"Wait," Hermione whispered. Her voice shook a little as she spoke. " Why?" Harry asked, taking his hand off the doorknob. " What are we going to do if he really is in there?" she asked, looking nervous. " We'll just ask him to come quietly," Ron said, shrugging his shoulders. He looked anxious. " Or we could just blast him," he added, looking hopeful. The trio was after Draco Malfoy. Malfoy Manor now belonged to him, as a result of his father's capture by the Ministry. Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley were the Ministry's top three Aurors. It had actually been Ron's idea. The other two decided to join in because they knew that during these times Aurors were sent all over and they wanted to stay together. " Alright," she said,"Ask first. Blast later." She smiled at her best friends. "Come on, Hermione," Harry said, putting his arms around her," Don't be so worried. We've been through tons of crap before. Malfoy isn't going to cause anything that we can't handle. We all did that thing that you discovered. The death repeller, whatever its called." "It's not a repeller so don't go in there thinking you're invicible. It's kind of like a staller. It stalls death for a few minutes and I know," she said, relaxing in his embrace," We've all been friends now for over half our lives and if anything ever happened to either one of you, I would die. It's just that he hates you more than all the other Death Eaters do, so he will probably go for you first." " Oh no, he won't" Ron said, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder," I'll blast him first. He isn't about to take my unborn nephew's father away." When Ron had heard that Ginny was pregnant, he had been more happy than her and Harry combined. Harry smiled at him and released Hermione. " You see," he said, his voice calm," Nothing is going to happen to any of us. Especially you. If anything happened to you and we managed to make it out, Seamus would kill us anyway." " Yes, but-" Harry held up his hand and she fell silent. " Okay, we are going on the count of three. One..." Ron had his hand on the door, " Two....Three!" He flung the door open. They stepped inside and looked around. No one was there. Harry gave a little shudder. He could sense Dark Magic. This was a sixth sense that he had accquired over the years. He was here. Draco Malfoy and others. He wasn't alone. The vibrations were too strong. "I was wondering when I was going to see you," a familiar cold voice said as a tall blonde figure stepped out of the shadows. "Draco Malfoy." "Yes. Me, Weasley." He stopped and looked over at Hermione. "Granger. Still hanging around with these two, I see." "Yes, Malfoy. I am. And it's Finnigan now." "I can't believe you married that boy. He was always such an idiot." "You take that back," Hermione growled. "No. I don't see any reason not to speak the truth." Hermione's eyes were slits and her breathing could knock down walls. She raised her hand and pointed her wand at Malfoy. "I would put that down if I were you." Chills went up Harry's spine at the sound of his voice. His scar started to burn. Harry was suddenly aware of Voldemort's presence. A tall slim man appeared out of no where and walked slowly towards Hermione. "I said put that down." Hermione slowly lowered her wand but never took her eyes off Malfoy. "That's better. Now, there's no cause for you three to be here, risking your lives for no good reason. When will the Ministry ever realize that I have won? Seven years should have proved that. I am much stronger than all of them. Oh, but why am I wasting time explaining my greatness when I could be killing you?" With one quick motion, he had pulled out his wand and aimed it at Harry. "Crucio!" he screamed and Harry waited for the pain but it didn't come. Instead he heard Hermione's screams. He had never heard her scream so loud and it scared him. Suddenly the screams stopped and her breathing filled the room. She tried to stand up but failed. She was shaking too badly. Ron rushed over to support her. "Stupid girl," Voldemort spat at her. Malfoy smirked his infamous smirk and looked at his master with adoration. "See what happens to those who oppose me, Harry?" Voldemort said softly, ",and now that she is out of the way, I will kill you." He raised his wand and yelled, "Avada Kedavra!" Harry closed his eyes and waited for the rush of death to overtake him. It didn't come. Instead when he opened his eyes he saw Hermione crumpled at his feet. "No!" Harry fell to his knees and pulled her body up into his arms. Ron ran over and knealt next to Harry. "No. Hermione, why?" Harry sobbed, looking into her slow blinking eyes. " You are the only hope we have against him. If I would have let you die, the whole world would be in trouble. And Ginny would be awfully disappointed if her baby never got to meet its father. Tell Seamus I love him." "No, you can't go yet!" Harry shook her, but she was gone. Ron bowed his head as the tears fell down his face. Harry dropped the lifeless body and put his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed. Ron picked her up and hugged her to his chest. "I can't believe it," he cried into her hair. "I can," Voldemort spoke up. Both had forgotten he was there. Malfoy casually checked his nails and smiled. "As I said before.....stupid," Voldemort shook his head," She probably would have never done that if she had known." "Known what?" Harry demanded. "She was pregnant."