A huge thank you to RESimon and Jamethiel for their beta work.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

They landed in a forest.

Hermione wheezed in thick gulps of air, the cold feeling razor-sharp as it dragged through her lungs. The pain of it took her breath away and forced her to suck down even more razor-sharp lungfulls. She couldn't stop, and each breath felt deeper and more desperate than the last. The pain only burrowed further with each heaving breath she took, and she clawed desperately at her throat in hopes of reprieve. Images of several red-headed figures assaulted her, their wands pointed at her while their expressions were twisted in masks of hatred and disgust.

Cool fingers locked around her own, tugging her hands away from her throat. "Granger." His voice was an anchor, dragging her out of the clawing darkness. "Breathe."

Breathe. Focus.

She exhaled a ragged breath, focusing on the feeling of the stinging cold on her skin, in her, burrowing deeper—

"Breathe."

This time her breath was shorter, sharper.

"Again."

The next breath still stung but didn't feel like knives burrowing into her stomach. She grasped at his hands as firmly as he had hers, and her fingers were tight but neither pushing nor pulling.

"Open your eyes."

She forced them open on his command. His words wrapped around the invisible vise in her consciousness and tugged at it. She took a long, slow blink; the feeling of it almost lethargic. She took another and then her eyes rested on him. Even in the darkness, his eyes glittered lowly. The sharp grey of them nearly matched the hazy moon that hung high in the sky somewhere above them. She locked onto them, unable to tear her eyes from his. His mouth continued to move although her eyes did not stray, and she followed his directions almost robotically. Breathe. Blink. Focus.

She let herself focus on him. From his searching eyes down to the way his full lips formed each word as he repeated them like a mantra. She took a deep breath and let her eyes flutter shut again, focusing on the feel of him. He was close enough that his steady breaths mingled with hers. The cool air robbed them of most warmth, but she felt it radiating off of his form nonetheless. He still held her hands firmly. There was a sliver of space that was cooler than the rest of his hand, and her eyes slowly opened to settle them upon the weight of his wedding ring on his finger.

"I—" Her voice was raw.

"We were not discovered." He offered no more, but realization washed over her as she swept her eyes over him, taking in his hair that was still charmed a vibrant red. His clothing was still spattered with some of the various substances that had rained down upon them.

She looked around at the dark, quiet forest they stood in. "Where are we?"

He dropped her hands and twisted away slightly, eyes scanning the trees. "Are you able to complete our task?"

Instantly, her throat once again felt as though it was closing. She looked away, opening her mouth and closing it again. Her mind was immediately assaulted images of red-headed figures, except a lone black-haired figure was now in their midst. This time, they were dead. Their bodies were mangled, twisted in ways she wasn't certain if she'd seen before or if she'd conjured herself, dragged up from the depths of her nightmares—

"Yes." The word was the clearest she'd spoken so far, nearly completely devoid of the rising terror that roiled in her gut as she shoved it down deeper.

"Granger."

His fingers were upon her jaw, forcing her to look at him. "I need you—" His teeth were gritted, and she could see him struggling to find the words over the mask of cool indifference he'd rarely shaken. "I need you to focus. If we're going to save anyone, you need to focus."

"I will," she answered, already drawing on her Occlumency to block what she hadn't the strength to do herself. She folded back the images and memories that plagued her and burrowed them deeper into her mind until her mask of blank focus settled into place.

They Apparated away the second her hand settled into his. They once again landed in a darkened forest, their surroundings as dark as they'd been moments before.

A cold sense of dread seeped into her. It settled over her, feeling heavy as she tried to move. She swept her mind clear and folded it away. They there to infiltrate — there was no room for it.

They moved through the forest in air felt only more frigid as they moved closer to their destination. A low mist had settled along the forest floor, compounding the ominous sense of discomfort she hadn't been able to banish completely. They paused only to erect a few wards of their own, and it was all too soon before they were crouched in familiar shadows in view of the cottage. He turned to her and gave her a sharp nod before he disillusioned himself and cast the same spell over her.

She could see the blur in the air where he was but shivered nonetheless when he spoke into her ear. "We need to be quick and precise. We might not have minutes —"

"I'm alright." Her voice was flat, devoid of the emotions she'd buried deep in her mind. "Let's go."

She caught a slight shimmer in the air where he was and nodded back at him, unsure if that had even been his gesture at all. Before either of them could hesitate, she moved forward, crouching as she crept away. When her boots hit the plush grass she felt too exposed under the bright moonlight and picked up speed. She breezed between the two men that were stationed in front of the cottage. Their eyes were sharp as they observed their surroundings, but they nonetheless missed her completely. She knew that she would be but a featureless blur in the air to anyone who focused long enough, but it did not stop her heart from racing as she tore toward the cabin. This close, it was even more beautiful than it had been from afar. Despite the chilly weather the array of exotic flowers that grew around the property bloomed brightly, caught in a magical stasis of mesmerizing color.

She stopped and cast a detection spell that revealed several people moving about inside. All of the figures moved with casual slowness, and all were gathered on the first floor. Certain that there were no prisoners inside, she moved closer and looked up at the first window before her. She admired the beauty of the craftsmanship that had gone into making it appear quaint yet luxurious, another perfect piece of the grand architecture that sprawled before her.

Then she pointed her wand and exploded it.

It shattered into a cloud of fine shards as it blew inward. She heard yelps of surprise from within before another shatter sounded from across the way, sending the room's occupants into chaos. Before anyone could investigate the assault, she tossed a pouch through the broken class before she exploded it as well. She heard the pounding footsteps of one of the guards from the front approaching her, and stunned him before exploding another pouch behind her. The lush foliage was immediately swallowed by the impenetrable darkness the powder created. The inky blackness of it began to rise into the sky, swallowing the stars and parts of the moon as it went.

She couldn't waste a moment. She charged toward the next window and repeated her first assault, doing the same for the next two she bounded toward. When she rounded a corner at the back of the property, she froze as she was met by a wall of darkness. She spun, panicking as she saw her own cloud rapidly approaching. She ran towards the rapidly closing gap where she could still see the blossoming grass. Her boots pounded the grass as she ran. Her heartbeat sped up almost impossibly faster as the lighted area diminished to nearly a sliver. She could hear the shouts of the men behind her — all around her — as they poured out of the house only to find themselves cloaked in the same impenetrable darkness she was in. She whipped her head around as she tried to find Malfoy, desperate to see the beacon of light that he was supposed to be carrying.

When his hand clamped down on her arm, she immediately knew it was him. He looked down at her, the Hand of God in one hand and his wand caught tightly in the other where he held her. The light was a beacon of comfort in the chaos, and she forced herself to take slow, steady breaths. He looked down at her, a question in his eyes.

"I'm alright," she whispered. The shouts around them continued to grow louder. His hand snaked down to catch hers and she followed him forward. They moved as quickly as they dared, ever aware of the shouts of the men around them as they tried to navigate the inky blackness. When one ventured close enough, they shot them down with a quick spell before continuing on and cutting down as many that stepped into their wake as they could. It felt easier, somehow, for Hermione to not have to see the men's bodies as they fell, not to see their bones shattered or their skin rotting with whichever nasty curses she shot at them.

"You." The voice startled her as a man suddenly appeared beside them, the tip of his wand at her throat.

Before he could utter another word, there was a flash of light from Malfoy's wand and he crumpled to the ground, disappearing into the blackness once again.

They took off at a run then, the Hand bouncing in the darkness as they tore forward. The sense of dread she'd been fighting off since they'd returned to the property had only grown more persistent. Her skin tingled with the feeling even as they finally burst into the night.

Without a moment's hesitation, Malfoy turned and pointed his wand at the darkness. A roaring dragon made of flames shot from the end of it, lighting a bright path through the blackness before it burst into a brighter flame as it caught the cottage. She could nearly taste the death and destruction the flames brought upon the air, consuming everything in their wake.

Beside her, something moved in the darkness.

Hermione's head whipped to the movement, eyes narrowing at the darkness and mist that obscured her vision. An unsettling feeling settled upon her chest, comingling with the dread that had only grown stronger with every step they'd taken back into the darkened forest. "Malfoy," she started, eyes still whipping around in the dark, "something's wrong—"

A hand clamped down on her ankle and she shot a spell at it as she stumbled back, stifling a scream. From the mists beyond the first figure rose another. It was rotting skin that clung to bone, its limbs twisted awkwardly even as it moved with surprising swiftness.

Inferi.

Malfoy snatched her hand and started to run. More inferi flew out of the darkness, attacking them from all sides as they ran, their feet pounding on the ground as they charged forward. An inferi barrelled into her from the side, sending her tumbling down into the dirt. It clawed at her with its rotting, skeletal fingers as she felt along the ground for where her wand had slipped from her fingers. Her hand closed around its base when another sprung forth. She blasted them both away before she was dragged upright. Around them, the air had begun to light up with curses as the shouts of the Death Eaters grew closer. They took off again, running desperately forward.

Keep moving, she repeated to herself even as the chaos continued around them. Inferi and Death Eaters alike pursued them as they continued to tear toward the wards.

Just as she cast a detection spell that revealed the wards which stood only feet away from them, a figure Apparated before them. Terror seized her heart like a vise, bringing her heart to a shuddering stop before it resumed in a staccato.

It was Bellatix.

Her lips were pulled back over her teeth as she took deep, violent breaths. Her entire figure trembled as she pointed her wand at Hermione, her eyes wide and wild.

"FOOLS!" she screeched. The sound grated deep, and she shrank back instinctively.

Before Hermione could move, her head snapped back as she was lifted into the air with a violent jerk of the woman's wand. An invisible force closed around her neck, suffocating her. Its force was unrelenting, closing in harder and harder as she struggled. Her vision blurred through the tears that stung her eyes. She clawed desperately against the invisible force at her throat with one hand while she slowly stretched the other, attempting to summon her wand. Behind Bellatrix she saw Malfoy doubled over, one pale hand clutching his own throat as they both slowly suffocated under the force of the spell. She imagined him drowning in the all-consuming cold she'd felt when he'd nearly died all those months ago, the memory renewing the strength with which she tried to summon her wand.

The force was gone just as her wand flew into her hand. She stumbled to the forest floor in a heap, heaving for breath. She stumbled to her feet and found Malfoy with Bellatrix pinned against a tree. The woman somehow looked even wilder, thrashing below the force of his spell. His wand was steady as he held it toward her, his eyes narrowed in a concentration so fierce that she feared it. She'd seen him angry before, but hadn't seen the true depths of it. The rage that was painted on his face now was cold and heartless, devoid of any emotion.

"We have to go!" she shouted. Her words fell on deaf ears and Malfoy only flicked his wand harder. Bellatrix's skin had darkened as she strained under the spell that was slowly sucking away her life force.

She shot down two inferi as they charged toward them. The spells of the Death Eaters grew closer as they began to close in on them, and Hermione threw desperate spells back even as she ran to Malfoy, trying to pull him away. Only she caught the movement as Bellatrix's wand zipped through the air and toward her barely outstretched fingers. Malfoy's deadly stare was fixated upon her, his eyes still unwavering.

She barrelled into him, knocking him over and breaking the spell just as Bellatrix's fingers closed around her wand. Malfoy's eyes were as wild as his aunt's as they met Hermione's. He snarled at her and made to throw her off, the moment pulling them both out of range as Bellatrix sent a flash of deadly green light toward them.

Malfoy's cry of rage was haunting. "Avada—"

Before he could finish uttering the spell, Hermione wrapped herself around him and Apparated them away.

X

When they landed, it was upon the bed. He was perched atop her, looking at their surroundings. His head whipped back and forth, taking in the room. When he turned back to her, his face was contorted with rage.

"What the fuck?!" His bellow rattled her, sending her heart racing as she tried to meet his look with an unwavering one of her own.

"It was too much of a risk. We couldn't—"

"Fuck you!" His hands slammed down on either side of her, his arms caged around her. The light made glaring what has previously been only hinted at under the cloak of night. Every muscle strained against his flushed skin. His eyes were wide and wild as he bore down over her. He looked every bit as manic as Bellatrix had, and in that moment it terrified her.

"Draco." She laid her hands against the tight muscles of his chest.

"Don't."

The word was spat with such hate that she wanted to recoil. Still, her hands stayed steady upon his chest. He was a serpent tensed to strike; her gentle and unmoving hands on his chest the only thing keeping him at bay. His teeth were bared as he continued to glare down at her, and she wondered if he would strike.

He got off of the bed in a movement so quick and graceful that she blinked before turning to where he now stood in the center of the room, his mask of rage unmoved. "You are a fool," he said through tightly clenched teeth.

"I am no fool." She stood and faced him, ignoring the way his towering frame loomed over hers. "She would have killed you before you managed anything—"

"I ALMOST HAD HER!" This time, his words truly felt as though they had rattled the room. The sound caused goosebumps to raise along her skin.

"We couldn't do it, it was too risky—"

"Risky?! What poses a true risk is her roaming free. You have no idea what she's done—"

The elastic of tension that was stretched taut in her stomach snapped. "I was there! I was there when she killed Sirius, I saw her on the night— the night—"

"Say it, Granger." His eyes glimmered with a strangely manic glee, undercut with a fury that somehow seemed to run even deeper the longer they argued.

"The night Snape killed Dumbledore."

He spat out a humorless laugh. "Not that."

She suddenly felt so small under the onslaught of memories that she'd tried to bury, sweeping the shattered pieces of her innocence into the back of her mind. "The night you— the night you tried…"

"The night I tried to kill him," his voice was low but venomous. "I implore you not to forget who I am. Who she made me into."

She couldn't stop her lip from quivering. "That's not you," she said. "It's not—"

His haunting smirk grew even wider. "Oh, but it is." He stepped closer until they were but a hair's breadth away. "We have been doing little but researching Horcruxes and arriving at the scenes of mass murders too damn late. We've done this while the ones we're fighting this war to protect are out there enduring and dying. And you— you stopped me from doing the one thing that could truly change the tide of this war."

He caught her by the chin, forcing her to look up at him as she tried to look away. "I can feel your guilt. I hope it suffocates you."

He slammed the door behind him as he left, leaving her standing in the middle of the room, alone.

X

It occurred to her while she was making tea.

She was standing in the darkened kitchen, lit only by the soft moonlight that filtered in through the kitchen window. She'd spent several fitful hours laying awake in bed. Her mind was plagued with images of a fiery dragon and the wild, evil look on Bellatrix's face as she'd raised her wand. She'd tiptoed past where she suspected Malfoy still lay awake despite his figure being a stiff and unmoving shadow in the darkness. She'd tried and failed to stop the images of what had transpired from assaulting her mind every time she closed her eyes—

Her heart stopped.

When it restarted, it was a stuttered staccato. The sound of her mug shattering on the ground was but a distant stir over the whooshing noise that crashed in her ears. She sucked in sharp, shallow breaths that did nothing to quell the tightness in her chest. She pressed a hand against it, pressing even as the pain sharpened. Her mind was assaulted with images that played in a sickening loop, folding closer together with each repeat. Dead bodies littering the streets. Inferi. The all-consuming rage that twisted Bellatrix's features as she'd tried to kill her.

Horcruxes.

She stumbled across the room, ignoring the pain that flared as her bare feet hit the shards of her shattered mug. Secrets of the Darkest Arts shone to her like a beacon, taunting her. Chills never failed to pass through her even when her fingers merely ghosted over the spine of the book. This time she ignored it, snatching it off of the shelf without a thought of the cold that settled upon her heart as she did. She ripped it open to the page she'd poured over countless times, her blood running cold as she let the words she'd long since memorized sink in.

"Horcruxes," it read, "are the darkest of all arts, reserved only to the foulest of beings who reserve no affection for what tethers us to humanity."

"Granger!" Malfoy's voice cut through the pounding in her head. She snapped her wide eyes to his, her mouth opening and closing uselessly as she felt the chills of the revelation crawling up her spine.

When she finally found the words to speak, her voice held a desperate edge. "Horcruxes—Bellatrix— she's making Horcruxes, isn't she?"

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