Chapter 10 Explanation and Solutions

A/N: Sorry for the late update. It's been over a month already. Oh my gosh I feel really bad I'm sooooooo sorry. I went to America during this time and I really didn't have either time or equipment to update. And the three projects my teachers assigned me to do were real nasty. I spent two days fixing my eyes to the computer just to finish them first thing I came back. The projects were full of pictures and it was really annoying, repeating the same procedures just to get them done.

And recently I discovered several songs that are simply so great. Have you guys ever listened to Drunk on Love by The Wanted? Or Only Love that was the background music in The Vampire Diaries? Or Just the Girl by The Click Five? Or Last Beautiful Girl by Matchbox Twenty? Or Eternal Flame by Tiffany Giardina? These are by far my favourites. Go give them a listen!

I hate to break this but I'm so disappointed. Recently there's no review whatsoever. So upset. Guys just review and tell me what you think. Even if it's just an emoticon. You can tell me what you like and dislike about this story and give me some advice on how to improve it. Please just REVIEW! I'm waitin' :)

Ah guess I've talked too much. Oops sorry.

Draco let go of her and left. He still had business to deal with. Looking around he found Blaise fighting with a Death Eater. Draco shot a clean Killing Curse at him and dragged Blaise away, apparating to a cottage near the edge of the sea on the other side.

'What?' Blaise started, clearly annoyed at the sudden Apparition.

'You stole my line.' Draco glared back, 'what the hell were you thinking, telling Granger all of that in that letter of yours, hmm?'

A flash of horror flickered through Blaise's eyes, then it was gone, replaced by defiance and determination.

'What's wrong with telling her? If I haven't, you probably wouldn't get what you've wanted for ages, now would you? And here you are, scolding me for letting her know? That's appreciative, Draco!' He rolled his eyes.

Draco sighed. He was right. If it wasn't for Blaise, Hermione would still be mad at him, no doubt. He should be glad that Blaise told her all of that.

'Sorry, mate.' He mumbled.

Blaise punched him hard on the shoulder, 'be nice to her okay? Don't be such a jerk any more.'

'Yeah.'

Silence ticked by.

'This isn't the only reason you took me here.' Blaise said, more like a statement than a question.

'No. Actually I need you to help me with something.'

Draco stopped short. He had no idea how to break this to Blaise, nor did he know what his reactions would be.

Blaise sensed the silence worries.

'What?'

'Help me destroy the Dark Mark.' Draco said, holding out his left arm. Luckily he broke the connection with Potter's mind before he came here. He didn't want Hermione to fret or anything.

Hermione. Sigh.

Blaise stared. 'Wait-what?!' he shouted incredulously. 'You know this move can kill you, right? Even though you have the Dark Lord's powers in you, you still won't be able to fight it.'

'I know, mate.' Draco sighed, exasperated. 'But only I can end all of this.'

Blaise raised one eyebrow questioningly.

'I'm the Heir, right?' Draco frowned at the Mark, 'so the Mark on my arm links with all the other Marks. Destroying mine can finish off all the others.'

'But then you will die!' Blaise yelled angrily, 'do you really have to choose this moment to be selfless?'

Draco looked down at his shoes, then looked up, his face sober, 'this isn't selfless, Blaise, it's the consequence. I brought them here. Now I have to kill all of them. This is the only way out.'

He turned towards the door, 'if you don't wanna help, I'll just go find someone else and Imperius them to do so.'

Blaise gaped in shock.

He knew he should never question Draco about anything he wanted to do. He always did things with a certain purpose.

'Man are you sure about this?' Nonetheless, he felt he should ask. He stopped Draco at the door, 'I mean, have you thought this through?'

'Of course I have,' snapped Draco, his voice coming out harsher than he expected, 'I'm not a Gryffindor alright? I'm not brave; I'm a coward, and I certainly don't plan on killing myself out of necessity.'

'Did you ever think of Hermione when you search for this? How she'll deal with this, if you're dead?'

'We've only been together for, like, an hour.' He sighed, 'she'll live.'

'You arse, Malfoy. Are you blind? Anyone with eyes can see that the bond between the two of you is stronger than anything made in an hour,' Blaise hissed, his voice murderous, 'and not just five minutes ago I told you to not be a jerk and you promised, but now you're going back on your words?'

'There's still a chance that I'll live.' Draco whispered. 'But how small that chance is.' He sighed mentally.

'Then you'd better get your butt back here after I destroy your Mark or else I'll kill you.' Blaise spat. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his wand. 'Give me the damn incantation.'

Draco muttered a spell so long and complicated it took Blaise around four times to finally got the hang of it, even with his brilliancy at Charms.

Pointing the tip of his wand at Draco's left forearm, Blaise closed his eyes and took a deep breath before murmuring the incantation.

A silver vine of shimmering light shot out of the end of Blaise's wand, and wrapped itself around Draco's Dark Mark. Seconds later it broke the connection between itself and Blaise's wand tip on its own accord, wrapping itself entirely around Draco's arm.

Sensing the disconnection, Blaise opened his eyes to see Draco slumped onto the ground.

'Draco.' He called, 'Draco!'

But even though he was right in front of him, Draco couldn't hear him.

He was already under.

Draco woke up into total darkness, his head throbbing like mad and his left forearm was so sore he was surprised he didn't see any bruise there. What shocked him the most was that his arm was white and clean, no Dark Mark on it to taint the whiteness.

'You've been brave, my boy.'

The voice didn't startle him. The speaker did.

'Professor Dumbledore,' he said, gasping and struggling to get to his feet from the floor.

'You've been courageous, selfless, and unreasonably rational. I'm so proud of you.'

Draco felt himself blush, embarrassed. He never expected Dumbledore to say anything like that; he didn't deserve any of the compliments.

'But, Professor, aren't I supposed to be dead?'

'Yes and no.' Dumbledore smiled. 'Sure, using that spell could only mean you have a death wish, but there was something holding you back when you fell unconscious. So you're here.' He winked.

'So, so I'm not dead?'

'I think not. More like you're being trapped between life and death. It depends on you though, whether to go back or not.'

Going back would hurt so much. And Draco wasn't sure of that. He wanted nothing to do with all of this crap anymore. Being the Dark Lord, leading the breakout, releasing all the guilty Death Eaters, second-handedly killing several Aurors. He never wanted these to ever happen. He was just seventeen, and his life was already a piece of shit (A/N. forgive me).

But Hermione. The girl he had a crush on. The girl he loved. The love of his life. Dumbledore never knew, but it was Hermione that held him back then, keeping him sane. She was the reason he was still here, alive, though barely.

'I'll go back.' He said, somehow managed to sound fierce.

'Wait.'

The hiss sent a wave of shock through Draco. He stopped, but didn't turn around to face the speaker.

'If you want to go back, young Malfoy, you have to get through me.'

Draco sneered, finally turning around to face him.

Dumbledore had disappeared. Standing in the spot where Dumbledore was seconds before was Voldermort, with his usual long dark grey cloak. Upon seeing Draco's face his nostrils flared, and he withdrew his wand.

But Draco had his ready in his hand ever since he woke up into this unknown place.

'Expelliarmus!'

'Avada Kedavra!'

The spell and the curse met each other with a deafening bang. And Voldermort started jeering not seconds later, trying to get to Draco's nerves.

'Do you know that if you didn't make it, I will take your body and go back?'

Draco laughed coldly, 'of course I do, Riddle. You think I would use that incantation without thoroughly researched, do you?' Another cold laugh. 'Stop being so naïve.'

'Don't you dare call me naïve!' Voldermort screamed, 'you are nothing but a stupid, arrogant child. And after I kill you, you will be nothing more than a useless bag of flesh and bones!'

'See, that's why you're so naïve.' He stressed the last word, 'you honestly think I'm still the weak boy? Do you ever learn, Riddle?'

Voldermort let out a shriek of frustration. As the connection between them slowly dragged on, he realized that the boy in front of him was indeed stronger than before. Though he would never admit that Draco was stronger than him.

Draco was sneering again. One thing the Dark Lord didn't know was that he was capable of wandless magic, which was the most advanced branch of magic and not even Voldermort himself could muster it. This was why he was so sure he could get out of here. This was why Voldermort would fall to ground.

He released his left hand from his wand, letting only his right hand to be in control of the wand and the spell. Raising his left hand, he waved it in a swift motion in front of him and thought, 'Sectumsempra!'

An invisible hand sliced through Voldermort's torso, blood gushing out from the long and deep cut starting from his left shoulder all the way to his right thigh. Voldermort toppled over onto the solid ground, breaking the wand connection. Draco used this opportunity to send a Killing Curse flying straight towards him, hitting him fully in the chest.

Clever and paranoid as Voldermort, he didn't even thought of using the Protego Charm to protect him. Draco smirked, and the fog densed.

A/N: There ya go! Anyway Draco is going back. What do you think Hermione's reactions will be? Give me some ideas please? Tell me what you think in your comments or PMs :) Oh and, Chapter 5 has added something. Feel free to go back and read again!

Thanks:)

-Isabelle