Later that week Draco was pacing in his room, looking irritated. Blaise was lounging in one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace, glancing at Draco from above a glass of firewiskey.
"Draco, buddy, you should stop or you're going to make a dent in the floor." Blaise said for what had to be the fifth time in half an hour.
"They should have been here by now!" Draco grumbled, not paying attention to Blaise.
"And they will be. I'm sure 'The boy who won the war' Potter is a… well a man of his word. If he said he'll be here, then he will." Blaise said, nodding and finishing his drink. After that he placed the glass on the coffee table. "Now, tell me, do you have a plan?"
"Kind of, but I don't know if it will work." Draco said with uncertainty.
He had stopped pacing and was now staring out the window.
"Why is that?" Blaise asked, his eyebrows raised.
It wasn't like Draco to be unsure of something he planned so diligently.
"I don't know if she will agree to it." Draco said quietly.
"Aahh, I see what this is about." Blaise said, a smile spreading on his lips, "You're worried she'll make a scene."
"She always makes a scene when it comes to something like this." Draco scowled at his reflection in the window. "It's like one of her many hidden talents or something. Should have seen her when she found out Potter had Aurors watching her."
"Bet she went mad." Blaise smirked, evidently amusing himself with the situation.
"Mad?!" Draco huffed, turning and taking a seat across from Blaise. "She went berserk, mate. As soon as she saw me in the house, she started throwing curses at me."
"Well, look on the bright side." Blaise said with a mischievous look on his face. "At least she didn't egg that ginger demon on you."
Draco threw an angry glare at his friend, who burst into laughter.
A moment later, Hermione's voice came from the common room.
"They're here." she said.
Draco could hear voices talking energetically.
"Here goes nothing." he groaned, getting up and opening the door. "Coming?" he turned to Blaise.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Blaise grinned.
"Glad at least one of us is having fun." Draco scoffed under his breath.
When they entered the common room, the place was packed with people.
Truthful to his word, Harry came, but to Draco's despair, he had brought a few too many people with him.
Ginny was just hugging Hermione, smiling widely at her friend. Neville and Luna were whispering to each other, and next to Harry were none other than Ron and George. With a jolt in the stomach, Draco thought of Fred.
'I never realized just how much they resembled each other. Wonder how he feels, not seeing his twin anymore. Is it like missing half of you?'
As if feeling his thoughts, George glanced at Draco, startling him out of his dark musings. Looking to George's left Draco noticed Ron staring at him as well.
"What's HE doing here?" Draco asked promptly, frowning slightly at Ron.
"Whatever HE is doing, I suppose." Ron said calmly, gesturing at Blaise. "Moral support."
Blaise offered Ron a grin in return.
"Now is not the time to be picky, Malfoy. We need as many trusty people as we can gather." Harry said warningly.
"Exactly." Ron said with a nod, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Besides, I'm on a holiday right now, and what better way to spend it than to chase around Dark wizards." he shrugged and grinned at Draco.
"My baby brother has grown into a fine man." George mocked, grinning widely and slapping Ron over the back in a very brotherly way.
"Didn't take you for a brave one, Weasel." Draco bit out.
"You don't scare me, Malfoy." Ron grinned, leaning back slightly. "You may be called Draco but you're no fire-breathing beast."
"Now if you are all finished with your welcoming speeches, I'd like to get right into the problem at hand." Harry said rather impatiently, fixing Draco's eyes.
"Oh, we haven't said ours." Luna said airily. "But I guess that can wait."
Everybody chuckled, even Blaise. Draco only rolled his eyes and took a seat as far away from everyone as possible.
Harry then started presenting the situation from the Ministry's perspective. It appeared that a group of rogue Death Eaters had started to make a move against key people who helped Voldemort's demise.
Neville and Luna said they had also been attacked while on a research trip in the northern part of the country. They had escaped thanks to a Devil's Snare they were just studying. The plant had attacked the dark wizards, giving Neville and Luna enough time to disappear. George said he also heard of strange and, seemingly, random attacks while working at the joke shop.
After putting all the pieces together, the Ministry concluded it had to be an organized group, acting systemically. Seeing how Hermione was also attacked, there was no doubt in Harry's mind that they were very serious about what they were doing.
"And I am very sure they will not give up until they manage to hurt us." Harry said grimly. "The Aurors' office is now trying to check cases of strange disappearances or kidnappings that might be linked to the group. There is suspicion they had been acting in the shadows for longer than these recent attacks."
"In the meantime, we have to do something." Hermione said. "I propose we form a plan to lure them out of their hiding. It's better to face them on our own terms." she concluded, looking over everyone gathered there.
Harry and Ron nodded their heads, while Neville and Luna exchanged serious looks. Draco frowned, fixing his grey eyes on Hermione. He knew she would say something like this. Hermione continued talking, unaware of his stares.
"Since they seem to have a bigger interest in me than in the rest of you," she was saying, "I propose to…"
"No!" Draco cut her off, his voice steady and cold.
"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, her eyes narrowing at him dangerously.
"You're not excused. And whatever you are thinking, the answer is no!" Draco said, returning her look with an even more dangerous one.