With Darkness There'll Be Light

Fifteen - Maddening Corruption

"You're---you're WHAT?" Harry demanded, falling lightly against the wall. Draco shifted on the stretcher, and it teetered dangerously. "How is that POSSIBLE?"

"Well," said Draco, his voice airy, "It would mean that the Dark Lord procreated--" he shuddered, "--which is disgusting…but it made me, so it can't be all bad."

Harry sighed heavily in aggravation, "Malfoy, Voldemort did not procreate."

"How do you know, Potter?" Draco demanded, a hint of his old sneer encrusted voice cropping up, "Were you there? Did you go around watching his little trysts? Did you bring popcorn…did they sell those awful Muggle candies there? How much were tickets?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Shut up, Malfoy, honestly." He glanced at Hermione, who started and slid back against the opposite wall from him, placing her beside Draco's stretcher. Draco's eyes lazily made their way to her. "Did Voldemort have---" Harry swallowed hard on a word he did not want to voice, "---did Voldemort have trysts?"

"How should I know," Hermione said, her voice a bit higher than normal, "I unquestionably wasn't there…I wouldn't pay for something as disgusting as that. And I most certainly would not bring popcorn."

Draco's lips curled into a very small grin, but one that Hermione saw and returned. Harry sighed, annoyed. "Shall I leave you two here to passionately snog? It's obvious you want to. Just say, 'Harry, could you excuse us for about, oh, four hours?' and I'll happily skip merrily off outside."

"You shouldn't put both happily and merrily like that in the same sentence. You're being redundant."

Harry shoved Draco's stretcher into Hermione for his comment. Hermione squealed and wiggled away from the stretcher, jumping up several steps.

"Honestly," she inhaled sharply and deliberately, "You two are carrying on like an old married couple. We have just narrowly escaped grave danger…could we get a move on? And, Draco, please stop lying to Harry about you being Voldemort's spawn. It doesn't increase your likeability in the least, and especially not for Harry, who is quite straight."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and trotted off down the last passageway. It would only be a moment before they got outside. None of them knew what time it was, so they had no idea whether to expect blinding sunlight or starry darkness, but it didn't matter.

"I think she fancies me," Draco said with raised eyebrows. Harry slapped him upside the head and pushed the stretcher up the last of the stairs.

Harry turned the corner and could make out Hermione's slow moving form up ahead. "Okay," he said quietly, "So, really, why didn't Voldemort want to kill you?"

"Have you ever heard of a Wizard debt?" Draco asked, his voice calm and yet terrified of revealing the information.

"Yeah," Harry replied slowly. "If you save someone's life, they owe their life to you."

"Exactly," Draco nodded, then abruptly closed his mouth.

"Don't make me Vervaciteous your arse, Draco." Harry warned, holding his wand up threateningly.

"That spell isn't legal, Potter, you won't step outside the law."

"Try me," Harry urged, steering the stretcher away from another wall. Hermione had stopped suddenly up ahead, but no one noticed.

"See, there was this time, at this Death Eater meeting that my father dragged me to…" he trailed off, "Why has Hermione stopped?"

Harry looked up, at Hermione, and picked up the pace to get to her faster. "Hermione," his voice was urgent, "Just push. It pushes open."

Hermione shook her head, "What pushes open, Harry? There's no opening here."

Harry stepped in front of her and swore loudly. His swearing was becoming more intense since he'd befriended Draco. "Where the bloody hell is the door?"

"I think some sort of spell opens it up. Or, ooh, Potter, try your Parsletongue. I know how you love to show off with that."

"Why are you being so disagreeable?" Harry demanded pointedly.

"Hmmm," said Draco sarcastically, "Perhaps it is because my father is dead…or perhaps it is because I nearly died…you can take your pick, there."

"I think it's because you're scared," murmured Hermione, raising a questioning eyebrow at him. "You can feel it. Like I can feel it. I know you can."

"Feel what?" Draco asked stubbornly.

"The pull," she clarified, stepping closer to him. Her hair was falling around her like an odd halo of brown trendils and her eyes were eerily bright, "The pull of the Dark side. Inside your heart…it's like a widening hole. It hurts. They're calling you…they're calling me."

Harry gaped at her, "Hermione, have you gone mad?" He reached out to feel her forehead but she screeched and swatted his hand away, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Draco's eyes widened and he gasped loudly. "What's happened to you?"

Draco and Harry watched, holding their breath, as Hermione pulled the sleeve of her robe up. She held her hand out, palm up, and revealed a skull with a snake sticking through its mouth. It was embedded on her fair, porcelain like skin, making the rest of her arm look weak in comparison.

The Dark Mark.

"What?" Harry said, flabbergasted, "How? Hermione? Why?"

Hermione grinned maliciously, "I will get great power and wealth…if I bring you to them, Harry Potter." She fixed her orb like eyes on Draco, "And, you, Draco Malfoy…I am to do what I want with you. Killing seems like the best option." She pulled her wand from the depths of her robes and pointed it at him. "Then you are out of my way."

"Hermione," Harry whimpered, "What have they done to you?"

"They've corrupted her," Draco said calmly, his frightened eyes not moving from the tip of Hermione's wand. "They've killed her."

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A/N: You should all know that I've always wanted to write evil Hermione vs. sweet Draco…so…yes. You know how this is a D/H fic…well why the hell isn't there any D/H? (There is SOME if you look hard enough.) There will be some, I promise you.