Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. Took a bit longer than I thought it would to get this baby out. But, here it is. Enjoy. Don't forget to R & R.
Thanx, Linz.
***
Three hooded figures stood in the center of the Leaky Cauldron. "Where is Harry Potter?" the shortest of the three asked. The late-night tavern patrons, including the inebriate Seamus and Dean, lay slumped over their tables, a result of the Stupefying Charm.
"Harry Potter? No... don't know where he is. Whatever your business is with him, you'll have to look somewhere else," replied Tom, the elderly innkeeper. The thick liquid in the bottle he held sloshed about, revealing his fear. Death Eaters... minions of the Dark Lord. And they're looking for Harry. Stay upstairs, boy. Tom had never been a very religious man, but he found himself praying for his life -- and Harry's.
A second Death Eater aimed his wand at Tom's chest. "You will tell our master everything you know, or you will die."
Tom mustered up all of his conviction. "Then I'll die! You'll never get away with this, you... you ruddy piece of scum!"
"Avada Kedav-!" The Death Eater's deadly curse was cut short.
"Malfoy! I should have known it was you. Come to finish me off, have you?" Harry taunted the trio of Death Eaters as he descended the stairs, Ron close behind him. "I'm afraid you may need more force than these oafs can provide." Crabbe and Goyle frowned at the unfamiliar, yet negative- sounding word.
Harry cleared the stairs and advanced slowly towards the familiar figures from his past. "Why doesn't Voldemort come here and finish me off himself? Scared, is he?"
"The Dark Lord isn't scared of you, Scar Face!" Crabbe scowled. It was a pitiful attempt at an insult; nevertheless, Goyle laughed and mimed drawing a scar on his own forehead. Malfoy rolled his eyes.
"A bit cocky, aren't we, Potter?" Malfoy remarked, stepping aside to reveal the scene behind him.
Harry's heart beat faster as he surveyed the terror before him. Ginny and Hermione were held against the wall by chains and shackles, writhing in pain. Their skin was scarred and streaked with blood, their eyes weary. Another Death Eater stood near them, intently muttering a string of curses, a glistening dagger in her other hand. "Crucio," her icy voice intoned. Harry could only imagine the pain the girls were in, and he knew that he had only a few minutes before they would be too far gone to save.
Ron paled at the sight. "Ginny. Hermione." he whispered with anguish.
"You wouldn't want Pansy there to let her wand slip and drive your little girlfriend insane, would you?" Harry glared at Malfoy, his eyes burning with fury. Malfoy smirked. "Didn't think so."
"Let them go, Malfoy. This is between you and me. What you're doing to them is just... inhumane." Harry chuckled. "But that's right -- you aren't human. Not since you murdered your own father. Chip off the old block, eh?" Malfoy flinched at the mention of his father, Lucius. He caught himself, and had fortified his stony composure within seconds, but Harry caught his hesitation.
Ron, his face completely red, stared at Ginny's limp and bloody body. "You won't get away with this, Malfoy. I'll kill you first."
"Ooh, Weasley, was that a threat? Not bad, not bad at all. Try again, then? Maybe insult my mother?" Malfoy remarked tersely.
"Malfoy, listen to reason," Harry protested, almost pleading. "Look at what you're doing. It's insane! This is not power, or truth, or justice. This is just the thoughtless act of a bloody fool. Sucking up to Voldemort, always in his shadow, ready to do whatever he asks. There has to be some compassion left in you, Malfoy. Let them down."
"NO!" Malfoy whipped out his wand. "Stupefy! Crustacious! Statuo!" Blue sparks issued from its tip, hitting Goyle square in the chest. Crabbe's feet were hit by concurrent black sparks. Tom, who had been silent until then, moaned as he hit the floor behind the bar.
Goyle fell to the ground in convulsions. Crabbe turned to stare Malfoy, wand raised. "Missed me," he stated.
"No, I didn't." Malfoy looked down at Crabbe's feet and watched as they slowly turned to stone.
Crabbe's expression went from shock to confusion, then panic as he desperately sought a counter-curse. The curse quickly rose through his body. Within seconds, all that remained was a Crabbe-shaped stone statue, a perpetually angry and confused-looking gargoyle.
The attack on Goyle was worse by far. Blood spilled from his mouth, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. The convulsions grew worse, and a large, moving object appeared in Goyle's throat. "What the hell did you do to him, Malfoy?" Ron asked, astonished.
"I transfigured his liver into a crab. Quite fitting, isn't it?" His claim was substantiated as a large red crab burst out from Goyle's chest, sending a shower of blood onto the floor where Goyle lay. Malfoy smiled with grim satisfaction.
Pansy never flinched as Crabbe and Goyle died. Harry took advantage of her intense concentration to incapacitate her with a well-aimed Stupefying Charm. Harry rushed over to Hermione and freed her from her chains. She collapsed into his arms. He helped her into a nearby chair, then freed Ginny. Glancing over his shoulder at Malfoy's remorseless reply, he surveyed the damage to the girls. Hermione's wounds had begun to clot, but Ginny's were still bleeding steadily.
"Are you okay?" he murmured to Hermione.
"No," she replied, "but I will be. Thank you, Harry."
Malfoy walked over to the Crabbe statue and promptly twisted off its nose. He tossed it in the air and caught it, satisfied at his handiwork. Ron seized the opportunity to throw ropes from his wand around Malfoy, who put up no resistance. He then turned his attention to the girls and Harry.
"I hate to interrupt your touching heart-to-heart over here, but she's hurt." Ron lightly touched each of Hermione's wounds as Harry attended to Ginny. "Curas Windan!" Each of the wounds healed and closed; there were no marks to indicate that the wounds had ever been there.
Harry walked over to Draco, who sat motionless, tied to a chair. "Malfoy... why?"
"Why what, Potter?" Draco spat at him.
"Why did you kill Crabbe and Goyle?"
"Because, Potter," Draco answered rudely, "I never liked them. They were idiotic and unbelievably annoying."
Harry knelt beside Draco. "I didn't think Death Eaters would kill their own kind."
"You'd be surprised." Malfoy said, with an snide grin. Suddenly, he started to twitch and shake in agony. Harry grabbed at his shoulder. "What is it? What's happening?" He leaned in to hear Malfoy's strained response.
"Help me, Potter... Help..." Draco mumbled as he passed out.
***
The Ministry of Magic was in disarray. Their new, significantly smaller workplace did not help matters. The Ministry had moved to Hogsmeade shortly after the annihilation of Diagon Alley and its adjoining streets. Hogsmeade was safer -- for now.
Justin Finch-Fletchley, a low-ranking Ministry employee, shuffled through Ministry headquarters from office to office, collecting various documents and papers.
"Hey, Finch! Here!" A hand emerged from an office, tossing out a thick file folder. He pulled out his wand and wearily cast a charm. "Impedimenta!" The folder paused in midair, then slowly floated over and landed soundlessly in Justin's levitating basket. The label on the cover read "Official Banishment of Werewolves from the Wizarding World: Thereby Severely Decreasing the Chance of Being Bitten in the Ass." They'll probably have to revise that title, but Professor -- I mean, Minister -- Snape will be quite pleased.
Justin hurried towards Snape's office, the overstuffed basket of files obediently following him. He'd always hated being in Snape's office, as it usually held large vials of unpleasant and smelly substances. Potions had never been his subject. Shortly after Justin was hired at the Ministry, the last Minister, Arthur Weasley, was assassinated. Severus Snape, Deputy Minister at the time, was more than pleased to take over the top position. It was rather ironic: a former Death Eater in charge of every wizard in Britain during times like these. But no one could argue against Snape's merits. He'd survived the Great Vampire War, and had carried the Ministry gracefully ever since.
"Mr. Snape?" Justin cautiously approached the office door.
"Finch-Fletchley. Come in," Snape snapped. Justin took a deep breath. We're not at Hogwarts anymore, so why does he still scare me so much? Exhaling, he entered.
***
Draco Malfoy awoke, cold and shivering. He looked around, wondering what had happened. I'm in... a dungeon? Looks like the one back home. Hmm. There were the standard accessories: shackles, bars, and chains. He was laying on a small cot in one corner. On the floor near the cot was a tray with some food: a couple of sandwiches and a glass of water. He reached over and ate hungrily. How long have I been here? Hours? Days?
After he'd finished eating, Malfoy rolled up his sleeve. The Dark Mark. Yep, still there. He was surprised that he was not still in agony. The Mark was a direct connection to Voldemort. He could summon any Death Eater simply by touching the Mark, and they would suffer excruciating pain if they did not immediately respond. Malfoy had been stupid to accept it, even though he hadn't had much of a choice in the matter.
Two things that plagued his mind at that moment: whether he would actually have to sleep in this bed, and where Harry was.
"POTTER!" Draco screamed into the darkness. A bouncing echo was his only reply.
***
"Look, Herm, I'm sorry I've been treating you so badly. You must hate me." Ron paced back and forth at the foot of Hermione's bed.
"I could never hate you, Ron! Never. And don't be sorry; it was my fault as much as yours. I'm the one who should be apologizing, and I am. I wanted to tell you where I was headed after graduation, I really did. I even thought of owling you, or even contacting you via fireplace. But, you have to understand, I simply couldn't. Ron, I love you. I always have, and I always will." Hermione looked hopefully at Ron as he sat down next to her.
"And I love you, Hermione. When you disappeared, I was confused and worried. There was this huge, gaping hole in my mind, in my soul. I tired to fill it: first with hate, then alcohol, then my work. But no emotion or drug could ever come close to making me feel the way I do when you're near me. You are my world, my universe, my everything." Ron put his arm around her. Hermione shuddered with pleasure at his very touch.
"So, you forgive me?" she asked.
"Yes, yes, a million times yes. And I can only hope you can forgive me for being such a prat. You deserve better than me. The way I acted."
Ron didn't have to wait long for a reply. She leaned toward him, and when her lips brushed his, electricity coursed through his system. Every nerve in his body cried out for more. He kissed her, and slipped his other arm around her arched back. Heaven must be filled with moments like these. Moments you're afraid of ending, because if you do, the earth might just stop spinning. Ron's head was spinning. Happy memories coursed through his brain as Hermione pushed her lips harder against his. No memory Ron had ever had could compare with what he felt at that moment.
Alas, all good things must come to an end, no matter how good they are. Ron and Hermione pulled away from each other, their faces flushed red. Hermione smiled and held Ron tighter.
"I will love you always and forever."
"Me, too, Herm. Me, too."
Thanx, Linz.
***
Three hooded figures stood in the center of the Leaky Cauldron. "Where is Harry Potter?" the shortest of the three asked. The late-night tavern patrons, including the inebriate Seamus and Dean, lay slumped over their tables, a result of the Stupefying Charm.
"Harry Potter? No... don't know where he is. Whatever your business is with him, you'll have to look somewhere else," replied Tom, the elderly innkeeper. The thick liquid in the bottle he held sloshed about, revealing his fear. Death Eaters... minions of the Dark Lord. And they're looking for Harry. Stay upstairs, boy. Tom had never been a very religious man, but he found himself praying for his life -- and Harry's.
A second Death Eater aimed his wand at Tom's chest. "You will tell our master everything you know, or you will die."
Tom mustered up all of his conviction. "Then I'll die! You'll never get away with this, you... you ruddy piece of scum!"
"Avada Kedav-!" The Death Eater's deadly curse was cut short.
"Malfoy! I should have known it was you. Come to finish me off, have you?" Harry taunted the trio of Death Eaters as he descended the stairs, Ron close behind him. "I'm afraid you may need more force than these oafs can provide." Crabbe and Goyle frowned at the unfamiliar, yet negative- sounding word.
Harry cleared the stairs and advanced slowly towards the familiar figures from his past. "Why doesn't Voldemort come here and finish me off himself? Scared, is he?"
"The Dark Lord isn't scared of you, Scar Face!" Crabbe scowled. It was a pitiful attempt at an insult; nevertheless, Goyle laughed and mimed drawing a scar on his own forehead. Malfoy rolled his eyes.
"A bit cocky, aren't we, Potter?" Malfoy remarked, stepping aside to reveal the scene behind him.
Harry's heart beat faster as he surveyed the terror before him. Ginny and Hermione were held against the wall by chains and shackles, writhing in pain. Their skin was scarred and streaked with blood, their eyes weary. Another Death Eater stood near them, intently muttering a string of curses, a glistening dagger in her other hand. "Crucio," her icy voice intoned. Harry could only imagine the pain the girls were in, and he knew that he had only a few minutes before they would be too far gone to save.
Ron paled at the sight. "Ginny. Hermione." he whispered with anguish.
"You wouldn't want Pansy there to let her wand slip and drive your little girlfriend insane, would you?" Harry glared at Malfoy, his eyes burning with fury. Malfoy smirked. "Didn't think so."
"Let them go, Malfoy. This is between you and me. What you're doing to them is just... inhumane." Harry chuckled. "But that's right -- you aren't human. Not since you murdered your own father. Chip off the old block, eh?" Malfoy flinched at the mention of his father, Lucius. He caught himself, and had fortified his stony composure within seconds, but Harry caught his hesitation.
Ron, his face completely red, stared at Ginny's limp and bloody body. "You won't get away with this, Malfoy. I'll kill you first."
"Ooh, Weasley, was that a threat? Not bad, not bad at all. Try again, then? Maybe insult my mother?" Malfoy remarked tersely.
"Malfoy, listen to reason," Harry protested, almost pleading. "Look at what you're doing. It's insane! This is not power, or truth, or justice. This is just the thoughtless act of a bloody fool. Sucking up to Voldemort, always in his shadow, ready to do whatever he asks. There has to be some compassion left in you, Malfoy. Let them down."
"NO!" Malfoy whipped out his wand. "Stupefy! Crustacious! Statuo!" Blue sparks issued from its tip, hitting Goyle square in the chest. Crabbe's feet were hit by concurrent black sparks. Tom, who had been silent until then, moaned as he hit the floor behind the bar.
Goyle fell to the ground in convulsions. Crabbe turned to stare Malfoy, wand raised. "Missed me," he stated.
"No, I didn't." Malfoy looked down at Crabbe's feet and watched as they slowly turned to stone.
Crabbe's expression went from shock to confusion, then panic as he desperately sought a counter-curse. The curse quickly rose through his body. Within seconds, all that remained was a Crabbe-shaped stone statue, a perpetually angry and confused-looking gargoyle.
The attack on Goyle was worse by far. Blood spilled from his mouth, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. The convulsions grew worse, and a large, moving object appeared in Goyle's throat. "What the hell did you do to him, Malfoy?" Ron asked, astonished.
"I transfigured his liver into a crab. Quite fitting, isn't it?" His claim was substantiated as a large red crab burst out from Goyle's chest, sending a shower of blood onto the floor where Goyle lay. Malfoy smiled with grim satisfaction.
Pansy never flinched as Crabbe and Goyle died. Harry took advantage of her intense concentration to incapacitate her with a well-aimed Stupefying Charm. Harry rushed over to Hermione and freed her from her chains. She collapsed into his arms. He helped her into a nearby chair, then freed Ginny. Glancing over his shoulder at Malfoy's remorseless reply, he surveyed the damage to the girls. Hermione's wounds had begun to clot, but Ginny's were still bleeding steadily.
"Are you okay?" he murmured to Hermione.
"No," she replied, "but I will be. Thank you, Harry."
Malfoy walked over to the Crabbe statue and promptly twisted off its nose. He tossed it in the air and caught it, satisfied at his handiwork. Ron seized the opportunity to throw ropes from his wand around Malfoy, who put up no resistance. He then turned his attention to the girls and Harry.
"I hate to interrupt your touching heart-to-heart over here, but she's hurt." Ron lightly touched each of Hermione's wounds as Harry attended to Ginny. "Curas Windan!" Each of the wounds healed and closed; there were no marks to indicate that the wounds had ever been there.
Harry walked over to Draco, who sat motionless, tied to a chair. "Malfoy... why?"
"Why what, Potter?" Draco spat at him.
"Why did you kill Crabbe and Goyle?"
"Because, Potter," Draco answered rudely, "I never liked them. They were idiotic and unbelievably annoying."
Harry knelt beside Draco. "I didn't think Death Eaters would kill their own kind."
"You'd be surprised." Malfoy said, with an snide grin. Suddenly, he started to twitch and shake in agony. Harry grabbed at his shoulder. "What is it? What's happening?" He leaned in to hear Malfoy's strained response.
"Help me, Potter... Help..." Draco mumbled as he passed out.
***
The Ministry of Magic was in disarray. Their new, significantly smaller workplace did not help matters. The Ministry had moved to Hogsmeade shortly after the annihilation of Diagon Alley and its adjoining streets. Hogsmeade was safer -- for now.
Justin Finch-Fletchley, a low-ranking Ministry employee, shuffled through Ministry headquarters from office to office, collecting various documents and papers.
"Hey, Finch! Here!" A hand emerged from an office, tossing out a thick file folder. He pulled out his wand and wearily cast a charm. "Impedimenta!" The folder paused in midair, then slowly floated over and landed soundlessly in Justin's levitating basket. The label on the cover read "Official Banishment of Werewolves from the Wizarding World: Thereby Severely Decreasing the Chance of Being Bitten in the Ass." They'll probably have to revise that title, but Professor -- I mean, Minister -- Snape will be quite pleased.
Justin hurried towards Snape's office, the overstuffed basket of files obediently following him. He'd always hated being in Snape's office, as it usually held large vials of unpleasant and smelly substances. Potions had never been his subject. Shortly after Justin was hired at the Ministry, the last Minister, Arthur Weasley, was assassinated. Severus Snape, Deputy Minister at the time, was more than pleased to take over the top position. It was rather ironic: a former Death Eater in charge of every wizard in Britain during times like these. But no one could argue against Snape's merits. He'd survived the Great Vampire War, and had carried the Ministry gracefully ever since.
"Mr. Snape?" Justin cautiously approached the office door.
"Finch-Fletchley. Come in," Snape snapped. Justin took a deep breath. We're not at Hogwarts anymore, so why does he still scare me so much? Exhaling, he entered.
***
Draco Malfoy awoke, cold and shivering. He looked around, wondering what had happened. I'm in... a dungeon? Looks like the one back home. Hmm. There were the standard accessories: shackles, bars, and chains. He was laying on a small cot in one corner. On the floor near the cot was a tray with some food: a couple of sandwiches and a glass of water. He reached over and ate hungrily. How long have I been here? Hours? Days?
After he'd finished eating, Malfoy rolled up his sleeve. The Dark Mark. Yep, still there. He was surprised that he was not still in agony. The Mark was a direct connection to Voldemort. He could summon any Death Eater simply by touching the Mark, and they would suffer excruciating pain if they did not immediately respond. Malfoy had been stupid to accept it, even though he hadn't had much of a choice in the matter.
Two things that plagued his mind at that moment: whether he would actually have to sleep in this bed, and where Harry was.
"POTTER!" Draco screamed into the darkness. A bouncing echo was his only reply.
***
"Look, Herm, I'm sorry I've been treating you so badly. You must hate me." Ron paced back and forth at the foot of Hermione's bed.
"I could never hate you, Ron! Never. And don't be sorry; it was my fault as much as yours. I'm the one who should be apologizing, and I am. I wanted to tell you where I was headed after graduation, I really did. I even thought of owling you, or even contacting you via fireplace. But, you have to understand, I simply couldn't. Ron, I love you. I always have, and I always will." Hermione looked hopefully at Ron as he sat down next to her.
"And I love you, Hermione. When you disappeared, I was confused and worried. There was this huge, gaping hole in my mind, in my soul. I tired to fill it: first with hate, then alcohol, then my work. But no emotion or drug could ever come close to making me feel the way I do when you're near me. You are my world, my universe, my everything." Ron put his arm around her. Hermione shuddered with pleasure at his very touch.
"So, you forgive me?" she asked.
"Yes, yes, a million times yes. And I can only hope you can forgive me for being such a prat. You deserve better than me. The way I acted."
Ron didn't have to wait long for a reply. She leaned toward him, and when her lips brushed his, electricity coursed through his system. Every nerve in his body cried out for more. He kissed her, and slipped his other arm around her arched back. Heaven must be filled with moments like these. Moments you're afraid of ending, because if you do, the earth might just stop spinning. Ron's head was spinning. Happy memories coursed through his brain as Hermione pushed her lips harder against his. No memory Ron had ever had could compare with what he felt at that moment.
Alas, all good things must come to an end, no matter how good they are. Ron and Hermione pulled away from each other, their faces flushed red. Hermione smiled and held Ron tighter.
"I will love you always and forever."
"Me, too, Herm. Me, too."