Mission Kill Mudblood

by Hedwig467

Dramione -Seven books, six friends, five more horcruxes, four houses, three soul mates, two sworn enemies, one head common room. Something's going to slip. Get ready to brace yourselves for their final year at Hogwarts. There will be blood spilled, relationships broken, kisses sealed and wands raised for the ultimate battle between good and evil. Dramione M rated story for violence

37. Ch36 - A Cut On Her Arm, A Mark On His

A/N Hey guys, sorry about the week delay, I've been so busy lately so I have you don't mind too much. I've made this chapter quite long for you guys but unfortunately it's taking a while to upload (This is my second try). I'd like to say that I love the fact that you guys are reading this my fanfic but am slightly disheartened as none of you have reviewed in over a month. I guess you're all quite busy so it's fine but I still love hearing your feedback, even if it's negative. Anyway, to the chapter we've all been waiting for...

Chapter 36 - A Cut On Hers, A Mark On His

"Now?"

"No, wait for the signal."

The members of D.A. were all scattered around the great hall, having finished their breakfast and were now waiting for the signal to start leaving.

"You do know that you can back out now and I won't blame you. I know that you're all due the mark anytime now," Draco said in a hushed voice. Pansy glared at him.

"Why would we back out?" Theo asked, rolling his eyes, "Besides, you're meant to be getting us out of having the mark."

"Yeah well I haven't exactly had much time for that," Draco muttered, exhausted.

"Oh because quidditch practice is totally taking up so much time," Theo muttered back, smirking slightly. Then he added, "We'll totally thrash the other team at the end of the year, you wait."

"You know perfectly well that I wasn't talking about quiddich!" Snapped Draco under his breath.

"I'm surprised McGonagall hasn't spoken to you about your day long absence," Pansy said thoughtfully.

"I think Snape had something to do with that," Draco said, looking directly at the hooked nosed professor who was watching everyone silently. Draco again couldn't help but feel a little bad for him.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Ginny rise from her seat and walk casually out of the room. He nodded in her direction and the four of them looked around. Neville and Luna had both risen from their seats too, as had Parvati and Padma. Anxious to not attract any attention, Draco rose from the table and started an irrelevant conversation about broomsticks with Theo and Blaise, as Pansy strolled behind them nonchalantly.

Once they'd slipped out of the great hall, their eyes were met with a sea of students; at least twenty or so. Ginny and Harry were having a heated discussion in the corner and Draco was somewhat worried that Harry would be spotted by a passing student or teacher. "What's going on?" Draco asked moodily, sauntering up to them. Harry and Ginny both exchanged worried glances before Ginny finally turned to him and said slowly, "She's promised not to cause any fights, but Parvati told her what happened in the dormitory last night and she feels really bad and - erm - wants to help." The crowd parted slightly and Draco could see, standing in plain sight, Lavender Brown, looking a lot less smug than usual. Fury boiled up inside Draco like a volcano and disregarding all sense he stormed up to her. "What in Merlin's name are you doing here you sly bitch?" He hissed in a deadly quiet voice. Everyone turned to watch, some with mutinous looks directed at Draco, others knowing what Lavender did looking somewhat wary.

"Draco no!" Pansy hissed quietly behind him as Lavender stood her ground.

"I could ask you the same thing," she breathed back, enraging Draco.

"Draco -" Ginny began, approaching him as Theo and Blaise both prepared to restrain him.

"Unlike someone, I didn't betray one of my friends in one of the worst ways," spat Draco.

"Look, I don't know the large part of any history between you two but -" Harry began but Draco glared daggers at him.

"History?" He choked, "She was the reason behind H - behind..."

"What he means is that Lavender has been making cruel comments towards Hermione all year and caused Hermione to become incredibly upset," Ginny said hurriedly, saving Draco from an awkward argument. Ron bowed his head, feeling very uncomfortable.

"I had no idea how bad it was though!" Lavender tried.

"Shut up Lavender," Ginny spat.

"Look guys we need to go, lesson starts in twenty minutes. The teachers are gonna start coming out soon," Dean said urgently from amongst the sea of students. Harry thought hard. "Malfoy, make a decision. Can you put up with her for the day or not?" Harry muttered in his ear. Draco glanced sideways at him and then glared back at Lavender.

"Draco we need the people man," Blaise said from his other shoulder. Lavender gave what he supposed was an apologetic look towards Ginny and he sighed.

"Fine, whatever. As long as she stays out the way. Maybe she'll get cursed in battle," the blond spat angrily. Harry nodded, disregarding his last comment.

"Right, before we leave. Quick name call: Ron Weasley?"

"Here," came a gruff voice.

"Dean Thomas?"

"Yep," called Dean.

"Colin Creevey?"

"Here Harry!" Collin called excitedly.

"Dennis Creevey?"

"Here!" Dennis called from beside his older brother.

"He's so young," Theo mouthed at Draco, who glanced briefly at the younger kid. He looked fourteen or so. Not old enough to bedding this.

"Ginny Weasley, you're here..." Harry continued with the name call. Ginny smiled slightly. "Lavender Brown, we all know you're here," he continued as Lavender blushed and took Ron's hand guiltily.

"Neville Longbottom?"

"Right here," Neville said from beside him.

"Of course, Parvati Patil?"

"Over here!" Parvati smiled.

"Seamus Finnigan?"

"Yep," Seamus grinned.

"Anthony Goldstein?"

"Uhu," a kid in Ravenclaw grunted from across the hall.

"Luna Lovegood?"

"Ready when you are Harry," Luna beamed.

"Michael Corner?"

"Yeah," another Ravenclaw replied who Draco recognised from the opposing quidditch team.

"Padma Patil?"

"Here," Parvati's sister replied brightly.

"Terry Boot?"

"Mmh," replied another boy on the other quidditch team.

"Ernie Macmillan?"

"Here," Ernie, a very annoying kid in Draco's opinion, replied.

"Hannah Abbott?"

"Yep," a girl with blonde pigtails replied from across the room.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley?"

"Yeah," Justin replied. Draco recognised him as one of the people who'd been petrified all those years ago.

"Susan Bones?"

"Here Harry," a Hufflepuff girl smiled.

"Zacharias Smith?"

"Uhu," grunted another Hufflepuff from the side of the room.

"Uhh... Draco Malfoy?" Harry said oddly.

"Here Potter," Draco glowered.

"Blaise Zabini?"

"Yep," Blaise replied, grinning.

"Theodore Nott?"

"Here," groaned Theo as Blaise cracked up.

"Alright Theodore?" Chuckled Blaise. Theo elbowed him, hard.

"Pansy Parkinson?"

"Here, obviously," Pansy replied.

"Right, that's twenty four of us. Let's go!"

The lot of them bundled towards the door and Draco thought about how unorganised this was. Did they not get it? This wasn't some school trip. This was nothing too short of a death sentence unless they played it right. "Just get us into the house and tell us where she most likely is. That's it," Harry muttered in his ear, clearly more stressed than he was letting on.

"Potter, I am completely capable of opening the door to my house," Draco drawled, wondering how on earth he was going to get into his house.

Once they'd all stumped along through the morning mist up to the gates, Harry stopped and turned to Draco, looking for guidance. "Feeling up to sidelong apparition with twenty three others Malfoy?" Harry asked casually, sweating slightly. Draco looked around at the mass of students and his stomach dropped. How was he meant to apparate and take all of these people along with him. The probability of someone getting splintched was through the roof! He stared at Harry, disbelief etched all over his pale face. "It's either that or floo, Malfoy, and we all know how badly that could go," Harry added. By now everyone was looking between Harry and Draco.

"How the hell am I meant to apparate with all of these people? We'd have to be like... in a circle or whatever. And what if someone gets splintched?!" Draco asked indignantly.

Two minutes later, everyone was in a circle; Theo on Draco's left, Blaise on his right, all holding hands. Draco noticed Harry, who was a few places away from him, murmur something under his breath. "Now hold up," Ernie Macmillan began, "Since when were we actually trusting Malfoy? What if he apparates us right into a trap?"

"Just to clarify," Pansy said coldly, voice etched with impatience and distaste, "You've been trusting Draco ever since you agreed to help rescue Granger with him! And we are apparating into the heart of dark shit here, the very lair of the Dark Lord. So either back out now and be as helpful as a broken broomstick or shut up and pray that you wasting time won't cause Granger any more pain." Everyone stared at her, Draco amazed. He smirked before looking around the circle one more time. Everyone was holding hands tightly.

"Three," he said loudly.

"Two." An owl swooped overhead.

"One!" Pop! With the sensation of being sucked down a very tight plug hole and regurgitated out again, they all landed in a completely hidden location, many miles away.

"Where are we?" Hannah asked timidly, looking around.

"Is everyone alright?" Harry asked urgently. There was a murmuring of yeses as everyone squinted around. They'd landed in the corner of a large field which stretched out into the distance. Behind Draco was a large, green hedgerow which stretched the length of the field. "I said where are we?" Hannah repeated, petrified.

"Follow me, we're in the field next to my driveway. Once we get to the driveway it's a fairly long stretch until you reach the gates which will be guarded," Draco explained as the trudged through the field until they reached a part of the hedge which was significantly lower than the rest of it. One by one, they all clambered over it.

After everyone had brushed themselves clean of thorns and dirt and were all standing on the gravel driveway, Padma asked timidly, "What way?"

"Up here," groaned Draco, trying not to feel the building dread in the pit of his stomach. What if she wasn't being kept here? What if she was at the Lestrange Manor instead? What if... what if she was... "Draco!" Blaise said loudly, nudging him, "Snap out of it!"

"What?" Draco spluttered. He noticed that he was sweating and his hands were balled into fists. He instantly relaxed his hands and brushed one of them over his forehead. It came away wet and he glared at it. "She's gonna be fine, you know," Blaise added on in an undertone, apparently having read his thoughts. Draco shook off the uneasy feeling and lead the party down the endless drive to darkness.

It was Parvati who pointed it out first. Arm outstretched she was pointing at a gigantic shadow on the horizon, looming nearer and nearer, a giant mass of darkness poisoning the surroundings. "That's it, isn't it," she uttered quietly.

"Home sweet home," Draco chuckled to himself sadistically. The people around him glanced at him warily, Pansy more sympathetically.

"Malfoy?" Harry prompted.

"Okay, the gate's only guarded by one man, but it can't be opened without the key, which he has, Scabior -" he coughed, feeling uneasy about working behind Scabior of all people's back. Scabior had, unlike others, been there for him as a kid - if you could call it "being there" for him. He was still a prick though, and Salazar if he'd hurt Hermione... or worse... he suddenly felt a gust of anger rush through him.

"Scabior as in the snatcher?" Ron asked, repulsed.

"Isn't he that bastard in the Daily Prophet?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, loyal servant to You Know Who I heard," someone else said.

"Yep, the very same," Draco drawled pointlessly.

"Because there are so many Scabiors," Blaise muttered in an undertone, smirking.

They positioned themselves so that Draco was in front, closely followed by Harry, Ron and Ginny, with Neville, Luna, Dean and Seamus behind them. The others followed on, with Pansy, Blaise and Theo at the back, hidden from death eater eyes. Draco was admittedly worried about what would happen if a death eater saw them, as they were all due their mark soon. They'd be looked down upon as traitors if anyone actually saw them, and that put their lives and their parents at risk.

Draco reached the gate and Scabior jumped with a start, staring. Not being a death eater, he didn't have the dark mark and therefore couldn't call for Voldemort or any other death eaters for that matter. "Morning, Scabior," Draco growled.

"You have got to be kidding me Draco," Scabior exclaimed, gaping, "Blood traitor?" Then he noticed Harry and his face lit up in a malicious grin. "Potter," he beamed.

"Skip the lecture Scabior, open these damn gates," Draco drawled. Scabior's face hardened again.

"So you can do what? March in with your little group of friends and save the mudblood? I'm assuming that's why you came here. If I thought I was ashamed of you before, that's nothing to what... What the hell Draco? I try to help you and you've just thrown it right back! He's going to kill your mother this time!" Scabior spat.

"Shut up!" Draco shouted, wand drawn. Everyone watched, slightly surprised.

"I won't let you do this, it's more than your life's worth boy!" Scabior growled.

"You think I care?" Draco asked in a deadly whisper.

"Hand over Potter and leave," Scabior demanded.

"Clearly you do not know me very well," Draco snarled. He thrust his arm through the iron bars and caught hold of Scabior's leather jacket, wrenching him towards the gate. "Malfoy's don't negotiate," hissed Draco in his ear before tugging Scabior by the shoulders and grabbing the man's wand from his pocket. Despite Scabior's futile snatch after it, Draco pulled the wand back through the bars. "Open this gate or I snap it!" Draco said venomously. Scabior stared longingly at his wand before sighing and digging the key out of his pocket, partially unlocking the gate. Ron tried to open it but Draco shook his head and used his own wand to cast a further charm on the gate. A white light shone from the lock momentarily before the gate swung open, creaking slightly. Draco snarled and chucked Scabior back his wand.

"Avada Kedav-" Scabior began but Ginny beat him to it.

"Stupefy!" She yelled and a jet of red light hit Scabior, knocking him backwards into the high stone walls. Draco gave the unconscious body a disgusted look then stormed forward, wrenching open the large wooden doors to his manor. The rush of cold air swept though them and rustled his hair as they all stood, rooted to the spot. Six faces looked towards them, all bearing looks of confusion, shock and venom.

Draco sank back slightly as the army of students ran forward into the room, casting spell after spell at the death eaters. Multicoloured beams of light bounced around the room, shouts of war echoed off the walls and screams of, "It's Potter!" could be heard from at least two different death eaters. The blond boy, eyes fixed on another blond's cold, pale grey eyes, shuddered. His wand arm was stuck out straight in front of him, wand raised firmly. "Traitor, boy?" The cold voice of Lucius Malfoy spoke harshly, aggressively.

"I'm more loyal that you'll every be," Draco spat back, wand arm shaking. He watched his father's robes billow out behind him as he strode over towards the boy.

"I knew it would come to this, you, a traitor. It makes sense now why you didn't want to kill the little bitch -"

"STUPEFY!" Roared Draco, furious. Spells from other duels were shooting off in all directions around him. Lucius reflected the spell, enraging Draco further.

"Good," he mused, "But you'll need to be better than that. You don't like that mudblood do you?"

"IMPEDIMENTA! STUPIFY!" Draco yelled but again they were reflected.

"You were always a coward! Weak! You will never learn Draco, that the power lies with the Dark Lord, not with the ones against him!"

"You think I care about power? All you taught me was to be vile and cruel, and there's no loyalty in that! There's no loyalty in killing people because of who they are and what their parentage is!"

"Patrificus Totalus!" Lucius snapped but Draco dodged it. "So you came here to help the mudblood did you? You came here to break any hopes of being a good person, a loyal death eater, a good son to your mother?! You came here to help an unearthly mudblood like her? For what boy? You care for the scum?"

"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Draco roared, casting spell after spell at his father but to no use. He thought of what his mother would think and shook with dread. He felt too tied up in too many relationships. Mother, father, friend, girlfriend, dark side, light side, good, bad, Harry, Voldemort.

"So you do care, maybe you even like the creature. Well this is a new low boy, even for you."

"You have a nerve to talk about 'low', father!" Draco snarled furiously.

"You are no son of mine!" Lucius roared, "I have no son! My son died when he became traitor!" Draco's expression hardened. He hadn't thought that that would hurt. He knew it, he'd always known it, but he'd never truly heard it.

"Yeah, well I've always been traitor father," Draco breathed.

"Do you trust her?" Lucius asked in a cold, low hiss. Draco saw his lip twitch in a smirk and he felt his blood boil.

"Of course I do," Draco growled back, the spells around him seemingly slowing down.

"Interesting, I wonder if she trusts you back..."

"Stupefy!" Draco shouted furiously and, at last, the tall blond was blasted backwards onto the stone floor with a crash. Draco stared around like an eagle, taking everything in. Yaxley was lying on the floor, Antonin Dolohov a few feet away from him with a bleeding head and Amycus Carrow had been thrown against the back wall, blood trickling down his leg. The other Carrow, Alecto, was laughing, casting spell after spell at the Patil twins until Nevill managed to disarm her and Ernie cast a spell on her which appeared to be the full body binder. And then there was only one left, Rodolphus Lestrange. He was quickly finished off by Harry and Ginny as the rest of their group checked each other over for injuries.

Looking for his fellow three Slytherins, Draco found them standing over Yaxley looking shaken. "Traitors," Theo muttered and Pansy, taking her eyes off of Blaise's wounded shoulder, elbowed him hard.

"They're just names, we're doing what is right, Theo," she said briskly.

"My dad could've been here," he snapped back.

"My dad was here," Draco sighed from behind them, making all three of them jump.

"We... saw," Blaise said awkwardly, clutching his bleeding shoulder as Theo blushed.

"Let me see that," Draco muttered, nodding towards his mate's shoulder. Blaise moved his hand away so that Draco could see the scarlet lump. "Could've been worse," Draco sighed, drawing his wand to heal Blaise's wound.

"It's honestly fine -" Blaise began but it was already healed.

"Piece of shit," Draco growled after a moment.

"Draco he's your father," Pansy said and both Blaise and Draco looked at her incredulously.

"So? He doesn't think I'm his son, says I'm dead to him. Screw him!" Draco remarked hotly. Pansy bit her lip but the time was up. Draco was already beckoning over to Harry and the others, who were jogging over to him and congratulating each other on their duelling skills. It looked like no one had been badly injured. A few cuts and a bit of blood, nothing the kids couldn't deal with. "Come on," Draco said defiantly, striding towards the stone steps to the cellar.

Once at the bottom of the steps, Draco thruster his wand out and yelled, "Alohamora!" Kicking the door open hard enough for it to bang against the solid stone wall and shake on its hinges, Draco stared around for the familiar tangle of brown curls in the dim darkness. The stench of blood mingled with dirt terrible. Once his eyes had adjusted to the semi blackness, he felt his heart physically explode with relief and joy when his eyes made out her small form in the corner and he sprinted over to her, sliding slightly on the damp, uneven stone floor. "Draco?" Hermione gasped, looking up from the floor.

"Hermione - you're alive... thank Merlin you're alive. I thought..." but he couldn't continue and instead wrapped his arms tightly, protectively, around her as if he'd never let go. Hermione could feel his heart pumping fast against her chest and with one arm returned the hug as best she could, feeling tears well in her eyes. "Draco what are you doing here?" She choked.

"Saving your ass, again," Draco choked back through his own tears, "I'm so sorry about what I did on Valentine's Day Hermione, I was a complete dick. Please, please forgive me, I need you to forgive me."

"Don't be such an idiot Draco, of course I forgive you. I love you, you know that," she breathed, struggling to keep her grip any more. She slid back, Draco's arm still supporting her and her eyes cast around the shadows. It was then that she saw Ginny, Pansy, Theo, Blaise and about twenty others all standing around the iron barred door, faces looking in complete dumbstruck. "Draco -" she began, pushing him off with a good amount of effort. Draco looked around at the crowd of people and found he couldn't care less.

"Ron, Ron calm down," Ginny began as Ron began to shake with uncontrollable fury.

"What the hell Ginny?" Harry muttered in her ear, feeling wary and very unsure of what to do, not to mention angry that Ginny hadn't told him anything that could explain this - whatever this was.

"Look, I couldn't tell you at the time, not with Ron around. I couldn't risk the consequences -" Ginny whispered desperately.

"It's Malfoy though! Next thing you'll tell me is that they're dating!" Harry hissed in an undertone.

"They are!" Ginny hissed back and both Harry and Ron stared at her in utter horror. After a moment however, Harry shook his head and told Ron firmly to, "Leave him." He took a deep breath, knowing he'd regret saying this and said calmly, "She's happy with him. He risked his life coming here today and I think that proves he's not as bad as we think he is. A lot of stuffs changed since we left so just leave him be alright."

"He's - he's - but -" Ron spluttered, lost for words in his furious state. She was Hermione! A bookworm! A muggleborn even. How could Draco Malfoy care for her. Ron felt furious and betrayed. Why did it have to be him?! Anyone else and he'd be fine with it but... Malfoy?

"Ron leave them alone, it's been obvious from the start that they had a thing. Besides, you've got me. And she has him. Just stop okay, leave them be," Lavender smiled timidly, trying to get Ron to see sense. Ginny couldn't be bothered to glare at her and instead just looked sideways at Harry, who put her hand in his and forced a smile. Ron opened his mouth again, furious, "We all risked our bloody lives for her! So what if he -"

"Ron! They are together. They've been together for a long time. Just drop it," Ginny hissed in a final tone.

Everyone around them was muttering, Neville especially was bewildered at this new concept and he wasn't helped by Luna, explaining in her dazed voice that she knew all along and that the signs were so clear. It was only when Hermione began to speak when the muttering died down. "Harry?" She gasped, moving Draco out the way with what looked like immense effort. The blond looked between the two friends before stepping aside, letting Harry and Ginny run towards her and suffocate her in hugs. "My God Hermione, I never knew... what happened? I'm so sorry!" Harry rushed out, looking earnestly into her eyes.

"It's fine, honest it's just a bit..." she trailed off into silence, staring at the boy standing behind Harry. In the eerie silence that followed, every head turned towards the figure five or six feet away from her, head bowed and face planted with a guilty expression.

"I'm sorry Hermione," Ron said after a huge breath. He looked at her, pleading with her to understand how sorry he was. She was silent for a while, too. It was an unearthly silence, one which Ron couldn't read. Was she contemplating? Or just too shocked he'd even had the nerve to ask for forgiveness.

"Come here," she ended up saying, pulling Ron into an awkward hug.

After a few seconds, he asked (voice echoing on the damp walls), "So you forgive me?"

"Ron, I don't think I can ever forgive you," Hermione began, pushing Ron away who looked crestfallen, "You - you hurt me too much for me to be able to let it go but... but I'll try. To forgive you, I mean." Draco shook his head, face full of loathing. He looked down at his damp hands. Damp. What he saw made him turn to Hermione and storm over, horrified yet nervous all the same. "Hermione," he began urgently, anger starting to course through his bloody veins as the other three Gryffindors backed away as one. "What did she do?" Hermione winced slightly and Draco, drawing his wand, murmured "Lumos."

There was one single gasp as everyone in the cramped space took a deep, shocked breath. People began leaning over each other's shoulders to get a better view of the cowering girl, like she was some fascinating specimen in a zoo. "Hermione let me see your arm," Draco said after the shock had past. Now he could see why his hand was damp. The girl tried to shrink back into the wall and hid her left arm as best she could. Her head was covered in dry, crusted blood and she was still shaking ever so slightly due to the cold and the end on torture she'd endured yesterday and the previous day. Her eyes rolled upwards to settle on Draco's horrified, furious face, his eyes darting from battered legs to torn robes to wounded face to bloodshot eyes. He stared right into her soul through her eyes and she wondered what he was really looking at. He crouched down to eye level and, very gently, took her left arm in his strong hands from behind her back. "No," she mumbled, "Don't look. Please." Draco disregarded her pleads and carefully straightened out the arm. What he saw nearly made him faint. He couldn't take his eyes off of her forearm, off the word glistening in the gloom. He was transfixed. Blood boiling, teeth clenched and whole body trembling, he forced his eyes away from the scarring words. He made sure he was shielding her arm from Harry, Ron and Ginny's view (and everyone else's for that matter) before staring into her own teary eyes. "Who did this?" He asked in a deadly whisper, voice trembling. No one dared to speak or so much as move. "Who did this?!" He asked again, louder and fiercer. Harry moved to look at what Draco was talking about and his jaw dropped. "Madam Pomfrey will heal it, she can heal things in seconds," Harry said confidently.

"No she can't," Hermione choked through fresh tears, "She said it was an enchanted dagger."

"Someone dug a dagger into you? Let me guess, Bellatrix?" Draco asked lividly. He was more angry than words could describe. It was if someone had sucked up all the hate, anger and horror up from the world and fed it to him on a spoon. Hermione nodded. That was all he needed, clarification. He leapt up, furiously, wondering how he could go about killing the bitch. "Draco stop!" Hermione choked, "It's done! It's-"

"My aunt did this to you! This is my fault! I will kill her! No one NO ONE has the right to do that to a person! No one! It's worse than wrong. She deserves to burn in hell!" Draco roared in fury.

"Draco man it can't be that bad!" Blaise shouted from the other side of the cell.

"LOOK AT THIS!" Draco bellowed.

"I don't want anyone's pity!" Hermione tried but Blaise, Ginny and Ron had all come over to look. "Shit," was all Blaise could say.

"Oh my God Hermione," Ginny gasped, horrified.

"Who in their right bloody minds would do that?" Ron murmured, horrorstruck.

"What is it?" Someone called but no one answered.

"Draco it's fine, honestly," Hermione sniffed bravely.

"No it's not! You're purer than any of those bastards? How dare she?!" Draco spat.

"I - look we need to go. We can discuss this later. Please can we go?" Hermione asked desperately. Blaise had just told Pansy and Theo about what was on her arm and Pansy had just sworn very loudly, followed by "this! What the hell is wrong with some people?!"

Once Draco seemed to have a little self control, Hermione directed her attention back to the crowd of people. All D.A members. And then... "What's she doing here?" The brunette choked in hatred, staring at the pretty girl standing in front of the gathering of people, sticking out like a foxglove in a sea of poppies. Draco stiffened slightly, staring between the two girls. Ron too had his eyes flitting between the two, looking ready to intervene if things got messy. "Um. Well basically Parvati told me you had been kidnapped and were being tortured and I'd finished my homework and all and it looked like you could all do with a hand and -" Lavender recited in one breath.

"Skip the lecture," Neville snarled from next to her. Lavender looked from disapproving face to disapproving face as if asking for help. When none came, she regained eye contact with a stoney faced Hermione and drew a breath before saying honestly, "I - I felt bad for all the crap I'd done to you all year and thought I should help -"

"I said skip it!" Neville growled, annoyed at the girl.

"What do you want me to say?" She asked him.

"The truth!" Both Draco, Ron and Harry shouted. Lavender looked around before inhaling hard.

"Okay," she began, "I'm sorry for everything and I mean it. I should never have treated you like that and you can't begin to understand how sorry I am for calling you a mudblood. Please? Can we try and start over? And I'm sorry about the note too, in defence against the dark arts -"

There was a murmuring of voices and someone shouted out, "That was you? You -" but exactly what she was, Hermione never got to find out. Heaving herself to her feet with Draco's instant support, Hermione staggered towards Lavender. Draco looked like he was about to protest but seemed to think better of it.

Once Hermione'd reached Lavender, she paused and took a breath, heart thudding pathetically. Lavender tried to look her in the eye but found it very hard to. She tapped her foot, fidgeted, wondering if Hermione was going to slap her or not. Instead, Hermione did something that she was definitely not expecting. She stuck out her hand. Lavender stared at it, unsure what to make of it before tentatively taking it and giving it a single shake. "Hi," Hermione said, clearing her throat. "You can call me Hermione."

Lavender stared before saying, "Lavender. Hey, Hermione."

Draco stared. What the hell? Clearly Ginny did not bode well to this either as she opened her mouth in outrage but Harry put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from saying anything. "No I'm sorry! This is not some oh let's all become friends party! Hermione what the hell?" Ginny burst out from the side of the room.

"I think if Ron can tolerate Draco which, judging by the fact that they are both in one piece, I assume he can, then I can tolerate Lavender," Hermione replied calmly. Draco snorted. "What?" Hermione asked.

"You think I'd be injured if Weasley had an issue with me? He'd be the one hanging from the ceiling," Draco smirked. Ron made to lunge at Draco but Harry held him back.

"Enough!" Blaise said loudly, "We've done the happy reunion bit and the let's be friends bit and even got in an added argument. Please can we all just go now before the squad arrives!?" No one was in any doubt by what Blaise meant by 'the squad'. They all looked to Harry for directions.

"So -" Harry began but he was interrupted suddenly. He looked between the faces of his petrified looking friends and knew it hadn't just been him who'd heard it. "Shh," Ginny muttered. They were all looking towards the ceiling where the unmistakable popping noises of apparition had sounded from. "No, oh no, oh no oh no oh-"

"Hannah shut up!" Hissed Ernie Macmillan frustratedly.

"What do we do?" Seamus whispered.

"The only way out is up these stairs and into the hall where they are and we can't risk them expecting an attack. They'll have seen upstairs," Pansy hissed.

"Harry what do we do?" Ginny asked in an undertone looking imploringly at Harry.

"Malfoy?" Harry asked and for the first time he had no idea how to get themselves out of this. He looked seriously at Draco, who looked at the twenty four faces staring at him in terror. "You've got this," Hermione murmured to him. He could hear the furious screams from upstairs. Bellatrix. Could this get any worse? "Right," Draco began as he heard Bellatrix moving above them, "Potter, Weasley I need you to trust me. Really trust me," he added to their dead looking faces, "Harry, Weasley, I need your wands." Harry and Ron both stared at him as if he were stupid.

"No way am I giving him my wand," Ron hissed through bared teeth.

"Why exactly do you want our wands?" Harry hissed through the silence.

"Just trust me! I need the rest of you to hide your wands. Get to the back of the cellar where Hermione is. Theo, Blaise and Pans, I need you to hide your ties and faces. No one is allowed to recognise you for who you are or you're at more risk than you already are. Stand behind the others. Now!" Draco whispered urgently. Everyone scrambled to the back wall next to Hermione, opposite the iron gate with the Slytherins hidden from view. Draco watched as his fellow Slytherins took off heir ties and pocketed them.

It was now just Harry and Ron left in the middle with Draco. "Potter I need your wand!" Draco hissed hurriedly, urgency laced in his voice. Begrudgingly, Harry pulled his wand form his pocket. "I'll give it back on the signal. Just hand it over, Weasley you too!" Draco urged. Harry handed Draco his wand before looking at Ron who was standing stubbornly.

"Ron give him your wand," Harry whispered. They could here Bellatrix shouting at others above which only made Draco panic more. "Ron!" Harry hissed. Ron shoved out his wand aggressively.

"One mark on it Malfoy and I'll personally make sure you pay," Ron spat.

"Yes whatever!" Draco spat. He could hear Bellatrix making her way to the top of the staircase. "On my signal, all of you take your wands out and curse whoever comes through this gate. Only on my word though! Keep your wands hidden otherwise. Potter, you've got to look more angry than that," Draco added on, turning to leave the cell with both Ron and Harry's wands. "What are you doing?" Harry hissed enraged but Bellatrix was already clipping down the stairs in her black heels. Draco made sure to lock the gate before pocketing the wands smoothly, nervous of what he was about to do and how badly it could screw up.

Draco watched as Bellatrix, dressed in her usual black dress, clomped down the stairs apparently oblivious of him. That was until she spotted him and gasped, throwing her hands into the air. His heart rate sped up rapidly and he had to fight to keep his breathing even. Then her face turned into a face full of dislike, confusion and suspicion. "Draco what are you doing here? What happened upstairs? Who -" then she spotted the gathering of people in the cell and beamed, showing all of her menacing jagged teeth. "Well this is sweet isn't it. Ittsy, bitsy, baby, Potter," Bellatrix taunted in her babyish voice. Harry glared through the bars and Ginny had to stomp on Neville's foot to stop him from raising his wand. "What is this, Draco?" Bellatrix cooed, still keeping her cold eyes locked on Harry's green ones.

"Potter's little army thought they'd be a match for my father and the other death eaters. I brought the traitors to the manor after warning father that there'd be a rescue attempt on the girl and father managed to lock these little brats up after taking their wands," Draco drawled, blessing his talent to lie easily.

"Why are there death eaters lying unconscious upstairs then?" Sneered Bellatrix.

"Because Potter and the Weasel traipsed in afterwards like the cowards they are and single handedly knocked out all the death eaters that's why," Draco explained coldly, "Then Potter and the ginger ran to their little mu-ggleborn and, being the stupid twits they are, dropped their wands on the cellar floor so that I could easily accio them and lock the door." He hoped the slight hesitation there wouldn't be noticeable, but this was Bellatrix he was speaking to.

"You have Potter's wand?!" Squealed Bellatrix excitedly, "Show me!" Draco showed her Harry's and Ron's wands smugly. Bellatrix made to snatch for them but Draco drew them back. "I got them! When the Dark Lord comes, I will be honoured," Draco snarled, gripping the wands tightly in his clenched fist. Bellatrix pouted but didn't argue.

"Well done Draco," she sighed sweetly, "You'll have finally done your father proud. I'll call the Dark Lord this minute -"

"No!" Draco burst out. Bellatrix stared at him, a look of repulse on her face.

"Why on earth not Draco?" She snapped. Draco bit his lip and glanced sideways at Harry.

"Traitor!" Harry burst out. Draco stared at him, a mix of horror and confusion on his face. What was he doing?!

"Excuse me?" Laughed Bellatrix, redirecting her attention to Harry.

"I said your a traitor, Draco, I thought you were better than this!" Harry yelled furiously.

"Potter, I am a Malfoy. What did you expect?" Draco laughed mercilessly. The Slytherin stared Harry in the eye and Harry looked back at the Slytherin, waiting.

"We should move Potter into the hall for the Dark Lord," Draco smirked, praying Bellatrix would just go in the cell. Bellatrix nodded curtly before, to Draco's delight, she charmed the gate open and stalked in, right into the centre of the room. Draco caught Harry's, Ron's and Ginny's eye before nodding firmly. "Now!" Harry yelled and everyone whipped out their wand. Draco threw Harry's and Ron's wands at them which they caught triumphantly. "WHAT IS THIS?!" Screamed Bellatrix, deflecting spell after spell being shot at her, "DRACO THE DARK LORD WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS!"

Evidently hearing her cries, two large death eaters came blundering down the stairs, crashing into the gate which swung open, banging against the stone wall. They too joined the fight, deciding to pick on Neville, Luna and the students around them. "CRUCIO!" Bellatrix screamed and someone fell backwards, writhing in silent pain.

"NO!" Dean roared, sprinting over to Seamus who was writhing in pain. "PATRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Dean yelled, wand pointing at Bellatrix but she deflected it, laughing sadistically. The torture ceased and Seamus rolled over, panting in pain.

Meanwhile, Draco was firing curses at one of the larger death eaters whom he recognised as Mr Crabbe, Crabbe's father. He was just as large but unfortunately not quite as stupid. He knew how to duel, at least. Hermione, who was still wandless, was standing in the corner and doing her best to stay out of the way. She watched on, eyes glassy and full of fear as she watched her friends being blown backwards with curses. How was twenty three people not enough to annihilate three death eaters?

With a whoop of joy, Hannah Abbot and Micheal Corner had managed to stupefy the other large death eater, Mr Goyle, who was now lying unconscious in a heap on the floor. In the joy of the moment, they flung their arms around each other and Micheal kissed her, causing Hannah to turn deep scarlet.

"AAAARGH!" Someone screamed and Hermione turned to see Theo lying on the ground, cradling his left shoulder. Then she turned and screamed in terror. "FUCK YOU!" Blaise roared at Crabbe's father and raised his wand.

"STUPEFY!" Both Blaise and Draco yelled, wands directed at Mr Crabbe's fat face. With the combined effort, the tall death eater was knocked off his feet and thrown against the wall, hard enough to make dust fall from the ceiling.

Blaise ran over to Theo, looking nervous. "You alright man?" Blaise asked worriedly but Theo just nodded and shook it off. Everyone was standing around panting, and those that weren't were sitting or lying up against walls nursing injuries. Amongst the killed chaos Draco could see some Hufflepuffs, teary eyed and bleeding. Something was off.

After the stillness had settled in, Draco noticed exactly what wasn't right. "Where's Bellatrix?" He asked aloud. Everyone around him looked around, eyes skirting the two large death eaters unconscious on the floor. "Draco," Pansy began frantically, wide eyed and panic stricken, "Draco Hermione's gone!" Draco turned, taking the whole room in, stone walls and all, and knew she was right.

"Fuck!" He yelled, sprinting to the stairs and taking them two at a time. Not again, he'd just got her back. Terror and fury chased each other in circles around his brain. What was Bellatrix going to do? What was he going to do? She was already in enough pain, she didn't need anymore torture.

"HERMIONE?!" He roared, petrified, after reaching the entrance hall scattered with unconscious bodies. Sweating, he looked around and saw the door to his right was ajar. "HERMIONE!" He yelled again as he tore across the room to the door which would take him to a corridor. He hated this so much. His heart was hammering his rib cage and he felt like he couldn't breath. His ribs were going to shatter any minute now, not to mention his mental state due to anxiety.

He could hear the stampede of feet behind him and knew Harry had followed him with his little army and his heart rate quickened. What if he was too late? Where was she?! This was all his fault, if he'd not shouted at her on Valentine's Day then he'd still have been be with her when she was taken.

Suddenly he heard a high pitched scream but instead of letting his panic fly out of hand, he stopped, figuring out where it had come from. Behind him. He backtracked up the corridor and slammed his shoulder into the double doors to his right which swung open silently.

What he saw before his eyes made him stop. Hermione was lying on the floor, like an angel fallen from the sky. But she was screaming, loud and piercing, with Bellatrix standing over her, laughing. But he only stoped for mere moments. "NO!" Draco yelled and without thinking, without even considering the repercussions, he took a running leap. Right in front of Bellatrix's wand.

"DRACO NO!" Bellatrix whined loudly. She lifted the curse before it managed to take much effect on him, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel Bellatrix's piercing stare upon him.

"No," moaned Hermione in a very quiet voice.

"Shut up you little mudblood!" Bellatrix yelled.

"Leave her alone!" Draco raged, clutching his wand pocket with his right hand. Bellatrix's eyes moved from his pocket to Hermione then back to Draco again.

"Well, well, well," hissed Bellatrix softly. They heard Harry and the others all come to a staggered halt at the door, all staring inside. Ginny made to step in but Harry held her back. They all watched in awe from the doorframe, waiting to see what would unfold. "Well this all makes sense now doesn't it," laughed Bellatrix mercilessly, "You, and her?!" She stopped to laugh, the realisation dawning on her. Draco watched, a dead serious expression on his face. "Do forgive me, Draco dear, but just because she you may have used her as a slag -"

"Don't you dare," whispered Draco in a deadly voice.

"The very thought of letting a whore like this bed you -"

"SHUT UP!" Fumed Draco, wand out. He could strangle her he was so angry.

"Oh? Don't tell me you actually like the girl? Draco?! She's a mudblood!" Bellatrix exclaimed in amused horror, "I'd never thought you'd sink as low as that. Well your father will be displeased, traitor -"

"My father already knows. I told him, right before knocking him unconscious!" Draco roared.

Bellatrix stared. Then, she asked out of pure curiosity, "You love her? You would risk everything for a mudblood?" Draco stood rigid, glaring daggers at his aunt.

"There's nothing to risk, aunt. There was no honour before, no respect from my father, nothing to lose," Draco spat.

"Your life?" Bellatrix questioned mockingly.

"Screw that! My life ended the day the Dark Lord rose again!"

"How dare you insult him! Your master! Your -"

"I HAVE NO MASTER! MY LOYALTY LIES WITH MY FRIENDS AND HER!" Draco roared, nodding towards Hermione who looked downright petrified, her face streaked with tears.

"Draco no," Hermione sobbed, "She'll kill -"

"Quiet you little mudblood!" Bellatrix shouted and would've kicked the girl had Draco not been in the way. "Traitor, I should call the Dark Lord now!" She screamed, disgraced. But then a dread filled Draco's stomach. Bellatrix was smiling wickedly. "Expelliarmus!" She roared and Hermione flinched as Draco counteracted the spell. "Levicorpus!" She shrieked and Draco, unprepared for this approach was hit directly with the curse. The world swung upside down. He looked up and saw himself dangling from nothingness by his ankles. Try as he might, he couldn't get back down. Bellatrix cackled mirthlessly and swung her wand, sending Draco crashing into the wall. "CRUCIO!" She screamed, wand back on Hermione. Again, Hermione let out an earth shattering shriek that made Draco's heart break in two. "No," mumbled Draco, rubbing his head. His vision was going black at the edges and he had images of Hermione flashing past in his mind. "We need to help him! And her!" Shrieked Ginny, pressing against Harry's grip.

"No, wait," Harry murmured.

"Please stop it," moaned Hermione between sobs but Bellatrix persisted, laughing a high, sardonic laugh. Draco got to his feet, a new anger in his stance. Wand raised, he stormed over to Bellatrix and shoved her from behind. Bellatrix wobbled, staggered but still stayed on her feet.

"Well that was rude wasn't it," she smiled in her belittling voice.

"Fuck off!" Draco yelled, "You're vile and cruel and pathetic! Leave her alone! Stupifey!" But Bellatrix easily deflected the spell and resumed torturing Hermione, grinning like a maniac. Draco made an enraged noise before stepping in front of Bellatrix's curse to endure, for what seemed like the billionth time this year, the excruciatingly painful cruciatus curse. "Draco," choked Hermione, desperately trying to get up to pull him out of harms way. "Draco STOP!" She cried, "STOP IT!"

"Quiet you silly little girl, you enjoying this Draco? Standing up for your little whore?" Bellatrix hissed. Draco couldn't easily retaliate. If he opened his mouth, he knew he'd let out a shout of agony. It wasn't half as bad as Voldemort's curses but it still hurt like hell.

"She's - not - a - whore!" Draco choked out, clenching his teeth and eyes shut as the pain intensified.

"Ever bedded him mudblood?" Bellatrix hissed.

"RRRGH!" Draco fumed, attempting to raise his wand to curse the death eater into a thousand pieces - but he couldn't do it. His arms felt like dead weights and he had to keep himself from collapsing in pain. He could feel the thousand daggers jabbing and twisting at his insides, feel the sharp pains of a million screws digging into him. The blackness in his vision was growing, all he could see was his aunt, her wild black mass of hair framing her cackling face, her jagged teeth in her grinning mouth.

Suddenly the pain stopped. He opened his eyes wide, staring around. Then he saw it. Hermione had mustered the strength to pull herself in front of Draco and was now taking the curse for him. "Oh this is sweet," Bellatrix giggled sadistically.

"Hermione what in Merlin's name do you think you're doing!?" Draco roared suddenly, moving to push her away.

"This is getting boring!" Moaned Bellatrix, "Incancerous!" Eyes widening, Draco saw the black cords shooting not towards Hermione, but towards him. He tried to move but too late! The long, black cords were wrapping themselves around him like snakes, locking him into a tied position about a foot off the floor, in perfect view of Hermione. "How do you enjoy a show dear nephew?" Bellatrix asked as she tortured Hermione. The girl's screams were enough to make everyone wince. Harry had finally decided enough was enough and was about to intervene when Bellatrix shot out her wand arm and yelled, "Move again and both of them die!" Everyone at the door froze. Hermione's eyes flitted between Harry, Bellatrix and Draco, terrified. Draco wasn't going to pretend, he was terrified too. Not for himself, but for the power Bellatrix had over everyone, and more importantly for Hermione.

"HERMIONE NO!" Draco yelled as Bellatrix resumed torturing the ruined girl. "I'LL KILL YOU! BELLATRIX PLEASE! Just STOP!" He begged.

"It's time you learned a proper lesson Draco!" Bellatrix yelled, "I see why you didn't like your mission to kill the mudblood!" Everyone froze. Everyone apart from Bellatrix. "She didn't know?" Chuckled the death eater in mock surprise. "I am surprised Draco, I thought you trusted her?"

"Don't - listen - to - her!" Hermione gasped from the floor, eyes set dead on Draco. "I - will - always - trust you!"

"Shut up!" Bellatrix yelled and Hermione gave a yelp like a puppy being kicked as the curse intensified.

"Leave her alone Bellatrix!" Draco yelled, tears trickling down his cheeks. He felt completely and utterly helpless. What was he supposed to do? No one could do anything! Where was his mother? Surely she'd be here. 'But she's not,' he though furiously.

Then he had an idea. A brilliant idea. A reckless, smart idea where a hundred and one things could go wrong. A Gryffindor idea. He thought hard of the name, the one name who could help them now. Then, he clicked his fingers somewhat awkwardly in through the bindings and muttered, "Dobby!"

There was a small pop, but it was loud enough for Bellatrix to hear. "Silence!" She hissed. "I said silence!" And she stormed over to kick the teary girl. Hermione instantly fell silent. Draco winced, vowing to kill Bellatrix one day. The woman looked around. "No one can apparate in and out of this building!" She shrieked furiously. Harry looked at Draco, who forced on a smirk. Neville was the first to notice him. Small, skinny with bat like ears and huge, green eyes the size of tennis balls, Dobby was creeping along the edge of the room, surveying the scene. Neville grinned. Dobby and Draco exchanged glances behind Bellatrix's back before Draco nodded and Dobby clicked his fingers.

With immense relief, Draco felt the ropes slacken and he shrugged them off silently. Hermione watched, wide eyed from the floor as Dobby magically appeared on the enormous chandelier above them. Bellatrix heard the chinking and looked up. "Elf?" She questioned. "Avada Ked -" but Hermione had pulled herself to her feet and limped furiously over to Bellatrix in a heartbeat. WHAM! Hermione's fist had just collided with Bellatrix's nose, and she never got to finish the spell. "Miss saved Dobby's life!" Dobby squealed happily. In the very odd atmosphere and amidst the confusion, Bellatrix had drawn her dagger from her belt and had it aimed at Hermione's throat. "Sir and Miss, run!" He advised as, all of a sudden, the chandelier was unhooked from the ceiling and it came crashing down. Draco pelted across the room, grabbing Hermione under the arm and dragging her away from the falling chandelier. "AAAAAAARGH! STUPID ELF!" Screamed Bellatrix as the chandelier came down on top of her. She managed to throw her dagger but the aim was useless and it bounced off the wall. She fell to the floor in a heap of black robes and glass.

Draco didn't want to hesitate any longer. "DOBBY!" He yelled, "THANK YOU!"

"Dobby is most grateful, Sir," Dobby replied selflessly.

"Get back to school!" Draco yelled behind him as he hoisted Hermione up in his arms and legged it out of the room. Harry, Ron and the rest of D.A. ran after him, not wanting to wait to see if Bellatrix was conscious or not. They heard a clatter from behind and Parvati screamed, "She's getting up!" They all ran faster, turned the corner, sprinted across the entrance hall, past the unconscious death eaters and out the open doors past Scabior.

They reached the driveway, panting and frantic. "We can't apparate with her! She's too injured!" Ernie shouted at Draco.

"WHAT FUCKING CHOICE DO WE HAVE?!" Yelled Draco, furious at his incompetence. That at least shut Ernie up. They formed a circle, Draco not quite sure what to do with Hermione. "I can stand," Hermione smiled, trying to laugh but it resulted in a grim grunt. Reluctantly, Draco placed Hermione on the floor carefully and took her hand. She took Ginny's and they all got ready in their circle to apparate. There was a sudden series of popping noises but it wasn't issued from them. Those nearest turned to see a sea of black marching towards them, lead by a man with a very pale face, red eyes and slits for nostrils. "APPARATE NOW!" Someone roared and without hesitation, Draco cast the spell. They all disapparated with a pop. Bellatrix stumbled out of the castle, staring hopelessly at Lord Voldemort and the crowd of death eaters behind him. "What, happened?" Voldemort seethed, looking beyond livid. Bellatrix quivered.

A/N So I haven't had the time to reread this chapter as I'm already a week late so there may be bits that could've been better - sorry. So how was it? I'd obviously love to hear your feedback and I hope my next chapter will be on time in two weeks. See you then!