Disclaimer: I don't own any of the orginial Harry Potter character because I am not that creative...but I wish i was...I only own the plot and my characters.

Will You Come Home

It was coming up on two weeks since he'd left his father and the Dark Lord but Draco had a feeling that he'd be called on soon. Later that evening was when it came, a burning pain from the mark upon his left arm that was his cue to go back to the manor. Before leaving, he went to Dumbledore's office to finalize what to say and when to arrange the raid for. Just a few short minutes after that, Draco ran down to Hogsmeade and apparated home. After apologizing for making them wait, Draco place the first pebble in Voldemort's shoe.

"I'm sorry My Lord, but that fool Dumbledore has me tutoring this retched half breed girl that found her way to Hogwarts from Canada. It's a mockery, really, first mudbloods, then werewolves and now a vampire." he drawled nonchalantly.

"Excusssse me, Dragon. Did you say a vampire from the Americas?"

"Why, yes. Seems her mother and father are dead and her uncle got her placed with us over the holidays. When it was brought to my attention that I would be tutoring her, I thought I would do a little investigating on her with the mind trick and that's when I found her secret." he told.

"Luciusssssss, it seems the Dragon may have stumbled upon our target that you had lost. Quite a sssssstroke of luck, she is invalueable to us son. She is the our key to uniting the vamps to our side. We must formulate a plan for you to get her to us." he thought aloud.

"It seems that Dumbledore may think the same as she is never far from his reach. She's not allow to go anywhere alone, not even Hogsmeade. If we want her, we will have to come and take her by force." Draco explained.

"Sounds as though our young Dragon has a plan. Let's hear it." the Dark Lord hissed.

"This will require extensive planning but the weekend before the Valentine's Day Ball is a Hogsmeade weekend, therefore, a majority of the staff and students will be off the grounds. I could arrange a tutoring session to pinpoint her whereabouts while you come in and take her with the least amount of resistance." he offered.

"Well, it appears our young heir may be onto something." the Dark Lord mused. "We will begin preparations and let you know our exact plans later, Dragon. You may return to school and let it be known that should you pull this off, you will be rewarded handsomely."

"My Lord, does this mean that I can disregard your original plans. The mudblood is not showing any signs of weakening her resolve to avoid me." Draco asked.

"No, keep trying. She'll be a bonus to our plans but not a necessity." he finished.

Draco was somewhat relieved by this development as Hermione was no longer a direct target in their plans and he could actually publicly persue her without causing alarm. Everything was falling into place with their plan and now they had a more precise time table to work from. As he apparated back to Hogsmeade, he realized that this was the first time he had left the manor without any punishments have been done to him. Now all that is left is to get the Deatheater plans and plot against them. Then a final thought came to him, what if Voldemort didn't come himself? Damn, he'd forgotten to press for the Dark Lord to be there. What could he do now but wait to see if Voldemort would choose to be there? What had been elation instantly turned to regret and dampened his mood significantly.

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Hermione had been nervously pacing the floors of the Head's dorm since Draco had left. Despite all of her friends being there and trying to keep the conversation light, the tension in the air was so thick you couldv'e cut it with a knife. Ron seemed more relaxed now and his usual light hearted banter was back but Katie was still uneasy around Tara. Tara sensing this had given her a wide berth but tried to engage in conversation with her from time to time. Since Ron is Harry's bestfriend and never went anywhere without Katie, she thought it would be best to mend fences with her. Cheyan was a different story all together. She'd been acting like a dog in heat, flirting with any and everything she could find and, quite to Tara's dismay, it seemed to have a negative affect on Harry. Could he be having second thoughts about her?

It was then and there that she decided to help Cheyan fin someone new, someone that would keep her good and distracted so she could get over Harry and, thereby, also helping Harry move on too, right? Yes, it would have to work and she knew just the person to do it. Someone she could easily manipulate and who was good looking enough to flatter the pants off any girl. Bonus to it was the fact that he is a Slytherin and once he had her, Harry wouldn't want to go anywhere near her ever again. And who is this mystery man, you ask? Why, Blaise Zambini of course. A devilish smile danced across her face as she considered the brilliance of her plan and at this sight, Harry jumped into action.

"What's got you so happy?" he asked her quizzically.

"Oh, just thinking about the ball." she stammered.

"What about it?"

"Well, I was thinking of who I wanted to as. I have chosen to be Bastet, she is the patron of the sun, the moon, cats, women and secrets. I have always loved cats and astronomy and I'm a woman so it seems to fit." she responded.

"Sounds good to me. Any other ideas for me...instead of Zeus????" he inquired.

"Well certainly, I was thinking Osirius, who is the god of the Underworld and Judge of the Dead. He was always associated with the dog, so I thought our costumes could revolve around cats and dogs. That way we could also make a statement of unity among mortal enemies all at the same time." she went on.

"Maybe, but I don't know how I feel about being the god of the Underworld. Don't you think it all sounds a little evil?" he asked.

"Not necessarily. The god of the underworld is actually the judge of the worth of an individual, therefore, you would be the mythological equivalent of purgatory to Catholics. I thought you may like it based on the fact that part of your purpose in this life is to define evil and conquer it in favor of the light side." she finished.

"I see, let me think about it, ok?" he replied.

Tara wasn't exactly sure but she thought he may have been angry at the presumption by her that he liked the role he was destined to play. That really wasn't her intention but more of her way of introducing him to a new interpretation of what his destiny meant. One of these days she was really going to have to sit him down and find out what exactly his problem was with his destiny. She didn't choose her's either, but she wasn't about to run from it.

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When Draco entered the Head's dorm, all heads turned and and eerie silenced followed as they waited for him to speak. First things first, he thought to himself, as he walked over and gave Hermione a big hug and kiss. She immediately relaxed upon seeing and feeling no remarkable injuries to him but it was impossible to read his demeanor on how the meeting had went. The mere touch from her eased his tension enought that he could begin to relay the events of the evening to the anxious group.

"Well, I have good news and not so good news." Draco began while the others waited with baited breath. "Voldemort bought the Hogsmeade weekend to come and get Tara, however, nothing was mentioned about him actually coming. At first, I didn't even think about it because of the relief that he went for the idea. It wasn't until after I left that it even hit me, which lead me to kick myself for not covering that aspect of the plan. But something else occurred to me on my way to the castle, he had mentioned that it was because of my father's error that they had lost her in the first place and my father is his most trusted and cunning follower. So, I can't imagine his trusting something as important as this to just anyone."

"So what does that mean for us?" asked Harry.

"I have to wait for them to let me know what their exact plans are but if I can convince them that his presence is needed to get her and send a final demoralizing message to the light side, then maybe we can assure his attendance. It's also quite possible he will want to be there anyways but I won't know for sure until the plans come down." he answered firmly.

"So was that the good news or the not so good news?" Hermione jumped in.

"That was the not so good news. The good news is that Hermione is no longer their prime target. I still have to try to seduce you to the Dark side but it's just icing on the cake to them. But, that also means that I can openly persue you and as you to the Ball without raising suspicion or putting you in any danger. What I can't decide is whether or not to have it appear that I am succeeding." he told them.

"Maybe it would further give him a false sense of security if she did." Katie offered.

"But wouldn't it appear to be too quick? Like maybe a trick of our own?" Hermione piped up.

"Perhaps, but Voldemort believes that my loyalty to the cause is as strong as my father's is. He called me his Heir for Merlin's sake." Draco reasoned.

"We'll run it by Dumbledore tomorrow and see what he thinks. For now, I think we should concentrate on stragedy and the layout of the battle. I was also thinking about possibly using the Polyjuice Potion to duplicate teachers in Hogsmeade on the off chance that they will have spies on the lookout." Hermione proposed.

"Sounds good. Now it's getting late and you should all head back to your houses. Curfew you know. Goodnight and see you at Dumbledore's office tomorrow after dinner, ok?" Draco asked.

A round of yes's and ok's followed as they all gathered their things and headed for the portrait. Everyone seemed in good spirits after the first obstacle had been conquered withe a fair amount of ease. They had won the first battle but the war was far from over. Baby steps, Draco reminded himself. His father has always told him that victory always begins with a well organized plan, followed by execution and never underestimating you opponent. How ironic it would be to use that very formula to betray and defeat him and that caused the trademark smirk to grace his handsome face.

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Harry, Ginny and Tara were all headed back to the Gryffindor Tower with an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air. Ron had walked Katie back to the Ravenclaw portrait so he wasn't there to lighten their moods. Ginny was growing more and more concerned about Harry and Tara after this evening news. Neither was very forthcoming about their feeling or the nature of their relationship but she felt compelled to ask them how they felt with the success of the first stage of the plan.

"You guys, I don't mean to pry but are you sure you're ok with this plan? I know that I don't know you very well Tara, but I'd like to." Ginny told her softly.

Since arriving at Hogwarts, Tara had made a couple of enemies but only Harry as a true friend so this attempt of Ginny's actually softened her normally tough demeanor a bit. A life of running and being seperated from people had lent Tara a loner's view of the world but she'd always secretly wanted friends like the Golden Trio. With that in mind she jumped at her opportunity to make nice with someone. "I would like that too, Ginny. My only desire is to get rid of Voldemort so that he can't destroy anyone else's family like he did Harry's and mine. I know that I can rub people the wrong way at times but I was raised to speak my mind and ignore their reactions. I've never had friends, so I guess you could say that I don't play well with others. But if you're willing to give it a try, so will I." she explained hoping Ginny would accept.

"Wonderful, Harry if you wouldn't mind, I would like to take Tara around tomorrow and introduce her to some of my other friends. Do a little damage control after Cheyan ran her mouth, if you know what I mean." she teased.

"I think that would be prefect. Ginny has friends in every house and could help you get to know some other people. Maybe take you mind off some of this craziness." he suggested.

"Sounds fun." she said as Ginny was dragging her off to the girls' dorms. "See you in the morning, Harry."

For the first time in months, maybe even years, Tara got ready for bed looking forward to the next day. She felt like she could finally see her mother's dream for her and why she had pushed so hard for her to do what she did but then a thought snaked into her mind. What if she did finally make some friends and her secret came out? Would anyone understand or would they run from her in fear? Would she be punished and humiliated all over again? Perhaps she should just wait and see if she even survives her date with Voldemort. And just like that, all the hope and happiness was sucked from her again leaving only guilt and shame in its wake.

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After everyone had left, Draco laid down on the couch with his head in Hermione's lap. She gently began running her hand through his hair trying to help him relax. In spite of the fact that everything had went well at his meeting, he couldn't bring himself to feel at ease. There would only be four weeks until the final battle and the fate of the world, quite literally, rested in his hands. But that wasn't what was bothering Draco right now, it was something much more unforeseen.

"Everything is going to work out. It has to for all our sakes. I refuse to think anything except that we will strike hard and fast and Voldemort will be gone. The we can graduate and the world will be our oyster. Have you thought anymore about what you want to do after graduation?" Hermione asked trying to lighten the mood but failing miserably...this girl had the strangest ideas for light reading and conversation. This was for the rest of our lives for Merlin's sake.

"I guess I haven't allowed myself the luxury to dream of the future until this is over. I was thinking about something else though. Something that didn't really seem possible until now. I just assumed that after everything that had happened, that it would be easy but now I'm not so sure." Draco stated doubtfully.

"What would be easy? The battle? I mean I know that it will be difficult and we could lose alot of people but we have to believe that it will all be ok or we will weaken ourselves with doubt or fear." she tried to reassure him and again failing.

"No, fighting is an instinct. Just like the need to survive. What I'm unsure of is my father. I mean it's one thing to stop him by stunning or disarming him but it's another to have to kill him and that's looking more like a probable than a possible right now. He's my father no matter what, does that make any sense?" Draco asked in return.

"I'm so sorry, Draco, I never really considered it myself until now but yes, it would be horrible to have to do it. I'm not sure what I can say that will help you with that. Except, well maybe you could talk to Tara. She's the only person I can think of that would actually know what it feels like." she suggested.

Draco had already considered this as it was her memory that raised the question in his heart but to go to her would be a sign of weakness and he couldn't allow that. Could he? Besides, how did they even know she could be trusted? Then he began to consider the possiblity that if he couldn't kill his father, would his father kill him? What if they didn't win against Voldemort, could he arrange it so that his reward would be to keep Hermione? Yes, if he didn't let them see him help the Order and they lost, then he could ask Voldemort to let him keep her to break her spirit and, thereby, keep her safe and with him. No, Draco, don't even consider it. You have to win, otherwise, you will never be able to marry her and live happily ever after. That's it, no other way around it. You will have to kill your father to defeat Voldemort and have any chance at a fairytale ending.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked after seeing him wage a battle within himself. Maybe this was too much to ask of him, no one should have to kill another person at such a young age let alone a parent of theirs. That would just be too much to ask of him. Draco was going to have to set this one out. He would need to offer help if it was absolutely necessary but someone else would have to take on Lucius.

"I'll be fine. Stay with me tonight, please." he pleaded to her.

"Of course I'll stay with you but maybe we should alter the plan a bit so that you don't have to face your father. So that you don't have to make that decision?" she offered. Was she doubting his ability to do it or make the right choice, he thought to himself.

"No, I have to do this. An he has to know I did it so that he will understand how wrong he was. He has to be held accountable for his actions. Don't try to change my mind either, some things are just meant to be and this is one of them." he answered firmly.

They got up then and headed off to his room where Hermione climbed into bed. Draco slid in beside her, placed his arm around her waist and rested his head in the nape of her neck. His original plan was to fall into a restful slumber but his body craved more than that at the moment. He needed the comfort of her touch, their scents to be entwined and a certain amount of release to be able to see things clearly again. As he caressed her belly and traced a light trail of kisses upon her neck and jaw, Hermione's own desire was awakened with lustful elegance. Though it had been just a couple of weeks, the feel of his touch upon her felt like it was just yesterday and soon they abandoned themselves completely to the throws of passion. Their bodies fit together perfectly and Draco felt that he was unsure about so much but not this. This was what would help him to do what was before him. Or at least so he hoped....

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At breakfast the next morning Tara didn't seem as excited as she had the night before. Harry was worried that something had happened after Ginny and her had left him to go to bed so he strolled over to her to see if she felt like talking. Unfortunately before he could say a word, the entire hall fell deadly silent as Draco walked in and sat next to Hermione. The entire Slytherin table looked as though someone had just told them they were all muggles. Hermione, of course, played it to the hilt by distancing herself from him and brushing him off with well placed insults. Dejected, Draco returned to his table to explain his actions to the group of muted faces.

"What was that about?" Harry asked Hermione after Draco left.

"Don't worry we're still going to talk to Professor Dumbledore about whether or not to make them think I've fallen for him but we just wanted to set the stage for Voldemort that Draco's working on his tasks more vigorously. Hopefully creating even more faith in him by Voldemort. We want to make sure he knows everything he can." Hermione told him. Harry accepted this at face value and turned again to talk to Tara. She was the only one in the Great Hall who seemed undaunted by the display between Hermione and Draco.

"Is something wrong, Tara? You seemed so happy yesterday but not so much so today. Did something happen last night in the dorms?" he finally got to ask her.

"No, just a little nervous about getting to know anyone when the battle isn't over yet." she replied.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute Tara? What are you looking at scarhead?" Draco interrupted.

"Well, I was talking to Harry but if it's important, I suppose so." she spat. He pulled her off to the side a bit for a little privacy before Harry could utter another word.

"Hermione said I should talk to you about a problem I am having and was wondering if you had any free time today?" he asked her sincerely.

"I...ah...well I have an hour now before my Charms class." she answered unsure.

"That's fine, I'll just skip Potions today." he told her as he took he wrist and lead her outside towards the lake. When they got to the shoreline, he began to explain his problem to her. "I was talking to Hermione last night about me being concerned with having to hurt or kill my father. He's done alot of bad things but he's still my father and I was hoping that maybe we could talk about what I saw in the vision from your mind with your Mum. Please understand that I'm not trying to judge you or anything. But you're the only person who can understand my concerns. I realize that your Mum and Dad weren't bad people, so they didn't deserve their fate but I assure you that it's no easier this way.

Tara was taken aback by his question but he seemed genuinely confused by his feelings and she had been wanting to talk to someone about what had happened. Maybe they could help each other with this and she'd be able to put the guilt behind her once and for all. Malfoy was alot like her in that he hated all signs of weakness and never wanted someone to have control over him. And with that she opted to tell him everything and see what comes from it. Oh and how easy the words began to come as she stared into the deep pools of blue that were his eyes. Could she have done this so easily with Harry? Or was there something else to it?????

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She inhaled deeply and then began to tell her story. Her mother had been trying to convince her for the last two months that death was their only option and that she couldn't do it herself. Tara fought in vain against he mother's wishes. She had never allowed the blood lust to consume her so she was fearful of what would happen. Her mother had explained that once she transformed, she wouldn't be aware of what she was doing and therefore couldn't stop herself until the need was satisfied. Then after she was fulfilled, she would return to her normal state so Tara just kept her mouth shut while her mother prepared everything. All the while she was screaming on the inside as she would be all alone. Sure, she would go to her uncle's but she hadn't seen him in years and nothing could replace her mother. Why couldn't she understand that? At that moment, Draco interrupted her to point out something that Tara didn't seem aware of.

"You're still having alot of guilt, as I am sure you're aware of, but you also have alot of anger too. It's alright to have anger though because we are the ones left to deal with the aftermath not them." he said as gently as he could.

"I'm not angry with her, I'm angry with Voldemort. It was all his fault not mine." she snapped back.

"Look, don't get your panties in a twist there fangs. I was only trying to help you to see that you are angry with your Mum for asking you to do it and not someone else. Of course this all stems from Voldemort and his thirst for power but it was you Mum that manipulated you into something you were completely against doing, am I right?" he pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess so." she agreed reluctantly.

"If you want to begin to get over your guilt about your mother, then you're going to have to come to terms with your anger. It doesn't mean you don't love her, it only means that you didn't like her solution." he explained his opinion to her while coming to terms with his own issues at the same time.

"But I can't be angry with her. It just wouldn't be right. Well, now that I think about it, how could she do this to me? My father and her knew that there would be lots of obstacles when they had me, why give them the right to choose this for me? What made her think that I could kill her and then just go on about my life?" Tara felt the anger growing in her belly just waiting to break through. The vamp was wanting out, it was wanting blood for blood but why now?

"Sometimes they just get too consumed by their desires to see how it will affect others, I guess. My father knows that Deatheaters die all the time but yet he couldn't wait to make me one. I've always wondered if he ever really loved my mother or me but that's not relevant right now. What's done is done and now we have to forgive them for their sins and faults to see this through to the end. We have to succeed where they failed and the only way to do that is not to get blinded by hate or guilt. We may not like the hand we've been dealt but we can't just give up and we can't push everyone else away either. Just forgive them and forgive yourself and the rest will fall into place." as he spoke those words, Tara felt a certain peace well up inside her while the vamp recessed back and she let it all go with one long, deep sigh. She looked at the man before he with deep gratitude. He had just given he the single most perfect gift. The ability to let it go, all the hurt and pain was gone. She was empty now but this time, it was up to her to decide what or who to fill the void with.

"I never thought I'd say this to you but thank you. You've just given me my life back and I really didn't think that was possible. I've got to go do something now but I'll see you later." she turned to leave but stopped to say one last thing. "Did I help you?"

"I think we helped each other. Now go before we get all warm and fuzzy with each other." Draco smirked as she was gone with a flash of black billowing back behind her.

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Tara was on a furious search for Harry to tell him her good news, when she ran into Blaise Zambini. She thought about her idea from yesterday and her big breakthrough today, a close battle waged within her as to whether or not to proceed with her plan. In the end, the desire to remove the competition won and she struck up a conversation with the devilishly handsome young man before her.

"You're Blaise, aren't you? My name is Tara and Draco Malfoy is my Potions tutor. He's told me a great deal about you." she said.

"And why would I be a topic of conversation during a Potions lesson?" he asked her skeptically.

"I asked him about you after seeing you together." she lied.

"Interested in a date, are you?" he mused as he stepped towards her.

"Not for myself. It's just after talking to Draco, I have come to the understanding that all Slytherin's hate Harry Potter and his whole crew." she added firmly holding her ground as he continued to step closer and closer until he was practically on top of her.

"And what does that have to do with you and me?" Blaise pressed.

"Well, after certain events between Harry and Cheyan, I thought you may be convinced to persue Cheyan to get back at him. He's still somewhat fond of the girl and the reality of her with a Slytherin would break his heart." she proposed.

"And what's in it for you?" he asked with a fiendish grin.

"I was the catalyst for those events between them. I want him for myself. And let's just say that she's said some unflattering things about me. I can't let that go unpunished, now can I?" she scoffed.

"And what do I get out of it?" he inquired.

"The joy of tormenting Potter while I mend his wounds. Plus, the enjoyment of another conquest ove the Gryffindors." she answered.

"That's an interesting proposal but what if I want something more?"

"Like what?" she replied apprhensively.

"How about you help with a problem my friend, Draco, is having?"he negotiated.

"What problem is that?"

"Convince Hermione to give him a chance and I'll seduce the little Gryffindor."

"That won't be a problem. I'm a real cupid when I want to be. So, we have a deal?"

"I believe we do." he agreed as they shook hands.

Now this was a new devolpment. She could press forward the idea of Hermione and Draco making their relationship public at the meeting and get her revenge on Cheyan without anyone being any the wiser. What she forgot was an old proverb....when you lay down with dogs, don't be surprised when you wake up with fleas. Tara was so blinded by her own desire that she never stopped to consider the danger of such a pact to the Order or their plans. If blinded by love, would Cheyan unwittingly say something she shouldn't to someone who could endanger them all??????

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A few short hours later, Blaise was entering the Great Hall for lunch when he spotted his new target of interest. Sitting beside her best friend, Katie, and Katie's boyfriend, Ron was Cheyan; she was a very pretty girl with an innocence that was surpassed by only one other Gryffindor. And that girl was already spoken for by his best friend, Draco Malfoy. Would she fall for him though? Yes, he was gorgeous and he could have any girl he wanted, that is any girl from Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. But, this girl is a Gryffindor and they hated all Slytherins. Well actually jthe feeling was mutual, so what could he do to win her over? While lost in his own thoughts, Blaise never noticed the set of eyes that were staring back at him.

He is so handsome, she thought to herself, but he's a Slytherin and why would he suddently be interested i me? If he were interested though, she coul us this to her advantage. She could make Harry see, once and for all, what he'd given up for a girl who didn't really know him. Some girl who just showed up, like a lost animal, and ruined everything. They had to pay for their crime and she was goin to collect. And maybe this was her opportunity, he window to make them and everyone else see just how evil they are. Mustering all the courage and hate she could find, she stood up and walked over to her new knight in tarnished armor.

"Hi, I'm Cheyan and I was wondering if I could talk to you alone for a minute?" the words flowing from her like molten lava. Blaise sat there stunned for a moment as his prey had just offered herself, willingly no less, before he stood up and went to follow her out of the dining hall.

"What can I do for you, my sweet?" Blaise asked once they were away from prying eyes.

"I noticed that you were staring at me and I figured that life was too short not to try to see why. So I thought maybe you could tell what was so interesting about me to you?" she flirted shamelessly not even caring to see if anyone was watching.

"Well," he gegan slowly as grabbed a hold of her waist and pulled her close to him. "I've always had a profound appreciation for unspoiled treasures and word is that Potter turned a blind eye to his. I was curious and with Draco breaking the barriers yesterday, I thought about about testing out some new waters. Feel up to a little dip?" he uttered slowly while leaning down to kiss her hand without breaking eye contact.

She was already swimmin in the pools of green that were his eyes as she responded to his offer as well as his touch, "Are you asking me for a date or some sort of torrid affair?"

"Why a respectable date, of course. I would never dream of disgracing such a proper Gryffindor as yourself." he answered politely but leaned in a little closer to her face so that only there were merely centimeters seperating them.

His scent was intoxicating, not musky like most but clean and new like a fresh mountain spring. Hair as dark as a raven set against smooth olive skin and beautifully chiseled features, he was the embodiment of Mediterrean perfection. How could anyone resist such a fine specimen? "I would be delighted to accoupany you on a date." was all she could say in return.

With an air of all the pomp and circumstance of the royal functions she had seen on television, he bowed before the lovely maiden, kissed her on the cheek and said," I shall owl you with the details when everything is arranged." Then he turned and left her speechless and thinking "Harry who" without another word. As Blaise sauntered back to his house table, he had the wide grin dancing across his face like a chesire cat who had just caught the biggest mouse of his life.......

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Now it was Gryffindor's turn to look dazed and confused by one of their own's actions. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw began to distance themselves from the other two houses out of fear that whatever insanity was attacking them may be contagious. It was as if the world had turned upside down on its axis and soon they would see all arch enemies turning into lovers. All that was missing was the raining of cats and dogs. Even Professor Dumbledore was concerned by the new events as one of his recruits was now consorting with an unknown factor of the opposition. He knew that Blaise was not yet a deatheater but was not so confident of who his sentiments sided with nor what his sudden interest with the Gryffindor's was. Finally, he decided to address the situation with the others after dinner and sent word to each one of the them to meet in his office following dinner.

As each of the group made their way to their afternoon classes, each was met by a house elf with a message as to where to go following dinner causing them to believe that Dumbledore had sensed their desire to speak to him about the Hermione and Draco situation. As dinner came to a close though, they were confused to see that Cheyan had also been summoned as well. She had made her feelings quite well known about wanting out of the particular group and no one had objected because they were extremely uncomfortable with her there. The cold stares and dirty looks went back and forth between Tara and Cheyan until Dumbledore spoke.

"I was wondering what was going on with all of you since the last time we spoke and why Cheyan is no longer attending these meetings?" he asked rigidly.

"I have no desire to continue associating with anything having to do with him." Cheyan countered while pointing to Harry.

"And why is that Miss Duval? Your original participation was to the Order and not to Harry as I remember it." Dumbledore scolded her.

"Yes, but he has proven himself to be untrustworthy and disrespectful sir. I would trust him to do the right thing within a ten mile radius of her." she replied while pointing defiantly at Tara who only smirked in kind.

"Enough of this pettiness. What is your current relationship with Mr. Zambini?" was his next question.

"Not that it's any of anyone else's business but it's just friendly right now." she stated.

"Friendly?" Harry jumped in.

"Yes, friendly. Why would you care?" she jeered.

"I don't but I thought you were better than that." he answered.

"Better than what?" she asked.

"A Slytherin." he finished.

"Hey, what's that suppose to mean?" Draco chimed in. And then the bickering and arguing took on a life of its own with the exchange of random insults and challenges.

"Silence!!!!" Dumbledore shouted. Everyone turned to look at the Headmaster only to see extreme disappointed covering his face while seeing the group self destruct.

"Sorry sir." the group apologized and hung their heads shamefully.

"I am assigning all of you detention with Professor McGonogall until you can work this all out. You may be dismissed until tomorrow evening were we will hopefully see a drastic change in your attitudes." he admonished.

"Headmaster, may I ask a question of you?" Hermione asked timidly.

"Yes?"

"Draco and I were wondering if we should act like my senses are weakening to his attentions so that Voldemort may believe that my loyalties are swaying?" she asked.

"I will leave that to your decretion, Miss Granger." was the only answer. The others were already heading towards the staircase as Draco and Hermione joined them and asked that everyone meet in the Head's common room to try to work this out tonight. Groans and disheartened heads was the only reply as they all head in the same direction.

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back at the Head's common room

Everyone seemed on edge after the meeting in Dumbledore's office but no one wanted to be the first to speak so the silence was deafening. Hermione finally had had enough and directed her comments at everyone in the room.

"Alright, we are going to start by going around the room and each person will say their peace so it's all out on the table and we can get this resolved and head to bed because I'm tired and sick of all this bickering and backstabbing, understood?" she fumed.

There were heavy sighs all around but they all knew that this was going to happen whether they liked it or not. The first in the perverbial circle was actually Draco who's complaint was simple and immediately solved.

"My only complaint is the constant snide remarks relating to Slytherins being bad, evil, untrustworthy or second class just because we're Slytherins." he said while staring at Harry.

"Sorry about that." Harry apologized and Draco nodded his acceptance. One down and too many to go.

Next in line was Ron and Katie. "I'm good." Ron told them. Thank Merlin.

"I want to know what's up with Blaise, Cheyan." Katie piped up. Not good, everyone thought.

"I agree." Harry chimed in. Really bad, Hermione thought.

"Nothing but getting to know each other." she replied sourly.

"Oh come off it, you know you want him." Harry seethed. That's really, really not good.

"You can keep your comments to yourself, scarhead." Here we go, they all thought.

"Now, now children calm down before something is said that can't be taken back." Hermione tried to diffuse the impending disaster.

"No, Hermione, Cheyan wants to play like that then let her, I assume it's Blaise wearing off on her." Harry scolded with chancing a glance at Draco to see if he was ok with what was said.

"How dare you, just because you're smitten with the w h o r e, doesn't mean that someone else can't appreciate me for who I am." Katie retorted venomously.

"Alright that's enough the two of you....Harry, Cheyan is free to date whomever she chooses and you're not allowed to say a thing about it. You made you bed, now lie in it. Cheyan, our main concern is that we don't know why Blaise is so interested so quickly but we trust you're judgement just please be careful with what you say to him, especially about the Order, the battle with Voldemort or Draco and I, is that understandable?" Hermione jumped in.

"Actually, yes, I think that is quite understandable and thank you for your support of my judgement." Cheyan said jovially.

"Tara, is there anything you'd like to get out there?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I just want to warn the b that if she calls me a s l u t or a w h o r e again, I'm going to scratch her eyes out an make a pretty little necklace out of them." Tara warned.

"Well, how about this...Cheyan don't call Tara anymore names and the two of you can just ignore each other, ok?" Hermione negoiated.

"Fine." Cheyan agreed and so did Tara.

"Everyone else good?" Draco needled.

A round of yeses and groans brought the evening to a close so, Hermione and Draco instructed everyone to go back to their common rooms and get some rest. Hermione told them that she would talk to Professor McGonogall the next morning to release their detentions and bid them good night. Exhausted, Draco and her just fell onto the couch and went to sleep in each other's arms, wondering how much they could take. The next two weeks would prove to be full of surprise that no one could have foreseen, not even the Headmaster.

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Over the next two weeks more intermingly of the houses occurred until there wasn't a Gryffindor or Slyerthin table but a virtual Soddam and Gamora. Hermione was showing signs of weakening to Draco, Neville was courting Millicent Bulstrode, and Blaise and Cheyan were all over each other like two dogs in heat (much to Harry's shock). Pansy was throwing herself at Harry (also to Harry's shock) while having lots of accidents, which resulted in black eyes and a broken nose, and Crabbe and Goyle were harassing every fourth and fifth year Gryffindor girl they could find. Everything was in chaos and Draco was dreading his next meeting with Voldemort.

Hermione and him had accidentally started a new trend that threatened all the dark side stood for and he feared the Dark Lord would be livid. But all has been quiet, not a single owl or visit to be seen. Something was going on but he had no idea what and that made him nervous. So, Draco was tired of waiting and opted to send word to the Dark Lord of the incidents happening at the school to see what kind of response he would recieve back.

Father-

I thought I would have heard from you by now about our holiday plans but as I haven't yet, I wanted to advise you of the recent insanity that has ensued here at school. As a result of my dealings with Granger, the rest of the Slytherin's are trying to do the same. Should I stop this as it goes against everything we've been taught? I will await your orders.

Your son-

Draco

After his owl left to deliver the message, Draco laid back on his bed and slowly drifted to sleep. His dreams were filled with nightmarish imagines of death and torture. No matter where he turned, he could hear screams, pleas for their lives, dark curses being administered and her, the love of his young life, refusing to join the Dark Lord. Where is she, he thought to himself, as he ran through the halls but couldn't find her. He could still hear her but she was no longer defiant, she screaming in pain and Voldemort's venomous voice was reverberating through Draco's brain. Then he knew, like deja vu, where they were. They were outside at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and he needed to get there fast. He was running faster and faster and then......

There was nothing but silence. Tap, tap, tap. What is that? Tap, tap, tap. Oh, wake up. Just wake up. An then he opened his eyes to see his owl had returned with the answer from his father. He opened the window and Midnight flew in to perch himself atop Draco's bed. Draco walked over, patted the top of his head and removed the parchment. With his duty done, Midnight headed for the owlery tower until he would be needed again. Draco sat with the note in his hand wondering if he really wanted to open it up or not. Finally, he took a deep breath and began to unroll the note. The message was short but caused the bile from his stomach to erupt in his throat....

Son-

Will you come home?

Father

A/N:::thank you for all the reviews and I hope you all enjoy this...all comments are welcome and welcome to my new reader Angel Serpent....