Chapter 13

Draco…did not look at all as I expected when I walked in. There was no sour expression, disgusted sneer or even a mildly upset frown. In fact he looked as if he couldn't care less whether I returned to the battlefield or not.

Instead he was utterly engrossed in what appeared to be a mountain of parchment surrounding him in an arc where he sat cross-legged on his bed. He had a quill in his hand and was furiously making notes; even as I watched him he hastily circled a paragraph and drew an arrow connecting it to some scribblings in the margin.

For a startling moment he completely and utterly reminded me of Hermione mid-research project when she was just starting to sink her teeth into the meat of it.

There was a tug of familiarity somewhere around my mid-section that was instinctively followed up with fondness. I had the fleeting thought that I wasn't entirely sure if that fondness was directed at Hermione or Draco but it was squashed as soon as it popped up. I had become comfortable with being friends with Draco sure but fondness was not a stage I was ready for.

In a dual effort to clear my mind and make Draco aware of my presence I cleared my throat and shut the door behind me with a firm click.

Draco in turn barely glanced at me, still focused on his work. I swallowed a frustrated sigh, I was not put out that Draco wasn't paying me any attention but honestly it was a little rude, I had every right to be irked. Really.

"So, it kind of looks like a bomb went off in a parchment factory in here, what's going on?" I commented.

"I don't know what a 'bomb' is and I especially do not know what a 'factree' is supposed to be," Draco replied absentmindedly.

"Nevermind, muggle reference," Draco gave me a pointed look with a finely arched eyebrow.

"You have no idea how annoying that is, you are aware that I am a pureblood wizard and therefore know that I will not understand muggle references yet you insist on using them anyway and even refuse to explain them afterwards."

My mouth opened slightly as I foundered trying to come up with a reply.

"Well, um, sorry I guess, it's just habit," I shrugged and realised I had lost my footing in this conversation before it had even begun, my completely inaccurate expectations had left me wholly unprepared for Draco's self-surety.

"Anyway you didn't answer the question," I pointed out a little childishly, feeling daft but unable to help myself.

"I am planning our line of argument and any counter-arguments we may need to convince the Order to release me. I have almost everything covered, all I need from you is a written account of the escape from your perspective so that I can check it. If you can have that done as soon as possible please and make sure that no-one," he looked up again, his gaze drilling into me, "no-one at all interrupts me. I cannot listen to any more of their shuffling and sighing and general fidgeting, I need to concentrate and they are hindering that."

"Oh, sure I guess," I blinked at him for a moment owlishly, a little overwhelmed by the intensity of his entire demeanour and moved as if to leave the room before I stopped and managed to shake myself out of it. Draco had already looked away, returning his focus to the parchment surrounding him but I was not just going to leave without making my point.

"Wait, did you just give me homework? Seriously, that's it? In case you didn't notice you had a complete hissy fit yesterday over me returning to my duties as if you would actually care if I went and got myself killed. Now you're just sitting their barking demands like you only care about what I can do for you. I actually came up here to talk to you properly, to try and take your feelings into consideration like I would any other friend."

I took a deep breath, Draco had kept his head ducked the entire time I was speaking but he looked up now.

"I thought that was what we were doing here, we owe each other our lives, and sure other people have saved my life many times over but I was already friends with them, we automatically had an understanding. With you it's different, it has a different meaning because we managed to stop hating each other long enough to co-operate against a more important enemy. That's a big deal to me, isn't it a big deal for you?"

I watched the stillness of Draco's shoulders, sharp looking under the thin material of his top, and felt the buzz of nerves under my skin.

I could take it back, I realised. I had a single moment of grace to make a joke and pretend I wasn't as big of an idiot as I must seem.

Draco's gaze was steady, he didn't betray any of what he may have been thinking but I saw enough in his expression to realise that backtracking now would only make me a bigger fool than I already was. So I let the moment slip by.

It was countless heartbeats later that Draco finally dropped his stare and a muted sigh disturbed the air.

My body seemed to sigh with him, a strange tension dissipating from the room.

"Sure, Harry, it's important for both of us, though I imagine in slightly different ways, but I am going to be leaving and the less I involve myself the easier it'll be. I've accepted that, maybe you should to." He gave me one last pointed look and returned again to his notes.

I felt my jaw clench as the tension returned tenfold, aware I had just been dismissed for the second time I nodded stiffly and swiftly walked to the door, shutting it behind me without a backward glance.

My shoulders sagged as the anger left me in a gust of air, I had long since grown past the angry teenager I used to be at the beginning of the war. Frustration became resignation and I rubbed at my forehead to will away a building headache.

Hearing a chuckle I looked up to see Bill with a teasing smile on his face.

"I did warn you," he remarked.

"Yeah, yeah," I replied waving my hand at him as I moved away from the door so he could resume his post. Walking away down the hall I heard him chuckle again and couldn't help but smile a little at my own naivety for thinking that I could fix everything with one conversation.

Next time, maybe.

The next few days I settled back into the routine I had held before my capture, I was returned to my duties in Order meetings and with Hermione's help was soon caught up on the war efforts.

The only difference was making time to regularly apply ointment to my leg morning and night and the awareness that Draco was still about, just confining himself almost entirely to his room.

Eventually I sat down one night and began to write my account of our escape, if Draco wanted to leave then I owed it to him to make it as easy as possible. Even if part of me wanted to keep him within the Order headquarters where he would be safest and could even be of some use to us.

I still held out hope that he might change his mind if I could convince him that he was no longer considered an enemy but an ally.

Convincing him was going to be difficult though.

The first thing I realised was that it was stupid of me to be trying to do this alone, if I wanted to show Draco the opportunity he had in staying and becoming part of the Order then I had to show him I wasn't the only one who would accept him as such.

I grabbed Hermione and Ron out of the kitchen to plot in the library as soon as I saw them together. Draco had got word to Remus that he wanted the meeting concerning his liberty to be as soon as possible and Remus had managed to organise it for the upcoming Monday.

I had already handed over my version of events to Draco, I managed to get an acknowledging nod from him but then the door was shut in my face. We now had six days to change Draco's mind.

"I can see the tactical advantage of having him on our side Harry but there's a risk too, and there will be a fair few who will be more worried about what we might lose than what we could gain," Ron pointed out, perching on the end of one of the library's battered armchairs.

"But if all three of us are vouching for him then that will definitely sway most, I think the biggest problem will be convincing Draco himself. There is always going to be a few who are strongly against this if it goes ahead but we only have to win majority," Hermione countered, "Draco on the other hand…"

"Yeah, so far our acceptance has not exactly made him eager to stay," I finished.

"So we take another approach, instead of just accepting that he's here and is not actually evil even if I do think he's still a bit of a twat, we make him feel useful. Show that we're not just tolerating him but we would actually rather he stayed if only for the sake of strategy, because let's face it, he is not going to believe that I've gone mushy on him," Ron pulled a face at the thought.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him but it was followed by a somewhat exasperated smile rather than an argument as it once would have been.

"So what can he help with? Predicting enemy tactics?" I asked.

"Well, we got a lot of information out of him when he first arrived here so I don't think there's much more he could add. Not anything that would make him an essential addition to the team. We can't use him as a spy either, it would be too dangerous to send him anywhere near the Death Eaters and he would be out of here in a heartbeat if we suggested it, I'm sure. No, whatever he does it will have to be from headquarters, that way he can monitored and kept safe," Hermione concluded.

"He's intelligent, good at research if his preparation for Monday's Order meeting is anything to go by," I put in.

"Maybe he can go through all the creepy books in the library that no-one else wants to touch,"

"Ron! Only helpful suggestions please," Hermione reprimanded, "Oh! I've got it!"

"What?" Ron and I asked in unison.

Hermione's reply was to turn and smile at me.

"The whole reason he's here in the first place is you Harry, so what if we make that his reason to stay?"

"Huh?"

"Everyone knows you're too reckless sometimes…"

"Hey-"

"…and with the scare of you getting caught everyone's even more on edge, Ron and I have our own teams to lead so we can't always keep an eye on you so what if we made that Malfoy's job? To partner with you, a bodyguard of sorts," Hermione grinned.

A little offended that my friends now thought I required supervision my gaze passed between Hermione and Ron, mouth agape. I was waiting for Ron to scoff at the idea but instead he looked surprisingly on board with it.

"Really?" I asked with a hint of desperation, surely they're kidding?! "But we'll end up killing each other!"

"Maybe not," Ron shrugged, "the two of you get along pretty well these days and even I can see that Malfoy seems pretty invested in keeping you alive."

"Then it's settled," Hermione smiled, triumphant, "I'll approach him with the idea tonight, no time to waste and all."

I sighed, sensing defeat and stood up to go grab something to eat, muttering to myself about traitor friends. It didn't help that I heard the both of them chuckling as I closed the door.

True to her word, Hermione went and saw Draco that night. Still feeling awkward about the whole thing, I hid out in one of the first floor rooms under the guise of getting in some battle practice before I went back to the field.

I could remember clearing out all the junk when the Order had first relocated its headquarters to Grimmauld Place. Sirius did all the renovations once the space was empty, vanishing the mouldy carpet and smoothing off the wooden floor beneath. The last step had been covering the space in wards so that the room wasn't blown to bits during every sparring session.

Being here reminded me sharply of the friend I had lost and his reckless love of battle so I usually avoided it but I needed something to keep my mind occupied. Something to focus on that didn't involve the conversation that was taking place upstairs.

The ointment Madam Pomfrey had given me had definitely been doing its job I realised as I tested out my reflexes. At least I wasn't putting up with the horrid smell every night for nothing.

Without a partner I had to improvise but Remus had showed me a trick a long time ago for training on my own. I threw up a curved shield against the opposite wall with a sharp flick of my wand and began shooting simple stinging hexes at it, they bounced off around the room and I dodged past them.

I started with just a few hexes and finding my legs steady beneath me I gradually increased the number. As hard as my heart was beating and as poor as my stamina had become, the exercise was like a breath of fresh air. By the time I paused again to check the time an hour had passed and I was sweaty, tired and grinning.

Ron poked his head in then to let me know everyone was getting dinner, something that was supposed to resemble beef stew. I smirked at his description, Molly hadn't been around for a couple of weeks so the state of meals had declined again as it always did in her absence. I waved a tired hand at him and told him I would be there in a few minutes, first I needed a shower and a change of clothes.

Three minutes of standing under scalding hot water as I let it blast the sweat off my skin till I was salmon pink and a t-shirt and pair of sweats later and I headed back downstairs to the kitchen. Expanding my stomach after months teetering on starvation in the dungeons had been uncomfortable to say the least but I could finally say I had a healthy appetite once again. It still wasn't anything like Ron's appetite but few could keep up with his best friend when it came to food.

Draco was sat at the kitchen table when he walked in, perhaps he should have expected it, knowing how persuasive Hermione could be but Harry still managed to collide with Tonks from double-taking.

"Wotcher Harry, you alright?"

"Too long in the training room, half asleep, sorry Tonks."

She let out a laugh bordering on a cackle.

"You'll be fighting fit in no time Harry," she winked.

I laughed nervously and moved past to the pot on the stove to grab my food. I kept my back turned to the table, to Draco and my friends so I could curse my idiocy privately. My ears had already grown warm, no helping that but I could school my face to seem uncaring that I had stumbled about like a fool just because Draco was in the same room.

My efforts were not rewarded, when I turned back around to find Draco looking at me, his expression half amused, half wary. I glanced away, it was only sensible to look where I was going so staring at the table as I walked to it was just a matter of being safety conscious really.

It was at that point that Hestia walked in and flagged me down, no having seen me yet since my return she was quick to pull me into a hug. Followed of course by a litany of cautious, worried questions about what happened, my recovery, what Madam Pomfrey had said about being fit to return to active duties.

By the time she finished my stew had gone cold and I sent a quick heating charm at it. Looking up, I saw Draco still staring intently. It should have been off-putting, it wasn't, I could only think if this plan worked I would that steady gaze levelled at me for a while to come. The thought sent a tremble to the tips of my fingers.

Hermione smiled conspiratorially at me when I sat down with them, stopping mid conversation with Ron who nodded his acknowledgement of my presence from where he sat next to me and then went back to eating.

"So, Draco has agreed that you need some extra protection Harry," Hermione began, sounding as though she were testing the sound of Draco's name on her tongue much as I had done months ago. By the continuing placidity of her expression it wasn't entirely unpleasant.

She leaned forward a little, pushing her already empty bowl aside, so that there would be less chance of them being overheard. Harry knew that a muffliato might be more effective but the absence of sound would draw more attention than it deterred.

"Now all we have to do is convince the bulk of the Order at the meeting, luckily the notes Draco has made to argue for his release are largely transferrable because the basis is that he can be trusted. I just want to add in a few details about the importance of keeping you from falling back into enemy hands, Harry, and we should have a solid case."

"The biggest thing we have going for us is that even if most of the members wouldn't trust Draco with their own personal safety, they can't deny that he has proven himself to be Harry's ally at least. I think our best bet is to apply for Draco to be allowed to protect you on missions without necessarily allowing him to know any of the Orders actual plans, the focus will be solely on you, Harry." Hermione finished, smiling at me the way she did whenever she delivered an incontestable fact.

Draco shifted next to her and glared at few remaining spoonfuls of his food as if it had offended him. He reminded me suddenly of his mother the few times I had seen her.

"I am here you know, you don't have to talk about me like I'm not," Draco grumbled.

The good mood that had suddenly blossomed with the promise of success borne on Hermione's reasoning dissipated just as quickly as it occurred to me that Draco seemed uncomfortable around my best friend. My muggle-born friend.

"She wasn't, she's explaining things, helping you," I grouched back

"Forget it," without another word Draco waved a cleaning charm at his dish, took it over to the sidetable and left the room.

"Git," Ron muttered.

"Well, never mind, that's the plan. I'll see you guys Monday, I've got to go visit one of the safe houses, should be back in the wee hours Monday morning." Hermione leaned over and kissed Ron's cheek, "See me off?"

The tips of Ron's ears automatically went pink and he mumbled something about finishing his food, I chuckled quietly but he still heard me and kicked my shin under the table. As Hermione got up to leave I got up with her.

"Actually, can I have a quick word before you go Hermione?"

" Of course Harry," she smiled.

"Outside?"

"Yeah,"

When we got outside the bustle of the kitchen, waving to Ron and to Hestia as I left, I pulled Hermione to the side.

"It's uh, about Draco, I just wanted to check- um. Well, he didn't give you any hassle did he?" I tried to explain, only getting a puzzled frown in return. "I mean he didn't give you any of that pureblood shit, right?"

"Oh! No, no, nothing like that," she laughed, "He got a little embarrassed when I asked if he would be willing to be your protector full-time that's all, after all those years I felt I'd earned the right to mock him a little so he's having a sulk but I think he knew better than to say anything." She revealed with a twinkle.

If my laugh was tinged with a little too much relief she didn't say anything, just kept on twinkling.

"Alright, be safe, see you Monday," I smiled and gave her a quick hug as Ron came out of the kitchen looking expectant.

"See you guys later, I'm going to go do something elsewhere," I left with a backward wave, heading up the stairs. The only question was whether I wanted to go sit in my room and re-read reports or go to Draco's room for an overdue chat.

OTL I'm sorry, been quite a while yet again, it's a slightly longer chapter, which doesn't really make up for it but I will eventually finish this story, really I will, I know where its going, its just a matter a gluing my butt to the chair till I actually write it.