Draco sat by the fire in what was fast becoming his favorite armchair. It faced the fire and the door to his room, and made him feel like he was in a place that he belonged, something that his makeshift room during the summer had failed to do. And as for right now, he really needed the comfort.

The moment of electricity that he felt towards Hermione kept turning over in his thoughts. He kept repeating to himself that his emotions were just his happiness at the thought of having friends to turn to. But, one side of his mind argued, he hadn't felt anything like that towards Ginny, and she had stuck up for him as much as Hermione. Not to mention, argued the entirety of his brain, he'd had friends before, some of them good friends, and he had never been so...drawn to any of them.

As if on cue, a proud, jet black owl began to peck at the window in Draco's bedroom. Draco eyed it warily, but walked to the window and unlatched it. The owl dropped a small roll of parchment with a golden wax seal into his hand, hooted softly and flew out the window at once. He took in the ornate wax seal and chuckled; Blaise had always been over the top. After reading its contents, which requested his presence in the library, he shrugged his school bag onto his shoulder and made his way out the door.

He found Zabini several minutes later at a table closest to the Potions reference material, which was typical. "Don't tell me you're working on that essay due next week," Draco said with a smile as he slid into the chair across from Zabini, whose nose was buried in a thick, dusty book.

"I finished that already," Blaise said distractedly as he turned a page. "But I found this book on the development of the Draught of Living Death. It's absolutely fascinating..."

Draco rolled his eyes. Blaise had always been completely obsessed with the theories and developments of potions. If it wasn't for the fact that he desired to keep his rebel persona for the girls of Hogwarts, Draco suspected that Blaise's hand would have beat Hermione's any time a question in Potions had been asked. Not to mention, he would have gotten every single one of them right.

Draco waited a few moments, but soon realized his friend was a little too immersed in his book. "Oi! If you don't close that monstrosity of a text and pay attention to me, I will walk out of here. I did get attacked today, you know," Draco said with a smirk.

Zabini looked up, shutting his book with a serious expression. "So it's true."

Draco frowned. "Yes, though I wish it wasn't. I'm sure you've heard all about it."

Blaise gave a short laugh. "Oh, I've heard all about the Ravenclaw golden boy who had been expelled because he tried to use well-deserved vigilante justice on a known Death Eater. But I wanted to hear the truth from you."

Draco's eyes widened. "Is that seriously what they've all been saying?"

"It's not what they're saying, but whispering. I don't think anyone dares to really talk about it out loud, since the war was just yesterday in our minds. It's scary to even acknowledge tension among the houses. But a lot of people seem to agree amongst themselves that you are a threat, and don't get why McGonagall keeps defending you."

Draco's shoulders sagged under the weight of Blaise's words. "I'm not sure why she does, either," he said quietly, fiddling with one of the extra quills Blaise had scattered around him.

Blaise scowled at him. "Don't be ridiculous. We both know you didn't want to be a Death Eater, and aren't guilty of any crimes save by coercion. Anyone who thinks you don't deserve the same rights as everyone else is an ultimate git."

Draco shrugged. He couldn't help but feel that Blaise was a little off the mark. It wasn't that everyone else thought he didn't deserve forgiveness; there were a few that seemed to think he did, already, and it had only been a few days. No, the heart of the matter was that Draco himself didn't feel as if he deserved forgiveness yet, and had far too much atonement ahead of him. "I feel like the girls would agree with you," he mumbled, more to himself than to Blaise.

Blaise's eyebrow rose. "Girls? What girls?"

Draco paused. "Er, Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger." He turned to Blaise to find his eyebrows higher than before.

"I didn't realize they were willing to lower themselves enough to talk to lowly disgraced Slytherins," Blaise said bitterly after a pause. He suddenly began to focus on a Transfiguration essay he had laying out on the table.

Draco found his anger bristling. "For one," he said through a clenched jaw, "I'd never consider myself a lowly person. Disgraced, yes, unworthy, always, but never lowly. Secondly, they're actually rather kind and accepting. Almost too much."

Blaise caught on to his friend's frustration quickly, and took a calming breath. "You know I didn't seriously mean all that." Draco grunted in response, eyes hard and staring at the nearby bookcase. Blaise sighed at Draco's change in mood. The two sat in silence for a long time before Blaise decided to speak again.

"For what it's worth, I think you being accepted by them is a good thing. Both for you and them."

Draco scoffed. "How in the world would knowing me be beneficial to them?"

Blaise chuckled. "I feel like the Gryffindor good girls could use a little Slytherin in their lives." The blonde rolled his eyes. "You think they'd be ok with talking to me, too?" Blaise looked a little wistful at the idea.

Draco looked at his friend in shock. Blaise had always been a Slytherin through and through. While he hadn't shared the same blood status beliefs as most of his housemates, he had never shown even an inkling in the idea of being friends with a Lion. His sudden interest had Draco wondering if it had all been an act to fit in. "I don't know," he said to Blaise after a moment. "I suppose they would give you a chance if you were civil."

"I wouldn't just be civil. I'd be charm itself." Blaise sat back in his chair, a pseudo-haughty look on his face, causing Draco to snigger.

"Come to think of it, it would be entertaining to watch you try and be friendly with them," Draco mused.

"Well, even if that's the only reason you see my potential friendship with them beneficial, I see other upsides to the whole situation."

Draco frowned. "Upsides?"

Blaise sighed. "Yes, you nitwit. Upsides. Because whether we like it or not, it seems it's open season on Slytherins, and I personally think we could use every sympathetic influential Gryffindor in our corner that we can get. We can at least try and make this year easier for us, yes?" Blaise's gaze pierced Draco with its sober intensity, reminding him just how close he came to never seeing it again.

"Yes," Draco said, averting his gaze to the floor, "I think we could."

Draco heart pounded in his ears, held immobile as he was forced to watch and hear the screams.

"Crucio!"

He had to get away. He had to. Her voice was ringing nonstop in his ears, her body contorting with pain. It had been hours, and he just couldn't take it anymore. He would go insane with the sound of her screams reminding him of just how useless he was. For all his talent and all his skill, there was no helping her now.

"Leave her for now, Lucius. I believe your son has learned his lesson."

The screams stopped, replaced by incessant, weak sobs. He watched his father retreat from the room, sunken eyes unseeing of anything but the tumbler of firewhiskey he picked up on his way out.

The spell on him had not been lifted. Draco watched with no choice as the tiny pools of dark red dotting his mother's clothing dried slowly to her skin in the grey light of dawn.

AN: I apologize so so much for the delay in the next chapter. My phone drowned almost a month ago and since that was how I write and my only access to internet, I was forced to take a break. However, my writing was backed up online, and I have a new phone now! So I will be updating again. Please review! It'd be great to hear from y'all!

~Princess Leah