This Is War

Unsuspected Shades of Purple

Draco hadn't known where exactly they were taking him when the Hogwarts Express had come to a stop. He'd been looking out the window of the compartment when they were stilled; they arrived at the familiar platform they'd step foot to every year since they were eleven and he rose out of his seat automatically, following the crowd of people. He had stood frozen for a moment, looking at the place that sat before him, filled with people the Ministry considered to be on their side, protecting their children. No one buzzed with excitement, no one buzzed with chatter or cries of happy reunions between family members. No, there hadn't been any of that—just people whispering and looking ill-eased. 

After he'd been bumped into by several people because of his lack of moment, Draco had been about to move when someone reached for his hand and started tugging him away.

He had been about to protest, about to tell one of those Aurors that he had done nothing wrong, that he hadn't meant to cause any threat, that he was innocent, but then he'd caught sight of the back of Harry Potter's unruly hair, his hand clutching his.

Potter had moved fast between the people in the platform, their lingering eyes, their whispers of support, and the watchful and full presence of the Ministry. Although Draco was trailing behind Boy Wonder, he'd still been able to see an aggressive frown on his face, a distrusting look behind his glasses as he pulled him to a mass of redheads.

Draco had been close to ask what the hell was going on, why were they all gathered in a corner, or who these other misfits he didn't recognize were protecting them as they stood in a circle. He had been silenced of his questions when Potter tugged his hand again, putting it on a wheel that everyone had been clutching as well. 

One, two, three, and the object had begun to glow and he'd been spun.

The atmosphere had been twisted and swirled and he had the sensation he was going to die, but he was stabilized by Potter's arms and then released. He'd been inhaling like all the air of his lungs had been puffed out of him when he noticed the entire guard of the Chosen One was standing in front of muggle homes. He'd raised an eyebrow, wondering what they were doing there.

"Come on, let's go inside," Potter had said to him, nudging to the buildings.

Draco had been about to protest, but, in mid blink, he  saw something that wasn't there before. The muggle homes had expanded; another building came out and spewed magic at him as Potter's followers marched inside and ushered them both in with urgency.

He had been shoved through the door by Potter when he'd noticed how old, dark, and cold the house was. He'd taken a curious step further into the home, seeing a few strange objects, but with the same haste they'd been moving him, someone grabbed his elbow and tugged him away; his eye barely caught sight of a symbol on the wall that he'd recognized from somewhere.

"....take us as idiots!" Bang. "You know perfectly well that the Ministry has been infiltrated, Remus! You've to talk to Kingsley about this!"

As he'd been trying to process everything that he had just been put through for the past few hours, Draco Malfoy blinked and refocused himself back into the present. He was sitting in an old chair next to a Weasley twin, silence among everyone else on the table as Potter shouted. He was still a little dazed, but was quickly reminded of where he was when he looked down at his lap and saw those soft and fragile hands that belonged to the Brightest Witch of the Age.

"Harry," the werewolf sighed, his eyes looking tired, "we cannot put Kingsley into any situation where his position can be compromised. He's a great Auror, and an even better spy. If we begin to have him move things around for our complete benefit, they'll come after him. We can't lose him now."