As soon as he appeared, he ignored the questions coming from everyone around him and directly went to see Hermione. As he climbed the stairs of the little Cottage, hundreds of questions came to his mind. Was she alright? How long had she been under the curse? Would she recover? Had the cuts been healed? Was she awake? Would she accept to see him after his aunt had done this to her?

Her room was at the end of the corridor, and he saw the French girl about to close the door when he arrived. She looked at him and, as if she had understood what he wanted, told him he could come in.

"She's been asking for you," she said, an enigmatic look on her face. "But be careful," she added. "Eet 'as been tiring for 'er."

Swallowing nervously, he opened the door of the bedroom cautiously and found her lying on a small bed, her head resting against a huge pillow. She looked terribly pale and tired, but a warm smile appeared on her face when she saw him at the doorway.

"Draco…"

Her voice was still rough from the torture she had to endure, but she did not seem to care about its state and asked him to come near her. He complied, sitting on the bed before cautiously taking her in his arms.

"I thought you were dead," he said in a small voice he did not recognize. "I thought you were dead and when I saw her above you I just…"

"Shhhhhh," she told him, gently running her fingers through his hairs. "I'm fine Draco, I really am."

"Every time you're far from me something happens, Hermione," he continued, his voice slightly trembling. "What will it be next time?"

"There won't be a next time, Draco, I promise."

"You'll stay with me?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I will."

He let out a sight he did not know he was holding and got her closer to him, until her forehead was resting against his and he could feel her breath on his cheek. She was smiling at him, he saw, and he brought his hand to her face and run his thumb down her cheek. She closed her eyes and his whole body tensed when he saw her leaned in. Closing his eyes too, he felt his heart beat faster and faster with anticipation until they were close enough to kiss. When their lips finally met, he felt her tremble slightly and tightened his grip around her waist.

Her mouth on his, he forgot everything. Where they were, what had happened. The only thing he knew was that she was in his arms, and that she had initiated the kiss that they were now sharing. His heart was beating so fast his head was spinning, and he could feel the now familiar warmth spreading throughout his entire body.

It was like an addiction, he decided after they had paused a few seconds to regain their breath. Unable to stop himself, he pulled her into a second kiss, this time more passionate.

"I love you," he breathed, planting kiss after kiss on her lips.

She only kissed him more, if it was possible, and his heart throbbed with happiness. She was his .

The sun was up in the sky when he woke up, and it took him a few minutes to recognize the bed where he was. Hermione was still sleeping, and he observed her for a few minutes, not really realizing what had happened a few hours earlier. They had kissed and cuddled until the first lights of the morning, and Hermione had asked him to stay with her until she fell asleep. He had been tired, too, and he had rapidly understood that he would not make it to his bed, if he even had one. Strangely, it had not really bothered him.

Someone knocked, and Draco hastily stepped out of the bed before Hermione – who had been awakened by the sudden sound – said the door could be opened. It was the French girl again – Fleur, he remembered, and she smiled knowingly when she saw them, her eyes resting on their linked hands.

"I 'ave to change the bandages, Hermione. And I 'ave to examine you. Would you mind letting us for a moment, Draco? Ron and 'Arry are not up yet, but it would be best if you could go into the kitchen. Bill 'ad to drag his brother away from the bedroom yesterday, and I don't want any fight in my house."

Both he and Hermione avoided direct eye contact with the blond girl and he hastily left the room, but not before giving Hermione a shy smile that made her blush even more.

He could still not believe it, he realized. Maybe he would have if they had had enough time to kiss more, but he found that he did not mind waiting for a bit. Now that he was sure she reciprocated his feelings, at least enough to kiss him, he wanted to take his time to savor whatever would grow between them.

"Fuck, I can't believe it!"

The voice startled him, and he came face to face with someone he recognized as a Gryffindor in their year.

"Thomas?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah, that's my name," said the dark-skinned boy awkwardly. "So, it's true then? You're with us?"

"Yeah," answered Draco a bit uncomfortably.

"How did it happen? Everyone said you were dead!" his former classmate seemed to be eager for more details.

"I'd like to know that too," said a voice coming from behind the door on his left. A red-headed man with numerous scars on his face had appeared, and he recognized him instantly.

"Weasley," he nodded quickly. "Thanks for accepting me here despite…" he tried not to look to long at the thin marks he could see "… despite everything."

"Don't mind them," he shrugged. "At least I'm alive, which is not what usually happens with Greyback. And the lady likes them," he added with a small smile on his lips. "Can't complain about that."

Draco hoped the man would not continue further on this particular topic. That was about as much as he could hear about a Weasley's private life.

"If you really want to know, then I suggest we find somewhere comfortable," he told them. "It's going to take a while."

When Hermione arrived, he had only begun talking about the day they had met, and she rapidly joined the conversation, giving far more details about the preparations that he would have. She seemed to enjoy talking about him discovering the Muggle world, and he thought that he recognized pride in her voice.

Luna Lovegood was here too, he discovered soon after. She had apparently been held captive with Thomas, a goblin and the old wandmaker at the Manor. The last two had been tortured a lot, it seemed, because only the Ravenclaw had come to listen to their story.

Potter and Weasley appeared almost at the end of it and he was glad the black-haired boy was there because, judging from the murderous looks the red-headed sent him, there could have been a fight. The sight of Weasley only made Draco bring Hermione closer to him and, from the corner of his eye, he saw that his move had had the consequences he intended. In the end, the two friends left the living room and he was able to finish the story of their adventures uninterrupted.

"That's impressive," Thomas said , whistling. "And what is it exactly you're after?"

"We cannot say," answered Hermione. They had left some details out, as they knew it would be too dangerous to tell them about the Horcruxes. "But it could help us destroy You-Know-Who."

"Well, if there's anything I can do, don't stop yourselves from asking!"

"Thank you, Dean," Draco looked sharply at the Gryffindor in front of him – wasn't she a bit too familiar with him? he wondered – "we'll definitely contact you if you can help us."

"I still got my coin with me," he told them, showing the golden Galleon. "I've been able to recontact Seamus since we left the Manor, and he says hi!"

"Oh!" Hermione almost jumped from the sofa. "Is he alright? Snape only mentioned that life at Hogwarts was worse than under Umbridge's reign, and I think he mentioned him when he told us about the sword."

"Yeah, apparently a large part of the old D.A's members are now in the Room of Requirement, they organize actions against the Carrows and help deliver the children in the dungeons."

"They WHAT?"

"I don't think you want to know more, Hermione," he told her with a tight smile. "But if that can reassure you, there has been no death yet."

"What are you talking about?" Potter and Weasley were back, and their Gryffindor friend repeated everything he had said and even gave some details until Fleur called them for lunch.

"So, this is weird."

All of them had finally found the time to reunite a few days after the event at the Manor, and Harry felt like he had just voiced everyone's secret opinion. Since that fateful day, it seemed that Hermione and Malfoy had – finally – accepted what he had been suspected for a few months now, and the atmosphere in the room was awkward.

He himself had had enough time to accept the idea that his best friend and (almost former) enemy would one day begin a relationship (it had been as obvious as Malfoy being a Death Eater, really). However, they were still both shy toward each other, hesitating to show their affection in front of everyone, and it sometimes led to bizarre situations when only one of them decided to take the first step.

And there was also the fact that Ron was not happy with the situation at all. After he had finally understood that they were really together (Malfoy running to Hermione just after he had arrived had been enough to plant the idea in Ron's head, and staying almost an entire night in her room had only confirmed it) the red-headed had begun provoking Malfoy several times a day, and because of this Harry had tried to avoid letting them together in the same room as often as he could. Mealtime had become unpleasant, and Bill had finally decided to talk to his brother earlier this evening.

"That's one way to put it," spat Ron.

Harry saw Hermione's face fall when she heard him, and immediately Malfoy took her hand and squeezed it. What I would give to be with Ginny just a few minutes , he thought bitterly.

"Let's not begin another fight, if you don't mind," he said to both boys. "We've been here for an entire week, and I think it's time to make an update about the situation. Hermione, you told me you had thought of a place where another Horcruxe could be. Can you tell us more about that?"

"Yes," she answered, grateful for the chance to speak of something else than her relationship. "Do you remember when Bellatrix said they could not call You-Know-Who?" Everyone nodded.

"Oh," said Harry, understanding what she wanted to tell them. "You think there is one in her vault?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure of it. After all, he gave one to Lucius, why not to her?"

Harry saw Malfoy stiffen when she mentioned his family and briefly wondered what would happen the day he introduced her as her girlfriend.

"I think that's good news!" he told her. "Even if there's still the problem of breaking into Gringotts without any suspicion. Who's got an idea?"

The three of them sat in silence for a moment, trying to think of a solution.

"Wait until Griphook is healed and ask him to help us?" said Ron.

"Disguise ourselves, go to the bank, access to the vault?" proposed Hermione.

"Won't work," Draco told both of them. "Goblins won't take sides in our conflict and will only accept to help you for a price. And the family vaults are located in a place difficult to access for people who are not related to us. Not mentioning the fact that poor aunt Bella passed away a few days ago, which means that I'm her only heir as the last descendant of the Black family."

"So what," asked Harry, "that means your parents are now in possession of the contents?"

"Not yet, Potter. As there was nobody, the goblins have to wait one year before closing my account. In the meantime, my mother is the only one who can access the Black part of the fortune."

"Is there something you want to tell us, Malfoy?" asked Harry, sensing that the blond had some information to share.

"Well. I'm going to propose something and, before stopping me, please wait until I'm done."

It was a terrible idea, Harry thought, to trust Malfoy to that point. Yet he knew that there was a chance of success and that was why, after a lot of negotiations with Ron (who had kindly remembered him the part of his speech from last summer, when he had predicted Malfoy would betray them and bring them to his family), he had accepted the plan.

It had been decided that only he and Malfoy would go, the latter for obvious reasons, and that Dobby would bring Narcissa Malfoy to a location only known by themselves. She would appear with her hands tied, and both boys would be disillusioned and under his cloak as a measure of precaution. Only then Malfoy would reveal himself, and they would see if she accepted to be tested by Veritaserum. If not, they would modify her memory before sending her back home.

The blond was nervous, Harry could tell. He had spent the previous days wondering how she would react, and if she would accept to help them. If not, it meant that he had lost even his mother to Voldemort's ideology. Still, Harry thought it would be alright. If the woman had dared brave His orders to ask Snape for his assistance, she would accept to retrieve the Horcrux for them – if it was there at all.

Both of them stilled when they heard the sound of an apparition, and they saw that Narcissa Malfoy had arrived. She was in her bed clothes – she had been asleep when Dobby had come – and seemed not to understand what was happening.

"Why am I tied?" she asked, her voice condescending. "Is this how the Order gets prisoners? By kidnapping them in the middle of the night, when they are defenseless?"

"We're not the Order."

Narcissa Malfoy had stilled, looking in the direction where the voice had come from with a strange look.

"Am I hallucinating?" she asked quietly. "Draco, is that you?"

Harry felt Malfoy leave from under the cloak and go near his mother. She had heard him and was now trying to see him.

"Surely you cannot be a ghost," she said, her voice trembling. "You can't, I know that."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked again, and she nearly jumped.

"That day at the Manor, when Potter and his friends were brought. There was something strange. I clearly remember someone telling me that the Dark Lord would soon be gone. That was you, wasn't it? Draco, please," she said, the tremor in her voice making Harry shudder.

Malfoy lifted the spell, and Narcissa Malfoy fell on her knees when she saw him.

"I knew it," she said, sobbing as he kneeled to hug her tightly. "You were there that day, you're not dead. But why am I here, Draco?" she asked after a few minutes. "I thought you would have wanted me to forget that you were alive because of the Dark Lord?"

Harry saw Malfoy's face harden, and he spoke almost reluctantly.

"Some things have changed, Mother, and we need your help."

He briefly explained the situation and, after she had been tested, he freed her.

"Potter's here too," he added, and the Boy-Who-Lived lifted the charms he wore.

"Good evening, Mrs. Malfoy. Sorry for the inconvenience," he said.

"No inconvenience, Mr. Potter. I'm glad you were able to safely leave the Manor. I myself was not able to do anything at the moment, but I wish I could have."

Harry nodded, suddenly remembering the position she had been when he had arrived after having been freed. Had she wanted to help Hermione, that night?

"So, will you help us to get the object, then?" he asked.

"I want to help you, Mr. Potter, but I'm afraid your plan is not the best. I have control over Draco's vault and the Black fortune on the paper, but as Draco is the Heir and not officially recognized as dead," she smiled when she said that, "he is the only one who can take something out. The funds are frozen until next June, and only then will I be able to manage them."

"Shit," swore Harry. "I mean…"

"No need for excuses, Mr. Potter. I have another idea for you, but… but it means that my Draco will have to come with me."

"What do you mean, Mother?"

"Mr. Potter, I saw that you had a beautiful invisibility cloak. Is it the famous Potter's legacy?"

"It is."

"I've heard a bit about it. The best cloak ever made by a wizard. Maybe not by a wizard, according to the legend… Anyways, my vault is not far away from Bellatrix's vault, so if you come with me, we'll be able to access it easily."

"What about the Thief's Downfall?" inquired Malfoy.

"The cloak is not a disguise, and you are authorized in these parts of the bank."

"But. Do you really think the goblin will accept to open the vault if he knows you cannot take anything from it? Won't it be suspicious, too?"

"You will make him help us. If we are good enough he won't remember anything at all, which is better in my opinion, and as the rightful heir you will be able to access the vault without being armed by the different charms."

"You mean we imperius him?" asked Harry.

"We don't have a lot of choices, Mr. Potter. If you want the object, you will have to make certain compromises about ethics."

"I see," he said. "I'm not sure Hermione will like Malfoy going there, but…"

He saw the blond scowl at him, but Narcissa only laughed.

"Oh Draco darling, do you think I haven't understood what happened that night? I didn't really think that Kreattur had been able to kill my sister. Weasley or Potter would have been more plausible, and I can't truthfully say I'm sure they would have succeeded that easily."

"Can we have that talk another day, please?"

It was fun to see Malfoy so queasy, thought Harry. He would make sure to make him remember that conversation as often as he could.

"Don't fret, darling. I'm sure we will soon have enough time to discuss that wonderful event in detail. Do I need to retrieve some jewelry while I'm in my vault?" Harry was sure he recognized teasing in her voice.

"Mother that's enough," grumbled Malfoy.

"If you say so. Now that we have almost agreed, what shall I do next? Will Dobby come to fetch me again, or to tell me what you've decided? And how come he can still access the Manor?"

"Dobby was born in the Manor," said the little elf from behind a tree, making everyone jump. "So the Manor recognized him."

"I see. And the other elves do not know of your presence?"

"No, Mistress Malfoy. Not if Dobby does not want them to know."

"Very well then. I feared that someone had been able to access our wards."

Harry took a galleon from his pocket and gave it to Mrs. Malfoy.

"This is the best we have," he said. "We did not want you to have one, because it is dangerous, but if you are willing to help us you will keep it until we are done with that mission."

"Good," she said, accepting the small golden coin. "This is very ingenious," she continued after they had explained the use of it. "I suppose Miss Granger is responsible for this?"

"She is, yes," confirmed Harry. "Fifth year, because of Umbridge."

Narcissa Malfoy smiled, and turned to say goodbye to her son. After a few minutes, she let him go and turned back to Harry.

"It was a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Potter. I hope we will one day have the time to enjoy tea together."

"Gladly, Mrs. Malfoy," he replied.

And, with a last glance at her son, she disappeared.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea."

Hermione had been waiting for them when they had arrived, asking what had happened. Weasley had not wanted to stay up and decided he could wait until the next morning.

"Is this because she said the plan was not perfect?" asked Potter.

"Not at all," she told him, but Draco could tell she was a bit offended – she had helped with the planning. "But I don't want Draco taking any risks."

"Hermione," he said, "I've been taking risks for months now. I don't think that a small visit at Gringotts is going to change anything."

"We stayed hidden all the time."

"Most of the time, only. There was Godric Hallows, and less than two weeks ago the Manor. I could have been seen then."

"It's just… I told you I wouldn't leave, but I thought it worked for you too" she said with a small voice.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Potter discreetly leaving the living room.

"I know, 'Mione, and I'm sorry. But I don't think we have another choice. My mother is right. And I'm making her take enough risks. Remember that I'm not a Gryffindor. You're the one always walking directly into the lion's den," he added.

"I'm not really," she said. "It's more because of Harry…"

"You know it, yet you continue following him," he teased her. "Wait, I do that too, and look where it got me. I've certainly been more in danger now that I was in sixth year."

"Don't joke about that, you could have died that night in the bathroom."

"And it was Potter's fault, as always. You know what? Once this is over, we never see him again."

"I couldn't do that!"

"Yes, you could. We would buy a nice house in Southern France and…"

"A house? You want to buy a house with me?" she gaped.

"Well why not?" he asked, a bit embarrassed by his enthusiasm. "Would you refuse to live with me? After all, that's more or less what we've done so far…"

"I don't know," she said, tracing patterns on his arms without looking at him. "I think I'd like to finish my studies first."

Draco looked at her, surprised. She had not said yes, but it was not a no either.

"I can definitely agree to that," he said carefully. "In fact, I'd like to pass my N.E.W.T.s too."

She smiled at him and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Well," she told him, smiling more. "Then I suppose you have a cup to retrieve, and we have a Dark Lord to kill."