Can't Let You Go
Chapter Twelve
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I really, really, really, wish I owned Hugh Grant!
A/N: For anyone still interested in this fic, I'm so sorry for not updating faster! I've just been really, really, really busy! Also, I'm working on a new fic (a d/hr), but I'm not going to be posting that one for a while!
Last Chapter :
"What's it to you, death eater?" She demanded, and Draco stood up. It suddenly clicked. This wasn't Hermione at all. This was one of his father's minions using Polyjuice Poition! He walked around to her side of the table and grabbed her roughly out of her seat. He yanked his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at her neck.
"Who are you, and where the hell is Hermione?" He demanded.
The kitchen was deadly silent. The Weasely's, excluding Ron, were staring at Draco and the person who appeared to be Hermione, in complete shock. Ron and Harry had jumped out of their seats, ready to jump in when necessary.
"Answer my question!" Draco demanded harshly. The Hermione look-alike smirked wildly before speaking.
"You mean, you want to know where your filthy mudblood is? Well I should hope that by now she has been brutally tortured and killed." Draco didn't think twice before shoving the imposter roughly against the wall. He couldn't even begin to describe the rage that was coursing through his veins. He quickly raised his hand to strike the imposter but lowered it just as quickly. He couldn't do it. He couldn't hit someone that looked so much like Hermione. He knew that it was not really her, but it just felt wrong. This did little to curb his anger and rising panic, however. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest, and sweat was forming on his brow. He grabbed the imposter roughly and shook them by the shoulders.
"Answer my fucking question!" He demanded. Finally, they spoke.
"My identity, is none of your concern, young Malfoy. Just know that I am loyal to your father. As far as the mudblood goes, I imagine Lucius is probably finished with whatever plans he had for her so she's most likely dead by now, but you can check in the Manor -maybe he hasn't finished his torture yet." Draco immediately released his hold on the imposter, and apparated to The Manor without a moment's hesitation.
***
Draco landed in the foyer of The Manor, breathing hard. He paused for a few moments, completely overwhelmed as to where he should be looking for Hermione. The mansion was huge to say the least, and she could be anywhere. One place he doubted she would be was the dungeons, because he didn't hear her screaming. He wasn't sure if he should be nervous or slightly hopeful at this observation though. This lead Draco to believe that one of the more likely places she would be was in his father's study.
Draco broke into a run, racing up the grand stare case and down a vast number of corridors. He was so intent on finding Hermione, that he was caught unprepared when someone stepped out of the shadows and casting a powerful spell that caused him to black out.
***
Draco awoke groggy, and disoriented a little while later. At first he didn't know why he was lying in the dark when all of a sudden the memories of what happened at the Weasley's dinner came rushing back. He sat up immediately but regretted doing so when he was hit by a throbbing headache, he ignored this though and stood up shakily. A hand reached out in the dark and shoved him roughly back down.
"Not so fast, Malfoy!" The man said, "I have instructions from your father to keep you hear a bit longer. Apparently, that mudblood is harder to break than he expected." Draco's hope rose slightly at the last part. This meant that Hermione was still alive. He stood up again and attempted to push past the man, who just shoved him back down again. Draco took out his wand.
"What good do you think that's going to do, Malfoy?" The man demanded. He sounded so arrogant and sure of himself. Draco didn't bother to respond.
"Expelliarmus!" Draco shouted at the man, and was thoroughly surprised when the spell bounced off of the man and came back at himself. This made his wand fly forward into the man's grasp and Draco felt himself being hurled against the wall. His head hit it with a thud, his vision was swimming but he struggled to stay conscious. Suddenly, another man came into the room. The two men whispered together for a few minutes, and then both advanced on Draco. Both stood on either side of him and yanked him up roughly by the arms.
"Mobilicorpus!" One of them muttered. Draco tried in vain to move, but the invisible cords that bound his hands and feet wouldn't budge. He was floating now, and one of the men grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back out into the corridor. They were taking him in the same direction that he had been heading before he had been knocked out. This must have meant Lucius was ready for him. A lump rose in his throat as he thought of what this could mean.
After a few minutes that felt like hours, they had arrived at the door of Lucius' study. The men pulled Draco roughly in the door. He looked around to spot Hermione sitting on his father's lap, ruffling his hair.
"Hermione!" He called out, but she didn't pay any attention. She just ruffled Lucius' hair and occasionally stroking his cheek. Why was Hermione doing this? Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, she leaned down and kissed him!
" What the hell have you done to her?" Draco screamed, while struggling against his restraints.
"Boy, you're an Auror! You of all people should be able to recognize one of the Unforgiveables when you see them!" Suddenly it fit. Hermione was under the Imperious Curse! That explained a few things, but Draco was having trouble piecing together why his father had Hermione under the Imperious Curse in the first place. He watched as Hermione stood and started to approach the large windows behind his father's desk. His mouth went dry. He knew what was coming next.
(Flashback)
Draco, at the age of seven, was jerked out of his sleep. At first he thought the lightening and thunder had woken him, but then he heard the sounds of a woman screaming. It sounded like it was coming from father's study. He rose from the bed and started running in the direction of his father's study, curious to see what was going on. He tried not to be frightened of the dark, mysterious hallways. Father always told him that fear, was the second greatest weakness a wizard could have. The first weakness was love.
As Draco got closer to the door of his father's study, the screams became louder.
"No, please don't do this!" He heard a woman's voice pleading with his father. He knew that it wasn't his mum. The voice sounded younger, though still older than he was. His small hand curled around the doorknob and he quietly pushed the door open. The sight that he saw would stay with him for the rest of his life. Lucius and the woman were struggling directly in front of the large windows in the back of the office. The windows were open and the curtains were fluttering wildly because of the violent wind. Draco was afraid of these windows. They were very long and wide. When he misbehaved, Lucius would threaten to dangle Draco out of the windows. He watched as Lucius dragged the woman and closer to the window. She struggled violently but with a burst of strength, he managed to shove her roughly out the window. Draco heard her scream for quite a while, before she hit the ground with a sickening thud. Without saying a word, Draco backed away from the door and ran back to his bedroom. He never mentioned that night to anyone.
(End of flashback)
"No!" Draco yelled, watching helpless as Hermione got closer to the windows.
"Father, stop!" Lucius didn't respond. He had a manic glint in his eye. It was obvious that he was enjoying this. Draco started struggling more violently against the cords. A blind panic was rising in him.
"Hermione! Listen to me, you have to fight it! Fight the curse Hermione, I know you can hear me! Please Hermione, fight it!" Hermione unlatched the windows, and they swung open violently, almost hitting her in the process. She walked forward and climbed up on the ledge. The wind was blowing in her hair and she turned around partway to look at Draco, who was screaming by this point. He had to snap her out of it. He was struggling so violently against the restraints that they were forming blisters on his skin but he took no notice. His only thought was getting Hermione away from that window.
"Hermione, please snap out of it, love! Get away from the window!" She smirked at him.
"I'm sorry, Draco. This is what happens when you disobey your father." She shrugged and then jumped off the window ledge. Lucius ended the curse the second after she jumped, so they could hear her terrified screaming the whole way down.
A/N: I know.. really strange ending! This chapter probably had a lot of errors, and probably seemed rushed but I wanted to get it out fast so I could really start working on my new fic. This isn't the end. There will be about 3-5 more chapters to go! Please, review and tell me what you thought of this chapter!