I can’t hide forever.



Draco Malfoy thought desperately as he trudged on through the grounds of the now empty school he had once attended. Memories flooded through him as he looked up towards the castle; memories of his last night there. He had been stupid to take on the task and he blew it, just like his father had blown his last task for the Dark Lord.



I have to go back. I deserve whatever is coming to me.



He has three options; to go back to the Dark Lord to hope and beg for a second chance; run away like a coward and living in fear for the rest of his life; or plead for forgiveness from the Order of the Phoenix and beg for help. Draco had never been good at making choices; someone else had always been there to make them for him up until last summer.



Last summer he had made his first independent choice; a choice that led him straight to the predicament he was currently suffering in. With his father in Azkaban, Draco had been determined to convince the Dark Lord the Malfoy family was not weak. The Dark Lord offered Draco a task no other dared to take on. Ambitious to prove he was worthy, he accepted the task without even considering the consequences.



Draco knew now he had been naïve to believe he could possibly succeed. He was to kill the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, the only person the Dark Lord ever feared. He had come so close, but the headmaster had offered him a choice as well.



He had been presented with the possibility of another option; to live without having to kill. But Draco couldn’t trust himself to choose. His last decision had cost him a lot, what if he did it wrong again?



It was this hesitation that had taken the choice from him. Another group of Death Eaters had arrived in the tower where he had the headmaster cornered and defenseless, followed shortly by Professor Snape. Snape, who had always considered Draco too weak to complete the job, had finished off Dumbledore without hesitation.



I failed. He has no sympathy… I’m going to be killed.



He turned away from the castle and looked around the grounds. Near the lake he could see the white tomb shimmering. Draco hadn’t attended the funeral. He had been in hiding from both his master and the Ministry. He knew the Dark Lord would be angry, but the Ministry was questionable. They knew he was the son of a Death Eater, but they did not believe he was one. It was doubtful that they believed Voldemort would accept a seventeen year old into his army.



As Draco neared the tomb he knew what he had to do. Dumbledore could not give him the protection he had once offered. He would have to go back. If he didn’t he would surely be tortured and killed. Draco swiftly turned on his heels and fled the grounds, apparating as soon as he exited the gates.



When he arrived at the Malfoy Manor he could tell it had already been searched by the Death Eaters. Looking around he could see over turned furniture, ripped curtains and broken dinner plates. The house elves must have ran, because they were nowhere among the rubbish. The Death Eaters were looking for him.



The mark on his left arm suddenly burned sharply. The Dark Lord was calling his followers; if he returned now he would surely be tormented. He would have to wait. Draco went up stairs to his now torn apart bedroom and laid down on his once comfy bed, instantly falling asleep, his arm still itching with pain.



Little more than an hour later, Draco was torn from his dreamless sleep by a loud popping noise.



“Knew you’d return home sooner or later,� his aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange spoke harshly from behind her mask pulling the hood of her cloak down. “Master would like to see you. There’s no need for disguise,� she added in a wicked tone.



Draco climbed out of his bed, his breathing becoming very shallow. This was it, the moment he had been dreading ever since the night he fled. He would have to face it. With two loud pops he and Bellatrix apparated to the Riddle house.



The Dark Lord was sitting in a chair, apparently waiting for them. Draco automatically dropped to one knee and bowed his head. “Master I–�



“Now Draco,� hissed the cold voice of the Dark Lord. “Do you really think I called you here to hear you pitiful excuses? Excuses do not make up for mistakes!� His master’s voice dropped from a high pitched shouting to almost a whisper. “Bellatrix here has convinced me to give you a second chance. It is rare that I allow such things, but I am sure you should be able to manage to prove your worth.� Voldemort continued calmly as though the last two months had meant nothing. “You are to capture for me, Ginny Weasley. She is close to Harry Potter and may be of some use to me.� He smiled wickedly and Draco feared his next words. “But, before you go, Draco… CRUCIO!�



Draco collapsed forward as he was hit with the curse, spreading agony through out his entire body. It was pain beyond what he had ever felt before. He had been the target of the Cruciatus Curse before, but never from the Dark Lord, whose power is far stronger than most wizards.



When the pain had subsided he had barely enough strength to stand once more and leave the room with his aunt. They walked down the hall into an empty room.



“Now that wasn’t too bad, was it Draco?� Bella grinned as though she were satisfied. Draco, who had regained enough of his strength, shot her nothing more than a glance of contempt before disapparating from the house.



Once again outside the Hogwarts grounds, Draco began to think. Would he complete the task? Should he seek out the Order and request protection?



I need a plan…



He again was faced with three choices; sticking with the Dark Lord; hiding with the Order; or running. He knew Voldemort would be able to find him no matter what he had protecting or hiding him. He would have to complete the new task.



There were two main possibilities for capturing her; to simply kidnap her or to trick her into coming with him.



Trick her…



His mind pondered on the idea for a moment. The new school year would be beginning in a week. If he could convince her to trust him, maybe over the school year he could get her to leave the school with him and he could take her to his master. It was his best option.



Gain her trust… Draco thought.



But how? The entire student body had probably figured out he was involved in Dumbledore’s death. Potter had seen him flee, but what else did he know? Then it dawned on him… the time in the bathroom.



He knew the Dark Lord was angry with me…



Maybe Draco could convince Potter and his friends he needed someplace to hide!



With a loud crack he apparated back to the Malfoy Manor to prepare for his plan.





* * *

“How can he not be coming back with us!� Ginny moaned as she finished packing her robes into her school trunk.



“Harry’s got other things he needs to worry about right now, Ginny. I expect he’ll return to school when he’s done,� Hermione said. “We’d better get to bed. We don’t want to miss the train tomorrow.� She turned out the light and got into her bed.



“Hermione! How can you be so calm?� Ginny questioned, but Hermione ignored her. The redhead shook her head, slammed her trunk closed and climbed into bed, not even the least bit tired.



Thoughts floated through Ginny’s head. Why had Ron and Hermione come back without Harry? Did they choose to leave him or did he tell them to go back, just like he had told her not to come? After what seemed like hours of pondering, Ginny fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.



* * *



“Ginny! Get up! We have to leave soon!� Hermione shook her shoulders gently as she awoke.



“Huh?� Ginny said groggily.



“You need to get dressed. Your mum has some toast and porridge ready for you when you get downstairs. Everybody else has already finished eating!� Hermione clarified as she turned around and grabbed Ginny’s trunk. “I’ll take this downstairs for you,� she added exiting the room and closing the door behind her.



Slowly, Ginny got up and crossed the room to her small dresser and pulled out an outfit. She took as long as she dared to get dressed and head downstairs, her mind returning to Harry. When am I going to see him again?



“Oh, Ginny dear, eat fast! We have to leave very soon,� her mother’s voice interrupted her thoughts as she entered the kitchen. “There’s some more marmalade in the cupboard if you want it.� Mrs. Weasley was rushing around the room, cleaning up after Ron and Hermione’s breakfasts.



Ginny ate hurriedly, without even tasting the peach marmalade she has absent mindedly spread on her toast, and then joined Ron and Hermione in the living room. (They were planning on traveling by Floo powder to Platform Nine and Three-quarters.) Mrs. Weasley scurried into the room only seconds later.



“Alright,� she said, “Ginny, you go first!�



Ginny grabbed her trunk and some powder from the pot next to the fireplace. Stepping into the fireplace, she threw the powder to the ground and clearly stated, “Platform Nine and Three-quarters!� She spun for a few seconds before she appeared in a fireplace at the train station.



Pulling her trunk, she walked forward onto the platform to wait for the others. Hermione came first, coughing and sputtering from the smoke, then Ron, his red hair covered in soot and ashes, and finally their mum.



“C’mon. We should probably find a compartment…� Ron said in a slightly depressed tone. It would be his first ride on the Hogwarts Express without Harry, a ride he had never expected to take since his first year at Hogwarts. The three students said their grim good-byes to Mrs. Weasley and each gave her an embracing hug in turn.



The train was considerably more empty than usual; many students and their parents had decided not to return to the school without Dumbledore. They chose an empty compartment in the middle of the train and heaved their trunks into the luggage rack. Nobody spoke and soon the train was pulling out of the station.



Not a single person visited them in their compartment all morning, until the witch who pushed the food trolley came by to ask if they would like to buy anything at about 1:15 in the afternoon. Hermione purchased some cauldron cakes, which they all silently munched on. Little more than an hour later, they heard footsteps outside their cabin, and when the door slowly creaked open Neville Longbottom peeked inside.



“Oh, good, I’m not the only Gryffindor in the year that came back!� he stated, entering the compartments and looking around at the three of them. “Harry’s busy I suppose?� he asked, the slight smile that had drawn upon his face when he saw them disappeared as he spoke.



“’s not coming back,� Ron said gloomily, looking out the window. “Not until he’s gone… Not until everybody’s safe…� Ginny could see a tear slowly trail its way down her brother’s cheek and felt like crying herself.



Neville stayed with them the rest of the ride journey to Hogwarts, but nobody said another word. They changed into their robes when they were almost to the Hogsmeade station, and upon arriving they left the cabin and got inside one of the thestral drawn carriages waiting for them. Ginny sat next to one of the windows and peering out into the darkness, could see there were far less carriages being filled with students than in previous years.



When they got to the school the Great Hall barely had a fourth of the amount of students it would normally be holding. The usual chatter cluttering the area was unusually hushed and worried sounding.



“I don’t expect for there to be many first years this year…� Hermione’s voice faded as they all looked around.



* * *



The Start of Term Feast should be beginning about now… Draco was lying on his bed thinking over his plan again. I should start in about a week He was tired, and he still had to re-think over some of the smallest details of the plan. Sick of thinking, he rolled over on his side and fell asleep within half an hour.



* * *



“I’m so relieved Professor McGonagall is still teaching Transfiguration!� Hermione said over breakfast the next morning. “I could swear we’d never pass our N.E.W.T.s without her…�



“Yeah… I just think it’s great that Hagrid’s taking over as our new House Head,� Ron said, swallowing a bite of his scrambled eggs.



“Um… I’d better be going…� Ginny said in a small voice, attempting to smile softly. “I have Defense Against the Dark Arts.�



“Oh, that should be fun, especially with Tonks teaching!� Hermione smiled as Ginny got up and left the table.
Yes, it should be fun, she thought bitterly.



Throughout all of her classes Ginny was distracted. Her mind kept wondering back to Harry, on his mission to destroy Voldemort. She wanted to help him, but would it be a good idea to leave Hogwarts? She didn’t want to make a rash decision. The first week of her N.E.W.T. studies went by without her even noticing.



* * *



I hope this works. With the usual pop, Draco Apparated just outside the Hogwarts grounds, near the Forbidden Forest. All he needed to do was simply wait for one of Potter’s friends to go for a walk on the grounds, alone.



He didn’t have to wait long.



* * *