Here's the next chapter in my little tale and after the last chapter I'm getting a little worried that I'm scarring people off. So in any case please read and review, and I'll keep searching for misplaced reviews in dark corners. Enjoy.

Jujubel5 – Thx for still reading and look, no cliffie yet again. At least I don't think it's a cliffie….

DestinyEntwinements – well I'm glad your happy with the way it turned out, but I'm sorry you're a little lost. Hopefully it'll become clear in the explanatory chapter, which comes after this one. Please don't be discouraged and please keep reading.

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Chapter 10

Draco woke the next morning as the sun peeked through the infirmary's windows. He yawned and stretched, noticing as he did so that the next bed over was now empty. The unexplainable sorrow again tried to swallow him but he fought it off. I can't imagine it was very sanitary to keep a corpse in here, he thought trying to get the sneering quality that he was known for back into his mental voice.

"Of course Potter always did get special treatment in life," he tried it out actually speaking and was pleased to hear the familiar drawl back again, "why should they change their attitude just because the stupid mud-blood lover died." Much better, he thought smiling, still fighting down the sadness at the thought of Harry.

He killed the smile as soon as he realized it was there and schooled his face into the well-practiced smirk he had spent years developing. He practiced the expression several more times before Madam Pomfrey came in.

"Ah good you're up," she said moving towards him and checking his forehead, "well you seem to be just fine. You may dress and go down to breakfast." She began to turn away.

"What!" Draco nearly shouted. "I can't go down to the hall everyone must know by now that I helped kill Dumbledore, they'll try to kill me!"

"Now, now, dear, don't worry about that." Pomfrey said, "Minerva told me everything you did last night and the Headmaster explained everything to the school already. Now you better hurry or you'll miss the end of breakfast." Before he could ask another question she swept into her office.

Who's the new Headmaster? Draco thought as he quickly, but neatly, dressed. His stomach had reminded him that it would be a very bad idea to miss breakfast, as he hadn't eaten much of anything in two days. And what exactly did I do last night that was so great?

Draco was still pondering these questions when he stepped into the great hall. He automatically turned towards the Slytherin table and nearly tripped when he saw how empty it was. A third of the house was gone, and those who remained looked to be mostly fourth years and younger. Draco's eyes flicked towards the staff table, instinctively looking for the greasy-black-haired head of Slytherin house. He stopped when he remembered where Snape was right now.

He did notice however that Professor Slughorn had been made the new head of Slytherin house. By this time Draco had sat down on the bench at the near end of the table and it was a good thing too because it was then that he noticed who Slughorn was talking to so animatedly. Draco was pretty sure he would have fallen if he had been standing.

Dumbledore looked over Slughorn's shoulder at Draco, his eyes twinkling at the boy. Draco just stared back. It's impossible, Draco thought, I saw him die. I saw Snape kill him. Then he remembered Madam Pomfrey's words, 'Minerva told me everything you did last night…' Had he, Draco, brought Dumbledore back to life?

Dumbledore's eyes kept darting to his left, so Draco looked further down the staff table and got a second shock. Sitting between Professors McGonagall and Flitwick and apparently having a very heated discussion with the later, was the raven-haired stranger from the night before. He seemed to sense Draco's look because he repeatedly pointed out into the hall at something.

Curiously Draco's eyes followed the pointing finger and suddenly he felt his world turn upside down. He had seen him die to. Voldemort had killed him the night before, had seen his corpse in the infirmary when he had woken in the middle of the night, but there he was, sitting and chatting away like nothing had ever happened to him. Even though he was talking with his friends he noticed Draco starring across the hall and raised a hand to wave.

Before anyone could see the blood rushing to his face, Draco turned back to his breakfast and resolved to ask someone to explain everything later. Across the hall, Harry Potter smiled to himself at Draco's reaction to his wave.

"What's up Harry?" asked Hermione.

"And who were you waving at?" asked Ron craning his head around to try and see.

"Nothing," Harry replied, "I just find it a little hard to believe everything that's happened." Hermione nodded and opened her mouth to say something when Ron interrupted her.

"I don't believe it, he actually is back." He was still looking over his shoulder at something. Harry looked up and noticed Draco bent over his breakfast.

"Wonder if Malfoy learned anything over the summer," said Ron still glaring at Draco's back. Harry opened his mouth to tell Ron to lay-off, but Hermione beat him to it.

"Ronald Weasley," she snapped at him, sounding disturbingly like his mother, "don't you go starting anything with Malfoy. He's been through a lot and we will not sink to his level!" Ron whipped back around and tried to appease his fuming girlfriend. Harry just watched the two of them and his mind wandered back to Draco. He has been through a lot this summer, thought Harry. He realized he was starring at Draco's back as Ron and Hermione were bickering again, and was astonished when Vin landed on the table next to Draco.

He was even more astonished when Vin appeared on the table in front of him next. Ron and Hermione stopped immediately at the sight of the dragon. So did everyone at the Gryffindor table who had noticed the creature.

Vin extended a scroll of parchment in one of his claws to Harry, who accepted it and offered a piece of sausage in return. Vin accepted the trade and daintily swallowed the morsel. He nipped Harry's finger in thanks and flew back to the staff table, where he helped himself to Isilomir's newly refilled plate in a decidedly undignified manner.

Back at the Gryffindor table, conversation erupted again, only now it was focused on the little dragon. Oblivious to it all, Harry opened the scroll and read the short message written there in a very familiar slanted hand.

Harry,

You have been reassigned to Professor Thalionore's special classes.

Please report to the classroom on the first floor during the first period.

I will talk to you soon,

Albus Dumbledore.

P.S.

Thank you for your help last night by the way. I understand that Isil

could not have done it without your help.

Harry handed the note on to Hermione who looked elated when she saw it.

"Oh Harry," she said, "that's wonderful! Special lessons with Isilomir Thalionore, I bet you'll learn loads!"

"But," said Harry, "I didn't think that Professor Isilomir was human much less a wizard."

Hermione didn't miss a beat, "Well you know," she said, "from what I've heard he did do magic last night of some kind, I bet he'll teach you that kind of stuff."

The bell rang then, announcing the end of breakfast. Hermione gave Harry an encouraging shove towards the first floor corridor as she and Ron headed for potions. With some misgivings Harry made his way to the appropriate classroom. When he entered the room Isilomir was not there. Someone was in the room, however, and when they saw each other, both of them stopped.

"What are you doing here!"

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Now this one should just be obvious…. but then again I'm the one writing this thing so of course it's obvious to me. Please please please press the little review button and write something… even if it's just the word hi, cause then I'll know people are still reading. Oh and there is one last review response.

XmichiyoX – YAY we have a winner…. you correctly guessed something in my story so you get lots of congratulations…. and maybe a stuffed dragon but I'm still working on that. For those of you who don't read the reviews page religiously, XmichiyoX guessed that it was indeed Dumbledore. Thank you for reviewing and reading. Hope you enjoyed this chapter too.