Chapter Fourteen

Back again with a new chapter, continuing straight on from the cliff hanger. Work is consuming my life right now, difficult to find time to write. But I'm persevering with extreme stubbornness. As always, JKR is the real headmaster of Hogwarts!

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Hermione's head was spinning as the room darkened around her. The already dim candlelight seemed somehow hazy and indistinct. The sudden, even brighter glow of Andromeda's wand made a vein in her temple throb defiantly. As if he was speaking from a great distance, she could hear Draco's voice telling her to take deep breaths as he helped lower her onto the couch. She vaguely felt his hand rubbing her back and she focused on the soothing sensation. Slowly she was able to concentrate on his face; his furrowed brows and his lips pursed with concern. She swallowed a dry lump in her throat.

"How much could they see? Are Harry and Ron okay? Are they alive?"

Her voice was croaky and panicked and she winced at the bleak thought that it might already be too late. Andromeda sighed and leaned against the mantle over the fireplace.

"We don't know many details. The informant told us that he could see Harry and that he appeared to be locked up somewhere dark…"

She was looking at Draco as he said this and he nodded quickly.

"One of the cellars, probably. It's a series of old underground rooms where prisoners have been kept lately. I remember father had a goblin in there, though I don't know why."

Hermione looked rapidly between the blond haired boy and his aunt.

"Can we get in there? Surely you could apparate us there if you know it."

She was already jumping to her feet when Draco shook his head.

"The place is warded too heavily. As I told the Order before, since the Dark Lord added his own protections the whole manor has been rigged with curses and traps to stop intruders. Even I can't just appear there now that I've left. I would need an invitation charm cast on me. They would have changed the wards since I left, because they always renewed them every week or so. He's a paranoid psychopath, remember? I'm sorry, Hermione… but I can't get us in there."

Draco appeared truly apologetic as he spoke. His face was downcast and she knew that he felt ashamed that he couldn't offer a solution. Hermione grasped his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. She was sure he would feel her fingers trembling in his.

"Okay. Well what can we do?"

Andromeda shook her head.

"I don't know. The Order are discussing the situation too, but they're also at a loss. We can't get in, and even if we did, You Know Who is there…"

Draco hummed thoughtfully, his grip on her hand tightening too.

"He might not be. That last month I was still living there, he was rarely in residence. He was travelling somewhere on his own mission we knew nothing about."

Hermione let out a breath and her heart lifted slightly even though it was still pounding painfully against her ribs.

"That's good, isn't it? If he's not there…"

Draco shrugged worriedly, chewing on his bottom lip.

"Maybe. But if they've truly captured the infamous Harry Potter, I doubt Lucius and Bellatrix would have waited long before calling for him. They would both be too eager for the glory of handing him the Chosen One."

Hermione's stomach clenched and rippled with nausea.

"Oh God! Oh god… Please, I have to get to them somehow. I have to-"

Hermione froze and pulled away. Her eyes went round as she stared at the two other people in the room, not really seeing them. Her mind had just come to a halt as something struck her.

"The coin…"

Without pausing to explain, she dashed up to the bedroom where her beaded bag lay. Tearing it open she fumbled around inside for a few moments in aggravation. When that didn't work because her hands were too shaky, she grappled on the bedside table for her wand.

"Accio galleon!"

The little piece of gold flew into her hand. She raced back downstairs with it clutched inside her white-knuckled fist. The metal was cold.

"We were supposed to leave messages for each other using this if anything went wrong…" she told the two people there who were pacing back and forth anxiously and speaking together in low voices. Draco and Andromeda gathered close to inspect the galleon over her shoulder. Hermione flipped the little coin around and inspected the letters around the top. Nothing had changed since the last time she had used it. No message from Harry. No clue of anything that had happened. She sighed with disappointment.

"Is it a protean charm?" Andromeda asked.

"Yes," she murmured, placing it in her palm and tapping it with her wand to prepare her own message to send through.

"That's very advanced magic."

She didn't respond to Andromeda's praise, just focused on the letters she would use to get in touch with Harry.

RUOK?WHRU?

Hermione let out a shaky breath and leaned her head into her hands. Her head was throbbing as she stared down at the galleon, willing it to send her a reply. She recognised a warm weight on her back and knew that Draco was trying to keep her calm again. But when she lifted her head and looked into his eyes she could see that he too appeared tormented and afraid.

What happened? What went wrong? She wondered to herself, her thoughts a chaotic jumble as she tried to make sense of it all. The wards she had used and taught the boys were strong, and the tent itself held a wide range of charms that would prevent it from being detected or seen. If they did everything as normal, it would be impossible for snatchers to just stumble upon them. Unless they went investigating somewhere stupid looking for horcruxes or called attention to themselves somehow…

The slight weight of the coin in her palm suddenly burned. Hermione choked on a gasp and stared at it unseeingly for a moment in fright. The words started to form slowly.

"He's replying!" she exclaimed, drawing the attention of Draco and Andromeda again as well. As each letter formed she watched them in puzzlement, before taking in the message as a whole.

.REDWNE

The letters stretched around the entire circumference of the coin. They were almost too tiny to read. But as she observed them closely, she turned them over in her head, trying to figure it out.

"Taboo…" she muttered to herself, "One of them must have said You-Know-Who's name," she concluded with a groan. Andromeda also released a pained grunt, probably sharing her frustration, "Those bloody fools!"

She could not suppress the feeling of rage that rose up inside her, cursing them for their stupidity. To risk losing so much over something so silly… Hermione grit her teeth together hard enough that her jaw ached. Burying her anger as best she could, she pondered the next two letters.

"M…M?"

Draco made a humming sound and pointed his finger at the coin insistently.

"Malfoy Manor, right? They wouldn't realise that you already know that."

Hermione nodded. It made sense. Harry would be most likely to communicate the very basics of what had happened and where he had been taken. But it was the last part that confused her.

"Red wine?"

Andromeda shook her head, mystified. It didn't mean anything to her, either. But then Hermione looked up at Draco again and noticed that he was thinking very carefully. His eyes had gone slightly distant and he was tapping his foot against the floor.

"What is it?" she asked urgently, the galleon grasped tightly in her hand as though it was a lifeline. Her pulse had been racing so fast she felt almost dizzy by now. Draco blinked and looked up.

"Red wine… It must be a clue about the cellars!" he reasoned out loud, explaining his thoughts, "They're sprawled out all over the manor, but each one has a purpose. I don't normally go anywhere near them so I'm not entirely certain. But I think that Lucius has one designated for drink and spirits. He's quite fond of Dragon's Tonic. To someone like Potter it would look a bit like muggle red wine."

Hermione nodded hurriedly, the galleon feeling warm and slippery as it rested in her palm.

"So he's really there…" she breathed to herself as the unhappy truth was confirmed. A shuddering sob wracked her body and she slapped her hand over her mouth. Andromeda grasped her shoulder firmly, giving her a pained look and rubbing her upper arms comfortingly.

"I'm sure the Order can do something… There must be a way to get in there," she reassured, "Draco, do you know where exactly in the manor that particular cellar is located? That might help."

Draco looked distressed. He paced in front of the fireplace with a dark scowl.

"I don't know, I never went down there! It was just for storage. Only the house elves…"

At that moment he stiffened and stopped suddenly mid step. Hermione's heart skipped watching him. His steely, troubled eyes widened as he spun around to stare at her. A look of agitation overcame him as he raised his hands up in realisation.

"The…they…that's it… yes, that's it!" he stammered, striding back over with an expression of dawning hopefulness.

"What is it?" Hermione pressed, her own heartbeat starting to race faster and faster again.

"The house elves! Don't you see? It's their area of the house. They work there, sleep there, eat there."

She frowned at him in confusion.

"Okay… how does that help us?"

Andromeda was clearly following along though, and Hermione figured it must be one of those ancient things about house elves that she didn't understand. The older woman gave him sharp, calculating look as she considered his point, interrupting him before he could explain himself.

"But surely the Malfoy elves would have responded to your abandonment and broken their bond by now, yes?"

Draco nodded.

"How did you know?" he asked.

She shrugged stiffly.

"Shortly after I left and ran away with Ted to get married…" she paused, grimacing in pain at the difficult memory, "…I tried calling for one of the old Black family elves who used to be kind to me when I was little. Gippy was her name. But she couldn't come to me. I never saw her again."

"I didn't realise it would happen either," he told them both, looking sad for a moment, "But sure enough, ever since I left, the elves won't answer me. They can sense that I've deserted the family."

Hermione blinked as she started to see what he was getting at.

"But you think a Malfoy house elf could get in there? Through the wards and into the cellar, I mean."

He nodded firmly, his mouth set into a stubborn frown. Her stomach rolled a bit, wishing that it was as simple as calling one of them to help. But it sounded like the ancient magic tying house elves to their families was more than a little complicated. Draco and his aunt both seemed fairly certain that he would not be able to just summon one, not with the fracture in the magical bond that was no longer tying him to the Malfoy house.

"But," he continued on with a slightly wicked smirk, "there is one house elf who could help us."

Hermione gaped at him, an idea forming in her mind of one particular elf he might possibly be referring to.

"You don't mean…"

"Dobby," he interrupted hurriedly before she could finish, looking rather devious, "I bet you anything he can still access every square inch of that house. "

"But he was freed. Surely he can't get into the house," she argued, but Draco shook his head. His eyes were alight with the plan that she could see forming more and more clearly in his mind.

"No, actually. Dobby chose to defy his servitude. Every day since that incident in our second year, Dobby has chosen not to serve us, but that doesn't mean the bond doesn't still exist in some form or other inside him. I mean, think about it. Lucius never meant to give him that sock. Imagine if every house elf suddenly became free whenever they accidentally came into contact with clothes. They'd never get any laundry done for a start!"

Hermione pursed her lips, knowing that for once in her life now was not the right time to get into a fight about hose elf rights. Draco continued eagerly,

"Dobby was always a bit…odd. He hated my father and the feeling was certainly mutual. But technically he was never actually presented with clothes. He just grabbed the opportunity to justify his leaving to himself. And house elf magic is strange. They can get past most wards and charms if their master calls. You can't sever a bond with a house elf very easily. Unlike me, he could probably still access that cellar."

As he spoke, Hermione felt a small slither of courage blossom inside her stomach and spread out through her body. She found herself fidgeting restlessly, keenly even, as she contemplated the idea. Andromeda shrugged and smirked as well.

"It sounds plausible," she said shortly, and Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Can you call him?"

Draco shrugged and his lip twitched.

"I can try."

As he took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his wand, Hermione felt the sharp ache of her earlier abject terror fade into a sort of strange, determined calm. In the face of Draco's sudden confidence she felt reassured. Mere minutes ago, it had all seemed so hopeless. But now maybe there was a slim chance that she could help them. That was what she desperately wanted now. At the start of their journey this year she had made a commitment to Harry and to their quest. She had been willing to give her life to help him. And no matter what happened or what might have come between them since then, she would honour the vow she made to herself to do everything in her ability to make sure her friend survived this war, to truly become the boy who lived. Draco cleared his throat a bit uncertainly and spoke to the ceiling.

"Dobby?"

When there was no reply he raised his voice more loudly.

"Dobby!"

Another silence followed. Draco exchanged a worried look with his aunt, but just as he opened his mouth to speak for a third time, there was a distinctive pop behind them. The three humans spun around to see the little elf, who stood perched on top of the coffee table there. His eyes were round and bulging as he surveyed the room with a wary gaze. His bony little fingers were twisting together nervously.

"Ma…master…Draco?" he stammered in a high, squeaky voice. Draco gave a sort of grimace as if he tried to smile but couldn't quite muster it.

"Um…hi Dobby."

The elf looked very puzzled as he blinked up at the blond Slytherin boy.

"Dobby is hearing you calling. But you isn't calling Dobby for over a year!"

Draco shuffled a bit in embarrassment. He glanced at Hermione guiltily and shrugged one shoulder up and down.

"He actually used to bring me food when I was working in the Room of Requirement during sixth year," he explained, "When I first saw him working at Hogwarts… well, let's just say we started talking again. Sort of. More like he took care of me while I moped around a lot."

This drew the elf's attention to the two women who were also in the room. Hermione noticed that as Dobby's eyes moved over to her he squealed and nearly fell off the table.

"Miss Hermninny!"

"Hello Dobby," she said with a shaky smile, although she was starting to feel slightly impatient. They were running out of time.

"Is Harry Potter here too?" the elf called out excitedly, his head swivelling around the room as if the boy would be hiding somewhere waiting to surprise him.

"No, Dobby," Draco explained gently, taking over again. He leaned down next to the elf, "That's actually why I called you here. Potter is in trouble."

Almost immediately the elf's whole face dropped and his eyes glistened with tears, ears pointed down towards the floor.

"Harry Potter in trouble?"

"Yes, we were hoping you could help us. He's being held captive in Malfoy Manor in one of the cellars. Do you think you would still be able to get in there?"

The elf nodded hurriedly, his little body trembling with sudden fear at the thought of his hero in danger.

"Dobby sometimes checked on master Draco after he left Hogwarts. I is coming and going from the house without anyone seeing. Dobby's new employer made him promise solemnly to watch over master Draco."

Draco was a bit taken aback by this revelation. He gaped at the little house elf for a long moment in speechless shock. Hermione, however, had become much more familiar with Dumbledore's strange, almost prophetic behaviour over the years. After what Harry had recounted to her about his behaviour that night on the Astronomy tower, she wasn't at all surprised that he would make sure that someone kept an eye on Draco after everything went to hell.

"Dumbledore told you to spy on me?" Draco asked a bit suspiciously, showing quite clearly that he did not have the same faith in the headmaster that Hermione did. She shook her head but it was Dobby who answered,

"Not spy! No! Just watch. Keep guard so no one is hurting you!"

Draco visibly swallowed but then brushed this new information to the side in favour of other more urgent tasks.

"Okay, well that's good then. So… is there any chance you can help us Dobby?"

The little elf nodded enthusiastically, his pointy ears bouncing up and down as he rocked up and onto the balls of his feet. The little blue tea cosy he was wearing flopped over his face slightly and he pushed it away.

"Dobby will do anything Master Draco asks him. He is very kind to elves, sir! Not like when he was nasty little boy. He is good now and he is friends with Harry Potter!"

"Well…let's not go crazy…" Draco muttered but Dobby didn't hear him in the midst of his excitement.

"And Dobby must save Harry Potter! I go right now!"

"Wait, Dobby, can you take us with you?" Hermione asked, glancing over at her shoes and coat near the front door and making a move to grab them.

"No Miss Hermninny. Only elves go in. Wizards blocked. Nasty wards and curses around. They might split Miss Hermninny into little pieces!"

Hermione's spine tingled and she nodded in acceptance. Draco hummed in agreement as he considered the problem.

"But you can get people out?"

"Dobby can try, Sir!"

Hermione thought it was strange the way that Dobby insisted on being a free elf and defying his family bond, and yet by his very nature he treated Draco like his master. It was no wonder elves like Winky who had no place to go were all so confused and depressed. She might have to revise some of her strategies for S.P.E.W.

"Okay, listen to me very carefully Dobby, and do exactly as I tell you. Alright?"

Dobby's ears pricked back and he met Draco's gaze very seriously, his body going rigid and obedient in an instant. Hermione glanced at the blond boy's face in concern, but realised that his eyes were soft, worried even, and she knew he was using their bond for a bloody good reason to try and keep the elf safe.

"Dobby promises to be a good elf and do as Master Draco says," he vowed in a high-pitched but grave tone.

"We think they might be in the cellar where Lucius keeps his Dragon's Tonic. Check there first. If you encounter Bellatrix or my father, you must not reveal yourself. Don't be seen by anyone! I mean it, Dobby. Stay hidden. If you can't get Potter and Weasley out with you, then come straight back here to give me a full report. Okay?"

Dobby nodded vigorously.

"Dobby will do as you say, master Draco. Dobby will escape with Potter and his Weasley if he can."

"And?"

"And Dobby will not be seen by the mad woman or…or…mast…uh…" the little elf seemed to choke on his own words as if he could not bring himself to speak the name of his former master.

"Or Lucius," Draco helped, giving the elf an awkward little pat on the shoulder where a loosely fitted jumper was draped. It looked suspiciously like one of the old ones Hermione had knitted in their fourth year. Dobby nodded and then lifted his hands in the air ready to make himself disappear with a snap of his fingers.

"Good luck, Dobby. Be careful," Hermione called to him, giving him a watery smile. Dobby grinned at her once, his crooked teeth showing in full, before with another soft pop he was gone. Hermione let out a long, shaky breath. Her whole body tensed and she curled her hands into fists.

"What an unusual house elf," Andromeda commented, speaking for the first time since he appeared. She had a bemused expression on her face as she watched the space where he had just vanished on the coffee table. Hermione turned her gaze to Draco and her stomach dropped. He had an intense, worried frown marring his features which mirrored her own feelings. After a moment, he caught her looking his way and tried to brush it off. She felt his arm encircle her waist to support her as her knees became a bit shaky.

"It'll be alright," he murmured. Whether he was speaking to reassure her or himself she wasn't sure. But either way she leaned into him and rested her head on his chest. She could hear his heart pounding where her ear was pressed against his body.

"Dobby's tougher than he looks," she reminded him with a slight hiccough, her fingers knotting in his shirt as she held onto him. He nodded and brushed a thumb over her cheek which was a bit damp from tears she hadn't even realised had fallen at some point in the last ten minutes or so. He stared down into her eyes and grimaced in what was an attempt at a faint smile. When he spoke it was almost inaudible, murmured so gently that she felt just the slightest puff of air against her cheek.

"Right now, he's their only hope."

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Harry Potter's breath came in loud pants, in and out. He furiously strode around the walls, his hands sliding across the stone there, searching for some kind of break or crack that he could exploit. But without his wand it was useless. Ron was busy listening out at the door, relaying the conversation between wormtail and another Death Eater outside. It seemed like they were all going mad preparing for Voldemort's arrival. They wanted everything to be perfect when they handed the great Chosen One over to their feared leader. Harry felt sick. He remembered the eager, almost deranged gleam in Lucius Malfoy's eyes when he pressed his wand to his Dark Mark, sending the message with barely suppressed glee.

And now Voldemort was on his way. And the closer he got the more Harry's scar burned angrily. He would be here soon. His head felt like it was going to split open. And with every passing second, hope slowly slipped away as the hard reality of their situation sunk in. Bellatrix had taken the sword of Gryffindor from them, killing about three snatchers completely out of the blue. She had flown into a rage so immense that the walls had been shaking. They had also taken possession of their wands. But a few things had escaped their notice. Inside his coat, concealed inside his pockets, were his golden snitch, his mirror from Sirius and of course Hermione's galleon.

He was sure he had seen a glimpse of a blue eye in the mirror, which he could have sworn was Albus Dumbledore. But maybe that was just his brain losing its grip on sanity.

As for the coin, it was still slightly warm from Hermione's last message asking what had happened. Harry felt a knot of regret and self-loathing tighten in his gut. He was glad that she wasn't here; he would never want her life to be in this kind of danger. But he missed her. Ever since they had left her behind things hadn't been the same. It just wasn't… right without her.

"Bellatrix wants to question us about the sword before he gets here…"

Ron's voice whispered loudly over the dark space. His ear was held as close to the door as the wards would allow. Harry wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans and groaned in frustration. There didn't seem to be any way out this cellar. And there wasn't much point trying to make a weapon of any kind when they were fighting against wands. But despite being fairly hopeless, it was better than nothing. And he couldn't just sit around waiting to be killed.

Blindly inspecting a crate close to him, Harry felt around and tugged out a bottle of what looked like wine. He contemplated the edge of the box in the dark, raising the bottle to bring it down and smash it to form a sharp edge.

Crack.

Before he could do it, a sudden popping sound filled the room, a noise he had heard many times before. Spinning around, bottle still in hand, he blinked in the dark to see what or who had appeared.

It was a short, wiry little figure wearing lumpy wool jumpers and a bulging hat. With a soft click of its fingers, a light appeared and hovered up high near the ceiling. The sudden brightness was too much, and Harry shielded his eyes with his hand while they adjusted to the sudden change. After a while the figure became clearer in the light and Harry's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Dobby?"

The little elf beamed at him, his round eyes wide and brimming with excitement. His voice rang out, squeaky and loud in the cavernous room. And what he said was something that completely floored both boys, making their bodies freeze in total shock.

"Master Draco is sending Dobby to save Harry Potter!"

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Go Dobby! Elf power. Hopefully you don't mind my sneaky changes to canon. Please review!