Chapter 17

Draco had woken up that Sunday morning knowing that something was very, very wrong. Usually, if he did not see Theo in bed, it was because Theo was out with some girl fooling around. But without fail, he always made it back to sleep in his own bed. So when Draco found the boy absent from the dorm room, he immediately began to think of the very worst scenarios possible.

He remembered walking over to Blaise and shaking him awake. His Italian roommate had been startled to the extent which almost caused him to fall out of his own bed.

"What the Hell, Draco. What are you doing? Why are you waking me up at so early in the morning? Can't anyone enjoy some sleep in peace?" were the first words out of the boy's mouth. Draco remembered not even being angry and the fact that his friend attempted to push him off of the bed instead.

"Theo's missing," Draco said in a wavering tone. "He didn't return last night, and I have no idea where he is. It could be serious, Blaise."

Blaise rolled his eyes, and had clearly not shared the same sentiments as himself. He instead, made himself comfier in his bed before casually replying, "He's probably out with a girl somewhere or probably just lost track of the time. Either way, you're worrying for no reason Draco, now go back to bed."

Draco had been unconvinced. What where the chances that Theodore would stay out for the entire night? But Draco remembered taking the chance and praying secretly that nothing was amiss. But he couldn't have been more wrong.

Two days later, the both of them were called out of Transfiguration class and asked to report directly to the Headmaster's office. Hermione had given him a worried look as he packed up his bag and walked out. It was subtle enough for an onlooker to miss, but enough that he could take notice of it. He had confided his worries in her, and she had responded saying that they would only know what had happened in time.

He remembered walking to the office in pure silence; neither one of them uttering a single word. Blaise however, did not look worried. He had gained the sense that Blaise had some idea what happened to Theo. The two of them were closer friends than Draco was with either of them. But Blaise seemed unwilling to tell him of anything. So maybe he indeed had no idea. However, he knew that it was a rare chance.

Draco recited the name of the current sugar fascination of their Headmaster, and the door clicked open. The two boys made their way into the office. It was nothing new for Draco, as he had been there several times in the past. But Blaise had never been there, so the boy curiously looked over the room which possessed many qualities shown in Dumbledore.

Dumbledore sat in the far end of the room, at his desk. He gestured to the two boys, who made their way over to where he was seated. As the boys sat across from the Headmaster, he offered the two of them tea to which they both declined. How could anyone possibly be thinking of tea? If they were in the Dumbledore's office, then clearly the man had his own worries about what had happed to Theo.

"Now, I am sure you know why I have called you here," Dumbledore said. "It has come to my attention that Theodore Nott has gone missing from the school. As his closest friends, I am hoping that one, if not both, of you could provide me with information as to what has happened to him.

Draco shook his head. "I have no idea what happened to him Professor," he said, trying to sound vague. The last thing he needed was for Blaise to suspect that Draco had become a turncoat. Sure, the boy did not care about the politics, but it wasn't safe for others to know.

Dumbledore looked slightly disappointed, "I see," he said. "And do you know what has happened to Mr. Nott, Mr. Zabini?"

Blaise shook his head slightly, "No, Headmaster," he said quietly.

"And when was the last time that either of you have seen him?" Dumbledore prodded the two boys.

Draco thought back, "During dinner. He was at the table, however I left before him."

Blaise looked as if he were struggling to come up with an answer. "I saw him just before bed. He said that he wanted to go out for a walk before curfew. I fell asleep before his return. It was only in the morning once Draco noticed he wasn't there that I even realised."

Draco noted that the boy had a lot of theatrics in his voice. It was hard not to recognize something like that after living with him for six years. He was curious as to why Blaise was acting like that; unless he had something to hide.

He narrowed his eyes at the boy beside him. Why was Blaise keeping secrets from him? Didn't the three of them tell each other everything? Well, not everything. But he had trusted them enough to tell him his task, so why hadn't the two of them trusted him enough to let him know if something was up? He understood if Blaise hadn't wanted Dumbledore to know about Theo's plans, but why was Draco being excluded as well? He didn't understand it.

Luckily for Blaise, Dumbledore had not managed to notice the tension or the lying in the atmosphere.

"And he left no note?" Dumbledore pressed further.

"No, Headmaster. If he had, I would have turned it over to you," Blaise said so solemnly that Draco almost believed the boy for a moment.

The headmaster nodded at the boys, and they immediately knew that they were dismissed. Once they were far enough away from the office, Draco turned to Blaise.

"What was that about?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Blaise feigned innocence, "What are you talking about Draco?" he asked, pretending to be oblivious.

"You know exactly what I am talking about. Merlin, Blaise, after all this time I would have thought that you would be able to tell me the truth. I thought that we told each other everything Blaise! So why are you lying to me? You know exactly where Theo is, yet you won't tell me."

"So we tell each other everything? Like you told us what happened in Diagon Alley? Yeah that's right. You keep your secrets, I keep mine. You know if you changed you mind and have decided that you enjoy working with Voldemort, and then I would be okay with it. We're friends Draco. I thought we told each other things," Blaise fired back.

Draco remained silent at that. The situation he was in wasn't one that was easy to explain. He had no idea what his friend would think if he had known the truth of the entire situation.

"Yeah, I thought so," Blaise said bitterly. He turned to walk away.

At that moment, Draco wished more than anything to be able to call out to his friend. He wanted to tell Blaise the truth, the whole truth. He wanted to tell him everything that had lead up to his decision and everything that had happened since. He wanted to tell him about his feelings for Hermione and ask him about what he should do next. But that wasn't possible at the moment. Maybe one day he could beg for his friend's forgiveness, but until that day, he would just have to leave Blaise in the dark about everything that had transpired lately.

So instead, he watched his childhood friend walk away from him.

Draco found himself in the Dumbledore's office for the second time that day. This time however, he was accompanied by the Golden Trio.

The four of them were seated and looking up expectantly at their Headmaster for an explanation for their presence.

"I'm sure you are wondering why it is that I have called you here. For the last several months I have been telling you that I would discuss my plans for Draco and what should happen at a later time. I have wished that I could prolong it for a while longer; however I fear we do not have that option anymore. So today, I will reveal my plans to you.

"Draco, I want you to let the Death Eaters into the school," Dumbledore said. The four of them began to protest heavily, however Dumbledore silenced them by raising his hand. "It is the only way that we can prove your loyalty for now."

Draco was beyond angry. "You do know that if I let them into the school, then they will want to witness me killing you. Was that the plan all along; to get me to kill you despite the fact that I don't want to, simply to secure my spot as a spy?"

"Of course not; I simply wish for them to think you have succeeded and have managed to let them into the school," Dumbledore said.

"And what will happen then?" Potter asked. "They will expect Malfoy to kill you, Sir. And if he 'fails' he will be killed. If he succeeds then you are dead. I don't see any way that we can win this."

"I will duel him if need be," Dumbledore said simply. "However it does not matter what the outcome is. Either way, we are going to let them think that you died on this mission. This way, if they ever find you, we can tell them that Order kept you hostage to find out about the Death Eater's plans. They will not view you as a traitor."

Draco nodded. It would kill his mother to think that he had been killed, but what other choice did he have?"

"And what will happen to me after all of this?" Draco questioned.

"You will go to the headquarters of the Order. I daresay you wish to remain in hiding. So there you may provide assistance to the Order. You will not be allowed to leave unless you have a guise on."

"But Sir with all due respect, what will happen to all the innocent children in the school?" Hermione said immediately after Dumbledore had stopped talking. Draco watched the way her face filled with passion and worry.

"They will be safe in their respectable houses. I will alert the Prefects to not be on duty that night, and in their place I will ask the teachers to guard the hallways."

"And where exactly will you be during all of this? They won't believe that you simply are at the school and do not know of their presence at the school," Weasley asked.

Draco watched as Hermione gave the ginger haired boy a surprised look. Quite frankly, he was surprised that the Weasel could have a semi-clever thought, even on rare occasion. He had noticed that she had been going out of her way not to make any eye contact with him since she had entered the room. Perhaps they had another fight.

"I won't be at the school for the beginning of the attack," Dumbledore said simply.

"What does that mean?" Potter demanded to know. Merlin, that boy could act like such a child at times. But at this moment, he found himself sympathising with the boy. Draco was frustrated with the vagueness of all the answers Dumbledore was giving them. Would it kill the old man to simply tell him everything he had planned out?

"It means that I am going to be away from the school Harry. In fact, we both are. I think I have found the location of another Horcrux, but I cannot be completely sure. Not until you have procured the memory," Dumbledore said with a pointed look.

Potter flushed at the mention of the memory. Draco wondered what exactly he was supposed to do. It probably had something to do with the secret meetings that the two of them often had.

"I'm working on it sir, but as you know Professor Slughorn is not exactly forthcoming with information."

"I am aware Harry. But I had hoped that you would have a bit extra luck than I have had with him," Dumbledore said, disappointed as Harry focused his vision on the desk in front of him. Draco noted that he had placed a slight emphasize on the word luck.

"And when is this to occur?" Hermione questioned their Headmaster.

"On Wednesday of this week," Dumbledore said. Draco could not help but note a twinge of sadness in his voiced. What was that about?

"Isn't that a bit too soon? What about all the planning needed for this task? And what about making sure everyone is ready? Does the Order know that it's happening then? Are they prepared? Have we asked enough of them to whether they will be available then?" Hermione babbled on nervously.

Draco couldn't help but feel warmth spread through him. She was incredibly beautiful when she got anxious. Her cheeks would gain a slight blush to them and her eyes would gain a certain look of nervousness.

"I'm afraid that there simply is no point in putting it off Miss. Granger. The school year is drawing to a close, thus ending our chances of being able to pull off this task. In addition to that, we have also been able get the entire force of the Order here that night, in addition to several Aurors," Dumbledore said soothingly.

Hermione nodded grasping the new information she had received.

"That will be all for today then, you four. If you have any additional questions, then please come by," Dumbledore said, dismissing them.

Draco made his way out of there quickly. While he would have enjoyed spending more time with Hermione, he felt he needed to talk to Blaise one last time.

After Draco had left the room, Hermione quickly followed suit. The last thing she wanted was to have to be in the presence of Ron any more than possible.

"Hermione, wait," Ron called out from behind her. She sped up her pace to prevent herself from having to talk to him.

"Hermione, please; I need to talk to you," Ron called out.

She groaned. She knew that it would in no way be over until she talked to him. She stopped and turned to face him.

"What is it, Ronald? Have you come back to call me more crude names? Or have you decided to jump to even more assumptions?" she asked him angrily.

"I need to apologise to you," he said sheepishly. "So, I'm sorry."

"What, so you think with just that it will be alright? You are so presumptuous," she fumed.

"But I apologised, that should be more than enough, shouldn't it? Tell her that she is being dramatic Harry," Ron whined.

"I'm sorry Ron, but I cannot do that. Hermione deserves better than that. And you apology was awful. Honestly, it's a miracle that she is still standing here right now and listening to all of this," Harry said, shaking his head.

"But Hermione, you must know that I didn't mean any of it! I was angry, and the words just slipped out."

"When are you going to learn that you cannot take out your anger on me just because you are angry? I had done nothing wrong, and even if I was involved with Draco, then it's my choice. You are perfectly happy with Lavender, so why can't I be happy with my life? We are not together Ron. Maybe it might have been a possibility at one stage, but we have long moved past that," Hermione said, her voice wavering slightly.

"I want to, I really do. But it's hard seeing you with him. Out of all the people, why did it have to be him? He's made our lives miserable from the moment we first met him, and I have yet to see any serious changes in his behaviour," Ron said furiously.

Before anything more could be said, Harry quickly cast a silencing charm around them. Hermione mentally smiled that he was taking measures in case something were to be said between his two friends.

"What do you mean you have yet to see any changes? He's joined our ranks, and is helping us bring down Voldemort. He hasn't once called me a mudblood since he accepted the offer to join our side. He hasn't even said anything spiteful towards Harry. He's changed, and if you can't see that, then you really are blind Ronald," Hermione steamed.

Harry spoke before Ron could say anything more, "Ron, you are my friend and Merlin knows that I have taken your side on far too many occasions. But this time I have to tell you that you're wrong. Merlin knows I have more than enough reasons to hate Malfoy, and if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes then I wouldn't even believe it myself. But we need to trust Malfoy and treat him with the respect that he is owed. Besides, if something were to happen between Hermione and Draco, then we do not have any say in the matter. The only thing that is important is her happiness," Harry finished wisely.

Hermione was shocked by the level of maturity that Harry was showing in all of this.

"Thanks Harry," she said softly. He smiled at her, and squeezed her shoulder.

Ron huffed. "Fine, but I don't like this. Hermione, do what you want with the bloke, but if he hurts you in any way, then don't say that I didn't try to tell you this," Ron warned.

Hermione nodded, "That's really all I can ask from you. But thank you Ron, for trying to see my point of view, even if you don't believe in it yourself."

A/N: Hello my lovely readers. I would like to thank you once more for following and reviewing on my story. I love to read your wonderful comments and read what you have to say about it.