AN: I know this has taken forever. My apologies. Damn teachers and their homework. Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate it!
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Chapter 6: Mistakes
Draco woke up on Saturday morning feeling anxious. This was it, his first mission as a member of The Order. He could only hope that he would do everything right.
When he arrived at breakfast, Draco was surprised to see Dumbledore making an announcement. "Again, the Hogsmeade visit for today has been canceled." There were various groans and sounds of indignation from the student body. "I have been warned of impending danger today and I do not want any of you there. Do not attempt to sneak into Hogsmeade, as it may result in fatal consequences." Silence filled the Great Hall at this statement.
Draco sighed in relief. No one would be going. No students would be injured. However, there was sure to be plenty of witches and wizards there for the day and Draco was still worried for their safety.
Soon it was time for him to go to the village. He took a secret passage, that he was sure only he knew about, which led to the cellar of Honeydukes. To burn off some of his nervous energy, he sprinted through the tunnel at top speed. About halfway there, he heard voices ahead. "Did you hear that?" He heard someone mutter. Another person responded, but Draco did not his or her words. "It sounded like some sort of scuffling behind us." Draco knew whoever it was had heard him running. Some gits are trying to sneak into Hogsmeade, he thought to himself. He jogged forward a little bit to catch up with the people and warn them.
He skidded to a halt when he saw who it was. "Malfoy." Harry Potter spat. Standing beside him were Ron and Hermione, both looking as malicious as Harry. "What are you doing here?"
Malfoy struggled to speak. Talking to them put his actions in the spotlight in his mind and he did not like it. "Surely Dumbledore told you." He muttered, working to keep any hostility from his voice.
Ron shook his head impatiently. "He didn't tell us anything. In case you haven't noticed, Malfoy, there are three of us and one of you so keep talking." He snarled.
Draco was in shock. How could Dumbledore not have told them? That sneaky bastard. He thought, almost smiling. He wanted confrontation. He wanted us to face each other and realize we're on the same side. "I am a member of The Order." He stated firmly.
Hermione's
mouth gaped open and Harry and Ron were silent for a few moments. Ron was not
at a loss of words for long. "Bull." He said viciously.
Ah, of course they would not believe me. Draco thought. "Don't believe me, Ron?" He said, this time trying to sound like his vain self. He clapped a hand over his mouth as soon as he spoke.
"What did you call me?" Ron questioned, almost looking like he was ready to laugh now.
Draco looked down sheepishly. He had never meant to say his first name a loud. "It's not important." He said quickly. "What is important is that Voldemort is about to attack Hogsmeade and we are not there yet. Don't believe me, do you? Well than hear this. I was a Death Eater for a very short period of time." He muttered so softly that the trio could barely hear him. He couldn't believe what he was telling them. "However, I saw the error of my ways and became a spy. Still need more evidence? The password for Dumbledore's office is Phoenix. Sirius Black is also a member of The Order, and is not a Voldemort supporter as previously suspected."
The three Gryffindors' jaws had dropped at his last statement. Draco looked on, satisfied. It was Ron who spoke first. Draco was surprised to hear his voice shaking. "Fine Malfoy. Maybe you are a member, but I know you were involved in that attack against Hermione's parents and-"
"Ron, stop it." Hermione said gently, laying a hand on his shoulder.
Ron grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly, but continued to speak nonetheless. "No, he needs to hear this, Hermione. If he's changed the way he says he has, then he knows he deserves it." He drew a breath before continuing. "I know you helped kill her parents, you son of a bitch. And maybe you are different now, but know this: No matter how many good deeds you perform," He gave a small sarcastic grin at this. "you will always be a Death Eater. You will always have helped killed Hermione's parents, and you will always have tortured Harry and nothing you do is going to make that go away."
~*~*~
Ron's words had haunted Draco for the longest time. Even now they played over and over in his head, torturing him because he knew that Ron was right. There was no way to make things perfect. He was no longer innocent and even if he had joined The Order, that didn't mean that everything was forgiven.
And he had deserved it. Every single word. Though at the time, he hadn't been thinking about it. Draco had thrown Ron's words aside and went on to musing about the events that were to take place at Hogsmeade.
~*~*~
Ron, Harry, and Hermione turned away from him and continued along the passageway. Draco followed them, trailing a little behind. What was to come? What would happen? Would someone die? Could he prevent it?
These thoughts were eating away at Draco's soul. Soon enough they reached Honeydukes. Pretending that Draco was not there, the trio of Gryffindors snuck into the Honeydukes cellar and then stepped outside of the shop and into the village of Hogsmeade. Draco followed a few minutes later, making sure that he left enough time between himself and Harry, Ron, and Hermione so they wouldn't be associated with each other.
The sight that met Draco's eyes when he arrived scared the hell out of him. He was late. The attack had already begun. He had already screwed up. Determined not to dwell on his mistake he joined the fray.
Too many Death Eaters were around for him to start helping the Light Side. "Imperio!" He yelled, but missed his target on purpose.
He watched as Wormtail shot the Cruciatus Curse at Ron. Ron screamed and twitched and Draco stood by, powerless to stop the pain that his ally was enduring. Hermione, however, was not helpless. She stunned Wormtail with a flick of her wand and dragged Ron towards the side of the battle, away from prying Death Eater eyes.
Glancing around to make sure he was not being seen, Draco ran over to Ron and Hermione. "What do you want?" Ron asked harshly, still gasping from the pain he had just experienced.
Draco ignored him. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"What do we have here?" Draco turned around to see Crabbe's father staring down at him. Strike two, he thought to himself. He had screwed up again.
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