Chapter 7: A Taste of Reality

Draco's first month of captivity with the Order of the Phoenix with his guard, Granger, seemed to slowly inch by. A day seemed like a week to him. No one showed him much courtesy; most showed him tolerance, though, but very little. Granger showed him patience, but only because she had to. They barely talked, but when they did it was mostly always to the point and never just for conversation. They only have one or two conversations that didn't centre around what he could or could not do, but at least in the few they had, she treated him like a human. And she showed she was human, and that she didn't hate him. She didn't blame him either, for Dumbledore's death or the new rules that lessened her freedom so that she could watch him. When he knew she was trying to strike up a conversation, a real conversation, out of boredom and convenience, he avoided her with curt answers and a rude demeanor. He utterly refused to get to know her, because he was already growing to like her too much, just for helping him.

Mrs. Weasley was the only one would really tried with him, unlike everyone else. He knew it was because she was a mother, but it still surprised him. She couldn't tell him when there was a mission, or include him in a meeting, but she did make sure he wasn't left as in the dark as everyone else seemed to want him to be. She told him about meetings, told him about the on-goings that weren't war related, and made sure he was present for meals and non-Order related meetings.

The Weasley twins, Fred and George, always made him feel hated when they showed up. They refused to be in the same room with him. Whenever he entered a room they were in, they left immediately even if it was rude to those that they were with; when they saw him in a room or in a hallway they waited until he left to enter. He learned to just pay close attention and leave the room first. The Weasley girl, Ginny, paid him no heed at all since she was always with St. Potter. The other two thirds of the Golden Trio (besides Granger) were never in the same room as him if they could help it. They even avoided their own room since he shared and spent as much time as he could away from the main part of the house in there.

He went days without speaking to anyone.

One morning, a little over a month after his arrival, Draco came downstairs to find the house unusually quiet and deserted. He roamed around the downstairs a few minutes before noticing that the door to the dining room was shut, signaling a meeting of the Order and Phoenix was currently in progress. He didn't even bother to tell anyone he was up, but grabbed a spell book off the table in the middle of the living room and collapsed in a chair. He kept glancing up at the door, waiting for it open. He knew it was strange for no one to wake him before now, but no one in the house moved.

It was a loud noise behind the door that woke Draco from his stupor. He couldn't really make it out, but he thought it was actually someone yelling.

Hermione was sitting in a chair in their makeshift meeting room in the dining room. The room wasn't silent since someone was yelling. She didn't know who was yelling since she wasn't paying attention anymore. The talk was just going around in circles.

She was in shock, too. Since Dumbledore died at the end of the school year, there had actually been no casualties in the Order. Sure, people were injured, but no one was killed. Until now.

She fought tears back at the thought. Glancing up, she saw Lupin sitting silently. His face was somber; his eyes dull with grief. He wasn't even saying what was on his mind. No one knew what he was thinking, and Hermione couldn't figure it out by just looking at him. He was perfectly guarded. She supposed it was only natural, but her heart still went out to him. Turning her head slightly, Hermione saw that Ginny had tears silently rolling down her face.

Suddenly, gaining Hermione's attention, Harry cleared his throat. "Shut up!" he screamed even though the arguing had stopped already. Everyone looked at him. He sighed, and said, "They wouldn't want us to be yelling at each other."

"Well, we need to go!" Fred yelled again. Everyone knew where he wanted them to go. He wanted them to go hunt down the killers.

"No," McGonagall insisted, "We need to mourn, to grieve, before we do something so rash." her throat was raspy from obvious tears.

"We have no time!" Fred said loudly, but not quite in a yell.

"No," McGonagall said firmly, leaving no room for farther discussion.

After a moment of silent, as if submitting to her decision, McGonagall went on, "We will discuss this further tomorrow. Please?" she added.

Everyone nodded; no one agreed out loud. Without a word, they all started to leave the room. Hermione stayed in her chair as she watched the other leave.

Draco jumped he saw the door open. He had been staring at the door, willing it to open. And it had. The Order of the Phoenix filed out. Not even Mrs. Weasley acknowledged Draco. He realized there were two people missing, so he stood up and walked towards the door. Only one girl sat in the room. Her knees were pressed to her chest and her shoulders were shaking, as if she were crying. But she made no sound.

Suddenly, Draco knew. Draco knew Tonks had died. He didn't know how, or when, but he knew if she wasn't here and everyone was acting as if they were mourning, she had died. Even Granger was mourning. That's why no one woke him, acknowledged him, they were trapped in their grief.

"Granger?" he whispered as he approached, hoping not to scare her.

When Hermione heard a voice whisper her name, she jumped. She turned around and saw Draco walking towards her. "Draco," she said, finding the words hard to form. "Tonks died."

Her words were so curt, so blunt, it almost hurt him to hear them. Tonks had made him laugh even if she never intended to, and she had always been in good spirits. She had been one of the bright lights at this place. "How?"

"Killed. By a Death Eater," Hermione said in a voice she hoped was calm.

"Oh," Draco said, feeling nervous and guilty.

Hermione found his reaction a bit cold. He certainly didn't look sorry about Tonks death or even as if he had sympathy for their grief. His face was unreadable; his words curt; his voice emotionless.

Granger's brown eyes were shiny with tears and hurt. Her whole body was just crying for someone to hold her, comfort her. She was even trying to comfort herself by getting her knees as close to herself as possible. Draco had a very strange urge to go over and hug her, to try to comfort her. No one, not even the Order of the Phoenix deserved this pain. But he did feel a pang of hurt that was confusing to him, that no one thought to tell him of Tonk's death before now. Not even Mrs. Weasley or Granger showed him that common courtesy.

But knowing death was still so close, at his doorstep really, was another cold taste of reality, but knowing he had wanted to comfort the Mudblood was worse.