BROKEN

Author: Harikari (Formerly Known as Nox2)

Notes: Wow...lots of reviews! Thanks so much! I read and appreciate (alright...worship) every single one! This is the second to last chapter. It doesn't explain quite everything...but I think things will make a bit more sense after you read it. Well, that or you'll be even more confused. Again, triple thank you's to reviewers! Oh, and sorry about all the cliffhangers. I'm evil that way. Here's number eleven.

Part Eleven:

It didn't make sense.

"Herm...what?" asked Ron, but his question trailed off into nothing. His mind was numb. He was frozen with confusion, with disbelief. He could feel Draco's strong fingers wrapped around his forearm.

This had to be some kind of mistake...some kind of joke.

"What are you doing, Granger?"

Hermione blinked and gripped her wand more tightly. Her face was pale and her eyes had an unnatural glaze to them. "Quiet! Just do what I say and I won't curse you." She gestured to their wands without letting her own falter from its aim. "Put them down and take a step back."

Ron shook his head, still in shock. What in the hell was going on? "Hermione, this isn't funny," said the redhead, his voice catching - almost breaking.

"Shut up!" the girl snapped. Her hands were shaking. "Do what I told you to. Do it now, Ron."

Ron felt it as Draco broke his grip on his arm. He could see it from the corner of his eye as the blonde slowly bent and lay his own wand on the marble step in front of Hermione. He took a step back. "Ron," began the Slytherin, and Ron thought he sounded a little scared. But that was impossible. Draco didn't get scared.

"Hermione," Ron tried again. "I don't understand." His voice was low, almost calm, but inside he was screaming. "Why are you doing this? Why-"

"Ron," growled Hermione. Her hands weren't shaking anymore; the wand was aimed at her best friend's heart. "Do it."

"Herm...," Ron said, again, but his brain was cloudy and confused. He could think of nothing to say.

"Goddammit, Weasel. Put down your fucking wand!"

Ron started at Draco's yell and shot a look back at the blonde. He found he had to correct his earlier thought. Draco did get scared; only, not for himself. Moving in a sort of dazed stupor Ron bent and lay his wand next to Draco's. He stepped back and felt the Slytherin's hand come to rest on the small of his back.

The girl motioned for them to get in front of her, then bent swiftly to pick up the discarded wands. "Let's go," said Hermione, in a low and dangerous voice. The three of them walked briskly across the expanse of the Entrance Hall, and towards the doorway that led outside.

oooooooooo

Ginny stared at Dumbledore in disbelief. The Headmaster hadn't been at the dance earlier. "Wha...what do we do?" She turned pleading eyes to Harry. "Ron and Malfoy just went upstairs alone!" She turned to glance at a fuming Harvey for a second before spinning around and taking a determined step in the direction of the dining hall's exit.

Harry grabbed her arm. "No," he said. Ginny shot him a look that could melt cauldrons and he hurriedly continued. "I'll catch up with them. You two go to the Headmaster and tell him what's going on."

"But..." Ginny protested, weakly. She wanted to make sure Ron was okay herself. But they didn't have time to argue about it. And, after all, this was Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. The teen who attracted bad situations and bad people like cheese attracted mice. The one who had triumphed over the Dark Lord himself. More than once.

Ginny felt Harvey tugging at the sleeve of her costume dress, pulling her in Dumbledore's direction. "Okay," she said, and she and the Ravenclaw hurried off to talk with the Headmaster.

"Okay," said Harry, once the two sixth years were gone. He pulled his wand out of his pocket, swallowed back the strong feeling of guilt that was plaguing him, and prepared for yet another one of those Unfortunate Events he was so famous for.

He took a deep breath before heading out of the dining hall, across the Entrance Hall, and up the marble staircase that led to the second floor, and to Dumbledore's office.

oooooooooo

"Get in." Hermione jerked her head to indicate the small boat bobbing in the water. Draco recognized the boat as one of the small fleet that was used to bring first years across the lake from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts each year. He wondered briefly how the Gryffindor had gotten her hands on the thing. There were no other boats around, bobbing in the water at the very edge of the lake, and the Hogwarts staff had certainly never mentioned where they stored the boats for winter...The blonde abruptly stopped wondering.

He had more important things to worry about. Like Granger.

Granger. Fucking Granger. Draco couldn't wrap his mind around that. He shot a glance at Ron. The redhead was pale. He looked lost. He had his wide, blue eyes set on Hermione, and it seemed like he couldn't help himself.

/He is lost/ thought Draco. /His best friend is in the middle of kidnapping him./ Of all the people the Slytherin might've suspected... This wasn't right. Something was...off.

Well, that is, something besides Hermione going ballistic and trying to murder he and Ron was off.

"Go on," commanded Hermione, in a throaty sort of voice. She poked Draco in the ribs with the tip of her wand to prod him and it occurred to the teen - more than a little belatedly - that he should do something.

He should try to overpower her. He should try to knock that damned wand out of her hand, or maybe try to take his own wand back. She was a girl, after all. It wouldn't be too much trouble. Probably.

He shouldn't have even let the Gryffindor push them this far, out to the edge of the lake, forcing them to get into a boat.

Draco's long fingers folded over, his hand clenching into a fist. Ron had already gotten into the boat.

The blonde itched to do something. He had to do something. And yet...

/This is Granger./ He shot another look at Ron; noticed the hurt hiding behind the confusion and rage. The redhead, Draco knew, cared deeply for the girl. By stopping her, by hurting her in any way, the platinum blonde would be inflicting a sort of pain on both Gryffindors. So what was more important then? Ron's emotions, or stopping Hermione before things could get out of hand?

The Slytherin's mind was giving him one answer, while his heart was giving another.

"So you did it all, then?" The soft voice startled the blonde, and Hermione. They both turned to look at the redhead seated in the boat. His expression was like stone now. His eyes looked straight into Hermione's. "You tried to kill us, and you're connected to the attack on King's Cross?"

The girl didn't answer, and didn't look away from the accusing eyes boring into her own.

"Just tell me one thing," said Ron. He ran a hand through his hair, leaving it even more wild looking than before. His face was red, probably from anger. "Tell me why."

Hermione stayed quiet at that, too.

Draco stepped into the boat.

oooooooooo

"Er...Butterbeer?"

Nothing.

"Lemon drop?"

Nothing.

"Chocolate Frog?"

This time, the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office made a crude face and waggled its tongue at Harry.

"This is serious!"

When the gargoyle appeared unmoved (both literally and emotionally) by his outburst, Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Yelling at a statue wouldn't help his situation any, nor would it help Ron and Malfoy.

He'd squared his shoulders and was about to attempt another password (sugar quill might work) when there was a sudden, loud click and the steps that led into Dumbledore's office appeared, spiraling downwards until they came to an abrupt stop. The gargoyle made a startled sound and hopped aside.

Harry moved so that the tips of his tennis shoes were touching the bottom of the first step and craned his neck, trying to see around the bend in the staircase. "Ron?" he called. He had his wand ready in his hand; a spell was on the tip of his tongue. He had a bad feeling. And Harry Potter didn't ignore bad feelings.

"Malfoy, is that you?" No reply. After a tense moment of silence the Gryffindor started up the stairs. He was standing on the second step when Severus Snape himself came stumbling down from the Headmaster's office, looking unusually pale even for him, and more than a little bit crazy.

The man's eyes were wide and startled looking. His whole body was shaking, apparently with the effort of keeping on his feet, and his wand hung loosely from his fingers. "Those little..." he was saying, but before he could voice the rest of his thoughts Harry had his wand up and pointed at the man's head.

At this, Snape's shocked look disappeared and his incoherent sputtering stopped. His eyes went from wide and disbelieving to narrow and angry. "Mr. Potter," he hissed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Where are they?" demanded Harry, who was convinced that the shaken expression on Snape's face had been a ruse for anyone (besides the Boy Who Lived) who might've spotted the man leaving Dumbledore's office- a place where he wasn't supposed to be. A place where Ron and Draco might be trapped, or hurt, or even..."What did you do to them?"

"To them?" Snape shouted. He stomped his way down the stairs, brushed by Harry, then stopped in the hallway to look up at him. "Those two-" he started, but Harry cut him off.

"If you've hurt them, I swear I'll-"

"Hurt them?" said Snape. "Those two idiots cursed me! Me!" He stood up straighter and huffed in an offended sort of way. "Of all the...I was simply trying to..." He trailed off at this, and went back to glaring at Harry. Only this time his glare looked more suspicious than it did dangerous. "What are you-" he began, but Harry cut him off again.

"Stop fooling around and tell me what you've done to them, Snape!" demanded the Gryffindor, who was quite confused about the way the Potions professor was acting.

"Done to them? Now listen here, Potter. I don't know what you're talking about but you just stay out of my way because-"

"I know you're trying to kill them!" shouted Harry.

"Someone's trying to kill them," stated Snape, calmly.

"Wait," the two wizards bellowed in unison. "What?"

oooooooooo

The small boat's bow cut through the otherwise still water of the lake, creating miniature waves. Ron watched with disinterest as a slimy, white tentacle wiggled up from beneath the dark depths of the lake, squirmed around a bit, and then disappeared. The mysterious giant squid of Hogwart's was not important right now. What was important was Hermione and why she was, apparently, trying to kill he and Draco.

If he hadn't just finished cursing Snape up in Dumbledore's office the youngest Weasley might've guessed that Polyjuice potion (something he'd had much experience with in the past) was at work, and that the Professor was behind it. However, he had just cursed Snape up in the Headmaster's office, so thoughts like this were useless.

"She doesn't smell like cabbage," whispered Draco from beside him. Ron nodded. Polyjuice potion smelt strongly of cabbage, as did anyone who was under its influence. The blonde was, like Ron, obviously trying to find an explanation for the kidnapping other then 'Hermione's gone crazy'.

"Shut up, Malfoy," said the girl. He did. Ron gazed at Hermione's profile for a moment (she was turned away from him, looking at the sky) before looking away. He saw that they were near the center of the lake, and noticed that his heart had started beating double-time in his chest.

/So Hermione is the one whose been trying to kill us/ That fact was hard to swallow. But now, thinking back, Ron could see how it was possible - Hermione could have done all of those horrible things. She certainly had the power. She could've aided Death Eaters with the attack on the station (the redhead tried not to shudder at this thought), could've overheard Draco's conversation with Harry early in the year, and certainly fit Harvey's description for the figure who had nearly blown the two seventh years up earlier that very night. Biting at his fingernails in a nervous gesture and watching the small boat-made waves splash around the sides of the small, wooden vessel Ron had to reluctantly admit to himself that his best friend was probably guilty.

But why? Why would she do such horrible things? Why would she have tried to kill her best friends, her classmates, by siccing three giant spiders on... /Wait./

If Ron was remembering correctly, and he was certain he was, Hermione had been shifting mud and flobberworms along with the rest of the Care of Magical Creatures class the day of the spider attack. It was the day the redhead had been rescued by Draco, the day he'd felt better about the trio finally making up. And, okay, Hermione had been acting a little odd before that day. And she hadn't jumped to freeze the attacking spiders in order to help Ron like she might've usually done, either -Harry and Draco had done that. But her guilt didn't quite add up anymore. How could she have initiated the spider attack, when she had been reviewing flobberworms with the rest of the class?

Unless...Hermione shifted in her seat, and Ron's train of thought derailed. He could see now that they were beyond the center of the lake, and were quickly approaching the shore of the lake where first years boarded the boats from Hogsmeade.

"Where are we going?" asked Ron, suddenly.

To his surprise Hermione didn't tell him to shut up. "Told you and Harry earlier, didn't I?" She smirked as the boat came to a sudden stop. "I've got a date."

oooooooooo

Draco followed Hermione silently, Ron at his side, until he could see Hogsmeade station clearly, and could make out the vague suggestion of train tracks leading off into the distance. Beside them was a wild-looking bunch of trees and other sorts of vegetation - another edge of the Forbidden Forest.

This is where the Gryffindor girl stopped to gaze stupidly at the dark expanse that was the night sky. This is when the blonde made his move.

Without warning he wrapped his arms around Hermione from behind in a strangling grip. She let out a surprised little yelp and tried to wrench herself away from the Slytherin. "Grab the wands!" shouted Draco; he was having a harder time holding onto the witch than expected.

Ron blinked in surprise before springing into action. Draco knew why he was so surprised. It had been such a simple move, such a stupid mistake...The redhead had his hand in the oversized pocket of Hermione's dark robe, and a copse of clouds had just slid away from blocking the moon, when there was an incredibly loud crack, and a man appeared a few feet in front of three struggling teens.

The light of the evening sky was such that it illuminated the figure, and as it stepped slightly closer to them Draco realized that it was not, in fact, a man. It was a boy. He had dark hair and was quite tall - Draco could see that he held a startling resemblance to that Viktor Crumb bloke. Draco shot a look at a wide-eyed Ron; back at the Viktor lookalike.

And then realized, with a stab of gut-wrenching horror, who it was he was looking at.

"Hello boys," said John Macnair, smiling widely. "Did you miss me?"