ajerickson21: Thanks, finally someone who isn't so anxious about Hermione's arrival ^^ I'm actually glad Dumbledore's scene didn't go as you expected, since it means I managed to surprise you. I'm very curious though, what did you plan? Did you think I was going to spare Dumbledore? I wanted to kill him by Draco's hand since the beginning, although I hesitated a lot about who should be putting him under the Imperius Curse to force him to murder Dumbledore: at the beginning I wanted it to be Bellatrix, and then I changed for Lucius, but I finally decided that it should be Bellatrix :)

lucyferr: Thanks ^^ I hope Pansy is good enough for you (at least for now). I'm taking some liberties since she is so under-developped in the books! Hermione's coming, I hope I won't get her wrong ^^ (but it should be ok, she's my favourite character in the trio)

: Thank you for this nice review! It's always a pleasure to see that I managed to catch someone up in my story hehe :)

jessirose85: Indeed, this is your first review, and a nice one - thanks!

sweet-tang-honney: Thank you :)

xxkandyangelxx: Poor Malfoy indeed - and things will not really get better for him, at least not now. I'm glad you like it! :D

Author's note: Hey guys, sorry for being late, this chapter's been ready for days but I had troubles uploading it... I hope you'll still like it ^^

Chapter 11: McGonagall's surprise

Harry had managed to convince Vernon and Petunia to let him spend his summer with his girlfriend, under the threat that he would ask the Malfoy to come and pick him up like they did few years ago if they didn't allow him to go directly to Pansy's house. Quite obviously, he would have been unable to do so: Lucius would never agree to help him now that Voldemort was back, and Narcissa was very unlikely to be willing to do so too. But, of course, the Dursley didn't need to know that kind of details, did they?

Pansy's family lived in a mansion, like Draco's. However, it didn't seem as big and wealthy as the Malfoy mansion, but it was very beautiful and much less severe and cold.

"How did you convince your Muggles?" Pansy asked as they entered her empty manor. "I thought it was almost jail for you there."

She always called them "your Muggles" as if they belonged to him or anything like that. That put a small smile on his lips everytime.

"It usually is," he replied. "But I told them I'd ask the Malfoy's help to bring me here if they didn't let me."

She frowned.

"And?"
"And they are very scared of any wizard. I swear, they'd hide behind the couch in front of Longbottom if he waved a wand. And, of course, the first time they met, Uncle Vernon thought that calling Mr. Malfoy his 'pal' and 'freak show' was a good idea, and Mrs. Malfoy cursed him as a punishment. My aunt said he was unable to walk for over a week. That didn't cure them from their fear of magic."

Pansy sighed and bobbed down.

"Horrible parents," she whispered. "No wonder Draco..."

She shook her head and then lowered it even more. She had managed to keep everything inside in the Hogwarts Express, where people could've seen her breaking down, but now that they were truly alone, she couldn't hold it inside anymore. When she spoke again, her voice was broken and shaking:

"How didn't we notice that something was wrong with him? Weren't we supposed to be his friends? We should've seen... we should've seen that Draco had become a Death Eater! I-I'm supposed to be smart and you're supposed to be the closest person to him and-"

Harry dropped his luggage in the middle of the hall and took her face between his warm hands. He noticed that her cheeks were wet with tears, and he wiped them away with his thumbs.

"Draco is not a Death Eater," he said with a calm voice.
"Of course he is! Why else would he kill Dumbledore, right in front of us?! Why else would he-"
"He didn't do it."

She stared at him as if he was the craziest guy she had ever seen - which was probably not very far from the truth.

"Harry, don't be foolish... I mean, you were there too, we saw him! There is no need to-"
"Pansy, look at me now."

She moved her teary hazel eyes up towards his face.

"Draco did not kill Albus Dumbledore," he said slowly and firmly. "I saw Bellatrix pointing her wand at him just before he casted the Avada Kedavra. She forced him to do it, I'd bet my own life on it. She put the Imperius Curse on him."

Pansy shook her head.

"Harry, don't lie... I mean I like him a lot, he's my friend too you know! But just because he's my friend doesn't mean I will deny and try to find him excuses and-"
"I'm not trying to find him excuses, I really saw Bellatrix moving her wand towards him. Trust me, Draco never wanted to kill Dumbledore."
"You promise this isn't a lie to make me feel better?" she asked in a shaking voice.

Harry kissed her pale forehead.

"I swear, Pansy."

The more he thought about it, the more true it seemed: Draco had killed Dumbledore only because Bellatrix had forced him to do so.

"But why would she do this?" Pansy asked.
"Because Draco couldn't, but still, Draco was the one that was meant to do it," Harry replied. "Bellatrix saw that he wouldn't do it, she saw that Greyback was about to lose patience and kill Dumbledore by himself... she trained Draco for this, you know. If he had failed to kill Dumbledore, she probably would've been punished by Voldemort too."

Pansy grimaced.

"All right, by You-Know-Who."
"She'd lie to the Dark Lord like that? You're talking about Bellatrix Lestrange, here, not any Death Eater. She's a crazy fanatic."
"I know. I guess it's not technically lying to him, since Draco killed him. Sort of."

She started at him in silence for a short while, with suspicious eyes.

"What?" he asked.
"You knew," she realised.

She moved back.

"You knew it, didn't you? For Draco and Dumbledore?"

Harry sighed. He had known this moment would come, but still wished that it would be avoided - somehow.

"Yes," he admitted.
"Since when?"
"Since July."
"What?!"
"Don't yell at me! Mrs. Malfoy came to me in the middle of a night, all right? She Apparated in my bedroom while I was asleep, I almost die of a heart attack when she woke me up! And she told me... she told me Draco had been given a mission by You-Know-Who, the mission to kill Dumbledore. She also told me that that it wasn't a real mission, You-Know-Who didn't want Draco to succeed. Draco was meant to fail and die, either trying or as a punishment for failure. He wasn't expected to be successful in killing Dumbledore."
"It makes no sense, Harry," Pansy replied as she shook her head in disbelief. "Why would he lose time asking Draco to do it if he thought he'd never be able to succeed? And, more importantly, why the heck would You-Know-Who do everything to kill the only heir of two Pure Blood families such as the Black and the Malfoy? The Dark Lord believes in the pure blood's superiority, and those two families have always supported him, he has no reason to bring their heir to death."
"Because it had nothing to do with Draco," Harry explained. "And this is where you're wrong. Mr. Malfoy was one of the first to turn his back on You-Know-Who, and giving this impossible mission to Draco was the only way for him to punish Mr. Malfoy's disloyalty. According to Mrs. Malfoy, the death of his only son and heir would be one of the few things he could never forgive himself. I guess such a punishment was worth endengering the future of the Malfoy's name and blood for him. I mean I have a hard time believing it, it doesn't sound that bad to me, but-"
"I don't," Pansy said. "If you were a Pure Blood, you'd understand. No offence of course. It's very cruel on a psychological point of view to punish Draco's father like this. Just killing him is not fun enough for the Dark Lord, and he probably still needs him on his side. The pain caused by the Cruciatus Curse disappears eventually. But being the one that put a bloodline to its end... it never disappears."
"I guess so. Pansy..."

Harry bobbed down.

"Mrs. Malfoy didn't come all the way to my bedroom just to tell me that. She also... she asked me to save Draco. She begged me to do so, and I promised I would. I told her I would prevent him to die or to become a murderer... I failed. I was unable to help him."
"You did not," Pansy replied.

Harry frowned and stared at her. She gave him a small smile.

"Draco didn't kill anyone, did he? And, as far as we know, he isn't dead."
"Bellatrix forced him to leave with her. She Disapparated with him right in front of me, she probably brought him back to Voldemort."

For once, Pansy didn't react upon hearing Voldemort's name.

"And Voldemort is probably going to punish him or force him to work for him. Either way I will have failed to fulfill my promise to Mrs. Malfoy and myself."
"Maybe not. Draco could always run away and hide."
"Hide where?" Harry asked. "He can't even go back home. His father and Bellatrix are both there."
"To Hogwarts," Pansy replied. "It's the safest place in the world with Gringotts. And since I don't picture him hiding himself in his family's vault in Gringotts, then Hogwarts would be the best choice."
"Yes," Harry started, "But may I remember you that for everyone except us, Draco and Bellatrix Lestrange, Draco killed Albus Dumbledore? He may have been a bit crazy, but Hogwarts loved him. People there won't forgive what he did, he can't go back there."
"Draco will find a way," Pansy said with a confident tone.

Harry didn't replied. He hoped she was right, of course: seeing his best friend well and alive was probably the best thing that could happen to him right now, but he wasn't as sure as Pansy that it was going to happen - especially in Hogwarts.

Finally, they were back at Hogwarts for their last year. And, predictably... Draco wasn't there. Pansy seemed very disappointed. Harry, even if he wouldn't admit it and had simply said "I told you so", was disappointed too. Somehow, he had hoped that his friend would manage to find a way to escape from Voldemort and hide there. Harry shook his head for himself. Escaping from Voldemort. Yeah right...

"As always," McGonagall said at the end of the dinner, "Students of each house have the honour to be prefects, and the duty to make sure everyone follows the rules. And please, do follow them. Do not break the curfew, especially not after the events that occured last year. We all know that You-Know-Who is back, and, unfortunately, we all know that his Death Eaters have proven themselves to be able to enter the castle. So remember that rules are not there to annoy you: they are there to protect you. This year, the prefects of each house are, for Gryffindor, Ronald Weasley and Lavander Brown. For Hufflepuff..."

Pansy bent over the table to speak to Harry:

"I wonder who's gonna be Head Boy. I mean we've seen Granger at the prefect meeting but there was no Head Boy with her..."
"Dunno," Harry replied. "It isn't me, that's for sure. I would know."
"For the love of Slytherin... don't tell me that she picked only that Mudblood!"
"And, for Slytherin, Harry Potter and Pansy Parkinson."

They both stood up as the students from their house cheered for them.

"These eight students will be supervised by the Head Boy and the Head Girl. This year, Hermione Granger will be your Head Girl..."

The Gryffindor girl stood up and blushed as her table applauded loudly.

"And," she continued as she took a step backward, "Your Head Boy will be..."

The door behind her opened and people in the Great Hall started to murmur even more than the day of Harry's Sorting Ceremony. Pale skin, incredible blond hair, tall and slender...

"Holy SHIT!" Pansy's piercing voice said over the whispers. "I-I mean... Merlin's beard!"
"Miss Parkinson, you are a prefect," McGonagall said as she stared at her in disapprobation. "Please refrain yourself from using such a language. As I was going to say before you all started to whisper around and before Miss Parkinson started to have a bad mouth, your Head Boy this year will be-"
"Draco," Harry muttered for himself as he looked at his best friend.

How was it possible?

"What the hell?" a boy next to him murmured to another one. "He's a Death Eater!"
"I know, he killed Dumbledore, he shouldn't even be here! What the fuck is she thinking?"
"Draco did not kill Dumbledore," Harry replied as he shot them a severe glare. "And if you say that again, you'll both be getting detention for so long you that when it's over, you won't even remember why you got detention to begin with."
"Harry!" Pansy said.
"What? I don't care if this is taking advantage of my position, these jerks-"
"No, that's not what I meant. The new students, Harry."
"Oh."

She was right. Although he just wanted to run at Draco and ask him what has been going on and why he was there, they had to take care of the new Slytherin - even if, like the two years before, it was actually Pansy who was taking care of them. Harry watched over his shoulder as they were gathering the youngest of their house, and saw the new headmistress leaving with Draco and Hermione.

Minerva McGonagall sat behind her desk, right under Dumbledore's huge portrait. The magic portrait briefly looked at the Head Boy and the Head Girl, nodded in appreciation, and then his blue eyes stared gently at McGonagall. Hermione and Draco were both standing in front of her, and while Malfoy was apparently very calm, Hermione seemed pretty nervous.

"Usually," Minerva started, "The headmaster meets the Head Boy and Head Girl only to explain them their tasks and give them the password to their common room. This year, well... it's a bit different."

She stared at the Gryffindor girl.

"Miss Granger, you have been chosen to be Head Girl because you are among the brightest and most talented students this school has ever known."

Hermione blushed.

"Don't," McGonagall said when she noticed it. "You should be proud of yourself, and I'm sure that one day, I will be proud to say that I've had the privilege to be your teacher. Mr. Malfoy..."

She stared at him directly in the eyes.

"Although you have also proven yourself to be one of the best students of your house, and surely a very skilled young wizard, I did not name you Head Boy because of your marks. I think you already know it, but Miss Granger has the right to know: you are Head Boy because I could not let you sleep among the students of your house. We both know that some Slytherin are sons and daughters of Death Eaters, and I fear that this situation could be dangerous for you, given the circonstances."
"Thank you," he simply replied with his usual careless voice.
"Actually, professor McGonagall," Hermione started with an embarrassed voice. "I understand what you say, but what about my safety? I mean... it's not that I don't give a damn about Malfoy, but-"
"You are perfectly safe, Miss Granger."

She frowned.

"But... last year..."
"What seems to be," Dumbledore's portrait started with a mysterious tone, "Might not necessarly be true. Just because it looks like he murdered someone does not mean he actually did it."

Hermione frowned even more and stared at Draco. Did that mean that he hadn't really killed Albus Dumbledore? For some reason, she wanted to believe it. It was hard to think of Draco Malfoy as a murderer. He just didn't look like he had that in him. Oh, of course, he was many bad things: he was annoying, he was a bully, a coward, an elitist, etc.

"However," McGonagall continued, "This does not mean that you don't have to do your job. You are expected to take care of your duties as a Head Boy. You must organize the prefects meetings and patrols with Miss Granger."
"I will."
"Perfect," she replied. "This year, the password to the Head Boy and Head Girl common room is..."

She looked at a parchment and smiled.

"Equilibrium. Quite interesting. For your own safety, I highly suggest you keep that password to yourself."

After explaining them all of their responsabilities, McGonagall finally let them leave for their appartments, ontop of the West tower.

"Great," Hermione muttered for herself when they stepped inside the very beautiful common room. "My last year in Hogwarts and I'm stuck with you."
"My thoughts exactly," Draco coldly replied as he dropped on a couch near the fire place.
"For your safety," she said under her breath as she sat on an armchair, as far as him as she could. "Why does McGonagall care about your safety anyway? Why would you need more protection than the others?"

The new Head Boy stared at her and, for once, she didn't see any trace of irony or arrogance on his face.

"Because the others didn't run away from the Dark Lord," he simply replied.

He stood up and left for his private bedroom, leaving a stunned Hermione behind.

End of the chapter: Hehe, longer that the others ;) hope you liked it! Now the real stuff's coming :D