The fire cracked and spurted as it blazed to life, and the six people in the room took some comfort in its warmth. There were no other lights in the room, and the shadowy forms of the figures danced around them; black and orange mingling on the wood-paneled walls.
One of the figures stood, tall and proud, his back to the fire, while the other five stood like a jury in front of him. Hermione wasn't fond of the idea of being the jury for anybody, but something had to be done with Draco, and that's what they were here deciding.
After the Malfoy Mansion had been destroyed, they had all Apparated back to Claer, and had quietly taken Draco to one of the upper level rooms where they wouldn't be interrupted while they talked. Harry had sent Dean to tell the rest of the DA about Callum's death, and she could tell from the look on his face that Harry wanted to do it, but there were more pressing matters to attend to. Her heart went out to the one she loved, and hoped he would realize it wasn't his fault. He carried the weight of too many dead as it was.
It was silent in the room before Harry said, "I just don't understand how Bellatrix can be the one leading the Death Eaters. I could have sworn she was one of the ones captured after Voldemort's death."
"No such luck, Potter," Draco said, clearly not interested in endearing himself to Harry in the least. "She escaped and fled for a while, but from what I gather, she's decided enough time has passed, and the bloody Ministry is so tangled in its own affairs that she can start reorganizing without them paying much heed."
"From what you gather?!" Ron said, speaking up angrily. He had been the most against bringing Draco back - the bitterness between those two families was something Hermione thought would never be settled. "Maybe you're actually working with them! How do we know...?"
"Ron," Harry said sternly, giving him a warning look, and Ron bit his tongue, earning a chuckle out of Draco.
"It just doesn't make sense," Harry said.
"Why not?!" Neville chimed in from her left. "Harry, can you think of any Death Eater more brutal than she is? She delights in causing pain and misery. The things she did to my…" he trailed off, shaking with anger.
Hermione put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. What Bellatrix had done to Neville's parents, torturing them to the point of madness, gave him more than enough cause to be angry. And he was right, after all. She couldn't imagine a more ferocious enemy than Bellatrix, and if someone was to lead the Death Eaters, she seemed the most obvious candidate.
Clearly still not convinced, Harry turned to look at her for a moment, and when she nodded her assent, he sighed.
"Very well, Bellatrix is leading them," he said. "So what do we do about it?"
No longer able to contain himself, Ron spoke up again. "That's not the first question we need to be asking, Harry. First, we need to figure out why he wants to help us!"
Draco stiffened as all eyes in the room swung back to him. He gave Ron a haughty look before replying, "I have no desire to help the lot of you, Weasley. It just so happens that, as of now, we share a common goal."
"But for different reasons," Luna quietly said, speaking up for the first time. She may not always be easy to understand, Hermione thought, but she can see to the heart of things quicker than most.
"That may be, but the point is, as long as we both want the same thing, we might as well cooperate." The way he said that last word made Hermione think that he expected more cooperation on their part than on his. "You need me for information as to what they're planning to do, and as for me, their numbers have grown too large for me to manage on my own."
Harry looked thoughtfully at Draco for a moment, measuring the benefits of some kind of arrangement. Finally he said, "You stay here," and motioned for the rest to step out into the hallway.
As soon as the door was closed, Ron said, in an angry whisper. "Harry, you can't honestly think of making a deal with him, and keeping him here, can you? He's a Malfoy!"
Neville added his agreement to Ron, saying "We don't know if we can trust him, Harry! And he's Bellatrix's nephew, after all."
Harry was quiet for a moment, deep in thought, and so she spoke up. "But he has information that we need. He's been at the heart of the Death Eaters, and knows what they're planning. How can we give that information up?"
There were no answers from any of them, and then Luna said, "Now that he's here, we can't just let him leave anyway, can we?"
Again, silence greeted her words. Ron was practically seething, but he must have had a hard time finding fault in their arguments, because he was staying quiet.
"Besides," Hermione said, "I don't think he's all bad anymore. Back at the Mansion, he saved my life."
This bit of news was received with shock by all, and she quickly related what had happened on the stairwell. Harry looked horribly guilty for it, and she squeezed his hand. "It wasn't your fault, Harry. The point is, he saved me when he could've just let me fall. I'm not sure why he did it myself, but there must be some good somewhere in him."
Hermione wasn't sure if Harry was looking at the logic of it, the fact that he now owed Draco for saving her life, or if it was both, but at last he said, "He'll stay."
Ron sighed loudly and Neville looked extremely disappointed. "But, I don't fully trust him either," Harry continued. "So, he's not to leave the grounds at all, and he'll need an escort all the time."
"Do you really think he'll agree to that?" Ron asked, his voiced laced with bitterness.
"He'll agree," Harry said firmly, and lead the way back into the room, where Draco still stood in front of the fire, waiting.
"So, do I get to join your little club?" he asked with a sneer.
"Malfoy, we've decided that you can stay here for a time, while we work out what to do about the Death Eaters. You'll tell us what you know, and if the information proves useful, then you'll have earned my trust."
"Oh, I'll have earned your trust," Draco said with a snort. "How fortunate for me."
Harry took a step forward, the fire reflecting in his green eyes. "It will be fortunate for you, Malfoy, because if I trust you, then you'll find your stay here more pleasant."
Draco arched his eyebrow questioningly at that.
"While you're here," Harry explained, "you are not to leave the grounds for any reason whatsoever. And you will have an escort at all times."
Draco looked completely shocked at these conditions. "And if I refuse?"
Harry looked around the room for a moment. "We all helped build this house, you know. And when we did, we made sure there were a couple empty rooms in the basement for…emergencies. You know where we are, so letting you leave is out of the question, but if you agree to these terms, at least you can move around, instead of being confined to a small, dark room your entire stay here."
A wave of anger crashed over Draco's face, and his hand twitched to where his wand was, and like lightning, they all pulled out their own wands. Something in Hermione felt wrong in threatening him like this, even as she held her own wand out, but she understood what Harry was doing: there was probably no other way to convince him. Still, it didn't sit right.
Draco looked at them all for a moment before shaking his head, and laughing softly. "It appears I have no choice. I spent enough time with Snape being locked in a single room. I'd rather not go through that again."
Harry nodded and turned to Luna and Neville. "You two can go, and Luna, would you find a room for Draco?" she nodded and they left. "Ron, I need to speak with you for a moment," he said, and he led Rod aside and they began to whisper back and forth.
Hermione moved over to where Draco was still standing and said, "It won't be too bad, Draco. Harry'll make sure you're not mistreated, and like he said, if you help us out, then you won't be stuck here long." Draco just snorted, clearly not believing a word she said.
They were quiet for a minute before she said, "I didn't get a chance to thank you for saving me back at your house," and he looked surprised she would bring it up.
"How about you be my escort? All the time," he said, looking at her with a strange glint in his eyes.
She suddenly felt her face turn fiery red, and managed to say, "What?"
"You know, as a reward." The way he said "reward" suddenly made her realize he was thinking of her as more than just an escort. She was completely shocked by this, because he had always seen her as some sort of lesser being, but this…this was unheard of.
Before she could even frame a response, Harry was standing next to her, and had slipped his hand in hers. "I understand that you saved Hermione at your mansion, Malfoy. I want to thank you for that."
Draco looked incredulously from Harry's face to their clasped hands before she saw understanding dawn on him.
"It was nothing," he mumbled darkly. "Don't even know why I risked my neck for her," but Hermione caught something in the way he said it that suggested he at least had an idea.
"Regardless, thank you," Harry said. "Ron'll show you where you'll be staying."
Draco walked over to an obviously put-out Ron, and as they left the room, he looked one more time at Hermione, and she could've sworn she saw something akin to regret in his eyes.
As the door closed, Harry said, "I hope this was the right idea."
Still tightly holding his hand and feeling more confused than she could remember feeling in some time, Hermione quietly added, "So do I."
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