~OOooOO~

Cedric Diggory was named the Champion of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Viktor Krum had come in a very close second and Fleur Delacour trailed in at a distant third. Draco had watched the final task, never seeing his mother arrive or leave; he had stayed with Hermione and Ron the entire time. Crabbe and Goyle had sat behind them and, if it hadn't been for Hermione's quick thinking in putting up a shield, he was fairly certain that they would have hexed him to hell and back. He was having some serious thoughts about asking to either be re-sorted or to have his own quarters. He was beginning to feel unsafe in the Slytherin dorms and he knew that his spells to keep his bed curtains closed and silenced weren't going to last much longer.

Draco wasn't a coward by any stretch of the imagination, but he did have a healthy fear of those that were larger than him; that meant just about every boy in the Slytherin dorms. As they left the stands, he pulled Hermione and Ron aside.

"I have a question...just how crazy do you think Dumbledore is?"

Ron looked at Hermione and then back at Draco. "We think he's completely nutters, why?"

Draco's shoulders slumped. "I don't feel safe in the dorms anymore and with Crabbe and Goyle following me around like they do, I'm afraid that one day I won't wake up."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Draco, if it's that bad, talk to your father. He's a teacher here, you should be able to stay with him all the time."

"Yeah, she's right. All you should have to do is tell your father you want to live with him, for your own protection, and he'll talk to Dumbledore, you won't have to."

~OOooOO~

Draco was waiting for Lucius when he returned from the Death Eater meeting late that night. Lucius was surprised to see his son still awake and in his chambers, it was nearing midnight after all.

"Draco, what is it?"

Draco explained the situation, that he was afraid to continue to stay in the Slytherin dorms because of his obvious change in friendship with Harry. Lucius became worried; if Draco was seeing a change in Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, what could that mean for all of them? While Crabbe and Goyle weren't the most intelligent people in the world (Lucius rather thought that they ranked somewhere along the lines of mould), they could be counted on to follow orders. If the Dark Lord suspected that Draco's loyalties had changed, it would mean that he also suspected Lucius.

"Draco, listen to me before you say anything." At his son's nod, he continued. "I don't know if Crabbe and Goyle have reported this to their fathers yet. You are fourteen and will be fifteen soon; at the beginning of the next term, I want you to request a re-sort."

"But-"

"Please wait. You may stay here for the rest of this term, but I can't guarantee that I will be able to continue teaching next term. This was supposed to be a temporary position and I don't know if the Board will want me to continue on in this post. I may not be able to be here to protect you and you know that no one besides those we've told know that Severus is your other father. He...wait! Severus!" Lucius walked to the hearth and threw in some floo powder, "Severus Snape!"

After a moment, the potion master's head floated into view in the green flames. "Yes, Lucius? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, please come through and close off the floo."

His head disappeared and shortly thereafter he stepped through the flames into the sitting area. He turned and pressed a brick on the hearth and the flames roared high before dying out. "What's wrong?"

Lucius explained Draco's fears and his own conclusions. "If he knows that Draco's feelings have changed, he may suspect mine have changed as well." Lucius drew a deep breath. "He has returned. He gained a body tonight."

Severus' knees gave out and he collapsed on the sofa. "What do we do? I won't have you risk yourself by going back to him anymore."

Draco curled up in the armchair next to the sofa. What was he going to do if the Dark Lord had returned? How was he going to be able to handle knowing that his father was going to risk his life every time he went to a meeting? His breathing quickened and he started hyperventilating. How could he deal with this? What was he going to do? He didn't notice the arms around him until a phial was pressed against his lips.

"Drink." The voice brooked no argument and he obediently opened his mouth and swallowed the potion. He immediately felt more calm and in control of himself. He looked up and met the obsidian eyes of his father.

"How can we escape what's coming?" He knew they would have to leave, they couldn't risk being caught.

"I've thought of something but it's going to require quite a lot of acting on your part, my son." Severus drew him onto his lap. "We can create golems of Lucius and Narcissa, which will then be 'killed'. The golems will allow this as it will be part of their instructions. I will identify the 'bodies' and report back to the Dark Lord with the news. I will then take you under my protection; you will need to act devastated by this turn of events. I will let the Dark Lord know that you will be unsuitable for Death Eater activity because the deaths of your parents has affected your mind."

"Where will Mother and Father go?" Draco still called Narcissa 'Mother' so that he didn't alert anyone to the fact that Severus was his other parent, not Narcissa.

"They will have to go into hiding...preferably one of the Potter properties. We can't use a Black property because of Bellatrix. I will speak with Sirius about this and have him ask Harry which of the properties he will allow us to use."

"Once he knows what's going on, Harry will probably let you use any of his houses...he said he has several." Draco was warming up to the idea; he didn't care where they went, as long as they were safe. "But what about you? Won't this put you in danger?"

"No, it won't. None of the Death Eaters know of our relationship. As I am your godfather, it will only be natural for me to take you in as my ward. Once I report back to the Dark Lord about your 'breakdown', you will have to appear more needy, more emotional. You will have to concentrate on your school work, to the exclusion of almost everything else. No more Quidditch, no hanging about in the Slytherin common room. You will move into my quarters, so that I can be seen watching your mental stability. Both you and I know that there will be nothing wrong with you, but everyone else must think that you are suffering from deep depression."

"What about Harry? I can't just ignore him."

"I will explain everything to him, telling him the truth instead of the story we've just come up with. He will understand...I'm certain he won't want you to be in any kind of danger."

~OOooOO~

Everything, surprisingly, went according to plan. The 'bodies' of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were found, lying in a field, a few days after the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. After identifying the remains, Severus walked up to the head table during breakfast. He motioned to Albus to join him in a small alcove off of the Great Hall where he explained what had happened. The real sorrow on his face almost made Severus regret having to do this, but he knew it was necessary. They agreed that Severus would be the one to inform Draco.

His son was sitting at the Gryffindor table with Harry, blissfully unaware that their plan had been implemented. They had chosen to do it this way so that Draco's reactions would be real; most likely, he would collapse crying or faint, hopefully he had the presence of mind to do the latter. He walked up to Draco and asked to speak with him. Once he had pulled him off to the side, he informed Draco that Lucius and Narcissa were dead. Draco did not disappoint him; his breath caught in his chest and he collapsed to the floor. Just before his eyes slid closed, Severus saw the awareness in them...Draco knew that they were safe.