Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. (Short and sweet :D)
A/N: A big round of thanks to reviewers, readers and all - I promise at the end of this story I will acknowledge each of you personally for showing interest in my story, giving me encouragements just by adding me on alerts, favourites, and most of all, taking time to drop a note. Anyway, this chapter tends to jump around quite a bit, but not to fret, it will all come back together in one single scene in the later chapters when everybody comes together. Oh - what am I saying? Did I just say something?
Forget it, let's just get on with the story! (:
Remus Lupin let out a guttural snarl and launched himself at Dolohov from the side, taking the Death Eater offguard since he had expected a frontal attack. However, his victory was short-lived. Dolohov rained a heavy blow with his elbow on Lupin's skull, and Lupin rocked back in agony, losing his grip on Dolohov. With another swing, Dolohov's wand shot out a jet of red light that knocked Lupin backwards into the railing, nearly causing him to lose his balance.
"Take that!" Dolohov sneered and hurled another curse at Lupin, who managed to duck and dodge it despite the pain in his head that was making his vision blur. "You mutant beast..."
"NO, YOU TAKE THAT!" Suddenly the Tower door had swung open, and a flying spell hurtled towards Dolohov, slamming him backwards into the wall. Lupin's wand flew out of his grip, and before Lupin could make out what was happening, Kingsley Shacklebolt was helping him up and giving him his wand back. Lupin shook his head to rid his vision of the stars, and saw a jet black-haired Tonks throw spell after spell viciously at Dolohov, who was blocking everything off with an advanced Shield Charm, his eyes brimming with rage.
Dolohov managed to knock Tonks' advances off with his massive Shield; Shacklebolt found himself blasted towards the wall, and Lupin could hardly wield his arm without feeling an agonisingly sharp pain shoot up his bone. Seeing that, Dolohov's eyes glinted. Remus Lupin never looked so vulnerable...
He raised his wand to further incapacitate Lupin, but Tonks was faster –
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" she shrieked, taking advantage of the Shield that had momentarily disappeared in Dolohov's bid to curse Lupin.
Dolohov fell to the ground, like a sack of potatoes.
There was a moment of silence.
Then Tonks ran forward and threw herself into Lupin's outstretched arms. "Remus!" She choked, her hair shimmering into soft brown.
Lupin buried his head in her shoulder, his eyes firmly shut.
Kingsley cleared his throat.
"Let's go!" Lupin grabbed Tonks' hand. He groaned a little as he stood up, so Tonks had to mutter a healing spell first. Thereafter, the trio sped down the staircase, only to be confronted with a scene of two black-robed figures shooting spells downwards – towards the familiar faces of Ron, Ginny, Corrinne and Neville.
Tonks' wand flashed through the air once again. One of the Death Eaters was blasted backwards with a scream. The other one was distracted, and found himself thrown to the side by a very powerful spell emitting from Corrinne's wand.
"Nymphadora Tonks, you – " the voice screamed from above.
"Alecto Carrow, you evil twit, it's TONKS!" yelled back Tonks, fiercely revitalised.
"Run, kids!" Lupin shouted, breaking away from Tonks and ran after them. "Where's Harry?"
"He's gone to find Dumbledore!" yelled back Ron.
"Where the hell is he? The whole school's going to be up any minute!"
-.-.-.-.-.-
There was a sudden whirlwind of ash and soot in the relatively immaculate office of Professor Horace Slughorn.
Or at least, immaculate since he had just cleaned it with a flick of his wand about an hour or so ago.
"Well then!" Slughorn wasn't the least bit pleased. "It's about time you returned, young man! The rest..."
He stopped mid-sentence, jaw dropping.
Before him, was a very stony-faced Blaise Zabini – as well as a defiant-looking Astoria Greengrass.
"Sh-she..." Slughorn leapt out of his seat, stuttering. "Y-you...!"
"Stuff it, Sluggy," Blaise said, rudely. "It's over."
"O-over? You ruddy boy, you said that you were going to torture her, find out where Draco Malfoy is! How could you... what did Bellatrix say, what did she say?"
"I'm a Death Eater no more," replied Blaise, icily, ignoring the pain that was burning on his arm. "First of all, my induction ceremony was pathetic, I could barely see the Dark Lord! And after all that, they took me for an idiot! And so did you! I was blind to have trusted you liars!"
Slughorn could not find any more words. Suddenly, a wave of fury overtook him, and he grabbed his wand from the table, ready to wield his wand at the two of them –
Astoria was faster; she snatched the wand in Blaise's hand and yelled, "Petrificus Totalus!"
When the professor had landed smack down on the floor, as rigid as a statue, Blaise found himself equally unable to move, his jaw hanging open.
"Well, get going!" Astoria dragged him along.
The two of them ran across the corridor, hearing some mild sounds of what seemed to be like spells ricocheting around. Astoria looked at Blaise in bewilderment.
"They're here," whispered Blaise. "They've finally come."
"They? Who are you..."
"Death Eaters..." Blaise stopped running, pulling Astoria to a stop too. "They're after Malfoy since I couldn't find him..."
"Why the hell did you snitch on Draco?" demanded Astoria, angrily. "Aren't you guys best friends?"
Blaise's eyes glinted coldly. "Best friends? Haven't you seen what he's become? He hasn't said anything to us. He's been out doing errands for those people! He's been entrusted big things!"
"And just because you weren't chosen, you were feeling sour? And when you found out that Draco was acting suspicious because he was hanging out with Granger, you framed him as a traitor?"
Blaise glared at her. "What do you know?"
"You're the one who doesn't know anything!" Astoria returned the furious glare. "You tried to blackmail him with kidnapping me, because you know he'd figure out someone knows about the pendants. But Bellatrix Lestrange! Why'd she call Draco a traitor? Isn't it because of you?"
"It's not as if they didn't already want to catch him. According to the Dark Lord, D-Draco was found out to be traitorous..."
Blaise's voice was cracking.
"Okay, forget it," muttered Astoria. "Let's get going!"
Blaise didn't move for a moment.
"Don't be stupid, do you want to go back to them?" Astoria glared at him. "After what they said?"
"But..."
"Blaise Zabini, you're so stupid! You just said you were as good as their puppet!"
"Greengrass?"
Astoria spun around, and so did Blaise.
"Potter?"
Harry caught up with them, gasping for breath, his spectacles almost falling off the bridge of his nose, and his fringe matted against his wet forehead. "Oh my – you're back! You're alive! And – " His look morphed into that of disgust. "Zabini!"
"Morning, Potter," muttered Blaise, in a disgruntled tone.
"You kidnapped her!" Harry exclaimed, in bewilderment.
"Well, he saved me too, as ironic as that sounds," said Astoria, leaving Blaise no room for sarcastic comments. "Potter, what's going on? The Death Eaters are here?"
Harry raised his eyebrows, but decided it was not time to interrogate. "Yes, and they're out to find Malfoy and Dumbledore. We've got to stop them. I just got Dumbledore back into the castle – he's going to confront them now. We've got to get to the rest – my friends are all battling them!"
"Wait, Potter..."
"WHAT?" Harry demanded, furious at being delayed.
Astoria looked around for any sign of people, then gazed intently at him. "I think one of the Death Eaters you should be really worried about is Bellatrix Lestrange."
Harry was taken aback by the sudden mention of Sirius' killer. It only served to fuel his rage. "Bellatrix Lestrange?" He repeated in a very frigid manner.
"She sent Blaise to kidnap me," Astoria threw a loathing look at Blaise, who returned it, "and she's out for collateral damage. She will do anything to please You-Know-Who, even if it means sacrificing her own nephew. Maybe even her sister. She's rising in the ranks, Potter."
Immediately, Harry realised that this was a vital piece of information.
If that was the case, then one of the two remaining Secret-Keepers had to be her.
He swallowed hard. Time to meet again.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Hermione made her way down the winding staircase as quietly as she could manage, while Luna seemed to be able to simply float down without making any sound. Just beyond the end of the staircase was a long stretch of dim corridor. There were some muttering of voices, and then the familiar creaking of a portrait swinging to the side and thereafter, cutting the voices off.
Swiftly, she slipped off the staircase and ducked into the shadows, Luna following suit.
There were many walkways on the right; the Slytherin common-room entrance appeared to be right at the end. Hermione and Luna carefully sidled up against the wall as they moved along, like a crab, and Hermione was ironically thankful that the Slytherins were always so dark and cunning that the dungeon's atmosphere currently mirrored their characters, shrouding over her and Luna.
"Whooo... isss... thereeeee..." The sudden hiss startled Hermione, and she jumped. But Luna placed a hand on her arm to calm her down.
"The portrait," Luna whispered.
Hermione steadied her nerves and continued treading the darkness. There was a small walkway to the right, and she turned sharply inwards.
"Lumos," she muttered, and the corner was lit.
Empty.
"No go..." And she followed as Luna flitted across to the next walkway.
By the time she managed to slide by the next corner, Luna had already illuminated the place with her wand. And there in the centre of the floor, was an old, crusty, boot.
"That's it?" Hermione stared at the crumbling item.
Luna nodded. "I would suppose. Usually when people steal my shoes, they'd take both and put them somewhere together. Haven't really come across anyone who placed them apart," she said, pointing at her bare feet. Hermione was privately enlightened to the secret to Luna's stealth. "So I'd think this is it."
"They've run out of ideas for Portkeys, haven't they?" Hermione had a memory of grabbing onto a boot back in her fourth year for the Quidditch World Cup.
Luna looked at her innocently. "What?"
"Nothing." Hermione hastened to reach out. "On the count of one, two..."
FWHIPPPP! Hermione felt her face compress together, her muscles tightening so much that every part of her face – no, in fact, her entire body was experiencing huge jolts of pain and discomfort; the whirlwind she was spiralling within was battering blows at her vacuumed body; a wave of nausea was threatening to...
THUD. "Oof!"
Another thud.
"Luna, are you okay?" Hermione whispered, wincing as she tried to get up from the stone-cold ground.
"Pretty much," came the reply, and Luna flexed her arm gingerly. "Where are we?"
Hermione looked around. They were in the middle of a very long and narrow corridor, but in contrast to the Slytherin dungeons, this was brightly-lit.
"This looks like some kind of a cave..." She turned around to scan the other end of the corridor. "I just hope it isn't East Ukraine this time..."
Suddenly, there seemed to be a buzzing sound. Hermione clammed her lips together, while Luna stood stoic, both of them with wands in hand.
"...you are such an enigma, do you know that? You think they'd reward you for what you did? Do you know what you've gotten yourself into?" "I don't know what you are talking about."
Hermione could barely make out the words, but something tingled inside her.
"You do know what your duty is, don't you?" "Do I need YOU to tell me?"
The tingle worsened; her entire body was shaking. Luna stared at her curiously.
"Hermione?"
"That's..."
"Yes, that's Draco Malfoy," said Luna, calmly. "And I'm quite sure the other one is Pansy Parkinson."
Draco Malfoy. The boy who had just turned her world upside down.
And Pansy Parkinson. The girl who had abducted Draco. Hermione could imagine her standing in front of a shackled Draco, tormenting him with insults and cutting words, while he spat and sent her glowering looks. She could hardly imagine what would come next.
"You think she'll come? You're daft, Draco, daft! Even if that – that girl is stupid enough to believe you, she won't get past Rookwood!"
Hermione clapped her hand to her mouth.
Believe him? Had he been telling lies then?
The thought of it made her faint. Here she was, risking it all to come and save him, even at the expense of fighting alongside Harry and Ron against the infiltrators of the school... and everything was a lie?
And Rookwood – the renegade Death Eater. Both sides would dearly love to get rid of him.
"Shut up Pansy!"
Then, Hermione decided that there wasn't any point submerging herself in thoughts of doubt. If she was to be fooled, then she'd be a fool all the way. She didn't know when such recklessness had overcome her, but all of sudden, she just wanted to see him. See him right in front of her.
She began to run to the end of the corridor where the voices had come from.
Luna gave a start, and for the first time, a little frown came over her face. Then it straightened out again, and she followed suit.
Hermione skidded to the end of the corridor – but there was no one. Except –
A cell.
With two occupants.
"HERMIONE?"
The familiar tingle shot through her, as she could hardly believe it was that same deep voice that now hoarsely called out her name.
Her first name.
Draco's face appeared between the rungs of the cell, and his eyes were wide open, a complete turmoil of emotions within that expression. His blonde locks were falling all over his face, and his sharp cheekbones seemed to protrude more than ever – a very gaunt look even though he hadn't been gone for more than a day.
Instantly, Hermione realised why. He was tired. Weary, even. Completely weary.
Their eyes locked.
For one moment, neither of them could speak. Hermione felt as if she was going through another Apparating procedure, the vacuumed feeling washing over her once again. Her ears were ringing with the compression, and all she could do was to stare at those grey eyes that were speaking volumes to her, volumes that she didn't even know whether spoke the truth or were a bunch of lies, but they were there before her.
He was alive.
"Hermione..." His voice was in a ragged whisper. Now she could decipher his expression – utter relief.
"Excuse me, what did you just call her?" There was an incredulous voice.
Hermione was jerked out of her reverie, and she blinked, breaking eye contact with Draco – and looking within the cell.
Something was not right.
She had expected Pansy Parkinson to be at least – outside the cell, smirking at him.
Pansy was inside the cell. Looking just as pale and exhausted as Draco.
"Y-you..." She stared at Pansy.
Draco was surprised by her sudden diversion, and then looked back at Pansy. "She's... she's stuck in here too. Pansy, shut up, I'll explain later." And he earned a furious glare from his fellow housemate. "I mean – look, Hermione, use your wand, anything, get us out of here!"
"Didn't she – didn't she kidnap you?" Hermione couldn't move; she just kept staring at Pansy, who shot her a withering glare.
"Well yes she did, but – Hermione, I'll explain everything to you later, alright? Can you just open the door?" His voice was getting impatient.
"I deserve a right to know!" Hermione suddenly felt something rise in her. Here she was, hoping to rescue him from the clutches of that gait of a Pansy Parkinson, and now she was in the cell alongside him – Merlin knew what they had been discussing all this while as she was worrying herself sick about him – maybe it was also the fact that Parkinson might have been his girlfriend some point in time or another, or maybe even...
"Hermione Granger!" Draco lost his patience. "I asked you to come here to RESCUE us, not to interrogate us!"
"US?" Hermione glared daggers at him. "Is that what it is now? You got me here just to save you two? But actually you just wanted me to believe you when everything's a lie?"
"What are you talking about?" Draco demanded, his eyes wild with confusion. "A lie? Well yes – " He looked hastily back at Pansy. "There're lots of lies abound, but this is not the time to be talking about –"
Hermione's jaw dropped. "It really is a lie!" No, she couldn't cry. Not anymore. Definitely not in front of Pansy Parkinson. "Malfoy, you're – you're – "
"Granger, what is WRONG with you? OPEN UP!"
Luna merely stood there, surveying the situation with a watchful eye. Then suddenly she whispered,
"Oh no."
Hermione was too devastated to pay attention. She just looked at the bewildered Draco with a completely broken expression. "So it really is your game? So it was your plan to tie my emotions to yours and toss me up and down like a pathetic toy? Just because I told on you once, you think it's tit-for-tat that you can play with me like that? Do you know how worried sick I was when I heard Corrinne say you were abducted? Do you know how terrified and guilty I felt, wishing that I had gone with you? AND IT WAS JUST ALL A LIE?" Her voice had risen into a shriek.
"GRANGER!" Draco exploded. "You're bloody insane! CAN'T YOU SEE I AM IN A FREAKING CELL?"
"You're lying to me again! It's a trap!"
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
"I told you you couldn't depend on her...", came Pansy's lazy voice.
"SHUT UP!" shouted Draco and Hermione, at her, in unison.
There was a very thick layer of silence that settled upon the tense atmosphere.
Then it was broken. "Ooh... one could almost conduct an entire Muggle electrical experiment with the electricity in here... such charged emotions..."
Hermione's eyes snapped away from Draco's and fixed upon the new character.
Then it flickered in recognition.
"It's rather late now, Miss Granger, what brings you here?" Augustus Rookwood flashed a crooked smile. "And your friend?"
Luna did not flinch, merely regarding Rookwood with a curious gaze.
"Screw it, Granger!" Draco was still at boiling point. "He's the one who's locked us in, blackmailed Pansy into kidnapping me, and now we're bloody stuck here without our wands! And he's got the diadem and is going after the rest! I can't believe you're suspecting me at this juncture!"
Rookwood hissed, and Draco glared coldly at him. Then the older Death Eater gave a sneer. "Draco Malfoy, don't pretend. you're going to give the diadem back to the Dark Lord together with me – and we will be honoured for our services in protecting his Horcrux. Maybe we might give Miss Granger here a little credit by mentioning her name to the Dark Lord, perhaps he might give her a little reward..."
"Augustus Rookwood, shut your filthy mouth!" It was Pansy who had screamed angrily.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at Draco; her grip on her wand tightened.
"Oh look, Draco, she looks like she's ready for some battle..."
But the expression Draco was giving her back startled her.
It wasn't that of the cold look he had shot to Rookwood seconds earlier, or the furious look that he had on when arguing with her.
It was the look he gave her when he had kissed her.
The way his eyes had searched hers as he breathed heavily into her face, his hands firmly against her back, the two of them pressed up together in a ball of heat.
"I'm a Death Eater... and you're a Muggleborn... do you need me to explain?"
Another memory surfaced in her mind. A chilly, wintery image.
"With that kind of circumstances in which my father was murdered, you can feel safer? What kind of monstrous being are you, Granger?" "I'm human!"
And then his voice – a cold, cutting one.
"Moralising little Mudblood, you and I are NOT on the same route!" Her eyes stung as he said that demeaning word once again, the word that spiralled their relationship back into the days of pure spite and hatred. "Especially not when there's betrayal involved!"
Finally – the whisper that had sent her nerves into a frenzy seemed to caress her ear once more.
"You do the strangest things ever, Hermione Granger. Why do you do them?"
Why did she do them? What had she just said?
This was infuriating! Why was she always shoved back and forth between believing him and doubting him?
"Are you contemplating which hex to give him?" Rookwood broke into her thoughts with an unsettling laugh. "I could give you a list."
"She's the brightest witch in our level, thank you," Luna said, with a nonchalant expression.
Rookwood's smile faded.
Without warning, Hermione suddenly lifted her wand –
"IMPEDIMENTA!" she screamed, as she blasted Rookwood into the wall, taking him completely off guard.
But before she could recover her nerves, she found herself being slammed against the cell gate. A sharp pain shot up her arm and head.
"HERMIONE!" Draco gasped, everything forgotten as he lunged for her before she fell to the ground. Propping her up with his arms as best as he could with the cell gate in between them, he shook her a little, prompting her to gasp in pain.
"Bloody hell..." He threw Rookwood, who was clambering up from the ground, the most deadly glare he could manage.
Luna did not miss a beat; she threw a hex over – and barely missed Rookwood. But a second later, she was sent crashing into the cell gate as well, shuddering the entire cell. Pansy had scrambled up to catch Luna as well, but she had poorer reflexes than Draco. Luna ended up tumbling onto Hermione, eliciting another gasp.
"CRUCIO!" Rookwood screamed, and suddenly both girls were tossed to the other side of the corridor. Draco watched in horror as Hermione screamed and writhed in agony, while Luna's face turned so white that she resembled a porcelain doll.
"STOP IT!" yelled Draco, completely horrified.
"STOP IT, YOU BEAST!" Pansy shrieked, shaking at the cell gate till it clanged and clanged.
Rookwood did stop, but his eyes were glinting with such menace that it struck fear into all the Hogwarts students. Hermione felt blood trickle out of her mouth, and her vision was blurring. Luna's eyes were closed, but she was still conscious; her hands were trembling – unable to lift her wand. Rookwood reached out to kick Luna's wand out of her grasp; Hermione's seemed to have been lost.
"Hmm... at first I only had two to play with. Now I have four. Things are getting very interesting. My Dark Mark is hurting... isn't yours, Draco?" He eyed Draco with an amused look, and Draco seethed as the Mark seemed to burn into him. "The Death Eaters are doing something big right now, pity I can't be involved. But this looks quite a big matter too, doesn't it?"
Then he looked back to the girls. "Now, tell me where the other Horcruxes are."
"I'm surprised... you think – so highly of us..." Hermione spluttered, throwing Rookwood a withering glance. "If you're s-so smart, go find out yourself!"
With that, Rookwood let out a roar of rage and threw another Cruciatus curse at her, eliciting a scream. Draco was in a complete wreck watching Hermione get tortured like this, that he could feel something hot bubbling within his eyes and blurring his vision. "STOP IT, YOU BLOODY DEATH EATER! IF YOU'RE SO SICK IN THE MIND, YOU CAN TORTURE ME! LET HER GO!"
Rookwood sniggered and made a tutting noise. "Draco, Draco, Draco! Too many girls that you're involved with. Trademark of a Death Eater, is that not? Relatively surprising though, considering your father wasn't really that kind, that prude..." And Draco's eyes flashed with pure rage.
Then Rookwood swung his wand towards Draco. "But very well, I shall grant your wish!"
-.-.-.-.-.-
"Remus?"
The tentative voice was echoing around the tower.
Albus Dumbledore stepped out into the open area. His sharp eyes caught sight of something in the shadows, lying against the wall.
Antonin Dolohov's lifeless eyes stared back at him.
"Albus, quick!" Minerva McGonagall's voice rang in his head as he searched for information on what was happening, all the while as he made his way through the tunnel that led from the Hog's Head to his office. Harry was scrambling to keep up with him, his panting reminiscent of the flustered manner he had burst into the inn to break the bad news of Hogwarts being infiltrated. "Remus – Tonks said Remus was cornered in the Tower by Dolohov! She's met with Bellatrix along with Kingsley, she can't save him!"
Dumbledore slowly turned around.
"Hello, Bellatrix."
The slim, wretched figure of Bellatrix Lestrange slipped out of the shadows, her straggly hair framing her bony face, as she eyed Dumbledore thoughtfully.
"Very astute, Albus, I see you're still rather good at that, aren't you? Eagle eye, always so observant, always so meddlesome!" She spat out the last word, a smirk forming. "Why, are you that ill, my dear, that you have to send so many people to come fight us? And so silly, really, I easily got out of that fight with Nymphadora and Shacklebolt. Really hate fighting with the Nymph, we're family after all... oh, talking about family, we're only here to pay my nephew a visit, is that wrong?"
"You are an unauthorised visitor, I'm afraid." Albus Dumbledore managed a smile. "Apologies, but that is the school rule."
"Such a stickler for rules, aren't you, Albus!" Bellatrix scoffed. "Can't stop caring for your students as Headmaster, until you'd bring them to places that they aren't supposed to go to! Pretend to be so nice to Draco and make him feel like – ohhh... we don't love him over here as much as Albus Dumbledore does... perhaps you'd do just fine as a fatherly figure since he's lost one... what a pity." She pouted. "What a pity."
"I'm glad Remus is fine."
"Don't you see, Albus? Don't you see why he's fine?"
"Yes, I do. You slipped away so that Tonks and Kingsley would be free to come up and save him before I came. Then you can take advantage of my worries and corner me alone. Very well-planned, Bellatrix," said Dumbledore, in a weary voice. His smile faded. "Alas, your plan can only go up to here. Bellatrix, it's best that you tell me where the Horcrux is."
Bellatrix let out a hysterical laugh. "Horcrux? Horcrux? Would you think I'd ever let you know if I knew where one was?"
"If you love him, then you should guide him back to sanity."
"This IS sanity!" Bellatrix screeched, suddenly provoked. "And who are you – YOU – to tell me how to love him!"
"Bellatrix, I..."
"ENOUGH!" Bellatrix's eyes flashed wildly. She held up her wand. "Any last words, Dumbledore? I'm sick and tired of listening to you preach. It's time for some playtime, and I love playtime."
Dumbledore did not move. He merely looked at her with a tired and aggrieved expression.
"Severus... you were the one who told on him, didn't you?"
"Told? I knew nothing!" barked Bellatrix, harshly. "I only offered some information..."
"And what about your sister? What would she say if you hurt Draco?"
A smile appeared on Bellatrix's face, that rose all the way up to her sunken eyes and crinkled the skin around them.
"She'd thank me."
With that, she swung her wand upwards.
"And she'd thank you too."