A/N: This is my first fanfic ever so it would be good to get some reviews.  I did this without a beta but I would probably need one at least to ensure the characters stay true to the book. While I like Harry Potter, I am not the type to reread books but I have tried my very best to ensure that I have followed as closely to cannon as possible. So if anyone would like to be my beta, I would be very grateful.

*****

Sometimes having no choice is the best choice

He sat stiffly in a corner of the room, his eyes staring blankly at the cold, grey wall in front of him. The memory of the last few hours washed over him, yet he held himself painfully still. You never knew who was watching and he didn’t want anyone to see him so vulnerable.

The room was bare except for a wooden chair he was seated on. Professor Snape had shoved him into the room, tersely warned him to stay put and left. Not that he needed to be told to stay put - there was no where else to go. After his botched attempt on Dumbledore’s life, he expected he no longer had any allies. His father probably saw this as evidence that he was a disgrace to the family. His mother was in no position to do anything. His Slytherin ‘friends’ were likely to distance themselves from him. As for Snape, he didn’t know. Was he a double-agent as many had claimed? Or was he still working for He-who-must-not-be-named? Deemed a coward by the dark side, reviled by the heroes, Draco did not see a bright future ahead.

Hours passed and nothing happened. Draco still sat on the uncomfortable chair. It seemed like no one knew or cared that he was here. It was just as well, he thought. Anyone who came to see him probably would not be there to offer him comfort - not that he needed any. He was a Malfoy and despite his recent failure, he was not going to turn into a sniveling, aimless weakling. He didn’t need anyone. Not He-who-must-not-be-named, not his father and most certainly not Potter. He didn’t need anyone to survive, he told himself firmly. He was more than capable of looking after himself.

Yet, when the door opened moments later, Draco still felt the cold hand of fear grip him. He almost slumped with relief when Snape strode in. But he didn’t. He sat rigidly, looking defiantly at Snape.

“You don’t have to do that. Pretend that everything is ok,” Snape sighed, rubbing his hands over his face.

“I would have done it.”

“Would you? I doubt it.” Snape advanced towards Draco and hauled him out of his seat, tightly gripping his left arm. “You are not your father!”

Snape yanked Draco’s sleeve up, revealing pale, unmarred skin.

“Look!” he snarled, “You are not a Death Eater and you never will be.”

Stung, Draco pulled away from Snape. “Just because I took a little too long to kill Dumbledore does not mean I’m not capable of being a Death Eater! You don’t know anything! I will be a Death Eater and a better one than you! I certainly would not be living in Dumbledore’s …”

“Silencio!”

The silence stretched as Draco eyed Snape warily. He knew what caused his outburst - his whole life, he had been groomed to become a Death Eater. How could Snape stand there and dismiss his ambition? What was worse was that he knew Snape was right. Draco Malfoy was not going to be a Death Eater and that was the worst indignity he could have suffered.

*****

She sat curled up near the window, thinking of the year that had passed, reliving the good memories and shunning the bad. Everybody seemed to be busy, one way or another, preparing for the inevitable. A war was upon them and it seemed everyone had a part to play except her.

It had been a horrible end to the year. Dumbledore was dead, He-who-must-not-be-named was back, school was closed indefinitely and Harry had broken up with her. In the greater scheme of things, her breakup with Harry was insignificant. She knew Harry’s reasons were good ones and their breakup may not be permanent, yet that did not stop the ache in her heart.

“Ginny?”

“Mum?” Ginny was shaken out of her reverie and she got up from her seat.

“It’s dinner time dear. Can you get the rest?”

Ginny ran up the stairs to Ron’s room and knocked. She could hear the three of them chatting inside and they stopped once she poked her head in. Ron grinned at her, seemingly the only one happy to see her as Harry looked away hastily and Hermione was too involved in her reading to notice her.

“Dinner time,” she mumbled before backing out of the room. Why Harry decided to stay on for a while after Bill and Fleur’s wedding, she did not know. All she knew was that it hurt seeing him around.

Thankfully at the table, Harry sat to her right and she did not need to look at him at all. The conversation was light, revolving around quidditch mostly. Ginny noticed Harry did not say much but he was probably fretting over the horcruxes. Often Ginny was torn. She wanted Harry to leave on his search soon so she would not have to see him, yet she knew if he left, he may not return. And if he left, so would Ron and Hermione.

As if reading her thoughts, Hermione suddenly broke into the animated discussion on whether the Chudley Cannons would even have a chance in the coming season.

“I, well Harry, Ron and I really, have something important to tell you.”

Silence descended and everyone looked nervously at Hermione. They all knew what she was going to say, yet no one wanted to hear it. The three of them were leaving. Ginny glanced at their faces. Behind their stoic expressions, she sensed fear. She wanted to tell them not to go. She wanted to beg them to stay but she knew it would not change their minds.

Thank you for all the reviews. I really appreciate them. :) I hope this next chapter does not disappoint.

Chapter 2

It had been 3 days, 17 hours and 23 minutes since Snape dragged him out of their previous hideout. He knew where he was now though and he was not happy. Imagine him, the only heir of the Malfoy family, being forced to live in a room at 12 Grimmauld Place. How utterly humiliating.

Apparently, Snape had “seen something” in him and was planning to rescue him from the Dark Lord. Draco rolled his eyes as he thought about the long speech Snape had given him about having choices to make and making the right choice and other such nonsense. Didn’t Snape understand there wasn’t a choice to make? He was a Malfoy and Malfoys were all Death Eaters. Where was the choice in that?

The door creaked open and in walked Snape.

“Well, well. Are you here to persuade me some more?” sneered Draco. Dressed in tattered and torn robes and surviving on the most basic of food had reduced Draco into a shadow of him former self. Yet the disdainful look on his face never changed.

“No. I’ve said what I wanted to. The rest is up to you. I came to tell you your mother is well and to pass you your dinner.”

“Can I leave this god-forsaken place then since you’ve given up on reforming me? I’ve got plans I need to see to.”

Snape gave a snort of derision. “No. I promised your mother I would keep you safe and I will, whether you like it or not. You will stay here till the end of the war.” With one last look at his former student, Snape shook his head and swept out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

So he was to stay in this miserable room till the end of the war. It was not a situation Draco had contemplated before. Somehow, he had always believed that he would eventually leave this place and get on with the rest of his life. Staying under the protection of The Order was certainly not in his plans.

Stunned by the news, Draco pushed his dinner away and slumped on the bed. Without his wand and with all the witches and wizards swarming the place, Draco knew his chances of escape were slim. There was no way he could leave this place on his own.

Yet, he had no intention of living out his life in this room. For all he knew, the war could last for decades and there was no way he was going to be kept out of it. If he could escape from here, he could join up with the Dark Lord, tell him all about The Order and hopefully become a high-ranking Death Eater. His father would be proud.

Now all he needed was a fool-proof escape plan.

*****

“Do I really have to?”

“Yes, dear. Just run up and grab the plate and bring it down. You know I’m up to my ears in work now.”

“Alright, Mum.”

Ginny trudged up the stairs and headed towards Malfoy’s room. She didn’t really understand why they were looking after him. If it were up to her, she would let him starve to death. He deserved nothing less. Not just because he was plain horrid to Ron, Harry and Hermione in school but because he was so clearly a Death Eater to-be and the almost-murderer of Dumbledore. It was beyond her why they would want to help someone like that.

But Snape had come in one cold night with a shivering Malfoy under his arm. Ginny had been seated at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of hot chocolate when it happened. Snape had conferred in quiet whispers with McGonagall and Malfoy was then rushed upstairs. No one even noticed her watching.

She still found it difficult to trust Snape although it seemed that most of The Order did. For some time, many of them had believed Snape to have betrayed them but something changed a few months after Dumbledore’s death and Snape had been welcomed back into The Order. When she asked her mother about it, she mentioned something vague about a plan to save Harry and defeat He-who-must-not-be-named. Ginny still felt confused by the whole thing but all her questions were rebuffed.

Most of her family was now residing at 12 Grimmauld Place. It was a difficult decision to leave The Burrow but it was true they were safer here. He-who-must-not-be-named was gaining power and it was better for The Order to be together so they could act quickly in face of any crisis. Harry, Ron and Hermione were still traveling England in search for the Horcruxes. Messages from them were few and far-between but it seemed that they were well enough. Ginny worried constantly about them but there was nothing she could do. Some days, she felt quite useless. Everyone in the house was busy preparing for the upcoming war while she sat around and read her textbooks.

Sighing at her depressing thoughts, Ginny rapped on the door and waited.

There was no answer. She rapped again, slightly louder but still no one answered. Annoyed, Ginny pushed the door open and peered in.

“Malfoy?”

A grunt directed her attention to a dark corner of the room. Draco was seated on the chair, deep in thought. Probably on how to make life a misery for everyone here, Ginny scoffed.

“You finished with your dinner?” Ginny crossed over to the table slowly. She had never been inside Malfoy’s room before. It was dark and depressing, befitting its resident. She wondered why he didn’t draw the curtains and open the window.

“Oh. You haven’t eaten. Well I’ll come back later then. Sorry for this.” She knew she was rambling but she couldn’t help herself. Malfoy’s cool grey eyes had been following her as she moved around the room and his stare made her nervous. She needed to get out of the room.

“Wait,” Malfoy’s commanding tone took her by surprise. She turned from the door to look at him, unsure of what was happening.

“Stay. I could do with the company.”