Chapter 10

On Thursday morning, the school was a buzz on one specific topic. No one knew how it had happened, but at this point, people were expecting it. Azkaban had not been completely safe since the return of Voldemort, and it was only a matter of time before another break out occurred.

Draco trudged down the stairs, dreading the paper ahead of him. But that didn't stop him from picking up the paper once he reached his table. Sure enough, there I was on the front page

Massive Breakout of Azkaban Occurs AGAIN

By Peter Dangey

Imagine the shock that one would feel after receiving the news this morning. Everywhere, mothers are bringing their children closer into their arms and fathers are strengthening the wards placed upon their houses.

The first breakout occurred two years ago, with the notorious Sirius Black (whom recently was proved innocent). Then once again, last year another break out occurred. This however, was one on a much larger scale. We were promised changes; we were told that security measures were in place to prevent this from happening once more. So one can only wonder why it is that it keeps occurring. How safe can one be when some of the most villainous criminals of all time, are once again roaming the streets?

Ministry of Magic has one thing to say about this, "We are doing everything in our power to bring these monsters back into our clutches. I have given Aurors the right to do anything to achieve this; whether it be the use of Unforgivable Curses or any other method they deem to be appropriate."

A few have even been considering bringing back certain precautions which occurred in the first War. Practices such as demanding to know the blood status of employees that businessmen hire, have become a popular task.

"It's not that I have any prejudices towards muggleborns. It's just that I need to know whether their presence may pose a threat to my store. I have a family to feed, and I can't have them starving because I lose my entire store. I'm sorry if this puts you out of jobs, but I need to care about them first," a store owner of Diagon Alley tells us.

So there you have it; this is the world that we now live in. We can only hope that the Chosen One will be there to save us, but in the meantime, we can only hope that no more mysterious deaths or disappearance occur. And so I leave you, with wishes that you will remain safe, and out of harm.

Draco felt sick as he placed down the paper. He felt a feeling of disgust sweep his body. In the past when he had read such articles, he merely smirked and mocked whatever mudblood happened to first cross his path. But for some reason, now he felt anger towards the world outside the school. He sighed, before looking through the rest of his mail.

His heart almost stopped as he looked at who the next letter was from. Opening up the letter, he found a recipe for Grandma Warbly's Treacle Tart. Knowing that the letter was from his father, and that he had probably spelled the actual contents of the letter to hide the contents, Draco murmured the spell to reverse the hiding charm placed on the letter.

Draco,

By the time you get this letter, I am certain you would have seen the Daily Prophet. I am much aware of the progress of your task. Draco I must say, while I was sceptical at first, I do believe you can do this. The Lord has told me of the things you have done so far in an attempt to complete your mission. I must say, your attempts seem a bit weak, but He has confidence that you can do this, so I shall as well. Draco, do not fail.

I have finally gotten back into the good graces of the Dark Lord. He feels that I have learned my lesson, and is bringing me back in his ranks with open arms. Imagine how much he will praise us both if you succeed and destroy he how thaws the impending doom of that boy who refuses to die.

Your mother is starting to have her doubts. I know she would never say it straight out to me, but after being married to her for so long, I can read her. She doesn't want you to go through with this honour, and wants you to find a way out of it. Draco, you must show your mother that you are more than capable of doing this. She is a mother, and will try and do anything to shield her children from the world. But Draco, you are of age, and you can do this. Do not allow her to baby you.

We are planning a massive raid in three days' time. We are going to attack Diagon Alley and burn down several of the shops which choose to still hire upon mudbloods, despite our many warnings to the Ministry of Magic. The reason I am telling you this is because I want you to join us. There is Hogsmeade Trip that day, and I want you to be a part of this. The more involved you become in His ranks, the better.

I must tell you. He has confided in me that he wishes you to be his second in command soon. Think of the honour that this will bring us! Draco you must do this, if not for us, then to secure your future. The Malfoy family has fallen heavily from its position at the top since my carelessness many months ago. I know how hard it has been on you. I expect to see you outside the Leaky Cauldron at 1 this Sunday.

Lucius Malfoy

Draco caught his breath. He had been shaking slightly from reading the contents from the letter. He knew he would need to talk to Granger about it. But he could not help but feel slightly awkward in her presence.

He had come so close to kissing her the other day. He had no idea what had gotten into him, but one moment he was teasing her, and the next, he found himself moving in to make a move. Thankfully he was able to catch himself just in time, and left before anything else had happened.

He knew he couldn't be a part of Voldemort's attack on Diagon Alley that week, nor could he ever be the second in command for Voldemort. It was absolutely ridiculous. He knew however, that it was something that some of his fellow Slytherins would kill to have an opportunity to have. He would have to be careful with how he proceeded.

Draco saw Hermione get up to leave. Tearing a piece of parchment, he scribbled down a quick message and stood up to follow up after her. Draco went out of his way to bump into her.

"Watch where you're walking Mudblood," he hissed so those around her would hear, as he shoved the paper into her hand. He saw her eyes widen but she clenched her fist to hid the paper. The action was able to be easily masked as her anger.

"Oh shove it Malfoy. Why don't you just leave? It's bad enough that I have to work with you in Potions; don't make me have to see you any more than I have to."

He sneered at her and left the Great Hall. He made his way to their classroom, where she would meet him as soon as possible.

Hermione had been confused at first when Draco had bumped into her. But after he shoved the paper into her hand, she could guess what it would say. He probably needed to talk to her about the contents of the Daily Prophet that morning. She, unlike the author of the paper, couldn't say that she had been shocked by the news. She had been waiting for something like this to happen. She knew Voldemort would not leave his followers in a place like Azkaban any longer than he had to.

As she left the Great Hall, she opened the note.

Meet me in the classroom in ten minutes

Draco

So she had been right. He did want to meet with her about something. She still had about an hour until class started, so thankfully she wouldn't have to worry about that.

As she made her way to her class, her mind raced with thoughts of what it could be that he wanted to talk to her about. As she arrived, she felt her heart race. She was nervous to be in the same room as him!

'Relax Hermione. There's nothing to be nervous about. He's just Malfoy and nothing more. There is absolutely nothing to worry about. Seriously, you're being absolutely ridiculous,' she scolded herself mentally.

She opened the door and stepped inside. He was already there waiting for her, and in his hand was a piece of paper.

"What did you need to see me about?" Hermione asked, attempting to keep her voice as steady as possible. If Malfoy noticed that she was nervous, he made no attempt to say so.

"There's going to be an attack on Diagon Alley in three days' time," Draco said, cutting straight to the chase. He looked her in the eyes, and Hermione saw that his face betrayed no emotion of what he was feeling about his revelation whatsoever.

"How do you know?" Hermione questioned. She believed him, but there had to be far more to the story than he was currently sharing with her.

"My father," he said, spitting out the name, "has wrote to me and told me of the attack since he feels that it would be a perfect opportunity for me to get acquainted into the ranks."

"Voldemort wants you there," she said, surmising the bigger picture of what he had just related to her.

"Unfortunately," he said, sighing.

"And are you going to go?" she asked, feeling unsure of what he would choose to do. She knew where his loyalties lay, but just how far would he go to protect the fact that he had become a turncoat?

"I don't know if I have a choice. I could make an excuse and say that I was planning on using the Hogsmeade weekend to work on the Vanishing Cabinet. But that could drive a wedge in the plan to get closer to Voldemort. If I go, I can secure myself in his ranks, but at the same time, I might have to hurt, or even kill people," Malfoy said, sounding torn.

"If you decide to go, I can tell Dumbledore that you are there and he will make sure nothing will happen to you. We will also make sure that we are ready for the attack, so hopefully we now have the upper hand, thanks to you."

Draco walked closer to where she was standing. "I have to do it," he said. "I have to be a part of it. My father's letter told me of how much relies on me getting into His good graces. And while to my father it is merely a means of restoring the honour recently lost with the Dark Lord, he is right in the sense that I need to do it. If I can get high enough in Voldemort's ranks, then I will be privy to most of the secret missions and tasks that he commissions for his Death Eaters. If I do, then that all the more information I will be able to pass back to you and the rest of the Order of Pheonix," Draco said softly.

"But the higher you get into his ranks, the deeper you get, there is a greater the chance of you getting caught," Hermione said, feeling instantly worried, much to her chagrin.

"Sometimes, to achieve a greater goal, one must not worry about the risks," Draco said, sounding vague.

"So basically you are saying that it doesn't matter if you live or die?" Hermione said, getting angry with him.

"I'm saying that this is what I need to do," he said, sounding amused. Stupid prick.

"Even if it kills you?" she pushed.

"Merlin Granger. In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a war. Your best friend is Harry Bleeding Potter. He has already made more sacrifices than one could even imagine. We all have to put ourselves in a bit of a risk to achieve the things we need to," he said to her amazement. She never would have dreamed to see the day where Draco was lecturing her of sacrifices.

"I still don't like this," she said worriedly. "No one on our side really knows that you're a turncoat. What if someone harms you in the process, or kills you?"

"And why would that bother you Granger?" He asked, closing a bit of the distance that was currently between the two of them.

"Because I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want anyone to get hurt in this war," she said, only adding in the last part after catching herself.

"And is that the only reason?" he asked, and she couldn't help but notice a slight amount of disappointment in his voice.

"Yes," she breathed. She knew she was lying through her teeth, but she didn't want him to get the wrong idea.

'And what exactly would that be?' a sly voice in her head asked her. Hermione chose to ignore this.

He smirked at her, "Alright then Granger," the expression on his face changed before he continued. "There's more. I don't think my father needs any protection. He is perfectly fine with what Voldemort has in store for me if I fail. In fact so much so that I think my father would kill me first if I did."

Hermione felt her heart drop, "I'm sorry Malfoy. I know that must be hard on you."

He merely shrugged. "I really didn't expect much else to be quite honest with you."

She lifted her arm and softly placed it on his arm. "If you ever need to talk about anything, then I'm here Draco. I know it is a bit weird to pour your soul out to a girl you hate, but I will listen to anything you need me to," she said in a caring voice.

He looked up at her, stunned. "Granger, you can't think I hate you still do you? After all of this, then I would be a hypocrite to hate you. Besides, I never really did hate you." When he saw her confused expression, he continued. "I hated what you stood for. You are so different than what I was brought up to believe a muggleborn should be. They are supposed to be weak, inferior beings who don't stand a chance. Yet here you are, top of our class. You are everything that I was taught to believe you shouldn't be. And that confused me. I hated you because it was something I was supposed to do, not because I believed it."

She looked up at his speech, "So what changed, if you don't mind me asking."

"I grew up, and was able to use my own brain to decide whether I believe something is right and wrong. And regardless of blood status, we all still have the same power, and the same abilities. We are all still human. And no one deserves to die for something that they cannot control." He said, looking deep into her eyes.

"Seems like you have matured a lot recently," she commented.

"Does that surprise you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not really. War changes people. Harry had to grow up at an early age because of what it did to his parents. Everywhere you look, someone is affected by what is happening outside these walls. Sometimes, it's so easy to pretend here that none of it exists. But then the Daily Prophet arrives, or someone receives a letter delivering them news that someone has been murdered. So no, it doesn't surprise me. Especially for you, with your father so heavily involved; you basically have front row seats to the monstrosity that Voldemort is. And the mere fact that you've been able to change shows that you are better than what you give yourself credit for," Hermione confessed to him.

And before Hermione knew what was happening, Draco had smiled at her. It wasn't in a romantic way, but merely a way of gratitude. Hermione had been stunned at first; Draco hugging her was not something she had ever envisioned happening. But sometimes everyone just needed a hug, especially when they felt vulnerable or even alone. So she did the only thing she could think of doing; she smiled back.

"Thanks Granger," he said softly.

"For what?" She asked, sounding a bit confused.

"For not judging me for the things I have done to you; for giving me the benefit of the doubt. I don't deserve the kindness you're giving me. Both you and Potter are so willing to allow me to change, even though I have nothing but go out of my way to mock you. If anyone, Potter should have just left me to go about my task and fail. But instead, he wanted to help me. So thank you for that," he said.

She blushed slightly. She was not used to receiving praise for such things. Sure teachers were always praising her for her intelligence, but kindness was not something she usually received praise for.

"Does this mean you're going to be nicer to Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked curiously.

"You ask so much of me Granger. But if I must," he said in a teasing tone."

"I'm glad," she said. She turned to leave the room, but before she did, she said one more thing, "Draco, I'm going to arrange a meeting with Dumbledore. I want you tell him the things that you have told me," she said.

He nodded, "I'm sure he would want to know."

But she wasn't quite finished with him yet, "Do you think you'll ever call me Hermione?"

That request seemed to startle him, "You'll always be Granger to me," he said teasingly.

She harrumphed in a joking manner, before leaving the classroom.

Draco stared after her, 'Well at least she doesn't hate me,' he thought.

'But that's not enough is it?' the voice in his head asked. 'You want more than that.'

Draco, feeling too tired to argue with the voice, just ignored it. He waited another thirty seconds, before leaving the classroom after her.

A/N: Can I just tell you guys how amazing you are? I love reading your reviews each week. It's really encouraging to keep writing once I get them. You guys rock!