Ticket, a story by Spirit.
Dedicated to Revenge, my All-Welsh Reject. ;)
Author's Note- Thank you so, so much to the 15 people that reviewed my story, and to the others that put it on favorite/alert. You guys made my day!
This chapter took a bit of work, and I, personally, don't like it much. I'm going to blame that on the headache I had earlier today because of tangled hair and loud rock music. XD.
Enjoy.
"Hurry, Draco!"
Draco groaned. His damned father. Hermione glared up at him, and he sand down beside her with a sigh.
"I know you were tortured, but there's no way we're going to get out of here if you can't even walk, Granger."
"Don't you think I know that, Malfoy? And even if I could walk, I don't have a wand. They took our wands away, or have you forgotten?" Hermione asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. And she watched as he paled, if possible, even more.
"Shit," he said eloquently.
"Nicely put, Malfoy, 'shit' just about sums up our situation right now, doesn't it?"
"Shut up, Granger."
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then she screamed.
Draco sat up suddenly, and snapped his fingers. Her screams must be a brain stimulant.
"I've got it. Tickle!" he exclaimed.
Hermione edged away from him, muttering, "You really are losing your marbles, aren't you Malfoy?" She jumped when a loud crack sounded through the room. A small elf had appeared in front of Draco. The house-elf bowed down low, it's long, thin nose and bat-like ears touching the cold marble floor.
"What can Tickle do for Master Malfoy?" the elf-Tickle- asked in its high, squeaky voice.
"Tickle, I need you to bring the potion, and three spare wands from my father's wand collection. Quickly, and tell no one!" Draco ordered.
The elf bowed low and disappeared with another loud crack.
"What potion? And your father has a wand collection?" Hermione asked, while simultaneously screaming.
"A potion created by Professor Snape that greatly relieves the affects of the Cruciatus Curse, Granger, I've used it many times. And, yes, he does have a wand collection, the old creep," he said, in answer to her question.
She let out a little laugh. "Old creep indeed," Hermione agreed. There was another crack. Tickle had reappeared. The little house elf handed the flask and wands to Draco.
"Will Master be needing anything else?" Tickle asked with a bow.
"Not now, Tickle, remember, tell no one," Draco replied dismissively.
"Yes, Master."
Draco gave the flask to Hermione, who drank the potion gratefully.
"It takes a minute," he said.
She nodded, and said, hesitantly, "Listen, Mal-Draco. Thank you."
He gave her a long look. "I told you before, er, Hermione, I did it for myself too."
"I know," she said quietly.
Draco cleared his throat, causing Hermione to look up at him, a quizzical look on her face.
"You do want to get out of here, don't you?" he asked drily.
"Of course! Just… how?"
"I'm positive I know where they are," he started.
"Well, that's good," interjected Hermione.
"Not really," he replied, shaking his head, "there are anti-apparation wards on the room and all over the Manor. There's no way we can get out, unless we fly out the window, or run past the Death Eaters downstairs. Both very, very unlikely to happen."
Hermione blinked. And then she screamed.
"Malfoy!" she exclaimed, "house elves!"
He snorted. "And you thought I was crazy?"
"No, Draco," she said, remembering Kreacher's tale, "house elf magic is different from ours. The wards won't apply to them, I'm sure of it!"
"Well," he said slowly, "it's worth a try, I suppose. It's the only plan we have after all. Tickle!"
The house elf appeared with a crack. Hermione let out a long, high shriek.
"Tickle, can you try going into the prisoner's room and then come back?"
"Yes, Master," the elf replied reverently, and disappeared.
The odd pair sat in silence that was not, for once, punctuated by Hermione's random, but sadly necessary, screams. Draco watched her unconsciously. Her normally wild brown hair was matted with blood, and there were streaks of it down her face. Her Muggle jeans were ripped, and there was a tear on the sleeve of her shirt as well. Hermione, too, was watching Draco, who was no longer the pathetic, ferrety git he'd been all these years. The experience of last year, and this one, had changed him, that much was apparent. After all, Harry had told them how Draco had not wanted to kill Dumbledore. Tickle reappeared with a crack, and Hermione watched as Draco stood leaning against the wall with a kind of casual elegance she knew she could never manage.
"Tickle went to the prisoner room, Master, and Tickle saw Dobby taking the prisoners, Master. Dobby!" the elf said excitedly.
Hermione and Draco shared a look.
"He must have come to get Harry," Hermione said, "Dobby does have a thing for saving Harry. But I know Harry and Ron. They're going to send the others off, and go looking for me."
"I'll never understand this Gryffindor thing," Draco snorted, "but we'd better go, don't you think? Before they do something stupid. Tickle, take me and Hermione to the room."
The elf ambled up to them and took one of Draco and Hermione's hands in her own.
Downstairs, a huge argument was brewing between the Death Eaters.
"Where is that inept boy?" Bellatrix snarled, "he should be back and the mudblood should be dead!"
"Don't talk about my son like that," Narcissa told her sister coldly.
"If he doesn't come down soon, I'll go up myself to teach him and the mudblood a lesson."
Lucius, who had been standing in front of the fireplace, looking into it with clenched fists, whirled around and stalked up to Bellatrix.
"Would you, for once in your life, just shut up?" he asked venomously.
Bellatrix simply cackled. "No, Lucius, I don't think I will. And, besides, you really mustn't tell your superiors what to do. After all, the Dark Lord does not favor you as he once did. He sees, even after the Ministry incident, that I am his most devoted follower," she said haughtily.
Lucius was a Malfoy. Hell, Lucius was the Malfoy. And Malfoy's did not snap. They did not succumb to such things. But, in that moment, Lucius snapped.
"You crazy bitch!" he yelled into Bellatrix's face, "If it weren't for the Dark Lord's orders, you would've been kicked out of my home ages ago!" he pointed his wand at her, and before she had a chance to react, screamed, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Bellatrix Lestrange fell backward, frozen, onto the ground. Narcissa looked up calmly at her husband.
"Now, dear, was that really necessary?" she asked pleasantly, and it was evident from her tone that she believed it was.
"The woman gets on my nerves, Narcissa," Lucius replied, his voice deadly calm, "but she did have a point. Where is Draco?"
Draco and Hermione apparated into the room and watched, horrified, as Peter Pettigrew's silver hand, his gift from his master, strangled him. Draco's hand had somehow found its way into Hermione's, and she held on tightly. Harry and Ron had turned away from the gruesome sight the second they heard the 'pop' that marked the arrival of the others.
"Hermione!" they exclaimed together, their voices full of happiness and disbelief. They hurried towards Hermione, who quickly let go of Draco's hand, to his surprised disappointment.
"Merlin, are you okay?"
"What'd she do to you?"
"Dobby came and took the others to Shell Cottage, we'd better go quickly!"
"Sorry to break up the happy reunion," Draco said sarcastically, not sounding very sorry at all, "but we really do need to get out of here before someone notices that Hermione's stopped screaming."
The two Gryffindor boys looked at Draco as though seeing him for the first time.
"Malfoy!" Harry yelled, pointing the wand he'd taken from Pettigrew at Draco's throat, "what are you doing here?"
"I just saved Hermione's ass, and I'm about to save yours too," Draco replied snarkily.
"Your mental aunt was the one who tortured her in the first place," Ron said in a fierce whisper.
"Ron," Hermione cut in, "Draco saved me, healed me, and gave me a wand. He wants out. He's on our side."
"How can we trust him?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"The fact that I'm here and alive should be reason enough!" Hermione said angrily.
"Potter, Weasley, where did you send the others?" Draco inquired.
"Shell Cottage, my older brother's place," Ron replied reluctantly.
"Dobby took them there?" Draco asked, running a hand through his hair.
Harry nodded.
"Then we should go there as well."
"We?" Ron asked incredulously, "listen here, Malfoy, you can't-"
"Shut up!" Draco said, straining against the door, "someone's coming!"
He threw a wand to Ron. Just as Ron caught it, the door creaked open. The four froze in horror as Lucius Malfoy's head entered the room.
"Draco?"
Note- There it is! Liked it? Hated it? Review!
Come on guys, really, out of the 140 something (last time I checked) people that read it, only 15 bothered to review. (again, thank you guys!) That means I don't know whether or not you others liked it, what you thought I could fix, or, well, anything. So, if you read it, please, please review it, even if all you're putting in the review is a :) or a :(. That at least gives me some idea what you thought.
Now, that being said, I hope to have the next chapter up in a couple of days for you all. :)
-Spirit