DRACO

He, Harry, Ginny, and Luna traveled in awkward silence until they reached the split where they had parted ways with Ron and Hermione. Draco peered up the corridor, which was decidedly Ron-and-Hermione free. A growing knot of worry tightened in his gut, but he kept his expression carefully blank.

"If we hurry, we'll be able to catch up with them," he muttered to the others before setting off.

They followed, and soon the awkward silence fell again. They hurried down the corridor, eyes and ears peeled for anything unusual. Draco glanced behind him to see Ginny and Luna exchange tentative smiles. He snorted, but quickly covered it with a fake cough. The two girls looked at him accusingly.

"So... " said Harry, brows raised. "How long?"

Ginny gave a giddy giggle. "Just now."

"And... how was it?"

"It was quite nice," Luna replied.

"Awesome," agreed Ginny.

Draco tried—and failed—to hide another snort.

"So you're bisexual?" Harry asked.

Ginny grinned. "I suppose so."

"Who would've thought," Draco muttered under his breath, smirking at the irony of the situation.

"What?"

"Nothing."

They reached the end of the corridor to find a pair of grand double doors. There was still no sign of Ron or Hermione. Draco bit his lip. He'd told them to wait. They should've found them by now.

Harry seemed to read his thoughts. "Well?" he said, a hint of anxiousness in his voice. "Let's go."

He slipped around him and pushed the doors open.

There was a low groan as they swung slowly open. Draco had just enough time to take in the expensive furniture and ornate decorations of the drawing room before a jet of green light shot towards them.

"DOWN!" he bellowed, and they ducked; the spell missed them by inches. The room was filled with people. In two chairs before them, back-to-back, sat Ron and Hermione, tied up and gagged. They were surrounded by about twenty cloaked figures, each with wands drawn and pointed at the four intruders.

The Death Eaters raises their wands again, ready to strike, but Draco had a sudden idea. "Diffindo!" he cried, pointing up at the chandelier dangling from the ceiling.

The chain snapped. It seemed to fall in slow motion, jewels glittering dangerously, before crashing down, sending sharp shards of glass and metal everywhere. They ducked, throwing their arms over their heads to protect themselves. In the room, the Death Eaters did the same. Ron and Hermione did their best with their wrists bound to their chairs.

When the dust settled, Harry, Draco, Ginny, and Luna didn't hesitate: they each rose their feet and started firing spell after spell at the Death Eaters. At first, a few went down, but the others were quickly recovering from their surprise. They fired back, and soon the drawing room was in shambles from an onslaught of spells.

Draco shot a stupefy at one Death Eater, then a nasty puke-yellow colored spell he'd learned from a dog-eaten spellbook he'd found in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library. It hit its target, and a Death Eater fell to their knees, clawing at their chest in pain and discomfort. Their hood fell off: it was Macnair.

"Ha!" Draco shouted gleefully, but his exuberance was short livid as a ball of red light was thrown at him, Harry, Ginny, and Luna.

"Scatter!" Ginny yelled, and Draco dove to the left as the spell exploded, shattering the stone where he'd been standing only moments ago. Draco was thrown aside as the shockwave hit him, and he flew across the room, crashing painfully into the side of an armchair. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry's side and head connect with the corner of the fireplace; he fell to the floor and was motionless.

He got to his feet, groaning. To his right, Ginny and Luna seemed to be relatively unhurt. They were taking on at least ten opponents together, wands blurring as they dodged the curses falling upon them.

Draco turned away from them, rushing to help Harry. But he was only halfway there when a jet of light connected with his side: a Stinging Hex. He fell to the floor, wand flying out of his hand, and clutched his side in agony.

Panting, he raised his head to see a familiar face: Pansy Parkinson. She was sneering at him.

"Draco," she jeered, three other cloaked figures flanking her. She glanced in the direction Draco had been heading, her sneer widening when she saw his target.

"You know, when I was in your head I knew you liked him, but damn." She threw back her head and laughed. "How was the gay sex?"

He bared his teeth. "Shove off."

She laughed again. "Oh, by the way, how's Granger?" She twisted her face into a pout. "Is she still grieving?"

His wand was laying only a few feet from his left hand. "How'd you know?" he snarled, trying for time. "About her parents? How'd you know where to look?"

Pansy's smile widened, and the three other Death Eaters chuckled behind her. "Most people are much more willing to talk when under the Imperious Curse."

He sucked in a breath of air in surprise. "Neville."

"I'm sorry I had to do that to you, but it was most enjoyable to see his confusion. The bumbling idiot had it coming to him." She sniggered. "And besides, being with the Death Eaters has taught me so much."

"Good for you," Draco said sarcastically. As he spoke, he inched his hand for his wand. It was less than a foot away, if he could just—

Pansy's sneer vanished, replaced with a ferocious snarl. "It is. I am so much more powerful than I was before. And I know so much more." Suddenly, she gasped. "Oh! Is that the locket?"

He glanced down. He'd been wearing the locket under his shirt, but in the fight it had revealed itself, and it now rested above the fabric on his chest. He looked back up at Pansy.

"It's very pretty," she said, eyeing it hungrily. "I was never able to open it. Tell me, Draco, what's inside?"

"Nothing," he lied. "It's empty."

"Oh, I bet it isn't," she said with a smile. "Why don't I just— " She reached out a hand.

Draco scrambled back, and he was able to grab his wand. He hid it behind his back, now calculating when it would be best to strike. "Don't touch me!"

Pansy grinned. "I think I'll take it. Give it here, Malfoy."

"No!"

He scrambled back further, but she lunged, ripping it from his neck. The three Death Eaters behind her chuckled once more. He felt a bolt of terror. What if it did have magical powers? What if she figured out how to unlock them?

But nothing happened as she took it and hung it around her neck. He held back a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," she told him mockingly. "Now I've had enough of this. Kill him!"

His eyes widened as all four of them, Pansy included, advanced, raising their wands menacingly.

He raised his own. "Accio!" he shouted, and there was a crash as Lucius Malfoy's ugly marble statue burst through the stone wall and bowled over the Death Eaters before him. Vaguely, he wondered if his father was here, but he pushed the thought out of his mind. Right now, Harry needed his help.

He ran the last half of the way to him, leaping over fallen debris as he did. He glanced once to his right to see Ginny and Luna taking out the last of the Death Eaters before rushing to untie Ron and Hermione. The side of Luna's face was bloody.

Draco reached Harry, crouching down beside him and pressing two fingers to his neck. Beneath it he felt the strong pulse of his heart. He sighed, leaning over him and raising his wand.

"Renervate," he murmured, and Harry's eyes fluttered open. He blinked rapidly, squeezing his eyes shut and then rubbing them frantically.

"Draco—?" he groaned, squinting at him. "What— "

"C'mon, Potter," he replied, grasping his arm and hauling him to his feet. Harry stood, swaying for a moment before quickly regaining his balance. He looked around at the wreckage surrounding them.

"What—what happened?" he asked blearily. "How long was I out?"

"Only a little while," he answered. "There was a fight."

Harry groaned again. "Sorry I missed it."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You've fought enough battles. I think you're excused from this one. Now come on."

He pulled him along, and they rushed to help the others.

"Hullo," was the first thing Ron said to them when they arrived, his gag having been removed by Luna.

Hermione simply clutched her arm and was silent. Harry looked at her worriedly, then glanced back at Ron. "What happened?"

"We were ambushed," Ron answered, rubbing his temples. "They took our wands—I think it was Macnair, if you want to check, Ginny—and bound us. Hermione— " He paused, gulping. "They hit her with something."

Harry stepped forward, reaching for her, and she gratefully melted into his arms, clutching him like her life depended on it. Tears leaked from her eyes.

Draco looked at his battered and broken friends. All in all, they were relatively unharmed, but it was clear that Hermione wasn't well enough to fight any longer, and blood still ran down Luna's face.

"Alright," he said, taking charge. "Luna, I need you to stick with Hermione and guard her. You two will stay at the back of the group. We have to keep moving."

Ginny furrowed her brow. "But why? What exactly are we looking for?"

He glared at her. "My mother, remember? Look, we took down Macnair, Pansy's out cold"—he pointed at each of their unconscious forms in turn— "but where's my father? Where's Albrecktsson? There are more Death Eaters here, I'm sure of it."

"But why haven't they come after us?" asked Ron. "I mean, they're bound to have heard all the racket. What're they waiting for?"

"It's a trap," said Harry.

"Definitely."

A silence fell among them. Draco's mind was whirling. If this was a trap, which it certainly was, what could they do?

"We need to talk to the Patils," he decided. "Maybe they can help."

"After your family has imprisoned them in the cellar for almost a year?" Harry asked dubiously. "I doubt it."

"We have to try." Draco looked around. "Here." He stooped and grabbed four wands. "We'll give these to them," he explained. "They may help us, they may not. Either way, they shouldn't be locked up anymore."

He didn't wait for them to reply. He strode from the room, pocketing the wands as he went, and marched out the doors and into a mercifully empty corridor, making for the cellar. After a moment of hesitation, the others followed.

He lit his wand when he came to the steep staircase leading to the cellar, carefully making his way down. The light waned the further he went down, and the temperature dropped as well. But he didn't stop until he reached the bottom.

He was immediately greeted with the faces of Parvati and Padma Patil behind the bars, their features illuminated by the light of his wand. Since he had last seen them, they appeared to have taken a beating: Parvati had a split lip and a long, shallow slice down her neck; Padma had a green-and-purple black eye.

"Harry?" Parvati breathed, eyes wide as she took him in. "Ron? Luna?"

"We have something for you," Harry told her, his voice soft and low. Draco reached into his pocket and brought out the wands, passing them to Padma. From the shadows, Mr. and Mrs. Patil appeared, gaping at the gift.

The family passed them out as Draco raised his own wand, pointing it at the cellar door. It swung open with a click, and the Patils emerged, moving slowly with shock.

Parvati gaped at him. "But I thought—I thought you said—you said you wouldn't let us out!"

Draco swallowed. "Yes."

"So then why are you letting us go?" asked Padma.

He hesitated. "Because even if the Ministry locks me up for this, you don't deserve staying here."

They gaped at him. "They would lock you up for letting us go?" Mr. Patil said, flummoxed.

"No. They would lock me up for you being kept here," he told them.

"But you didn't keep us here," Mrs. Patil argued. "You didn't know!"

He shook his head. "They won't care."

A silence fell as everyone stared at him with pity. He avoided their eyes.

At last, Harry broke the silence. "Here," he said, raising his wand. "I can heal those."

He started working on their wounds, siphoning off the blood and stitching them together. Padma sighed in relief as her bruise disappeared.

"We're wasting time," Draco said, turning away. The longer they stalled, the longer his mother had to wait, and the longer the Death Eaters had to hurt her.

Harry nodded in agreement. "Let's go."

They left, the Patils armed and ready. At the top of the steep steps, Draco looked left and right carefully, but saw no one. He turned left, quickly heading away from the destroyed drawing room.

They walked for a few minutes finding nothing and no one. Draco was starting to panic. If he didn't find his mother soon—

Before he could continue his trail of thought, there was a wand at his throat and hooded figures emerging from the shadows.

"Draco," said one in the voice of Lucius Malfoy, "it is so good to finally see you again."