CHAPTER TWELVE
Draco was the first to notice the four hooded Death eaters crowded in the tiny basement. He stood bravely in front of the rest of the would-be rescuers, shielding them from harm but without much luck.
"You are willing to risk everything for a muggle?" one of the black figures asked Draco menacingly.
Draco was mentally kicking himself for being so stupid. The hidden entrance to the basement would, of course, be the first place Lucius Malfoy knew his son would try. But it wasn't just that, Draco couldn't believe he had led his peers into the trap as well and, what's more, he actually cared.
"Her name is Georgia, not muggle." Susan said bravely, stepping in line with Draco.
The Death Eaters averted their attention from Draco onto Susan. Draco was also starring at Susan, his mouth agape. Who knew Hufflepuffs could be so fearless?
"Georgia, ey?" another Death Eater laughed cruelly, "Well, lets see how much this Georgia means to you- CRUCIO!"
Draco had seen this coming but was powerless to stop it. He and the other Hogwarts students stood in horror as Susan fell to the floor, twitching and screaming with intense pain. The Death Eaters jeered as Susan was brought closer to death. Hermione was the first to break as she watched her friend bow to the torture.
"PROTEGO!" she screamed, stepping in front of Susan and rebounding the Unforgivable Curse.
The Death Eater who had performed the Unforgivable Curse broke off in shock. A mudblood witch, of school age no less, had interrupted the fun. An act such as that had serious consequences, consequences that provoked a dual. Eight on four. The odds were in Hogwarts favour.
To Draco, though, the idea of battling was pointless unless a goal could be achieved and that goal was Georgia who, along with his father, was nowhere to be found. With this thought in mind, Draco sprinted the few steps between his spot in the basement and the door. His idea was simple: search the manor.
After fighting off a persistent Death Eater who was intent on keeping Draco in the basement, he yelled to Blaise, who had taken over his struggle.
"I'm going to find Georgia! Keep those buggers here!" and without waiting for a reply, he took off into the Malfoy manor.
X
It was unusually quite. The house elves, who normally bustled around the kitchen, were not there and Draco's father had not attacked him at first sight as he assumed he would. Draco banished this unhealthy thought though, and replaced it with the task at hand: finding Georgia.
Draco sprinted through the halls of his house checking each room for any sign of Georgia. He was starting to loose hope, believing that his father's letter was nothing but a hoax, when he reached the last room, coincidentally his bedroom. When Draco pushed open the door, he fully expected the room to be empty but, instead, there was Georgia, sitting with her back to him on the edge of the bed. Draco silently thanked God that no harm had been done to her.
"Georgia!" he called, startling the silent girl.
A look of relief passed over her features when she saw it was he.
"It's about time you showed up, I've been sitting here for ages. I was even contemplating having a peek through your things I was so bored." Georgia said.
Draco's smile slid from his face at Georgia's ungrateful words. He was about to give her a piece of his mind, to let her know what it had taken to find her, when a laugh escaped Georgia's lips. A smile lit up her features and she fell into Draco's arms in a warm embrace. It was quite comforting.
The hug, however, lasted mere seconds when a small popping noise sounded behind Georgia and Lucius Malfoy broke up the reunion.
"You are a disgrace to the Malfoy name, boy." He seethed, yanking Georgia out of Draco's grip and pushing her out of the way.
Georgia crashed into the mahogany dresser and fell to the floor where she remained. Draco tried to help her but his father blocked the path with a sneer.
"A muggle." He spat, shaking his head with utter disappointment, "You risk your life for a worthless muggle?"
Draco almost cringed at the knowledge that, last week, he would have understood what his father meant. He would have agreed, would have done anything to please his father. How quickly the mind changes. Draco knew now that risking his life for Georgia, a muggle, was the first step towards redemption.
"Georgia isn't worthless and the Malfoy name was a disgrace long before I came about." Draco argued, stalling for time and unsure of what to do.
"You seem to be forgetting Draco, that pure blood is what shaped this family. It gives us status. Helping muggles isn't in our nature; we don't concern ourselves with them. It is with the Dark Lord that we belong." Lucius replied.
"Maybe it is about time we concerned ourselves with them. Our blood is no different to theirs. When we get cut, we bleed, just like them. We die just like them. We are not eternal or immortal. Get down off our high horse and take a look around the real world. To most, pure blood means nothing, you and your precious Voldemort are in a minority." Draco tried; hoping reason would hit his father in the head.
"That muggle has brainwashed you. You even dare to utter the Dark Lord's name!" Lucius said in disbelief.
"Not brainwashed, just woke me up. And as for Voldemort, he is nothing to me." Draco informed his already furious father.
"Very well, let us settle this like grown wizards- CRUCIO!" Lucius yelled.
Draco managed to doge this first spell with skills honed from years of quidditch, he even managed to shot a few of his own before his father's wand hit its target.
The Cruciatus Curse was by far the most intense pain Draco had ever felt before. It was as though the Devil was beating down on his bones, like an earthquake was snaking its way through his body, like a thousand fires were burning within. Draco was sure his body would explode as he tried to fight the curse.
Lucius Malfoy had always played dirty, using whatever means was needed to achieve his goals, but to use an Unforgivable on his son was a new low. Never would a reasonable man attack hi own flesh and blood in such a manner.
He wasn't a reasonable man though, Draco thought as the pain began to subside. The spell was being lifted.
Draco was too weak to fight back but he managed to stand, deciding that, if his father must kill him, he would die with dignity. Lucius Malfoy raised his steady wand, laughing shrilly. Draco closed his eyes and waited for the nothing that would come after death. It didn't come. Instead, the sound of a body hitting the decks rang in his ears.
Draco opened his eyes cautiously and saw Georgia standing over his father's body, lampshade in hand, breathing heavily. Lucius was sprawled out on the floor, his eyes closed and blood trickling down the back of his head, staining his white hair crimson. He was breathing but he was out cold.
Draco's eyes travelled back up to Georgia who was looking rather frightened, as though she had done something wrong. He let out a brief laugh and moved forward, taking the lamp from her hands.
"I was supposed to be saving you, remember?" Draco said, trying to sound macho.
"I think I can handle myself." Georgia replied, relieved that had done the right thing.
Draco laughed again and pulled Georgia into his arms.
"Just shut-up and kiss Me." he whispered into her ear before their lips met in a passionate kiss.
For the first time Georgia could remember, she was happy.
Kissing is a means of getting two people so close together that they can't see anything wrong with each other. Rene Yasenek
THE END
A/N: I couldn't be bothered waiting for people to review so I just stuck the last chapter up, hope you liked. Peace Out!
A/N: Look out for my next story, which I will be getting underway shortly, its called "Tiny Wooden Boxes"