Author's Notes: Well it's been quite some time, huh? Fortunately, I have an extra long chapter for you guys. Thank you all so much for reviewing the last one and once I post this, I will thank you all personally.

Right, down to business: this chapter is Draco's POV. In short, we find out more about the Orb, Abigail visits and finds out more than she intended, trouble is brewing up between the DE and the Order and Draco finds himself in quite a mess and who does he turn to for help? Why Hermione of course!

I also wanted to say a big thank you to xOxOkIsSmYaSsXoXo, May, Nora, Seghen and rabsectumsepra, who I couldn't write back to. If you guys leave your email address next time, I will get back to you in future.

Happy reading everybody!

..~**~..

Chapter 10

"She threatened you!"

Draco stood up so abruptly from the breakfast table that the two idiots before him started.

"She actually threatened you?" he scoffed, surprise etched on his handsome face.

Seeing Dolohov and Mulciber exchange a significant look, Draco suddenly realised his sudden outburst and forced himself to calm down and recover his cool demeanour.

"I hope you realised that she was merely putting on an act," he continued silkily, his cloudy grey eyes boring into their shifty ones.

"We preferred not to risk it," Dolohov said defensively.

"Fine. What else did she say?" he asked impatiently, staring down his nose at them.

"Nothing milord," Dolohov muttered. "Potter was there and you told us not to -"

"I know perfectly well what I told you about Potter, Dolohov! In return, please tell me you still followed Abigail Serpent home and didn't flee like a pair of schoolgirls before her empty threats and the sight of that half-blood idiot!"

Mulciber's fists clenched tighter. "No, my Lord," he said, trying desperately to control his temper.

He certainly remembered the times Death Eaters had crossed their leader before or even shouted at him and what had happened next. It had not been pretty and Draco couldn't help but smile at those memories.

"We left the bar and hid outside waiting for her," Dolohov quickly explained. He was always the more intelligent out of the two. "When she came out, we placed a locating charm on her. We were lucky, she wasn't – er – sober enough to notice this time. She then apparated away and we managed to discover her whereabouts, but the anti-Apparition wards and Unplottable spells made it impossible to pinpoint her location."

Draco's ears perked up. "Where is she then?"

"Somewhere in Hogsmeade, milord."

For the first time that day, Draco's lips began to curve into a smile.

..~**~..

Moments later, having called in half a dozen Death Eaters and then ordered them to patrol around Hogsmeade in search for Abigail, Draco finished his morning meal. He hoped to spend the rest of the day in the Malfoy library to continue his investigation on the Orb of Hope.

Downing his cup of black coffee, he left the dining hall, walking hurriedly down the corridor towards the library. He still hadn't learnt much about the Orb, except that it deceptively gave hope to whoever peered inside it. He had used his contacts with both British and foreign Ministry to retrieve as much information as possible about the Orb, but it seemed that all the relevant books were already shelved in his own library. They all told the same story about a terrible and dark secret held within the Orb itself, but none of the ancient books, not even the most horrible and gruesome books, that Lucius had blackmailed and killed to get hold of, could tell him more about that secret.

Everything he had found, apart from a brief description of the Orb and its double name, came from 'Ancient Magical Orbs and Their Secrets'. He hadn't even found the book on the library shelves, but instead, it had been locked away in a highly protected hidden cabinet, underneath the windowsill, where the most dangerous books were kept. After lifting several wards and hexes, Draco had carefully retrieved the book from its emplacement and proceeded to flip through it, reading a page every so often, which mentioned the Orb, until he had finally stumbled upon much more -

" - The Orb of Eris, named after the Greek goddess of chaos and discord and falsely called the Orb of Hope, is claimed to have been created from the Golden Apple, which caused the greatest strife among the Olympian Gods and ultimately led to the Trojan War. Its history is unknown, but most believe that Merlin himself possessed and used the Orb before attempting to destroy it. Whether He did so or not, it is not clear but in His 'Memoirs', He warns His descendants against a certain 'Dark Orb', which holds a secret spell within it. Merlin gave no details of the spell and no book has been found so far describing it. However, according to ancient Greek tales and legends passed down through generations, talk of the Orb of Eris and the spell hidden within, which when released shall 'change the world as we know it'. The current location of the Orb is unknown and whether or not it has already been destroyed, time can only…'

Whether the Zabinis had possessed the true Orb of Eris or not, Draco could not tell, but Blaise had been fervent on getting the object back and his father definitely seemed to know more about its secret than he had let on.

Draco frowned, as he paced on.

This is definitely not a good sign. That scheming bastard Zabini was probably plotting behind my back and Blaise must have known this as well -

Draco was suddenly jerked out of his thoughts as he heard distant shouting. No one else was at the manor with him, even his mother was away for the week and the house-elves would never have dared make so much noise. Pulling out his wand, he stepped closer to the room where the voices were coming from – his own study.

How was it possible? The study doors did not let anyone without his permission - unless, someone had apparated from within, but that was impossible! The only person who could potentially do that was Abigail.

Draco approached the doors more cautiously, pointing his wand of the handles.

Surely she isn't that stupid? After all the warnings I've given her and the efforts I've made to find her, surely she doesn't think that she can still apparate here and then walk out freely!

He flung the doors open with his wand and entered his study.

He had guessed correctly.

Abigail Serpent was indeed standing in front of the tall fireplace, wearing a white Muggle trench coat and jeans, her face flushed with anger as she glared up at a portrait of Malfoy's great great great grand uncle, sitting over the mantelpiece.

Draco's dark mood immediately lightened at the prospect of finally holding her in his clutches. Abigail, on the other hand, looked furious.

"I am not one of his whores, you stupid old man! I only came here to speak with Malfoy, NOT shag him!"

The tall slender old man sitting in the portrait, sneered down upon her in disgust. "And a foul-mouthed Mudblood wench at that!"

"You should be watching your own tongue! I am head of the Serpent family, you repugnant foolish –"

"Filthy Muggle-loving whorish –"

"That is enough, Octavius," Draco stated sharply, silencing the portrait at once. "My, my Abigail, aren't we feisty this morning?"

With a flick of his wand, the doors shut behind him and the anti-Apparition wards strengthened. Draco knew better than to cast an anti-Apparition spell on her directly, since her family shield constantly protected her.

She whirled around to face him. "Your great, great – whatever the hell he is - mistook me for some common slut! He started insulting me the moment my feet touched the ground!" she shouted back, pointing at the portrait as her dark eyes flashed with anger. "Merlin! As if I wasn't already having a shitty morning! And Draco, I really don't see why you bother with those anti-Apparition wards, you still won't be able to –"

But the moment the words came out of her mouth, her face blanched abruptly and she swayed dangerously, falling to her knees.

"Won't I?" Draco replied in a metallic and deceptively sweet voice, as he circled around her, whilst tapping his wand against his cheek thoughtfully. "Really Abigail, I would have thought you would have taken my threats more seriously, but that's all the better for me. So, let me guess – did you apparate here?"

She nodded slowly, loosening up her coat as she drew in deep breaths.

"And you didn't even bother to check my new security wards before Apparating?"

She didn't answer.

"Much tougher to crack, aren't they?" he drawled, savouring watching her squirm at his feet. "I believe Hogwarts castle itself doesn't have as powerful wards as mine. They're newly developed of course, only put them up last week."

She gritted her teeth in response and tried to push herself off the ground in vain.

"Merlin, you are in a dreadful state," he commented, enjoying the show. "Were the wards too much to handle perhaps? It certainly seems as though the great Serpent power has met its match – or has it started to desert you?"

He gave a dry laugh and her head snapped up, rage etched in her face.

"Sod off!" she hissed, sitting herself up. "I was merely caught by surprise."

"So I see," he said, turning his back to her as he sat down in the nearest armchair and conjured a large glass of elfish wine with his wand. "Now, why don't you tell me why you made the obvious mistake of apparating to my home. Have you finally come to your senses and decided to continue paying your debt?"

"Quite the opposite," she said, drawing a ragged breath and standing back up on her feet. "I am here to tell you once and for all to leave me alone. The deal is off, I don't care what the consequences are, I will not be helping you out anymore, and if I see another Death Eater tagging me again, I'll make sure they end up straight to Azkaban! You got that?"

She stepped slightly to the left and reached out for his desk for support.

He looked up amused. "Oh yes, they told me about your threats."

"Seriously Malfoy, I'm fed up of being followed night and day! I mean it this time, if you –"

But she halted as her eyes caught sight of a parchment on his desk with the Serpent seal on it. Draco narrowed his eyes, he hadn't meant for her to see it, but it was too late.

"What's this?" she asked softly, opening up for the parchment to read, her face paling as her eyes took in its meaning.

He took another sip of wine. "Your father sent it the day before last. I believe it's a marriage contract."

Abigail looked as if her jaw were hanging off its hinges. "A ma - marriage contract?"

Her hands suddenly gripped the parchment tighter as her eyes continued to dart down the sheet. "What? He's actually serious about this?"

Draco shrugged. "Yes, your father's keen to find someone who'll keep you in line. However, they are still a few points I disagree on."

Her eyes flew up to meet his. "Are you out of your mind? You want to marry me? But why?"

Her reaction was unsurprising, but nonetheless, Draco couldn't help but laugh at her. "Merlin Abigail, haven't you learnt anything these past few years? Don't you understand that all that matters for me now is power? If I marry within the Serpent bloodline then undoubtedly, I will have access to the Serpent books!"

She opened her mouth to protest, but he beat her to it.

"Don't even try to deny that the books aren't gone! I know for a fact that you've been rewriting them, tome by tome, ever since they were burnt," he sneered, standing up after getting rid of his glass and pocketing his wand. The magic within the study protected him against most curses and Abigail still seemed too weak to try and hex him.

"I know you wouldn't want all that knowledge not to be passed on if something happened to you. I also know that you write them in Dumbledore's office during your regular visits to Hogwarts. "

Her dark eyes narrowed as he stepped closer. "I don't believe it," she told him coldly, staring back at the parchment. "My father never liked arranged marriages before. You must have done something to change his mind."

"Your father has very poorly managed the Serpent business these past years," Draco explained, stepping behind his desk to sit in his high-back chair. "His business partners haven't favoured him and he was forced to sell property in order to keep up with his luxurious lifestyle."

Her eyes snapped open at his words. "Unless he seals a pact with another wealthy Pureblood line either by remarrying or arranging your marriage – the Serpent family will be in ruins."

"Property?" she echoed incredulous. "What property? He's not allowed to sell anything without my consent. Malfoy, what has he sold?"

"A few manors, a dragon keep in Albania and a Pegasus farm in Wales," he answered truthfully.

"He sold the Wyvern farm!" she muttered outraged to herself. "But what about James? He has nowhere else to go! How could Father do that to him?" Her eyes flicked back up to him. "Do you know who bought the farm?"

Draco regarded her calmly, his stormy gray eyes sparkling with malice. "Why yes, I did. Malfoy Inc. bought most of the properties your father happened to sell."

Abigail's face contorted in anger. He could feel her wrath rising off her in shimmering waves.

"And these business partners, who forced him to sell?" she asked him, her voice shaking as she struggled to control her temper. "Do you know who these people are?"

Draco watched her with a vicious smile on his face. "Well yes, that would also be me."

It was the last straw and he knew it.

"You fucking creep!" she shrieked, grabbing hold of an expensive porcelain vase on his desk and hurtling it against the opposite wall. "You bastard! Why do you have a make everyone's life so miserable?"

"That'll cost you Abby," Draco said snidely, examining the broken shards of vase.

"You can ruin my family business all you want, I am not marrying you!" she continued, getting hold of the contract and ripping it to shreds. "I'm only twenty years old for fuck's sake and I refuse to get married!"

"Yes, well you don't have much say in that," he drawled, leaning back in his chair.

Her eyes blazed with fury. "Yes I do! I have to sign the contract as well, it's my right as a Serpent, even my father can't overrule that!"

Now, she was really starting to get on Draco's nerves. "The Imperius curse can quickly arrange that matter," he said icily.

Instantly, she whipped out her wand before he could react. "I'd like to see you try," she said dangerously.

At that precise moment, one of the house elves apparated inside the study and seeing the two wizards at wand point, it stepped back in fright.

"What is it, Speck?" Draco growled, keeping his gaze on Abigail.

"Mm – Master, you have a visitor," it squeaked, covering its large brown eyes with its hands in fear. Apparently, seeing its troubled state, Abigail took pity on it, because she slowly lowered her wand.

"I'll be there in a minute," Draco said and it disappeared with a pop.

"I'll go see who it is," he continued, standing up and making his way to the door. "Stay here, you won't be able to leave the study anyway as the doors will be locked. This conversation isn't over yet."

"I've got nothing more to discuss with you," she told him gravely, having controlled her temper again.

She paused, suddenly regarding him calmly.

"You know, we were supposed to be friends Malfoy. I've seen the good side of you at Hogwarts and since then, even after you became their leader, I always thought of you as someone I could trust. You've helped me a few times - hell, you've even saved my life! But now - you've crossed a line Malfoy and you can trick me all you want, I will never ever teach you my magic again!"

His head whipped around and he cast her an incredulous glance.

"You thought we were friends?" he asked sardonically.

She held his gaze, with the oddest sort of expression on her face. He knew his words had struck a nerve.

"Then you're an idiot,' he finished, swiftly shutting the door behind him.

..~**~..

Once the door was locked, Abigail instantly pocketed her wand and swept behind the study desk, rummaging through Malfoy's papers.

No Malfoy, you're the idiot.

Hopefully, she'd be able to get hold of some parchment or letter indicting him of dealing with the Dark Arts or Death Eaters.

She hated it when he took that annoying superior tone with her – as if he knew something she didn't or as if she were merely a means to his end, like that stupid marriage arrangement. Of course, their relationship had been strictly business really when they met in secret and she taught him new spells, because, after all, they were on opposite sides, but hadn't there been some non-spoken agreement that underneath all that mess, they were actually friends?

Abigail wasn't stupid, she knew perfectly well that Draco had always secretly looked out for her over the years, even though he would never admit to it. For example, she knew he had used his contacts to get her a job at the Ministry, after she had told him that her interview with her head of Department hadn't gone very well and she knew he had been the reason why Blaise was mostly absent each time she had a meeting with him at Malfoy Manor. It had all been Draco's doing and he hadn't only been protective of her, Abigail knew for a fact that he had looked out for Hermione as well.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she managed to open the top drawer with her wand and found the type of incriminating evidence she was looking for. A letter from Dante, the vampire who had attacked the wizarding village near Nott castle, swearing allegiance to Malfoy and awaiting his next orders.

Perfect, it's even written in blood!

She estimated she only had a few minutes left before Malfoy came charging back in the room. She had to leave right away, but there was the slight problem of disapparating from the heavily warded manor. Of course, the wards might have been incredibly strong, but they were not impossible to by pass. Abigail had indeed felt rather faint after apparating inside, but she had exaggerated the rest in front of Malfoy, in order to lure him into a false sense of security.

Unfortunately, he hadn't told her anything of great importance about his Death Eater plans, but at least now she knew the whole backstory behind her father's need to arrange a marriage for her. She couldn't believe Malfoy was considering the marriage, much less forcing her father to sell Serpent property behind her back.

She felt so – betrayed!

Gathering her thoughts, she removed her family protective shield with her wand in order to use all her powers to disapparate away.

Merlin, this is going to hurt like a bitch!

..~**~..

Arriving in the entrance hall, Draco saw Blaise Zabini pacing the cold white marble floor back and forth.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked at once. "Whatever it is, you should have sent an owl, I've got something very important to take care of right now –"

Blaise's head snapped up to him. "There's a problem with a new recruit - Smith. He's been caught using a Ministry fireplace to contact the Order."

Draco's eyes became cold at once. "Are you sure of this?"

"Yes."

Turning on his heel, Draco led Blaise out of the entrance hall, towards a nearby drawing room, away from any possible prying. It wasn't safe, even in his own house. He closed and silenced the doors instantly before whirling upon his friend.

"Tell me everything," he ordered, sitting down in a leather armchair.

Blaise remained standing. "Smith was recruited by Lestrange a couple of months ago. He's been spying for us at the Department of Mysteries ever since. He's Ravenclaw, Pureblood obviously, fresh out of Hogwarts and highly impressionable. Lestrange assured me he was the best to recruit for Ministry spying, but Jugson and McGregor's imprisonment must have rattled him. Rookwood overheard him contacting the Order and asking to meet with them. He waited for Smith to be finished, stunned him and portkeyed him back to Lestrange. They have him now, our not-so-brave recruit owned up to everything immediately."

"When's the meeting with the Order planned?" Draco asked, his mind running wildly with endless possibilities.

"Tomorrow night, 10pm, in Muggle London."

Draco looked up at him suddenly and smirked. "Then this is our chance. The Order will send a team, they can't risk losing such valuable information, but they also can't risk sending someone alone. They have to be sure the information is correct and that it isn't just a trap. Make sure Smith goes, under the Imperius curse of course. You'll take charge of the mission, but only take a small number with you. I don't want any fighting, capture as many as you can and then portkey straight back to Lestrange castle."

Blaise furrowed his brow, confused. "You're not coming?"

"I'm heading out to Italy tomorrow to meet Don Carlo, the Minister," Draco informed him impatiently. "I told you so last week. But I'll be back in time to interrogate the prisoners."

He paused, his eyes casting an icy glance at the dark-haired merciless man before him.

"Do what's necessary, but I want them alive, Zabini!"

His words wiped the smirk off the Death Eater's face, but his piercing blue eyes were still dancing. Draco didn't like the inner glint burning in his friend's eyes each time he put him in power.

"Whatever you wish, milord."

..~**~..

Returning to his study, Draco unlocked the doors with a wave of his hand and stepped inside. Once his silver gray eyes took in the empty room and mess of documents strewn across his desk, he instantly realised what had happened.

In two quick strides, he crossed the room to his desk and quickly skimmed through his drawers, trying to figure out what Abigail had taken. Searching more thoroughly through his top drawer, he stopped as he realised Dante's letter of oath was missing.

Draco froze several long seconds, as the consequences of Abigail's theft slowly sank into his mind and finally it hit him – hard. It felt as if the air had been sucked out of his lungs.

Fuck!

Thrusting the drawer shut roughly, he then proceeded in flinging everything off his desk as a wave of fury overtook him.

He kicked his desk several times as hard as he could for his utter stupidity. It didn't help in terms of pain, but it relieved his anger.

Finally, grabbing the only remaining item on his desk, a small basilisk shaped paperweight, he flung it across the room with all his might, straight into the opposite window.

"SHIT!"

Breathing heavily, he froze again, his mind reeling with thoughts. What the hell was he going to do?

If the letter ever reached the Ministry, he was a dead man. The letter was literally a bloody oath from the vampires, swearing loyalty to him. Not only that, but it was also proved that Draco was the Death Eaters' leader!

And then, his brains started working again.

He had to stop Abigail. There was no point trying to get the letter back, that would only lead him on a wild goose chase, but he had to attack back – or even better, attack her, personally – discredit her.

Gathering his ideas, Draco grabbed his black cloak off his chair and set off to apparate to wizarding London.

It was time to pay a visit to his good friend Theodore Nott, chief editor of the Daily Prophet and fellow Death Eater.

..~**~..

As the sun began to set, Draco leaned back in his high-back leather chair in his office at Malfoy Inc. He had set his plan in motion and now, all that was left to do, was plan a strong defence in case Abigail ever did hand in the letter as evidence against him in his upcoming trial.

He needed some cunning idea, he needed some infallible strategy, or more likely a bloody miracle, he needed –

Granger!

But he hadn't seen her since the night when she had discovered his pensieve and cried in his arms. He still wasn't sure how he felt about it, he had tried not to think about the incident and detach himself from her from fear of reviving his old feelings. Hell, why was he even thinking about the past? Granger no longer meant anything to him, she was his lawyer for the time being and that was all. He had only engaged her because she was the best and because her accusations had become unnerving and had to be dealt with.

Doubting she would still be in her office this late in the afternoon, he asked his secretary, just as she was leaving, to call Granger up, just in case.

Ten minutes later, he was surprised when he heard a soft knocking on his door and the bushy-haired witch stepped inside. She was wearing dark navy robes, which brought out her pale complexion and rosy cheeks. Her long curly brown hair was firmly held back from her face with a silver hairclip, which sparkled in the light. Her robes fell down the length of her body, only slightly accentuating her curves and as she stepped closer, holding a yellow file in one hand and a quill in the other, whilst making notes and muttering to herself, Draco couldn't help but gaze at her natural beauty.

"You wanted to see me Malfoy," she finally asked him, keeping her eyes on the file.

"Yes," he answered, standing up and making his way towards her. "I need you to help me with something."

She looked up at him sharply, her shoulder tensing slightly. "In case you hadn't already noticed, I am helping you! I do not travel here every morning to play crosswords or make coffee. No, in fact the reason why I work my ass off everyday in this sordid place is to help you with your bloody trial and –"

"Yes, thank you Granger," he interrupted impatiently, "however, this concerns the trial and since your contract stipulates that you must help me with anything that might affect it, I thought it best to explain to you, in person, this sudden turn of events. Trust me, this is something bigger than all those petty complaints you've been dealing with."

His voice had started to waver with anxiety and Draco broke off, stepping to his liquor cabinet to pour himself a strong dose of Firewhiskey. Granger, who annoyingly enough hadn't seemed to register the severity of the problem, sighed heavily and returned to the file in hand.

"Malfoy, if someone's caught you torturing a poor Muggle, whilst wearing Death Eater robes and mask, then there's really not much that I can do –"

"No, but this is just as bad!" he told her coldly, downing his drink rapidly. "Now put your damn file down and listen to me."

She looked up at him alarmed, blinked once and obliged, settling herself down on the leather couch. Draco poured himself another drink. After offering her a glass, which she declined, he followed suit and sat down opposite her.

"What I'm about to tell you Granger does not leave this room. Understood?"

"I took an oath Malfoy when I became Ministry official," she explained, regarding him calmly. "I'm not allowed to divulge my clients' secrets."

He nodded, his stormy grey eyes finally meeting her own steady ones.

"Your damn cousin stole a letter of mine this afternoon, which incriminates me," he finally admitted, taking a gulp from his glass. "I've already taken necessary measures, but if this ever reached the Ministry, then I want to know what I'm facing, although I've already got a pretty good idea, and I want to know what we can do about it."

Her eyes snapped up at him, although they didn't betray any emotion. Draco, no longer standing her intense gaze, drew out his cigarette case from an inside pocket of his robes and lit one up.

"Since when do you smoke?" she asked sharply.

"Since when do you care?" he answered on the beat, exhaling a puff of smoke.

She snorted in return. "You do know those things will kill you, don't you?"

"Yes, but fortunately I know a spell to counter its toxic effects."

Her eyes widened at his sudden revelation, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Good, can we finally come back to my case now?" he sneered, taking another drag. "I'd like to get home sometime before midnight you know."

Her face darkened instantly upon hearing his words, but before she could retort, Draco continued.

"First of all, I'm guessing you'll need to know what exactly was stolen from me."

"No, first of all, I want to know what you meant by necessary measures," she said sharply.

He shrugged, taking another gulp of whiskey. "Nothing too drastic, I simply released some information of my own. You can read about it all in tomorrow's issue of the Daily Prophet. Anyhow, whatever measures I've taken won't be good enough if this letter ever shows up in the trial. I'm going to need a pretty damn good defence or a very strong alibi to get me through this."

"If you say so," she finally spoke up, crossing her arms over her chest, "but you still haven't told me about this letter."

He smirked, briefly remembering her reaction to the vampire attack. She would hate him even more after this.

"It's a letter from the new leader of the vampires, some horrible blood-sucker called Dante -"

As predicted, she gasped as she heard the familiar name.

"- in it, he swears loyalty to me or some crap like that. Oh and, he also wrote the letter in blood."

She goggled at him in horror. "Jesus Christ Malfoy! An oath from Dante and his clan? What the hell were you thinking? I don't even want to know what you did for him in return, but seriously, why on earth did you keep a letter like that? Didn't you even stop and think about destroying such an important piece of evidence -"

"Damn it Granger, now is not the time for your lecturing!" he growled, stabbing his cigarette out angrily. He could feel his blood begin to pump in his ears. "It's not as if I asked for their fucking loyalty in the first place! That letter just arrived one morning with the rest of the mail and I hardly knew what to make of it. And whether you believe me or not, I did not leave it to lie around, I put it away in my desk, somewhere perfectly well-guarded, but somehow, that damned bitch got past all the spells and hexes!"

"And she stole it," Granger added flatly, suddenly seeming lost in thought. He watched her, as she suddenly bit her lower lip and furrowed her brows. Somehow, it calmed him to know that she was already thinking of ways to help him.

Finally, she shook her head and her soft brown eyes focused on him again. "I still need you to explain to me what Abigail was doing at Malfoy Manor. You two are enemies Malfoy, you really shouldn't have invited her to your house in the first place. That was just tempting fate, don't you think?"

Draco gritted his teeth in response. He'd have to lie to her. "I didn't invite her Granger, believe me, I never wanted her to set foot in my manor, but she invited herself. Her father sent me a marriage contract and when she found out about it, she apparated straight to me, furious, and –".

"What? A marriage contract?" Granger blurted out, her mouth falling open.

"Yes, you know, she has to get married in a few years time or else the Serpent leadership gets passed on," he explained impatiently. "But, don't you know about this already?"

"No – God, no – she never told me, she never told anyone. Oh God, why is her father arranging a marriage with you?"

Downing the rest of his drink, Draco expelled a very weary breath. "Granger, stop changing the subject! This is neither the place nor the time. An important document has been stolen from me and I might spend the next ten years in Azkaban because of it! So excuse me if the inner workings of the Serpent family is the least of my concerns!"

He pulled out another cigarette and lit it, trying to calm his nerves down. Damn, this was bad. Even Granger seemed to have turned slightly pale and if they couldn't find a way to prove his innocence in the trial, then he shuddered to think what would become of him.

She started to wring her hands before she spoke up again. "I'm sorry to correct you on this," she began softly, avoiding his sudden confused gaze. "But this is worse than you think. I mean, complaints are one thing, you'd only risk a heavy fine and maybe a few months in Azkaban."

Malfoy froze as he suddenly paid closer attention to her heavy words.

"But if the Ministry ever got hold of that letter," she continued, licking her lips in anguish, "then not only is that a direct link between you and Dante, but the Aurors will also quickly realise that they're dealing with the new leader of the Death Eaters - I'd like to say that you'll only be charged with a lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban, but –"

She paused, uncertain whether she should carry on or not. Draco's silver gaze remained fixed upon her face. He couldn't blink – he couldn't even breathe.

"Well, I'm guessing you heard about the Ministry re-instating Dementors at Azkaban Fortress," she continued softly, trying to keep her voice steady, whilst her eyes searched for a hint of emotion in his face.

Draco felt as though his insides had just melted. He tried to remain indifferent, but he doubted he was doing a very good job. Fuck, Dementors! He had even supported the decision of re-instating them several months ago. It was the only solution the Ministry had found to keep the prison under control. If only he'd known…

"If they ever found out Malfoy," she continued heavily, "they will probably sentence you to the Dementor's kiss. They'll want to make an example of you, especially since the Ministry's furious that so many Death Eaters are still on the loose, causing havoc after all these years."

Draco suddenly jerked forwards to stab the cigarette out, which had started to burn his fingers. He felt very faint all of a sudden and decided to get another drink.

Merlin, this was bad. Very bad. Of course, he could flee and hide before the Ministry could get to him, if his case wasn't strong enough, but what kind of life would he have then? He'd probably have to exile from Europe no less, or worse, live among Muggles to escape the Ministry's Aurors.

He stood up quickly and turned his back on Granger, who was watching him intently, waiting for his reaction. As he neared the liquor cabinet again, he heard her shuffle uncomfortably behind him.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, waiting for him to say something.

He turned around to face her and unexpectedly; he smirked. "Well, isn't that what you wanted after all? To finally prove that I was leading the Death Eaters, organising the attacks? I'm sure this suits you just fine, doesn't it Granger? Evil Malfoy getting what he deserves, receiving the Dementor's kiss –"

"No!" she cried out, standing to her feet too. "I would never wish that on anybody. I wouldn't wish for anyone to have his or her soul sucked out, that's worse than death!"

"So I was told," he muttered dryly. He downed his drink in one gulp, but it hardly seemed to soothe his nerves. It certainly seemed to have paralysed his mind, although his hands had suddenly started to shake uncontrollably.

He was fucked. He was utterly and completely screwed over. That damned letter had owned him a Dementor's Kiss and now it seemed impossible to put together any sort of defence against it.

Noticing Granger had also gotten to her feet and was still watching him carefully, her soft brown eyes suddenly filled with concern, Draco decided he should say something.

"I think – I think you can leave," he told her honestly, with a bitter laugh. "I doubt there's anything you can do at this point. It seems like a lost cause to me already."

"Don't be stupid," she snapped back, stepping over to him and snatching the bottle of Firewhiskey out of his hands. "Abigail might have the letter, but she hasn't handed it over to the Ministry yet and if she does, then I'll be there to help you. I already have a few ideas that we could help for your defence."

She put the bottle back in the cabinet and locked it shut. "Right, now sit down and we'll talk it through. I'm going to need you to tell me everything you can remember about that letter and how it disappeared."

..~**~..

An hour later, Granger was going over the notes she had jotted down as Draco had answered her questions. He felt relatively more relaxed to see her take care of everything, but at the same time, still wondered what on earth she could possibly say in his defence at the trial.

He was watching her closely as the tip of her tongue moistened her soft pink lips and then went to chew on the end of her quill, whilst her eyes darted back and forth on the paper. He couldn't believe she would still want to help him after everything he had put her through and after everything she had done to bring him down.

He frowned.

Actually, why was she helping him?

"Granger," he spoke up, breaking the silence. "Why are you helping me?"

She barely looked up. "As you already said Malfoy, it's part of my contract to do so."

He didn't believe her. He leaned forward a little and plucked the quill out of her fingers.

"Really?" he asked, a faint smirk appearing on his lips. "So I'm guessing whatever happened between us has nothing to do with it?"

Her eyes flew open and she slowly lifted her head to face him. "No, it doesn't," she answered in a low voice. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He was only too happy to explain. "I'm talking about the feelings you once had for me."

Her expression changed almost instantly to anger. Her bright brown eyes flicked coldly to his and she suddenly sat up straight in her seat.

"And what makes you want to talk about that?" she asked fiercely, although her voice betrayed a deeper emotion.

"Nothing in particular," Draco drawled, leaning back into the leather couch. "Tell me then, Hermione, how are things going with the Weasel?"

She flinched at the sound of her name and a flicker of hurt crossed her eyes. Draco couldn't help but feel amused. For once, she was the one shying away from the past, not wanting to talk about it all, not that he cared, he was simply curious to see if she would brave enough to admit to the real reason why she was helping him.

"I am perfectly happy with Ron," she snapped, springing up to her feet as she started to gather belongings on the table.

Draco cocked his head to one side. "Then, why are you here with me instead of being at home, with him?"

She faltered. Her gaze suddenly lowered to the ground and before he could say anything else, she turned his back on him and walked to the large glass windows, peering out into the starry night. Draco got up to his feet and followed her, feeling a slight relief that she had not tried to argue back about Ron and told him that she loved the freckled idiot.

"Why are you making this so difficult?" she breathed out, keeping her back turned. "Why won't you simply accept my help without having to know the reasons behind it?"

Draco took another step closer and suddenly smelt her faint perfume; he breathed it in, remembering the pleasant smell from his last year at Hogwarts.

"Because nothing comes for free," he argued back amused, chuckling softly as his silver eyes wandered over her soft curls cascading down her back before he could stop himself. "You've spent three years trying to bring me down, you have all the proof you need and yet here you are helping me. Why don't you admit that the past has finally gotten to you again or maybe the Weasel isn't satisfying your needs anymore and you can't stop thinking about –"

"Shut up!" she cut in angrily, whirling around to face him. "You don't know what you're talking about! This hasn't got anything to do with you -"

"Oh really? Then, for Merlin's sake tell me! Why are you helping me?"

"Because I won't let them take your soul, Draco!" she cried out and for the first time that night, he realised the amount of fear her eyes held. "Because I can't even bring myself to let you rot in Azkaban! I can't – I couldn't live with myself knowing that I could have prevented such a horrible fate from happening to you! I simply can't do that to you, so don't ask me to! You do deserve a life sentence in that dreadful place, but I can't do it! Even after everything you've done to me, I can't bring myself to hurt you and God help me, I will fight for you, fight with everything I've got before I let them take you to the Dementors!"

Her words wiped the smirk off his face and he awkwardly backed away from her.

Draco couldn't believe his ears. She was going to help him because she still cared for him. He had thought she was merely helping him because maybe she took pity on him or simply because they had once been close, but he had never thought that she might still have feelings for him, that she might still love –

No, he couldn't say it, this couldn't happen! They had been through this already, dealt with it and she knew perfectly well where they stood. She might have been a part of him once ago, but he had given her up. They both had different lives now, he was at the top, reeling with power, whilst she was – she was with the Weasel.

Draco shook his head. He realised that he was still making excuses when really he should already be laughing at her because he had no more feelings for her. But yet, it wasn't the case – it simply wasn't the case and an old feeling he thought he had managed to bury deep inside of him, suddenly crept back into his bones, radiating faintly through his body.

"Draco?"

Her whispered voice broke him out of his reverie. His silver eyes stared back at her, unblinking; trying to make sense of all this mess, but all he could do was look at her. Look at her long curled eyelashes, casting dark shadows over her soft brown eyes, which shone brightly with emotion. The slight crease between her eyebrows as she waited anxiously for him to say something. Her full pink lips left slightly open as she drew in another ragged breath. She was standing so close to him, too close to him and all sorts of emotions coursed through his body as he watched her.

Merlin, simply looking at her like this, truly gazing into her face for the first time since they had met again, brought memories rushing back into his mind. So many memories – so far away – it was as if they were coming from a different lifetime.

She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but her voice, like his, was overwhelmed with emotion.

"Don't say anything, Granger," he began. He had to get out of this mess before he lost himself.

She had already opened her mouth to retort.

"Don't."

She closed it, briefly taken aback. He stared at her for a long moment and sighed.

"Go," he finally told her, in a low whisper. "Just go before I do something we're both going to regret."

He watched her as his words registered. She sucked in a breath as her eyes snapped open in surprise, fixed on his face.

"I can't," she answered truthfully.

A sudden inexplicable feeling lurched through him and without thinking, he wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck, pulling her against him and he kissed her hard.

And Merlin help him, it was a pretty damned mind-blowing kiss too.

..~**~..

Well its about time, don't you think? This chapter was incredibly painful to write, it's so much more easier to write action than delving into people's psyches and trying to understand their feelings. Of course, I couldn't just hook our favourite pair up without a good reason and I do hope this was reason enough for you!

Next chapter: Hermione reflects upon the kiss, we'll visit Ginny's apartment and the big trouble will begin between Death Eaters and the Order. Unfortunately, the next few chapters aren't going to be happy ones…

Please drop a review before you leave! I'll dedicate the next chapter to my 200th reviewer!

Hathor xxx