Dun, Dun, Dun… what's going to happen to our heroes? Will Hermione be saved, or will she walk down that isle. Unfortunately, you won't find out until the next chapter, but that's okay because Draco and the clan have barely even gotten to the palace. Well, here it goes!
Disclaimer- I'm not JKR and I don't own Harry Potter, but I do take credit for coming up with the plotline.
Chapter 12 Storming the Palace
"This is it. We made it." Breathed Justin.
The clan had made it. The palace loomed before them like a disaster just waiting to happen. Draco heard several of the others gulp and shift uncomfortably. The moment of truth had come. The Scorpions were ruthless people who would kill in a second. Getting in would not be easy.
No one could move. The palace had changed since Draco had last seen it. Adam and the Scorpions had made themselves right at home. The gardens were no longer filled with exotic plants from around the world. Now it was filled with thorn bushes with blood red roses filling them. Draco had nothing against roses, but he was sure that the thorns were the main purpose. Brightly lit candles didn't sit on the palace windowsills in the night to light the way for him when he wanted a midnight snack. Now torches hung from the walls casting shadows across the palace walls. Draco stared at his once beautiful home. He now understood what it was like to be on the outside looking in.
"I guess we should get going before someone sees us." Said Ernie. "I bet there're guards at every entrance."
"Well duh!" muttered Blaize. "But how do we get in?" Draco looked from on end of the palace to the other. Then he saw the wall. Not just any wall. Barely ten years ago, the most beautiful creature in the world had climbed over that wall and forever changed his life. Now it was time to do the same for her.
"Hey Harry, you still got that rope?" asked Draco turning to Harry.
"Harry pulled a rope off of his belt and handed it to Draco. "What are we doing?" he asked.
"Just watch." Was all Draco said. He led the clan over to the wall and looked around. How had Hermione done this? Just then, he spotted a palm tree that was tall enough to get him half way up. If he could tie the rope to that and throw it over, the tree would hold the rope and allow them to slide down on the other side. "Follow my lead."
Draco climbed up onto the tree trying very hard not to fall. The palm tree wasn't very sturdy, but it would do for now. They might not even need to use this escape route anyway. After tying the rope to the trunk, he threw over the rope and pushed himself on top of the wall. The clan watched from below to see what would happen. Draco surveyed the situation. It would work.
"Okay, now do what I did, then slide down the rope and meet me down here." He instructed. The clan looked from one another before rushing to form a line to get up. There were no major problems except for Neville falling halfway down the rope and landing with a thump.
"Ouch!" he exclaimed. The clan shushed him trying to get him to shut up so no one would here them.
"Shut up Neville! It wasn't that big of a fall." Sneered Dean grabbing Neville and pulling him up.
"I'm fine, it just hurt."
"Oh shut up you two! We've got a long way to go." Said Ron looking off toward the palace. It was going to be a long night, and the sun had just gone down completely leaving the clan in a lot of trouble.
!
"Take my beautiful princess up to the bedroom. She must dress for her wedding."
Adam had been sitting on the throne with Hermione sitting on the ground next to him. She had expected worst treatment, but this wasn't so bad. After hearing news that the king and queen were stuck in the dungeons and most of the servants and guards had been killed, Adam summoned one of the guards to take her to the royal dresser, who had been spared.
Hermione was taken to the tallest room of the palace. It was filled with mirrors, fabrics, and clothes for the royal family. Women of about forty and a few dress maids were sitting in the corner, cowering in fear. They barely breathed as Hermione was shoved into the room and locked in.
"You're her, aren't you?" asked one of the maids.
"If you're talking about Hermione, then yes I am." Hermione replied almost coldly. No one moved or spoke. Finally, Hermione couldn't take their fear. "Oh, get a grip! I'm not going to kill you!" The woman and her maids breathed a sigh of relief.
"What are you hear for then? All we were told is that we were needed and spared." Asked the woman.
"I need a wedding dress actually. Any luck you could whip one up?" The woman got up and began to circle Hermione.
"I could make one, but is it true that you're marrying that jerk downstairs?" asked the woman. "What happened to Prince Draco? Is he all right? You didn't kill him too, did you? I watched him grow up! He has the cutest butt I think I've ever seen!" The maids giggled and fanned themselves at the thought of Draco's butt. Hermione couldn't help, but smile.
"He's fine, I think. Last I saw, he was begging… begging me to come back… but it's no use. I'm a thief, and he's a prince. He's good, and I am evil." Said Hermione gazing out of the window. Sirena was silent as the stars above. "Oh, and his butt is okay too." Hermione added making the maids blush. The woman was the first to approach Hermione.
"I don't know much about you so I can't help you there, but I can make you a splendid dress anyway. I'm Mary, Mistress Mary. Designer of all clothes fit for royalty. I've done everything from robes to party dresses." Said Mistress Mary extending her hand to Hermione. Hermione nodded and shook her hand, smiling just a little.
"Well then, let's get this over with. I'm getting married in an hour."
!
Draco led the clan over to the palace steps into the back halls of the palace. Here was the place where most of the servants stayed and the laundry was down here. The way Draco figured, Adam was bound to be in the throne room getting ready for the wedding. If they could surprise then and tell Hermione how much he loved her, she might be saved.
"Okay genius, where do we go now?" asked Ernie in a hushed voice looking from one end to the next. Draco thought for a moment.
"We should probably stay together." Said Harry. "Draco's the only one who knows his way around here." Harry did a double take when he saw the funny look on Draco's face. The others noticed too.
"You do know where to go, right?" asked Justin nervously.
"We could always just pick a way and hope for the best." Suggested Seamus.
"Sounds good." Said Draco giving up on figuring the right way.
"Let's try this way." Said Crabbe pointing to one hallway. The clan nodded and walked cautiously down the hallway being careful not to make any noise. Everyone was on their toes, looking from one end to the other. No one could speak. Everything was going fine, even if Dean had tripped on a wooden plank once, but it was okay. They were too scared of being found. Suddenly, the floor stopped.
"What's this? Did you put a moat right through the palace?" asked Blaize. Some snickered, but Draco only rolled his eyes.
"I have no idea what this is. Seamus, go grab that torch over there." Instructed Draco to Seamus, who handed the torch to Draco.
Draco held the torch over the whole and gasped. Down the hole, was a collection of snakes, rats, cockroaches, spiders, and of course scorpions. The clan's faces paled.
"How do we get across that? I don't know about you, but I'm not going down there." Said Harry gulping. Draco looked around to see if there was anything to help him. There was barely any rope left to use. Just then, Dean spoke up.
"What about this wooden plank that I just tripped over? Is it long enough?" he asked.
"Dunno. Bring it over here." Ordered Draco as a few members grabbed the board at lifted it across the hole. It just made, making it a hard bridge to get over. They stood stoned.
"So… who goes first?" asked Ernie. No one volunteered. Draco didn't want it to come to this, but Hermione needed them now.
"All right fine. I'll go then. Wish me luck." He said turning back to the hole. Draco looked down one last time, closed his eyes, and stepped onto the board.
When the feeling of falling didn't come to him, Draco opened his eyes. He was okay! Now that the hard part was finished, all he had to do was walk across the board. The feeling of dread came flooding back to him. Summoning up all of his courage, Draco balanced his arms out and started his walk. Nothing bad happened until the middle. The board began to wobble, and Draco could've sworn that it was going to break, but it didn't. He finally made it to the other side and jumped off of the board letting out a sigh of relief. Getting a grip on himself, Draco turned back to the others.
"Okay, now it's your turn." He whispered back to them. No one moved. "C'mon! Form a line and let's go!"
Reluctantly, the clan formed a line and one by one, each member crossed the little footbridge. No one, not even Neville, had any problems crossing, which made things go much quicker. The men stood there for a minute catching their breath.
"Where to now?"
!
"So why aren't you marrying Prince Draco?" asked Mistress Mary as she and her maids were fitting Hermione into her wedding dress. Hermione sighed.
"Because he's not meant to be out on the street like me. If he had stayed in my clan then he would've died. He's probably left our hideout and is probably halfway to Egypt or something to start a new life. It's better that way. He deserves much more than I could ever offer him."
There was silence in the room before one of the maids spoke up. "Was he a good kisser?" she asked timidly. Hermione couldn't help but give a goofy grin.
"Oh, was he ever! He tasted exactly like wine. The best kind of wine that just seems to make your whole mouth almost pucker because it's so sweet! The kind that you just can't get enough of. The kind that makes you want to stay there in his arms forever…" said Hermione breathlessly.
The girls sighed and went back to work.
!
"Why didn't we just go to Egypt and let Hermione live her 'evil' life?" whispered Ernie to Justin. Before Justin could answer, Draco answered before he could.
"Because it's exactly what Hermione would've done for us. Now be quiet. I know where we are now, and the throne room isn't too far ahead." Said Draco leading the clan a few paces up. As they were about to turn the corner, Draco stopped them. They perked up their ears and heard voices coming right for them. It was two of Adam's guards and they looked mean.
"What do we do now?" asked Dean trying to remain calm. The others looked at each other.
"There's no place to hide." Whispered Ernie.
"We'll get caught if we try and fight." Said Ron looking for an answer. Draco stood there thinking and turning everything over in his head. He glanced over the clan and stopped at Crabbe and Goyle. A plan popped into his mind and he smirked.
"Crabbe, Goyle, when they turn this corner, tackle them and gag them. Then we can steal their robes and pass two of us as Scorpions. Those two can take the rest of us as prisoner so we'll get in easier." Explained Draco to the clan. Crabbe and Goyle smirked and nodded.
The two men crept up to the corner just as the guards turned the corner. Crabbe and Goyle jumped out in front of them and punched the guards in the faces, knocking them out completely.
"Good job. Now where do we put the bodies?" asked Harry as he and Blaize stepped forward to take off the robes of the guards. Everyone looked around.
"How about the snake pit?" suggested Blaize. Draco glared at him.
"We're not killing them, just knocking them out. Just shove them into a corner. By the time they wake up, it'll be too late." Said Draco grabbing the men as Harry and Blaize finished pulling off their robes leaving the guards in their underwear.
"Heehee… those guys have flowers on their underwear!" laughed Neville. The clan chuckled as Harry and Blaize put the robes on over their clothes and tied up the rest of the clan with the little bit of rope that was left. They then began the final walk to the throne room.
!
"Okay Hermione, the dress is finished. You're free to ruin your life… I mean get married." Said Mistress Mary coughing to cover her mistake. Hermione glared at her for a second before looking at herself in the mirror. The dress was pretty mice for being done in an hour. It was the classic white with embroidered flowers all over the dress. It was strapless and done in silk making Hermione look like a real princess.
"Good luck and please don't have us killed." Said one of the maids looking at Hermione almost sacredly. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"I'm not going to kill you. Hell, if you make dresses like this, you can guarantee a long and happy life!" exclaimed Hermione looking herself over in the mirror. Mistress Mary and her maids let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you all." Said Hermione turning around to face them and give them a small smile.
Suddenly, the doors opened and in stepped two guards.
"Princess Hermione, you are requested to report to the throne room for your wedding." Said one of them taking Hermione's arm and dragging her downstairs. Hermione gave Mistress Mary and her maids one last look as she was dragged down.
The last thing she heard from them before the door closed again was a yell to her from Mistress Mary.
"You're never going to want anything, dearie, but that sweet tasting wine!'
A/N: God, that took forever! Well, I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading and please review!
Me,
RonFan