Draco silently followed Harry and Ron up the flight of stairs, not knowing what to do. Somehow he knew that now was not the right time to feel oh so righteous about being in this shabby little rundown house and in the presence of blood traitors. And besides, what was Draco himself now but a blood traitor. He just wasn't used to being silent around the two Gryffindors.
They finally reached a wooden door that Ron opened and motioned to the two other boys to go in. Draco peeped through and saw the undersized but surprisingly comfortable room.
"So this is your room, Weasley," Draco commented as he stepped in.
Ron simply stared at Draco with an eyebrow raised. "Good for you to catch on, Malfoy."
Draco smirked. "It's…. diminutive."
"Then do us all a favor and get out," Ron answered as he plopped down on his bed. "If you don't like it here."
Harry sighed. "Ron, stop. He can't and won't leave. Malfoy," he said as he turned to look at Draco. "Set your stuff down and take a seat."
"Why should I listen to you?" asked Draco condescendingly.
"Because I'm here to help," Harry started then added, "And I believe you."
Draco studied Harry for a while. He then nodded and took a seat in one of the badly maintained stool.
"I reckon you heard the story from Hermione," Harry said as he turned to look at Ron.
"Yes," Ron answered. "But I still don't trust him."
"I know what you mean. I have a problem trusting him, too. But he is seemingly telling the truth," Harry concurred. "And we know Hermione believes him."
"He could have brainwashed her or something," Ron said, deep in thought.
"Doubtful," Harry answered.
"It's not entirely impossible," Ron replied. "This is Malfoy we're talking about –"
"And he'd totally appreciate it if you didn't speak as though he were not in the room," Draco interjected. "I did not brainwash Hermione. And if you guys don't trust me, that's fine. I'm not here for your trust anyway. I'm here to stay alive, if you don't mind."
Harry thought about this for moment. "You're right. Who do you think Mrs Weasley's writing to? She said she had a letter to write."
"I don't know," Draco said with a shrug. "McGonagall, perhaps?"
"Could be," Harry said with a thoughtful look upon his face. "Or it could be any one of the members of the Order."
"How do you think they could help me?"
Harry shrugged. "I'm not really sure. All I know is that Dumbledore said there was a way to hide you. And maybe they know how."
"I guess all we can do is wait and see," Ron said, finally joining in the conversation. Then after a moment he said, "Malfoy, why didn't you kill Dumbledore?"
"Same reason why I like Hermione," Draco answered.
"You liked Dumbledore?!" Ron exclaimed.
"No you daft prick," Draco answered as he rolled his eyes. "Because maybe I'm not so much a dodgy character as you all think I am. I thought I could do it. I certainly wanted to. But I couldn't. Standing there in front of him… I couldn't. Look where doing the right thing has brought me…"
"Where?" Ron asked.
"To the brink of death," Draco said with a sardonic laugh.
"So you think you love him?" Ginny asked incredulously after Hermione told her the entire story.
Hermione shrugged. "I'm not quite sure what I feel for him. I certainly do like him and have learned to appreciate his presence and understand his stupid, arrogant smirk. But love him? I don't know. Right now, above all emotions… the one that stands out is fear. His situation is scary. I don't know what to do or how I could be of help to him. It frightens me."
"You did as much as you can do," Ginny said wistfully. "You helped him survive the past week. You fed him and cleaned him. You brought him here. That was a lot."
"Not as much I want to do for him," Hermione answered.
"Why?"
"Why, what?" Hermione asked, puzzled by the question. "Because it's the right thing to do.
"Yes, I know that," Ginny answered matter-of-factly. "But I don't think this is just you helping an old lady cross the street or helping Harry and Ron with their schoolwork. I think this runs deeper than you've even realized."
Hermione shook her head. "I don't even want to think about that. First he has to survive the Death Eaters. What's the use of falling in love with someone who's about to die?"
"So you are falling in love with him."
"No!" Hermione said, taken aback. "It was a hypothetical statement."
Ginny just nodded.
"Hermione, dear," Mrs Weasley said as Hermione and Ginny entered the house. "Kindly go and call the boys. I expect Professor McGonagall to be here any second now."
Hermione nodded her head and started for the stairs just as a loud "poof" revealed Professor McGonagall in the center of the living room.
"Good day Professor," Ginny said as she offered the headmistress a seat.
"Nice of you to come on such short notice, Professor," Mrs Weasley said as she and Arthur Weasley joined them in the living room.
"Of course, Molly," Professor McGonagall answered as she sat down. "Arthur, nice to see that everything's fine with you and your family."
"Thank you, Professor," Mr Weasley said as he stood by their fireplace.
Soon after Hermione came down the stairs, with the three boys at her tail, and joined the others in the living room.
"Draco Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said primly. "Have a seat, my boy." Draco and the others took their places and Professor McGonagall continued. "Molly has informed me of the matters and we're here to decide what to do."
"Told you it was McGonagall," Draco whispered to Harry.
Harry simply nodded.
"So, You-Know-Who is looking for you," McGonagall said matter-of-factly to no one in particular as she stared hard into space. "We need to hide you."
"Professor," Harry said quietly. "If you don't mind, before Professor Dumbledore… er… passed away, he said something about hiding Malfoy and making it seem that he died and er… hiding his mother as well. And when Lucius Malfoy gets out of Azkaban, hiding him, too. I'm just not sure how he planned on that happening…"
"I see," Professor McGonagall said pensively. "Thank you Harry, for that information. I think I know what he was referring to. If you all don't mind, Ginny, Ron… may you please step out of the room momentarily?"
"But…. Why?" Ron asked incredulously.
Ginny sighed and pulled Ron by him arm. "Let's just go, Ronald."
As soon as the two left the room McGonagall continued. "The Fidelius Charm. You've heard of it of course, Arthur and Molly. And I presume Harry may be familiar with it. And so would you, Hermione, you may have read about it. Am I right?"
All four of them nodded.
"Of course…" Hermione said as understanding slowly crept into her eyes.
A/N: Here's another chapter. Hopefully I get to post another one real soon. Please read and leave a review. Thanks!