AN: Thank you and welcome to Answers. This was my first shot at a Fanfiction and I thank you all for the support. This was never supposed to be as large as it has become and once again I have all of you clicking on this chapter to thank. Please know this ends openly, ready for a continuation in the next story Refutation. If you've come from there then welcome, if you're new to me, also welcome.

I hope you enjoy.

The sun shone through the cracks in the windows drapes and onto her eyes, she knew the morning would be coming, the internal alarm clock she had been cursed with had left her tossing and turning for most of the early morning. Groaning she threw the thin blankets over her eyes and scorned the snores of the lucky one of her sleeping friends scattered on the floor around the room, they had spent the night catching up and breathing again. Harry had arrived that previous night back to Grimmauld Place, she had spent most of the Summer here and at the Burrow, worrying with Ron and the other Weasley clan about the whereabouts of her previously missing friend. They had spent the night in a cheerful bliss when his belongings arrived before he did, the weight they had all been carrying in the dingy house seemed to be lifted with the presence of a suite case on the foyer.

Flipping the cover off herself she carefully, painfully, pried her legs out from underneath the red headed female sleeping on the other end of the couch and sitting up stretched her arms above her head. Trying to bring some life into her sore muscles. Standing she tiptoed her way out of the room and followed her nose to the kitchen. Molly Weasley had out done herself this morning, mumbling thanks she smiled and took the coffee the witch had been holding out for her. It had become their game as the weeks past, drinking coffee or tea and worrying about the days to come.

"How is he?" Tonks asked taking a bite of her muffin. The Order had been trying to locate Harry for weeks now, bringing him home before school started, they had all been on edge.

"Alive, that's all that matters to me." Molly said scooping some eggs onto the plate in front of Hermione. Tonks nodded her head and looked at Hermione for something more.

"Alive, better than we all thought he would be. You can see the sadness though it's not gone away" Hermione said taking a drink of the coffee, her friends eyes had been forlorn and downcast. His smile was still there at a joke or as he simply looked around the room at them all, but she was still able to see the sadness in his eyes. The loss of Sirius had been hard on them all.

"Will he make it through the trip today? He's been out of touch with it all for a while, we can't afford anything to mess up." Tonks stared at her pointedly, waiting for an answer she did not have.

"I can't imagine he would do anything daft" She pushed the eggs around her plate and wished she had simply stayed cramped on the couch. They would be going to Diagon Alley today before going onto the train. After the attack at the Ministry they were keeping all of them hidden away for as long as possible, her own parents had gone on a vacation at her urging, just so the Order could keep tabs on her as well, the targets they had planted on their own backs were now practically glowing as the Death Eaters wreaked havoc over England. No longer needing to hide their agenda. She sat up straighter as the small army of friends walked into the room from where she had left them, ending the conversation as Tonks rose to give a hug to her shaggy haired best friend.

Suddenly and forcefully he was thrown into light. Swiftly he covered his face in the surrounding pillows getting used to the offense to his senses and hoping it would go away. After a pause raised his head to see what the intrusion was. Standing next to the window Narcissa stood, smugly, staring at him from the source of the light. Even in his half-opened gaze he could see the strained look on her face "We're going to be late." She said striding back out of the room and slamming the door behind her. Blasted woman knew how to ruin a morning. Stuffing his face back into the pillows he wondered how easy it would be to simply suffocate where he laid. He had made a fool of himself last night. No not a fool, how had Father put it? Had made his blood line proud, made his ancestors proud. There was not much argument there, the Mafoy line would see riches it had not even dreamed of seeing before if he could pull this off, when he pulled this off. Whatever the Dark Lord had wanted he had been tight lipped about the ordeal, only a few of the most trusted were allowed into the room and even then, what was required of him was not fully disclosed.

Sliding out of bed he stood he looked into the reflection of the window pane. The black skull and snake twisted itself on his left arm. As if the snake was getting used to its new home on the pale forearm it founds itself on. The mark brought a proud sneer to his face. His mother had begged him to reconsider, to not get himself involved in the meddling of old men.

Regaining strength in his choice he turned from the window and went to get ready for the day. They would be going to Knockturn Alley today, before boarding the train, to learn of what was to be asked of him this year. The great task that the Dark Lord had chosen him for. He would succeed. Regardless of what it was, he would not allow himself to not succeed. Sliding on the black button up shirt he tenderly buttoned the cuffs down below the mark, hiding it.

They had said their goodbyes to their body guards, friends, and sat in the first opened compartment they could find to catch their breath. For the second time today, she had no answers. As the train lurched itself into movement and the country side flew past her window in a blur similar to the last few hours of her life. They had seen something important, something the shouldn't have seen and she didn't know what to think about it all. Harry cast a silencing charm on the compartment door before sitting across from her, she could see the thoughts racing behind his eyes. The Prophet had not been kind to the disappearance of the one and only Harry Potter this summer and from the reaction he had to the whispers and stares throughout the day, she knew he had paid the paper no mind. He really had no idea of the pains the wizarding world had gone through in such a short amount of time.

"Well this year's going to be a blast." Ron huffed sitting next to Harry.

"We can't blame them" She said pealing her eyes from the window to look at the two of them, she knew they were not talking about the same thing. Her heart broke at the sight of Diagon Alley, with many of the windows boarded up and the streets barren it was far from the freeing town she was used to. Almost no one had been walking the cobble stone roads, and it had nothing to do with their late shopping trip "Once we get to the school things will be better, no one will be seeing it every day."

"Mione you know that's not what I mean" Ron said leaning back against the seat. She bit her lip and went back to looking out the window.

"Did you see the mark?" Harry said looking up at her, "On his arm was it there?" He looked pointedly at her, she had been closer than any of them to the small window that they shared while spying on their childhood enemy. She had seen him a few times, a couple shops along Diagon Alley doing nothing more than what they had been doing. The woman he was with looked scorned somehow, with her long silver hair she could only be the mother they had not met, Narcissa Malfoy in all her glory. She was nothing but whispers and quick words as they too bounced around from shop to shop. It wasn't until Harry had seen them turn down Knockturn Alley that the Malfoys became more than just a family shopping for supplies.

"Hermione, at Borgin and Burkes I couldn't see them very well, but he was showing them something, something that made the store clerk do whatever he wanted, I've seen that before." Harry said staring at her. She thought for a moment, the small window had been dingy, the way they were all huddled together had made it impossible to move to find a way to see anything but the one corner of glass that held his face. He had been furious for sure.

"Harry, I'm not sure what I saw." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I think he's a Death Eater," Harry leaned forward and whispered to them all.

"Would make sense, right? They would want the Malfoy's in it and dad says Lucius is in no position of power anymore." Ron said leaning forward as well.

"Like Malfoy is?" Hermione said looking between the two of them.

"I don't know what he's up to, but that has to be what happened." Harry said sitting back in the chair and looking out the window deep in thought. Ron shared a look with her and shrugged his shoulders before sitting back and pulling a chocolate out of his pocket. Hermione stayed leaning forward as the train plunged along through a tunnel, the darkness of the car showed the hallway illuminated through the small window, the same face she had seen in the darkness of the store earlier today, sneered as he passed and made its way to a cart of his own.