Chapter 20

Draco felt as if he was not going to get to see the gardens of the Malfoy manor as he did then for a long time to come and he knew it was a stupid thought. He was going to be home in twelve weeks and it was all going to be fine.

But it was as if he was seeing it for the very last time, as he stood out in the garden.

"Darling," he heard a voice behind him.

It was Jane and Max.

On seeing him go on down into the forest she had followed.

"I hope you do not mind me coming out after you." She said. "I won't stay. Just wanted you to no Severus is going to be joining us for dinner."

Even after the two of them had had words at the end term, he was glad to know that he nodded.

"You got Max's ball." Draco asked and Jane nodded, pulling it out her pocket.

"We are going to be back before dinner." He said to her and with that he slapped his thigh to get the pups attention – not that he had not got it the moment he had picked up the ball.

He had to have fun while he could.

Draco did not turn to see the feelings he had were mutual to the emotions which his old governess understood. As the dog and the boy ran off side by side, Jane felt a tear roll down her cheek.

It was a picture of such innocence and it was too end to soon.

Blinking, Jane turned back to the house. She had her duties to attend.

Nothing of much significance happened at the meal. It was just a standard family life, like so many others the four of them had shared. The unsaid rule of the night was that they were not to discuss anything – of anything except matters of no importance. Nothing of the war, spying, the Death Eater... none of it was mentioned.

It was not until the next morning that he and his father were alone as they had been in his office.

"Dad this summer is going to be ok, isn't it?"

"It might be a little different to what you are used too."

"Will I spend it here?"

"I can't promise you that, son." Draco nodded, that was what he had expected. "But if you can't come home then I swear to you Jane will be with you. And I'll visit as much as I can."

"We won't be all together though."

"It is going to be different."

"And there is nothing in the world we can do to stop it."

"It is out of our hands. Since the day you were born you have been taught me all we can control is what is in our hands. You have to be strong."

"I will be."

In a few steps, Lucius had crossed the floor and had taken his son in a very firm embrace.

"You'll be fine my little prince and I swear to you I'll keep you safe."

XXX

"To be honest the three of us were just revising a lot over the holidays. Well I was. Harry and Ron flew and talked about the third task. They read Quidditch Through the Ages too."

Hermione and Draco sat down by the lake together.

He had been glad to see her waiting for him on the platform when he had got back to school.

After being on the Hogwarts Express all day he had felt the need to go for a walk and she had been more than happy to go with him.

"What did you do?" asked Hermione.

He had learnt – and he had appreciated. And he had a feeling he had said goodbye to his childhood home.

"I spent time with my dad and our Jane. I did some work and I went flying," he shrugged. "Did you see Viktor Krum over the holidays?"

"Jealous?" she teased but saw how serious his face was and shook her head. "No. I did not see him. The truth is the two of us are over." Hermione paused to take a look at the lake as she said. "I missed you."

With the confirmation he needed for weeks, he took her hand. "Me too."

It was very good to be back.

XXX

The next few weeks were going to be full of revision for Draco and he was glad of it – it gave him the focus he so needed. If he had his homework and revision then he could ignore the edge of the earth feeling.

He also hung out with his friends, as well as Luna and the Ravenclaws.

As for himself and Hermione, he was the first one to admit there was a change between the two of them.

When they were together he felt as if he was able to be himself as well as his father's son. He could talk about anything of that he was sure. She was not the type who was not going to judge because she was so moral. But she was going to listen to him before passing judgement.

And there at least very best friends if not something more.

He was going to get through the last term of the fourth year and the very last task and then they could get on with whatever else was coming there was.

XXX

"Can you feel it?" said Lucius, going into the dungeon. To be a spy was no easy thing and was suddenly getting very real to him. He was remembering what it was like to be a Death Eater.

He had been in his arm chair in the study with Jane in the opposite one when he had felt his mark burn stronger than it had in a very long time. He had waited for it to wear off but it had not. And so he had felt the need to go to one who was going to understand.

"Yes I can feel it," Severus nodded.

"It is not going to be long now. We both know it, but have we got a date or any new leads."

"When and if I do you are going to be the first person to know. Dumbledore and I would tell you."

"I know but it just feels as if-"

"As if there should be some sort of warning? The marks are all we have."

Just when he had thought Lucius was less jumpy and getting used to the fact his life was going to be less comfortable.

"This is not the second coming of the Easter bunny. But then you know that better than anyone."

"Yes I do," Lucius snapped.

"Well then you need to pull yourself together unless you are getting cold feet."

"I am not – I just so want it to begin if we are going to do it."

Now that was something Severus could appreciate. The wait was what was so hard.

"We are and it is not going to be waiting for too much longer. You just have to try and keep it together for a few more weeks."

A silence fell between the two men.

"I forgot how it felt to be summoned." He knew he was really under Dumbledore's command but to a degree he felt as if he was very much his own man now.

He did not want to be under another's commands. And he knew it was going to be so different to the way it had been before.

He was his own man.

Before he had been so happy and excited when he had been called.

But now he just felt angry that he had let one being have that much power over him – and he was not even going to be that much of a man now, The Dark Lord.

He just felt as if he had sighed his arse over to someone else.

XXX

Information seemed to be in abundance on Draco's return to Hogwarts and he did not just mean the type that he was picking up in his revision texts.

It was not one of his human friends who had taken the gillyweed for Harry a trip to the kitchen revealed. It had been a house elf.

Dobby did not seem as warm to him as he was to the others but he could only put that down to his last name and he understood why.

If he was Dobby, then he did not think he would like him very much either.

The other thing which they found out was poor Winky was not quite as happy with her freedom as Dobby was. Since she had been dismissed by her master she had been utterly miserable. Not every house elf craved clothes.

But that was only the start of what he learnt with his friends that term.

"So it is going to be a maze we are all going to have to work our way through," Harry told his friends, explaining the third task. "Of course it is not going to be as easy as that."

"To be honest that is far less of a problem right now than Mr. Crouch and what is going on with him," Hermione stated.

"No one is telling you that we do not have a lot to figure out."

Draco had to say he was inclined to agree that their biggest problem for now. He was going to feel a whole lot better when they were able to say with some surety what had gone on. Who attacked who...

But at the end of the day only one thing really mattered – he had said Lord Voldemort was getting stronger which was what all the signs seemed to point too.

Harry's scar was hurting him. Severus and his father were getting ready for battle and Dumbledore had told Harry that he believed that Voldemort would be ready soon.

The time was coming.

XXX

In the day before the trial, Hermione Granger felt the pressure just as much as her friends did but it was made harder for her after what Harry told her, about what had been in Dumbledore's pensive.

She had agreed when Harry had said it was one of the very few things they were not going to be able to share with Draco.

He had so much loyalty to his family that he was not going to hear someone talk his family down. And she herself was not sure he was not a little blinded to them.

Snape was an enigma.

She knew when someone was your family it did not much matter what a person did. You saw all the good in them and you loved them for it even when no one else in the world would.

Though she had to admit Snape was a hell of a lot more bearable when Draco was with him, she was not so much of a fool to think because he was a doting uncle he did not have another face. He was not a very nice person. She could not even try to like him if she was honest. Even if he said he was not going to be a Death Eater in this was to Draco... how much could a Leopold really change his spots?

And so it was a stressful few weeks all in all for those at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and wizardry as well as those at the Malfoy Manor.

It was more than understood on the day of the third task that something of great moment was about to take place.

Draco knew it was going to be a beginning though. they were nowhere near the end...

Waiting on the sunny lawn, he smiled as he saw Ron and Hermione together coming towards him.

And with that the three friends left to go to the third task.

As well as what waited beyond.

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Author Note: sorry this was a bit of a filler chapter – still, it was necessary. Am going to start drafting ch 21 over the next week and am excited to get the story really going again : )