A/N- The love you guys show my story is just amazing. You have no idea how much I appreciate it, truly. Thank you to everyone out there that is reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting, it means so much to me. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well. Fair warning to everyone, I'm going to head to Texas for Rednecks with Paychecks this coming Thursday through Sunday. Not sure I'll have time to upload chapters or write for that matter. I hope to get one more chapter up before I leave so you're not left so long with no chapter. We'll see if I get that done. Anyways, enough of that for now, on with the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing…everything has been done before and I'm sure that there are those out there that have done it better than me. I've made no money from this story or any other.

Chapter 38

April 27, 1993

Draco scrubbed a hand down his face, frustrated beyond measure. He had been trying to research what Slytherin's monster could be for a month to no avail. If anything, the only thing he had gained from the endeavor was a permanent headache. He gathered his books into his bag, determined to push past the headache that had developed days ago.

After his books were in his bag, Draco stood and headed out of the library, not caring a whit about the fact that he was alone in the corridors. He was headed to the Hospital Wing; not really a place that warranted much company considering the wards that his godfather had put up. He sat with Hermione every single day, regardless of quidditch practice or assignments. He felt completely lost without her, something he had never had to experience before. If there was one thing this experience had taught him, it was that he valued his cousin's presence more than he had ever realized.

Draco strode through the wards left by his godfather and cousin Sirius; they had told him that only certain people were allowed through so there would be no chance of her getting further injured. He was glad, the last thing he wanted was for something else to happen to his best friend. It was bad enough that she had been petrified after he left her in the library on her own. The Slytherin took his usual seat on the bed next to Hermione so he could stroke her hair and talk quietly to her.

He told her of his day, how his research was coming along. It really wasn't anything she hadn't heard for two months now. Draco wondered just how long he was going to have to wait to get his cousin back. He had asked Uncle Severus, but he had been unsure. From what he had been told, it was still going to be awhile. After all the school work Hermione was missing, it was a good thing that she was so far ahead. She would have been having kittens otherwise.

Draco spent almost two hours in the Hospital Wing, doing his homework and spending time with his cousin even though she couldn't move or speak. Briefly, he wondered if she could hear what was going on or if she was in somewhat of a coma; truthfully, it was hard telling. He supposed that he was just going to have to ask her when she woke up. He had to believe that she was going to wake up because frankly, the other option scared the living fuck out of him.

Madam Pomfrey showed up just as he was putting the finishing touches on his essay for Professor Cat; he had outright refused to do any work from Madam Cambridge until Hermione was better. They had always worked together, and he refused to work ahead of her now when they were already working on the curriculum of the fifth and sixth year. She smiled at him indulgently, reminding him that curfew was in half an hour. Draco gathered his things and quickly headed out of the Hospital Wing and towards the dungeons.

Once he was on the first floor, close to the staircase that led down into the dungeons, he rounded a corner and found Potter and Weasley hissing back and forth to each other. Potter seemed determined while Weasley looked terrified. Draco wanted to laugh at first but decided that it would probably be more fun to hide and see what he could learn about Weasley's fears. After all, he had wished Hermione dead more than once.

It wasn't hard to sneak up on them; in fact, it was far easier than it should have been. No Slytherin in the history of magic would have allowed themselves to be that vulnerable, especially in a place that housed people that weren't all that fond of them. While Potter had enemies in the school because of his "killing" the Dark Lord, Weasley was hated all the way around by everyone in Slytherin house because he was a complete moron. Slytherin house did it's best to not suffer fools. As he was in the alcove right behind them, Draco could hear every word they were saying. Potter was looking quite indignant.

"Ron, you can't tell me that you aren't going to go with me to help me prove that Hagrid is innocent. I know that he's innocent, he told us that if we wanted answers we were going to have to follow the spiders. You can clearly see the line of them and they're heading outside." Weasley shuddered.

"I would do anything to help Hagrid, but I hate spiders, I hate them more than anything. They're disgusting. Please don't ask me to go after a bunch of insects that scare the life out of me." Potter sighed and raked his hand through his hair. His voice was resigned, and Draco couldn't help but wonder just how much following a hundred little spiders was going to do for the half-giant.

"Fine, I'll go with you but you're getting near the little beasts. I'm there for moral support only." Potter grinned and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Ron, now let's hurry and get outside. The last thing we want to do is let them get away." Draco shook his head in exasperation. The one night that he was thoroughly exhausted, he was going to end up having to follow idiot one and idiot two outside into who knew where. Since it was the end of April, the air was no longer frigid, but the wind still had a bite to it. Therefore, once their backs were turned, Draco conjured a heavy wool cloak to help him brace against the wind.

Draco followed behind them at a much slower pace then they were travelling at. It wouldn't do for them to realize that he was following them. Both Gryffindors were still bickering about going outside after curfew and then about freezing their tales off. It was certainly an occasion where Draco thanked Merlin that he knew how to conjure, otherwise he would have been in a terrible mood.

The wind was just as cold as he remembered it from quidditch practice just before dinner. The sky was pitch black, the moon wasn't visible at all. Even from this distance, he could hear the wind whistling through the trees of the Forbidden Forest. Since he was allowing Potter and his pet weasel to lead this expedition, he had to move at their pace, which unfortunately, was excruciatingly slow.

After what seemed like an hour of traversing slowly across the grounds, it was clear that they were headed to the Forbidden Forest. He wasn't sure how he felt about visiting somewhere that was clearly known to be dangerous; however, he couldn't exactly just leave the two idiots ahead of him to their fate. Draco was far better equipped to fight the beasts in the Forest than they were. He had no way to send his godfather a message to warn him that not only were they out after curfew, they were so far out of bounds that it wasn't even funny. Weasley was whining again and Draco wanted to hex him from behind, if only it would shut him the fuck up.

"We can't go in the Forbidden Forest, mate, who knows what's out there. Hagrid isn't worth dying for." Draco couldn't believe that he agreed with the moron.

"You remember what we found in there the last time. Voldemort stuck on the back of our professor's head. Nothing good can come of going in there." Potter was either the very embodiment of a Gryffindor or he really was a fucking idiot.

"We can't leave Hagrid to rot in Azkaban, you told me yourself that criminals that have been there even short times can go completely mad. We can't let that happen to Hagrid." Weasley raked his hand through his hair and gave a reluctant nod.

"Fine, mate, but if I die out there because something huge and hairy eats me, I'm coming back to haunt you." Potter laughed lightly and started leading the way again.

Draco knew that on a night as dark as this one, it would be ridiculously easy to lose your way in the even darker forest. Therefore, he decided to make use of a glitter spell that he and Hermione learned when they were children and their fathers had played hide and go seek with them. Once cast, the path would light up with sparkling glitter. It would be easy enough to hold the spell until they reached their destination; then they would only have to follow the glitter when they decided to go back to the castle. However, this meant that he was going to have to reveal his presence to them no matter what. They would know that the other hadn't cast the spell.

-O-

Harry would be the first to admit that he was scared to death. The last time he had been in the Forbidden Forest, it hadn't ended well. His professor had had Voldemort stuck on the back of his head and had been drinking the blood of a unicorn. It really wasn't something that he wanted to replay but there was no way that he could leave Hagrid to his fate in Azkaban.

This past week hadn't gone well for Harry; not only had Hermione been missing from classes for two months now, Hagrid had been gone for the last month. His first friend who loved to invite him over for tea was sitting a dark and dank cell with dementors sucking every happy memory out of him each time they passed. It wasn't fair, and it wasn't right and he was going to do his best to rectify the situation.

To make matters worse, Harry had returned to his dorm the week before to find it destroyed. His belongings had been strewn across the room and his truck emptied. It was clear that the person who had done it had been looking for something and it didn't take Harry long to figure out just which of his belongings were missing.

Tom Riddle's diary.

It had been stashed in his pillow case under the pillow and it was the only belonging of his that wasn't there. It was also clear that the person who had trashed his dorm was a Gryffindor. Myrtle had told him that whoever threw the diary out had been a girl. For the life of him, however, he couldn't imagine any girl he knew going to these lengths to get a book back just because it wrote back to you.

Since that first night that he had discovered how to communicate with the diary, he hadn't wrote in it since. The diary had told him that Hagrid was guilty, and Harry just refused to believe that. Therefore, out of protest, he hadn't written in the diary again. This didn't mean that the book didn't call to him because it did. It woke him up at night, making him feel as if he would never be complete if he didn't hold the diary close and keep it with him always. When he touched it, however, he got such a sense of wrongness that he refused to hold it for long.

It was pitch black in the Forest though it was a bit warmer. The trees were so thick that the wind couldn't get through them to whip around their robes. It was almost pleasant temperature-wise. The darkness unnerved him. He had never liked the dark, though he couldn't say that he feared it. His wand, as well as Ron's, was lit to full power as they followed the trail of spiders on the forest floor.

He couldn't say just how long they walked through the dense forest. He knew that he was getting tired but if he was serious about clearing Hagrid's name, he was going to have to push through. As they got further into the woods, the spiders became thicker on the ground next to them and it worried Harry. They really had no idea what they were getting into and he was sure that the forest wasn't named Forbidden for no good reason.

Rustling in the trees all around them alerted him to the fact that they may have walked into a dangerous situation. The wind was rustling the tops of the trees and there were howls in the distance. He wasn't sure what could be in the woods that howled but he assumed that he didn't want to know. Ron was whimpering next to him, clearly terrified at whatever was lurking in the night.

The spiders led them into a cave, a cave large enough to fit a car through. Harry hadn't even been aware that there were caves in the Forbidden Forest although he guessed that the Headmaster wasn't going to just volunteer that information to underage students. Their wands were still lit, casting shadows all around them. He could see something skittering on the walls of the cave but he wasn't close enough to discern what exactly it was. Ron was close behind him, still making soft noises in his throat. When they finally reached the back of the cave, the combined light between Harry and Ron both illuminated the small space. What they saw had Ron cowering in fear.

An enormous spider was at the very back, sitting on what appeared to be a nest of bones. There were smaller spiders all over the walls, webs hanging from the ceiling of the cave. Harry felt his heart stutter in fear but Hagrid had sent them there. He had to know something that Harry didn't; he wouldn't have sent them if it wasn't safe. The largest spider spoke, his voice low and gravelly.

"How dare you, human, wander into my lair?" Harry was proud that he didn't let his fear show in his voice.

"Hagrid sent us. He's been arrested and taken to the wizard prison. Others are saying that you're the monster Salazar Slytherin released in the school." He could hear the disdain in the spider's voice. He wondered how such a beast could speak; he hadn't heart of any other animals that could speak.

"I never harmed a single human while I resided in the castle. Hagrid found me and raised me in the castle. I was discovered by a man I had seen before; he spoke to snakes. As for the monster in the castle, it was born there, raised there as well. We spiders do not speak of it and we flee before it. Make no mistake, Hagrid is innocent." Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with this information. It didn't seem as important to discover what the monster was, rather who had unleashed it.

"If you aren't the monster and Hagrid didn't unleash it, can you tell me who did?" The spider began to laugh, and the other spiders began to advance.

"It won't matter who released the monster into the castle. My sons and daughters don't attack Hagrid on my command. I can't deny them when such fresh meat wanders so freely into our home." Harry couldn't be hearing what he thought he was hearing. Hagrid wouldn't send them into a cave where they would come to harm. However, the trip through the Forbidden Forest the year before flashed in his mind.

"Farewell, friends of Hagrid." Ron's voice, heard for the first time since they arrived, was small. The spiders from the walls were starting to descend and Harry had no idea what to do next.

"Do you know any spells that work on acromantulas?" Harry shook his head, moving into position of back to back with his best mate. Just as the spiders had landed and had started to rush them, a large flash of flame erupted from the entrance.

The spiders all screamed an inhuman sound and scurried to the far side of the cave, doing their best to get away from the scorching heat. Harry could smell burnt hair and realized that it was probably his and Ron's. He still couldn't tell who was casting the flame, but he wasn't going to complain about who it was. There was no way that they would have gotten through all the spiders. After a few more moments, the flames disappeared, and their savior was revealed.

Draco Malfoy.

Harry didn't give two fucks that it was the Malfoy heir who had saved their skin. The spiders were rallying quickly, hurrying towards Harry and Ron again. Malfoy yelled at them, uncaring about anything but getting them out of there. His face was fierce as he gestured for them to hurry up. He wasted no time in running to the blond, dragging Ron along behind him. Malfoy covered them until they were clear, then cast again into the cave. Harry was unsure if any of the spiders survived and frankly, he didn't care. He was sure that Hagrid would forgive them for roasting his pets when he told them that they were going to turn him and Ron into their next meal.

They followed the cave until they were in the night air again. Harry wasn't sure how he had missed it before but there was a glowing trail of glitter through the forest, clearly the path they had taken from the castle. Now was not the time to discuss it, however, since they could still hear the spiders scurrying after them. There was still howling coming from the further in the forest and after the experience they were currently having, Harry wanted no part of it.

"Follow the path I marked!" Harry didn't have to be told twice. He and Ron took off at a sprint, their wands in their hands and at the ready. Malfoy was following them, covering them from the rear. There were now a dozen spiders on the forest floor, following them as quickly as their eight legs could carry them. Out of nowhere, they were flanked from the side by half a dozen spiders. Harry could see the blind fear on Ron's face and he couldn't help but feel sorry for his best friend. Spiders were his greatest fear and he was being chased by huge ones through a dark forest at night. Harry figured that he would owe his best friend when and if they made it back to the castle safely.

Harry cast the incendio spell at the spiders coming at them from the side. He was able to hit most of them, sending them flying backwards from the force of the flames. As soon as they were no longer visible, he sent more flames towards the spiders still chasing them. For a split second, he cast a look over his shoulder to see that Malfoy's flame was three times the size of his and he was fighting off more than two dozen spiders.

Where the trip to the cave had taken what seemed like hours, the trip back to the castle was fast and furious. Harry had no problems admitting the leaving the glowing trail in the darkness of the forest was brilliant. As they got further through the forest, the spiders were falling back, both from the flames and exhaustion. This didn't slow the three of them; they were still running full speed through the forest, doing their best to get back to the castle safely. Harry had never been more grateful that he had started running every other day after quidditch practice. Ron was panting heavily next to him.

Malfoy was obviously the most fit of them all; he was breathing hard but nowhere near as hard as Harry or Ron. When they finally cleared the forest, none of them slowed; they continued to run as fast as they could to the castle doors. Once they had wrenched the doors open and fallen inside, panting, Malfoy turned to them both.

"What the bloody fuck were you two thinking? You could have been killed! Fuck, I could have been killed! Hermione is going to kill me when she wakes up and hears." Ron couldn't just be grateful for Malfoy saving his arse and had to make the situation worse.

"Hopefully your precious Hermione won't wake up at all." Harry really couldn't figure out why Ron had to make every situation with Slytherins worse than they were. They owed Malfoy their lives and he continued to heckle the boy. Harry knew that Malfoy had served detention for hexing Ron after they had found Hermione, even though he wasn't quite sure that it had been deserved. Ron had been a complete wanker to Malfoy and Harry couldn't say that he would have reacted any differently if someone he cared deeply for had been found petrified. Harry was quick to interject.

"We can't thank you enough, Malfoy, you really saved our arses back there." Malfoy nodded his way and started to stand from where he was leaning against the door.

"What the hell were you doing out there? That was complete insanity. I hope you had a good reason." Harry was just getting ready to answer him when Ron spoke again.

"It's none of your bloody business, Malfoy. We wouldn't have been out there if your traitor cousin and daddy dearest hadn't suspended Dumbledore and sent Hagrid to Azkaban." Harry could see that Malfoy was livid now. He stepped forward menacingly, but Ron didn't know what was good for him. He stepped forward as well.

"My family wouldn't have had to step in and suspend the great and esteemed Headmaster if he had been doing his bloody job, not letting a great bloody beast roam the castle to continue petrifying muggleborns along the way. One could even say that he wanted Slytherin's monster to attack muggleborns because he's a blood supremacist." Even Harry bristled slightly at that. His eyes narrowed and his voice chilled.

"Take that back. Dumbledore should have told everyone, but he didn't keep it quiet because he wanted muggleborns to be attacked." Malfoy crossed his arm over his chest sneered at him.

"How can you possibly say that, Potter? What reason could he possibly have for endangering students? Hermione was only petrified because she was with a muggleborn. You're friends with Thomas, he's a muggleborn. Hermione's fate could have been yours or Weasley's." Harry knew that there were other factors in place that he didn't know about; he knew that Dumbledore wouldn't put people in danger unless it was for a very good reason. Ron and his big, fat mouth had to strike again.

"Black was petrified because she deserved it. She almost killed Lav and she deserves to die. That's why your cousin was petrified…fate." Harry didn't blame Malfoy for lunging at Ron and socking him right in the face.

The pair were wailing on each other, rolling around on the ground and cursing loudly. Harry knew that it was just a matter of time before a professor or prefect heard them. He tried to pull Malfoy off his best mate, but he was like a man possessed. Harry finally wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pulled as hard as he could, landing square on his arse with Malfoy on top of him. Ron's face was already starting to bruise on his cheekbone and he had blood smeared on his chin. Harry rolled Malfoy off him and saw that he had a split lip. Harry couldn't help but yell at them both.

"You both are fucking ridiculous! Grow the fuck up." He didn't get to lecture them any further before Professor Flitwick and Profess Snape caught sight of them during their rounds. They rushed over and Harry could see the fury in the potion master's gaze. His voice was cold as ice when he spoke.

"Explain yourself, Mr. Malfoy." Harry could tell that he was going to get in the worst trouble just because he had personally let down his godfather. As irritated as he was with Malfoy for the things he had said about Dumbledore, he couldn't let him take most of the blame when it was their own faults that he had been out of the castle in the first place.

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't know what came over me." Harry had to give him credit; he didn't look down or turn red with embarrassment. He me his godfather's gaze and clasped his hands behind his back. Snape was sneering his way now.

"You would dare defy me and be out after curfew, fighting no less?" Harry didn't give Malfoy the chance to speak again.

"Excuse me, sir, Ron and I sneaked outside and went to the Forbidden Forest. Malfoy followed us and saved us from the acromantulas. If he hadn't been there, we would have died. As for the fighting, it was a dispute over family." Harry knew that Ron was going to kill him, but he didn't care. The Slytherin had saved their lives and he wasn't going to let him get in trouble over it if he could help it. Malfoy rolled his eyes, probably at his show of honesty, but remained silent. Snape turned to his godson.

"Is this true, Mr. Malfoy?" Malfoy didn't say anything, just stared stoically straight ahead of him. However, Snape took his silence as an admission of guilt. Professor Flitwick seemed to realize that his colleague was going to handle this situation and remained silent.

"Mr. Malfoy, that will be fifty points from Slytherin for your reckless behavior of going to the Forbidden Forest and three days detention for fighting. Get to the dungeons and don't let me catch you out of your dorm before breakfast tomorrow, not even to visit Miss Black." Malfoy bowed his head slightly to his Head of House and hurried along to the dungeons. Harry almost felt bad for him for having to deal with Snape being angry at him. Now, the potions master turned to him and Ron.

"Why were you two going into the Forbidden Forest?" Harry knew that he wasn't going to get away with not answering like Malfoy had. He opted for honestly since he wasn't good at lying and he could never think of a lie fast enough.

"Hagrid told us that we would find information on the monster belonging to Slytherin if we followed the spiders. We did, and they took us to the acromantulas in the forest. We just want to clear Hagrid's name." Harry hadn't expected the man to explode like he did but explode he most assuredly did.

"You went to the Forbidden Forest to follow the spiders on Hagrid's instructions? Do you not recall your first year, Mr. Potter? Your little foray into the Forest ended up catching something feeding on a unicorn." Harry lowered his head and did his best to look contrite.

"We're sorry, sir, we didn't realize where the spiders would take us. Malfoy really did save our lives." Ron snorted softly beside him while Harry awaited their punishment.

"That will be seventy-five points apiece from Gryffindor for your little foray into the Forest and Mr. Weasley will serve three days detention for fighting. Do I make myself clear?" Harry was a little affronted that he had asked if he was clear when he hadn't to Malfoy but decided to not say anything. No sense in pouring gasoline on a fire. They both nodded quickly.

"Make your way to your Tower poste haste. I will know if you deviate from your destination." Harry was quick to start in the direction of the staircase. Once they were three floors away from the professors, Ron hissed at Harry.

"I can't believe you told him that shite. We would have only gotten in trouble for being out after curfew and fighting. Now we lost a hundred and fifty points for going to the Forest." Harry shrugged his shoulders dismissively.

"I know but it wasn't fair to let Malfoy get in trouble when it was our fault he was out there and your fault that you were fighting. You must stop provoking him, one day he's going to snap and really hurt you. He didn't have to save our lives, you know." Ron huffed angrily next to him.

"Yeah, I know but that doesn't mean that I have to like it." Harry could only shake his head at the immaturity his friend displayed sometimes. Even though he was his best mate, it got old. However, it did no good to talk to Ron about these things unless he was willing to listen.

"Come on, lets get to bed before he takes away more points for taking longer than necessary to reach the Tower." Ron grumbled in response but picked up the pace. Harry sighed.

Tomorrow was going to be a shite day when everyone realized that they were a hundred and fifty points down from where they had ended the day.

-O-

Severus couldn't believe the level of idiocy young children displayed most days. Who in their right fucking mind would trek out into the Forbidden Forest on that brainless oaf Hagrid's orders? Did they all three have a death wish? They must because there was no other explanation that he could come up with.

He knew that Draco would be waiting for him in his office; he had slipped into his godson's mind and made sure to tell him that he wanted to speak with him. However, he had to finish the set of rounds with Filius before he could do that. The last floor before calling it a night went rather quickly, Filius only catching one student out of bed after trying to get into the library after hours.

Severus strode through the corridors towards the dungeons, trying to figure out how he wanted to handle the confrontation with Draco. He had no right to get angry with him, he was only doing what they had asked of him after all, but he wanted to question him as to why he didn't just come for help. He still couldn't fathom the idea of going into the Forbidden Forest for no other reason than to follow the idiot duo that had started the whole disaster.

He didn't bother to knock on the door to his office. Severus merely let himself inside to find his godson seated in front of his desk, dozing. When he heard the door open, he was quick to jump to his feet and look attentive. Severus gave him a small smile so he would relax. He wasn't going to yell at him for doing what he had been told to do.

"Sit down, Draco. I'm not going to yell at you." He snorted softly.

"Well that's good since Hermione is going to do enough of it for everyone." Severus laughed openly.

"You are quite right, she most certainly is. I understand that you followed them to keep them safe. Why didn't you just let them go and come get me?" Draco raked a hand through his hair, a sure sign that he was nervous.

"I didn't know that they were going to the Forest, I don't think they did either. Once it was clear that we were being led into the Forest, it would have taken me ages to double back and find you. I wasn't sure if something would have ate them by the time you got out there and managed to find them." Severus supposed that he could see his point, however, that didn't make him feel any better about the situation. He sighed again, this time because he was frustrated.

"I won't lie, I was worried more than angry. The last thing I want is for something to happen to you, especially when Hermione lies petrified in the Hospital Wing. I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to both of you. However, we asked you both to protect Potter and tonight you did just that. I can't say that I like it but I understand. However, next time, please come get me. You really could have died, acromantula are not something to play around with. How did you even manage to escape?" Draco heaved a deep breath.

"They went straight into the acromantula nest, the heart of it. They spoke and learned that the spider wasn't the monster, then it set it's young on them. I lit them on fire and covered our tracks as we ran through the forest. Potter actually helped, he took out about a dozen that were flanking us. We didn't stop running until we were inside the castle again." Severus could only shake his head at the pure, unadulterated luck the trio had had.

"You were fighting why?" Draco snorted now.

"Weasley said that hopefully Hermione wouldn't wake up and then told me that she was petrified because she attacked Lavender Brown. I couldn't stand for that obvious lie and made sure to cast doubt on their precious Dumbledore. Potter just got angry, though, defensive. I don't think he'll ever wise up until the old man leads him straight to slaughter." Severus secretly agreed but didn't voice it. Instead, he stood and gestured for Draco to do the same.

"Get to your bed. We won't speak of this any further and your detentions will be scheduled sometime tomorrow. If Potter had kept his mouth shut there would have only been a points loss for the fighting. He was trying to be noble, however, so I guess he gets points for intent." He paused for dramatic purposes.

"Remember what I said, Draco. Unless you have a damned good reason, come get me next time they're fucking stupid." Draco gave him a nod and hurried out of his office.

Severus stood and locked his office before making his way to his quarters. It had been a long night and there was a bottle of fire whiskey calling his name. Even though he was only thirty-three years old, it was days like this that made him feel much older than his years.

His family and the charges he had sworn to protect were going to be the death of him.

A/N- Boom, another one bites the dust! I didn't think that this chapter would ever come together, I kept getting distracted with other things. Hate it when that happens! Anyways, thanks again to all that are reading and reviewing, I love you all. Leave me a message after the beep and tell me what you think. Reviews make me smile.

Next chapter, Harry and Draco both make an important discovery.

Love,

Alicia