Chapter 7

All characters belong to JK Rowling.

As soon as he appeared at the fireplace, everyone froze. Draco mentally gritted his teeth and told himself to be strong. Carefully, he stepped out from the fireplace and kept his head high, just like what his mother told him before he floo from Malfoy Manor. Harry Potter's fundraising dinner was held in someone's manor, someone rich and probably had links with the Ministry judging by the medals of valour that were being displayed near the fireplace. The invitation had only provided the address to floo, not the manor's name.

He walked towards the reception area, exuding confidence that he actually did not possess at this moment, and greeted the lady behind a table. He was about to give his name when the lady passed him his table number. Of course, everyone knew who he was, he thought wryly. Table 2, that was rather a central table for someone like him. He was expecting to be chucked into the back table, seated with the old coots who were barely important but had thick wallets to donate. But then again, this dinner was held by Saint Potter and Saint Longbottom, the people who were invited were probably displaying courage and genuineness. Two things that he did not he had it in him.

Draco took a deep breath and started to walk towards his table. He sat at one of the chairs, his table was still empty, except for an old couple. The wife took one glance at him and whispered to her husband. Her husband scoffed seeing him, even sharing the same table and started to give a disgusted expression. Mentally, he counted to ten and told himself this was expected. Before attending this dinner, his mother was preparing him for the treatment that he would be facing. People hated the Malfoys. Being in Hogwarts for the past one year shielded him at how his family was viewed. Sure, there were people who disliked him in Hogwarts but the teachers treated him fairly, other students left him alone most of the time and he was surrounded by his friends the entire year.

More guests came in and the chatter grew when they saw a platinum-blonde head sitting at one of the main tables. Draco was mentally cursing his mother for making him arrived so early. It made him the fodder of gossips, he heard someone musing if he stole some other bloke seat. Another couple took their seats at his table. The man introduced himself as an Auror, a senior Auror, he emphasized. Draco got the silent message, if he tried to do something, this man would not hesitate to draw his wand on him.

Finally, Draco saw someone of his age pulling the chair at the other end of the table. He wanted to greet the person when he saw her face. Katie Bell. He gulped. He thought he would see fear in her eyes for he put a curse on her three years ago. He was wrong, she gave him a dismissive look instead like he was not even worth her time. Another person arrived at his table and greeted Katie. Katie had shown as much interest in the person as she did towards Draco, however there was no animosity in her disinterest. The person, another Gryffindor apparently, took the chair beside Draco. Katie actually smiled at the person and mouthed "thank you" to him. Draco realised, the boy probably decided to sacrifice himself and sat beside him. There were only three seats left. He saw Table 1 was still empty. Probably where the Golden Trio would be seated.

"Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger, it is a pleasure that both of you are here. Please, may I direct you to your table?" greeted Mafalda when she saw two of the Golden Trio. Hermione politely reject the offer and asked the grey-haired lady for their table number instead. Mafalda happily gave them and asked them to enjoy the evening.

"Table 2? Are we not going to sit with Harry and Ginny?" asked Hermione as they entered the dining hall.

"I heard each table will have half our schoolmates and half old people who wanted to sit with us," grumbled Ron. Hermione winced hearing that they would be seated with strangers. She thought one year after the war ended, the fascination with the Golden Trio would wane. She was wrong, if anything, people seemed to be more interested to see them. The older group, especially, was fascinated that three young school students were behind the downfall of Voldemort. They would ask them to retell the stories, interrupting at every moment with questions that would take retelling of the stories twice as long.

"Is that Draco sitting at our table?" asked Hermione when she spotted the platinum-blonde hair. Ron halted his steps, equally in disbelief that Draco was put on the same table as him. Ron then asked, "Is that Cormac sitting beside him?" They both looked at each other, wondering at the weird sitting arrangement.

"Who is going to sit beside Cormac?" asked Hermione. Ron immediately shook his head, mentioning the old sixth-year rivalry with the guy. Hermione rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. She marched towards the table and pulled the chair beside Cormac. Ron trailed behind and sat at the other chair beside her. Katie's face lighted up seeing the two of them and they started talking about the old days.

"Hermione, you and me at dinner together. Just like sixth-year, huh?" quipped Cormac. Hermione gritted her teeth and forced a smile. Ron gave a barely audible snort.

"Yeah, I deserved that smile. I sure was an obnoxious arse in sixth-year, sorry about that." That took Hermione by surprise. She did not expect Cormac to actually belittle himself. He then explained how the war had changed him. He started sharing about his father being tortured when the Ministry was taken over. He was alive but was currently at St. Mungo again after being discharged previously. After a while, Hermione realised Cormac was an acceptable table mate. Even Ron slightly warmed up to him, seeing he joined their conversation once in a while.

Draco, on the other hand, was unsure of his emotion now. A great annoyance was bubbling up when the git beside him, Cormac McLaggen, talked about being Hermione's date to Slug Club Christmas Party in sixth-year. The stupid party that made him caught by Filch. The stupid party that caused Snape to drag him into the classroom and revealed about his mother's Unbreakable Vow. Back then in the classroom, he was showing false bravado, just like now. However, he was also feeling a great shame when hearing about the torture the git's father endured. He represented the people who tortured Cormac's father and yet he could still calmly sit beside him. He gave a frustrated growl when he saw Hermione laughing with Cormac once again. The senior Auror beside him gave a warning glance, thinking the growl was of something dangerous.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you all for attending the first-ever fundraising event! This event will be held annually, presented by each of the Golden Trio on their birthdays and planned by the Ministry! Tonight, Harry Potter has invited his friend, another brave Gryffindor, Neville Longbottom to be part of the event as they shared their birthdays together. Without further ado, let's welcome the man of the hour, giving his welcome speech!" Everyone started clapping upon hearing the lanky man, who was the host of the event, spoke.

Draco looked around. In Table 1, he saw Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood sat together. One empty seat, presumably Harry's, Kingsley Shacklebolt was at their table too. The other four chairs were people whom he assumed from equally high-ranking positions in the Ministry. There was an empty chair in Table 1, he noted. The thunder of claps quietened down as Harry took the stage and started to read his speech.

"In a child's eyes, you'll find the light of hope…of promise for the future**. As a war orphan myself, there are times whereby I felt bitter about my light being taken away because my parents were not there to ignite it. It was a selfish thought but through the eyes of a child, I was not able to appreciate their sacrifice. However, after facing Voldemort himself, I see how their sacrifice is the promise for the future, not just for their child, but for every child. They were not able to ignite my light but their legacy ensure that my light will never be dimmed," Harry paused momentarily. He stared at his two best friends, both giving him a mental encouragement to continue.

"Once the war ended, I witness how the cruel history of war orphans repeated itself. One of them was someone who was very dear to me. His parents died for the same sacrifice as my parents, to make a world in which he could live a happier life. With that, I would like to dedicate tonight's dinner for all the war orphans, for all who lost their parents and not just from death," Harry did not continue his sentence but he gave a nod towards Neville. The room understood what he meant. If Draco had not been observing Hermione, he would have missed the slight nod that Harry gave towards her. And her sorrowful stare back, nodding back towards the man at the stage. He then saw Ron gave her shoulder a tight squeeze.

The room started clapping again at the poignant welcoming speech and the lanky man took over the stage again, signalling the start of the dinner. Hermione felt Draco boring stare at her and asked, "What?" That was the first time she acknowledged his presence since she sat at the table. Draco considered if he should mention about Harry's stealth acknowledgement but decided not to do it in a public setting. He promised himself to behave and not deteriorate his relationship with her. He shook his head and started eating his dinner.

During dinner, he saw Katie stood up to go to the washroom. He was not sure what pushed him but he stood up himself and quietly follow her. He called her name when they reached a quiet corridor. Katie sneered at him, asking if he wanted to give her any more jewellery.

"No, I would like to apologize for that. I was not thinking straight then, I did not think of the severity of my action. Seeing death in real life was different than just cowardly handing you a necklace."

"Look, Malfoy, if only you apologize to me sooner, I would probably forgive you. But now, with the war over and you cowardly defected to our side at the last hour, it is easy for you to say those words, don't you think?" Katie continued to sneer. Draco looked down hearing the words. He wished he could show her how sincere he was.

"In any case, you did what you have to do to survive against You-Know-Who. I can't say I forgive you but I don't hold any grudge towards you either. The war is over, I have better things to look for than thinking about you," Katie then walked away, leaving Draco alone in the corridor. He continued to stare at the floor. How foolish was he to think everyone was as forgiving as Granger when it came to his crimes?

When Draco returned to his seat, the lanky man was at the stage again and started talking about the donation that they would start collecting, the main reason the dinner was held in the first place. He listed the charities that would be benefitting and said that anyone who would like to donate, kindly stand up and announced the amount. Hermione rolled her eyes and told Ron about it was just a ploy, encouraging competition on who could open their wallet the biggest. Ron laughed and told her that probably was the point.

Someone from the back of the room, an older gentleman who was a quidditch athlete, opened the donation with 500 Galleons. After that, people slowly started to stand up and announced their donations. Ron whispered that these people probably aiming to be highlighted at tomorrow's Daily Prophet. Rita Skeeter's quill was writing eagerly on the names and donation amount. Hermione gave him a distasteful look, saying these people seemed to miss the meaning of the event. Rita should highlight the plight of the war orphans and why they needed the money, not whose wallet was fatter.

"Well, I sure hope you won't find my donation a distaste, Hermione. My father asked me to donate on his behalf since he was still recuperating in St. Mungo," said Cormac. Hermione turned her head, a bit embarrassed that Cormac had heard her talking with Ron. Cormac then stood up and announced that his father would be donating 2500 Galleons. The room gasped as that was the highest donation so far.

Seeing Hermione's impressed look, Draco could not help it. He stood up and announced he would be donating 5000 Galleons. The room, this time however, fell into a sharp silence. Draco belatedly realised what he had just done. He brought everyone's attention to himself. Rita Skeeter looked very excited at the development. Awkwardly, he sat down, hoping for the chatter and buzz to restart. The lanky man, with great discomfort on his face, said a thank you for his donation. Slowly, people started talking but there was nobody else donating. Nobody wanted to since there was no use, Draco Malfoy, former Death Eater, just donated to a cause about war orphans. Nobody could top that headline.

"What have you done?" hissed Hermione, looking angrier than ever. Draco looked confused, while he did not expect Hermione to hug him or cheered for his donation, her anger was unexpected either.

"What? I just donated for Potter's cause? Isn't that the point of this dinner?" argued Draco, in an equally low voice. The senior Auror beside him started to shift, watching him as he saw the argument brewing with the Golden Girl.

"Tomorrow, people will only be reading about you donating, nobody will even care about the cause or the speech that Harry gave about being an orphan! Honestly, it must be tiring for you to be here, pretending to care when all you want is just that moment of false glory with your Malfoy's money!" Hermione continued to hiss in anger. Draco was starting to get agitated. He wanted to say that he wanted to donate a smaller amount originally, he only donated that heinous amount to get her approval, like how Cormac got his.

His argument was put on hold when someone took the stage. The lady, slowly walking towards the centre of the stage, announced herself as Phyllida Jorkins. Hermione and Ron groaned hearing the name, to the confusion of the rest of the table. Phyllida was the head of the new department who was tasked to improve the image of the Ministry. She was the one who sent their appearance schedules and planned for all the upcoming events to rebuild the new society. Mafalda Hopkirk recently transferred to her department, seeing she was a great record keeper.

"I would like to thank you all for generous donations tonight. I am immensely grateful for Mr. Draco Malfoy, the former Death Eater, who donated five-thousand Galleons. It must have taken a lot of courage for him to attend this dinner and he did not disappoint us. If anything, one would think he donated it to show his repentance about his straying ways two years ago." Phyllida gave a sickeningly sweet smile towards Draco.

"Anyhoo," Phyllida continued with a slight giggle, "I am just glad he is here. We are trying to show repentance and forgiveness. Look at Table 2, Ms. Bell and Mr. Weasley, victims of Mr. Malfoy's plots, were civil enough to sit with him throughout the dinner. If they could do it, we shall strive to do the same to all the former Death Eaters. I invited Mr. Theodore Nott too, son of an incarcerated Death Eater, however, he politely declined to attend. Pity."

Draco felt the room was closing on him. He scanned his table, even Katie was looking uncomfortable at the spotlight of her attempted murder. Hermione squirmed at her seat, while she was not Draco's biggest fan, it seemed publicly embarrassing him was not the way Ministry should work either. Phyllida continued her speech about the upcoming plans for image improvement.

When Phyllida finally concluded her speech, it was a sign that the dinner had ended. People started to stand up and walked towards the fireplace and the Apparation point. Draco continued to keep his head down, waiting for the crowd to disperse before taking his leave. He heard Cormac saying his farewell to the rest of the Gryffindors on the table. Katie said hers too. He thought everyone on the table had left when someone scooted to the chair beside him. He did not look up; he knew who was beside him. Hermione Granger squeezed his wrist for a second, before standing up and joined her other friends. He smiled wryly at the action. Gryffindors and their heart of gold.

A/N: Harry's opening speech is quoted from Anthony Lake's, UNICEF Executive Director.

Also, Phyllida is modelled after Umbridge (yes, I know, we don't need more Umbridge) minus the evilness. Just her mannerism.