A/N- Big thank you to my beta, Nina and my friend Komekozzy425 for all the help with this story and chapter! Only a few more to go and this story will be finished! My beta is going over the last few chapters right now, which is a little bit bittersweet for me, but seeing as how this is longest thing I've ever written I'm also somewhat glad that I'm finished it! I just hope I did it justice and once I know for sure how many chapters are left I'll let everyone know! Also a big thank you to all of you for your amazing support throughout this story, it warms my heart!
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Chapter Twenty Eight
"Is that who I think it is?"
"What's that bastard doing here?"
"How did he even get into the castle?"
Hermione was sitting at her table with her friends when she heard the whispers begin. She looked up sharply and saw Harry slinking into the hall, his hands balled into fists at his sides and his eyes narrowed, glancing around at everyone who was openly talking about him.
"I suppose we should at least make him feel somewhat wanted," Neville said, watching his former friend with a slight moue of disgust.
"He is our only hope for Tom's defeat," Hermione added with a nod of her head. "Draco, would you mind explaining to everyone that he's on our side now? I just don't have it in me this morning."
Draco narrowed his eyes at her for a moment as she broke a piece of toast into pieces and looked like she had something heavy on her mind, and he heaved a dramatic sigh but nodded at his wife. He got to his feet and climbed the stairs that led to the top of the dais. The hall quieted down quickly once people realized he was waiting to speak, and everyone had their full attention focused on the handsome man.
He cleared his throat and watched as Potter made his way through the hall toward Hermione – beating down the angry, possessive feeling that was threatening to claw its way out of his throat before he could continue.
"I'm sure everyone just saw Harry Potter arrive, and my wife and I feel like we should explain his presence, especially since you've all witnessed the memories that put him in a bad light. He's here to help us. I'm sure everyone has heard the rumour about Potter being the 'Chosen One' and I'm here to inform everyone that the rumours are true. He is the only person who can defeat Tom Riddle. Anyone can do damage and hurt or kill his followers, but the only person actually able to bring that bastard down is Harry Potter himself. While I'm sure that many of you have ill feelings toward the man, and believe me, I understand, you need to know that it's imperative to push those thoughts aside and embrace his presence here – it will only help us in the long run."
"What about his threats to rape and murder Hermione?!" someone called. Draco felt his anger spike for a moment before reigning control of himself.
"Let me be clear. We need Potter, but I'll be keeping a very close eye on him."
"You're just willing to let it go?" another person asked loudly, this time a female.
"No," Draco snarled, his emotions getting the better of him. "I'm not letting it go, I'm just opening my eyes and coming to terms with the fact that without Potter standing beside us we will never win. We will never be safe from the terrors that Tom Riddle could bring to us and my wife – a muggleborn – will be on the top of his list of people to murder. I understand – we all do – that working with Potter after the things he's done will be tough but it's something that needs to be done if you want any sort of hope in the world. If you don't want anything to do with him then please just avoid him at all costs and go about your daily business."
The hall filled with murmurs and Draco took that as his opportunity to get off the dais. He had only taken a couple steps toward his friends when his arm started burning painfully and the dimmed dining room of his family home flashed through his mind. He eyes widened and he scanned the room to see every marked Death Eater looking worried and clutching their arms and he was surprised by just how many there were – at least two hundred. He knew there were a lot but seeing them separated from everyone else in such a way really brought the number home.
Hermione stood from her chair, as did Blaise and Theo, and they started walking toward him.
"The Death Eaters have been summoned," Draco called after ascending the stairs to the dais again. "We shall all attend the meeting and see what it is that Tom wants from us – if anything happens apparate back here immediately. Hermione will not be opening the wards to admit you but we will make sure someone is stationed at the gates to allow you immediate entry after passing a simple test to see if you're being impersonated or not."
"I'll go now!" Neville called, standing from the table and bustling from the hall, Annabel ran out behind him, hot on his heels.
"Everyone get changed and off the grounds to apparate as soon as possible!"
Draco raised his wand and summoned both his and Hermione's Death Eater robes to where they stood in the Great Hall. He passed her the outfit and she pulled it on over her regular clothes quickly, looking around the hall with wide eyes and sincerely hoping that everyone would be able to make it to the Manor in a decent amount of time. She wished she could open the wards to allow everyone to apparate out but knew it was the worst thing she could do. She wouldn't allow Hogwarts to be vulnerable for even a second.
Blaise and Theo left the hall at a run, heading to their room so they could change into their Death Eaters robes, their masks clenched in slightly shaking hands as they ran back into the hall and straight at Draco and Hermione.
"We'll apparate you two out with us," Draco said, sending his wife a smile before gripping Blaise's arm in his hand. "See you a moment, love."
Hermione turned to Theo and looped their arms together at the elbow before turning on the spot and apparating away.
/
They waited in silence in the darkened dining room for all of the Death Eaters to show. Draco was gripping Hermione's hand tightly in his own and was doing everything in his power to push his nervousness aside – he did not have a great feeling about this meeting and he couldn't help but wonder where his parents were.
"What's taking everyone so long?" Tom asked darkly as his eyes roamed around the group of people – likely taking stock of who was taking longer than others.
No one answered and Draco watched as his Aunt Bellatrix and Uncle Rodolphus stood smugly at Tom's sides and surveyed the group with narrowed eyes. Draco felt a thrill of fear race up his spine and his hand spasmed around Hermione's momentarily when his aunt's eyes fell on him – she was watching him as though she knew his secret and he didn't like it one bit.
Lucius appeared after a few moments, full of apologies for being slower than usual but that he was held up in a political meeting and couldn't just leave at a moment's notice. Tom nodded his head at the man before Lucius approached his son.
"What are we doing here?" he asked in a low voice.
"I'm not sure but something's definitely up. Tom looks more pissed off than usual and Bella and Rod keep giving me these creepy looks. Something bad has happened," Draco said before swallowing nervously. Hermione's hand tightened in his and he gave a small reassuring squeeze back before the final members managed to arrive – Justin Finch-Fletchley and Alicia Spinnet. The adults were the quickest to arrive and Draco could only hope that Tom thought it was because they were older and more responsible, which was true.
"Finally," Tom murmured, sounding annoyed. "Bella, please do the honours," he said waspishly, his eyes landing on Draco, Hermione and Lucius.
Hermione's hand started trembling as they watched Bellatrix smile before leaving the room quickly. They could hear her approaching the room again after a few moments and she seemed to be yelling at someone while strange metallic sounds preceded her into the room.
She thrust the door open and marched through stiffly, wrenching two blondes along behind her in chains and manacles.
Draco's eyes widened and fled to Tom before swinging back around to his mother. Her lip was cut and her cheek bruised. Her eyes were wide and reddened as though she'd been crying but she looked angry more than anything else.
"Fuck," Hermione whispered, and Draco turned to see her watching the two blonde women closely. Luna seemed to be watching things in the air that no one else could see but she looked to be mostly safe – Narcissa, on the other hand, looked furious.
"What is the meaning of this?" Lucius spluttered, confused beyond all recognition in that moment.
"Silence," Tom yelled, causing Lucius to take a step back. "This traitor and her little side kick know exactly why they've been captured and held in the dungeons."
"Traitor?" Lucius asked, stepping forward again and looking as though he was going to run forward and free Narcissa.
Bellatrix removed her wand and held it toward her brother-in-law threateningly.
"Don't take one more step," she snarled, causing Lucius to stop and take in his surroundings. Most of the Death Eaters present looked confused and intrigued by what was taking place but some of them carried knowing looks on their faces.
Draco felt sick to his stomach and sweatier than was strictly necessary. There was no way of knowing exactly what Tom knew and what he would do if he did know things they'd been hoping to keep secret. Hermione's hand was trembling badly in his own but he clenched onto it tighter and willed her to relax. It wouldn't do them any good to be looking any guiltier than they had to be.
"It came to my attention yesterday evening that two women have been knocking on doors the last few days and attempting to convince my Death Eaters to join in a traditional, old magic, bonding ceremony. When I learned about what was happening I asked myself why they'd do such a thing. I talked to Bellatrix to see what she knew about old bonding marriages and she informed me that she only knew of two people who had been bonded in such a way – two people who I forced into it in the first place."
Draco swallowed and watched as Tom's face turned toward him and his wife.
"Hermione Malfoy, please come forward."
Hermione paled a shade but removed her hand from Draco's and stepped forward bravely, holding her head high and trying to act as though nothing at all was wrong. She approached Tom and stopped a few feet away from him, standing tall and looking him in the eye.
"When I received no answers from Bella about old bonding ceremonies we decided to come to the Manor and do a little bit of our own research about them. Do you know what we learned, Hermione?" Tom asked in a silky voice, turning his attention to the witch in front of him.
"No, Sir, I don't," she said, her voice strong and sounding curious instead of terrified.
"I learned that if you're bonded in the old way, the ancient way that I had you and your traitor husband married, you'd be able to bypass any previous vows that you'd already committed to."
Hermione took a deep breath but continued watching Tom curiously. To anyone else watching it would seem that she had no idea what their leader was talking about and was waiting for him to continue his explanations but Draco could tell she was scared by the way her hands trembled – it was barely there but he was able to notice it.
He looked around the room and noticed that a lot of the members seemed to be wondering where this was going. He was sure they were wondering what sort of vows Hermione had managed to bypass because of their marriage and he could even pinpoint when people seemed to realize that they had all taken a vow in order to help Tom win the war.
"This didn't mean all that much to me, other than the vows you'd taken when you were sworn in as a Death Eater. It was when I began questioning elves, who have a large understanding of ancient magic, that I began to understand what had happened. The vows you two took to each other were able to break down everything else that I've done to ensure your passive support and it just so happens that when I found Narcissa and her little friend they were carrying those exact same vows with them. I searched and searched for my personal journals that I'd given to elves to be put away for safekeeping and haven't been able to find them anywhere. Those same elves have sworn up and down that they were secure, so that means that someone found them and stole them – stole them from me, Tom Riddle!"
Tom's eyes had darkened to a deep red and his fury was palpable. He gripped his wand tightly and turned to Luna in the blink of an eye, casting the Killing Curse before anyone could even protest.
Hermione screamed in horror as Luna fell and Narcissa covered her eyes and let out a small squeal of terror as she was pulled down roughly by the manacles joining the two blonde women's wrists. Narcissa uncovered her eyes and looked into the dull, lifeless ones of the girl below her and straightened herself up roughly, looking away as quickly as she could and trying to supress the tears threatening to spill over her lashes.
In the next second Tom turned to Hermione and cast a silent spell in her direction, the telltale red beam of the Cruciatus Curse missed her by mere centimeters when she dodged to the right. Draco let out a loud roar of fury as his wife dove to the ground seconds before the spell hit her and rushed forward to grab her. He had his wand clenched in his fingers and had no conscious thought of taking it out, but he pointed it at his mother and screamed "Relashio!" at the top of his voice. The beam of light hit the manacles and they shook for a moment before releasing her wrists. Lucius was already by her side when she stumbled away from Luna's lifeless body and looked around the room – fighting had broken out in earnest after those few moments had passed.
The room was in an uproar and Lucius summoned Luna's unused wand and thrust it into his wife's hand, screaming at her to get out. Narcissa looked at Lucius and lifted her chin fractionally, a silent denial to get out and save her own skin when there was a fight going on. She saw them approaching from the side with her peripheral vision and spun on her sister and brother-in-law angrily before blocking a spell that would have otherwise hit her directly in the chest.
Narcissa continued blocking hexes and curses that were barrelling at her from her own sister's wand. She didn't want to fight back and cause Bellatrix any pain – even after everything the other witch had put her through in the last twelve hours.
"Stupefy!" Narcissa called between hexes and watched in surprise as the spell slipped through the flickering shield Bellatrix was trying to erect and dropped her sister like a sack of flour.
"Bella!" Rodolphus, who was in an intense duel with Lucius, called out in surprise. He had no idea which spell Narcissa had used against her sister and it seemed to spur Rodolphus on but he was still no match for Lucius, who had fought until his brother-in-law was no longer moving.
Narcissa had spun around after stupefying her sister and searched for her son and daughter-in-law. She thought for a moment that they had left and went back to Hogwarts but then she saw Draco laying on the floor near the wall with a crying Hermione hovering over him. She swore and made her way forward, dodging and ducking ricocheting spells as she crossed the room quickly, her eyes taking in everything around her and also looking for Tom, who seemed to be missing completely.
The fighting was coming to a close as the people who had been staying at Hogwarts starting vanishing away, understanding their numbers alone were no match for the group that still followed Tom blindly.
"Take him, Hermione!" Narcissa called as she found herself in an unwilling battle with one of her oldest friends, Anwen Kemp. Narcissa was beginning to lose the battle as her friend cursed her, opening a large gash on her shoulder, but she continued fighting and decided that not using harmful spells was going to be her downfall.
"Defodio!" she yelled, shocked when her spell hit the woman in the throat and ripped a large chunk away. Blood was spilling too quickly and she understood immediately that she'd just killed the other woman, even if it took a few moments for her to die.
An arm wound around her waist tightly and turned on the spot, the familiar smell of her husband invading her person and causing her to relax. Lucius pulled her into the compression of apparation before Narcissa was able to see whether her son had made it out of their family home alive.
/
Draco ran to Hermione while releasing the chains that held his mother and helped her to her feet, his silver eyes never leaving Tom so he was able to keep his whereabouts in check. He could hear the yelling behind him and knew that a full-fledged battle had broken out in the mere seconds it took for him to get to his wife. Tom's red eyes were narrowed in absolute fury and Draco gripped Hermione's hand and pulled her to feet as their former leader brandished his wand angrily and fired off a hex. Hermione pulled Draco out of the way and they both turned to Tom and began fighting him off at the same time, their wands and arms moving so fast that they appeared to be mere blurs and their bodies moving in sync in order to dodge the spells being fired their way.
Hermione wasn't expecting an attack from behind and was caught completely off guard by a curse that hit her straight in the back. She stumbled and fell to one knee and looked up at Tom in fear as he looked down at her with a chilling grin – knowing that with her slight hesitation and distraction that he could finish her off in a second. The obvious green of the Killing Curse burst from Tom's wand and tore through the air toward her.
She tried to get out of the way but her foot slipped on the marble floor and she had a half-second to realize that this was going to be the end. Draco suddenly let out a roar and threw himself through the air between Hermione and Tom, the curse sinking into his chest and dropping him to the floor before her.
Hermione let out a horrified gasp and turned to Tom who gave her a creepy grin before disappearing from the fight altogether.
Hermione choked out a gasp and turned back to her fallen husband, gripping his hands and laboriously pulling him out of the line of fire and toward the wall. A spell whizzed by her ear and singed the hair on the side of her head and she wandlessly erected a shield around her and Draco as she finally tugged him to the wall and leaned over him, checking for a pulse – a breath – anything.
She began to sob after ten seconds of checking for any life, unable to hold it in as the fighting around her continued in earnest.
"Take him, Hermione!" she heard through the din and looked up in time to see Narcissa pulled into a fight with a witch she didn't recall.
Her mother-in-law's eyes were blazing with fury and she had a determined look on her face as she fought the other woman. Her hair was coming free of the confines she'd put it into before she'd been captured and her wand was moving so quickly Hermione could barely see it.
"Go!" Lucius shouted at her as he approached his wife from behind.
Hermione watched as Narcissa cast a hex that ripped a chunk of flesh from the other woman's throat before trying to heave Draco into her arms so they could get away from the fight.
Draco was too heavy and his lifeless body was unmanageable. She choked out another sob as she pointed her wand at him and levitated his body before she gripped his hand and turned into apparation – Draco's body in tow.
/
Hermione slammed into the floor of the Great Hall and Draco landed atop her and pinned her down. She was sobbing hysterically and didn't even register that there were people around; people who had gone absolutely still and silent upon her arrival.
If she looked straight up Draco's eyes were staring down at her – lifeless and dull now. She screamed and cried and pleaded with every deity she'd ever heard of to let her have her husband back, to let him be alive and everything just be a bad dream as she turned away and vomited down the side of her face and onto her hair and the floor.
Someone pulled Draco from her and laid him down on his back beside her and she scrambled forward and clutched onto him tightly, her tears wetting his shirt as she laid her head down on his chest.
That's when the panic in the hall started.
She heard screams and sobbing and didn't dare open her eyes to see the pity that would be looking down on her. She felt someone standing beside her leg as she sprawled across her husband but paid it no mind in her shock and pain, she pressed her leg closer to the person just to have some contact with someone as her mind ran at a million miles a minute. The screams from the people around them weren't even making an impression on her as she continued crying, and her shock was so evident – so complete – that she didn't immediately register the breath that expanded Draco's chest and raised her head a few inches until she heard his sweet, sweet voice.
"Hermione?" he asked, confused.
Hermione's head snapped up so quickly she heard her neck crack but she paid it no mind as she stared into her husband's face. His eyes were open and blinking at her, obviously wondering why she was crying all over him and had vomit in her hair. Hermione turned and realized it was Harry Potter who was standing beside her leg, quietly trying to lend her strength through the entire ordeal – she would be forever grateful of that.
"What's wrong, love?" Draco asked, sitting up and pulling her into his lap and running a hand down her shoulder lightly. He wasn't willing to believe that everything he'd just experienced in his head was actually real, but seeing Hermione's reaction to him was almost confirmation enough.
The hall had quieted down again and everyone could hear the large double doors that were thrown open roughly and the hundreds of feet that thundered into the room – Narcissa, Lucius, Blaise and Theo in the lead.
"Draco!" Narcissa screamed, running forward in a very unladylike manner and dropping down beside him, ignoring the painful gash in her arm and the other injuries she'd received from being captive in her own home. She looked at Hermione for a moment before completely disregarding the vomit in her hair and pulling her into a watery hug – both the women were shaking so badly that they ended up leaning against each other for support.
Hermione looked dazed, her face the epitome of confusion as she looked at her husband.
"But…" she started, biting her lip for a moment and looking around the hall to see the shocked faces watching them. "But, Draco… you were dead." She looked so torn up and completely befuddled as her eyes searched his face. "You were, Draco! You were dead. I watched you get hit with the killing curse! I checked you over after I'd managed to get you near the wall and into safety! You were dead!"
She seemed to be angry with him for a moment, as though he had somehow tricked her and Draco was silently waiting for her to really let go on him when he heard a voice from beside her.
"Hermione," it said, and it almost seemed to be admonishing her for her behaviour. It seemed to work, because Hermione stopped immediately and her face softened as she leaned her head against Narcissa's shoulder and stared at him in curiosity instead of anger.
"I saw things in my head," Draco said as an answer. Narcissa blinked before turning toward her son and Lucius placed a hand on his shoulder in support. "I don't know where I was but there were people there. People I haven't seen in years."
Draco turned his head and looked at his father who looked curious. "Your sister was there, Cassie, and she told me that she was so glad of the man I'd turned into. Your cousin Sirius was there too," Draco said, turning to his mother. "He told me that because I'd taken the curse willingly to protect someone that I loved that I had the choice to stay there with them and everyone else or I could come back here. It was tempting," he admitted in a small voice, embarrassed about thinking it would be nice to leave it all behind. "It was so nice there – so peaceful – but when I thought of you three I knew there was no way I could leave you just like that if I'd been given the choice."
Hermione threw her arms around his neck and started sobbing again. She seemed to be speaking but everything was incoherent with her relief of having her husband beneath her, alive and well.
"Don't ever do that again!" she yelled suddenly, her voice cracking.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, sending a fearful glance toward his mother. "Come on, Hermione, we need to go shower before we can address the rest of the room."
"We've got it, Draco," Blaise assured, clapping his hand on Draco's shoulder in their comfortable gesture after Lucius moved away and embraced Narcissa, who had stood up and surveyed the room around them.
Draco had Hermione's hand clamped in his own tightly when the voice of Neville Longbottom reached their ears.
"Where's Luna?" he asked quietly, watching the group closely.
Hermione's renewed sobs seemed to answer the question for him, but Draco disengaged himself from his wife and approached Neville slowly.
"I'm so sorry, Neville," Draco said quietly as the other man stiffened. "She's gone."
Hermione rushed by and threw her arms around Neville, who sunk to the floor slowly and let out a gasp of surprise.
"She was a good person," he said, gripping Hermione tightly. "Was it quick?"
Hermione nodded and backed away from her friend slowly. "None of us were expecting it," she admitted. "It happened so quickly that there wasn't a thing we could do."
"Good," Neville said with a sharp nod of his head. "That's good."
"I'm sorry," Annabel said to the man, coming up to his side and wrapping her arms around him. Everyone knew that Neville and Luna were close friends.
"Where's my wife?"
"Here," came Ginny's reply, and she approached Neville and took his hand before gently guiding him from the room.
Hermione watched as Harry's eyebrows jumped with surprise – he obviously had no idea about Ginny until that very moment.
"Can we have your attention please?" Blaise called from the front of the room, garnering the attention of every person in the hall. "If you'd all take a seat we would love to inform you of everything that has just taken place. First we'd like to take a minute of silence for Luna Lovegood…
