A/N: Thank you very much for all the support you are giving this story

Myrddin Emrys The Third, pgoodrichboggs: Thank you so much for the review

White Bishop: Thanks again for your wonderful and honest review. Hopefully, most of the questions would be answered in this chapter. I can only hope it would be received well. Coming to Harry and Hermione's interactions, he is still getting adjusted to so many startling revelations. I guess that's one of the reasons for his lack of ease.

Guest: Oh! dear guest, thank you so much for all your reviews. It's been a delight reading all of them.

This is the first time I am writing an action scene and my logical sense kept on prodding me. So please bear with me.

- Reza

A fine thread

Synergy

Draco cautiously looked at Hermione, trying to gauge her reactions at this new revelation. He couldn't imagine her reaction towards the person who had cursed her to this life. But the panic on her face, slowly turned to anger as her eyes narrowed on the woman who had been her family for the last two years.

"They are not here today," Jane tried to answer through her trembling.

"Don't lie, you fucking bitch. I know they are here," Dolohov kicked her in the stomach with his boot eliciting another yelp from the woman. Draco and Hermione got a clear view of the man through the glass that was covering the window. Azkaban had completely ruined him. Draco had seen Dolohov during the war. His gaunt face highlighted by his hollow eyes, the missing chunks of his matted hair from his scalp and a huge scar that was running across his face, accentuated the maliciousness that was pouring out of him.

They heard another thump of steps from the stairs, as another figure stepped in. Draco had to crane his head to get a look at the newcomer. His face was familiar, but Draco couldn't palce him. But he saw Hermione's eyes go wide at the sight of him.

"There's no one in those rooms," the stranger told Dolohov.

Dolohov turned to Jane again and caught hold of her neck. "Who did you talk to, on that Muggle thing?" Hermione gasped loudly at the sight black metal thing in his hand that was digging dangerously into Jane's chest.

"No one," Jane said in between her choking.

"What's that, Hermione?" Draco asked pointing in the direction of the same thing

"Gun. A weapon that could kill you even from a distance within a span of milliseconds," she said nervously.

"Perhaps, she called that girl, who lives here. I told you right. She's got some weird name but quite a hot body," the stranger giggled, running his hand on his forehead.

Draco's eyes caught the sight of his ugly forehead then the recognition hit him. The word "CHEAT" wasn't that legible now, but if he looked closely, he could clearly read the extent of Hermione Granger's dander on him. "That was the boy in Cook's look out," Draco whispered to Hermione.

"Yes. But why is he helping Dolohov?" she scrunched up her face in serious thought.

"Let's worry about that later. Shall we. How can we get help? We need to think about that. But where are Jack and Jasmine?"

"Draco levitate me up to the window in my bedroom upstairs," she said moving to stand directly beneath it.

"Hermione, are you sure?"

But she corrected him with a glare making his next words stop right there. He pointed his wand at her and muttered the incantation making Hermione rise in the air.

She caught hold of the ledge as she reached the window on the top floor, but in their hurry, Draco's hair caught the attention of that stranger and he yelled. "There's somebody out there," he said pointing directly at Draco. Draco moved to hide around the corner before Dolohov saw him. But his concentration on the spell for Hermione wavered for a second and she was left dangling on the ledge.

"Fuck," Draco muttered. Dolohov lifted the glass window and peeked outside with his gun in hand but was foolish enough to check just the sideways. Draco relaxed as he saw Hermione's ankle disappeared into the window before Dolohov looked up.

When the coast was clear he started moving towards the window and heard Dolohov's harsh words, "You fool, there's no one there. Did you check the rooms properly?" But Dolohov hissed in pain before he finished his words and Draco glanced to see Jane throwing kitchen knives at him. Draco felt a surge of respect towards the woman for the fight she is putting up with that ruthless man.

"You sickening filth. I am going to put an end to you," Dolohov dangerously pointed the gun at her. Draco didn't know how to act, but before the mad man used that Muggle death stick, he shot a non-verbal stunning spell at the poor woman's back from his hiding place, as she moved towards the window. Luckily for Draco, Jane's body concealed the red light that shot out from Draco's wand keeping his identity still hidden. She dropped to the ground with a loud thud. Dolohov laughed maliciously looking at the woman on the ground. "Look at that. She fainted without the need of using this. Now, who is this you are talking about?"

Draco strained his ears, to listen to what the boy has to say. Draco remained in shadows waiting for a chance to aim a stunner at him, but his position didn't give him the opportunity. He didn't want to act rashly, putting everyone else in danger with his miscalculations. But he needed to act quickly. His heart raced when he heard a loud shuffling from the top. Draco anxiously looked inside hoping they haven't heard it. But he wasn't that lucky when he saw the glee on their faces. "Nasty brat is up there." Draco heard Dolohov's words and their hurried scurrying feet, up the stairs.

He groaned loudly and thought of the fastest way inside the house as he remembered that apparition was out of the question. Dumbledore had placed anti apparition wards with in the house. So, he employed the same thing Hermione suggested. He cast the levitation spell on himself and had flown through the window she just went through. He found himself in Hermione's room a minute later. The scurrying feet from the stairs have already reached the top floor and were just outside of the room. Draco moved behind the bookshelf just a second before the pair barged in. The darkness in the room aided Draco as they frantically looked around the room giving Draco a chance to try his luck at stunning them. He cursed himself at not perfecting the disillusionment charm that would've been handy at these times. But where the hell, are Hermione and the kids.

His eyes roamed around the room and there was only one other spot in the room that could hide them, the bathroom.

"Come out, come out, dear Jasmine. Come to your dear father. I have missed you so much, my dear girl," Dolohov called out to the girl he thought was in the bathroom. Draco's eyes darted to the bathroom. It was dark and nothing could be made out. He heard Dolohov hit the other boy in his shins. "Where is the damn light? Check that room."

But before Draco could contemplate which room he meant, he heard a painful yelp and a large thud. "The door is fucked up. It shocked me."

"What did you take me for, you fool? Do it again. Are you dumb enough to open a fucking door? If you don't, I won't hesitate to use this on you," Dolohov threatened the boy with his gun. Draco took their moment of distraction to his advantage and took a peek at the bathroom door they were discussing. Nothing looked out of ordinary except for the lack of light. But this time it was clear that when the boy touched the door again there were visible sparks coming from it. He got worried thinking Hermione was using her magic to get that effect. But he got the window he was looking for and shot a powerful stunner at Dolohov. But the lucky bastard got out of the way at the exact moment and the boy took the brunt of it falling to the floor.

But that, unfortunately, got Draco into visibility. Dolohov growled at the intruder and fired his gun in Draco's general direction. Draco dodged it and the bullet had shattered the part of the bookcase that was sheltering him.

"Who's there? Don't stand like a coward in darkness. Show yourself," Dolohov yelled firing another shot at Draco. Draco in his defense started firing his own spells, neither of them hitting their targets. "You won't be doing this if you know me. I can destroy you," Dolohov threatened again.

Draco had enough of this cat and mouse chase. "Oh! I know you very well, Dolohov. I also know why you are here? But you don't have a clue who you are dealing with. So cut this nonsense and surrender. We resolve this matter easily and you will be back in the ministry without any bloodshed happening." But before Draco finished, he heard the gun go off again, and he had to dodge again.

"You are nothing but a fool if you think for one second that I am going to do that. I know you are here to protect the girl hiding in that room. So if you take one further step towards me I am going to blast that door and take her. I don't care if she is hurt."

"I will Crucio you to death if you even think about harming a hair on her head," Draco growled, firing a vicious stunner that made the room glow in red.

"So you are not far from using an unforgivable. That's strange. You must be one of us then," Dolohov said in a strange tone easily dodging the spell.

Draco lost all his sanity when that filthy excuse of a man compared Draco to himself. He plunged in front of him and dug his wand into his throat. "I never was or will be a Death Eater".

Dolohov's eyes went wide at Draco's sudden appearance and he gasped, "Malfoy."

"That's right. Now you will remember who put you back in Azkaban," Draco snarled and yelled "Stupefy," directly into his chest. He moved back and released the Dolohov's limp body as it slumped to the floor. He sighed in relaxation and called out to the door. "Hermione! It's safe. They both are stunned. I am coming," he said moving to the bathroom door.

"Wait! Don't touch the door," the squeaky voice of Jasmine called out from inside.

Draco who was at the door stopped in his steps.

"We will kick it open, from inside just stand back. The door is electrified. It was Jasmine's idea to keep them from opening." It was Hermione this time. "Let me know once you are away from the door".

Draco moved back giving them an ample window. "I am good," he yelled back.

The metallic door swung open with a loud creak giving Draco an inside view of the bathroom they were taking refuge for all this while. There was a puddle of water at the doorstep and to the corner behind the shower curtain were three figures. The bigger silhouette was hugging the smaller two into her. Draco felt a wave of happiness crash over him at the sight of them. "Wait the water will electrocute you too," Hermione stalled him again.

Draco felt proud about the set up they have done. "You definitely have thought ahead, haven't you? Here, hand them to me over that water," he said, rolled up his sleeves after putting his wand, in his trouser pockets.

Jack was first. Hermione handed Jack over the water and Draco scooped the little boy and put him far over the bedding. Draco next went to retrieve Jasmine from Hermione's hands. He smiled proudly at the little girl as he took her into her arms and kissed her forehead. "I am proud of you, Jasmine."

"Great, now just hand her over to me," Dolohov chuckled loudly in his scratchy voice. Draco stared at the Azkaban fugitive who had now trained Draco's wand at him and the innocent girl in his hands, who was looking at her own father with panicked eyes.

"How did you?" Draco couldn't complete the question.

"Oh! Isn't it great? This Muggle magic, though it would never surpass the superiority of a wand whoever's it may be. The door swung at me," Dolohov said pointing to the bathroom door. "The shock was enough to revive me from my stunned state. You put your wand temptingly available and easily accessible. I would be a dumb idiot to waste such a wonderful opportunity?" He said dangerously twirling the wand in his hands. Dolohov's eyes slowly moved to Hermione who was still in the shadows of the bathroom. "Isn't it sweet? The mud blood and the blood traitor are taking care of my daughter. How lucky am I?"

"Dolohov! Put the wand down or you will be sorry," Draco growled letting Jasmine down and moving her behind him with a protective hand.

"Shush! Boy. What is Potter's mud blood doing with a Death Eater?" Dolohov spat at Hermione and turned to Draco and looked at the terrified little girl in Draco's arms. "Jasmine! How big have you become? Come to your Father, darling."

"Do you even know the meaning of being Father? How dare you call yourself her father after everything you have done, you vile human?" Hermione's anger was getting better out of her.

"Careful there, mud blood. I am the one carrying a wand here and think about what I have already done to you. You are lower than dirt to me and I don't want to sully myself by talking to you."

"Dolohov, if one other word comes out of that foul mouth against Hermione, you would wish Voldemort had himself killed you. You can't begin to imagine the pain I can force on you."

But Dolohov eyes went wide in horror, "How dare you speak his name? You insolent boy! Lucius should have trained you better. You are a coward in the name of a Death Eater."

"For the hundredth time I am not a Death Eater," Draco yelled as he moved closer to the bed inching Jasmine on to it.

"But the mark on your arm tells a different story." Dolohov now noticed the increased distance between them and brandished Draco's wand. "Tell me, Malfoy. Have you been able to be happy? Our master was very intelligent. He knew there would be people like you, who would turn against our cause immediately when an opportunity is given to them. That's why he cursed all of us." Dolohov rambled on.

But Draco's concentration was on Hermione who was making some weird hand signals from behind. It was too difficult for Draco because of the darkness. Then she made a demonstration of pointing a gun, then he finally saw what she was trying to say. The gun, which had been in Dolohov's hand, was now lying on the floor.

"But do you know something? I found out how to get rid of this thing. I found out a way to be happy," Dolohov hissed angrily.

That caught Draco's attention. "What?"

"Aha! Now you are interested. Give me the girl then I will tell you."

"I am going to kill you, you bastard. You leave Jasmine alone," yelled Hermione.

Dolohov stayed focused on Draco as her words just floated above his head. "What way?" Draco couldn't help but ask. The inkling of hope that had been dead for quite some time in his heart started to rekindle in his mind.

"Draco! Don't listen to him. He is just trying to manipulate you," Hermione warned.

"Foolish girl!" Dolohov muttered and peered into Draco's anxious face. "I have seen the books. From which the dark lord developed this," he pointed to the dark mark. "I know the solution."

Draco saw, from the corner of his eyes, Hermione remove the live wires hanging in the water with the sleeve of her dress and slowly entered the room. But Dolohov remained uninformed. She needs a distraction if she has to reach the gun in time. "You tell me what you know and we will see what we need to do next," Draco called out to Dolohov, keeping his attention on him. Hermione was almost there.

But a small slip of her foot had caught the attention of Dolohov. "You little bitch," he yelled and pointed his wand at her. That was the window Draco needed and lunged at Dolohov, pushing Hermione out of the way. But Dolohov was unusually quite strong and unrelenting for a fugitive. Draco tried his best to put all his strength into defeating this man, but he quickly got overpowered and found himself in a very compromising position for all of them.

"Put the gun down, mud blood, or else you will see the corpse of your dear boyfriend," Dolohov said choking Draco with his large hand and wand pointed directly at his chest.

Draco saw the vulnerability in Hermione's eyes. She was on the verge of explosion. Her eyes flickered between the kids and Draco, but her surprisingly sturdy hands pointed the gun directly at Dolohov.

"Do you think she will do it, Malfoy? Do you think she will use the gun on both of us?" Draco grunted trying to release himself. "Oh! I think she will. Their lot will never care for people like us. We are nothing but Death Eaters for them. I know you want to get rid of the mark. I know how to. Let's get the girl and vanish from here."

"You filthy animal! Draco was never like you. He never followed that madman willingly. Soon he's going to be rid of that ugly mark, while you can rot in hell without having to experience what real happiness is about." Draco at that time saw the uninhibited emotion she hid behind those warm honey eyes. She was looking at Draco as if he was the only one in that world worth looking at. He was overwhelmed by the sudden protectiveness that surged over him towards the people in the room. There she stood between the hunched up children on the far end of the room and the person she thought could be saved, trying to shield all of them from the madness the delinquent is trying to leash upon them. Draco knew what he wanted at that moment. He didn't care if he ever found how he can be cured. He just wanted them, her to be safe even at the cost of his own life.

But he wanted to know why Dolohov was so indulgent on getting Jasmine. He covertly signaled to Hermione to be ready and talked to the delusional man who was trying to choke him. "So tell me Dolohov. What is this intelligent plan of you to get rid of the mark?"

"I know what you are playing at Malfoy. But you wouldn't hear anything from me until the girl is safely in my hands."

"It's your call, Dolohov. Hermione there, wouldn't hesitate to use that to blow your head up before you can think about what spell you are going to use. Even my position, wouldn't stop her. So you tell me now, or you can kiss your life goodbye."

Draco heard grumbling from Dolohov's scratchy throat before he heard a loud grunt. "Fine. I will tell you. But don't you ever think this knowledge will give you an upper hand. You can't escape from that mark without my guidance." He leaned closer to Draco's ear and whispered in a menacing tone. "The mark can be transferred to a blood relative. They can bear the brunt of it and you can be relieved from the burden. I found out about this from the books the dark lord had taken from your Library." Dolohov might have thought he was whispering but his scratchy voice can be heard quite clearly in the quiet room.

Draco saw Jasmine disappearing behind Jack on hearing those words. The anger that surged from Draco could easily have broken the grip the Dolohov had over him. But Hermione beat him to it. "You sick freak. Who will subject their own child to such kind of fate? You don't deserve to live," Hermione said moving forward with the gun.

"Now, now. Your boyfriend made a deal with me besides I am the one with a wand. Without any hesitation, I'll use the dear old killing curse on you. So back off, and give me the brat."

"He is right Hermione. I indeed made a deal, to listen. But Dolohov if you thought even for a second I will let you anywhere near that girl, you are as fucking delusional as everybody says." Draco said taking that one moment of shock and hitting him in his gut with his elbow and yelled at Hermione, "Now," and ducked.

He vaguely heard the sound of the gun explosion intermingled with a curse that flew over his head. His eyes flew towards the people he cared the most in panic.

The bullet from the gun found its way into Dolohov's shoulder but the curse didn't reach any of the intended recipients. Draco without sparing a glance at the falling body of Dolohov turned to the people who have introduced a new meaning of life to him.

Now he understood why the curse didn't reach any of them. All three of them were ensconced in a protective blue shield coming from the least expected source. Jack's hands were outstretched in front of him as he was trying his most to control the magic that overflew from him. All three pairs of eyes were focused on him.

Draco's heart pounded with pride at them. He turned around to see Dolohov howling in pain on the floor clutching his bleeding shoulder. He quickly snatched the wand that was blown away from his hand at the force of the shot.

"You will regret this Malfoy," spat Dolohov at Draco.

"I have many regrets in my life. But this is definitely not among them." He stepped closer to Dolohov's body and pressed his foot into the wound making him howl in pain. "Never even think about threatening the people I love." With that statement, he shot a stunner at him and kicked his limp body.

Draco's vision was slightly getting blurred. He shook his head to clear his brain and smiled at the little boy, "It's okay, Jack. You are safe. All of you." The trembling boy slowly lowered his hands making the shield bubble vanish.

Draco then scooted closer to the small huddle on the bed. Hermione who was the first one to reach Jasmine and held her in a tight embrace, but both their eyes were focused on Draco. Jack was in front of them with a terrified look.

"You did great, buddy. That was some amazing magic for a first timer." Draco gave the little boy's shoulder a congratulatory squeeze and looked at his terrified face. Draco again shook his head, as his vision was getting blurry. "Your dad would have been so proud."

Draco turned his head to Hermione who was beaming at him with adoration. "All right there, Hermione," Draco winked at her. She nodded as her eyes filled with tears of happiness. And at last his eyes turned to the panicked girl in Hermione's arms.

"Come here love," He said taking the little girl into his arms.

"Do you know who he is?" He asked Jasmine. The girl stayed still in his lap.

"He is never going to hurt you ever again, Jas. The vile human is away from your life." Draco heard her quiet sobs and Draco tried to clear the stars that were dancing in front of his eyes. "Your father doesn't define who you are Jasmine. You still are, our incredibly talented, intelligent, and sweet Jasmine. Never forget that. And you did a wonderful job. You have fooled all of us." Jasmine finally looked up from her place and smiled at him.

Hermione suddenly pulled at him and asked him wide eyes, "Jane?"

Draco smiled pulling her into a hug by his free hand and whispered, "She'll be okay. Just stunned."

"Oh! Draco," Hermione asked placing a kiss to his cheek as her face scrunched up in worry, "Are you alright?"

He looked at her, but her visual was getting hazy by each passing second. He knew what this was and he knew how much ever he shook his head, it wouldn't get better. But he managed a smile and replied, "You know what, I think I will be," letting over the darkness consume him.