-Incendio-

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Don't sue, I'm poor. EXCEPTION: I own the Witches of Trane, the Crystal Orb, the flying carpet idea for the story (kinda), the idea that the forests of Albania are next to the Dead Sea, the Door of Serenity, Fabrisia, home of the nymphs and Amethyst Cove.

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CHAPTER 29: Secret Passageways (Chapter rated PG-13)

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Meanwhile...

He was in a dark room, sitting on a single chair, bound with rope, and almost being suffocated by a handkerchief. His eyes were covered with another. He shouldn't have tried to save him. Then he would have been the one sitting here, not himself.

Just then, he heard a creaking noise. Through the handkerchief he could see light spill into the room, and was cut off abruptly. Then there was a floating light.

It spoke, and its voice sounded like a thousand waves on a shore. It was painful to listen to, and if he could have, he would have covered his ears in agony. But he was tied. Immobile.

"Where are your friends, Mr. Weasley? I'm sure they'd love to accompany you here."

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Hermione soon got up from Draco's bed, leaving him to sleep. She crept into the door which Draco showed her was the bathroom, and true enough, it was. The bathroom was a creamy white color, with tile floors and walls. There was a large bathtub, a marble sink, and a tall shower.

She sighed, and quickly stripped herself of her clothing. She climbed in after it was full, and sat against the side of the bath, and soaked for a few minutes. Then she found shampoo and conditioner and washed herself until her skin and hair were both free of grime and dirt. She stepped out of the tub, took a towel that was hanging on the wall, and dried herself off.

Then, wrapping the towel around herself, she went back into Draco's room, and got the clothes she had been wearing since they left Fabrisia. Even though her skin crawled at the thought of wearing them again, she knew she had to, until she found something better.

"You don't have to wear those." said a voice, presumably Draco's.

Hermione turned around, and sure enough, he was sitting up and watching her get dressed. She frantically covered her chest and torso with the towel, but then felt foolish.

'He's already seen you naked, Hermione.' she thought. But she was a modest girl.

"Oh?" she asked him, blushing furiously.

"Yeah. I found some clothes and laid them out for you, over there." he pointed to a dresser that Hermione hadn't noticed.

There was an argyle sweater, pink and blue, and a pair of simple black jeans. Hermione took them graciously, and then pulled her brown hair back into a ponytail, with a hair tie that she had been wearing on her wrist for many weeks.

She turned around, and said, "We have to find some way to help Ron now."

Draco nodded. "My father has a secret room under the library, filled with his Dark Art things. If we go there, we might be able to figure something out."

Hermione nodded nervously. They could be risking their lives, but they had no other choice. Wherever Ron was, Hermione had a feeling it wasn't a good place. And if it meant almost dying to save him, she would. He was, after all, her best friend.

She glanced towards Draco, who was now cautiously opening the trap door to his room. He took his wan from his pocket, as did Hermione, and they entered the tunnel, beginning the long descent to the library. They passed many other doors on their way there. Draco whispered the location of each to her, and Hermione tried to memorize their exits, just incase they would need it for future reference.

Soon, they had reached the library. Draco turned towards her, and put his finger to his lips. He put his mouth by her ear and whispered, "I'm going to go in alone first, and make sure the coast is clear. Stay here until I come back."

When Hermione began to protest, he covered her mouth. "My father would probably be much more comfortable with only me being in the house, not you too. If he is in there."

Hermione sighed and nodded. Draco removed his hand and replaced it with his mouth, kissing her silently and swiftly, before leaving the passageway, and Hermione.

A few minutes had passed without a sound, and then Hermione heard muffled sounds of speech. She strained her ears to hear, but couldn't.

Not 2 seconds later, there were the sounds of a struggle, and then more yelling, before they all went completely mute.

Hermione didn't know what to do. Draco had told her to stay put, but if he was hurt, what would she do? She couldn't leave him there, and she sure as hell couldn't stay there. She needed to do something, but her body wouldn't move, in fear of her own life.

Suddenly, the door to the passageway was flown open, and a man's crotch greeted her. She peered up to the owner of the crotch, and it was Draco.

She breathed a huge sigh of relief and, sobbing, got out of the tunnel and threw her arms around him.

"What happened?" she asked, between cries.

"Nothing." he said, and then held up something in his hand for her to see, "I just got an unwanted guest." It was a dead Doxy, a common household pest amongst Wizarding households.

Hermione gasped. "How'd you kill it?"

Draco grinned. "With Doxycide, of course!"

Hermione shook her head. "So the coast is clear?"

"Yeah." Draco set the Doxy down, and looked around the library.

It was obviously very old, with shelves and shelves of books, some thick, some thin, many assorted colors. There was a large, intricate, chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a small desk under one row of books in the circular room.

"Where's his secret room?" she asked him, quietly.

Draco pointed to the floor. "Right there. I've already been in. That's where I found him." he jabbed his thumb back towards the Doxy.

"How do you get in?" she questioned.

"With this." Draco pulled the green pendant out from under his shirt. Hermione gasped.

"You still have that?"

"Yeah. What, did you think I'd lost it? Nope."

Hermione smiled. She rose her hand to touch it, but then pulled it back, remembering what Draco had told her such a long time ago, about anyone else that was not a Malfoy if they touched it, and that they would die.

"Lets go." she said, walking over towards the floor, and kneeling down.

Draco nodded, and followed her, then, lifting a little patch of carpet, he stuck the pendant down into it and twisted 3 times. The floor opened up beneath them. Hermione was amazed.

There was a long table, made of gray marble, with various torture items, potions, and other things. It seemed like a lifetime of evilness was residing in this one room.

"Where do we start?" she asked.

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Another chapter. -) I like it. I re-wrote this chapter once. I can just never get the chapters the way I want them to be anymore. But you all know, the second I finish typing up a chapter, I put it on. Enjoy, and review my lovelies. (I've always wanted to say that.)

XX-Dracos-Dark-Queen-XX - Haha. Now you know where he is.

Cold-eyes-for-you - I know, right? Have fun on your vacation! I'll have lots of stuff for you when you get back. :)

random llama127 - Heehee.

random llama127 - Yeah, it is! EVERYONE READ HER STORY BECAUSE IT'S GOOD AND SHE NEEDS REVIEWS SO SHE'LL BE PERSUADED TO UPDATE!