A/N: So now that it's summer I'm having an easier time writing these chapters. And they're flowing better, so hopefully writer's block isn't going to strike anytime soon!

Thank you sooo much to: Lycoris Brightwater, Hartwi1, .MyLife, Leanora, Erica, NJ, Tiadorable, and Ceylon for reviewing! Every single review brings a smile to my face! Everyone has been incredibly nice and it really does make me want to update faster! I swear! I hope you guys like this chapter! *Crosses fingers*

Chapter 14: Don't Look Back

Hermione hugged her knees to her chest on the bed she and Draco shared, pressing her nose into the crack between her two legs. It was the only place she could escape the constant questioning of the Aurors. They wanted to know where Harry, Ron, and Draco were and they were sick of her brushing off their questions. The only one that didn't ask was Snape. Lupin had taken to completely shunning Hermione, glaring at her and dropping comments that made her feel increasingly guilty, accusing her that if they died some of the blame would be placed on her because the Aurors could possibly help them. They always received the same answer, though: Dumbledore told us not to tell.

She had the horrible sense of foreboding and could not seem to force herself to concentrate on the task Harry had left her. She hated not being able to be by her boys' sides and help them get out of the sticky situations they would no doubt fall into. Getting the Cup was not going to be an easy task, she knew, and she was terrified for their wellbeing.

The door to her room opened and Hermione felt a surge of anger and didn't even bother looking up, screeching, "I'm not going to say anything!" into her knees. She glanced up when there wasn't a response, and found herself looking into the light blue eyes of Narcissa Malfoy. Hermione instantly straightened and mumbled a hurried apology.

"Please," Narcissa said softly, stepping into the room and sitting down on the end of Hermione's bed. "I just want to know where my son is."

Hermione found herself lost in the despair in the older woman's eyes, and instantly felt compelled to tell Draco's mother everything, but she knew she couldn't. "I'm sorry." Hermione whispered. "I can't."

Narcissa bowed her head. Hermione was surprised to see Narcissa so vulnerable, and talking to her like she was a human being worthy of her attention. She was a Mudblood; the symbol of everything the Malfoys hated. Perhaps the years had changed Narcissa just as they had changed Draco?

"I'm sorry," Hermione said again, fighting back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her at the other woman's pain.

"Do you care for him?" Narcissa asked suddenly, raising her tear stained face to gaze into Hermione's with such intensity that Hermione could not look away. "Do you care for my son?"

"Yes. I do." Hermione replied without question.

"He cares for you." Narcissa straightened herself, fixing her hair and wiping away the tears that were threatening her normally dignified composure. "I can tell." She tried to wipe the steady flow of wetness spilling from her eyes, but they just kept coming. Narcissa began to become frustrated, turning her back to the Muggle born so that she would not see her weakness.

"It's alright to be afraid." Hermione said quietly, knowing what Draco's mother was going through. "It's alright to worry."

"I know that." Narcissa unexpectedly snapped, turning her head to glare at Hermione, who shrank back at the woman's ferocity. "I know that." She said again, except this time her words were punctuated by sobs, and Hermione leaned forward, not exactly knowing how the woman was going to respond, but wrapping her arms around Narcissa anyway, allowing her own fear for the safety of her loved ones to leak out of her eyes in the form of tears. To Hermione's surprise Narcissa melted into her arms and sobbed loudly against her body, crying out, "He's my only son, you must understand, I've already lost my husband, I can't lose my only son."

"I know," Hermione whispered, trying to be soothing and encouraging while she was undergoing the same gnawing fear that something had gone horribly wrong.

:::

Draco was sure that everyone around him could hear the painful beating of his heart as it threatened to burst from his chest. The black-haired woman stood before them, twirling her wand on her fingers and grinning maliciously at them. "Lost, are we?" She questioned, and laughed at their lack of response.

In a movement much too fast for the eye to see, Weasley shot a spell at the unsuspecting Bellatrix who was barely able to conjure a Shield Charm in time. She had suspected them to roll over and play prisoner for her, but it seemed they had a bit of fight in them. In another movement Potter had whipped out the Invisibility Cloak from his bag and flung it around himself, becoming completely invisible. With a roar of rage as she realized that these were no ordinary Wizards, Bellatrix shot a spell where Potter had been only moments before, but it hit nothing.

Draco felt betrayed. So he and Weasley were left here to deal with Bellatrix in all her fury while he got to run off with the protection of invisibility? Weasley seemed as if this was expected, so Draco figured that this had been the plan if something of this magnitude were to happen. They could've told him!

Weasley fired another spell at Bellatrix, who returned her attention to the two 'Muggles' in front of her, locking in a duel with the both of them. Draco did his best to help out Weasley, but the two had their eyes locked on one another and all the spells Draco sent were carelessly knocked away. Ron had gotten loads better at dueling apparently, and Draco was a bit shocked at the ferocity. He eyed the hallway apprehensively. Bellatrix was blocking the way that led further into the house, and the only other escape was out. Draco's legs commanded him to run, to leave Weasley behind and save himself, but once again he could not force himself to condemn the other.

He was of no help in the duel going on between Bellatrix and Weasley, but could not get by her to look for the supposed Horcrux without getting hexed. There was a door a little ahead and on the right, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to make it in time, and he was a bit uneasy leaving Weasley to duel with his aunt, no matter how much he had improved.

And then Draco was struck with an idea. He pointed his wand at the ceiling above Bellatrix, and before she could react, shouted, "Confringo!" The ceiling above her caved in and she screamed as debris fell on her head and temporarily stunned her. Draco darted into the room to the right, Weasley close behind, and they bolted up a set of stairs into another dimly lit hallway. They were met by another cloaked Death Eater and Ron took care of it easily, the Death Eater being much slower. They darted into the room it had been guarding.

"Over here!" The strange voice made both Weasley and Draco jump a foot in the air, but they turned to be met by the floating head of the Muggle that Potter had taken the form of. "Follow me!" He hissed, and his head bobbed down the hallway. It was eerily odd to be following a floating head, but Draco tried to push that feeling from his mind, fear overriding him and making it partially hard to breathe. "Get under the Cloak," Potter commanded Draco, and Draco obliged. "Guard the hallway." Harry commanded Weasley, who nodded grimly.

They slipped into a room where at least five Death Eaters lay dead on the floor. Potter flung off the Cloak and showed him a floating Cup, shrouded in a green mist and eerily hanging over its dead guards. "I think you can get it if you have a Dark Mark."

"You think?" Draco hissed angrily, staring at the Cup with a sense of foreboding. "It could kill me! And besides, You-Know-Who knows I'm with you, why would he do something so stupid?"

"I doubt he's had enough time to change it since you joined us. And it would need to be taken by the Death Eaters guarding it in case it needed to be moved." Draco gulped, staring at the Cup in fear. "We have to destroy it or Voldemort can't ever be destroyed, hurry!" Potter said quickly, urging him forward.

Taking a deep breath, Draco reached out but hesitated at the edge of the mist. Glancing at Potter, he sighed, then reached through the hazy protection. His fingertips felt the edge of the Cup and he pulled.

As soon as the Cup left the protection of the mist the loudest noise Draco had ever heard pierced his eardrums. He brought his hands to his ears and shouted, but couldn't even hear himself. Weasley entered the room with his hands clasped against his ears and threw nervous look over his shoulder and yelled something, but neither of them could hear what was spoken. Draco released his hands from his ears and was shocked to see blood. He thrust the Cup into Potter's hands who took it and threw the Invisibility Cloak over himself, beckoning them to hurry and get out before he was completely hidden from view.

It became obvious that the house was coming down around them. The very ceiling shook and seemed as if it would give out at any moment as they practically tumbled down the stairs, closer to the entrance. Something shattered around them but they could not hear it for the loud wailing that was causing their very ears to bleed. A chandelier crashed in front of Draco and he leapt it, bursting through the door and into the open. He could feel his skin morphing back to his original self and his clothes felt looser, his skin smoother, and there was red hair in front of him instead of gleaming bald. Draco knew that their hour was up and they had turned back into themselves. The wailing was becoming quieter as they ran but it was still impossible to hear their surroundings.

He did not hear the scream of fury behind him. He did not hear the shocked cries of Harry. He turned to the left, seeing the exit, and unknowingly shielding Potter from the hex flying in the direction of Potter's feet that weren't covered in their haste to make a quick exit. Something compelled him to turn and look behind him, watching the house crumble and the demented Bellatrix following them. He did not hear the whizz of the spell as it collided forcibly with his chest, sending him flying backwards. He did not hear Potter yell at Weasley as he flung off his Invisibility Cloak and threw it over Draco. He did not hear Weasley's shouts as he kept the demon woman at bay. He did not hear Potter as he lifted him up and carried him to the gate. He did not hear Potter's command to Weasley to get out. He did not even hear his own screams of pain.

But he did feel the pain. It exploded across his chest like fire and made him scream in agony, clawing at his own skin and trying to rip out the fire that was trapped in his chest. He kicked and thrashed in Potter's grip, tears pricking his vision, awareness leaving him, and finally falling into the blissful darkness.

:::

Harry felt a horrible sense of pure terror as Malfoy went limp in his arms, his endless screams fading around them as they burst through the gate. He could feel the invisible blanket lift off of him, and he turned on the spot to Disapparate into the dark night, Ron right behind them. They left Bellatrix behind, who was screaming obscenities and shooting hexes at their disappearing bodies. Harry barely caught a glimpse of the proud house on the hill completely collapse around itself as the horror around him faded from view.

They landed on the safety of the step into Grimmauld Place in one piece and Ron immediately burst open the door, Harry stumbling after him with his burden in his arms, fear inching it's icy way up his body, terrified that the body in his arms was nearing death, and feeling the guilt attach itself to him, it was his fault, Draco hadn't even really wanted to go, but he had pressured him into it, and he had thought that the Death Eaters would be gone...The Aurors that had been eagerly pacing the hallway looked up in a mix of surprise and relief, but it soon turned to horror as Harry pulled his Invisibility Cloak off of Draco, revealing his unconscious body hanging chillingly limp in Harry's arms.

"Give him to me," Harry was, for once in his life, relieved at the sound of Snape's voice as his former Potions professor swept by the dumbfounded Aurors and hefted Malfoy into his arms. Once the body was out of his grip, Harry reached in his pocket and indiscreetly passed the Cup to Ron, who disappeared up the stairs to immediately dispose of the Horcrux as soon as possible. He then followed the group of people as they filed into the kitchen, watching Snape set down Draco's alarmingly limp body on the kitchen table, which had recently taken to being the hospital bed. Harry surveyed his former enemy, a feeling of dread forming in the pit of his stomach. Draco looked horribly pale, even more so than normal, and his mouth was foaming slightly at the corners. Every now and then he would give a heart-shuddering twitch, and then fall still once again. The thought that any breath could be his last did nothing to quell Harry's desire to run to the bathroom and empty the contents of his stomach. Death was reaching its clutches towards its next victim, and Harry did not think he could bare to see more death. He had already seen far too much, and also been the cause of it.

Snape ripped open the front of Draco's shirt, revealing a blackened scar in an odd star shape that spread across the middle of his chest. There was a heart-stopping moment where Snape and Lupin made eye contact, and then the most piteous wail reached Harry's ears.

"My son! What's happened to my son?"

Narcissa Malfoy entered the room, her arms flailing about and trying desperately to get nearer to her boy, lying in the middle of the room, as a few Aurors held her back.

"I'll need to make a potion." Snape addressed Lupin, who nodded gravely and swept out of the house to most likely gather ingredients that weren't on hand. Snape departed the room for a moment, then reentered with a cauldron, ignoring the wails of Narcissa.

Hermione trailed in only moments later, her large brown eyes wide in obvious fear and staring at Draco, lying on the table, in horrible shock. He looked so broken, so vulnerable, that for a moment she was afraid he was dead, and she felt bile rising in the back of her throat.

"Get her out of here." Snape commanded harshly, leaning over Draco's scar and muttering a low incantation that sounded as if it was in another language. Narcissa's cries pierced the ears of those around her, but Hermione seemed oblivious to it, stepping forward towards Draco with disbelief etched in her features. The chaos around them was unnoticed by her as she continued to reach for Draco until a firm hand clasped around her arm and held her back. Not caring who it was or why they were holding back, Hermione continued to struggle, trying to reach Draco, because he needed her, didn't they see that he needed her?

"Get her out!" Snape yelled again, this time much louder, and it pierced Hermione's ears like a siren.

"Hermione, get back!" She was now aware that Harry was pulling her away from Draco, and she stopped struggling, glancing up at him with wonder at how this had possibly happened. "Get her out of here, Hermione! Do you hear me? Get her out!" He yelled at her, pointing at Narcissa, and giving her a little shake to wake up her brain that seemed to have shut down. Hermione blinked, once, twice, and then nodded silently, her mouth hanging slightly open, retreating away from the moving crowd and taking Narcissa by the arm. The older woman struggled, screaming, but Hermione pulled her back, away from her son, who lay, unknowing of her fear.

Narcissa finally objected to being pulled away and quieted, and Hermione led her to the room Malfoy had taken her to. She sat down on the bed and Narcissa wailed, throwing her head against the bed and screeching her worries into the pillows. Hermione silently rubbed soothing circles in her back, her eyes staring ahead, unseeing, shock enveloping her and suffocating her until the very act of taking in air seemed impossibly difficult.

The full gravity of the situation had not yet hit her, and she could not seem to find the tears within herself to cry. Why cry? Draco would be fine, just as Harry had been when he had been brought in, carried by Draco. This situation was just reversed. He would be fine. There was no need to worry. No need to cry. No need to be afraid. She just had to sit here until Harry came and told her he was alright and she could see him. And then she would slap him for allowing himself to get hit by a curse in the first place. I mean really, couldn't he dodge, or produce an effective Shield Charm?

Hermione was not sure how much time had passed since she had first entered Narcissa's room, but she knew it had been a while. Narcissa had quieted and Hermione had not stopped continuously staring at the wall in front of her. Hermione could no longer hear the chaos going on downstairs, or she had long since tuned it out. She wasn't quite sure. She knew someone would come get her when Draco was awake, and then all would be back to normal.

There was a knock at the door and Hermione said nothing as it opened a crack, and the voice of Harry said, "Hermione, come out here. Let me talk to you." She did not register the graveness in his voice and was ready to go down and see Draco, sitting up and alive and well. She stood and stepped out of the room. Harry softly closed the door behind her.

He looked paler and more tired than she had ever seen him. He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands and took a deep, shaky breath. His arms fell to his sides and he finally locked eyes with Hermione. Hermione gasped, her heart stopping in her chest. His eyes looked like those of a lost child; at a complete loss of where to go and who to turn to and what they could possibly do to find their way back home and away from the danger of the world. He looked...scared. It was the best way to describe it.

And that was when it hit her. She could see it in Harry's eyes; see the truth, the hideous, black truth. Hermione felt as if something was being ripped out of her and she resisted the need to fall to her knees and vomit all over Harry's shoes. "Tell me how he is, Harry." She commanded, her voice betraying her fear at the words she was about to hear, tears pricking at her eyes. "Don't you lie to me." For the first time the panic rose in her chest and she had to fight to keep it at bay, her hands trembling at her sides. She felt as if her entire heart had been ripped out of her chest and let out a loud, piercing howl at her best friend's next words, spoken brokenly and in a whisper.

"He's dying, Hermione."

A/N: I'm sorryyyy! I seem to have a fondness for cliffies :) I just love leaving you guys hanging! Hope you guys don't kill me! I love you all! Hehe, review?