Thank you to the wonderful beta of this story, AmbiguousGoldfish

Chapter Seven- Becoming a Part of Something

Harry closed his eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze that rushed over him as he stood at the top of the hill, watching as Ron tried to teach Hermione how to skip rocks out into the ocean. It had been four days since he'd overheard Draco and Hermione having their little talk, and since then things had gotten better. Not a lot better but still better, and the way things were going Harry was willing to take that as a win.

Hermione had her good days and bad days.

On her bad days she wouldn't have gotten much sleep the night before. Ron stayed up with her for hours until she was finally able to fall asleep only to wake up screaming hours later, convinced that she was back with Bellatrix.

The day would follow with Hermione breaking down over the littlest of things or freaking out over nothing. Just a few days ago, Bill dropped a couple of pots and pans on the floor. This had set Hermione off and Harry had no choice but to stun her before she was able to hurt any of them. Harry now held Hermione's wand next to his within his sleeve, as everyone decided that it would be best if Hermione didn't have her wand until she was better, or at least capable of knowing what true dangers were.

During these days Ron never left her side, helping her with even the smallest of tasks. Hermione seemed to spend all day in her head, her eyes unfocused as she wandered around the small cabin, attending to Draco as if she were on autopilot.

On good days, like today, Hermione was more focused and alert, getting at least a few good hours of sleep the night before. This morning Hermione got up and showered and made breakfast. In Harry's eyes, this was a big improvement. Even more shocking was that Ron somehow convinced her to go outside for a little while which led to him teaching her how to skip rocks.

"Don't you think it's a bit creepy to be staring at them?"

Harry turned his head to see Draco standing behind him, wearing a pair of Ron old sweats that Bill found among the boxes of discarded belongings., His hair was no longer slicked back, making his features seem softer, which Harry thought suited the blond quite nicely.

"Just enjoying the view. It's not often that you have days like this," Harry replied before turning back around. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I've been resting...for days," Draco mumbled. He took a few steps forward so he was standing next to Harry. "Anyways, Fleur said that it would be good for me to get up and walk around a little. I decided to get some fresh air and that's when I saw you standing out here," Draco explained.

"How is she?" Draco asked, watching as Ron wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist and pulled her into the water with him.

"It depends which day you ask. Today...she's doing good," Harry replied. They stood in silence for a few minutes watching the couple in the water. "Why did you do it?" Harry finally asked. The question had been bugging him since they all landed on the beach.

"You mean why did I take the knife for you?" Draco clarified .

Harry gave a small nod.

"Honestly...I don't know. I was standing there trying to find a way to help that wouldn't expose me. I saw my aunt throw her knife and I knew if it hit you the war would be over and I knew I couldn't let that happen. Before I was fully aware of what I was doing I'd jumped into the path of the knife. Something took over, like an instinct," Draco tried to explain, not sure if he was doing it justice .

Harry gave a small smile as he listed. "I overheard you talking to Hermione a few days ago," Harry admitted. "You told her it was never your choice to take the mark?"

"It wasn't. After my father's failure at the Ministry of Magic, the Dark Lord was furious. He demanded that I take the mark to make up for what had happened."

"Why? Why didn't you fight it?"

"Because he said if I didn't he would kill my mother. They're family, they're blood. You do what you have to do-"

"That's not the same thing," Harry cut Draco off.

"I'm sorry?"

"Being blood doesn't mean you're family. For the longest time I thought it was. Being family means being there for each other, through the good and the bad, you help each other. Hermione, the Weasleys, Remus, they are my family," Harry explained.

"So even though Hermione is going through a hard time right now…" Draco trailed off.

"Even though she's going through a hard time at the moment, I'm still going to be by her side. I'm not going to leave her just like she didn't leave me when I was going through a hard time."

"...I don't know a family like that," Draco said, looking down at his feet in embarrassment. In his family you have to be useful, otherwise you are nothing. His whole life Draco had been fighting for the approval of his parents and for what?

"We need help to fight V- er, the Dark Lord, and if you are willing, we will like you to join us. You'd be a big help seeing as you have insider information, you know his plans. With you we can get one step ahead of him."

"You mean, you want me to join you? Fight for the light?" Draco asked in disbelief. No one had ever asked him to be a part of something meaningful before, to consider what he wanted.

"If you want to, you don't have to if you-"

"Yes," Draco said before Harry could finish. "I will help you fight."