Double update! Please make sure you've read Chapter 25 before you continue!
Draco opened his eyes and was immediately faced by the emptiness of his bed, as he looked at his hand resting on the bare sheets in front of him yet again. He swallowed hard and then sat up; he couldn't afford to let her distract him today.
There was a loud knock on Draco's door that caused him to stiffen up. "My Lord, it's me." Blaise' voice came from behind Draco's door.
"Come in." He instructed and Blaise entered the room but didn't look at Draco and kept his eyes to the floor. "Forgive me for intruding, My Lord, but I'm afraid it couldn't wait." Blaise said cautiously, he was no longer acting like Draco's friend, but more like an average follower.
"Well, spit it out." Draco said lazily.
"An owl came first thing this morning, from the King." Blaise said and handed Draco a note.
Draco unrolled it and read carefully before angrily screwing it up and throwing it aside.
"My Lord?" Blaise questioned.
"Get Devereux, now." Draco ordered and with a nod Blaise left the room in search of him.
Draco quickly showered and dressed and when he came back into his bedroom Devereux was already waiting for him. "You sent for me?" He asked as he sat comfortably on the sofa.
"I received a message from the King." Draco said as he sat down beside him. Devereux sat forward in anticipation and gestured for Draco to continue. "He said his wife was nothing but a cheating whore, and that we did him a favour by killing her. He also said it was a shame we didn't kill his good for nothing brother too." Draco explained as calmly as he could.
"Are you sure he isn't bluffing?" Devereux asked.
Draco nodded his head slowly. "He said he knows the bastard kids aren't his and we'd be doing him a favour if we killed them too."
Devereux nodded as he tried to absorb the news. "Anything else?" He asked.
"He said that despite his hatred for his wife and her children, he is still going to make me suffer the pain I tried to cause him, and said that he is going to rip Hermione to pieces, limb by limb, while I watch. He put particular emphasis on her name, to prove to me that he knows who she is." Draco said through gritted teeth, suddenly unable to control his anger.
"I have some more bad news." Devereux said carefully, deciding it was best to tell Draco sooner rather than later. "We lost two hundred fighting men last night. They left, supposedly to fight for the King. His numbers now outweigh our own." Devereux explained.
"So we have fewer men, nothing to bargain with, and we're practically trapped here at the Manor?" Draco said as he tried to keep his cool. Devereux nodded his head, it was all he could do. "Leave me." Draco said as he sat back.
"The remaining men are expecting to see you this morning." Devereux said.
"They can carry on expecting." Draco said dismissively. "Tell them my wife has fallen ill and she needs me with her at this difficult time." He explained. "I will see them before and during the battle only." He said and then poured himself a drink.
"Do you think that's a good idea, My Lord?" Devereux asked as he eyed up the alcohol.
"Actually I think it's a great idea. In fact, I recommend you do the same, it will probably be the last chance you get." Draco said and then waved his hand to dismiss the man. Devereux finally got the hint and left him alone.
Draco didn't end up touching his drink, he just sat and stared at it for what must have been a few hours, just thinking about ways he could still have a chance of winning but he couldn't find a single one. Devereux and Blaise had tried to talk him out of his room but he'd refused every time.
There was another knock on Draco's door, he rolled his eyes before he stood up and walked over to it. "This had better be an emergency?" He spat as he swung the door open.
"It seems to be." Narcissa said as she walked into the room, not caring for an invite.
Great, this is just what he needed, another lecture from his mother. He didn't say anything; he just sat down again and finally took a mouthful of his drink, just seeing her was enough to tip him over the edge. "The boys tell me you've been wallowing in self-pity." She said as she looked around the room, inspecting it like she'd never been in there before.
"Well what do you expect me to do?" He spat. "We have no chance of winning." He said dismissively.
"I expect you to fight." She said sternly. "This isn't who you are, Draco."
"I don't know who I am anymore." He said quietly as he looked into his glass.
"You're a Malfoy!" She said proudly. "We do not just sit back and let somebody take everything from us."
"He's already taken everything." Draco said and Narcissa walked over to him and snatched the glass out of his hand before he could take his next sip. He looked up and glared at her but she paid no mind to his evil look. Draco hated the fact that she was the one person in the world that wasn't afraid of him.
She placed his glass on the table across the room and faced him again. "After everything you've done to protect your empire and our family name, you're going to let it all go to waste?" She asked.
"There is nothing left to fight for." He said, defeated.
"You did the right thing, you know?" She said gently in an effort to comfort him.
"What the hell would you know?" He spat and shot her a disgusted look, as if he truly hated her.
"You killed my husband Draco, I know better than anyone what you're going through." She said firmly.
"He was going to get us all killed." Draco said dismissively, refusing to have it used against him.
"Yes, which is why it was the right thing to do, but I still loved that man in the same way you love Hermione, but I carried on, I carried on for my son." She said softly but he just stood up and glared at her.
"Don't act like you've ever cared about me!" He shouted. "My whole life you've filled my head with your lies about blood-supremacy and prejudice. If it wasn't for you then maybe Hermione and I might have actually had a chance!"
"Draco, you've got it wrong-" Narcissa tried but she could tell he wasn't interested.
"All you ever cared about was making me fit to take over after Voldemort, you had me tortured and manipulated until there was nothing good left in me!" He said viciously. "Hermione showed me what real love is, and all I knew how to do was destroy her! Because of you."
Narcissa was lost for words as she watched her heartbroken son fall to pieces in front of her, knowing that there was nothing she could do or say that would make him feel better. She turned away and walked towards the door as his eyes burned into her.
"She's still out there Draco, and if you think she's ever going to be safe as long as the King lives, you're wrong. I'll be downstairs preparing for battle. I do hope you'll find the strength to join me." She said quietly and then left the room.
Draco turned and looked out of the window, the sun was hanging low in the sky and he knew he'd run out of time.
It was nearly twenty minutes before Blaise came rushing in, with a concerned look on his face. "He's been sighted, we don't have much time." He said breathlessly, Draco had never seen him this shook up before. "His own snatchers are going around the country killing anyone who is loyal to you as we speak."
Draco turned to face him. "Do you have any bright ideas?" He asked. "We're outnumbered."
"That doesn't mean anything!" Blaise said firmly. "I never had you down as the kind of man who just gives up like this, if I had I would have just joined the King when I had the chance."
"Well it's not too late." Draco spat.
"I'm not going because for some insane reason I still believe I'm on the winning side." He said sincerely. "As long as you pull your head out of your arse and stop being so selfish. What would Hermione think?" He asked.
"You know nothing about her." Draco snapped as he clenched his fists.
"I know she's far too clever to fall in love with a snivelling little whimp." Blaise countered rather smugly. "What would she say if she was here right now?" He asked.
"She's not." Draco said stubbornly.
"Well then let me tell you-" Blaise said as he stepped forward. "-She wouldn't say a damn thing to you, she would be out there on that battlefield right now ready to fight for what she loves, and being outnumbered would never be enough to stop her." He said and then before Draco could respond turned away and walked towards the door. "If you're going to die at least die the man she loved, not the whiney, defeated, shell of a man you are now." He said.
Draco attempted to respond and then closed his mouth again in defeat. Blaise was right. "My mother once said that heartbreak changed people, I've never understood how it could until now. Thank you Blaise, you truly are a good friend."
Blaise did nothing more than nod his head. He was shocked Draco hadn't murdered him for the things he'd just said, combined with his drunken antics the previous night.
Draco straightened himself up and his face turned cold again, an expression Blaise never thought he would be grateful to see. "I'm sorry, I went soft for a moment there." Draco said, clearly embarrassed.
"As long as it doesn't happen again." Blaise said with a small smile. "The fact that you truly care for something is what sets you apart from Voldemort, maybe with something so important to fight for, you might just do better than he did."
Draco nodded. "I truly hope so. Ready our remaining forces, we either win tonight or we die trying, no holding back, no mercy." Draco instructed clearly. With a nod Blaise left the room to prepare, passing Devereux at the door. Devereux stepped through and closed the door gently behind him before he turned to look at Draco, he was surprised to see his cold look set firmly back in place, the room had a certain feel of evil in the air as it used to whenever Draco was in it, which had been lacking as of late. Draco seemed to finally be getting back to normal and Devereux was pleased for it.
"I'm glad to see you're finally yourself again." He said with a smirk.
"Glad to be back." Draco nodded.
"The battle will start today, we need to do some last minute recruiting to ensure we have the numbers by the end of it." Harry said as he pulled his jacket on.
"It's dangerous out there at the moment; I can feel it in the air." Ron said as he stood by the open window by the front door. "We don't want to die before it's even started."
"We'll just be careful, people are more willing to stand up now than ever before, they don't fear Malfoy the way they used to, not now there's someone trying to overthrow him, someone who's managed to live this long." Harry assured him. "It's worth the risk, believe me."
"I'm with Harry, it would be stupid not to." Hermione said as she seemed to appear from thin air.
"Where do you come from Hermione?!" Ron said, clearly startled. "You'll be the death of me if you carry on like that."
"Right then, it's decided, Ron and I will go door to door of those we suspect to be willing, and Hermione, you will-"
"-be coming with you." She clipped before he could fob her off with something else.
"It's not safe." Harry said, clearly unhappy with her suggestion.
"What makes it any less safe for me than either of you?" She asked with her arms folded tight against her chest. Harry and Ron exchanged a knowing look that didn't go unnoticed. "See there you go again!" She accused. "What are you two hiding from me?"
"It wouldn't look good if you were there." Harry said, already exhausted from this conversation.
"Why ever not?" She demanded and Harry regretted speaking at all, yet again.
"Fine!" He said and rolled his eyes. "You can come but I don't want you involved with any of the negotiating, in fact, I don't even want you to be seen."
She frowned suspiciously and narrowed her eyes. Harry swallowed hard as his mouth turned dry; she was already too close to figuring something out.
"What gives you the right to tell me what to do?" She asked in a raised tone.
"He's overprotective, just ignore him." Ron said lazily as if he was bored by the whole situation. Thank God for Ron, Harry thought. If it hadn't been for him then he didn't know what he would have done or said half of the time. He was much smarter than most people gave him credit for.
"Let's go." Hermione said, dropping the topic but still looking too suspicious for Harry's liking.
They left the cottage without another word and then disapparated to a small clearing in a thick wooded area. "Not too far from here I think." Ron said as he began to walk. Harry and Hermione quickly followed.
They seemed to walk to what felt like an hour, Hermione could tell it was late as the sun hung low between the never-ending tree trunks ahead of the trio. "Are you sure you know where you're going?" Hermione asked as she folded her arms in an attempt to warm herself up a little.
"Not entirely." Ron admitted.
Harry put his head into his hands as they walked. "You have got to be kidding me." He muffled into his palms irritably as they walked.
"Shhhhh!" Hermione said as she came to a standstill. "We're not alone." She whispered causing Harry and Ron to suddenly stop.
The three of them stood, lost in the woods listening hard, they heard a branch snap to their right and they all darted their eyes to where the noise came from as they absentmindedly took a step closer to each other for some kind of extra security.
"What do we have here?" Slithered a voice from behind them. The three of them flicked around quickly to find a large, bearded man standing in front of them.
"Just out for a walk." Harry said as he reached out his hand slightly behind him to grab Hermione's protectively.
The man laughed loudly. "You do expect me to believe that, do you?" He asked. Hermione heard another branch snap behind her and turned her head slightly to see another large man behind them out of the corner of her eye. She squeezed Harry's hand lightly in an effort to warn him.
"What side do you fight for?" Harry asked, rather bravely Hermione thought.
"The winning side." The man said simply.
Harry looked at his arm and didn't see the dark mark which was now exclusive to Malfoy's followers. "The King? Us too." He said confidently.
"Oh really?" He said with a raised eyebrow. "Then why are you here with Mrs. Malfoy?" He said and then looked at Hermione.
Hermione looked behind her, expecting to see Narcissa standing there but instead she saw two large men standing there instead, trapping them in. She looked back to the man in front of her who was looking at her as if he'd struck gold.
"I think you ought to hand her over." The man suggested, the tone in his voice spelled warning if they didn't comply.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Hermione asked, dumbfounded. "I don't know who you think I am but-?"
He chuckled darkly interrupting her, "-I know exactly who you are Mrs. Malfoy, you're the person our King is oh so anxious to meet."
She let out a loud laugh, louder than she expected. "You're mad!" She blurted. "I am not Mrs. Malfoy!" She said clearly and Harry squeezed her hand lightly, she didn't know why, maybe a warning. She noticed something cold around her neck, something so heavy it felt like it could pull her to the ground. She looked down briefly to see it was only her necklace; it was colder than it had ever been.
"Nice try lady, you're coming with us." He said as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at them.
"Mrs. Malfoy." She said out loud to herself, tasting the foreign words like poison in her mouth. She put her hand on her head and looked to the ground. Harry and Ron both had their wands drawn too as Hermione just stood there, confused and undefended.
"You don't want to do anything stupid now boys, drop those wands and hand over the girl." The man warned.
"Did I marry him?" Hermione asked herself, she was shamelessly having a conversation with herself now as she tried to remember, not caring about the audience around her. "I'm Mrs. Malfoy?" She said again and her necklace warmed up, it got warmer and warmer until it felt hot around her neck, she brought an unsteady, trembling hand to touch it as her friends and captors alike watched her carefully and curiously. As soon as her fingers made contact with the pendant she ripped them away and clutched her head in pain.
Harry watched helplessly as she hissed and screamed in pain clutching her head so tightly he thought she could actually do some serious harm to herself. He knew what was happening, although he wished it wasn't so. The ruby pendant of the necklace around her neck was swirling like there was a naked flame inside of it.
"What in Salazar's name is she playing at?" The man demanded as he pointed his wand at her.
Memory after memory filled her mind forcefully and relentlessly, they made her head hurt so badly she just wanted to block them out but she couldn't, what was happening was completely beyond her control so she just stood there, stood there and waited for every last memory of Draco to fill her again until she stood in the clearing of the woods panting and sweating with tears rolling uncontrollably down her cold face.
"You're coming with us girl!" The man said loudly, having clearly had enough of this bizarre situation.
"How much would you bet?" Hermione asked in a low tone, a tone none of them had ever heard before.
"What?" The man asked, slightly surprised by her sudden boldness.
"Your life?" She asked in the same unnerving tone. The stranger pointed his wand in her direction again but he was too slow, she'd already drawn hers and with a flash of deadly green light he fell lifelessly to the ground. She turned quickly and sent a Crucio at one of the men behind her whilst Harry shot a spell at the other which wrapped him in chains.
Hermione concentrated hard on her curse but found that it lacked the energy it had the last time she'd used it which made her surprisingly frustrated. She could hear Harry shouting at her just over the nameless man's pathetic screams but she was concentrating so hard on the curse that she couldn't understand what he was saying. She used all of the anger and pain that Draco had caused her by sending her away and pushed it through her wand, but it still wasn't enough, it didn't make the curse any stronger and it didn't take the pain away.
Without lifting the Crucio she sharply flicked her wand and emitted another bright green light momentarily merging the torture and killing curse into one, emitting a yellow, ridged bolt from her wand with a frightening buzzing sound before she murdered the man where he lay, curled up in a ball in the dirt.
She turned to look at Harry and Ron who were looking at her with their wands pointed firmly in her direction. "I'm going to be sick." She said hazily, the darkness in her tone was gone and she sounded like her normal self again. The woodland around her started to blur and sway as she looked at Harry and Ron, and then it turned to blackness as she passed out.
"Hermione?" Ron said firmly as he looked down on her unconscious form, not daring to get too close. She began to stir slightly causing both him and Harry to take a step back and point their wands at her again. "Hermione, are you okay?" He said for what felt like the tenth time.
"Draco?" She said almost inaudibly causing Harry to roll his eyes and look at her with disgust again. He'd been so God damned close! They didn't respond, they just continued to watch her as she stirred. "I knew you'd be angry, please don't be angry with me." She said, still so quietly it was no more than a whisper.
Harry and Ron exchanged a confused look before Ron decided to speak. "What?" Was the only word he could find.
"I know you didn't want me to- I had to do it they were going to kill us. Please just say something."
"Are you hearing what I'm hearing?" Ron asked Harry but he didn't respond, he was concentrating hard on what Hermione was saying and seemed almost irritated that Ron had spoken.
"You had to do what?" Harry finally asked her, trying to keep her talking.
"I had to kill them, I'm sorry." She looked distressed, as if she was having a terrible nightmare but they just watched, not knowing what else to do. "Don't leave! Draco I'm sorry!" She said loudly and then jolted upright, breathing hard.
Hermione's eyes darted from side to side as she scrambled to her feet. Feeling unsteady she looked around frantically. "Where is he?" She asked, her voice desperate and longing.
"Dead hopefully." Harry said flatly.
She bolted around and glared at him. "He was here! Don't you lie to me!" She continued to look but all she could see was the bodies of the two snatchers she'd killed in the exact spots she'd left them, and then the third man who was chained to a nearby tree.
"It was a dream Hermione." Ron said gently as he took a cautious step towards her. She turned to face him and looked truly devastated. She didn't speak, she didn't need to, her eyes told him that all she could feel was heartbreak. He walked over to her, wrapped his big arm around her and pulled her into a hug, to Harry's disappointment.
"She's a murderer." Harry spat. "And you think she deserves a hug?"
"She was confused Harry, she'd just got her memory back." Ron defended although he didn't know if he even believed that himself.
"She killed them!" Harry shouted as he gestured angrily to the bodies on the floor.
"If I hadn't they would have killed us!" Hermione shouted back, her voice cracked and sore.
"That's never how we've done things!"
"And that's why we lost!" Hermione shouted so loud her words echoed around the woods.
Harry looked taken aback for a moment before he shot her a disgusted look. "What happened to you?" He asked. "You've turned your back on everything we fought so hard for."
"I'm still the same! We are at war! When will you realise that we can't just flutter around expecting to win because we're good? I still want the world to be a good place! I still want Muggle-borns to have the same rights as purebloods! I still love you both more than I love life itself!" She shouted and for once Harry seemed to be lost for words. He took a breath to speak after a while but Hermione cut him off as she continued. "But I love Draco too."
Harry snapped his mouth shut again; she could tell he wasn't happy.
"I need to go back." She said quietly. "He needs me."
"He sent you away. He gave you to me in exchange for peace. He doesn't need you, or want you." Harry spat.
Hermione buried her face into Ron's chest as she fought against the pain in her chest. Harry's words ringing true in her ears.
"You don't even know where he is." Ron said as he stroked her hair. He was far from happy with Hermione for the things that she'd done, but she was his best friend, his family, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't turn his back on her, he'd already lost enough people he loved.
"I know someone who will." She said as she pulled her head away and looked to the snatcher tied to the tree. "When will The King strike?" Hermione asked.
He grinned at her. "It has begun, it began a long time ago." He said as he looked her up and down, his long brown hair was coated in sweat and clung to his face as he watched her.
"Don't try to be clever with me." She snapped as she moved away from Ron and took a step closer to the snatcher. "Where will the fight take place? Will he attack the Malfoy Manor?"
"Didn't your beloved tell you anything?" The snatcher asked and then laughed. "Maybe your friend is right, doesn't sound like you meant much to him at all."
"I mean everything to him!" She countered and both Harry and the snatcher snorted with laughter at the same time.
"That's why you don't know what's happening." The snatcher said lazily.
"You're going to tell me." She stated.
"Or you'll kill him?" Harry asked, almost mockingly.
"If I have to." Hermione said simply as she moved towards one of the dead bodies in the clearing and removed a jagged knife from the holster around the bodies waist, she held the blade in up so she could see it clearly and examined it carefully as she walked back towards the living snatcher. "I know you know what's going on - this is your last chance to tell me."
The snatcher spat at Hermione in response. She quickly pointed the knife in his face and pressed the point firmly into his cheek until it drew a small amount of blood. "I haven't got time to play around. Tell me where they are." She demanded.
The snatcher hissed in pain but didn't speak. She pushed harder and started to move the knife slowly down his face, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. The man's blood trailed down the blade, onto the handle of the knife and then onto Hermione's steady hands.
"Look at what she's doing!" Harry shouted.
"The man I love is in danger and I will do anything to help him, do you hear me?!" She seethed. "You have ten seconds before this gets really nasty for you." She said and then began to count down from ten, her voice cold and threatening, her eyes twisted with warning, but the man still didn't speak. "3-2-1….Suit yourself." She said and pulled the knife away from his face and suddenly drove it into the man's shoulder causing him to cry out loudly in pain. "Where and when is this battle happening?" She asked in a low tone as she heard Harry and Ron having a heated discussion about what to do with her in the background. Harry wanted to apprehend her apparently. Well, she'd like to see him try. The snatcher still didn't give her the information she needed so she twisted the knife sharply causing his screams to echo through the woods.
"We need to stop her!" Harry shouted.
"We need this information just as much as she does." Ron said quietly.
"We don't torture people for information!" Harry argued.
"Malfoy Manor! At dusk!" The snatcher screamed, at last.
"What is your leader planning?" She asked urgently as she noticed the sun had almost set, she really was running out of time.
"Fuck you!" He shouted. She pulled the knife out of his shoulder and stabbed it instantly into his other and twisted hard. "He has a man on the inside! You'll be widowed before the battle even starts!" He screamed.
She felt dread sink into her stomach like a bolder sinking to the bottom of the ocean and her heart skipped a beat. She yanked the knife out, quickly took the holster from the dead snatchers body and fastened it around her waist. She then finally turned to her friends. Harry had his wand pointed square at her chest. "I need to go I don't have much time." She said quietly but firmly.
"I can't let you do that." He said as he gripped his wand tightly.
"If they kill Draco we won't stand a chance Harry."
"We have an equal chance either way."
"You can't just expect to kill one of them and for everything to change overnight! It's going to take years of work to change everybody's mind-set! If you kill Draco someone will replace him! You kill the King and someone will replace him too!"
"Then we will just keep killing until we get somewhere." Harry countered nastily.
"Then what makes you so much better than him!?" She shouted. "He's not a bad person! He has the power to change this! He's the only one who can! I need to go!" She said desperately. "I can't do this without you." She added, her eyes pleading.
"You expect us to help?" Harry scoffed.
"If you really want peace, you will fight alongside us not against us." She said.
"You can't brainwash us the same way he's brainwashed you."
"I'm still me! This is bigger than your pathetic feud with Draco!"
"I should have killed you when I had the chance. You're just as dangerous as he is. You've just proved that." He spat and flicked his eyes to the bodies around them, dead and alive. Hermione used this to her advantage and drew her wand while his eyes were away from her.
"I guess you should have." She said as she pointed her wand at him. "That's the only way you could have stopped me from loving him."
Her words were like a knife through his heart as he stood and looked at the woman he used to love. "He killed Ginny." He said, knowing that it would strike a chord.
"We killed Ginny!" She countered taking him by surprise. "You betrayed her and I betrayed Draco that night, and we got what we deserved."
"Is that what he told you?" Harry asked and was pleased with the silence he'd caused with the statement.
After a few moments she took a deep breath. "I'm going back to him." She said finally.
"Stupefy!" A red light erupted from Harry's wand and spiralled towards her. She blocked it easily and then disapparatted out of sight with a clap so loud it sounded like it shook every single tree in the forest.
Hermione landed ungracefully in a heap on the ground after her quick getaway. She quickly scrambled to her feet, dusted herself off and ran as fast as she could. She knew the Manor was just over this hill, the hill she'd ran across with Ron and Harry only days before in order to escape. She reached the top and gazed upon the Manor in all its glory as the sun set behind it. A place that had once unnerved her and sent tingles of fear through her veins was now more welcoming than anywhere else she'd ever been.
She was home.
The wind whipped around her roughly, flicking her hair into her face as she figured out where to begin, she definitely wasn't safe by herself out in the open like this. Just then she saw a cloud of smoke starting to rise from the front of the Manor, it grew thicker and thicker until she could see the tips of an inferno dancing in the wind just over the majestic rooftops. It had begun.
She sprinted across the gardens, passing through the wards at the back of the Manor effortlessly as the enemies on the other side were trying to breach them from the front. She heard the sound of spells being fired from behind her. She took a glance back to see a crowd of men standing on the hill where she'd stood only moments ago, firing spells mercilessly at the invisible barrier protecting her home while another group set fire to the trees around the other side of the Manor.
She ran quickly to the back door and pulled on it hard. It was locked of course. She pulled out her wand and tried to unlock it with magic but still no luck.
"Come on!" She said desperately as she cast the spell again. She felt a bony hand wrap around her arm and she flinched as dread sank into her stomach. She quickly flicked around and pointed her wand into the enemies face.
"How dare you point your wand at me?" Narcissa asked boldly as she looked down her nose at Hermione.
Hermione let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding in. "I'm sorry I thought you were- you know." She said sheepishly.
"You came back?" Narcissa asked, and Hermione could swear she saw the faintest smile grace over her lips for a split second.
"I couldn't leave him." She said and then looked back to the men who were still trying to get through the wards behind her.
"He isn't going to be happy you've come back here. He gave you a chance at life and you've thrown it away." Narcissa said, as if the men in the distance meant nothing to her at all, as if they weren't even there.
"I'd rather die tonight than live a million years without Draco." Hermione said sincerely.
Narcissa looked at her for a few seconds silently with her cold look set firmly in place, and then out of nowhere pulled Hermione into a ridged hug. This had probably shocked Hermione more than anything else in her entire life, but to be honest, it was just what she needed right now. Then it dawned on her again. He was in danger.
"He's in trouble, someone has betrayed him. I need to help him." Hermione said urgently.
"Then waste no more time." Narcissa said as she pulled away, she gestured to a bush that was growing up the walls of the Manor. "Through there." She said just as a small army of Death Eater's emerged from around the corner to defend this side of the grounds.
"Will you be alright?" Hermione asked, clearly concerned.
"What do you take me for?" Narcissa asked with a smirk and then drew her wand. "Go!" She demanded and then stormed off with her expensive royal blue robes blowing in the wind.
Hermione dashed to the bush and threw herself into it and collided into a hard wooden door. That would definitely leave a bruise. She thought bitterly. She ripped open the door and ran aimlessly through the halls trying to find something she recognised. Where the hell would he be?! She finally came to the main entrance halls and ran quickly up the stairs, tripping up the last few in her frantic rush, smashing her shins into the hard concrete steps. She quickly dragged herself up and ran through the pain.
She heard a barrage of spells from the corridor to her right, in the direction of their bedroom and she ran as fast as her legs would carry her, passed the library and then finally to their door. She stopped suddenly, panting and shaking as she listened to the fight coming from the inside. She took a deep breath and flung the door open. The fighting stopped suddenly and the first thing she saw was Devereux' confused face looking back at her. He was bleeding from his eyebrow and was clearly out of breath.
Before she could say a word he grabbed her roughly, wrapped his arm around her throat and pointed his wand into the side of her head as he stood behind her. The next person she saw was Draco, standing with his back to the shattered bedroom window with his wand pointed at the pair of them. Hermione couldn't work out the look on his face, it was blank and emotionless, but his eyes were so dark with anger they were almost black, she'd never seen them like it before.
"You just couldn't stay away." Devereux said into her ear. "I didn't want you getting caught up in this."
She wanted to reach for her wand, but knew he would probably feel her move so decided not to just yet. She just looked into Draco's eyes, and prayed he would know how sorry she was for putting him in this position.
"Stand down, or I'll redecorate these walls with your wife's blood." Devereux said clearly. Draco didn't respond, he didn't even move.
"I can't believe it's you." Hermione said quietly. "I didn't want to believe it. You're our friend!"
He pushed his wand into her head a little harder and Hermione noticed Draco's grip on his wand tighten. "I have no friends, only duty." He said firmly.
"This whole time you've been against us?" Hermione asked sadly, truly hurt by his betrayal.
"No." Devereux said defensively. "He's losing this war." He said and pointed his head in Draco's direction. "I made a deal. If I kill him, I will be forgiven, and so will the people I care about."
"Don't you care about us?" Hermione asked sadly.
"Of course I do!" He said through gritted teeth.
"Who are you protecting?" She asked, not caring if she was pushing her boundaries.
"My children." He whispered after a moment, he sounded desperate.
"Children?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"The King's children- they're mine." He explained so quietly Hermione barely heard him. "I fell in love with his wife. He found out about us and I had to leave, he wanted my head on a spike for what I'd done to him, I can't say I blame him though, I am his brother after all, and I hurt him more than anybody else could have."
"I still don't understand." She whispered.
"The children only lived so nobody would find out about how his own family had betrayed him. He carried on pretending they were his. I had them rescued because I was confident we would win but now.. if Draco loses…"
"He'll kill them and say they were lost in the battle." Hermione finished for him.
"Clever girl." Devereux said and then looked up to Draco again. He was gripping his wand so tightly his knuckles where white. "I can see why you love her, but if you don't surrender, the next thing you'll see is her lying dead on the floor." Devereux warned.
Draco loosened his grip on his wand and began to lower it.
"Don't do it Draco!" Hermione shouted but he just looked at her and continued to lower his wand.
"How do I know she will be safe?" Draco asked, his voice cut through the air like a knife.
"I've spoken with my brother, I've told him about her, if she swears fealty to him she will have a long and happy life, he's very impressed with what I've told him." Devereux said.
"I'll never betray Draco!" Hermione shouted as she squirmed in his arms.
"How do I know I can trust you?" Draco asked, his tone was like ice.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice." He said and pulled Hermione firmly into place as she struggled.
"Okay." Draco said. "Take my life in exchange for hers." He said and completely lowered his wand.
Devereux removed his wand from Hermione's head and pointed it towards Draco, but as soon as he'd moved Hermione desperately reached for hers and stung him, in what she thought was his stomach. In the moment that he faltered she pushed herself away and turned to face him. She could hear spells now, blasting from outside the room and could smell smoke in the air. "Stupefy!" She shouted and blasted Devereux into the wall.
Hermione looked at Devereux and noticed he'd began to stir and his eyes were about to flick open. She pointed her wand at him again and disarmed him before he could wake. He opened his eyes and looked at her sadly. "I was a fool to doubt the two of you. I know I'm done for, but for what it's worth, I am truly sorry."
Hermione didn't say anything, she couldn't find any words for him. She could hear the intruders in the Manor getting closer and closer and she knew they had to do something, her and Draco couldn't fight them alone.
Suddenly Draco grabbed her wrist and pulled her past their broken bed and over to the broken window. She looked at Devereux again. "My children have family in France, when you win, please take them there." He said sadly.
Draco wrapped an arm tightly around her, pulled her flush against his body and pointed his wand at Devereux with the other, with a swift flick and a blast of green light Dimitri Devereux was dead. Draco wrapped his other arm around Hermione and threw himself and Hermione through the broken window frame just as the bedroom door was blasted off its hinges. They flew through the air together like the black smoke that had now completely surrounded the Manor.
With special thanks to my beta reader, ShepardMasterMind.