Just out of curiosity, I'm interested to know how many of you there are. Are you a first-time reader or a rereader?

x Noelle

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Silences target.

back, he barely had the time to set Ginny down before Hermione rushed up to him. "Thank Merlin you're safe!" she whispered and hugged him. When she pulled back, she kept one hand on his jacket, as though reluctant to let go of him entirely.

Not that he was complaining. She was always expressive and affectionate. He secretly liked that, envied her even, because he didn't have the courage to do the same. Things like these had always made him uncomfortable.

But with her, it became easier.

Draco cast a swift glance around and, when he realised that no one else was in the living room, reached down to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. "Where're the others?"

She quickly updated him on the situation. Blaise had already returned with Pansy, and Luna had used side-along apparition to bring her back. "They've brought the rescued members back to the Order," she added. "'Dromeda went along with them too. I've been waiting for you, Theo and George."

"They're not back yet?"

"No." Hermione glanced at Ginny, who lay in a motionless heap on the floor. "Is she alright?"

"She's fine." He levitated Ginny over to the bed in the guest room and headed back out. "I should get Theo – "

The words were barely past his lips when the sounds of apparition made both Draco and Hermione whirl around. George stumbled in, supporting a battered Theo who walked with a bad limp, crimson blood streaking down one side of his face. Hermione gasped, rushing into the kitchen to get the healing potions while Draco immediately stepped forward to support Theo on his other side.

"What happened?"

"Oh, you know," Theo shrugged, "we had a tea party with the Dark Lord. Ate biscuits and fruitcake and all. Had a bloody lovely time."

If Theo wasn't in such a bad shape, Draco would've seriously considered hexing him.

"The Death-Eaters couldn't see where we were, because Theo had put Disillusionment charms on the both of us," George explained, setting Theo down on the armchair. "So they destroyed the building. Theo here pushed me out of the way and got himself hurt instead."

Theo rolled his eyes at George, before lurching forward to cough out a mouthful of blood on the floor. "Seems like the Weasley family owes a lot to a bunch of Slytherins – "

"Oh, Ginny!" George's eyes widened and he turned to Draco. "Did you – "

"Guest room."

While George disappeared to check on his sister, Hermione returned with a tray of potions in one hand, levitating a basin of water with the other. Draco watched her with silent pride. She'd truly become adept at magic again. He watched as she cleaned Theo's wounds, bound his sprained ankle with a Ferula and ordered him to drink some blood-replenishing potions.

Theo grumbled a lot, but Hermione had a knack of making him listen to her, and she was soon easing him back onto the sofa, using it as a makeshift bed for him. Draco made sure to smirk every time Theo shot a scowl his way, because he'd known Theo for long enough to tell that his friend secretly enjoyed being fussed over.

Leaving Hermione to tuck Theo in with a spare blanket, Draco headed into the kitchen to boil a fresh pot of tea. He hunched over the stove for awhile, using the small window of silence to just let his mind race. There were so many things that cluttered his mind lately – which was about the worst thing that could happen to a skilled Occlumens like him. It was a good thing that he wasn't by the Dark Lord's side – he was certain that with the turbulence of emotions and thoughts within him, the Dark Lord would be able to navigate through his mind in a split second.

But there were just too many things to think about, too many things happening all at once. There was his mother, of course – he'd initially thought that he'd completely gotten over her death. But viewing the phial Hermione had given him made him realise that his grieving period was not yet over – it had never been over. He missed his mother more than ever, and the fissures of his heart had not quite glued themselves back together yet.

Then there was 17-65, which was gradually finding its place in the Order – but he knew for a fact that joining the bloody Order was completely out of the question. The four Slytherins just didn't belong; they never would, because they were not above using any of the Unforgivables if the situation called for it. Clearly, their ideals were vastly different.

Hermione was a different matter altogether. Slowly but surely, she was finding her way back to the person she used to be; although she'd made it clear to him on many occasions that she wasn't leaving him.

Pansy had secretly confided in Draco that even if Hermione regained back all her memories and regained the same aptitude she had in magic, Hermione would never be exactly the same way she once was. Something had shifted in all of them because of the war, and they'd all lost a bit of their old selves over the three years.

Hermione no longer seemed as quick to judge, but a part of him often wondered if she had the same strict moral compass that she'd always upheld during her Hogwarts years. There was always still that lingering unease he felt whenever he thought about how much she didn't know, and how much she'd hate him if she did. Draco had a strong sense of self-preservation and, naturally, feared many things, but Hermione hating him and leaving him had quickly become one of his greatest fears. And if –

"Draco?" He immediately wrenched himself from the labyrinth of his thoughts when he heard Hermione's voice. She was heading into the kitchen, her forehead furrowed in faint concern as she studied him. "Is everything alright?"

He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Yeah, just...thinking."

"The kettle's boiling."

He hadn't even noticed. "Right."

He stepped aside when she reached across him to turn off the fire. "Just because you're smart doesn't mean you have to keep thinking all the time."

He smirked at her offhanded compliment. "You think I'm smart?"

"Draco, when have I ever thought otherwise?"

"But in Hogwarts – "

"I thought you were insufferable," Hermione returned easily, grinning when he narrowed his eyes at her before turning back around to focus on making the tea. "But I've always thought that you were clever. I just didn't tell you that because I didn't think you needed an ego boost."

"And you think I need one now?"

"You think far less of yourself now than you did before, don't you?" She pointed out simply. And when he didn't reply, she turned to smile at him softly. "That's why you have me to remind you."

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The next morning, Draco stopped short at the sight of Ginny in the living room. She'd been difficult to handle the day before, and he hardly wanted her to start screaming her head off again. Andromeda was fixing Ginny's wounds, but they both glanced up at him. His aunt smiled. "Morning, Draco."

Draco mumbled an arbitrary greeting in reply. He'd never been a morning person. So when Ginny flashed him a blindingly bright smile, he almost fell over in shock. "Hello, Malfoy."

"What the fuck – "

"Language!"

"Teddy's not here, 'Dromeda."

"Oh," Andromeda looked almost sheepish as she cast a quick glance around the room before realising that Teddy was outside in the garden with Grus. "Well, play nice, Draco. And let me take this," she plucked the wand neatly from his grasp as she passed him on the way to the kitchen. "Just in case."

As soon as Andromeda left, Ginny gestured to the empty chair opposite. "Take a seat, Malfoy."

He didn't know what the redhead had up her sleeve. "Stop being so bloody nice to a Malfoy, Weaselette, it doesn't suit you."

"I figured I'd be a little nicer this time. I mean, you did save my life, after all."

"Oh, so that's what I was trying to do," Draco deadpanned. "I could've sworn I was trying to kill you."

"I wouldn't put it past you, Malfoy. We all know what a liability you are," she added, with a challenging glint in her eye. But then she offered a reconciliatory smile. "Verbal sparring aside, I just wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday. I was – " she paused, her smile wavering as a glimpse of a shadow crossed her face, " – almost going to give up. Almost."

Draco felt thoroughly uncomfortable with the gratitude laced in Ginny's voice, and he instinctively felt the need to snipe back with some form of retort. Which he did. "Less than three weeks of torturing and already on the brink of death?" He raised an eyebrow. "What about that tenacity you Gryffindors speak so highly of?"

She rolled her eyes. "Regardless, I still want to thank you."

He nodded and settled down on the chair. A short pause followed, until Ginny broke it. "So, is it true? You and three Death-Eaters defected and took care of Hermione? Andromeda told me that you guys have good intentions, but I'd much rather you explain to me."

"Why?"

"I might believe you if I heard it with my own ears."

"We're not here for you to believe," he shot back. "We're not here to prove ourselves to the bloody Order. Yes, we've defected. And yes, Granger's one of us now. Make of that what you will."

"You risked your lives for a mission that McGonagall set for you. Sounds a lot like proving to me."

He rolled his eyes. "You're just as insipid as your brother. We'd be proving ourselves to the Order if we tried to be good people. But we're bloody not. The four of us would use any Unforgivable if the situation called for it. I don't think McGonagall would be pleased if she knew how many Ministry members died just so we could save you yesterday."

"The Unforgivables." Ginny's eyes held a strange gleam in them. "So you weren't joking when you told my brother that you'd kill him if necessary?"

"I'd kill any of the Weasel family if the situation called for it – including and especially the Weasel himself," he added, his lips twisting into a smirk.

"You wouldn't."

He almost laughed at her optimism. Stupid Gryffindors and their wishful thinking that everyone was good. "Okay, Weaselette, think about this: You see an Order member in one of the old bases. You see him slip into saint Potter's room and leave with the Cloak of Invisibility. So you corner him and discover that he's working for a Death-Eater. If you send him back to the Dark Lord's army, he'll rat about being found out. If you erase his memories, he'll still be one of the Dark Lord's with that Mark on his arm. Either way, he'll be an Order member turned rogue. So what do you do?"

Ginny fell silent, but he knew that she finally understood him.

"You kill him," he finished. "I'm not asking you to use an Avada. I'm just saying that you have to understand why we do it. Granger does."

Ginny studied her fingers intently for a long moment before dragging a deep breath and looking up at him. "So, hypothetically," she started hesitantly, "if one were to – say, join your team...how would one go about it?"

He stared at her. "What?"

She shrugged. "I'm saying – I'd like to help with future missions. George told me how you planned it and I have to say that I'm pretty impressed that seven of you managed to pull this off so effectively. The Order's always been about full-frontal battles, but You-Know-Who's army's far too huge for us succeed."

"So you want to help us?" Draco repeated, still sounding rather disbelieving. Ginny Weasley actually wanted to join them? Merlin, he'd give anything to see Potter's and the Weasel's face right now.

"Why not? Besides – when it comes to the killing curse, I don't think I'm entirely against the use of it," she grinned when Draco's eyebrows rose. "I think there are more painful ways to go, and the Avada's possibly the quickest and least painful of all, don't you think?"

Draco couldn't agree more. If he had to pick a way to go, it had to be by an Avada.

He was about to speak when a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts and momentarily distracted him from the conversation. Hermione was awake and she had wandered into the kitchen to greet Andromeda. Draco stared at Hermione's bushy mane and oversized shirt (it was his) for a moment before turning back to Ginny, who was looking far more elated now at the sight of her old friend.

He turned to Ginny and asked in a low voice, "How much has 'Dromeda told you about Hermione?"

Ginny shrugged. "A little. George told me some things too. I'll be tactful, don't worry."

He rolled his eyes. "Just don't be an over-affectionate Gryffindor and you'll be fine."

"What is it with you and your hatred for Gryffindors?"

"I don't have a hatred for them – but Slytherins are better than Gryffindors, the same way pure-bloods are better than half-bloods or muggle-borns. It's a superiority complex."

"Ah, so you admit that it's a complex and not the truth," said Hermione, as she wandered into the living room. She didn't seem to notice Ginny. Instead, she settled down on the arm of his chair and handed his coffee to him.

"I'm not a complete prick, Granger, I can see where I went wrong," Draco mumbled into his coffee mug.

"Yes, that's definitely..." Hermione trailed off as she suddenly noticed the redhead in the room. "Oh, hello, Ginny."

Ginny didn't miss the way Hermione's hand slid down to grasp Draco's arm. Keeping her surprise at bay, Ginny smiled back at her old friend. "Hermione. It's great to see you again."

Draco felt almost awkward in the presence of Hermione and Ginny, the latter of whom was clearly one of Hermione's oldest and closest friends. He made to get up, but Hermione tightened her grip on him and shot him a desperate look, so his escaping plans immediately went out the window. So he simply made room in the chair and tried to ignore the flush heat of her body as she happily curled up beside him to talk to Ginny. Midway through, Hermione finished her portion of coffee and he automatically passed his mug to her.

Keeping one ear on the conversation, he summoned the Marauder's Map that George had left the day before. Even though George had revealed that it was an invention of Potter's father, Draco couldn't help but regard the Map with begrudging respect. It was clever, certainly. Maybe it could be replicated elsewhere.

Malfoy Manor, for instance, as well as the rest of the Dark Lord's bases. That way he could know where the Death-Eaters were at any point of time.

Yes, that seemed like a good idea. As the girls' conversation came to a close, he filed that thought aside to discuss with his friends later. He noticed that Hermione had been reserved; the conversation tense with awkward silences that Ginny had tried her best to fill.

The moment Theo came downstairs, Hermione excused herself and headed to the kitchen. Blaise and Pansy soon joined them. He stored the Map away and glanced over at Ginny, who was currently reading a book on Herbology. "Are you coming for breakfast?"

Ginny shook her head. "In a bit." He turned to leave but she waved out a hand to stop him, gesturing for him to take a seat and setting the book down beside her.

"So, Malfoy, tell me," she began and he absolutely loathed the gleam in her eye. "How long have you been in love with Hermione Granger?"

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"This is getting ridiculous," Theo said in the kitchen, as he scowled at the sight of Ginny in the living room talking to Draco. "Since when did this place become a safe-house for the Weasleys?"

"Aw, Theo," Pansy cooed, in a dramatic fashion, "you shouldn't say that about the Weasleys. After all, they're Gryffindors just like you, and Gryffindors are supposed to have very big, welcoming hearts."

Theo cast a Silencing charm on her in response, which she removed with a flick of her wrist.

"Theo's right, it is unnerving," Blaise agreed and turned to Hermione. "Red, did she say anything out of line to you?"

Andromeda chuckled as she leaned over to refill their mugs of coffee. "It's Ginny. I think she'd know her boundaries."

"I could hex her if she did," Theo quickly offered, "hexing Weasleys has got to be my favourite pastime."

Pansy snorted. "Well, if she did say anything out of line, I'd be happy to set things straight for you," she told Hermione.

"She didn't say anything out of line," Hermione explained, a faint smile glossing her lips in response to Pansy's words. "She just talked quite a bit about Harry and Ron, kind of like the way Luna used to when she first stayed with us, and I felt a little overwhelmed."

Theo laughed and stole a slice of bacon from Hermione, who simply smacked the back of his hand half-heartedly but let him have it. "Hey, now you know the way Draco and I used to feel! All everyone ever talked about back at Hogwarts was the three of you. Well, mostly Potter, but everyone adored the three of you."

Hermione laughed. "Is that why Draco was such a prat? Because he was jealous?"

"Oh – we all were," Blaise admitted. "It's one thing to have a deadlock rivalry with Gryffindor; another thing altogether to have the other two houses support Gryffindor at every quidditch match or every other competition."

"It was a shame, really," a sudden voice made them all whirl around in surprise, their mouths falling open as they saw Luna entering the kitchen with a breezy smile on her face. "I mean, it's not like the Slytherins could help which house they were sorted into. A lot of people thought Slytherins were bad just because all the worst people came from that house. But there're plenty of wonderful people from Slytherin too."

"Merlin, Luna!" Theo shook his head in disbelief. "Do you just apparate into any house you bloody fancy? Although, I do think your statement's valid. You're clearly one of the enlightened," he added, with a nod of approval.

Andromeda smiled at the blonde witch. "I have Luna come over often to update me on the Order."

"Yes, but this early in the morning? Didn't she just update us yesterday?" Pansy smirked at Luna. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're getting rather fond of us."

"Oh, I am," Luna replied matter-of-factly, staring round the kitchen with a placid air about her. "I quite like this place. Feels like a proper home."

The others smiled at her and Andromeda laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You're quite welcome to stay here, Luna," the older woman offered graciously, "I have several other rooms and I can clear out one of them for you. Perhaps the one on the second floor. I don't think Hermione's using that much."

Hermione promptly blushed at the knowing look on Andromeda's face. "I do use it," she insisted weakly, amidst the chuckles of the other Slytherins. The truth was, she hardly found any use of it, because going to sleep next to Draco had become a nightly routine for her. With him, the nightmares were kept at bay. With him, she felt safe.

"Sure you do, Red," Blaise grinned. "Sure you do."

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