And if you could take it back, I know you would
Won't throw me away when you know you should

April 27th 1997

Draco kept his eyes on the black sapphire gem as it hissed nastily, over and over. It was the faintest of sounds yet now the sound seemed to ring in his ears, deafeningly loud and irritating. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, telling himself it would settle any moment. The snakelike sound always faded away to a quiet hum and silenced eventually. When she found somewhere safe to hide -and she would- it would ease and he would be able to breathe again. Come on, come on! He thought to himself frantically. Dammit, Granger, wherever the hell you are now, you need to get out of there! He stared at the ring, his hand trembling violently, he held his other hand over it to stop it but to no avail. His heart was pounding hard enough he could hear the blood pumping in his ears. Sweat trickled from his brow to his eyes, stinging them. Frustrated, he let out a deep growl and got to his feet, where he began pacing the room. He had a horrible feeling about this. The hiss never lasted this long before, the encounters she had with Death Eaters and Snatchers were fast paced attacks and escapes, but this had been going on for over an hour and he dreaded to think what it could mean. He felt helpless. He knew she was out there somewhere fighting for her life and no doubt terrified and all he could do was pace his bedroom and stare at the four walls trapping him in place, like a spider in a glass jar. He ground his teeth and tried to focus his thoughts. Panicking would do him no good now; he couldn't do anything anyway. Not here in this bloody place.

It was then the door burst open and his mother stood there, a small smile playing on her lips, her eyes bright with hope and excitement.

No. No. No. No. No. No!

"We think we've got them."

With those five words, Draco's heart stopped for a moment and he fell back to sit on the bed, his shaking hand flew up to his mouth in horror, which Narcissa mistook for relief,

"Come! Come, Draco! Bella needs you to identify them."

He blinked a few times to bring himself back to reality but it was a frail attempt. All he could really do was sit there and feel his skin go cold and the world closing in around him. He knew it was them already. That's why the sound wouldn't stop. He knew already that she was here. That Potter was here and all was lost.

"Draco!" His mother called again urgently.

He couldn't speak, but somehow he found his feet and trudged along with her. His whole body was heavy with each movement, as if every fibre of his being was afraid to push him forwards towards the entrance of the drawing room. He entered the room behind his mother, and found his father standing beside Scabior and Greyback. Scabior had Weasley and Greyback had Granger. Fuck! What am I going to do?! There's no way out of this! There's no way out of this! At the head of the room was Bellatrix, bent down and holding Potter by the hair, titling his face upwards for all to see. Draco kept his head down as he walked towards his father in the centre of the room, not wanting to look anyone in the eye, and especially not any of the Golden Trio. As he got closer he could see Potter had been hexed with a Stinging Jinx. The Boy-Who-Lived's face was puffed out and contorted in an ulgy manner, his eyes like slits against his too-big face. The blonde knew right away it was her idea, a way to buy them time to maybe make an escape if they could. It could help him too. At least now there was the possibility of doubt, with which he could try to draw out the process just long enough to think of a plan. That is, if he could think at all. His head was a muddle of racing, panicked thoughts. In that moment, all he could think about was the tightness in his chest and the girl behind him.

"Well?" Bellatrix asked, eagerly, as she smiled a crazed smile, bearing all her teeth.

He opened his mouth to make a sound, but nothing came out. Draco cleared his throat and tried again,

"I-I can't be sure."

Lucius' hand was on the back of his neck in an instant, pressing him forward to look at the boy on his knees in front of him. Draco barely held back a sneer at his father's touch. He absolutely could not give them up. He couldn't do it. The Malfoy's didn't need all the glory and approval they once had, not if it meant sacrificing the girl he loved and the only wizard who could save them from this bloody war. No, the Malfoy's had already made do for so long, they could skim by for a little bit more. He just needed to find a way to get them all -the trio and his family- out of this in one piece.

"Draco, look closely, son." Lucius' breath reeked of liquor up close, and Draco could see the frustration plastered all over his father's face, "If we're the ones to hand Potter over to the Dark Lord all will be forgiven."

Draco wasn't listening to him, not really. He was more focused on watching the movements of Scabior and Greyback behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Greyback shove Granger to Scabior and move closer towards them.

"A-all will be as it was. You understand?" his father was facing him now and the boy nodded despite himself, agreeing with Lucius out of habit and fear.

"Now we're not forgetting who actually caught them, I hope, Mr. Malfoy?" Greyback growled.

"You dare talk to me like that in my own house?!" Lucius' barked back and Draco winched automatically, awaiting the blow to the face that often followed. Witnessing her son's reaction, Narcissa moved quickly to pull Lucius' away, attempting to prevent any violent outbursts of his. It wouldn't do to besmudge the family name by beating his son in public, and anyway they had more pressing matters at hand.

"Lucius!" Narcissa hissed, dragging him away. He gave Draco a weak smile and took his place by the fireplace.

"Don't be shy, sweetie." his Aunt Bella said, sickly sweet, as if she wasn't the reason for the scars on his back and torso, and as if she hadn't caused all of his worst nightmares, "Come over."

The witch took his pale hand in hers and tugged him closer, until he was no more than a foot away from Potter. He knelt down so he could meet the gaze of the boy in question. When his icy grey eyes met the boy's, he saw nothing but rage there. He hadn't changed much in the last year then, even now when Draco was technically in a position of power over him, Potter had to act like he had the upper hand, like he was the boss. Merlin, he was an annoying little prick. Nonetheless, now was really not the time for him to get wound up about it.

"Now, if this isn't who we think it is, Draco, and we call him here, he'll kill us all." Belltrix said slowly, her voice a whisper laced with threats, "We need to be absolutely sure."

He searched Potter's face, trying to gauge if his arrogance meant he had a plan. Probably not, that was always Granger's job, wasn't it? And she currently had Scabior's arm around her throat, holding her in place.

"What's wrong with his face?" the blonde asked, unable to keep the quiver out of his voice. All he had to do was make the others question their own thoughts, make them doubt themselves long enough to think of something...long enough to cause a distraction and give the trio their out. It was no different to bullying the imbeciles at school. If he could use Potter's jacked up face to make them think maybe it wasn't him then they would hold off calling the Dark Lord. No one would dare summon Lord Voldemort if they were in any way dubious. He had to keep them tittering on the edge of that uncertainty.

"Yes, what is wrong with his face?" Aunt Bella asked,

"He came to us like that." Greyback replied,

"Something he picked up in the forest, I reckon." came Scabior's voice.

This was it. If they just kept talking, everything would be fine. Draco watched Potter scan his face, whatever he was looking for Draco didn't know and he hoped to Merlin he didn't find it. His face had to be smooth, his expression unreadable, if they were all going to get out of this.

"Or ran into a Stinging Jinx." Bellatrix said, as the two boys stared each other down, "Was it you, dearie?"

NO! He screamed internally, as his Aunt turned her wand on the girl behind him. Draco tried to keep Bellatrix in his sight without turning his head, afraid to catch the girl's gaze and give himself away. His head turned slightly of its own accord as Bellatrix moved towards Granger, but he forced himself back to look at Potter again. Draco gulped. His throat was painfully dry and his palms were sweating, he felt like he couldn't breathe properly. He watched Potter's nostrils flare with anger, his eyes lit with murderous intent. The dark-haired boy shifted as if to get up, but the magic binding him prevented him from doing so. The Slytherin had no doubt in his mind that if Potter hadn't been bound he would have lunged for Bellatrix then, but instead he was forced to watch the woman who had killed his own godfather make her way over to his friend -who, by now, Bella would have known was a muggle-born. Fuck! In his fear of what was unfolding in front of him, he had almost forgotten the most horrific part of all of this. It wasn't just that they had Potter right in the palm of their hands and if they handed him to the Dark Lord, the war would be won and the wizarding world plunged into darkness once more. It wasn't just that they had Potter's two best friends along with him and they were all in danger, and it wasn't just that with one wrong move Draco could get his entire family killed. No, the worst part of this was that Granger was here and she was a muggle-born. That alone was a death sentence.

"Give me her wand. We'll see what her last spell was." Bella announced, getting up to find the girl's wand.

Potter's arrogance disappeared and he looked fearful for the first time since he entered the room. The two boys exchanged a look of concern. It was evident from Potter's face that he was just as afraid as Draco was by the way his Aunt approached Granger. Their only common ground being that that both loved the same girl and didn't want anything to happen to her.

Narcissa's fingers rapped his shoulder lightly, calling him away. He got to his feet and turned to face her, hoping his dear mother would provide some comfort and reprieve even for just a moment.

"What about the girl then? That's the Mudblood, isn't it? The Granger girl?" she gripped his arm and turned him to look at the girl for the first time, leading him towards her until they were just a few feet apart.

They hadn't been this close since the night in the hospital wing. The night he had gone to kill Dumbledore. The night they shared their last kiss. He could taste the bile on the back of his tongue as his guts churned and coiled, knotted tight. Cold sweat made its way down the back of his neck. He didn't want to look at her. Afraid that by doing so it would make this all the more real, afraid of what he would find in her expression, afraid to make this his last image of her. His last memory of them had been bittersweet, and it hurt to think back to those last moments with her, but he would rather think back to that than ever have to think back to this.

Finally he found the courage to look at her. Draco's eyes met Granger's brown ones for the first time in a little over year and a range of emotions flickered across her face. None of them good. Fear, sadness, anger, hopelessness. She had cuts and bruises over her face -from the chase no doubt- and her features were smaller than he remembered them. He realised they had been on the run for months now, hiding out in the woods, so it made sense that she looked a little gaunt. But he didn't like it one bit. He could only imagine what the three of them had endured. Her mouth was ajar at the sight of him, like she couldn't believe he was really there. He felt the same. He couldn't really believe she was here either. It was the first time he had ever hoped that this was a really ugly, painfully realistic hallucination. Draco watched Greyback press himself against her and sniff her hair, closing his eyes and letting out a dark chuckle as he did. Granger turned away from the man in repugnance, jutting her chin out in that prideful way of hers to show she wasn't going to be intimidated. Damn that Gryffindor bravery of hers. The Slytherin boy's fists clenched and his face was a half-fearful, half-angry sneer. It was obvious what the werewolf wanted to do with her. It made him sick to his stomach.

"Isn't it, Draco?" his mother urged, "It's her, I'm sure of it!"

"No." The word slipped out without him meaning it to. He watched Granger's eyes widen at his blatant lie. Weasley looked at the girl beside him, dumbfounded.

Draco! If you lie about this we will all die. You must say if it is her!

Narcissa's soft voice rang in his mind and he found himself throwing a glare in her direction. The tall white-haired woman backed up, taken aback by his animosity. He had never looked at her with anything but love and adoration before. Lucius was the one who got the glares and sneers, never Narcissa. He felt a pang of guilt and his expression became instantly apologetic.

"I mean...I don't know...s-she looked different…" he trailed off, trying to think of a believable excuse, but there was none.

"Oh, come now!" Lucius spat, "It's her! It must be! And that must be the Weasley boy," he nodded towards the boy beside her, before turning towards the other boy on the floor, "and that must be Potter."

"Well, we'll find out when that jinx wears off, won't we?" Bellatrix laughed, pointing towards Granger as she walked past her to the third Snatcher who was holding the wands in one hand and a sword in another. His Aunt came to a halt all of a sudden, her back to the rest of the room, and he heard her gasp in horror. "Where did you get that from?!"

"It was in her bag when we searched her." the third Snatcher replied with a grin, "Reckon it's mine now."

Bellatrix threw a curse and blasted the third Snatcher out of the way, rendering him unconscious. The sword flew out of his hands in a silver flash and she caught it instantly before turning to Greyback and extending her wand into a long, black whip which wrapped itself around his throat, strangling him until he too passed out on the floor.

"Are you mad?" Scabior asked, a second before she did the same to him, only instead of strangling him, she pulled hard on her wand, bringing him to crash down on the dark wood floor.

Draco staggered back to stand beside his mother and father, afraid to get caught in the fight. He glanced at Granger across the room from him who was now free of her capture and panting, her chest rising and falling quickly. She didn't look at him and instead kept her eyes on the wild-haired witch who had single-handedly taken down two men and a werewolf. Bellatrix screamed at the three men to leave and they didn't need to be told twice. They exited the room hastily, clutching their throats as they tried to breathe properly again. The young Slytherin watched with dread as his Aunt stalked over to Granger and Weasley, taking hold of the auburn-haired boy and flinging him across the room, in the general direction of his mother,

"Cissy! Put the boys in the cellar."

"No! No! Leave her alone! Take me!" Potter begged.

Narcissa did as she was told, gripping Potter and Weasley by the collar and dragging them down the hall where she would meet with one of the servants to take the boys to the dungeon. As they disappeared from view, Draco watched Bellatrix with bated breath. She was barely an inch from Granger's face now, the younger girl backed up but never looked away from the woman in front of her.

"I want to have a little conversation with this one. Girl to girl!"

Think! Think! Draco, think!

Bellatrix had her wand at Granger's throat. He wanted to move, to try even feebly to convince his Aunt to leave her alone, tell her she wasn't worth the effort and it would be best to just lock her up if needs be. But his limbs were frozen with fear.

"Now where did you get that sword? You be careful to tell the truth, Mudblood."

"We...found it in a lake. In the woods."

"No. You didn't. You stole it. Didn't you? What else have you taken?"

Draco knew what was coming and he knew he couldn't just stand there and watch it. He moved towards his Aunt, mouth open and hand raised, about to ask her why the sword was so important, hoping to distract her away from the girl in front of them. Then the silver snake head of his father's cane came down hard on his shoulder, he flinched at the impact and froze once again.

Tell her what she wants to hear, Granger. He begged her using his mind. Her brown eyes narrowed and flickered to him, determination passed across her pretty features

"We found it." Granger repeated again, more firmly this time as her eyes found their way back to Bellatrix, "I don't know how it got there."

"Lies! Crucio!"

The girl buckled in pain, falling to the floor and writhing in agony as her body convulsed. Her teeth were gritted and her eyes shut tight. At first she refused to scream, but with a twist of the older witch's wand her back snapped up and a full-bodied cry of pain escaped her. Draco felt his own knees give way at the sound and Lucius came up behind him again to grip his arm and hold him upright, forcing him to watch. Once the first anguished scream was let out another one followed and another and another. His whole body went limp and he couldn't keep back the tears any longer. He tried to blink them away and hung his head in defeat, not wanting to witness anymore and not wanting Lucius so see him crying over the torture of a muggle-born.

Bellatrix released the curse and began to circle the girl lying on the floor. By now, Granger was panting and sobbing heavily.

"You were in my vault, weren't you? You little rat! How did you get in?!"

"We've never been inside your vault!" Granger's whimpered, "It isn't the real sword…it's a copy, just a copy."

"Oh a copy? A copy?!" Aunt Bella cackled, "A likely story."

"But we can find out easily enough." Lucius chimed as he pushed Draco forward, towards the right of where the girl was lying on the floor, "Draco, fetch the goblin. He can tell us whether the sword is real or not."

The blonde boy glanced back at his father with uncertainty. He didn't want to leave her alone with them. Merlin knows what Bella would do. But then if he went down to the cellar himself, he could talk to Potter, concoct a plan. He left the room in a hurry, thinking the quicker he got down there the quicker he could get back and make sure nothing worse happened. He had no idea how to get them out of there. The Manor had been enchanted against Apparation months ago when Voldemort first decided to use it as his base and didn't want his victims just teleporting away. There was no way there would be time for them to make a run for it even if they did manage to get free. They needed a portkey or...or magic that wasn't bound by normal law. As far as he knew it was only house-elves who could come and go with no restriction…

Dobby!

He remembered the house-elf his parents kept when he was a child. The house-elf who was loyal to Potter and had a deep love of Granger for her kindness towards him. This was it. This was what they needed to do. He focused his mind on the house-elf until he could see through the creatures beady eyes as he rummaged around through cupboards in a ruined old shack, looking for something.

Dobby! Come quick. Potter is in trouble. At the Manor. Hurry!

Draco allowed himself to fully cry once he was out of sight of any other Death Eaters, he wiped his eyes roughly with the back of his hand and hurried down the stairs with his wand out. He could hear the voices coming from below,

"What have to do something!" Potter exclaimed to the others,

"I know, Harry, I know." Weasley sounded panicked

"Get back!" Draco made his voice hard and sharp, but anyone could hear it crack as he spoke, "Don't try anything or I'll kill you."

He opened the cellar door and found the two boys inside, along with Luna Lovegood, Ollivander and Griphook. Potter lunged for him the moment he entered the room, but Weasley grabbed him and held him back, both boys wrestling for dominance over the other. Trust Potter to make this harder than it needed to be. Draco held his wand up and aimed at the two boys just in case.

Alright Potter, I have a plan and you have to play along.

"What the hell?" Potter's anger abated and he looked confused. The broader boy with auburn hair let him go and gave him a look of bewilderment,

"What?" Weasley asked,

"I-I heard him. His voice inside my head. Just now." He whispered back.

It's Cleiromency, now listen. We don't have much time.

"Wait, what? You mean like Hermione before?" Weasley said more to himself than to anyone else.

Potter ignored the other boy and gazed at Draco instead, still seething but willing to listen anyway.

I've called Dobby here. He's the only one who can Apparate you out of this place. He can take Looney and the others as well. Now I'm going to go back up and distract them. You make a ruckus…like you're trying to escape. Mother will send Pettigrew down. Take his wand then come up and get Granger. Dobby will take care of the rest.

"Why don't I just fight you now and take your wand?!" Potter ground out.

Listen, you ungrateful git! I'm trying to help you-

Another terror-filled scream echoed throughout the manor. Draco felt sick. He covered his mouth with one hand to stop himself from throwing up with the adrenaline that was rushing through him, turning his stomach.

"HERMIONE!" Potter yelled, looking like he didn't know what to do with himself, he turned to Draco a moment later and gave him a nod.

"You." Draco pointed his wand at the goblin now, "Come with me."

Before the goblin could reach the blonde haired boy clad all in black, the Boy-Who-Lived grabbed the goblin and bent down to look into his eyes,

"Griphook, you have to lie-"

Another scream. They had to hurry.

"-you have to tell them it's not the real sword."

Griphook glanced towards Draco wearily, unaware that he was in fact helping aid their escape. Draco gave a nod to which Griphook frowned, doubting the Death Eater,

"What makes you think he won't reveal the truth?" The goblin asked,

"He won't. I know he won't. We have a plan. Go along with it." Potter told him and the goblin seemed to agree.

"Tell me now or I'll run you through with this knife!" Bellatrix's voice could be heard from above and Draco didn't want to waste anymore time talking.

He grabbed goblin by his shirt and pulled him up the stairs, down the hall and back into the drawing room. When he entered the room, he found Bellatrix bent over Granger, her wild, black curls covering both their faces. His breath caught in his throat when he thought that he was too late. That she was dead. But then the crazed witch looked up with a malicious smile and he could see the rise and fall of the girl's chest. She was still alive. With relief, he made his way towards them as Bellatrix stood and turned her attention to the goblin. Narcissa was back and called him over to her. He went. When he felt brave enough to glance down at the girl on the floor, he was heartbroken at what he found. Her arm was a trembling mess of blood. The word 'Mudblood' had been carved into her skin with the same enchanted dagger that had been used on him once. He knew, just from the dagger alone, that it would never heal. It would create an ugly scar and always be there to remind her what they thought of her. To remind her of her place.

He fell back into the chair behind him, his legs unable to hold him any longer and stared at the word on her arm, regretting every decision he had ever made and trying to hide his sobs. Her eyes met his for a moment then she looked away as another tear rolled down her face onto the floor. She looked defeated. Broken. He wanted to scoop her up and hug her. Hold her. But he couldn't. Not now. Not if he wanted to keep them all alive.

There was a loud thud and crash from below and Lucius' head snapped around towards the cellar.

"What was that?" He asked making his way to the exit,

"No." Narcissa pulled him back, "Get Pettigrew to go!" She turned to the spineless wizard with his dirty face and whiskers and nodded for him to check the dungeon. He scampered along without a word.

"Well," Bellatrix addressed Griphook now, "Is it the true sword?"

Draco glanced up then, watching the goblin carefully,

"No." Griphook replied, "It's a fake."

"Are you sure? Quite sure?" Bellatrix seemed to relax a bit,

"Yes."

Relief washed over him and was mirrored in his Aunt Bella's face. With a swish of her wand she sliced the goblin's face and he recoiled, clutching his cheek as he glared after her.

"And now we call the Dark Lord."

The blonde Slytherin's eyes flickered to the entrance. Where are they?! He wondered. They were out of time. If the Dark Lord came and Dobby wasn't here to help them escape then it was all over.

"And I think," Bellatrix pointed her wand at Granger again, "we can dispose of the Mudblood. Draco, take this filth to the courtyard. Leave her for Greyback if you haven't got the guts to finish her."

"Don't you dare speak to Draco like that!" Narcissa snapped but the other witch ignored her.

The boy quickly got to his feet and bent down to lift the girl off the floor. This was good. If he could get her out of the way, he could tell Potter and Dobby to meet him outside and avoid the Dark Lord completely. Voldemort would never see Granger or Potter. The Malfoys would be punished no doubt, but he couldn't think of that right now. One thing at a time. He helped her up and she gazed up at him with uncertainty as she climbed to her feet weakly.

I've got a plan. He told her as she clutched him tightly. Her light frame was heavy against his and he could tell she was leaning on him with everything she had because she wouldn't have it in her to stand otherwise. Her breath was laboured and she was limping from the pain. They made their way towards the door slowly. He was careful not to rush her. He'd been under the Cruciatus curse enough times to know how agonising it was. Like every bone in the body was broken again and again while the flesh was peeled away. The pain would linger for days.

Draco peered over his shoulder once and watched Bellatrix roll her sleeve up to reveal her Dark Mark, ready to summon their master, when Lucius' hand came down on her wrist,

"I will do the honours." He said and unbuttoned his own shirt sleeve, pulling it back and placing his hand over the Mark.

Fuck! Fuck!

He picked up the pace without meaning to and Granger let out a whimper beside him.

"Expelliarmus!" Potter yelled as he and Weasley burst into the room.

The curse hit Bellatrix and her wand flew into the air only to be caught by Potter. Draco backed up with Granger behind him and pulled out his own wand, deliberately throwing a curse passed the two boys towards the window where it shattered the glass instead. There were bolts of light from Potter's, Weasley's, Narcissa's, Lucius' and Draco's wand. He fired at them with every intention of missing each time. The fight was a frantic blur of fired curses and dodging bodies. Lucius was caught with a stunning spell and collapsed to the floor, frozen.

"Drop it or she dies!"

Draco spun around to find Bellatrix holding Granger in place with a knife to her throat, while the girl was slipping in and out of consciousness, exhausted from her previous torture. Neither Potter nor Weasley moved and the blonde haired Slytherin wanted to snap at Potter to release the stolen wands. If anything they only gripped them tighter, much to Draco's dismay. Bellatrix pressed the knife harder against the girl's throat until blood trickled down her neck and Granger cried out, struggling against the other witch even though it was futile.

"Do it! Do it now!" bellowed Bellatrix, and Potter and Weasley dropped their wands in silence, "Pick them up, Draco. Now!"

With a shaky breath, Draco collected the wands from the floor. Potter looked to him as if asking what to do now and the boy simply shook his head. Without Dobby they were cornered. There was no escape and now Aunt Bella had Granger again. He was at a loss.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here." Bella said as Potter's face came back to his own, the Stinging Jinx wearing off rapidly now, "It's Harry Potter. He's all bright and shiny and new again. Just in time for the Dark Lord." she turned to Draco then with a smile, "Call him."

With her holding Granger and his father stunned on the floor, Draco realised that in the time the two wasted arguing, neither of the them had managed to summon Voldemort and thus she wanted him to do it. All eyes were on him now. He opened his mouth to reply but the words wouldn't come. The blonde glanced from his Aunt to Potter to his mother behind him and back again. Potter was back to glaring at him, fully expecting he would give them up, but how could he? After all he'd done to keep them as far away from the Dark Lord as possible? Narcissa moved in front of him then and stretched out her arm. His mother gave her sister a smile, but before she could summon their master, her eyes settled on something around Granger's neck. The gem glimmered in the dim twilight -hissing along with his own, in perfect timing- and her mouth fell open. A gasp escaped her as she turned to look at Draco once more. His eyes went wide and he licked the sweat from his upper lip. His dear mother knew. Draco wondered if she would give him up to the Dark Lord for his betrayal.

"What is it, Cissy?!"

That's when he heard it; the tinkling of glass. Bellatrix was the first to look up, followed by Potter, then him then the others. About bloody time. Perched upon the great crystal chandelier was the house-elf they had been waiting for, loosening the fixtures that kept it in place above them. Aunt Bella dived out of the way in a shot, shoving Granger towards Potter who clutched her tightly with relief as seconds later the chandelier crashed to the floor, spraying shards of broken glass all around the room. Draco covered his face with his arm but he wasn't quick enough. He could feel the glass that flew past slice up his skin. Potter was on him in an instant, wrestling not just Pettigew's wand, but Draco's as well, from his grip. The blonde fell back to the floor in the struggle and found himself leaning over the chair as he watched the scene unfold. Narcissa was flung across the room with another Stupefy and Potter, Granger, Weasley, Griphook and Dobby huddled together on the other side of the room with the sword in hand. Bellatrix and Draco were the only two left standing.

"You could have killed me!" Bella exclaimed,

"Dobby never meant to kill. Only maim or injure."

Bellatrix waved her wand, about to fire the Killing curse their way, when Dobby clicked his fingers and the wand disappeared from her hand, reappearing in his.

"How dare you take my wand?" she shrieked, "How dare you defy your masters?!"

"Dobby has no master." the elf said defiantly, "Dobby is a free elf. And Dobby has come to save Harry Potter-" the elf's eyes found Draco and the boy looked away instantly, afraid his Aunt might have seen the exchange, "-and his friends!"

The group clung to each other and began to Disapparate. Draco risked one last glance at Granger, who was staring after him with a peculiar look on her face that he didn't understand. There was a flash of silver that entered the portal as they disappeared and the blonde turned to find his Aunt Bella smiling deviously, her dagger missing from her hand. He checked the ring on his hand, it was still hissing. Come on! Come on! Then there was silence. Had the dagger hit her? Was she dead? Had she escaped? His heart was beating too fast, his head was light and dizzy. He tried to stand and collapsed almost instantly, his limbs too weak to lift him. Then, he noticed the gentle glow of the gem, twinkling softly in the darkness. He let out a breath and slumped back down. It was over. They were free. Granger was safe.

Draco doubled over and retched once, bringing up nothing but bile.

"Pathetic!" Bellatrix snarled at him.