THE GREAT HALL WAS STIRRING. The sight of Draco Malfoy sitting in the company of Luna Lovegood had the four tables whispering with gossip. And if it wasn't shocking enough to see the two students interacting, it only seemed odder with Draco sharing a laugh with her and his brother. Among the shocked crowd, Fred and George didn't know what to make of the scene.

"Georgie, did I somehow fall into a coma and only just woke up in time for our birthday?" Fred asked as he peered into the Great Hall first.

George gave him a look that clearly gave his brother the answer that "no" Fred hadn't just woken from a coma in time for their birthday.

"What are you going on about, Freddie?"

"Well, I figured it just had to be the first of April, what else would be the explanation for seeing Draco Malfoy in the company of Luna Lovegood? There must be something in the air."

Just as George was about to tell Fred that he was full of dragon dung when he got a full glimpse of the scene as well. But he could clearly see that Saros was among the two of them, looking awfully pleased.

"Are you two just going to crowd the entranceway or are you actually going to go inside?" a voice sounded from behind, causing the two to jump.

Quickly spinning around, the twins saw Angelina standing before them. When they made no attempts to move, she folded her arms and let out a sigh.

"Why do I feel like you two are up to no good right now?"

"It's not us that are up to something," Fred told her. "In fact, we only arrived just a couple of minutes ago to witness Draco Malfoy sitting with Luna Lovegood."

Angelina rolled her eyes with a loud scoff, only to see it for herself when the twins parted to allow her to see what they were referring to. She remained still for a moment, wondering if her eyes were actually deceiving her, only until she spotted Saros.

"Did you know that they were on speaking terms again?" George asked Angelina. "Last I remember, Saros realised what his family had done and wanted nothing to do with them."

"But it's Draco," Angelina replied, " Saros would do anything for him. Do you two remember who was at the bottom of the lake last year? He doesn't want Draco to go down that same path."

"Fine, Saros makes sense, but how did it go from the Malfoys manipulating Saros, to Draco sharing breakfast with Saros and Luna?"

She wasn't buying the idea of it either. Saros came from an extremely prejudiced family, one that liked to toss around the word "mudblood" so casually and Draco had never hidden the fact that he was one of them. She had never heard any of the slurs come from Saros' mouth, making it easier for her to believe that deep down, Saros always knew that his family was wrong. However, Angelina had a harder time believing that Draco was capable of turning a leaf so easily. And apparently, she wasn't alone.

"What if this is part of a plan again?" George whispered to the two. "His family spent the summer trying to convince Saros that we were the bad people. That obviously failed so why not send someone to do the work from the inside?"

"That sounds about right," Fred agreed, " Draco has always been malicious and backhanded, just like their father. Then, overnight he decides he's going to buddy up with Luna. I don't believe it for a second."

Angelina nodded her head. "I think you two are right, the Malfoys are definitely up to something."

Saros could hear the whispering around him in the Great Hall, but was doing his best to ignore it. He had to remain unbothered to show Draco that everything was going to be alright. People could talk all they wanted without fully understanding what was taking place, however, Draco needed all the support he could get at the moment. Thankfully, there was no hesitation on Luna's behalf, but he wasn't entirely sure how it was going to go over with the others.

Over the years of attending Hogwarts, Draco had been plenty vocal about his blood status beliefs. People wouldn't forget that so easily, at least with Saros, he was quiet, more often than not, leaving others without something to use against him. But he held onto hope that his friends and their other family members would be as open and accepting like Luna. And it seemed he was on his way to finding out everyone's feelings as he spotted Angelina and the twins near the entrance.

As soon as he made eye contact with Angelina, she motioned him over. Saros looked over to Draco, who had retreated to sitting quietly after the laughing had died down at the table. He avoided all eye contact, even with Luna, staring at his plate, lost in his thoughts. Saros knew his little brother was facing an internal battle, one that wasn't going to go away overnight.

Currently, Draco was just thankful to be in the company of his brother once more, having Saros to talk to without fighting. But that didn't guarantee that things would remain as such. The pressure would come when Draco's former friends would ostracize him, attempt to make him feel alone. Their parents would probably try similar tactics in order to scare Draco into listening to them again.

If Draco felt as though he didn't have the support system, Saros didn't think his brother would be strong enough and Saros didn't believe that he was enough to keep Draco away from the darkness.

"Listen," he said to Draco as he stood up, " I need to go talk to Angelina about something. I'll be right back though."

Before Saros could even think about taking another step, Draco grabbed the sleeve of his robe and held him in place. "You're going to leave me? With her?"

Once again, his tone wasn't malicious, but rather full of fear and anxiety around the idea of being left alone with Luna. His friends like Pansy, Goyle, and Crabbe were practically trained from childhood to go along with whatever Draco said and even laugh at everything he said. But outside of that small circle, Draco was a social mess.

"I won't be long, " Saros told him, " I promise. Just talk to Luna, I promise she makes great conversation."

Pulling his sleeve out of his brother's grasp, Saros managed to leave the table. And even though he looked absolutely panicked, Draco remained seated, looking across the table at Luna. She looked up from the book that was settled in her lap and offered a smile in his direction. He didn't know what to say at all in terms of a conversation starter and there weren't any oranges left for him to peel.

"I knew something good was going to happen today," Luna said, taking the initiative to start the conversation.

Draco raised a brow but his expression remained flat. "Why did you see it in your tea leaves?" he responded in a mocking manner.

"No." Luna shook her head. "My mother told me."

"Uh..."

Now Draco was really wishing his brother hadn't left him alone. How the hell was he supposed to respond to what Luna had said? Her mother had told her?

"Isn't your mother dead?"

Smooth, Draco, real smooth.

Saros approached Angelina and the twins, already noting that none of the three were smiling.

"Is something wrong?" he questioned. "You three look like you've stepped in hippogriff sh-"

"Saros," Angelina interjected, " just what exactly is going on? Draco is sitting with you...and Luna? You're suddenly on speaking terms?"

"Look, I know it all seems sudden and that's because it is, but for good reason. Draco and I had it out and I think he's coming to an understanding. He's at least willing to try to see where I'm coming from."

She shook her head. "Don't you think that's a little suspicious, Saros? I mean, after what your family did to you over the summer, even before that. And suddenly, Draco wants to join you. Don't you find that a bit odd?"

"I see what you're saying, trust me, I do," he said, " I don't expect you to fully understand everything right away. But Draco, he wants things to be better for our family. He's willing to try, he just needs a little support right now. That's where we all come in-"

"I'm sorry, but did you say we?" Fred interrupted. " Draco needs our support? I don't think so. It was one thing that you became a good friend to us, Saros, but your brother, no."

Saros frowned. "What's the difference?" he asked. "We've come from the same family, the same household. Why support me and not him?"

"There's a difference!" Fred snapped. " You might have shared those beliefs but at least you didn't go out of your way to preach them. You didn't go around calling people mudbloods. But he did. He's done nothing, but harass our little brother since he started at this school. He's bullied plenty of other students. He and your father have taunted our family for years. Your father has made our father miserable at every chance, your brother has acted no different. So you want to stand there and ask what's the difference??"

"Fred!" Angelina smacked his arm. "Calm down!"

Before Saros could even argue that Fred was being unfair about the situation, he wasn't given the chance as Fred left taking George with him. It was a rare occurrence to see either of the twins upset, let alone angry. And while there was truth to Fred's words, and Fred's anger over the mistreatment of his family was valid it still angered Saros that his little brother wasn't going to be given the same chance.

"I can't believe him," Saros muttered, " I wasn't asking them to kiss Draco's arse, I was just asking them to give him a chance."

He turned to Angelina, expecting her to agree but she glanced at the floor for a moment.

"What? You don't think he deserves a second chance either?"

"It's not that, Saros," she said. "It's more like I don't trust Draco's intentions right now. After what your family did to you over the summer, there's no telling what they will do to get you back. This could all be some trick to get you to trust them again and then have them get inside of your head."

"It's not like that-"

"How do you know that, Saros?! Honestly, how could you? Just a month ago, you didn't even know your own name or who you were. That was your family's doing-"

"That was Voldemort's doing!" he snapped at her. " And regardless of what my family's affiliation has been in the past or present, Draco is not my father or my mother. He is in the same position that I was in. Since the time we are born, we are spoon-fed our beliefs. It's been happening for generations-"

"You managed to break away from it all. You did so without anyone holding your hand through it-"

"And it wasn't easy! It wasn't easy with support, imagine how difficult it would be without any. You see, it's people like you and Fred, that want people to change, you want people to change their beliefs. But at the first sign that they do so, you question it. You tell them that they can never change, there must be something they're doing wrong. So what is it that you want? What do you all want?"

"Saros, we want you to be happy-"

"Happy? That's what you want for me to be happy?" Saros repeated. "Well, you know what, my family made me happy. I didn't agree with everything they did, but I loved them and they made me happy. I have fond memories with Draco, I don't have any with you as of right now."

"Was that supposed to hurt my feelings?" Angelina asked as she gritted her teeth. "I can't believe you would just throw that at my face."

Running his hands through his hair, Saros let out a heavy sigh. " I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm trying to make you understand. He's my brother...my little brother and I will do as much as I can for him. If it blows up in my face, so be it. But at least I can say that I tried, that I was there for him. Imagine if I wasn't and I could have been the one to save him."

"Fine, you can support him, but don't expect everyone else to jump on the support train for Draco."

Angelina watched as Saros' face twisted with what appeared to be pain. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry but she felt as though she was right and so was Fred. In a perfect world, Draco could turn a new leaf and everyone would be fine. But in the world they were living in, there were hurt feelings and an ugly past that made it difficult for such a smooth transition.

"The lot of you don't understand what it's like leaving that world behind," Saros said to her quietly. "Leaving everything you know, all the people you love, and moving on like they don't exist. For generations, everyone in my family has been told the same thing from the time they are young. These are the people you trust with your life. I trusted my parents beyond everything when I was younger. I knew without question that they would lay down their lives for mine without question. They wanted me happy and I wanted them to be happy, I wanted them to be proud of me."

"Saros-"

"And then came the point when I knew that I couldn't make them proud and I wouldn't make them happy. You lose all support. You lose everything and you take a leap into the unknown, hoping that someone will be there to help you when you hit rock bottom. Some will be lucky, others find themselves alone. And when you find yourself alone, what do you do? You try to find your way back to the time where you felt loved."

"That's not love, that's manipulation."

"It's all we know in the beginning until others show us differently."