*
Hermione hoped she was dreaming. She prayed that it was a nightmare, that
she would wake up and find herself alone in her dorm room with Draco's
comforting breathing to lull her to sleep.
Lucius had come and left. Although he had not used his wand yet, the threat was as tangible as the ropes which cut into her wrists when the death eaters came. He had slapped, hit, and cut her skin with the ring on his finger. Her face had not yet stopped bleeding from the various cuts and her arms looked practically green with imprinted bruises from Lucius' hands. She had willed herself not to cry while he had continued to beat and abuse her, willed herself not to break as he would begin to say the beginning of a curse and then stop just before the curse was finished, leaving her gasping for air.
They knew she wasn't lying. The point wasn't to get the truth out of her anymore although they still accused her of lying. There wasn't a point anymore.
The cold of the cell was welcome against the throbbing burn coursing in her veins, as she lay down against the cold cell floor. Closing her eyes, sleep was a welcome diversion from the pain that robbed her of the ability to stand up any longer.
* "It's been practically a day since Hermione was taken." Draco said aloud, causing Harry to wake up with a start. Ginny and Ron were both asleep on the bed, breathing quietly. Harry rubbed his eyes and sat up in the chair, noticing how Draco had not moved since he had sat down, and meaning he hadn't slept.
"We have to leave the Weasly family Potter and find her." Draco drawled quietly, careful not to make his tone loud enough to wake anyone else. Harry leaned forward, leaning his elbows on his knees and fixing Draco with his intense green eyes.
"I can't just leave Ron...and if we don't bring Ginny she'll-"
"Listen, I understand that you can't leave your groupies behind, but they need to keep Dumbledore from knowing anything."
"Malfoy-"
"She could be dead within a couple of hours."
Harry's head snapped forward to Draco's unflinching gaze, shock written across his features. The silence that settled between the two boys was thick. While Harry visibly judged what Draco was saying without fully comprehending what was said, Draco closed his eyes, suddenly feeling so weak he slumped back on the chair.
"We don't know where she is..." Harry said, bringing Draco back from the darkness that was engulfing him. He rubbed his eyes with his clammy palm and looked over at Harry who was looking at his palms.
"I think she's at the manor."
"What manor?" Harry said, looking up at Draco, unaware of what had just happened, but catching a hint of panic at the edge of the other boy's voice.
"Mine, actually." Draco said, getting up and picking up a quill and parchment from Harry's desk. He began writing on the parchment hurridly, his movements flowing and smooth while Harry sat stunned into silence.
"Let's go." Draco said, setting the pen down on the desk. Harry nodded blandly and sat up in his chair. He walked over to where his wand was on the bedside table and picked it up; not bothering to ask Draco what was written on the letter.
"Okay."
* Harry knew that he had to trust Draco. The deep sense of trust was centered within his very soul like an anchor, always guiding him. He trusted Hermione and Ron and Ginny...but Draco...he wasn't sure. It wasn't in any way easy.
The thought of Hermione made him physically shake. Draco had yet to show any emotion but the snide remarks that usually made Harry enraged were quieter. Was it possible that he cared for Hermione?
The boys walked together through the deserted corridors of Hogwarts, obviously to the time, and only knowing it was dark.
"Why did they take her?" Harry gradually said as they neared the entrance hall.
"Do I look like a death eater to you Potter?" Draco spat out. The ironic value of the statement hit both of their sleep deprived brains at the same moment, and a small smile crossed over Harry's face.
Draco thought about the closet in his room as they walked out to the dark frosted landscape of the school. He had cried in that closet so his father couldn't hear after he was beaten or bruised or broken. When he was five his father had heard him and beat him so badly the scar on his back couldn't be concealed with a charm or spell. It was a mark that would stay with him until his dying day, a reminder of his father. Someone he would refuse to become.
"How come you're not a death eater?" Harry asked, breaking the frozen silence that hung in the air. Draco turned sharply as he walked to look at Harry. The boys eyes were genuine and there was nothing hidden in the statement. Something about Harry's eyes made it hard for Draco to lie.
"My father actually." He said quietly, his eyes stinging from the cold and the lack of sleep. The intense pain for sleep or rest was covering his entire body, so it was an effort to even continue walking.
"And here I was thinking you were the apple of your father's eye." Harry said with a hint of sarcasm that made Draco almost smile. That was something he would have said, and very uncharacteristic of Harry.
"Yeah, you would think that." Draco replied, his eyes dropping. "So how did you get out of the infirmary anyway?"
"I had a portkey...I usually carry one around...just in case..."
"Dumbledore is under the Imperio curse."
"I know," Harry said quietly. "You shouldn't have sent Hermione in."
"We were trying to save you." Draco spat out, his anger keeping him from falling in the snow to sleep.
"Yeah, well in case you didn't notice, I've managed to cheat death before."
"Full of it, just as I thought," Draco said, turning to sneer at the boy. It was his fault that Hermione was kidnapped...possibly being tortured. The fact that he had told her to go check on Harry haunted him.
"You should have told her not to go." Harry said angrily, stopping to glare at Draco. "You should have told her to just stay put." Draco closed his eyes and the vision of the scene before Hermione was kidnapped flooded through his mind like a bad dream.
"It was my idea." Draco said quietly. "I told her to go in first....so as not to arise any suspicion. She agreed...and then she said-"
"It's your fault. All of it. Hermione could be DEAD and it's YOUR fault Malfoy-"
"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW?!" Draco yelled, his voice coming out ragged as the cold night air hit his lungs like a knife with each sharp breath. Harry looked at Draco with cold white fury on his face, a look he had felt too many times before to recognize it. "Potter, I 'hate' you." Draco made furious air quotes, making Harry step back. "You and your dammed scar. I 'hate' Weasly and the way his damn sister keeps taking my breath away. But I don't really hate you. I never hated you. I hate my father. I hate Voldemort. You know, you throw words like hate around and you get this anarchy of anger building up inside of you and before you know it wizards like Voldemort have followers. Your parents DIED for you Harry. If my father had been there...with your mum and you...." Draco laughed his voice breaking. "He would have held me out and said 'take him.' Yeah, but you think that I gave up Hermione. She's the BEST THING that EVER happened to me, in my whole worthless selfish life. I LOVE her, and you just think that I'm screwing her or that I would put her in danger for my own good..."
Draco stopped, took a deep breath and steadied himself against the darkness that was covering his eyes again.
"I would do things differently." He said, and began to walk again. Hearing the snow crunch underneath Harry's feet, Draco was surprised. He turned around and saw Harry following him, watching him.
"What?" he said tiredly, expecting a full blown response to his rant.
"We both love her." Harry said, rubbing his hair out of his eyes. "That means we can both save her."
"Oh really well how do you think that?" Draco feebly replied, taken aback by the simplicity and emotion of Harry's response.
"It worked for my mom."
The words cut Draco like no speech could, imprinting onto his soul.
"I can tell things." Harry said, taking Draco's silence in comfortably. "I know how Voldemort feels...so if he kills Hermione he knows he'll be practically killing me. Until I feel that happiness we're safe."
Draco nodded, and Harry bit his bottom lip.
"You know, when I was 11 and I first saw Hermione I liked her. She was just so...friendly and open and she told Ron off, which made me annoyed, but I liked her. Then first year happened, and I loved her. She was...amazing. Ron loved her too...and when he started to date her, I almost lost it. I was jealous, and not for the first time. Ron's got everything I want...family. And then he had Hermione." Harry paused as a snowflake settled on the edge of his nose, and he brushed it off. "When I was sleeping with her...I've never slept like that."
"Tell me about it," Draco heard his voice say and started. Harry looked over at the boy and after a minute smiled.
"What were you two doing?" Harry asked his voice quiet, as if he were expecting Draco to be angry. Draco however, didn't have to strength to be angry anymore. Every step was a trial of all of his strength.
"I can't sleep without someone else being there." Draco said plainly, looking ahead of him as they neared the edge of the Hogwarts grounds. When Harry turned and looked at him quizzically and sighed and thought about how to phrase it. "Well, some people go fishing with their sons, but my dad liked to torture me so that I could get used to pain and learn Malfoy blank stares. Side effect- unable to sleep."
"Oh right. I knew that- the whole Ginny thing." Harry said quietly and Draco nodded, not even bothering to make a smart comeback.
"Are we at the edge of the grounds?" Harry asked after a few minutes. Draco looked around and nodded, the effort taxing on what was left of his strength. Harry took out his wand and so did Harry and they apperated with two soft pops just before Ginny came up behind them, wand in hand.
Lucius had come and left. Although he had not used his wand yet, the threat was as tangible as the ropes which cut into her wrists when the death eaters came. He had slapped, hit, and cut her skin with the ring on his finger. Her face had not yet stopped bleeding from the various cuts and her arms looked practically green with imprinted bruises from Lucius' hands. She had willed herself not to cry while he had continued to beat and abuse her, willed herself not to break as he would begin to say the beginning of a curse and then stop just before the curse was finished, leaving her gasping for air.
They knew she wasn't lying. The point wasn't to get the truth out of her anymore although they still accused her of lying. There wasn't a point anymore.
The cold of the cell was welcome against the throbbing burn coursing in her veins, as she lay down against the cold cell floor. Closing her eyes, sleep was a welcome diversion from the pain that robbed her of the ability to stand up any longer.
* "It's been practically a day since Hermione was taken." Draco said aloud, causing Harry to wake up with a start. Ginny and Ron were both asleep on the bed, breathing quietly. Harry rubbed his eyes and sat up in the chair, noticing how Draco had not moved since he had sat down, and meaning he hadn't slept.
"We have to leave the Weasly family Potter and find her." Draco drawled quietly, careful not to make his tone loud enough to wake anyone else. Harry leaned forward, leaning his elbows on his knees and fixing Draco with his intense green eyes.
"I can't just leave Ron...and if we don't bring Ginny she'll-"
"Listen, I understand that you can't leave your groupies behind, but they need to keep Dumbledore from knowing anything."
"Malfoy-"
"She could be dead within a couple of hours."
Harry's head snapped forward to Draco's unflinching gaze, shock written across his features. The silence that settled between the two boys was thick. While Harry visibly judged what Draco was saying without fully comprehending what was said, Draco closed his eyes, suddenly feeling so weak he slumped back on the chair.
"We don't know where she is..." Harry said, bringing Draco back from the darkness that was engulfing him. He rubbed his eyes with his clammy palm and looked over at Harry who was looking at his palms.
"I think she's at the manor."
"What manor?" Harry said, looking up at Draco, unaware of what had just happened, but catching a hint of panic at the edge of the other boy's voice.
"Mine, actually." Draco said, getting up and picking up a quill and parchment from Harry's desk. He began writing on the parchment hurridly, his movements flowing and smooth while Harry sat stunned into silence.
"Let's go." Draco said, setting the pen down on the desk. Harry nodded blandly and sat up in his chair. He walked over to where his wand was on the bedside table and picked it up; not bothering to ask Draco what was written on the letter.
"Okay."
* Harry knew that he had to trust Draco. The deep sense of trust was centered within his very soul like an anchor, always guiding him. He trusted Hermione and Ron and Ginny...but Draco...he wasn't sure. It wasn't in any way easy.
The thought of Hermione made him physically shake. Draco had yet to show any emotion but the snide remarks that usually made Harry enraged were quieter. Was it possible that he cared for Hermione?
The boys walked together through the deserted corridors of Hogwarts, obviously to the time, and only knowing it was dark.
"Why did they take her?" Harry gradually said as they neared the entrance hall.
"Do I look like a death eater to you Potter?" Draco spat out. The ironic value of the statement hit both of their sleep deprived brains at the same moment, and a small smile crossed over Harry's face.
Draco thought about the closet in his room as they walked out to the dark frosted landscape of the school. He had cried in that closet so his father couldn't hear after he was beaten or bruised or broken. When he was five his father had heard him and beat him so badly the scar on his back couldn't be concealed with a charm or spell. It was a mark that would stay with him until his dying day, a reminder of his father. Someone he would refuse to become.
"How come you're not a death eater?" Harry asked, breaking the frozen silence that hung in the air. Draco turned sharply as he walked to look at Harry. The boys eyes were genuine and there was nothing hidden in the statement. Something about Harry's eyes made it hard for Draco to lie.
"My father actually." He said quietly, his eyes stinging from the cold and the lack of sleep. The intense pain for sleep or rest was covering his entire body, so it was an effort to even continue walking.
"And here I was thinking you were the apple of your father's eye." Harry said with a hint of sarcasm that made Draco almost smile. That was something he would have said, and very uncharacteristic of Harry.
"Yeah, you would think that." Draco replied, his eyes dropping. "So how did you get out of the infirmary anyway?"
"I had a portkey...I usually carry one around...just in case..."
"Dumbledore is under the Imperio curse."
"I know," Harry said quietly. "You shouldn't have sent Hermione in."
"We were trying to save you." Draco spat out, his anger keeping him from falling in the snow to sleep.
"Yeah, well in case you didn't notice, I've managed to cheat death before."
"Full of it, just as I thought," Draco said, turning to sneer at the boy. It was his fault that Hermione was kidnapped...possibly being tortured. The fact that he had told her to go check on Harry haunted him.
"You should have told her not to go." Harry said angrily, stopping to glare at Draco. "You should have told her to just stay put." Draco closed his eyes and the vision of the scene before Hermione was kidnapped flooded through his mind like a bad dream.
"It was my idea." Draco said quietly. "I told her to go in first....so as not to arise any suspicion. She agreed...and then she said-"
"It's your fault. All of it. Hermione could be DEAD and it's YOUR fault Malfoy-"
"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW?!" Draco yelled, his voice coming out ragged as the cold night air hit his lungs like a knife with each sharp breath. Harry looked at Draco with cold white fury on his face, a look he had felt too many times before to recognize it. "Potter, I 'hate' you." Draco made furious air quotes, making Harry step back. "You and your dammed scar. I 'hate' Weasly and the way his damn sister keeps taking my breath away. But I don't really hate you. I never hated you. I hate my father. I hate Voldemort. You know, you throw words like hate around and you get this anarchy of anger building up inside of you and before you know it wizards like Voldemort have followers. Your parents DIED for you Harry. If my father had been there...with your mum and you...." Draco laughed his voice breaking. "He would have held me out and said 'take him.' Yeah, but you think that I gave up Hermione. She's the BEST THING that EVER happened to me, in my whole worthless selfish life. I LOVE her, and you just think that I'm screwing her or that I would put her in danger for my own good..."
Draco stopped, took a deep breath and steadied himself against the darkness that was covering his eyes again.
"I would do things differently." He said, and began to walk again. Hearing the snow crunch underneath Harry's feet, Draco was surprised. He turned around and saw Harry following him, watching him.
"What?" he said tiredly, expecting a full blown response to his rant.
"We both love her." Harry said, rubbing his hair out of his eyes. "That means we can both save her."
"Oh really well how do you think that?" Draco feebly replied, taken aback by the simplicity and emotion of Harry's response.
"It worked for my mom."
The words cut Draco like no speech could, imprinting onto his soul.
"I can tell things." Harry said, taking Draco's silence in comfortably. "I know how Voldemort feels...so if he kills Hermione he knows he'll be practically killing me. Until I feel that happiness we're safe."
Draco nodded, and Harry bit his bottom lip.
"You know, when I was 11 and I first saw Hermione I liked her. She was just so...friendly and open and she told Ron off, which made me annoyed, but I liked her. Then first year happened, and I loved her. She was...amazing. Ron loved her too...and when he started to date her, I almost lost it. I was jealous, and not for the first time. Ron's got everything I want...family. And then he had Hermione." Harry paused as a snowflake settled on the edge of his nose, and he brushed it off. "When I was sleeping with her...I've never slept like that."
"Tell me about it," Draco heard his voice say and started. Harry looked over at the boy and after a minute smiled.
"What were you two doing?" Harry asked his voice quiet, as if he were expecting Draco to be angry. Draco however, didn't have to strength to be angry anymore. Every step was a trial of all of his strength.
"I can't sleep without someone else being there." Draco said plainly, looking ahead of him as they neared the edge of the Hogwarts grounds. When Harry turned and looked at him quizzically and sighed and thought about how to phrase it. "Well, some people go fishing with their sons, but my dad liked to torture me so that I could get used to pain and learn Malfoy blank stares. Side effect- unable to sleep."
"Oh right. I knew that- the whole Ginny thing." Harry said quietly and Draco nodded, not even bothering to make a smart comeback.
"Are we at the edge of the grounds?" Harry asked after a few minutes. Draco looked around and nodded, the effort taxing on what was left of his strength. Harry took out his wand and so did Harry and they apperated with two soft pops just before Ginny came up behind them, wand in hand.