DISCLAIMER: If I owned Harry Potter, don't you think I'd be publishing this and earning massive amounts of money?

Author notes: Thanks for your replies, Liz and SunGoddess, they mean a lot.

I noticed that some people have added me to their favorites and their Author's Alerts but don't reply at all! If it isn't too much to ask, can you leave a tiny message once in awhile to know whether you are enjoying the story or not? Constructive criticism is always welcome!


Chapter 7: "No name calling, please!"

Hermione watched as Anna Sophia disapparated. For about ten minutes, the five of them remained silent, unsure of what to do or say. When they set out that morning it was only them. It has not been an easy task, Mrs. Weasley cried hysterically, Mr. Weasley was red with anger and the rest of the family was astonished. But Harry had made his decision. He had not asked anyone to join him. Ron, Hermione and Ginny had made up their own minds, and there was nothing no one could do to stop them.

With silent resignation, the Weasleys had seen them off.

Now they all stood in the place Harry said it had all began for him, and they had just met a strange Auror that had not only shocked them into near death, she had also gave them the worse burden anyone could think of… they now had to baby-sit Draco Malfoy. Everyone turned to Harry.

"Ok, Malfoy. As long as we have to tolerate each other, let's get a few things straight here," said Harry in a firm voice. "First. Let's have none of that stupid name calling. If we are on the same side now, we have to act like it!"

Draco rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Potter. Give me a freaking break! 'No name calling', who do you think you are dealing with, some five year old?"

Hermione scoffed.

"And you're not? You could have fooled me!"

"Clever comeback Granger, but you know what? Next time you feel like saying something stupid, just keep it to yourself, for all our sakes!" he spat, glaring at her angrily.

Harry smiled. At least he didn't call her any names.

Hermione glared at him.

"Oh, and miss the opportunity of making a fool of you? You couldn't possibly be asking for that Malfoy!" she spat angrily, getting closer to the boy she had hated for the past six years.

Draco walked closer to her, his face full of determination. Harry, Ginny and Ron immediately knew that they had to intervene or they would hex one another to the next century. Ginny immediately grabbed Hermione's shoulders and moved her back while Harry stood in between them.

"Hermione, we all need to cooperate here. Harry didn't ask any of us to join him. We cannot be a burden to him. And trust me; having to deal with Malfoy daily will be enough burdens as it is. We need to help him," said Ginny gently, rubbing her shoulders.

Hermione sighed very softly and closed her eyes. She hated Malfoy with passion. She could understand Harry feeling sorry for him, as he had just lost his parents and he had seen Malfoy not kill Dumbledore. But she hadn't. She still saw him as that insufferable loser that called her a "mudblood" on her Second Year at Hogwarts. Even though she would die first before admitting it, he had made her cry, and she hated him for it. But Ginny was right; she had to be strong, for Harry's sake.

She opened her eyes and looked at Draco Malfoy. Harry and Ron were talking to him firmly and he seemed to be making some sort of retorts. Ron's face went red with anger while Harry remained cool. Hermione admired the fact that Harry was so centered he wouldn't let anything else affect him. She wished she could be like that.

Draco felt completely outraged. Not only had Anna Sophia dumped him on the Fabulous Four and proceeded to disappear, but now he knew he just had to behave, because they were the only ones he could count on. They were the only ones that wouldn't turn him over to the Dark Lord. They were the ones avenging Dumbledore and trying to secure the Wizarding World from further pain. He never, ever, thought he would be siding with them. Now that he was, he found himself wondering if it would be better to be dead. He sighed.

"Ok, fine. Listen Granger," he walked straight towards Hermione, "as long as I have to be with you lot then I guess we have to behave. And I will if you concede to do the same!" he told her firmly.

Hermione glared at him, unable to hide her true feelings.

"Fine!" she said finally, stretching her hand towards him.

He eyed her hand.

"What the hell are you doing, Granger?" he asked nastily.

"I am offering you a handshake, you idiot! What did you think?" she retorted, her cheeks flaming red.

Draco's light, grey eyes glowed icily. He looked down at her hand in disgust and walked away from her without uttering another word. Harry, Ron and Ginny shook their heads. It was going to be harder than they thought.

"What did that girl give you, Harry?" asked Ginny softly, turning the attention away from Malfoy and Hermione.

Harry's green eyes widened. He had completely forgotten about the piece of parchment he was holding in his hand. Hermione and Ron walked closer to Harry, longing to catch a glimpse of the parchment and its contents. Draco found himself bursting with curiosity. Against his better judgment, he walked towards the small group. Harry looked at them all and finally opened the parchments.

"It's… names… and addresses!" he said softly, looking at the writings on the paper.

"What names, whose addresses?" Ron asked immediately.

"I am not sure. I only know one or two," said Harry, sounding crestfallen.

He wished with all his might that Dumbledore would somehow give him some understanding about the information contained on the parchment. For a minute he wondered if Dumbledore had made a mistake in trusting him so. Would he really be able to find those horcruxes and put an end to Voldemort's evil ways?

"Let me see that!" said Draco suddenly, snatching the parchment from Harry's hand.

At this, Harry couldn't keep his cool. He gingerly fingered his wand.

"Give it here, Malfoy!"

Draco, however, was too busy looking at the parchment to notice that Harry was getting ready to attack him.

"These are all people that were killed or tortured by Voldemort…" he murmured softly, his eyes dancing slowly over the creased parchment. "All of them are. My parents are not in there, though…" he noticed.

"What?" Harry asked, completely forgetting about his wand.

Malfoy scowled at him.

"The names on the parchment, genius, they are all people Voldemort killed!" he shoved the list to Harry's face.

Harry took the list and read every name on it. It was true. There were six names written on it, and a lonely address… no name, which greatly surprised him.

"How come you knew this? Where you confided with this information when you turned into a Death Eater?" he said, eyeing Draco quizzically.

Draco glared at him and leaned his tall body against a tree, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I am not a Death Eater," he explained, not caring to elaborate.

The four friends looked at each other, not really knowing what to say. They all thought that if there was a teenager more prone to becoming a Death Eater it was Draco Malfoy. However, there he stood, confirming that he really was not a Death Eater as he had tried to make his friends believe. And what was more, it looked as if he couldn't have cared less.

"I thought you wanted to be one…" said Ginny cautiously.

Draco swallowed hard. He wanted to tell her that he used to want to be a Death Eater, but he had changed his mind. But not for the same foolish, morally inclined reason as Ginny and her friends. The fact was he could not understand how people pledged their loyalty to someone the way the Death Eaters did to Voldemort. Deep inside of him, he knew the only reason Voldemort was so powerful was the fact that he had so many people and creatures backing him up. If they were all to turn around and rebel against him, he'd be done for.

The thought of one person having all that power angered Draco more than anything; unless, of course, it was him having all that power. He chuckled to himself and shook his head.

"Well, you thought wrong Weasley!" he said simply, not providing any information as to why he was giving them such a shocking answer.

Harry ignored their conversation and concentrated on the piece of parchment. His mind had begun to wander. He suddenly remembered Dumbledore's words after they had visited his memory through the Pensieve. They had relived the moment in which Tom Riddle got a fateful visit from Albus Dumbledore and was told that he was a wizard, and that he was now a student of Hogwarts.

Dumbledore had called Harry's attention to the box of seemingly useless things Tom Riddle had stolen from other kids. He had explained that Voldemort liked collecting trophies, meaning that he liked keeping things from people he personally got rid of, or tortured. A few memories later, he demonstrated this by keeping his eye on a relic that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. Something inside of Harry clicked, but he could not tell his friends just yet.

He glanced up at the sky.

"Hey everyone, I think it's time we look for someplace we can camp out or something. It's getting dark!" he informed his friends and Malfoy as he started walking out of the graveyard.

His friends nodded and proceeded to follow him quietly. Draco, on the other hand, remained leaning against the tree, deep in thought.

"Malfoy… aren't you coming?" asked Hermione, reminding herself that she was being polite to the idiot for Harry.

Draco blinked fast, a bit startled. He locked eyes with the petite girl and nodded. Quietly, they quickened their pace to catch up with the group.


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