Narcissa and Draco had set the stunned Ginny on their dining-room table. On the sideboard, there had been a full Pensieve. Narcissa had spent weeks creating the memories they were going to give to Ginny. Draco had designed half of them. It wouldn't be long now. Fifteen minutes to take the original memories out, barely five to put the new ones in, and Ginny could be put right back in the garden where they'd found her. Twenty minutes wasn't that long, especially at three in the morning. The Weasleys almost certainly wouldn't notice that she was gone.

Draco stood and left. He had a good ten minutes left to wait, and he was bored. Besides, he had to use the loo.

He heard the doorbell chime. He washed his hands, dried them, and left.

He could hear voices in the dining room. He hoped that the visitor was a Death Eater. But it had to be; the house-elf wouldn't let anyone else in.

He heard voices. He stopped just outside the dining room, listening.

"So you've got the Weasley," said a familiar voice. Aunt Bellatrix? What was she doing there?

"Yes," Narcissa said. "I'm correcting the evidence for use at Lucius's trial."

"I think our Lord might have a better use for her," Bellatrix said. "You'd better give her to me."

Draco blinked.

"More important than releasing my husband-not to mention nine others-from Azkaban?" Narcissa asked. "Her use for that will diminish if she's not returned to her family before they notice she's gone. And we haven't much time."

Bellatrix giggled. "Trials, Narcissa? Evidence? Persuading the Ministry? You'd have to be demented to risk that route, when the Dementors are here to fetch them back."

"It's too risky," Narcissa said. "I am trying this first. Lucius-"

"Lucius is dead," Bellatrix said calmly. "I had him killed this morning. I found out about his treachery, you know."

Draco froze.

The next thing he heard was a loud thump, a snap, and Narcissa's voice, screaming, "Draco, run!"

"Ickle Narci shouldn't have fought her big sister," Bellatrix said. "Now the nasty man will have to hold her, while Auntie Bella finds her baby boy." Draco heard footsteps.

He looked around the hallway frantically. He had no doubt what that find meant. He didn't think he could reach a door in time, except for the one to the dining room. Which wasn't much use-unless-

He slid behind the open door as Bellatrix came out. She walked straight for the stairs and went up.

Oh, we are so fucked, Draco thought. No wand. He couldn't possibly take on Mulciber and Bellatrix in direct combat. He and his mother had to escape the manor.

And he had to take Ginny with him. He could just picture the results if he didn't. "Oh, yes, Dumbledore, you should protect me; I kidnapped a Weasley and then left her in the hands of two homicidal Death Eaters who wanted to kill me too." No. If he didn't want to run right into Azkaban, he had to rescue the girl.

Exits. How to get out of the Manor? Well, there was his broomstick. And the Portkeys. Which led to Crabbe's, Goyle's, the Dark Lord's hiding place-

One Portkey, maybe, that he could trust. And he couldn't see any way for both him and his mother to use it.

He swallowed, and went for the kitchen.

Mendy was there. He hissed in relief, then put his finger to his lips. The house-elf looked up. He knelt, and whispered instructions. She nodded, and vanished.

He licked his lips and boosted himself out the window. Grateful, for once, for Malfoy Manor's shrubbery, he crept to the dining room window and peered in.

Narcissa lay, crumpled on the floor, at one end of the room. Ginny still lay on the table. Mulciber was studying Narcissa. Draco hadn't seen him before, but he recognized the type-Crabbe and Goyle were exactly the same. Easy to fool. He hoped.

Here goes, he thought. He took a deep breath, wishing desperately for Vincent, Gregory, Pansy, or anyone.

"Expelliarmus!" he shouted. What was it that Weasley had put on him in Umbridge's office, that had been so effective? Oh yes-he cast the Bat-Bogey hex, and then took another breath.

"Accio broomstick!" He waited for four endless seconds, until his broom slammed into his hand.

He looked back inside. Mendy ran into the dining room with a battered old book clutched in a tea towel. She looked up at Ginny, shook her head, and knelt beside Narcissa. A moment later they both vanished.

"Accio Weasley!" Draco shouted. He'd been hoping that Mendy would be able to rescue both Ginny and Narcissa-but no. So he'd have to do it. "Damn it-accio! ACCIO!"

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, Ginny floated across the room. He put his boot through the window, smashing it, reached through, and grabbed her. He draped her over the broomstick in front of him and kicked off.

As his head cleared the shrubbery, he caught sight of his aunt. She was just turning towards him. She reached for her wand.

"Mutithanatos Draco Malfoy!" he screamed.

Bellatrix hissed. Oh yes, she'd been planning to kill him. "Multithanatos Ginevra Weasley," he added thoughtfully. He turned his broom and shot away.

Bella's parting shot slammed into his left arm. His fingers twitched in surprise, and he dropped his wand. He looked down. Whatever she had done, it hadn't drawn blood. And he didn't think he could afford to go back for his wand. He just had to fly away.

It took him at least ten minutes to wonder where to go. The Burrow would perhaps be good, except that Narcissa had Apparated there and back. Hogwarts was too far away. Diagon Alley? St. Mungo's? The Ministry? He nodded. They would know where the Weasleys were.

He pulled on his broomstick, turning it left-

Ow.

His right hand clenched tightly around the broomstick handle. His left arm dangled limply. He turned to look at it.

Apparently Bellatrix had broken it. But she hadn't deformed it at all-just caused a neat fracture in the bone. No visible problems, and not much pain, until he'd tried to move it.

And then the sharp bone edges had torn a hole in the muscle.

"Bloody hell," he whispered.

Blood was spurting out. And he couldn't stop it. He didn't have his wand, and he needed his other arm to steer the broom. He swallowed, suddenly very, very grateful that Narcissa had insisted on smothering his broom in charms to keep anyone from falling off.

"Faster," he whispered. He had to get to St. Mungo's. Fast. Or he would probably exsanguinate there in the air. He concentrated and flew.

He looked down at his arm. At the rate blood was coming out.

I'm not going to make it, he thought.

He shivered. It was cold, and getting colder. Or maybe it was just that he was all wet.

"Help," he whispered. "Help me. Somebody."

The stars swirled across his vision. Silly of them. They should stay put.

"Someone help me," he wailed. "I'm here, in the sky, I've got Ginny Weasley, and I need someone to come rescue me. Somebody-anybody-Father-Mother-Vincent-" His head sagged. He rested it on Ginny's hair, exhausted. "Gregory-Mendy-anybody-"