AN: There is a character death in this chapter. You had to have known she was coming.

25. My Man

The rest of the day blurred past. I packed up all of my stuff and said goodbye to my school life as I knew it. I lugged everything up to the Room and refined my emotions down to something manageable. Before I knew it eight thirty hit and I started making my way down to the entrance of the school. I ignored the melancholy at the back of my mind that was poking me, reminding me that I wouldn't be back here for a long time if at all. I finally spotted Professor Snape and walked toward him.

"Good evening Draco, are you all ready to go?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I nodded. We walked from the school and started the trek to the edge of the barrier. Too soon we saw the figures of my Aunt Bellatrix, my Mother and a couple other Death Eaters. I was shocked to see they had brought Fenrir Greyback with them. My Aunt Bellatrix was smiling manically and bouncing on the spot.

"Good evening boys!" She sounded as excited as she looked.

"Good evening Bellatrix." Snape's voice was as calm as ever. "Let's get this started shall we?" Everyone fell into line and we made our way back up to the school. My Mother came to walk next to me and took my hand gently. I didn't know where we were headed but as soon as we were in the school the Death Eaters started laughing. Tasting victory I was sure. We traipsed through the school toward the Astronomy Tower. We heard a commotion happening down the hall.

"Go on up Draco, take care of that old git, we'll make sure you're not interrupted." Bellatrix's lip curled up and I could see her teeth glistening as she talked. I nodded and started taking the stairs two at a time. Dumbledore was standing alone when I arrived at the top of the tower.

"Good evening Draco." I was as surprised by him as I had been earlier, he was so calm. There was something wrong with him though. He seemed to be having trouble staying upright.

"I think the order is here." I commented. He nodded. "What happens now?"

"Now, you threaten me Draco, they'll be up here soon." I sighed and cast an expelliarmus, snatching his wand from the air. I heard a clattering behind me.

"I have to do this." I uttered. I pointed my wand at him. Just then my Aunt Bella, Greyback, Snape, and my Mother appeared. Bella laughed hysterically.

"You've got him cornered Draco! Finish him!" Bella cried wildly.

"You're not a killer Draco. I think deep down you know that. How did you manage to get these Death Eaters in, I'm surprised that you would let Greyback into the school." Dumbledore shot a look at the deranged werewolf that accompanied us.

"I didn't know he'd be here. Snape and I have been working together under your nose, all year." Dumbledore looked to Snape, seemingly hurt.

"Enough talk! Kill him!" My Aunt demanded. My hand wavered.

"You're better than this Draco, I can help you." Dumbledore's voice shook slightly. He looked to Snape. "Please," he uttered. Professor Snape walked over to me and pushed my hand down. He raised his wand and looked Dumbledore dead in the eye. I saw a split second glint of remorse before he uttered the killing curse and ended Dumbledore. Dumbledore flew back and off of the tower, his body limp, like a rag doll. I couldn't breathe. I walked to the edge and looked down. He was just a prone form lying in a heap. I wanted to vomit. I placed his wand on the ground and turned to the rest of the people present. My Aunt was laughing like a banshee, Greyback was smiling, Snape was unreadable, and my Mother was looking at me.

"Well, we did it, let's go!" Bellatrix started off down the stairs and we all followed. We immediately were embroiled in a fight at the bottom of the staircase. Snape took my arm and hurried my Mother and me past the commotion.

"The Weasley twins are going to grab you. He said in an undertone, they know the secrets of this school better than most. They'll get you two out of here." We kept along at a fast clip, I tried not to take notice of what was happening around me as people I had known my whole life fought each other. Suddenly, my Mother was grabbed, and I was taken seconds later. We were brought into a secret passage and then pulled along quickly and quietly by the matching forms of Fred and George. Once they had transitioned us from one secret passage to another, and through one more, they finally slowed down a bit. "I never would imagined a scenario like this." Fred or George said trying to break the tension. "Do you need a break Missus Malfoy or can we keep going?"

"I'm alright, thank you." They both nodded and we kept walking. We finally ended up in a passage I recognized and I knew we would break through to the seventh floor soon. We ended up close to the Headmaster's office and gained entrance easily enough. We all hurried up and grabbed up some floo powder. I just had time to take in the office one last time before one of the twins pulled me into the green flames, calling out a location. Wherever we landed we did not stay long. We apparated outside of a modest, cottage, the twins pulled us easily through a barrier, and once inside the house I knew where we were.

"Cissa! Draco! Thank goodness you're alright!" My Aunt Andromeda stood from where she was sitting. I looked at my Mother, her face was unreadable.

"Andromeda?" She asked at length. The sisters walked towards each other, and after a moment of regarding each other, collapsed into each other's arms. My Mother pulled me into the hug, and I awkwardly allowed it. Everyone pulled back eventually.

"I've been so worried all night." Andromeda said, pressing a hand to my face.

"You know each other?" My Mother asked. I nodded.

"She helped with my attachment magic back in December. We've been to see her a couple of times since."

"We…who is it Draco, surely you can tell me now." I took a deep breath. My Aunt gave me an encouraging nod.

"It's Hermione Granger. We got attached at the start of the school year." Her eyes widened.

"Granger…" Her voice faded off, I couldn't tell what she thought of it. I remembered the twins and looked to see them standing behind us, looking confused.

"We have been instructed to leave you here Narcissa, but, Draco needs to come with us." I nodded.

"No need to worry Draco, I'll take good care of your Mother." My Aunt assured me. I nodded knowing she would.

"Hopefully I'll be able to see you soon." I told them. I hugged them each separately. "I love you." I told my Mother sincerely. She took my face in her hands, her eyes a little misty.

"I love you too son." I walked over to the twins and we headed out of the house. Once out of the barrier we apparated again. I got pulled through another barrier and saw and amazing structure. It looked like it had once been a small house, and then had had some haphazard additions slapped on. It kind of looked like once strong gust of wind would send the place toppling.

"Welcome to the Burrow Malfoy." The twins said in tandem.

"Come on in, we'll introduce you to the parents, and show you where you'll be staying. Oh, I'm nervous George; I wonder what they'll think of him!"

"It is always scary bringing your boyfriend home for the first time Fred. Just imagine how much worse this would be if we were Hermione." The twins threw me looks and I tried to gauge what the jokes meant.

"I mean you could just spare Hermione the embarrassment and claim that I'm dating one of you. Once I can tell you two apart I'm game to play along." They hooted out laughs. The one on the left said he was Fred and the one on the right said he was George, and we spent the walk across the grass discussing which one would be more believable for me to date. We entered the house and immediately I felt this was someplace comforting. It was haphazard and messy, but, very embracing. Missus Weasley bustled in from another room.

"Oh, there you boys are! I was beginning to worry!"

"Mom, I'm not sure if you've met my boyfriend, Draco." George declared with a straight face. She threw her sons a look and shook her head.

"Welcome to the Burrow love. Don't mind these two, they're absolutely ridiculous sometimes."

"Thank you for having me Missus Weasley."

"Please, call me Molly. I'll let your 'boyfriend' show you to the room you'll be staying in, and then I've got some dinner ready if you think you can eat." Fred followed his Mother through into what I assumed was the kitchen while George beckoned me up the stairs.

"You're staying in our Brother Percy's old room, Mum has it all set up, there's extra space in there for when Hermione gets here." We had only gone up a floor, George opened the door to a room and gestured me in. "Fred and I are just across the hall in case you have bad dreams and need a cuddle." He threw a ridiculous grin at me. "You know Malfoy, when I heard that all this was going on I was skeptical. I'm willing to let you prove yourself, and so is the rest of our family. Just know that if you are screwing us over, or if you upset Hermione, you'll be in a world of hurt." I was not unused to hearing this statement.

"I won't be letting anyone down, but I do like a good threat." George laughed.

"Come on you git, let's get something to eat!" We trundled back down the stairs and into the kitchen. I sat at the huge table and obediently started eating the food Molly set in front of me. The food was amazing, better than I would have believed. We were part way through eating when Professor Lupin hurried into the Burrow.

"You need to get up to Hogwarts; Bill has been injured quite badly." He declared sternly and without preamble. "Dumbledore is dead." Dropping bombs left and right the kitchen was in utter silence after the statement. The three Weasley's got to their feet and made to leave with Lupin. George seemed to remember me just before he left.

"Are you okay by yourself here Malfoy?" I nodded. And then I was alone, in a house I'd never been in, in a situation anyone would have a hard time explaining. I got up and started cleaning up the kitchen, putting the leftover food away and cleaning the dishes. I'm sure I didn't do the job justice, but, I needed to make sure I made a good impression on the Weasley's. I went back up the stairs to the room I would be staying in and flopped on the bed. Exhaustion from the day overtook me and I fell into a fitful sleep. My dream was as ever, Hermione and I laying together, not speaking. I awoke when I heard voices in the lower level of the house. I groggily blinked my eyes open and pushed up off of the bed. I went to the door and listened to the voices. It sounded like Mister and Missus Weasley and the twins were back, along with another voice, I was unsure who it belonged to. I debated just going back to sleep, or getting up and facing the people who had taken me in. I sighed and opened the door, descending and finding the kitchen packed with ginger haired Weasley's. Everyone's eyes snapped to me as I entered.

"I think you have some explaining to do Draco." Molly was using a mom voice on me. I nodded and went to sit at the table with the rest of them. "What happened up on that tower?" I fidgeted in my seat. I wasn't sure exactly what I could say and what I couldn't. "We've heard Harry's version of events, but I want to hear yours."

"Harry wasn't there?" I questioned. Apparently he had been. Dumbledore had cast him in a body bind and covered him in his invisibility cloak.

"He said that you and Dumbledore talked, it seemed like it was all planned out, and you drew your wand at his bidding and disarmed him. From there Harry got a little heated and unintelligible - something about Snape killing Dumbledore." Getting filled in a bit more by George I nodded.

"I don't really know where to start, and I don't know what I can say. Early in the school year I went to Dumbledore and asked for his help. He agreed to help my Mother and I escape the Death Eaters." I rolled up my sleeve on my left arm, exposing my biggest secret. "I was branded and tasked over the summer; it was my job to kill Dumbledore. Dumbledore was cursed, and his health was failing, he was going to die anyway. Snape said he would kill him in my stead. Everything was planned out by Snape and Dumbledore. They knew how tonight would play out, I promise you that." A stunned silence fell over the table.

"Dumbledore guaranteed we could trust you Draco." Mister Weasley spoke from the end of the table. "I have no reason to doubt Dumbledore, and therefore have no reason to doubt you. I wish I understood the situation better." I shrugged unwilling to say more.

"It had to be done this way. That's what I was told."

"And Snape, where do his loyalties lie?" The red head I didn't know spoke up. He had long hair and piercings, he looked a little wild. I shrugged, again I would not say, information about Snape being leaked would not help him.

"I don't really know. Today has been disorienting." There were nods around the table.

"This is our Brother Charlie, by the way." I think George said. Charlie nodded.

"Sorry, yes, nice to meet you Draco." He stood and offered me his hand. I rose and shook it, amazed at the roughness of his palms. Everyone kept chattering late into the night. I felt myself fading; Molly noticed and got up from the table.

"Can I talk to you please Draco?" I nodded and followed her out into the Living Room. She rounded on me and regarded me carefully. "It's been a hard day for you today, hasn't it?" I blinked a couple of times surprised at the softness in her tone. I nodded.

"It's been a long day, and very stressful." She placed a motherly hand on my shoulder.

"I suspect you've only told us a portion of the truth, and that's fine. I'm so sorry you've had to go through today." My eyes pricked and fought my tear ducts desperately. "It's late now, you should get some sleep. It'll be a couple of days until Hermione can be here, but I want you to consider this place home. I noticed that you cleaned up after dinner that was very sweet." A single failing teardrop escaped my eyes. She drew me into her arms and I had no fight in me to resist.

"Go to bed pet, you did well today." She tightened the hug for a moment and then waved me off to the stairs. I felt her eyes on my back as I climbed the rickety staircase. I closed the door to my room behind me and slid down it. I tried to fight the grief that wanted to overthrow me, knowing that if I started to cry stopping would be futile. I took a deep breath in and pushed up off the floor and onto the bed, falling into sleep again.

It had been three whole days since I had seen Hermione and I was starting to feel the effects of the attachment magic hitting. I had made fast and surprisingly good friends with George and spent a fair amount of time chumming about with him and Fred. They were fair flyers so we had mini games of Quidditch and they were teaching me how to degnome the garden, a task which was equally entertaining and banal. The days went by achingly slowly and supremely fast somehow. I was out in the garden reading on my second night at the Burrow when I saw someone pass through the protective barrier around the house. Not just any someone, my someone. I got to my feet and ran towards her, she dropped the numerous bags she was carrying and hurtled toward me. I caught her up in a hug and held her tightly to my body. She peppered my face with kisses and then drew back studying me. I set her down gently and did the same. She appeared unharmed. "I've missed you." I said, taking in her face like I hadn't seen her in years.

"I've missed you too love! I was so worried about you." She collapsed back onto my chest a clung to me like her life depended on it. I felt our energies vibrating happily at being back together and I smiled.

"Oi now, what's all this? I thought you were my man Malfoy." George came out of the house smiling and walked toward us. Hermione raised an eyebrow at me, but let go of me to give George a hug.

"Sorry George, I'm not fond of sharing." She stated simply before falling back to hold my hand.

"Well George, it was fun while it lasted, but you heard the witch." He held back a laugh and focused on looking hurt.

"I thought I meant more to you than that." I reached out and patted his shoulder.

"I feel sure you'll get over it."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't. You better keep an eye on your guy Hermione, or else I'm swooping in to steal him." His face cracked at that and we both started laughing. Hermione looked amused but perplexed. "Well come on Hermione, you know mum will want to see you!" He headed into the house and Hermione gave me a curious look.

"That's a long story. You go ahead inside; I'll collect up our belongings." She smiled and nodded, heading into the Burrow. I walked slowly to where she had dropped her bags and scooped them up, heading into the place that in no time at all, had become home.

AN: Heylo! Uhhhh this chapter is something isn't it? It's a got a different tone that the previous chapters, I wrote it that way on purpose. I feel like it's a but clipped and scattered. But being that it's from Draco's POV I'm saying it makes sense. Does anyone else find it bizarre that parents will call their boys son - like - I love you son! - but they don't do that with girls. Like you never hear someone say 'I love you daughter." Am I alone in that one? So, if you've read any of my other works you might know that I LOVE George Weasley. Like a lot. I like him a lot more than Fred, and if he was real, I would make him love me. Lol! So, anytime I can work him or both of the twins into a plot I do. And I want to thank my fingers for the way they wrote Molly. She is like mom level 1000. I feel like no way could she see a youngster hurting and just brush it off, regardless of who he is. I might have had the ensemble be a little too nice to Draco, but, that's just the way it goes I guess... Annnyway this is getting pretty long.

I'll take this time to thank my precious reviewers! Lovesagoodstroy19(Yeah, I've been in Vancouver during winter. That's defs why you were crying!), JulieMaggie(Oh no! I hope you feel better! I caught two mistakes. Annnnd what do you think of AVPM?), pinkduck2587(Drama is my middle name :P Thanks!)! Ya'll are amazing and I'm very fond of our intrigues together. Props if you know what that's referenced from!

So, can you please leave me a review? Please! It's easy all ya gotta do it write in that box below and type something, preferably what you thought about the chapter, but pretty much anything will do. Liiike - It's the final countdown! Dun nunuh nuhnuhnuhnuh -Because terribly I sometimes think of that song when Dumbledore goes flying off the astronomy tower. But, you didn't need to know that...sorry. Haha! So review, fav, and follow! Thanks so much for reading! And if you read this entire AN props to you she was a long one.

~WS