My readers have pointed out a number of mistakes regarding Horcruxes in the last chapter. Apparently it was Slytherin's Locket, Gaunt's Ring etc. And I left the cup out for a reason. Thank you all for pointing out these mistakes to me. I will fix them, but for my sanity please pretend that they have already been fixed and bear with me. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I just control the fate of it's characters!
Chapter 9: Choosing Allegiance

"Keep your arm loose and relaxed!" Draco directed.

Draco thrust his blade downward at the legs but Harry crossed his arms over his face and held his rapier at a downward diagonal angle. The defensive strategy was enough to block Draco's strike. He spun out to the right like it was a dance, dragging his blade across Draco's. Draco smirked and pulled his head back to avoid the strike. Harry was getting better at sword fighting as he only missed his target by about an inch. When he came out of his spin he brought his sword up just in time to block another strike from his Slytherin dueling partner. He stabbed at Draco's mid-section; Draco arched his back so that the tip of Harry's word came up just short of its target. He swiped at Harry's head but Harry ducked and slashed at Draco's legs. Draco jumped over the blade and swiped at Harry. Thanks to his seeker reflexes, Harry was able to roll backwards. By the time Harry righted himself it was too late. Draco kicked off from his stance and launched himself forward. He switched his sword to his left hand and made one wide swipe out to the left. His strike knocked Harry's blade out to the side. Draco kicked the sword out of his hand and pointed the tip of his sword at Harry's neck.

Harry breathed as though all of the air had been sucked out of him. "Wh-what was that?" He gasped.

Draco smirked and withdrew his sword. "Just something I made up on the spot," he said, pulling Harry to his feet.

Luna watched the two boys from her spot near backdoor. The Dursleys had gone on a weekend vacation, leaving them alone in the house. Luna could tell that the magic hating muggles didn't really want to leave the 'freaks' alone in their house. But between Draco and Harry they didn't have much of a choice. So for today they decided to take their practice outside. It was just fencing practice and the fences were high enough to keep them from being seen. Luna had already had her training with Draco and was currently looking through a rather large tome. After telling Draco about the Horcruxes they had gone searching for a text on the subject. Finally they were able to find one in a shop at Knocturn Alley. Finding the Horcruxes were only part of their quest. They also had to destroy them once they found them. That's what Luna was doing now.

Unfortunately, finding a way to destroy the Horcruxes was proving to be a difficult task in itself. She had been searching for almost four hours and still found nothing. The only time that she had taken a break all day was when she had stopped for her training with Draco. The metallic clink of blades reached her ears, bading her to look up from the book. Once again the boys were back onto their training. Over the last couple of weeks their training had intensified greatly. They started training with the Half-Blood Prince curses, shield charms, Patronus charm, and the Unforgivables as their main focuses. On the insistence of Draco even she had started to work with him on the unforgivable curses. Of course Harry was there to make sure that Draco didn't carry it too far. She was pretty good at warding off the Imperius Curse and she was getting better at taking the Cruciatus. Though she was still unable to compete with the boys in that area.

Luna watched again as Harry was disarmed by Draco. She smiled at the look of annoyance on Harry's face. "What am I doing wrong?" He breathed.

"Nothing," Draco replied. He slid the rapier back in its sheathe and smiled. "I'm just better than you right now. And you're putting too much emphasis on power. You need to work on precision first."

"First I'm going to work on getting a shower. I'm sweaty as hell."

The two boys walked back over to Luna who handed them towels to wipe the sweat from their bodies. It was a hot day out so they were dressed simply in muscle shirts and sweatpants. Luna was dressed in a light blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans that she wore rolled up to her knees. The boys accepted the towels from her with a gracious nod and started wiping themselves down.

"Thanks Luna." Harry smiled and sat down next to her. He leaned over to look at the book. "Did you find out anything?"

Luna gulped slightly from having Harry so close to her. Sure she almost always slept with him but it was a little different when they were both awake. "I-I haven't been able to find anything."

Harry groaned and rested his head on her shoulder. "I guess it will go faster when we start helping." He closed his eyes and nuzzled his head into her shoulder. "Sorry I'm all sweaty," he murmured.

Luna smiled and trailed a hand through his damp hair. "It doesn't bother me," she replied.

Draco looked back and forth between the two of them. "I'd say get a room but I'm afraid I would end up sharing it with you." He draped the towel over his shoulder and smirked at them.

Harry blushed and looked a little flustered. If Luna understood what Draco said then she was pretending like she didn't. "Whatever do you mean Draco?" She asked politely.

Draco knew that she knew exactly what he meant. She was just trying her best to pretend like she didn't. "I think that you know exactly what I'm talking about." He smirked at Luna, causing her to blush.

"Hey you three!" The teens turned around and saw Tonks walking towards them. She was dressed in a plaid skirt that fell down to her knees, her legs were covered in black fishnet stockings. Her top was a purple tank top that she wore under a fishnet shirt. She wore her usual combat boots. "What are you guys up to?"

"Tonks, I'm glad that you are here!" Harry replied, jumping to his feet. He was thankful for the interruption during the awkward moment.

"Wotcher Harry!" She greeted enthusiastically. When he got closer she noticed that Harry looked a little flustered. She peered around him to look at Luna and Draco. Luna looked a little upset but Draco had a strangely amused expression on his face. "Right. Are you okay mate? You're all sweaty and flushed." She said checking his temperature.

"Yeah. We were just training and it's a little hot," Harry said quickly.

"Riiigghht?" Tonks stated unsurely. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

Luna walked over with Draco and smiled at Tonks. "Are we getting some new training?" She asked.

"If you want," Tonks replied with a smile. "You guys need to get some secondary wands. That way Bill and I can teach you how to duel with two wands. We can also teach you wand less magic."

Draco regarded her oddly. "You sound happy about that."

"Well I really wanted to help you guys."

"That's not what I meant."

Tonks looked a little confused but Harry and even Luna seemed to pick up on what Draco was implying. "Never mind him Tonks. We would really appreciate the help." He said earnestly.

"Okay. I'm getting off of my shift in a second or two, so I have to meet with Dung. I'll tell Bill that you want our help." She said excitedly. She waved exuberantly and hurried off, but not before tripping over a rock in the grass. "I'm fine!" She called.

Harry shook his head and turned back to Draco. "I think that we just found a difference maker."

"Now if we could just find Voldemort's." He turned around and walked back into the house.

"I think he's been putting too much pressure on himself." Harry and Luna shared a glance before walking back into the house.

"Give your wand just a little more of a flourish, concentrate on your happy memory, and speak the incantation clearly," Harry instructed.

Harry and Luna were back in the room practicing the Patronus Charm while Draco took a shower. Harry had already taken his shower and changed. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a dark green shirt that matched his eyes. Luna didn't need a shower since she didn't really do any training with them outside. She needed a break from studying the Horcruxes, so Harry suggested that she practice with her Patronus.

"Expecto Patronum!" A silver shield shot out of the end of Luna's wand and fanned out around her. The shield held up for a few seconds and then disappeared. Luna sighed and shook her head. "Sorry Harry. I just don't think that I can do it."

"Well you're flourishing your wand a little too much now," Harry sighed. He walked up behind Luna and awkwardly placed his hands on her wrists. Luna stiffened "Now imagine your happiest moment in life, let it fill you, lift your spirit and let it act as the power for the Patronus. Do you have the memory?" Luna nodded. "Now just follow my lead." Luna allowed him to guide her through the movements. "Exclaim the spell, and that's it."

"…That's it?" She turned around and looked at him with large silver eyes.

Finally realizing the position they were in, he became very uncomfortable. There was something about having her so close that was affecting him. When she was sleeping it was different. He couldn't see her eyes and she didn't have the same dreamy smile on her face. It was so captivating that he was having trouble tearing his eyes away from her. Unfortunately, or fortunately, he couldn't decide which; Luna wasn't going to look away from him either.

"Harry?" Harry blinked as if coming out of a trance and shook his head. "I something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" He asked quietly.

"Like…that." She pointed to his face. Luna could feel the heat rising in her own cheeks and her heartbeat to speed up.

Harry felt a fluttering in his stomach and shook his head once again. "I don't know."

He pulled her a little closer and gently ran his hands up and down her arms. Harry had no idea what he was doing but it just felt right. Luna finally relaxed and leaned back into him. Using her free arm she reached up and ran her hand gently through his hair. Harry leaned down a little so that he could rest his head on her shoulder. When Luna turned her head she saw Harry's emerald green eyes staring back at her. She closed her own eyes and leaned towards Harry, not realizing that he was doing the same thing. Their lips were only inches apart and getting closer. Only a centimeter now.

DING DONG

Harry and Luna immediately jumped away from one another. They quickly turned their backs to one another, breathing hard. "Was…was that the doorbell?" Harry asked. He knew that he was blushing slightly and he didn't want Luna to see.

"I believe so," she answered as calmly as possible. Her own face was as red as the radish earrings that she loved to wear so often.

"I'll go get it then," he replied quietly.

Harry hurried from the room, closing the door behind him. He leaned back on the door and took in a deep breath. What had he been thinking? He was just about to kiss Luna! Why? It was probably an impulse but he had to be careful. Luna had become very important to him; she had become one of his best friends in a matter of only a week. There was no way he was going to ruin that over some silly little impulse. He could still hear the shower running, which. Harry took a second before opening the door to compose himself. His hand curled around the knob of the door and he pulled it open. Harry looked at his visitors and his eyes opened wide.

"Ron, Hermione, Ginny?" He asked in surprise.

Standing in the doorway was a tall lanky boy with flaming red hair. He was dressed in a pair of brown pants and dark red shirt. Next to him was a young girl with the same flaming red hair as the boy. Her hair traveled all the way down to mid back. She was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a matching shirt. The girl in the front had bushy brown hair and deep coffee brown eyes. She was dressed in a pair of form fitting blue jeans and a white peasant blouse. The girl smiled, revealing perfect pearly white teeth.

"Harry!" Hermione launched herself at Harry and threw her arms around him. "How are you?! Are you alright?!"

Harry returned the hug with an awkward one of his own. "Wh-what are you guys doing here?"

"Told you he would be surprised. We're here to see how you were doing mate," Ron replied.

"Better late than never," Harry muttered.

"What?" Ginny asked. She walked up to him to get a hug.

"Nothing Ginny." He hugged her but it wasn't the same as before. It didn't feel the same as it did when they were dating.

"Where is Luna? I've been really worried about her," Hermione said.

"She's up in my room but-"

It was too late; they were already on their way up the stairs. Harry smirked. They sure were in for a surprise when they got there. If they ran into Draco he would need to be there to stop the impending fight. When he reached the top of the stairs he could hear that the shower had stopped running. On the other hand there was no shouting so that meant he still had time. When he reached his room Hermione was on the bed talking to Luna. Ron and Ginny were looking around the room in mild surprise.

"Harry when did this happen?" Ron asked.

"Just a couple of weeks ago. Did some expansion spells and a few transfigurations."

Hermione looked up from Luna to regard Harry with a glare. "I know that you aren't going back to school but you could still have your wand snapped."

"That isn't exactly a problem anymore," he replied cryptically.

"Which bed is the transfigured one," Ginny asked. Harry pointed to the one closest to the desk. "Who sleeps in that one?"

"Luna and I share this bed." Harry said before he could catch himself. Ron and Hermione looked shocked at Harry's confession. Ginny on the other hand looked very angry.

"Well then why do you have a second bed?" Hermione asked curiously.

Before he could elaborate, the door swung open and Draco walked in. He was dressed in a pair of black pants and a grey muscle shirt. It appeared that he didn't notice the new arrivals. "I've been thinking. Since we can't find a way to destroy the…bloody hell." He muttered.

There was a tense moment of silence in the room while Draco stared at the three Gryffindors. Harry and Luna stood to the side watching the scene in an almost anxious silence. In the blink of an eye four wands were drawn. Despite being the faster draw, Draco outnumbered three to one. Harry and Luna jumped in between the wands and held their hands out.

"Everyone just calm down!" Harry cried.

Luna turned around to face Draco with a serene look on her face. "Please put your wand away Draco."

"Not on your bloody life," he said coldly. He leveled his wand and glared hatefully at Ron.

"What in the hell is he doing here?!" Ron shouted.

"It's kind of a long story," Harry replied.

"I betrayed Voldemort and I'm working with Potter."

"Okay. Maybe it isn't that long of a story."

"What are you thinking Harry?!" Hermione scolded. "Can you really trust Malfoy?!"

"Let me explain. Just lower your wands." Neither Draco, Ginny nor Ron lowered their wands. Hermione lowered her wand but didn't put it away. The look that she gave him said, 'Make this good.' "Yes I can trust him. I can trust him because…"

Draco grabbed Harry and pulled him to the side. "I don't want them to know my business!" He hissed in a whisper.

"It may be the only way that they will trust you."

"Like I said before, I don't need their trust. Just yours. If you want to work with them then that's fine. Just don't expect me to."

Harry sighed in annoyance. He did make Draco a deal though. He wasn't going to tell anyone about what happened between his father and his mother. He turned to his friends and replied, "All I can say is that I trust him."

"You'll have to do better than that," Ron growled. "This guy has made our lives a living hell."

"Yeah. Are we supposed to believe that you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart?" Ginny sneered.

"Relax Weaselette," Draco shot back. "I'm only in this for myself. I have something to gain from this just as Potter does!"

"Why do you trust him Harry?"

Harry groaned and stared at Hermione. "Almost a month ago he saved me and Luna." Harry blinked. Were they really that far into July already?

"If it wasn't for Draco the dementors would have kissed us," Luna added. She walked between her two boys and patted Draco on the shoulder. She could see that Harry was flustered trying to defend Draco against his friends. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. This didn't go unnoticed by Ginny who bristled in anger.

Hermione glared at Harry in concern. This was the second time that Harry had been attacked by dementors in Little Whinging. Voldemort really was getting bolder. There was something that she couldn't understand though. How had Draco found them? He must have been searching for quite some time but why.

"Not to mention that he has been teaching us spells and how to fence," Harry said.

"And he passed on valuable information about Death Eater attacks."

Hermione looked between the two blonds in surprise. "You're the new spy?!" She asked in shock.

Draco smirked haughtily at the Gryffindor. "Thought you had me all figured out, huh, mud-Granger?" Draco had to restrain himself from using the word mudblood. He still had his wand pointed at the Weasleys.

"How do you know that this isn't some kind of trick?" Ron asked angrily. "How do you know you can trust him?!"

"Or Luna for that matter," Ginny said spitefully.

Luna's silver eyes sunk and she stepped back so that the boys were in front of her. She thought that Ginny was her friend. So why didn't she trust her anymore? Draco's grip on his wand tightened. Something inside him snapped a little when Ginny insulted Luna. Before he could cast a curse Harry stepped back in.

"First of all never insult Luna again," Harry said in a dangerously low voice. "I was about to go completely mental before she came here." Ginny swallowed hard and stepped back from Harry in fright. "Second, I trusted them enough to tell them about the Horcruxes."

"You told them about the Horcruxes?" Hermione asked.

"No!" Ron cried. "There is no way that I am working with him! You have to choose right now Harry! Us or him?!"

"Ronald!" Hermione scolded.

"You're giving me an ultimatum?" Harry's eyes darkened. Just the thought of Ron doing that made him angry. Sensing his anger everyone moved back accept for Luna and Draco. "Fine." Harry slowly drew his wand from his belt.

Draco felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. After all he had been through he could feel it all fading away. Any chance that he had of avenging his mother's death was slipping out of his grasp. Without Harry there was no chance. He would definitely choose the others over him. That's why it was such a shock when he turned around and pointed his wand at Ron. Everyone stood stock still; none of them were sure what to say anymore.

"I choose him," Harry answered.

"What!" Ron bellowed. His entire face turned bright red in indignation. "How could you choose him over us?!"

"Because he isn't acting like a complete prat!" Harry shouted back. Luna placed a hand on his shoulder and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. "He's been training with me but you can't even write a letter. He has more to bring to this fight than you do."

"Then fuck you Potter!" The redhead roared. "Come on Ginny! Hermione! Let's go!"

He stomped past Harry, pushing him to the side. Ginny followed after him with tears in her eyes. She was embarrassed. Not only had Harry chosen their worst enemy over her but another girl as well.

"Wait Ron!" Hermione cried. She ran up to Harry and grabbed his sleeve. "Harry please say something!"

"…Sorry Hermione. This is how it is."

"Forget him Hermione. Let's go!"

"Don't rush me Ronald!" Hermione cried.

Tears welled up in the brunette's eyes. Luna walked over to Hermione and patted her back in a comforting manner. Draco, who never took his eyes off of Ron, briefly turned to look at Hermione. Harry walked up to Hermione, placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"Don't worry Hermione. After all Draco has put you through I don't blame you for not trusting him. Or me. But I'm not going to make you choose. Because real friends don't do that." He turned his head and glared at Ron. "I just hope that you don't blame me. No matter what you choose to do, you are still my big sister." He kissed her on the cheek and ruffled her hair playfully.

Hermione's heart swelled at Harry's words. No matter whom she chose he was going to be there for her. Hermione glanced back and forth from to Harry; who was now having a conversation with Draco and Luna. At the end of their sixth year she made a promise to Harry that she would help him find the Horcruxes. Then there was the promise that she made to herself six years ago. Harry was her first real friend and she promised that she would protect him. She just couldn't leave Harry. As much as she cared about Ron and Ginny she had to stay with Harry.

"Hermione!"

Hermione turned around and glared at Ron. There was a mixture of anger and sadness in her eyes. "Do not speak to me like that Ronald," she said stonily. "I am sorry. But I made a promise to Harry. I won't break my promise."

Ron glared at Hermione and stepped forward to say something. Before he could make a move Harry moved to stand behind Hermione. Giving up, the redhead turned on his heels and stormed out of the room. Ginny looked back at Harry on last time and sent a glare Luna's way before disappearing through the door. For a long time none of them said anything until they heard the front door close. Harry turned around and smiled at Hermione.

"Thank you Mione," he whispered quietly. "I don't think I could do this without you."

Hermione threw her arms around him and cried into his chest. "I made you a promise."

"…I know."

"And I wanted to write you so badly," she sobbed. "But I was being selfish."

Harry shook with anger but he wasn't angry with Hermione. He was angry with Ron for making him choose. He was angry with himself for putting Hermione in the position where she had to choose sides. Probably the thing that made him the angriest was Ginny. How could she have treated Luna that way? The young Ravenclaw had never done anything to her. Draco and Luna watched Harry comfort the crying girl as best as he could. Draco nudged Luna and nodded at the two Gryffindors. She walked over and sat down on the bed to stroke Hermione's hair. Draco walked past them and stopped at the door. He turned around and saw Harry Looking at him. What surprised him the most was that it wasn't a hateful glance. In fact there wasn't much emotion in the look at all, just confusion. Draco pointed to his left forearm and received a nod from Harry. Draco turned around and walked out of the door.


"What was that all about?" Bill asked.

Moody and Kingsley looked up from the papers they were studying to glance at Bill. "What do you mean?" Moody asked.

Molly Weasley walked into the room shaking her head. "I don't know what is the matter with those two. Ron comes in as angry as a wronged Hippogriff and Ginny is crying her eyes out!"

"They came back?" Kingsley asked.

Bill shook his head. When Kingsley and Moody were really into something it was hard to get their attention. "Yeah. But Hermione didn't come back with them."

"You do think that she is alright don't you?"

"The kid is fine." Everyone turned around to see Mundungus Fletcher walking in through the door. "Wes is in place," he said groggily.

"Mundungus," Moody growled, "you wine soaked git. Where is the girl?"

"Wot girl?"

"Granger you blithering idiot!"

"At Potters," he said airily. "There was an argument. Then the Malfoy kid went to a meetin." That was all he said before stumbling off into the kitchen.

Everyone looked around at one another in slight confusion. "I'm going to go and check on the kids," Molly said. She wiped her hands on her apron and walked up the stairs, muttering to herself about drunken fools.

Moody looked up to Bill and then Kingsley. "Bill, Kingsley, I think that we should move up Potter's arrival to Grimmauld Place."

"I was thinking the same thing," Kingsley agreed.

"We can't go tonight," Bill said. "We could be caught out in the open and we don't have enough people to form an advance guard."

"Good thinking kid," Moody agreed. He ran a hand through his grizzly hair. "We can leave for Privet Drive tomorrow."

Kingsley nodded. "I can go and get Tonks from the ministry and let her know."

"Fred and George have been getting bored lately. I'll tell them we have a job to do tomorrow night."


Hermione looked around the room in mild interest. She had never seen his room before this but she knew that it was supposed to be small. The three teens used some pretty decent transfiguration to make the room this nice. Various books littered the desk. Some of them were just normal school books but there were others as well. Some such books read: Advanced Dueling Spells, Advanced Defensive Spell casting, Theories of Fencing, and Potions for Masters. She glanced down on the floor and saw a set of potion vials sitting in a rack. There were ten vials, all of which contained a disgusting looking grayish potion. A potion that she was able to recognize as Polyjuice. She ignored the vials and walked back over to the bed that Harry and she had been sitting on earlier. Sitting on the nightstand was a wand that she recognized as Dumbledore's. She started to reach for the wand when a voice suddenly interrupted.

"You shouldn't touch things that don't belong to you."

Hermione started and turned around. "You shouldn't sneak up on people," she growled.

Draco smirked at her from the doorframe. "Whatever. Where are Harry and Luna?"

"They went out for a walk."

"You didn't go with them?" Draco walked over to the window and opened it up.

"Obviously not," she snarled.

"Temper Granger temper," Draco warned. He walked back over to his bed and picked up a large tome. He sat down on the edge of the bed and began to read.

"I will not watch my temper! None of this makes any sense!" She cried, jumping to her feet. "None of this makes any sense! You turned on Voldemort. You're calling Harry and Luna by their first name! You aren't calling me mudblood! What's happening here?!" She finished.

"Were you saying something?" Draco asked.

Hermione glowered dangerously at the Slytherin. She hated it when people ignored her. "I am warning you Draco. If you are tricking Harry in anyway," she stepped closer to him and squared her hips threateningly, "you'll live to regret it."

There was a dangerous flash in the Slytherin's eyes. Draco calmly set the book down on his bed and got to his feet. "And just how would you do that?" He stepped closer to Hermione, who took a step back. "You can't even stand up to me now. What happened to your Gryffindor bravery? You hit me once before, do it again."

Hermione refused to be baited by the Slytherin and took a step back. "I made my point Malfoy."

Draco smirked and shook his head. "I guess I do have to give you some credit. After all you are willing to work with me."

"I am not working with you. I'm doing this for Harry."

"Well I sure as hell hope you're doing it for someone. Cause it isn't Weasley."

Hermione bristled angrily at the young man. She pulled her hand back to slap him but never got the chance. Draco's hand shot up and wrapped around Hermione's, cutting her off in mid swing. With the swiftness that only a Quidditch player could possess, he pinned her against the wall. Hermione tried to kick him but Malfoy leaned into her so that there was no chance of her attacking him. The brunette tried to struggle out of his grasp but he was too strong for her. Hermione wanted to do something even if it was just to threaten him a little. Unfortunately when he looked at her she was paralyzed by his icy stare.

"Don't ever pretend that you know me," he hissed dangerously. "I made a deal with Harry and Luna. I won't go back on it."

"Am I interrupting something?"

Draco turned his head to see Luna watching them from the doorway. "Not at all." He let Hermione go and backed away from the girl. "Where's Potter?"

"Harry stayed outside. I think that he wanted to smoke." Luna walked" into the room and sat on her bed. "I think that he should stop. It's a very unhealthy habit."

"I think that I should go and join him. I need some fresh air." He nodded towards Hermione as if to make a point and walked out of the room.

"Ugh," Hermione groaned in disgust. "How do you put up with him Luna?" She asked, sitting next to the blond.

"Draco isn't really all that bad. You just have to know him."

Hermione shook her head. There were times that she wished she could have Luna's innocent way of thinking.

Harry exhaled a puff of grey smoke as he watched the setting sun. He couldn't believe what he had done today. He gave up a friend of nearly seven years in less than a minute. Harry wanted to tell himself that it was for the good of the war. He just wasn't so sure anymore. Had he been spending too much time with Draco and that's why he thought that siding with him would be the better choice? No. He knew that Draco was the better choice. It was that he was just having a hard with the choice that he had made.

"Can I ask you something?"

"…Go ahead," Harry replied.

Draco walked up and sat down next to him. "Why did you choose me?" He asked, taking out his own pack of cigarettes.

"I already told you why. I think that you can help me more than Ron can."

"Choosing power over your friends?" Draco lit his cigarette and smirked. "That is a real Slytherin quality."

Harry glanced at Draco from the corner of his eye. "That's not what I did," Harry replied coolly. That was exactly what Harry had done. He just didn't want to admit that he had some Slytherin qualities.

"Really? Could have fooled me."

"Does that mean that you'll drop me and Luna as soon as someone more powerful comes along?"

"You're forgetting, we are the most powerful," Draco boasted. Harry gave him a small smile and continued to smoke his cigarette. "And we aren't friends remember?"

"If we aren't friends, then you should expect this and not get mad." Harry smacked Draco's cigarette from his hand with an evil smirk.

"That's it…your dead Potter."

Before Harry had the chance to move, Draco tackled him to the ground causing him to lose his cigarette. The two teens wrestled with each other for nearly fifteen minutes before running out of breath. Declaring a timeout the two boys rolled over so that they were lying in the grass. Neither Harry nor Draco knew how long they lay in the grass, staring up at the sky. Just as neither knew how long it had been since someone said something. Finally deciding to break the silence Draco turned his head so that he was facing Harry.

"Hey Harry," he called. His breathing was still slightly labored.

"Yeah?" Harry asked, also slightly out of breath.

"What you did back there, no one's ever stuck up for me like that for me before. I guess that what I'm trying to say is, well I-"

"You're welcome," Harry said. "Besides we still have to show those Death Eaters."

There was another moment of companionable silence. "Do I really have to work with Granger?" Draco whined.

Harry's smile split into a grin. "Yep."

"Do I have to be nice to her?!"

"It was part of the deal."

"Can't I curse her just a little?"

"No!"

"Come on! I promise it won't be anything bad!"

"Nope! You have to play nice," Harry teased.

"Bollocks," Draco groaned miserably.

Harry shook his head in amusement. How had this come to happen? He had given up some of his old friends for new ones. On the inside though, he knew that he had made the right choice. With Hermione back in the picture, their chances of finding and destroying the Horcruxes greatly increased. Tomorrow they would continue their training. Together, they would become the best and the strongest. And one day, maybe they would even change the world.

End Chapter
Okay, it's like 6 A.M. so I'm going to go to sleep before I actually post this. If the end seems kind of lame it's because I'm tired as hell. Before I hibernate, I would like to request that review please. Tell me what you thought of this latest chapter. Until next time!