Draco sat twiddling his thumbs; he wasn't sure he could do much else. He was sitting in a solitary chair under a very bright light and if he was the type to be nervous, which he prided himself highly in the fact that he wasn't, he would be greatly so at this moment. Potter had taken him to a very remote room, the Room of Requirement, as he had heard Potter call it. They were soon joined by Granger and Weasley, but Draco had expected this. He just had a bigger, if not tougher, audience to play to.

The three Gryffindors were on the opposite end of the room as Draco and were whispering furiously about something and it didn't take a sorcerer to guess what the something was. Abruptly their conversation halted ad they approached Draco with the air of a lion stalking its prey.

"Malfoy," Weasley spat in a restrained voice.

"Yes?" Draco asked lazily; he couldn't appear too eager, he had to play this just right.

"You were telling Harry that you needed help?" Granger said, although it was more of a question than a statement. Her voice plainly showed her disbelief.

"Aye," Draco said. He tried for an expression of pleading and hoped that it didn't turn out as menacing as it had when he practiced it in the mirror at home. "And as you know, I wouldn't come to you unless I knew you were the last ones to go to."

"Either that or it's a set up," Weasley growled. Granger responded with a swift elbow to his gut; Weasley looked sullen.

"What makes you think we would help you anyhow?" Granger asked.

"Because it has to do with Lord... Voldemort," Draco replied with a shudder for good measure.

"How so?" Potter demanded.

"Well, I had gone back to the Malfoy Manor for the holiday break and I... overheard things, things no one was meant to hear." Draco fidgeted with his tie. He wasn't one for fidgeting but he figured in this situation any weakness he could show would help his cause. "I suppose I wanted to warn you, that's why I came back early."

"Malfoy," Potter spoke tersely (it was very obvious this boy was not open to change), "why in the world would you want to help us? Don't you just revel in all that 'pureblood supremacy' bull hockey?"

Draco drew a blank and looked to Granger who huffed indignantly. Draco sighed.

"It was the way I was brought up. My father... he taught me that; growing up I knew no different." Draco answered, speaking his mind for this first time in a long time. "I hate him for it."

"So?" Potter prodded. Draco looked confused.

"Excuse me?"

"What did you overhear?"

"Plans..." Draco said, not sure how much he could embellish before getting himself into trouble. Granger rolled her eyes impatiently.

"Such as?"

"They are planning an attack. I don't know too many of the details, just that they are coming for you." Draco stated, confident that his answer gave away little. Apparently it was too little.

"And how is that different from any other time?" Weasley asked. "They're always coming. Now it's just sooner than last." Potter nodded in agreement.

"He does have something of a point."

A look of pride flicked across Weasley's face. Draco sighed yet again. They certainly weren't going to make this easy.

"They plan on luring you away, making sure there are no Aurors or people with experience that could possibly back you up."

"How do we know you're not the lure?" Granger inquired.

"Well I am very alluring, aren't I?"

No one spoke.

"Tough room."

Silence.

"I was joking... besides, if you don't want to believe me, you can go back to believing Potter's dreams. I hear that worked real well for you last year."

Perfect. Draco knew he had touched a nerve by the look on their faces. Potter's cheeks flared a brilliant shade of red. Uh oh, a line had been crossed. Instead of exploding, however likely it seemed by the colour of his face, Potter stood there, mouth opening and shutting in a sour attempt to get some words out. Then, the emotion drained from him as if sucked by an unseen force. His face looked vulnerable, but uncannily serene, masking the violent thoughts swirling through his head, scratching at the wounds that hadn't yet fully healed. He seemed strangely fragile, as if had someone breathed on him, he would have crumbled onto the floor in a heap of dust. He shrugged noncommittally and swallowed, eyes downcast shamefully.

"I suppose it would be nice to have an alternative."

Weasley appeared absolutely betrayed.

"Harry!"

"Ron," Harry started evenly, "this is beyond rivalry. This is it. If we can have an inside look of... the enemy, we have to take it." The words came out awkwardly, as if by saying it out loud, he was forcing himself to believe it. He extended his hand. Granger gasped and held her breath.

Draco eyed Potter's hand. Well, there's no way I can go back now. He put out his own hand and grasped Potter's. They stood like that for only a moment before dropping their hands to their sides. Potter felt like he had just sold himself to the devil. Weasley edged in quickly, trying to redeem himself.

"So, the next time you have news for us you'll catch us in the hall," he suggested.

Draco snorted. "Of course not. Oh, and I'll have to refer to Granger here as 'mudblood' at least twice a week."

Weasley's eyes narrowed. "Why?" The single word was loaded with venom and Draco was caught off guard. He quickly recomposed himself, complete with a cheeky smirk, and answered.

"I would have thought that to be obvious," he said haughtily. "If anyone sees me being decent to you..."

"Ah, still worried about your reputation, Malfoy?" Weasley interrupted.

"No, and if you let me finish, you'd understand. If I'm caught with you by anyone in the school, everyone will figure out what I'm doing. And when I say 'everyone', that extends to my father. If he gets wind of this, you lose your inside man. Got it?" Draco explained spitefully. He forcefully held himself back from adding 'you moron' to the end of his speech.

"Oh," Weasley squeaked, face flushed a deep crimson and quickly darkening.

"How will you contact us then?" Granger asked, more out of necessity than curiosity.

"I guess by school owl. That would be the easiest, correct?"

"Too risky," Granger rejected.

Draco scoffed. "How is that-" Granger gave him a very plain 'don't-argue-with-me' expression and he shut up. "Well, what do you suggest?"

"Perhaps we should have a schedule until we have a way to contact each other," Granger said and looked to each of the boys for a response. She received three similar affirmative grunts. "So, what do you say to every Monday and Thursday night we meet here at eight, after the holiday ends?"

Another round of grunts sounded followed by an awkward stillness.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat," Draco said silkily, strutting toward the door, "but I've got to get back to the Manor before anyone sees that I'm gone."

Granger nodded in a business-like manner and shooed Draco from the room. Only after the door shut behind him did she let out a heavy breath.

"Do you trust him, Hermione?"

"No, Ron, not one bit," she said shakily, "but we're going to let him tell us everything he knows and divulge nothing to him."

"My thoughts exactly."

A/N: I'm back with this story with a new name (previously titled 'Alliance') and a timeline of events planned out and ready! I promise I'll never leave this story off as long as it has been ever again... not that there are a million people here dying to see how I develop this. I know the reviews for this have been as few and far between as the chapters, with any luck both will change. Ok, enough out of me.

MorphManiac: Well, I hope he seems more in character in this chapter. I've never written him this way, so you'll have to bear with me. I hope it's an awesome start...

Ahlam: Thanks, and sorry if it seems like I've ignored your request. I have so little time actually online now... I'll try to get to it. Please don't be angry if I don't get to it soon. I'll try my best!