Draco ran. He ran as fast as his feet would move. He ran so fiercely he thought he could fly with the slightest jump. Red flashes cut through the air around him like swords being wielded for a fight. They would crash against a tree lighting the dark woods around him in deep maroons. The wet earth crunched beneath his feet while curses well yelled at him.

Her words spoke louder than the men trying to capture him, kill him. He was the traitor, the mud eater. Come back home he could hear her say as if she were running beside him. A green flash came dangerously close to hitting him just as he saw the cliff separating the woods from the valley beneath. This was his opportunity, his chance to go home.

He looked back, eager to kill at least one of his pursuers. "Avada Kadavra!" He yelled as he jumped into the abyss. The last thing he heard before he apparated was a strangled groan leaving the dead body of one of the death eaters, perhaps an old friend. He smiled as tightness engulfed him. He was going home.

The Debt All Men Pay

11 months earlier

Severus Snape was ever the picture of calmness as he and Draco walked down the hall from the Malfoy kitchens to a steep staircase that Draco still remained in command of. The Death Eaters had overrun his home with darkness and despair so palpable in the air it was like wading through a swamp. Even though it was the last day of July the manor felt chilly.

The staircase led to the first floor of the manor where his bedroom was; the only place in the entire vicinity that still felt like home. They passed Rookwood on their way to his door but he paid Snape and the young Malfoy no attention. He must have been busy with his thoughts, tomorrow was an important day after all.

Draco pushed the door to his bedroom open and let Snape in first. As soon as he had passed the threshold Snape closed the door behind him quickly and quietly. He put a firm hand on Draco's shoulder and pushed him against the door. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a piece of paper.

Number 12 Grimmauld Place London

"Number-" Draco started to read aloud but Snape gripped his shoulder harder and shot him a look that could only convey one thing.

He could see Snape walking along a quiet road in what was without a doubt the city of London. There were walk ups on his right and a park on his left. The people in their flats could be seen through their windows watching their television boxes with moving pictures and sitting in their recliners oblivious to the dark wizard outside their homes.

Snape stopped in between two homes. Number 11 and number 13. Where was 12? Through Snape's mind he saw the wizard wave his wand. For a moment nothing happened but then between 11 and 13 a brick appeared, then 3, then 15 then too many to count. A window similar to its neighbors materialized and next to it a large wooden door with a shiny number 12.

Only a few seconds ago there had been a mysterious screw up in city planning and now his answer was there, magic. Snape strutted up the concrete stairs, opened the door quickly and stepped inside.

Draco was there next to him, wondering what Snape was waiting for. He looked uncertain, afraid even and then chills shot through Draco's body. He turned in time to see the whispery frightening figure of Albus Dumbledore rise from the dust on the floor. He was coming towards them and he couldn't do anything about it. He heard a cough from beside him but he couldn't take his eyes off of the advancing dead headmaster.

"I had to kill you!" Snape shouted and then he fell to his knees.

Draco was shot back into reality. He could still hear Snape's voice ringing in his ears. He could feel the dust in his lungs even though delving into someones mind didn't cause such a thing. It was his own guilt making it hard for him to breathe.

"Why?" Draco said quietly. He had learned that he could trust this man. He hadn't been able to stop the Dark Lord from punishing him and everything else so horrible he tried not to think about it. But he had stopped the Dark Lord from killing him. There, behind the dark veil of darkness Snape hid behind goodness. He had tried to help him once and refusing hadn't turned out the way Draco thought. He had saved his life far more times than Draco could count.

"Go tomorrow." Snape said after some deliberation. "You know it's there, it will appear for you now, just wave your wand."

Draco looked stunned. What was going on? Why had the corpse of Albus Dumbledore risen from seemingly out of no where?

"Promise me!" Snape grabbed his other shoulder and pushed him harder against the wooden door. He would have bruises tomorrow he was sure. They'd go nicely with the evidence that the last two months had been nothing but darkness.

"I promise," Draco said frantically trying to get his hands off of him. Snape released him and walked further into his room. "What about my parents?" Draco whispered. He had decided upon recovering from the torture the Dark Lord had bestowed upon him to never go back to the old Draco, as if the Draco from two months still existed. The one who would take orders from someone willing to kill him. It had taken everything in him not to reveal his secret to the Dark Lord. If he glimpsed into his mind he would know and this time he wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

"You'll have to separate for a while." Snape turned around to face him, "Don't argue," he pointed a finger at him when Draco had opened his mouth to do exactly that. "It's better you are all in different places. If he finds you he'll want to kill you while your parents watch or he'll kill you all together."

"Why here?" Draco whispered extending the hand that was still holding the address to where he was supposed to go.

"It'll be safe so long as you're smart about what you do there. You want to redeem yourself?"

Draco nodded. His parents had wanted out long ago, he had only recently discovered that he was standing in a twisted old world he rather fight than be a part of. He had to be honest with himself. He'd never be able to forgive himself if he just stood aside and not stood for something. He'd never stood for anything he actually believed in. Now there was a purpose inside him. Kill or be killed. Kill Voldemort or die the man Voldemort had tried to create.

He had been forced into believing the Death Eater way of life was right. Mudbloods and muggles were scum, Potter and the Weasley bunch had just been born natural enemies. Now that he didn't stand with the dark what other option did he have? He'd had plenty of time to bury his pride and decide. Snape had been the last piece of the puzzle. He had already risked plenty, before and after Draco's torture, to help him. Snape was someone he could trust.

He was going to help his family escape this hell hole. But why? Wasn't he the Dark Lords most faithful servant? At first it had seemed like a trick to get them all blown up but he'd had his chance. After a month of terrible darkness Voldemort had wanted to end his life. He'd seen it. The only times he had been allowed to sleep, have some semblance of normalcy, he'd seen it all. The Dark Lord's plans for him. Voldemort wanted his parents to live forever with the memory of their weak son etched into their memories. Have Draco be a reminder of what happens when you don't follow orders.

But Snape had done something. Spoken to the Dark Lord in ways few knew. He spoke to him like he and Draco often spoke, in silence and the Dark Lord showed mercy, something he had never done. Draco had been allowed back into his room, a much better place to live than the cold wet dungeons of the Malfoy Manor. But he'd hardly had time to rest. His mother and Snape nursed him back to health quickly. His muscles stopped aching, his scars became fainter, his skin returned to a healthy color. But they couldn't fix him inside. He was dead inside. They hadn't gotten to him in time.

He'd just wanted to die altogether. He didn't care what the others thought of him or what would become of him once he was physically healed. Snape had asked him to fake it. To make his sacrifice count. He didn't know what it meant but he realized someone was trusting him not to fail, something he was an expert at doing. Whatever life had been in Draco it was trying to survive now.

He didn't want to question it too much but his curiosity burned him from the inside out. He knew his father was clever, he could get himself and his mother to safety but was Draco just as clever? He knew he wasn't but Snape had given him the first push. Snape knew that revenge had a desperate hold of him now and Voldemort had taught Draco well. Unwillingly but a lesson learned is still learned whether one wants to or not. All Draco had to do was point the wand at the ones who had laughed, who had pointed their own wands at him, who had made him do cruel things. All he had to do was point and kill.

He had fantasied sending his own aunt the killing curse in multiple fashions. Worse yet were the Death Eaters who tortured in other ways. He had heard stories about the fights from before he was born. How they would force mudbloods into servitude and force them to do horrible things. He hated the Granger girl but even his stomach lurched at the thought of her or anyone being bent into sexual fantasies. And now, on the eve of what was to be the comeback of The Dark Lord, talk spread about future plans to seek out mudbloods and have them do evil things. One particular name had been thrown around and even bets were made to see who found her first.

He understood now what it was like to hate. To truly see fear reflected back at you and know that the only way to make it go away was to kill the bad. If that meant becoming a traitor and joining up with the order then that was what he would do. He hated to see the fear in his mother's eyes, constantly worrying if the Dark Lord would take back his mercy and do Draco in for good.

It was as if time had stood still. Snape had seen it all in his eyes. The anger, the passion to turn his life around. He was so young and already he was poised for war which is exactly what was to come. Tomorrow the wizarding community would break in half and he wanted Draco to be safe. He had a soft spot for the child of one of his oldest friends. It had taken Narcissa Malfoy much too long to acknowledge the potential for losing what she loves most.

Severus had learned the hard way and he didn't want to be responsible for more innocent lives lost.

This was his own attempt at redemption. If Potter walked to his death like Dumbledore predicted and didn't return then at least Lily would be reunited with her son. But what of Draco? Would Lily hate him for not helping him? She would he thought and that's when he had decided to make the unbreakable vow and even though he wasn't being upheld to it anymore it didn't matter. Draco would live past this war and if he was smart he would help the Order or help innocents like himself. This was their burden now. They had done bad their entire lives and it came down to now. He hadn't lived an honorable life but he would die an honorable death. There was still time for Draco to turn things around for himself.

"You will go there Draco," Snape said with some finality in his words. There was no room for mistakes. "You will make good with your past demons. If you find someone from the Order you will pledge your fidelity and make them believe it. They'll keep you alive long enough to get your bearings. When they fight you fight. Do you understand? If what I see in your mind is as powerful as what I can feel then you'll have to be bloody sure the Dark Lord knows you have traded sides, more importantly, the people you will support need to know you fight for them now."

Draco nodded but he had to ask, "Why did you kill him? If you were on his side?"

"Albus Dumbledore wasn't oblivious to anything Draco," Snape's voice faltered. Draco had never seen him this way, "to think he didn't know every whisper or thought in his own school is a dishonor to his memory. I owed him a favor and you owe me one now to. Repay me by being the man we both know you can be. Remember, I can see inside your mind."

Snape walked to the door and placed his hand on the nob, "Burn the address tonight. Take only what you can carry in your pockets and keep your promise Draco. We'll see each other soon enough." Then with a swish of his cloak he was gone.

A/N: I know where I want this to go and I've done a good job of writing a fair amount of it before posting this so what happened with my other stories doesn't happen to this one.

WARNING. If you don't want to read about death/killing or if you have certain triggers I suggest you stop reading.

This story is as much a fanfiction of the HP books as it is about Hermione/Draco. I don't copy word for word every chapter of course but I do borrow certain lines and story plots then add my own work to it.

I'll update once a week.

Enjoy this story and please review. I love feedback.

-Maria