Chapter Twenty Seven

A/N: No reviewers.

For most of the summer that followed, Merida was shut inside her mother's house in the Highlands, forbidden to even venture outside the door. There was not enough distance between them and Hogwarts, the woman had said, for her to be truly safe. Any other time, the young redhead would have argued, but now she remained silent. Even if she could leave, where would she go?

The newspapers reporting Dumbledore's death had made no mention of Draco. It was surprising, really, given how they had leapt on his father's incarceration. The Pureblood inner circles were not popular, the Malfoys least of all, and readers would like nothing more than to be given fresh ammunition against them. It seemed public ignorance would be his saving grace; Merida only wished she could claim the same.

Things could never be as they were, not now. Draco had ended their friendship, their relationship, the moment he raised his wand to disarm the headmaster. 'He made his choice.' Merida told herself, just as she had told herself and all those around her, every time a flash of white gold hair entered her mind. 'And now I've made mine.'

The lock of the front door clicked open and Merida instinctively reached for her wand. It could not be her mother, it was far too early for her to return. Since the students had returned to Hogwarts that week, Professor McGonagall had spent every moment possible at the castle, trying to shield their innocence from the dark magic that had overrun the building. She was there from dawn until curfew every day.

The light streamed in through the open door, illuminating a small figure. It was a young man, wearing a and trousers, his hair combed neatly back from his face. In the late afternoon sunlight, it shone like beaten gold, though Merida knew the colour to be silver. She wished she did not know it so well; it would make this situation so much easier.

Merida anticipated the leather boot in the door before she tried to slam it, but she slammed it nonetheless; she could not let him think that she wanted him here, even if she did not have the strength to stop him.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing here?!" Merida snarled. It seemed the lion within her could only be awakened when a snake slithered into her path.

"I needed to explain." Draco replied, trying to hide his hurt. "What happened that night-"

"Don't you dare try to make excuses to me," The young woman's voice was low and deadly. "Not after what you've done."

"But you don't understand!" he cried. His voice was desperate enough that Merida fell silent for a second, allowing him the chance to continue. She had not heard Draco so desperate in a while. "If I didn't do as I was told, they weren't just going to punish me. They would have murdered my mother. Maybe my father too, if they could get to him."

"So you put the world at risk to save your own family?" Merida knew the words were cold, but it seemed the only way to fight the anger boiling in her veins. Draco looked to the floor. "How many mothers and fathers and children will die now, Draco? And you took away our only chance to stop it, when you killed Dumbledore!"

Draco blinked for a moment, processing her words. "I never killed Dumbledore."

This time it was Merida's turn to fall silent, her lips falling open. "No, you're lying. I was there, fighting the Death Eaters. You were with them. It was your mission."

"Yes, that's true." Draco answered. "I was with them, and I did disarm Dumbledore, but I didn't kill him. I couldn't bring myself to. I kept thinking about all those conversations we used to have. How it's not the House or the family that makes a person what they are, it's their decisions. Just because I'm a Malfoy and a Slytherin, it doesn't mean I have to be evil. It doesn't mean I have to do what my father did."

"You didn't kill Dumbledore?" Merida asked again. For some reason, she could not process the information, she kept thinking she had misheard. Surely he had not said what she thought he did.

"I couldn't do it, Meri." Draco affirmed. He was looking into her eyes with such intensity that she wanted to look away, but she could not; he looked too much like the old Draco, the Draco she had loved. "I knew what would happen if Dumbledore died, and I didn't want to be the one to do it. I wasn't going to be the one who handed the Dark Lord the means to destroy the world."

"But he's going to do it anyway." Merida sighed, brushing a tear from her eye before it had a chance to fall. "Whether you cast the spell or not, Dumbledore is dead, and the Dark Lord has taken control of Hogwarts. It's good versus evil now, Draco. And we're on different sides."

"I know." the boy admitted, running a hand through his white blonde hair. "It's an awful situation and it's not about to get any easier. But a wise girl once told me that no person is born to be good or evil. Everyone has the chance to choose. I guess we just have to hope that enough people's conscience will win out to make a difference."

Merida watched Draco carefully, studying the slight perk at the corners of his mouth, the gleam of hope in his eye. In that moment, she forgot everything that had come between them. In the next, she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him as if she feared he might disappear into thin air. They had spent far too much time apart. She had never realised how much she would miss him.

"It'll be okay, Draco, won't it?" she whispered, her face still hidden over his shoulder. She did not want him to see the fear in her eyes.

Draco answered in the same whisper, with the same fear concealed by her auburn curls. "Of course it will."

A/N: Couldn't keep them apart for too long, especially when it was based on a misunderstanding. However, it's not going to get much easier. Hope you enjoyed and please review!