Authors Note: Sorry this chapter has taken so long. Right now I should be revising for my chemistry exam but I kept hearing the call of the story. So this is my release. It's a little complicated but I hope it doesn't confuse you too much. This is another chapter from the point of view from Draco. Not much of Hermione, I'm afraid. But there is someone new and exciting. I hope you enjoy…

Acknowledgements: Thank you for all the praise and support you've given me in reviews. You know who you are and hopefully these lives up to expectations.

Disclaimer: Only words do I own.

Inclination

Chapter Four

Memories can be inviting to the lost and lonely of this world. They take you back to a time where your mind was frivolous and you're convinced that it was a happier place compared to the here and now of life. It buzzes loudly in your ear, and all you want to do is close your eyes tightly and be taken back – just for a short time. You need that fix that only your imagination can offer. Soon you find yourself tumbling down the rabbit hole…

Why was it every time he woke up in the morning there had to be that infernal bird song? Was it some ploy to infuriate him out of his mind? There was no way birds could be that happy at this time in the morning, he considered sleepily. In fact it was slightly suspicious to the dozy, half risen brain. What in fact did the birds have to be so cheerful about?

Draco rolled over and brought his pillow over his head in one swift movement. If there was one thing he had to compliment the Hogwart's House Elves, it was the condition they kept the beds. From his childhood days he could remember the comfort he had always felt in the beds. They were plush, extravagant, over the top and the comfiest thing between earth and heaven.

It was only a small pleasure he revelled in though. The familiar hum of the school was beginning to tear at his nerves. He had spent many years alone and away from a community such as this. To find himself be thrown back into one was almost excruciating. All he wanted to do was mount his broom and fly as far away from the place as he possibly could. Deep down he admitted to himself that it might not just be the spirit of the school getting to him. It was the memories.

They had once lain dormant, thought to be extinct, at the back of his mind. Rarely did he enjoy delving into the past he had once seen as a better place. It was too much of a reality check for him. The presence of his old flame wasn't helping much either. How was he expected to behave around her? Should he be as cold as ice or as sickly sweet as honey?

So far he'd been at Hogwarts for a whole week. Due to the Christmas festivities, he was not needed to perform his duties as the new Potions teacher just yet.   So instead he had flittered from room to room. He had walked in a manner that only could be described as Snape. It was his intention to show to the children that he was going to be just as formidable as their previous professor. Therefore he adopted a persona that was so familiar to him it was almost his true character. It was Malfoy, the powerful bastard who was going to look down at everyone he considered not good enough to step on.

Though he would never admit it, he enjoyed being able to play this old tune. It had seemed for such a long time that this side of his personality had been covered by a layer of dust. In his line of business, it was thought improper to act as if you owned the room and beyond. Sometimes it had been necessary to show control over others, but it had never come close to the arrogant Malfoy he had displayed at school.

He rolled over again, allowing the birds song to echo round his ears. Well, he considered, it was better then being woken up by the sound of your own heart beating from fear. Sitting up, he stretched his arms upwards and rotated his wrists.

Nightmares were frequent demons of the night in the Malfoy manor. It seemed to him that his entire family suffered them. As a child he had been plagued by visions of knives breaking his skin and dark men chasing him. Normally he would wake up in a fit of unnatural panic. Other times though he would be unable to escape the dark blankets of the dream. He would be smothered by vision after vision of death, destruction and chaos.

Draco stood in front of the wall length mirror and surveyed himself. A slight smile curled the corner of his mouth. Far removed was he from the scrawny boy who dictated a strict regime in the Slytherin ranks. He was taller and built up and out. The one thing that pestered him from the corners of his mind was the similarity. It was like staring at his father and knowing you shouldn't fear your own reflection. He had grown up to be the spitting image of Lucius Malfoy and there was little difference between father and son.

He laughed coldly at his own image. Of course there was a huge difference between himself and Lucius, he thought. Draco Malfoy was a traitor to his fathers' whims. What Lucius didn't know though, couldn't possibly backlash onto him. There was no way he was going to let that lunatic know what he thought of him. He feared him to much to oppose him openly. So instead he did it in the ally ways and the dark places of the world, letting all know what the next step of the plan was.

Of course it was hard maintaining the façade of respect and humbleness. Especially so when he was faced with a long meeting with his father and his minions. Lucius wasn't stupid though. The first place he looked for betrayal was his son. He distrusted Draco, with his arrogance and storm calm temper. It was this distrust that allowed Draco to learn so much. When hiding something, it is much more likely to be found and he always found what was being hidden away.

This brought with it though another kind of fear. He found his paranoia beginning to cloud his thoughts and often had to find a place to be alone. Not only was he suspicious of his father, but his friends, colleges and partners. Family was family and he couldn't change that as much as he wished. Friends could be changed and used at the drop of a hat. He felt no need to keep them long, because friendship meant trust and he trusted no one with his past. Colleges were there to help you up the ladder of fortune, not to befriend. Often they were the only ones who understood and knew you for what you were. You respected them, but didn't form attachments because they probably wouldn't last long. Then there was the issue of partners.

Partners were people you trusted and shared your life with, were what Draco considered. They were not the people you hid away who you were to protect. This was another attachment therefore that he would never make. Sex was good, but it didn't mean he had to be committed to the woman he was shagging. For him it was a release and nothing more.

Now though the past was being stirred up, making him feel a little part of that passion he had once felt.

 Hermione Granger. God he hated her so much for doing this to him again. Why couldn't she have remained in her place? She was the past he had taken a lot of time in forgetting. The only woman he had ever told he loved. Sometimes he had allowed himself to remember, dressing up a woman he paid for the night into a similar uniform. That happened rarely though as he felt certain guilt at remembering her in this way. It couldn't be helped though. Thoughts of her wriggled into his mind every time he was confronted by a reference to Hogwarts, the mention of rain and chocolate coloured items.

Now though, he was confronted by the real thing. Flesh and blood that lay just beyond the wall of his room, sleeping peacefully. At first he had told himself that he would distance himself from her. He didn't need the distraction of a pretty face and a memory. What had bothered him though was the fact that she was ignoring him blatantly. It had made him angry that she should be ignoring him! Soon he had found himself watching her and noting every move like some obsessive stalker. It was happening all over again. He never could resist something he couldn't have.

Quickly he dressed and left his dorm in a flurry of robes and paper. Three days to Christmas and he had an important meeting to attend. His eyes glanced down to the pocket watch he held in his hand. He was going to be late if he wasn't quick.

Gently he broke into an undignified jog. It was okay to be seen running in the appropriate attire, but in school robes that constricted his movement, he just felt like a fool. Well damned be the person who laughed at him. He would put them into enough detentions to make them wish they'd never even laid eyes on the sight.

'You're late Draco.'

He nodded his head a fraction and closed to door to Snape's classroom behind him. Swiftly he passed his wand over the lock as a precaution. He didn't want any little Potter wannabe over hearing what was about to be discussed. He turned to the person with a slight smile on his lips. It was always best to remain as polite as possible.

'My apologies. It isn't easy waking up after you've spent all night working on a lesson plan when you're not even a trained professor,' Draco soothed as he swept down to the front desk, relieved himself of the weight and slumped into the large teaching chair.

Blaise Zabini was leant casually against one of the desks, facing the front of the room. His dark hair hung in front of his dark eyes, his arms crossed lazily in front of his chest, he looked as if he had just crawled out of bed. On his left cheek a purpling bruise took away the eyes attention. There was a gleam in his eyes though that joined with the slight smirk to show who came off worse in the fight. He was tall, with a well built figure. Not slim nor bulging in any place. In some ways Draco envied him for his looks. He was dark and mysterious, with the slightest hint of danger. Facially he was the sort of pretty that was close to handsome.

'Whatever rocks your boat Malfoy,' Zabini intoned in his usual casual manner. He spoke as if he had all the time in the world, and had a natural calm about him that rivalled Draco's.  'Now you're here though, we'd better get down to business.'

'Indeed we should,' he said softly as he opened a file and brought out a quill.

'Nice to see you're taking notes for a change.'

'Don't flatter yourself Zabini. Severus left a whole pile of marking that needs my attention and I might as well work on it while you drone on about protocol and the urgency of my so called mission,' he replied without even glancing up. 'I take it you didn't have any problems finding the place and getting in? It would be awfully like you to forget where you spent eight years of your life.'

Blaise shook his head in a judging manner. 'See Malfoy, there's a reason why you got this job and I didn't.'

'Because my IQ is higher then yours, I command more control, Dumbledore has some what of an affection for me and I excel at Potions where you failed? Or was it just because I was Severus' favourite in class?' Draco said, finally allowing himself to look up into the face of his college.

'Actually I was referring to the similarities between you and Snape. You're both conniving little rats with too much cunning for your own good.'

'I never knew you thought so strongly of me Blaise,' he said with more then a hint of sarcasm. 'Then again I should have known from all the rubber necking you did in the shower rooms after a Quidditch match.'

Zabini smiled. 'Same old Malfoy, I see. Not a care for what might be going on around him unless it involves mud being splattered on his new robes.'

Draco decided to ignore the implications being thrown at him by Zabini. It was best not to be brought down to his level. His mind went back to the marking as the silence stretched out through the room. Only the sounds of a man pulling up a chair to the other side of the desk and making himself comfortable broke it.

'Severus has made it to the border. At least he had three days ago. That's the last message we've had from him…The Ministry are starting to feel uncomfortable about the situation. Severus has been an asset since the beginning of the war. Without him they are afraid they will lose the insiders view. We could lose without it.' His tone was serious and soft.

'And what do they expect me to do about it?'

'They expect you to take his place.'

'I thought it was clear I had already done that.'

'Dumbledore thinks that you should remain here as Severus' replacement as the spy within the school. You're father, being the fool he is, agrees.' Blaise laughed softly. 'Obviously he doesn't know that it is what Dumbledore wants. He believes that you actually want to help him for once. You should have heard him gloat over the early Christmas dinner we had at Malfoy Manor.'

'I aim to please.'

'He spoke reams of how you were upholding the family name and values. Said that you were finally becoming the son he wanted and not some drop out.'

'Isn't it nice to have a father who cares so much?' Draco said cynically. 'What is the point you are trying to get to Blaise?'

Zabini rubbed the bridge of his nose and leant back in the chair. 'The Ministry are concerned that Severus is not going to come back. They want us to send someone out there to make a progress check and replace the mole. They want us to send you out there.'

'I thought we had already discussed that it would raise suspicions!' He snapped, his attention entirely away from the work he was doing.

'Believe me; we are trying to talk them out of it. They are foolish enough to think though, that you could do a better job then Severus. There have been rumours…' His voice went flat and eerily quiet.

'I thought you were beyond rumours Blaise,' he scolded sarcastically.

'Fudge has told the Ministry that he wants an execution of rouge spies. He has evidence that Severus is one of these. It was his suggestion that it were you that were sent out there. He wants you to kill Severus and he's willing to approach you without the backing or support of the Ministry. He believes that you are the weak link and will do it for power, money and a better job.'

Draco leant back in the chair. It was confusing working as a spy for both the Ministry and the Death Eaters. It meant having two sets of information for two different groups. One was the truth and the other was what he was told to say. The Death Eaters believed him to be a vital link to the Ministry. He worked under the façade of being Severus' assistant and they were under the impression he was being lined up to get a place within the school. Voldemort wanted his key supporters to go with him to a secret site. Severus was considered one of these and Draco was to take over his place as the mole within Hogwarts. What they didn't know was that all the information Severus, and now Draco were sending back were lies.

The Ministry created lies that were made common knowledge among the known spies. Severus would tell the Ministry what was happening on the Dark side of the war. He would bring back information on the people, places and attacks. In return he was given the safety net of Hogwarts. It was safe to send lies out from there because he was the only spy present. Dumbledore trusted Snape and allowed this known Death Eater to teach within his grounds. He was protected, feared and respected.

Then he had the call. Draco had heard a lot about the call from Lucius and had used it to build up a healthy knowledge about how it worked. The Dark Mark would begin to burn the flesh of the victim, until they got close enough to their master to feel better. It was Voldemort's way of gathering his followers. Snape had fought with it for days, burning in agony. Eventually though they had had to let him go as not to raise suspicion. It was then that Draco had been informed by both the Ministry and his father that he would be going to Hogwarts.

'The Ministry have also been made aware of the rumour that an execution is intended to be made by you. They want to send you out there, because you are the obvious replacement for Snape. What they don't want is for you to become corrupt. We are using Fudge's intentions as a reason to keep you back here at the school. Unfortunately though rumours do not stand up. Officially Fudge has only suggested that he thinks Snape might be a rouge spy and that he thinks he should be assassinated if the accusation is found to be true.' Zabini ran a hand through his hair and released a pent up sigh. 'Overall the situation is confusing. I find myself beginning to wonder whether the Ministry is working against us or with us.'

'Why though would Fudge want Severus disposed of?' Draco said through his own bleak thoughts.

'We believe that he has information on Fudge's embezzlement. We don't believe he is with the Dark side because it would be easy enough for him to have Severus disposed of,' he said thoughtfully.

'Do they not understand that I must be here as the link between Hogwarts and the Death Eaters?' he said with an edge of exasperation. 'Without me, there would be no link and that would be a great threat to the school. It is a key point in Voldemort's plan. Through education he could change the face of wizardry!'

'You're preaching to the converted, Draco. I would have you stay here in an instant. We understand that if you don't stay here the school is left vulnerable without sufficient warning. We don't have the power though to stop them sending you away, even though it would be suicide. You are no where near close enough to Voldemort to get the information Snape is supplying,' he regarded Draco with what could be misread as sympathy.

'What I'm not clear on is why the Ministry want to send me out if they think I might go corrupt…'

'We believe that there is a possibility that they feel you are becoming more bother then good. You are the only one close to replacing Snape, but you are also young, arrogant and cocky. Not exactly the qualities the Ministry want representing them. Fudge will undoubtedly approach you and ask for you to accept the leaving post to execute Snape. What the Ministry wants is for you to be swayed…' he trailed off and shook his head.

'They want to send me out on a mission of suicide.'

'They want to dispose of bad press. You may be a Malfoy, but you're power doesn't extend that far. You're father doesn't want you out on the battlefields – he made that quite clear to at the meeting. I believe that for once he might be right.'

Draco took a deep soothing breath. The Ministry wanted to go out and possibly be killed, just because they thought he was bad press. They wanted him to leave Hogwarts and be killed for the sake of their reputation.

'Who would replace me here?' he asked smoothly.

'I would.'

'Right.'

'I'd prefer you didn't leave me in the lurch though. I do hate Potions.'

Draco laughed quietly. 'I take it you've told Dumbledore about the Ministry's plans?'

'I have. He said he would do everything in his power to make them see that he needed you as a defence for the school. He commented that he thought you would probably prefer it that way.'

'I sometimes wonder how much that man knows. He seems to be the only one not corrupt in some way or another. At least I'm openly corrupt,' he smirked a little and brushed off the knowledge that he might soon be killed.

'I had better leave you to your marking. We wouldn't want you to shirk your responsibilities Professor Malfoy,' Zabini said with a twisted smile.

'This file has everything I have been sent by the dreams…' Draco fingered the file carefully. 'It seems I am to make a plan to bring down the new Defence Against the Dark Art's teacher. I would be glad if you could pass the report on.'

Blaise took the file and opened it. 'Granger. She could become an obstacle. They never do like the DADA teacher though. What are you going to do?'

'Nothing.'

'Nothing?' he laughed. 'If you don't at least formulate a plan then Lucius will become suspicious. You must have a plan.'

'I don't want her involved in this Zabini.'

'You're not still holding that pathetic torch of yours are you?' Blaise scorned. 'We all knew you wanted to get into her knickers back at school, but I would have thought you'd have grown out of your obsession.'

'I have never, as you so nicely put it, wanted to get into her knickers. I do though think that she should not become involved. She is linked too much to Potter and we both know why they want me to dispose of her.'

Blaise nodded slightly. 'True. She can't find out who you are and go telling Potter. He doesn't know the whole story even though he's an Auror. Jumping to conclusions could lead to exposure.'

'Right. When are you coming to collect the next report?'

'Two weeks. I'm being sent to Cardiff. There's a Muggle there who has gone mad and claims she saw Satan kill her son. We have the information that it isn't just the mad ramblings of grief. I'm to go to her and extract as much information as possible.'

'Fine. We'll meet again in two weeks.'

'Until then,' Zabini stood and made his way over to the door. Quickly he unlocked it and opened it. 'If you need assistance then Weasley is available. She seems to think she'd be able to handle you and your issues. I trust her with them if you need it.'

Draco simply nodded.

'Always nice to catch up with you Draco. Pop by the office anytime you like,' Zabini said loudly as he heard an approaching figure making its way down the corridor.

'Oh I will Blaise. I will.'

With that Draco found himself incredibly alone. His small amount of trust slipping away. Blaise was right. He would have to make some sort of plan towards Hermione. Maybe seduction would be enough to distract her from being nosy and getting herself in trouble.

He smiled slightly and went back to marking papers. Christmas was coming and with it the mistletoe.

…and then you realise that its too deep. It seems to go on forever until eventually reality offers you it's cold hand. No longer can dream of a life far removed from the harshness of daylight. You have to block out the nights screams and concentrate on the task ahead. Living in the past doesn't make you alive, it slowly kills you. What use is a dead man to the world that keeps on turning?