Chapter 53 : The Calends of April

"Make sure they don't get out, Wormtail." Hermione sneered at the stout man who had appeared, "Or Bella will have your head."

"She wants the goblin upstairs." he choked out, looking fearful of the girl. "She wants to know if the sword is real."

Hermione sighed, as if annoyed, raised her wand to the door and opened it with a bang. Wordlessly, she summoned the goblin's chains forward, dragging the creature along.

As soon as she was out of the other Death Eater's sight, she said quietly, barely moving her lips, "Whatever she does, do not give her what she wants. If you value your life, you'll lie."

The goblin gave a sharp nod of his head, and she lead him back to where they came, trying hard to still her shaking hands.

A scream tore through the drawing room just as she stepped inside. Bellatrix was screeching loudly while the dagger in her hand glinted evilly in the light. Hermione thought she saw a jagged word etched into the Gryffindor's arm, which was bleeding profusely onto the marble floor, but she could not make out what it was. She moved to stand beside Draco, who was watching with a blank expression on his face.

"I brought the goblin, Aunt Bella." Hermione said, her voice ringing through the room.

Bellatrix looked up jerkily, before summoning the goblin painfully towards her. She grabbed him by the back of his head, forcing him to look at the golden sword in her hands. "Is it the true sword?" she demanded.

Hermione held her breath as she awaited his answer, "No," it said flatly, "it's a fake."

"Are you sure?" Bellatrix barked, shaking the sword.

"Yes." said the goblin with finality.

At once, relief broke across Bella's face, all the tension draining from her.

"Good," she said, kicking the goblin to the ground. "And now we call the Dark Lord!"

Before any of them could react, she pulled her sleeve up and touched her forefinger to the Dark Mark.

"Now, I think we can dispose of this little bit of trash." Bella said, sending a kick at Longbottom, who was unmoving on the cold floor.

"NOOO!" a flash of red hair and a glint of glasses rushed into the drawing roomthey looked around in various states of shock as their wand hands begun to rise at the intrusion.

"Expelliarmus!" roared Weasley, sending Bella's wand to the air o lay to be caught by Potter. Hermione cast a silent Stunning spell at Lucius, who had moved to curse Potter just as she was hit by an Immobilizing Jinx. She fell to the floor in a heap, eyes surveying the scene in front of her. Draco had tried to quickly relief the spell off her, but his wand too, was cursed from him.

"STOP OR HE DIES!"

Hermione had a good view of the room from where she had fallen to the floor, and her vision was not blocked as Bella grabbed hold of Longbottom, still unconscious, holding a knife to his throat.

"Drop your wands," she whispered, "Drop them!"

Immediately, the wands the two boys had stolen dropped to the floor.

"Good!" she leered, "Draco, pick them up! The Dark Lord is coming!"

Hermione felt a Finite wash over her, and her frozen limbs were suddenly free. Hoisting herself up, she gripped her wand tightly, praying to Merlin that Potter had come up with a decent plan. Bellatrix was just about to open her mouth to bark out an order, but a jingling noise from over their heads distracted her.

All their eyes trained towards the ceiling, just in time to see the crystal chandelier above Bella tremble dangerously, and it began to fall. The Dark witch threw herself out of the way, just as it exploded in a rain of crystals and chains, falling on top of the goblin, who was still holding the sword and Longbottom.

Hermione felt a piece of crystal slash her left cheek, making her turn her head to avoid any more shards. Draco, however, was not as lucky. He was clutching his face in pain, blood dripping from his hands as he tried to cover it.

The two Gryffindor boys were helping Longbottom out of the wreckage while Hermione tried to pry Draco's hands from himself. Potter dove across the floor, scooping up the wands into his hand.

As Narcissa helped Hermione drag her fiancé out of the way to keep him and her future daughter in law from further harm, Bellatrix rushed to her feet, brandishing her knife.

"Dobby!" Narcissa shrieked, pointing her wand at the doorway, her voice dripping with faux fury, "You dropped the chandelier?!"

The tiny elf trotted into the room, pointing his shaky finger at his former Mistress. Hermione assumed that this was the elf that Draco had said they lost to Potter back in their second year.

"You must not hurt Harry Potter!" it squeaked.

"Kill him, Cissy!" Bella cried, but there was another loud crash and Narcissa's wand flew out of her hand across the room.

Dobby suddenly appeared on top of the wreckage of the broken chandelier holding on to the three Gryffindors and the goblin. They spun to Disapparate with a loud crack, leaving behind the stunned faces of four Death Eaters. Hermione saw a flash of silver fly through the air just as they disappeared, and she realized that Bellatrix has thrown her knife in a last ditch attempt.

"NO!" Bella screamed.

Hermione could not stop herself from shaking, she was still holding on to Draco. Narcissa turned to her with a sharp look in her eyes.

"Constant vigilance." The woman said under her breath, just as a swirling figure appeared in the middle of he wrecked room.

Lord Voldemort stood before them all, scarlet eyes blazing as he took in the sight in front of him. Bellatrix was sobbing hysterically at his feet, repeatedly apologizing to her master. Hermione gripped Draco's arm tightly, willing him to be strong enough as she blocked her mind.

"What happened here?" the Dark Lord hissed darkly.

"My Lord," Bella sobbed, "My Lord forgive me! He got away! Forgive me, forgive me."

"Crucio!" Voldemort screamed, eliciting agonized cries from the witch at his feet. "STAND, BELLATRIX!"

After a moment, the woman stumbled to her feet, tears trailing down her face as she stood before her master.

"Legilimens!"

It was silent for a few moments before the Dark Lord roared in unbridled fury. Dark magic cackled at his finger tips, and Hermione only had time to gasp as she was struck down by the strongest Torture Curse she had ever felt.


Hermione brushed a lock of Draco's hair away from his face, noting that the scars from his injuries were beginning to fade. She shuddered involuntary at the thought of the night, her knees buckling.

He held her up, keeping a strong arm around her waist. "Tell me they're at least getting better." he whispered.

"As better as yours." she muttered under her breath.

He sighed in frustration, knowing full well that the effects of the curse on them were not going away any time soon. "I'm glad we're leaving."

Hermione snorted indelicately, "We're merely going back to the lesser evil."

"Anywhere is better than here." Draco said, "If I could get mother out of here I would."

"I worry for Narcissa, but she's a strong witch. I have no doubt in my mind she can hold her own." Hermione said. "Now come, the train's about to pull in."

The couple entered the Hogwarts Express with similar blank looks imprinted on their faces, ignoring the scathing glares sent their way from students and their families, as well as the hateful whispers that carried across the bustle of the station.

"Is it just me, or does this school year seem to be taking an eternity?" Theo asked as they approached the Slytherin compartment.

"It's definitely not just you." Hermione muttered.

"I bet you're just itching for summer to begin, aren't you Hermione?" Pansy asked, her voice tinged with jealousy, "Isn't your wedding planned for June?"

Hermione couldn't even relish in the other girl's anguish, she merely sway armed off her features in a blank expression. "We're not quite sure yet. Hopefully, yes, it will be a summer wedding, but certain things might come up to change that."

Draco gently placed a hand over hers, which she entwined her fingers in gratefully.

"What ever do you mean?" Pansy queried, practically jumping up at the possibility of the wedding not pushing through.

"Well, many of my relatives are from the continent, you know," Hermione said, mind whirring to make a plausible excuse, "We're still trying to figure out where the wedding would be better set."

Hermione willed Pansy to believe the lie. It was out of the question to tell the witch that there was nothing she wanted less than to get married under the Dark Lord's reign. The poor excuse for a man would be breathing down her and Draco's neck for the rest of their lives happened, and she would sooner off herself than do that.

"But Malfoy Manor is such a beautiful place to get married… all that space would easily fit two hundred!" Pansy said, ignoring the icy tone in the other girl's voice.

"Yes, but Paris in the summer is just divine." Hermione said, losing patience, "And Draco and I want the wedding to be quite exclusive. Only our closest friends and family will be invited. I really don't think the guest list will be more than a hundred, right, darling?"

She paused for only a moment to look at Draco, who was smiling at her indulgently, "Mother always said that a wedding is a special event, one that should only be shared with the people we trust most, those that actually matter."

Hermione watched as the pug faced witch visibly shrank at the hostile look she was receiving before plastering a sweet smile on her face.

"I completely understand." She said, her eye twitching.

"I'm sure you do, Pansy." Hermione sniffed, "Oh, Daphne, Narcissa told me to tell you not to plan your robes for maid of honor, all right? She says that it will be taken care of, I think she might have even mentioned loaning you one of her mother's emerald necklaces."

The angry flush on Pansy's cheeks Hermione saw out of the corner of her eye filled her with vindication that momentarily allowed her to forget about everything else.


Hermione spelled herself invisible as soon as she left the Slytherin commons for the night. Theo and Draco would soon be doing the same, each doing their own tasks, Theo going to the Hospital Wing to deposit a few potions for Poppy, and Draco to the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw dorms respectively, to help the two third years the Carrows had taken to playing with during their Defense class.

She made her way up the stairs from the dungeons, carefully avoiding Mrs Norris, who was easily distracted with one of Crookshank's cat treats, to the Seventh Floor. She faced the door in front of The tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, drew out a large drawstring bag from her satchel and hung it on the door knob. Her knuckles rapped the wood two times before the door swung open quicker than she expected.

Hermione jumped out of the way, only to be caught on the ankle by the corner of the door. She bit her lip to suppress her cry of pain, but was unable to stop herself from toppling over on her bum with a thud. Dust from the floor puffed up from her landing and suddenly she felt herself being wrapped by invisible bindings.

"Finite Incantatem." Seamus Finnegan said, his tall figure looming over her as she came into view.

"Let me go!" she hissed, struggling with her bindings.

Finnegan stared at her in shock, "Dagworth? You're the one that's been helping us?"

"I won't be any longer if you don't let me the fuck go, Finnegan." she spat.

The Gryffindor raised his wand to release her from the spell. She took his outstretched hand to stand, which he had offered after a moment of hesitation. Pride bruised, she huffed in indignation and smoothed her robes.

"If you want your supply of potions and balms to keep coming, Finnegan, you'll keep quiet." She warned, "I can't help you if I'm chained by my ankles in the dungeons because you didn't know any better to keep you mouth shut."

With that, she raised her wand upon herself and once again disappeared from view. Before she could leave, however, Finnegan spoke.

"Thank you, Hermione." he said, his voice clear. "We owe you."

'More than you know, Finnegan.' she thought to herself.

a/n : hullo! I'm so so so sorry I haven't updated in a month! I've been so incredibly busy and the motivation to finish this story just isn't there, as you can see from the shitty excuse of a chapter. I will try to do better tho! I promise to work on this the first chance I get! I think it's only about Rene or so chapters until the end :)