Beginning at the End ⏃ Dramione

Chapter 20: Pariah

Ron glared at Draco, who was still standing on the doorstep outside in the haze of rain. He held Hermione behind him as he reached for his wand, but Draco was quicker.

"I'm not here to kill you, Weasley, else you'd be dead by now."

Ron froze with a scowl on his face at the threat of Malfoy's wand pointing at him.

Hermione was taken aback, having expected to find some of the older Order members here, rather than Ron. She quickly scrambled to pull in front of him, explaining, "Ron, he's a defector. He saved me from the manor when I was hurt."

Ron glared over Hermione's shoulder down toward Draco in disbelief. Just then, Harry came thumping down a stairway and rushed to the door, "Hermione?"

"HARRY!"

Hermione pushed past Ron to embrace Harry, elated to have found them both alive. "We've been looking for you, but we didn't know what happened to you! Are you both okay?"

Harry began, "Yes, luckily we were, wait... did you say we? Are there others?"

Harry looked up to Ron, and noticed his attention was elsewhere outside. Looking further, he finally noticed the blond hair peeking just past Ron's shoulder.

"Hermione! What's he doing here?!"

Impatiently, Draco crossed his arms, his hair becoming more damp from the rain. Hermione turned away from Harry, making her way back to the entrance where the two brooding boys stood at an impasse.

She pulled on Ron's shoulder in an attempt to stop him from blocking the doorway, where he prevented Draco coming inside.

"I know this may be unbelievable, but Draco is a defector. Bellatrix was-" She glanced back at Draco and then toward Harry and Ron again, "He saved me."

Hermione could tell that Ron was not going to be easily swayed. Harry looked to Ron for his reaction, then to Hermione, before finally landing suspiciously on Draco, "You? Why would you do that?"

Draco glanced toward Hermione, then down at the step where he stood. Thinking it would be wise to avoid too many details until Hermione could explain further, he only answered, "I didn't want to be part of it anymore."

Hermione turned to Ron to see if he would release his stance, but instead he stood strong as if Draco's answer was not enough. She placed her hand on his arm, "Please, Ron, let him in. We'll explain more. There are no tricks here."

Hesitantly, Ron moved aside to allow him through, never letting Draco leave his sight. Hermione headed inside straight away, as Draco took a wary step up to the threshold.

As he rose higher into the warmth of the house, Ron took a confrontational step closer to him. Draco faced him with a bored expression, purposely colliding their shoulders as he shoved past him and into the house. He could feel Potter's eyes on him as he sauntered into the wide living room and approached a long table near the warmth of the fireplace. Scanning the room, he noted that there was a small kitchen at one end of the open space and a door that looked like it led into another room on the opposite side. A small staircase presumably led to a second floor. He could only assume there was no extension charm here and that the small wooden cottage was as large as he could see.

Ron looked over to Harry, "You seem calm. You're okay, now that Draco Malfoy just slithered into our safe house, are you?"

Harry glared over at Draco, knowing that he was listening. "Well, he's a coward, and cowards like to run. So, no, I'm not surprised, Ron."

Draco turned, gripping his wand. Noticing trouble brewing, Hermione made sure to stand between them, though it did not stop Draco from challenging, "You think you understand, don't you, Potter?"