A/N: With this chapter I'm celebrating over 10K views which means COOKIES FOR EVERYBODY! I hope those of you who are reading this now have enjoyed the story so far. :)

"What happened?" Draco asked as his eyes scanned the room.

"Ginny was just..trying something." Mr. Weasly replied. Draco's eyes moved between Mr. Weasly and the heavy wooden shelf that lay on the floor surrounded by several pans and pots.

"Trying to what? Kill somebody?" Draco raised an eyebrow at Ginny.

"Maybe I'm practicing for you, Malfoy." Ginny sneered at him

"Then you're doing a terrible job." Draco smirked at her.

"Enough!" Hermione ordered exasperatedly. "Ginny, what happened?" she asked.

"I was trying to move the shelf, I was so focused on it that I didn't notice Fleur was standing there and...I'm not really sure what happened. Something distracted me and the shelf fell." Ginny explained, her brows furrowed as she tried to figure out where she went wrong.

"A shelf! A whole shelf! You have a hard time moving a couple of books but you think you can move a shelf carrying several pots and pans?" Draco scoffed.

"Will you shut up!" Ginny fumed at him

"I could, but it won't change the fact that you're doing this wrong." he shrugged.

"And you're so good at doing this right, Malfoy, aren't you?" Ginny scowled at him.

"Actually, I am." Draco replied matter-of-factly. Directing his attention to the shelf, he frowned for a brief moment before the shelf started to rise off the floor and float back to its place. The pots and pans followed, each of them landing on the shelf with a clank. Draco twisted his mouth snobbishly at Ginny.

"Obnoxious prat!" Ginny muttered, pointing her wand at Draco. Quickly he reached for his own wand and shielded himself from Ginny's spell. Already enraged, Ginny started waving her wand once more but this time it was Lupin who interfered.

"This is enough. Lower your wands." Lupin ordered sternly. Ginny hesitated briefly before lowering her wand while Draco still clutched his defensively.

"I don't take orders." Draco lifted his chin in defiance.

Before Lupin could speak, Hermione did "Draco, please." she pleaded quietly.

Draco moved his eyes between Ginny, Lupin and Hermione for a long moment. It was one of those few times he heard his name in Hermione's voice and it sounded to good for his own liking. Eventually he did the only thing he could and lowered his wand.
Ginny looked in disbelief at Hermione before stomping back to her room, already having enough of Malfoy's company.

"Where's everybody else?" Hermione asked, trying to change the subject.

"Bill and Tonks are out, they're trying to get the latest news and Molly is having some rest; she'd been having very little sleep lately." Mr. Weasly replied.

"What about Harry and Ron?" she asked

"They're outside...I think they have a lot of things to talk about." he explained.

Harry and Ron entered the house hours later. Followed by Tonks and Bill, informing them that the Death Eater Yaxley was sent on a mission outside the country. Something Draco found good, seeing that one less Death Eater was definitely an advantage.

"The Dark Lord has become very suspicious lately. Specially of Dolohov; he was sent with Rowle to hunt down Potter and when they came back saying he had escaped he believed them." Draco said "But then Rowle was declared responsible for Granger's escape and the Dark Lord became suspicious of Dolohov as well. He thinks they helped him escape." he added.

"Yaxley could be a suspect too; he was close to Dolohov." Draco informed after a thoughtful pause. "Plus, when we got news that you were being moved from your home_" he directed his words at Harry "_Yaxley said a different date than the one Snape said. Snape's date turned out to be the real one and Yaxley's information was dismissed as a mistake." he recounted. "In light of current events, I'm pretty sure the Dark Lord linked all those facts together. That's probably why he sent Yaxley away." he speculated.
Harry grimaced at the mention of Snape, he just kept proving what a filthy excuse of a man he was.

"How does this affect us?" Lupin asked.

"Well, we could enhance those suspicions." Draco replied "If for any reason Yaxley or Dolohov are present during the skirmish, we could place them under an Imperius curse, just make them fight less furiously. I'm sure somebody will notice and find it odd." he explained. "I can't do it, though; I'll be busy and placing such a strong curse on two people at once is very consuming, I can't do it in the middle of a battle." he shook his head.

"I'll do it." Harry said suddenly, ignoring the way everybody was staring at him.

"Can you even cast it properly?" Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry at Harry

"Want me to show you?" Harry challenged.

"Entertain me, Potter." Draco smirked at him.

Harry started to stand up, pointing his wand at Draco, but Ginny pulled him back to his chair.

"Harry, no! He's trying to provoke you, don't give him that satisfaction." Ginny reasoned with Harry.

"Will everybody stop fighting for the love of Merlin!" Molly Weasly finally snapped.

It was one of the very rare occasions they saw Mrs. Weasly lose her temper. Hermione was surprised to notice that Malfoy actually flinched and she couldn't help but grin at Mrs. Weasly. In an attempt to to follow the older witch's orders, everybody seemed to scatter around the house for the rest of the day.

In the evening, Draco left the house and went back to the manor, returning back in less than an hour with two house elves. Hermione recognized one of them as the elf who visited Malfoy's room once.

"They're going to obey whatever orders you give them." Draco informed "Just...try to keep at least one of them alive or you'll have a very hard time leaving the manor." he added grimly. Everybody seemed to be studying the tiny elves who seemed uncomfortable with all the attention they were getting.

"Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed incredulously.

"What?" he frowned at her.

"Did you really have to say that..in front of them?" She asked, glancing at the elves' direction.

"What's your problem?" Draco asked, confused by Hermione's question.

"You think it's perfectly fine to say something like that when they could hear you?" Hermione asked

"I can't see why not." Draco Draco shrugged impassively.

"Incorrigible!" Hermione muttered as she shook her head in disbelief.

"Dinner, everybody." Mrs. Weasly announced loudly, in an attempt to defuse the tension.

After dinner, everybody seemed to be distracted with something, Ginny, Harry and Ron grouped in one of the rooms. Bill and Fleur retired to their room for reasons nobody wanted to dwell on. Arthur and Molly were having tea in the kitchen. Tonks and Lupin sat at the bottom of the stairs talking in a barely audible voice while Draco sat in his usual corner as far away from them as possible, accompanied by Hermione, their earlier argument seemingly dismissed.

"If you're saying you-know-who have become so suspicious of everybody, then how do you know he doesn't suspect you?" Hermione asked.

"I can't say I'm sure but it's highly unlikely that he doubts my loyalty." Draco replied thoughtfully. "The people he ordered to stay at the manor are those he trusted the most, if he didn't trust me then he wouldn't have ordered me to go back to the manor, he could've just sent me away like Dolohov and Yaxley." he said.

"I still think you should be...less suspicious; just to be on the safe side." she insisted.

"Worried for me, Granger." he smirked at her.

Hermione brows furrowed as a hurt expression flashed over her face briefly "Is it that hard to believe?" she asked

"Well..." Draco paused, unable to determine the right answer. Wanting to believe it was something but how truthful it actually was, was another thing.

"Forget it." Hermione dismissed as she stood up to leave. Draco stood up as well, catching Hermione's elbow.

"It is hard to believe." he admitted "But I'll take your word for it." he added.

"Oh how very generous of you to take my word for it!" Hermione scoffed "I'm glad you gave my words the honor of believing them." she smiled at him with fake sweetness.

"Look, I didn't mean to..."

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Hermine snapped at him. "I really am fed up with your attitude, you keep blowing hot and cold and it's bloody confusing!"

"That's not true." Draco contradicted.

"Yes, stand in front of a mirror and keep saying that to yourself, maybe it will become more believable by time." Hermione sneered at him before climbing the stairs and leaving the house, desperate to put as much space between them as possible.

Lupin watched Hermione and Draco's skirmish closely, with a frown creasing his forehead.

"It's alright. Don't worry for Hermione, she can stand up for herself perfectly." Tonks assured as she raised her hands to Lupin's face and averted his attention back to her.

"That's not what I'm worried about." Lupin shook his head.

"You still don't trust Draco, do you?" Tonks asked.

"Not really, but that's not it either." Lupin inclined his head to one side.

"Then what is it?" Tonks was running out of theories.

"It's just that_" Lupin paused, he closed his eyes for a brief moment before taking a deep breath and exhaling it sharply. "_the last two people whom I saw argue so frequently...ended up married." he smiled ruefully at the memory of his late friends.