I do not own Harry Potter, this is simply a fan made piece of fiction and all copyright goes to J..
Chapter I: Malfoy Manor
Draco Malfoy stared into the shining emerald eyes of Harry James Potter. Harry's face was distorted – probably ran into a stinging jinx or poison ivy. His right eye was puffy and closed, his lips pouty and swollen, his scar hidden by the puffiness of his forehead. If it wasn't for Harry's famously emerald orbs gazing at him with a mixture of helplessness and pride and almost desperation, Draco wouldn't have recognised him.
"Well?" Bellatrix drawled, her eyes locked onto Draco, who was still staring intently at Harry with a forlorn expression on his face. Bellatrix looked eager, her long black nails twisted in Harry's messy mop of hair, practically pleading that it was indeed Harry Potter in the Malfoy Manor.
"I can't be sure." Draco whispered. Lucius came up to his shoulder, whispering his name warningly.
"Draco.." Lucius Malfoy looked awful. His once beautifully perfect ivory hair was a mess; tattered and unbrushed, dead and a dirty white. His face was sunken, almost to fit his skull, his features shutting out alarmingly. "Look closely son. If we were the ones..."
Draco tuned out his father's voice. He knew exactly what would happen to all of them if they handed Harry over to the Dark Lord. Forever in his favour. Draco's face cracked as he struggled to gain a smooth expressionless composure. He knew exactly what would happen to Potter, Weasley and Granger if they were to hand Harry over to the Dark Lord. Instant death, and the Wizarding World as he knew it and loved and cherished would be glazed in darkness, a darkness that had already swallowed Draco whole.
"...all would be forgiven, all would be as it was!" His father's voice sharply came into focus as he stood in front of him, Lucius nodding in encouragement at him. Draco nodded back reluctantly.
"Now, we won't be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope, Mr. Malfoy." The Snatcher said from behind father and son, and Draco tensed as he saw his father's expression darken.
"You dare to talk to me like that in my own house!" Lucius yelled, his high voice cutting through Draco like a knife as he jumped at the sudden break of tension.
"Lucius!" Narcissa warned, and Draco ached with sadness to hear her voice so full of worry and nothing, for the voice of his mother was long gone. Narcissa moved his father away from him and Draco suddenly felt alone again, as he fixed his grey piercing stare at Harry Potter again.
"Don't be shy, sweetie, come on over." Bellatrix cooed and Draco felt sick to his stomach as he moved forward, crouching down so he was eye level with Harry again. "Now if this isn't who we think it is Draco, and we call him, he'll kill us all. We need to be absolutely sure."
Draco felt his stomach lurch at the words of his aunt. He swallowed painfully. Whether he chose to identify Potter or not, he was still condemning someone to their death tonight. Draco stared into the emerald eye of Harry James Potter again, and he couldn't work out whether or not Potter was staring at him to help him, or whether it was contempt.
"What's wrong with his face?" Draco said, studying his distorted face. He barely heard Bellatrix demanding to know what was wrong with his face, he barely heard the reply from that insolent Snatcher. But then his ears pricked.
"..Ran into a stinging Jinx..Was it you dearie?" Bellatrix turned around, pointing her long, murderous wand at Granger. Draco felt his stomach drop in fear.
Draco looked away from Potter and stood up, standing by his mother. He watched as Bellatrix cackled on her way past Hermione and Ron, who were caught in the grasp of one of the other Snatchers. She stopped suddenly in front of one of the Snatchers, and seemed to forget she went over there for Hermione's wand. Bellatrix stared at the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, held tightly and possessively in his grimy hand.
Barely breathing, Bellatrix asked;
"Where did you get that from?" She stared at him with large black eyes, that darkened immensely at the sight of the sword again. Her long black curls twisted down her sunken face and she breathed in sharply, seething.
"It was in her bag when we searched her-" He gestured to Hermione. "Reckon it's mine now." The Snatcher grinned for a split second before Bellatrix whipped her wand out in front of her, swiftly killing the Snatcher.
Bellatrix stunned another two Snatcher's before grabbing Scabior, the main snatcher, in a binding rope spell around his neck. A snake wrapped around Greyback's neck, hissing and squeezing the life out of him. Bellatrix, now holding the Sword of Gryffindor, ordered everyone out in a high pitched voice that sent shivers down Draco's back. The snatchers ran right out the door without a backwards glance.
"Cissy, put the boys in the cellar." Harry and Ron were dragged across the shiny floor of Malfoy Manor by Narcissa's urging grasp and down stone steps to a metal gate, where they were thrown, unceremoniously into the cellar.
"I want a little conversation with this one." Bellatrix grinned in Hermione's fearful face. "Girl to girl!" She screeched, dragging Hermione by the collar and throwing her onto the floor. Hermione fell, hard, landing on her side. She coughed and rolled over, onto her back, her arms stretched out either side of her.
Bellatrix bent down and straddled her, the weight of her nearly knocking the breath out of Hermione. She trembled in fear, unable to look away from Bellatrix's demented black eyes as she leant over her.
"That sword is meant to be in my fault at Gringotts. Where did you get it?" Bellatrix whispered, her face so close to Hermione's. Hermione sobbed in fear, squeezing her eyes shut, her heart pounding against her chest.
"What else did you and your friends take from my fault?" Bellatrix shouted in Hermione's face, and she sobbed harder, trying to gasp her words out through her chest wracking sobs.
"I didn't take anything! Please. I didn't take anything!" Hermione begged and sobbed. Bellatrix smirked and shook her head.
"I don't believe it!" Bellatrix suddenly moved and grabbed hold of her arm with one hand, the other pushing her head to the side. Bellatrix leant down and stabbed her arm forcefully with her knife, dragging it down her skin, rewarded by a blood curdling scream from Hermione.
Draco looked away from Hermione's withering form on the floor. He tried to block out her screams that pierced his soul as he sat at the little table in the far corner of the room, in vain. He could hear her kicking out, her feet slamming hard against the wooden floor. Hermione's hands were clenched into fists and banging against the floor too, her head shaking back and forth as she screamed.
Draco suddenly jerked at the force of his father's hands either side of his head. Lucius forced Draco's head in Hermione's direction.
"Watch and learn, son." He whispered in his ear, and Draco had no choice but to watch as Hermione screamed and thrashed out in pain at the knife in her arm. Hermione suddenly looked up at him, her mocha orbs swimming with unshed tears.
Hermione stared at him, her screams dying down. She pleaded with him to save her, to do something, anything. She screamed again suddenly, squeezing her eyes shut as Bellatrix removed the knife, only to put it back in again. Hermione could feel the knife forming letters on her arm and she screamed again and again, the sound ripping from her throat.
Bellatrix finally leaned away and admired her handiwork. She smirked and backhanded Hermione's face, who jerked back in horror, her head lolling to the side. Hermione shifted her head and gazed down at her arm, the disgusting and weeping letters that formed Mudblood seared her skin. She let a tear fall before she looked away, turning her head right around until she was looking at Malfoy again. He was staring at her arm in horror.
"I want the Goblin!" Bellatrix hissed before she nonchalantly flicked her wand in Hermione's direction. Hermione heard the words, despite them being spoken non verbally before the Cruciatus curse slammed into her.
Hermione screamed and thrashed out and clawed at herself, trying to rip the skin from her body with her nails. The pain was unbearable. Everything; chainsaws, knives, rocks, everything seemed to contact with her body hard, the pressure almost crushing her bones, stretching her muscles. Hermione's back arched alarmingly, her toes curling, her eyes lolling in her aching head that felt like at any moment it was going to burst. Then the pain subsided and Hermione's back landed on the floor again with a sickening crunch.
Draco opened his eyes; he'd had them shut throughout the whole curse that was inflicted upon Hermione. She lay convulsing on the floor, her entire body trembling violently. She suddenly stopped, heaving in a great big gulp of air before falling still.
"Wake up you silly girl." Bellatrix gave her a sharp slap on the cheek and groggily Hermione came through, only to be hit with the curse again. Draco winced and shielded away.
Suddenly there was a bang and Potter and Weasley came running up the stairs. Bellatrix snapped her head up, the curse lifting off Hermione.
"How-wha!" Bellatrix stumbled over her words as Potter stunned Narcissa Malfoy. Draco jumped up angrily, only to back away when he looked at Hermione, who was staring at him intently. It was now or never...
"Stupefy!" Draco yelled, sending his stunning hex towards his father, who wide eyed at Draco was sent backwards.
"Why you little-" Bellatrix started, but she grabbed Hermione before anyone else could even move and had her pressed against her front, her knife to her throat.
Harry looked at Hermione before staring at Draco, who had edged his way over to him.
"What are you doing?" Potter hissed at him. Draco was too busy staring at Bellatrix to acknowledge him.
"She is going to die." Bellatrix smirked.
"Over my dead body!" Weasley growled, making a run for Bellatrix, seeming to forget he was a wizard and had a wand. Draco rolled his eyes.
"No Ron-" Harry yelled but it was too late; Ron was suddenly stunned. Bellatrix looked around and Harry stared at Draco.
"What the-"
"If he'd have tried anything, he'd have died as well as Granger."
"Why are you helping?" Potter asked, his face all bright and shiny and new again.
"Potter!" Bellatrix hissed. "Girl! Lift my sleeve up." Hermione, with shaking fingers, did as she was told, and Bellatrix, with a loving look on her face, touched the Dark Mark on her left arm. Draco's eyes widened.
"Because I just am." Draco said as he sent a stunning curse towards Bellatrix, who dodged out the way but threw Hermione in the path of the curse. Draco cursed under his breath and sent another one towards Bellatrix, who dodged that with a simply Protego.
"Get Weasley."
"What about Hermione!" Potter yelled as he tried hoisting his best friend to his feet.
"I'll get her!"
"Dobby!" Draco heard Potter yell. There was a loud crack in the air as Dobby appeared out of thin air. "Oh Dobby thank god. To shell cottage. Get Hermione-"
But before he could finish Dobby had taken hold of Ron and Harry and apparated them to Shell Cottage. The last thing Draco heard of Harry was Harry screaming; "GET HERMIONE!"
Hermione was stirring on the floor and she looked around for Harry and Ron. When she came up short she panicked, rolling over, only to narrowly avoid a stunning curse cast by Malfoy that was deflected by Bellatrix.
"-You, you betray us! Your family, your own kind! The Dark Lord!" Bellatrix hissed, throwing a curse towards Draco which he smartly dodged.
"I'm doing what's right." Draco yelled, sending an electric blue curse that narrowly skimmed Bellatrix's shoulder.
"Are you going to kill me dear boy?" Bellatrix drawled, as she moved over to Hermione suddenly and bent over her. "You try it and she dies." Bellatrix smirked at Draco.
"Don't-" Draco started but he was cut off by Bellatrix's laughter.
"Why are you saving her, Draco? She's nothing but a filthy Mudblood." Bellatrix laughed again and raised her wand to Draco. "She's nothing.."
Aunt and Nephew pointed their wands directly at one another, staring into each other's eyes with contempt and hatred and fury.
"Avada Kedavra!"