There Is A Thin Line Between Hate And Love

Disclaimer: Not mine. Please don‘t sue I don‘t have any money
Pairing: (Eventually) Harry/Draco
Author: Catium
Beta: Moi
Rating: PG – 13
Word Count: 3907
Genre: Romance/ Drama.
Status: In Progress.
Warnings: Language.
Summary: What happens when that thin line between hate and love starts to disappear? Starts in the Half Blood Prince then moves on to year 7. The Deathly Hallows never happened.
Harry and Draco meet agin. What will happen? Read and find out.

Note: Thanks so much to everyone that has read and reviewed the story. Special thanks to thrnbrooke who has reviewed all my chapters so far.

There is a thin line between hate and love – Chapter 5. Arch Nemesis.

Harry opened his eyes when Ron came bursting into their room at the Burrow.

“You better wake up mate and come downstairs and help us. Mom, dad, Fred, George and Charley aren’t home yet and Fleur and Bill are having a fit. There's a million things to do and the wedding’s this weekend.”

Harry woke up complete and sat up.

“Wait...what...? Are your mom and dad and the others not back? Where are they?”

Ron looked at Harry like he felt really sorry for him.

“They’re where they have been almost nonstop for the last three days.”

“Grimmauld place then. What do you recon is happening in the Order that is so important that even your mom is ignoring the upcoming wedding?” Harry questioned.

“I don’t have a clue mate. But whatever it is its big! Fred and George came home for a second last night to talk to Bill when you had gone to bed and they all looked dead tired and very serious AND they are never serious. And I swear I heard them talking about Snape and Malfoy.”

Hearing Snape’s and Malfoy’s name brought up made Harry’s hatred swell up in his chest. He had already decided that he was going to look for the rest of the Horcruxes as soon as the wedding was over next Sunday. He had already told McGonagall that he wouldn’t be returning for his final year at Hogwarts. She hadn’t really tried to talk him out of it but had asked him to think about it for a while and then make a decision.

“The Order is looking for them. They’ve gotten a clue as to where they are and are looking for them.” Ron continued

Why didn’t they tell me? I wanted to go and look for them.”

Harry interjected

“Well maybe since you’re not telling McGonagall the reason you’re not coming to school this fall then maybe she decided not to tell you about this. It’s called quid pro quo mate. You tell her things she tells you things. Plus we aren’t old enough yet”
“O.K. Ron!” Harry said frustrated. “Let’s just go downstairs and help Fleur and Bill before he bites us”

“You know he won’t Harry! He’s just fine” Ron said smiling a bit at Harry’s joke. “Sure he likes his meat a bit too raw and he can smell things a bit better. And he’s a bit stronger. The typical werewolf syndromes minus one thousand the usual but at least he isn’t a werewolf. Having one in the Order is enough.”

“Yeah thank Merlin for small mercies hey?” Harry said as they came down, at the same moment Fleur saw them and started yelling at Harry for sleeping so long. Then she handed him a rag and pointed him towards a table full of silver china and told him to start polishing. Hermione and Ginny were already there folding napkins.

Harry smiled a bit and thought about his aunt Petunia and thought sarcastically to himself “At least I won’t miss the Dursley’s despite only staying with them for two weeks this year”.

Harry spent the next two hours polishing more silver than he thought possible. At the next table Ron was peeling tons of potatoes and Hermione, Ginny and Bill were helping Fleur with all kinds of wedding stuff.

“Who can possibly need so many potatoes?” Ron complained

“Who can afford owning so much silver is beyond me?” Harry said.

“My family owns this silver” Fleur said, while walking into the room. “We are quite rich and still Molly insists on her cooking everything. She didn’t even allow me to hire some help and she isn’t even here now to cook!” She said in a very frustrated tone.
“Mhhm...” was heard from the door.

“Mr. Weasley” Fleur and Harry said.

“Dad” said Ron

“I... I’m sorry Mr. Weasley” Fleur stuttered. “I...I didn’t mean to...”

“It’s all right Fleur” Mr. Weasley said. “I can understand you’re frustrated, we were supposed to help you. But now I’m afraid that we will have to cancel the wedding. “

“WHAT!?” Fleur yelled.

Mr. Weasley didn’t pay her any more attention but turned to Harry.

“Harry I need you to come with me to the headquarters something has come up.”

“O.K.” Harry said. “What’s happening?”

“We will tell you when we get there.”
“Wait, if Harry’s going then we should go too.” Ron, Hermione and Ginny protested.

Mr. Weasley looked at them with an angry expression.

“He’s going to tell us anyway.” Ginny said.

“All right I just don’t have time to argue with you all”

Ron, Hermione and Ginny were clearly so ready to argue about this for an hour more that they were dumbstruck at Mr. Weasley’s quick giving in.

“I really wanna come to” Bill commented “I just gotta see how this is going to turn out I know what’s been happening but I just gotta see the end of this.”

“Fine! FINE! Let’s just all ignore my wedding. Then I guess I can come too. Since this is so important that my wedding is going to be cancelled.” Fleur pouted

“But darling there are...” Bill began but Fleur looked at him with such a glare that he immediately shut up.

“Right so we are all going.” Mr. Weasley said. “McGonagall is going to be so thrilled.”

They went to the fireplace and got themselves floopowder. Then one by one they stepped into the fireplace, throw the powder and yelled “GRIMMAULD PLACE.”

Harry was the last one to go through. The floo brought him to the kitchen which he noticed was filled with almost everyone in the Order standing around or sitting at the large kitchen. He saw, of course, the entire Weasley family. Remus and Tonks were there he noticed. MadEye, Shackelbolt, MacGonagall sitting at the head of the table that had used to be Dumbledore’s seat, lots of people he didn’t know, some little dark haired girl he had never seen before, Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy and Snape!

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING HERE?” Harry screamed.

Hermione and Ron that hadn’t noticed Malfoy or Snape looked up and saw them. Hermione went pale. Ron on the other hand got all red and stared at Snape and started screaming over Harry’s screams.

“YOU BLOODY, CREASY BASTARD. I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE A TRAITOR...YOU FU...

The rest of his angry speed got drowned as Hermione got over her shock and started yelling too.

“HOW COULD YOU? HOW COULD YOU KILL DUMBLEDORE THAT WAS ALWAYS SO KIND TO YOU AND SAVED YOUR LIFE...?”

Draco all of sudden stood up and started to try and explain themselves... “Wait can I...”

Harry turned on him immediately

“DON’T YOU DARE TRYING TO TALK TO ME YOU LITTLE FERRET!“
At those words’s Draco got really angry and decided to join the yelling contest.

“DON’T YOU CALL ME A FERRET, SCARHEAD, MY AND SNAPE ARE BLOODY TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING SO WHY DON’T YOU JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND LET US...

“EVERYBODY SHUT UP NOW!” McGonagall all of sudden screamed at the top of her voice.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco all stopped yelling. Everybody were looking at them in shock. Except for Snape how was smirking slightly. He had always known that they didn’t get along.

“And...”, he thought,” ...if McGonagall’s plan goes through like she talked about. Then this year at Hogwarts is going to be really interesting. The Gryffindor Golden Trio forced to spend almost all their time with The Dark Prince of Slytherin. Really interesting indeed.”

“Everybody is to go out immediately. There will be another meeting tomorrow so those of you not staying here can go home. The rest of you can wait in the hallway while I have a little talk with Potter.”

As everybody left Draco turned around and saw Harry looking at him with hatred shining through his eyes.

“Well at least I’m getting a reaction out of him” He thought bitterly “Just not the reaction that I wanted”

“Oh and Arthur.” McGonagall said to Mr. Weasley. “If you could be so kind and explain to your two youngest ones and Ms. Granger what is going on it would be awfully nice, I really don’t want to have to explain this one more time. It’s complicated enough as it is.”

Mr. Weasley looked at Ginny, Ron and Hermione. “Here’s what’s happening and please let me finish before you say anything...” Mr. Weasley started to say at the same time the doors closed.

As soon as the doors closed Harry sat down and tried to calm himself.

He thought to himself “There is a perfectly normal explanation as to why Snape and Malfoy are here. They have probably been arrested and are going to be punished now. Yes! That gotta be it!”

As soon as McGonagall turned to him, he asked in his most polite school voice.

“What’s going on Professor McGonagall? Why are Snape and Malfoy here? Did the Order find them and arrest them? Why is Malfoy’s mom here? And who’s that girl?

“I’m going to answer those questions in the wrong order Mr. Potter and I would like it if you didn’t interrupt me, I want to finish what I have to say. I know you have a temper but try keeping it at bay.” McGonagall said. “To your last question that girl is Claudia Malfoy, Draco’s little sister. The reason that his mother is here with them is because she’s going to be under our protection from now one. No we did not find and arrest them. They came to us. As to your first question they’re here because they’re betraying the Dark Lord and joining us, the Order. They both really regret their actions. Snape has been quilt ridden over the past months, and Mr. Malfoy has been no better. They want redemption and to become like Mr. Malfoy put it “the good guys”.

Harry opened his mouth but McGonagall stopped him.

“I know what you’re going to say Mr. Potter that they’re playing the same game on me that Snape did all those years ago with Dumbledore and that I’m naive to believe them. The only problem is that Snape and Mr. Malfoy are as sincere now as Snape was all those years ago. And that I’m not nearly as naive as Dumbledore was. He just took Snape’s words almost without questions. Me myself, Alastor, Remus, Arthur, Tonks, Kingsley and Charley have been interrogating them for almost three days now, using both Veritaserum and Truth Spells. They are honest about this, they regret they’re actions and want to help us.”

“But...” Harry started.
“Just let me tell you about what they told us and tell you about the plan we’ve cooked up. If the first part of it works smoothly then it’s going to be flawless and we’ll have huge advantage in this war.”

“Advantage? How?” Harry thought. “Damn it she managed to make me curious. She knows that I hate being left out on a plan.”

“Alright then.” He said up loud “Tell me everything from the beginning, from when they came here, what they had to say for themselves and tell me the plan”

McGongall started to talk. Starting at the very beginning when the bell had rang three days ago. Then she went over the whole thing, Claudia’s outburst in the hallway, Tonks little speech. Everything that was said at the interrogations. The meeting afterwards, where they all agreed that they were clearly telling the truth. No one was that good of a liar and finally about the plan.

Getting that all out took almost two hours for McGonagall. The whole time Harry sat there dumbstruck listening.

After McGonagall finished her story Harry sat there looking like a fish out of water. Then he snapped out of it, looked McGonagall in the eyes and said,

“How can you be certain that their telling the truth? There is an antidote for Veritaserum and you don’t know it they took it!”

“Yes we do, Pomfrey did a spell that reveals positions in the blood before we made them drink the Veritaserum and the spell came back clean. They didn’t have any working poison in their blood.”

“Oh ok!” was all Harry could say.

“Please Harry” McGonagall said, “If we believe their telling the truth. Me, Tonks, Remus, Molly and even Arthur and you know how much he dislikes the Malfoy’s then it must be good enough for you”

“Everything’s McGonagall has told me sounds flawless, the plan and Malfoy’s and Snape’s intentions seem sincere, as much as it pains me to admit it” Harry thought to himself!

“Mr. Potter please!” McGonagall said “It’s your call if you don’t believe them then we will turn them in to the Ministry and tell them the truth”

“Allright” Harry said silently. “Allright I believe them” he said louder and looked at McGonagall. He could see the relief in her eyes and heard her sigh.

“But” he added “That doesn’t mean that I trust them. If I see any signs or even just get a suspicion that they are planning on performing a double agent act. Then we will report them to the Ministry immediately!”

“Good, but know I would like to ask you something Harry.”

Harry knew what was coming “Oh no” he thought.

“Why are you not coming to Hogwarts this autumn Harry I know you said this was your final decision but I would like to try and talk you out of it? I have a suspicion that this has something to do with why you and Dumbledore left Hogwarts together that night. That you two were on a mission of some sort. That you’re planning on finishing the mission alone. I can even guess that Dumbledore told you not to tell anyone about this mission of yours. But I would like to tell you this. You’re 17 Harry; you’re not even a qualified wizard yet! Whatever this mission is it almost killed Dumbledore. He told me he was on a mission when he came back with that broken ring, more dead than alive with his hand all black, but didn’t want to tell me what it was about. You are probably finishing that mission. Why don’t you let the Order help you? We are older, more experienced wizards and know more about the Dark arts, since this is most probably about You-Know-Who. Please tell me what this is about. Trust me Harry please. If you are not sure about some of our Order members then I will let you choose who you trust for the mission. It will still be your mission. We will let you know about every step, every information we get. Please. This almost killed Dumbledore and if you die then so does our hope of winning this war. Just come to Hogwarts this autumn do your studies and let us deal with this.”

Harry listened to McGonagall’s pleas. “Maybe she’s right” He thought. “It would be better getting help, Ron and Hermione are coming with me anyway. We had a huge fight the other day and they told me they were coming. End of story. I don’t want to risk their lives. But I don’t want to risk anyone else’s live either. It would probably be better telling McGonagall everything and getting the Orders help. Then because if I don’t go on the mission and just go to Hogwarts instead so will Ron and Hermione. They told me they were going to stay with me until the end so...”

“Yes ok! I’ll tell you. Voldemort has made Horecruxes. Seven of them to be exact.”
“Ho...hore...horecruxes.” McGonagall stammered. “Oh Merlin help us all. Tell me everything Harry.” She asked him.

And Harry did. Everything Dumbledore had told him on their meetings the previous year. About the mission, what the horecruxes were, which one had been destroyed and which were left. After finishing this McGonagall said.

“Fine then, then this is our mission. You say that two of them have been destroyed?”

“Yes, the Diary and the Ring.”

“That you and Dumbledore were looking for the Slytherin necklace but someone had taken it and put a false one instead. So we don’t know where that is. Although I do have a suspicion on it.”

“Yes and how do you suspect that?”

“Well there is only one Death Eater who had the initials R.B. back then. The traitor who tried to back out of the Death Eater clan, Regulus Black.”

“Sirius’s brother?”

“Yes but let’s think about that later. And you say that leaves fife horcruxes. Something from Huffelpuff and Rawenclaff, Voldemort’s snake and Voldemort himself?”

“That’s right” Harry replied.

“So you’re going to do this? Come back to Hogwarts and let us deal with this?”

“Yes” Harry answered. “But like you said I want to choose the people that are going to be on this mission and I want to know about every step and agree to it. “

“We will discuss that tomorrow, but right now I think we should go into the hallway and let everyone know that you’ve decided to trust...”

“I don’t trust them” Harry interrupted McGonagall “I think they will change sides as soon as it’s convenient for them. But I believe them. For now!”

“Fine Harry. Fine. Let’s go and tell them the tension must be killing them. We’ve been in here for nearly four hours.”

McGonagall and Harry went to the hallway and Harry felt that McGonagall had been right. The tension was unnerving. You could have cut it with a knife. Everyone were there, all the Weasley’s, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, MadEye the rest of the Order and of course the three Malfoy’s and Snaepe. Harry noticed that the clock showed that the time was 9 o’clock in the evening. When looking at the masks that was Snape’s and Malfoy’s face he got quite angry. They didn’t show any remorse or angst for their fate. Everyone else were looking at him, waiting for his decision. Harry noted his head. Looked at Snape and Malfoy and said.

“I believe you! But I don’t trust you! At all!” He said that last part loudly.

Harry saw that Narcissa let out a breath and smiled a bit in relieve. But apart from that there were no emotions on anyone’s face. Then Ron started to open his mouth but Harry stopped him.

“Please Ron, we can talk about how utterly creasy I am in believing them tomorrow, but right now I’m tired and I think you all are too. The little girl has even fallen asleep.”

Molly all of sudden burst into action.

“Right” she said. “I think it’s too late for us to leave tonight, no one can Floo this tired. We will just stay here tonight.”

The Order started apparating away. Tonks gave Remus a kiss goodnight but he was living in Grimmauld place. Kingsley and MadEye said their goodbye’s to everyone, well except of course to Malfoy and Snape and then left.

“Well” Molly said when everyone left. “I had a suspicion this might happen so I already made the beds. Remus you’ll of course stay in your room. Harry, Ron, your room here is waiting for you. The same goes for you Ginny and Hermione. Fred and George, you have your old room. Me and Arthur will stay in the Mr. And Mrs. Black old bedroom. Mrs. Malfoy you can have the room Mrs. Black stayed in during her last years. Snape, Regulus Black’s room is available for you. Mr. Malfoy you will just go and stay in the room you’ve stayed in for the last days. The only thing I’m not sure is the little Miss. Malfoy. She could stay with Ginny and Hermione or...”

“Oh if you don’t mind me interrupting Mrs. Weasley” Narcissa interrupted Molly. “Then I would like Claudia staying with me. If she wakes up in a strange room she will get afraid.”

“Fine then that’s settled. Right then off to bed everyone! Good night”

“Good night” almost everyone said and started walking to their rooms.

When Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Draco started to walk up the stairs Mrs. Weasley and McGonagall stopped them.

“Try to behave like civilized people to each other now will you?” They said in unison.


Draco was in shock and so glad that he could barley conceal it. Harry had believed them. He didn’t trust them yet but as far as he was concern he was going to earn that trust.

Draco, Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny all got off the stairs in the same hallway. Narcissa was still heading up the stairs holding Claudia in her arms. She turned around, looked at Draco and said.

“Good night Draco”

“Good night Mother” Draco replied.

“Wow” Harry thought. “If that had been any more formal they would have called each other Mr. And Mrs. Malfoy.

When Harry and Ron headed for a really familiar door Draco realised that he had been staying in their usual room.

“Oh man” He thought “No more drama please.” He stopped. Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Harry were standing outside their doors talking. Hermione seemed to realise all of sudden that they had an audience.

“Is there something wrong Malfoy” She said.

“No” he said. “Well excually yes.” He changed his mind when they were going to keep on talking.

“Make up your mind Malfoy” Ron said sarcastically.

“I’ve been staying in that room”, Draco said pointing at the door behind Harry and Ron. “But I will just go and sleep on the couch if you just let me get my stuff.”

“Mhm...Oh no” Hermione protested. “Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall made it very clear that we are supposed to try and act like civilized persons to each other. I will just transform something into a new bed.”

They went inside the room and Hermione transformed an old chair into a four poster bed like Ron’s and Harry’s and made it.

“Nice” Draco thought but up loud he said “It better not crash from under me Granger.”

“It won’t” Hermione said coldly. Then she and Ginny left.

Harry, Ron and Draco all but their pyjamas on. Draco nearly sniggered at Ron’s Chuddley Canons orange pyjamas and had a hard time not drooling when Harry undressed himself and put on blue and white pyjama pants with this kind of Scottish pattern and a white TShirt. He only put on a black satin pyjama pants.

They all went to bed silently and as they were drifting off to sleep dead tired the same thought went through all of their heads.

“These next couple of days are going to be very difficult”

TBC

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