This has taken me forever to upload because of my internet and fanfiction glitches, but there you go.

LONG, IMPORTANT A/N TODAY:

I thought it was obvious, but I just got a review from someone who was confused about what Voldemort wants Draco to do. I took that from the actual sixth book (he wants him to find a way for the Deatheaters to get into Hogwarts and to kill Dumbledore), however, his response to the request is obviously very different than it is in the actual book.

Also, while we're on the topic, Voldemort will be killed during the story (not entirely sure if I'll fast forward or write the actual scene- I'm no good at action scenes), but it will remain the reader's decision whether Harry has been doing the whole Horcrux thing with Dumbledore this whole time, or if it's more a matter of just, you know- killing Voldy.

I think perhaps Harry would've told Ginny if the Horcrux stuff had been going on, given the close relationship they have in this story, but maybe he's getting defense lessons or something (something more like what Hermione was expecting when Harry first told her about the classes in the actual book).

Anyway, that was a long note. On to the story:

The Façade: Chapter 7

Draco stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas (to "continue work on the project") to stay safe from his father. The Weasleys, as usual, invited Harry and Hermione to stay with them at the burrow, but Hermione went on vacation with her parents.

It was Christmas Eve. Draco found himself bored without his practices with Ginny to look forward to. He tried to send her messages at the burrow, but never succeeded. He knew he wouldn't, really- at this point Ginny was capable of sending him reply messages, but they had yet to try it through walls and longer distances. He didn't want to send her an owl, because then he couldn't do it under the guise of practicing telepathy.

Draco had really woken up this year. Perhaps it was the shock of being asked (well, commanded more or less) to help the Dark Lord, but he had realized that he didn't want to spend his life killing innocent people, and he really just kind of wanted it all to be over. There, it's been said. Draco Malfoy wanted Voldemort to be defeated.

Besides, Draco was sick of being ordered around. He didn't want to be the evil guy that everyone hates, like his father pushed him to be (like he had been for the past six years, but whatever). He didn't want to go do dangerous things for the Dark Lord's benefit, when even the Dark Lord didn't honestly think he'd succeed.

Draco Malfoy ordered himself around.

Now that he had come to this realization, he couldn't stand to be around his so-called "friends" anymore. He snapped at them whenever they came near him, and he'd even taken to sleeping on the common room couch when it got too stifling. He was pretty much an unofficial outcast, yeah.

And the worst part of it was, he couldn't make new friends either. Everyone hated him from his Jr. Deatheater days, not to mention the inquisitorial squad the year before. And so Draco Malfoy was completely, totally alone.

Well, not totally. He had Ginny. Of course, she only "hung out" with him because she had no choice, but he was getting the feeling that she might actually enjoy their conversations. Of course, now she was enjoying Christmas with her normal, nice family (not that he hadn't made fun of it a thousand times, but he realized now that for him to make fun of it was pretty hypocritical) and he was getting ready to go downstairs and watch Dumbledore pull stupid hats out of crackers. Hm. Maybe he'd go down to the kitchens and eat alone.

Just then, a head with messy, jet-black hair appeared in the fireplace with its eyes closed.

"Is everyone dressed?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Potter, and it's only me." Draco replied.

Harry opened his eyes. "Well, as much as it pains me to do this, I am acting as Ginny's messenger to the boy's dormitories. Do you want to join us for Christmas?"

"And why," snapped Draco instinctively, "would I want to do that?"

Harry raised an eyebrow and looked around the empty dormitory. "Oh, I don't know," he said, "but we have Dumbledore's permission. The flues are only open for the next twenty minutes." He vanished.

Draco sulked for fifteen minutes before stepping into the fireplace.

---

Christmas at the Weasleys' was always chaotic. When Draco arrived, everything paused. There was an extremely awkward silence. Finally, Ginny stepped toward him and tugged him by the hand into the kitchen.

Don't worry, she told him silently, They'll get used to it. It's just a shock, after so many years.

I was trying to send you messages from Hogwarts, but it wouldn't work.

Of course it wouldn't, we still can't do it through a wall, dumbass.

Draco was about to reply when Harry interrupted. "That's really creepy." He said. For a moment, the Weasleys looked confused, and then it dawned on them what was going on.

"Jesus." Fred said simply.

George picked up his slack. "Honestly, guys- please don't do that much while you're here."

The shock of their nonverbal communication seemed to have taken some of the edge of Draco's arrival. Mrs. Weasley put him to work de-gnoming with Harry, Ron, and the twins. "They dig up all the seeds and bulbs, and then my tulips don't grow back in the spring," She explained.

As the wind messed up his carefully slicked back hair and his fingertips froze in the cold, Draco was tempted to say something about how this was servants work. He stopped himself. That was the old Draco talking. He was going to be nice and not spoiled. At least he was pretty sure the Weasleys didn't beat their children, he thought wryly. His arm was healed by then, but he still favored the other one while hurling gnomes.

Ron was giving him venomous looks. Finally, Draco sighed and walked up to him.

"Look, Ron. I didn't invite myself over. I'm not going to plead my case or beg for forgiveness from you, but Ginny and I are friends now. Deal with it."

Ron didn't hear a word he said after the first two. Malfoy had just called him by his given name. He nodded slightly, and Draco turned and walked to the other side of the garden.

---

It wasn't all that difficult to win over the rest of the Weasleys. Draco just stayed quiet and watched his step, and soon enough it seemed like if he wasn't one of them, at least he wasn't a leper in their midst. Mrs. Weasley made him a green and silver knit sweater ("I'm afraid the dragon didn't come out so well, dear- I'm not used to having a slytherin for Christmas!" she said apologetically). It felt odd to say it, but Draco liked Christmas at the Weasleys'. There was always something going on, and everyone seemed really happy. Not like the quiet, pained Christmas dinners he remembered from home (a long, lonely table with his parents at either end, a Christmas-catalog-tree with only silver ribbons and clear glass orbs).

And Ginny was there. She led him through it all like a guide dog to a blind person. She sent him messages telling him what he should do, how he should try to fit in. She sent him encouraging words all through Christmas dinner. They had some fun with it as well- Harry was the only one who noticed (again) when Draco passed Ginny the potatoes and the salt without being verbally asked to do so.

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Draco, and the twins had a 3-on-3 quidditch game in the yard- essentially one keeper and two chasers per team, since they couldn't use the flying balls anyway. Draco and the twins beat Harry, Ron, and Ginny pretty badly, but that was mostly because Harry and Ginny were both seekers and were rather out of their element. It was certainly a bonding experience for Draco and Fred and George, being on a team together. They were nice guys.

When it came time to go back to Hogwarts, Draco was actually depressed. Back to being the outcast, alone on the couch in the common room. Fun.

He hadn't counted on Harry, Ron, and Hermione trying to include him as their friend. Obviously, Ginny put them up to it, but still. Hermione seemed most reluctant, but after he apologized to her for what he had said in the past (also on Ginny's request) she warmed towards him.

The first time he entered the Gryffindor common room, it was pretty historic. He had once been the prince of Slytherin, after all. The reaction had not been unlike the one in the Weasleys' kitchen over the holidays. Eventually, though, the Gryffindors got used to his presence and generally ignored him. He spent most of his free time in there now, practicing with Ginny and playing chess with Ron. They sometimes pissed each other off, but they tried not to let the arguments get out of hand.

Draco, of course, kept this a secret from many of the Slytherins. It wouldn't do for his father to find out, after all.

---

If someone who didn't know what was going on walked in, this would look really weird.

Ginny was sitting with her back to the wall, alone in an empty classroom. Draco was sitting in the same fashion, in the classroom next door. Occasionally, one of them would run into the other's room to yell victory.

After a while, they were able to reliably send messages to each other through the wall and even from different parts of the castle. They began "practicing" each night as they fell asleep.

Are you awake?

Yeah. On the couch in the common room again.

I told you Slytherins are nasty.

Hey. I'm still a Slytherin.

You're practically a Gryffindor now. Ginny giggled to herself.

Jeez, I have some pride you know.

Ginny laughed again. What changed you, Draco? Really.

I think it was being asked to do this stupid project. My father volunteered me for it, you know- to gain back the Dark Lord's favor. I don't want to be ordered around, and I don't want to kill innocent people.

So… what is the plan exactly?

You know I can't say anything more. Dumbledore's orders. But the point is, I never really shared my father's views. You know, pure blood and all that.

I find that hard to believe.

No, really. It's just that I was young then. I thought that the right thing to do was to be my father's puppet and force myself to believe the same things he did. I wanted him to be proud of me.

Because he hurts you when he isn't proud of you.

No, he didn't before. Only this summer. But maybe that's because I always did what he wanted before this summer.

He's a monster. I still can't really believe what I saw.

He's misguided.

I'm not going to reply to that.

They had these conversations almost every night. Ginny told Draco about life with the Weasley clan, and he told her about his cold childhood. They had long, philosophical arguments about God, and good and evil. They had lighthearted, getting-to-know-each other conversations about nothing in particular. It was easier to talk when they weren't face-to-face. Ginny didn't know it, but Draco looked forward to them every day.

Ginny?

Yeah?

Will you go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?

Line, as a date

As whatever you want it to be.

Ginny hesitated. Can it be just as friends?

Draco sighed to himself. Sure. Just friends.

Goodnight, Draco.

Night, Gin.

Yay, how cute was that? They're really coming along nicely. And they're really good at the telepathy thing. Maybe I rushed it a bit, but I've had the late-night conversations planned out since the conception of this story, so I was excited. A lot happened in this chapter. Vacation is half over, so I wanted to give you guys a good long one in case things start to slow down. REVIEW!