So, this is the eleventh chapter of this sweetly mental fic. As I promised, here you will see what "anzen de nai momoku" means. Now, on to the story…

And oh, this may sound like a spoiler but I have to say this. In this chapter, you will see Draco going over to the good side. Now, I saw in other fanfics with similar cases reviews like, "You have to explain why Draco suddenly became good." So, here, I've tried to explain, slowly but surely (I hope), how it came to be so. So tell me what you think about it. Reviews please!

By the way, "metanoia" means "conversion."

Title: The Future is Waiting

Chapter 11: Metanoia

"Professor Dumbledore?" said Rose.

"Yes, Rose. It is I. Thank you for guiding these two Hogwarts students through the grounds of Bridgework, I must suspect?" said Dumbledore in his calm voice once again.

"What are you doing here?" Malfoy said in a rather rude tone, but Rose and Harry glared at him so he added, "Professor…"

"I am here to ensure that you, Draco, and your fellow students are safe, and as you have experienced earlier, the Bridgework castle appears not to be too safe anymore," said Dumbledore, gazing kindly at the three of them. "Please sit down. I believe you had a most tiring experience?"

For a moment, Harry had forgotten why he was up and alert at dawn, but Dumbledore's words reminded him.

"Professor, there was an invisible wall back in the – "

"Yes, I know. I know…" said Dumbledore.

"You know?" said Harry.

"Yes, I have heard of what had happened. The portraits all told me – "

"But there are no portraits down that corridor – " Malfoy cut in.

"There are invisible portraits…" said Rose quietly.

"Invisible?" Harry turned to her.

"What's the use of portraits if they can't be seen?" Malfoy asked.

"They stand as guards, spying on outsiders. They can spy because outsiders don't know that they're there, so they can do something and not know someone's watching them. If they do something illegal, the portraits can tell school authorities…" said Rose.

"And you never told us about this?" Malfoy said, sounding angry.

Harry could somehow feel sympathetic. All the while, he thought Rose was a close friend, and she never told Harry a simple fact like this about Bridgework. Or maybe, said the familiar small voice in Harry's mind, she did not want to tell you. You are an outsider after all. Harry's insides dropped a few notches. Maybe she doesn't trust you.

"You do not have the right to get mad at Rose, both of you," said Dumbledore. "Those portraits were placed there for the security of everyone inside the castle."

"So she doesn't trust us?" Malfoy said.

"She trusts you," said Dumbledore quietly, Rose raising her head to look at him. "But you have to trust her reasons too. Am I quite right, Rose?"

"…" Rose lowered her head again without answering.

"Now, about that invisible wall… Only Harry was able to get through, wasn't he?" Dumbledore said, turning to Harry and Malfoy.

"Yes. Why is that…? Professor?" Malfoy said.

"It is an ancient charm called Anzen De Nai Momoku."

"Charm called what?" Harry asked rather aggressively. Rose raised her head again.

"Unsafe Blindness…" said Rose.

"That is correct, Rose. 'Anzen de nai momoku' is a Japanese phrase which translates to 'unsafe blindness.' It is an ancient Japanese charm. Early Eastern wizards used this charm to trap their enemies, and slowly drain their energy," Dumbledore started to explain.

"So, if we stayed there long enough, we could have died?" said Malfoy.

"Yes, you could have."

"But how come Potter was able to get through?"

"The charm is set up for particular people only. People who are not targeted can easily walk through it, and save the people inside. But the technique of which the charm can be used effectively is the location. If you place the victims and the barrier in an isolated place, no one will ever be able to help them get out, and they shall perish there."

"Professor, you said Bridgework was unsafe anymore," said Harry cautiously, glancing at Malfoy. "Does this involve – Voldemort?"

"I'm afraid it does, Harry."

Harry turned and glared at Malfoy.

"So who brought Rose right into Voldemort's trap?" he said, trying to keep his voice straight, for he was shaking with anger. "I thought you liked her? I guess even your own feelings can't interfere with Voldemort's orders, can it? You know what? You're a very good actor, Malfoy, sounding confused and all – "

"I don't know anything about this, all right?" yelled Malfoy suddenly.

He straightened in his chair, shaking with anger as well. Dumbledore remained silent, serenely gazing at the pair of them, while Rose stared at the floor.

"I did not bring Rose there to kill her, nor was I on the Dark Lord's orders! I just accompanied her to the Potions classroom, and later when we got out, we can't get through anymore! We tried calling people for help, but nothing worked!" Malfoy continued to yell. Calling people for help? But Harry certainly remembered a paper airplane arriving during the Prefects' meeting, and Archer mentioning that it was from Rose.

"How do you explain the note that arrived, then? Earlier in the meeting you two were supposed to be in, a note arrived saying that Rose had something important to do? Did Rose really send that? Or were you the one who made up that excuse?"

"I did not send any note! I told you, all I did was go to the Potions room with her!"

"What do you do there anyway?" Harry shot at Rose. Rose remained silent and Harry realized, embarrassed, that he had vented some of his anger on the wrong person.

"I was visiting Severus," Rose said quietly. Severus Snape was Rose's godfather, and Harry realized that he was attacking her unreasonably again.

"I – I'm sorry. I didn't mean to – "

"Rose, did you send any note to Mr. Archer saying that you can't attend the meeting earlier?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes upon Rose now.

"No, Professor," replied Rose still quietly.

"Then, if Draco did not send it, and Rose did not send it, someone else must have. Someone who knows what was going to happen to the pair of them," said Dumbledore in a concluding voice.

"But who – "

"No one can answer that, Harry. Unless we work together to solve this mystery… What I want to see, Harry, Draco, is agreement between the two of you," said Dumbledore.

"What?"

"Never!"

"I believe I am not the only one who wants you two to stop fighting anymore."

Dumbledore turned his eyes upon Rose, who was still looking at the floor.

"Draco, your father, and all of your family I guess, has been supporting the Dark Lord ever since. But do you not think it is time to make a difference? If I am allowed to say, I believe your family has been brought up in the wrong perspective of things. I do not think your family is evil for supporting Voldemort, but the ideas that have been presented to your early ancestors were not exactly the better vision of things. You believe in what other people think as evil, and they regard you as evil too. But you are not evil. Your family is not evil. It is not your fault that you believe in things others detest. It is the fault of those who presented these ideas to our kind in the first place."

"People like him," Malfoy said quietly.

"People like Voldemort, perhaps. But he was not the first to think this way. He was influenced as well. But if we want to find out who the person to blame is, the person who first thought that wizards should only be pure bloods, we can never be successful. What we can do now is prevent the future from having problems as we encounter today.

"People regard the Malfoys as evil, and just as frightful as Lord Voldemort himself. Don't you think it is time that someone changed what they think about your family? Don't you think you are the person to do that? Draco, I think I am right in saying that this is the time to uplift your family name, not in the false greatness in Voldemort's shadow, but in the good that wizardkind celebrates."

Dumbledore finished. For a moment, Harry thought Malfoy did not care about a word Dumbledore said, but he spoke to Dumbledore.

"Professor… I'm sorry," Malfoy said quietly.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Draco."

"All this time, I thought we were – we were – right – about things… I never thought – I never thought this was what other people thought about us – And – and all the other people we've hurt – "

"You haven't hurt anyone, Malfoy…" Harry said just as quietly. Malfoy turned to him, surprised. Harry suddenly felt sorry for Malfoy too. Dumbledore was right. "You haven't hurt anyone… You are hurt…"

"What – "

"I believe you understand what Harry is trying to say, Draco," Dumbledore said.

"Potter… Your – your parents – "

"It's not your fault," Harry said.

"I'm so sorry – "

"It's not your fault, okay? Even if you say your parents were always helping Voldemort, it was Voldemort himself who killed my parents so even in technicality…" Harry's voice trailed away.

"Rose…"

"…"

"I shall leave you three here. I have to sort out the security here in Bridgework. I know that you still have a lot you want to talk about and I will understand if you stay up, but the sun is almost up and I think I can reveal to you that you have an activity tomorrow. Maybe you should just get some sleep and talk tomorrow," said Dumbledore, getting up from his chair. "Look at the time, it's almost five," he said, looking at his pocket watch. "I will see you soon," he said, and then he climbed down the marble steps.

The three of them remained silent for a few minutes, then Malfoy spoke again.

"I don't know if this will sound too reckless, I mean, maybe you don't want to talk about your parents' deaths at all, but I have to say this…" he started.

"Yeah, you're sorry and you really hate Voldemort now?" said Harry. Malfoy stared at him. "It doesn't really matter. I mean, you didn't kill them, did you? But a Malfoy on Dumbledore's side's a miracle. And I still don't like you," Harry grinned. Malfoy grinned back.

"Hey, whoever said I liked you now?" said Malfoy. Then, his expression became worried again. He turned to Rose. "Rose?"

Rose took her eyes off the floor and looked at Malfoy and Harry, tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes looking more convincingly ocean blue, Harry thought.

"Rose, what's the matter?" Harry asked.

"Why are you crying?" Malfoy said.

"N – nothing… Sorry…" Rose replied, wiping tears from her cheeks.

"Are you all right?" said Harry.

"Yes, I'm all right," she said. She got up from her chair and faced Harry and Malfoy, who were both sitting.

"Are you sure? You better go to bed, Rose. You look awfully tired," said Malfoy.

"Yes, I think I will," she said. She stretched her arms and wrapped them around Harry's and Malfoy's necks in a wide hug.

"Rose…" Malfoy said.

"Thank you, both of you…" she said in a whisper.

"Rose, there's no need – " Harry started.

"We will all need each other before long…"

"What do you mean?" said Malfoy.

"We three…" Rose said, and then she turned around and climbed the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

"You have an idea what she meant?" said Malfoy.

"No… You think she knows something about to happen?" replied Harry.

"What, she's a Seer?" Both Harry and Malfoy grinned.

"Well there you two are!" said Hermione, climbing down the stairs from the boys' dormitory, followed by Ron.

"Dumbledore sent us a message about everything that had happened and so we know it and I still don't think having him on our side is a good idea but I can't do anything about it because Dumbledore trusts him just as Dumbledore trusts Snape and I don't like him either," Ron said fast.

"And besides," Hermione said. "You two were grinning at each other like best friends earlier – we saw while climbing down the stairs, we weren't spying on you, please – so that would mean you (she pointed at Malfoy) are Harry's friend, and Harry's friend is our friend – "

"Of course not!" said Ron indignantly.

"Where's Rose, anyway?" asked Hermione, ignoring Ron.

"She went up to her dormitory – "

"She's really tired – "

"Really? Both of you seem really concerned…" Hermione smirked. "Anyway, I'm going to go check on her. Professor Dumbledore told me to, so don't tell me she's extremely tired and wants to rest," she added, seeing the look on Harry's and Malfoy's faces.

"Why don't you two go to bed?" said Ron.

Both Harry and Malfoy climbed up the stairs and went to their own dormitories. Harry flung himself onto bed without undressing and taking off his glasses. He did not feel tired. He felt excited. He did not feel happy. But he wasn't sad. Yes, there was something to be happy about; imagine your mortal enemy suddenly deciding to join your side. But happy was not the word for it. He knew Voldemort was going to attack soon too, for he had seen a preview of it tonight. He guessed that was what pulled his spirits down. But he could not figure what he felt, for it was the most mysterious feeling he had felt ever.