-1Don'tLetMeGetMe: Eek! Ah, good you. Thanks for all your reviews. GO CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM! To answer to your point about Harry/Ginny and Molly not knowing, I know it was never said in the books, but I thought, as this is a fan fic, I'd like to have Molly being shocked and pleased at it. It was that wish that made me write it like that!

Something of nothing: Nah, still doesn't ring a bell … XP

Ruby-Wonder: Thanks for all your reviews! Ah, good, sweet, faithful reviewers!

LadyBlueWolf: Yup, Molly that reserved. Thanks for your reviews. I kind of kept Molly subdued in this chapter, mainly because it wasn't a main part of the story and I didn't want it becoming a hug argument which would take chapters to resolve…

Hedwig136: Always so nice!

Thanks to all who reviewed! Oh my gosh… we hit fifty five! It's a start people, it's a start!

Harry's POV

It's nearly night now, but I don't really have any urge to leave the small Inn somewhere in nowhere; the fight's all gone out of me. Not in a bad way; in a way that's kind of left it just out of reach, ready to leap at the next opportunity. Ron and Hermione are sitting one side of the table, Ginny and I at the other. Bottles and drinking glasses clutter the table. I look up again at Ron and Hermione, and can't help suspicion rising.

"Hey, you two… what's the matter?"

Hermione looks up curiously. "What? Does Ron look peaky or something?" A new realisation dawns on her face. "Oh no! It isn't me, is it? I can't come down with a bug now!"

"No, it's not actually that…"

"What is it then?"

"You and Ron… you're talking together."

"And?"

Ginny gets up and enters the conversation.

"Yeah… yeah, that is strange…"

Hermione looks furious now.

"WHAT!"

I look at her incredulously. "You and Ron are talking! Not arguing!"

Hermione smiles smugly. "No, you're right," she says, bearing all her teeth in that spookily candid grin. "We've decided to promote a sense of unity between each other."

Ron coughs.

"…After all, we do all need to stick together…"

"Hermione, fine. We get the point."

That shuts her up.

----------------------------------

I close my eyes, and as soon as my head touches the pillow I fall asleep. It's been a tiring day.

Reluctantly, willingly, I don't know which, I succumb to my dreams…

I'm looking in suspiciously at a smiling Ron talking to a grinning Hermione. Ginny comes to stand next to me.

"Oh come on, Harry… it's so obvious what's happened…"

"What?" I should know this, but I don't.

"Ron and Hermione are an item!"

"What!" Ron? Hermione? An item? Even in the dream the shock and realisation is there.

"Yes, and seeing as this is such a happy time, don't you think it's time you asked me out again?"

I look up in bewilderment. "But Ginny, we talked about this… I can't ask you out; I explained it last year."

Ginny looks at me like I'm the stupidest person alive. "Sure, you've stopped going out with me; but either way, you've brought me along with you, and you know there's no way I'm turning back. So either way, if anything happens, you'll lose me; it'll just depend whether you lose me as a friend who you always like-liked, or your girlfriend. It's your choice, Harry…"

I don't know… my head is bursting with thoughts and notions… what if… what if…

"I don't know…"

And when I look up, ready to exchange a sorrowful glance with her, Luna is standing next to me.

"Hi, Harry!"

"Hi, Luna…"

How did…? I could have sworn I was just talking to someone else. But no matter; it's probably just my mind playing tricks on me.

"So, Harry. Want a chocolate frog?" Luna brandishes a box of the things at me eagerly.

"Er, no thanks, Luna…" I don't feel that hungry.

"They look like they're enjoying themselves," says Luna, pointing to a now very close Ron and Hermione.

"Yeah; they do," I say. For some reason, I can't really think of a response to that. After all, what more is there to say? Fine. They're enjoying themselves.

"Do you want a chocolate frog, Harry?"

I look down at Luna. What is she playing at? She already asked me that.

"Er… no, thanks…"

Luna's expression turns angry. "Now, Harry. I'm going to ask you again. Do you want a chocolate frog?"

"For the last time, Luna, no!"

Luna turns her head upwards and screams it. "DO YOU WANT A CHOCOLATE FROG?"

I open my mouth to answer, but she's not there anymore.

Just the darkness.

Am I dreaming?

Is this real?

No.

Another thinner figure rises to join me. He's about my height, with silver eyes that burn. He looks fatigued, his features drawn, eyes slightly more hollow than last I saw him. And his hair… that's the most recognisable feature. Platinum blond, dishevelled but still one of the traits I recognise most.

"You." My eyes burn into him; I can't believe I could hate someone this much. Snape, maybe. Voldemort, definitely. But…

"What are you doing here, Malfoy? Cornering me so you can go summon master? Well, that's not going to happen. Because I'm ready for whatever you throw at me."

"You're asleep, Harry; you're defenceless," says Malfoy. It's nothing particular about what he says that scares me, it's just that he says my first name. He's never called me Harry before; and he sounds exhausted. I feel no remorse for him. Why should I? But him saying my name… that throws me off balance.

"This is more than a dream," I say to Malfoy, pulling my wand from robes, like school robes, that I've only just dreamed up.

"You're right," says Malfoy, eyes sparkling. I don't know what they're sparkling with, but it doesn't seem to be malice. And then I realise. That faint shimmer is… tears.

"What the hell did they do to you?"

"I gave him the wrong information. You weren't supposed to live."

"And what am I supposed to say, Malfoy? Sorry, 'cause I just happened to feel a bit of value for my life and ran off instead of letting dear old Voldemort kill me? Sorry because you were stupid enough to join the Death Eaters? Oh yeah… like that is ever going to happen…"

"Well maybe that would never have happened…" Says a snarling Malfoy to me; but his voice trails off at the end.

"Happened if what? And why are you here anyway?"

"No matter," says Malfoy, courage restored. "And I'm here… I'm here, I guess, by choice."

How do I answer that? Why would he want to come here to see me? To kill me? But wouldn't he have done that already? Or would he have left it to his new master? Too many questions, and none of them answered. I don't know what to do, don't know what to say.

"So," I say grudgingly. "You don't look like you're a threat. So, why are you here? And what happened? Don't not answer; I've got my wand and you haven't. And even if it is a dream, it's my dream - and after all the stuff you've done to me, I won't hesitate to dream up something bad for you."

Malfoy pales.

"I've come… I've come to join your Order lot…"

He chokes on the words.

Malfoy - join the Order? Is he joking? I'm not like Dumbledore. I looked up to him while he was around, and I still do now, but I'm not as trusting as him. Not as gullible. I would never have trusted Snape; never. Nothing he could have shown to me or said to me would have changed that. And now it's the same scenario with Malfoy; as far as I can see, he's just another Snape. Another faithful follower who would turn when their allies were weakest. No way. Him even thinking of asking it fires me up with some kind of anger…

"Are you KIDDING, Malfoy? You can't… I'd never…" My wand points straight at him. How dare he?

And now he looks really choked up. I couldn't care less. "Please, Potter. I'll… I'm desperate. I… don't want this anymore. When Dumbledore died last year, I couldn't have cared less; but he gave me an offer. He said it would be safe with your lot. I want… I'll do anything…" His voice drops to a whisper.

"Oh, so we can let you in with the Order so you can report back to dear Voldemort and tell him our every move? Sure! Come on in! We don't mind him knowing everything; we really couldn't care less if he finds everything about us out and uses it to kill us all. No, we'll happily let him know everything so he can kill us. After all, it's such an honour to be killed by such a great and powerful wizard as Voldemort." My voice drips with sarcasm.

"Look, Potter-"

So, it's Potter now, is it?

" - I mean it. I can't take it anymore. Today, when you escaped, he took me to the mountains in France - that's one of the many hideouts - and used the Cruciatus Curse on me till I thought I'd go insane. You know what that feels like, Potter?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do," I say sourly. "Voldemort likes that one a lot."

Malfoy looks terrified that all his reasons are flying out the window. I watch, this time with interest and not hate as he struggles to find words.

He deflates.

"That's not it." I have to strain my ears to hear the small whisper. "I don't want… I can't let her get hurt."

I start back. Draco Malfoy, caring for someone? I'm fuelled by my curiosity.

"Who's… 'her'?"

He looks up at me, and for a moment, I think he'll explode with hate for me, hate for the question. His previously bowed head comes up again.

"If I can't join your Order lot, you have to promise me to keep her safe."

"Who!"

"Promise, Potter."

"…Alright."

I can't believe I'm speaking to Draco Malfoy in such a civilised way. The hostility within me has climbed down to a sheer minimum. I don't know what I feel, apart from curiosity…

"Good," he says, and seems to relax. "Just… keep Hermione safe…"

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Hermione?

Eep! There's another chapter for you. Enjoy it. According to the Word Count, including Author's Notes, this chapter was… 1766 words long!