The Brave at Heart

Chapter 28: The Ministry of Magic

It was Draco who eventually put it all together. Their stay at Grimmauld Place began promptly after the attack on Tottenham Court Road. How the Death Eaters managed to find them so quickly was still unknown. It worried Draco greatly. And, even though Grimmauld place was heavily fortified and hidden, Draco was still terrified the Death Eaters were going to find them there.

And while Draco believed he could have determined all of this on his own, he knew that Remus Lupin and Hermione were partially to blame for this. As it happened, Lupin appeared on their doorstep only a few days after Bill's wedding with the news that everyone was alright after the attack. He pleaded with them, claiming he believed he should join their mission.

But the four friends could see there was something off about him.

With the right amount of coaxing, they were able to ascertain the reason for his actions. Tonks was pregnant. And Lupin wanted to walk away from that. Instantly taking Tonks' side, Draco was more than displeased with his former professor. He was glad when Harry practically threw Lupin out of the house.

Hermione, on the other hand, did not see things the way Harry and Draco did.

"Harry!" she exclaimed after Remus stormed out. "How could you? How could you speak to him that way!"

"I think he got off easy," Draco interjected, his hand firmly gripping the wand in his hand. Tonks was his cousin. She had been there for Draco. He even attended their wedding. It was despicable for Lupin to even think about walking out on Tonks and her unborn baby.

Nevertheless, Hermione sent Draco a patronizing glare. "He shouldn't have talked to Remus like that!" she snapped at him. Harry was physically shaking with anger beside her.

"Parents shouldn't leave their kids unless – unless they've got to," Harry informed her. The anger he felt at it all was clear on his face. But Hermione was not having any of it. Each of them respected Lupin, looked up to him.

"He said he could protect us! He said he could help us and we wouldn't even have to tell him what Dumbledore's asked us to do," Hermione reasoned. Draco took a step towards them, crossing his arms as he stood next to Harry.

"So, you would have him walk away from Tonks?" Draco demanded.

"I'm not saying that, I'm saying we're in over our heads–"

"Granger, that man doesn't deserve Tonks if he's even thinking about leaving her!"

"They'll work it out!"

"Not if he's on the run with us!" bellowed Harry. Anger flashed through Hermione. She opened her mouth to retaliate, only for Ron to step in.

"Stop it! We shouldn't fight!" Harry, Hermione, and Draco glared at Ron before retreating to various corners of the room.

Draco hated arguing with Hermioen, but he knew that he and Harry were in the right about this. Though, Harry was harsh in the words he spoke to Lupin. He had called the man a coward, claimed he was trying to be Sirius, and that he did not really know Harry's parents. Perhaps, Harry was right, but he should not have said it. The old man just looked betrayed and hurt.

Hopefully, Remus would return to Tonks and sort all of this out. He really should not have abandoned her in the first place.

As he continued to ignore Hermione, more out of spite and pride than real anger, he took up the book Dumbledore had left for him. Up until this point, Draco knew most of the history contained in the pages. He was surprised to find, however, that he was not the first Malfoy to have been placed in Gryffindor. In fact, many of the Malfoys originally started in Gryffindor house. But, as Pureblood pride grew, the Malfoys rapidly fled the house. Only one Malfoy remained in Gryffindor house in the last 150 years. His ancestor was only briefly mentioned, as he ran off with a Muggle-born from the Ravenclaw house. His full name was not even in the book.