Chapter Thirty-Five: Tomorrow Never Knows

It was morning. Hermione had been awake for the past ten minutes, yet she refused to open her eyes, afraid that last night had all been a dream.

"You're terrible at faking sleep, you know." a deep voice beside her commented.

Hermione sighed in relief, joy rushing through her veins. "It wasn't a dream?" she whispered, still keeping her eyes shut.

"No it wasn't." Draco said in an amused tone of voice.

She opened her eyes, turning towards a smiling Draco. "Thank Merlin." she said, lifting her hand to his face as she gently ran her fingers over his jaw and lips. A thin ray of sunlight had crept through the tiny window, making his platinum blonde hair shine, somehow making him look like an angel.

Draco chuckled. "I don't think someone as corrupted as I am could ever be an angel, Hermione." he said. Hermione's eyes widened slightly, she hadn't realized that she had said that out loud.

"I don't think you're corrupted." Hermione said, quickly jumping to his defense.

"That's very sweet of you." he smiled, pulling her in closer with one arm. She snuggled closer towards him, relishing his warmth as she breathed in his amber and spice scent.

"I missed this."

"Me too." Draco replied, holding her close to him as he kissed her on the lips.

They stayed like that for a while, wrapped in each other's arms, unwilling to move and break the spell. It felt like forever since they last woke up next to each other, and they weren't going to be separated again that easily. Hermione gave a small frown as she thought of how close she came to losing Draco forever.

"I'm glad you came back."

"I would never leave you, Hermione." he replied sincerely. "You're pretty much stuck with me." he grinned.

"I'm okay with that." Hermione smiled back.

She remembered what she had said the previous night in her burst of euphoria, but somehow admitting her love to Draco wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be. She wasn't even bothered by the fact that he didn't say it back, as she knew how difficult it was for him to express his feelings in words.

But a small part of her thought she had heard him say it back to her. Or had that been a dream?

"Are you okay?" Draco's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

Hermione saw the look of concern on his face, and relaxed. "Mhmm." she replied, leaning in for a kiss.

No matter, he'll be able to say it back eventually. For now I'll simply have to say it for both of us.

A door shut loudly somewhere down the corridor, bringing both of them out of their reverie.

"What time is it?" Hermione asked, looking around the room for a clock.

Draco glanced at the tiny clock he had placed on the bedside table. "It's half past nine." he informed her.

Hermione shot up from the bed. "What? Oh Merlin, I overslept!" she exclaimed as she made a move to stand up, only to be pulled back to bed by Draco.

"No, don't leave." he groaned, wrapping his arms around her to prevent her from getting out of bed. "I only just got you back."

"But the others are probably looking for me by now." Hermione protested as she struggled to break free from his grasp.

"So?" Draco murmured. "They'll survive another couple of hours without you." he said, pulling her in closer and peppering her with light kisses on the neck.

"You are so selfish." Hermione scolded him as she laughed lightly.

"I don't like to share." Draco pouted.

"But I have to help out with breakfast."

"Stay, Hermione. Please." he said as his grey eyes bore into hers.

Hermione relented, finding his husky morning voice impossible to resist, as well as the open mouthed kisses he peppered onto her neck.

"Oh alright." she whispered.

Draco kissed her deeply, making her wonder why she ever wanted to leave the room in the first place. But just as Hermione lay back onto the bed, a loud knock came from the door.

"Hermione, are you in there?" they heard Ginny's muffled voice from the other side of the door.

Draco practically growled in frustration. "That damn Weaslette's always interrupting us." he said. "Let's pretend we didn't hear her for once." he pleaded.

Hermione broke off the kiss and was about to reply to Ginny when Draco clamped a hand on her mouth.

"Don't do it, Hermione." he warned her as Ginny knocked once more.

Hermione rolled her eyes and glared at him, silently commanding him to remove his hand from her mouth. When he refused to comply, she licked the inside of his hand.

"Ugh, that's disgusting!" Draco exclaimed, removing his hand immediately and wiping it on the sheets.

Hermione stifled a giggle and sat up. "I'm in here, Gin! Hold on." she called out as she stood up to answer the door.

She was halfway across the room when Draco said, "Are you sure you want to go out looking like that?"

Hermione gave a small yelp and quickly snatched her clothes from the floor, putting them on hurriedly.

"Pity." Draco said, giving a mock sigh of sadness.

Hermione shot him a dirty look and opened the door. "Hey Gin. Sorry it, er, took a while." she said, ignoring the chuckles coming from behind her.

"No worries, mum just sent me to your room to ask if you were planning to eat breakfast and well you weren't there so…" she trailed off as she noticed Hermione's ruffled appearance. Her eyes widened. "Did you sleep here?"

Hermione bit her lip. "Yes." she answered somewhat sheepishly. "Draco-"

"Has he gotten his memories back?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"Yes, he got his memories back." came a drawling voice from behind them. "You have a terrible habit of interrupting things, did you know?"

"Oh." Ginny said, taking in his half-nakedness. To her credit, she did not blush and held his gaze instead.

"I'll leave you to it, then." she smiled slyly and turned away, but not before saying, "Kiss her on the neck, she likes that sort of thing." to Hermione's mortification.

Draco laughed loudly as he shut the door. "I think I might just have a favorite Weasley." he commented.

"You're impossible." Hermione hissed, still red in the cheeks.

"Ah, but you like me anyways." he mumbled before he followed Ginny's advice.

It was lunchtime by the time Draco and Hermione left the room. In fact, Draco wouldn't have let Hermione leave at all, if her stomach hadn't growled loudly.

"And you tease me about my stomach." he muttered, before Hermione threw a pillow at him.

So they made their way to the kitchen, with Hermione fussing with her appearance, asking him again and again whether he could see the marks on her neck.

"They're properly concealed, Hermione, relax." Draco replied when Hermione opened her mouth to ask him the question for the third time.

Hermione dropped her hand from her neck. In truth, she wasn't worried about the lovebites at all, she was sure she had cast the glamour charm perfectly to hide it. She was simply a bit nervous to how everyone was going to react to Draco having his memories back. It was stupid, she knew, but she couldn't stop fidgeting nonetheless.

Everyone in the kitchen became silent when the two first entered the room. Each person's glance turned from Hermione to Draco, their eyes wide as they silently demanded an explanation.

"Is…is everything alright now, dear?" Molly asked tentatively.

Hermione beamed and nodded, sending the older witch squealing in delight.

"Oh I'm so glad your back, dear! I was so terribly worried about you." Molly said, launching herself at Draco, who looked stupefied by the Weasley matriarch's reaction. Unsure of what to do, he brought his arms around the witch and cautiously hugged her back.

Molly's welcoming of Draco spurred others to react as well. Arthur Weasley raised his glass to him, while Ginny ushered him into a seat. The twins thumped him good-naturedly on the back while offering him salutations; meanwhile Molly immediately began shoving him plates full of food, saying that he needed to gain a bit more weight.

Draco scanned the room for his best mate, but the dark-skinned Italian was nowhere to be found. Ginny noticed him looking around, and answered his unsaid question.

"He's in the library. Been holed up in there for days now, barely goes down for meals." she said with a sigh.

Draco's brow furrowed, but he didn't pursue the subject. He could tell that something wasn't right by the way the youngest Weasley sighed, but he couldn't feel especially worried about his friend right now. The Weasleys' acceptance of him never failed to surprise him, and he gave a small smile as Fred passed him a slice of strawberry cake.

"I know how much you like that cake, mate." he winked.

The corner of his mouth lifted up. "Thanks." he said in reply.

"No problem."

Hermione watched all of this with a smile on her face. Everyone's reactions were so genuine, and she couldn't help but feel touched by it. It was a far cry to how they treated Draco when they first came to the safehouse, and she knew that even though he didn't say it, Draco liked being accepted by the Weasleys. It pleased him to think that he was part of the Order; of their family. While he hadn't been shunned by his own family, they weren't exactly the most functional type either. Lucius was rather cold towards him, while his mother wasn't as open about her affections as Molly Weasley was.

"Now, would you mind if I threw a little party tonight? Just to celebrate you gaining back your memory." Molly asked somewhat excitedly.

Draco coughed, his eyes widening with surprise. "Oh, that's not necessary, Molly. It's not something we have to celebrate." he said, a pink tinge appearing on his cheeks.

"Nonsense. We take what we can, dear. We have precious little to celebrate these dark days, might as well live a little." she replied with a grim smile. "Don't worry, we'll be celebrating Harry's recovery as well."

"Uhm, alright then, if you insist. Thank you." he replied awkwardly.

Thankfully, everyone else was distracted by Harry and Ron's entrance to notice Draco's awkwardness.

Harry spotted him immediately, and he shot Hermione a questioning look.

"He's got his memories back." she answered with a huge smile on her face.

The two boys' reactions looked comical; it was obvious that they didn't know how to react to their former enemy's improved condition.

"That's, er, great. Spectacular!" Harry said a little too brightly, while Ron stared at his feet mumbling incoherent words. "Great to have you back!"

"Welcome back, Malfoy." Ron echoed. Surprisingly, his greeting wasn't sarcastic at all, and he looked like he hated himself for that fact.

Draco smirked, while Ginny failed to stifle her laugh completely. Hermione looked as if she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Well this isn't awkward." George commented, while the two boys shot him looks of irritation.

"I think it's nice to see that you boys have gotten over that petty school rivalry." Mr. Weasley said with a smile on his face.

Harry and Ron took their seats, and the rest of the meal continued on with a slight awkwardness in the air, especially due to the fact that Harry had sat down next to Draco, since it was the only available chair left. Ron had practically run to the other remaining seat, the one further away from the blonde.

"So I was just telling Draco here that I'll be throwing a little party tonight to celebrate both of your recoveries." Molly said, cutting up slices of pie for the two boys.

"Really?" Harry said, glancing at Draco, who merely shrugged. "You don't have to go through all the trouble, Mrs. Weasley."

"It's no trouble at all. Helps keep my mind off things." she replied, waving her hand at him.

After the meal, Hermione had offered to help clear the table, as she hadn't been able to do so at breakfast. Molly was glad for her help, so Draco was free to go up to the library to find Blaise. Harry and Ron cornered him before he could go upstairs, however.

"Malfoy." the black-haired boy said.

"Potter." Draco acknowledged him with a slight incline of his head.

What happened next was extraordinary. Harry Potter held out his hand to Draco Malfoy, offering him his friendship, a friendship that he had rejected six years ago. Draco's eyes widened slightly, he was surprised by the unexpected gesture. There had been moments in his life when he wondered what would have happened if Harry had accepted his offer his friendship during their first year at Hogwarts. Would Draco have strayed to the Dark Side if he did? Would he have taken the Dumbledore's offer to hide him and his family?

Ron cleared his throat loudly, and Draco was brought out of his thoughts. The latter extended his hand as well, and shook Harry's.

"I owe you thanks." Harry said. "For saving my life."

"No problem."

Harry regarded him carefully, then shook his head. "Looks like I was wrong about you, Malfoy. We could use someone like you on our side."

"Count me in, Potter." Draco smiled genuinely.

Harry nodded once more, and looked at Ron, who clearly wanted to say something as well.

"I still don't like you, Malfoy." the redhead blurted out.

"Surprise, surprise." Draco drawled in amusement.

Ron scowled, but continued. "But you seem to make Hermione happy, which is a wonder in itself. But I swear to Merlin, if you hurt her-"

"You'll hex my bloody balls off, yeah I know."

"I'm serious, you git. You better not hurt her." Ron glared at him.

"You'll have to answer to both of us if you do." Harry added.

Draco looked at both of them, and dropped his defensive stance. "I know. Believe me, I do. But hurting Hermione is the last thing I ever want to do, I swear. I care for her too much."

Harry stared at him, a bit taken aback by the intensity of the blonde's feelings towards his friend. "I believe you." he said. Ron seemed to have accepted his declaration as well, and the two Gryffindors left the room, leaving Draco free to go up to the library.

He found his friend sitting on the sofa, his nose buried in a book.

"Didn't peg you for a bookworm, Zabini." he said. The other Slytherin jumped up at the sound of his voice.

"Don't startle me like that, Malfoy. You bloody scared me half to death!" he said.

"Bit dramatic, are you?"

"You're the one who always had a flair for dramatics, as I recall from the incident with that hippogriff from our third year." Blaise smirked.

"Bloody chicken." Draco muttered, remembering the said incident.

Blaise guffawed, then looked at him curiously. "Why are you even here, Malfoy? Shouldn't you be in your room, drowning yourself in your sorrows like you have for the past couple of days?" he asked.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I reckon being in your presence is enough of a downer as it is." he said sarcastically.

"Have you…have you remembered?" Blaise said, grinning slowly.

"Well what do you think?" he raised an eyebrow.

Blaise barreled into him, full force, nearly toppling them both to the ground.

"What the hell, Zabini!"

"I'm sorry! I've missed you, okay!" the Italian said, crushing him with the force of his hug.

"Well can you miss me without being such a pansy?" Draco grumbled.

"Ah, admit it, you've missed me as well. That's why you came back!" Blaise teased him.

"Sure, you're the reason I came back." he answered mockingly.

"Well well well, I always wondered if you were capable of going behind my back with some girl. Apparently it's Zabini I have to worry about." came Hermione's amused voice from behind them.

Draco quickly extracted himself from Blaise's hug, scowling when Blaise said:

"Ah, you've caught us. Sorry, Hermione, but your boyfriend and I are together."

Hermione laughed loudly. "Well when you're done making out with Zabini, would you mind heading down to Harry's room? We have something important to discuss with you." she said.

"Oooh, kinky. A threesome, probably?" Blaise blurted out, earning himself a whack in the head from Draco. Hermione chuckled once more before leaving the library.

"You're such a bloody git."

"Ah, lighten up, mate. You're too brooding sometimes." he said before plopping down on the couch.

"You're one to talk. The Weaselette said you haven't been leaving the library very much these days." Draco said. He didn't miss the flash of hurt in his friend's eyes when he mentioned Ginny Weasley.

"Well someone blackmailed me into translating this stupid Italian book." Blaise said, holding the thick leather tome in his hands.

Draco almost smacked himself in the head. How could he have forgotten about that? "Any progress with it?"

"So far it hasn't mentioned anything about the Unbreakable Vow. Tough luck, mate."

Draco sighed. "I was so sure that that would be the book."

"Are you going to tell me why you're so curious about the Unbreakable Vow?" Blaise asked curiously.

"Not yet. Not until I find out more about it. It's too…dangerous. I have to know what I'm up against."

"I figured as much." he sighed. "Shall I keep translating the book, then?"

"Only if you think it's worth translating. Thanks, Blaise." Draco said, grateful for his friend's help. It certainly made his cross a lot easier to bear.

"Anytime." he replied. "You should probably go see what Hermione wants, now. We'll catch up later, okay?"

"Are you sure? I reckon I can stay a while longer, you know. If you want some company." Draco said, a bit worried about his friend and whatever happened between him and Ginny Weasley.

"Now look who's the pansy." Blaise laughed, somewhat forcefully. "I'm fine, mate. Go have that threesome with Potter and your girlfriend."

Draco threw a pillow at him. "You're a pain in the arse, but you're a good friend nonetheless."

Wondering what in the world Harry and Hermione needed to talk to him about, Draco made his way downstairs. He felt an odd sense of foreboding; Harry Potter would never ask for his help unless he was truly desperate.

He was a bit surprised when he found that Ron was in the room as well. "I didn't know you were going to be here, Weasley." he remarked.

"Watch it, Malfoy." the redhead replied, scowling slightly.

Harry and Hermione looked a bit exasperated at their mutual dislike for each other.

"Honestly, can't you two get along for just two minutes?" Hermione said under her breath, though loud enough for everyone to hear. Neither boy replied, however.

"Look, I don't have time for your petty fights." Harry said, staring intently at his best mate and his former enemy. It seemed that the boy who lived was all about business today. "Malfoy, how serious were you, exactly, when you said you would help us?"

Draco met his gaze with equal severity. "Dead serious. Malfoys never back out from their word." he answered, earning a soft scoff from Ron when he mentioned his family name.

Harry ignored Ron's scoff. "You'd do anything, then? No matter how dangerous it would be?"

Draco stole a quick glance at Hermione. If she was going with the dunderhead duo to do something dangerous, he'd damn well better be there to make sure she doesn't get hurt. "I'm in, Potter. Just tell me what your plan is."

"We're breaking into Gringotts." Ron said bluntly.

He stared at the redhead, wondering if his statement was a lame attempt at a joke. When he continued to look serious, Draco's amused expression turned into horror.

"Are you kidding me? That's impossible!" he said, aghast.

"It's been done before." Ron shrugged.

He turned towards Hermione. "And you're going with them?" he asked her incredulously.

"It's…there's no other way, Draco. We have to do it." she said, biting her lip.

"Are you even to tell me why this is so important?" he crossed his arms angrily.

Hermione looked at Harry, who nodded at her silent question. "Well, it's a bit complicated, actually. Have you ever heard of a Horcrux?"

He tilted his head slightly. "No. What is it?" he asked curiously.

"A Horcrux is a powerful object in which a Dark wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality. It basically acts as a sort of anchor, allowing one's soul the ability to live on even if the body has been destroyed." she explained.

"Are you saying that the Dark Lord made a Horcrux?"

"No, he made more than one." Harry replied grimly.

Draco let out a low whistle. "So that's why he didn't die, then? On the night he killed your parents?" he asked him.

Harry nodded.

"Well how many did he make?"

"Dumbledore reckons he split his soul six times and placed it in different historical items. We've already destroyed three of them: his diary, Marvolo Gaunt's ring and Slytherin's locket. Now we just have to find the remaining three."

"Which are…?"

Hermione answered this time. "We're not entirely sure, but we think it's Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's diadem and You-Know-Who's snake."

"His snake?" Draco said disbelievingly, his lip curling in disgust. "I knew there was something off about that bloody animal. I should've killed it when I got the chance." he said, remembering how the giant serpent had devoured Charity Burbage right before his eyes.

"You would've saved us tons of trouble if you did." Ron mumbled.

Draco ignored his comment. "And you think that one of those Horcruxes is in Gringotts?"

Harry nodded. "Well your aunt-sorry, Bellatrix-" he corrected himself when Draco blanched horribly at the sound of his relative's name. "She was terrified when she thought we'd been in her vault."

"Well no offense, but I wouldn't fancy it if you'd been in my vault either." Draco commented.

"Would you have been terrified, though? I think we both know that Bellatrix rarely gets frightened, so what did she think we'd seen, what else did she think we might have taken? Something she was petrified You-Know-Who would find out about."

Draco's brow furrowed in deep consternation at Harry's reasoning. Was it possible that his aunt had hidden such a terrible object, a Horcrux, in her own personal vault? "I think you're giving my family too much credit. We're not exactly in the Dark Lord's favor at the moment; in fact, we've been out of favor since the battle at the Ministry. He would never entrust us with something as precious as his soul."

"But you were in his favor before, weren't you? Before You-Know-Who fell, Bellatrix and her husband were his most devoted servants, were they not?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, I suppose. But I've been to her vault more than once, and it seemed as ordinary as any other vault; nothing stood out of place."

Hermione interjected, "Well that's thing with Horcruxes, they can be something that you would never expect it to be." she said as she started going through the pile of books on the bedside table. She pulled out a thick tome, and opened it to a page. "Have you ever seen this inside the vault?" she asked him.

Draco stared at the picture. It was a small golden cup, with two finely-wrought handles with a badger engraved on the side and a few jewels. Draco closed his eyes, trying to picture the numerous treasures inside his aunt's vault.

"Well, have you ever seen it?" Ron asked him earnestly.

"I'm not sure, Weasley. The Lestrange vault has tons of treasures that look like this." he replied, his voice without malice. "I suppose it's possible." he added thoughtfully.

"That settles it, then. We break into Gringotts." Harry declared, and the three Gryffindors' eyes were ablaze with such determination that Draco was momentarily taken aback.

"Hold on, we can't just march into Gringotts and steal something from Bellatrix's vault. It's suicide!" he said sharply.

"Well, we were sort of hoping you'd go with us, Draco. After all, she's your aunt. It wouldn't look too out of place if you were to visit her vault, wouldn't it?" Hermione reasoned out.

Draco shook his head. "Have you forgotten that I am now considered a blood traitor? And that you three happen to be the most wanted people of the entire Wizarding World?"

"There are ways to go unnoticed. Invisibility cloaks, disguises…" Hermione waved her hand impatiently. "What's important is that we have at least one person with us that's familiar with the Lestrange vault and would have the power to visit it."

"I don't have the authority to enter my aunt's vault without her being notified about it."

"But you do have the authority." Ron mumbled. Draco glanced at him, and saw his eyes trained on his forearm, where his Dark Mark was covered up. He twitched his arm, suddenly uncomfortably aware of what was branded in his skin.

He shook his head again. "The Dark Mark wouldn't do me any good if the goblins knew about my defection."

"I don't reckon that crazy witch would've told anyone about our escape from the Manor. She wouldn't dare tell You-Know-Who that she failed him in capturing us, wouldn't she?" the redhead said, looking at Harry for confirmation.

Harry looked thoughtful. "I don't think Bellatrix told him…I would've felt hisrage otherwise." he said, pointing at his scar.

"But you said it yourself, Bellatrix was completely terrified when she thought you'd been inside her vault; she would've notified the goblins and told them to increase the security in it."

"Why do you keep trying to weasel your way out of this? I thought you were in, no matter how dangerous it would be. Or was the whole 'Malfoys never break their word' simply a load of old tosh?" Ron sneered.

"Well, Weasley, there's a difference between dangerous and stupid. One's not about to get us killed! So would you three stop acting like such bloody Gryffindors, and think about your plan and how stupid it is for a second!" Draco said angrily.

"Well we are Gryffindors, if you haven't noticed!"

Hermione threw herself between the two. "Stop it, both of you! This isn't helping!" she shouted.

"You're taking his side, then?" Ron said, turning purple.

"I'm not taking anyone's side." she replied firmly, her chin lifted defensively. "Draco, what exactly did you have in mind?"

He closed his eyes, trying to think of a plan. "Why don't you just hire someone to do the stealing for you? Have you forgotten about the goblin you rescued from the Manor? Griphook?"

"What a surprise, Draco Malfoy wanting someone else to do the dirty work for him." Ron rolled his eyes.

"Better for other people to risk their lives rather than us, right?" he raised his eyebrow sardonically.

"That's so Slytherin." he muttered under his breath.

"Well being a Slytherin's not going to get us killed, as opposed to acting rashly like a Gryffindor." Draco retaliated.

Harry stood up from his bed. He'd been so silent for the past few minutes that Draco actually forgot he was still there. "Goblins are notoriously clever; I bet you anything that Griphook would double-cross us the first chance he gets. I would never entrust this mission on anybody else except us." he said quietly, as he ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed.

"Malfoy, just…think about it, won't you? We're going through this plan with or without you, and it would be more helpful if you came along anyways." he said, before leaving the room, Ron following suit, leaving Hermione and Draco alone.

"You're staring at me as though you're disappointed in me." Draco sighed.

"I'm not going to lie, Draco, I'm a bit let down. I thought you would go through with this." she said ruefully.

He massaged his temples, trying to assuage the headache that was starting to bother him. "Look, I'm just saying that it's more than possible that your plan of boldly marching up to Gringotts is going to get us all killed. Surely there's another way to get to Bellatrix's vault without the risk of dying."

"There's always a risk of dying, I thought you knew that when you joined the Order." she said, her chin jutting out defiantly.

"I just don't fancy charging into someplace as well protected as Gringotts with a half-arsed plan!" Draco said, his temper rising.

Hermione glared at him. "Well it's the only plan we've got, so either you're in or out. Either way, I'm going with them, Draco."

Draco almost stomped his foot in anger. "Like hell you are! Stop being so damn stubborn!" he shouted.

"Well too bad, I am! I'm going with them whether you like it or not, Malfoy!" she shouted back and stormed out of the room, leaving Draco to seethe on his own.

He paced around the room relentlessly, kicking the bed to release some of his anger, to no avail.

"Bloody Gryffindors and their suicide missions!" he grumbled. Why can't Hermione just see that their plan was stupid and wasn't well thought out? Why did they have to be so noble and risk their own bloody lives when they could just get someone else to do it for them?

He hated their daring nerves, their sense of nobility; putting themselves out there and risking their lives for the greater good. He hated how they had to act like the heroes all the time. But most of all he hated fighting with Hermione, and he hated letting her down.

He stayed in the room for a long while, trying to think of another plan, but he came up with nothing. Harry was right; it would be foolish to trust a goblin to fetch the Horcrux from the Gringotts vault. The goblin, familiar though he is with the inner workings of the Wizarding bank, would have recognized the Hufflepuff heirloom as something that belonged rightfully to goblins, and would love nothing else but to steal it from them.

Unable to formulate a safer plan, Draco sulked in the room, cursing his luck at being burdened with the task of being in the company of a couple of rash Gryffindors, and being in love with the most stubborn of the three.

"Malfoy, are you in there?" Ginny Weasley said, as she entered the room a while later, not noticing Draco at first as he had been half concealed in the shadows.

"What?" he responded gruffly, still in a bit of a bad mood.

"Mum told me to come and get you. Said that the party can't start without the other guest of honor." she replied coolly.

Draco looked at the clock, surprised that two hours had passed since Hermione had stormed out of the room. He wasn't aware that so much time had elapsed, as he had been fully encompassed in his thoughts.

"Well are you coming or not? We're all pretty hungry, you know, so you better get a move on."

Draco followed Ginny to the dining room, where everyone had been gathered. There were a couple of flimsy streamers and colorful balloons hung about, and the entire room was decked in red and silver.

"Do you like it?" Mrs. Weasley asked, noticing his gaze around the room. "The red's for Harry, and the silver's for you. I would've made it red and green, but Arthur said it's too Christmassy."

Draco stared at her, noting the look of excitement on the older witch's face, and his expression softened. "It looks great, Mrs. Weasley. You must have worked hard on it." he said politely.

"How charming you are." Molly said, patting his cheek affectionately. "All right, everyone, dig in!" she called out to everyone.

The somewhat subdued party started; someone was playing some Celestina Warbeck songs on the radio, drinks were passed on to everyone and chatter commenced around the room. Draco looked for the familiar bushy hair, but Hermione was with Harry and Ron, obviously ignoring him. He sighed in frustration.

"I thought parties were supposed to make you happy, not depressed." someone beside him commented.

Draco turned around to find Blaise leaning on the wall behind him, lazily holding up a glass of firewhiskey.

"Fighting with Granger?" he raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you guess?" Draco mumbled in annoyance.

"Ah, the slumped shoulders…that sigh of defeat…those wistful glances across the room…" the other Slytherin enumerated.

"Are you talking about me or yourself, because I notice I'm not the only one wistfully staring at a Gryffindor girl." Draco said sardonically.

"Watch it, Draco."

"Come on, what's the deal with you and the Weaselette, mate?" he asked.

"It's complicated. I don't want to talk about it right now." Blaise answered through gritted teeth, staring at the redhead who was currently wrapped in Harry Potter's arms.

"I see that she's chosen Potter." Draco frowned. That would certainly explain Blaise's foul mood.

He sighed in response. "He wasn't named 'The Chosen One' for nothing, I suppose."

"I'm sorry, mate." Draco said, knowing how sad Blaise was over losing Ginny.

"What's done is done." he sighed once more. "What's up with you and Granger? Threesome didn't go so well?"

"Not in the very least." he grumbled. "She's mad at me because I won't agree to go on one of their bloody suicide missions."

"Suicide mission?"

"Can't tell you about it mate, sorry. But what they're about to pull is fucking dangerous, it's insane."

"Have you told her what you thought about their mission?"

"Obviously. I basically told her she's a fool for wanting to go with them."

"And that's why she's mad."

"Yup."

He and Blaise stared at the golden trio for a while. They were obviously discussing their plan, talking in hushed tones so that nobody would overhear them.

"You should go with them anyways." Blaise blurted out.

"Haven't you been listening? There's about a ninety percent chance we're going to get killed!" Draco said hotly.

"And we both know that you would go crazy with guilt if you let Granger go on a death mission alone with those two."

"But-"

"Look, Granger's not the type of girl who would let someone else risk their life while she stays at home, and I'm sure you know that. You'd never be able to convince her to stay here. The only way you'd be able to protect her is to go with them to whatever mission they're planning on doing."

Draco was saved from answering from a sudden ringing of the doorbell. Everyone had gone still, wondering who in the world the person at the door could be.

"I'll answer it." Arthur Weasley declared, and left to answer the door.

He came back with a tall, broad shouldered, black wizard. Everyone in the room exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Kingsley, what a surprise! Goodness, I wasn't expecting you." Molly exclaimed in astonishment, but recovered quickly. "You're just in time for cake! There's strawberry and vanilla, which one do-"

"Molly, there's been some terrible news." Kingsley spoke in his deep voice. "Ted Tonks has been found dead."

No one in the room moved for about three seconds. Draco bowed his head, trying to ignore the lump in his throat due to the devastating news. Suddenly, there was a loud crash of a plate hitting on the floor. Draco looked up to see Molly Weasley, deathly pale, while the plate of cake she had been holding lay on the floor.

She clasped a hand to her mouth in shock, while her husband wrapped an arm comfortingly around her.

Everyone was suddenly spurred into action, everybody was turning to someone to comfort them. The Weasley twins looked at each other sadly; Harry moved to comfort Ginny who was silently weeping, while looking sick to the gut himself.

Kingsley bowed his head in sorrow. His deep, reassuring voice was laced with grief. "The Snatchers found him. Apparently he'd been on the run with Dirk Cresswell and a couple of goblins."

Draco stared at Hermione worriedly, who had turned white with shock. She looked like she was about to faint right there and then. He moved closer to her, supporting her with one arm.

"We heard them…" she started whispering. "We heard them in the forest we stayed in one night…they were there…we could've helped them…"

"Shh, it's not your fault, Hermione." Draco said, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"Poor Andromeda." Molly started weeping. "Ted was a good man."

Harry looked mournful, and Ginny clung on to him with tears streaming down her face. "Poor Tonks as well. She shouldn't be getting news like these, what with her condition and all." she choked out with a loud sob.

"How did it happen, Kingsley?" Fred asked, his voice lacking its usual cheerfulness.

"They've been on the run for months now, moving from one place to another, when the Snatchers finally caught them. I suppose they might have put up a little fight, which got them killed in the end."

Hermione gave a sob, and Draco handed over his handkerchief to her. The bright red and silver decorations in the room suddenly seemed most inappropriate; everyone had been reduced to a state of mourning.

"I'm sorry to bring such terrible news, especially since it looks like I've interrupted a party." Kingsley said guiltily. "What were you celebrating?"

"Harry and Draco's recoveries." Mrs. Weasley answered ruefully.

"I've heard about that. Glad to have both of you back." Kingsley said, acknowledging them both with a slight nod.

"I think we should all pay respect to Ted and Dirk, as well as the goblins. May they all be remembered with honor, and may they rest in peace." Mr. Weasley said, raising his glass.

Everyone else murmured in response, weakly holding up their glasses as well. After a while, the party broke off; Fred and George muttered something about announcing the death on their network, Harry ushered Ginny back to her room, while Mrs. Weasley chose to retire early due to a horrible headache.

"Will you get me some water?" Hermione asked in a weak voice.

"Of course." Draco complied.

But when he came back with a glass of water in his hand, she had long been gone. He was just about to leave the room in search for her, when Kingsley held him back.

"Draco Malfoy. I've heard so much about you." he said.

"Nothing good, I suppose." Draco responded. "Look, I really should-"

"Give her some time alone, it would do her good." Kingsley said knowingly. "So I heard you joined the Order of the Phoenix."

"So I did."

"Welcome, then. I hope you prove yourself to be a trustworthy ally." he said in his deep voice, extending his hand.

Draco shook it firmly. "I promise to do what I can, sir."

"Spoken like an honorable man. I trust in you, Draco. And I'm sorry for your uncle." he said once more, before allowing him to leave.

Draco made his way upstairs, assuming that Hermione had gone to her room. There was still a lump in his throat, which had somehow gotten bigger when Kingsley brought to his attention that Ted Tonks had been his uncle. Granted that his Aunt Andromeda had been estranged from the family since her marriage, Ted Tonks was still, technically, his relative.

He felt awful, that he had not even gotten the chance to know him or what kind of person he was. Angry, that his uncle had been killed. Disgusted, at the way he died simply because of his blood status. Never before had he been so sick of his old beliefs.

"Hermione?" he said, entering her room. He found her sitting on her bed, staring blankly into the space ahead.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, his concern growing. She merely shrugged slowly in response, her expression remaining blank. She looked tired. Defeated.

Draco sat next to her, putting his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulders, and softly began to cry. "It's not fair. All of it's not fair, Draco. We're all just people, why can't they see that? Why do they have to kill us muggle-borns?"

He felt his heart break for her. "Because they're cruel, sadistic people holding on to the belief that their blood makes them better than everyone else." he said bitterly.

"Look, we might have lost a lot of good people in this war, but life goes on. You have continue to fight for what you believe in. And you won't be alone…I'll fight alongside you." he continued.

"You'll fight? You'll go with us?" Hermione said, her head shooting up from his shoulders.

"Do you honestly think I'd let you go without me?" he said, kissing her gently on the forehead.

"But you said-"

"I know what I said. I still think it's a suicide mission, but I'll be damned if I allow you to go alone and risk your life without me by your side. I told you this morning that you're stuck with me, didn't I?"

"It's going to be dangerous." she said.

"As dangerous as poking a dragon in the eye."

"We might die."

"We might."

"You'll go anyways?"

"Nothing can keep me from going with you."

Hermione sighed in relief and laid her head on his shoulder once more. Draco thought of the future, of its unpredictability and capriciousness. But whatever tomorrow would bring, whatever trials or challenge they might face tomorrow, Hermione would always be the one constant in his life. He would never be parted from her no matter what happened.

Hey guys! I know, I'm horrible for not updating this story in months! I've just been sooo busy, plus I had the worst writer's block ever. I just finished rereading Isolation and idk, I felt unworthy to write a Dramione fic bc Isolation was perfect. Hahaha. But anyways, I promise to see this story to the end. I only hope that you guys would stick with me, and that you continue to enjoy this story. :)

I really hope you guys would review, I'm eager to know what you guys think of this chapter! :) (And I miss hearing from you guys)

(On a side note, I hope I made it up to you guys since this was the longest chapter I've ever written!)