Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I do not own Harry Potter. I do not own the plot, characters, spell names, places, etc. mentioned in the Harry Potter books and movies. I am writing for fun and not for profit.

Summary: Set after HBP. After months of enduring cruel games at the hand of Death Eaters as punishment for his failure, Draco manages to escape. Seriously injured, wandless, and accompanied by a 4-yr-old muggle girl, he struggles to survive. Will he be able to help put an end to the war, or will he suffer a fate worse than death?

Warnings: Violence, language

Chapter 10

"Does this forest go on forever?"

The disgruntled tone only served to further annoy the other tired members of the group. Everyone was exhausted, sweaty, and hungry, and conversation was stilted between them.

Offended at being ignored, Fred tugged on Draco's sleeve. "How much longer?"

Draco shot the Weasley a dirty look. "We'll be there soon," he said through gritted teeth. The prat had been grating on his nerves since early this morning. The wizard, who was almost comatose not five hours ago, was now nearly his old self and insisted on trying to start up a conversation with Draco every half hour. Fucking hell, Draco thought grumpily. This Weasel is worse than the muggle.

Sophie, to Draco's relief, seemed to sense his desire to be left alone. She had spent most of the journey near Ginny, chattering brightly about things only she found interesting. The few times she had strayed to Draco's side, she simply grasped the pocket of his trousers and walked in companionable silence next to him.

Draco heard Ginny groan from where she was walking a few steps behind him. "You said that an hour ago! It's past noon, we've been walking for hours, and we had nothing to eat since…two days ago! Water only fills you up for five minutes. How about poor Sophie? A child's got to eat!"

The blond heaved a big sigh but didn't bother to reply. Ever since he woke up early this morning to relieve the Weasleys from their watch, he had been uneasy. Of course, that nightmare that caused him to awake just in time to hear Ron's pathetic whining didn't help either.

Involuntarily, his fists clenched at the memory of the dream, of that moment in the cellar when he was forced to choose between his life and four others, his mother being one of them. Draco absently rubbed his middle at the phantom pain of the sword ripping through his body. If the twins and the girl didn't interrupt with their foolish attempt of rescue, he could be dead right now. Or maybe his mother would be dead. Draco grimaced. He didn't want to think about that right now.

Just then, a break in the trees appeared in front of him. Draco stopped and stared at it, slightly dumbstruck at the abrupt change in scenery. "We're at the edge," he announced to the trail of Weasleys behind him.

"Fucking hell, finally. What are you just standing there for? Let's go!" Fred moved past Draco, eager to see what was on the other side. "I can already smell the feast Mum will make for us. I swear, I can-"

He was cut off when he walked straight into something solid and staggered a few steps back. "The fuck?" he exclaimed, rubbing his nose, which had taken the brunt of the impact.

Draco blinked. Did the air in front of him just…shimmer? Slowly, he walked forward, the uneasy feeling growing in his stomach. He reached out a hand, and sure enough, it was stopped by some kind of invisible wall. A barrier. Draco bit his lip, suddenly understanding why Nott had left them so easily. They were trapped. "Damn it," he whispered.

The rest of the group had gathered around him and was looking at him, waiting, expecting as if he knew the answer to this new problem. Draco never thought that Weasleys would be looking to him for the next move, but then he never thought he'd rescue them either. He sighed. "Alright," he started. "Let's follow this barrier and hopefully there will be a break somewhere." Although that might be unlikely, Draco knew it was a bad idea to lose hope, not when they were so close.

Everyone jumped when an unfamiliar voice called out to them. "Finally here, eh?"

Jumping down from a tree that they had just passed was, to Draco's slight amusement, yet another redhead. This one seemed older than the Weasleys around him and had the appearance of someone battle-hardened. Despite the heavily muscled chest and arms, his overall look seemed friendly, especially with the mass of freckles that covered his face.

Ginny's squeal made Draco's ear ache, and as the rest of the Weasleys ran up to their brother, the blond stayed behind with Sophie.

"Charlie? How'd you find us?" Ron's voice was overly excited, his weariness replaced with glee.

Charlie shrugged, grinning at the expressions on his siblings' faces. "Received some message from a patronus a day ago. You shoulda seen Mum and Dad; they were dead set on getting you idiots back. I think Kingsley was forced to stun them, otherwise they would disobey orders and be here instead of me." He narrowed his eyes and inspected the bandages peeking through from the numerous holes of Fred's shirt. "Damn, I'm glad you're all alive…" For a second, his expression showed all of the worry and stress he experienced in the past couple of days.

For the next few minutes, he didn't get a chance to say anything else as his family rushed to hug him all at once. He joined in their laughter and teasing, reveling in the attention of his brothers and sister, all of whom had been believed to be dead by nearly all in the Order.

Draco looked away from the reunion, glancing at Sophie before looking at the shimmering wall behind them. A distance away was the beginning of rolling green hills, spotted at places with copses of trees. A glint of gray hinted a muggle railing, so there was a possibility of a road stretching nearby. Whether the road led to a muggle city or the middle of nowhere, Draco had no idea. His eyes roamed the field, although he had no idea what he was looking for. Perhaps Theodore Nott? Maybe he was waiting for them in ambush? Draco really didn't want to be back under the mercy of the Dark Lord.

Suddenly, the same phantom pain as before returned in his middle, causing him to wince. He gently rubbed at the spot and sighed. Really, spending so much time in his head was not healthy.

Bringing his attention back to the situation at hand, the blond realized that it was silent and there were no more sounds of a Weasley celebration near him. Looking back, he saw the entire family staring at him expectantly, as if waiting for an answer. He blinked, suddenly uncomfortable with all the eyes trained on him. "What?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, but it was Fred who answered him. "I said, you're coming with us, right? Charlie's got a portkey to a safehouse near the new headquarters."

Ginny nodded, strolling a few steps to grasp Sophie's hand firmly. "You and Sophie can stay with us. We can't really go back to school in September, but I'm sure we can find something to do."

Although the prospect of living in close proximity to these Weasleys seemed daunting, Draco was relieved at the invitation. He figured he had better luck with wizards than with muggles in a strange town, even if these particular wizards hated his family.

He was halfway through nodding when several faraway flickers of movement behind the Weasleys caught his attention. Recognizing the black robes and specks of white masks, Draco widened his eyes and took an involuntary step backwards. His back hit the invisible wall with a small thump. "Death Eaters," he told the others. "Hurry, use the portkey!"

Charlie whipped his head back and seeing the figures moving toward them, he started fumbling in his pockets. "Right," he mumbled. "Everyone, grab on to each other. It'll activate immediately after I say the word."

Draco barely noticed Sophie's small hand gripping his wrist as he watched the incoming Death Eaters nervously. Why didn't they just apparate to their location? Why give them time to—

The loud crack of apparation filled the air when two Death Eaters appeared in the middle of the group, successfully separating Draco, Sophie, and Ginny from the rest of the Weasleys.

Cursing, he pushed the two girls down in order to avoid the sudden barrage of spells one of the black-cloaked wizards sent in their direction. His middle gave a sharp twinge as he dropped down himself, leaving him gasping for breath. Ignoring the unexpected pain as best as he could, he looked up to see the large Death Eater pointing his wand at him, and with a grunt, he managed to roll out of the way before a bright red light could hit him.

Amidst Sophie's screams and cries, Ginny could be seen crawling back slowly over to the little girl, trying her best not to get noticed. They had been separated when she copied Draco and rolled away from a couple of incoming curses. She glanced at the others and swore under her breath. Charlie dueled with one Death Eater while Draco evaded the other. She bit her bottom lip in worry when she saw Ron, Fred, and George turning to stare at the group of incoming Death Eaters. They were still a bit away, but they were coming fast. Being wandless, there was nothing they could do once the Death Eaters came upon them.

Finally grabbing Sophie's hands and squeezing it in what she hoped was a reassuring way, Ginny desperately tried to come up with a plan. She was the furthest away from Charlie compared to the rest of the group, with the two Death Eaters and Draco blocking the way. She watched the blond for a moment, slightly impressed that he had lasted this long against a wizard without a wand. The Slytherin never stood still, and it was really no wonder why none of the spells thrown at him found their target.

Charlie on the other hand, stood his ground, flinging spell after spell toward the other, more lean, Death Eater. She noticed with some relief when Charlie periodically sent spells deeper into the forest, inhibiting the other Death Eaters' progress.

A sudden yell of pain brought Ginny's attention back to Draco. Her eyes widened when she saw him on the ground, grabbing his stomach and obviously in pain. Her gaze shot to the fat Death Eater, who stood frozen, head cocked to the side as if he was confused.

The moment had cost him, however, when Charlie hastily aimed a stun spell that hit the wizard squarely at the back of his head. The Death Eater promptly fell to the ground, causing his partner to quicken his own spell-casting. The rapid movements of his arms suggested his growing panic as the other members in the forest took too long to arrive.

Ron and George took the opportunity to dash forward, dodging pass all of the flying spells and making their way toward the Death Eater. Covered by Charlie's shields, George reached out and grasped a black-sleeved arm that was in the middle of working up a spell, bending it awkwardly back. Ron caught the wizard's leg when he tried to kick them off. With difficulty, Ron pulled the leg back and dropped down with his knee digging into the Death Eater's neck when he fell flat on his back.

Ginny released Sophie's hand and ran to pick up the fat Death Eater's dropped wand, hoping that it would allow her to use it. When the wand did nothing but let out bright yellow sparks at her touch, Ginny smiled and sent a stun spell of her own toward the wizard thrashing violently underneath Ron.

Gripping the unfamiliar wand tightly, Ginny then ran to Charlie, who was currently trying to slow down the incoming Death Eaters. He was sweating profusely from the exertion of sending too many spells in too little time. Seeing her brother tiring, Ginny felt a growing panic inside her.

"Charlie! We have to leave now!" George's shout burst through Ginny's panic and stirred her into action. She grabbed Charlie's free arm and dragged him back closer to the others. Charlie never stopped throwing spells into the forest.

Fred supported Draco, who was slouched over, one arm covering his middle. What little could be seen of the Sytherin's face under his blond hair showed paler than usual skin. Sophie clung onto Draco's other side, tears still falling silently down her cheeks.

Just as Ginny and Charlie reached the others, a deafening crack once again interrupted them. This time, the rest of the Death Eaters had apparated to them once they noticed their teammates had fallen.

A well-aimed blasting charm scattered the Weasleys, Draco, and Sophie yet again. All of them hit the ground hard, allowing the Death Eaters to surround them without a problem. "Don't let them regroup!" A Death Eater called out. "They'll portkey out of here!"

Another Death Eater mumbled, "Oh for the love of…accio portkey!"

Charlie let out a shout of frustration when a small, ornately decorated saucer jerked out of his hands and flew toward the Death Eater. A different Death Eater, one immediately behind Charlie, gave the redhead a vicious kick to his side. "One wrong move and we won't hesitate to hurt any of the others, you hear?"

Charlie, gasping from the blow, looked around desperately at his family. The expressions he saw on their faces made him want to explode in sheer anger. They had come so close, experienced a small moment of success only to have it all dashed away. Unexpectedly, he met the gray eyes of the Slytherin, who despite looking to be in excruciating pain, seemed to be trying to tell him something.

"So how will we do this?" A Death Eater asked. "Should we each grab one prisoner and apparate them back to the manor?"

"Only Crabbe is allowed to apparate directly into the manor. Do you think his Mark can help him side-along all six prisoners…as well as the four of us? Ten people?"

The Death Eater holding Charlie's portkey growled. "Well, I sure as hell ain't apparating to the damned border and walking the rest of the way with these prisoners."

A large Death Eater similar in size to the one that Ginny had stunned used the tip of his wand to scratch his head. "I can do it. I'm allowed one more trip, I think. The manor's not too far from here. I can apparate with ten people. My Mark will sting awful, though."

The wizard who had kicked Charlie clapped his hands. "Lovely!" He prodded the redhead with his foot. "Get up. All of you get up and gather in the middle. Hurry, because I have no problem with using the Cruciatus on blood traitors."

The other three Death Eaters stood together, two of them holding on to who must be Crabbe. They waited impatiently for the last Death Eater to finish prodding the prisoners into a huddle in front of them.

Charlie allowed himself to be moved and grabbed Ginny's arm when she came close enough. Fred and George held Ron's shoulder tightly and they shared the same look of defeat on their faces. Charlie looked around for Malfoy and the little girl, finally spotting the blond moving agonizingly slowly near the group of three Death Eaters. He was moving too slowly, almost as if he didn't want to cross the last few steps to meet the Weasleys. The older wizard stared at him, trying to figure out the message that he was trying to give him.

Draco's eyes moved deliberately to Charlie's right hand, where he still gripped his wand. Next, it moved to the overzealous Death Eater near them. After looking at Charlie pointedly, his gaze shifted to the portkey in the possession of the Death Eater to the right of Crabbe. Slowly, he moved his lips, making sure that his lips were easy to read. "Activation word?"

Suddenly, it hit Charlie. Malfoy's plan unfurled in his mind and although he knew it would guarantee his family's safety, he was reluctant to carry it out. He pursed his lips and glared back at the blond sternly.

However, when he heard Ginny hiss in pain by his side and turned his head to see the Death Eater running his hand through her long hair, Charlie felt something snap inside him. Glancing quickly back at Malfoy, he gave a curt nod.

Draco acknowledged the nod with a slight one of his own. Pushing the mysterious pain in his middle to the back of his mind and shifting his feet subtly, Draco waited.

Without any warning, Charlie yelled, "Family!"

Taking advantage of the startled silence following his outburst, Charlie and Draco moved in unison. The redhead yanked the Death Eater's grip off of his sister and jabbed his wand deep into the wizard's throat, mumbling a combination stun spell and incendiary curse that soon filled the air with the smell of burnt flesh. Hurriedly, he pushed the burning man away from him and grabbed Ginny and Fred's arms. Meanwhile, Draco sprinted the few steps toward the three Death Eaters, reaching for the portkey peeking through a gloved hand.

Repeating the overly clichéd password under his breath, his fingers touched the smooth edge of the saucer. Even as Crabbe's Cruciatus spell hit him, Draco refused to let go of the portkey. When he felt the familiar pulling sensation around his navel, he sighed in relief, especially as the torture spell abruptly ceased when the Death Eater realized what was going on. Although the Death Eaters tried to jerk away, the magic of the portkey already had them attached in order to insure a safe travel. Draco looked back just in time to see Charlie's thankful smile before the portkey whisked him, as well as the three Death Eaters, away.

The Weasleys stared at the empty spot in silence for a few moments, all of them aching from the earlier blast and disbelieving at what they had just witnessed. "What the fuck was that?" Ron asked, his voice wavering in the end.

Ginny whirled to look at Charlie. "Did you know he was going to do that?" she shrieked at him. Her indignant anger caused her cheeks to flush. "Why'd you tell him the activation word?"

Charlie sighed, looking around at his siblings before looking at the still burning corpse on the ground, as well as the two other unconscious Death Eaters. "He asked for it," he answered wearily. The sheer amount of magic he had used was already taking its toll on him.

"Well, you know where the portkey goes, right?" George asked.

Fred nodded. "We should go and get him."

Charlie blinked, once again looking at each of the young faces. Since when did they care so much for a Malfoy? "Unfortunately, I don't know where it goes. It's an unused safe house for the Order, that's all they told me."

Ginny groaned and rubbed her face. "So what do we…wait." Her hair whirled as she looked frantically around. "Where's Sophie?"

Ron swore and joined in the search, peering behind trees and bushes in case the little girl was smart enough to hide. "I don't see her," he called out.

"Me neither," the twins said from where they were looking a distance away.

"You think she got swept up in the portkey?" Ron asked.

Ginny scowled. "I don't see how, as she wasn't even touching the damned thing."

"Perhaps one of the Death Eaters grabbed her," Charlie suggested. Ignoring the dirty look Ginny sent at him, he gestured for them to gather around him. "There's nothing else we can do here. I guess we can just apparate to Bill's place for now, until they figure out where to put you. The Burrow's been compromised and now the Order's only letting a select few know the location of the headquarters."

No matter how hard they tried, Ginny, Ron, and Fred couldn't help but glance at George. The twin's head was down, but it didn't cover the redness of his ears or the dejected slump of his shoulders.

Noticing, Charlie placed a hand on his shoulder. "George, no one blames you. I would've done the same, trust me." He waited until George acknowledged his words with a small smile, and then walked to each of the bodies to pick up their discarded wands. He handed one to each of the twins. Ginny gripped her own stolen wand tightly, no longer feeling quite so defenseless. Charlie smiled grimly around. "Alright, let's get you home. George, you side-along Ron. Ginny, hold on to me. Fred, don't splinch yourself in your condition. We'll figure out what to do with Malfoy and Sophie later, I promise."

For the third time that day, the crack of disapparation disrupted the usual silence of the forest.