It was Saturday morning. Draco was supposed to meet Ginny outside the castle, where he was presently waiting. He had eaten very little for breakfast because of the churning feeling in his stomach. He hadn't been on many dates--not that this was a date--and he knew that she had. He zipped up his sweatshirt when a cold autumn wind began to pick up.

"Hi, Draco," Ginny said breathlessly when she reached him. "Have you been waiting long? I woke up late because I was up half the night working on an essay."

"I understand. I haven't been here very long." They started walking down the slightly cobbled path toward the all-Wizard village. "So, what do you want to do?" he asked uneasily.

"Oh, I don't know," Ginny replied, shrugging. "We could go into the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer, or the Hog's Head, for that matter." Draco suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Oh." Her face fell. "I suppose you don't want to be seen with me. I should have known."

"No, no," he said quickly. "C'mon, I'll buy you a butterbeer." He took her hand.

She stared at him for a minute before they started walking again. When they reached Hogsmeade, they went straight into the Three Broomsticks and ordered two bottles of butterbeer from Madam Rosmerta. "This is nice. I never thought I'd be sitting across the table from Draco Malfoy." She giggled slightly. "So, are you as big a Quidditch fan as every other boy? You're an excellent Seeker--don't get me wrong--but do you really love it?"

"I only play because my father wants me to," he said sullenly. "But it's all right, I guess. My family really isn't known for being all that good at sports. I know your brothers all played it."

"Yeah. I'm not much good, though, and neither is Ron, really," she said. "Don't tell him I said that."

"There's not much chance of that," Draco replied, "seeing as we're not exactly on speaking terms."

"You should be," Ginny insisted. "You've got to put all this rivalry behind you."

"It's hard," Draco said softly, "and…complicated." He took a drink from his bottle of butterbeer. "I don't expect anyone to understand."

"If you ask me, you're just being stubborn--both of you." She turned as someone walked in. "Oh, great," she sighed. Draco spun around to see Ron, Harry, and Hermione walking inside. "Hopefully they won't see us," Ginny murmured.

"Ginny!" Hermione called. "Grab me a butterbeer, Harry," she said and approached the table. "Who are you here with--oh…hello, Draco."

He cleared his throat. "Hello, Hermione. Having a good year?"

She looked taken aback. "Yes, thank you. I expect you are as well?"

"Could be better," he replied honestly.

"You know," Hermione said quietly, "I never thanked you for what you did last year. If you hadn't been there, we all could have been killed." She swallowed. "Erm, you two probably want to be alone. We'll sit somewhere else."

"No, that's all right," Ginny said quickly. "You can sit here. C'mon, Draco, let's make some room."

He rose a little and she pulled his chair closer to hers. "Maybe I'd better go," he suggested.

"Don't be daft," Ginny dismissed.

At that moment Ron and Harry arrived. Harry looked mildly surprised, while Ron looked dumbfounded. "What," he began slowly, "are you doing with my sister?"

"What does it look like?" Draco smirked.

"Ron, don't overreact," Ginny said.

"I'd hardly call this overreacting," Ron said through gritted teeth. "He's probably trying to corrupt you." He pulled up a chair for himself and for Harry, and sat down. "As long as you're here, Draco, maybe you could tell Snape not to set such horrible essays."

"I thought the truth potion essay was rather easy," Hermione commented.

"Everything's easy for you," Ron retorted.

"Well, I do pay attention," Hermione shot back. "And if you did, you might not have such a difficulty in writing essays."

"Would you two quit fighting?" Ginny said loudly. "We could all try to have a conversation--that would be nice, wouldn't it?" she asked hopefully.

Draco took another swig of butterbeer. "I'm game." He noticed Harry remained very quiet. Perhaps having him here made Potter uncomfortable.

"I'll stop if she will," Ron said grumpily.

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm not the one who's arguing, Ronald." Receiving a warning look from Ginny, she said, "So, how has your sixth year been, Ginny?"

"It's all right. The homework is a nightmare, but it's not as bad as last year's." She shrugged and, sensing the tension, said, "Draco and I were going to visit the Shrieking Shack, so I'll see you guys back in the common room, all right?"

"'Bye," Harry finally spoke up, while Ron scowled.

Hermione stood up and walked them to the door. "I'm sorry about that, Ginny. Harry's still feeling a bit…erm, well callous…toward you, Draco, so just forget about it. And Ron, well, he's just being a bit overprotective of you, Ginny." She cast a nervous glance in Harry and Ron's direction. "Well, I'd better get back. Have fun."

"See you later," Ginny said and they left the Three Broomsticks. "I'm sorry, Draco, we shouldn't have come in the first place. We should have gone somewhere more secluded, like you said in the first place. Maybe we should just go back to Hogwarts."

"Ginny," Draco said hastily, "I don't want to go back. Are we going to the Shrieking Shack, or not?"

She quirked an eyebrow. "You still want to hang out?"

"I wouldn't have said that if I didn't." When they reached the Shrieking Shack, Draco wrenched open the door and walked inside. "This place is great."

Ginny stepped carefully on the rickety floorboards. "To tell you the truth, it gives me the creeps."

"Really? I wouldn't have thought that from you."

She grimaced as a bat flew overhead. "Are we really supposed to be here? I mean, it's not even allowed..."

"Where's your sense of adventure?" He smiled. "You know, I can't explain it, but for some reason, I can talk to you. It's almost as if we've been friends for a long time. I mean, you're the last person I would have imagined myself going to Hogsmeade with. No offense," he added quickly. She shrugged. "Before this year, all I wanted was to be left alone. And now…everything's different."

Ginny blushed. "Erm…thanks." She tucked her hair behind her ears and began to wring her hands. "I don't usually get this way," she explained, her voice quaking slightly. "Erm--what do you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to thank you…for accepting me the way you have." His cheeks turned slightly pink. "I know I did some awful things last year…and my father did some terrible things, but I tried to do some good as well. I risked my life to help Harry--my father hasn't found out, but if he did, he'd probably throw me out onto the street." He sighed. "I've changed. Crabbe and Goyle--I can hardly stand them anymore. I've got new friends, but that doesn't seem to help. I've no respect around here anymore. I suppose Potter didn't tell anyone how I saved his neck last year. If it weren't for me, he'd be dead!" he finished bitterly.

"I'm sorry," Ginny said after a long moment.

"Stop apologizing for things you didn't do," he snarled.

She backed away. "Ron never told me what you did. He doesn't speak very highly of you normally, so when he didn't say anything at all, I thought it was an improvement. So…erm, what did you do?"

He stared at her for a moment, and then began, "I was in the dungeons last year--I'm not sure what I was doing there, but Professor Snape was with me. It was after all students had been ordered out of Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, of course, didn't leave. They were in the dungeons that night as well. I heard screaming and wand fire and I was going to run away, but something made me move toward the noise. Somehow Snape and I got separated and I came upon a huge door. It looked as if it had been blasted through. When I looked inside, I saw Harry immediately--he was standing before this huge cloaked figure whose face I couldn't see. Hermione was on the ground; she wasn't unconscious because I could hear her weakly calling out to Harry. I couldn't see Ron at all." His eyes suddenly became very wide in the darkness of the Shrieking Shack. "And then the cloaked man raised his wand and cried something out. Harry was knocked to the ground and the man was raising his wand again, probably to mutter the Killing Curse. So, before I even had a chance to think about it, I ran into the room and stunned the man. Something happened, then, and I don't really remember any more…but he recognized me…Voldemort."

Ginny let out a little gasp. "You haven't been worried all summer that he might…come after you?"

Draco shook his head. "I'm not important to him, Harry Potter is." He leaned back on the railing and it creaked loudly. "So, now you know what happened. I'm actually surprised they didn't tell you."

Ginny wrung her hands absently. "Ron's always blamed himself for what happened…he never seemed to want to talk about it." She checked her watch. "Oh, dear, it's late--I've still got that essay to finish. Sorry we have to cut this so short, but we'd better go."

"You go ahead," he said.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. 'Bye." He watched her hurry out of the creaking building. Draco was not in the mood to go back. And he especially did not want to be harassed by any Gryffindors or Slytherins about being at Hogsmeade with Ginny Weasley. He wandered around the Shrieking Shack for another half an hour, and then slowly headed back to the castle. He had made it back in time for dinner, but he really didn't feel much like eating after reliving that night. When he arrived at his dormitory later that evening, his raven was waiting for him with a letter. Draco untied the letter from Edgar's leg and opened it. It was another from his father.

My son,
Once again, I hope you are well. I have some troubling news to tell you. Your mother thought I should wait, but I believe you must be told immediately. The Dark Lord has come to me, requesting my help, and I have no choice but to give it. He has informed me of an incident that occurred last year and I must press upon you the importance of never doing such a thing again. If you show even the slightest support for Harry Potter or your Headmaster, you will put me at risk. I know that I have been very secretive about this subject, but I have never been a supporter of Headmaster Dumbledore. Please do not reply to this letter and burn it immediately after reading it. There is already risk that it has been intercepted, but let us hope that it has not.
Your father

Draco had known it was bound to happen, and a few years ago, he might have thought it wonderful. However frightening it seemed, it was better to be on the right-hand of the devil than in his path. He burned the parchment and disposed of the ashes. He could not risk them being discovered. For the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do. What was the right thing to do? It wasn't difficult to accept that his father was a Death Eater, but to support it was entirely different. He had to choose between his old life and his new one.