Hello! So this is my third Harry Potter story, this time I tried something more dark, but I hope you'll like it. If you like the HG/SS pairing, make sure to check out the other two.

P.S: Rating may go up in future chapter.

Thanks.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

"Clearly, Narcissa, you're not thinking straight! The Dark Lord will see right through your plan!" Lucius tried to reason with his wife.

"We have to try, Lucius!" Narcissa begged. "We can't stay here anymore. Have you not seen how many people he brings here to maim, kill and torture?"

"They have it coming!" he spat. "They're filthy mudbloods!" he explained in a forceful whisper.

"Not all of them." She replied exhausted.

"The rest of them are blood traitors." Lucius replied calmly.

"It may be, but how long until he snaps and we're on the receiving end of that torture? What does it have to take for you to see that this is bad for us? Do you want to wake up one morning and see your son locked up in a cell, or even worse? You know he is not pleased with Draco's performances." Narcissa had tears in her eyes. There was nothing she cared about more than her son.

"Surely, Narcissa, it will not come to that…" Lucius replied after a moment of silence. The truth was, the Dark Lord did really seem unsatisfied by Draco's actions and he knew what happened when he was disappointed. Lucius felt it on his own skin. Others paid with their life while others got tortured for days on end.

"Lucius, he is our son and contrary to other's beliefs, I know how much you love him." She tried once more as she crossed the room and took his hand in hers.

With his free hand, the man slowly wiped away a tear that was running down his wife's cheek. He didn't know if he ever grew to love the woman in front of him, but she still remained the mother of his son and for that, he was grateful.

"Have you informed Draco of the plan?" he sighed defeated and he turned on his heels to pour himself a glass of fire whiskey.

"He's on board." Narcissa stated happily as she grabbed and hugged her husband from behind. She knew he was also on board.

"Good. We have to move quickly if we want this to work." He said and he poured the contents of his glass down his throat.

"Should we inform Severus?" Narcissa asked as she stepped away from the man.

"I don't think we should involve him. The Dark Lord will most likely release his fury on him after we're gone. It's better for him to not know anything. I don't want to get him killed. Not now when he finally has a… distraction." he chuckled at the thought.

"Poor girl…" Narcissa replied. "She's Draco's age, you know? I think once he even had a crush on her."

Lucius almost coughed out his second drink. "A crush, on that mudblood? Did he tell you that?" Lucius asked incredulous.

"He didn't have to. It was the way he spoke about her that gave him away." Narcissa explained with a smirk.

Lucius just shook his head to chase off the thought of his only son with a mudblood. "It doesn't matter now. In a few days, we'll be far away and she now belongs to Severus. And he was her best choice in the matter. Imagine what somebody like Greyback or Dolohov would have done to her if the Dark Lord had given her to one of them."

A cold shiver ran through Narcissa's spine at the thought. "I guess you're right. Severus is indeed her best choice."

"Narcissa," Lucius started after a few moments of silence, "things could turn out for the worst with our plan. You know that I wouldn't let anything happen to you or Draco, but if there is the slightest…"

"Lucius –"she interrupted him, only to be herself interrupted by him.

"No, if everything should happen to me, promise me you'll run and won't look back." He told her and she could almost see the tears forming in his eyes.

Narcissa always knew that her husband was a dangerous man. She learned from the beginning of their marriage what happened when she crossed him. She spent most of her life being afraid of the man in front of her. The time he spent around the Dark Lord only intensified her fears and worries. Every time he was called, she tried not to think of the many witches and wizards and sometimes muggles that must have suffered by his wand. It was true, she was also a Death Eater, one of the Dark Lord's followers, but she had to do it. She knew that from the moment she first held her son in her arms. She knew they wouldn't have other children. They didn't marry for love and after they married, they only got together to produce an heir. She was relieved when the child turned out to be a boy. That was all that Lucius wanted and there was no need to get together after that, but even though she knew he was seeing other witches, she still accepted him in her bed from time to time when he grew tired of the others. At times, Narcissa even hated her husband, but over time, she grew accustomed to him and learned to respect him. She wasn't sure if she ever felt love for him, but she was grateful for her son. He gave her a beautiful son and he was all that mattered to her.

She knew that even though he didn't show it often, Lucius also loved their son; they may not love each other, but they both loved Draco and that's why she wasn't surprised to see tears welling up in her husband's eyes.

"I promise." She replied in a whisper. "The same thing goes for you, Lucius. All that matters for me is our son's safety and happiness. Promise me that you'll keep him safe no matter what." Narcissa begged as she crossed the room once more to stand in front of him.

"I'll keep you both safe, I promise." He said as he pulled Narcissa close to him. She let her head fell on his chest as they sat in silence.

"Welcome all!" Headmistress McGonagall greeted from behind the large wooden table, but nobody seemed to notice her, everybody seemed distraught.

Harry sat crouched in the far corner of the room, near the door, his elbows resting on his knees as he held his hands on his head, like he was one step away from pulling his hair. He had a blank expression on his face. Everybody could see he was tired, but all of them were.

Ron stood next to him, leaning against the wooden wall. That wall was the only thing that was keeping him from collapsing onto the floor from where, if he was to fall, he wasn't sure he would ever be able to get up.

For the last three days, the boys, together with Remus, Tonks, the twins and Charlie were out searching for Hermione who has disappeared on her way to 12 Grimmauld Place and they found no sign of her. Everybody suspected what happened to her, but nobody wanted to actually say it.

"My dear friends, it's been almost four days since we last saw Miss Granger and despite our efforts, we found no sign of her. Although it pains me to even think of it, I think it's time to –"she started, but she was abruptly interrupted by Harry who stood up quickly.

"No!" he spat, "I won't rest until I find her!" he almost yelled.

"Me neither." Ron also said as he carefully stepped away from the wall to stand next to Harry.

"Boys, maybe you should take a rest first," Arthur tried to reason with them. "You've only been back for ten minutes."

"Arthur is right." Minerva agreed. "Maybe we should let another party try. Do we have any volunteers?" the witch asked as she scanned the room.

"I volunteer!" Neville said as he raised his hand and took a step forward.

"Very well Mr. Longbottom." Minerva smiled at the brave boy. "Anyone else?"

"Me too!" Luna followed Neville's example and took his hand in hers.

"And me." Ginny stepped next to them.

"Ginny, no!" Harry snapped.

"She's my friend too, Harry!" the girl responded coldly. She was not a child anymore and she hated when everybody treated her like one, like a child who needs protection.

Harry was about to take a step closer to her, to convince her, but Ron stopped him with a hand on his chest. "She won't listen, you know that." Ron whispered and Harry sighed defeated. Ginny only smiled.

"Right, we have three so far. Anyone else?" Minerva asked and the twins raised their hands in unison. "Anyone that didn't go before?" she emphasized and the twins lowered their hands.

"Us too." Bill and Fleur stepped forward as they looked at each other and smiled.

"Very well. It seems that we have our party." Minerva concluded.

"No, I'll go as well." Harry shouted and he took another step forward. Ron followed his example. It was clear that the two of them won't be separated.

"Harry, you need to rest. You all do" Arthur told him and he looked around to the others that just returned. "You all need to be in your best form because terrible things are coming. Hermione's disappearance was the first step." The older man explained and he left Molly's side to place his hands on Harry's shoulders.

"But –"Harry tried, but Arthur interrupted him.

"No 'but', Harry. I'll go with them while you all relax for a bit. Agreed?" he slowly shook Harry's shoulders.

"OK." Harry agreed after a long battle with himself.

"Very well, then. It seems that we have our searching party. You leave in an hour." Minerva concluded once and for all.

That night, Harry tossed and turned in his bed. In his dream, he found himself in a dungeon-like corridor, the cold air sending shivers through his spine. He walked for what seemed like an eternity through the dark corridors, the only source of light was coming from his wand. He didn't know how long he spent walking, but suddenly, out of nowhere, a great wooden door appeared only a few steps away. With the door also came the sound of someone laughing and as he got closer, the laughter intensified, as if it was coming from a crowd.

Harry was about to raise his wand to blast through the door, but he quickly realized that he didn't have a wand anymore and now the only source of light was coming from a small muggle light bulb above his head. The loss of the wand didn't stop him. He quickened the pace until he found himself in front of the door. When he got there, the laughter stopped only to be replaced with the distressed screams of a woman.

"Crucio!" he heard a man yell and the screams intensified following the sound of something or someone hitting the floor.

"Hermione." Harry whispered and he pushed the wooden door, but it wouldn't budge.

Harry took a step back and was about to try again when the door opened widely, revealing a room filled with dark hooded figures, Death Eaters he realized. They were standing still, in a circle, their backs towards him. They didn't move even when the wooden door hit the wall with a loud bang.

"Step aside, let me greet our guest properly." A voice whispered from the back of the room and the dark figures turned aside, left and right, leaving a passage between the two of them. It was only then that Harry noticed the girl that was collapsed on the cold floor, face down.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted and started running towards the petite figure. It was only when he passed all the Death Eaters and they formed their circle again that realization hit him. He couldn't see her face, but instead of her brown curls, the girl had long ginger hair. As he looked closer, he noticed that the girl wore the same clothes that Ginny wore before they left to search for Hermione.

"Ginny." He whispered as he fell on his knees and crawled to her. The room broke in laughter; even the Dark Lord was amused.

"Ginny!" he tried to wake her as he cradled her in his arms, but she didn't respond.

"She's not dead yet, my boy." Voldemort assured him with a strange chuckle. "But she will be soon." He threatened in a whisper as he lowered his wand towards them and shouted "Avada Kedavra".

Harry immediately woke up. In a second, he was out of bed and headed downstairs. As he climbed down the stairs, he heard voices from the kitchen and he quickened the pace. When he got there, almost everyone was inside the small room. Everyone turned towards him as he scanned the room. Finally, his eyes stopped on Molly who was crying on Arthur's shoulder.

"They have Ginny, don't they?" Harry asked, but was more like a rhetorical question.

Arthur nodded slowly as he gently ran his hand up and down his wife's back in a comforting gesture. The room filled with silence; only Molly's occasional sobs could be heard.