Disclaimer: These characters were created by the one and only J. K. Rowling.

Ron spun around on his heel to see who the strange voice belonged to. It had sounded vaguely familiar and his conclusion was confirmed as he came face to face with none other than Dumbledore.

"There will be no killing this evening Ronald Weasley!" he said with that familiar sound of authority yet still calmness resided. He shot a very reassuring glance at Draco with his soft blue eyes and motioned for him to attend to Hermione. Draco shook his head "no" minutely but Dumbledore reassured him with an unnoticeable "yes."

Draco moved slowly and quietly and bent down on his knees to Hermione. The only thing that Hermione could move was her eyes and her mouth. She was lying face down on the ground and Draco carefully rolled her over onto her back. A silent tear rolled down Draco's face as an expression of excruciating pain rested on Hermione face.

"Draco, it hurts so much! I can't even move..." she whispered.

"I hate seeing you in pain....I wish this was me."

"No Draco. I'll fight just to be back with you."

"I love you Hermione."

Draco slid his arms under her gently so as not to inflict any further pain on her. Her head lolled over his arm; she couldn't even tense the muscles in her neck to keep her head upright. He carried her to an area behind a rock to protect her and positioned her head so she could see what was going on.

"I'll be back for you...I promise."

"I'll be waiting..."

Draco smiled weakly and kissed her on the forehead. She felt a tear drip on her forehead from him.

"Draco, don't cry...I'm not going any where."

"I'm so sorry Hermione. Things weren't supposed to be like this tonight...it was supposed to be perfect."

"Draco, it doesn't matter. I love you and we will be together forever after tonight. I will not leave you..." she whispered weakly.

Draco kissed her gently on the lips and pulled his wand back out, keeping it at the ready. He stepped right next to Dumbledore as he interrogated Ron. Dumbledore remained calm with no tone of anger residing in his voice whatsoever.

"Ron, what has happened to you?"

"Hermione, that's what happened to me."

"You used to be such a kind and polite young boy back at Hogwarts."

"Well, times change old man."

"Yes, I suppose they do." Dumbledore was not a man of resentment for insults.

"That damn Mudblood bitch!"

"I told you not to call her that!" yelled Draco as his wand rose. Draco was about to jinx Ron to hell but Dumbledore grasped his wand and pulled it back down by his side.

"I will kill her if it's the last thing I do."

"You're going to have to go through the both of us to get to her!" yelled Draco.

"Yeah, well, that won't be a problem. You'll have plenty to occupy yourselves with..."

"You and what army?"

"Me and this army!"

Ron flicked his wand and behind him appeared Voldemort and five of his fellow Death Eaters.

"C'mon, is that all you got?" yelled Draco threateningly.

"It seems that your ego is bigger than your talent Malfoy."

"No, I will fight for Hermione to my death."

"It is her I want, you stupid prick! I suppose torturing you to insanity might do some good, but I will not allow you two to be together."

"You have a purely twisted mind!"

"I see I have done well in teaching you!" came a cold voice from behind Ron.

"Yes master." he said over his shoulder.

"Ron, I've said this to Hermione several times, I never meant to torment you three...it was an order, I had no choice."

"Yeah? And who might have given you that order?"

"My father..." he said, trailing off.

"Your father is a legacy among my Death Eaters" said Voldemort.

"He's a legacy because he killed Mug-"

Dumbledore quickly shut him up. Draco's temper was not one of his better suits.

"You're father was highly respected, even by myself. He was always one of loyalty to me and he never once let me down, until the day Draco Malfoy..."

"Until what day?"

"Until the day that he told me that you, of all people, would not be following in his footsteps and that you would not be joining me."

"It was the best thing I've ever done in my life too."

"That is pathetic."

Rage pulsed throughout Draco's veins but was not distinctly visible.

"Pathetic it may be, but I couldn't be happier."

"I'm sure Hermione could be a lot happier..." said Ron.

"Never..." Hermione said weakly.

"You could have been my queen!"

"Never...."

"You're queen, Ron?"

"Yes, my queen. I suppose she would have been very happy as well."

"What makes you think you're any king?"

"The Dark Lord has appointed me his heir. After you withdrew from joining our group, who will one day destroy all who stand in our way, he found me much like your father."

Dumbledore began to speak quietly and calmly.

"Tom Riddle! Why are you so evil?"

"There is no good and evil. There is only power and those too weak to seek it."

"There is good in our world, Tom. It is there in ways that are not comprehensible to any living being. It is one of the great mysteries that we face today."

"I think you're going to make me cry..." said Ron as he wiped a fake tear from his face.

"Enough of this bickering!" yelled Voldemort. "Let's get on with the torture. Where is Hermione?"

"I will never let you get her."

"I think it's a little too late for that, my dear boy." He laughed maliciously as he stood, towering over her. He had disappeared and appeared at her side. His long, pale, wrinkly fingers gripped his wand as he pointed it toward Hermione, lying lifeless on the ground. Her eyes showed no emotion, no fear at all.

"Let the duels begin!" said a familiar voice from behind after a *POP* had been heard. Draco spun to identify the voice and Remus Lupin and Mad-Eye Moody stood with their wands in their hands. They began shooting jinxes at the Death Eaters when Draco heard a conversation behind him.

"Now it's your turn, you filthy Mudblood. I'm going to have great fun in bringing about your death just as I did to your parents. I did love that evening and what a joy it will be to have the entire thing reoccur. Cru-"

Draco spun quickly on his heel and shouted "Imperio!"

Voldemort was sent flying back towards the rocks. He hit them with a loud crash and slid slowly down them. The back of his cloak was stained with greenish blood that had emerged from his injured head.

"Epellarimus!"

Voldemort's wand was sent flying towards Draco and he caught it midair. Voldemort lie unconscious and unarmed. Draco took the opportunity to snap the wand over his knee and tossed it out to sea.

"Don't you move..." came a voice from behind him. He could feel the tip of a wand resting on the side of his neck.

Draco elbowed him in the nose.

"Ha, you see, Muggle methods come in handy!"

Draco turned to helped Lupin, Moody, and Dumbledore duel with the Death Eaters. It wasn't long before only two of them stood. As Draco shot a jinx at one of the remaining hooded figures, he saw Voldemort begin to stir out of the corner of his eye. Dumbledore had already been on the task however.

Dumbledore stood patiently awaiting Voldemort's awakening. Voldemort moved his head slightly to one side and suddenly his cold eyes snapped wide open. A smirk marched across his face as he Disapparated from the spot where he was sitting to behind Dumbledore.

"It seems my wand is missing, but, that is no matter."

Voldemort snapped his fingers and the two remaining Death Eaters appeared at his side. The throwing of jinxes had ceased and Lupin and Moody stood adjacent to Dumbledore and Draco. The two swept themselves in front of Voldemort and held their wands readily.

Voldemort disappeared and the jinxing once again began. only this time Dumbledore went at Voldemort as he appeared at Hermione's side again.

"Albus, please, this is my fight."

"I respect that; I'll be your back up."

"No, I want to do this on my own. Please..."

"Very well, but be careful."

"Draco, I will kill her and there is nothing you can do to stop it" said Voldemort.

"She doesn't deserve to die. What do you have against Muggles? Why are you so cold hearted?"

"Because, that's all I was ever taught. It's how I grew up. I find pleasure in seeing others in pain, especially Muggles. They took over our world and it was not their place."

"They do us no harm; they are as nice as almost any wizard I've ever known."

"Look what's happened! Because of them, we've had to create our own world and conceal it! It matters not. Even without my wand I am more powerful than you could ever wish to be."

"I wish not to be powerful, but happy."

"You are pathetic! Crutio!" He shot his hand outward, his palm facing Draco and the spell hit him hard. He lay there, twitching in pain, writing until he crumpled to the ground. Voldemort levitated Draco above the ground, his body still twitching wildly. Voldemort laughed viciously and evilly, but Draco shed not a tear.

After a few minutes of this pleasurable torture, Voldemort released Draco of the jinx and Draco lay motionless for a moment. Then slowly, Draco struggled to stand up, his muscles shaking from pain, but he still showed no tenderness. He grabbed his wand that had dropped to the ground and stood upright.

"You would have done well with me."

"I'd rather die than join you and your goons!"

"I have one goal and one goal only...to finish what I started. I need to get you out of the way however. Crutio!"

Again Draco bent over in pain, his body doubled over. He showed nothing to Voldemort and after a few minutes, Voldemort released him. He fell to the ground but did not move this time.

"Finally, after all of these years Granger...say good bye to your lover boy. Avanda-"

Voldemort's jinx was cut short by another jinx thrown at him. Draco could not move but he heard a series of jinxes being thrown between Dumbledore and Voldemort. With one last jinx, all noise ceased.

Draco opened his eyes and smoke lingered in the surrounding air. It was dense and no noise could be heard except the beating of his own heart. His eyes darted blindly around and a figure appeared to be approaching him. When it got close enough, he identified it as Professor Dumbledore.

"Are you alright?"

"I think so" he said weakly. Draco pulled himself up off the ground with a great deal of effort and then staggered sideways.

"Sit down."

Draco nodded and sat himself down near where Hermione lay.

"Hermione?"

"Mmmm?"

"How are you doing?"

"Not too well."

"We're going to get you two to St. Mungo's in London."

With that, Dumbledore tapped a nearby rock with his wand and produced a Portal Key. Lupin and Moody walked steadily over to Dumbledore and the five of them grabbed hold of the Portal Key.