~Chapter 25~

Disclaimer: I do not own harry potter, only the plot. I do not make any profit off this story.

The stairs creaked under Meg's feet as she tried to sneak up to the guest room. When she got there she stared at the welcoming bed for a long moment before closing the door behind her. She fell down onto the bed, sitting on the edge and pulled her knees to her chest and tried to rub away the small remainder of her headache. She soon zoned out, looking out the window as the argument downstairs replayed in her mind.

Always searching for that stupid little girl. I have hit a nerve, haven't I?—Don't insult me.

She shook her head, trying not to think of what Severus could have meant. Tears formed in her eyes and she attempted to blink them away before one fell down her cheek. Meg glanced down at her bag, looking for any kind of distraction. The leather bound book that Severus had given her not long before Christmas break had fallen out and onto the floor. 'That's funny...' She though, getting up to pick it up off the floor. She searched through the rest of her bag for the library book he'd suggested as well. When she finally found it, it felt cool in her hands from being at the bottom of the bag. 'I could have sworn I packed these together.'

"I might as well look at these anyway..." she said outloud, picking both books up. She threw the first book down, tattered and worn. it fell open to the bookmark she'd placed in it earlier, the golden letters shimmering on the page. The library book soon followed, landing cover side down. Meg wiped her eyes and face, but continued to cry. She didn't even know where to begin, she looked at the dwarfish words already overwhelmed and fell to the bed. She laid on her stomach, crossing her arms under her head, "I just want to go home."

. . .

Meg woke up in her clothes and her own handwriting on her face. She'd fallen asleep while studying the books again. It'd been a few days into Christmas break and she had spent the entire time in the Malfoy's guest room. Catching a quick glimpse of herself in the mirror, the notes she'd taken were now smudged where her face had been lying. Rubbing her eyes, Meg looked out the window to only see half the yard dimly lit by a few magical lamps and the rest of the view obscured by a thick fog. It was definitely after nine for it was dark outside beyond the lamps, but, by any guess it could have been close to morning.

There was a sudden knock at the door.

"Meg?" Draco's voice came through the wooden door. Lost Languages of Magical Races fell to the floor when she jumped. He knocked again before Meg got up to answer. She cracked the door as if it had a chain lock, only enough that Draco could see part of her face. He half stepped forward and stopped himself when he realized that Meg wasn't going to open the door further. Meg stared at the door frame then back at Draco, watching him stumble on his own thoughts. He'd only opened his mouth once, then paused and started to walk away only to come right back. She would have said something herself if she wasn't so shocked at his behavior, she never though she'd see him at a loss for words. He licked his lips, staring her hand on the edge of the door. Then a high pitched scream came from downstairs getting both of their attentions.

"Draco!" Bellatrix screamed again. He darted towards the stairs, not hesitating, and was soon followed by Meg. When they got downstairs, Meg was out of breath. Narcissa and Lucius were standing next to the fireplace, observers in their own home. A tall man with long tangled brown hair stood in the corner. He had a read streak in his hair and was wearing a black, tattered jacket, and a pink scarf that didn't quite match. With him was a werewolf and three others. The first was another wizard who looked much like the man with the scarf. The other two were no older than Draco: The girl had with long bushy, light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. The boy had messy red hair and freckles. They looked much better than the men holding them, but still looked like they'd been sleeping in a tent for the last six months. Bellatrix grabbed Draco's attention, pulling it towards the last new face in the room. "Draco, we've found him! Is it him? Is it Potter?"

Bellatrix stood with another boy, his face swollen to a point beyond recognition. She pulled back his head, as if it would make his face any less swollen. Draco stood, nervously looking from his father to the boy that Bellatrix held. Meg lingered by the stairs, again, watching the boy and the two other captives. Bellatrix was getting impatient and excitedly asked, "Well!"

"I... I can't be sure." Draco finally responded. He was breathing heavy, but not due to running down the stairs. A look of terror had appeared on his face. He glanced at Meg, no one but him seemed to notice she was there. He swallowed hard looking the boy over again.

"Draco, look closely, son." Lucius stepped over from the fireplace, and loudly whispered to his son. Lucius wrapped his arms around Draco's shoulders, trying to encourage him to make up his mind. "If we are the ones to hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be forgivable... As it was. Understand?"

Draco nodded, but was interrupted by the man in the scarf, insult rising in his thick eastern accent, "Now, we won' be forgettin' who ac'ually caugh' him, I hope, Mr. Malfoy."

"How dare you talk to me like that," Lucius hissed, Narcissa running up to calm him. "In my own house!"

"Lucius..." Narcissa whispered soothingly to her husband, pulling him back. He allowed her to guide him back to the fireplace, letting Bellatrix take hold of the situation.

"Don't be shy, Sweetie! Come over!" She panted, grabbing Draco's hand and pulling him down on his knees in front of the boy. "Now, if this isn't who we think it is and we call him, he'll kill us all. We need to be absolutely sure!"

"What's wrong with his face?" Draco whispered.

"Yes, what is wrong with his face, Scabior?" Bellatrix demanded of the man with the scarf.

"He came to us like that. Somethin' he picked up in the forest, I reckon." Bellatrix gasped at Scabior's explanation.

"Ah, interesting jinx. Was it you dear?" Bellatrix pointed at the girl being held by the werewolf. The girl didn't respond and Draco stayed in front of the boy, not being able to look him in the eye. He, once again, glanced at Meg. This time their eyes met and he held his hand out to her while he stood up. Bellatrix continued to move towards the rest of the captives. "Give me her wand! We'll see what her last spell is."

Meg grabbed Draco's hand just in time for Narcissa to tap him on the shoulder. She urged them both to leave, silently while Bellatrix continued to talk. "I've got you now!" Bellatrix laughed, but it stopped abruptly when she turned to one of the other wizards who was holding a familiar sword. Meg recognized it as the sword of Gryffindor, though she'd only seen it in text. "Where'd you get that?"

"It was in her bag when we searched her," the man smiled, "I reckon it's mine now."

Bellatrix immediately cursed the man, sending him flying into the wall and the sword dropping to the floor. Narcissa pushed Meg and Draco up the stairs with out a word, and they kept going until they could see what was happening without being seen. Draco squeezed Meg's hand as they watched Bellatrix grab the sword and attack the werewolf and Scabior with her wand.

"Are you mad?" Scabior shouted just before a wip shot out of her wand and wrapped around his throat.

"Scum! Scum!" Bellatrix shouted at them, half releasing her spells. She grabbed the red haired boy and threw him over to Peter Pettigrew, who Meg had just noticed was in the room. "Put the boys in the cellar with the rest of them! I need to have a conversation with this one, girl to girl!"

Meg could feel her heart racing, the fear of Bellatrix's rage had worsened over the years. She was, arguably, clinically insane. Draco tried to pull on her hand, up the stairs, away from the scene, but she was stuck in place watching the helpless witch be attacked by Bellatrix. She through the girl to the ground and sat on her stomach. Meg closed her eyes listening to the girl whimpered under Bellatrix weight, now holding Draco's hand tight.

"You broke into my vault!" Bellatrix yelled as a blood-curdling scream came from the girl.

"Was it Harry Potter?" Meg's voice didn't raise above a whisper. She remembered the meeting that Neville and Luna had invited her to. They had told her of the boy who lived and Voldemort, she could only assume he was the creature that had invaded her mind earlier that week. Draco let go oh her hand and headed up the stairs. "Was it!"

"I..." Draco muttered something under his breath, but it was unmistakeable. The boy was Harry Potter, which meant they had to help.

"Where's the cellar?" Meg asked, still whispering. Draco nervously looked into the living room, another scream escaping the girls lips. He flinched, then sighed.

"Follow me."