Draco Malfoy was not a happy man. To the casual observer he appeared to be quite content but he was not a happy man. It had been 2 hours since he had found out the startling news about Potter and Granger and 90 minutes since he had sent the owl to Kingsley. He was sitting on a small bench on the edge of a little village in Yorkshire. 300 yards down the road was the house that Draco had thought was empty. He had been planning to use it as a base for his mission in the area. However when he got closer he saw movement in the window. He dropped low and drew his wand, fearing he had been expected here and it was a trap, however he froze in utter surprise when he saw the figure at the window. It had been 10 years but he instantly recognised the man he was seeing. The proud cast to his features and the uncontrollable look of his hair automatically gave him away for who he was, there was no scar on his forehead but Draco instantly new it was Harry Potter. His surprise was heightened further when a smaller woman joined Harry at the window. Her hair was just as bushy as it always had been and her face had the same look of intelligence about it. It was Hermione Granger he was sure of it.

He sat on the bench waiting for the return owl from Kingsley when he was joined on the bench. He turned away from the person, still wrapped up in his own thoughts.

"Draco"

His name shook him out of his reverie and he turned around to see who it was and was shocked to find him facing Kingsley.

"Minister" Draco managed when he had recovered.

"So..." Kingsley said and trailed off.

"Yea" Draco replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive"

Kingsley took a deep breath and then chuckled.

"What's so funny Minister?" Draco asked

"Well, you know everyone had thought that they had left the country for America or Australia, and here they are in an English village" said Kingsley

"Yea it is a little weird" confirmed Draco, with a tight smile

"No what is weird is finding you two sitting on a bench in my village" said a voice from behind them. They both turned around at the sound of that voice. That voice that they had not heard for 10 years.

"So what are you doing here?" asked Harry Potter.

Ten minutes later Draco and Kingsley were sitting in the living room of Harry's house.

"Drink?" Harry asked.

"What have you got?" Kingsley asked. Draco thought that the Minister was acting as if 10 minutes had passed rather than 10 years since they had last met Harry.

"Whiskey, Spitfire, JD or this" Harry said holding up a small bottle. Kingsley leaned forward to read the label.

"Firewhiskey?" Kingsley said slightly surprised.

"I have had this bottle for 13 years. It is for special occasions and I think this qualifies"

"In that case a small Firewhiskey please" Kingsley said and reclined in the armchair he had parked himself on. Draco sat upright on its twin.

"Draco?" Harry asked

"Firewhiskey is fine" he replied slightly stiffly.

"Relax Draco, I am not going to attack you or launch into an angry rant about why you are here" Harry smiled at his old classmate. Draco relaxed slightly and smiled thinly.

Harry poured the drinks and passed them round.

"To old friends" Kingsley said and raised his glass. The other two echoed his toast and drained their glasses.

"Where is Hermione?" Kingsley asked Harry when they had all drunk.

"She has gone shopping. I am hoping that we can get this sorted before she gets back so she never need know you were here"

"She doesn't know you know we are here?" asked Draco

"No, I saw you in the bushes earlier and thought my mind was playing tricks on me but you were still there half an hour later. So I sent Hermione to the supermarket in the next town"

"Why?" Draco asked slightly puzzled.

"So that you can say what you want to say and, if you will pardon me, get the fuck out of my life" Harry said.

Kingsley was shocked at Harry's language.

"Look I came here as you friend Harry to ask you for..." was as far as he got. The rest of his sentence was lost as shrill voice broke the silence that had fallen.

"HARRY POTTER!" and a maelstrom of light and noise arose from around the house.

"Who the fuck is that!?" Harry yelled over the volley of spells that had punched through the window and door, blowing shards of glass, wood and pottery down the hallway and over the front room. The three people in the house dived behind the sturdier pieces of furniture in the room.

Kingsley and Draco drew their wands and prepared to fire over the cover they had hidden behind. However Harry had other ideas. He undid a bolt on the back of the drinks cabinet and opened a compartment in the antique item of furniture. He pulled out a wand from the compartment and stood up facing the hail of fire.

"PISS OFF OUT OF MY LIFE!" He yelled and, leaping over the destroyed furniture, ran into the oncoming fire yelling curses and spells in equal measure. No hostile spells could touch him and he jumped out of the building and bounded down what remained of the porch stairs screaming bloody murder. The two wizards still in the house stared in amazement at the figure that was charging towards the enemy. They exchanged a glance and followed suit.

When they got outside the spell fire had moved off and seemed lesser in intensity. They took a few cautious steps towards the sounds when they died off completely. They took another two steps and then raised their wands sharply to face the approaching figure.

"Put your wands down you two" said a voice from their left at the same time as Harry appeared from the darkness in front of them.

"Mione, good you are here" Harry said, walking right past Kingsley and Draco and embracing the figure that had just appeared.

"So now Harry maybe you will tell me why you tried to hide these two from me and why our house is ruined" said Hermione Granger as she holstered her wand in her handbag and pulled out a pair of torches, passing one to Harry she scanned the ground. "And who were these idiots" she added seeing the body's in the light of the torch.

"Well for the answer to that, speak to Shack" replied Harry and they both turned to face the Minister.

"He is back" said Kingsley quietly.

"By him you mean..." started Harry, a slight tremor in his voice.

"Yes Harry" said Draco before Kingsley could speak.

"It cannot be" said Hermione.

"It is Hermione" answered Draco.

There was a shout, that was very familiar to the huddled group, from the woods and the unmistakable crack of a wizard apperating. The four of them looked up to the heavens.

The sky above them was flooded with incandescent variations of green. The various shades mingled and merged to form a shape the four heroes had hoped they would never see again. A skull with a distended jaw and piercing black eyes stared at them. The snake protruding from its mouth writhed in the air and curled round itself.

"Voldemort has returned" Kingsley said. The Dark Mark above them throbbed with power and menace.