The Grangers

I hovered in the shadows outside our home and watched through the windows as my parents packed away all our belongings.

Well, their belongings.

I had thought to remove all traces of me. As far as they were concerned, their names were Wendell and Monica Wilkins, a childless couple who had the sudden desire to relocate to the other side of the world.

I had done it, of course, to save them from the Death Eaters - of whom would surely target my parents the second it was clear I was fighting alongside Harry. And I had done it, also, to make sure that I could go to war and know that they wouldn't be heartbroken if I never came back.

Just like what Draco had done to me.

I closed my eyes. It was difficult to understand, difficult to know what I was missing when he had Obliviated my memories. But I was missing something, I felt it in my heart every morning I woke up, and carried it around with me all day.

And I had the flashbacks, of course... moments to hold onto. I knew I had loved him - loved him very much, in fact. If I recalled fully what we had, then would it feel worse? Would the pain of being apart from him be too unbearable to want to fight?

Perhaps he had done me a favour, after all.

Using the Disillusionment Charm on myself - which I had managed to perfect - I followed my parents to the airport and watched as they boarded the aeroplane. I needed to be certain, needed to know that they had indeed set off safely to Australia to start their new, albeit false, lives.

"Love you, Mum... love you, Dad," I whispered as I watched the plane become a tiny dot and eventually disappear into the skies.

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I tightly clutched the beaded bag which contained everything I'd need to go to war, and Disapparated away.

*****

The Malfoys

"A meeting? What kind of meeting?"

Draco couldn't hide the telltale tremor in his voice. He felt sick and wished Voldemort would quit using the Manor as headquarters. It meant he could not even feel safe in his own home.

How he longed to be back in his room at Hogwarts, with Hermione in his arms. What he should have done was hold onto her a little tighter, kissed her a minute longer, and never ever have taken a single second of their time together for granted.

His mother took a deep breath, and he saw the anguish in her eyes, saw that she was hating this situation just as much as he was.

"He says it's imperative that you attend," she explained slowly, her voice a tremble, "that part of the... surprise is for you."

Draco felt the room around him tilt and he had to take a few steadying breaths to calm himself. The last 'surprise' Voldemort had presented to him had involved a very painful tattoo.

"He- he's going to punish me, isn't he?" he stuttered, his chest tightening in panic. "For not being able to kill Dumbledore... for being a coward-"

"Now you listen to me, Draco," his mother said firmly, her eyes sparking in defiance, "you are not a coward for not being able to kill. You were placed in an impossible situation, and under the circumstances, I, for one, think you showed extreme bravery for-"

"Bravery?!" Lucius barked sharply, his voice alone making Draco wince. "Don't make me laugh, woman. The boy's a wimp. Soft in the head. And this is our punishment, having to give up our beautiful home all because the boy is too weak to perform a simple Killing Curse."

His words cut Draco deep, although he tried desperately not to show it. He was reminded of Hermione's last words to him. Nothing but a weak, pathetic coward. It's what everyone thought of him. Everyone but his mother, who was blinded by maternal love, so it really didn't count.

"Dumbledore was his headteacher!" Narcissa snapped, "a man whom he had known for six years, a man who had pretty much taken our son into his care and under his wing! And Draco was supposed to just extinguish his life like it was nothing?!"

"Yes! Because that's what being a Death Eater is all about. There is no room for sentimental twaddle. That's what gets you killed."

"He didn't want to be a Death Eater! That, Lucius, is all on you!"

Draco zoned out as his parents continued to bicker. It had been this way ever since his father had come home from Azkaban. His mother was mad at his father and his father was mad at his disappointment of a son.

What would Lucius think, Draco thought wryly, if he knew that he was in love with a Muggle-born? It would probably tip him right over the edge... perhaps even kill him.

Draco thought about that piece of paper hidden safely in his bedroom. The piece of paper he'd picked up from the sofa in his Hogwarts room and stowed away on his person before he let the Death Eaters into the castle.

He hadn't been ready then, wanting to try his best for his mother. But now he was home, he was biding his time, waiting until the dead of night to attempt the spell to remove his Dark Mark. But it was proving difficult, the magic far too complex even for him, and there were no instructions on wand movements, so he tried different ways each and every time.

If he succeeded, he would take his mother with him, use Imperio if he had to. And then he'd go in search of her, of his Hermione, and help her regain his trust and maybe even her memories.

Of course, this was all dependent on whether or not he would survive this meeting.

Which he did... but he had to watch as Hermione's favourite teacher got eaten by a snake on his family's dining table.

He needed to get out, and he needed to get out fast.

*****