Disclaimer: All characters belong to J. K. Rowling. Just my idea.

A/n: Here we are again! This chapter is a bit different from the others recently but variation is always good. Major things will blossom up in the next chapter so here's our building suspense :DEnjoyand don't forget to look at my facebook page! Thanks to my beta Tessa Cresswell!

Hauling Granger's friends through the shadows is not my idea of a pleasant day. We are making little progress with all this dead-weight hanging us down, and part of me wants to simply push Longbottom to the side and continue without him holding me back. But Hermione will not do the same; these are her friends, and even if they weren't she would likely be dead set on getting them to safety. The problem is my distraction spell has likely worn off by now, which means the Death Eaters are openly prowling these parts again. My eyes constantly dance over the building nearby, and more than once I glance behind myself to make sure Granger's invisibility spells aren't wearing off. If either of us become careless with our magic it could cost us all our lives.

The smell of fresh blood has thankfully disappeared over time, and I now imagine that it has all either dried or the wounds have been closed. When I first started helping Neville back at base I nearly threw him off when I felt the stickiness of wet blood on my hands. We can't help them anymore than we already have until we find safety, or get past the barriers.

I glance behind me again for a brief moment. I can't see Hermione, but I know she's there. We follow the same path, stopping whenever one of us brushes the other. We walk close enough to perform this action at any moment; just because they can't see us doesn't mean someone won't hear us walking along the streets. Voldemort always taught his followers that you can find someone from the Order's side through more means than your eyes and magic, the same with interrogation. Granger is proof of the methods of torture and interrogation the Death Eater's will go to, and I have known many who will use whatever dark spells they can think of to sniff out someone nearby. It's vile really.

When we stop to give the wounded a break for a moment, I am more than a bit surprised that Longbottom wishes to speak to me in private. I drag him away from the girls to a point where they are still in sight but will not hear us.

"What is it?"

He shakes his head once, and I can see just how very weary he is. "Why are you helping Hermione?" he asks after a moment.

I scoff. "I believe I'm helping all three of you; I'm lugging your weight around aren't I?"

Neville just shakes his head. "We both know… know that's not what I mean. When she b-brought me back from that room, you two w-went off and spoke privately." He gulps, and I can't decide if its pain or blood loss that is causing the stutter. Either way, I'm not about to bring it up.

"I spoke privately with her because we had to plan how to get you and Weasley back to the rest of the Order alive."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why?" he croaks, supporting himself on the wall behind him. We've cloaked ourselves for this short time at the back of the alley, making sure to cover the space above us as well. We can't remain here too long though. "Why are you helping? Y-you hate us all, and you're a D-"

"Yes, I'm a Death Eater," I cut in, crossing my arms angrily. "I'm quite aware of that, and so is she. We started talking again under these circumstances, and although it might be unknown to you I am one of the reasons she got out of my Manor alive at all. I also got her fucking eyes fixed, although I know that probably sounds completely unbelievable as well! You know nothing about me Longbottom, so don't presume that my title defines who I am. People change and I am apparently no exception."

The boy tilted his head slightly and nearly toppled over, but I reach out and break his fall when I notice Hermione peering over at us. I might be angry but I kept my voice low, which means she has been observing us. How lovely.

"The question remains however," Neville says once I have gotten him to sit on the ground. "P-perhaps you really have changed and have decided to try and be good by helping our side, but I have to wonder what m-made you change your m-mind."

I click my tongue. "I may have changed Longbottom, but that doesn't make me an open book. I am sure you're most curious, but trust me when I say I have no intentions of indulging you in what's been happening to me as of late. They are not my secrets alone to share, and some of them I think would certainly upset Granger if anyone did find out about them. She was held prisoner there for a while after all."

He flinches lightly, as do most of the people whenever I mention this little fact. In his silence I take up the opportunity to consider our distance. We are nearing a mile but I don't believe we are out yet. It has to be at least another half mile, which just means more walking for us. I would kill for a broom at this point.

"I'm not sure what changed you," he says, drawing me from my thoughts, "But I suppose I can't complain. You're helping us, and you seem to know how to avoid your own- the Death Eaters. We would have a harder time getting around without you."

"Granger wouldn't even be able to lug both of you," I reply, glancing back at her. She's trying to haul the ginger to her feet, which means we must be moving again in a moment. "Give me a sec."

I quickly make my way over to Granger, softly touching her shoulder as I pass to instigate that we need to talk. She picks up the message easily enough and detaches herself from the she-weasel long enough to join me just a few feet away.

"When we reach the barrier there will be more Death Eater's around; they're going to try everything possible to keep outsiders from getting to the captives, unless Saint Potter decides to make an entrance."

"He won't," she replies with a shake of her head. "We can't be too close then since the throng of Voldemort lovers is still thin. The house is swarmed, and the barrier will be swarmed, so we must be someplace in the middle."

A quick nod confirms that these are my thoughts as well. "Indeed. Is she ready to go? We have to keep moving; the day only has so many hours. When night falls again those dark cloaks will have more of an advantage than we would in the shadows."

She blinks slowly, processing what I just said. "It's already been a day?"

"Well, the majority of one. Navigating through the streets while avoiding guards is tedious business; we can't waste time sitting here."

"They have to try and gain some strength Draco. They've been through a lot and we are lucky their bodies have held so long."

"Perhaps," I say, shrugging. "The sooner we can leave the better. Though I do have a question."

"What is it?"

Glancing at her, I search her face. She seems to tense up at my request, though I don't see why she should. What does she think I'm going to say? "What did you send to the Order in your patronus? You didn't tell them our location did you?"

"I told them it, yes," she says, and I fix a hard glare on her. "I also told them it would be changing that same night. They only know that we have some survivors and are making our way to an apparition point. I told them to not respond, since I have no idea where we will be at that time. Hopefully when we get past the barrier I can send another and get a couple Auror's to pick us up, since we won't be able to ever apparate into Hogwarts."

I shift. "They will be expecting us then."

"More or less."

Nodding, I turn away. "Then I hope we make it there." I move to walk back to Longbottom, but she catches my shoulder. Curious, I glance back at her.

"What were you and Neville talking about," she asks eyes wide. I frown, wondering what she fears he may have said.

I brush her off, continuing on my way. "Nothing of importance."

I'm surprised how long we have gone without encountering a Death Eater walking towards us. Sure, we have seen a number nearby but it had been a great many steps since one walked the same line we did. I suppose it's a relief, but it's also very curious. If we are nearing the barrier why does it appear that the number of Death Eater's are lessoning. Have their guard patterns changed or is something else building that we do not yet see?

I fear it's the second, and that causes me to glance back at Granger more than normal. Beside me, Longbottom continues to fidget as I lug him along. I want to bark at him to quit, but I can tell he is just as restless as I. It's so unusual to see so few guards, yet I almost feel more eyes on me. Something is certainly coming, and it's not going to be pretty.

Hopefully whatever is coming will strike after we get past the barrier, though that's a useless hope. The only thing that could be pursuing us is the Death Eater's, and they aren't likely to wait for us to get to an opportune location. I'm certain they are the eyes I feel on me, but I can't seem to find them.

Glancing back at the girls again, my heart stops cold. Granger's spell is wearing low again, and I can make out their forms as they continue to walk. It appears that she is supporting the ginger more and more, but that's not what breaks my heart; it is the cry I hear following my turn.

"Conjunctivitis Curse," someone cries, and I'm shoving Longbottom away from my form into the ground as the curse narrowly misses a dodging set of girls. They fall to the ground- with Hermione on top- and I vaguely hear the ginger whimper in pain as her friend's body smashes her beaten one. It's a moment later that my concealment spell has been renewed, and I am searching deserpatly for the attacker. I can't quite let my old associates see that I've switched- yet.

"Replace the concealment charm over yourself," I cry, attracting Granger's attention. I hide Longbottom and Weasley again, pushing them out of the way with my feet. I can hear people growing close. Fucking wonderful; attackers and we have nowhere to hide. And we were so very close to what I presume would be the barrier. Would figure, wouldn't it?

"How do we move Neville and Ginny if we can't see them?" Granger hisses from somewhere beside me. I'm glad she's hidden, but she does have a point. We have to defend ourselves and two invisible people from whatever slew of people are coming our way, and it's going to be difficult. Then something clicks in my mind.

Conjunctivitis Curse; when used properly the dark magic can permanently blind someone. My heart drops as I see the first Death Eater's appearing.

"Can you see?"

Silence follows my question, and I know something is wrong. I reach out and thankfully find her arm. "Can you?!"

"It's a temporary spell," she whispers, tensing up as another three attackers appear. I'm quick to hex two of them into a temporary sleep, and Granger takes out two more from what I can tell. All those weeks of having no eyes has really trained her.

"It's not a good thing Hermione," I hiss, looking around. More and more keep appearing. "We're being ambushed."

"I gathered that."

Repositioning my grip as I curse another Death Eater, I whisper into her ear, "Brace yourself; this is going to be tricky." I feel her nodding against my shoulder, and then I shove her away. "Stay against the wall; I'll keep them at bay as long as I can."

There's no time to wait for her response, and I hurry away to take down another. They already know we are hidden, and a quick glance confirms my suspicions that Longbottom and Weasley have not been forgotten and already there are people prowling near where I shoved them, looking- searching. The sudden onslaught is too much to handle with a temporarily blinded Granger and two useless, wounded Order members. Were I still with Voldemort, I might be laughing if someone else were in this position. No wonder the Order is so careful; bad things seem to happen to their people.

From above I spot something white, and chancing a look up I spot a white bird- an owl. It looks strangely familiar, and inside I cringe as realization dawns on me. Bloody fucking hell.

"Stupefy!" The cry rings out as one of the enemies falls to the ground, and I reluctantly stop attacking as a shower of spells attack the Death Eaters. I already know what's coming, and it sure as hell isn't going to be fun.

The Death Eater's fall back for now, and I assume they will wait for more of their own to arrive instead of being captured. As the last few fall back into the shadows I remove the concealment spell, earing myself many puzzled looks as the arriving Order members spot me. More than a few wands turn in my direction.

"Granger," I hiss, deciding it will not help my case to use her real name. "Come out and tell your moronic friends to put their wands away."

She appears a moment later, rubbing her eyes. It's obvious that the temporary spell is hurting her, but I make no move to help her; not now. "Who's here?"

"The bloody Order," I mutter, looing away from them. One face stands out among the rest, and I just have to roll my eyes at the boy's stupidity. Really, he is the most important wizard in Britain right now and he chooses to come on a dangerous mission like this? It's apparent that he has noticed me as well as he moves in closer.

"Malfoy?"

"Potter."