Cursed

"I used to think that I was strong
Until the day it all went wrong
I think I need a miracle to make it through, Yeah
I wish that I could bring you back"

This was it.

This was where she was going to die.

Hermione couldn't shake that feeling off of her. She was in this torturous room for such a long period of time that all the hope that she had in the beginning was fading away, until she decided that she should just prepare for the worst – her death.

She sighed wearily, having cowered in the corner of the room since she didn't have much strength in her to move at all. A tear rolled down her cheeks as she remembered the encounter that she had with Draco. He was much different than before; it seemed as if he had returned back to his cold-hearted self for no apparent reason. It couldn't be that he was behind this, could he?

She shook her head. After all the things that they had gone through, this couldn't have been in his agenda. She knew of his feelings towards her, and vice versa, but there was that small, tiny doubt in her mind that he was going to betray her in some sort of way. It began nagging her even more when she remembered her last meeting with him, and the way he had acted towards her.

It was just not right, but she couldn't figure it out.

She was so busy contemplating these thoughts that she hadn't heard the door softly open and a figure walking in; their shadow lurking over her. It wasn't until she felt someone before her that she finally looked up. She couldn't quite see who it was, but she had a feeling what they were there for.

"You're coming with me," a deep voice demanded.

Yes, this was going to be it. She'll have to face what her fate had decided for her.

She simply nodded her head, and slowly stood up, trying to use every last bit of her strength. The person, who was growing increasingly impatient, grabbed her wrists so hard that she was sure that she would see bruises in that area soon, and led her out of the room. She wondered where she was being taken, but she wouldn't dare ask.

All that was going through her head was "I'm going to die."

----

"There's just something wrong, and I know it! I can't just sit here and do absolutely nothing!"

"I understand."

Ron looked at Harry who was trying his best to plead to the Headmaster on trying to figure out what had happened to Hermione, and the other victims.

"Please, Professor, I have to do something! What if she's in terrible danger?"

"I don't want to risk anything, especially if I'm placing your life in such jeopardy," Dumbledore sternly spoke.

"But I've been in much more dangerous situations, I'm sure I can handle this one!" Harry assured.

"Do you even know where to start?"

"I... uh... may have an idea."

"I'm sorry, but I can not put your life at risk simply because you have a vague idea on a situation."

"But isn't there anything we can do?" Ron intervened.

Professor Dumbledore remained silent, and took off his spectacles with a faraway look in his eyes. He was in deep consideration about something, and Harry and Ron didn't know whether to press on or keep quiet.

"Professor?"

When he didn't reply, Harry glanced at Ron for an answer, but seeing as he seemed very perplexed about the whole thing, Harry decided to ask again.

"Professor? Is something the matter?"

The Headmaster looked at Harry with something different in his eyes and a serious expression on his face. Could it be possible for someone to look years older in a matter of seconds?

"I'm afraid so," he placed his spectacles back on. "I understand your great concern for Ms. Granger as I feel the same as well. However, she may be-"

"Wait, Professor, do you know where she is?" Ron interrupted.

Their full attention was now on their Headmaster, who was trying to decide whether or not to tell them a bit of information that he had.

"I do not know her exact location, but I'm sure she's protected."

"How do you know that, Professor?"

Dumbledore considered his answer to that question before finally telling them something that he had known for quite a while.

----

"Where am I?"

Draco looked around the strange room that he was currently locked up in. The walls were made of cold, hard stone, and torches were lit up in certain places for lighting.

Odd, Draco thought, how come I've never seen this room before?

But then again, he wasn't at all that surprised, after all, there were many secrets to the Malfoy Manor that have yet to be discovered by its owners.

Feeling the need to have protection, he reached into one of his pockets for his wand, yet he had felt nothing. His pocket was empty.

I know I left it here, he panicked as he frantically searched through his whole outfit for his wand. I know I had it!

Yet, his wand was nowhere in sight. He searched the floor and all around him, but he saw nothing. How could it be? He vaguely remembered having it before he blacked out, when he was confronting his father.

Father.

That must be the reason why he couldn't find his wand. There was a great possibility that his father stole his wand so that he would not have to fear that Draco would do anything drastic.

Smart move.

None of this was suppose to happen. He should have done something, such as stand up against his father in order to save that girl, and maybe the current circumstances would be different. Maybe he would have found Hermione, and they would be able to escape to their freedom.

But none of that had happened. And he was stuck here, alone.

He cursed everything to have reality turn out the way it did. He just wished that there was some way out, but there seemed to be none, since there was no sign of a door or even an entrance way into this dungeon. He walked slowly around the room, trying to figure out how his father had managed to imprison him here when all of a sudden, a stone on the wall that he was touching, began to move.

Startled, he moved back, expecting to see some horrible beast that his father had kept hidden for so long. It wasn't until most of the stones in that particular area had disappeared, and the figure had emerged from the shadows that he realized who it was.

Close enough, Draco thought as he compared the person to his original prediction.

However, Lucius wasn't alone. Behind him, was a girl whose appearance was entirely of rags and dirt. Her hair was filthy as if it hadn't been washed in a very long time, and parts of her clothing had been ripped, exposing the flesh of her skin.

He couldn't believe his eyes when he realized who the girl was. His heart began pounding fast against his chest, and he had a shocked expression on his face.

Lucius felt satisfied as he caused this reaction on Draco.

"I believe you two know each other."

"Hermione."

The girl addressed did not acknowledge her name, however. She seemed deeply saddened, and very vulnerable – the opposite image of how Hermione used to be. She knew that Draco was in the same room as her, but she was also trying to battle out her feelings and thoughts inside.

Was he here to help her? Or was he here under his father's demands?

She didn't know the answer to these questions, but she felt that she didn't want to know either. Whatever she was here for, she wanted to get done with it as soon as possible. She was prepared for anything that her future will bring, whether it be that she survives all this turmoil, or whether she dies in the end.

Hermione kept her eyes locked on the ground the whole time she was led to this dungeon. She couldn't even bring herself to look at Draco when he was just in front of her, although she wanted to very much.

"What are you going to do with her," Draco said, in a bitter voice.

"That is no business of yours."

"Of course it is! She does not deserve to be here."

"And you don't either?" Lucius sarcastically asked. "My boy, you are a traitor; a traitor of the Malfoy family for defying against my own plans. You, out of all people, deserve to be here in this dungeon. I do not hesitate to cast an Unforgivable on you, along with your filthy friend."

Draco stiffened. He didn't want Hermione hurt – or dead – just because of his mistakes that he had made.

"Leave her out of it. It's me who's in your way, not her."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "I see that she has rubbed off on you, hasn't she? Taken the infamous Gryffindor bravery, haven't you?"

Draco only glared back in response. He was filled with nothing but pure hatred for his father, wishing only the worst for the man.

"I'm afraid you've lost, Draco."

The blonde boy was taken aback by the sudden comment. "Wh-what?"

"You're too weak, mentally and physically. You have failed my test by committing the worse crime of all – falling for her" he pointed to Hermione behind him, "You have no place anywhere. Your existence is of no use to me or to anybody significant. Don't you see? You are a spoiled, despicable creature whose status is as low as all Mudbloods."

Draco was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected that his father would throw such insults his way, especially when Lucius confessed that he no longer acknowledged his existence. These words had stung Draco; was his father allowed to speak to him like that? Obviously the answer was yes, after all, Lucius wasn't like any other loving, caring father. He was a cruel, manipulative, arrogant man who only wanted things to go his way.

"Me, a despicable creature? I could say the same for you, Father. You have done much more horrible deeds than I have," Draco replied, when he had regained his thoughts.

Hermione could only watch the exchange between father and son in a stunned manner. She had never seen anyone insult their family the way Draco and Lucius did to each other. The older Malfoy was calm as if he had been through this many times before, while Draco, who was trying to hide his deep sorrow, replied back in the same behaviour. She wished she could do something, but she could only worry about where the argument would lead to.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that!" Lucius bellowed, clearly outraged and ready to do something drastic.

"I do not care."

"I see you have learned nothing. You better watch your mouth as it can lead you to dangerous consequences."

The following actions seemed as if it had been put in slow motion. Hermione widened her eyes when she saw Lucius raised his wand at Draco, and tried to stop him before the curse hit Draco. However, it was too late since Lucius had already mouthed the words to an Unforgivable Curse, which within a few seconds had hit its main target.

Draco never saw it coming, so he didn't have time to avoid the spell aimed at him. He felt extreme pain, much more than the past times he had to endure his father's curses, and collapsed onto the ground as he heard Hermione scream out his name.

The sad thing was that he would never be able to see her ever again.

A/N: I MUST apologize for not updating for so long! So, so, so very sorry! I hope this was okay.

However, I've been thinking and if there's anybody who's still reading this (after a long update), I'd just like to know if you want me to continue this story. I feel that there's a lot of cliches and holesthat needs to be fixed, and whether I should just remove this whole story. If so, I'll do it at once, and write more on my other fics that haven't been posted yet. If not, then I'll continue, but I think there's only a few chapters left.

Your comments count, so please review :)