A/N: I am sooo sorry for not updating before. I've been through so much lately it was difficult writing something. This chapter is partly influenced by what happened to me a month ago. Please continue reading for me!

Chapter 5: Discovery

Draco rested his head on the counter of the kitchen island. He absentmindedly stirred his cup of cappuccino with a silver spoon, the murky liquid much like his muddled mind. Across from him sat Hermione, deep in conversation with Ron while Harry rested on a separate coffee table.

Leaning against his arm, Draco profusely wondered what happened the previous day. His eyes swiveled back and forth between Harry and the toaster. Harry looked elsewhere and it seemed as if he was avoiding his eyes. Draco glared at him for his confusion.

POP!

In a flash, Draco caught the tanned wheat bread as it sprang threw the air and jumped to his feet. He boldly sauntered to Harry until he was standing before him. Hermione and Ron's head followed the blonde boy's back as he forwarded to Harry.

The dark-haired wizard lifted a lazy eyelid at him, his brows arched with curiosity, "What do you want Malfoy?"

"Don't act so innocent Potter!" Draco said darkly pointing his bread at Harry as if it was a wand itself. "I demand answers from yesterday – now."

"Go bugger Ron or something Malfoy," Harry advised waving his hand carelessly at him then he sipped his cup of buttermilk. "I have no answers." And just when Draco began to protest, Harry's eyes lit up. "In fact -" said Harry looking at Draco with a hint of puzzlement in his eyes, "- I'm quite curious about what happened yesterday on the plane as well." Harry finished with a side glance towards Ron and Hermione; his words came out slowly as if he just realized that.

"Really now? So I suppose we just mysteriously fell asleep during an important conversation?" Draco asked sarcastically chewing on the edge of his toast.

Harry shrugged. "It would seem so Malfoy."

"Don't screw with me Potter, I mean it."

"Unfortunately, I'm not," stated Harry flatly.

"Malfoy, Harry's right," Hermione confirmed. "Ron and I found you two fast asleep together when the plane landed."

"It could've been exhaustion," Ron helped out.

"No…" said Harry with suspicion in his voice and looked out to the distance. "It wasn't exhaustion. I clearly remembered Malfoy complaining about one thing or the other. He won't just fall asleep out of the blue…"

"Oh Harry!" Hermione said exasperated. "I checked with the pilot. He said there was an accidental gas leak in the plane that put the two of you to sleep, but it was soon cleared away after about 8 minutes."

"Accidental gas leak!" Draco cried out indignantly. "That's preposterous! What kind of technology have humans created that would allow such an incident to occur?" Then Draco turned to Hermione, "Granger, you were bragging about how humans were advancing their technologies and how sophisticated the machines are, so why was there a gas leak?"

Hermione scoffed, "I wasn't bragging, I was merely pointing out that things like that do happen. Humans aren't perfect you know."

"No," Draco disagreed, "muggles aren't."

"Malfoy," Ron growled, "watch your mouth."

Hermione glared at Draco but Harry finished her intended message. "She wasn't the one who 'accidentally' killed her parents Malfoy. As far as I can see right now, Hermione is perfect."

The three turned to Harry. Two out of the third stared at him with a I-can't-believe-you-would-say-that look and a what-the-hell-are-you-doing look – both in which Harry was impassive to. The third look however, gave him something to rethink about.

Draco stared darkly at Harry, the intention to murder was in every corner of his mind, but the realization that he was incompetent without his wand left him to simmer slightly down. And the fact that he was only holding a toast angered him as well, and the fact that toasted bread isn't good for anything else besides the fact that it makes a good breakfast, also added to Draco's temperament. He gripped the bread with clenched fists until it crumbled; the remains were released on to the floor.

"I'll wipe your existence from this world one day, Potter," Draco threatened. His eyes had the cold glint of a maniac and the face of a poker. He wasn't lying and everyone in the room heard Draco clearly like looking through glass. With that, he left the room.

There was something about the toast Draco could've related to, though he was still busy fuming to notice. Like the bread and the toaster, he was once white and neat until he stood against Harry, who burnt him and scarred his calm, ejected him, and exposed Draco's clear disfigurement to the world. The bread crumbs that fell to pieces were the fleeting remnants of the building immunity Draco had build against the 'toaster', but the toasting made him frail, and in the end, Draco fell apart. His resistance wasn't the only thing that he lost, the small trace of trust he was developing with Harry bursted into flames, and ashes can't ever be rekindled.

Draco lay sprawled across his king-sized bed and examined the decorative ceiling, a habit he was beginning to develop during his stay. His brows started to meet as his thoughts arranged themselves into words.

"Why do I continue to live here?" Draco asked but decided it was a dumb question. Obviously he was here because of the protection provided within these walls. Once again, Draco felt the increasing feeling of isolation.

His eyes continued to stare at the ceiling, searching for anything that would put him to ease. Among the picture, he saw within another picture – a face.

"Stupid Potter…" he muttered and turned to his side where he would see the bedroom door, but instead he encountered the man he was just thinking of.

"What did I do now that would make you talk to yourself?" Harry asked amused, but it seemed their previous tension from before didn't affect him.

"What makes you think you're so important?"

"You said 'stupid Potter'," Harry replied. "There must be some meaning behind it."

"Yes I did," Draco admitted. He climbed off his bed in a flurry and swept pass Harry. "Now take me somewhere. I can't stand this house."

Draco grabbed a long black coat from the hanger as he neared the door. It was a nice door, probably carved from mahogany, with engravings of wolves hunting animals, but beautiful none the less – just like the rest of the mansion. He'd live here forever if it weren't for the people occupying it already.

He waited outside among a shining black vehicle. Draco stared curiously at the sleek machine with shiny windows on them.

"It's a car," Harry said curtly and didn't bother telling him what type. A car was simply better left as it is for Draco. They both slipped inside.

Draco said nothing as he was driven around London. He may have stopped a few times by the shore where Harry and him had last faced his fellow Death Eaters, but soon left. Now they passed the country side, the country folk and entered the great capital. Cars swished by angrily and pedestrians looked either irritated or dumfounded. People sat under an umbrella and patio sipping tea or leaned on their balconies and shout at the strangers below them. Draco was never so close to crowds of muggles all gathered in one place before. In a way, they were intriguing, but Draco couldn't stand their presence, especially the children who held on to the hands of their parents.

He turned away from the windows only to find a deep set of emerald eyes staring at him.

Draco furrowed his brows. "What?"

"Nothing."

Draco looked back through the window, anything was better than facing those eyes. "Take me to Diagon Alley. I can't tolerate the sight of these muggles much longer," Draco said quietly.

"I'm afraid I'll deny that command," Harry said. "There'll be too much commotion about a Death Eater being around."

Draco didn't say anything, he didn't even correct Harry that he was now an ex-Death Eater, but Harry probably did that on purpose.

"Can we stop here then?"

It was a deserted alley in the older parts of the city but life existed just beyond its two ends. Draco walked in the mazes of these alleys while Harry parked his car somewhere. He stared at the old gray facades that cornered him and thought about nothing. Staring up, he thought he saw giant black ravens cross the roofs of the building though Draco wasn't too sure. However, wind began to pick up and gather at his feet, sweeping his coat upwards and spiraling it around him. The air was feeling omnious today.

Draco looked up, searching the edges of the buildings for faces, familiar faces, but none appeared; the aura of death lingered around him. Turning on his heels, Draco strolled across the black cobblestone pavement, the clicking of his flat heels and the wind whistling were the only sounds around. No talking, no swishing of thin capes and no clues to magic prior to use but the presence of darkness was definitely there. He knew they were there.

For a while, Draco breathed deeply and tilting his head back, faced the gray skies. He tried to remember what it was like when he carried out a mission. Closing his eyes, he recalled the adrenaline he had felt, but now he felt nothing – no pleasure gained from the fear of others. He was now the one being hunted, not the other way around.

Draco opened his eyes. The feeling disappeared. All the invisible weight that was crushing his chest vanished – just like that, gone.

Draco continued his back tracking, intending to say nothing to Harry once he returned. He was already a traitor, and he didn't want them hurt…even if they were trying to capture him. Rounding the corner, Draco bumped in to a slightly taller man then he was. Green eyes glared down at him through scarlet framed lenses.

"Looks your little friends escaped from the ministry's hands," said Harry darkly as he strided forward. "Upon their escape, they freed our prisoner that was being held in custody before being sentenced to Azkaban." Backing Draco up against the crumbling alley walls, Harry's face morphed into a more severe calmness; he asked with a cold smile, "Do you happen to know who that prisoner was?"

Frowning, Draco remained silent.

"Well, maybe you should read the Daily Prophet more often," Harry advised, "so take a guess."

"Blaise."

"Blaise who?" Harry asked smiling.

Draco glared at him even further. He was making it sound like he was to blame, like everything was his fault. "Zabini.."

At that moment Harry slammed his palm against the walls beside Draco's head. Tiny flecks of gray rained gently to the floor, the soft pitter patter of the particles contacting the black cobblestones was overpowered by Harry's voice. "Do you have any idea what I had to go through to capture him..?" He asked in a dangerously low voice.

Draco was momentarily stunned by his protector's outburst. The force of the impact he felt beside his head intimidated him, the dark emerald eyes sent shivers down his spine, and the lack of personal space he had – left Draco breathless. Gathering his nerves together, Draco answered coldy, "No I don't and frankly I don't care. You're job is to watch over me."

Harry glared at the blonde boy beneath him. "That's' true but in order for me to do that, you'll need to let me know what the hell is going on." Harry said, "Take this as an example," he held a turqouise pendent before Draco's stunned face. "When exactly were you going to tell me she remembered what had happened, hmm…?"

It was Pansy's necklace.

Draco could only say nothing, did he not betray them enough?

If you've noticed any mistakes, please note it for me. I had intended the chapter to be longer but I think that I what I planned is too much, so ..it's like this. And after all these months you'd expect it be longer...(lol…I apologize). I've been in a rush and proabably missed many flaws. Thank you 'Maddevillechilde' for telling me that Zabini's name was spelled wrong. Geez, that was so embarrassing…I went back and quickly changed it! Thank you again. All in all, please review!