Draco opened his eyes and saw that his fiancé was missing from his arms. Recollections from last night flitted through his head and he smiled a bit, sitting up and hearing the shower turn off. He stretched and swung his legs over the side of the bed, standing up, swaying a bit.
The necklace that he yanked off of Luna's neck was still in a heap on the floor and he bent down to hurriedly snatch it away. The emerald was cracked; he frowned, there was no way that he could've broken it, no matter how hard he had thrown it.
Draco heard the door to the bathroom opened and his head snapped up to see Luna emerge in a robe, he felt his stomach clench at the sight of her and he set the necklace on the bedside table, turning towards her.
She looked so much healthier than before, her skin a little less ashen and her smile genuine as she walked over to him, keeping an arm's length away. "Good morning Draco," she said in that maddeningly soft voice that always seemed to sooth him.
"Good morning." He murmured, reaching a hand out to her. She took it and he pulled her a bit closer, relishing the way her breath hitched. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, his voice silky.
"Yes." She replied gently. He nodded and smirked at her. "You're quite warm."
His smirk grew more pronounced, but he sobered up quickly with a clear of his throat. "Listen," he said. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I won't make you wear the necklace, in fact, I'd rather enjoy taking a break from all this fighting of ours. It's dreadfully boring, especially since now I have Granger to prod-," he ignored the death glare he got from Luna for speaking about her friend. "But maybe just for this morning we can be at peace?" He said, she raised an eyebrow but nodded slowly.
"I see no problem with calling a truce, but you are to leave Hermione alone!" she added fiercely, his smirk faded as he furrowed his eyebrows at her.
"I do what I so please Lovegood!" he snapped.
"You're such a pigheaded git!" she replied darkly, they glowered at each other, all previous mentions of peace gone.
Then, Draco laughed, throwing his head back and emitting a throaty chuckle. Luna frowned and folded her arms over her chest. "What?"
"It's almost as if we were never meant to get along." Malfoy replied, looking at his little fool with her wet head of fair hair. "Look at us, fighting even during peace negotiations. Yet in the fallout something seems to grow other than anger." Her eyes grew round as he untangled her hands from their folded stance and pulled her closer still.
"What are you talking about?" she said, traces of anger still in her voice.
Draco was now too close to her for his intentions to be misinterpreted. "Please don't make this any more difficult Lovegood." He said, trying to sound waspish but his features far too soft. "You can see what a toll this is taking on me, having to be kind to you."
She felt a blush creep into her cheeks as she looked up at him, his pale eyes meeting hers. "You're such a prat." She stated, he made a face at her and she giggled.
"Incorrigible, as it happens." He replied, leaning his head down to plant a kiss on her forehead.
The gesture was brief and Luna felt as if she's had all air sucked out of her lungs. He gave her a puzzling glance. "Are you okay there Lovegood?"he asked, sounding pleased. She blushed furiously.
"I'm hungry." She announced abruptly. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, stepping away.
"Get dressed and we'll see what there is to eat. I'm sure that the Death Eaters have been missing you." He said, heading to his own drawers, pulling his shirt over his head.
Luna felt a bit of irritation prick her as she turned her back on him, dropping her robe before searching her own drawers for a pair of knickers.
Hermione watched Draco Malfoy enter the dining room with Luna in tow. He shot her a nasty glare but she smirked, knowing that yesterday she had won. It brought a little bit of comfort to her chaotic life.
The nightmare hadn't plagued her again and she had gotten up late to see a fresh gown and charmed comb to soothe her wild mane of hair. She had a feeling that the Dark Lord would be calling on her again that night and he wouldn't be so cordial, the nightmare had shifted all pretenses away.
Snape was gone, brewing the mysterious potion that Voldemort so demanded. She could only guess what it was, and hoped that she never found out. Her breakfast suddenly grew very unappealing the more she dwelled on the subject of what was to become of her. Draco eyed her as she stood abruptly, she met his gaze with a hard glare and he only raised an eyebrow in response.
The library was where Hermione needed to be, the books and solitude would help her. She felt the cold seep through her bare feet as she walked down the marble hallway, stopping at the doors.
She thought about last night. We are near the end, Voldemort had said so gleefully. What did that mean? The end?
Hermione pushed the doors open and stared forlornly at the shelves and shelves of texts and knowledge passed down through the old family. She sunk herself into a chair and couldn't bring herself to escape in one of them, her mind so preoccupied as to what was to happen tonight.
What would they do to her? She gripped the arms of the chair tightly. Would they rape her? Force her to have relations with their master? Terror swept through her mind, seizing her heart. If they were to make her, would they at least give her the luxury of knocking her unconscious first? She felt sick at the possibilities.
No, she raised her eyes to glare, determined, at the books. She would fight before anything happened to her, she would claw and stab and bite before she was impregnated with the spawn of the reptilian monster they worshipped. With luck, they would kill her before they got her clothes off. Hermione felt a tear trickle down her face. She wanted to see her friends, Harry, Ginny, George, Fred… Fred.
Fred, oh how she missed him. She wanted to be back at the Burrow, with him, flying together like they had done the day after they had been married. The memory brought smiles to her face as she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and stood from the chair.
She would survive, she had endured so much, and it seemed foolish to die now. She would continue to live, and she would not bow to anyone, no, she would see her friends again. Hermione clenched her fists and turned to the desk that stood in the corner of the library.
She strode to it and began opening the drawers, searching for one object in particular. She was rummaging around in a drawer filled with quills when she felt it and she smiled, pulling out the sterling silver letter opener that was filed nicely to a point.
It was heavily decorated with a snake and emeralds; it was also very cold against her skin. She frowned at it, feeling her breathing go a bit shallow, but Hermione reminded herself the promise she had made, to survive.
She gripped the letter opener tightly, inserting it into the bosom of her dress where it would go undetected until it was pulled out in self –defense. Hermione dearly wished she had her wand with her, but she didn't even know the area it was kept.
The door opened and Hermione whipped around to see the timid face of Luna appear. She breathed a sigh of relief as she ran to embrace her friend. "Luna, you scared me!" she whispered into her hair.
"I'm sorry," she murmured. "What were you doing Hermione?" she asked in her gentle voice. Hermione pulled away from her friend to show her the letter opener.
"Luna," she told her very seriously. "I need to live, to see my friends again. I don't know what's going to happen to me tonight, and I have to know I can protect myself." Her friend's eyes grew very wide as she looked at the small dagger and Luna rummaged inside her own gown and pulled her wand out.
"Here," she murmured. "Take it, use it to get away from here." Luna said, her face pained as she attempted to push the wand into her hands. Hermione shook her head furiously.
"No, Luna." She replied. "I can't, they'll kill you for helping me, come with me." The fair haired girl shook her head.
"I c-can't."
"You can't what?"
"I can't leave." Luna whispered.
"Of course you can," Hermione scoffed. "We can run, run to the Burrow and hide-," steps down the hallway brought both girls to attention as Hermione stashed her dagger away into her dress and Luna hid her wand.
The door opened again to reveal Draco Malfoy, he looked at Luna anxiously before his eyes slid to Hermione with great disgust.
"Draco," Luna murmured, smiling at him. The boy's eyes narrowed as he came to stand beside his fiancé.
"What's going on here?" he said, the question more directed at Hermione than Luna. The girl narrowed her eyes at the Malfoy and was overcome with an urge to kick him in the groin again.
"Nothing, just two friends bonding in the face of cruelty and captivity." Hermione replied back. Luna's eyes grew round and she placed a hand on Draco's arm to stop him from stepping towards her friend and acting in anger.
"I suggest you watch your place Granger," he spat at her. "Just because the Dark Lord needs you for something special doesn't mean he needs you in top condition for it. Maybe we'll all get a turn-,"
"Draco!" Luna said, halting him as he turned to look at her. Tears were in her eyes and she looked as if he had slapped her. "Leave her alone!"
Draco's eyes were slits as he withdrew, gripping Luna's hand and pulling her to him. "Watch yourself Granger." Was all he snarled before tugging her friend out of the room with him.
Hermione watched the door shut and felt rage boil in her brain. "I can't leave." What the hell did that mean? Of course she could leave! Unless… they had but a tracing charm on her to ensure that she really couldn't leave. Perhaps Luna was trying to save her, knowing that if she came along that she would put everyone else in danger.
She frowned as she looked at the door that Draco and Luna had left through a moment earlier. Draco's disposition towards her friend had shifted enormously, when Luna had lay the hand on his arm he had seemed instantly soothed and listened to her. Hermione hoped that her friend wasn't really falling for the impertinent twat.
She walked back over to the chair and took a seat, pulling her knees close to her chest and burying her head in them. Dark times were ahead of her, the dagger nestled in her gown was proof of that. Tonight would change everything, and she wasn't ready for it.
The image of Luna trying to give her her wand was burned inside her head; she wanted to shake it out, cursing herself for allowing her mind to dwell. What would have happened if she hadn't hesitated, just grabbed and apparated?
She would be in Fred's arms right now, safe, away from this place.
Hermione groaned and wound herself into a tighter ball. Now was not the time to be caught up in such matters.
She unclamped her hands and stood again, walking towards the shelves, selecting a book at random. Making Magic: A Beginner's Guide to Enchanted Maps. Perhaps that would soothe her, another topic she had yet to associate herself with, maps. The Marauder's Map was the only one of its kind she had seen, made by Sirius, Remus, and Harry's father James.
Hermione flipped the book open and frowned at the complicated diagrams, trying to make sense of the wand work. She sank back into the chair, bent over the volume, allowing herself to become absorbed while she waited for night to fall and her fate to come upon her.
