Chapter 19

They had been running from the snatchers for a good while now, but there was no chance of them being able to apparate together since they were already so separated. As Hermione skidded to a stop in front of a snatcher that was coming straight for her, she turned around, hoping to run in the opposite direction, but they were officially surrounded. She took a deep breath and did the only thing she could think of at the time. She raised her wand and pointed it at Harry, who was trying to run towards her as fast as he could, and whispered the incantation for the stinging jinx.

Harry fell back in pain, clutching his face in agony as Hermione screamed out the second she was snatched from behind. The werewolf, they had all come to know as Greyback, took her out of the snatchers hand and inspected her face properly, trying to figure out if she was really who he thought she was. But he couldn't be certain.

"Let's take these two to the Manor." Greyback ordered as he sniffed Hermione's hair. "I've been smelling this one for a while."

He ran his fingers up along Hermione's sides, brushing the sides of her breasts as he growled softly into her ear.

"If you're not important to them, then I will be taking a bite out of that perfect smooth neck of yours soon." he whispered to her.

Hermione glared into his face, pulling her head back slightly before spitting into his eye. Greyback roared and shook her aggressively before pulling her back, flush against his chest.

"I like them defiant. Makes it so much better since I get to discipline you." he chuckled into her ear. "Let's go!"

They two other snatchers, holding Harry down, apparated with Greyback and Hermione to the front of the Malfoy Manor. Hermione gasped in surprise as she instantly recognized the manor from Draco's description.

Her only thought then was to somehow hide the ring on her finger. She couldn't get enough room with her hands to take it off, so she used her fingers to spin it around, making it seem as if it was just a white gold band on her finger. Greyback took no notice as he was too focused on the insane woman walking up to the front gate, glaring at their group with disdain written all over her face.

Greyback said nothing, but nodded to the other snatchers to show her the boy's face. The woman's eyes gleamed with excitement as she waved her hands, opening the gates, leading them down the long entrance path of the estate to the front door of the Malfoy Manor. Hermione prayed to whatever Gods were above that Draco was out of the house on a mission or something of the sort.

They were led into the middle of the Malfoy's drawing room. The first person Hermione laid eyes upon was Narcissa Malfoy, who instantly started shaking with both rage and fear. The woman, who had quickly become her pseudo-mother, looked frail and weak since the last time she had seen her.

"Call Draco, Cissy!" Bellatrix ordered as she kept her eyes on Hermione. "What happened to him?"

"Don't know." Greyback shrugged. "Caught him like this."

Bellatrix stepped up closer to Harry and studied him properly. She then turned her eyes to Hermione with a smirk on her face. There was no mistaking who Hermione was, since her face had been plastered across the Daily Prophet for months.

"Looks like he got stuck with a stinging jinx." Bellatrix cackled. "No matter! It'll go away soon! Isn't that right mudblood?"

"You wanted me, Aunt Bella?" Draco's dead toned voice echoed as he stepped into the drawing room.

The second his eyes met Hermione's his face turned more pale than normal. Hermione stared at him with pleading eyes to let whatever happens happen. She didn't want him to blow his cover. Draco's eyes glanced down to the ring on her finger as his heart constricted even more in his chest. He suddenly felt as if he could no longer breathe. .She was wearing it. It had been a few days, but she was wearing it. His eyes flashed back to the day he finally proposed to her.

***Flashback***

Draco's heart was beating so fast that he thought it was going to fly out of his chest as he waited for an answer from the woman he loved. Hermione had begun pacing again and he was starting to get nervous.

"Hermione? It's not a spur of the moment thing." Draco reassured her again.

"You say that now." Hermione sighed softly as she stopped. "But what if after the war is over, and everything goes back to normal, you change your mind?"

"After everything we've been through...all we're still going through...you honestly think I'll change my mind?" Draco slowly began to stand up. "What part of I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, do you NOT understand?!"

"Alright, then let's make a deal." Hermione suggested.

"A deal?" Draco's anger was slowly coming to the surface.

"I'll accept the ring, but the next time we see each other, if I have the ring on, it means yes, I'll marry you. If the ring is not on, then it means I'm not ready to say yes to you. It doesn't mean I won't say yes in the future. It just means I need more time to decide." Hermione tried to compromise.

Draco glared at her hard. He wanted to yell at her, to ask her why she was doing this. But then, remembering that she was already under so much stress made him slowly nod his head in agreement.

"Fine Hermione." Draco slowly walked away. He glanced back at her once more, opening and closing his mouth, wanting to say something more. "Just...be safe and careful...and...I love you."

With a pop, he apparated away from her hiding spot. Hermione's heart instantly began to ache as he disapppeared. It took her a total of 3 seconds to pull the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger.

"Hermione...you idiot…" she muttered to herself before heading back into the tent to check on Harry.

*** End Of Flashback ***

"Draco, sweetie, come closer. Look at this...boy. Tell me, is it Harry Potter?" Bellatrix grabbed Draco by his collar and shoved him in front of Harry who was now coming out of the foggy daze Hermione had also put him under.

"I...I can't tell." Draco muttered.

"Are you sure son?" Lucius's voice boomed loudly as he entered the room with Narcissa behind him. "If he is the real Harry Potter and we take him to the Dark Lord, all...everything will be better! So...pick your answer very carefully."

"I can't be sure with his face looking like this." Draco muttered, trying to buy some time.

Bellatrix had a wild look in her eyes as she roughly pulled Hermione out of Greyback's grip. It was then that she noticed the shiny sword that one of the other snatchers was holding. She grabbed it quickly and glared at them.

"Where did you get this!?" she screeched.

"They were running with it." One of them said.

"How did you get this?!" Bellatrix turned to Hermione and shouted into her face. "This sword is supposed to be locked up in my vault!"

Hermione defiantly kept her mouth shut, but there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes. Bellatrix's mouth turned up into a sinister smirk.

"You!" she pointed towards Peter Pettigrew, "Take this young man down to the dungeons with the others."

Pettigrew grabbed Harry's collar and dragged him out of the room and down a staircase to the dungeons. He threw him inside and locked the metal door, smirking as he returned to the drawing room for further instruction. Harry gripped the metal cylinders on the door and tried to shake it open angrily. But it didn't budge.

"That doesn't work." a voice he had been dreaming out since he had begun this journey sounded from some dark part of the dungeon.

Harry spun around and stared into the pale silvery eyes of Luna Lovegood. He walked over to her swiftly and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her into his chest. He didn't know how long, her father had never specified when they had kidnapped Luna, but he was relieved to see that she was alright. He still felt no anger or blame towards her father for calling the death eaters earlier. He knew that if he was in that situation, he would have done the same thing.

"Your father...he misses you...he's a wreck." Harry stated.

"I know." Luna, for the first time since he'd known her, had a dismal look on her face. "They have good shepards pie here though. Draco also sneaks us down some good desserts when he can."

"Us?" Harry frowned and looked past her at the 3 other people. "Mr. Ollivander? Dean!?"

"Heya Harry." Dean gave him a weak smile. "Fancy meeting you here."

Mr. Ollivander simply nodded to Harry, but Harry's eyes were diverted to the third person. A goblin.

"You showed me to my vault when I was 11 years old." Harry quickly remembered.

"Yes...Griphook." the goblin introduces.

Harry stepped back from Luna and pulled out a piece of glass that Sirius had given him before they left on their mission. Every time he looked into the glass, he saw the eyes of someone else reflected. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he had to try something. Once the person peered back at him, Harry begged him for help. Any help.

Hermione's screams from above caused him to pull his eyes away from the glass and stare up at the ceiling. Luna's serene face suddenly changed to one of pure rage.

"They're torturing Hermione!" she snapped. "We have to do something. I...I know what happens when Bellatrix doesn't get the answers she wants. Hermione can't last long. "

The dungeon doors opened quickly, revealing one rather pissed off and worried Draco Malfoy. Harry could see the pain in Draco's eyes. He was using every fiber in his body to keep up his pretense for Hermione's sake, but Harry knew that seeing Hermione get tortured was probably killing Draco.

"She...she wants the goblin." Draco muttered as he motioned for the goblin to step forward. "You have to tell her that the sword is a fake. No matter what! Insist that it's a fake!"

The goblin frowned, but then Harry reached out and grabbed his arm tightly, staring at him with pleading eyes. The goblin nodded reluctantly and followed Draco out of the dungeon.

The second Draco slammed the door shut, a loud pop was heard as Dobby, Harry's loyal friend and house elf, apparated in the middle of them.

"Harry Potter sir!" Dobby smiled widely up at Harry.

"Dobby, how did you get here?!" Harry wondered.

"Harry Potter needed help, and Dobby will always be there to help Harry Potter, sir." Dobby insisted.

Harry looked around at the others as he tried to figure out the best course of action. His eyes rested for a second longer on Luna. He wanted to tell her how he felt and kiss those perfect pink lips, but now wasn't the time.

"Dobby, take Dean, Luna and Mr. Ollivander to safety first. Then come back for me and Hermione, ok?" Harry asked.

"Of course!" Dobby smiled as reached out a hand, letting the three others touch his hand firmly.

Another loud pop was heard as Dobby disapparated. Pettigrew quickly came down to the dungeons to investigate the noise, but Harry was waiting for him. As soon as Pettigrew opened the door and entered the dungeons, Harry pounced on him, choking him hard. Pettigrew shook Harry off and pinned him against the wall, trying to choke him in turn.

"Life debt!" Harry breathed out. "You owe me...a life...debt!"

Pettigrew stopped for a second, but that was all the fake hand, that Lord Voldemort had given him, needed. The hand attacked him immediately, choking him to death for hesitating, since that was an instant betrayal to the dark lord. . As he slumped to the floor, Harry stared down at his corpse, feeling no remorse as he picked up Pettigrew's wand.

He made his way back up to the drawing room to be greeted with Hermione lying on the ground, crying in agony as Bellatrix hovered over her, spelling the word "Mudblood" into her arm like a hot brand. He looked around and spotted Draco, glaring at his aunt with hatred. Harry knew then that Draco was on the verge of losing it.

He ran out into the middle of the room and disarmed Bellatrix. Her wand flew across the room as she gasped in surprise, backing away quickly as Harry pointed his new wand at her. Lucius Malfoy pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry. Before Harry could react, a loud pop echoed around the room as Dobby appeared and Lucius' wand flew out of his hand, across the room and into Dobby's waiting hand.

"You dare take a wizard's wand!?" Bellatrix squealed. "Draco, kill it! Kill the stupid creature."

Draco had had enough. He looked over to his mother, pleading with his eyes, but she simply gave him a brave smile and left the room.

"Cissy?! Where are you going!? We have him! Look!" Bellatrix smirked at Harry. "Harry Potter, all new and shiny."

Draco walked over to Hermione, who was still lying on the floor, in too much pain to move. He scooped her up into his arms and walked over to Dobby.

"What the hell are you doing, Draco!?" Lucius bellowed. "Leave the mudblood alone!"

"What I should have done a long time ago." Draco snapped, not noticing that his father was now pointing his wand at his son's own back.

Harry noticed, however, and quickly stunned Lucius, leaving only Bellatrix to be dealt with. He hadn't realised that Bellatrix had already retrieved her wand while he was stunning Lucius and now she pointed it towards Harry. They threw spell after spell at each other before Draco, leaving Hermione next to Dobby, walked over to Harry and helped with cursing Bellatrix. A final leg lock spell caused Bellatrix to fall over, giving Draco and Harry enough time to run back to Dobby, who quickly apparated them to Shell Cottage. No one had even noticed that Bellatrix had thrown a knife, aiming directly for Dobby.

Draco held Hermione in his arms, as he performed the Tergeo spell on her wound. He glanced around at Luna and Dean, who were both staring at Harry and Dobby. It was then that he realised, the house elf was quickly dying in Harry's arms.

"No...no...Dobby, hang on, we'll get you some help." Harry rushed out as his own body was shaking with tremors. He held Dobby close against his chest, rocking him back and forth. He glanced back at Hermione, but the second Hermione recognized where the knife was placed in Dobby's chest, she knew there was nothing in her extendable bag that would help him. She slowly and reluctantly shook her head at Harry.

"It's nice...to say goodbye to my...friends...before I die." Dobby whispered softly to Harry. "My friend...Harry...Potter."

The cold ocean breeze flew around Harry as Dobby released his last breathe, his eyes still open, staring proudly up at Harry.

A/N

I will try to update once a week. So here is the next chapter. Hope this was a good one. I want to say that Dobby's death was one of the worst ones for me to have read, so I didn't want it to be too drawn out. Let me know your thoughts. :)