Chapter 11

It took only half an hour to reach Malfoy Manor, not too far outside of London. I secured my bag in the top of a tall tree and flew to Draco's window. He was sitting slumped in a chair, looking worried, when he heard my peck on the window and hurried over to let me in. He quickly opened the parchment to read my reply, then gave a moan, "De! No! You have to come. I don't want to talk to you soon, I need you here, now. How can I protect you if you're there when..."

I took off, back out the window and returned to my bag. Flying to the ground, I reverted to my human form and began walking to the main entrance of Malfoy Manor. I was sure from what I had seen that something was really wrong, but I was certain Draco meant me no harm. I approached the front door with some trepidation and rang the bell.

A house-elf soon came to the door and looked up at me questioningly. I told him, "I'm here to see Draco Malfoy." He waved me inside and disappeared upstairs to find his master. A moment later, Draco appeared at the head of the stairs, staring down at me in disbelief. He dashed down to greet me and as he gave me a hug, he whispered urgently, "Be careful what you say. Follow my lead." He slipped his arm around my waist and adopted the swagger I had not seen him use for a long time at school, but I made no comment.

He took my bag, handed it to the house-elf and ordered, "Take this to the guest room next to mine." He steered me up the stairs after the elf, but said nothing til we were inside my room and the door closed behind us. He flung his arms around me again, "Thank Merlin, you came!" I pulled back slightly and looked him in the eye, "Draco, what's going on? What's happened?"

He took a ragged breath and led me over where we both sat on the side of the bed. "Father escaped from Azkaban."

I nodded, "Yes, Dumbledore told us..."

He looked up, "There's more. I don't know all the details but I overheard a conversation - if I'm not mistaken, he and Bellatrix Lestrange have figured out where Potter is. They're going to try and kidnap him and hold him for Voldemort to kill. I knew you were with Harry and I had to get you away. I didn't know how long before they would show up and I didn't think there was time to try and convince the others to believe me, but I thought I might at least be able to get you to safety."

I rose from the bed with a look of panic on my face and moved toward the door, "Harry!" But he grabbed my arm, "Don't you understand? It's too late! If they aren't there already, they will be soon. They're only interested in Harry. They'd just kill anyone who stood in their way! The only way for you to help Potter is by being here!"

I stared at him in confusion, "How will my being here help Harry?"

He pulled me back down beside him, and urgently explained, "I think they're planning to bring him here - to the dungeon below the house. If we can convince Father that we're happy about Potter's capture, maybe we can find a way to help him escape, before they can kill him. I don't think there's any other way!"

I tried to relax as I asked, "What did you have in mind?"

"Father doesn't know anything about you. I never mentioned you, even before we became friends. By then he was in Azkaban anyway, but I didn't even tell mother about you. She was surprised...disinterested, but surprised... when I told her I had invited you to join me for Christmas. We need for them to believe you're my girlfriend, and that I've been using you to spy on Potter. He may give away your relationship so we'll tell them you were pretending to like him in order to find out his secrets. If they believe us, and believe we support Voldemort, we may be able to get to the dungeon and get Harry out before...well, before they can do anything."

I looked closely at him, "You do know what that would mean, don't you?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Once we free Harry, if we can, then they'll know I'm a traitor." His head hung and he wouldn't look at me.

I put my arm around him and leaned my head against his, "It'll be okay. I'll work things out somehow. Thanks for doing this - I know it's more for me than for Harry, and I appreciate it."

Just then there was a knock on the door and without waiting for an invitation, the door opened and Lucius Malfoy strode in. Hastily I forced my personal feelings for the man deep inside and tried to muster a swagger to match Draco's. Lazily, I put my hand up and let it run through Draco's hair, suggesting something more intimate had been taking place than our conversation.

Draco twisted his face into his familiar smirk and rose, "Father! You're home! Mother must be pleased." Lucius just sneered at his son and turned his attention to me.

"And who have we here, Draco? You never mentioned your little friend." His voice sent a chill down my spine, but I stood up, slipped my hand into Draco's and stood close to him.

"This is my new girlfriend, Deandra Alleyan. She transferred to Hogwarts from America. She's far more entertaining, and useful, than Parkinson ever was."

Lucius looked me over appraisingly, "Useful? How so, Draco?" I was feeling like a prize steer, up for auction at a Muggle fair.

"They stuck her in Gryffindor, but it's come in handy. She's able to spy on Scarhead and his stupid little friends."

Lucius raised an eyebrow and looked more closely at me, "Indeed! You're not a fan of Harry Potter, then?"

"Why should I be?" I laughed haughtily. "All he's ever really done is become famous for living when he should have rightfully died. He and his friends think themselves better than everyone else. But his day will come!"

Lucius eyed me a few moments, then let a small smile crease his face, "Very good, Draco. I'm impressed. I didn't know you had it in you to attract someone like her." I struggled not to let my anger, at his slight of Draco, show on my face. To prevent it, I turned and nuzzled Draco's neck.

But Lucius interrupted this apparently tender moment his son was having by inviting, "Perhaps, Draco, you and Miss Alleyan would like to come down to the dungeon and witness the final come-uppance of one Harry Potter."

"Sounds like fun," Draco sneered, gripping my hand more tightly. His father turned and swept from the room ahead of us. Before Draco could follow, I brought out my wand and placed the Rebounding Charm on each of us. Then we hurried to catch up to Lucius before he could notice our slow progress. From what I had heard, Lucius Malfoy wouldn't hesitate to use the Unforgiveable Curses on people, and I wasn't sure the Rebounding Curse could protect against something that strong, but perhaps it would help a little. My stomach was beginning to feel queasy as I thought about seeing Harry and the charade I'd have to play, convincingly, to maybe save his life.

Lucius led the way down several staircases, descending deeper into his manor than I had realized it went. Only torches along the wall lit our way, and it reminded me a great deal of the corridors leading to Snape's classroom in Hogwarts. We finally came to a large heavy door that Lucius opened with a wave of his wand.

No matter how much I had steeled myself for this, I was not completely prepared to find Harry chained to a wall, unconscious. I pretended to be looking around the room in order to keep my face averted from Lucius, until I felt I had hidden any trace of my emotional response to the situation, and my anger. If I was to save Harry I HAD to make this look real, or I'd end up just as dead.

"So, how do like my...prize?" asked the senior Malfoy.

Forcing a smirk, I responded, "Amazing how good he looks in chains, and helpless!" Lucius smiled approvingly. "What will you do with him," I asked.

"For now, hold him for the Dark Lord. He'll want the pleasure of killing Potter himself. But that isn't to say, we can't amuse ourselves until he arrives. Bellatrix will return shortly, and then our holiday entertainment can begin!"

"Have you eaten?" Draco asked, addressing me. I shook my head, thinking it an odd question. "Father, is it all right if we go grab a quick dinner before the fun starts?" Lucius looked at us calculatingly, but nodded. "Don't be long. You wouldn't want to miss anything."

Draco led me back upstairs, and I knew he sensed the rage in me. Maybe he thought it best to get me out of there for the time being, before I acted foolishly. We went to his room, and upon noticing his owl perched in a cage, I remembered that I did not know what had become of Moony. "I need to send an owl," I told him.

He looked slightly alarmed, "If Father comes in and catches you..."

I nodded my understanding, "I'll make it cryptic, but I have to send someone to check on my friend who would have been with Harry when they kidnapped him." Quickly he supplied me with quill and parchment and I jotted a note to Hermione:

H -

I want you to stop sending me owls! I really don't have time to waste on your pathetic love life. I'm not at all sure Moony is safe. You should give this more thought. In the meantime, I'm on holiday with Draco, so don't ask me any more of your fool questions.

- De

I hoped it was enough for Hermione to figure out what I meant. And Draco's assessment proved accurate, for Lucius turned up a moment later, as I was just finishing it and walked in without knocking. I tried to act nonchalant and commented to Draco, "Hopefully this will shut her up. If any more owls come for me, just shoot the damn thing!"

Lucius still looked slightly suspicious as he asked what we were doing, and I explained the annoying little Second Year that I ordered about seemed to think it was my job to solve her petty problems. I was just writing a note to shut her up. "May I see it?" he inquired smoothly, apparently still not entirely trusting me. Without hesitation I handed it over, commenting, "You won't find it very interesting."

He read through it and handed it back. "What's the girl's name?" I think he was trying to catch me off guard, unprepared, but I had already thought of an imaginary name to fit, "Harriett Goss. Homely little thing. Don't know why she thinks anyone would be interested in her in the first place," I sneered, folding the parchment.

Apparently it satisfied him for he turned to leave. "Come downstairs when you've sent it. Bellatrix is here. We're ready to begin."

I swallowed the panic in my throat, wrote HG on the parchment and sent the owl on its way. Shaking slightly, I arose and took Draco's hand as we followed his father from the room. I was frantically trying to steel myself for what was to come. I knew I was about to have to witness Harry being tortured, and pretend to enjoy it, and I wasn't at all sure I could fake that convincingly. But I knew if I acted too soon, it could be disastrous for all of us.

Once again we found ourselves back in the dungeon, but this time there was also a woman there, with long black hair and cold dark eyes. A chill ran through me as I remembered Harry telling me she was the one who had killed my father. "And who's this," she asked, in a baby talk voice that wasn't even remotely appealing. "Has wittle Draco got himself a girlfriend?"

Draco smirked and nodded, as he draped an arm around my shoulders, squeezing them tightly. I wasn't sure if he meant it as reassurance or an attempt to hold me back if I dove for her throat. Maybe both. After all, he knows how much I dislike bullies, and this woman was clearly that.

With a sneer, she turned to Harry, and laughed, "Let the games begin! Ennervate!" Harry awoke with a start, confused at where he was and what he was seeing; probably especially at seeing me arm-in-arm with Draco. Before he could fully register the situation, Lucius stepped into his line of sight.

"We meet again, Potter. Sooner than you imagined, I expect."

Harry glared at him, "Let her go, Malfoy. She's done nothing to you. Your quarrel is with me."

Lucius laughed in amusement, and turned to me, "How charming! He wants to protect you, my dear."

I forced a mirthless grin on my face and responded, "Well, yes, he is fond of playing the hero! I knew it would be his downfall!"

Harry stared at me in astonishment, "De?" I turned away and nuzzled Draco's neck, commenting, "And he really believed I could care for him when I had you!" My heart felt like it was enclosed in a block of ice but I forced myself to continue the masquerade.

Lucius turned back to Harry with unconcealed glee, "Does it hurt, Potter, to find out your lady love was only using you? Let me add to your pain!" With that he drew his wand, pointed it at Harry and venomously shouted, "Crucio!" Immediately Harry's entire body contorted with the agony that was wracking his mind and body. Against his will he screamed, prompting laughter from Bellatrix. With inhuman effort I forced an amused grin on my face, but Draco's hand was being crushed in my death grip on it. After several moments, they finally released him and he hung there by his wrists, his legs unable to support him.

Bellatrix was watching me closely and then suggested, "I wonder, my dear, if you'd care to help me. There's a delightful little potion called Veritaserum. I think we'll use it on Potter and find out all his nasty little secrets, before we utterly destroy him!" She signalled me to follow her, and I didn't dare refuse. Draco released my hand reluctantly.

Maybe it was intuition; maybe something else. I don't know, but I had the feeling she wasn't quite buying into my hating Harry. As I followed her from the room, I slipped my wand up the sleeve of my sweater, where I could drop it into my hand in an instant. Good thing, too, for we had barely stepped into the other room and closed the door before she wheeled on me, wand drawn. "You may fool my brother-in-law, but you don't fool me, missy! You're no more a supporter of the Dark Lord than Potter is!" she spat at me. And then she attempted to curse me, but my wand flicked out just in time. "Avada Kedavra!" she bellowed as I simultaneously yelled, "Protego!"

It was a good thing I hadn't attempted to let the Rebounding Spell suffice, because even with the second protecting spell, I was knocked to the floor. Still, it had the desired effect. The two spells together not only stopped but rebounded her curse onto her. With a look of utter astonishment on her face, she hit the ground, dead where she lay. With grim satisfaction, I pulled her wand from her hand and slipped it into my pocket, whispering, "Avada Kedavra, yourself, you old hag! That's for Sirius Black, and Harry Potter!"

I turned on my heel and raced back to the other room. Lucius looked up in surprise at my sudden return and then it seemed to click with him, that things weren't as they had seemed. "Where's Bellatrix?" he demanded.

"Dead." I answered, without blinking.

He wheeled on Draco with a fury that was terrible to see, "You despicable, worthless piece of flesh! I'm ashamed to have ever had to call you MY son - but I can soon remedy that!" He raised his wand and pointed it at Draco, but I reacted instantly as I had with Bellatrix. "Avada Kedavra!" he screamed at Draco, while I shouted the protection spell as well, "Protego!" And the results were the same. Draco was knocked to the ground, but not before Lucius Malfoy was slammed against the wall, impaled on his own killing curse. His dead staring eyes registered his disbelief.

Draco climbed to his feet and stared down at his fallen father. "Is he dead?" To be certain, I checked for a pulse, but found none. "Yes."

"Good!" I turned to him and gave him a shaky hug, then pulled back. "Grab your things and get my bag. Meet us out front. We have to get out of here, just in case Voldemort, or anyone else, is on their way. I'll bring Harry," I directed him.

He nodded and took off up the stairs as I turned to where Harry was barely beginning to regain his strength, and was staring fixedly at me. I hoped he'd be able to stand when I released the chains that were binding him. And using the wall as support, he did remain on his feet. Uncertainly I stood before him, not knowing if he yet understood what had been happening or whether he believed the charade Draco and I had been carrying out before him. Finally, he smiled weakly at me and raised his right wrist, encircled by the friendship bracelet I had given him. "Nothing doubting," he whispered. With a flood of relief I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly.

He mustered the strength to return the embrace weakly before I pulled back, "Come on. We have to get out of here, now. Voldemort may be coming." I put his arm around my shoulders to lend him support and we made our way up out of the dungeon. As we headed for the front door, I heard running steps and Draco skidded up behind us a moment later.

We stepped out into the wintry night and moved quickly away from the house. Suddenly Harry stopped, "Moony...!" I tugged at him, "I'll take care of it. Don't worry. You need to get away from here, fast. Go to..."

"The Weasleys," he interrupted. "Mr. Weasley will know what to do. And it's closest."

I nodded, "I'll check on Moony and join you there - or wherever you end up."

He leaned close and whispered, "Does Draco know - about you?" I shook my head and replied, "The fewer the better, for now."

Harry nodded and I shoved Bellatrix's wand into his hand. "You may need this." He stuck out his wand hand and a moment later, a loud bang signalled the arrival of the Knight Bus.

Draco had jumped back, startled. I called him over and transferred Harry's arm to his shoulder for support. "Take our things," I said, slipping into my cloak. "I'll see you both as soon as I can." Draco looked like he might protest, but thought better of it and followed as Harry moved toward the bus. Once the bus was out of sight, giving another loud bang on departure, I moved quickly to the wooded area across the road. When I was safely in the trees, I transformed and flew to Grimmauld Place, partly dreading what I might find.