Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor any of its characters.

Hey guys, just in case y'all get a little confused. If there's a dash ' - ' between paragraphs, it means a change in place. If there's a ' OOO' between paragraphs, it means a change in time ;3

Chapter XXVI

When Draco felt his Mother's hand fall limp in his own, it seemed to him as though the world were over. He kissed her hand and gritted his teeth to stop the tears of anger and despair surfacing before he placed her hand gently by her side. Hermione let out a whimper when she realised and clasped her hands in front of her mouth. She hadn't known Narcissa Malfoy very well, but all that played across her mind now were Draco's stories of his Mother, particularly the time he spoke of her in the nursery. She then thought of how Narcissa told her of the young Draco only mere minutes before.

Glancing at her small body on the bed, Hermione could only imagine the hardships that the poor woman had endured during her marriage to Lucius. Narcissa must have been such a strong woman to be able to give up the man that she loved for her son, to be able to stand up to her husband when he hurt her only boy, to be able to live with the knowledge that her only son was dead because of her husband's actions and then to choose death in order to protect her son and her secret.

"I received a Patronus from Potter. He's been caught at the Manor." Draco said suddenly and Hermione was puzzled to see that not a single emotion had passed across his face. By looking into his eyes, she could see no sadness but the embers of a rage, threatening to ignite.

"Well we need to go, we need to save him." She said firmly, dashing away the remnants of the tears beneath her eyes.

Draco's expression darkened. "No way, you are not going near that Manor. You're staying here."

"Draco, he's my best friend. I'm not staying here. We had a similar discussion to this a few days ago and it turned out to be a good thing that I went so I'm coming. You can't do or say anything that's going to stop me."

"I'm supposed to be protecting you, you'd make my life a whole lot easier if you didn't jump at the first chance of danger you come across. If you have a death wish, you need only ask." He growled in response.

"Well if I can't go, you can't go either since you're supposed to be protecting me. Who knows? While you're gone my doting stalker might drop in and finish what he started."

He scoffed. "That won't happen. Believe me."

"You don't know that."

"Trust me, I do."

"Oh yeah? Enlighten me." She taunted.

He hesitated for a moment. This was his only opportunity to finally show his Father the meaning of retribution. Who knows when he'd have one next? It was a toss-up between finally catching his Father and saving Potter or watching out for Hermione's safety. But as much as he cared for Hermione, this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. "You know, the more time you stand here arguing with me the less time I've got until Boy Wonder bites the dust. So, I'll be on my way. Don't wait up."

"That's fine, I can apparate to the forest then. You said it was close to the Manor right? Seeing as we're both going there, you might as well just take me with you." She sniffed indifferently.

"Yes, by close I mean a few miles, Granger. I'd be in and out before you even found your way out of there. Just, for once, please. Stay put. It'd give me some peace of mind, Merlin knows I need it." He groaned before shooting one last look at his Mother allowing the spark of rage to ignite his power, leaving him feeling invigorated as he promptly disapparated away from the room.

Hermione growled in fury, how dare he just leave her here like she would be a hindrance. She could be very useful out there to him and he might not even know it. Though saying that, he was rather powerful, but if he used it all too quickly, he would be a sitting duck. She hated this feeling of helplessness. She had no idea what state of mind he was in after just witnessing the death of Narcissa and if her were off to confront his Father about it? She shuddered at what he might do to him. Not that she particularly cared for Lucius Malfoy, more so for Draco's sanity.

She had no idea what on Earth she could possibly do to get to him now. For one thing, she wasn't going to sit here like a waste of space. No, she'd had enough of that for a lifetime, now was the time to take action. Her best friend's life was endangered and also the man she cared about. She tugged on a strand of her hair and thought hard, trying to make some use of the brain she had been gifted with. She sighed when nothing came to her, and looked over to Narcissa wishing she were here to help her.

When he reappeared, he was standing so he was just inside the wrought iron gates that closed the Malfoy Manor off from the rest of the world. He looked up at it in all its glory, and it truly was a sight to behold. At least he and his family thought so. He blanched slightly before he remembered, the only family he had left was one Lucius Malfoy who Draco was firmly intending to kill very, very soon. When he put it like that, he felt hollow and cold. He would be completely without any real family, save for perhaps his cousin Nymphadora and her estranged Mother whom he had never met.

With a quick flick of his wrist, his wand fell from its resting place in his sleeve and he caught it as it made to fall. He wanted to feel the surge of power once more and began to focus more and more on what his Father had done to his Mother and Hermione. The more he focused on it, the angrier he got until he could feel the magic pouring into his veins and rushing about his body. His eyes darkened with the power overload so they reverted back to the terror invoking black they had been a few nights previous and as before, it were as though he became possessed by his anger, all reasoning flew from his head and his morals were temporarily forgotten. He was ready.

Not caring who saw him, he marched up the stone path, enclosed by the two daunting hedges whose shadows cut off all light on the stone of the floor. His lip twitched as he tried to contain a sneer whilst he glanced up at what was once his home. Well, it would have been home if it weren't for all of the terrible things that had happened there. His eyes scanned each of the windows, and some sadistic part of him deeply wished that his Father would be watching him march up the pathway so he would know that he had come looking for nothing but blood. Although no such thing happened, and Draco was very disappointed when there were no sentries outside the grand double doors much like there were during his Sixth Year.

Before he entered he tried to think where his Father might possibly be cowering in the Manor. It would be somewhere well-guarded, Draco knew that much for sure. His Father always was disappointing and very much spineless as the Muggles say, all bark and no bite. Perhaps he would be hiding in his own chambers, whimpering in the corner like a child. Or then again, he did have Potter after all. He might have been trying to assert his power over a poor unsuspecting Potter. Draco almost chuckled at the thought but he was too riled up to become side-tracked by immature thoughts.

He contemplated upon how to make the perfect entrance, the entrance that would have his Father piss-his-pants scared. No, he wanted him more than scared, he wanted him quaking in his expensive dragonhide boots. The only way he would do that would be to pick off his Father's little minions one by one. But first, he would unfortunately have to save Potter, not that he didn't want to. But his dear friend might be more adamant on arresting daddy dearest rather than letting Draco wipe the floor with the pathetic being. Trust Harry Potter to ruin his day.

Shrugging his shoulders and clenching his wand tightly in his fist, he burst through the doors and into the foyer where yet again he was disappointed when only one rather plumper and weaker looking rookie was snoozing on the job. It looked to Draco like his work was cut out for him, which he really thought was pitiable since he'd expected much more of a fight than this, so instead of killing the pathetic waste of space before him, he bound him with invisible ropes with a quick whip of his wand which would wear off in about half an hour. By then, hopefully he'd have more of a challenge.

He decided it really would be best if he found Potter first and so based on an educated guess, he started for the cellars. When he walked through one of the lesser parlours on his short-cut to the cellars he almost laughed in triumph when a mob of the familiar cloaked figures descended upon him. Now, this is where things got truly exciting. He thought as he began firing his curses.

Hermione sat with her cup of tea on the floor of Draco's nursery as she gazed up at the portrait of the family on the walls. If that's what you could call them. They were unlike any family Hermione had ever heard of with their corrupt and abusive patriarch, a matriarch who had been forced into marriage against her will and a child who had been very much damaged. She stared at the sad and yet healthy face of Narcissa again and couldn't help but think how beautiful she was back in the day, and not overrun by exhaustion, scars and bruises.

Seconds seemed like minutes. Minutes seemed like hours. Time itself was at a complete standstill for Hermione as she worried more and more for Draco's well-being. It wasn't as though he couldn't take care of himself, Merlin knows he was powerful enough but that was against eight wizards. Now, he was straying into the Lion's den, Death Eater central if gossip was to be believed. She ran her fingers nervously around the rim of the mug and deciding she could no longer bear to look upon the portrait any more, she made back to where Blinky was tending to Narcissa.

The elf was sniffling into his robe as he wove smaller flowers from the cherry trees outside into Narcissa's loose platinum locks which matched the cream of the gown that she wore. Blinky had mended and washed it so that the blood and dirt stains had gone and each of the tears had been sewn. Her skin was deathly pale, almost matching the colour of the flowers threaded into her hair. Her lips and cheeks were void of any colour, leaving her looking as though she were made of porcelain, much like the china dolls that Hermione's grandmother used to collect. The only part of her that stood out was her hair which looked rather like a halo, giving Narcissa the fallen angel look. But despite being dead, she still looked breathtakingly beautiful.

"What're we to do with her now, Blinky?" Hermione asked quietly as the elf finished Narcissa's preparations off by sliding her golden wedding ring on, with the intricately carved pattern extending around the band and in the middle an emerald with two smaller diamonds on either side.

"Mistress Narcissa be laid to rest with all other Malfoys, Mistress Hermione." Blinky said tonelessly.

"Where might that be?" She asked curiously.

"The Malfoy Crypt at the Malfoy Manor, Mistress Hermione." Hermione's heart leapt, this was her chance to get into the Manor.

"Would it be a bother if I accompanied you, Blinky?" Hermione asked.

"Of course not Mistress Hermione." The elf smiled glumly as he took hold of Hermione's hand and Narcissa's cold one before disapparating with a pop. Blinky managed to lift Narcissa into his arms until Hermione used her wand to levitate her as the two walked through the crypt. Hermione looked at all of the different statues that lined the walls used to depict different Malfoy ancestors each of whom were strikingly beautiful in their own way, but it could only be expected since they were Wizarding royalty after all.

The narrow halls soon opened out into a wide chamber with low ceilings which were all held up by pale brick arches. These were held up by rather thick looking pillars which were adorned with great stone snakes coiling around them with their tongues forking out at whoever looked at them. In the centre was a grand golden table which had the Malfoy crest emblazoned upon its surface as well as the motto running around the edges. Hermione levitated Narcissa until she was comfortably lying on the table, before casting her signature bluebell flames which hovered in the air like little will-o-wisps around her body.

"How long will she lie here for?" Hermione asked, with her eyes transfixed on how the blue flames flickered across Narcissa's skin.

"Until the funeral service, Mistress Hermione, it is Malfoy tradition." The elf confirmed. "We should be going now Mistress."

"I can't Blinky. Draco and Harry are inside so I have to go and help them. You understand, don't you?"

"Master Draco didn't set Blinky orders so Mistress is free to do as she pleases." The elf said regrettably.

"Thank you, Blinky." Hermione sighed and clutching her wand tightly, she made her way out of the crypt.

Draco couldn't help suppress an evil smile as he effortlessly battled each of the nameless guards who dared meet his path on the way to the cellar. He found that once he was enraged, casting the killing curse wasn't a big deal anymore and gave him some sort of perverse thrill each time the next figure dropped dead. The feeling of utmost power and control as he ended a life didn't sicken him as much as he thought it would, in fact he could get quite used to the feeling.

Although as he had previously thought, there were many of his Father's minions guarding the house in almost every room and so using killing curse after killing curse was quickly draining his magical core to the extent where he began to feel physical strain when his magic left his body through his wand. So unfortunately, that meant he had to put a stop to his killing spree and so still in a blinded rage, he continued to fire the nastiest spells he could think of in the direction of each cloaked figure.

When he finally reached the stairs leading down to the cellar there was only one little minion left to wipe out and so he quickly stunned him so that he fell to the floor, tumbling down to the bottom of the stairs, landing with a sickening thud. Draco was panting with a blood lust he hadn't felt before and he was about to do the man in, until he heard a familiar voice from the top of the stairs.

"Draco?" Came Hermione's voice which instantly snapped him out of his blinded rage. His eyes turned back into their usual grey at the sound of her voice and he calmed significantly. With his rage no longer powering him, he felt the strain of his magic take a toll quickly and he became very weak and exhausted.

"What the fuck are you doing here." He whispered harshly as she crept down the stairs towards him and pushed open the gate that led into the cellar.

"You didn't think I'd really stay at the Manor now did you?" She raised an eyebrow and then turned back to see the figure of Harry sprawled out on the stone floor of the cellar as Draco had previously predicted. They both ran over to him and knelt beside him, he had been stupefied by the looks of things.

"Rennervate." Draco whispered and with a wave of his hand over Harry's body, Harry jumped back to life with his eyes fixating on the two of them for a moment. "How you doing mate?" Draco asked and Harry nodded weakly before standing up.

"Well I say we get out of here quickly before Lucius finds us." Hermione suggested and Draco and Harry nodded in response.

"I can't apparate, I'm too weak at the moment. We're going to have to get outside the wards." Draco panted, his magical core being too drained for it to be deemed safe for apparation. "We'll go out through the parlours, I've cleared a path through there so it shouldn't be too hard. Let's move." He and Hermione started to walk towards the stairs. They didn't notice that Harry in the background began to bubble as he morphed back into his real self, Lucius Malfoy who quickly stunned them while their backs were turned.

OOO

When they awoke, they were both trapped inside the dungeons in Malfoy Manor, both wandless and separated by bars. Draco was still feeling incredibly drained and his magical core wasn't stable with the amount of magic he had used. Using much more now for him could be fatal unless he rested for a good few hours, something which he didn't think would be probable. A chilling laugh came from the shadows.

"Oh dear me, you thought it would be that easy did you?" Mocked the voice and Hermione's blood ran cold at the recognition. She whimpered and shuffled closer to the wall that separated her from Draco to see him still lying on the floor, barely conscious. This was the voice that had haunted her nightmares ever since its owner had attacked her. Twice.

Lucius Malfoy stepped out of the shadows basking in his own glory and triumph. "For the brightest witch of her age, you really underestimate me don't you? Well fear not, you may have slipped through my fingers twice before but I shall not be making the same mistake again." He growled at her.

"Leave her alone you sick fuck." Came Draco's voice from the next cell causing Lucius to direct his attention towards him.

"And you, my son. You were supposed to be dead." Lucius' lip twitched in anger.

"So sorry to disappoint you, Father." Draco mocked.

"You always were an insolent boy. Too much of your Mother in you, that's what did it. Well, fear not my son, you will meet the same sticky end as she soon enough. As much as I'd love to stay and gloat, I have yours and Mr Potter's executions to plan and my, are you in for a treat, we managed to sway a multitude of Dementors to our cause." He let out an evil laugh and promptly left the dungeons.

Draco listened to Hermione's shallow breathing in the next cell and when hauled himself up off the floor, he could see tears glistening on her cheeks.

"Don't be afraid." He reassured her, weaving his hand though the bars to firmly clasp onto hers.

"I don't want to die, Draco. I'm scared, fear of the unknown you could say. I've told myself over and over that I would face death when it came to it, but now it's finally here, I'm terrified." She whispered.

"I'm scared too." He admitted meekly and squeezed her hand slightly.

"Draco?"

"Yes?"

"Before we die, which I have no doubt will be soon by the calculating look on Lucius' face. I have to tell you something. Something important." She whispered and leant her head on the bars.

"Go on." He said curiously.

"Remember when I told you that I didn't care about you the way you thought I did? I lied." She admitted. "I care about you. I care about you a lot, more than I ever dared hope." Her words echoed into the empty silence of the dungeons.

He propped himself up and disentangled his hand form hers and brought it up to cup her face and bring it closer to his so that he could just about touch his lips to hers through the bars of the walls. She poured every ounce of passion she possessed into the kiss believing that it would be her last, it was a kiss that tasted of sweat, tears and desperation and for her it couldn't have ended too soon.

"Why did you have to tell me this now of all times?" He asked wistfully, wishing she had told him earlier so that they could have enjoyed their time together before it was cruelly snatched from them.

"I didn't want to die with anything left unsaid. You don't have to reciprocate. I just wanted to make my feelings known to you."

He let out a laugh of despair. "Well that's it, there's no way I'm accepting that we're going to die right now. Because we're not, we're going to make it out of here alive and we're going to make it out of here together. Because believe it or not, as silly as it sounds I care for you a lot too, and I think I have for longer than I care to admit."

"Well how do we get out of here then? We need to find Harry too." She reminded him.

"Let's think about this. I'm not as strong as I could be at the moment and we're both wandless so busting out of here would be a bad move. Who knows how many of them are up there now? We need to send a message to Lupin somehow."

"I have an idea, but you're not going to like it." She said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Pray tell." He urged.

"I know you know a spell, a spell that draws magical energy from its victim and well, you could use it to get enough energy to send a Patronus to Lupin." She suggested.

"And who would I-"He stopped himself in his tracks when he realised what she was saying. "Oh no, if you think I'm going to use you, you're crazy. I won't do it."

"Draco, you have to do this. You're the only one powerful enough to conjure a wandless Patronus. Don't you see? It's this or we both die. My magical energy can be replenished with rest, our lives can't. Please, just trust me." She pleaded.

He knew she was right deep down and so he sighed loudly. "I'm only taking as much as I need. Make sure you grab onto my hand and squeeze if you feel too drained. Remember, wandless Patronuses take a lot out of you." He reminded her.

She nodded. "I trust you." His hand slipped into her own as he used the better half of the little magical energy left to cast his Potentia Exhauriebat on her and watched as the golden light streamed from her fingers into his. He studied her face carefully as he continued to drain her magic waiting to see any signs of her struggling. In reality, she was weakening quickly, it felt like her magic was being ripped from her cells and it felt as though her life source was dimming. When he finally released her from the spell's hold she exhaled deeply and began panting to try and catch her breath. Her hands were shaking because of her weakness.

"Cast it." She prompted and he gave her a troubled look. "Don't worry about me, just cast it."

He released her hand and stood up in the cell before thinking of Hermione telling her she cared for him and thinking of his Mother telling him of how proud of him she was until he felt like he wanted to smile. This was the prime moment and so he raised his arms out in front of him and cast it.

"Expecto Patronum." He spoke and was relieved to see out of his fingertips grew a silver dragon which carried the message he had thought as he had cast it and flew off, flapping its wings before disappearing though the wall.

He had used most of the energy that Hermione had given to him and so he tiredly slumped down onto the floor next to the bars and picked up her hand again as they both lay out of breath.

"Sleep now, Hermione. You'll need your energy." He whispered to her and she didn't waste a second more and closed her eyes and fell asleep with her hand still firmly intertwined with his own. He closed his own eyes and allowed himself a few precious moments of sleep, he would need all the magic he could get if he were going to be ready for the fight he was sure was coming.