A/N: Sorry for the delay! I honestly have no good excuse. Please review! Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Reviews make me happy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 33: The Return

Three days passed as another three feet of snow piled up outside Draco's window. It had been a brutal winter. Draco couldn't help but worry about Hermione.

The next morning, Draco awoke to another snowstorm, his window caked in ice. His trunk had been packed the previous night, and he would have to brave the storm to get to King's Cross that day.

"Goodbye Mother," Draco said somewhat tiredly, pecking her on the cheek. He nodded at his father before the Death Eaters shoved him out the door and whisked him to King's Cross Station.

Draco stood alone on the Platform, glancing around at the greatly reduced student population solemnly boarding the scarlet engine. The steam from the train cut through the chilly air, making the platform seem almost warm and cheery. But it was far from it.

Draco watched teary-eyed parents whispering to their children as they reluctantly let their children board the train. He watched a group of redheads follow Ginny Weasley until the train's door, sadly waving goodbye to her.

When the platform was almost empty, Draco boarded the Hogwarts Express and slid into one of the many empty compartments. He tucked his trunk into the rack above his seat and sat down. He pulled his knees to his chest and watched the platform slide away from view as the train lurched forward.

The window was soon coated with frost and snow, and Draco could no longer see what was outside.

Once bored with staring at the white window, Draco began to wait for lunch trolley to come by. When it finally did, Draco bought ten chocolate frogs and five packets of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from the lady pushing the trolley, who Draco noticed was no longer smiling. She looked as if she was about to cry, and almost fainted when Draco's sleeve fell back and revealed his Dark Mark.

After devouring three chocolate frogs and half a pack of Every Flavor Beans over the course of an hour, Draco reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out the notebook from Hermione. He ran his fingers over the cover before opening the notebook and turning the the last page that had been written on.

Dear Draco,

I hope you're alright. I can't say much at the moment. I can hardly write, my fingers are too numb. I had a terrible Christmas. I hope yours was alright though. That's all I can do at this point, hope.

I hope to see you soon,

Love,

Hermione

Draco had shown Luna the letter the second he had finished reading it the day it came. Luna seemed worried, but did not elaborate when he asked what was wrong. She simply told him that hoping was really all they could do.

"All I can do is hope I'll get out of here," Luna said that evening, the notebook in her hands. Draco had seen a tear slide down her cheek. He hadn't known what to say, and simply sat next to her until she handed the notebook back to him, at which point he had gotten up and left before he started crying as well.

Now Draco wished he had said something, because that was the last time he had seen Luna before leaving. He wanted to thank her for talking to him every evening until the end of the holidays and giving him some company, however odd that company may have been.

The train came to a stop and Draco placed the notebook back into his pocket. He picked up his trunk and carried it with him onto the carriage up to the castle. He didn't trust anyone else with his belongings.

After the feast that night, Draco slunk off the the Room of Requirement. He sat there all night, his head pressed against the pane of a giant window, and stared outside at the blackened Forbidden Forest and the almost regal-looking Whomping Willow. He wondered how many wars those trees had endured, and how many more they would have to endure after this war.

A soft blue light filled the room when the sun rose the next morning. Draco stretched and got up groggily. He pulled on a clean set of robes and headed for the Slytherin Common Room. The password, he was happy to find, had not changed after the holidays. He shoved his trunk underneath his bed in the dormitory, then left the Common Room, walking toward the Great Hall.

After a simple breakfast of toast with marmalade, Draco headed for the dungeons. Potions was first that day.

Crabbe and Goyle had started following Draco around again. Draco didn't try to fight it. He just went through the motions day and night. He just tried to get through lessons, which were pointless, meals, which were tasteless, and breaks, which were useless. The Carrows never gave anyone a break.

Every evening, Draco combed through the Prophet, searching for any information about where Hermione might be. All he had stumbled upon was a ton of "Wanted" posters. Draco was also looking for any news about Malfoy Manor, as he knew nobody would inform him if anything happened to his parents.

Draco also spent countless hours roaming the grounds. He always carried a book with him and sat down to read in any place that took his fancy.

Each night at dinner, at least one student would be called out of the Great Hall. Their sobs rang throughout the school as everyone listened to the sounds of their losses. No one was allowed to go home though. Hogwarts had become a prison equipped with the best equipment to torture every person trapped within the castle walls. Except for, of course, those who actually wanted to be there.

Many of the professors had begun reminding the seventh-years that their N.E. would be coming up. Draco didn't bat an eye. He went on with his routine of putting no effort into his schoolwork, or anything else for that matter.

Soon the snow melted, and the windy spring began. Draco watched the sparkling white fade away and be replaced by a green-brown mess.

Draco hadn't received a letter from Hermione since Christmas. He was starting to get very worried.

He stopped reading the Prophet. He'd realized it was a bunch of garbage meant to make everyone fear Voldemort. True, Draco did fear Voldemort. But he did know that Voldemort still had a long way to go before he was fully in control.

Desperate for a new information source, Draco began eavesdropping on the conversations of the other Houses. Being as discreet as he possibly could, he managed to hear an interesting snippet of a conversation between two Ravenclaws:

"...Really? Are you sure?"

"Of course! I heard it on Potterwatch last night."

"Ah I must've missed it! What's the next password?"

Here the Ravenclaw responding looked around suspiciously and mouthed the password to her friend. Luckily, Draco managed to figure out what she had said.

Armed with this information, Draco set out to listen to Potterwatch. He stole a Slytherin second-year's radio from under a dorm bed and sat in front of the radio for hours, trying to get the right station, muttering the password under his breath. He did this in the Restricted Section of the library, where nobody went anymore. Students seemed afraid that opening a book on Dark Magic would somehow summon Voldemort to Hogwarts.

After two weeks, Draco finally stumbled upon the correct station.

"...Good evening, folks this is River on Potterwatch..."

Draco turned the volume a bit lower and brought the radio closer to his ear so Madame Pince couldn't hear it and shoo him out of the library.

"...and we request a moment of silence for the following people who have fallen during the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named..."

A list of names followed. Draco listened carefully for any familiar names. Thankfully, he did not recognize any names that were listed.

"...Now we would like to remind listeners that Snatchers are everywhere, and please keep the Taboo in mind. A small slip of the tongue could leave to your demise..."

"...I never thought talking could kill you until now..."

"...Of course you have! Remember Professor Binns?..."

"...Blimey, I'd forgotten him!..."

Draco almost smiled as he listened to the banter between the people hosting the show. He was sure he recognized some of the voices. Yes, there was that boy who did the Quidditch commentary, and that teacher...Lupin, was it?

Draco listened until the end of the broadcast, and carefully noted down the next password. Then he scurried out of the library before he was forced to face Madame Pince.

The next evening Draco began packing his bags again. The train would be leaving the next day; they had a week off for the Easter holidays.

He could only hope it would be an almost normal holiday.