DISCLAIMER: I wish I would own Harry Potter, but unfortunately J.K. Rowling is the one he belongs to. Never mind, the plot is mine that's enough for me.
Author's note: Wow. So many reviews. Thank you very very very much. You really do brighten my days. I haven even started to get up earlier to check on the reviews every morning before I go to school/work. Oh, please, promise you'll never stop reviewing. I already know how the story is going to end, but I haven't decided what will happen up to this very last chapter, although I can assure you that there'll be a BIG and stunning surprise.
I'm not really satisfied with the following chapter, but unfortunately I don't have time to rewrite it at the moment. That's why I thought I post it for you and if it's really bad I'll rewrite it on the weekend. Just send me some reviews and tell me what you think about it. J
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And Then We Were Defeated
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Chapter 8
Escape
As soon as Draco had left the room Hermione placed the necklace on the desk and walked over to the door. She wouldn't wait for the engagement party to start, she would be gone way before that. Quietly she turned the doorknob and opened the door. Hermione took a step backwards and gaped at the doorframe which wasn't actually a doorframe, but another door. Unbelieving she opened this one, too, with the same result. Another door. And yet another one behind it.
"Malfoy, you...you..." She was so angry, she couldn't even think of an insult. But what had she expected? She was still the prisoner of the deatheaters. Only because she wasn't kept way down in the dungeons any longer this didn't mean she simply would be able to walk out of this room and the Manor. Hermione scolded herself silently, she should have thought of this. Now she had to find a way to break this annoying spell, which would be quite impossible without her wand. Reflecting she bit her lower lip and paced across the room to the window and looked outside. Her room was at least on the third floor, no way that she could jump out of the window from this height and survive, she would certainly end up smashed to ugly bloody bits and pieces if she tried anything like that. The only other room she had access to was her gorgeous bathroom, which had neither windows nor another door. Hermione sighed and went over to the bookshelf, maybe she could find something in these books to help her out. She wouldn't give up so easily, there were still a few hours left until the beginning of this party Malfoy had mentioned. Enough time for her to get out of here.
After a while Hermione's stomach ached, she was definitely hungry. "Dobby?" she asked timidly and the house-elf apparated.
"Yes, Miss Hermione?"
"Dobby, could you please get me something to eat? I'm starving."
A broad smile appeared on Dobby's face, he vanished without a reply and only seconds later he reapperated with a silver plate loaded full of fresh fruit and sandwiches.
"Oh, Dobby." Hermione thanked him happily and hungrily bit into a delicious looking Turkey sandwich. The elf watched her with a pleased expression on his face. "Is there anything else Dobby can do for Miss Hermione?" Hermione swallowed hard and put a second, in the meantime already half finished sandwich back on the plate. Her brown eyes locked with Dobby's and she sounded very serious and solemn when she finally asked: "Dobby, can you help me get out of here? Can you help me to escape?"
His eyes widened. "Master Draco ordered you're not to leave this room."
"But, Dobby, I..." Hermione began to answer although she could see his worried and frightened look and her voice died down. "It's all right, Dobby. I know you can't help me, I shouldn't have asked for it." she eventually managed to say and bent down to hug the little house-elf tightly, who stood there once again torn between his loyalty to his master and his friendship with Hermione and Harry Potter.
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Draco descended the marble staircase down to the front hall of the Manor. His father wanted to meet him in the ballroom to go over the details of tonight's engagement ceremony. A little smile played on the young man's lips when he thought of how he was going to spoil his father's precious plans for him later that evening. Entering the ballroom he tried to keep his face straight to hide his satisfaction. Everything was already beautifully decorated, thousands of candles floated under the ceiling and flooded the room with light, but Draco didn't notice, he was too busy with his own thoughts. Nearly Voldemort's entire following would be present in the evening to participate in a splendid party to honour the Dark Lord and his future heir, the offspring of Draco's engagement and marriage.
"Father." He greeted the elder man impersonally with a nod after he had watched him turn. The time when he had been eager to make Lucius proud of him were gone. Now he didn't want to fight for his father's appreciation any longer, he didn't need it anymore. "Has my fiancée arrived, yet? I'd like to get to know her before, well, before proposing to her, you see."
"Ah, Draco." Lucius smiled coldly. "No, she isn't here yet, but the Dark Lord ensured me that she would be here on time. No need to worry about her, son. Now listen. Your mother handed you the Malfoy engagement ring, didn't she? When you propose to her at midnight and she accepts the ring there won't be a way to break up with her. She will be bound to you as you will be to her. She will be a true member of the Malfoy family as will be your son."
Draco nodded. Inside he could feel a big lump of ice forming in his stomach and he froze inwardly. "When is the wedding going to take place?" was all he wanted to know. "There's going to be a ceremony in two days at full moon." Draco remained silent. It was his wedding and he had absolutely no say in it as in anything else concerning his life so far. This had to change, he thought, and tonight he would make a start. Tonight would be the beginning of his escape from his father and Voldemort's reign over him. Without another word he walked out of the ballroom and went back upstairs. He knew he had been alone all his life no matter how many people had been around him. Nobody tried to understand him. Nobody even wanted to understand him. He had never been good enough for his father although he had always made an effort to fulfil Lucius' standards. Nevertheless, in his father's opinion he had failed to be the son he had wished for when Draco was born. Draco had been feeling this since he was little and back then he had felt guilty, but today he didn't care anymore.
