Harry rounded the final staircase that led to the Gryffindor common room wiping furiously at his eyes, which had burst into drowning tears the second he had turned the corner of the hallway he and Draco were in. No. The hallway he and Malfoy were in. There was no Draco, he was just another of Voldemort's lap toys like his father. Which of course made him a true Malfoy, and Harry saw no reason not to treat him like the family name he had earned.

Looking up, he nearly collided with Neville and had to sidestep quickly to avoid the boy as he hurried out of the common room. Seeing Neville's nose firmly in the new Herbology book Professor Sprout had suggested for him, Harry smiled fondly and stepped into the Common Room before the portrait closed. Touching his face briefly to check for any stray tears, Harry took a deep breath and wandered over to a plush armchair by the fire and sank as low into it as he could.

Hermione was frantically thumbing through one of the numerous books she had checked out when Harry entered. The look on his face caught her off guard and she did a double take, wondering why his face was so puffy and angry. Glancing hesitantly back at the book she was perusing, she grabbed a bookmark and stuffed it into the crack of the page she was on and walked over to Harry's chair. Sitting down by his feet, she put a hand on his knee and smiled softly at him.

"Heya, Harry. Something you wanna talk about?"

Harry's eyes caught Hermione's and her breath hitched at the floundering pain she could see in them.

'I hope this isn't about Ginny... Ron would never forgive her, sister or not, for hurting his best friend... not if he could see him like this...'

At that moment, a haggard looking Ginny appeared through the portrait hole and shuffled drowsily into the room, a highly confused look on her face. Catching sight of Harry in the chair, with Hermione's hand on his thigh in such a sentimental gesture, her eyes lit up in rage. All she could remember was waking up in the middle of a hallway after the strangest dream; She told herself it was a dream anyway, because the alternative was too ridiculous; and now here Harry was in reality, letting another girl touch him! Is that how he treats his girlfriends? Letting other girls feel him up at every opportunity? She'd just have to straighten her Harry out, if they were to expect any kind of happy marriage.

Stomping her feet childishly the whole way, she marched in front of Harry and slapped him as hard as her strength would allow, glaring at Hermione when the girl dared to look up at her.

"How dare you Harry James Potter! How many is this now? I thought you loved me, why would you hurt me like this? I trusted you, Harry."

Harry stared at Ginny quizically, wondering what she was going on about. He'd only kissed Draco... Malfoy... once. And it isn't like he was going around making out with every boy in the school now, just because he was coming out...

"What are you on about Ginny? He was the only one. It doesn't change anything though."

If Ginny's face was surprised, Hermione's was pure shock. He? Who is he? What did Harry do with this he?

Her brows furrowed as she tried to think of when she had last seen Harry, and what he could have been up to since then that would upset Ginny.

Ginny, however, just stared at him with her mouth gaping slightly, breathing hard.

"You... that wasn't... I dreamed that, you aren't... you aren't, really, are you Harry? It was a joke, right? Please tell me it was just a cruel, cruel joke..."

Harry shook his head slowly and smiled sadly at her.

"Gin, I'm sorry. I would have just told you, instead of... of making a show of it, but... you can be so possessive sometimes. I didn't think you'd accept it if I just told you. I would have been right, wouldn't I have? You aren't even believing it, and you saw me kiss him."

Hermione's eyes were bugging out of her head now.

'kiss him? Harry kissed a guy? First Malfoy came to her, of all people, for help with... well that... and now Harry was kissing blokes?'

Ginny looked away from Harry, scanning the room absentmindedly for something, anything, to tell her that this was all fake, that it was all a horrible, horrible nightmare. When she finally looked back at him, his eyes were downcast and he was chewing his lip in that nervous habit of his. If he was happy the way he was, why would he look so forlorn? Shouldn't he feel... blissful? Not that she wanted him to BE bent of course, but if Harry was than he was and... Well, she'd be there for him when she could.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Hermione beat her to it.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, leaning closer to him to catch his gaze.

Harry's eyes stayed cast downward, but he grunted a reply to acknowledge her question.

"Mm?"

Steeling herself, Hermione took a deep breath and continued.

"Are you... into... boys?"

Harry sighed and nodded mutely. He didn't trust his voice at the moment, as his mind was conjuring images of his kiss with Draco. Malfoy, damnit.

He could almost feel those cool hands firmly holding his face again... the solid body of warmth underneath him as he straddled him... the smile that looked up at him... Merlin he could even feel those lips again if he closed his eyes and remembered...

Groaning, he realized he was getting himself hard all over again and leaned forward to put his head in his hands.

This movement brought him closer to Hermione though, and he couldn't avoid her gaze. Looking at her with sad eyes that were prickling with fresh tears, he said quietly, "He's one of them 'Mione"

This did nothing to clear up Hermione's confusion, however, so she looked to Ginny for explanation. She had, obviously, seen what happened.

Ginny, whose heart was breaking more and more by the second, sighed heavily and replied with the one word that would explain everything.

Everything Hermione wanted to know, that is.

"Malfoy..."

Hermione's heart started racing as an explosion of images struck her mind all at once, making her widen her eyes as she pieced more and more of the puzzle together.

Draco needing help. Draco specifically asking not to tell Harry. Draco throwing himself away from her when he touched her. But there was still... Wait... What was it he had said? 'the more I think about P.'... P... Potter! Of course! Now that she thought about it, the only people Draco used first names with, were male. Merlin, what else had she missed?

Looking up at Harry, she put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"It's alright, Harry. What do you mean he's 'one of them', though?"

Images of writhing ink and skin replaced the sensual ones Harry had been sifting through, and tears leaked out of his eyes again.

"Them, 'Mione. I saw it on his arm... It was moving..." As he finished, tears were flowing steadily down his cheeks. He had been so gentle with Harry, how could he be one of them? Harry knew what the moving Mark meant, that Voldemort was calling them. Which meant he was probably with Voldemort now, gloating about how he humiliated the Boy who Lived and made him want a Death Eater. Merlin, he could never face anyone again after this got out...

Hermione watched helplessly as Harry ran a hand through his hair roughly, and frowned slightly. Malfoy had the Mark already? Does that mean he's actively a part of what Harry was fighting? Or did Lucius, as "convincing" as he could be with even the Ministry, coerce him into it? Thinking back to the few moments in the alcove Hermione had had with Malfoy, she decided a faithful devotee of the Dark Lord wouldn't have asked for help from her... he would have killed her on the spot, school or not, and he definitely would not have said 'please' to her. Not under any circumstances would a true Death Eater say that word to anyone, save maybe in jest. But she didn't see a Death Eater having much of a sense of humor, so that pretty well knocked that out too.

"Harry... I think you should talk to Malfoy." Hermione nodded her head once to emphasize her point.

Looking up slowly, Harry stared at Hermione as if she had sprouted Blast-Ended Skrewts from her ears.

"Are you bloody well insane 'Mione? He's a fucking Death Eater! He's probably getting off with Voldemort right now at having humiliated me today, and you want me to talk to him?" His voice became a high-pitched shriek as he finished, gaping at Hermione incredulously.

She glared at him simply, pursing her lips in a perfect rendition of Molly Weasley when the twins got up to something new.

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry. I'll have you know he spoke to me earlier." Chewing her lip nervously, she stopped. She made a promise not to tell Harry about Malfoy's condition, not that he talked to her. Besides, if she said anything of the curse, Harry might get even more upset and think that was the reason for... whatever they apparently got up to earlier.

Harry quirked an eyebrow skeptically, and asked, "Oh? What did he say? 'Get of of the way'?"

Hermione stuck her chin up a fraction of an inch.

"No. He needed help with something, and he actually came to me for it. And before you ask, I promised not to tell anyone until it was all over with."

Harry went silent, and Ginny finally spoke up.

"Wait... so... he was nice to you Hermione?"

When Hermione nodded, Ginny frowned in thought again. If he was nice to Hermione, a so called 'Mudblood' to the Dark Lord's followers... maybe she was wrong about him. After all, he didn't seem very anxious to kill Harry in the hallway earlier... But Harry did just say he was Marked, which means he DID associate with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the very least. This was all too confusing for one night.

"I think.. I think I'm going to head to bed guys... See you"

Harry and Hermione both nodded, and Ginny trudged off to the Girl's Dormitory, surrounded by her thoughts.

Looking back to Harry, Hermione poked his cheek and laughed.

"Well Harry? Will you do it, or not?"

Forced to smirk at her and exhale once in a light laugh, Harry nodded once.

"But only if I'm sure he isn't... he won't..." He bit his lip again, thoughts running around the idea of the whole school knowing he snogged Draco Malfoy.

Hermione seemed to sense where his thoughts were going, and smiled softly at him.

"I don't think he's in it to embarass you, Harry... Trust me on this one."

Something about her confidence in that moment made Harry believe her.

She usually did know what she was talking about after all.

"Alright 'Mione, I'll talk to him. But how do I know he isn't playing me for Voldemort's jollies?"

"Use the map. If he was called to V...him...and he was a true follower... he won't be in the castle right now, will he?"

Harry's eyes brightened as he beamed at the wonderful witch in front of him.

"'Mione, you are a genius!"

Kissing her cheek roughly, he pelted up the stairs three at a time and threw open his trunk, ignoring the mumblings of early-sleepers.

Snatching the parchment in his hand, he kissed it and whispered with a glint in his eye, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"

Immediately the map's ink leaked onto the page and Harry opened it up on his four-poster, spreading it out.

"Come on... come on... "

His eyes scanned the page back and forth frantically, searching for the two words that would make his head feel better.

Scanning the dungeons several times, he couldn't find Draco's name and his heart started falling.

"No..."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a single pair of footprints in a hallway, just standing still.

With a jolt, he realized it was the hallway he was in earlier... and the footprints read 'Draco Malfoy'