Yesterday it had seemed like a complete impossibility, but now, here he stood in his dimly lit room clutching in his hand the most beautiful thing he had ever seen put into writing, a ticket to his freedom.

He gently laid his new prefect badge upon his bedside table, so when he awoke the next morning, he would see it and know this had all been real. He smiled to himself as he crawled into his warm bed, he was going back, he was going to see Hogwarts again.

Of course, not everyone would be as pleased about it, and at one point or another he was certain he would be cornered in the corridors or stared at by fearful first years. None of it would really make a difference though, it was what he had become accustomed to.

The prospect of being more widely despised than he had been in his last five years at Hogwarts was like a tiny grain of sand that intruded upon a clean surface, while it didn't seem like much, it had the potential to become increasingly annoying until brushed away, leaving the surface untainted and lovely again. Draco might not have had the most spotless reputation, but he definitely didn't need another annoyance to dirty it up even more.

He planned to return to Hogwarts with a clean slate. He wouldn't go out of his way to be accepted, but would remain neutral, and focused only on his classes and his duties as a prefect. He would keep to himself, and if no one could see he had changed, then he wouldn't resort to his old antics, but would fall in to the crowd, go unnoticed, and complete his schooling. Though he preferred not to blend in with the crowd, it didn't suit the Malfoys, and his Father had sometimes joked that their need to stand out was why they were born with such a vivid hair color.

He sighed and looked out of his rain streaked windows, his heart was pumping wildly and excitement coursed through his veins, leaving him with a tingling feeling, and not allowing him to sleep. He reached for the potion on his bedside table, and taking a large gulp, he fell back onto his bed, leaving the potion to land on the floor with a soft thud, and spill its contents over the smooth black marble.

He awoke the next morning and quickly turned to face his nightstand to make sure his Hogwarts letter had not been a dream. He found his prefect badge in the same place he had left it last night, glittering and sparkling in the morning sunlight. He stepped out of bed to take a look at the morning sky, when he felt a cold and thick substance underneath his feet. He looked down and saw that his Draft of peace potion had spilled out its entire contents over his floor.

"Damn it" He said as he began rummaging through his room looking for his bottle of Mrs. Skowers All Purpose Magical Mess Remover.

"What am I going to do?" He thought has he sprayed the mess and watched the remains of his perfect potion disappear into the floor. He had no more ingredients to make another, and no way of getting the ingredients. Mr. Borgin would definitely curse him into oblivion if he set toe in his store again, regardless of the S.D.D.

Store owners in Diagon Alley would say the same thing Mr.Borgin had, "I cant sell you hellebore, its too dangerous." It seemed his only option was to not sleep, a risk worth taking if it meant he would be free from his Father's nightly intrusions.

He was none to happy about the prospect of not getting any sleep, but the gleaming sunshine that now poured through his windows brushed all thoughts of that aside, and he grabbed his broom and hastily made his way down the spiraling staircase to the front door. Opening it, he expected to see the front garden bathed in sunlight, but was instead standing face to face with a greasy haired, hooked nose man he immediately recognized to be Professor Snape.

The man looked at him through his beady eyes and said in a voice almost as dark as his robes, "Dumbledore has sent me to deliver your school supplies."

Draco stared at the man blankly; the man to stared back with almost the same vacant expression. He then broke the silence with, "You will find all of your School books, quills and ink pots, in addition to the hellebore ingredient Dumbledore said you were in need of in here," and held out a small cloth bag, filled to the brim with the items that Draco needed. Draco's expression changed from blank to confused as he tried to figure out how Dumbledore knew about the potion.

Clearly seeing the confusion on Draco's face, Snape replied, "You of all people should know that nothing gets passed Dumbledore, Draco." Draco nodded his head; he was still however as lost as he had been a few seconds before.

He knew Dumbledore was always keen on the going abouts inside of Hogwarts, but never knew he was just as keen on those outside of school grounds. He was grateful though; at least he would be getting sleep after all.

"I will be here Sunday morning at ten o'clock to escort you to the train," Snape said.

Then, glancing at Draco's broom, added, "The headmaster also said it's best not to ride your broom, you never know who's watching." And with a loud crack, the man disappeared into thin air.

Draco gloomily made his way back up the winding staircase and sat his broom back in its designated corner. He could understand Dumbledore's concern, but the with the S.D.D. In effect no one could harm him, Could they? Perhaps Dumbledore knew something no one else did, Dumbledore did after all, always know things no one else did. Maybe he knew the Dark Lord would be trying to destroy the S.D.D. Or maybe it had something to do his worst fear, the Dark Lord was trying to destroy him. Whatever the reason, he decided to trust Dumbledores decision, and not fly his broom.

He emptied the contents of the bag Snape had delivered onto his bed. He began looking over everything and felt his heart start skipping beats again as the excitement he had felt last night rushed over him once more. As he looked through his books he found that they were mostly based around Dark Arts. His potion book, which was entitled, "Deadly potions and how to use them" by Chiles Chilly described how to make a Draft of Death potion. It also gave helpful tips on how to recognize potions that had been disguised. His Defense Against the Dark Arts book not only had ways to defend your self against Dark Magic, but also gave instructions on how to use Dark Magic to your advantage.

He scanned his list of schoolbooks to make sure that he had gotten everything when he realized the books on his list were completely different than the ones on his bed. Instead of "Deadly potions and how to use them", the list read "Ancient Potions and how they are used today." Curious, Draco pulled out his quill and began to write to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore,

The books that Professor Snape delivered today are not the books that are on my school list. I think there's has been a mistake; all of the books I received are based on the dark arts.

Draco Malfoy

He rolled up the parchment and called for his hawk owl, Blake. Blake arrived within seconds and perched himself calmly upon Draco's nightstand. Draco tied the letter to the owl's leg and watched the owl as it soared gracefully into the evening sky until he was nothing but a tiny dot.

After Blake had flown off, he began rummaging through the books and ink pots that now littered his bed looking for the hellebore ingredient to began work on another potion. He found it under his Herbology book and quickly set to work stirring and mixing, making sure everything was in its exact proportion, and seeing that no detail went unnoticed.

Finally the simmering potion had reached its expected thickness; though it was not as perfect as the one he had made before, it would have to do.

Just as he was bottling it, Blake soared back through the open window and dropped a letter on his bed, before flying back out into the now black and star sprinkled sky. He tore open the letter and quickly read Dumbledore's response.

Draco,

That is how it should be, a full explanation will be given at the opening feast.

Albus Dumbledore

Draco was confused for a moment but decided it was better not to question his response. Dumbledore had always been very mysterious, but always had good reasoning for it, and though Draco had never admitted it, he respected and trusted him.

Glancing once more at the night sky, Draco drank some of his potion and fell into a deep undisturbed sleep.

Time was something that Draco had an abundance of all summer, but today his time was slowly dwindling down. Snape would be arriving soon to escort him to the Hogwarts express, and he was franticly running about his room in search of any unpacked items. This wasn't like him; he was usually very prompt about time and never had to resort to running around making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. However, he had forgotten to tell the house elves what time to wake him up, and had woken up an hour later than he had meant to.

Finally, securing the snap on his trunk he bolted down stairs to await Snape's arrival. Unlike Draco, Snape arrived precisely on time, and they made their way through the dew-covered lawn to a lawn ornament that had been placed secretly in the corner of his Mother's garden.

"This is a portkey, Draco, I'm sure you know how they are used. We will be leaving as soon as I get a signal."

Draco looked curiously at the portkey. It was a tiny man, with a long white beard, holding a large stick in its hand. It looked almost like Professor Flitwick, and Draco smirked at the thought of seeing Professor Flitwick wearing a tall red hat like the one perched atop the lawn ornaments head.

After a long silence a squeaky voice could be heard. Draco looked around and realized that the voice was coming from the portkey.

"It is time to go now," the little man wheezed, and then he went rigid again. Draco and Snape each put a finger on part of the portkey, and Draco felt his stomach come up in his throat, and then felt his knees hit a hard surface.

He looked around, and saw that they had appeared in a secluded corner on the outside of Kings Cross Station. Draco got to his feet and followed Snape through the torrents of Muggles hustling to get to their destinations. Draco had to walk in a very fast pace to keep up with Snape's long strides as they dodged the muggles and their curiosity at seeing the two men dressed in robes and pushing a trolley which contained a caged owl.

Finally they reached the platform, and Draco leaned casually against it before falling through to the other side. He could hear the train whistling and the sudden mummers of surprise as many of the students who were waiting to boarded the train stared at him, some in surprise, and some in disgust. He looked around, feeling very uncomfortable before Snape appeared behind him and began dragging him to the train.

"Ignore them," Snape muttered, seeing the uncomfortable look on Draco's face. But Draco couldn't ignore them, he had known this was going to happen, but actually seeing it happen made him feel a great deal more nervous than he had been, and filled him with a sense of dread. Feeling horribly uncomfortable, Snape led him into the prefect's compartment where he found them all excitedly waiting for Professor Mcgonagall.

As they entered their voices became hushed, replaced by shocked stares. Many of them were giving Professor Snape the same look of contempt they were giving Draco. Snape ignored them and began looking over a list that held all of their names on it, checking to make sure they were all there. Only one was missing, Pansy Parkinson. No one had expected her to come back though, her Father had escaped Azkaban after the Dementors left and he and his family had gone into hiding. Draco could tell that they all had expected he and his family had done the same.

"We will begin when the train departs," announced Snape, clearly annoyed at having to conduct the prefects meeting. Silence fell over the crowded compartment as they all looked as equally annoyed as Snape, and then a small voice in the back broke through causing them to all turn and face her. Draco however, did not, he sat very still trying hard not to make eye contact with anyone but Snape and the floor.

"Sir," the familiar of Hermione Granger meekly said, "Where is Professor Mcgonagall?"

The other students all nodded in agreement and Snape looked at them all, annoyance shining brightly in his beady black eyes. "Your headmaster thinks it best for me to conduct this meeting as I will be distributing the Veritaserum to each of you."

And with that, a loud whistle could be heard and the train began to move very jumpily along the tracks. "We will begin then," Snape announced, pulling a large bottle of potion out of his bag.

"When I call your name, you will follow me to the next compartment where you will be taking the Veritaserum potion and after we have finished, you will come back here. Any questions?" Everyone looked around curiously to see if any hands were raised, then shook their heads in unison as Professor Snape called the first student away.

Finally it was Draco's turn, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited. If he returned to this compartment that would mean he was innocent and perhaps his fellow students would look at him in a different light. As he got up he could feel ten pairs of eyes piercing him, all curiously wondering whether he would return.

He followed Snape out into the next compartment and sat down. This compartment, unlike others on the train, had dark black windows to prevent people from seeing in or out, though the inside was still bright enough to give the impression that the sun was shining through. Snape handed Draco the potion bottle and he swallowed a large amount of its contents.

He began feeling dreamy, it was like being in a state of euphoria, and as he looked at the man in front of him, he felt a strong urge to tell him everything. The man cleared his throat and began looking over a piece of parchment before beginning.

"Are you Draco Malfoy?" Snape asked, looking him square in the eyes.

"Yes" he replied, the words just seemed to fall out of his mouth, and he had no control over what he was saying.

"Have you, or anyone you know talked to, heard from or seen The Dark Lord recently?"

"No"

"Do you agree that you are not being controlled by any type of Magic, or person?"

"No." Draco replied, surprising even himself.

"You do not agree you are not being controlled?" Snape asked, surprised by his unexpected response.

"No" Draco replied again.

"Are you being controlled by someone?" Snape asked, his voice becoming barely a whisper.

"Yes." Draco replied, and felt his heart sink in to the pit of his stomach. How could he admit to being controlled not even knowing himself that he was?

Snape stared at him with his beady black eyes full of wonder, and a flicker of fear before asking the question Draco wanted to hear the answer to himself.

"Who is controlling you?"

"My Father," Draco replied, and immediately wished he could take it back.