Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just the gremlins in my head.
"Chapter 18: Hunting"
Ginny woke to a cold rain pouring on her body. She looked around. It was late at night, and she couldn't see anyone else. She took out her wand and uttered "Lumos." With the faint light, she could see Hermione laying on the ground. Then all the memories rushed back into her mind. Lavender and Lucius had attacked them. Very sorely, Ginny got to her feet. Taking her wand she said, "Reinnervate." Hermione woke with a jolt, and was up in a minute.
"Where's Lavender?" she asked. Her voice was still tense and full of hatred toward her. Then she threw up.
Ginny turned her head to avoid seeing it. "Everyone but us is gone."
Hermione wiped her mouth, and turned to Ginny. "Wait. How were you able to bring me back when you were stunned yourself."
"I don't know."
"I can answer that girls," a familiar voice said.
They both turned to see Devine standing a few feet from them.
"When did you get here, and how?" Ginny asked.
"Just now, and you were only partially affected from the spell. You were just knocked unconscious and could wake up on your own. As Hermione was hit full force with the spell, she needed to be reinstated."
"Where's Draco and Harry?" Hermione asked. She looked frantically for them, or any trace of them being around; but to no avail.
"As far as I can tell right now, with Lucius and Lavender."
"Well, what are we going to do?" Ginny asked. She was particularly anxious to get Harry away from Lavender's hands.
"You two are going to join a friend of mine in tracking them down. But, you must first each have your wands." Hermione and Ginny showed him their wands, just as he brought his down from an upward swing, and sent two blasts of blue magic at them. When it hit them they instantly changed into a wolf, and their senses became ecstatic with all that they could perceive. Devine looked at them, and asked, "Feel allright? No problems?"
No, I'm allright, Hermione thought.
Me too.
"Good. You will join Remus and I in wolf form, and we will track them down. And Lupin is harmless right now. He's had his potion this time." Devine changed into his bigger black wolf form in the blink of an eye. Hermione and Ginny ran up to him, and then they saw Lupin. He was a little distance away from them, and he was as big as Devine. The difference was Lupin was a light grey color, and Devine's dark black fur nearly made him disappear in the night. Hermione and Ginny looked at each. They were beautiful silver wolves; rare even in the wizarding world. They turned to them, nodded their wolf heads, and took off on the hunt for their men.
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Draco woke in a painful position. He was hanging from a wall with his arm cuffed to it. He was in no ways comfortable, as he recognized the room. This was his father's dungeon underneath the house; his place of torture. Here many an opponent to Voldemort had met a painful death, or an even worse existence. None left without scars of some kind.
"Good, you're awake," his father said. He stepped out of the shadows, and his wand was in his hand. "Are you ready for this Draco?"
"As ready as I can be, you Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!"
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Hermione howled to the moon, and the howl sent shivers into all who could hear it. The others soon joined her, and were off again. In order to keep the search more interesting instead of just running, Hermione and Ginny were naming off cruel and very unusual ways of killing Lucius and Lavender.
What if we drown them in a giant vat of molasses? Ginny asked. This game was clearly not meant for her fairly innocent mind, thought Hermione.
That might work. But, I say we tie an anchor around their necks and throw them off of a cliff to land in shallow water.
Ouch. Doesn't seem fitting enough though. Burnt at the stake?
Too old fashioned. Fed to a pack of Norwegian Ridgebacks?
Not quite gruesome enough. I know, I know! Let's cut off his manhood and ram it down his throat.
I'm impressed. But what would we do to her?
Iron Maiden.
Now you're getting somewhere. And to think I thought you couldn't play this game.
I surprise a lot of people.
Quiet now. Devine's thought voice couldn't convey any emotion, but they could feel the tense mood around them. With their wolf senses they could tell that this was the Malfoy Mansion. We're going to have to be careful. There' s no way of telling what's in there.
Got it. They both said.
They did, and instantly they were themselves again. The night seemed less inviting, and the world less large, but there were spirits were as vibrant as before. They looked at the wolves behind them, and nodded their heads; taking out their wands.
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"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!" Draco's body was getting weaker with every attack on him from Crucio.
"You know how to make all the pain go away Draco. Just renounce your love of the mud-blood, and swear your allegiance to Voldemort." Lucius made it sound as easy as tying one's shoe, or blinking.
"Never!"
"That is your decision."
"You don't have to do this."
"Oh yes I do."
"Why?"
"Because I am bound to him until death takes him or me. But, that isn't going to happen so . . . CRUCIO!"
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Hermione blasted the door off of it's hinges. She broke into the silence of Draco's house as thunder does in a peaceful meadow, and Ginny followed closely behind her with Devine. Lupin went off in search of a nearby buck or doe. Narcissa was calmly sitting in a chair facing them.
"I didn't hear you knock," her voice was cold and cruel.
"Where's Draco?" Hermione asked.
"He's spending some catch up time with his father. Would you like to leave a message?"
"Here it is; stupefy!"
"Protego!"
Narcissa was on her feet, and her deep red dress flowed to the ground. "If you want to try to take Draco away from his rightful home, then you best do better than that you mud-blood."
"Aurora borealis!" yelled Ginny. Narcissa caught the blast full in her heart, and she went flying through a wall to land on her kitchen table. Devine and Hermione turned to Ginny.
"Harry taught me that one. Now, Narcissa. Where is Draco?"
"Go suck a hippogriff!" Narcissa coughed. She slowly came out to meet them again. She looked up and saw that all three of them had their wands pointed right at her. "He's in the basement; being tortured to death." Narcissa threw back her head and cackled wickedly. Devine yelled, "Advara Kedavra!" sending that old familiar green blast to hit Narcissa in the throat. The cackling stopped, and Narcissa lay on the floor, strangely beautiful now.
"In the basement. This way!" Devine ran off, followed closely by Ginny and Hermione.
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Draco's breath was short and hard in his lungs. "You're holding out better than most everyone thought you would Draco," his father hissed.
"What's your point?"
"You may have made an excellent Auror, but we won't know." Lucius shot two pink bolts of magic to Draco's cuffs, disintegrating them, causing Draco to hit the floor hard. His shoulders felt a new surge of pain; the pain of all the blood returning to their drained muscles. Lucius glared at him. "Get up."
Draco slowly rose to his feet.
"Now prepare to say good-bye to life. ADVARA KEDAVR-Aaaaaaaaaaargh!" Lucius hit the floor. Hermione's wand was the only one pointed toward him. She ran and embraced Draco; and in that dungeon they embraced kneeling on the floor, and for a moment, that house of Draco's had a good feeling in it.
N/A: We're not out of the woods yet. Remember Harry is still a prisoner. But you'll have to read to the next chapter to see how that one goes. HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! (x3)