Author's Note: Hey guys, once again, thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming please~ Well, looks like now that the long awaited chapter of Draco returning to his teenage form has already arrived, I kinda miss writing about little Draco…D: Any of you feel that way? Haha anyway, here's chapter 30 of Acceptance. Enjoy! R&R!

Acceptance
Chapter 30
Series of Unexpected News

The next day during potions class, Snape appeared to be in a bad mood and gave everyone detentions for coming into class later than him. We couldn't quite figure out why he was acting this way though. Not like he had always been the perfect image of a teacher…but still. "A couple of announcements I have to make before we begin; one is that detention will be in my classroom after school. Secondly, I would like to inform those of you who care that Draco Malfoy of the Slytherin house has returned to his former age and is currently still residing in the infirmary. Paying him a friendly visit would be nice. The poor kid's confused as hell. Thirdly…"

There were several hushed discussions going on among the students. I heard a few "nooo" and "it's about time" and other stuff along those lines regarding Draco's transformation. I, on the other hand, chose to remain silent, unsure of which side I was going along with. But I knew for sure that I wanted to see Draco. However, I was still nervous…What was I supposed to say to him? In his original memory, he hadn't seen me since the end of the year last year. It's understood if a couple of Slytherins visited him, but if his most hated rival showed up by his bedside in the infirmary, what the crap would he think?

"Silence!" Snape roared. Immediately, the chatter died down. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who hadn't paid attention to the third announcement, but thankfully Snape was going to repeat it.

"Third announcement is that the dark lord might infiltrate Hogwarts at any time so beware. Now, turn to page 265 of your textbooks…"

The last announcement left all the students stunned, and shocked as to how Snape said it so calmly. But just like that, the lesson went on without further questions. I realized I was probably the only student who knew about Voldemort's potential infiltration beforehand because of the incident with Lucius Malfoy. But Draco knew too, he was there! Thing is, does he remember…? I doubt… And I doubt even more that he remembers that he's the reason that damn bald thing is coming. I was worried, worried for him. The moment he gets discharged, Dumbledore would probably pull him out for some serious training… He's so frail now, how could he possibly…

Little did I know, my prediction came earlier than expected…

~*~*~*MEANWHILE~*~*~*

"Headmaster Dumbledore? What are you doing here?"
"Hello, Draco. Nothing, just dropped by for a visit, I suppose you had many visitors already, no time for an old coot like me, eh?"
"Um.." Draco lowered his head. "Actually, only Professor Snape was here," he said with a tinge of hurtfulness in his tone. The old headmaster, who was expecting a cocky response like 'you know it, you old fuck," was surprised to hear that the Slytherin ice prince didn't even get any visitors from his own house. He felt sorry for the boy. Then he randomly asked as casually as possible, "not even Harry?"

"Ha…Harry?" Draco repeated, face filled with an unordinary expression. "Oh…"
Dumbledore waited eagerly for his response, whatever it may be. Sadly, it turned out to be,
"Oh, you mean Potter. Why would P-Potter…come see someone like me? He hates me…"

At this, what seemed to be a flicker of hope disappeared from Dumbledore's face; yes, it looks like he had forgotten. Everything was wiped clean away from his memory.

"Um, that aside, sir. Why are you here? I know it's not just to pay me a friendly visit," the young Malfoy questioned, the sharp look reappearing in his eyes. Now that Dumbledore was fairly certain the boy remembered absolutely nothing, he broke the news to him.

"You see, Draco, Voldemort is planning to come into the castle for revenge."
"Against you, sir?"
"That was the initial plot, I believe, as told by your own father. But now, rumor has it that he is here this time…to kill YOU."
"But why? What the fuck did I do?"

Draco's eyes widened in fear and shot up in his bed. Once again, the pain hit him, but he resisted it and remained seated upright, wanting to hear more of what the old man was going to say. Then Dumbledore told him the long story, which by right he shouldn't have had to if Draco maintained his recent memories as a three year old from that day in his office. Apparently, things weren't that simple. But something stumped Dumbledore. Afraid, yes he could tell Draco was afraid. Shocked, yes he was somewhat shocked, but not as shocked as he should have been upon hearing news as drastic as that. Curious…How very curious… But now was not the time for that.

"Draco, I understand you're in a fragile condition-"
"I'm not fragile!"
"Okay…but you're not exactly in the fittest of states. However, you must understand that desperate times call for desperate measures. As of today, every student is required to take Defence Against the Dark Arts class. We need to be prepared for the arrival of Voldemort and his deatheaters."
"So…I have to fight too, right?"
"Yes. You need the most training in particular, not because you're weak, but because the dark lord's target is you. Of course, the whole school is going to defend Hogwarts because it is our school after all. Even though Voldemort's only aiming for you, I can guarantee that he will wipe out every being standing in his way, which puts lots of lives at stake. So, Draco, please don't let everyone's effort go to waste. I am more than certain that Voldemort WILL reach you eventually, so it's up to you to take him down and end this once and for all."
"Isn't Potter supposed to be the one facing all the save the world stuff? Now he's dragging ME into this?"
"Why so eager to pull Potter into your mission?"
"I never said-"
"Fear not, Harry will be joining you. Both of you shall take Voldemort down together."

Dumbledore once again had expected some sort of protest against cooperating with his rival, but Draco merely nodded and asked, "when will I be starting my training, sir?" Dumbledore pondered for a moment, unsure of when Draco's operation wound would recover thoroughly. But he decided that there was no time to let it fully heal, he would have to be ready soon. Too soon.

"Hmm, I suggest we start tomorrow if you're feeling up to it. If not, the latest we can wait is the day after that."
"Okay, sir. I'll be there."
"You are really brave, Draco. But please, stop calling me 'sir', it's too polite for you, I'm not used to it."
"Okay, you old coot."
"That's better."

I began observing the bewildered looks on the faces of my classmates. Once again, we received another sudden heart attack; we were just informed that extra DADA classes were mandatory as of today. Just like before, I was the only one mentally prepared for this. But if I recalled correctly, I was supposed to have separate training with Dumbledore and Draco… Speaking of Draco, I really felt like seeing him. I was constantly reminding myself throughout the day that when I entered the infirmary, it wouldn't be the same Draco I've been seeing for months. But it's still him…still Draco Malfoy…still the boy I love…so much…And I MUST see him today.

I glanced at the clock hovering near the ceiling, Defense Against the Dark Arts would begin in about fifteen minutes and there would be a five minute interval between classes. I made up my mind; I was going to see Draco within that five minutes. Just five minutes…I hope that wasn't too much to ask…and hopefully, he wouldn't chase me away…