A/N: Thanks to all the readers who have waited so patiently for this update. Circumstances have conspired to delay me, including a raging case of poison ivy which is causing me no end of itching. Yuck! As always, thanks to Jocelyn for beta-reading and suggesting improvements.

Chapter Twenty

Hermione was unsure exactly when they'd ended up in the armchair, but curled up in Snape's arms, she was sure that she was in no hurry for this to end. They'd said very little, being too occupied with other things. It was the chiming of the mantel clock that caught her attention. The small figure of the goddess Hestia stepped out of its center, hands on hips, and glared down at them.

"For your information, the hour is now nine, and this has been going on for quite long enough!"

Flustered, Hermione began to slide out of the chair. Snape stopped her with one hand, and pulled his wand with the other. A negligent flick, and a burst of light shot out, impacting at Hestia's feet. She gave a squawk of alarm, and ran back into the clock.

Hermione grinned at him. "That's one way to deal with it. But she's right, you know. It's risky for you to stay here this long, and I should go and check on Draco."

He shot her an appraising look, and she shook her head.

"You don't have to worry about Draco and me. Although, I have to admit, he's become a very good friend. I'd never had imagined that from a Slytherin."

He snorted. "You could have imagined this?"

She laughed. "Never… never in a million years."

He slipped an arm around her, and she settled back against him.

"I do not want you risking injury to yourself again," he admonished her. "And I do not want you getting yourself killed."

She tilted her head back to look up in his face, and grinned saucily at him.

"What do you want?"

She felt him go still, and when he did not reply, searched his face anxiously.

"Do not ask that question, unless you are absolutely certain that you are prepared for the answer."

Hermione flushed, and dropped her eyes. He was clearly placing the choice upon her, as to how far their relationship was to go. Implicit in his statement was the understanding that he would not push her, but would wait for her to decide. And, while she was unsure of what her ultimate decision would be, she was sure that she was not ready to make it at this moment. Very softly, so that he could barely hear her, she responded.

"I withdraw the question."

"That is wise."

She nodded. "I will have to think about that. In the meantime, I really should go, and so should you."

They rose from the chair, and she was immediately missing the feeling of his arms around her.

"You will be in touch with me?"

"I will not be able to reach Hogwarts as often, as the Dark Lord increasingly requires my presence at his side. But I will have ways of contacting you."

"Would that be through Dumbledore's portrait?"

"Along with other methods. I would like you to make it a habit to walk towards Hagrid's hut as often as possible."

She shot him a puzzled look. "There are always people around the grounds. You might be spotted there."

"I did not say that I would be there. Just that I require you to be."

She sighed. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"

His lips twitched slightly, in the gesture she had come to recognize as an 'almost smile.'

"You are correct." He bent down again, and gave her a light kiss. "Now go."

The door swung open, and without looking back at him, Hermione left the room. There was a soft click as the door closed again. Crossing the hall, she opened Draco's door, gently. He was still sleeping, tangled among the covers, white-blonde hair tousled around his head. She walked over to the bed, and lightly shook his arm.

"Wake up, Draco. The day has started, and we have a lot to talk about."

Through half-opened eyes, he regarded her, and she knew just when he realized that she was in his bedroom. His eyes opened wide and startled.

"Merlin, Granger… am I dreaming?"

She laughed. "No. But this is a business meeting."

He groaned. "And I thought my dreams were coming true."

"Oh, please. I'll wait in the other room. Put yourself together and come on out."

She rose and walked to the door. Behind her, she heard Draco flop back onto the pillows.

"If you're going to wake me at an ungodly hour, you could at least make it worth my while."

She laughed again. "Truly in your dreams, Draco."

Stepping out of the room, she closed the door and turned towards the other room, and stopped. Facing her was an irate Harry Potter.

"You've got some explaining to do, Hermione."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Harry. I was waking him up."

Harry looked at her dubiously, and Hermione sighed. She'd been terribly frightened for a moment, thinking that he might have caught a glimpse of Snape. That he was just affronted for her honor was almost a relief, even if she had to endure his nosy questions. She thought she was close to convincing him, when Draco swaggered out of the bedroom and joined them.

"Ah… and such a lovely way to wake up, too."

Harry stiffened. "Hermione, what does he mean?"

"He means nothing," she snarled, glaring at Draco, "and he will stop baiting my friends, unless he want his bed transfigured into a Basilisk."

Draco sighed dramatically, and dropped down onto the couch. "Whatever you say, love. You're all business in the morning… not that it makes you unattractive." He leered at her.

Harry looked appalled, and Hermione gritted her teeth. To her relief, the Floo activated, and Ginny came through. The others followed behind her, piling onto available chairs and cushions. The house-elf reappeared, bearing a large tray of pastries and drinks, and no one hesitated. After a few moments of eating and drinking, the tense atmosphere cleared, although Harry kept shooting baleful looks at Draco.

Ron licked the remains of powdered sugar off his fingers, as he polished off the last doughnut. He waved his other hand to catch the attention of the others.

"'m s… 're srrr Kp… " he spluttered, and Ginny gave a groan of disgust.

"Ronald Weasley, how many times has Mum told you not to try and talk with your mouth stuffed full?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. Ron swallowed, choked, then swiped his hand across his mouth.

"Sorry about that. What I was trying to ask was, are we sure that we got the right Cup? Strange that it didn't cause an explosion or anything. The others were all cursed… why not this one?"

"And why would Voldemort have given the Cup to Malfoy? It doesn't make sense," Neville said.

Actually, it does," Draco responded. "My father was one of his earliest and," Draco grimaced," most devoted followers. The Dark Lord needed the Malfoy wealth and influence. I suppose that making him the protector of the Cup was a way of honoring him… or at least, that's the way my father saw it."

"But did he trust your father enough that he didn't think the Cup needed protecting?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think it was a matter of trust," Draco responded. "Maybe he just felt that he had my father so completely in thrall, that he didn't feel there was any danger to the Horcrux."

Harry shrugged. "He didn't have a spell on the Diary either. I doubt he'd ever imagined it being destroyed by a Basilisk tooth."

"We never did find out what happened when Dumbledore destroyed the Horcrux in the ring. All we know is that the curse was powerful enough to nearly kill him. And the curse on the locket almost did in all three of us!" Hermione reminded them.

"Harry, you were with them when McGonagall and the others destroyed the Cup. What did it look like?" Ginny asked.

"They did it in the Great Hall. Cleared everything out of it, and then the Headmistress inscribed a magic circle on the floor. The Cup was placed in the center of it, and we all stood around it and cast shields. She summoned a flame that started at the edges of the circle and burned inward."

Hermione interrupted him. "What color was the flame?"

"Gold. It burned into the center of the circle, and when it reached the Cup, it burned all around it, but didn't actually touch it. The Cup began to melt, and as it melted, flames started burning out of it."

"And what col… ?"

"Green." Harry grinned at her. "And the Cup melted into just a puddle of gold, and the green flame tried to burn upwards, towards the ceiling, but it was hemmed in by the gold flame and couldn't burn through it. It started getting smaller, and smaller, and then it burned out. Seemed to take forever."

"Weird." Ron whistled. "What did they do with the melted gold?"

"The Headmistress cast some sort of spell over it, and then we walked down to the lake, and she threw it in. And that's that."

"And now what?" Ginny inquired.

"Practice," Hermione said. "Remus is meeting with us in the Room of Requirement this afternoon. We're going to start training to go out on mission with the Order. They're starting us off with tracking and surveillance. Should be interesting."

"Right," Harry snorted. "I'm still not convinced that this isn't meant to just keep us busy and out of trouble."

"Look, Harry," she said, "the sooner we show them what we're capable of, the sooner they'll start using us on missions. Remus said… ."

"Remus said…," he mimicked her.

Exasperated, Hermione came to her feet. "I really need to get out of here. Anyone for a walk outside?"

She wasn't at all surprised when Neville got to his feet. Susan followed quickly.

"Draco?"

He shook his head, and shot a look at Harry. "Think I'll stay here."

She dashed into the Floo, and emerged in the common room, Neville and Susan on her heels.

"What's all that about?" Susan asked her.

"Oh, Harry's angry. Apparently, he's willing to trust Draco now… with everything but me! And Draco loves egging him on. I swear, if there's one black eye between them when I get back… !"

"Whoa, Hermione. Let's go outside." Neville took her arm and Susan's and steered them towards the door. "You need to cool off."

The weather was crisp and cool, the sky blue. Winter was almost over, and the first signs of spring were appearing, but Hermione was still grateful for the warmth of the muffler around her neck. Neville was keeping up a running commentary about which plants were going to bloom first, and he proposed that they walk down to the greenhouses so that he could show them the latest roses that were blooming.

"Actually, Neville, I'd like to walk down towards Hagrid's hut."

"Well, sure, but why there?"

"Nostalgia, I suppose. I miss him, and I keep hoping that he's going to turn up one of these days."

Susan laughed. "Imagine what might turn up with him! He's bound to run across some curious creatures while he's traveling around."

Neville grimaced. "Please, no more Blast-Ended Skrewts!"

"Or Hippogriffs!" Susan added.

"Oh, I don't know," Hermione grinned. "Hippogriffs aren't so bad. Although, I don't think I'd make that case to Draco!"

Something buzzed past Hermione's head; she ducked so quickly that she only caught a glimpse of it as it disappeared.

"What was that? Did you see it?

Neville nodded. "A hummingbird."

"In Scotland? Are you sure?" Hermione asked.

"I've seen them before. They fly in and out of the greenhouses."

"But hummingbirds don't live in this climate. How are they surviving?"

Neville shrugged. "Magic, I suppose."

"Nothing that happens around Hogwarts surprises me anymore," Susan added.

They were descending the path that led down to Hagrid's hut, and Hermione saw it first – a plume of smoke drifting out of the chimney. The three of them broke into a run. Ahead of them, the door opened, and the familiar figure of the half-giant appeared.

"Hagrid! Hagrid!" Hermione cried, nearly losing her footing in her excitement.

"Whoa, there!" Hagrid caught her before she fell, and enveloped her in a hug. "'ello, Hermione. And Neville and Susan, too. 'at's a nice welcome home."

"When did you get home? How long have you been here? Does anyone else know that you're back?"

"Slow down there, Hermione. Come 'n have a cuppa tea, and I'll tell yeh all about it."

She turned to Neville. "Harry and the others will want to know that he's back. Would you… ?"

He left at a run, and Hermione and Susan followed Hagrid into the hut. It had been built after his original residence burned to the ground, the night that Dumbledore had been killed by Snape. Although Hagrid had seldom been there for any extended period of time, he'd managed to make the place look like home. Drying plants hung from the ceiling beams, and pots and baskets of every description were piled up against the walls. A musky odor permeated the room, and strange rustlings from among the baskets had the girls keeping close to the center of the room.

"Um… Hagrid? Did you bring anything back with you?" Susan asked, nervously.

"Why sure! I brought back the sweetest little Pinesqueezer, an' a Tufted Grabbler, an' a whole colony of Six-legged, Blacknosed Sugarsippers." He waved his hands around the room enthusiastically. "Le'me show yeh."

Susan grabbed Hermione's arm as Hagrid pulled the top off a large basket. The swarm of large cockroach-looking creatures that came pouring out of the basket sent the girls scrambling for the door.

"'ey, wait!" Hagrid cried after them. "They're harmless!"

But another glance behind them was all it took. Harry, Neville, and Remus Lupin were approaching the hut, and at the sight of girls sprinting out the door, shrieking and batting wildly at their clothes, they assumed the worst. They rushed up with wands drawn, ready for whatever monstrous horde had descended on Hagrid's home. Hagrid appeared in the doorway, waving his hands and bellowing at them.

"Don' use your wands on 'em! They stink awful when they're killed."

That was enough. With exclamations of disgust, Hermione and Susan refused to re-enter the hut while the insects were loose and headed back to the castle, leaving Hagrid behind to round up his little offenders. By simply setting out a bowl of sugar water, he was able to gather them up as they returned to feed.

"I think it would be a good idea if you came up to the Headmistress's office and gave us a report," Remus suggested. "I think the Order members would be more comfortable away from your creatures."

"Don' understand it," Hagrid said. "They handled them Skrewts and Hippogriffs an' never even blinked, then run like mad at the sight o' little Sugarsippers."

Harry eyed the basket. "Can't say that I like being around them, either." He poked Hagrid affectionately. "Besides, everyone will want to see you, and we can't all fit in here."

"Right enough," Hagrid agreed. "Though, I think they'll like the Pinesqueezer." He lifted another small basket. "Think I'll bring it with me."

"Uh, Hagrid," Neville asked. "How many legs does it have?"

Order members were summoned for a special meeting, and all those who could break away from their daily schedules without arousing suspicion were in attendance. Molly Weasley, accompanied by her daughter-in-law, Fleur, greeted Hagrid with a barrage of questions concerning his health, his appetite, and whether he'd had a chance to bathe. He was rescued by Tonks, who interrupted them by leaping into the air to throw her arms around Hagrid's neck and give him a resounding kiss on the cheek. Ron, Ginny, and the others crowded around to greet him just as enthusiastically, and the noise level in the room increased considerably. Professor McGonagall had to use Sonorous to quell the commotion.

"Thank you. Now, if everyone would take a seat… yes, yes, help yourselves to some tea first… but we must get the meeting started. Some of you are on tight schedules."

Another few moments of controlled chaos, and then they were sitting around Hagrid waiting for his report. He described how he and Madam Maxime, accompanied by Grawp, made their way into the mountains to seek out their giant relatives. Although, locating the giants proved to be much easier than actually trying to contact them.

"This won' surprise yeh. You Know Who has 'is people up there, too."

"You saw them, Hagrid?" The Headmistress looked disturbed.

"Three er four o' them. Death Eaters."

"Did you find out what they were offering the giants, and whether or not the giants were receptive?' Remus asked.

"Land o' their own," Hagrid said, "an' the support o' th' Death Eaters to drive out 'r kill the Muggles and magical folk who live there."

There were muffled oaths and exclamations from his listeners. Hermione felt sick. Voldemort held human life cheaply, considering it just another form of collateral to secure allies in his quest for domination. Muggles like her parents, those among the wizard population who refused to support him – these he'd sacrifice without a qualm.

Moody was pacing the floor, and the sound of his uneven footsteps seems to accentuate the tension in the room. He stopped, and Hermione strained to hear what he was saying over the background noise.

"Where'd you get this information, and how sure are you of its accuracy?"

"Giants don' trust anyone, least of all, someone not o' their kind. A few o' 'em might 'ave agreed t' th' Death Eaters' terms, but mos' o' 'em wanted to kill 'em. They wised up an' left a day 'r so after we got there." Hagrid continued. "Some o' th' giants remembered Grawp, 'n they were willin' to talk to us. We weren't askin' fer anything, yeh see."

"Would they consider coming into the fight on the side of the Order?" the Headmistress asked.

Hagrid shook his head. "I don' think so. A few, maybe. But the giants never got fair treatment from wizards in th' past, and they don' expect it now. There's so few of 'em left; they just want t' be left alone."

"That's unfortunate," Remus said. "Still, better to have the giants neutral than coming against us on the side of Voldemort."

"Do you think there would be any benefit to further attempts to persuade them?" Tonks asked.

Hagrid appeared to give the idea some thought. "I don' think we can convince 'em to fight on our side, but if we keep contact with 'em, we might keep 'em from comin' out at all."

The group fell into quiet and sober conversation. It was evident to Hermione that Hagrid's information had come as a great disappointment to the Order. She found her eyes straying to Harry, who was talking to Hagrid and Remus. She could see the strain on his face. With or without allies, it all came down to Harry in the end.

"Here, now!" Hagrid's voice stopped the flow of talk. "I've got somethin' t'show yeh. Somethin' I brought back w' me from th' mountains."

Susan nearly fell out of her chair in her haste to get behind Neville. Hermione backed up so quickly that she nearly knocked over Moody and the Headmistress. Harry and Lupin hurried forward in an attempt to forestall him. Too late – the basket was opened and Hagrid was lifting out… .

There was a second of silence, followed by a long, drawn out "Awwwww."

"Hagrid," Hermione squealed. "What is it?"

"That's a Pinesqueezer," Luna said. "They come from the same area of the mountains where the Long-eared Snookers are found."

Nestled in Hagrid's huge hand was a small bundle of blonde fur. It raised its head, displaying tiny pointed ears topped with gold tufts, and unfurling a long striped tail. At the exclamations from the onlookers, it peered around with large, dark eyes, gripping Hagrid's fingers with tiny paws.

"What a delightful creature." The Headmistress practically purred at it, stroking its head with a gentle finger. The Pinesqueezer responded by rubbing the side of its face against her hand.

"That's a compliment to yeh, Perfessor. Pinesqueezers are timid little things… yeh don' get their trust easily."

The door to the office opened, and Draco Malfoy walked in.

"Sorry I'm late, but I… ."

"What th' hell! What's 'e doing here!" Hagrid's bellow sent the Pinesqueezer climbing onto his shoulder.

"No, Hagrid! It's all right. He's… ." Harry's yell failed to stop him, as a furious Hagrid bore down on Draco.

"He's an Order member! Stop… !" Even the Headmistress's cry didn't sway him.

He'd backed Draco into the wall, fists clenched, as various Order members raced forward to try and keep him from injuring the boy.

"Yeh think a Malfoy can change? Yeh think yeh can trust a Malfoy?" Hagrid bellowed.

At that, the terrified Pinesqueezer leaped through the air, landing on Draco's shoulder, and grabbing him around the neck. The tiny creature was trembling, and the same look of fear was reflected in the eyes of both of them. Hagrid stopped short.

"What th' hell?"

Hermione took the chance to grab Hagrid's hand.

"He's working with us now. He's an Order member."

Hagrid looked around the room, puzzled. "He tried to kill Dumbledore. Harry saw 'im. Tell 'em, Harry."

"It's a long story, Hagrid. Things have happened since then, and we do trust him." Harry shot Draco a look. "Hard as that might be to believe."

"He saved Harry's life," Remus added.

"Yer tryin' to tell me that 'e's not responsible fer what 'e did in the Tower?" Hagrid asked, disbelief evident on his face.

"No," Draco's voice was shaky. "I am responsible, and I can't change what I did… just try and make up for it."

Hagrid thought about it. "Well, I'm not ready to take yer word for it, but I'll take Harry's. That's all yeh can expect."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, as Hagrid's hands relaxed. For the first time since he'd entered the room, Draco took his eyes off Hagrid and looked down at the furry creature clinging to him.

"Would someone like to tell me what this is, exactly?"

"It's a Pinesqueezer, Draco," Hermione giggled, "and it appears to like you. That should count for something, shouldn't it?"

Hagrid held out his hands, but the little creature refused to let go of Draco. In spite of himself, Hagrid's face relaxed in a smile.

"All right, Malfoy… yeh got yerself a second chance."

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