AN: Sorry for the delay, writer's block and all that, plus wanting to make sure I got some of the details right for how I wanted this part of the story to go. This chapter is a little longer than the most recent ones, so I hope all of the readers will enjoy that. The Shadow Lord arc will be coming to a close very soon...so read on.

This chapter will have some surprises...so of course, read on...

Oh, and thanks again for reading...

The kitchen at Grimmauld Place…

Draco was standing to one side of the kitchen table, ready to draw his wand. Hermione was biting her lip, standing just off Draco's side, anxious about seeing Ronald again, and surprised that he was in the company of a Slytherin, particularly surprised of who the particular Slytherin was who would be accompanying him through the floo.

Just then Ron stepped through the floo only to come face to face with Harry Potter, who had his wand drawn and pointed at him.

"It's me, Harry," said Ron, holding his hands up, showing he had nothing in them, "your best mate. Or at least I used to be. Catherine should be right behind me."

There was the sound of ashes being scattered and the clap of two feet landing on the stone hearth as a blond woman appeared next to Ron Weasley and casually started to brush the dust off of her robes. She looked over at Harry and smiled slightly. "Sorry to be a bother," she spoke softly, "but we thought you might need some of the information we had about the Shadow Lord."

She turned and faced Draco and involuntarily took a step back after noticing his glare.

Draco was the first to speak. "Why should any of us trust you, Yaxley?"

Catherine tilted her head, "You know how funny that sounds coming from a Malfoy? Honestly, I'm sure none of you have any particular reason to trust me, although the person in this room least likely to trust a snake is the one who brought me here, isn't that right, Red." She added with a smile as she turned to face Ron.

Hermione felt nauseated witnessing the sickly sweet scene in front of her as Catherine Yaxley kissed Ron on the cheek. Ron in turn blushed, but Harry still didn't drop his wand.

"You said you had information that could help us," said Harry bluntly.

"Yes, about the Shadow Lord," answered Catherine.

"We already know that your father IS the Shadow Lord," hissed Draco.

Hermione stepped closer to Draco and grasped his hand in order to try and calm him down.

Catherine turned to Ron as she spoke, "You were right, they could figure it out on their own, just like you did, Red." She turned back to face the group staring at her. "He probably did figure it out quicker then you, he even tracked down my father's old house, even nearly got caught by Aurors wondering why he showed up there, but that's not the point of why we're here, now is it."

"Why are you here?" asked Susan who finally got the nerve to speak.

Catherine grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Do you have any idea where to look for my father? No, I didn't think so," she added when she noticed the blank stares from everyone in the room.

Before she could say anything further, the group was interrupted by the sounds of someone walking into the room. A tall blonde woman, whose hair was clearly disheveled, who had a man's shirt partially buttoned and an oversized pair of sweatpants on came walking into the kitchen. Daphne Greengrass clearly was not expecting there to be any guests present. She clearly was not expecting there to be anyone present at this late hour in the morning when she arrived at the kitchen.

Susan looked up and quickly made inferences as to the reasons for her appearance and ran upstairs towards her room, crying.

Hermione and Draco simply stared at Daphne in shock at the appearance of her. Ron's jaw dropped and Catherine was about to smack him in the face for staring. Harry was starting to mumble an introduction when Daphne pulled out her wand and pointed it at Catherine Yaxley.

"What is this woman doing here?" she exclaimed. "Do you all have any idea who she is?"

Harry stepped between Daphne and Catherine, "Yes, we know she is a Yaxley, and she apparently is going to help us track down her father."

Suddenly Daphne realised how she was attired in front of guests and Draco and Hermione. "Bloody hell," she whispered, as she then apparated back into her bedroom.

Hermione looked from Draco to Harry and then added, "I think I better go find Susan, and you, Mr. Potter, may have a lot of explaining to do."

Hermione then went to go find Susan leaving Harry facing Draco. Draco just shook his head, "Not my problem, mate, it's your house, your women. You're the one who will have to sort it all out. You're the one with the two names, the two titles, the two women."

Harry turned around and looked at Ron and Catherine as he was about to apologise for the scene that just happened, Catherine spoke up, "Did we arrive at a bad time?"

Ron, meanwhile, had turned completely red in the face. "Harry, remind me to never be envious of anything you have. Ever."

Harry let out a slight laugh at what Ron said. "Why don't we all just have a seat? We'll work on sorting this all out and listen to what information you have to say. In the mean time, I think I need to go speak with a few people."

Harry first went to speak with Daphne, as he knew that Hermione had gone to speak with Susan. Upon approaching Daphne's room, he discovered her leaving her room, much more appropriately attired, with her hair done up in her usual fashion. As Harry went to say something to her she silenced him with a finger to his lips.

"Don't say a thing Harry," she said quietly and gently. "Nothing that happened down stairs was your fault. I am a big girl and I am not about to blame you for anything." She smiled at him and even kissed him on the lips, and then she walked past him and made her way down to the kitchen.

Harry was stunned by her reaction, but then after a moment he shook off his reaction and made his way to Susan's room. As he was about to knock on her door, he was surprised that the door opened and a cheerful Hermione and Susan were making their way out of the room and were heading back to the kitchen. Susan paused as she passed Harry. She leaned in close to him as she said, "I understand that you have us both. It is just that with Astoria being kidnapped, and with your obviously having spent the night with Daphne, I felt that you were choosing her over me. Hermione helped me see that my reaction may have been childish and jealous, that Daphne may have needed you more last night, and that it no way was meant as a rejection of me."

Harry was surprised by all of this coming from Susan and being said so quickly that he felt momentarily stunned and stood motionless in the hallway. Susan gave him a quick kiss on the lips which seemed to break him from his stupor and reawaken him.

Soon he had joined everyone back in the kitchen and once again they were ready to discuss what information they had and work on forming a plan to help rescue Astoria. The gathering of friends, new and old, was reviewing what information that they already had learned.

Draco started by recounting what happened earlier when he was at Hogsmeade. "Other than getting Nott and Parkinson to admit that they were involved with abducting Astoria, I'm afraid that I really didn't learn anything further." He looked at Daphne apologetically, and then continued, "I presume the Aurors will try to get more out of them, but from what I could gather from their answers to me, they probably have no idea who they actually handed her off to or where they took her."

Catherine Yaxley then spoke up, "Ron was on to something when he tracked down my father's address, however, he is smart man and he hasn't been living there since Potter defeated his master." She noted that Granger was still eyeing her carefully and she interrupted her own explanations to deal with the glares she was receiving. "I understand you don't trust me, just like Red here didn't at first. Yes, the Shadow Lord is my father, but I long ago gave up considering him family. I'm not about to start telling you my personal history of why, but I've heard enough from Red to understand why you might not trust me and why you may hate my father."

The bluntness of her words startled Hermione, and this time Draco was trying to comfort her as he gently squeezed her hand under the table where they were seated. Hermione simply responded with a raised eyebrow at her words.

Catherine then continued, "The real issue that we all have is where is he? I'm sure he must be hiding out in one of the buildings of one of the businesses he owns." She then nudged Ron with her elbow.

Ron jumped slightly at the elbow in his ribs and then he began to explain. "Yeah, well, we managed to get a list of these muggle companies that Yaxley, the Shadow Lord, owns."

Hermione interrupted him, "How did you manage to do that? Did Catherine just hand it to you?" Her voice was clearly testy.

Ron looked at Catherine for a moment and then back at Hermione. "No, not at all, it wasn't like that. She didn't even know what his companies were, we had to track some of this down. She only knew one of the businesses he owned, a muggle restaurant. From there we found out the holding company, and then we found out several other businesses that he owns."

"Not bad, Weasel," commented Draco, "you actually do have a brain and know how to use it."

Hermione kicked Draco under the table and whispered to him to behave. He whispered back to her that her attitude wasn't helping any either. Harry simply glared at the two of them and mouthed the words "Cut it out."

Harry then spoke up, "So, how many businesses are there for us to check out?"

Ron frowned, "That's the problem, there are about fifteen, and some of them have multiple buildings."

Daphne shook her head, "That could take a week or more to search all of them."

Susan disagreed, "Not necessarily, we would have to review the list. And the buildings. Some of the business may not be suitable for hiding someone, and wherever they are hiding her is probably surrounded by wards."

Hermione listened to Susan's comments and added her own, "So if we had a map and a general description of the buildings we could do this more easily. Then we could scan the general areas for wards to help narrow our search."

Catherine smiled at the group, "This is why teamwork is better than doing it on our own, Red."

The room was suddenly subjected to the loud rumblings of Ron's stomach. Everyone stared at Ron and he actually managed to turn red from embarrassment over the gurgling noises emanating from his abdomen. "Sorry, I haven't really eaten much yet today."

Hermione simply shook her head as she remembered his unrelenting appetite. Harry spoke up and suggested that they take a break and have some lunch and then get back to work on their plans.

Draco spoke up first, "Are you just going to call your house elf to make us a meal?"

Harry sighed and shook his head. "No, Kreacher is working on getting our things moved to the new house today." He quickly silenced Hermione's protests with a look before he continued, "We could have someone head out and pick us up something to eat."

Catherine quickly volunteered her and Ron to go grab the food, "That shouldn't be a problem, now that the wards have accepted us."

Draco then amended the suggestion, "Why don't I go out with the Weasel."

Everyone in the room stared at him as though he had two heads.

"If we're going to be working together, it will be a simple test," he explained. "We should be able to manage something as simple as picking up food and bringing it back if we're about to go rescue Daphne's sister together."

Hermione's eyes widened in shock at the sense her current boyfriend made, while Ron gulped at the thought of trying to be nice to a second Slytherin in as many days.

Harry simply mumbled something about it being awfully somewhere today.

A short while later the two young men returned with bags of Chinese food, and apparently there was surprisingly little confrontation between the two while they were on their simple mission. As the group of seven sat down to eat, conversation strayed away from the discomfort of the pressing matters at hand, even if only for a short while.

Ron looked at Harry, "So, you have Kreacher moving your things for you. Where are you moving?"

Susan, Daphne and Hermione all silently waited for Harry to respond, each of them feeling it was Harry's story to tell, or not to tell.

Harry began to answer Ron tentatively. "This has always been Sirius' place, the Black Family home. The Potter Manor was destroyed during the first war." Ron nodded in response to Harry's words and Harry continued. "I have acquired an old English manor to make a new home. It has recently been warded for me by the goblins. Its location will remain unknown to everyone outside of the people who were in this house before you arrived."

Ron at first seemed hurt that Harry wouldn't tell him where his house was and then he looked at the three women and then back at Harry. "That's brilliant Harry, you've obviously learned something from the past two wars."

Catherine smiled at Ron and then at Harry. "A place you can call your own, and hopefully start making your own memories in, that should be nice. So, you're all moving there, together?"

"We'll be moving there tomorrow," commented Daphne, "we just need to finish getting a few things together, and hope that we haven't overworked dear Kreacher."

Ron nearly spit out the soda he was drinking. He quickly apologised as he stared at Daphne, "That's a term I've never heard used in reference to that old house elf."

Hermione sighed as she looked at Ron, "Really, Ronald, you should remember how he started treating Harry better last fall. And ever since he learned that we destroyed that locket, he has been nothing but charming towards Harry, and especially towards Daphne for some reason."

Ronald nodded at Hermione's words, "So you're all going to live in a big old mansion together once this is all over. Sounds cozy."

Draco eyed Ron carefully, not sure what he was implying. But before Draco could comment, Harry spoke up. "Not necessarily, I was thinking of traveling. And taking any of you with me who wanted to come."

Catherine turned and faced him, her interest definitely piqued by his words. "Would that include Red and I? And where a bouts are you planning to travel? To see the rest of the magical world?"

Draco again shut his mouth and just shook his head, waiting to see the reaction to what he expected Harry to say.

Harry snorted at her question. "I have seen more of the magical world than I care to, and I haven't even left Britain. No, I plan to tour the muggle world, and yes, you and Ron would be welcome, if you can learn how to blend in with a non magical society. And get along with my friends and family. As far as what I had planned," he paused and looked at his two girlfriends, "I was considering taking a cruise to the Caribbean, I understand the Blacks may have some property there."

Soon lunch was finished and the group was back to discussing what they could do with the information that they had. Daphne, however excused herself from their discussion, explaining that she had things to work on to prepare for the move. Hermione was surprised by this, considering it was her sister that had been kidnapped and she went to go find where Daphne had gone. It didn't take her long to find Daphne in the library going through some books.

"What are you doing Daphne?" demanded Hermione. "Why aren't you downstairs with everyone else?"

Daphne was startled by Hermione's questioning and dropped a book before she placed it into a box. "Obviously I am preparing the Black Library to be moved to the new estate."

"But it's your sister they are working on trying to save!" exclaimed Hermione.

Daphne was becoming more irritated with Hermione by the second. "I am well aware of exactly what is going on downstairs, and Harry is a much better strategist than I am. I trust Harry to save Astoria. I trust Draco to help him. And right now I trust Weasley and Yaxley to give them information to help."

"So you just come up here and idle away!" Hermione was still almost screaming at Daphne.

"As the soon to be Lady Black," stated Daphne, with obvious irritation in her voice, "I actually have certain responsibilities." Daphne went to get some more books for the box while Hermione picked up the one that had dropped on the floor.

Hermione read the title of the book and she dropped the book again. Glaring at Daphne she commented, "Dark Arts for the Lady of the House?"

Daphne simply bent over picked up the book, wiped off the cover and checked to make sure it hadn't been damaged by being repeatedly dropped. "Thank you Hermione, I wouldn't want to leave this book behind. I haven't finished reading it yet."

Hermione put a hand to her mouth as she gasped. "Does Harry know you're involved in the Dark Arts?"

Daphne carefully placed the apparently offensive book into the box and glared at Hermione. "As the very soon to be Lady Black, I am responsible for the entire Black library. The contents of this book is between Lord Black and myself. It is, Miss Granger, none of your business." She paused for a moment as she picked the book back up to inspect it one more time, "I am however slightly surprised that there wasn't at least some safety precautions placed on the book that would have been triggered by you touching it." She put the book back down and calmly spoke to Hermione. "Let me see your hands, oh good, no signs of a dark curse on your finger tips, at least not yet. Maybe it's because all you did was pick up the book and you didn't try to open it and read it." Daphne narrowed her eyes at Hermione. "You really do need to be more careful around here, Hermione."

A little while later the group had all gathered around after they had finished their discussions. They had agreed to share the list of businesses with Bagley and the Task Force once they had made a preliminary investigation into some of the companies. The plan was to meet with Bagley in the morning, but Draco and Harry wanted to do a few more investigations of their own this afternoon.

Harry and Draco prepared to leave, and the others asked them where they were heading.

"We have something we need to look into, it may lead to further clues," commented Draco, "it may be nothing."

Hermione was not happy with his answer. "Where exactly are you heading?"

Draco looked to Harry before replying to Hermione, "Harry had a theory we discussed earlier. The Shadow Lord has been attacking those he feels has betrayed him, or Riddle. He attacked the Weasleys when he attacked their shop. He attacked you earlier this summer. By going after Astoria, he attacked Harry indirectly through Daphne. He tried to attack Harry through manipulations of Susan, but Harry already put a stop to that with his betrothal to Susan. That leaves more attacks against me."

"But you're safe here and he already failed in attacking this place and he already attacked Harry and you twice already," protested Hermione.

"And both of his attacks against failed," acknowledged Harry. "So he still must be looking for a way to get at Draco."

Catherine spoke up, "I know how my father works. He is a spiteful man, and I would have to agree with Harry and Draco. They're probably right. He must be planning something."

Hermione looked back and forth between the two young men. "Fine, the Shadow Lord, Yaxley, he is planning something, I get it. Where are you going? Are you two about to walk into a trap when you should be helping to find Astoria?"

Harry tried to reassure her, "We're not walking into a trap, we're just going to investigate some place."

Draco leaned forward and whispered into Hermione's ear. Hermione paled at what he said, then she stepped back in shock and she shouted at him, "You're looking for your mother? And you think that the Shadow Lord may have done something to her?"

Ron looked at Catherine and then at Hermione. "Are sure you two should go alone?"

"Either we find my mother or we find an empty apartment," replied Draco, "I don't see what the big issue is."

"Let us know if you find anything different from that," added Hermione, obviously uneasy with their plan.

~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~

Harry and Draco were walking down a road near the entrance to the Ministry of Magic. It was clearly a fairly opulent section of muggle London. Draco pointed out the building that they were looking for, and Harry paused as he looked at it.

"So, this is where he would stay?"

"Odd, isn't it? For someone who professed to hate muggles so much he had no problems running off to this apartment he had here," commented Draco. "It did have the benefit of being close to the ministry, but that makes no sense when one can floo right into the atrium."

"But you said that your father kept the knowledge of this apartment secret," said Harry as they approached the entrance.

"He thought he did," said Draco as he led the way up to the third floor where the luxury apartment was located. "Mother discovered it when I was a second year student, and I know she stayed here during his trial. My biggest concern is that I haven't heard from her in a while."

The two ascended the last flight of stairs in silence. As they reached the top landing, Draco was frustrated to find that the door had been forced open. When they stepped in side cautiously it became clear that the apartment had been ransacked and that there was no one present. Harry cast a few quick spells and was reassured that there was no one hiding within the apartment. Draco slumped against a wall in his frustration.

Harry looked at his distraught friend with concern. "I'm sure she's fine, Draco. Whoever did this was looking for her, or for information. They wouldn't have trashed the place if they had found her. This isn't even spell damage."

Draco looked around the room again. "Don't touch anything," he quickly stated. "Perhaps someone from your task force can help investigate this," he suggested.

Suddenly they heard a popping sound of apparition and they both had their wands out and turned to face the sound. They came face to face with Catherine Yaxley who had her hands up and her wand loosely held pointing straight at the ceiling. "Hey, don't hex me, please," she pleaded.

"How the hell did you find us?" demanded Draco.

"Simple tracking charm," she smiled. Then she looked around the room, "What the bloody hell happened here?"

"Maybe you could tell us, Yaxley," snapped Draco.

Harry still had his wand trained on her. "It is awful suspicious that you happened to just apparate here."

Catherine sighed. "Take my wand for now if you don't trust me, which clearly you don't." She then dropped her wand onto the floor. "Fell any better yet? Hermione was upset that you two just up and left, I told her I placed a tracking charm on you as you left, she saw me do it. You can ask her if you want. That's how I got here. If you want to send a patronus message to them and ask them to come here Ron and Hermione can confirm what I said." Catherine then sat on the floor. "I'll wait."

Harry turned to Draco who was now standing and also had his wand pointing at her. "But what did you hope to prove by coming here?"

"I came here to reassure Hermione," she explained again. "Obviously you two found something you didn't expect."

Harry looked around the apartment one more time and then back at Catherine, "You could say that."

"I just did," she said with a mischievous smile. "Now we could start here all day like this or we could try and figure out who did this and where they went," she added.

"What are you talking about?" asked Draco.

"Whoever did this was probably magical," she stated.

Harry turned to face her directly, "And just how do you know that?"

"That door was magically locked," she said simply, "whoever broke in here was clearly not a muggle. They were looking for information, and Malfoy here may or may not know what they were looking for." She turned to face Draco, "Do you have any idea what the Shadow Lord wanted here?"

"Other than looking for my mother," replied Draco with a sneer, "no I don't. Unless your father assumed that my father was hiding something here, and if he was, I honestly have no idea what it might have been."

Catherine smiled slightly, "Probably my father just sent some goons to look for your mother, and when they didn't find her they just trashed the place out of spite."

"But what was this about apparition tracking?" asked Harry, not letting that comment go unanswered.

"It's a skill that few Aurors know, one that I know any Death Eaters learned, one I picked up out of necessity from watching too many things happening around me," she said simply and without emotion.

"Can you teach us?" asked Harry.

"Perhaps, but not in a short period of time," she said as she began to look around the room. "Depending on when this happened I may be able to pick up the trail. This may be the lead to help us find where Astoria was taken."

Harry and Draco looked at each other. "I'm still not sure I trust her," stated Draco.

Suddenly there was the sound of two more people apparating to the apartment. Catherine immediately called out to Harry and Draco, "Don't curse them, it's probably Ron and Hermione."

Draco and Harry now had their wands pointed ay the two people who Catherine had just announced might be apparating in.

"I told you it would be them," she began to explain. "I figured you wouldn't trust me, so for backup I had Hermione place a tracking charm on me and told her and Ron to apparate here if she hadn't heard back from either me or the two of you within five minutes."

Hermione listened to Catherine's explanation as she looked at a stunned Draco and Harry who were now placing their wands back in their wand holsters. "I was right not to wait the full five minutes with you two hot heads," stated Hermione.

Ron laughed at the two of them. "If I can learn to trust a snake, I figured that you two could."

Hermione looked around the room, "What happened here?"

Harry put his head in his hand. "If we're going to have to re-explain this every five minutes, we'll be here all night. DOn't tell me Daphne and Susan will be apparating here in another 5 minutes."

Hermione shook her head, "No, not at all. If they don't hear from one of us within five minutes, they're going to contact Bagley at the DMLE."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Will someone please tell the two of them we are all fine before we have the Task Force setting up a rescue mission of their own!"

Hermione huffed and then sent of a patronus message to Daphne and Susan to reassure them everyone was fine.

Catherine looked at Harry and Draco, "Mind if I pick up my wand now?"

Draco smirked, "Might was well."

Catherine smirked back and then curtsied as she grabbed her wand. She then set about casting a few diagnostic spells and after a couple of minutes she turned to face the other four. "As it turns out this happened just a couple of days ago. I may be able to track the last apparition out of here. It's a good thing none of you left here to tell Susan or Daphne in person by apparating or it would have covered up the remaining evidence of the last apparition spell."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "No one can track an apparition spell."

Ron scoffed, "Actually, she has done it before, so don't say no one can do something just because you're not familiar with it."

Hermione glared slightly at Ron.

Draco spoke up next, "Actually, Hermione, it has been documented that some wizards and witches can do that, track apparition. While it isn't a skill that is taught in any school, it is doable."

Catherine shook her head. "Enough of the bickering, I need to track the spell now or I'll lose any chance of following it."

"How do we know where you're going though?" asked Hermione.

Catherine sighed, "You won't. I can apparate back here and side along apparate people back to where I tracked them to, and then we can all figure out what to do next."

"How do we know you're not leading us into a trap?" questioned Hermione.

Catherine just shook her head. "Obviously, you don't. Right now you're just going to have to trust me."

"You could make her take an oath," offered Ron.

"We could," agreed Harry, "but we're going to trust you and Catherine right now. Or at least I am willing to do that." He turned to Catherine. "Go ahead, do it. Come right back and let us know what you find."

Catherine apparated away and Hermione turned on Harry. "Have you gone round the twist, Harry? We could all be in danger now!"

"We could be, or we could just trust Ron here, and see what Catherine tells us when she returns," commented Harry, wondering why Hermione was getting so worked up over this.

A moment later there was a pop as Catherine reappeared. "I think I know where Astoria is," she said with a sigh.

Hermione was about to speak up when Draco cut her off. "What did you find out? Where did you track these people to who did this?"

Catherine ignored Hermione's frustrated looks and replied to Draco and gave Harry a hopeful look. "The area is just around the corner from a warehouse owned by one of my father's companies. There are wards set up around the building, so it's a pretty good bet there is something going on inside there."

"It still could all be a trap," interjected Hermione.

"Of course it could be a trap," commented Harry, "I've walked into plenty of them already to know that this looks like one."

Ron shook his head, "I've followed you into to all of them, Harry, but I don't think this is a trap. I think this might be the real thing."

"Why is that, Weasel?" asked a surprised Draco.

"Who ever did this, was not counting on anyone tracking their apparating back to this warehouse," explained Ron. "They think they're safe, for now. Oh, I'm sure the Shadow Lord, Yaxley, expects Harry to figure something out, and he's probably keeping Astoria safe to bargain with her, but he wouldn't expect Harry to track her down this quickly. And he sure wouldn't expect anyone from the ministry to track him down at all."

"You're pretty smart, Red," added Catherine with a smile. "I knew there's a reason I like hanging around with you since I stumbled upon you yesterday." She leaned into Ron and gave him a big and a kiss, making everyone else feel more than a little uncomfortable.

"We still need a plan," stated Hermione interrupting their moment.

"We need to get a message to Bagley and his team," stated Harry. "And Catherine needs to get us to this warehouse."

"But how do we get Astoria out safely?" wondered Ron.

Harry grinned broadly, "Hopefully Yaxley hasn't considered everything when he placed his wards. Once we get there, I have a thought of how we might get Astoria out before we do anything else." He then turned to Catherine. "So, who are you going to bring first? I presume you can only side along apparate with one person."

"I can take two," she stated confidently. "Why don't I take you and Ron and then I'll come back for Hermione and Draco?" She then eyed Hermione as she added, "Unless someone has a better idea."

Hermione looked to Draco who nodded that he thought that should work fine. A few minutes later and the five of them were all standing outside of the warehouse.

"So, what's your brilliant plan?" wondered Catherine.

"Kreacher!" called out Harry. Within seconds, the elderly house elf appeared silently in front of Harry.

"Master Harry called old Kreacher," he croaked. "What does Master Harry need?"

Harry smiled at the house elf. "Lady Daphne's sister was taken by some people. We think she may be in this building," he added as he pointed to the warehouse. "We know there are wards that would make it hard for us to get inside, but are there wards that would keep a house elf away? Could you get inside, unbeknownst to anyone inside, and let us know if Astoria Greengrass is there?"

"I should be able to that for you, Master Harry sir," said the old elf as he disappeared silently.

"Maybe someone should let the DMLE know what is going on," commented Hermione. "And Susan, and Daphne," she added sternly.

Harry rolled his eyes, as he was used to charging into situations that he came upon and he was equally used to Hermione being his voice of reason. "You are probably right, but depending on what Kreacher finds, I'm not sure how long we want to delay our rescue of Astoria if she is here." Harry then sent off a patronus message to Auror Captain Bagley, informing him to bring the task force to his current location outside of a warehouse in muggle London, and reminding him to do it quietly. Before relaying a message to Susan and Daphne he commented that they ought to be sure that Astoria really was here.

Kreacher then appeared a moment after that with a silent pop. "Master Harry, Mistress Daphne's sister is present in the building and I's can manage to get through all of the wards completely undetected. I should also be able to bring her to you in a minute, as there a just a couple of wards I need to remove first."

"A house elf can do all of that?" asked an incredulous Hermione.

Kreacher seemed to glare at her. "Kreacher cannot remove all of the wards, I can only remove the wards directly around her." With that the elf disappeared again.

Harry sent off another patronus to Susan and Daphne just as several wizards arrived silently. Auror Captain Bagley quickly surveyed the area and turned to Harry. "I'm not sure I want to know how you found her," he stated as he took in who everyone who was in the group, "but if you're sure she's in there, and this is a muggle owned building, we may need an obliviator squad on hand by the time we're done."

"I doubt you'll find any muggles around here," commented Catherine, "or haven't you noticed the muggle repelling wards yet?"

Bagley turned and stared at her. "You're a Yaxley, aren't you," he stated as he quickly scanned the area, "and an observant one."

She rolled her eyes at him.

Bagley ignored her look and turned back to Harry. "So, have you determined what else these wards are that are here? What will happen if we just barge in to get the girl?"

"Getting the girl isn't your problem," replied Harry, "my house elf should be about finished with that any minute."

Then the group heard sound of two more people apparating in to the vicinity. Everyone spun around with wands drawn to see Susan and Daphne come running up to Harry.

"Where is she," asked Daphne, "where's my sister? Is she safe, have you found her yet?"

Harry pulled into a hug as he spoke soothingly, "It's going to be okay. She's in the warehouse, and Kreacher is bypassing the wards as they are not designed to keep out house elves. Then he will free her from where she is being held and bring her out safely. Then we're going to go in and get this Shadow Lord."

Harry stepped back away from Daphne, and smiled at Susan who had been listening to what Harry had to say.

Susan stepped up to him and suddenly reached out and slapped him in the face, surprising even Daphne with her sudden action.

"Stop going full Gryffindor on us," she exclaimed. "You're not an Auror! Okay, we get it, you defeated the bad guy once. All right, more than once. And how many times did you put yourself and others in danger by going into full Gryffindor mode, huh?"

Daphne calmly added, "She's got a point, Harry. And if she hadn't slapped you to get your attention, I was about to do something else."

Ron shook his head, "That is something I am so glad I didn't see."

Catherine whined, "I don't know, it might have been fun, or exciting, or kinky. You never can tell with Slytherins. Or is it with a Greengrass?"

Daphne's glare silenced her.

Harry was about to protest when Bagley interrupted their little display. "Harry, I've seen you handle some of the thugs that the Shadow Lord has sent your way, and I'm sure you can handle yourself when we make our move. What I'm not sure about is how you'll handle these two if you do come along."

Susan and Daphne stood facing Harry with their arms folded across their chests. Hermione bit her lip watching the entire scene unfold in front of her, recalling all too vividly the times she tried in school to get Harry not to rush headlong into things.

The silence was broken by the sound of Kreacher appearing in front of Harry. The fact that he was by himself did not go unnoticed by anyone in the group. Daphne was holding back tears waiting for an explanation as Susan put an arm around her to comfort her. Harry's confused look at his elf was enough to keep everyone quiet as they all waited for the odd house elf to speak.

"Mistress Daphne's sister is safe," announced the elf.

Daphne stopped herself from screaming by covering her mouth with her hand. Susan hugged her as the others seemed to cheer with delight.

Harry leaned down to approach Kreacher face to face. "If Astoria is safe, then where is she?" he asked.

"You were all moving to the new house," explained Kreacher, "and the bad men do not know of the new house, so Kreacher take Mistress Daphne's sister to new house. To safe house."

Daphne leaned over and gave Kreacher a hug.

Harry then asked Kreacher to bring Susan and Daphne to the house to be with Astoria. Kreacher nodded in agreement. As he was about to apparate away with his two betrothed, Daphne quickly reached out and grabbed Harry to bring him along with them. Susan noticed Daphne's movement and quickly let go of Kreacher before they apparated as she wasn't sure how many the old elf could carry along with him on the magical travel.

Susan turned to face the others. "I figured Daphne would probably kill him, or worse, if he tried to join the raid on the Shadow Lord."

Ron shuddered, "I don't even want to guess what might be worse than killing him."

Auror Captain Bagley spoke to one of his men and turned back to the group of five young wizards and witches. "We are about to begin our assault on this building by bringing down the wards. My advice to the group of you is to stay away as I can't predict what will happen once the wards come down, but my group will be going in after the Shadow Lord and whoever else may be in there."

Draco spoke up first. "That's all right with us, to stay out of your way that is. Send a message to Lord Potter-Black once you are done here. I'm sure he'd like an update."

Bagley nodded and then turned to the rest of his team. The curse breaker was already working on a plan to bring down the wards surrounding the warehouse.

Draco then spoke to Susan. "Do you have a port key to the new manor?"

Susan nodded and pulled it out of her shoulder bag. "Everyone hold on," she commanded. Catherine, Ron, Hermione and Draco all grabbed a hold of the short piece of rope and then Susan spoke the phrase that activated the port key.

They found themselves standing on the patio outside of the main entrance to an old English Manor. Ron and Catherine turned around to take in the beauty of the grounds and the building where they landed.

"Where are we?" asked a confused Ron.

"Harry's new home," answered Susan, "and for now that's all you're being told. The wards placed by the goblins have made it unplottable, although a few of us do know the location of where we are."

Ron just nodded, "Makes sense, considering everything Harry and his family have been through."

Hermione smiled slightly at Ron, impressed that he was being so understanding at this point. Ron noted that Draco and Hermione seemed familiar with the building. "Oi, have you two already been here?"

Draco spoke up for the two of them. "We looked at the place with Harry when he was considering buying it. In fact, we already have rooms in the manor, and Kreacher has already moved all of our things here from Grimmauld place, if what he stated earlier was correct."

Catherine took Ron by the hand. "It's been a long day, maybe we should just be going then."

Harry stepped out from the doors onto the patio. "Nonsense," he greeted cheerfully. "You're all welcome to stay. Daphne is getting Astoria situated. It appears that they didn't harm her while they held her captive. They were using her as bait to get me to come find her. The idea of using a house elf to get passed their wards never occurred to the Shadow Lord."

"I'm not surprised," stated Catherine. "Most pure-bloods look down on them so much that they would never give them a second thought, my father included obviously."

Harry nodded in her direction. "Honestly, I am quite surprised how easy it was to rescue Astoria once we found her. However, it is getting late in the day. We will be arranging for dinner shortly. Everyone else has their own rooms. Kreacher will show you to the guest area, or if you would like, you may use the guest house." Harry pointed to the small carriage house near the driveway.

Ron and Catherine looked at each other and then back to Harry. "Staying in the manor house with everyone should be fine," replied Ron, with a slight gulp and an increasing blush coming to his face.

Hermione then spoke up. "What about Astoria and Daphne's parents?"

Harry fought back a frown, recalling how his last encounter with Daphne's father had not gone so well. "We will notify them in the morning that Astoria is here after she has fully rested. Neither Daphne nor I want to deal with that confrontation tonight."

With that response Harry turned and walked back into the manor.

~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~

Later that evening, after everyone had finished dinner, Hermione and Draco were sitting on the patio together, looking out over the estate.

Hermione turned to Draco, "What's wrong? I can tell something is bothering you."

Draco stiffened at first and then he stood up and he began to pace. "Nothing is wrong. I'm quite pleased for Harry and Daphne that Astoria has been rescued."

Hermione scoffed. "You're lying to me and you know it. I've been able to read you like a book since second year, Malfoy."

Her use of his last name caught his attention. He stopped pacing and he turned to face her. He hadn't heard her get out of her chair and he was surprised to find her standing right next to him. Hermione wrapped her arms around him. "Whatever is bothering you, please, share it with me."

Draco relaxed into her embrace, something he found increasingly easy to do lately. "Very well," he began in the proper tone of well educated pure-blood, "I am still concerned about my mother. I expected to find her at the apartment, or at least to find information that led to my knowing where she might be. What we did find was a trail that led us to find Astoria, but I still have no idea what happened to my mother."

Hermione reached up and cupped one side of Draco's face tenderly. "Oh dear, in our rush to save Astoria, we all overlooked your concern for your mother."

Draco turned away from her touch.

Hermione looked at him and hugged him once more before she reverted to her usual logical approach to all problems. "Draco, if she wasn't at the apartment when the Shadow Lord, Yaxley, sent his men; and she's not at your family's estate, then where else could she be?"

Draco did not turn back to face her. "His men could have taken her with them. She could be held somewhere else. You saw the list of companies that Catherine said her father owned."

"And hopefully soon we'll hear something from Captain Bagley about what happened at the warehouse," replied Hermione. "But that doesn't even make sense with what we saw at the apartment. Whomever was there went through everything and made a mess, but there was no signs of a struggle, no signs of a duel. Your mother would have at least tried to defend herself. She must have already been gone before anyone else arrived. And if Yaxley's men got through your father's wards to get into the apartment, then your mum would have had plenty of warning to leave."

Draco relaxed some more and turned back to face Hermione. "There are times I truly appreciate how smart you are, you do know that don't you," he said as he leaned his head down on her shoulder.

Hermione just pulled him in to hug him more to comfort him. After a minute she asked him again, "So, where else can she be?"

Draco stood up slowly and released her. He was considering the options. "There are no family members here in England she would ever go see, so I doubt there is anyone here in England." He stood there silent and pensive for a minute. "Perhaps she went to the continent. She may have some old friends in France. Father may have had some relatives there, but they never spoke of them."

Hermione smiled at him, "See, there is a possible explanation. You may be able to get a message to her somehow."

~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~

A patronus in the image of a badger arrived at the manor and stood in front of Harry as he was speaking with Draco and Ron. Harry recognised it as coming from Auror Captain Bagley. "We have completely overrun the warehouse and we managed to only capture two of the Shadow Lord's goons. Apparently they had some secret exit through a hidden basement that allowed them to get away and not use apparition or port keys as we had wards in place to stop that. The Shadow Lord is on the run, and he knows that Astoria was rescued, but his men have no idea how she managed to get free. We'll update you later, when we have more information."

Harry cursed under his breath at the news that the Shadow Lord had escaped. Draco turned to face him, "There is nothing you could have done, even if you had been there."

Harry shrugged, then he looked at Draco and Ron and sighed. "Be that as it may, someone still has to tell Daphne and Astoria that he is still on the loose."

Ron paled at the thought, "And Catherine."

~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~

The next morning, the group sent a message to Daphne's parents. They informed them that Astoria had been rescued and that she was recovering at Harry's new manor house. Lord and Lady Greengrass insisted on coming to see her immediately and that she should be returning home with them.

Daphne explained that Astoria would be given the choice of where she would be allowed to recover before returning to school, and then she opened the floo connection to her parents. As her parents stepped through the floo and into the library they were met by Daphne and Harry.

"How is my daughter?" demanded Lord Greengrass.

"She is resting comfortably," assured Harry. "Once we had a lead on a possible whereabouts of the Shadow Lord we were able to track him to a location in muggle London. With the assistance of my house elf, we managed to remove her from the location where she was being held before he realised that she was gone. The Aurors then raided the location, but sadly, they were not able to capture the Shadow Lord."

"Can we see her now, please?" asked Lady Greengrass, with a much gentler tone.

"Daphne would be happy to show you to her room," replied Harry and then Daphne led the way to the room where Astoria was resting.

Once they arrived at the room, Astoria's parents nearly ran to her side. "Mum, papa, it is good to see you," she said through tear filled eyes.

Her mother just hugged her, grateful to see that her baby was safe and healthy. Her father then pronounced, "I am glad you are well, Astoria, we can now see to your being moved back to our home, where you can finish your recovery before returning to school."

Astoria looked up at her father and gently pushed her mother away. "But why? Why do I have to leave here? Daphne is looking after me, and Harry has arranged for a healer to be here checking on me day and night. I'm actually feeling quite fine, although the healer must have been through the same training as Madam Pomfrey as she insists I have 3 more days of bed rest before I get up and around."

Her father was about to explain just why she should return home with them, until her mother interrupted him, "I see no reason why she can't stay here. Daphne can watch over her, and we can visit her now." She then turned back to her daughter, "We would ask that you visit and spend one night at home before returning to school."

Astoria hugged her mother, "Sure, thanks mum."

Lord Greengrass was beside himself with anger at the situation. He was now overruled by both his daughter and his wife. Seeing that there was nothing more he could do about the situation, he walked up to the edge of the bed and leaned over and gave his daughter a hug, "Get well soon, princess, return home soon. If there is anything you need, let you mother or I know."

"Sure thing," replied Astoria with a smile.

Feeling like he needed to control the situation in some way, he then announced "It is time for us return home, you can come check on Astoria tomorrow."

Lady Greengrass glared slightly at her husband before hugging her daughter one last time, she then kissed Astoria on her forehead and then stood up to leave.

Daphne then saw her parents to the floo as they left, internally seething at the way her father had treated both her sister and her mother over Astoria's request to stay here for her recovery.

After her parents had left, Harry came up and gave Daphne a hug. "I gather that didn't go as well as expected."

"You could say that," she added with a kiss to his cheek.

"We do need to head to a meeting with my solicitor today," added Harry, "Andromeda has some important things to review with us.

Harry and Susan and Daphne arrived at the meeting with Andromeda Tonks a short time later. Harry was reviewing more of his holdings and the plans he had for their upcoming travel. He also needed to confirm with her about some of the issues for his house rules for being Lord Potter and Lord Black. Before she began to answer the questions, she pointed out that due to some of the rules, it might be best to have some of the conversations separately. Initially, Harry was confused.

Daphne tried to explain it to him more clearly, "If I am to become Lady Black, then I should not be present when you are discussing business related to House Potter. And when you are discussing business related to House Black, then Susan, as Lady Potter, no offence here Susan, also should not be present for those discussions."

Andromeda nodded in agreement. "That is essentially what I was trying to explain, Harry."

Harry shook his head in frustration. "This makes no sense. So to deal with business related to my two houses, it will have to take twice as long?"

"Only if the ladies are present, milord," explained Daphne.

Harry looked to both Susan and Daphne. Susan responded first, "We understand you didn't write any of these rules, it's not your fault and we're not about to blame you for it."

Harry felt relieved.

"Now then," began Andromeda, "it seems there is some business to be dealt with for each of the houses, so why don't we begin with that now."

The meetings with Andy took over an hour before everything that Harry needed to get done was finally wrapped up. By the time they were done, Daphne was grinning smugly, Susan was smiling but relieved to be out of the meetings and Harry was shaking his head.

As they were about to leave, Andromeda handed an envelope to Harry. "If you could give this to my nephew, it's very important that he reads it as soon as possible."

Harry simply raised an eyebrow as he noted that the only name written on the envelope was Lord Malfoy.

Upon arriving back at the new Potter-Black Manor, Harry quickly handed the letter to Draco. "Your Aunt Andy wanted me to give this to you."

Draco looked puzzled, as he had next to no contact with his aunt at all. He took the envelope and raised an eyebrow at the simple address on the envelope. He then carefully opened the letter and began to read. Hermione watched his stern features soften and then form a smile. She looked at him and then she realised who the letter must have been from: his mother.

Hermione had learned to be patient and she waited for Draco to explain things. He continued to read the letter and then he finally turned to her and Harry as he began to recount the details of the letter.

"It seems that mother has been safely hiding in France," he stated as he looked over the details again quickly. "She was able to contact some distant relatives and apparently was able to floo to a safe house away from the apartment just before Yaxley's men showed up. She is safe there, and is able to return to England when things are safe here."

Hermione bit her lip at the news, wondering what safe in England really meant.

Harry stood next to Draco and offered his hand. "This is good news. Family is important, and if you want to, you can invite your mother to come stay here. I know she's important to you Draco."

Draco was surprised by the invitation. "I really wouldn't want to be a burden."

Harry laughed at his friend's concern. "We have the carriage house. She could stay there, if that would make her and you feel more comfortable. It is here and safe but out of the way but also very nearby."

"She has a floo address," commented Draco. "I can at least contact her and see what she thinks about the idea."

"Even if it is just to visit," offered Harry.

Draco managed to contact his mother later that day through an international floo network. Narcissa had agreed to at least come and visit for a couple of days as the idea of the separate house sounded like less of an intrusion on everyone else. Arrangements were made for her to travel via international floo to London and then apparate with Draco to the new manor house.

Harry had Kreacher prepare an elaborate meal to welcome Draco's mother.

As the dinner hour approached, the group of young friends awaited for Draco to arrive with his mother. Soon they arrived via the tell-tale pop of apparation into the garden behind the manor house. Narcissa took a quick glance around the estate and then back at the manor house itself.

"Well, Draco, it seems as if Potter has managed to do all right for himself after all," she stated as he was about to lead her into the house.

Draco silently hoped that her attitude would stay polite throughout the evening, and he reminded himself that she was well versed in pure-blood politics and etiquette.

Escorting his mother into the large room, Draco then made introductions. "Lord Potter-Black, I would like to thank you once again for so graciously welcoming my mother into your home."

Harry stepped forward and made the proper pure-blood welcome of taking her hand and kissing it. "You are always welcome, Lady Malfoy. I feel I owe a debt of gratitude to you for the kindness you showed me in the forest. And it also seems that your son has finally been able to mature into the young Lord he was meant to be."

Narcissa smiled slightly at the greeting as she withdrew her hand. "You are most welcome, Lord Potter-Black. It seems that you have been looking out for my son's welfare even more since the events of that same evening, and for that I thank you."

The tension in the air over the formalities was becoming quite thick, even Narcissa could feel it. "It seems the formalities of these introductions is too much for some of your friends," she commented to Draco, "as not everyone is quite used to all of our customs."

Harry wasn't sure if the comment was meant as a barb against anyone in particular, but he assumed it may have been directed at both Ron and Hermione.

Draco quietly whispered to his mother, "Please, be nice, these are my friends."

Narcissa gave Draco a slight kiss on the cheek, "I am being nice, Draco dear." Then she turned to face the small gathering of people. "Let's see, you must be Daphne Greengrass, it has been a while, my dear," she stated as she greeted Daphne with a kiss to her cheek. "And Susan Bones, you know, you do have your mother's eyes, and your Aunt's hair. It is a shame about your family. I always liked them."

Draco then added, "Daphne's sister, Astoria is recovering from an unpleasant ordeal, and while she is here, she will not be able to join us for tonight's gathering."

Narcissa frowned slightly, "And as I recall she was such a lovely girl, one that your father and I long had our eyes on for you, Draco." Draco flinched slightly at his mother's comments, hoping that they wouldn't make everyone else feel too uncomfortable.

Narcissa then turned to the next couple. "Oh, a Weasley, Ronald I presume," she added. "It seems circumstances are quite different since the last time we met." Then she turned and faced Catherine. "My, young Catherine Yaxley, you have grown. Yes, Draco explained to me already how you ended up here, and how you have distanced yourself from your father."

Draco then brought his mother face to face with Hermione. "Ah, Miss Granger, it has been a while. You do seem to be doing much better since the last time I saw you. It seems that your stay at my husband's estate was, shall we say, less than pleasant for one of your background."

"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Lady Malfoy," said Hermione, as she tried to suppress her feelings about being reminded about the events of her stay at Malfoy Manor and especially the treatment by Narcissa's sister.

Sensing the growing awkwardness of the moment, Harry interrupted by announcing that dinner would be ready shortly and that perhaps they should all move to the ding room. They all took their seats at the table, with Harry at one end with Daphne on his right and Susan on his left. Next to Susan sat Ron then Catherine. On the opposite side of the table sat Hermione next to Daphne, and then Draco, with Narcissa at the far end across from Harry.

Soon dinner was served and conversation began. Narcissa began to speak to Draco about his summer which eventually led to a conversation about his relationship with Hermione. By the time this part of the conversation was beginning the meal was essentially over and the conversation was overheard by everyone at the table.

"But seriously Draco," continued his mother, "you have your future to think about. She may be smart, and she may be pretty, and for all I know she may be good in bed, but she does nothing for your status. Now Harry, here, he has two women, both of whom have families who have good status. Now granted, the name Potter-Black will take him far to begin with."

"Mother," protested Draco, "I am not interested in family name or status."

Narcissa stared at Draco as if she had been slapped. "You need to, son. After what your father did to the name Malfoy over the years, the name has been tarnished. You have not been able to inherit the good name of Black. At least you were wise enough to start to associate yourself with those of upstanding names now."

"I did not start to associate myself with Harry because of his name, mother," complained Draco.

Narcissa leaned in closer to her son, "Of course you didn't, at least keep telling that publicly, you've learned well."

Draco was starting to become increasingly angry with his mother at this time. "Mother, I care about Hermione. I care about my friends. All of them. All of these people in this room have become important to me. Well, maybe not Weasley," he added with a slight laugh.

Narcissa sat back. She looked at her son and then she leaned forward slightly to take a closer look at Hermione. She turned back to Draco, "She really means that much to you?"

"Yes, mother, she does," he stated firmly.

"Well," she said with a final sigh, suggesting that she was giving up. "I suppose that she might be adequate as a mistress, you know. She does have quite the smarts. Top marks in her classes all those years, you said. And she is quite the looker. So, I suppose if we get you the right pure-blood wife, you could keep her around as your mistress. Yes, that should be fine. It would still be a scandal, but it would be fine."

Everyone in the room was staring at her.

Narcissa took in the stares and finally replied. "What? The Malfoys and the Blacks are all used to a good juicy scandal. No problem at all with that."

There was silence in the room at the end of her pronouncement.

"I think that I shall head to my quarters," she stated as she then called out for Kreacher to show her the way to the carriage house.

After she left the room was still silent. Harry tried to break the tension as he asked, "I don't suppose any one would care for dessert?"

Draco shook his head, "I'm sorry everyone that you all had to witness that. I know my family has always been big on the old ways, but that display was just uncalled for."

Susan spoke up first, "It wasn't your fault Draco, you had no idea she would go on like that."

Daphne agreed with her. "Some of us here have heard all of that pure-blood drivel before, and we know it means nothing." She turned to Harry, "And you know that neither Susan or I are interested in you because of your fame or your houses."

Harry took her hand and nodded in understanding.

Daphne turned to Hermione on her right, "Our generation of witches and wizards don't follow those beliefs, we don't care about your background, Hermione, you're our friend, and always will be."

Hermione was heartened by their words but still was feeling the sting of the words of Draco's mother. Kreacher interrupted everything bringing out dessert for those who were still present in the room. Once dessert was finished, Ron and Catherine made their way up to their rooms, and Susan and Daphne left to go upstairs, leaving Harry alone with Draco and Hermione as they moved into the large lounge that overlooked the garden.

Harry was hoping to comfort his best friend after the earlier events, and he wondered if he should really be there or not, feeling as if he may be intruding on what may need to be a more private encounter between Hermione and Draco.

Hermione was pacing back and forth, and turned to face Draco, with tears in her eyes, "It's just no good, this just can't work."

Draco looked at her, "What are you talking about?"

"Merlin, are you that thick? Can't you see? We just brought your mother here! You saw how she treated me, you heard how she spoke to me," said Hermione as tears started to flow more. "I'm muggle born, I will never be more than a mud-blood to her, or to anyone else in your family."

"What are you getting at?" asked Draco.

"You and I," stated Hermione as she pointed back and forth between them, "it will never work, isn't it obvious?"

Harry started to feel uncomfortable and got up to leave the room.

"Don't you even think of leaving," shouted Hermione, "you can say right there and witness the whole thing."

Harry stood still, clearly uncomfortable with this whole situation.

"You're not dating my family, you're dating me," pleaded Draco.

"You can't just turn your back on your entire family," she argued. "Your father, I can understand. But your mother? She helped save Harry, I get that. But I will always have this scar from your aunt," she said as she pulled back her sleeve and showed her arm where the word 'mudblood' had been carved by Bellatrix. "I will always have the memories of things your family did to me."

"I can't make them change," said Draco, "but you know that I have changed."

"I have no right to ask you to change," she added.

"You never asked me to change, I chose to change," he argued back. "You would never date the Draco Malfoy you went to school with and I would never expect you to."

"Have you changed, Draco, really?" she asked. "How much? Are you even friends with Harry?"

Draco looked from Hermione to Harry and back again. "I have learned to tolerate Potter. I'd say that's coming a long way from the rivalry we have had since we were in school."

"Tolerate him? Dammit Draco, Harry is my best friend," she said still with tears streaming down her face. "All you can say is that you tolerate him after spending the past few months sharing a flat with him. And now you move into this estate house with him? I thought you two covered each others back once when you were attacked in alley by Crabbe. And the best you can do is say you tolerate him? Or is this what it means to be a Slytherin? Is this part of being cunning and calculating? Is this some elaborate plan you have?"

Draco's jaw dropped at her words. "I've been completely honest with you about everything! I haven't hidden anything from you, I have no hidden agenda. I thought I've been making that clear right from the start, and now you're the one who is throwing away what we had."

"What we had? What we had could never work. The prince of Slytherin dating his trophy muggle born until he tires of her, or at least until he finds a proper pure-blood witch and then I might be satisfactory as a mistress," stated Hermione, "that's what your mother said, that's what all your friends think, or will think. You would be better off going back to Parkinson or some other pure-blood witch who would be more appropriate for a wizard of your standing, I'm sure that would make your mother much more happier than having me around."

Draco went to step forward to try and comfort her.

"Don't touch me," she said, trying to control her voice.

Draco took another step forwards, and Hermione's voice was louder, "You heard me, Malfoy, stay away from me."

Draco froze where he was.

Hermione turned to Harry. "Please, get him out of my sight before I do something we all will regret."

Harry nodded as he quietly added, "It may be too late for that, 'Mione." Then he turned to Draco, as he took him by the elbow, "Let's go, now, before things get any worse. Let everyone calm down and we can all talk later."

Draco began to protest, but Harry silenced him, "Not now. Let her calm down, we'll deal with this later."

Harry then led Draco to his private study. Draco dropped down into a leather chair and held is head in his hands. "How did it all go so wrong so fast?"

Harry sat on his desk as he looked at Draco. "I'm not sure, but as a friend, or as someone who you at least tolerate, I can at least say you tried to handle it well. You can't be held responsible for what your mother said."

Draco looked up at Harry. "I can't change my mother. But I never expected her to lash out like that. Really, I hoped she would have been happy for me, for us."

Harry shook his head. "Maybe her reaction is not because of any particular dislike for Hermione or even for muggle borns."

Draco felt confused. "What do you mean?"

Harry paused to collect his thoughts before he spoke again. "Maybe, this is just a theory here mind you, but maybe your mother feels guilty about everything that happened before, at Malfoy Manor. What with your aunt and what happened to Hermione and such when were brought there by the snatchers. Maybe it is her way of dealing with those feelings of guilt. Drive Hermione away so she won't have to face her."

Draco stared at Harry in silence for a minute before he replied, "But that's crazy, that's not normal, that doesn't make any sense to do something like that."

Harry didn't respond.

Draco looked at the floor in from of him and then looked back at Harry. "Is this some of that muggle psychology stuff? My mother is used to everything being orderly. Father insisted on things being just so, it only became worse when the Dark Lord returned. We had no control over our lives. Then, this summer, living in the muggle world, working in the muggle world, I actually felt free. Do you know what I mean?"

Harry stared at Draco and nodded, "Yes, I actually do, Draco."

"That feeling, that feeling of freedom away from the pressures of the magical world," commented Draco, "that is something my mother has never felt. I don't think she could ever understand. Hermione understands, because she grew up in that world. That's part of what attracts me to her."

"Hermione needs to hear this from you," said Harry, "after she calms down."

"I've never seen her get like this," said Draco, feeling quite agitated.

"Neither have I," added Harry.

~~~~…~~~~OOOoooOOO~~~…~~~

Susan and Daphne were discussing what happened down stairs. Susan spoke up first about their friend, "Hermione needs our support, we really shouldn't have left her down there alone, with just Harry and Draco."

Daphne nodded in agreement. "Although she and Draco did need some time to talk things out, and Harry is her closest friend, we should go back and let her know we all support her.

The two young women made their way back down to the room where they knew that Hermione and Draco had gone with Harry to air their differences. They were surprised to find the room empty.

"This can't be good," commented Susan.

"You go check her room," added Daphne, "I'll look for Harry and Draco and Hermione down here."

Daphne quickly found Draco and Harry in the study. "What are you two doing here and where is Hermione?"

Harry tried to explain, "Hermione told Draco that she didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore and told him to get away from her. We're just giving her space like she demanded."

Daphne shook her head, "This isn't good, we're looking for Hermione right now."

Susan made her way upstairs and found Hermione's room was vacant, and her belongings were gone. Immediately she called for Kreacher. The house elf appeared with a quiet pop.

"Yes, Lady Susan, how can old Kreacher help?" asked the old house elf.

Susan quickly asked the elf for help, "Is Hermione still here? It seems she left the manor. Her things are missing."

The house elf disappeared and quickly reappeared just as Harry, Draco and Daphne arrived in the room. "It seems that Miss Hermione has left the manor house."

AN: Going Muggle will obviously continue...darn these cliff hangers...