Weasley was furious.

Immediately after the door shut behind Lupin, Weasley turned to Potter with a red face and a stiff "A word with you Harry?" and they disappeared, along with Granger, into an upstairs room.

Draco, for his part, wasn't sure what to think. He was processing everything through a disconnected haze. The werewolf wasn't his problem. But Potter allowing him to stay? That was unexpected, and he couldn't understand it.

He understood Potter taking him away from the wedding. He understood Potter bringing him here after the café. In those situations, there really had been no other choice. Potter wasn't the type to leave him to get captured by Death Eaters, or leave him to his own devices in muggle London after...

But this time, he'd had an easy out. They could have sent him with Lupin and been done with him. It would have been the perfect way to do it. And Potter had let him stay.

Draco also had confirmation now that Potter and the others were given some kind of mission. By Dumbledore, of all people. And even so, Potter let him stay. What exactly did that mean?

When Lupin had suggested that Draco stay with him, he felt no relief, no peace, no security. He only felt fear and anxiety. Everything was happening so fast. Too fast. He had only asked to join the Order two days ago. That couldn't possibly be right, could it? He had only, just barely, decided he could put his trust in them. But, if he were honest with himself, it wasn't the Order he trusted. It was Potter. Saint fucking Potter, of all the people in the world. With his fucking green eyes and his ridiculous glasses and his fucking hair and all his fucking concern. Draco couldn't really say he even liked him, but he had come to trust him. So, yes, when Lupin suggested he leave, he was terrified. Because Draco didn't trust him. Not enough, anyway.

Potter had looked at him with those fucking concerned green eyes behind those fucking glasses and saw straight through him. And whatever he saw was enough to let Draco stay.

Draco broke out of his reverie and let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. What now? That strange elf was still due to bring that criminal back, but he had no idea how long that might take. His eyes landed on the Daily Prophet rolled on the table. Lupin must have brought it for a reason. He took the newspaper and headed down to the kitchen.

When he unrolled the paper, the first headline that greeted him came as no surprise.

Rufus Scrimgeour Dead

Kingsley's patronus had told them as much last night. The article that followed was surprisingly short. They claimed that he died in a duel against Dark wizards, which was almost certainly true, but omitted any helpful details. A much longer article followed:

Pius Thicknesse Appointed Interim Minister of Magic

Thicknesse had been there the night Draco should have died. Though he'd long been under the Imperius Curse, it had been done exceptionally well and his appointment would raise few eyebrows in the Wizarding World. It would be a smooth, well-planned transition. Draco gave an involuntary shiver, and continued to browse the front page. The third headline he saw was equally unsurprising.

Severus Snape Appointed Headmaster of Hogwarts

He knew it was coming. Someone had to replace Dumbledore, after all. The Dark Lord had been planning to have someone on the inside take the head position at his school, the only real question had been when. Then, as Lupin had said, the Ministry fell sooner than anyone had thought. Naturally, Snape, already being one of his most trusted servents and a teacher, was ready to fill the role.

He briefly skimmed the article, but found nothing he didn't already know. He started to flip through the pages. He saw several things that were of no interest to him at all, but also found three short articles hiding in the midst of far more mindless pages. Pages most readers would skip over completely.

Hogwarts Attendance Compulsory for All Wizarding Children in Britain

All Muggleborns to Register with the Muggle-Born Registration Commission

Suspected Members of the Order of the Phoenix to be Brought In for Questioning

He knew all of it. Every publicly shared detail and more. He'd been present for enough meetings where they planned their takeover. The only real variable had been when. They needed Scrimgeour out of the way, and after that they could proceed with their silent takeover. A few months ago, the discussions of their plans had made Draco feel uneasy. Now, he was completely filled with horror and disgust.

Draco rubbed at his temples before dropping his head onto his crossed arms. Nausea was creeping up on him again, and he bit at his cheeks to distract himself, hard enough to bleed. The whole world, everything, was a bloody fucking mess. And he was so, so tired.

He heard the sound of footsteps descending the stairs. They must be finished then. And it wasn't just Potter coming down to see him, it was the whole bloody gang. He sat upright in his chair and turned halfway in his seat. Composure.

Potter entered the kitchen first, followed by Granger and Weasley close behind. They all looked surly and extremely dissatisfied, but it seemed they had reached some sort of temporary truce.

"Thought we'd find you here." Potter said. Draco quirked an eyebrow. Potter shrugged in response. It grew quiet.

"Anything interesting in the paper, Malfoy?" Granger asked in an attempt to break the silence. Draco rolled up the paper and held it out to her.

"You tell me." He said. She took the paper from him and looked over the front page, her eyes immediately going wide. She started flipping rapidly through the pages, eyes moving over them so fast they almost blurred. Potter and Weasley watched her intently. On page 10, Draco saw her mouth the words 'muggleborn registration commission' while the color drained from her face. The nausea in his stomach came back full force, thinking of how that look would have once brought him considerable pleasure. He bit his cheek harder still.

"Ron, Harry, come here." Granger said with a weak voice. Together, the three of them sat at the far side of the table and read through the paper more slowly, with Granger directing them to the important articles. Draco leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, and waited for them to finish. Knowing Weasley, it might take a while.

"They can't do that!" Weasley said indignantly, after several minutes had passed. Draco peered over at him through the corner of his eyes.

"They can do whatever the hell they want, Weasley. The Dark Lord controls the Ministry now." Three pairs of eyebrows shot up at him. He continued, "Thicknesse. He's been under the Imperius Curse for months. The Dark Lord as good as rules Wizarding Britain."

Granger gasped. "Remember what Charlie said? That Remus thought Thicknesse was working for You-Know-Who." She said, looking at her friends. Her expression turned contemplative. "Malfoy did...did you tell him?"

Draco leaned back in his chair again, eyes trained on the ceiling. "It might have come up, yeah." He said with a grimace. He was met with thee skeptical pairs of eyes that he pointedly ignored.

"Why wouldn't he tell us?" Potter said, more to himself than anyone else. Draco gave an exasperated sigh.

"Maybe it's escaped your notice, but the world doesn't revolve around you, Potter." Draco responded, shooting an annoyed glance at Potter who simply frowned back at him. "Don't start doubting the few people you can count on." Draco added much more quietly. The silence returned for a while.

Granger, again, was the one who broke the silence. "Malfoy, how much do you know?"

Too much, Draco thought to himself.

"How much do you want to know?" He asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Everything." Potter responded quickly and with earnest. Draco sighed heavily and sat forward in his seat. He reached a hand out to Granger.

"Hand me that back, and let's start at page one."

OooOooO

Malfoy, it turned out, knew a lot.

"The Dark Lord has been planning his takeover of the Ministry for a long time." He started. Malfoy was looking down at the paper, one finger pointed to the top headline. "But he didn't want to do it by force, exactly. He wanted a smooth transition of power, something that wouldn't raise any eyebrows. He's been secretly planting Death Eaters and sympathizers in the Ministry. Or, in some cases, he's been making his own followers."

"Like Thicknesse," Hermione interjected from Harry's left. Malfoy glanced at her with a strangely blank expression.

"Right. So, all he was really waiting for was a catalyst. There had been a lot of suggestions going around, but nothing had been decided yet. I didn't know how or when it would happen." Malfoy said, his voice turning bitter.

"But I did know what would happen after." Malfoy continued. "And before you start, yes I shared plenty of this with the Order. But, in case you've forgotten, there were other things we were talking about too." His parents. Shit. With everything that had happened, Harry had forgotten that Malfoy had mainly been talking to the Order about his parents. Harry felt like someone had punched him in the gut next to him, Ron shifted in his chair uneasily and Hermione stiffened.

He saw Malfoy hesitate for a moment, swallow, and take another deep breath before speaking again, as he moved his finger further down the page.

"Snape was essentially a shoe-in to replace Dumbledore. He's been a teacher at Hogwarts for over fifteen years and the Dark Lord trusts him more than almost anyone. He's the natural choice, and from what I've heard he's more than happy to accept the position."

Harry interrupted him this time. "But, it's not a secret that Snape killed Dumbledore. You said they are trying to do things quietly. Won't that raise some eyebrows?"

Malfoy shrugged, not looking up from the paper. "Maybe. Or maybe it's not as widely known, or accepted, as you think. You're the only one who saw it happen, Potter, other than Death Eaters. And we know what happens when it's your word against the Ministry's."

Harry blinked at him, surprised to find that he was right. There had been suspiciously little coverage of the circumstances surrounding Dumbledore's death. He wasn't surprised at all that the Prophet had been infiltrated. And, with Skeeter publishing her awful book, the public image of Dumbledore was not nearly as positive as it once was.

Malfoy waited a moment, but when no one else spoke he started turning through the pages.

"Hogwarts is going to be...different this year." He said. Malfoy opened his mouth to continue, but hesitated. He finally looked up from the paper, his eyes moving between theirs. "Have you heard of the Carrow twins?" They all gave a brief nod. "It hasnt been announced yet, that would probably be too much too soon, but they are going to be teachers at Hogwarts this year. And one of them will be teaching Muggle Studies. Burbage is dead."

"No way!" Ron said loudly, while Hermione gasped out a quiet, "They can't." Malfoy turned his suddenly hard eyes on her.

"I think we've already covered that they can do whatever the hell they want, Granger."

She was taken aback for a moment, but recovered quickly and pressed him for more. "I hadn't heard anything about her dying though; she's not even been reported missing. Wouldn't that have made the papers? She's quite well known. How can you be sure?"

"Because I saw it happen, Granger. Right in front of me." Malfoy said harshly. Something in his expression told Harry that he wasn't telling them everything. Hermione's demeanor changed at once. Harry thought she was on the verge of apologizing, but the words never left her mouth.

"So, why does everyone have to go to Hogwarts then?" Harry asked. He could try and find out what Malfoy was hiding later. Right now, he wanted to get back to the matter at hand.

"God you're thick, Potter." Malfoy replied exasperatedly.

"To brainwash them." Hermione supplied.

"Essentially, yes." Malfoy affirmed. "And to make sure they are able to catch any mud- muggleborns who are stupid enough to attend. Which brings us to-" He trailed off, flipping to yet another page. "The Muggle-Born Registration Commission. They are going to force all the muggleborns to register with the Ministry, take away their wands and, most likely, send all the muggleborns they can find to Azkaban. The ones they can't find, they will find." His eyes flicked up to Hermione. "You're lucky you're in hiding, Granger. You'd be at the top of their list."

Harry's mouth dropped open in horror. He looked over to Hermione and saw that she looked very pale.

"That's horrible! How can they justify it?" Ron asked. "They can't just 'quietly' send all the muggleborns to Azkaban!" He was angry, and rightfully so. Harry was too. They waited for Malfoy's response.

"Last I heard, they want to claim that muggleborns have been stealing wands from proper wizards. Stealing their magic."

"That's absolutely preposterous!" Hermione replied hotly. Harry could hear the threat of tears in her voice. Malfoy's expression was still strangely blank. "Stealing magic. If people could steal magic then there would be no squibs. Just holding a wand doesn't mean you can use it! The wand is just a medium to make the magic easier to control. If the person themself-" Malfoy held up a hand to cut her off. Hermione quickly brushed away the tears that she hadn't been able to hold back.

"I didn't say I agreed with it." Malfoy said more softly this time. Harry heard Ron scoff.

"Don't you?" Ron said under his breath. Malfoy stiffened.

"I'm just telling you what you wanted to know." Malfoy responded angrily. Ron crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"And, er, questioning the Order?" Harry asked, getting them back on track. Malfoy turned back to the paper and looked further down the page. He took a deep breath.

"Are you really surprised? They want to paint Dumbledore, and anyone associated with him, as the villian. But, I wouldn't worry too much about this one, honestly. They can't afford for every Order member to go missing. They just want to find out as much information as they can, and discourage people from joining."

Harry nodded slowly, but felt no relief.

"How are they going to question them?" Ron asked warily. Malfoy's expression hardened.

"That probably depends on how...agreeable they are." He answered, not meeting anyone's eyes.

A heavy silence filled the kitchen at the implication behind Malfoy's words. Hermione and Ron leaned closer towards each other and she grabbed for his hand. Harry watched Malfoy push the paper away from himself. He looked up to meet Harry's eyes for a brief moment and Harry felt the strangest desire to go sit next to him. To put an arm around his shoulder or reach for his hands. He just looked so...lost.

Malfoy was lost. The initial realization took Harry by surprise. Malfoy, the proud, arrogant prat who had always paraded himself through the corridors. Malfoy, who had taken pleasure in tormenting Harry every chance he got. Malfoy, who had called Hermione a mudblood more times than they could count. Who was a marked Death Eater. Who nearly killed Ron, and Katie, and...

Malfoy, who was crying in the bathroom because he feared for his life. Malfoy, who was desperately trying to save his family. Malfoy, who had no family. Who switched sides. Who had taken a life. Who had told Harry things he'd told no one else. Because there was no one else left.

Of course he was lost. And that's why he was scared. He didn't know who he was anymore. He didn't know who was right or wrong, he didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know the other Order members, they were all strangers. Malfoy was scared because he just didn't know, and the unknown is terrifying. That's why he wanted to stay. Because at least if he stayed, he knew one thing. Or, Harry supposed, he knew three. But he knew Harry best.

Harry wasn't sure how to process this new revelation. He wasn't sure he knew yet how he felt about Malfoy. He didn't hate him, not anymore. But they weren't friends. But still, he trusted him. Since coming to the Burrow, Malfoy had done nothing to betray the Order's trust. He'd told them the truth. He'd fought on their side. He'd saved Harry's life. Confided in him.

But there was something more. Because when Harry had seen Malfoy frozen at the wedding, he'd called out to him. When he panicked at the café, Harry stayed behind for him. When Lupin suggested he leave, when Harry saw fear, he allowed him to stay. Harry felt...protective of him.

Without consciously moving, Harry found that he was already out of his seat and down the table. Malfoy looked up at him with that same blank expression and Harry felt his heart squeeze tighter. Harry started to reach for the chair next to him.

Crack!

"Geroff'a me you bleedin' elf!"

Kreacher was back.