Chapter 24
Draco awoke one morning to find a note on his bedside table. Today is the day it read. It didn't take him long to figure out what that meant. He got out of bed, took a long bath and got dressed.
He and Hermione ate breakfast on the back terrace, overlooking the water. The entire meal his mind was everywhere but on breakfast. Somehow Hermione must have figured that out because she was pretty quiet, and Draco was thankful for that. He was trying to think of a way to pop the question. After breakfast he ran down to his father's office.
"Dad, how did you propose to mom?" Draco asked. Lucius looked up from his work and took his glasses off.
"Draco, it doesn't bloody matter how you do it, just give her the god damn ring and be done with it. The first campaign is tomorrow, your engagement must be announced today," Lucius replied. Draco sighed and left the office. As he headed upstairs he noticed Snape was following him.
"Severus, whatever it is, let it wait," Draco ordered. Snape recoiled, wanting so badly to yell at his former student for being disrespectful. However, he regained self-control and pressed on.
"Master Draco, if you would, I believe I could be of some service," Snape offered. He leaned forward and whispered something into Draco's ear.
"Severus, you're wonderful!" Draco exclaimed. He ran up the stairs to his room.
* * *
"Miss Granger, if I could just speak with you a moment, please," Snape requested. Hermione nodded and left her bedroom to follow Snape down the hall. As soon as they rounded the corner, Draco ran in to Hermione's room.
She returned a few minutes later to find her entire room filled with roses. Draco stood in the middle of the room, and Hermione rushed to kiss him. He handed her the last vase, filled with white roses with the exceptions of one red one in the absolute center.
"I ran out of room for these," he explained. Hermione smiled. She buried her nose in the fragrant blossoms. As she opened her eyes, she noticed something hidden in the red rose. Pulling it out, she discovered it was an antique,
"Wedding ring?" she asked. Draco took the ring from her and knelt down. Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat and her eyes well up with tears of happiness.
"Hermione, you have been the light of my life. I never knew the meaning of love until I found you, and in so many ways you have changed my life. I can't imagine spending the rest of it with anyone but you. I love you so much, Hermione, and I would be honored if you would spend the rest of your life with me. Will you marry me?" Draco asked. Hermione couldn't find any words for a moment.
"Yes!" She exclaimed as soon as she was able to speak. Draco slid the ring onto her finger and stood up to kiss her, but she was still holding the last vase of roses.
"Let me hold them," Snape said coming into the room. His eyes were faintly misty.
"Have you been standing there the whole time?" Draco asked indignantly.
"Yes," Snape replied, taking out a handkerchief to dab at his eyes. Hermione laughed and then kissed Draco.
* * *
"My humble servants," Lord Voldemort addressed the crowd standing below the front terrace of his palace.
"I don't recall getting paid for this," Ron whispered to his sister. Ginny poked him in the ribs to bid him be quiet.
"It gives me great pleasure to announce the engagement of my two heirs, the most honorable Draco Malfoy, and my daughter, Miss Hermione Granger," The Dark Lord announced, gesturing to the couple who stepped forward to wave at the crowd. Ron's face went pale.
"His daughter?" he squeaked. "Hermione's not his daughter!" Ginny shrugged her shoulders and trudged back to their shack. As Ron headed in that direction, someone caught his arm.
"Ron?" the girl asked. Ron turned to look at her. "Do you remember me? Pansy Parkinson?"
"Oh, hello, Pansy. I didn't recognize you," he replied. Pansy nodded.
"I know you were friends with Hermione too," she started. "She didn't tell you anything about this, did she?"
"No!" Ron burst. "She's been a muggle-born since the day I met her, and if anyone deserves to be down here, it's her!" he yelled pointing to the palace. Pansy's eyes grew wide and she started to back away from Ron. "What?" He asked, wondering why she was leaving so suddenly. Then his arms were grabbed by two of the Dark Lord's soldiers. "Pansy, look out!" He yelled as she too was grabbed. Ron struggled to get free, but the harder he worked, the worse the restraints were. As he relaxed, everything faded gently to black.
* * *
Hermione and Draco were escorted around the camp to their newly completed palace, situated directly across the camp from Lord Voldemort's. Snape showed them around the building, pointing out all of the amenities.
"Now, Master Draco, your job is to stay here out of harm's way until it is your turn to rule," Snape informed him. Draco nodded, but felt almost cheated. He wouldn't even see battle until someone did Voldemort in, and he wasn't expecting that any time soon. "It may be sooner than you think," Snape added, seeing Draco's disappointment.
"It's fine," Draco said, trying to end the conversation. Snape looked at Hermione then pulled Draco a few feet away.
"If I were you, sir, I would worry about my successor," Snape whispered. Draco looked back at Hermione.
"She'll probably make a better ruler than me," Draco replied. Snape rolled his eyes.
"That's not what I meant," he said pointedly. Draco raised an eyebrow. "As in, you might want to work on procuring an heir," Snape explained. A glimmer of recognition crossed Draco's face.
"We're not married yet, Severus" Draco reminded Snape. Snape shrugged as Draco dismissed him. Then Draco and Hermione went on exploring the house. Their tour ended in the Royal Bedchamber, which was almost an entire house in itself. Each of them had their own walk-in closet about the size of Hermione's childhood bedroom, filled with completely new dress robes.
"For the party tonight," Hermione remembered, looking through some of them. She pulled out a few. "Which one?" she asked Draco. He shrugged. "That's helpful," she remarked and turned back to the rack to dig through them. Draco came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"You look phenomenal in everything," he informed her. Hermione smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Thank you," she responded, brushing the compliment off. Draco looked through the rack briefly and randomly selected something for her. Hermione took it off the hanger and headed to change in the bathroom. Suppressing a sigh, Draco waited patiently for her to come out. Here Snape was pressuring him to make babies and Hermione couldn't even change in front of him.
"You know, I've seen you naked," He called after her. Hermione sighed loudly and then emerged from the stall. Draco raised an eyebrow and examined the way the robes fit snugly over each curve of her body.
"What do you think?" Hermione asked nervously. Draco nodded.
"I love it," he breathed, moving to take her in his arms.
"Don't wreck it!" she hissed, pulling free from his grasp. Draco sighed.
"Hermione, we're engaged, can I please touch you and not have you make me feel like I'm trying to rape you?" Draco pleaded. Hermione heaved a sigh.
"Just let me take the dress off," she said going back into the bathroom. Draco followed her this time to start a bath in their Olympic- swimming pool sized sunken bathtub. He slid into the water and tried to relax.
The truth was, he was worried. He hated to admit it, but he was starting to doubt his leader. Had Voldemort managed to gather a strong enough army? Were they any match at all for the opposition? No answers came to him. How strong was Voldemort anyway? Everyone seemed pretty sure that He was ready to kick the bucket.
His thoughts were interrupted as Hermione climbed into the bathtub with him. Draco smiled and put one arm around her.
"Draco, you know I don't mean to be difficult," Hermione began. He nodded. "It's just, this is all very new to me, and there's so much going on right now," she stopped without finishing her thought, feeling foolish for making excuses.
"Hermione, I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to. I'm impatient; I'll be the first to admit. Which is why I get frustrated when I feel like things are moving backwards. Sometimes you're hopping the bath with me and then sometimes you're changing in the bathroom. It's hard for me to know what's going through your head," he explained.
"I just want you to be happy," Hermione said, biting her lip. Draco smiled.
"Well, the way to do that is to make you happy," he responded. Hermione rolled her eyes. "You gave me a bogus answer, I'm allowed to give you one," he countered.
"Alright," Hermione took a deep breath. "I'm just scared, I guess."
"But what are you afraid of?" Draco pushed. Hermione shrugged.
"Just the unknown, I suppose," she decided. Draco nodded.
"That's understandable," he agreed. There was a long pause while they both considered this. "Hermione, you know, I would never do anything to hurt you, right?" Draco asked after a while.
"I do now," she replied, smiling at him. He returned her smile and then leaned in to kiss her, using one hand to turn her head towards his. After a while of this, Draco pulled Hermione onto his lap, facing towards him. He could tell this made her a little nervous, so he put her on the seat instead and kneeled in front of her. Positioning his hands on her thighs, he took one of her nipples into his mouth. As he teased her like this, his hands were massaging her thighs, moving steadily higher up her legs. Draco leaned up and kissed Hermione as one of his fingers found its way inside her. He could feel the shock in her lips as he kissed her, but didn't let her stop him. His mouth returned to her breasts, eagerly awaiting his attention.
Hermione sat in front of Draco, allowing him to touch her like this and enjoying herself. She felt her breath getting heavier by the second. Feeling faint, she wrestled with the idea of asking him to stop.
Draco knew he'd managed to win her over when her eyes, which had been half closed, flew wide open. Her breathing slowed after a moment, and then she leaned back against the wall of the bathtub.
"I had no idea," she gasped. Draco smirked at her.
"That was only the beginning," he told her.
* * *
Ron awoke on a cold cement floor, his head throbbing. Looking around, he felt no need to wonder where he was. Thick steel bars made the fourth wall of his cell, which he knew had to be in the dungeon of Voldemort's Palace.
"It's not so bad," he mused to himself. He'd heard countless horror stories of the atrocities committed in this dungeon. Leaning back against the wall, his eyes began to adjust to the darkness. As he surveyed his surroundings, he could hear the guards coming down the hall.
"The camp is full," one of them was saying. "Everyone on the list is in custody."
"All of the Death-Eaters have returned, and the army is nearly complete. I've heard there have been no major discipline problems in the camp yet," another one replied.
"They're all just scared," the first guard said. "They're not all just mud bloods this time. Everyone who opposes our Lord is there. The ministry didn't see this coming at all, they're all sitting around scratching their heads and wondering what went wrong."
"Alt!" A third voice cried out. Ron could hear the first two guards turn around to see who was calling them. "Oi've got ohrders to let th'young lady free."
"That's just where we were headed," the first guard replied. "You're welcome to join us."
Ron leapt to his feet as he realized what was going on. The guards were going to have their way with Pansy before they let her go. He reached his hands out to try and grasp the bars, but his left hand wouldn't close around them. Looking down at his hands, he saw that three of the fingers on his left hand had been removed. His eyes grew wide as he realized the implications of such an injury.
Behind him someone moaned, and Ron spun around to see a large mass covered by a threadbare blanket on the floor.
"Hello?" he called softly. The mass moved slightly and moaned again. Ron took a few cautious steps towards it. Gathering his courage, Ron pulled the blanket off, revealing a body curled into the fetal position. "Are you alright?" he asked. The head moved up to see who was speaking to him. As the head raised slightly, Ron finally recognized the person. "Harry! You're not dead!"
* * *
Pansy fell to the ground outside the entrance to the dungeon. Every muscle and bone in her body ached. She tried her best to get to her feet and keep walking, but somehow she couldn't make herself move on. Instead she curled herself into a little ball, hugging her knees. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut she wished she could fall asleep to end the pain. Anything so she wouldn't have to deal with the stinging pain in her wounds and the roaring ache of her muscles.
Five different guards had used her limp, exhausted body, thrusting themselves into any available orfice. The entire time, Pansy had lain flat on the ground like a rag doll, not helping or hindering the process. She was too weak to fight them off and she knew it. A brutal cough wracked her body, making her lungs ache even worse. Finding her feet, Pansy stumbled through the camp until she found her home.
* * *
The first campaign lasted only three days but resulted in massive casualties for the Light side. Voldemort was up by one, and already things seemed to be at their worst for the "good guys." The second day of the campaign a huge blizzard had rolled in, covering the camp in two feet of snow.
Ron was released on the third day. Ginny barely recognized her brother when he finally made his way back into their tiny shack. His cheekbones protruded, he seemed taller, and more withdrawn and solemn. It frightened Ginny to see this change in her brother, much as it pained Ron to see Ginny's entire body erupting with coughing fits in the middle of the night. He suffered from terrible nightmares when he slept.
"I found Harry," Ron whispered to Ginny one night. "He was barely alive when I left, probably not so anymore."
The entire Weasley family was suffering much in the same way. The boys worked all day doing physical labor for the army while the Molly and Ginny sat at home trying to make the moldy bread stretch to feed the entire brood. The entire camp was filled with the same skeleton-like figures, wrapped in what was left of the grey robes they were issued at the beginning.
* * *
The snow continued to pile higher each day. Three more campaigns passed, getting longer and more destructive than the first. Word around the camp was that most of England and Scotland lay in ruin. Up in Draco's palace, life couldn't be better.
Hermione spent her days reading, while Draco visited with generals and Death Eaters. They ate dinner at Voldemort's Palace every night surrounded by the best and brightest of his allies.
Severus Snape spent his time serving Draco and Hermione, biding his time until the Dark Lord's reign came to an end. He'd been placed in such a position because he had betrayed Lord Voldemort's trust, and thus could not be given immense amounts of responsibility. Severus could care less; Once Voldemort was gone, Draco would be ill prepared to rule and in great need of an advisor. Less responsibility meant less work for him anyway. It was a nice vacation.
Hermione enjoyed her time off from school. She knew that since Hogwarts was closed the school year would pick up where it had left off, and Hermione would be given a clean slate. Which was exactly what she needed.
Looking out her window she could see the snow falling. It calmed her to watch the snow fall so gently and patiently. Snow wasn't violent like rain, just peaceful and drifting. As she gazed out the window, Draco came into the library and kissed her forehead before he sat down across from her.
"The next campaign starts tomorrow," he said triumphantly. Hermione turned to look at him.
"Not next week?" she asked.
"No, I reminded our Lord of how ill-prepared the opposing armies were last time, and suggested we catch them off guard. He seemed to think it was a good idea," Draco explained. Hermione smiled. "And what have you been doing all day?"
"Reading, mostly," she admitted. "I took a bath, and ate lunch, but mostly just reading."
"You don't get tired of it?" Draco asked. Hermione shook her head no. Draco shrugged, and turned to look for Severus. "Tea?" he asked, catching sight of Snape sitting in the corner. Severus motioned to a passing house- elf. Draco turned back to Hermione. Tea appeared in front of them a few seconds later.
"Draco, how much longer is this war going to last?" Hermione asked. Draco shrugged his shoulders.
"Until we have won control, I assume," He wagered. "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."
"Who's worried?" Hermione joked. She wasn't worried about the war, she was worried about losing the Dark Lord. As long as he was alive, he was ruling which meant that Hermione and Draco weren't. Hermione hadn't been in charge of anything in her life, let alone an entire kingdom. Somehow she felt her leadership skills were much lacking. She let her eyes drift back over to the window.
Outside, clearly visible from Hermione's chair, the enemy armies were rapidly approaching the palace yard. Hermione gasped, making Draco turn to look out the window.
"Don't worry about them, they're visiting the camp. They bring clothes and food, which means we don't have to," Draco explained. Hermione took a deep breath. "Someone's a little uneasy this afternoon," Draco mused, with a smirk on his face. "Come here," he instructed motioning for her to sit on his lap. She did so, and Draco wrapped his arms around her. "Someday," he whispered to her, "You and I will be King and Queen, and then there will be nothing to worry about."
Draco awoke one morning to find a note on his bedside table. Today is the day it read. It didn't take him long to figure out what that meant. He got out of bed, took a long bath and got dressed.
He and Hermione ate breakfast on the back terrace, overlooking the water. The entire meal his mind was everywhere but on breakfast. Somehow Hermione must have figured that out because she was pretty quiet, and Draco was thankful for that. He was trying to think of a way to pop the question. After breakfast he ran down to his father's office.
"Dad, how did you propose to mom?" Draco asked. Lucius looked up from his work and took his glasses off.
"Draco, it doesn't bloody matter how you do it, just give her the god damn ring and be done with it. The first campaign is tomorrow, your engagement must be announced today," Lucius replied. Draco sighed and left the office. As he headed upstairs he noticed Snape was following him.
"Severus, whatever it is, let it wait," Draco ordered. Snape recoiled, wanting so badly to yell at his former student for being disrespectful. However, he regained self-control and pressed on.
"Master Draco, if you would, I believe I could be of some service," Snape offered. He leaned forward and whispered something into Draco's ear.
"Severus, you're wonderful!" Draco exclaimed. He ran up the stairs to his room.
* * *
"Miss Granger, if I could just speak with you a moment, please," Snape requested. Hermione nodded and left her bedroom to follow Snape down the hall. As soon as they rounded the corner, Draco ran in to Hermione's room.
She returned a few minutes later to find her entire room filled with roses. Draco stood in the middle of the room, and Hermione rushed to kiss him. He handed her the last vase, filled with white roses with the exceptions of one red one in the absolute center.
"I ran out of room for these," he explained. Hermione smiled. She buried her nose in the fragrant blossoms. As she opened her eyes, she noticed something hidden in the red rose. Pulling it out, she discovered it was an antique,
"Wedding ring?" she asked. Draco took the ring from her and knelt down. Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat and her eyes well up with tears of happiness.
"Hermione, you have been the light of my life. I never knew the meaning of love until I found you, and in so many ways you have changed my life. I can't imagine spending the rest of it with anyone but you. I love you so much, Hermione, and I would be honored if you would spend the rest of your life with me. Will you marry me?" Draco asked. Hermione couldn't find any words for a moment.
"Yes!" She exclaimed as soon as she was able to speak. Draco slid the ring onto her finger and stood up to kiss her, but she was still holding the last vase of roses.
"Let me hold them," Snape said coming into the room. His eyes were faintly misty.
"Have you been standing there the whole time?" Draco asked indignantly.
"Yes," Snape replied, taking out a handkerchief to dab at his eyes. Hermione laughed and then kissed Draco.
* * *
"My humble servants," Lord Voldemort addressed the crowd standing below the front terrace of his palace.
"I don't recall getting paid for this," Ron whispered to his sister. Ginny poked him in the ribs to bid him be quiet.
"It gives me great pleasure to announce the engagement of my two heirs, the most honorable Draco Malfoy, and my daughter, Miss Hermione Granger," The Dark Lord announced, gesturing to the couple who stepped forward to wave at the crowd. Ron's face went pale.
"His daughter?" he squeaked. "Hermione's not his daughter!" Ginny shrugged her shoulders and trudged back to their shack. As Ron headed in that direction, someone caught his arm.
"Ron?" the girl asked. Ron turned to look at her. "Do you remember me? Pansy Parkinson?"
"Oh, hello, Pansy. I didn't recognize you," he replied. Pansy nodded.
"I know you were friends with Hermione too," she started. "She didn't tell you anything about this, did she?"
"No!" Ron burst. "She's been a muggle-born since the day I met her, and if anyone deserves to be down here, it's her!" he yelled pointing to the palace. Pansy's eyes grew wide and she started to back away from Ron. "What?" He asked, wondering why she was leaving so suddenly. Then his arms were grabbed by two of the Dark Lord's soldiers. "Pansy, look out!" He yelled as she too was grabbed. Ron struggled to get free, but the harder he worked, the worse the restraints were. As he relaxed, everything faded gently to black.
* * *
Hermione and Draco were escorted around the camp to their newly completed palace, situated directly across the camp from Lord Voldemort's. Snape showed them around the building, pointing out all of the amenities.
"Now, Master Draco, your job is to stay here out of harm's way until it is your turn to rule," Snape informed him. Draco nodded, but felt almost cheated. He wouldn't even see battle until someone did Voldemort in, and he wasn't expecting that any time soon. "It may be sooner than you think," Snape added, seeing Draco's disappointment.
"It's fine," Draco said, trying to end the conversation. Snape looked at Hermione then pulled Draco a few feet away.
"If I were you, sir, I would worry about my successor," Snape whispered. Draco looked back at Hermione.
"She'll probably make a better ruler than me," Draco replied. Snape rolled his eyes.
"That's not what I meant," he said pointedly. Draco raised an eyebrow. "As in, you might want to work on procuring an heir," Snape explained. A glimmer of recognition crossed Draco's face.
"We're not married yet, Severus" Draco reminded Snape. Snape shrugged as Draco dismissed him. Then Draco and Hermione went on exploring the house. Their tour ended in the Royal Bedchamber, which was almost an entire house in itself. Each of them had their own walk-in closet about the size of Hermione's childhood bedroom, filled with completely new dress robes.
"For the party tonight," Hermione remembered, looking through some of them. She pulled out a few. "Which one?" she asked Draco. He shrugged. "That's helpful," she remarked and turned back to the rack to dig through them. Draco came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"You look phenomenal in everything," he informed her. Hermione smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Thank you," she responded, brushing the compliment off. Draco looked through the rack briefly and randomly selected something for her. Hermione took it off the hanger and headed to change in the bathroom. Suppressing a sigh, Draco waited patiently for her to come out. Here Snape was pressuring him to make babies and Hermione couldn't even change in front of him.
"You know, I've seen you naked," He called after her. Hermione sighed loudly and then emerged from the stall. Draco raised an eyebrow and examined the way the robes fit snugly over each curve of her body.
"What do you think?" Hermione asked nervously. Draco nodded.
"I love it," he breathed, moving to take her in his arms.
"Don't wreck it!" she hissed, pulling free from his grasp. Draco sighed.
"Hermione, we're engaged, can I please touch you and not have you make me feel like I'm trying to rape you?" Draco pleaded. Hermione heaved a sigh.
"Just let me take the dress off," she said going back into the bathroom. Draco followed her this time to start a bath in their Olympic- swimming pool sized sunken bathtub. He slid into the water and tried to relax.
The truth was, he was worried. He hated to admit it, but he was starting to doubt his leader. Had Voldemort managed to gather a strong enough army? Were they any match at all for the opposition? No answers came to him. How strong was Voldemort anyway? Everyone seemed pretty sure that He was ready to kick the bucket.
His thoughts were interrupted as Hermione climbed into the bathtub with him. Draco smiled and put one arm around her.
"Draco, you know I don't mean to be difficult," Hermione began. He nodded. "It's just, this is all very new to me, and there's so much going on right now," she stopped without finishing her thought, feeling foolish for making excuses.
"Hermione, I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to. I'm impatient; I'll be the first to admit. Which is why I get frustrated when I feel like things are moving backwards. Sometimes you're hopping the bath with me and then sometimes you're changing in the bathroom. It's hard for me to know what's going through your head," he explained.
"I just want you to be happy," Hermione said, biting her lip. Draco smiled.
"Well, the way to do that is to make you happy," he responded. Hermione rolled her eyes. "You gave me a bogus answer, I'm allowed to give you one," he countered.
"Alright," Hermione took a deep breath. "I'm just scared, I guess."
"But what are you afraid of?" Draco pushed. Hermione shrugged.
"Just the unknown, I suppose," she decided. Draco nodded.
"That's understandable," he agreed. There was a long pause while they both considered this. "Hermione, you know, I would never do anything to hurt you, right?" Draco asked after a while.
"I do now," she replied, smiling at him. He returned her smile and then leaned in to kiss her, using one hand to turn her head towards his. After a while of this, Draco pulled Hermione onto his lap, facing towards him. He could tell this made her a little nervous, so he put her on the seat instead and kneeled in front of her. Positioning his hands on her thighs, he took one of her nipples into his mouth. As he teased her like this, his hands were massaging her thighs, moving steadily higher up her legs. Draco leaned up and kissed Hermione as one of his fingers found its way inside her. He could feel the shock in her lips as he kissed her, but didn't let her stop him. His mouth returned to her breasts, eagerly awaiting his attention.
Hermione sat in front of Draco, allowing him to touch her like this and enjoying herself. She felt her breath getting heavier by the second. Feeling faint, she wrestled with the idea of asking him to stop.
Draco knew he'd managed to win her over when her eyes, which had been half closed, flew wide open. Her breathing slowed after a moment, and then she leaned back against the wall of the bathtub.
"I had no idea," she gasped. Draco smirked at her.
"That was only the beginning," he told her.
* * *
Ron awoke on a cold cement floor, his head throbbing. Looking around, he felt no need to wonder where he was. Thick steel bars made the fourth wall of his cell, which he knew had to be in the dungeon of Voldemort's Palace.
"It's not so bad," he mused to himself. He'd heard countless horror stories of the atrocities committed in this dungeon. Leaning back against the wall, his eyes began to adjust to the darkness. As he surveyed his surroundings, he could hear the guards coming down the hall.
"The camp is full," one of them was saying. "Everyone on the list is in custody."
"All of the Death-Eaters have returned, and the army is nearly complete. I've heard there have been no major discipline problems in the camp yet," another one replied.
"They're all just scared," the first guard said. "They're not all just mud bloods this time. Everyone who opposes our Lord is there. The ministry didn't see this coming at all, they're all sitting around scratching their heads and wondering what went wrong."
"Alt!" A third voice cried out. Ron could hear the first two guards turn around to see who was calling them. "Oi've got ohrders to let th'young lady free."
"That's just where we were headed," the first guard replied. "You're welcome to join us."
Ron leapt to his feet as he realized what was going on. The guards were going to have their way with Pansy before they let her go. He reached his hands out to try and grasp the bars, but his left hand wouldn't close around them. Looking down at his hands, he saw that three of the fingers on his left hand had been removed. His eyes grew wide as he realized the implications of such an injury.
Behind him someone moaned, and Ron spun around to see a large mass covered by a threadbare blanket on the floor.
"Hello?" he called softly. The mass moved slightly and moaned again. Ron took a few cautious steps towards it. Gathering his courage, Ron pulled the blanket off, revealing a body curled into the fetal position. "Are you alright?" he asked. The head moved up to see who was speaking to him. As the head raised slightly, Ron finally recognized the person. "Harry! You're not dead!"
* * *
Pansy fell to the ground outside the entrance to the dungeon. Every muscle and bone in her body ached. She tried her best to get to her feet and keep walking, but somehow she couldn't make herself move on. Instead she curled herself into a little ball, hugging her knees. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut she wished she could fall asleep to end the pain. Anything so she wouldn't have to deal with the stinging pain in her wounds and the roaring ache of her muscles.
Five different guards had used her limp, exhausted body, thrusting themselves into any available orfice. The entire time, Pansy had lain flat on the ground like a rag doll, not helping or hindering the process. She was too weak to fight them off and she knew it. A brutal cough wracked her body, making her lungs ache even worse. Finding her feet, Pansy stumbled through the camp until she found her home.
* * *
The first campaign lasted only three days but resulted in massive casualties for the Light side. Voldemort was up by one, and already things seemed to be at their worst for the "good guys." The second day of the campaign a huge blizzard had rolled in, covering the camp in two feet of snow.
Ron was released on the third day. Ginny barely recognized her brother when he finally made his way back into their tiny shack. His cheekbones protruded, he seemed taller, and more withdrawn and solemn. It frightened Ginny to see this change in her brother, much as it pained Ron to see Ginny's entire body erupting with coughing fits in the middle of the night. He suffered from terrible nightmares when he slept.
"I found Harry," Ron whispered to Ginny one night. "He was barely alive when I left, probably not so anymore."
The entire Weasley family was suffering much in the same way. The boys worked all day doing physical labor for the army while the Molly and Ginny sat at home trying to make the moldy bread stretch to feed the entire brood. The entire camp was filled with the same skeleton-like figures, wrapped in what was left of the grey robes they were issued at the beginning.
* * *
The snow continued to pile higher each day. Three more campaigns passed, getting longer and more destructive than the first. Word around the camp was that most of England and Scotland lay in ruin. Up in Draco's palace, life couldn't be better.
Hermione spent her days reading, while Draco visited with generals and Death Eaters. They ate dinner at Voldemort's Palace every night surrounded by the best and brightest of his allies.
Severus Snape spent his time serving Draco and Hermione, biding his time until the Dark Lord's reign came to an end. He'd been placed in such a position because he had betrayed Lord Voldemort's trust, and thus could not be given immense amounts of responsibility. Severus could care less; Once Voldemort was gone, Draco would be ill prepared to rule and in great need of an advisor. Less responsibility meant less work for him anyway. It was a nice vacation.
Hermione enjoyed her time off from school. She knew that since Hogwarts was closed the school year would pick up where it had left off, and Hermione would be given a clean slate. Which was exactly what she needed.
Looking out her window she could see the snow falling. It calmed her to watch the snow fall so gently and patiently. Snow wasn't violent like rain, just peaceful and drifting. As she gazed out the window, Draco came into the library and kissed her forehead before he sat down across from her.
"The next campaign starts tomorrow," he said triumphantly. Hermione turned to look at him.
"Not next week?" she asked.
"No, I reminded our Lord of how ill-prepared the opposing armies were last time, and suggested we catch them off guard. He seemed to think it was a good idea," Draco explained. Hermione smiled. "And what have you been doing all day?"
"Reading, mostly," she admitted. "I took a bath, and ate lunch, but mostly just reading."
"You don't get tired of it?" Draco asked. Hermione shook her head no. Draco shrugged, and turned to look for Severus. "Tea?" he asked, catching sight of Snape sitting in the corner. Severus motioned to a passing house- elf. Draco turned back to Hermione. Tea appeared in front of them a few seconds later.
"Draco, how much longer is this war going to last?" Hermione asked. Draco shrugged his shoulders.
"Until we have won control, I assume," He wagered. "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."
"Who's worried?" Hermione joked. She wasn't worried about the war, she was worried about losing the Dark Lord. As long as he was alive, he was ruling which meant that Hermione and Draco weren't. Hermione hadn't been in charge of anything in her life, let alone an entire kingdom. Somehow she felt her leadership skills were much lacking. She let her eyes drift back over to the window.
Outside, clearly visible from Hermione's chair, the enemy armies were rapidly approaching the palace yard. Hermione gasped, making Draco turn to look out the window.
"Don't worry about them, they're visiting the camp. They bring clothes and food, which means we don't have to," Draco explained. Hermione took a deep breath. "Someone's a little uneasy this afternoon," Draco mused, with a smirk on his face. "Come here," he instructed motioning for her to sit on his lap. She did so, and Draco wrapped his arms around her. "Someday," he whispered to her, "You and I will be King and Queen, and then there will be nothing to worry about."