George Bernard Shaw
A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing.
They arrived in Hogsmeade and immediately hopped the Knight Bus into London. News of the prison break had not reached the public, so the group was safe for the moment. Harry found an ATM and drew out some money from his muggle account, which his parents had also set up for him. The rest of the group waited in a back alley while Harry went into a hotel to look for rooms for the night. He could see that they were all exhausted and he was afraid, if Draco didn't rest, he was faced with a possible suicide, and Harry wasn't in the mood of coaxing Malfoy off a roof or coaxing a damn razor out of his hand.
Coming back, he slipped into the alleyway and found the group. "Alright, I got three rooms," he muttered. "Ginny gets her own room, Ron shares with Zambini and I'm with Malfoy." Ron stared at Harry like he was crazy, but Harry gave him a "Not now, Ron" look and Ron shut his mouth, fuming. Handing Ginny her keycard, he also handed her a wallet. "There is two hundred dollars in there. Take it, no, Ginny take it. Get us some muggle clothes, as we'll be easy targets in robes. Please, Ginny." She bit her lip but nodded and hurried off. Turning back, he grabbed Draco's arm and hauled him up from the molding floor. Draco, who wasn't paying attention, merely walked along with him, eyes glazed over in pain.
Ginny knocked on a door to a hotel room and it opened, revealing Ron. He let her in and she found the other young men inside also. Dropping several bags on one of the beds, she smiled wanly. She had dressed at the clothing store, wearing hipster jeans, a fitting shirt with the words "They can't hear you" on it. She had changed into a pair of sneakers also and pulled her hair into a bun.
"Ok, I got everyone stuff, though I'm sure you might need to resize some things," she said. "And I also got you guys some change of boxers." She held up some boxers, all of them with some different cartoon of Snoopy on it. "Aren't they cute?" All the boys stared and Ron shook his head.
"We're not related," he mumbled. Draco reached into one of the bags and smirked, pulling out a baby blue lacey unmentionable.
"Looks like we're not the only ones she shopped for," Blaise said and the boys gaped at it. Ginny went beet red and leapt at Draco.
"Give them here, Malfoy!" she yelled. She snatched them away and got off the bed, glaring at him. "So, I shopped for myself. What of it?" Draco pulled out a box of tampons and raised an eyebrow as Ron choked and began coughing loudly. Ginny's eyes widened and she grabbed the box and the bag also. "Can't get anything, can I?!" she shouted at them, storming out of the room to her own.
The television was on but muted as Ginny let tears run down her face. A knock came at the door and she rolled over onto her side.
"Go away." She heard a door open and turned around to see Blaise standing in the adjoining doorway.
"Can we talk?" he muttered and she turned away from him. He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Look, I'm sorry." She glared at him.
"Do you even know what you're saying sorry about?" she snapped and he sighed.
"Red, I hurt you. I know and I'm sorry!"
"How could you do that to me! I'm your girlfriend and you behave like I'm an insect. Am I that insignificant to you?!" He grabbed her face and pulled it forward, kissing her firmly. She pulled away and got up. "Get out." He stood, but didn't budge. "Get out!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face. "I hate this! I hate it and I want you to leave!!"
"What is it that you hate so much?" he whispered and she slapped him.
"That's what I hate," she whispered. "I hate it that you make me fall right back in love with you even when I should be hating you!!" She slapped him again and he kissed her, pushing her back onto the bed. She pushed her arms against his chest, shoving him off and scrambling up. She had just reached the door when he spun her around and kissed her again, passionately and pleadingly. They stumbled into the wall and she whimpered, feeling his hands run down her side and up into her shirt. He fought for dominance over her and she fought back, moaning against his mouth as he pushed his tongue against her lips, demanding entrance. She bit his lower lip and he swore, shoving against her harder and she gasped. "Blaise," she begged and he pulled away, attacking her neck instead. He raised up her shirt, running his hands over her bra and back down to her lower back, feeling her shudder. "Please, stop," she whispered and he pulled away, gazing at her.
"What do you want from me?" he whispered against her lips. "I love you, Red…what more do you want?" She stared at him and turned away, pulling her hand away from him gently. Walking over to the adjoining door, she opened it, staring fixedly at the floor.
"Please go," she whispered. He gazed at her for a moment and then walked slowly to the door. Stopping, he took her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"What do I have to do to make you see that?" he murmured. She was frozen, unable to move away as he leaned in once more.
"Say my name," she whispered, eyes flickering to his lips and back. "Say my name…" He smiled, nuzzling her cheek and neck.
"Ginny."
"Do you think you're capable of making mistakes, Malfoy?" Draco opened his eye and glanced at Harry, was also on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"I married Ermione, didn't I?" he muttered, closing his eye. "I tink that counts as a mitake." Harry stared at him.
"How was she a mistake, Malfoy?" he growled. "I think you screwed that up yourself and now, thanks to you, we're hiding from the Ministry." Draco laughed.
"Who say she was da mitake, Potter?" he asked. "Ah cerpintly never said dat."
"Then what are you trying to say, because I certainly didn't understand what you said." Draco flexed his fingers and cracked his neck, letting his anger out that way.
"Marriage was a mitake, Potter. We neva should ave been married."
"That's for damn sure. You hated each other."
"Tha's na the reason. The reason is tha we were extremel...why am ah talkin to ou anyway? This is stupid." He rolled over and got up, opening the refrigerator. "Ah don't ave time fo dis." Harry sat up.
"Well, we're not going anywhere for the next few days." Draco spun around, eye blazing.
"DAYS?!" he roared. Harry nodded solemnly.
"Look, Malfoy. I know how you're feeling right now, but-" Draco was next to him in a flash.
"No, Potta, you ave NO IDEA how ah'm feelin," he hissed. "None of ou could possibly understan how ah'm feelin." Harry watched him for a minute and stood.
"Malfoy, what is the biggest mistake you have ever made?" he asked him softly and Draco started. He had been hoping Potter would get mad and they would fight, but instead he popped up a question that was making Draco think that maybe Potter did have a clue. He eyed the raven haired boy carefully.
"Lettin tha stupid, jumped up ittle mublu get ta me." Harry opened his mouth to speak when a knock came to their door. Harry got up and answered it. Ginny stepped in, running her hand through her hair. She sat down on the edge of his bed, watching Draco.
"How are you feeling?" she whispered and Draco laughed, waving his hand in front of her face.
"Ow do ou think Ah'm feelin, Red?" he spat. "Ah'm skin an bones, my wife is gettin fucked by a psychotic maniac an Potta's in ere tryin ta ge me to tell im all my mistakes. AH FEEL FRIGGIN FINE, RED!!!" Ginny's eyes were wide as Draco turned to the window, closing his eye to the tears that were threatening to fall. "See, Potta. This is why et was a mistake. This is why et was a mistake." Ginny glanced at Harry.
"Maybe I'll come back later," she murmured and Harry nodded. He walked her outside and shut the door behind him. She stared at the shut door, sighing. "He really does love her, doesn't he?" Harry nodded.
"I'm afraid of him doing something stupid about it too," he told her. "I mean, he almost killed himself before when he thought she was dead, but now that we know the truth, I'm afraid that he might try something that'll get him killed." Ginny bit her lip.
"We're in deep, Harry. We broke him out of Azkaban, Harry. Azkaban." A bellboy walked past and they watched him until he was out of sight. Lowering his voice, she turned back to him. "He's been convicted of so many felonies and now, we're in on it. We're housing a criminal, Harry!" Harry glanced back at the door.
"I don't think that even you believe what you said, Gin," he muttered. "He's as much a criminal as Ron's a Death Eater." Ginny opened her mouth but Harry shook his head, turning to her. "He may have a Dark Mark, but we both know he hasn't done anything. Ok, yeah. Maybe he's trashed some Ministry property, but we both know that there's nothing he's done that earns him Azkaban."
"Harry, he was convicted of attempted murder!"
"On Hermione!" Ginny looked like she had been slapped.
"What?" Harry glanced around and leaned in.
"I got his files from Mad-Eye Moody. He sent them to me because I told him I was interested in the trial. Apparently, Wizengamot and Ministry think he tried to kill off Hermione." Ginny stared at him for a moment and then a light bulb came on.
"Blaise did say something about Malfoy being blackballed by someone in the Ministry."
"That guy who had Hermione," Harry clarified.
"Mention something about seeing Draco dump a body off in an alleyway to some Ministry members who've been abused by the Malfoy family and you've got a convict right there." Ginny sighed and rubbed her head. "How are we getting out of this, Harry? We're in deep and the only way out is to clear Draco's name, even if it is just getting attempted murder off the file." Harry nodded.
"And to do that, we have to get Hermione." Ginny nodded and ran another hand through her hair. Harry eyed her carefully and she noticed, raising an eyebrow.
"What is it?" she asked him and he shrugged.
"What's up with you and Zambini?" he asked and she blinked, unsure on how to answer. Turning away from him, she ran a finger over her slightly bruised lips.
"I don't know," she answered. He touched her shoulder and she looked up at him.
"Are you sure?" Ginny sighed once more and the door across the hall opened. Ron came out, running his hand through his hair.
"So, what's up, my fellow criminals?" he greeted and Ginny shushed him.
"Be quiet Ron," she hissed. "Do you want someone to hear you?" He glanced at her.
"Are you going to answer the question?" he snapped back and Harry took hold of her arm, shaking his head.
"We were just talking about what to do next, now that we can't exactly return to Hogwarts or any magical community any time soon." Ron shrugged.
"Mum will have a heart attack when she hears about this," he muttered and Ginny groaned.
"Oh, we're in so much trouble."
"Nobody's going to believe us when we tell them that we broke Malfoy out of prison just so we could find someone else." Harry patted him on the back and put his hand on the doorknob.
"Looks like we're on our own," he said and they both nodded. "Great. A convict in the room, a best friend possibly dead and Voldemort out to get me because of some stupid prophesy. Could life possibly get any worse?"
Narcissa looked up from her book to see her husband hurry in, slamming and magically locking the bedroom door behind him.
"Lucius, is everything alright?" she asked him as he started opening different drawers.
"Draco has escaped from Azkaban."
"WHAT?!" She stood, eyes wide. "How?"
"Apparently, students from Hogwarts broke him out. Several Death Eaters faced off with them hours ago." Narcissa watched as he brought out a large sack and opened it, pulling out a large sapphire stone.
"Lucius, what on earth are you doing with that?" she whispered. He glanced at her.
"You really don't want to know, love."
Her body slammed into the wall with a resounding crunch and scream and she fell to the floor, gasping for breath as pain like a white hot poker seared through her. There were several men laughing in the shadows, where they stood and aimed curses at her. Using her arm, she managed to climb to her feet, ignoring the pain in her ankle, where she could see it swelling and turning purple and black.
"Draco has tortured me better than you all have," she spat, backing into the wall. "You haven't even touched the surface."
"This coming from a girl who, just hours ago, was screaming for me to let her go." Hermione could feel the blood rushing to her face, boiling in anger and fear.
"At least Draco can make me scream in pleasure instead of in horror," she hissed and was greeted with a red jet in the stomach. She sank to her knees, holding herself in pain. She felt a tiny kick and gasped.
You can't give in, Hermione, she thought, glaring through her hair into the darkness. There are too many people counting on you.
"Is that all you've got?" she whispered.
"Crucio." It was rewarded with her screams.
Draco bolted up in bed, drenched in sweat and gasping in pain. Harry was already sitting up, staring at him with wide eyes. This was not the first time that night that he had woken to Draco's yells and he was growing increasingly concerned. He had turned on the light and was now watching as Draco clutched his hair, eye closed.
"Malfoy?" he asked tentatively. "What the hell is it now?" Draco slid back into his sheets, groaning.
"We need ta fine er," he whispered. "We need to fine er now." Harry immediately understood and got up, pulling on some jeans and grabbing a jacket.
"Get dressed, we're leaving." Draco nodded numbly, getting out of bed. Harry opened his door and walked over to the next one. Knocking, he waited impatiently, fingering his zipper in agitation. Ron opened the door, hair sticking up in all directions.
"Wassup?" he muttered.
"We're leaving," Harry said. Ron merely nodded and closed the door. Harry walked to the other door and knocked. "Ginny," he hissed. The door opened and Blaise eyed him. Harry took a step back, slightly shocked but shook it off. "We're leaving now." Blaise eyed him once more and closed the door. Shaking his head, Harry entered his room again and found Draco dressed and sitting on the edge of his bed, grumbling to himself.
How long do you think you can hide before I find you? I know who freed you. How is it that Potter was one of the ones to free you from Azkaban Prison? Explain that to me.
"I'm na tellin ou nothing," Draco growled.
You are in a bad situation, Draco. You have joined the enemy and for that you will pay. I already know you know about your little mudblood. Well, I can make her a permanent member down here. She will be a lovely item to add to my collection. And I know you've seen my collection, Draco. You're disloyalty will not be overlooked, mark my words.
"Go ta ell, ou bastard." Standing, he grabbed the hoodie and sunglasses, putting them on. "Potta." Harry watched him carefully.
"What?"
"Let's go."
Ginny glanced around again and Ron rolled his eyes. "Will you stop that, Gin!" he hissed as they boarded the muggle bus. "You're attracting more attention than we need." Ginny glared at him and took a seat next to Blaise. Ron had a window seat with Draco and Harry sat opposite of Draco. Everyone's wand was hidden in the seams of the clothing. Blaise glanced at Ginny and took her hand.
"Stop worrying, Red," he whispered into her ear. "We'll get there." She turned to him, tears in her eyes.
"I hope so, Blaise," she whispered back. "Oh, I hope we do." He leaned in and kissed her and she pulled him closer. Ron reached over and rapped Blaise on the head.
"Oi, not on the bus," he snapped. Ginny blushed and turned back to the window, keeping her hand in Blaise's. Draco watched them and closed his eye.
"Draco, get off!" He pushed her against the wall, teeth digging into her neck. He grinned mischievously as she groaned and tried to shove him off her. "Draco, stop!"
"Make me, Mudblood," he hissed, hands slipping into her shirt and ripping it off altogether.
"Draco, please," she begged but he moved his mouth to hers, immediately getting her to part her lips and let him in. She was trapped between him and the wall and her struggle for authority was slowly waning. Her skirt went next and then her bra. Her arms tried to push him off but he shoved her onto the bed, grinding into her forcefully and listening to her whimper and moan at the touch of his fingers against her exposed skin. His lips drew back to her neck, allowing her to catch what little breath she had. "Draco, no…"
"Tell me something I want to hear," he growled, finger trailing the lace of the only article of clothing that she was still trying to keep on herself.
"Draco, stop!" He shoved against her, starting to draw her undergarment off.
"Wrong," he hissed. He could hear her struggling to breath and was basking in his strength and domination over her.
"I love you," came her faint voice and he stopped pulling off her lacey underwear. He sat up so that he was straddling her now and stared down at her. Her face was flushed as she caught her breath and propped herself up onto her elbows. He reached over and stroked her hair, kissing her softly.
"Wasn't what I was looking for," he whispered and proceeded to take off the underwear. "But it will have to do…"
"Draco." Blaise shook his friend slightly. He opened his eye and stared at him.
"What?" Ginny reached over and brushed several tears away.
"We're getting off here. Looks like the Ministry's checking busses too." He shook his head and stood pulling the hood further down over his face. People around him were already getting off the bus, muttering something about bus checks. Getting off, the group clustered into the corner. There were a line of busses on the side of the street with police officers getting on and off.
"Come on," Harry muttered, motioning forward. "We walk for a bit and then catch a cab."
"Where do we go?" Harry watched as a woman was searched.
"Godric's Hollow."
