Summary: Draco talks to the students.

A/N: Thanks for reading, everybody. Enjoy!

Chapter 13

Severus entered Robards' office.

"Thank you for seeing me so quickly," he told Robards.

"What do you have for me, Severus?"

"I know where Macnair is."

"Good job. Where can we find him?"

"I went to the Macnair home and found this picture." He removed a framed photograph of a small manor with golden turrets. "It's in Romania–their estate away from home."

"You're sure he's there?"

"Positive."

"I'll need to arrange Portkeys for everyone. I'll let you know when we're going to apprehend him."

Severus gave a slight bow of his head and left the office. He noticed Potter at a desk in the corner but chose to ignore him. He quickly left and made his way to the Floos and took one back to his office. He hoped Robards didn't wait too long. He wanted all of these escaped Death Eaters taken care of as quickly as possible.

ooo

Robards was kind enough to wait for the weekend to set up the sting so Severus wouldn't need to find a substitute for his classes. He appeared at the Ministry to find Robards, Williamson, and Savage waiting for him. Robards greeted him with a nod.

Severus looked at the three Aurors. "The Macnairs both enjoy torturing animals. You can glean what you must from that. George looked up to his brother and learned much from him. He enjoys spells that cause intense pain. Shield yourselves carefully. Walden was the more skilled of the two, but George is no slouch with all types of hexes and curses. Thankfully, Walden is in Azkaban. Let's put his brother there also."

They all touched the Portkey and found themselves in Romania. Before them stood the Macnair mansion. Its golden turrets made it seem like it had emerged from a fairy tale, but all four men could feel the Dark Magic that surrounded it.

Robards took charge. "Disillusion yourselves. Severus, you and I will break down the front door, Williamson and Savage, attack from behind the manor. We'll attack in exactly three minutes, so get into place."

They all Disillusioned themselves, and Severus and Robards made their way to the front door and positioned themselves just outside the protection wards. They stood there, awaiting the time to attack. At the three-minute mark, Robards dismantled the wards, and Severus blasted the door down. They entered the house to screams as Macnair's wife cried out in surprise. She rose and started casting hexes in a wide arc. Williams and Savage must have entered because curses were coming toward Macnair and his wife from behind as well. The woman was struck and fell to the floor unconscious. Macnair shot hex after hex, but four-on-one was too much for him. Savage knocked him to the ground and Severus bound him and his wife in ropes.

The four men appeared as they ended the Disillusionment spells that were upon them. Severus approached Macnair grimly.

"You will pay for those you've murdered and the harm you've done," he told the man on the ground.

"What about you? Why aren't you in a cell in Azkaban? Is it because you're a bloody traitor? Are you kissing the Minister's arse so you have your freedom?"

Severus' wand was trained on Macnair's face in seconds. "Don't tempt me, George. You'll regret it."

Robards stilled him with a hand on his shoulder. "He'll be taken care of, Severus."

Severus slowly lowered his wand, all the while glaring at Macnair.

"Azkaban is too mild of a punishment for what you've done, but I'll take comfort in the fact that you'll never see the light of day again!"

"Let Anna go. She's innocent in all of this."

"The Wizengamot will determine that, Mr. Macnair," Savage advised him.

Robards looked around. "We should search the place. Make sure no one else is hiding away."

They quickly searched, finding an eight-year-old boy cowering in the corner of an upstairs bedroom. He made a valiant attempt to fight when they entered but was bound as he punched and kicked at his captors.

They brought him down to the main floor and set him by the other two who were still bound on the floor. He struggled, so Williams cast ropes on him as well. He held the boy as Savage and Severus both levitated the other two. They placed their hands on their captives and Robards produced the Portkey. In a few minutes, they were back in Robard's office. Savage and Williams floated the three prisoners away.

Robards looked at Severus. "You've been invaluable in finding these fugitives, Severus. Thank you for your help."

Severus nodded in acknowledgment. "What will happen to the boy?"

"We'll need to find a foster family for him. Perhaps a non-Pureblood family who can help him learn something other than hatred."

"I hope it works," Severus mused.

"Any clues as to where the other two fugitives are?" Robards asked, changing the subject.

"I am studying some journals I found at Dolohov's home, but as for Rookwood, I have no leads."

Robards nodded. "Keep at it. I have someone working on finding Rookwood. Hopefully, we'll have his location soon."

"Good. Let me know if you find anything, and I'll alert you about Dolohov. Hopefully, we can find both of them soon."

"It will make everyone sleep easier, I'm sure. There are several citizens who are afraid that either one of them might attack them out of revenge."

"Hopefully they're still lying low and won't think to retaliate until some time has passed and everyone is feeling secure that they're safe."

"That would be most likely, but I've had several families reach out to me."

"I will give this top priority, Gawain."

"I know you will, Severus. Thank you for your help, young man."

"You're welcome."

Severus turned and left Robard's office. He made his way out of the Ministry, mulling over being called a young man. Half the time he forgot he was only eighteen. Then he looked in the mirror and was quickly reminded. He'd mostly gotten used to it, but occasionally, like when Robards commented, it hit him hard.

He had found, though, that he enjoyed being young again. It had given him a renewed sense of purpose, and he truly did feel like he'd started over and was happy with his new life. He smiled as he took the Floo back to Hogwarts.

Emerging into his office, he moved back to his quarters. Settling in his reading chair, he picked up Dolohov's journal and began studying it for more clues.

ooo

Severus and Hermione stood in the entrance hall, awaiting the arrival of Draco Malfoy.

"I'm not sure why you asked me to meet him with you, Severus. He doesn't like me."

"That's exactly why I did it. In this new world, we need to put away our prejudices. I'd just like to remind him of that."

"Clever." She looked over at him. "Any luck finding anything in the journals?"

Severus shook his head. "I'm halfway through the first. There's no mention of any other homes or getaways, or even vacation homes or destinations. I'm hoping it doesn't turn into a dead end. I'm not quite sure where to go from there if it is."

She smiled at him. "You'll figure it out. Hopefully, the journals will be more in-depth as you get farther into them."

"I hope so."

"Do you need more help?"

"I don't think so. We're getting into exam time. I'm sure you're busy."

"Yes, but I have time if you need my help."

He nodded. "I'll let you know."

At that point, the doors opened, and Draco walked in.

"Godfather, it was nice of you to meet me," he said as he shook Severus' hand. Looking at Hermione, he greeted her as well, "Granger. I'm kind of surprised to see you here."

"I work here, Malfoy."

"I know. I just mean–after all that's happened."

She nodded. "That's all in the past. I was hoping we could get beyond that and be civil to one another."

"I'm game if you are."

They shook hands, and all three turned and headed for the Great Hall.

"I still am getting used to you looking so young," Draco told Severus.

"So am I," Severus joked. "I do find I have a lot more energy than I did before, so that's a definite plus. How have you been?" he asked as they made their way up to the Head Table area.

"Busy. There was a lot of repair that needed to be done for the Manor. I want it to look like it did before the Dark Lord took it over so when mum is released, she'll feel at home."

"That's good of you, Draco," Hermione mentioned. "When will she be released?"

"She has a little over a year left in her sentence. They were pretty lenient with her. Father will not be seeing freedom for several years."

"I visited him last month," Severus offered.

"How did you get permission to do that?"

"Ministry business. He is as well as one could be when locked up in Azkaban. Thankfully, there are no more Dementors. I was unable to visit your mother, sadly. I would have liked to bring her some cheer."

"I've begged the Ministry to let me at least visit her, but they are adamant that prisoners get no visitors."

"That seems inhumane," Hermione remarked.

"For once, we agree, Granger."

"You can call me Hermione, you know. You won't turn to stone."

"Are you sure?" Draco asked with a smirk.

"Try it and see."

"Hmmm. Her… Herm…"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Draco!" She laughed at him.

"I think hell just froze over. You laughed at one of my jokes."

She blushed, but just shook her head. "I wish we could have known each other better during school."

"That would have been detrimental to both of your health," Severus interjected.

"Yes, but we all made assumptions about each other. We fit everyone into their little places with their assumed personalities."

"Yes, but we both lived up to those assumptions, didn't we?" Draco asked.

"I don't know, Draco. I don't remember being an arse."

"I do, and so does my nose."

She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You deserved that."

"What are you two talking about?"

Hermione and Draco shared a look before Draco told him the story.

"It was our third year, around the time all that to-do about the Hippogriff happened. I admit, I may have overreacted about all of that."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at his confession.

"Anyway, I…" His eyes strayed to Hermione's. "I was being an arse about Hagrid being so upset that the Hippogriff was going to be killed. Hermione didn't take very kindly to that, and she punched me."

Severus stopped in his tracks and turned to Hermione.

"You punched him?"

She nodded. He turned to Draco.

"She punched you?"

Draco nodded as well.

"Why weren't you screaming bloody murder to me about it?"

"You think I was going to complain about being punched by a girl… a Mud… A Muggle-born witch to top it off?"

Severus smirked. He turned to Hermione and gave her a conspiratorial look. "May I see that memory sometime, Hermione?"

She burst out laughing while Draco looked horrified.

"Godfather!"

Severus began to laugh as well. He put his hand on Draco's shoulder. "You need to lighten up. Also, given the fact that we are the same age, you can just call me Severus."

"Okay… Merlin, the two of you are going to kill me."

ooo

A little while later, Draco was standing at the podium talking about his experience with the war.

"You all know me. Well, most of you do. I ruled over Slytherin House and was a spokesperson for the Dark Lord. What you don't know is that I was terrified for the last two years. Because my father was in the inner circle, it was like there was a magnifying glass on me. The Dark Lord used me as a pawn to get my father to be obedient.

"He tasked me with finding a way to kill Headmaster Dumbledore and to bring down the wards so the Death Eaters could enter Hogwarts. I took my job seriously because I knew he would hurt my parents if I didn't succeed. But the task was almost impossible."

He gazed about the room, his eyes lingering on the Slytherin table. "I constantly fretted that I wouldn't be able to do the task the Dark Lord had set out for me to do. I knew if I failed, he would kill my parents. I was between a rock and a hard place. It took almost all year, but I finally found a way to get the Death Eaters through into the school. And then it was time. Time for me to kill the head of this school–in cold blood."

He looked down and gathered his thoughts, taking a drink of water before continuing.

"I stood before him, my wand raised, knowing that I would become a murderer, but I had no choice. I wanted my parents alive. I would do horrible, terrible things to ensure their safety. That's what the Dark L–Voldemort–brought out of me. Desperation, evil, uncertainty... and fear."

That last word made him choke up. He stood there, his throat moving up and down as he tried to control his emotions. Silence reigned in the Hall as he worked through what he needed to do to continue.

"I would be a murderer if it hadn't been for Severus Snape. He did what I couldn't bring myself to do. What I would have had to force myself to do had he not been there. He arranged with Dumbledore for me to walk away an innocent while taking on the guilt and shame of killing the most beloved wizard of all time."

He turned and looked at Severus, who was trying hard not to show any emotion. Hermione reached over and grasped his hand under the table and gave it a squeeze but didn't look at him.

"I want to thank you, Severus. You saved my life that day."

He gave a quick nod. Turning back, Draco continued.

"But my journey of fear didn't end there. Last year I returned to school and was expected to remain the leader among Slytherins. By that time, my desire for mayhem had soured quite a bit, and I had no real desire to be a follower of the Dark Lord. Yet, my parents were still in danger, so I kept up appearances.

"Then during spring break the unthinkable happened. Snatchers caught Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley and brought them to my house. Everyone looked to me to identify Potter because Granger had cast a spell upon him to make his face swollen and unrecognizable. Again fear gripped me. Fear for myself. For my parents. Even for Potter."

He looked again at the Slytherin table.

"I lied."

"I told them I couldn't tell if it was Potter or not. I couldn't have Potter's death on my conscience. I guess this Death Eater stuff–I really wasn't well suited for it." He paused as his eyes moved to the Slytherin table. Some of them were sneering at him, but most simply looked back in interest.

"They wound up escaping. Then during the battle, I was the first one to step up to join the Dark Lord… because it was expected of me. By then, I wanted to be as far away as possible, but I had to step up and join. I don't know how many of the other seventh-years felt that too. That we were damned if we did and damned if we didn't. There was no option. We were forced to comply or we knew we wouldn't survive the day."

Some students nodded at Draco's description, Severus noted. He'd seek them out and make sure they were doing all right. The Slytherins all put on quite the facade. He'd recognized some who'd needed some help and had acted accordingly, but some of those nodding were students who had seemed to be well-adjusted. All par for the Slytherin persona. Severus would make sure they were all right, seeking help from Counselor Barton if needed.

Draco continued. "I don't know about you, but I was relieved when he was defeated. Finally, I could live my life the way I wanted to. Finally, my parents would be safe–even if they are now incarcerated. Finally, the fear would go away."

He eyed everyone in the hall again.

"And just what brought all of this about, you ask? Prejudice. The feeling of superiority that Purebloods have over everyone. The desire to rule over those we feel are lesser. Well, I'm here to tell all of you that it's a load of codswallop. Do you see Professor Granger? You won't find a finer witch anywhere, but because of prejudice, she has been persecuted her entire life. –Thought of as lesser, when she can outperform the best of us. She's not the only one. This concept that Muggle-born witches and wizards are lacking is wrong and harmful. I hope we can all learn from what we've just lived through. I hope that our generation can look past perceived inferiority and see our peers as what they are. Equals."

Draco moved away from the podium and took his seat. Severus noticed that Hermione was floored at all that Draco had said. He reached out and shook Draco's hand.

"Well done," he advised.

Draco nodded as he settled into his seat. Jonathan shook his hand as well while Minerva thanked the students for attending and quickly dismissed everyone.

Draco looked over at Jonathan. "You look familiar," he told him.

"I'm Jonathan Cornelius. I was a Durmstrang student during the Goblet of Fire year."

"Oh, I remember you now. You and Krum were good friends, right?"

Jonathan nodded and they chatted for a few minutes. Hermione sat still and watched all of the students file out while Jonathan and Draco chatted quietly. Finally, when the two men were done, she turned to Draco.

"Thank you."

He looked at her curiously. "For what?"

"You… what you said about Muggle-borns. About prejudice. Thank you!"

He shrugged. "It's how I feel. All of the horrible things that happened to me would never have happened had it not been for prejudice. I plan on speaking up more about it. Maybe now that I'm a graduate, I'll have more influence."

"Draco, with your status, you will be heard," Hermione told him.

Jonathan nodded. "The Ministry should still have respect for the Malfoy name."

"You can definitely make a difference," Severus agreed.

"That's my hope. I have a lot to make up for."

His eyes met Hermione's. She gave him a small smile and nodded. "I respect your desire to change, Draco. Most Slytherins wouldn't care to."

Draco watched as the few students left passed through the doors out of the Hall. "I think most of them were somewhat sheltered by their parents. They didn't have to do a lot of the things I had to. They didn't see the ugly parts of the Dark Lord's plan. They only heard how glorious it would be from their parents."

Hermione looked at him gravely. "You had to go through a lot."

He shrugged. "It helped me to understand a lot, too. More than some of my friends can admit to."

"Well," Severus interjected. "I can't wait to see what changes you inspire, Draco."

Draco huffed. "I don't know if I'll change anything."

Severus looked at him seriously. "If you keep talking the way you did today, I'm sure you will. As Jonathan said, the Malfoy name means something, and a Malfoy discussing being equal. That's a big deal."

Draco stood. "I'll keep that in mind, Godfather."

The older man smirked at him. "It's Severus."

"Severus. I ought to be off."

The men shook hands. Draco reached out and shook Jonathan's hand too.

"Good catching up."

Jonathan grinned and nodded. "I'll see you out."

Hermione and Severus watched them leave the Great Hall. She looked over at her companion. "That was surprising."

Severus' eyes stayed at the entryway. "Indeed."

"I hope he's serious."

Severus nodded. "He is. Given all he's been through with his family, he's learned not to boast anymore. He wouldn't say it if he didn't mean it."

"I'm glad. If he can change, there's hope for everyone."

Severus gave her a sideways glance. "Even me?"

"Oh, especially you!" she said with a grin. Standing up, she bowed her head in dismissal. "I need to get to class," she told him.

"I probably should as well," Severus added as he stood.

"See you at dinner," Hermione told him as she headed to her classroom.

He nodded and headed out as well.

ooo

The chatter in the classrooms had been positive all week. The teachers were in a staff meeting discussing it all.

"I've seen more empathy from the Gryffindors towards the Slytherins," Hermione noted.

Flitwick and Sprout nodded. "We have too," Pomona said. "I think George Weasley's talk really helped them to see that those that were lost, even on the enemy's side, were human. They aren't so caustic to those who had Death Eater parents who were killed."

Severus regarded the room. "The Slytherins have noticed. They also have been easier in getting along with the other Houses. I also heard them discussing what Draco spoke about in his presentation. Those I heard aren't convinced, but they're willing to observe and see what Muggleborns are truly all about." He held up his hand. "I know, it's a step in the right direction, though. Those who are willing will finally pay attention to someone other than themselves. Some of them will see the truth of the matter."

"The thing is, if we can get them to see that we're not all so different, they will bring that into the world and change things for the better once they graduate," Hermione mused.

"I have been trying to instill in them the desire for change when I meet with them individually," Severus explained. "The younger ones seem to be willing to consider all types of change. The older ones… well they've been through a lot, and have much to get over, but even most of them are willing to keep an open mind."

"Can we do anything more, Severus?" Minerva asked.

He thought for a bit. "I think these assemblies have helped greatly. It's given them something to think about without it being an in-your-face demand for change. As to helping them, just being there for them if they want to talk about anything, and quietly urging them to work toward change would be the most helpful."

"Theodore Nott agreed to speak in an assembly as well. I hope he'll help too," Minerva advised.

"Things are looking up," Filius said. "Interactions between Houses have been much easier since we've started these talks."

There were nods all around.

"Good," Minerva added in conclusion. "Please keep an eye out for anyone who may need Counselor Barton or anything from us." With that, she dismissed the staff meeting.