A/N: Hi everyone! Here's a new chapter after a really long time. Sorry for the wait! I hope you like the new chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 32: The Prisoners

"Hello, Draco," Narcissa said with a forced smile. Her eyes, however, were darting between Draco's face and the Death Eaters' captive. "Come inside," Narcissa continued in a stiff voice. She grabbed Draco's arm and dragged him inside.

"Isn't that Xenophilius Lovegood's daughter?" Narcissa whispered to Draco as the walked up the path to the front door. "Why is she here?"

'I don't know," Draco said normally, shrugging. They had reached the front door, where Lucius was standing, a dazed expression on his face. Draco could tell he had been drinking.

"What...?" Lucius asked. Narcissa shook her head and ushered Draco inside. They hurried into the drawing room, where they sat down on the dark green couches, though not comfortably.

A few minutes later, the Death Eaters barged into the drawing room, and the Malfoys leapt up off the couches. Luna was being held by one Death Eater, and the other Death Eater was taking his gloves off.

"Evenin' Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," the Death Eater said gruffly, folding his gloves and stuffing them into his coat pocket. "We've been told to bring Miss Lovegood here. Yaxley says she's to be kept here."

"Why," Lucius said, trying to speak loudly, but failing as a result of his slurred speech. He cleared his throat. "Why is she here?"

"Ah, yes," The Death Eater said, clasping his hands behind his back. "We're holding her hostage until her father stops writing in his little magazine that everyone should support Harry Potter." He glanced at Luna, who seemed to have given up struggling against the Death Eater's clutches.

Draco narrowed his eyes at the Death Eater and opened his mouth to speak when his mother asked the question that was on his lips.

"Where are we to keep her?"

"Yaxley says you can keep her with the other prisoner," The Death Eater replied. "I daresay Ollivander won't mind the company. Oh, and Draco," the Death Eater added. "The Dark Lord says it's your job to keep a watch on the prisoners."

Draco frowned. "When did Ollivander become a prisoner here?" He asked nobody in particular.

"While you were at school," Lucius replied, his eyes transfixed on Luna's face. "Is she Xenophilius Lovegood's daughter?" He asked curiously.

"Aye," the Death Eater said. "We'll be leaving now. But we'll be back." The second Death Eater released Luna, who staggered forward a few steps. The two men left the room.

A few moments of silence ensued. Finally, Narcissa cleared her throat and suggested that Draco take Luna down to the cellar.

"Er, Lovegood?" Draco said awkwardly. "This way." Luna did not move for a minute. Then a thought seemed to cross over her face, and she followed Draco out of the room. Draco walked slowly down the hall and into the kitchen, looking back occasionally to make sure Luna was still behind him. Her face was turned downward, and she was playing with the necklace of butterbeer corks that was hung around her neck.

When Draco reached the cellar door, he turned the handle and opened it. A waft of musty-smelling air hit his nostrils, and Draco immediately sneezed as dust filled his nose. Rubbing his face, Draco took a few steps into the dark cellar. He motioned for Luna to follow him. Once he had reached the bottom of the small staircase, Draco pulled out his wand and lit its tip. A soft blue light filled the room, and Draco could make out a figure huddled in the corner of the room. Ollivander.

Ollivander raised his head and squinted at the light. He let out a soft groan as he turned away from Draco and Luna.

"Er," Draco said, unsure of what to do. "I, uh, guess you're supposed to stay here."

Luna's pale eyes were fixated on Ollivander's weak form.

"Uh, well, um, I'll be going now," Draco went on. Luna suddenly turned around slowly, as if just noticing that he was there.

"You're Draco Malfoy, aren't you?" Luna asked.

"Er, yeah," Draco replied. It was an odd question.

"You're different," Luna stated factually.

"Excuse me?"

"You're very different from the last time I saw you," Luna said plainly.

"Um, alright?" Draco asked. He had known Lovegood was strange, but this was starting to get a little too weird.

"Yes," Luna said. She turned away from Draco and took a few more steps into the cellar.

Assuming the conversation was over, Draco backed out of the cellar. He gently pushed the wooden door shut.

"Lock the door," Lucius said. Draco turned around to see his father leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Why?" Draco asked.

"Orders," Lucius replied, turning away from Draco and adding more sugar to the cup of tea in his hand.

"Right," Draco said, almost sarcastically. He didn't want to get on his father's bad side on the first day of the holidays. Draco pulled out his wand and directed it at the cellar door, which locked with a small click.

"Are you hungry?" Lucius asked, pulling a packet of biscuits out of the cabinet that was in front of him.

Draco didn't reply, and simply grabbed a handful of the biscuits before heading up to his room. His trunk had already been moved there, and he began unpacking. Once he was done, he curled up in his chair and continued the book he had started reading earlier that month.

An hour or so later, someone knocked on Draco's door. Too lazy to get up and open it, Draco picked up his wand and flicked it. The door swung forward, and Narcissa Malfoy stumbled a few steps into the room.

"Hello, Draco," she said, one hand still on the doorknob. "Um, Draco, would you mind taking a tray of food down to the cellar?"

Draco almost replied that yes, he would mind, but seeing his mother's worried face, he dropped the book onto his desk and stood up. He followed Narcissa into the kitchen, where she handed him a tray laden with two plates, each covered with a small amount of food.

"You're only giving them this much?" Draco asked, eyebrows raised.

"We don't have that much food for ourselves, Draco," Narcissa said tiredly. "We're not allowed to go out of the house to get any. We only have what the other Death Eaters bring us. And they don't bring us much," she added darkly.

Draco looked at his mother and noticed what she meant. She had lost a lot of weight, and her face was beginning to look very hollow.

"Alright," Draco said quietly. He opened the cellar door and descended the stairs.

"Um, hello?" Draco called out into the room. It seemed eerily empty. "Hello?" Draco asked again, peering through the darkness. No one replied. "Um, I'll just leave this here then," Draco said awkwardly, sliding the tray onto the floor. He climbed back up the stairs and into the kitchen.

"So, how has school been?" Narcissa asked Draco once he had re-entered the kitchen.

"Fine," Draco answered. "What's for dinner?"

One hour later, Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa were sitting at the kitchen table eating a smaller-than usual dinner. Afterward, Draco slumped off to bed, his stomach grumbling slightly.

A few days later, Draco decided to try to write a letter to Hermione. He pulled the notebook out from his trunk and sat down at his desk, a quill in his hand.

Dear Hermione,

I miss you so much. And now it's my turn to hide- or "not tell"- you anything. So much has happened since I left Hogwarts for the holidays. But again, I can't tell you what!

I hope you are doing well and that you are safe. The Death Eaters and the Dark Lord are getting even worse. They've been kidnapping and killing left and right. So stay safe.

Christmas is coming up and I will get you a present...in fact, since I forgot your birthday, I'll actually get you two presents.

Happy Holidays,

Love,

Draco

P.S.- I will

A routine knock on the door temporarily ended Draco's letter.

"Draco, the food," Narcissa called through the door.

"Ugh, can't you give it to them, Mother?" Draco asked, annoyed.

"No," Narcissa replied simply. "Hurry up, now."

Draco groaned as he got up to go, stuffing the notebook into the pocket of his robes. He opened the door and walked downstairs to the kitchen, where the tray of food was waiting.

Draco pulled open the cellar and descended the stairs, feeling a familiar chill as he entered the dark room.

As usual, Draco called out into the room, but received no reply. Finally, he crouched down and set the tray onto the floor. As he straightened up, his foot got caught in a small hole in the floor. Draco fell over onto his back and cursed loudly.

Eventually, Draco recovered and he stood up, Still cursing angrily. He kicked at the hole he had tripped on and hurried out of the cellar.

"Draco, can you help me with this?" Narcissa asked Draco as soon he had entered the kitchen. Draco walked over and helped her set the table and lay out the food. Lucius came downstairs a few minutes later and the three of them sat down to eat dinner.

The next morning, Draco realized that something was missing. He overturned his desk, went through his closet, and unmade his bed. He couldn't find Hermione's notebook.

"Where is it?" He muttered to himself as he tore through the drawers in his dresser. Once he realized it wasn't in his room, Draco hurried downstairs. He looked through the kitchen and the dining room.

"Draco? What are you doing?" Lucius asked as Draco looked through the drawers of the side-table in the dining room.

"What?" Draco asked, raising his head, which hit the shelf above him. "Ow!"

"I asked what you're doing," Lucius repeated, looking at Draco disapprovingly.

"Uh, nothing." Draco said, still scanning the contents of the drawer. "I just lost something."

"What did you lose?" Lucius asked.

"Nothing."

Lucius raised an eyebrow and shook his head before leaving the dining room, at which point Draco continued his frantic search.

"Draco," Narcissa called not long after.

"Yeah?" Draco called back, not wanting to abandon his search.

"Draco, please take the food down," Narcissa called from the kitchen.

"Why can't you do it?" Draco practically whined.

Narcissa didn't reply, so Draco dragged himself over to the kitchen and picked up the tray of food.

Once in the cellar, Draco set the tray down at the base of the stairs and started heading back up into the kitchen when a voice called out.

"Draco Malfoy?" Luna asked, coming out of the shadows. Draco, shocked, did not turn around immediately. "Draco Malfoy?" Luna repeated. "Are you still there?"

Draco, whose throat had become suddenly dry, swallowed before replying, "Yes." For some reason, he was a little afraid of the eccentric prisoner residing in the cellar of his house.

"I need to speak to you," Luna called out to Draco, her voice growing louder as she drew near.

Slowly, Draco turned around to face Luna. Her face was pale and gaunt, giving her the appearance of a ghost.

"What is it?" Draco asked.

"I need to talk to you about your relationship with Hermione Granger."

Draco choked on his own spit.

"So, when was the last time you spoke to her?" Luna asked Draco. They were sitting side- by- side on the staircase leading up to the kitchen. Luna's interrogation had been going on for about an hour. Draco was worried that his parents would soon come looking for him.

"At the battle during sixth year. You know, when Dumbledore..." Draco trailed off, almost afraid to finish his sentence.

"Oh," said Luna. "I'm glad you forgave her."

Draco turned to look at Luna. "Why does it matter to you?"

"I'm sure that if you hadn't forgiven her, you would both be dead by now," Luna said simply.

Draco frowned for a moment before asking, "What makes you say that?"

"Everything in the notebook," replied Luna.

Draco looked down at the notebook in his hands. He opened it and flipped through the pages. "I'm not sure what you mean," he said to Luna.

"That's alright," Luna said. "Most people don't."

Draco almost laughed.

"It's a beautiful story," Luna continued. "Yours and Hermione's."

"Thank you?"

"It really is. When Hermione replies to the last letter you've written, please let me know," Luna said.

"I will," Draco replied. They sat there for a few moments before Draco stood up and slipped the notebook into his pocket.

"Er, see you tomorrow, Lovegood," Draco said awkwardly before reentering the kitchen.