"A difficult time can be more readily endured if we can retain the conviction that our existence holds a purpose - a cause to pursue, a person to love, a goal to achieve."
-John Maxwell
Fear.
Remus Lupin's trembling hand slowly lowered the Basilisk fang to the table. Swallowing audibly, Remus wrapped his arms around his midsection to steady himself and to prevent his entire body from shaking violently. Willing himself to have the courage to make eye contact, he finally looked up to meet the blazing eyes of Draco Malfoy and the familiar stern gaze of Severus Snape.
Remus was standing in the drawing room of Muron Castle. Only mere moments before, he had relayed the story of Hermione's abduction and his nearly fatal encounter with Lord Voldemort. Now, as the rain pounded mercilessly on the castle towers and the fire crackled loudly in the hearth, Remus waited silently for a response from either man before him.
Severus' black eyes appeared to be slowly processing the information as they darted visibly from side to side. Draco's - to Remus' utter bewilderment, were a raging storm of fury. Remus' keen Auror senses caught the slight trembling of Draco's wand hand - as well as the increase in breath as his chest began to violently contract.
But even a blind man would have been able to have seen the rage behind Draco's eyes.
"You turned around and left," Draco said flatly, with much more restraint than what Remus had expected from a man who was so obviously livid with anger.
Remus could only nod in return.
Draco appeared to be physically retraining himself - but then lost the battle.
"You mean to tell me," he screamed as he rounded on Remus and came at him with his fists, rather than his wand, "...that the Dark Lord was hauling her through the Forbidden Forest and you could have gone after them but you turned around and left!!??"
Each word was emphasized with a punch as Draco unloaded his fury on Remus.
Remus, whether due to his own paralyzing guilt - or the fact that he was still literally shell shocked from everything that had happened in the last twelve hours - did nothing to fight back.
"Draco!" Snape shouted from behind them as he cast an invisible barrier with Lucius' wand - throwing Draco violently off Remus as he landed unceremoniously by the fireplace.
Chest heaving as his voice trembled, Draco whispered as his face contorted with pain, "How could you let her go?"
Still trying to make sense of Draco's sudden concern for Hermione - Hadn't he tried to hex the girl at every turn when they were in school? - Remus knelt before Draco as he struggled to form the words that were in his torn heart.
"I would have gone after her, Draco - I swear!" Remus said fiercely as he gripped the front of Draco's robes and his weary eyes filled with unshed tears, "I would have died for her! But her face..." he trailed off as his eyes took on a glazed appearance - as though he were far away in that moment and picturing the very face which he was trying to describe. "...her face - she was begging - pleading with me not to follow her...and I saw her drop the Basilisk fang - I didn't know what it was at the time...but her eyes - her face - she wanted me to go back...how could I not do as she asked?"
Draco's own angered face suddenly softened as Remus continued, "How could I deny her that request? Everything in my body was urging me - screaming at me to go forward - to distract Voldemort...to do something! I had to physically restrain myself from taking another step - because her eyes...Draco - her eyes, were pleading with me in a way that I have never before seen in my entire being. Tell me..." he begged as his soft blue eyes bore into Draco's, "...could you have done differently?"
The light from the fire danced across Draco's face as he stared at Remus for a long moment. After several prolonged seconds, Draco visibly swallowed as said quietly, "I...I...don't know."
Remus nodded as he slowly released his hold on Draco's robes and slumped back against the couch. Snape, who had been silent during the entire exchange, finally spoke.
"You did the right thing, Remus," he said in his deep baritone, "Hermione has secured a way for us to destroy Nagini," he said as he picked the Basilisk fang up from the table and ran his slender fingers over the smooth surface.
"A truly remarkable witch," he concluded softly, as he sought Draco's eyes.
When Draco said nothing and refused to meet his gaze - Snape pressed on, "Obviously from the information that you have given us, Remus, the Dark Lord does not want Hermione to be immediately harmed or killed. If he had - she would have been dead the moment she saw his face - which was, presumably in the Chamber."
"I don't understand how he could have gotten into the Chamber," Remus said to the room at large - staring deeply into the fire, "...from what Harry has told me - the entrance is in a bathroom in public view - a teacher, or student would have seen him wandering around the halls of Hogwarts. And the wards..." he trailed off - sounding defeated, "...how could they not have detected him?"
Snape came around the sofa and sat in the arm chair, "He is the Heir of Slytherin," he said simply, "It would not surprise me if he found another entrance."
Remus nodded but said nothing.
"Was she..." Draco spoke quietly as he looked at his hands, "...injured when you saw her?"
And then his terrified eyes looked up at Remus - clearly unsure of whether he wanted a truthful answer.
"From what I could tell," Remus said levelly, "...she appeared relatively unharmed. But..." he wavered.
"But what?" Draco asked immediately.
Remus swallowed as he propped himself up higher against the sofa, "She had these strange bonds on her wrists...unlike anything I've ever seen. And at one point - when she was struggling against Voldemort - she doubled over on her wrists...and cried out in pain."
Draco eyes widened and the same intense rage flashed over them once again.
"Dragon's Cuffs," Snape said angrily from his position on the chair.
Remus raised an eyebrow, "I can't imagine Voldemort using something so primitive," he said as he fingered his wand, "...he could have just stunned her."
"Dragon's Cuffs have a very ancient kind of magic embedded within them. The obvious effect is that when the captive moves suddenly - or tries to struggle out of their grip - they burn the flesh."
"Oh...God, please...," Draco whispered as he pulled a trembling hand over his forehead - imagining Hermione's delicate wrists with massive burns around their circumference.
"But the true reason I think the Dark Lord would have used them on Hermione," Snape continued, "Is that they control all facets of magic - including wandless magic."
"But that still doesn't explain why he wouldn't just stun her," Remus countered as he looked up at Snape.
"Perhaps he tried a stunning spell on her - but she deflected it," Snape offered with a tiny smile.
Draco, looking up at Snape from his kneeling position by fireplace, did not return the gesture.
"But the question is..." Draco stated after a pregnant pause - rising to pace in front of the hearth, "...where has he taken Hermione? You can bet that wherever she is - he'll be there too - along with Nagini. Now that he knows the other Horcruxes are destroyed - I doubt he will let Nagini out of his sight."
Remus nodded solemnly, "I agree. It would be too much of a risk for him to separate from her, now. Obviously he's finding that his original strategy of having the Horcruxes scattered geographically was flawed. Nagini will not be far from him."
"So what do we do? Where do we look?" Draco asked as he stopped his pacing and turned helplessly to his two former professors, "Can Potter use his connection to the Dark Lord's mind and see where they're at?"
Remus shook his head, "No. Unfortunately, it's Voldemort that has to open the connection. Harry only see things when Voldemort either plants images in his mind - or when he's truly furious."
"But he must have been angry tonight!" Draco countered, "When Hermione destroyed the compass - he would have been outraged...maybe Potter saw something then - maybe he can see something now!"
Snape nodded thoughtfully, "Every lead or thought we have regarding the matter is worth pursuing."
And then he pinched the bridge of his nose and winced slightly.
"What is it?" Draco asked.
"I had just rather hoped that I didn't have to meet Potter anytime in the near future," he sighed, "It looks as though our little reunion is going to be sooner than I had planned," he concluded with disdain.
"Harry will understand, Severus," Lupin reassured him, "While in his teenage years he was quick to act and slow to think, he has matured much since then. When he learns of your vow to Dumbledore - he will understand. That, and the urgency to work and use whatever resources are necessary to get to Hermione, will lead him to think rationally."
"Potter has never been rational," Snape snapped.
Remus stood from the couch and made his way over Snape as he held out his hand, "The time to put our pasts behind us has come, Severus. There can be no more petty squabbles or arguments about people's fathers and what they may or may not have done. Your past as a Death Eater is over. Now it is time for you to rise a full member of the Order of the Phoenix. We all have a destiny to fulfill, Severus. It is time to meet ours - head on."
Snape looked up warily from his position on the chair. Slowly, he reached up and clasped hands with Lupin - who pulled him into a standing position.
"Summon the Order," Snape instructed as his eyes locked with Draco, "It is time for Muron Castle to become the new official headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix."
As Hermione slowly opened her eyes, she looked around in confusion.
It was dark - are my eyes even open? - and it took several moments for her eyes to adjust to the surrounding blackness.
When her pupils finally dilated to the appropriate diameter, Hermione looked around the small area to take in her strange surroundings.
She was in a cramped room with a low ceiling. Wincing slightly as she moved her wrists, the events of the previous day hit her like a Bludger to the stomach.
The Chamber of Secrets.
The Basilisk fang.
Voldemort.
And Remus Lupin?
Heart pounding frantically in her chest, Hermione rose to her feet with a start - her head nearly hitting the ceiling.
Please let him have found the Basilisk fang.
The strange bonds were still on her wrists, and she cursed silently to herself as she avoided moving her hands. With a sigh of annoyance, she tried to shake a dried leaf out of her hair that was hanging in her face without the use of her hands - but it stubbornly remained rooted in place. Looking around once more, Hermione noted that the room was probably eight paces by eight. The floor had hay strewn about it, and there were no windows.
Where the hell am I?
And then it hit her- just as powerfully as the Bludger would have.
She had been walking through the Forbidden Forest with Voldemort. It had been so cold - her wrists in such pain...and the Forest had become darker and darker as they had pressed forward. She had stumbled several times - but without the free motion of her hands to steady herself - she had fallen helplessly to the gnarled forest floor. Hermione remembered looking up on her last tumble to the ground - straight into Voldemort's furious face. There had been a flash of red light - and she remembered no more.
Shuddering slightly, Hermione suddenly realized how cold it was. Her breath was the only movement in the small room. Instinct taking over, Hermione returned to a sitting position in the corner of the small chamber and brought her knees to her chest to conserve warmth. Looking down at her bonds, her wrists beneath them were red, swollen, and burned. Even the slightest movement brought a sharp jolt of pain from the bonds.
What the hell kind of torture device is this?
Dragon Cuffs are the only thing that even closely resemble these cords...but every description I've read about them still places them in a different category - would these, too, be able to control wandless magic?
Of course they would.
Because Voldemort was certainly many things - but stupid was not one of them.
Surely he had already known about Hermione's wandless capabilities - he had seen them first hand when she had deflected a spell in the Chamber of Secrets. But even still - Hermione could not help but trying - whether due to simple curiosity - or the fact that she was at the end of her rope and this was - quite literally - her last resort.
Steadying herself against the cold wall of her prison, Hermione stretched both of her hands in front of her - careful to keep them exactly parallel so as to not activate the burning cords - and closed her eyes to mutter the incantation.
She said the first thing that came to her mind.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
But the hay did not rise in the air as she had expected - or hoped it to do. Instead, the cords around her wrists began to glow a menacing red color - and the next thing Hermione knew, she was lying flat on her back in the hay.
The force of the blow knocked the wind out of her, and Hermione lay still for several seconds trying to catch her breath.
Ok, so probably not the best idea.
It was at that very moment that a doorway appeared out of nowhere, and Voldemort stepped through - his white skin nearly glowing in a chiaroscuro fashion that contrasted dramatically against the darkness of the small room. The ceiling was too low for him to stand erect, and he immediately conjured a chair - so as not to have the appearance of bowing to Hermione's prone form.
"Ah," he hissed with a smile, "I see it has not taken you long to discover that your little abilities have no power under the confines of the Dragon Cuffs."
"Where am I?" Hermione spat as she sat up and scooted to the far wall opposite where Voldemort was sitting.
Voldemort raised an eyebrow, "Really, I thought you would be a little more cordial, Mudblood. Everyone speaks so highly of you."
"What do you want with me, Tom? Why don't you just kill me and save yourself the trouble?"
And then Voldemort laughed a pitiless, chilling laugh, "Is it not obvious? Clearly, you have something that I need - or you would have been dead the moment you entered the Chamber."
"You probably should have rethought that one - considering it cost you a piece of your soul," Hermione replied, levelly.
Voldemort's crimson eyes narrowed dangerously as he regarded Hermione's crouching form in the corner of the room.
"Indeed."
And for the second time in the past however many hours, Hermione waited for the killing curse - or at the very least - the Cruciatus.
And, once again - it did not come.
Instead, Voldemort shifted on his chair and brought it directly in front of where Hermione was sitting - the effect being that he was literally glaring down over her in contempt.
"You have something I desire."
"A nose?" Hermione questioned sarcastically - before she realized that she was actually speaking, "Mine might be a bit small for your face."
She had no idea where her courage and bravado was coming from. Possibly the adrenaline - or perhaps it was the fact that this was the man that had robbed Harry of his childhood - and had essentially taken away what should have been her carefree years studying at Hogwarts. But more than anything, Hermione realized with a sudden clarity, that it did not matter what Voldemort wanted from her - he would inevitably get whatever it was he desired - and in the end - she would still be dead.
So why not piss the bastard off along the way?
Voldemort - remaining strangely composed - but looking quite murderous, flicked his wand in Hermione's direction.
"Crucio." He whispered, casually - as though reciting a boring spell in a Charm's class.
The pain was unlike anything Hermione had ever experienced. Every muscle - every nerve - every last inch of her body was on fire. All of the physical injuries that she had endured in her past combined were nothing in comparison to the agony that she was now in. As she contorted and writhed on the ground - her body convulsing heavily - she finally cried out.
"Please! Stop! Please!"
But the pain did not lessen.
Hermione continued to scream as she trembled and convulsed on the ground - convinced that if she had to endure a second more - that it would be too much. Only then - only when she reached the point where she new that she physically could not go on for one more second, did Voldemort release the curse.
Whimpering and trembling on the floor - covered in the hay that she had writhed in, Hermione closed her eyes and curled her body into a ball as the after effects of the Cruciatus coursed through her weak body.
"Any other comments?" Voldemort asked - somewhat disenchanted.
Hermione could not respond. Her vocal cords - along with her entire body, seemed to have shut down. Besides the reflexive trembling and shaking that her body was undergoing - Hermione could do nothing.
But though her body could not physically respond - her mind was free. Hermione's thoughts concentrated on Draco - the glorious friendship that had blossomed out of a chance circumstance - and the more recent, deeper feelings that had overwhelmed all of her senses. His arms holding her closely - his lips hungrily upon her own...the depth in his eyes.
It was as a painful spasm seized her spine that she finally realized and accepted a truth she had been denying.
I love him.
"Well, while you're just sitting there," Voldemort rasped as he idly held his wand up - keenly observing it, "I'll continue with that I was saying. You have something that I desire. And if you're half the witch that everyone says you are, you will no doubt understand my meaning to be your mastery of wandless magic."
Whimpering softly, Hermione's body continued to tremble.
"When you stop your whining, I intend to access your mind to see how you obtained such a skill. If that still leaves us at a stalemate...," Voldemort trailed off as a hideous smile played across his lips, "...well, we shall have to see when we get to that point, won't we?"
And then Voldemort knelt down on the ground and lowered his head so that his thin lips were nearly touching Hermione's ear, "I could make you great, you know. You could become powerful beyond anything your limitless mind can imagine. I do not care that you are a Mudblood. A blind man could see your potential - and I am always willing to make exceptions. Can you even begin to realize what a great asset to me you are? Potter - you know his nature - will come crawling to me on all fours when he learns you are in my care. And then the prophecy will be fulfilled - my power - unrivaled. It matters not that the Horcruxes are destroyed. With wandless magic...I will be untouchable...," he trailed off as he pulled Hermione's hair away from her face.
"...and you..." he whispered as his red eyes glittered, "...will serve me until the day that you die - which depending on your attitude - may be sooner, rather than later. But rest assured, Mudblood, I will get what I need from you."
And in the deepest reaches of Hermione's soul, she summoned the strength to open her eyes and speak.
"Never."
Voldemort - a mere whisper's breath away from Hermione's face, raised an eyebrow in response, "You will find," he hissed as he pressed his wand into her neck - forcing her to look him in the eye, "That I can be rather persuasive."
And then he invaded her mind.
Harry Potter stood before the threshold of Muron Castle looking somewhat skeptical.
The wind was blowing his Auror's robes into a fury as he stood beside his former mentor, and friend - Remus Lupin.
"What is this place? How come the Order isn't meeting us until later?" Harry asked, as he turned and eyed the grounds suspiciously.
Beside him, Remus sighed as he undid the wards to enter into the castle.
"Harry," he said, as he placed his hands on either side of Harry's shoulders and looked him straight in his emerald eyes, "If I've ever needed you to trust me - in the entire history of our friendship - I need it to be this moment."
Harry raised a thick eyebrow, "I don't like where you're going with this, Remus."
Remus nodded, "I know. I just need you to trust me. Can you do that?"
Harry hesitated for a small moment, "Remus," he began, before he locked eyes with his friend, "I trust you with my life."
A sad smile played over his former professor's lips as he replied, quietly, "I know, Harry. I know."
And then Remus walked through the main entryway of Muron Castle with Harry following in his wake.
When Harry rounded the archway that led to the main drawing room - he froze.
Standing before him, were the two men he loathed most in the entire universe - save Voldemort, himself.
Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy.
Remus' wand was already drawn - ready to intervene at a moment's notice. But Harry did not scream, retaliate, or even brandish his wand. He remained frozen on the spot as his green eyes darted back and forth between Snape and Malfoy as though he were watching a rather intense tennis match.
After several moments of pregnant silence, Harry finally spoke.
"What the hell is this?"
"Harry, please - before you do anything rash - you need to let me explain," Remus pleaded as he stood between Harry and the two men.
Harry said nothing - his eyes locked on Snape and Malfoy.
And so Remus told Harry everything.
While Harry listened quietly - his eyes bore into the black orbs that were Severus Snape's. Snape returned the gaze - unblinking. And what surprised Harry most in that moment was not the fact that he was standing in front of Snape and hadn't yet murdered the greasy bastard on the spot - but rather that Snape's eyes were not taunting or haughty as he had always remembered them to be. They still demanded respect - but there was something lost there - something that Harry couldn't quite pinpoint.
"...and so you must understand why we couldn't let you know, Harry," Remus concluded, after several moments of continuous speaking.
Harry swallowed as his jaw tightened - desperately trying to control his anger, "Yes, Remus. I understand."
And then his eyes locked once more with Snape's, "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"None of us like it, Potter," Draco said - speaking for the first time. "Look around you. Does it look as though any one of us are extremely pleased over the current situation?"
Now that tone, Harry did recognize.
"It must have been tough here, eh Malfoy?" Harry taunted as he rounded on Draco - taking a step forward, "Not having house elves cater to your every whim. No elegant balls to attend - no elaborate feasts. Quite obviously, it's you that has suffered the most in this war."
And Draco was at Harry's throat before Harry could even draw his wand.
"You know nothing about me, Potter. Nothing," Draco whispered as he slowly lowered his wand from Harry's neck. "And if you could get off your arrogant ass for about five seconds - you just might understand what's going on here."
Remus, who had stepped forward - along with Snape, at Draco's sudden movement, broke the silence.
"Hermione has been captured, Harry."
"What!?" Harry shouted incredulously, as he rounded on Remus. "Why didn't you tell me as soon as I got here?" He demanded. "What happened? Where is she? Who took her? Is it because of the compass? Where - "
"Would you shut up, Potter?!" Draco yelled - silencing Harry. "We've already wasted precious time - and you ranting like an imbecile is only going to make things worse."
"Harry," Remus said calmly - his stern eyes silencing Draco, "The reason I didn't tell you immediately is because you had to know about Severus and Draco first. Their allegiance to the Order is vital - and Draco has been working with Hermione quite closely over the past several months - he has valuable information to share."
Harry narrowed his eyes, "How closely?"
Draco snickered, "I don't have time to bicker with you now, Potter. Hermione's life is at stake."
Eying Draco suspiciously, Harry turned back to Remus, "What do we know?"
And then Remus relayed the story nearly verbatim as to what had happened not twelve hours prior - as well as his own encounter with Hermione and Voldemort.
"Voldemort has Hermione," Harry stated blankly - as if verbalizing the horrible truth would make it seem less surreal.
"Is there any way you can see into the Dark Lord's mind?" Draco asked, "Have...have you seen anything?"
Harry didn't seem to have heard Draco. He slowly crossed the room and sat on the old sofa by the fireplace. Sighing loudly, his head sunk into his hands. "I've already lost one best friend to Voldemort," he said quietly - to no one in particular, "...and it nearly destroyed me. How could I survive if I lost another?"
Draco shifted uncomfortably as he thought of his father and then made his way to the sitting chair.
Now, that was a conversation for a different moment.
"Look, Potter," he began as he scratched his head, "I know we don't particularly like one another - but all that is irrelevant right now, isn't it? I'm ready to do whatever it takes to find Hermione - including working with you."
Harry looked at Draco as though he had just proposed marriage to him.
Since when does Malfoy call Hermione by her given name?
And why is he so obviously concerned about her wellbeing?
As strange as Harry found the whole situation - he pushed those thoughts aside. Right now, the priority was Hermione - and bringing her home safely. And as his heart pounded rapidly in his chest while considering the best place to begin - he suddenly clutched his scar and doubled over in pain.
"Potter?" he heard Draco asking.
The voice sounded distant.
"Potter, are you okay?"
Harry dropped to his knees as the pain overwhelmed him - Voldemort's anger and pleasure mixing together in a strange sensation that Harry had never before felt. But the emotional link opened a vision - a vision so horrifying that Harry had to physically recoil.
"Potter!" Draco was shouting. "What is it? Can you see the Dark Lord? Can you see Hermione?"
After what seemed like an eternity, Voldemort's pleasure and anger abated, and Harry breathed heavily as sweat glistened on his forehead.
"Harry?"
This time the voice was from Remus - kneeling close to Harry at Draco's side.
"Harry, what happened? What did you see?"
When Harry finally had the strength to look up - the scene before him would have been almost comical - if not for the terrifying vision that had occurred not seconds before.
Directly across from him knelt Draco - his worried face only inches away from his own. Next to Draco was Remus - his steady hand firmly grasping Harry's shoulder. And just above Malfoy and Remus; Snape was stooping over with a deep frown etched across his face - in all likelihood the closest thing Snape's face ever got to showing concern.
Once again, Remus spoke, "Harry?"
Harry closed his eyes as his hands balled into tight fists, "It was Voldemort...and Hermione."
"Hermione?" Draco questioned as his eyes nearly bulged out of his head, "Is she okay? Could you tell? Her wrists - did it look like they were still in the Dragon Cuff's - Is she injured?"
Harry remained in silence for several moments - the three men anxiously awaiting his response.
"He was...torturing her - the Cruciatus."
As Harry finally looked up and locked eyes with Draco - what he saw in their depths startled him. Draco's face was paler than normal - as though all the blood had drained from the area. He was completely still - like a cat - suddenly startled. But it was Draco's eyes that shocked Harry - for they showed a torture and agony that was as evident as the very pain he felt twisting in his own heart.
Draco swallowed thickly as he slowly rose from the ground - his black robes falling neatly into place. The shaft of light from the fire - playing gracefully across his pained face. And as he forced from his mind things named and nameless that Voldemort could be doing to Hermione in that exact moment - he shakily grasped his wand.
"Could you see...," he trailed off - his voice thick with emotion, "...could you see where they were?"
Looking up at Draco in confusion, - Does he truly care about Hermione? - Harry also rose from the ground, "It was dark - a small room. There was hay on the ground...it appeared as though the ceiling was too low."
And Draco's head shot over to Snape's direction.
"It can't be..." he whispered.
Snape's face showed the same subtle hint of recognition.
"Do you know where she is?" Harry asked, as he stepped toward Draco.
Draco nodded - fists shaking.
But it was Snape who finally spoke.
"Malfoy Manor."
Ok, so that was a lot nicer ending than the previous two chapters. Please review - it motivates me to update more quickly!