Please don't kill me for this one heck of a long update!

Chapter IV

Masked Riders

Hermione awoke with the rain continuously pouring heavily outside, and for some reason, she found peace with the sound of it falling against the windows. She remembered falling asleep after her two bestfriends left the room. It must have been late in the afternoon already. She lay on the bed for a while, contemplating.

She told herself that the young man who had almost strangled her to death at the Ministry of Magic was someone else, and all her perplexity was pushed aside. All he needed was a good talking to. For a moment she had forgotten the terrible pain Draco had caused her, the raging fierceness in his eyes. For a moment she had forgotten being scared and the coldness of his fingers around her neck.

But a moment doesn't last long.

Hermione sighed heavily and dragged herself out of the bed, towards her light blue book bag. She had planned on bringing a few reading materials because she didn't think she'd enjoy the large collection of books regarding the Dark Arts in the Malfoy Manor. Somehow, books brought her comfort no one else can.

The god of thunder was enjoying himself in the night sky. Inside, though, the mansion was as silent as a candle burning selflessly away. The absence of cussing and death threats told Hermione that Harry and Ron were gone by now. Draco was probably inside his room, thinking. She smiled absently at how well she knew him.

But her knowledge faltered her today. She wondered if staying inside the same house with someone so unpredictable and capable of killing was a good idea. Her imagination was getting the best of her. She could almost see Draco forcing the door open… her shrill screams filling the empty hallways of the Manor… his frigid fingers finding it's way once again around her neck…

Thunder tore through the skies, and she crashed back to reality as a heavy book fell to the floor.

Hermione gasped as she picked it up. The book opened right at the center where a picture of the universe stared back at her. A silvery line forming a constellation connected the stars. The earth moved around the magnificent, blaring sun, which reflected its light on the scarred surface of the moon.

She had always wondered where all this came from. What, or who could have made such a perfect universe. Part of her wanted desperately for an answer, and part of her simply wanted to appreciate the beauty of it. It took almost all her energy to close the book and immediately, the feeling of emptiness rushed up within her. Only then did Hermione remember to breathe again.

"Now that's what I call 'gripping'," Hermione said, then rolled her eyes at her silly joke. "Aris, Luna et Stella," the title read, the book given to her by Professor Lupin that Christmas. She opened it once again to the same page and let the glory of the universe take her away.

Then it happened.

The stars began to move. Hermione frowned, as the book seemed to be drawing her closer and closer, hypnotizing her whole being. Her mind was aimlessly wandering, but her eyes were fixed to the picture. The stars were forming something…

Suddenly there was a loud crash from outside the room. Immediately, she snapped the book shut. No, it wasn't thunder this time.

'Draco', she thought.

The spacious bedroom mirrored the owner's personality. The stonewalls were cold… frigid. The curtains were drawn so it had little light, giving off shadows even in the middle of the day. One had to feel his way around the room at night unless of course a candle is lit, and one has memorized every part of it. But even that didn't guarantee easy access, because there were drawers and cabinets that required a skillful talent for spells to unlock the secrets kept within.

And the Master of the Chamber was at the center of it all, sitting motionlessly at the edge of the bed. His steely eyes were clearly waiting for something to happen, as anyone would see through that long silver hair that curtained his face. His fingers were tapping his right knee, and some of those locks blew against his breath.

Tic…Toc…Tic...Toc….

Distinctly he heard the grandfather clock downstairs strike five. Potter and Weasley probably left the Manor. Was Hermione with them? He shut his eyes and strained to listen.

The voices inside his head have stopped.

"Right, then," Draco mumbled, and flung the miniature dragon to the wall. A thousand jade pieces fell to the floor, a loud crash shattering the silence that hung in his room.

'What am I thinking,' He thought violently as he stood up. 'There are no voices! I was only imagining them… I can't be mad…"

He paced around, crackling his knuckles as he did so. Images of Narcissa offering him a wild daisy at St. Mungo's Garden flashed in his mind. Was he to become like his mother too? Were these things hereditary? He spent more time at Hogwarts that at his home so he wouldn't have the faintest idea about symptoms of insanity. Hermione would know these things.

He collapsed in his bed and covered his face. How could I have done such a thing?

A moment passed before a knock on the door came. "Draco?"

The Young Master lifted his face from his hands. "Hermione?" he blindly replied.

"Open the door, Draco." Her voice sounded worried.

"Why are you still here?" He asked, rather uncouthly.

"I-I heard a crash." There was a pause before she continued. "Are you alright?"

Draco slowly stood up from the bed. "I don't know," he said, loud enough to reach the other side of the door. He rested his silver head on it, angry at the massive wooden furniture that kept, and protected, Hermione from him.

She clutched the book in one arm and placed her other hand on the door. "Draco, please, let me in…"

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," she heard him whisper.

"You didn't," Hermione shook her head.

"I'm losing control of myself, " he chuckled wearily. "Even my bloody wand is against me."

"What do you mean?" she frowned.

Silence. For a while, Hermione thought she heard footsteps somewhere, but she immediately dismissed it.

"It's stronger than I thought it was." He finally replied.

For no reason at all Hermione's heart began to beat faster. A series of thunder and lightning played in the clouds, and for a brief moment Hermione was concerned about Harry and Ron's safety.

"Listen to me," Draco said a little louder. "You have to get away from here—"

"I am not leaving you, Draco Malfoy," she said firmly.

"Something is wrong with me, can't you understand that?" he shouted through the door. "This is for your own good!"

"What is?" Hermione yelled back. "Not being with you?"

Suddenly the door flew open and Draco stepped outside. His pale skin stood out from the dark surroundings as he towered over her. His cold gray eyes stared at her so intensely that Hermione involuntarily took a step back.

"YOU LISTEN TO ME HERMIONE GRANGER!" He roughly grabbed her arms and Hermione winced slightly. "YOU ARE MINE AND WILL DO AS YOU ARE TOLD!"

Suddenly the high-pitched sound of a broken window filled the cold, night air and the sound of the storm grew louder. In a split second, Draco focused at a point somewhere behind her shoulder, and the next thing Hermione knew, she was thrown to the wall. A sharp pang of pain jolted in her head as the book she was holding slid away from her on the floor.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Draco shouted as a beam of light escaped from his wand to the darkness of the huge mansion.

"What are you doing?!" Hermione screamed.

"Stay down!" Draco ordered her. "Lumos!" he yelled, and a bright light cast eerie shadows on the walls as he ran down the stairs.

"Put your wand down, Draco," Hermione heard a deep, husky voice from somewhere downstairs.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU SON OF A BITCH?!" Draco shouted. "WHY WERE YOU TRYING TO KILL HER?"

Hermione stood up and tried to see who the intruder was, but the dizziness was overcoming her. There was something about his voice that was so familiar. Still, the thunder and lightning did not cease.

"I wasn't trying to kill her," the other man answered firmly.

"You were aiming at her—"

"I was aiming for the book she was holding!" the man said, growing rather impatient.

Draco gritted through his teeth. "What are you doing here, Professor? Hiding from the full moon tonight?"

Hermione gasped. "Oh my god…"

"PUT YOUR WAND DOWN, son. Before you hurt yourself."

"I don't take orders from half-beasts like you."

"DRACO! NO!" She called out as she ran as fast as she could down the stairs. If the intruder was who she thought it was…

Too late. Draco had muttered a blasting curse that sent the man crashing to the wall, and fell to the floor.

"Draco, stop it!" Hermione cried, pushing him away. "Calm down, please, calm down…" she whispered pleadingly, cupping Draco's face that had turned cold and emotionless.

"He was going to kill you, Hermione…" he growled, his whole body shaking with fury.

"Shh… Calm down, Draco…"

"That fuckin' werewolf was going to kill you…."

"Listen to me, " she looked straight into his eyes that had become a much darker shade of gray. "He's different. He wouldn't do that to me." She stroked his chest, trying to release any kind of hatred within him. "Breathe, Draco…"

Slowly, the expression on Draco's face grew softer, and he exhaled heavily. Hermione ran her fingers through his silver hair and looked at him in question. He nodded back. She tiptoed closer to him and gave him a reassuring kiss, and Draco almost did not let her go.

"Now why on earth would I want to kill you, Hermione?" Professor Lupin grumbled as he stood from the floor.

Hermione turned around and smiled apologetically at him. "I'm sorry, Professor. But I think it would have been wiser if you had knocked instead on the front door."

"We were supposed to, but Tonks accidentally hit off the alarm," Lupin shook his head. "Couldn't lay a finger on your door without having your head cut off."

"Tonks?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you'll love her!" Hermione exclaimed. "Where is she?"

"She got lost somewhere at the back," Lupin pointed.

"Stay here with Professor Lupin, will you, Draco? I'll be back in a second."

And with that, an awkward silence hung between the two men.

"Er, look, Professor," Draco cleared his throat. "I apologize for—"

Lupin waved him off. "There's no problem, Draco. I understand. Would have done the same thing." He looked around and squinted his eyes in the dark. "Ever heard of light, Draco? Lumos Solarum!" He chanted, and instantly the Mansion was now emitting a soft glow. It took a moment for Draco to get used to the bright light, and when he did, he saw Lupin properly and involuntarily took a couple of steps back.

Remus Lupin looked like he had not gotten any sleep for weeks. More scars had covered his body, and his clothes weren't helping him look human. He stared questioningly at Draco.

"Oh, sorry," Draco cleared his throat once more and tried to look superior. "Just… can't… believe there's a werewolf in my house."

Lupin raised an eyebrow. "Do you think you can show me the book Hermione was holding a while ago? It's really important."

"Right." Draco replied. "I think it was upstairs—"

He stopped midway his sentence as he heard a low, demonic growl coming from somewhere. Suddenly the sound of glass collapsing made both wizards turn sharply around. Hermione's scream rang in their ears.

"What the fuck is this? National Window Breaking Day?!" Draco shouted in frustration as four wizards dressed in black robes riding on their brooms came in all directions. The first floor of the mansion was suddenly splattered with rain.

"Hermione! Tonks!" Professor Lupin yelled before blasting a curse at one of the dark dressed wizards.

The two witches ran from the back, holding their wands at the ready. Two more mysterious broom riders were right behind them. Draco did a double take on one witch with hot pink hair.

"Hi, Nymphadora Tonks, pleasure to meet you." The witch said rather pleasantly after dodging a spell. "And you must be…?"

This woman is crazy. "Draco Malfoy, owner of this house," the young Master replied, dumbfounded.

"Watch out!" Hermione yelled before pushing Draco to the floor. A curse had missed him by inches.

"Oh, he looks so much like his father!" Tonks exclaimed to Lupin.

"Tonks!" Remus screamed, aggravated. "Focus!"

"Who the hell are these guys?!" Draco shouted before sending one of the wizards falling off his broom, head first. They were wearing masks to cover their face.

"I have no idea!" Hermione yelled as she grabbed a porcelain fairy jabbed it in the eye of the real intruder.

"Hermione! The book!" Lupin shouted while dueling with one of the broom riders. "Don't let them get to it!"

She stalled before Lupin made sense to her. Aris, Luna et Stella. Her legs carried her as fast as she could up the stairs. One of the wizards clad in black growled hungrily behind her, accelerating further and further until he was able to grab hold of Hermione's hair.

She screeched and fell to the floor with a thud. Two head bumps in less than one hour was not good.

The masked figure held on the Hermione's ankle and she shivered at its frigid touch.

"STUPEFY!" Draco shouted and the wizard shot into the air and hit a huge porcelain vase, unconscious. "GO!" he yelled.

Hermione stood up and sprinted for the book, lying on the floor. Just a few more feet. Below her, Draco, Lupin and Tonks were all dueling with the other masked figures. But that meant there was one more.

"Diffindoe…" A slow, eerie voice escaped from the broom rider and Hermione had no time to react.

"Aurgh!" She howled in pain. An excruciating sting hit her leg, and she grabbed it on impulse. Her right leg was wet with blood.

The masked figure swept over her and grabbed the only copy of Aris Luna et Stella known to man, and gave a loud, rumbling scream.

The other three masked intruders screamed in reply, and fled through the huge gaps in the mansion which used to be windows. They flew to the stormy night, and yelled once more in victory.

"Damn it!" Lupin cursed, and wiped the blood slowly dripping from the side of his face.

"Hermione, love, are you hit?" Tonks called out as she made her way upstairs.

"Now what the hell just happened here?" Draco cried out, fighting the urge to shiver in the cold temperature of the storm.

Lupin shook his head. "Did they get the book?"

"Remus, she's been hit," Tonks called out as she and Hermione emerged on the banister.

Hermione looked drained. "I'm sorry, Professor…"

Lupin remained silent. "It was probably bound to happen," he finally said.

Draco clenched his jaw and looked up at Hermione. He knew she was a strong girl. His gray eyes darted around the mess those Masked Riders have made and loathed the fact that he knew no reason for this intrusion. He exhaled heavily as he ran his hand through his semi-wet hair. "What is going on?" Draco asked once more.

Lupin slowly turned his head to look at the disgruntled young man. "Just pack your things," he replied. "Dumbledore will explain everything."

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