I got the invitation two days later, delivered by a snow white owl. I smiled sadly when I saw the Malfoy crest in ink printed on the outside. It simply read a date, address, and time.

"What's that?" asked Alex, peeking over my shoulder. I was surprised she had wrenched herself away from her ridiculous television show about the time-traveling doctor, considering she'd had her eyes glued to it for the past hour.

"It's an invitation to Lucius's funeral."

She hummed noncommittally. "Interesting. I suppose you two buried the hatchet, then?" She had a soft smile on her face, as if she found this idea hilarious.

"I suppose. I mean, we did have a somewhat civil conversation." And even as I told her, I was shocked to realize that it was true. We had had a real conversation, without the words mudblood or git or bastard. A miracle, to be sure. "I just had a brilliant idea. Come to the funeral with me."

Alex looked exceedingly uncomfortable. "Yes, about that…"

"You could bring Harry! Surely it's time that they put their school rivalry behind them."

"Um, there's something I need to tell you." But before she could finish, her fireplace glowed green, signaling a firecall. The ashes glowed with the name Draco Malfoy in elegant calligraphy.

I slowly turned around to look at Alex, who had a certain deer-in-the-headlights expression that would have been amusing if I hadn't been so angry. "Alex."

"Yes?" she answered innocently. "Oh, look at that. I'm all out of popcorn. I'll just go to the kitchen…"

"Why," I said slowly, "is Draco Malfoy firecalling you?"

She cleared her throat. "See, it's a funny story."

"I'm having a hard time imagining any circumstance where I'd consider this funny."

"Draco and I have known each other for the last few months. In fact, other than you, I consider him one of my closest friends," she admitted, shrugging and eying the telly as if it would save her.

"Are you serious?" I said. "Please tell me you're kidding. Does Harry know about this?"

"Oh, yeah. Harry and Draco get along better than Draco and I do."

"How could you have kept this from me? I talk about how I haven't seen Draco in years and how I'm afraid he'll hex me the second he sees me, and you've known him for months?"

"Well, I knew you'd react like this," she replied defensively. "You hate him."

"With good reason!" I retorted. I stood up from Alex's couch, frustrated. "You know what? Fine. I guess I'll see you at the funeral."

"So you're angry with me because I refused to hate Draco just because you did?"

"You're my best friend," I replied loudly as I made my way to the exit. "I should be able to expect that common courtesy!" I slammed the door on the way out.

I didn't speak to Alex again until the funeral, and even then I refused to sit next to her and Harry. Instead, I planted myself next to Ginny and Blaise, who welcomed me with open arms.

The funeral processions were surprisingly short, and I was shocked to find that Draco refused to give a eulogy about his father. He only stood up after the preacher dismissed us, making his way to the first pew instead of the podium. "I know most of you are my friends," he began. "I also know that most of you only came here to support me. And I can assure you that I don't need support. I didn't know my father any better than any of you did. So, I can only thank you for coming to these funeral proceedings. All of you."

He bowed his head as he walked out of the church. I saw Alex and Harry walk up to greet us, and I was shell-shocked to witness Ginny crying. She explained that it wasn't Lucius she was crying for, but Draco, who must have been suffering. I could only stare at the spot that Draco had exited, wondering if I should have offered him my condolences.

Ginny reached out to hug Alex. "I know you and Draco are close. You must be feeling his pain."

"It's going to be hard on him," Harry said. "Even if he won't admit it."

"How can you watch this?" Alex asked. "Lucius had tried to kill you, after all."

"Lucius tried to kill all of us at one point or another," Ginny pointed out, reaching for Blaise's hand. "And, even though he didn't ask for it, I'm here for Draco."

Alex sighed. "Well, I can't say I'm sorry he's gone, but what happened to him really was tragic."

"It makes you think that it could have been any of us," Ginny sighed. "Well, Blaise and I better be off. I'll see you tomorrow, darling." She kissed her on the cheek lightly, her red lipstick leaving a slight mark on Alex's cheek.

We made our goodbyes. I decided to forgive Alex, because I knew that my ridiculous tantrum was rather unjustified. I apologized to her for making such a huge production out of it, and in a typical Alex fashion, she waved it off and suggested we make plans for the weekend. I apparated home with a smile on my face.

Imagine my surprise when I found Draco waiting for me on my front porch. "Hello, Granger," he said. "I have a proposition for you."

"What the hell are you doing here?" I said, pulling out my wand. "How dare you!"

He held up his hands as a gesture of surrender. "Just hear me out," he pleaded. "Is that too much to ask?"

"You have a minute before I kick you out. And feel free to interpret that threat literally."

"My mother was attacked the night my father died," he rushed to explain. "She was hit by a Dark curse, and her health is degenerating quickly. She's incoherent, losing memory… it can't be a coincidence that she was struck with a curse the same night as my father. She says she doesn't remember her attacker, and I've even tried truth serum, but the memory loss is either a product of the curse or her attacker obliviated her."

I lowered my wand. "And what do you want me to do about it?"

"I need you to fix her."

"Shouldn't you be calling the aurors? Or better yet, a curse-breaker?"

He snorted. "If I called the aurors, her case would get thrown to the bottom of some idiot bureaucrat's desk file, and I'd have to wait decades. And you're just as qualified as any curse-breaker, not to mention you're a trained healer and are well-acquainted with Muggle medicines and chemicals."

"How did you know that?" I asked shakily. I'd been studying muggle genetic and medical theory in private.

"You took a six-month long sabbatical last year to take a class at the University of Sydney in modern biological theory," he said smugly. "It isn't that hard to figure out that you're interested in it."

Clearly he'd done his research in the last few days. I wasn't sure if that made me more or less likely to trust him. "You can't expect me to work entirely on trying to cure your mother. I have a job."

"We'll discuss pay later. I want to know if you're even considering taking the job."

I tried to picture taking the job. If Draco was right about this (and I knew he probably was, considering he was practically raised around Dark magic) then I wouldn't be able to devise a cure without the magical signature of the person who cast it. And that would mean I would have to figure out who had attacked Narcissa and Lucius three nights ago. Not to mention I would have to figure out exactly how to counteract the curse before it was too late for her. "Of course I'm considering it. I won't let your mother die." Like I let your father die went unsaid, but he and I were probably both thinking it.

"Just go to see her," he requested. "If you still insist that I hire someone else after that, then I will leave you alone."

I wanted to comment that, since my best friends were so close with him, it still probably wouldn't be the last time I saw him. But, then again, they did a great job keeping him from me before. "Fine. I'll go to see her."

He grabbed my arm and I closed my eyes as we appeared in Malfoy Manor. "My mother's room is on the first floor," he told me, leading me around the furniture. "She hasn't left it since the attack."

When we arrived at her room and Draco opened the door, I suddenly remembered the last time I saw Narcissa Malfoy. She had strolled out of the castle, hand in hand with her son, after the Battle of Hogwarts. She looked regal and poised, her appearance unruffled and untouched by the chaos around her.

I almost didn't recognize the woman in front of me.