A/N: Here is the next chapter! After this chapter, the real action starts and pretty much continues for the rest of the story. If you all think I can improve this chapter, please let me know!

Enjoy!

Chapter 17

Questions and Answers

Ron and Sharon were due to take a few days for a honeymoon the next morning after the wedding. Everyone had been settling down and getting ready for bed when they heard a loud scream and what sounded like a body being thrown roughly onto the floor. The sound came from Harry and Hermione's room. Everyone grabbed their wands, prepared for the worst and to decimate the attackers, rushing to the door that led to Harry and Hermione's room. They were confused at what they saw when the door was opened however.

Harry was pinned beneath an ecstatic Hermione, how was promptly pinning Harry to the floor and was tickling the life out of him. He had tears running down his face from laughter and he was trying to catch his breath.

"Harry James Potter! That was a bit uncalled for!" Hermione yelled, unable to keep the smile from her face. But upon hearing someone clear their throat at the door, Hermione stopped attacking Harry for a moment to see the amused, yet confused faces of the Weasley family. "Oh, hello."

"Hermione, would you care to explain what is going on?" Ron said with a smirk. Hermione smiled and nodded. She got one last dig into Harry, and stood up.

"Yes, I will," she said. "This git here, decided to make me think he was going to leave me with the way he was talking." Ron whipped his head towards Harry, and looked a bit put out.

"Yeah, but Hermione," Harry said with a grin. "You still have not answered my question." Hermione huffed and turned towards him again. She was shocked to see him on one knee, holding the most gorgeous ring she had ever seen.

"Hermione Granger, will you marry me?" Harry asked again. Sharon's hand shot up to her mouth and she let out a muffled scream behind her hand. Mrs. Weasley was tearing up, as she was happy for Harry. Ron stood there with a grin, waiting for Hermione to answer. Hermione grinned and reached down to take Harry's hand.

"Of course I will, you prat!" she said excitedly. He had a goofy smile on his face and Harry slipped the ring onto her left hand. Hermione yanked him up from the floor and proceeded to kiss him in such a manner that made everyone look away and blush.

When Hermione finally released Harry, he was standing there with a dazed and far off expression. Ron clapped him on the back, and Mrs. Weasley pulled him into a bone crushing hug, crying about how happy she was for Harry. Mr. Weasley rescued Harry and to let him breathe again. Sharon hugged Hermione, and Ron did as well.

"It's about time, mate," Ron said to Harry. Harry grinned and nodded his head.

"Yeah, who would have thought that I was more afraid of asking her to marry me than facing twenty Death Eaters alone," Harry said. Ron laughed and shook his head.

Everyone finally left the bedroom, giving Harry and Hermione their privacy. Hermione was still staring at the ring Harry had put on her finger. It was a fairly simple band with some Celtic markings on it, and the sparkling diamond was at least one carat. She could barely believe that this was happening. She had already started a mental to do list for the wedding. Harry broke her train of thought when he waved his hand in front of her face.

"Hermione?" Harry asked with a smirk. "Already planning are we?" Hermione grinned and blushed because he could read her that well. "In that case, I want to talk to you about this." Hermione raised a curious eyebrow at his sudden change of demeanor. Harry took a deep breath and steeled himself.

"I wanted to wait until this whole thing with Voldemort is done," Harry said. Hermione nodded her head in understanding. "I would like to get it done, that way we won't have that to worry about and trying to juggle planning a wedding. It's not that I am not ready, it's just that I want to make sure we can lead peaceful lives."

"I agree, Harry. I was going to ask you if we were going to wait as well," Hermione stated. "I feel the same way. I don't want to have a massive security force standing by just to make sure we can go through our ceremony. I want that day to be a carefree day that we can thoroughly enjoy together."

Harry smiled and nodded. He had thought Hermione would want to get it done right away. He was pleasantly surprised that she thought about the same things. They talked for about another hour, attempting to hash out a few details about the wedding, the war, and other things. They both went to sleep with smiles on their faces, and they both had a good night's rest.

ooo

Harry woke early intending to get his morning run finished before breakfast. Hermione stirred and sleepily blinked a few times. She saw him start to get ready for his run, and she quickly got up and got ready, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She gave his a quick kiss good morning before she started to change into her running outfit. Harry made sure they both had their wands with them and set out from the back door, only to see Ron and Sharon warming up for a run as well.

Hermione's jaw dropped a little bit seeing Ron up this early. He shrugged it off and explained that it was part of the Auror routine. They were already packed for a quick three day honeymoon in the countryside near Hogwarts. They were saving their true honeymoon for when the war was over.

As the four of them set off at a brisk pace, they chatted and made a few minor plans for when Ron and Sharon returned. They agreed that since they knew the general area of Riddle Manor, they would be able to find it again and started a basic plan on the size of force needed to take the house. Ron assured Harry that Kingsley would be able to get Ministry approval to get several companies of Aurors to assist the Order in their plan. Ron was a bit disappointed to miss out on Draco's interrogation, but Harry said it might have to wait until they returned; Draco was still recovering from his incident the previous day.

They returned to the Burrow after an hour, and Ron managed to get the shower first. Harry developed an evil grin and stuck his wand into the bathroom after Ron had gotten into the shower. Harry was about to turn the water cold when he felt a spell hit him, and Hermione dropped to the floor laughing. Ron suddenly looked through the shower curtain and promptly slipped and fell into the tub when he saw Harry, laughing hysterically.

Harry was a bit confused for a moment, but he quickly retreated into his room and stood in front of the mirror. His jaw dropped and saw that his running outfit was now hot pink with lace frills, and his forehead bore the word 'whipped'. His expression darkened for a moment, before he smirked a bit. He walked back out into the hall, only to see Hermione still on the floor. She had calmed down a bit until Harry walked back out of the room, which sent her into a fit of laughter again.

"Mione, my love," Harry said with a feral grin. "You know that revenge is coming, don't you?" Hermione tried to stop laughing and managed to, if only for a moment.

"Harry, I didn't do this!" she said.

Harry looked around and saw a quick movement out of the corner of his eye. He ran down the hall and threw open the door that the twins were staying in, only to find George and Fred still out cold. He verified this by shooting a stream of water onto the twins, which woke the both of them up quickly. Fred whirled around ready to kill whoever woke them up, but his jaw hung open when he saw Harry.

"What the…" Fred mumbled. George turned around as well and his jaw fell open.

"Bloody hell," George said, whistling lowly. "I can guarantee you mate, we didn't even think about it."

Harry stomped out of the room, grumbling under his breath. He stopped after a couple of steps, and strained his ears. He heard a small giggle come from Ron's room. Ron had now gotten out of the shower and was rushing to his room.

"Ron, my friend," Harry said pleasantly. "Mind if I have a word with your lovely wife?"

Ron smirked and tapped his door with his wand. A slight click was heard before Sharon yelled:

"Traitor!"

Harry stepped into the room, seeing Sharon in a defensive dueling stance. He smirked at her and lowered his wand. Sharon did not relax however, she had heard from Ron at how good of a duelist Harry was.

"Hello Sharon," Harry said sweetly. By now the entire Weasley household had crowded around the door. "Pleasant morning we are having."

"Give it up, Harry," Sharon said with a grin. "You know that this is just payback from a couple of years ago." A snort was heard from behind Harry as Ron remembered that day. "Honey, I know you don't want to sleep on a couch tonight."

Ron instantly shut up, knowing that she was a woman of her word. Harry simply grinned at Ron and point to his forehead and then pointed at Ron. Ron nodded emphatically. Harry turned back to Sharon. Hermione leaned over to Bill and whispered to him.

"Five galleons on Sharon." Bill grinned and shook his head.

"Ten on Harry," Bill whispered back. Hermione nodded and agreed. They turned back to the showdown. Sharon still had not moved a muscle, and was staring down a grinning Harry.

"You know damn well that you deserved this," Sharon said. Harry nodded and grinned even wider. "Then what the hell are you going to do now?" Harry shook his head and crossed his arms. Her body tensed, expecting for Harry to attack at any moment. Ron looked a little torn. Harry had been his best mate through all of their ups and downs, but Sharon was his wife. He wisely kept quiet and watched Harry size her up.

Harry finally nodded as if deciding on a tough decision. He tossed his wand onto the floor and held up his hands in surrender.

"Nice one, Sharon," Harry said with a smile. She relaxed a bit, but that had been just the thing Harry was waiting for. He flicked his fingers and she fell to the ground, a victim of a tickling charm. Sharon was laughing while Harry watched on. He grinned and knelt down to her. Ron leaned over to Hermione and very quietly whispered to her that Sharon was ticklish to the point that he would look at her and she would start giggling.

"Sharon, I love you like a sister, but if you don't undo this prank right now, I'll leave you like this for the rest of the day."

Sharon was shaking with laughter, and she made to do the counter charm. But before she could, Harry quickly snatched her wand from her hand. He eyes grew wider as she saw him grin a bit.

"Well?"

She nodded quickly and he handed her wand back. He picked up his wand and removed the tickling charm. He gave her a few minutes to catch her breath and helped her up. She waved her wand and Harry returned to normal. He looked himself over and nodded his thanks. Bill looked at Hermione and grinned. She held up her index finger, a signal that said 'it's not over yet'.

Harry had just made it past the door frame when he was tossed forward into the wall with a well placed stinging hex to his behind. He got up quickly and whirled around, a savage grin on his face. He bolted for the door and proceeded to crash into an invisible barrier that Sharon had put up. Ron fell over again laughing as he watched Harry slide down the barrier with his face still smashed against it. He had seen a few muggle movies with Sharon, and the way Harry looked reminded him of some of the funnier movies, like when a person did the comical face plant into a patio door and was slowly sliding down with their face making the squeaking noise.

He tested the shield with his wand and smiled. He looked at Sharon and bowed to her. He walked back down the hall, passing Bill and Hermione. Hermione was grinning as Bill counted out the money he owed her, grumbling all the while. Harry raised his eyebrow at Hermione, while she just smiled sweetly at him.

Shortly thereafter, Ron and Sharon departed for their quick vacation, and Harry was under close watch to make sure he didn't try anything. He quickly assured everyone that he would wait until they returned to plot his comeback. Sharon looked a bit unconvinced, but Harry promised that he was honest about that. Those that remained went back inside. Poppy had moved Draco to Hogwarts during the night. They played a pickup game of quidditch, and then Harry and Hermione left to go home and work on some things that needed to be done there.

ooo

Ron and Sharon returned feeling refreshed after a few days off. They discovered that Harry and Hermione had laid the rest of the groundwork for the Riddle Manor assault. Ron went over it with Harry, and only had to tweak a couple of things, to make sure they would get in and out with minimum risk. They prepared the information and passed it onto Kingsley so he could review it and assign the needed number of Aurors for assistance.

They had one thing left to deal with, Draco. The four of them apparated to Hogwarts and approached the gates. Hagrid welcomed them with a smile, and they spent a half hour talking with him. He had to get going, due to classes starting up soon. They made their way to the hospital wing and entered the room. Draco was sitting up and staring out of the window.

"Malfoy," Harry said in a cool greeting. Draco didn't look over at Harry, but he acknowledged Harry's presence.

"Hello, Harry," Draco said. Harry still was confused as to why Draco was still using his first name. "Sorry to have crashed your wedding reception, Weasley."

Ron stood there with a confused expression on his face. He was about to ask when the polyjuice was going to wear off, but then he remembered that Draco had been here three days now. If Draco had changed into anyone, Poppy would have notified them.

"Don't look so surprised Weasley," Draco said, still never taking his eyes off of the window. "Do remember: people can change. You yourself have changed quite a bit in the last few years. Back then you would have walked into the room and insulted me. Instead today, you said nothing. I can tell you all do not like me, but I have given you no reason to trust me yet." Harry looked a bit skeptical.

"Why should we even try to trust you, Malfoy?" Harry asked. Draco finally closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Please, try to use my first name," Draco said. "I have one you know. Anyways, I thought what happened the other day would have proved that I am trying to atone for all that I have done."

"I admit, it is a good start," Harry said. "But from what you pulled all during the time we knew you in school, you have one hell of a long way to go." Draco nodded.

"I know I do," Draco said quietly. "Ron, I have something you need to know." Ron crossed his arms and waited for Draco to continue. "I'm sorry for what I did to her grave. I tried to get out of it, but they tortured me so severely that I wasn't able to walk properly for a week."

Ron clenched his jaw for a second, but he nodded in thanks. Draco finally looked over to them, and Harry was taken back at the look in Draco's eyes. There was true remorse in them.

"Harry, there are things you need to know. I will swear whatever oath you want me to that will convince you that this is the truth of what I know. All I ask for in return, is a safe place to stay or get some protection. My wand was taken by the Death Eaters, so I will have to try to see if I can get another. I'm not sure how that will be possible, since I am branded as a traitor."

"Malfoy, I want you to tell me everything. If it is worthy of my attention, I will make sure you are protected. But I need to know first. Not the details, just the highlights," Harry said. Malfoy nodded, accepting Harry's terms. He took a deep breath and began talking.

"Voldemort was hurt a few weeks ago. It takes a lot out of him to even torture his followers. He was bedridden for at least the first two weeks after he suddenly grabbed his head and screamed in pain. And since you took out Snape, he had no access to any healing potions. Oh by the way, he just died the other day. What did you do to him?" Harry just shrugged and motioned for Draco to continue.

"Since then he has been planning something. He wants to hurt you in the worst possible way. He knew that you had been seeing Granger seriously for a while. I do not have all of the particulars, but he was planning on capturing Granger." Hermione's stare hardened. "Yes, you heard me right. He is planning on using her as bait to draw you out and kill her right in front of you. Also, he is sending a few groups of Death Eaters out to Diagon Alley again and also Hogsmeade. These attacks are to be executed in the next day or so."

"How many troops does he have?" Ron asked.

"While he does not have the numbers he had before, there are around seventy to eighty Death Eaters. The Dementors are with him as well. The giants stayed out of it this time, due to the pasting you all gave them back a few years ago. I will warn you, he has a new right hand man, and he is probably worse than V-Voldemort himself. He likes to use a sword for some reason." Harry smirked at that. "I take it you think you can take care of that?" Harry nodded.

"Oh I think I can," Harry said. Draco looked doubtful.

"Harry, this guy can take on five of us at once, and I was raised knowing how to use a sword. He seems to revel in taking limbs, heads, and whatever else he can cut off," Draco said. Harry just waved it off.

"Trust me Malfoy, I know how to fight," Harry said. Draco shrugged and looked back out the window. "Well, Malfoy, I think you gave us a lot to think on. Now I have one final question for you. What's with the change in you? I mean, back in school you tried to harm or kill me every time you had the chance. Now, you are using my first name and you are spilling everything you know." Draco looked down at his hand.

"Harry, when my father was killed, which I still have to thank Hagrid for by the way, it gave me some freedom I had never known. I only acted the way I did because he instructed me to. If I didn't, I was usually cursed by him during school holidays. There were several times that he would put me in the dungeons and torture me for days on end.

"When he was killed, I was free of that. I laid low and just stayed out of sight. Yes, I had the Dark Mark while I was still in school. My father forced me into taking it. He said if I didn't, he would disown me. I was young at that time, not knowing I had other options I could have chosen.

"My mother and I hid out for a long time. But we were found by this man I mentioned before, and he was gathering everyone together, focused on brining the Dark Lord back to life. He must be a seer or something, because he evidently knew how to bring the Dark Lord back to life and where to find the last horcrux. Yes, I know about the horcruxes. The Dark Lord was panicking towards the end when you guys kept taking them out." Harry held up his hand o stop Draco from speaking for a moment as he had a question for him.

"Who is this new person you keep mentioning?" Harry asked. Draco shook his head.

"I don't know his last name, but the man's first name is Grigor," Draco said. Harry nodded and motioned for Draco to continue.

"When we were found, he took us before the rest of the group and forced me to cooperate." Draco's voice faltered a bit as he stopped taking, his eyes became haunted.

"Malfoy?" Harry asked. "Are you alright?" Draco shrugged and stared out the window again.

"They tortured her and made me cooperate for them to stop hurting her," Draco said. He cringed at the memory and her screams echoing in his memory. "That's when they forced me to get the horcrux from Ginny's grave. My mother was the only thing I had left. After I returned, they resurrected him right in front of us. I know you know how horrible that is, Harry. Now I understand what you went through that night.

"When he saw me, he started cursing me for abandoning the Death Eaters. By the time he stopped to address the rest of the Death Eaters, both of my legs were broken and my skull was fractured. My mother ran to my side to help me. Before she could do anything, he caught her and bound her to the wall. He tortured her some more, and told her this was her punishment for raising such a weak son. Someone from the gathering healed my legs and forced me to stand next to him while he decided what to do."

Draco shuddered as he had tried to block out the memory. He gazed up at the ceiling, tears flowing from his eyes.

"He told me that I should kill her to prove my loyalty. Of course I resisted and never took my wand from his hand. He put me under the imperious curse and instructed me to kill her. I should have paid more attention in class. I was helpless. My mind was screaming not to do it, but I could not control the rest of my body. I watched myself kill my own mother…" Draco trailed off.

Harry sat back in shock. He knew all to well what Draco was talking about. He remembered back to Voldemort's rebirth in the graveyard, the imperious curse that had been cast on him, and many other things. Hermione had tears running down her face. She was at a loss for words. Instead she reached over and laid her hand on Draco's shoulder. She felt him shake with sobs as he remembered his darkest hour. Ron sat there, gazing off out of the window. Sharon had a horrified look on her face.

Harry stood up and walked to the window, deep in thought. Hermione walked over to Harry and put her arms around his waist. He rested his hands on hers as he continued to stare out the window. He was wrestling with a few demons from his past that Draco had brought back with his story. Harry turned and kissed her on the forehead. He walked over to Draco.

"Draco Malfoy," Harry said as he held out his hand. "I hereby take you under the protection of the Order of the Phoenix. I have something for you to sign if you accept my offer." Draco reached up without hesitating and gripped Harry's hand.

"I'll sign whatever bloody thing you want me to, as long as you get that bastard for me," Draco said. Hermione took out the roster and handed Draco a quill. Draco finished signing the parchment and nothing happened to him, which convinced them that he was serious about joining them.

Harry walked to the entrance of the hospital wing, with Ron and Hermione following him.

"Get some rest; you have some knowledge of the interior of the house that we are raiding in the next day or so. We'll need your information to finish our planning," Harry said. He turned to leave, but he stopped and turned back to face Draco. "Oh, one more thing."

"What is it Harry?" Draco asked quietly. Harry looked Draco in the eyes, and said:

"I'm sorry about you mother, Draco. Be thankful for the time you had with her. Treasure it always, because some of us never got that chance." Draco nodded.

"I will, Harry," Draco said. "And thank you, for giving me reason to keep going."

Harry nodded and the four of them left the hospital wing, and Draco laid back down to rest. They stopped at Minerva's office and relayed the entire conversation to her and Albus' portrait. When Harry stood to leave and prepare to setup defenses for Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, he turned to Minerva.

"Get everyone ready. We attack Riddle Manor in two days."