*Disclaimer I do not own Harry Potter or the rest of his friends/enemies/frenemies/etc. all characters and locations are owned by the fabulous J.K. Rowling, I merely am playing with the creations of her mind and putting them in a fresh plot for my own enjoyment… and hopefully for yours as well.

Thank you to my dear reviewers! I really appreciate your feedback and am so happy that you are enjoying what you are reading and yes updates will come soon, I might not get to post every day but I will update as frequently as humanly possible. You are all so fabulous and it means so much to me. Thank you!

"What is up with that git Malfoy lately?" Ron muttered darkly in between mouthfuls of everything within reach, his eating habits were repulsive as usual but Hermione just shrugged them off, as usual. Pawning his lack of manners at the dinner table on the fact that he was the runt son in a litter of boys and was used to having to fight for his food, she chose to overlook Ginny's perfect manners as it kept her from having to be even more of a mother to Ron than she already found herself being. She fought back a snort as she realized that maybe what Ron needed was a live in mommy and not a girlfriend before she answered him.

"What do you mean? He seems like his usual ferret self to me… well maybe a bit less cute and cuddly but still," patting Ginny on the back as she choked laughing over the thought of the prickly only child of the Malfoy family as being "cuddly".

"Well he has been staring at you an awful lot lately and I don't like it." Turning to face the Slytherin table that stood directly at her back she caught a glimpse of the one and only Slytherin Prince looking right at her before catching her eye and looking away with the lightest of blushes on his typically pallid face, also making her realize that he also hadn't been tormenting her as much lately, and that she could not even remember the last time he had referred to her by his favorite pet name, Mudblood.

"I… I hadn't noticed…" she covered for him, uncertain whether it was the latest cruel joke he was planning which drove him to stare so intently at the back of her head or if maybe something had happened to have finally gotten through to him and changed him the way both she and Professor Dumbledore hoped – hopes of which she had kept from the rather jealous Ron and the at times overly prejudiced Harry. She just had to pray that if something had been done to make Draco (when had she started to think of him as Draco instead of Malfoy) turn over a new leaf that she would be able to make the lot of them bury the hatchet. Draco would be a great person to have on their side after all, he would be chalk full of insider information and he was a strong person – the Prince of Slytherin, if anyone could get the rest of the Slytherin House to join the rest of Hogwarts against Voldemort it would be him. If he left his family and stopped following them mindlessly, like a little boy tied to his mother's apron strings, than the rest would see and follow his example and then Voldemort's troops would fall apart except for his most die hard for no one would want to fight against their own children. Or at least that was what she wanted to happen. She had to find out for herself what was going on in that ferret's mind before she actually put all those eggs in his basket.

…

"Thank Merlin prefects have to share their schedules with everyone," Hermione muttered under her breath as she lurked in a style more befitting a Slytherin than a Gryffendor outside of potions class waiting for Draco to get out, this would be her only chance to catch him all day without the fear of being caught or interrupted by her rather protective best friends.

Draco was one of the last students to leave the classroom, finishing up a conversation with his Godfather and professor as he walked out.

"Now Draco, I know Professor Dumbledore talked to you. Tell me what did he say, what did you tell him? No matter what it is you can tell me, I swear no one will find out. Not even the dark lord himself, blasphemous as I know it is you know you can trust me with all of your secrets as it is to you and for your safety alone that I have sworn the unbreakable vow, not to the lord."

"He asked me to switch sides, took me to the Mirror of Erised to see what it was that I really wanted to make me decide and to see if the life and future of a Death Eater was what I really wanted." Intrigued Hermione pressed her spine further into the cold, mildewed stone of the dungeons.

"What did you see, what did you say, Draco it is imperative that I know immediately. IF you switched sides the lord may already know of this and be hunting you and if you have not then we need to continue work on the cabinet, we have already fallen far too behind and he could be after you for your slowness and then you won't even have the protection of the order backing you."

Snape gripped Draco's forearm in his haste to learn everything only to have Draco throw him off. "No, what I saw will never happen. It was just a trick done by that old man to get me to switch sides," his face fell for a moment as he studied the flagstones beneath his feet to gain his composure before continuing, regret for lost dreams in his eyes even as he spoke, "I left him there and told him I was staying put, Professor, I have my family to think about what would happen to them if I turned sides for a silly dream, a fantasy in a mirror whose time has already passed?"

"They are too valuable, he needs the Malfoy family to keep the others in line, they are afterall the oldest pureblood family. And don't forget, Draco, that it is them after all who sold you to the dark lord to save their own skins, stop I see that look on your face and you are a great son for risking your life and trying to defend them but you know I am telling the truth." Checking the corridor first for anyone coming, and missing the slight girl watching from the shadows Snape ripped back the sleeve on Draco's wrist to reveal a fresh mark on his wrist, the death eater markings that would summon the Lord Voldemort himself with naught but a touch and a thought. "They are the ones who branded you for the slaughter and threw you in to be the dark lord's newest plaything. It was only an after thought that your mother even thought to get me to do this and even then she had to do it without your father knowing. Draco, do something for yourself and stand up for what you believe in. Shhh, now I can tell that this," gesturing to the mark on the boy's arm, " is not it. And that dream you have, how do you know it is too late. Miracles happen."

"Give me… give me one more night to think on it, I will have my decision first thing tomorrow."

"Take all the time you need. This is no easy choice to make, and I will be proud of you no matter what you choose. Just do whatever it is you need to do."

Pressing herself against the stone even more Hermione sought to make herself as small as she possibly could as they passed, Draco headed back for his common room and Professor Snape to his office.

Passing by where she hid the sent of parchment and Hermione filled his nose as Draco thought of her. One more night in front of the mirror before he made his decision though deep down he knew he didn't even need that night. He already knew what choice he was going to make and prayed that it was the right one, prayed that he still had the chance to make things right.

*Author Note: well that was certainly not what I thought was going to happen, snape was not supposed to be there and Hermione was going to confront Draco… but I guess the characters have a way of getting away from me, but I think I really like the direction this ended up going and I hope you do too! Thanks to everyone who has been reading this, I'm glad you like it and I really appreciate all the feedback I have been getting. More updates shortly, I am breaking this up as it makes sense so updates could be multiples a day or more spread out and chap. Lengths may very but bear with me it looks like we are in for one fabulous ride!

Xoxo

a-stranger-angel