Last Chapter: Draco turned back to watch the group as they started packing up the Quidditch supplies. "No." Draco said shaking his head lightly. "He's better than me." Draco turned and gave Hermione a small smile before walking over towards Harry, about to do the one thing he never thought he would even do in his entire life. "Hey Potter." He called, standing next to George as Harry looked up from his conversation he was having with Ginny.

"Yeah?" Harry asked, approaching Draco with his arms crossed against his chest. Harry looked ready to defend himself, obviously thinking that Draco was about to insult him in some way. Draco was a Slytherin after all, and they were the sorest losers out there.

"Nice game." Draco slowly extended his hand out, waiting for Harry to shake it.

Harry slowly uncrossed his hands and then shook Draco's, staring at him with shock, not believing that Draco Malfoy was congratulating him even though he beat him. "Uh… thanks Malfoy." Draco just nodded his head as they shook hands. Nobody saw Hermione's huge smile that was on her face as she watched. And nobody saw Ron glaring at Draco as he tossed his broom on the ground and angrily marched back into the house.

By the time they all got back to the burrow from their game of Quidditch, Lupin and Moody were waiting to pick up Harry to take him back to the Dursley's. Harry quickly ran upstairs to get his things together and came back downstairs within a few minutes to say his goodbyes. Draco, who felt awkward standing with the rest of the group, decided to separate himself.

He turned and quickly took a seat on the steps that Harry had just walked down, watching them all exchange smiles and goodbyes. All the Weasley boys, Ron included, shook his hand and wished him luck spending the summer with the Dursleys. Mr. Weasley patted him on the shoulder, telling him to take care of himself. Ginny approached Harry and they hugged for what Draco realized was a little too long to be a friendly goodbye like the others. Hermione hugged Harry as well, telling him to write every day.

Mrs. Weasley was the last to go and as she walked over to embrace Harry in a hug, Draco couldn't help but notice how much of a mother figured she was to Harry. She treated Harry like he was one of her sons and judging by the way Harry hugged her back, Draco knew he thought of himself as exactly that. "We'll be waiting your return anxiously." She said, patting Harry's cheek with a bright smile.

Harry smiled back. "Thanks Mrs. Weasley." Harry nodded to the rest of the people surrounding him and just as he was about to turn to leave, he spotted Draco watching from behind. He froze and they both stared at each other for a few seconds before Harry started to slowly approach him. Draco stood up slowly, waiting for Harry to speak, which he did when they were a few feet from each other. "Malfoy." Harry said, a small glare hidden inside his green eyes.

"Potter." Draco said back with the same look in his eyes.

Harry paused for a couple seconds before continuing. "I don't trust you." Harry said flatly, continuing again before Draco even had time to speak. "I've spent the past couple days that you where here trying to convince myself that you not killing Dumbledore makes you a good person… a changed person. Yet every time I look at you all I can see is that same pathetic little ferret that tormented us from the moment we stepped onto Hogwarts grounds."

"Potter-."

"I'm not finished Malfoy." Harry snapped. "I've tried my hardest to put all my trust in you, but I just can't. I can however, put my trust in the people standing behind me." Harry pointed to the Weasley, Hermione, Lupin, and Moody all standing behind him, watching with curious eyes. "And one of them, who happens to be one of my very best of friends, seems to trust you a lot. Why… I don't know. But the fact that she trust you gives me just that little bit of faith to walk out these doors tonight and not have to worry about anything happening to this family and the people who reside within it." Harry paused again, studying Draco's facial expressions which didn't change much.

"You don't have to worry about anything happening Potter." Draco said back quietly.

"For your sake… I hope not." Harry looked down at Draco's left arm, his sleeve perfectly covering his Dark Mark. "I saw what happened on the tower Malfoy and I heard everything you said."

"Then you know that I have nothing to do with them anymore."

"If that's the truth then I won't have to worry about anything happening while I'm gone."

"You won't."

"Good. Because if anything does… I'm coming after you." They both glared at each other for a couple seconds longer before Harry turned on the spot and headed back towards the group.

Draco watched them all say their final goodbyes and he watched Harry leave, his words replaying in his head over and over again. He knew that he would never gain anybodies trust, and what Harry had just said to him was proof. He was the bad guy, the one they all hated. He was their living, walking memory of what they were going out there to fight. He was like a ticking time bomb that they didn't know how to stop and were to afraid to approach to even attempt it. He would always be the most un-trusted person in the house and they would all watch him with cautious eyes. It was like they were just waiting for him to whip out his wand and touch it to his Dark Mark or just waiting for him to curse them all in their sleep.

They should have known from what they were told happened on the Astronomy tower that he wouldn't do that to any of them. Not only would he not, but he couldn't. He was supposed to be dead. If one of the most popular and biggest wizarding families, along with half The Order, were to suddenly disappear or turn up dead, there could only be one person who could possibly have done it. A murder to that scale just doesn't stay quiet. Voldemort would hear about it and soon he would figure it out.

It would only put his life in danger more than he was now. Hermione was right. He couldn't leave, no matter how much he wanted to, and he had to stay quiet and under the radar. Who knew what Voldemort would do if he discovered that Draco was alive.

Right on cue, Hermione walked over with a kind smile on her face, bringing Draco out of his thoughts. "Mrs. Weasleys going to start cooking dinner. She said it should be ready within a couple hours."

Draco just nodded and then glanced up the stairs. "I think I'll just go freshen up then."

Hermione smiled back with a nod and watched as Draco slowly walked up the stairs heading towards his room. She sighed heavily and then left the base of the stairs heading for the sitting room. She found Ron standing with his back towards her and glancing out at the window. She cleared her throat to let him know of her presence and then took a seat on the couch.

Although they were both completely aware of each other's presence, they didn't speak for several minutes. Hermione heard Ron sigh and she quickly looked up to see him frowning out the window. "What's wrong?" She asked softly.

Ron turned and gave her a small, fake, smile. "It just doesn't feel real." He took a seat next to Hermione and ran a hand through his hair. "The war is practically in full swing and yet it all feels too distant."

"What do you mean?"

"It still feels like it used to feel. With Harry still going to live with the muggles, mum still cooking meals and having us do chores, Bill's wedding coming up, the Quidditch games played in the middle of the afternoon, and even the fact that you're here. It doesn't feel like Dumbledore just died or that Malfoy has invaded our home. It feels… normal."

Hermione watched Ron sadly, seeing the sadness and worry in his eyes. "We need to remember these moments now Ron, because they might be gone sooner then we all think."

"I know." His voice was barely audible that Hermione practically had to read his lips to understand him. "There's a chill in the air that seems to sneak up on us all when we think of the other things that should be going on besides fighting. Everybody is trying to act normal, like they can't feel the chill, but you know they all do. You can tell by the way they speak or the way they act. Harry is a perfect example, with the way he just talked to Malfoy."

"We don't have to worry about Malfoy, Ron." Hermione said with a sigh, looking over at the stairs that Draco ascended minutes ago. When Ron didn't respond to what she said, Hermione turned and looked back over at him, only to see him staring back at her with disbelief written all over his blue eyes. "What?"

"I just…-." Ron ran his hand through his hair and suddenly stood up. "How can you trust him Hermione!?" Ron yelled, pointing at the stairs. "He's a Deatheater!"

"He's innocent Ron. He did nothing wrong."

"'Nothing wrong'?" Ron repeated, completely flabbergasted. "Did you forget about the time when I almost died from a poison?"

"Of course not."

"Okay, then did you forget that he was the one responsible for that?!"

"I-"

"And what about Katie? Did you forget about the part where she was cursed with a necklace that was given to her by the ferret!?"

"Stop yelling at me Ron and stop making fun of my intelligence!" Hermione yelled, now on her feet. "Of course I remember all those things and that is the only thing you can blame him for. He killed nobody and you and Katie are just fine!"

"He's a murder Hermione!" Ron yelled even louder. "The mark on his arm just proves it."

"He murdered nobody!" Hermione now yelled, slowly getting closer to Ron as they fought. "And maybe if you were to open your eyes, listen more often, and just give people a chance, you would see that Malfoy is just as scared as we all are!" They both paused, Hermione watching Ron closely with tears in her eyes. "He didn't want to take the Dark Mark and maybe if you just gave him a chance and listened to him, you would know that. He's no different than the rest of us." Hermione spoke softly now, watching as Ron shook his head.

"He's a monster!" His voice held hatred and it only upset Hermione even more.

"He's human. He can make mistakes." As Hermione spoke, a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Why in the bloody hell are you standing up for him?!" Ron yelled. Hermione licked her lips and just shook her head at Ron. "WHY?!" As Ron yelled, he took a step at Hermione so he was now standing about a foot away from her. "Answer me Hermione!" Ron yelled again, this time getting so close to Hermione that he was practically touching her.

"Because…." Hermione said, tears now freely falling down her face. "He's a good person, Ron. He has to be." She spoke in a whisper, her head now low to the ground as she studied the carpet.

"You're wrong." Ron said. "You're wrong and you're a fool for trusting him."

"I'm not." Hermione said bravely, now looking him directly in the eye.

Ron just shook his head and rolled his eyes before taking a step back and walking in the other direction. "You are Hermione." He said when he reached the door frame that led to the kitchen. "And when you finally realize that you are, don't come crying to me."

Hermione watched him leave, keeping her brave face on, but once he was out of the room, her face fell into her hands. Her tears created puddles in the palms of her hands and she tried to make her sobs and sniffles silent, but there was no stopping it.

She suddenly felt more alone than ever. She knew that she wasn't the only one who wanted to see good in all the evil that was out there, but yet she seemed to be the only one who was trying. She knew, somehow, that deep down inside of his heart, Draco really was a kind person. She was determined to bring that person out of him and make him into what everybody thought he could never become, and she knew she could do it. What she also wanted, however, was for her friends and the people she loved to just be able to see what she saw.

She wanted Ron to be able to trust him and to stop seeing the same boy that made of them all for 6 years, but she knew he never would. His hate for Draco was to strong and that overpowered his will to be able to see what was hiding deep down on the inside. And that was why Hermione had started to cry.

She knew what she wanted, but the fact that everybody else pushed it to the side like it was nothing just made it feel like a lost cause to her.

She could hear voices coming from the kitchen that seemed to be getting closer towards her, and not wanting to be seen crying, she needed to make an exit. She turned to head towards the front door and when she did, her eyes locked with a piercing, cold, grey.

She licked her lips nervously as her and Draco stared at each other. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Hermione closed her eyes slowly and allowed one more tear to fall before quickly walking past Draco and out towards the front door of the burrow where she would be able to think in peace.

Draco sighed and slowly fell down onto the stairs. He put his head into his hand, his thoughts and Harry's words from earlier coming back into his head. Nobody trusted him and nobody believed him. He was nothing but a Deatheater, a waste of air and a waste of space. He had nobody.

Draco suddenly raised his head from his hands, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He had somebody, and the only person he had was now sitting outside in tears and feelings all alone. He pushed himself up from the stairs and slowly started making his way towards the same direction Hermione had just went to.

Right now, he had one person in the entire world, and he would be damned if he lost that one person because he wasn't brave enough to just open his mouth.

Hello everybody!

First off, i am sooooooooo sorry for how long it took me to update this story. I got so pre-occupied with my other stories and then theres always writers block that comes into play. This story seems to be pretty popular (hopefully it still is after the long wait) so i more then likely won't stop writing it. Just keep reviewing to let me know how much you guys love it so i dont lose any motiviation :)

Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter: jessirose85, New Ghost Girl, theconscience, Miyu Maniac, amorreal, LK-HoGwArTs-hEaDgIrL, kazfeist, ihatetosayitoldyouso, Readerforlife, daniela1417, ebbe04, soccercrazyfreak, KaiteMalfoyx, AliceDsfan, xD.

Please remember to review again guys and i hope your all not mad at me for the huge delay on updating. i'm going to try my hardest not to let it happen again!