Draco had hoped to keep his part in Fudge's demise a secret from the new Order, but when Severus caught him and warned him that Kingsley was aware of exactly what had happened at the Ministry, he realised that it wasn't going to be possible. After speaking to Hermione, they decided to gather the new Order together and face the potential backlash head on.
"Are you sure about this?" Hermione checked before they faced everyone. "We could have just tried to speak to Kingsley on the quiet."
"And what? Found out that he'd already mentioned it to someone?" Draco snorted. "The second he realised it was me at the Ministry, this was always going to get back to the others. Let's just hope we don't lose too much support."
"Anyone we lose isn't worth having on our side," Hermione insisted.
"Maybe not, but they could still cause trouble once we've gotten rid of The Dark Lord," Draco cautioned.
"Let's not worry about that right now," Hermione said. "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Draco muttered. He was not looking forward to the meeting, and he especially wasn't looking forward to having to justify his actions.
Entering the large dining room, the couple found a decent portion of the new Order were present. McGonagall and a couple of senior Professors had managed to join them, and all the Weasleys were present. As were Dean, Seamus and Neville, who was sitting beside Ginny with a protective arm over the back of her chair. Kingsley was also present, and of course all of Draco's friends were there to support him.
"I'm sure you all know why we're here," Hermione said, noticing that some of the people she wasn't as close to were shooting daggers at Draco. Even a couple of people she knew well, seemed slightly wary of her boyfriend.
"We do," McGonagall confirmed with a nod of her head. "Is it true?" she asked, directing her question to Draco.
"If you're asking if I was the Death Eater who killed Fudge, then yes, it's true," Draco replied, his voice sounding cold and remote as he didn't plan on letting anyone see the inner turmoil he was feeling.
"And you still expect us to fight alongside you?" one of the Ministry workers Kingsley had recruited to the cause asked. "You're a killer."
"That happened long before Fudge," Draco pointed out. "You all knew what I was when you agreed to fight."
"But you have to admit this is different," Bill said quietly. He didn't want to upset Hermione, but he knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't voice his worries.
"This is me doing what I need to do to protect the witch I love," Draco said firmly. "I'm not a hero, and I've never pretended to be one. I'm not trying to bring The Dark Lord down because I'm a good person and I want to save the world. I'm doing this for Hermione. Everything I have ever done has been for her."
"Killing Fudge was for her?" Bill questioned.
"The alternative was Hermione herself being killed," Draco replied. "Think what you like about me. Hate me if you want. I really don't care. But never doubt that everything I do isn't for Hermione's good. To keep her safe I have to keep proving myself to The Dark Lord. I doubt Fudge will be my last task. I will do whatever it takes to keep Hermione safe, and right now that means keeping him onside until we're ready to take the bastard down. And if anyone has a problem with that, or with me, you're free to leave."
Not waiting to see if anyone was going to take him up on his offer and leave, Draco turned and stalked out of the dining room. Even though his departure hadn't been planned, Hermione wasn't worried as she knew he wouldn't leave the house without her. And to be honest, he'd said his peace and she felt he'd made his point quite clearly. Staying at the meeting would only lead to further arguments, and she knew he wouldn't want to lose his temper with everyone.
"Does anyone want to leave?" Hermione asked.
Straight away the Ministry worker who had first questioned Draco, announced their plan to leave and they departed with another wizard who worked at the Ministry and had witnessed Fudge's death. However, no-one else immediately left, although Hermione could see some hesitation.
"I'm sure there are more of you uncomfortable with what Draco has had to do, but I just want to remind you that he's the one who has to do these terrible things," Hermione said. "At this moment in time, my life lies in Voldemort's hands. He can end me whenever he wants, and its only his goodwill towards Draco keeping me alive. Draco is doing what he has to do to keep me alive. In his place, would anyone else do anything different?"
"We understand Hermione," Neville said as several people nodded their agreement. "We don't think Malfoy is a bad person."
"He's not," Hermione said. "Believe me when I say what happened with Fudge doesn't sit easily with him. All he wants is for this to be over, and for us all to be free."
"But will he be free?" Bill asked softly. "When this is over the Ministry will be restored, and people will have to be held accountable for their actions. And that will include Draco."
"We'll deal with that when it happens," Hermione replied with a shrug. "But I should also remind you all that we can't do this without Draco. He's the only one who can bring us the remaining Horcruxes, and he's the only one who can lure Voldemort into our trap. You can fight without him, but you can't win without him. Keep that in mind before you judge him too harshly."
"Hermione's right," Kingsley said. "We need Draco, and we should be bloody grateful he's willing to help us. Even though it wouldn't be easy, he would still have the money and resources to hide from Voldemort. He could protect Hermione without helping us. Hermione herself could even pledge herself to the dark to save her life. I think we all need to remember just how much they're both risking to help us."
"I agree," McGonagall said. "Draco might seem tough, but I believe he feels things a lot more than he lets on. I don't for one minute think he killed Fudge for any other reason than it was what he needed to do to protect Hermione. We cannot judge him for doing everything in his power to keep the witch he loves safe. Especially after everything they've been through. Let's not forget that things would not be in this state if Dumbledore and the others had not acted the way they had last year."
"I suggest we move on and focus on planning the final battle," Kingsley said. "With Fudge gone a new Minister will need to be appointed and already Voldemort's influence in the Ministry is growing. The new Minister will ultimately answer to him, you can bet on that. We need to focus on defeating him once and for all."
"Does this mean you're all staying?" Hermione asked, glancing towards Bill, who had been the one to voice the concerns she felt several people felt.
"We're staying," Bill confirmed. "And I just want to assure you that I was never planning on walking. I just needed to be sure that Draco was still with us. You can't deny the darkness in him, Hermione. What happened with Fudge could have tipped him back towards the dark."
"The only thing that would tip him towards the dark is losing me," Hermione said. "And I don't intend on going anywhere."
"So we focus on defeating Voldemort," Kingsley reiterated. "How are we coming on with the Horcruxes?" he asked Hermione.
"Draco was hoping to retrieve one over the next couple of days," Hermione replied. "Given recent events, Voldemort is going to be busy trying to take full control of the Ministry, so he's got time to slip away. But we thought this needed addressing first. We need you all to understand that Draco is on our side. As he said, he's not doing this to be a hero, he's doing this so we can be free. I know he said I'm the reason he's doing this, but really it's for us both. This is the only way we can be together. We need to defeat Voldemort to stand any chance of having a normal life."
"That goes for us all," Neville said quietly, smiling slightly at Ginny as he spoke. "None of us can be free until we've rid the world of his darkness. I say we let Malfoy do what he has to do to keep himself and Hermione alive, and focus on what we need to do to help them defeat him."
"Well said Longbottom," Blaise said approvingly.
"Thank you Neville," Hermione said, flashing her friend a grateful smile. "And thank you all for supporting us. You won't regret this. Draco will not let us down. He may not consider himself a hero, but he's going to be the one to save us all."
Ten minutes later the meeting wound up and everyone headed off, pledging their continued support. It was only once everyone had gone that Hermione sought out her boyfriend. When she found him, Draco was sitting at the window in one of the bedrooms, obviously lost in his own thoughts as he gazed out onto a rather plain garden.
"Did they all walk out?" he asked as Hermione sat down next to him.
"Only a couple," Hermione replied, not wanting to lie and tell Draco everyone supported them when he would quickly found out they'd lost a couple of people. "A few more were unsure, but they've all agreed to stick by us. All they really wanted to know was that you were still on our side."
"They thought killing would bring out the darkness in me," Draco whispered. To be honest it was something he'd worried about himself, but instead all he'd felt was repulsed and the desire to get rid of Voldemort was stronger than ever.
"Between us, I think we convinced them that you're just doing what needs to be done," Hermione said. "It's easy to judge, and say that you're in the wrong, but no-one knows what it's like to be in your shoes. You're doing what you have to do, Draco, they understand that."
"You hope," Draco muttered. "So what happens now?"
"Now you retrieve the next Horcrux," Hermione replied. "And the one after that."
"I was already making plans to go to Brazil," Draco said. "It should only take me a couple of days at the most. Although India could prove more time consuming."
"Why?" Hermione asked. "Don't you know where you left the Horcrux?"
"Not exactly," Draco admitted with a slight grimace. "I never expected to have to retrieve it, and The Dark Lord asked for them to well-hidden and impossible to find by chance."
"What did you do, Draco?" Hermione questioned with a sinking feeling. She'd been hoping that the final two Horcruxes would be easy to retrieve, so they could then focus on bringing Voldemort down once and for all.
"I dropped it in a crevice in the mountains," Draco replied with a wince.
"The mountains?" Hermione questioned. "You mean the Himalayas?"
"That would be them," Draco confirmed with a nod.
"Just a small mountain range then," Hermione quipped. "And do you at least have some idea of where we want to be looking?"
"I think so," Draco replied. "But let's focus on the one I can get my hands on easily. The Dark Lord's pretty busy at the moment, so I should take advantage of it and head off to Brazil. With any luck I can be back before it's time to deal with Black."
"I thought your aunt was handling Sirius," Hermione remarked. To be honest she'd had enough of revenge and all she wanted now was to bring down Voldemort and live a normal life with Draco.
"I'm sure she's having plenty of fun with him, but I want to be there to witness the end," Draco said. "You don't have to be there, though."
"Do you think he'll expect it of me?" Hermione asked.
"Possibly," Draco answered honestly. "But if you really don't want to be there, we can come up with some excuse. Maybe we can say you're feeling under the weather."
"We can decide at the time," Hermione replied. "Let's focus on Brazil. Are you going alone, or do you want me to come with you?"
"I'd love for you to come, but it might be easier if I go alone," Draco said. "We've already had one break, and the trip to India won't be quick so I'd rather you were with me. So if I go alone, I might even be able to go and get back before he realises I'm gone. And if he does ask for me while I'm gone, it's easy enough to pretend I'm with Blaise and Theo."
"I guess it's best if we don't arouse his suspicions," Hermione conceded. "You go alone, and go on the sly. With any luck you'll be back before he even realises you're gone."
"That's the plan," Draco said with a nod. "Now let's go home."
With the new Order pacified and plans set to retrieve the final two Horcruxes, Draco and Hermione headed home to the manor, where they would have a bit of alone time before Draco headed off to Brazil.