A/N: I know, I know, it's been a while. I apologize for how long it took, but I've been redoing past chapters. Clara Minutes, of Perfect Imagination, did an awesome job pointing out the mistakes I missed. It just took a while to get along to this chapter, since I was sending the installments in order. I just thought I would give everyone the heads up before I start replacing chapters. If you have this story on "Alert", you might be getting e-mails like crazy this week.

This chapter is dedicated to Blonde Dragon. She's was my beta through Chapter Seven, and did an awesome job.

Chapter Nine

Harry wasn't sure what to do with the information the Pensieve had divulged. Aside from the quick departure Lupin had advised, he certainly had no intention of discussing what he had seen. Ron was at a loss. He clearly knew that something was bothering both of his friends and yet no amount of coaxing would convince either of them to talk. The night had gone on in silence. Hermione rummaged through shelf after shelf of thickly bound books. She jotted down the occasional note on parchment, employing Harry to sort out volumes into varying degrees of usefulness. Harry usually wasn't a fan of busy work but, right now, was quite thankful for it.

The only clock in the room appeared to be broken; a victim of a previous raid, it seemed. Without windows, there was no way of telling how much time had elapsed. Ron seemed to be getting progressively more bored, though. Occasionally he would catch the bored youth flipping through pages of a book and, once, stuffing a small, yet quite ornate, chess set into bag. If Hermione had seen, she didn't say anything. Harry didn't see the harm in it. There were a great deal of things around the household, more than anyone would miss. There was certainly more than the one remaining member of the Malfoy family could have any use for. The silence was only broken when Hermione closed the book before her and looked up to Harry.

"How was Malfoy?"

These words caught Harry offguard. It seemed that Hermione had collected her thoughts; though, the question was more than a little late. "Fine," Harry managed, after a moment of slightly confused silence. "Last time I checked, I mean."

"You don't think someone should check?" Hermione placed the book she had been reading on top of a nearby pile and stood.

Harry felt his heart begin to race. Draco was the last person he wanted to see right now and, inevitably, he spoke before he could think, "Why don't you go?"

"Because I haven't had anything to eat yet," Hermione said, slightly affronted. "Unlike you and Ron, I've been working this entire time."

There wasn't any arguing that. Harry hadn't been in the library nearly as long as Hermione and he had already eaten. That didn't mean he wanted to go back upstairs. "Can't Ron go?"

Hermione glanced over to one the far tables where Ron was slumped over a book and snoring rather noisily. "If you want to wake him up. Just go upstairs and see if he's all right, Harry. See if he wants anything to eat, too." She headed towards the door but paused. "It was your idea to bring him, you know." Her words weren't angry, just a reminder, and one that Harry found difficult to ignore. He sat back down as Hermione left and, for the first time since coming back downstairs, tried to sort out everything he had seen.

Did the images from the Pensieve really change anything? What he had seen had happened at least a year ago. The Draco upstairs was the same one he had insisted on bringing along the previous night. He was still the same obnoxious, ungrateful Malfoy he had gone to school with. Regardless of what Harry told himself, what he had seen bothered him. The sight of Draco in the Room of Requirement haunted him. He still saw Blaise, frustrated with the situation, yet obviously finding enjoyment in "the act".

Harry forced these thoughts, and others, from his mind. Eventually, he would have to be around Draco again, and someone did need to check on him tonight. Reluctantly, Harry rose from his seat and headed down the hall. He took his time climbing the stairs, counting them absently as he went. Perhaps there was no real reason to worry. Maybe Malfoy was asleep. He had been sleeping a lot lately; that could be the case now. The low sound of someone complaining to themself told Harry otherwise. With a deep breath, he went to the door and peered in.

It seemed that Draco had found the Pensieve on the floor. It probably hadn't taken him much guessing to realize what it was Harry had been doing earlier, and it went without saying that he would be angry. Harry considered slipping back downstairs now. If Draco was up and about, clearly he was fine.

It was a bit more cursing from Malfoy that prompted him to take pause. Suddenly, Harry realized that it wasn't the fact that the Pensieve was out that was troubling Draco. It appeared that one or two of the bottles nearby had shattered. The blonde seated on the ground was doing his best to gather the remaining containers. His right hand was pressed to his chest as he did so, and Harry couldn't help but notice that it appeared to be bleeding.

"Malfoy." Harry forgot his hesitance and entered the room, going to kneel down beside him. "What did you do?"

Draco had jumped slightly upon hearing a voice near the doorway. Harry knew he was still having a difficult time finding a new way to perceive the world around him. This was completely understandable. Harry wouldn't like to have someone sneak up on him either, and he probably could have done a better job of making himself known rather than quietly making his way to the door.

Harry reached for Malfoy's hand without thinking. No sooner had his fingertips come into contact when the other pulled away. "I should be asking you the same thing," he snapped, and Harry immediately remembered what it was he had been trying so hard to forget.

Harry was quick to respond, "I didn't take the Pensieve out, Hermione did." It wasn't a complete lie; but he hoped Draco wouldn't think to question him further.

"Did you watch any of these, Potter?" Malfoy demanded, indicating the general direction of the bottles. Even with his eyes bandaged, he was clearly angry with Harry. It seemed that he wouldn't trust Harry should he deny the obvious.

"One." The second memory had already been inside the Pensieve. It was a stretch, but not technically a lie. He attempted to change the subject immediately after answering, should his last response prompt further questioning. "Let me see your hand."

This seemed to work, at least momentarily. "What? Why?" Malfoy asked suspiciously, pulling a little further away.

"Because, you're bleeding." Harry did his best to sound annoyed. He would much sooner fight with Malfoy than explain what had happened to him.

"It's your fault," Draco muttered, holding out his injured hand, grudgingly.

"You should have been more careful." Harry caught the other's hand before he could pull it away. Malfoy's trust towards him only extended so far, and this was already pushing it. Draco might not have had much of a choice in the matter before, when he had been so weakened. Now that he was well there really wasn't much that Harry could do should Draco decide that he didn't want the help.

"It isn't so bad," Harry commented, standing as he spoke. "Where's the nearest sink?"

"There's a bathroom on this floor, down the hall." Malfoy stood as Harry tugged him upwards. "What, exactly, did you watch?"

This would be significantly more difficult for Harry to talk his way out of. He tried to work around the proper words as he carefully led Draco around the mess on the floor and out into the hall. "I don't know; you were a kid." He attempted to leave matters at that again.

"Potter-"

"You know your own memories better than I do. What does it matter?" Harry stopped at the end of the hall and looked around. "Which room?"

"It wasn't any of your business!" Malfoy wasn't so willing to simply let this go. "You had no right to go through my things like that, much less watch my memories!"

Normally, Harry would have argued with Draco. This time there wasn't much Harry could say to defend himself. "I thought I might be able to find something that would help us."

"What could you possibly have found?" Malfoy tried to pull his hand away but Harry tightened his hold around the other's wrist.

"I'm sorry!" Harry said quickly, before anything could escalate. "It won't happen again, I swear. I didn't see anything important anyway." There were many senses of the word "important". It certainly hadn't been imperative to any Horcrux-related issues at hand.

Malfoy's expression didn't betray much forgiveness. He didn't try to pull away again, however and merely motioned to his left. "The door should be there."

"I really didn't mean anything by it, I-" Harry cut himself off as he opened the bathroom door. "Was all this really necessary?" The room was reminiscent of the Prefect's bathroom at Hogwarts. The rectangular tub was only marginally smaller than the one Harry remembered, and the room was a darker shade of marble. All the same, it was quite impressive and Draco's mood seemed to brighten slightly.

"You're just used to the Weasel's little hovel." He smirked. "I would imagine the living conditions of your own home weren't much better."

Harry decided against pointing out that soon Draco's home wouldn't belong to the Malfoys. Instead of instigating another argument, Harry led Draco to the bathtub, the edge of which made more than an adequate seat for both of them. "Wait here." Harry went to a closet, which was already open, likely having been rummaged through by the Ministry already. The towels inside still looked clean. Harry grabbed one, and dampened the end in the sink before returning to Draco's side. "Let me see your hand again."

Draco did as he was asked, still seeming a bit reluctant. He wasn't used to this sort of dependence, and Harry doubted that he would ever be. Though, Malfoy would undoubtedly resent any sort of his pity, Harry still couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. He seemed so lost and in his own home. A pained hiss of surprise from Draco brought him back to the work at hand. "Be careful, Potter."

"Hmm? Oh, sorry." Harry squinted, doing his best to settle his fingers around the smaller shards of crystal left in Draco's palm. He didn't hold back a smile as he saw the other boy's slightly nervous demeanor. "Well, if you would rather do it yourself…"

"Just hurry." Malfoy sounded anxious and certainly not amused.

"Or I could get Hermione. I'm sure she would know some spell to-"

"Potter!"

"Relax, I'm finished." Harry wiped a small amount of blood from Draco's palm before simply handing the towel to him. "You'll live. Trying to go ahead and heal it probably wouldn't do much good, huh?"

Pressing the dry end of the towel to his palm, Malfoy raised his head, as if to look at Harry. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I guess I could let you heal yourself, but giving you your wand back doesn't seem like a good idea. " Harry paused, suddenly realizing that there hadn't been any discussion of what he had discovered on Malfoy's arm. "The Dark Mark." He noted how Draco stiffened. "It kept anyone from healing you before. You know…that really wasn't a good idea…"

"It wasn't exactly optional." Draco tugged at his sleeve, his mind clearly wandering to the mark on his forearm. "And it works out for…You-Know-Who. None of us are really of any use to him in, well, this sort of situation."

Harry rolled his eyes "How much of a use to him could you really be?" He hadn't meant this as an insult but, clearly, Draco was offended. "Well, do you want to go back?" Malfoy seemed reluctant to admit that he actually preferred being with Harry, but shook his head anyway. "Well, that it th-" Suddenly, Harry couldn't help but wonder what other magic had been interwoven into the Dark Mark. "Could Voldemort find you?"

It was difficult to tell whether Draco had cringed at the name or the question itself. Either way he shook his head again and shrugged. "I don't know," he said quietly, his tone suddenly a bit too serious to offer Harry much comfort. "Probably."

Harry had another truth to add to the growing list of cons of his "decision". If Voldemort had someone inside the Ministry, it wouldn't take him long to realize that one of his servants was currently traveling with the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry didn't care to count the ways in which Voldemort could use this information to his advantage. Of course, changing his mind now meant leaving Draco with the Ministry or alone and on his own….

"Don't tell Ron or Hermione," Harry said at last, his own tone quiet and a little hesitant. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Malfoy's indifferent expression change to one of mild surprise. Before Harry could cover for himself, a shout echoed up the stairs.

"Harry! Get down here!"

The voice had belonged to Hermione and her words had been rushed. Harry's thoughts immediately shifted to Lupin's words. What if the Ministry had found them already? Harry was on his feet and nearly out the door when someone restrained him.

"Wait for me, Potter," Draco ordered, his left hand closing rather awkwardly around Harry's sleeve, the towel still clutched in his right.

Harry had little time to argue. Malfoy managed to both stay close and keep his guide's pace. All the same, Harry was very relieved to find Hermione at the end of the hallway. The thought of rushing down the stairs with a blind Malfoy in tow hadn't exactly been appealing.

"What is it?" Harry stopped, and Draco took a few extra steps forward before doing the same. "Where's Ron?"

"At the window." Hermione cast a nervous glance down the stairs. She looked a little troubled, but not as worried as she would have been had it been the Ministry on their way. "There's someone here. They're wandering around out front.."

"Just one person?" Harry's mind was racing with possible explanations and it was difficult to read Draco's expression from where he stood.

Hermione began to lead the way down the stairs, keeping her pace a little slower than she might have had Malfoy not been there. "I saw two lights. They didn't seem to be in any hurry."

The lamps were extinguished downstairs. Hermione went through a door Harry hadn't entered. It was difficult to tell much about the room in the darkness. He could just make out someone crouched at one of the far corners of the room, and immediately gathered that this was Ron. He looked up as they came closer, letting the curtain at the window fall back into place.

"Well?" Harry asked, keeping his voice unintentionally low.

"You don't have to whisper, they're gone." Ron stepped back from the window as light came forth form the tip of Hermione's wand.

Harry went to the window himself. "Gone? What, they just came and left?"

"Well-" Ron's expression darkened as he noticed Malfoy had come to join them this time. "They didn't actually 'leave'."

Clearly Malfoy didn't need his vision to inform him of Ron's resentment. "I think that's generally the definition of 'gone'."

"What I meant was-" Ron raised his voice, glowering past Harry to Draco. "-they're not out front anymore. They went around the side of the house. I don't think they were looking for a way in. They were just carrying something into the woods."

"We should see where they're going," Harry said resolutely, prompting a poorly concealed laugh from Malfoy. "What?" Harry asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know.

"Oh, nothing Potter - just in wonder of that infallible reasoning of yours." Malfoy's free hand settled on the back of a nearby wingback chair. He released Harry's arm and felt his way over to take a seat.

"One of you needs to stay here with Malfoy," Harry continued, choosing to ignore any further interruptions from the nearby Slytherin.

Harry had been correct in assuming that there would be further interruptions. "I'm not a child, you know."

"I'm not staying with him," Ron grumbled quickly.

"Neither of you know where you're going," Hermione pointed out. "This isn't like the Hogwarts grounds. We don't know our way around here. We don't have the advantage."

"And what does that have to do with-" Ron cut himself off, suddenly frowning at Hermione. "Oh no, I'm not going with him."

"I wouldn't worry about that, Weaslebee, I don't plan on going anywhere. It's cold out. I have better things to do than to go traipsing after two complete strangers, who probably are from the Ministry, and who may or may not be armed." Malfoy leaned back in the chair, making himself comfortable.

It was Hermione who interjected before Ron could come up with any particularly scathing response. "Well, all of us can't go. Harry, if you insist on going, you should take Malfoy with you."

Harry was surprised by that suggestion. He was about to object when Malfoy beat him to it. "I thought I said I wasn't going."

"You did," Hermione said, addressing Draco quickly so as to leave little room for further argument. "But this is your home, isn't it? Surely you want to know what's going on."

Harry couldn't help but be vaguely amused by his friend's words. Was she trying to manipulate him? Malfoy seemed to come to the same conclusion, and Hermione abruptly switched tactics. "Please, it would help all of us. We need to stay one step ahead the Ministry. If those people are-"

"I'm not going with Ron," Malfoy cut Hermione off and stood, keeping one hand to the back of the chair. "This was Harry's idea, he's coming too."

There was little time for bargaining. "Fine, take Ron's coat. Harry, it's near the entrance."

Hermione's suggestion got an immediate rise from Malfoy. "I'm not going to wear th-"

"Well, no one-"

"Will the both of you get going!" Hermione cut both Malfoy and Ron off, taking the latter by the arm and leading him back to the window.

Harry was quick to lead Malfoy away as well, taking him by the hand without much thought. A hiss of pain and a complaint from Draco reminded him that this was the hand he had cut earlier. "Sorry." He resituated his grip, grasping Malfoy's wrist instead. He heard the other's footsteps falter at first but Draco managed to keep up.

True to Hermione's word, Ron's coat was strewn, haphazardly, over a decorative table near the entrance. "Put this on." He handed the coat back to Malfoy, who took a moment to determine which arm was which before pulling it on. Of course, he did so more than a little grudgingly. Even he appeared to understand that time just didn't permit much hesitation at the moment. Instead he simply wrinkled his nose as if the garment itself offended him.

"Come on," Harry said, only shaking his head and drawing his wand. "Lumos." He felt Draco take hold of his free arm as he led the way out into the darkness. As Malfoy had predicted, it was cold. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any snow; though, the soft crunching sound their footsteps made told him there was at least a thin layer coating the ground. And if there was snow…

"What is it?" Malfoy grumbled impatiently. Harry wasn't making much progress in either direction.

"Shh," Harry hissed, taking a few tentative steps forward. "I'm looking for footprints. If it hasn't been too long…There." Two sets of footprints were visible only a few yards away.

"And where do they lead?" Malfoy sounded genuinely interested this time. Whether she had been attempting to manipulate him or not, Hermione had made at least one valid point.

"To the left – that is, to your left if you were facing the house." Harry attempted to explain the direction in which they were headed as he led Malfoy on. He kept his voice low and his steps cautious should the "intruders" not be quite as far away as they had originally thought. "Is there anything in this direction?"

"I don't know, Potter. 'To the left' is a little vague." Malfoy seemed to be mulling something over, though. Harry didn't bother to question him further, merely concentrating on where the footprints before them led. He would have his own answers soon enough.

Eventually, the footprints faded away. The nearby trees had sheltered the ground from snowfall, and Harry was certainly not very experienced in tracking. "No," Harry groaned, coming to an abrupt stop.

"What?" Malfoy sounded equally frustrated; Harry's sudden stop had nearly caused him to run into the other.

"There's nothing to follow anymore," Harry whispered, looking about carefully for a distant light or something of the sort. There was nothing to be seen in the distance but darkness. This was partially due to a grouping of trees ahead that kept him from seeing too far in the direction the footsteps had been headed in.

"Are there a lot of trees nearby?"

Malfoy's question had taken Harry by surprise. He nodded, remembered Malfoy couldn't see this, and spoke up, "Yeah, do you know where we are?"

Draco took only a moment to consider this. "Do you see a path anywhere?"

"Ah-" Harry held his wand forward and squinted into the darkness around them again. "In which direction."

"How should I know! You still have eyes, use them." As soon as Malfoy had spoken, Harry's gaze settled on a gravel path a short distance away. He rushed in that direction, and could only hope that they hadn't wasted too much time.

When it became evident that wherever this path led it was some distance from the house, Harry glanced back to Malfoy. The blonde gripping his arm didn't seem particularly concerned with how much time this was taking, prompting Harry to speak up, quietly, "How much land did your family have, Malfoy?"

It seemed that this had been the wrong choice of words. "Did? I don't think the Ministry's quite-"

"You know what I meant," Harry whispered, cutting Draco off impatiently.

"Enough," Malfoy said shortly. He still seemed slightly affronted by such a bold question. "Besides, you wouldn't want it any closer to the house."

"What?" A sudden glimpse of light silenced Harry. He ducked down behind a shrub and prayed the dying foliage was enough cover. "Nox."

"Do you see anyone?" Draco whispered, so close to Harry that he need no longer hold onto his arm.

"Sort of." Harry got to his feet and began to creep slowly forward only to feel someone grab him somewhat awkwardly by the shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Malfoy asked, a sense of both urgency and nervousness to his voice. Unable to see his surroundings, the last thing he wanted was to be was left alone.

The lights up ahead appeared to be fixed. Harry could vaguely make out the silhouettes of men but little else. He pulled away from Malfoy, jerking from his grasp and moving a little further towards the lights while making sure to keep low. "I'm going to get a better look. You wait here."

"Yeah, right," Malfoy was still reluctant to be left behind. Harry wasn't entirely sure why. It wasn't as if he couldn't trust Harry after all that had transpired between them. Just the same, Harry didn't pull from Malfoy this time. Instead he merely put a hand to the other's arm, making sure they were both low enough to go unseen. It was only then that Harry wished he had had the time to grab his Invisibility Cloak. Of course, whoever they were following didn't seem to be much of a threat.

Malfoy's vague responses to Harry's earlier questions began to make sense as he crouched down next to a handsomely crafted, cast-iron gate. A stone monument provided an adequate hiding spot. Peering past headstones, Harry got a good look at the two men they had been following. Neither appeared particularly apprehensive. Both were seated to the left of what looked to be a stone crypt as something proceeded to dig a few feet away. Harry assumed any equipment they had brought along had been charmed to work for them. The men looked a tad too rough to be members of the Ministry and though the two seemed to be speaking freely to one another Harry could hear neither of them from where he was, and he had no intention of trying to get any closer. There was no need. It took very little reasoning to justify their presence.

Harry pulled Malfoy away from the fence and back into the cover of the trees. He wasn't sure quite what this meant but he had a feeling that they should leave tonight. Once they were a considerable distance away, Harry straightened and Malfoy followed suite. "Well, at least we know what they're doing with your parents, right?" Harry hoped Malfoy wouldn't take that the wrong way. To his relief, there was no change in his companion's demeanor.

"They're probably just trying to lure us here, you know. They'll publicize what they did with the bodies," Draco said quietly. "They probably wouldn't expect us immediately, but eventually…"

"You don't know that." Harry wasn't entirely sure of his own words, however, and his voice lacked the resolve needed to be terribly convincing. "It really doesn't matter. We should leave tonight anyway. Lupin said-" Harry caught a look of disgust pass across Malfoy's face. "What did he say to you anyway?"

"Nothing worthwhile." Oddly enough, it sounded as if Malfoy was actually speaking the truth, and though Harry would just as soon hear the details, something else caught his attention.

"Your hand."

Of all the directions this conversation could have taken, this seemed to catch Malfoy off guard. "What?"

"Your right hand," Harry stopped walking, but was quick to pull Draco away from the main path, should the men he'd been spying on finish their digging early. "Your right hand. You're holding my arm with you right hand."

Harry was met only with a baffled sort of silence at first. At last, Malfoy only shook his head in disbelief. "Good, Potter," he drawled sarcastically, holding up his free hand. "And this is my left."

"No you idi-" Harry gave an exasperated groan and looked around cautiously. He drew his wand, but moved further away from the path before speaking a hasty, "Lumos." By this time, Draco had released his arm and Harry wasted little time in snatching the other by the wrist. He held his wand close, getting a good look at Draco's palm. There was no longer any sign that he had cut himself at all. A little like the wounds on Malfoy's chest, it seemed the cuts here had simply healed themselves in quite a comparatively small window of time. "Did-did you find your wand? Did you heal yourself while I wasn't looking or something?"

"You've been with me since I cut my hand." The sarcasm had faded from Malfoy's voice. "The last time I had a wand, you caught me. Yours wasn't very cooperative anyway. What's the problem? You said it wouldn't take long to heal."

"I really meant more in the terms of a couple of days." Harry released Malfoy's hand. "Did you heal yourself before, when-nevermind." Harry merely began to lead the way back towards the house. He had a feeling that the answer to this question would be very similar to his last. He felt the other take his sleeve and by the time the house was in sight again, he heard him whisper.

"So…is this a bad thing?" Malfoy didn't sound as if he was asking Harry in particular, simply trying to sort this all out for himself. A lot had happened over the last few days.

"I don't know," Harry admitted, stopping short of the front stairs. "Just don't tell anyone about this."

The wind began to pick up, and though it was growing colder, neither of the boys made any move to go inside. "Well I hadn't exactly planned to strike up any conversation with those two but, does it really matter?"

"No," Harry answered quickly. "I mean, it does. They might overreact and think-look, I might talk with Hermione later. We just have bigger things to worry about right now, that's all… You don't think it could be the Dark Mark, do you?"

"I would think the Ministry would be having a lot more trouble with the battles if that was the case." Malfoy sounded as frustrated as Harry was feeling. There were so many unanswered questions.

Harry switched his wand to his left hand and took Draco's arm in his right. He felt the teen tense but was relieved when he didn't question his motives. Harry pushed back the cuff of the jacket, then did the same with Malfoy's sleeve. The mark on his forearm seemed almost a fraction darker, but Harry dismissed this as a trick of the light.

Many things were running through Harry's mind as he traced the mark with his fingertips. He thought back to what he had seen in the Pensieve. He hadn't seen the Dark Mark present there. Of course, Malfoy's arms had been the last thing Harry had been paying attention to.

Blaise had been so rough, but Draco had appeared to enjoy the act. When it came right down to it, Harry only really knew the basic mechanics of sexual acts. What little he was versant in came from whispered tales in the Gryffindor common room, and the occasional questionable magazine he found under Dudley's mattress. The subject of either had always been of women, and when a man was involved… Well, it certainly hadn't been like that at any rate.

The Professors had always gone to great lengths trying to keep the boys and girls apart from one another in, what could be construed as, "compromising" situations. Harry had seen, first hand, how difficult the girl's dormitories were to get into. It seemed their superiors hadn't put much thought into the possibility of same-sex relationships.

Harry wondered when Malfoy's relationship with Blaise had begun and if he had been his first. Had Draco tried girls before hand? Blaise had explicitly insisted that he was heterosexual, and though all evidence seemed to point to the contrary, maybe he was. Maybe what Harry had seen had been entirely for pleasure. He was fairly sure that sort of thing happened. Draco could very well be straight. That hypothesis alleviated a surprising amount of stress immediately, and Harry tried his best to cling to the notion.

"Potter?" Harry was snapped out of his train of thought and forced rudely back to the present. "I can't see what you're doing but, could you stop? It's cold and I'd like to get inside. And I'd like my hand back if you don't mind."

It was with a start that Harry realized he was still holding Malfoy's hand in his own. "Ah…yeah." He let go abruptly and waited until Malfoy had taken his arm to climb upstairs and go back inside.

The lights were still all extinguished, leaving Harry with only his wand to rely on. "Ron, Hermione?" he whispered into the darkness, relieved when a softly glowing lantern rounded the corner.

"Well?" Ron raised the lantern to shoulder level, and Harry squinted his eyes against the offending light. It didn't take his vision very long to adjust before he could continue.

"I don't think it's anything to worry about," Harry gave a side-long glance to Malfoy, uncomfortable divulging what he had seen with him present. "We should probably get our things together though, and leave before morning."

Hermione nodded sagely, her face appearing terribly serious in the dim light. "I've been giving that some thought. I think-"

"But who did you see? If it wasn't the Ministry, then who was it?" Ron hadn't paid much mind to Hermione's suggestion, prompting a rather affronted look from her. It seemed he hadn't been satisfied with Harry's poor excuse of an explanation.

Harry glanced to Malfoy again, and was in the process of forming some semblance of a proper answer when Draco released his arm, feeling instead for the wall. Once he had a better sense of where he was, he headed for the stairs. "I'll be in my room," he said irritably, successfully locating the banister.

Harry was about to object, but decided against it. He couldn't help but be a little thankful for the chance to speak freely with his friends. Though he had gotten used to Malfoy's presence among the group, conversing as he would normally was still a little awkward.

Finding a moment to be heard, Hermione quickly spoke up again. "I thought we should try Grimmauld Place," she said quickly, receiving a groan of disapproval from Ron. Harry could sympathize. There were certainly other places that he wanted to be. "That's probably the first place we should start looking for the next Horcrux," Hermione continued, ignoring the quizzical look Ron gave her in response. "The Ministry shouldn't be able to find us there either, so-"

Hermione had fallen silent suddenly, and now took a few hesitant steps toward the staircase. Harry followed her gaze a few yards away, to where Malfoy's tall frame swayed unsteadily. One hand was clutching the banister and the other was pressed to his temple as he bowed his head down. He looked as if he was feeling ill, and Harry was quick to dash in his direction, taking the stairs two at a time as he saw his grip on the banister loosen. "Malfoy?" he called, only just making it upstairs in time to catch the other boy as he fell back.

Harry caught Draco by the shoulders, one leg going to the next step down to brace himself as he nearly fell as well. "Are you all right?" he asked, wrapping one arm around Malfoy's chest and reaching for the banister as he began to lower both of them to sit on the stairs. Harry was baffled. Only moments ago, Draco had been fine, perhaps even better than that. Maybe it had been a mistake to take him out in such cold weather so soon.

"Hmm?" Draco groaned, shaking his head drowsily. It took him a few moments to come to his senses, and even less time to place who's arms were around him. "What are you doing, Potter?" he snapped, pulling away and feeling for the opposite banister. He stood as if nothing had happened, and continued upstairs unfazed.

Harry didn't stand immediately. He was beyond confused, and not sure how to respond to what had just happened. "Are you sure you're-"

"Let him go," Ron grumbled, as Draco disappeared into the hallway. The sound of a door closing met his ears a moment later, setting him slightly at ease. He headed back downstairs, expecting Hermione to come up with some sort of rational explanation for what happened before he even got there. Instead she merely launched back into their last discussion.

"Right, we should be safe there. If no one's taken the locket-"

"What are we talking about!" Ron demanded, voicing his question too loudly for anyone to ignore this time. Harry smiled faintly as Hermione proceeded to articulate a hasty, and somewhat impatient, explanation. Harry already knew what she had to say; his mind was simply elsewhere. The words they were speaking registered as little more than background noise as he took a seat on the bottom most stair.

Harry couldn't help but wonder if there was still something wrong with Malfoy. He was relatively confident that there was enough cowardice in Draco to provoke him to tell them if something was as it shouldn't be. Then again, there was always the chance that it was something they would be wise to leave him behind because of. Harry had long since resolved that the latter simply wasn't an option.

"Harry. Hey, Harry."

Harry looked up as the light of the lantern washed over him. Ron had knelt down to his right, and Hermione was regarding him with apparent concern. Obviously, he had drifted off there for a while. "Sorry, I'm sort of tired."

The excuse Harry formulated, proved explanation enough for his friends. "So, who was it?" Ron asked.

"Huh-oh," Harry sat up a little straighter, realizing that Ron was referring to the people he and Malfoy had discovered outside. "They were digging graves, I think," he said shortly, lowering his voice to little above a whisper without noticing.

"For who?" Ron asked, frowning thoughtfully as Hermione merely shook her head.

"The Malfoys, I would imagine," she said as Ron's frown deepened.

"Why would they go to the trouble?" Ron's attention had fallen on Hermione, for which Harry thankful.

"Appearances, perhaps. It could be to lure Malfoy – oh, speaking of which-" Hermione looked down to Harry, and waved him along as she headed upstairs. "Maybe you should check on him, Harry. The last time you let him wander off on his own, he did go missing."

Ron followed Hermione upstairs, shaking his head in both surprise and exasperation. "He went missing?"

"Really, Ron, pay attention!"

Harry brushed past Hermione as she chided Ron. He had forgotten about that. He should probably at least make sure that he had found his room safely.

Several moments later, Harry was backing out of Draco's bedroom, closing the door hastily. Hermione was leaving the adjacent room with a bag when she took notice of her very flushed friend, and heard the tail end of a particularly nasty expletive coming from the other side of the door. "Is he all right?"

Harry nodded, adjusting his glasses, and heading back down the hall. "Blind or not, I think Malfoy's still capable of changing clothes on his own."