Hello all,

Thank you for all the feedback. I really appreciate it and it was wonderful to read what you had to say. I love that people enjoy this story and it's a pleasure to write it.

I also want to remind readers that this is rated M, for a reason. The story is progressing and soon there will be some adult situations (sex) that some may not want to read. I'm sorry if you don't want to read these parts, you are welcome to skip through them, and for the other's who don't care... GREAT!

Just thought I'd put that out there.

Now onto the story!

Once again, I own nothing, but now that I do think about it, I do own Jack. ;)

Chapter Thirteen

Day two after Hermione's disappearance wasn't any easier on Draco. He spent the previous day pouring through books in the family library, searching for anything to shed some light on her disappearance. To his dismay he found nothing.

When he tried to fall asleep after scouring through hundreds of books, all he could see were her brown eyes looking at him with pain, her bloody body, and then she was gone. He tossed and turned in his bed, but couldn't shake the ghost of Hermione's disappearance. He wanted to be doing something to help find her, not trying to sleep.

He prayed to Merlin that she was okay wherever she was. He constantly looked at the ring on his middle finger, hoping that it didn't begin to burn or worse. He didn't know what he'd do if he saw the red stone turn black.

Draco didn't understand why this was happening to him. He was finally in a good place in his life, he had a wonderful best friend, his parents were happy, he was close to becoming a fully graduated Auror and the public was finally beginning to see that he wasn't the stone cold Death Eater that they all thought him to be.

Now he found himself sitting at his dining room table, eating breakfast with his Mother and Father. They both were unusually quiet since he told them what happened at the Ministry. He chalked it up to them being concerned for him and worried about what might happen if Hermione wasn't able to come back from wherever she went. Though he had heard them having a heated whispered conversation just before he entered the dining room. But at the moment he couldn't think much of it.

Draco pushed his eggs back and forth on his plate. He was hungry, but thoughts of Hermione kept his hunger at bay. He continued to stare at his plate mindlessly, silently hoping that today she would come back. He needed his best friend to come back home.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when his mother placed her hand over his own. Draco slowly lifted his head to see her giving him a sad smile.

"Draco, you have to eat sweetheart." She said softly.

He sighed. "I know Mother. I just don't have much of an appetite." He said putting his fork down on his plate.

"Son, she'll come back." Lucius said reassuringly while flipping through the morning mail.

"You don't know that for certain." He said grimly.

Lucius didn't reply, instead he handed Draco a letter. Draco took the letter from his father's hand murmuring his thanks and ripped open the letter.

Draco,

Please come to Grimmauld Place at noon. We need to talk.

-Harry Potter

He groaned at reading the signature at the bottom of the letter. Shit, what does Potter want? Wait, did he write Draco? When the hell did we become so chummy? He dropped the letter with a scowl firmly planted on his face.

Lucius chuckled. "Keep making that face and it might get stuck that way. Who was is it from?" He asked.

"Saint Potter wants me to go over to Grimmauld Place for a little chat. As if I really want to see him right now." He sneered as his father chuckled.

"Maybe he has information on Hermione." Narcissa said her blue eyes glimmering with some emotion he couldn't place and his father shot her a look.

He shook his head. "I sincerely doubt it."

"Regardless, you should go over there today. You two have both just lost your best friend. I'm sure he's feeling the same way you are." Narcissa said while buttering her toast.

"Fine, but if you get an owl from St. Mungos don't be surprised." Draco said bitterly. He wondered what Harry Potter could possibly want from him.

At noon exactly, Draco floo'd over to Grimmauld Place. He stepped out of the fireplace and began to dust himself off while taking a look around.

He had been here numerous times over the course of his friendship with Hermione, but he always found it strange that she would want to live in a house that held so many ghosts for both her and Potter.

After they graduated, she agreed to move in with Potter so Draco volunteered to help her move in. When he saw how dreary the house was, he made the suggestion to redecorate. To his surprise both Potter and Hermione loved the idea of redecorating.

Within a month, the whole house had been completely redone from top to bottom. It was now painted in soft blues and teals, modern furniture adorned every room, and one obnoxious painting had finally been removed from the wall.

It still shocked him that the clean and modern living room before him was once filled with dust and antiques. He took a look at the mantle and saw all kinds of pictures along with the occasional knick-knack. He picked up one of the frames and let a small smile wash over his face.

The picture was of one day when it snowed at Hogwarts and she made him go out with her to play in it. He tried to tell her that Malfoy's do not play in the snow, but she wasn't having any of it. Together they made snow angels, and made a snowman. The picture was of them both with their arms draped around the snowman and grinning stupidly at the camera as Neville snapped the picture.

He let out a small chuckle before his stomach tightened at an unwelcome thought. What if this is all I have left of her? Just a slew of pictures and my memories. What if she can't come back? He shook his head trying to banish the negative thoughts, but they still lingered in the back of his mind as he put back the frame.

"Malfoy." He heard a familiar voice say from behind him.

Draco turned around to see Harry Potter standing in the doorway of the living room. He was wearing sweat pants and a cotton t-shirt with his hair looking more unruly than usual. There were dark circles under his green eyes and his face had a haunted look to it.

Well it seems like I'm not the only one who's worried.

"Potter." He greeted indifferently.

"Please sit." He said motioning to the couch while walking around to sit down.

Draco did as he was asked and sat down on the other end of the couch. He angled himself to where he could see him and waited for him to speak.

"Kingsley told me what happened at the Ministry." Harry said softly while wringing his hands in his lap.

"I assumed he did." Draco said with a deadpanned expression.

"How are you holding up?" Harry asked giving him a look Draco couldn't place.

"What?"

"I asked how you were holding up. From the looks of it, you're handling this no better than I am." Harry said grimly.

Draco's fists clenched in anger. "Don't presume to know how I am handling Hermione's disappearance Potter. Why am I here?" He asked coldly.

"You're here because Hermione is like a sister to the both of us and from what I can tell, you are just as miserable as I am." Harry replied.

"You don't know anything! You have no idea how I'm feeling." He sneered. How dare he try to tell me how I feel! Why the fuck does he even care?

"I know exactly how you are feeling. So why don't we talk about it. I'm sure it would make us both feel a little better." Harry said with conviction.

"Potter, I'm not some prissy little prat who sits around and talks about his feelings with other men. So whatever you're trying to accomplish, just stop now." He spat and considered rising from his seat to apparate back home.

"No. I know better than anyone that keeping all of your feelings bottled up inside is the worst thing you can do." Harry said and Draco knew exactly what he was talking about.

Since becoming friends with Hermione, he had only mentioned the incident in the bathroom with Potter once. He had confessed to Hermione that he was in that bathroom having a panic attack over what to do. He didn't want to let the Death Eaters into the castle or kill Dumbledore, but he didn't know what to do that would end well for his family.

He was considering going to his Godfather for help after he got himself together, but Potter came and made him angry. He didn't mean to almost cast an unforgivable, but when you were around it as much as he was at that time, it just slipped out.

Draco had kept all his emotions inside of him and when Potter attacked him, they all bubbled to the surface. After that, he swore to never let his emotions get the best of him when it came to orders ever again. That's why he tried his best to keep his emotions in check when he was given direct orders. No matter how he personally felt about the situation, he would always try to the best thing for him and his family.

Now here was his childhood rival trying to get him to talk about his feelings like some kind of muggle therapist and he didn't know what was going on. This was not what he was expecting when he came over to Grimmauld Place. He expected Potter's legendary anger and rage, not this calm and serene man who seemed to actually care how he was doing.

He shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts. "Why are you doing this? Where is all the yelling? Why aren't you calling me Death Eater scum and trying to beat a false confession out of me?" He asked bemused at why Potter was treating him like a friend would.

Harry ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "I am doing this because I made a promise to Hermione a long time ago, that if something were to ever happen to her, I would make sure that you were okay. I yelled enough at Kingsley when he told me what happened when I got in yesterday." He paused and took a deep breath.

"And you are not Death Eater scum. I've watched you over the years with Hermione and I know that you genuinely care for her well-being. She really is like a sister to you and you wouldn't look like hell warmed over if you really were the Death Eater that some still see you as." Harry said sincerely.

Draco searched his face for any sign of a lie. "So you're just doing this for her?" He asked wondering if he had an ulterior motive.

"No."

"Then what are you doing this for? Why am I even here? You hate me." He asked completely confused at what was happening between them.

"I am doing this because I'd like to be a friend to you and I know you need to talk about this with someone. I hated you as in past tense." He said looking him dead in the eye.

"Okay, now I'm terribly confused. Who are you and what have you done with Potter?" Draco asked befuddled. Maybe this is just a polyjuiced version of Potter; it wouldn't be the first time.

Harry chuckled. "I haven't hated you since the letter of apology you wrote me. I know we've only spoken a few times since you and Hermione became friends, but I'd like to be your friend if you'd give me the chance."

"So Hermione disappears and you're already trying to fill her spot, eh?" Draco sneered. He refused to believe that Harry Potter wanted to be his friend. This has to be a trick.

"No, I've wanted to be your friend for some time, but when I asked Hermione about it, she told me I should wait for you to initiate it." Harry replied with a straight face.

Draco scoffed. "Does this seem like me initiating friendship? Have you gone mad?"

"No, but I'm sick of this animosity between us. Now that Hermione is gone, I keep thinking of all the things I should have done with her while she was here. Like going to that stupid museum she was so excited about, taking that trip she wanted to the states, and becoming friends with you like she wanted me to. She never pushed me, but I could always tell that she wanted us to be closer. I had a plan, but now she's gone and she may never come back." Harry said coldly and Draco could see that they had been having similar thoughts about Hermione never coming back.

He laughed humorlessly. "You had a plan?"

"Yes, but that's not the point. Do you think we could be friends? I know it won't happen overnight, but I think it's time we bury our childhood rivalry and move on. It's what I want and it is what Hermione wants as well. You've already apologized which I've accepted, but I think I should offer one of my own.

"I'm sorry for rejecting your hand of friendship so readily the first time we met. Maybe things would have worked out differently if we had all learned to be friends, I don't really know. I just know that we were kids and we did stupid things. I can't imagine what you went through with your family growing up, just as you can't imagine what I went through growing up either. Could we please set aside our past and start fresh?" Harry asked with hope glimmering in his emerald eyes.

Draco was absolutely flabbergasted by Potter's apology. This was the complete opposite of what he had envisioned on happening when he received his letter. He didn't know what to do.

The bitter schoolboy that still resided within Draco wanted to throw his apology in Potter's face. Call him all sorts of names, and yell at him for being stupid enough to think that he would accept his apology. He would storm out of the house and that would be the end of it.

However, the man that he had grown up to be, told him that idea had hypocrisy written all over it. He had apologized to Potter and now he was doing the same thing. Potter wanted this awkwardness between them to be gone and Draco couldn't help but want that too.

So he made a decision.

"Draco Malfoy." He said holding out his hand to the man sitting across from him as a sign of accepting his apology.

"Harry Potter." He said taking his hand giving it a firm shake with a small smile gracing his pale face.

They sat in silence for a moment until Harry broke it.

"So will you tell me how you're feeling now?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Bloody Gryffindor. How do you think I'm feeling? I watched her bloody form vanish in front of my eyes. I can't stop contemplating her never being able to come back and I can't close my eyes without replaying what happened. I'm close to losing my mind."

Harry nodded. "I can tell. You look as good as I do."

"Well, I did stay up researching. So that's partly the reason I look like utter thestral shit. What's your excuse?" Draco sneered amusedly.

"Got in early this morning and I haven't slept since. You sound like Hermione, when in doubt she did research. Did you at least find anything?" Harry asked curiously.

"No, nothing in the hundred some odd books I read gave me any clues on what could of happened. I feel so fucking helpless." Draco said running both of his hands through his pale blonde hair and shifted his gaze to the floor.

"So do I." He heard Harry whisper.

Draco lifted his gaze to Harry's. "Kingsley didn't tell you anything of importance?"

Harry shook his head. "He just told me what happened and said that he would be speaking to the Unspeakables that were in charge of that area. He said that they would be the ones to help shed some light on why she has gone missing."

"How long will it be until he talks to them?" He said anxiously. He wanted to get to the bottom of this and he didn't like to wait for answers.

"A few hours, maybe a day since they're traveling from Brazil." Harry said pointedly.

Draco clucked in annoyance. "Why the hell were they in Brazil and not here? Is this a fucking joke? They're responsible for whatever happened to Hermione and they're not even in the damn country!" He asked trying to control his anger. It wasn't Potter's fault that the Unspeakables were infuriating.

"I know I'm angry as well. I'm pretty sure I owe Kingsley a bag of Galleons for the destruction I caused his office when he told me." Harry said sheepishly.

"Is that all he told you?"

"Yes and he also mentioned not saying to the Weasley's or her parents about her disappearing yet." Harry said taking off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose.

Draco gave him a look of confusion. "Well, what are you planning on telling them when they come by? The Weasley's are easy to fool, but her parents are not. Hermione calls them once a week or goes by their house to see them. They'll know something is wrong when we give them an excuse and I don't know about you, but it was hard enough to get on her father's good side. I'm not going to muck it up by lying to the man." He said sternly while crossing his hands over his chest.

Harry chuckled while putting his glasses back on. "David isn't that bad."

"Isn't that bad? When she brought me over to meet him he was polishing a muggle gun and threatened me bodily harm if I hurt her feelings ever again!" He said while flailing his hands animatedly.

"He did that?" He asked laughing at his expense.

"Yes! So you are going to be the one that tells him she's gone missing when the time comes. Since you don't seem to be afraid of the man." He said pointing at him.

Green eyes were rolled in his direction. "Fine." Harry said with a smile.

"What will you tell the Weasley's when you have dinner with them this week?" Draco asked knowing that Hermione used to have to suffer through those dinners while she was dating the moronic ginger.

"Nothing unless they ask, then I'll just have to lie. Ginny will see right through me, but I'll just have to tell her that she will be informed when everyone else is." Harry replied.

"How many days do you think it will take for Kingsley to let everyone know what has happened?" Draco asked trying to hide his fears of Hermione being gone for longer than another day.

"I don't know Draco. I just hope she comes back home soon. I don't want to tell anyone that she's gone missing." He said while using Draco's first name. It sounded strange hearing his first name come out of his mouth, but didn't say anything in the spirit of their newfound friendship.

"Is there nothing we can do to try to solve this ourselves and not have to wait for the damn Unspeakables?" He asked trying to see if he could do something to help bring back Hermione faster.

"You said you looked through a hundred books and ended up empty handed?" Harry asked wearily.

"Yes, nothing explained why she just vanished."

"So I'm guessing the library upstairs wouldn't be able to help at all?"

Draco shook his head thoughtfully. "Probably not, most likely there are the same books in there that are at the Manor. Essentially all pureblooded libraries have the same kind of literature. The only difference might be the type of Pensieve and the furniture."

He watched as Harry sat silently. He looked deep in thought and after several minutes of watching him think Draco needed to know what he was thinking about.

"I can practically hear the cogs turning in your head. Spit it out Harry." Draco said trying to be friendly by using his first name. This time it sounded strange coming from his mouth, but he knew he would just have to get used to it.

"Do you think I could view your memory? Maybe we could get a good look at what happened just before she left." He asked rising from his seat on the couch.

Draco nodded his consent while rising from the couch as well. Together they ventured up the stairs in search of some answers.

For the next two hours Draco and Harry watched his memory over and over again. Each time he had to watch Hermione vanish in front of him killed him more and more. He could tell Harry was affected as well when he saw a few tears fall down on his face before they were fiercely brushed away.

They both were now pacing up and down the large library, hoping that the blood flowing to their brains would provide some sort of revelation. They would stop occasionally to talk, but it usually ended with neither of them coming up with anything useful.

Harry stopped pacing and let an exasperated sigh. "Let's just run through this one more time. What was in the glass case that she was blasted into?"

"Time-turners." Draco said stopping directly in front of him.

"And you're absolutely sure that there weren't any in there?" Harry said exaggerating a few words to emphasize his point.

Draco nodded. "Positive. We watched those men put them in the bag I found."

"There wasn't a portkey in there or some dark artifact?"

"No, when we searched that area there was nothing in there. Even before that, all that we were able to see were time-turners. I'm certain that there wasn't anything in there. Plus if it was a portkey don't you think she'd be back by now?" Draco asked.

"True."

They stood silent for a moment, both of them searching through their brains for something else they could explain her disappearance.

"No spells were casted?"

"From what we saw and heard, the man was trying to kill me so she casted a protection spell. The blast sent her back into the glass case and then I watched her go." He said rubbing his hands over his face. This isn't helping.

Harry let out a large groan. "This just doesn't make sense. There had to be something else in that case other than time-turners. Why else would she have disappeared?" He asked wearily, his green eyes glittering with the utmost confusion.

Draco shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I told you, I've looked and nothing I read explained anything. My parents think I've gone mad since all I've been doing the past two days involve pacing and books."

"Did you tell your parents what happened?" Harry asked.

"Didn't have a choice. They caught me taking out my frustration in the gym and demanded an explanation." Draco chuckled darkly.

Harry cocked his head. "How did they react?"

"Mother was apologetic, but my Father was unusually quiet." He said thinking back to how he exited the room and wasn't seen again until the next morning. He figured his father would have been more vocal about her disappearance, blaming Kinglsley's incompetence as the Minister of Magic, but he hadn't heard much from his father. And now he was starting to wonder why.

"Quiet? That doesn't sound good." Harry said mirroring Draco's stance.

Draco shrugged again. "Seems like we'll have to wait for the Unspeakables." He replied changing the subject from his father. I'll have to have a talk with him.

"I suppose so."

Draco spent the rest of the day with Harry alternating between talking about Hermione and sitting in a comfortable silence. They eventually realized that they had missed lunch and the hour was now close to dinner.

Harry made them both some something to eat and they sat around the kitchen table swapping stories of Hermione and other things that occasionally ended with a laugh from either of them. Draco found that Harry was not at all bad company once they got past their childhood rivalry. He was beginning to see that he might enjoy this fresh start that they had embarked on.

It was when a shocked Ginny Weasley came into the kitchen looking for Harry that Draco took his leave. Harry had enough problems without having Draco there with him while he tried to lie to his girlfriend about why they were sitting around the table acting as if they had been friends, rather than enemies for most of their lives. He mumbled his goodbyes and floo'd home to the Manor.

When he stepped out of the fireplace and into his living room, he saw his Father looking out the window with his hands clasped behind his back.

Draco couldn't help but stare at his father. He appeared to be lost in thought, which made Draco wonder what he could be thinking about. He knew he had worried his parents by his behavior, but he had a nagging feeling that something else was going on. In the midst of his staring, he noticed he was looking very casual dressed in only a gray t-shirt and his eyes trailed down to the faded mark on his arm.

The mark seemed to fading away slowly for the both of them. Draco looked down at his own arm and sighed with displeasure. Silently wondering when the hideous mark would fully fade from his arm.

"Draco." He heard his father address him and looked up from his arm to find him walking in his direction.

"Hello Father."

Lucius stopped a few feet away from him and crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn't get an owl from St. Mungo's or the Ministry, so I take it your meeting with the Potter boy went well?" He said amused.

"It went better than expected. We've agreed to be friends." Draco said indifferently.

"Friends? Well that escalated rather quickly. I thought you two were merely acquaintances for Hermione's sake?" Lucius asked and if he was shocked by this information he didn't show it.

Draco sighed inwardly since he hated explaining himself. "We were, trust me it's a long and tiresome story that I don't wish to share at this moment."

"Alright. You look like you could do well with some rest." Lucius said with concern evident in his voice.

"It's only seven and it's not like I can sleep." He replied wearily.

Lucius's brow creased with confusion. "Why can't you sleep?"

"When I try to sleep, all I see is Hermione disappearing and I'm powerless to stop her."

"Did Potter tell you anything useful while you were there?" Lucius asked changing the subject with a deadpanned expression. Why is he acting like this? He couldn't recall the last time his father acted this way with him since it had been so long.

Draco shook his head. "No, just that the Unspeakables will supposedly tell us what happened to her."

"Then why are you worrying so much? If they can tell you what happened to her, then they'll find a way to bring her back." Lucius said still keeping his face emotionless.

Draco cocked his head in confusion at his father's behavior. "You don't know that they'll know where she's gone to or if they'll be able to bring her back safely." He said harshly.

"Has your ring done anything?" Lucius asked apparently ignoring Draco's tone. What the bloody hell is with him? Usually I'd be getting smacked six ways to Sunday for speaking to him that way and now he suddenly doesn't care?

"No, but that's not the point. Why are you being so nonchalant about her disappearance? I know that you don't like Hermione as much as I do, but you make it seem as if she went to Scotland rather than vanished in front of my eyes." He said taking a menacing step in his father's direction so they stood almost nose-to-nose.

Lucius took a small step back and sighed while rubbing a hand over his face. "Draco, I may not have been her biggest fan, but watching you two interact over the years has made me come to think of her as family. I know that sounds odd coming from my mouth, but it is the truth. She was the one who made you smile and laugh again when your Mother and I couldn't. She has been like a sister to you in so many ways and with a personality like hers it's hard not to like her. She saved your life with little regard for her own, so I am obviously grateful and indebted to her. I don't know what we would have done if you died." Lucius said as his face filled with a mournful expression and something else Draco couldn't place.

"Then why are you acting so strangely?" He asked sternly and crossed his arms over his chest looking at him with a pointed glare. What is he not telling me?

Lucius took a deep breath and swallowed. "Draco…" He paused as if searching for the correct words. "There is something I …"

But before he could get another word in, a silvery stag entered the room and Harry's voice filled the room.

"Draco, please come to the Ministry. The Unspeakables are here." The voice said as the stag slowly vanished from sight.

"I have to go, but this isn't over." Draco threatened softly as his Father gave him a small nod before he stepped back into the fireplace and floo'd to the Ministry.

What was the 'something' Lucius was referring to? (grins mischievously) Please review.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to Harry Potter!