A/N Hey y'all! I realized I forgot to reply to a bunch of my reviews. I'm really sorry! I've been so busy with this show I'm in. I honestly do appreciate the feedback. It makes me so happy to get reviews! Anyways, enjoy this chapter!
Draco sat by the fire, avoiding eye contact with everyone who passed him. For the first time in weeks, his skin was exposed to sunlight. Although, it wasn't by choice that he was outdoors. Early that morning, Charlie Weasley had barged into his tent, Luna at his heels, demanding to see Draco's arm. After examining the burns and grimacing, he had ushered Draco outside so that he could study the wounds in a better lighting.
"Hold still, Draco. Charlie needs to find out how to fix you." Luna smiled at the long haired young man from across the fire, where she sat.
"I would, if he'd just tell me what the hell he's doing." Draco muttered, pulling away slightly. Charlie sighed and grabbed hold of his arm again, dabbing a damp cloth onto the blistered places.
"You can trust Charlie, mate. I've never had a burn he couldn't fix." A dark youth grinned at Draco. "And that's saying a lot, seeing as we both work with dragons."
"Who are you? I don't know you." Luna stated, her eyebrows knitting together.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that." Charlie looked up from his project. "This is Robin. Robin Botesdale, my apprentice. He was a Hufflepuff. Graduated during Ron's third year back in '94, I believe. Rob, this is Luna Lovegood."
"Nice to meet ya!" Robin grinned enthusiastically. His teeth were strikingly white against his dark brown skin. "I recognize the last name. Your dad runs the Quibbler, right?"
"Yes! That's very right!" Luna nodded.
"Can you get on with it? Please?" Draco groaned between clenched teeth.
"You needn't be so rude!" Luna scolded, "Charles is just trying to be nice."
"It's fine, you can call me Charlie." The ginger said, looking confused. He didn't really know what to make of Luna. "Rob, grab me the bottle of xyborg extract from the healing tent."
"You're the boss." He shrugged, sprinting away.
"Now, Malfoy, it'll be really helpful if you tell me how you got these burns. Was it a spell or a natural fire?"
"Spell." He muttered, looking at his feet.
"Do you know which one?"
Draco shrugged.
"Okay, well, have the burns spread?" He dipped a towel in a bottle and pressed it to the wounds.
"Yeah. Damn it! What the-"
"That was dragon saliva. It stings. Sorry about that."
"Charlie, you should use cancan root." Luna suggested, tucking her hair back with her wand.
"Hmm, why's that? I've never used cancan root for anything other than sea sickness."
"Well, it attracts valki." She spoke matter-of-factly.
"Oh, of course. I may have to try that." He said, grinning slightly.
"I brought the xyborg extract!" Robin shouted, running back to them. Breathing heavily, he handed it to Charlie.
"Thanks mate." He nodded, uncorking the vile and pouring it over the burns.
Draco winced and cried out, his already pale face turning a chalky white. "Bloody...son of a..."
A few passers by stopped to stare at him.
"It'll be a lot better once we figure out what spells were used." Robin said, clapping a hand on Draco's shoulder. Then, he walked beside Charlie and crouched down, whispering out of the corner of his mouth. "You don't think it's got anything to do with his..." He glanced down at the Dark Mark.
"Not likely, but possible." Charlie muttered back.
Suddenly, Draco looked up at them, his eyes red and his forehead creased. "I know what you're muttering about." He hissed, nose wrinkling in disgust.
"Relax, mate. We're just-" Robin began.
"No! You think it's got something to do with this damn mark! You think it's because I joined them!" He lashed out. "Well you're right! It is because of the Dark Mark."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Charlie asked, taken back.
"I did it. I cast the spells. I was-"
"Why the hell would you do something stupid like that?"
"Yeah. Really stupid. I'm just an idiot who casts spells on himself for fun." Draco sneered.
"Charlie," Robin warned, shaking his head, "leave him be."
"Leave me be, of course, because I'm the crazy Death Eater that's going to summon the Dark Lord any minute now. Because I'm going to kill you all without a wand. Because-"
"Calm down, mate." Robin held up his hands.
"Don't call me 'mate' you filthy-"
"Okay, Draco then! Just relax-"
"I was trying to remove my Dark Mark! That's why I cast the spells."
Suddenly, everything fell silent. The large group of people that had congregated around the fire when they heard yelling all hushed.
"That's good, Draco." Luna spoke up after a moment. "I'm really glad for you-"
"But don't you dare say I'm 'on your side' just because I tried to get rid of it." He snapped.
"Wouldn't dream of it. Do you, er, remember what spells you used?" Charlie said, smiling comfortingly.
"Yeah." Draco muttered, looking at the ground.
"Well, great! We'll get you fixed up, good as new-"
"And then we've got a couple of questions!" Seamus suddenly called out from the crowd.
"Like what, Finnigan?" Draco glared, his voice thick with sarcasm.
"Oh, I don't know. How about, did you enjoy killing all your classmates, or was it dull for you?"
For a moment, Draco looked almost hurt. Then, opened his mouth to make a retort, but was interrupted.
"Shut it, Seamus!" A voice called out. Much to Draco's surprise, the voice belonged to Ron. "Leave him alone."
"But Ron, he tried to kill you!"
"Yeah, thanks for the reminder." He took a breath and walked forward. "But does it really matter now? No. It's not about making friends. Only one thing matters now, and that's making sure no more innocent people die. I've lost my best mate. My mum and dad are off in Azkaban with George. Bloody hell, Fred is dead! All I want is to keep the people I care about alive." He looked into the crowd where Hermione stood and his eyes shone with worry. "And, if that means trusting Malfoy, then so be it. So, what do you say? Are you still on You-Know-Who's side?
Looking at his feet again, Draco shook his head; slowly and uncertainly.
"Well then, sorry to disappoint, but we're going to have to work together." Reaching down, Ron held out his hand. Without a word, Draco accepted it and Ron helped him to his feet. "Now, if anyone tries to give him a hard time, they'll have me to answer to."
"Alright, back to what you were doing!" Neville smiled, shooing the crowd away.
"You heard him. Lets see if we can get that arm back to normal." Charlie nodded. Ron did the same as he turned to leave.
"Hey, Weasley-" Draco muttered, looking at his feet, "er, thanks for that."
"Sure. No problem." He shrugged, and with a slight smile, he left.
A/N Hey guys! Again, I'm soooooo sorry I didn't reply to a few of the reviews. I really do try and reply to every one I get. I've just been at the theater every night this week, so I've been a little disoriented. I love you guys and enjoy reading your feedback! A special thanks to AllHellBrokeLoose666, notsing, ElsaElphieGinny, and especially DaOneInDaCorner (Reading your reactions to each chapter as you read really made my night)! Also, a few of you were asking why I didn't kill Narcissa instead of Andromeda, and the answer is, Voldemort still has use her. He no longer needs Andromeda. (Although, it killed me to kill her!)
Don't forget to follow, favorite and...REVIEW! And have a wonderful weekend/week/whatever. Do something fun, because y'all deserve it.
P.S. Please feel free to go check out my story Amortentia! I'm kinda proud of it. ;) Also, the character, "Robin" is not an OC. He appeared briefly in Prisoner of Azkaban. Just thought I'd add that. Well...bye!