hermione could feel her heart pumping in her chest. She was nervous because this was entirely out of her comfort zone and she was not dreading what people would say when they saw her walk into the party arm in arm with Draco Malfoy. She fished her invite out of her bag as they approached the door and were met by one of the 'staff' Slughorn had put on for the night. Hermione's cheeks flushed when she realised that the person checking the invites was Neville.

Neville looked up when he heard their footsteps and his eyes widened, "Hermione…Malfoy is your plus one?"

Hermione's cheeks flushed further, and Draco drawled, "Merlin, I thought Slughorn would at least put on competent staff."

Neville glared slightly at Draco, which surprised Hermione. Normally his cheeks flushed and he looked down, but she was glad to see him fighting back. Hermione cleared her throat and nudged Draco in the ribs, "Now, now Draco. Be nice," his name rolled off her tongue but it sounded strange to her ears. She had always thought of him as Malfoy.

Neville looked between them in bemusement, and Hermione held out her invite, "Sorry Neville, do you need to see this?"

Neville nodded, still frowning a little as he squiggled on the invite and handed it back to Hermione, "Uh, well have a good night Hermione."

Draco smirked a little at Neville as he and Hermione walked into the room which was busy and bustling. Hermione was immediately uncomfortable because she knew the proper thing to do at parties like this was to mingle, and that was her worst nightmare. She tightened her grip on Draco's arm a little and he muttered, "Relax Granger, it's just a party."

"Parties aren't really my scene," Hermione said, and when Draco turned to look at her he could see that she really did look uncomfortable and he felt a little guilty for assuming she was confident in every situation.

"Well luckily for you, they are mine," Draco said as he steered her in the direction of one of Slughorn's guests, "I'll do the talking, just stand and nod knowingly."

Hermione smiled a little, he's actually kind of sweet. No, no he's not! He's Draco Malfoy!

"You look nice, by the way," Harry said to Daphne as Draco stalked away to meet Hermione.

Daphne smirked and said, "You don't look so bad yourself Potter," his deep blue dress robes were actually quite dashing.

Harry held out his arm to her and she accepted it, "I wanted to say sorry for yesterday," he said as they walked towards Slughorn's party at the other end of the dungeons.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "For kissing me to make me feel uncomfortable you mean?"

Harry looked sheepish, "You were bringing up things I didn't want to talk about and it was the only way I could think of to make you uncomfortable back."

"It was quite sly," Daphne admitted, "and very Slytherin, although I expect you'll hate to hear it."

Harry smiled weakly, "I'm more Slytherin than you'd think," he said, thinking to his connection to Voldemort. This whole thing with Daphne was a bad idea anyway, and he knew it which was why it would be nothing more than a stunt for this party. He didn't have time for dating, and he didn't want to draw anyone else into the mess that was his life.

"Well I think most of us are a mixture of all four houses," Daphne said, "it's very rare that someone truly belongs in just one house."

Harry nodded thoughtfully as they turned the corner towards the noise that was Slughorn's party, "That is very wise of you. Are you ready for this?"

"I was born ready, Potter," Daphne smirked. They reached the door and Harry pulled his invite from his pocket.

"Hey Neville," Harry said brightly.

Neville looked up with a frown, "What the hell is going on?"

Harry frowned as he held the invite out to Neville, "Uh, what do you mean?"

"Hermione just showed up with Malfoy, and now you're here with another Slytherin," Neville said, the poor guy was totally bemused.

"House unity Nev," Harry said as Neville took his invite and scribbled on it, "it's very important in these troubling times."

Daphne nodded sincerely as Neville handed Harry his invite back, "Right," he said, frowning deeply, "well…have fun."

"Thanks Longbottom," Daphne said, and she shot a smile at Neville as she and Harry walked past him into the crowded party.

"Let's get this show on the road," Harry said, surveying the room and noticing that Slughorn was already making a beeline for him.

"Hi Hermione," Harry said brightly as he walked over to Hermione and Draco with Daphne on his arm. He had just managed to get away from Slughorn after a 15 minute long commendation on how well he had chosen a date. He frowned, "What's that smell? Oh wait, there it is. Hello Malfoy."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Potter," he said simply.

"No snarky retort?" Harry asked in surprise.

"He's trying something new, it's called rising above petty insults," Hermione said with an amused smirk at Harry.

Harry raised his hands, "Hey, I tried to be nice earlier and he told me not to bother with a façade that we like each other, so I'm openly disliking him."

"I think you ought to pretend to be nice to each other for one evening," Daphne said diplomatically.

Harry shrugged, and Draco swallowed when he saw that Professor Snape was one of the guests at the party, and he was watching Draco suspiciously. He nodded, trying to keep up with the conversation, but he knew he needed to make a quick escape before Snape cornered him and questioned him on his being here with Hermione Granger.

"I'll be back soon," Draco said to Hermione, "I'm just going to the bathroom."

Hermione frowned as Draco practically jogged from the room, and then she saw Professor Snape following him. She caught Harry's eyes and realised that he had seen it too. He nodded and they both made excuses to leave, which of course left Daphne suspicious.

They emerged from the room and once they were satisfied that they were alone Harry threw the cloak over them both and they followed the sound of fast footsteps in the distance. What they did not know was that Daphne had followed them, she couldn't see them and she had no idea that they were under an invisibility cloak, but she had a disillusionment charm on as she slipped silently along by the wall so as not to be noticed.

Harry and Hermione were silent as they followed, they had agreed in a single glance that there was something suspicious about what had happened, and as much as Hermione wanted to believe that Draco was not a Death Eater, she understood why Harry wanted to hear what was being said between Draco and Snape.

They finally found them in a dark, dead end corridor away from the noise of the party, and under the cloak they stood against the wall, listening and peering around the corner. Snape was holding Draco's arm and had it pinned against the wall, he was speaking quietly, but they could hear him because they were close enough. They had no idea that Daphne was pressed up against the opposite wall, her eyes shut so she couldn't be seen.

"You cannot afford to make mistakes Draco because if you are expelled-"

"I didn't have anything to do with it!" Draco said under his breath.

"You better be telling the truth because it was clumsy and foolish and you are suspected already," Snape hissed.

"I didn't do it! And who suspects me? It's Potter, isn't it? That's why he got Granger to ask me to this stupid thing!" Draco muttered, "look, Bell obviously has an enemy nobody knows about. I've never talked to the girl, why would I curse her?"

Snape stared at him silently, and Draco glared back, "Don't look at me like that. I know what you're doing and I can block you."

"Your Aunt Bellatrix taught you occlumency?" Snape asked bitterly, "what are you trying to conceal from your Master, Draco?"

"I'm not trying to conceal anything from him," Draco said, his voice shaking slightly, "but I don't want you inside my head."

Snape narrowed his eyes at Draco, "Does that have anything to do with your feelings for Granger?"

"I don't have feelings for her," Draco said coolly, "she's using me, and I'm using her. She wants to get information out of me, and I want to get information about Potter from her."

"You seem to be enjoying yourself rather a lot at this party with someone who you are using Draco," Snape said quietly, "so forgive me if I do not believe you."

"Look, she's not going to distract me from what I've got to do," Draco said firmly, "if anything she might be helpful. I know what I'm doing, and I don't need your help to do it."

"I made the Unbreakable Vow to your Mother that I would protect you Draco, I cannot leave this in your hands-"

"Well break it, because I don't want or need your help!" Draco hissed and he turned and stalked down the corridor towards the party. Snape cursed and followed him, and under the cloak Harry and Hermione turned to look at each with wide eyes.

"Malfoy is a Death Eater," Hermione breathed.

"I told you," Harry said hotly, "I told you he was! That's what was happening at Borgin and Burkes, he was getting the mark!"

From across the hall Daphne frowned and tiptoed to the voices, she initially assumed they were under disillusionment charms too but when she reached them and held out her hand she didn't feel a person, but a material and when she yanked it they came into view.

They both turned to Daphne in shock as she disillusioned herself and appeared holding the invisibility cloak.

Harry yanked it off of her and glared at her, "Were you eavesdropping?"

"Like you were eavesdropping on Draco and Snape you mean?" Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You were under a disillusionment charm, so you were obviously eavesdropping too," Harry pointed out.

Daphne shrugged, "I followed you two when you left so abruptly. But I just heard everything you two did, and I'm calling an emergency meeting. 11.30pm tomorrow, Hufflepuff common room."

Harry nodded, "This is dangerous, we can't have Hermione in the middle of it."

"I know," Daphne said, "but we have to get back to this party and act normal or people will get suspicious, Potter you go separately. It will look like I've been at the bathroom with Hermione that way."

Harry nodded and they parted at a fork in the corridor, Daphne hooked her arm in Hermione's as they entered through the door at the back of the room. She whispered, "Just act normal for tonight, we'll figure this out."

Hermione nodded and Draco walked over to them both with a forced smile on his face, "I was wondering where you ladies got to."

"We were powdering our noses, and gossiping," Daphne said with a shrug, "now where has my date gotten to?"

"I have not seen him," Draco said, surveying the room.

Daphne sighed, "Gryffindors are such hard work," she joked as she walked into the crowd to 'look' for Harry.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Draco asked, and Hermione now knew that he was only being nice as a façade to get information about Harry to pass onto Voldemort.

She hesitated, but she knew she had to act normal, and normal around Draco Malfoy was a sarcastic retort or an insult so she said, "Have too many people seen you in public with me Malfoy?"

Draco smirked as they left via the back entrance and Hermione's heart began to race because she was alone with a Death Eater and she was scared. Gryffindor Hermione, you are a bloody Gryffindor. You were in a battle literally 6 months ago, you survived a werewolf chasing you two years ago. You can handle Draco bloody Malfoy.

"Where are we going anyway?" Hermione asked.

"My secret hiding place," Draco replied.

"You do realise if you show me it that it won't be a secret anymore, right?" Hermione pointed out.

"Stop being such a know-it-all and feel honoured. Nobody else knows where it is," Draco remarked, and Hermione laughed inwardly because Daphne knew it was there, she had told Hermione about it the other day.

"You're right Malfoy. I should be so honoured to be in your glorious presence and find out about all of your secrets," Hermione remarked sarcastically.

"Maybe for once in your life you should try being grateful, Granger," Draco said, and Hermione was sure she detected hurt in his voice. Your imagining it, he's using you. Remember?

Hermione opened her mouth to come up with a retort to that, but she never got a chance because Harry interrupted.

"Hey Hermione, sorry to take you away from your date but we need to go," Harry said as he walked towards her.

Hermione frowned, so much for acting normal, "Why?" she asked.

"You forgot to put out the hats for the house elves!" Harry compromised, "and they'll be at the common room to clean it soon."

"Oh my god, I totally forgot!" Hermione exclaimed, and Draco looked on with a raised eyebrow.

"Why are you putting out hats for house elves?" He asked.

"Because they are wrongfully imprisoned in this school and they deserve the chance to be free if they want it!" Hermione said, and the passion in her voice was real which probably helped convince Draco.

"You really are as weird as they say, Granger," Draco said, looking bemused.

"I'll take that as a compliment Malfoy," Hermione said with the smallest hint of a smile, "but I should go and get those hats out….Thanks, for coming tonight."

Malfoy shrugged and said, "Someone had to make you look good."

Harry scoffed and took Hermione's arm, "Come on, spew isn't going to raise anymore money if you forget to put the hats out."

"It's not called spew!" Hermione said irritably, "it's the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare!"

Draco shook his head in amusement as they rounded the corridor and disappeared. He found himself smiling a little, and that scared him because this had gone beyond a stunt for the night. He couldn't have feelings for Hermione Granger, so he wouldn't, and that was his final thought on the matter, he would shut them off and concentrate on his task.

"Have you got the map?" Hermione whispered.

"Of course I have the map," Harry whispered back, "just keep a hold of the cloak. We're getting too tall for it now, and if we aren't careful someone might see our feet."

"I've got it," Hermione said quietly, "but we have to go or we'll be late."

"Late for what?" Ron asked, from where he was standing at the bottom of the boy's staircase. They hadn't seen or heard him follow them down into the common room.

Under the cloak Hermione and Harry shared a glance, and they knew they would have to come up with a quick lie because they couldn't tell Ron the truth. He would blow his top, he hadn't even heard about Hermione and Draco going to Slughorn's party together yet.

Ron narrowed his eyes at where he guessed they stood, "What are you two doing? You've been weird all week, and I've hardly talked to you."

"Well Ron if you weren't so caught up in Lavender you would know that Hermione has been helping me and a couple of other people in our year get our Transfiguration up to scratch. McGonagall would go crazy if she knew we were doing it, so we've been meeting up in the Room of Requirement."

"Well then I'll come with you," Ron said eagerly, "I need to get my Transfiguration grades up anyway."

Hermione frowned, she was still angry at Ron so it was easy to harness that feeling and use it, "I don't want you there Ron, or had you not noticed that I've been avoiding you? Come on Harry."

"Sorry Ron," Harry said sheepishly as Hermione dragged him out of the common room and the portrait hole shut behind them. They didn't talk until they were on the grand staircase and the map confirmed that Ron had gone back up to his dormitory.

"I don't like lying to him, he's still our friend even if he is sucking Lavender's face off all of the time," Harry said under his breath.

"He won't be our friend when he finds out tomorrow that we went to the party with Malfoy and Daphne. You know he hates Slytherins and pure-bloods, he's a prejudiced bloody git!" Hermione hissed angrily.

"So is Malfoy, and he's also a Death Eater," Harry said angrily, "so don't go calling Ron things you aren't prepared to call Malfoy!"

"Malfoy is a prejudiced git and a Death Eater," Hermione said, catching Harry's eye, "I won't deny that because it's true, but Ron has had a good upbringing. Maybe he was poor, but he's had love and good morals. Do you think Malfoy's had that with Death Eater pure-blood crazy parents? He's probably been brainwashed and forced into things since he was a kid."

"So you're sticking up for him?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"I just think we have to hear the whole story before we judge him Harry. I know Malfoy hasn't been the nicest guy, but there's a big jump from Hogwarts bully to bloody Death Eater!" Hermione hissed as they emerged in the great hall and shut up as they slipped past Filch and Mrs. Norris.

"I think we know the full story Hermione," Harry muttered as they walked along the passage to the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room, "it's simple, Malfoy is a Death Eater, he attacked Katie and he's planning something diabolical."

"Diabolical?" Hermione asked in disbelief, "this is Draco Malfoy we are talking about. He talks the talk, but when has he ever hurt anyone?"

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Hermione hushed him by tapping out the rhythm to open the passage to the common room. As they removed the cloak and crawled in they were silent and when they emerged into the common room they realised that they were the last two to arrive.

Lilly was sitting on an armchair, her black hair pulled into a bun and her legs tucked underneath her. Susan, Hannah and Daphne were all on the sofa together, dressed either in pajamas or comfortable clothes. But all of the girls had one thing in common, they all looked serious.

"You should sit down," Daphne said.

Harry sat down in the last remaining armchair and with a sigh Hermione sat on his lap, pulling her legs up and slotting them in between Harry's leg and the armchairs edge. They both looked at the group of girls expectantly, and then Susan said, "We're terminating the mission. It's too dangerous from what Daphne told us she heard. If Draco really is a Death Eater you could really get hurt if you get caught up in this Hermione."

"But isn't this the perfect way to work out what's hes doing?" Hermione asked, "Malfoy is planning something, and if we keep this whole charade up I might be able to find out what it is and stop it."

"Or Snape might cotton on and kill you," Harry remarked, "didn't you hear what they said? Malfoy's using you to get information on me to give to Voldemort."

"But I know that, so I'll be careful not to give him any information," Hermione insisted.

Lilly shrugged, "I think she has a point. This could be the perfect way to find out what Draco is doing. If he is a Death Eater and he hurt Katie Bell then he is definitely up to something."

"But why would he hurt Katie?" Susan asked with a frown, "he doesn't even know her, it doesn't make any sense."

"Because Bell wasn't the person he meant to hurt," Daphne said darkly, "and before you ask I don't know who is. But Draco has been acting funny since we got back to school and he's been especially jumpy since Bell was attacked. Think about it, we found out that he was cheating on us at the start of the school year and we broke things off with him, all three of us."

"And?" Lilly asked.

"And he didn't care. If a guy goes to that much effort to have three girlfriends at one time you would think he would be bothered or suspicious when all three of them break up with him within 24 hours," Daphne pointed out.

"True," Susan said slowly, "so you think he did hurt Katie but he meant to hurt someone else? Who would he want to hurt in Hogwarts?"

"Besides me, you mean?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"I can tell you this much Potter," Daphne said with trepidation, "there is a no kill rule on you. I'm no Death Eater, but there are enough of wannabe Death Eaters in my house and I hear things."

"A no kill rule?" Hannah asked with a frown.

Hermione caught Harry's eye and said, "She means that under Voldemort's orders nobody can kill Harry, so that he can do it himself."

There was a gasp from Hannah, but Harry and Hermione ignored it as they communicated wordlessly. Voldemort knew about the prophecy, and they knew about the prophecy but there was no need for it to go any further than that so they didn't say anything.

"Well that doesn't come as any big surprise," Harry said honestly, "and since Malfoy is a Death Eater now we can assume whatever he is doing is a mission from Voldemort."

"Which means he isn't just trying to hurt somebody," Hermione realised, "he's trying to kill somebody."

Lilly had been fairly quiet as she took in this information, but she now spoke up, "It's obvious, isn't it?"

"Not to us normal human beings without super intelligence," Susan remarked.

Lilly caught Hermione's eyes and said, "You know, you just don't want to say it."

"Do you know Hermione?" Harry asked quietly.

"I think so," Hermione said, her voice barely a whisper. She cleared her throat, "think about it. If Malfoy has been given this mission the target has got to be somebody in Hogwarts. Now think about people who are important enough to kill, within Hogwarts."

Susan and Hannah looked confused, they still hadn't worked it out. And then from the armchair Harry's voice said quietly, but firmly, "Dumbledore."

Daphne nodded, "It has to be."

"But why?" Susan asked in disbelief, "Why would they ask a 16 year old to kill Dumbledore? He'll never manage it!"

"Well that's the easy part," Harry said, his voice still quiet, "he isn't supposed to manage it."

"What do you mean?" Hannah asked with a frown.

"His Father was imprisoned," Daphne said, "in Voldemort's eyes that's a failure and there must be a punishment. Lucius Malfoy is in Azkaban, so the only way Voldemort can punish him is by punishing Draco."

"He isn't supposed to manage to kill Dumbledore," Harry said again.

Hermione spoke up, and her voice was so quiet the others had to strain their ears to hear her, "He's supposed to die. That's Lucius Malfoy's punishment."

There was silence in the room for a moment, nobody knew what to say to that.

"Shit," Harry sighed.

"What now?" Susan asked sharply, hoping he didn't have any more bad news.

"I hate to say this, but we have got to save him," Harry said honestly, "I know he cheated on all of you, and he's made my life and Hermione's hell for the last 5 years, but he's not a murderer."

"This isn't him," Daphne said, "He's a coward, and a bastard at times. But he isn't a killer, he can't want to do this and he must be so terrified right now. What do you think Voldemort told him to make him do it?"

"Probably that he'd kill his Mother and Father if he fails," Harry said, "Voldemort uses people's weaknesses. Why do you think I'm trying so hard not to let anyone in? He'll only use them against me when I eventually have to fight him."

"Draco might not let us help him, if he really is so afraid," Lilly pointed out, "and from what Daphne said Snape is involved in this somehow too. If he won't trust Snape why would he trust us? We've not known him for as long."

"But we're not Death Eaters," Harry said firmly, "and regardless of what you say, Hermione, I do think Snape is a Death Eater. He certainly isn't on our side, and if Malfoy is afraid then he's not going to trust someone else who is working for Voldemort."

"But Snape made the Unbreakable Vow to protect him, why would he do that if he wasn't trying to protect Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe he just wants to screw Narcissa Malfoy," Daphne said crudely, "look, trusting Snape isn't a good idea. Take it from someone who's had him as their Head of House for 5 years. He's as slimy as Slytherins come, I can see why Draco won't trust him."

"So where do we go from here?" Susan asked, looking between them all.

"I think it's time to get the DA back together," Harry said with a smile in Hermione's direction, "well at least those members we trust, and possibly some new ones."

"What the hell is the DA?" Daphne asked, she hadn't been on the inquisitorial squad the year before so she had no idea what the DA was, and Lilly hadn't been a part of it but she had heard it being talked about by people like Cho Chang and Luna Lovegood.

"It's a secret organisation we formed last year to learn magic when Umbridge banned practical in her lessons," Harry said, "it stands for Dumbledore's Army which is appropriate given its new cause."

Daphne rolled her eyes, "If I'm joining it has to have a new name."

Hermione smiled slightly, "I think for the moment we should keep this between us. The less people that know about Draco the better, and the more chance we have to gain his trust."

"I think that's got to be your job, Granger," Daphne remarked, "he's not going to trust any of us. We broke up with him within 24 hours of each other. He's got to know what happened and that we figured it out. He'll be confused as hell if Hannah suddenly tries to get to know him, and he'll never trust Potter."

"I'm not much better than Harry in his books," Hermione pointed out.

"But you've been on a date with him, which is more than Harry's done," Susan remarked.

Harry made a face at the thought, "That's the stuff of nightmares," he muttered.

Hermione managed a weak smile and said, "Look, you don't have to convince me on this. I've never liked Draco Malfoy, but I don't want to see him become a murderer. I don't know if I'll be able to get him to trust me, but I'll certainly try."

Hannah sighed, "This has all gotten so confusing. Can't we ever have a simple year at Hogwarts?"

"Not while we're friends with Harry bloody Potter," Susan remarked.

"I should never have gotten myself into this," Lilly joked.

Harry smiled weakly, "Sorry, trouble seems to follow me everywhere I go."

"Well it looks like we're all following you now, Potter," Daphne said simply, "but we need a plan, and you're the leader here."

Harry looked at Hermione who smiled and nudged him, "You're a natural leader, Harry. And you are the Voldemort expert. What are we going to do?"

"Until we can get Malfoy to trust us, not much," Harry said honestly, "although figuring out how Katie Bell got mixed up in the middle of this might help."

"What are we going to do about Ron?" Hermione asked, biting her lip, "we can't keep lying to him and when he finds out who we took as dates to Slughorn's party he's going to go mental."

"Well he won't talk to us for at least a week when he finds out," Harry said honestly, "probably after having a massive fight with us in the Great Hall. That gives us a bit of time before we need to figure out how to tell him. You said it yourself, he'll just go mental."

Hermione sighed and said, "You were the one who said you hated lying to him."

"And I do, but frankly he can be a right arse at times,' Harry said.

"So there's our plan," Lilly said, "Hermione focuses on gaining Draco's trust, and the rest of us try and work out how Katie Bell got caught up in this and what Draco's plan is so that we can stop it in the event that Hermione can't gain his trust."

"Everybody listen to the Ravenclaw," Harry said, "as leader, those are my instructions."

Daphne smiled slightly as she got to her feet, "You are a good leader Potter. When and where are we going to meet to discuss our progress? Two Hufflepuffs, two Gryffindors, a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin meeting all over the school is going to look suspicious."

"There's a room called the Room of Requirement on the 7th floor. Walk past the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy three times and think of what you need, which in this case is a meeting room and a door will appear. It's secret, so don't go telling everyone about the room. Hermione has these fake galleons that burn and then the time and date of the meeting shows up on them. She'll slip you all one so you know when to meet," Harry informed them all.

Susan and Hannah nodded, "We still have our DA ones, will they work?"

"I'll re-enchant them for you so that they do," Hermione said, "and I'll make two for you," she added for the benefit of Daphne and Lilly.

Daphne smiled at Harry and said, "I underestimated you two. I think I'll start calling you the dream team."

Lilly laughed and said, "Yeah, if it weren't for the fact that there were lives at risk this whole secret group thing would have been a whole lot of fun. See you around then."

"Yeah," Daphne agreed as they both prepared to leave, "see you around, Potter."

TBC :)