A huge thanks to Ilikehappyendings who reviewed so much! I was just so flattered by all your reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.


3.47 PM

Draco scanned the crowds for Hermione, a frown creasing his brow as he didn't spot her familiar head of curly cinnamon hair.

Perhaps she had left early, he mused to himself.

Ushering the last few fourth years into the carriages, he stepped into the last one and left, hoping that Hermione was in the Common Room, although a small nagging feeling in his gut told him otherwise.

3.50 PM

You know that feeling you get, when you're home alone at night, and it feels like you're being watched? The feeling of fear that runs up your spine and causes goose bumps; the feeling that makes you hurry to close the curtains, scanning outside the window for watching faces.

That was similar to the fear that filled Hermione when she awoke.

She was in a strange, dank and dark room with no windows. It was freezing, and her head was pounding as a headache drowned out any thoughts.

She shivered, her robes still damp from the snow, and began to roll over. But when her shoulder came into contact with the floor she recoiled in shock, the hot pain making the area sting. When she sucked in a breath, her ribs burned as the bones moved and strained.

She passed out from the pain, her head hitting the stone floor with a dull thud.

7.45 PM

Daphne knocked on the door to Astoria's dorm, curious as to where all the girls were. Surely there must be one of them inside studying. When no-one answered, she pushed inside. She made her way over to Astoria's trunk quickly, opening it and running her hands through the layer of clothes that were on the top.

She had been worried that Astoria was missing at dinner, and seeing as Anthony was there, she wondered where her little sister had gone. Hoping that there was a clue to her whereabouts she had asked everyone, and no-one had seen her since Hogsmeade. So it came down to Daphne doing some old fashioned sister snooping.

When she found nothing but folded clothes, she started to dig deeper. A rustle stopped her in her tracks, and she plunged her hand into the corner of the trunk and pulled out a bit of parchment.

Holding it up, she read the words on it with dread.

"Oh Astoria."

Desperately, she searched the trunk, soon finding some more bits of paper. Reading them all, she felt tears gather in her eyes as a heavy cold feeling sank her stomach.

Why hadn't she been persistent about Astoria's odd silences, her half-eaten dinners and strange nightmares? It was all her fault.

A sudden realisation struck her; Hermione hadn't been at dinner either. Shoving the letters into her pocket, she took off out of the Slytherin dungeons, hoping that Draco was in his old dorm, and if not there then the common room.

After covering all seven floors of the castle Daphne stood in a corridor, panting for breath. Draco wasn't in the anywhere to be found, and neither was Hermione. She desperately tried to gasp air into her lungs, her shoulders beginning to shake as she leaned against the corridor wall and tried to figure out what to do next.

"Merlin, please let me be wrong. Please let Hermione be in the Library studying, and Astoria just helping Professor Sprout in the Greenhouses." she whispered.

A figure rounded the corner, and she recognised it as Ron Weasley.

"Weasley!" she shouted, sprinting towards him. He looked shocked, before staring at her coldly.

"What do you want, Greengrass?"

"Have you seen Hermione?"

"No, why would I have seen her?"

"Will you bloody get over yourself, you stupid git! She's missing, and I think she's been taken by a Death Eater. Didn't you hear about the bloody message rose that she got the other day?!" she hissed, and his face drained of colour.

"What?"

"Someone sent her a white rose, but when she picked it up it started screaming. The sound filled the whole hall, people were terrified and staring as she went pale. But then the rose started dripping red blood everywhere, and it spelled out a message on the table."

"What did it say?"

"The name that caused her to punch Draco back in our third year."

"Blimey. I didn't know."

"That's what you get for being an awful friend." she snapped, and he looked at her.

"I suppose I deserved that."

"You can help her now, Ron. Help me. We need to alert people. Somethings happened."

"What did you find?"

"I found letters in Astoria's trunk. She's been blackmailed by a Death Eater, and I suspect forced into helping him get Hermione. We need to find both of them before it's too late."

"We have to find Harry!" he told her, taking off down the corridor.

"And Draco!"

9.01 PM

Harry cringed as Draco's knight smashed his castle to bits.

"Bishop to E5."

"Interesting." Draco mused, and Harry frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing." Draco replied casually, and Ginny laughed.

"Stop teasing Harry, you prat."

"Weasley." Draco sneered, and Harry glared.

"Hey. Don't talk to Ginny in that tone of voice."

"He wasn't talking to me." Ginny said, pointing out Ron who had just burst through the doors of the Great Hall.

"Oh. Never mind then. Are you going to move, Malfoy?"

"Queen to C6."

"Why is he running?" Ginny looked puzzled.

"Why is Daphne Greengrass running alongside him?" Draco asked.

Harry turned as Ron and Daphne reached them.

"Draco!" Daphne sobbed, and the blonde was on his feet in a second.

"What's wrong?"

She gasped for breath, and Ron took one himself before turning to Ginny and Harry.

"Hermione's missing. Something has happened. A Death Eater has her."

9:30 PM

Astoria slowly drifted into consciousness, her eyes adjusting quickly to the darkness as she felt a heavy weight on her wrist. Moving her arm, she heard the clinking of chain as she slid her wrist out from underneath it and began to shiver when a pair of boots entered her vision.

"You did very well."

She felt bile rising in the back of her throat as he leaned down to push her hair back off her face.

"You could be as good as my Bellatrix, one day."

"I'm nothing like her." Astoria sat up, her head fuzzy from Imperio.

"No one is truly like her, but you will be useful as a puppet."

"I don't want to be part of anything to do with you."

"Under the Imperius curse, I'm afraid you have no choice."

"You're breaking the law, the Aurors will find you and stop you."

"You think I care about the law? The Ministry? They did nothing but meddle in Bellatrix's and my life! They took away her freedom, caused her to lose placing with The Dark Lord and punished us for trying to right the wizarding world to how it should be!" He yelled, beginning to pace.

When he turned his back on her, Astoria scrambled to her feet and rushed over to Hermione. The floor where her hands were was slick, and when Astoria raised her hands she turned to the side and threw up, the smell of blood hanging in the air.

"What have you done to her?"

"I've already broken her ribs and she has a nasty head wound." he laughed.

Desperately trying to shake Hermione awake, she cried out as she was jerked backwards and into the opposite wall, her head meeting the stone with a loud crack.

10:05 PM

"We have to go!" Ron shouted, and McGonagall looked over her glasses at him.

"Your demands mean nothing to me, Mr Weasley. As an untrained Auror there is nothing you can do."

"We have been through enough to know how to handle ourselves!" he protested.

"Mr Weasley, be that as it may, you are all still just children, and are under my care. I cannot allow it."

"You don't understand, Professor." Harry pleaded.

"Hermione is in danger, and we want to help." Draco added, and Professor McGonagall sighed as she looked at the group.

"I will inform the Order, and the Ministry. Let me remind you that looking for two students is enough, let alone looking for six!" she told them.

Ginny sighed.

"There's nothing we can do, let's go back to our common room." she told them, and the boys all turned to her with questioning looks.

"Good idea, Miss Weasley. I think you should all follow her lead. Rest assured, I will deal with this." McGonagall told them, and they all reluctantly shuffled out of her office.

"Ginny!" Ron hissed as they exited the statue and started off down the corridor, but she shushed them and directed the group into a nearby classroom.

"We have to go help Hermione and Astoria. We'll take our brooms and leave at midnight tonight. Meet on the Quidditch Pitch in twenty minutes, okay?"

"Ginny, you rebel!" Ron ruffled her hair, and she slapped his hand away.

"I still haven't forgiven you." she glared, and he looked guilty.

"Good plan, Ginny." Harry interrupted, and Draco smirked at her.

"You've got some Slytherin in you, Weasley."

"And what about me? I don't fly, so how am I going to come along on this lovely adventure?" Daphne interrupted as she slipped into the classroom from the hallway she had been waiting for them in, and everyone turned to look at her.

"You should stay." Harry said, and she frowned.

"He's got my sister, I can't and won't leave her there!"

"We'll get her, it's okay." Ginny soothed the blonde, but Daphne folded her arms and glared.

"No. I want to come. I'm highly skilled in charms, and there's no harm in it." she argued.

"Enough arguing, we need to find them!" Draco snapped.

"Hold on a second, maybe the notes have a clue to where he is?" Ginny suddenly added, and Daphne pulled the notes out of her pocket, handing them to the red-headed girl.

"Let me see." Draco came up behind Ginny to look over her shoulder, and immediately paled.

"Malfoy? What is it?" Harry asked, seeing a look of fear flash across the Head Boy's face.

"I know who has Hermione and Astoria." he whispered hoarsely.

10.13 PM

Hermione groaned as she came around, the pounding in her head overwhelming everything and her chest ached with every breath she took.

She struggled to get her arms to move, trying to sit up, but as she started to push weakly against the floor pain jolted through her arm and she collapsed onto the floor.

"There's no one here to help you." a cold voice drew her eyes up, and she stared into the shadows.

"I can take care of myself." she spat before coughing up blood on the floor next to her.

A dark, low chuckle filled the room, so unlike Draco's lilting, pleasant one and she shivered, wishing that he were hereto say goodbye to. There were so many things she didn't know about him yet, and hadn't told him.

"I guess that makes you all the more fun to break, then."

"You say that like I'm a toy." she spat, and the mysterious person chuckled again.

"You are, to torture and hurt until your two little friends come running to save you."

Fear started to grip Hermione, and her heart pounded in her chest. It would be her fault if Harry and Ron were involved in this.

"So, what, you're going to rape me? Pretty low for someone who's too cowardly to face me face-to-face with wands."

"No, I would never sully myself with a Mudblood like you, and I am no coward. You know nothing of me!"

"You're pathetic." she hissed, struggling to shift backwards as she heard his footsteps crossing the room.

He suddenly kicked her in the stomach, and she cried out, curling in on herself as he kicked her again.

"Filthy little Mudblood isn't so smart and precious now, are you?" he snarled, and she cried out as she was flung across the room, landing on the floor with a smack.

"At least I'm not gutless." she mumbled.

"You worthless scum. My wife had the right idea about you, you're nothing but a filthy little Mudblood who steals and sullies the wizarding world. You and your friends are responsible for her dying, and I'm going to finish what she started." he hissed, stepping on her hand and crunching her fingers under his heavy heel, laughing as she screamed in pain.

"Crucio!" the curse ripped through her body and jerked it back in pain, causing all of her crushed bones to splinter further as she uncontrollably writhed around. When the curse lifted she vomited up blood before the darkness seeped over the corners of her vision and she blacked out.

10:15 PM

Draco had just kicked off the Quidditch Pitch when a cough sounded below him.

"Where are you going without us?" Ginny asked, stepping out of the shadows followed by Harry, and Draco sighed.

"I can't leave her in his hands any longer."

"I'm coming with you." Ginny said, mounting her own broom and kicking off from the ground, coming to hover beside him."

"The longer he has her, the more damage he can do." Draco whispered, and Ginny placed her hand over his own.

"Hermione is one of the strongest witches I know, but that doesn't mean we can't help her."

10.20 PM

Astoria moaned, clutching her sore head. She pressed her fingers to the spot she had hit the wall earlier, feeling the wetness of blood seeping out of her scalp and slicking her hair.

Hearing ragged breathing, she stilled, squinting in the darkness.

"Hermione!" she gasped as she spotted the other girl on the floor. Crawling over, she pressed her fingers against Hermione's pale cheeks.

"Hermione, please wake up." she sobbed, watching with relief as the Head Girl opened her eyes.

"No! Please." the brunette jerked back, shielding herself before crying in pain as it sent sharp pains through her battered body. Astoria grabbed Hermione's hand, dropping it in shock as the girl cried out again.

"It's me, Astoria!"

"Are we alone?"

"For now."

"I think my hand is broken." Hermione sobbed.

"I'm sorry!" Astoria gasped, putting her hand on Hermione's wrist.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know."

"Are you hurt?" Hermione asked, and Astoria felt tears gather in her eyes. How could she have done this to a girl who was so willing to make sure she was alright?

"No, but don't worry about me. What about you?"

"It hurts to breathe."

The door swung open.

"Oh, good, you're both awake. Crucio!"

10.25 PM

Draco landed just outside of Hogsmeade, Harry and Ginny landing next to him shortly after.

"We need to look for a clue to where they could be, spread out and come back in five minutes." Harry whispered before they scattered in different directions.

"Anything?" Harry asked as they met up, and Ginny pointed to the path leading towards the Shrieking Shack.

"The owner of Honeydukes told me that they last saw a girl with curly brown hair going up that path. It could have been anyone, but it's worth checking out."

"Let's go, anything could help." Draco said, and the three ran off.

10:26 PM

"Daphne, where are you going?" Theo asked, sitting up from the couch.

Daphne cursed under her breath, turning to face him.

"To bed."

"Your dorm is that way." he smiled, pointing up the stairs.

"Well maybe I'm going for a walk."

"I doubt it."

"I have to go, please just stop delaying me."

"Why?"

"Astoria's in trouble."

"What do you mean?"

"She and Hermione, they've been taken by a Death Eater."

"Why didn't you tell me, Greengrass? I could have helped." he swore, grabbing a nearby bit of parchment and a quill as he began scribbling furiously.

"I'm coming with you."

"No, definitely not." she protested.

"Yes, definitely. Just let me finish this." he rolled up the note and tucked it into his pocket before grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the dungeons.

"Theo, what do you think you're doing?"

"Helping. But first we have to go to the Owlery. I need to send this."

"Send what?" she asked as she ran after him.

"Something that might just help."

10.45 PM

Astoria could hear Hermione's screams, but she couldn't do anything to help. Rodolphus had chained her wrist to the wall and then pointed his wand at her.

Curled in the corner of the cell, she shook violently, her body still numb from the Cruciatus curse.

She closed her eyes and bit her lip to try and take her mind off the pain. Clamping her hands over her ears she wished she was a careless young kid again, running around their mansion and picking flowers with Daphne, playing hide and seek in the grass and garden, making pumpkin pasties with her mum.

But she wasn't young anymore, and no matter how much she wished otherwise, no matter how hard she focused on her memories, the sound of Hermione screaming ripped through it all.

And it sounded worse now than it did in her nightmares.

Rodolphus stepped on Hermione's knee, pushing it into the floor and laughing as she whimpered in pain before stamping down.

"Stop it! Stop hurting her!"

His wand turned to focus on Astoria as he stamped down on Hermione's knee again, and she knew what was coming, the curse smacking her hard into the wall as she cried out, her own screams joining Hermione's.

10.57 PM

Ginny had darted off ahead of the boys to check the snow as they scoured the forest either side of the path for any signs.

"Harry, Malfoy, over here!" Ginny called, casting a Lumos as the two boys ran towards her.

"What is it?" Draco stared down at the ground that she was crouching above.

"It's Hermione's wand." Ginny whispered, tucking it into her pocket.

"Shit!" Draco yelled, throwing his broom on the ground in frustration.

"Astoria's wand isn't here." Ginny said, and Harry frowned, scanning the ground.

"That's a little bit of hope."

"But not enough." Draco growled, but Ginny glared at him.

"We have to have faith in Hermione."

"She's been though traumatic ordeals before." Harry agreed.

"Where did my broom go?" Draco asked suddenly, and Ginny looked at him strangely.

"You just threw it down there." she replied, giving him a quizzical look as he started feeling around in the snow.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked,but there was only a feint crack and then Draco was gone.

"A portkey. Luckily it's still active." Harry looked at the exposed object.

"I want you to stay here, and wait for help."

"No way, Harry. Just because you're older than me does not mean that I'm not coming further on this quest. I can look after myself."

"I love you, even though you're stubborn and fiery."

"I love you too, and you love me because I'm stubborn and firey." she smiled as he took her hand.

Keeping their hands linked, Ginny stepped on the medallion and the two disappeared.

11.05 AM

"Where are we?" Ginny asked, shivering and re-casting her warming charm as they looked down on the small village beneath them.

"Near my Uncle Rodolphus and Aunt Bellatrix's inherited house. They used to use it for a hide-out until the Ministry found out about it." Draco replied.

"Of course they'd have a hide-out home in the middle of nowhere." Harry rolled his eyes, and Ginny bit her lip, looking worried.

"Harry, what if we don't get there in time?"

He cupped her cheek, meeting her eyes.

"We will. Draco knows the way."

11.16 PM

"Crucio."

Hermione screamed soundlessly, her body jerking and arching off the floor as white hot pain seeped through it, jolting her out of unconsciousness.

"Wake up, Mudblood." he kicked her ribs with his toe and she cried out, trying to curl forward to protect herself. She struggled to move her head, aiming to look up at him when she felt herself flying across the room.

She landed against the wall with a smack and a cry, sliding down it and collapsing at the bottom.

She whimpered, her limbs shaking with exhaustion and the muscles cramping from the repeated torture and strain.

She felt her body being lifted off the ground again and feebly tried to brace herself, watching as Rodolphus took a step towards her and grabbed her by the neck, pinning her against the wall as he pulled her arm from her side and against the wall.

"What are you doing?" she choked out, and his eyes danced with excitement in a way that was so eerily familiar.

It was when he pulled out a knife and pressed it to her skin that she started to cry.

11.18 PM

Astoria tugged at the shackle sitting on one of her wrists with a renewed force as Hermione's blood curdling screams filled the room.

More tears leaked out of her eyes and ran down her face as she yanked again and again, her skin jamming against the metal until it was sore.

Wriggling her wrist side-to-side, she felt the chain slip down her wrist, and held her breath, hoping that she hadn't just imagined it.

Tugging again, she saw and felt the chain move further down towards her hand as she bunched her fingers together.

Wriggling her hand hard, she glanced over the other side of the room where Hermione was and made sure that he wasn't looking at her before continuing her struggle, watching as the chain slipped lower and lower down her hand, scraping the skin raw as it slid across bones. But Astoria didn't care, she had to help somehow.

11:30 PM

Ron met up with Daphne and Theodore by the fountain in Hogsmeade, shaking his head.

"Nothing. Not one sign of any of them."

"They can't have just vanished into thin air." Theodore mused.

"Yes, they can!" Daphne gasped, and the boys turned to look at her.

"What are you talking about?" Ron frowned.

"Portkey! Duh!" she hissed, watching as recognition lit up the boys eyes.

"We have to find that portkey."

12.02 AM

A sharp tapping filled the room, and Lucius Malfoy stirred from his seat in front of the fire-place. He had just been released from Azkaban earlier in the evening, and was sitting at home catching his first bit of sleep in ages when the tapping started. How rude.

Opening his silver eyes, he looked up to see an owl sitting by the window, looking as cross as he felt.

He walked over and opened the window, placing a treat on the windowsill. Extending his hand he caught the letter as the owl dropped it and stared at the unfamiliar hand-writing before opening it.

As he scanned the words, he reached for his cane and his cloak, shutting the window before striding out of the study.

12.10 AM

Minerva McGonagall sat in her office. Rubbing her eyes, she looked up at the portrait of Dumbledore as he spoke.

"Don't worry, Minerva. The girls will be found."

"I know, Albus. But I can't help but think that I have let down my students."

"You're not the first teacher to do that."

She sighed.

"No, but I may be the first Headmistress to."

"You're too harsh on yourself, Minerva."

Another sigh escaped from the witch's mouth.

"I hope they get there on time."

12:15 AM

As they walked through the woods that surrounded the village, Draco stopped and crouched down, putting his head in his hands.

"This is useless. I'm not going to be able to help her."

"We're tired, and cold and wandering around in woods outside of a village that you haven't been in for ten years. It'll take time, Draco." Ginny put a hand on his shoulder.

"Can I fly over and look?" Harry asked, and Draco shook his head.

"There are masking spells on the house. The Ministry kept them on as they didn't want people to find the place either."

"Let's keep looking. We can't be that far away, I can see a clearing in the woods ahead." Ginny patted his shoulder as she grabbed Harry's hand and kept walking, Draco following.

1.34 AM

Hermione woke up, groaning at the pounding in her head.

She moved her arm to rub the sore spot, but a sharp pain raced up her arm and she whimpered.

Her broken hand throbbed, and she let out a soft moan, letting her head fall back onto the floor.

Something stirred across the room, and she squinted.

"Astoria?" she rasped, and the brunette girl looked up.

"I've never been Crucio'd before."

"It burns." Hermione agreed, and Astoria nodded.

"Are you alright?"

"Not really." Hermione winced as her hand throbbed.

"I'm so sorry." Astoria bit her lip as tears trickled down her cheeks steadily.

"Oh, Astoria. It's okay."

"I'm so, so sorry Hermione. And I promise I'll help you get out of here, even if I don't."

"I'm not leaving you here." Hermione argued.

"You're not, even though I'm the reason you're here?"

"I won't."

2.31 AM

The house appeared when they got within fifty meters of it, the creaky old wooden structure rising out of nowhere as they crossed a shimmery line on the ground.

With a muttered spell, Draco took the shielding charm off the house, and pushed open the already cracked door.

"Hide yourselves." he whispered to Ginny and Harry and watching as they disappeared before he took a step into the house, pausing to listen for sounds.

His heart was pounding in his chest, but he was desperate to save Hermione, and that overrode everything.

He made his way through the first floor when he spotted the entrance to the dungeons.

Please be alive, Hermione. Please have held on for me.

"Why, Draco, I didn't expect you." Rodolphus drawled, and he froze, turning on the spot slowly and reaching into his pocket for his wand.

"Hello, Uncle. It's been a long time."

"What brings you here? I hope you haven't come crawling to ask for the Mudblood."

"The war is over now, the Dark Lord has fallen. There is no excuse for this, and if she dies her blood will be on my hands. You want to Malfoy name to be damaged further?"

"All I care about is revenge! She had the audacity to steal from our vault, filthy our possessions with her touch." he snapped, and Draco recoiled.

"All of that is in the past. End this now and we can still escape. Where is she?"

"Hopefully halfway into the realm of the deceased."

"Where is she?"

"You must forget about that filthy Mudblood, Draco. She will do you no good, polluting your head with filth and lies, and tainting the blood-line."

"Don't call her a Mudblood." he hissed, and his uncle looked shocked.

"Why, Draco, but that's exactly what she is."

"Let me have her, you don't need to finish this. Revenge has been sought, Bellatrix would be satisfied."

His uncle tsk'ed, giving him a knowing look.

"Bellatrix would be satisfied when her blood spills over the floor and she and her friends pay for their actions."

"No more killing!" Draco yelled, his hands clenching as Rodolphus shook his head.

"Draco, you're being very foolish. Throwing away the Dark Lord's teachings, throwing away your family's respect! I'll give you one last chance. You can kill her, Draco. You can be the one to crush the life from her body, to rid the world of a blot on its existence. You can redeem yourself; can fix the mistakes you have made."

"And no more after that?" Draco asked, feeling Ginny's hand tap his shoulder as she and Harry crept by.

"Your duty will be fulfilled, and we can rest knowing that the family is properly painted as the ones who should be feared, who should dictate."

2:50 AM

"I am sorry that I was so blinded, so misguided, uncle." Draco spoke, keeping his face as emotionless as possible.

"Do not worry, Draco. You will fix it, and your standing with the Dark Lord soon!"

"When?" he couldn't help asking, shuddering as his uncle placed a hand on his shoulder.

"As soon as her disgusting lackeys burst in to try and save her. I want to see Potter's eyes blank and as empty as he made the Dark Lord's future! If I can rid the world of him and the girl, I know that Voldemort and Bellatrix would not have died in vain."

Draco felt his heart pounding in his chest. Unwittingly, Harry had played right into his uncle's hands, and now he had to make sure that they all got out.

"Come, Draco, let us go upstairs for awhile. If you took so little time to arrive, I'm sure her heroic, blundering friends will arrive soon."

Halfway up, though, a horrible screeching sound emerged from the dungeon, and his uncle spun around, knocking him aside as he raced toward the sound.

"Our visitors have arrived!" he cried gleefully, stalking towards the open cell. When he spotted Harry and Ginny sprawled out on the floor, he smiled coldly, stepping towards them.

"Ah, Mr Potter. So glad you could join us. And you've brought another blood-traitor!"

He pointed his wand at them, a spell forming on his lips but Draco sent him flying across the room with his own spell.

"Traitor, Draco! How can you permit this scum to be in your very presence?" he seethed as he got back up, easily deflecting Draco's other spells.

"Cru-" Rodolphus had started, but another spell cut him off mid-cast.

"Expelliarmus!" Rodolphus flew forwards into a wall, his wand flying out of his hand.

"You're not to lay a hand, or a curse on my son." Lucius Malfoy hissed as he entered the dungeon, putting himself in front of Draco.

"Lucius, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Let's not play games, Rodolphus. I'm hurt that you didn't include me in your plans, after all I was there when the Dark Lord died."

"You fled, like a coward! You and your family deserted him and Bellatrix!"

"Where were you?" Lucius hissed.

Draco used the argument as a distraction, crawling to Harry and Ginny and pulling the invisibility cloak further over them, the material having slid down to cover their feet.

His eyes slowly adjusted as he crawled further into the dark cell.

"Hermione?" he whispered.

"Over here." Astoria whispered from the shadows, and Draco jumped.

"Astoria?"

"Quickly, she's badly hurt." she told him, lying on the ground with her face hidden.

"Stay down." he told Astoria, noting the almost imperceptible nod of her head.

"Hermione." he gasped, touching her shoulder carefully, but froze in horror when he saw the freshly carved 'Mudblood' drawn onto both of her arms.

He was about to pull her into his arms when a wand pressed into the back of his neck, and he froze.

"Draco, what do you think you're doing?" Rodolphus asked.

"Rodolphus, kindly put your wand down-"

"Lucius, it appears that your son is lying to me. And you know that I detest liars, and traitors."

"I assure you this is a misunderstanding."

"What are you playing at, Lucius?" Rodolphus hissed, pressing his wand into Draco's throat as he jerked the boy around, holding him by his collar.

Fear flashed across Lucius' face for a brief moment that Draco only just caught, before it turned into a smirk.

"Rodolphus, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"How can I know that you're not planning something?"

Lucius laughed softly.

"Rodolphus, you are family."

His grip loosened on Draco, and Lucius lifted his sleeve.

"We are fellow Death Eaters, Rodolphus. Marked himself by the greatest wizard of all time."

Draco shivered as he laid eyes on his father's dark mark, and Rodolphus let him go.

"It's hard to know who to trust now that he is not here to weed out those who were unfaithful to his name."

"Come, let us talk upstairs. We have much to catch-up on, and none of the petty children are leaving. Draco can supervise, and think about how he intends to get back into my good graces." Lucius motioned with his cane, following Rodolphus up the stairs and shutting the dungeon door with a loud clunk.

"Hermione." Draco tried to rouse her, cradling her head in his hands. Wet, sticky fluid coated his palms and he felt panic grip him.

"She's so hurt, Draco." Astoria sobbed, putting a bloodied hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"We're going to get out of here."

"Definitely. There's no way I'm staying in a creepy Malfoy dungeon again." Harry muttered, appearing from under the cloak.

3.15 AM

Harry and Ginny had slipped back under the cloak with Astoria, and Draco collected Hermione in his arms as Harry painstakingly opened the dungeon door so that it wouldn't make a sound. They could hear Lucius and Rodolphus talking nearby in hushed tones.

"You first, we'll stay here for a few minutes." Harry insisted, so Draco started moving through the dim shadows that skirted the hallways towards the front of the house.

He could almost see the door when a wand pressed into his spine.

"Drop her, Draco." Rodolphus spoke softly, and Draco swallowed back the fear that rose in his throat.

"No."

Rodolphus moved to block the hallway, pointing his wand at Hermione as he stared Draco down.

"Rodolphus?" Lucius called as he appeared at a nearby doorway, but he soundlessly stunned him with a wand flick. Draco watched, helpless as his father collapsed to the ground behind him in the hallway.

"I'm going to say it one more time, Draco. Drop the girl. Or I'll kill the both of you, right here, right now."

"I'm not dropping her."

"Foolish boy. Although it will be more fun torturing her while she's in your arms." he smirked, cocking his head to the side, and Draco paled.

"What shall I start with? Perhaps Crucio? Or perhaps dear old Severus' spell, Sectumsempra?"

Draco clutched Hermione closer to his body, trying to shield her as the faint scars on his chest stung in memory.

"You are such a disappointment to this family, Draco. Crucio!"

Draco spun to catch the spell, a scream ripping from his throat as it hit him in the back and took hold of his body. He fell forward onto his knees, somehow managing to keep hold of Hermione as he shook and clenched his teeth, the pain searing through his veins. Rodolphus laughed as Draco writhed in pain.

"What a brave little act. You must care for this abominable Mudblood, this filth and scum a lot."

"More than you'll ever know. Bellatrix never loved you; she always loved Voldemort more than you." Draco hissed as the spell broke, struggling to stand up again, and Rodolphus snarled as Draco faced him.

"How dare you speak about matters you are not informed about!"

"It's true." Draco spat.

"Crucio!" Rodolphus screamed, and this time Draco collapsed backwards onto the floor. His arms were locked protectively around Hermione as he screamed silently, the pain filling his body and causing white spots to appear in his vision. Rodolphus moved to stand over him, his eyes glinting as he pointed his wand at Draco.

"That's enough, Rodolphus." Lucius' voice said menacingly, and as Draco looked up he saw his father standing with his wand pressed to his Uncle's temple, Harry standing behind Lucius and keeping his wand steady on Rodolphus.

"I will kill you and the boy tonight if you force my hand, it is foolish of you to betray me."

"I will not allow you to torture my son."

"He needs to be disciplined! To be rid of the notion that mudbloods are anything except bodies that should line the streets!"

"My family will deal with any issues that we face, when and if the time comes. You're not family." Lucius growled, looking down at Draco as he stepped back from Rodolphus.

"You should have learned when Bellatrix died."

"Bellatrix was a true Death Eater! She would never give up The Dark Lord or his ways, even after his demise."

"I'll never miss that insane bitch." Lucius muttered, and Draco gaped at his father.

"That woman was my wife!" Rodolphus howled, starting forward but stopping abruptly when Lucius' wand pressed into his throat.

"Not another word. Now leave, Draco."

"I hope you rot in hell with your stupid Mudblood scum, Draco!" Rodolphus hissed.

"That's enough." Lucius scowled, angling his wand at Rodolphus' temple again.

Draco was almost at the door when he heard his father's surprised cry, and Draco spun to see that Rodolphus had kicked the wizard back and into Harry, sending them to the floor.

"CRUCIO!" Rodolphus shouted as he picked up his wand off the floor, sending a spell flying towards Draco but he dodged it, still moving towards the doorway.

Ginny appeared from under the cloak, leaping towards Rodolphus with her eyes fierce as she shouted spells at him, but he knocked her down with a counter-spell, cackling as he wrenched Astoria off the floor by the hair.

Lucius scrambled to his feet, his wand pointed.

"Go on, Lucius, curse me. You'll hit the girl, and the Boy Who Lived and his filthy companion won't be able to help."

"Dad?" Draco asked nervously, and Lucius glanced at his son.

"He's right."

Rodolphus cackled maniacally, wrapping an arm around Astoria's neck.

"Draco." Astoria gasped out, scrabbling frantically at Rodolphus' arm.

"Don't move, either of you." Rodolphus ordered.

Lucius lowered his wand.

"Come now, Rodolphus. You wouldn't kill a pure-blood now, would you?"

"If it gains me my freedom, yes." he hissed.

"Hand the girl to me, Rodolphus. It's over."

"Do you think I am a fool?"

"No, you're insane." Lucius spat.

"You will let me walk out of this place, Lucius. Or else her life will end."

Astoria started to cry, tears rolling down her face as she shook in fear, and Lucius sighed, putting his hands up in defeat. But Draco could see Harry shifting behind Lucius' cloak, hand curling around his wand.

"I won't stop you." Lucius dropped his wand with a clatter on the floor as Harry sprung up.

"But I will. Stupefy!" Harry cried. Lucius stepped forward to easily catch Astoria as she fell out of Rodolphus' limp grip, his stunned body falling backwards. Harry then bound him in thick rope, and Draco kicked his wand out of his frozen hand and across the floor.

"Are you alright, Draco?"

"We need to get help." Draco replied, cradling Hermione closer to his body.

"I already have taken care of that." Lucius replied, holding Astoria steady as she trembled.

Harry helped Ginny up, and they rushed over to Draco.

"Hermione?"

"She's so hurt." Ginny choked out, her eyes tearing up as she took in Hermione's injuries.

Don't leave me, Hermione.

He pressed a hand to her cold, ashen cheek. He was losing her, and fast.

They desperately needed help.

His prayers were answered a minute later as several Aurors stormed into the room.