The silence woke him. For as long as Draco Malfoy had been living under the bridge, it had never be quiet; until now. He sat up, the raggedy sleeping bag falling off his chest. He glanced around, not daring to call out for the only person ever there - Trevor.

"What's with the silence?" He muttered to himself, rubbing his cold arms.

Squinting in the darkness, Draco tried to spot the giant man, to no avail. Trevor's name did not do the man justice. He was huge and brutish, inspiring awe and terror into all the ragamuffins foolish enough to travel under his bridge, earning him the nickname Trevor the Troll. If Draco hadn't actually met trolls at Hogwarts a few years ago, before the war and the Ministry came after his head, he would've sworn Trever actually was a troll.

Who better to give a hungry and helpless Draco Malfoy sanctuary from an angry and volatile Wizarding world? All it took was a well aimed Obiviate, some Legilimency, and Trevor thought they were old friends from Muggle high school. The Troll would protect him from any human coming their way.

Draco shivered, pulling out his stolen wand and casting a nonverbal warming charm. Hesitantly, he whispered into the cold night air, "Lumos."

The tip of his wand lit up, sending a small glow under the concrete walls of the bridge structure. Trevor's nest of newspapers and ragged blankets lay abandoned next to a half-eaten sandwich. Draco's gaze darted about, checking the terrain before he dashed across the cement, grabbing the sandwich and taking a bite.

A few years ago Draco would have thought the idea of stale bread and moldy cheese disgusting, but now, after a year and a half of being on the lamb, the taste was next to heavenly. Devouring the snack, Draco rifled through Trevor's meager possessions, stealing a few items for his own.

He'd learned a long time ago that no one was your friend in this place. Even in Hogwarts, friends were simply a liability. Draco ran back to his sleeping bag, stuffing the blankets he'd stolen from Trevor inside and rolling it up. Pushing the covers, a small box of potion ingredients, and remnants of a Chinese dinner into his knapsack, Draco stood.

From his calculations, the Ministry might take up to three hours to realize that a stolen wand had just cast lumos in a muggle district, but just to be sure, Draco needed to get as far away from his bridge home as possible.

He needed to know what had caused the silence. Why Trevor had just magically disappeared. Draco narrowed his eyes at the thought "magically". If it felt like magic, chances were there was a wizard nearby. Which meant that Draco needed to get away, and fast.

Brushing off his dirty jumper, Draco swung his knapsack onto his shoulder and took off, careful to hide his wand in the sleeve of his sweater, out of sight from prying eyes. The last thing he needed was a stray witch or wizard catching a glimpse of it, or even worse, a sniveling muggle. Draco shuttered at the thought as he dashed through the wet streets.

That's when he noticed.

No one was on the road, not a single car or pedestrian. No angry muggles or vendors. No one. He spun around, grip tightening on the strap of his backpack. He backed into an alley, shaking for fear of what might have happened.

Closing his eyes, Draco crossed his fingers in a childish display, praying to an empty universe that there was a logical, non-magical, explanation for what was going on.

The robed figure walking down the street proved him wrong.

Draco could recognize wizard robes from a mile away, and this person definitely had no taste when it came to fashion. Rolling his eyes Draco stared at the figure in horror. Not just terror that the wizard would curse him or bring him into the Ministry, but that the sleeves were all wrong. If Draco had had a death-wish, he would've marched right over and given the man a piece of his mind. Only he wasn't that stupid.

The worn fabric wouldn't be fit for a House Elf let alone an actual wizard. He watched partly in disgust as the wizard neared his hiding place.

Draco struggled to make himself as smaller, squeezing himself behind the dumpster. Gagging at the stench, Draco plugged his nose, pressing his eyes shut and willing himself invisible. If only he could cast a spell! But he knew the Ministry would not overlook two odd uses of magic near the same time and in the same area.

Greasy hair falling into his face, Draco forced one eye open, regarding the hooded figure as they approached the alley, stepping into it. The figure glanced around, ugly robes swishing. Upon closer look, Draco realized they were Ministry issued. Auror robes, he thought.

A sliver of moonlight caught the man's face, reflecting off a pair of wire-rimmed glasses the man was wearing. Draco only knew one person with such terrible fashion taste and glasses. He would have groaned if it weren't for his situation; the masked figure was none other than Harry Potter.

-_-_-_-_-

Potter surveyed the alleyway, eyes coming all too close to Draco's hiding place. Draco sucked in his breath, a fatal mistake. Potter's head whirled around to the dumpster, wand aimed right at him. Draco knew the jig was up, and he out from the trash bin, empty hands raised.

He watched as Potter's green eyes widened, a small smile crossing his face as he lowered his hood. "Malfoy." he said, as if confirming his suspicions.

Draco shrugged, hands still raised as he eyed the wand pointed at his chest. "Have I done anything wrong?"

Potter scrunched up his nose. "You've been missing for over a year, and, ugh what happened to you?" he gestured at Draco's raggedy muggle clothes and messy hair with his wand.

Over the past year and a half, Draco's hair had grown far too long for him. He'd gotten so angry with it, that he attempted to tame the mess by cutting it with a shard of glass. The result was a choppy mess of long and short tufts of hair sticking out in all different directions. Random pieces of garbage falling into the blonde mass.

His clothes were far from posh, consisting of a torn grey jumper and ripped jeans - Draco hated jeans. Harry's wand still aimed at him, Draco took a cautious step toward him, reaching a hand out and carefully placing it on the tip of Harry's wand.

Harry jerked away, glowering at him, threatened, "Don't come near me."

Draco growled, "Then why'd you come here, in my alleyway."

The Golden-Boy frowned, circling Draco slowly, wand still aimed at him dangerously. All it would take was one wrong move and Draco would be hexed to oblivion. He narrowed his eyes calculatingly, weighing his options. Harry flicked his hand, muttering something under his breath. The next moment Draco was frozen against the wall. He raised an eyebrow at Potter. "Really?"

"Yes really," Potter spat, "no one has seen you in forever, how do I know you're not some rouge Death Eater or something?"

Draco wished he had the ability to raise his eyebrow higher, but settled on a annoyed sneer. "Do I look like a Death Eater to you?"

Potter's green eyes wavered, the resolve disappearing for a few moments before returning with a new light. "No, but you're certainly not Light, and anyone not Light is Dark."

Draco wiggled his toes, realizing that Potter's spell had worn off. He rolled his shoulders, casually leaning against the old brick wall. "You really need to review the color wheel."

Harry's frown deepened, lines furrowing in his brow. He pulled his cloak tighter around his neck, glancing side-to-side. Biting his lip, he stared at Draco for a few moments.

In the silence, Draco had a few moments to look around, spotting a pin on Harry's robes - Ministry of Magic. Nineteen and the guy had already been snatched into the Ministry's clutches. Draco sighed, he'd managed to evade them for this long, he wasn't going to be brought there now. The Ministry was a joke, everyone with two wits and a brain knew that. His pale eyes landed on Draco - so Potter definitely didn't see how terrible the Ministry really was.

"You work for the Ministry," he stated matter-of-factly.

"And you work for the Dark." Harry countered.

Draco almost laughed, waving a hand over his ruddy clothes. "I don't work for anyone. Not those idiot Death Eaters still running around as if they stand a chance, and not the Ministry, the buggers there don't know anything about how to run a society."

Harry's eyes narrowed, "I'm one of those 'buggers' so watch your mouth."

Draco scoffed, "So you let your faith be held hostage by those douches?"

The eyed each other, circling around and around the greasy alleyway, uncomfortably near each other in the small space. Harry was the first to speak, "I won't bring you into the Ministry, on one condition."

"Like you could bring me into the Ministry if you tried."

Harry shook his head humorlessly, "That wand you're hiding is stolen, you've used it twice already and a third time would certainly arouse the attention of the Aurors. So, listen to what I have to say, or bring the Ministry here."

Draco could see a checkmate when he saw one. He nodded, accepting his fate. "Out with it then."

Harry lowered his wand, lifting his head up triumphantly. "You are going to come with me, and you're going to do everything I say."