Unexpected Love
Summary: A fic that takes place after Hogwarts. Hermione left the magical world behind after a messy breakup with Krum and became a muggle teacher. Years later she discovers that one of her new students is a Malfoy. What will happen when Draco enters her life?
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. The ones you don't recognize belong to me.
Chapter 16- The Underground Lair
The tree that had once stood in the middle of the trio had split in half and opened down the middle, revealing a gruesome sight. The roots of the tree had wound together to form a rough set of stairs within a vertical tunnel. The stairs descended down steeply into sheer, inky blackness. The walls of the tunnel were earth but they were blanketed with silvery, wispy cobwebs and spiderwebs. Spiders themselves skittered all over the wall making Hermione shudder. Going down that tunnel of darkness was the last thing she wanted to do.
"I know it looks dreadful but it's the only way to the Death Eaters underground lair. We must go down there unless, of course, we want to just leave Justin down there with them if he's down there," Dumbledore said.
At these words Hermione saw Draco's whole body stiffen. Obviously, the thought of abandoning Justin down there was a horrid thought for him. He made to step forwards towards the entrance, then froze. Turning slowly, he met Hermione's eyes and the fear in those steely grey depths sent a chill through her spine. He gently reached over and grabbed her hand, grasping it tightly in his ice cold one. He then turned back to the tree.
"This is it. This is where we find out if he's down there, if this day has been worth it or a waste of time. Ready?" Draco asked them, his voice quivering.
"I'm ready," Hermione said, more confidently than she felt. There was no backing out now. This was it. Little Justin Malfoy's innocence and goodness and, quite possibly, his life, was in their hands. They were going in.
Dumbledore didn't say anything but they knew he was ready. He was always ready for everything. Taking a deep breath, Draco stepped purposefully towards the tunnel's entrance. He hesitated slightly but then stepped quickly down onto the first step, still grasping Hermione's hand. Something about him holding her hand gave Hermione more courage to fight whatever was down there.
Draco continued deeper and deeper into the tunnel and Hermione followed behind him extremely closely down the narrow, steep stairs. Moonlight had been their source of light near the entrance but the deeper they went, the darker it got. Hermione heard Draco pull out his wand and whisper 'Lumos' and heard Dumbledore do the same a moment later. The entire passage was now lit up around them and Hermione shuddered at the sight of bugs scuttling along the earth walls, away from the light and into the shadows into which they were continuously descending.
"I believe we are almost there. Perhaps it would be wise to turn off our wands. We do want the advantage of a surprise attack," Dumbledore said after a long while of trudging downwards in silence. He put out his wand and Draco followed, muttering the spell quietly.
They continued on in the darkness, the weight of the fearful silence pressing in on them, for a few more minutes. Suddenly, Draco lurched forwards, quickly letting go of Hermione's hand. He wasn't fast enough however, as Hermione had lost her balance as he fell and now teetered dangerously on the brink of falling forwards. Unable to steady herself, she plunged down, expecting to fall down the seemingly endless vertical tunnel. But it never happened.
She hit the hard dirt floor with a soft 'fwump!' Feeling around blindly, she discovered Draco struggling to get up. He found Hermione's hand and pulled her up, once again not letting go of her hand. They jumped slightly when they felt hands on their shoulders but let out a silent sigh as they discovered they belonged to Dumbledore; he, unlike them, had walked safely and upright out of the passageway.
But it didn't matter how they did it. The fact was, they had just conquered the dark, narrow earth tunnel and were now that much closer to possibly discovering Justin. They had to go on, save him if he was there.
Straining her eyes blindly in hopes of seeing light somewhere, Hermione glimpsed to faint glimmer of what appeared to be torches in the not-so-far distance. They walked quickly but cautiously towards the light which was, in fact, torches glowing brightly on the cold, earthen walls. They lit up a wide passageway that appeared to get narrower and narrower as it went along before ending in an arched doorway covered by an old rickety wooden door.
Extremely full of fear but eager to save Justin, Hermione started forwards towards the arched doorway. Suddenly, Draco pulled her roughly back and pushed her behind him. 'He's protecting me,' Hermione thought briefly. She felt her heart quicken at this small act but any feelings towards Draco that she had experienced were quickly forgotten as she remembered the task at hand.
Draco moved forwards swiftly but quietly and Hermione followed close behind him, Dumbledore pulling up the rear. The old wizard seemed to be letting them handle this; he had done his part, shown them where Justin possibly was, and was now letting Draco and Hermione show their true colours.
They crept fearfully but determinedly through the lighted passageway. As they walked, the walls slowly closed in on them, growing narrower with each step. Before they knew it, they were standing before the arched doorway, carved from the hard, solid earth. They both knew that on the other side of this was quite possibly a gang of Death Eaters and that they would have to be extremely quiet to not get caught. But that was possible and they would do it.
Praying that the rickety wooden door didn't creak, Draco slowly pushed it open. He managed to open it far enough so that Dumbledore, Hermione, and himself all had a full view of the room beyond. A retched rotting smell flowed from the room as the door opened, causing Hermione to feel dizzy for a few moments. As she steadied herself, holding her head, she felt Draco beside her, cold and unmoving.
Fearfully, knowing that there was definitely something in that room, Hermione turned slowly around and glanced through the doorway. She let out a gasp which she quickly stifled but couldn't stop her knees no longer being able to support her. As they buckled, Draco snapped out of his slight trance, let go of her hand, and quickly flung his arm around her petite waist. His strong grip held her up as she regained her composure and looked once more into the room.
It was dark and dank with few torches on the circular, concrete walls. The flickering fire cast eerie shadows throughout the room and over the five hooded figures gathered in a half-circle against the wall. Death Eaters.
They seemed much too preoccupied to notice that they had just received three very unwanted visitors. Hermione watched as the figures slowly backed away from what they had been gathered around. As they did so, Hermione saw a gruesome sight that sent a wave of fear and anger through her body and made her blood boil.
A wooden board had been attached to the wall between two flickering torches. Chains emerged from the four corners of the board and in the middle, chained to the board by his arms and legs, hung the tiny, limp form of Justin Malfoy. Hermione felt herself trmbling at the site and as Draco stood so near her she could tell that his reaction was quite similar.
Neither the young witch nor the young wizard made any move to run forwards. They were both rooted to the spot, frozen with fear for the boy and revulsion at the scene in front of them. They also knew that if the Death Eaters discovered him they would almost definitely harm one of them or, even worse, harm Justin.
But those thoughts flew from Hermione's head as she saw what happened next. The figure in the middle, the tallest hooded one, drew a wand from his cloak. He raised it and pointed it towards Draco's son.
"I think the Cruciatus curse might change little Justin's mind here about cooperating with us. Who agrees?"
The figures beside the speaker all murmured their agreement, disgustingly excited to see this torture. The wand holder cleared his throat, preparing for the curse.
"This is what happens to people who get on the wrong side of us. They pay for it in pain."
Hermione couldn't stand to watch it. She had to do something and she knew Draco was thinking the same thing. But Dumbledore gently laid a hand on their shoulders, warning them that it wasn't safe to interfere and try to attack while a Death Eater had a wand out and was prepared to curse someone, anyone.
But as the torchlight danced across both the Death Eater's face, illuminating a look of utter glee at having the chance to do this, and little Justin's face, showing a look of utmost terror at the prospect of being put through the worst pain possible, Hermione knew she couldn't just stand by innocently and watch it.
As the wand holders mouth began to form the word 'Crucio', Hermione broke free from Dumbledore and Draco and ran full speed towards Justin. She heard Draco's yell behind her as the Death Eaters, startled, turned towards her. All except the one in the middle who had all his concentration on the curse, not noticing her.
She hurled herself in front of Justin just as the red light of the curse burst forth from the wand. Almost immediately she felt pain beyond pain as it tore through her body like hot white knives. She heard herself scream as she fell to her knees, excruciating pain enveloping her whole body, tearing through her bones. She willed it to stop as her body convulsed rapidly. She felt like she was being ripped little by little into a million pieces. She knew she couldn't take much more.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the curse was lifted and it ended. Hermione lay sprawled on the ground, panting heavily, dull pain still pounding through her bones. She was cold, clammy, and trembling, but she was alive. She heard yells and shouts around her, curses being thrown and bodies crashing to the ground. Behind her she faintly heard someone whimpering and crying. She tried, to no avail, to rise and help this person, save them from the fighting going on around them.
Suddenly, the shouting stopped. Hermione heard pounding footsteps before her shaking body was seized and held gently in a pair of strong arms. Looking up she stared into the stormy silver eyes of Draco Malfoy. His face was pale and fear and concern were etched all over it. Seeing that she was, indeed, alive, he grabbed her tightly and hugged her to his body.
"Thank Merlin you're alright Hermione. I was so worried about you. You're gonna be alright now. Everything is okay," Draco told her softly.
"Justin....?" Hermione managed to whisper. Draco smiled weakly at her and responded, "He's alright Hermione. Dumbledore's got him. You saved him. His little body probably wouldn't have been able to take the curse. But you saved him."
"Ms. Granger?" a small voice whispered beside her. Hermione tiredly turned her head to see Justin Malfoy standing there, his tiny body trembling and his face dirty and tear streaked. Hermione realized then that it had been he who she had heard crying. He gulped back a sob and looking at her with those familiar grey eyes whispered, "You saved me...." That was all he managed to get out before flinging himself at Hermione. Hermione weakly wrapped her arm around him as Draco enveloped Justin into the hug with him and Hermione.
Hermione heard Draco whisper quietly in Justin's ear, "I love you Justin," and Justin just started sobbing again, saying through his tears, "I love you too Daddy." Hermione just sat there, her arms weakly around the two crying silent tears of her own that Justin and Draco were alright.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore stood by with a grin on his face. The young wizard and the young witch had come through. He had an immense feeling of pride towards both of them. After Hermione had bravely and selflessly taken the Cruciatus curse for Justin Malfoy, Draco and Dumbledore had taken care of the 4 watching Death Eaters. Two of them had Apparated out before the wizards could do anything and Draco and himself had both tackled one of the remaining ones each until the head Death Eater had taken the curse off of Hermione and rushed to help the Death Eater fighting Draco. Draco had valiantly managed to impair both of them and had shown a great deal of power in the ease with which he did so. The three immobilized Death Eaters were now scattered around the room and would remain that way until Ministry officials came to fetch them.
As the Draco, Hermione, and Justin lay on the floor, obviously exhausted, Dumbledore cleared his throat quietly to get their attention, not wanting to interrupt this warm embrace. Draco jumped slightly and turned his head towards Dumbledore as Hermione attempted to do so and, failing, settled back into Draco's arms.
"So sorry to interrupt but we really should be getting back, everyone will be quite worried about all of us," Dumbledore told them.
Draco nodded his agreement as he and Justin rose. Draco gently helped Hermione up but she winced in slight pain and was obviously much too exhausted to stand up, let alone walk anywhere.
This didn't faze Draco one bit. Seeing the state that Hermione was in, he gently lifted her petite body from the ground and held her in his arms, just like a groom did to his new bride. Hermione was somewhat shocked but much too tired to say anything so she just laid her head against Draco's strong chest and closed her eyes, glad for the rest.
Draco looked at Dumbledore determinedly and said, "Now what? We can't exactly walk out of here; we'll never be able to do it. And we can't very well Apparate; Hermione here couldn't do it if her life depended on it."
"Well, I believe there's still one thing you haven't mentioned Mister Malfoy. I take it you haven't traveled by a Portkey anytime recently?" Dumbledore responded, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
Draco laughed slightly as the obviousness of the answer dawned on him. Then he looked back at Dumbledore and said somewhat sternly, "Well, lets get a move on then. My son must be horrendously tired and it's obvious that Hermione is."
Once again Dumbledore merely smiled at the young wizard. "Of course, Mister Malfoy. We just need something to charm into a Portkey and we'll be ready. Hmm... let me see... ah, yes, I know just the thing." He strolled over to the corner where a pile of old dilapidated things rested. He picked up a dented brass cup from a collection of goblets sitting near a large cauldron.
Dumbledore strolled back over to Draco, Hermione, and Justin and placed the goblet on the ground before them. He muttered the charm and a light briefly passed from his wand to the goblet. The cup glowed brightly for a few moments before going dark. Dumbledore then proceeded to hover the goblet about four feet from the ground.
"Alright, so when you're ready, on the count of three. Justin, all you have to do is touch a single finger to it. Draco, make sure you keep a firm hold on Ms. Granger and try to keep your balance when you land as we want to avoid a heap of tangled people at all costs. This Portkey will take us to the lobby of that inn in Hogsmeade that we stayed at. We'll proceed to Hogwarts from there. So, are we ready?" Draco and Justin nodded so they all positioned themselves around the goblet, Draco tightening his hold on Hermione.
"One... two... three!" The three of them reached out and touched the Portkey at the exact same moment. They all felt the familiar tug behind their navels as the room swirled and they were whisked away from the underground hideaway.
'FWUMP!' They all landed on the hard floor of the familiar lobby. Dumbledore landed gracefully as always and Justin stumbled but managed to regain his balance fairly quickly. Draco, after many years in his childhood of traveling by Portkey, swayed slightly as he landed but stayed firmly upright.
The witch at the front desk looked up, startled. She gasped when she saw them and rushed towards quickly towards them, concern etched across her face.
"My goodness! Professor Dumbledore! What happened! Is everyone alright?"
Draco suddenly realized what they must have looked like, appearing out of nowhere in this state. Dumbledore looked only mildly different, his robes nagging to one side and dirt across his left cheek. Draco himself was completely disheveled; he was extremely sweaty and his face was flushed and dirt streaked. Justin stood close beside him, grasping Draco's robes tightly. He was covered head to toe in dirt and dust, his platinum blond hair was mussed and matted and his clothes were ribbed and torn. Hermione looked the worse though. She was covered in sweat and dust, her hair was tangled, her robes were tousled, and she appeared to unconscious, her head lolling backwards. She was, in fact, asleep and Draco quickly readjusted her so that her head was once again leaning comfortably against his body.
"We were just on a little mission, no need to worry, everyone is just splendid," Dumbledore told the witch cheerfully, a grin on his face. The witch seemed ready to reply but decided against it and kept quiet. Dumbledore continued, "We were just on our way up to Hogwarts. Lovely night for a stroll I'd say. Well, I'll see you around some time! Goodbye!"
Dumbledore strolled towards the door, black robes billowing behind him, as Draco and Justin followed. They stepped out of the inn and were instantly covered in bright moonlight. Looking up, Draco noticed a full moon peeking out from a hole in the clouds. Snowflakes fell lightly down upon them as they trudged slowly back up to Hogwarts. It was really a beautiful night and Draco was joyous. He had his son back, safe and sound, and this beautiful woman in his arms had thrown herself in front of absolute pain to save his son. He looked down at the sleeping form of Hermione and smiled as he brushed snowflakes from her cheeks. He left the ones clinging to her long eyelashes though; they made her look so angelic in the moonlight.
Finally, they reached the lighted castle and emerged through the large front doors into the Entrance Hall. Draco had just stepped onto the first stair of the Grand Staircase when he heard footsteps emerging from the Great Hall. They stopped suddenly and then he heard, in frantic voices, people shouting.
"Hermione!"
***** *** *****
AN- Ok so not much of a cliffhanger, which I luuuv to leave you guys on, but I couldn't think of how to end this chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter and I'm soooooo sorry for the delay in this one but my life has been so frantic lately what with school and homework and other home junk. So please forgive me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it took me awhile to write as I kept re-writing giant parts of it. But it's done and it's up! :) Yay!! But I'm starting to think you guys are losing interest! My reviews are getting less and less every chapter. So please follow the directions following this author's note. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and I don't know how long till the next chapter but keep checking, I'll try to make it soon! Oh and while you're waiting, don't forget to go join my Harry Potter forum! http://scribblingquill.proboards19.com/ Thanks! ~*~FieryPhoenix~*~
DIRECTIONS: 1) Press little blue button (see arrow) 2) Write something nice :) 3) Press submit, and VOILA! Happy me! Yay! :D
|
|
| --See that arrow? See where it's pointing? Get the hint?
|
|
V
Summary: A fic that takes place after Hogwarts. Hermione left the magical world behind after a messy breakup with Krum and became a muggle teacher. Years later she discovers that one of her new students is a Malfoy. What will happen when Draco enters her life?
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. The ones you don't recognize belong to me.
Chapter 16- The Underground Lair
The tree that had once stood in the middle of the trio had split in half and opened down the middle, revealing a gruesome sight. The roots of the tree had wound together to form a rough set of stairs within a vertical tunnel. The stairs descended down steeply into sheer, inky blackness. The walls of the tunnel were earth but they were blanketed with silvery, wispy cobwebs and spiderwebs. Spiders themselves skittered all over the wall making Hermione shudder. Going down that tunnel of darkness was the last thing she wanted to do.
"I know it looks dreadful but it's the only way to the Death Eaters underground lair. We must go down there unless, of course, we want to just leave Justin down there with them if he's down there," Dumbledore said.
At these words Hermione saw Draco's whole body stiffen. Obviously, the thought of abandoning Justin down there was a horrid thought for him. He made to step forwards towards the entrance, then froze. Turning slowly, he met Hermione's eyes and the fear in those steely grey depths sent a chill through her spine. He gently reached over and grabbed her hand, grasping it tightly in his ice cold one. He then turned back to the tree.
"This is it. This is where we find out if he's down there, if this day has been worth it or a waste of time. Ready?" Draco asked them, his voice quivering.
"I'm ready," Hermione said, more confidently than she felt. There was no backing out now. This was it. Little Justin Malfoy's innocence and goodness and, quite possibly, his life, was in their hands. They were going in.
Dumbledore didn't say anything but they knew he was ready. He was always ready for everything. Taking a deep breath, Draco stepped purposefully towards the tunnel's entrance. He hesitated slightly but then stepped quickly down onto the first step, still grasping Hermione's hand. Something about him holding her hand gave Hermione more courage to fight whatever was down there.
Draco continued deeper and deeper into the tunnel and Hermione followed behind him extremely closely down the narrow, steep stairs. Moonlight had been their source of light near the entrance but the deeper they went, the darker it got. Hermione heard Draco pull out his wand and whisper 'Lumos' and heard Dumbledore do the same a moment later. The entire passage was now lit up around them and Hermione shuddered at the sight of bugs scuttling along the earth walls, away from the light and into the shadows into which they were continuously descending.
"I believe we are almost there. Perhaps it would be wise to turn off our wands. We do want the advantage of a surprise attack," Dumbledore said after a long while of trudging downwards in silence. He put out his wand and Draco followed, muttering the spell quietly.
They continued on in the darkness, the weight of the fearful silence pressing in on them, for a few more minutes. Suddenly, Draco lurched forwards, quickly letting go of Hermione's hand. He wasn't fast enough however, as Hermione had lost her balance as he fell and now teetered dangerously on the brink of falling forwards. Unable to steady herself, she plunged down, expecting to fall down the seemingly endless vertical tunnel. But it never happened.
She hit the hard dirt floor with a soft 'fwump!' Feeling around blindly, she discovered Draco struggling to get up. He found Hermione's hand and pulled her up, once again not letting go of her hand. They jumped slightly when they felt hands on their shoulders but let out a silent sigh as they discovered they belonged to Dumbledore; he, unlike them, had walked safely and upright out of the passageway.
But it didn't matter how they did it. The fact was, they had just conquered the dark, narrow earth tunnel and were now that much closer to possibly discovering Justin. They had to go on, save him if he was there.
Straining her eyes blindly in hopes of seeing light somewhere, Hermione glimpsed to faint glimmer of what appeared to be torches in the not-so-far distance. They walked quickly but cautiously towards the light which was, in fact, torches glowing brightly on the cold, earthen walls. They lit up a wide passageway that appeared to get narrower and narrower as it went along before ending in an arched doorway covered by an old rickety wooden door.
Extremely full of fear but eager to save Justin, Hermione started forwards towards the arched doorway. Suddenly, Draco pulled her roughly back and pushed her behind him. 'He's protecting me,' Hermione thought briefly. She felt her heart quicken at this small act but any feelings towards Draco that she had experienced were quickly forgotten as she remembered the task at hand.
Draco moved forwards swiftly but quietly and Hermione followed close behind him, Dumbledore pulling up the rear. The old wizard seemed to be letting them handle this; he had done his part, shown them where Justin possibly was, and was now letting Draco and Hermione show their true colours.
They crept fearfully but determinedly through the lighted passageway. As they walked, the walls slowly closed in on them, growing narrower with each step. Before they knew it, they were standing before the arched doorway, carved from the hard, solid earth. They both knew that on the other side of this was quite possibly a gang of Death Eaters and that they would have to be extremely quiet to not get caught. But that was possible and they would do it.
Praying that the rickety wooden door didn't creak, Draco slowly pushed it open. He managed to open it far enough so that Dumbledore, Hermione, and himself all had a full view of the room beyond. A retched rotting smell flowed from the room as the door opened, causing Hermione to feel dizzy for a few moments. As she steadied herself, holding her head, she felt Draco beside her, cold and unmoving.
Fearfully, knowing that there was definitely something in that room, Hermione turned slowly around and glanced through the doorway. She let out a gasp which she quickly stifled but couldn't stop her knees no longer being able to support her. As they buckled, Draco snapped out of his slight trance, let go of her hand, and quickly flung his arm around her petite waist. His strong grip held her up as she regained her composure and looked once more into the room.
It was dark and dank with few torches on the circular, concrete walls. The flickering fire cast eerie shadows throughout the room and over the five hooded figures gathered in a half-circle against the wall. Death Eaters.
They seemed much too preoccupied to notice that they had just received three very unwanted visitors. Hermione watched as the figures slowly backed away from what they had been gathered around. As they did so, Hermione saw a gruesome sight that sent a wave of fear and anger through her body and made her blood boil.
A wooden board had been attached to the wall between two flickering torches. Chains emerged from the four corners of the board and in the middle, chained to the board by his arms and legs, hung the tiny, limp form of Justin Malfoy. Hermione felt herself trmbling at the site and as Draco stood so near her she could tell that his reaction was quite similar.
Neither the young witch nor the young wizard made any move to run forwards. They were both rooted to the spot, frozen with fear for the boy and revulsion at the scene in front of them. They also knew that if the Death Eaters discovered him they would almost definitely harm one of them or, even worse, harm Justin.
But those thoughts flew from Hermione's head as she saw what happened next. The figure in the middle, the tallest hooded one, drew a wand from his cloak. He raised it and pointed it towards Draco's son.
"I think the Cruciatus curse might change little Justin's mind here about cooperating with us. Who agrees?"
The figures beside the speaker all murmured their agreement, disgustingly excited to see this torture. The wand holder cleared his throat, preparing for the curse.
"This is what happens to people who get on the wrong side of us. They pay for it in pain."
Hermione couldn't stand to watch it. She had to do something and she knew Draco was thinking the same thing. But Dumbledore gently laid a hand on their shoulders, warning them that it wasn't safe to interfere and try to attack while a Death Eater had a wand out and was prepared to curse someone, anyone.
But as the torchlight danced across both the Death Eater's face, illuminating a look of utter glee at having the chance to do this, and little Justin's face, showing a look of utmost terror at the prospect of being put through the worst pain possible, Hermione knew she couldn't just stand by innocently and watch it.
As the wand holders mouth began to form the word 'Crucio', Hermione broke free from Dumbledore and Draco and ran full speed towards Justin. She heard Draco's yell behind her as the Death Eaters, startled, turned towards her. All except the one in the middle who had all his concentration on the curse, not noticing her.
She hurled herself in front of Justin just as the red light of the curse burst forth from the wand. Almost immediately she felt pain beyond pain as it tore through her body like hot white knives. She heard herself scream as she fell to her knees, excruciating pain enveloping her whole body, tearing through her bones. She willed it to stop as her body convulsed rapidly. She felt like she was being ripped little by little into a million pieces. She knew she couldn't take much more.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the curse was lifted and it ended. Hermione lay sprawled on the ground, panting heavily, dull pain still pounding through her bones. She was cold, clammy, and trembling, but she was alive. She heard yells and shouts around her, curses being thrown and bodies crashing to the ground. Behind her she faintly heard someone whimpering and crying. She tried, to no avail, to rise and help this person, save them from the fighting going on around them.
Suddenly, the shouting stopped. Hermione heard pounding footsteps before her shaking body was seized and held gently in a pair of strong arms. Looking up she stared into the stormy silver eyes of Draco Malfoy. His face was pale and fear and concern were etched all over it. Seeing that she was, indeed, alive, he grabbed her tightly and hugged her to his body.
"Thank Merlin you're alright Hermione. I was so worried about you. You're gonna be alright now. Everything is okay," Draco told her softly.
"Justin....?" Hermione managed to whisper. Draco smiled weakly at her and responded, "He's alright Hermione. Dumbledore's got him. You saved him. His little body probably wouldn't have been able to take the curse. But you saved him."
"Ms. Granger?" a small voice whispered beside her. Hermione tiredly turned her head to see Justin Malfoy standing there, his tiny body trembling and his face dirty and tear streaked. Hermione realized then that it had been he who she had heard crying. He gulped back a sob and looking at her with those familiar grey eyes whispered, "You saved me...." That was all he managed to get out before flinging himself at Hermione. Hermione weakly wrapped her arm around him as Draco enveloped Justin into the hug with him and Hermione.
Hermione heard Draco whisper quietly in Justin's ear, "I love you Justin," and Justin just started sobbing again, saying through his tears, "I love you too Daddy." Hermione just sat there, her arms weakly around the two crying silent tears of her own that Justin and Draco were alright.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore stood by with a grin on his face. The young wizard and the young witch had come through. He had an immense feeling of pride towards both of them. After Hermione had bravely and selflessly taken the Cruciatus curse for Justin Malfoy, Draco and Dumbledore had taken care of the 4 watching Death Eaters. Two of them had Apparated out before the wizards could do anything and Draco and himself had both tackled one of the remaining ones each until the head Death Eater had taken the curse off of Hermione and rushed to help the Death Eater fighting Draco. Draco had valiantly managed to impair both of them and had shown a great deal of power in the ease with which he did so. The three immobilized Death Eaters were now scattered around the room and would remain that way until Ministry officials came to fetch them.
As the Draco, Hermione, and Justin lay on the floor, obviously exhausted, Dumbledore cleared his throat quietly to get their attention, not wanting to interrupt this warm embrace. Draco jumped slightly and turned his head towards Dumbledore as Hermione attempted to do so and, failing, settled back into Draco's arms.
"So sorry to interrupt but we really should be getting back, everyone will be quite worried about all of us," Dumbledore told them.
Draco nodded his agreement as he and Justin rose. Draco gently helped Hermione up but she winced in slight pain and was obviously much too exhausted to stand up, let alone walk anywhere.
This didn't faze Draco one bit. Seeing the state that Hermione was in, he gently lifted her petite body from the ground and held her in his arms, just like a groom did to his new bride. Hermione was somewhat shocked but much too tired to say anything so she just laid her head against Draco's strong chest and closed her eyes, glad for the rest.
Draco looked at Dumbledore determinedly and said, "Now what? We can't exactly walk out of here; we'll never be able to do it. And we can't very well Apparate; Hermione here couldn't do it if her life depended on it."
"Well, I believe there's still one thing you haven't mentioned Mister Malfoy. I take it you haven't traveled by a Portkey anytime recently?" Dumbledore responded, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
Draco laughed slightly as the obviousness of the answer dawned on him. Then he looked back at Dumbledore and said somewhat sternly, "Well, lets get a move on then. My son must be horrendously tired and it's obvious that Hermione is."
Once again Dumbledore merely smiled at the young wizard. "Of course, Mister Malfoy. We just need something to charm into a Portkey and we'll be ready. Hmm... let me see... ah, yes, I know just the thing." He strolled over to the corner where a pile of old dilapidated things rested. He picked up a dented brass cup from a collection of goblets sitting near a large cauldron.
Dumbledore strolled back over to Draco, Hermione, and Justin and placed the goblet on the ground before them. He muttered the charm and a light briefly passed from his wand to the goblet. The cup glowed brightly for a few moments before going dark. Dumbledore then proceeded to hover the goblet about four feet from the ground.
"Alright, so when you're ready, on the count of three. Justin, all you have to do is touch a single finger to it. Draco, make sure you keep a firm hold on Ms. Granger and try to keep your balance when you land as we want to avoid a heap of tangled people at all costs. This Portkey will take us to the lobby of that inn in Hogsmeade that we stayed at. We'll proceed to Hogwarts from there. So, are we ready?" Draco and Justin nodded so they all positioned themselves around the goblet, Draco tightening his hold on Hermione.
"One... two... three!" The three of them reached out and touched the Portkey at the exact same moment. They all felt the familiar tug behind their navels as the room swirled and they were whisked away from the underground hideaway.
'FWUMP!' They all landed on the hard floor of the familiar lobby. Dumbledore landed gracefully as always and Justin stumbled but managed to regain his balance fairly quickly. Draco, after many years in his childhood of traveling by Portkey, swayed slightly as he landed but stayed firmly upright.
The witch at the front desk looked up, startled. She gasped when she saw them and rushed towards quickly towards them, concern etched across her face.
"My goodness! Professor Dumbledore! What happened! Is everyone alright?"
Draco suddenly realized what they must have looked like, appearing out of nowhere in this state. Dumbledore looked only mildly different, his robes nagging to one side and dirt across his left cheek. Draco himself was completely disheveled; he was extremely sweaty and his face was flushed and dirt streaked. Justin stood close beside him, grasping Draco's robes tightly. He was covered head to toe in dirt and dust, his platinum blond hair was mussed and matted and his clothes were ribbed and torn. Hermione looked the worse though. She was covered in sweat and dust, her hair was tangled, her robes were tousled, and she appeared to unconscious, her head lolling backwards. She was, in fact, asleep and Draco quickly readjusted her so that her head was once again leaning comfortably against his body.
"We were just on a little mission, no need to worry, everyone is just splendid," Dumbledore told the witch cheerfully, a grin on his face. The witch seemed ready to reply but decided against it and kept quiet. Dumbledore continued, "We were just on our way up to Hogwarts. Lovely night for a stroll I'd say. Well, I'll see you around some time! Goodbye!"
Dumbledore strolled towards the door, black robes billowing behind him, as Draco and Justin followed. They stepped out of the inn and were instantly covered in bright moonlight. Looking up, Draco noticed a full moon peeking out from a hole in the clouds. Snowflakes fell lightly down upon them as they trudged slowly back up to Hogwarts. It was really a beautiful night and Draco was joyous. He had his son back, safe and sound, and this beautiful woman in his arms had thrown herself in front of absolute pain to save his son. He looked down at the sleeping form of Hermione and smiled as he brushed snowflakes from her cheeks. He left the ones clinging to her long eyelashes though; they made her look so angelic in the moonlight.
Finally, they reached the lighted castle and emerged through the large front doors into the Entrance Hall. Draco had just stepped onto the first stair of the Grand Staircase when he heard footsteps emerging from the Great Hall. They stopped suddenly and then he heard, in frantic voices, people shouting.
"Hermione!"
***** *** *****
AN- Ok so not much of a cliffhanger, which I luuuv to leave you guys on, but I couldn't think of how to end this chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter and I'm soooooo sorry for the delay in this one but my life has been so frantic lately what with school and homework and other home junk. So please forgive me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it took me awhile to write as I kept re-writing giant parts of it. But it's done and it's up! :) Yay!! But I'm starting to think you guys are losing interest! My reviews are getting less and less every chapter. So please follow the directions following this author's note. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and I don't know how long till the next chapter but keep checking, I'll try to make it soon! Oh and while you're waiting, don't forget to go join my Harry Potter forum! http://scribblingquill.proboards19.com/ Thanks! ~*~FieryPhoenix~*~
DIRECTIONS: 1) Press little blue button (see arrow) 2) Write something nice :) 3) Press submit, and VOILA! Happy me! Yay! :D
|
|
| --See that arrow? See where it's pointing? Get the hint?
|
|
V