Hola! First off, I'd like to thank the 53 fantastic guys and gals who left such uplifting and wonderful comments on Chapter 20: FairyKisses (you ROCK!), aishteru, nycegurl, Angel-4rom-heaven, hplovesme, kitotterkat, lacatamar, Sing-my-heart-out, Nina-del-rio, unknownspecies, Darkmoonfang, rainydyz07, phunkymunky, SheSaysWhaa, quidditchgurl07, Lucy the Rat, MysteryALASKA, Eowyn Organa, fran, Lucy, xPussyWillowKittenx, '.'.'.JessIca'.'.'., Blackness Angel, Rachel, fruitkiss, Kitty Weasley KW, True Slytherin Witch, debbie, waterfaerie15, the-insufferable-know-it-all, Azu Luna, Ron Lover 2005, Ronluver13, ShuShakinUp, EponineWeasley, NicciBubbles, prettigrul7, ThePhantomIt14, aurora-sakura, Huggles4All, RandomSmirf13, Endless Potential, sailorstarryeyes, Lumos2000, SafetyXPins, AshEllie, rgluvr13, dancerrdw, weasleyandmoneylover, suckr4romance, The Lady Luthien, Ronsreallove, and last, but certainly not least, TrueBluePotterFan!

Since the end unfortunately is approaching quickly (I'd say 2 more chapters), I'm starting to think even more about what I'm going to do next! I REALLY need your honest opinions- the teachers' journal or the collection of fluffy one-shots? I have many ideas for either one, but whichever the majority of you- the readers- choose will be the one that I will write.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to all my wonderful reviewers, both new and old! Your support is overwhelming...I never dreamed when I began this story thatit'd be so popular...ever singleone of you out there who have reviewed one or more chapters or even havejust read one or more chapters of this story I say to you...ROCK ON!

I now present to you Capitulo Numero Veinte y Uno. Read, review, and, above all else, enjoy:-)

"Well well. Sleeping Beauty finally awakens."

"I was not asleep, for your information," I said crossly, gingerly fingering the ginormous bump on the back of my head. "I was unconscious. There is a rather large difference between the two."

"You were asleep for the past hour and forty-five minutes," Draco smirked. "And I do think we have more important things to discuss."

"Let me guess." I quickly took in my surroundings. "We're in a prison cell in the lowest dungeons of Bad-Breath Boy's hideout."

Draco nodded his fair head approvingly.

"Brilliant nickname, Hermione. Couldn't have put it better myself. There were SO many times that I was sorely tempted to throw that prat a bagful of Peppermint Toads..."

I giggled, imagining the expression on Voldemort's pale face after receiving that "gift." Then I sobered immediately, remembering the predicament we were in.

"Where's Ron?" I asked with no little guilt, for those should've certainly obviously been the FIRST words out of my mouth following my return to consciousness.

"Eh, somewhere around here," Draco shrugged, waving his hand vaguely.

"Somewhere around here doesn't cut it," I snapped.

"I sure as heck hope you're asking this in order to formulate an escape plan, since I am absolutely stumped concerning that.."

"I'm asking this because I am absolutely worried SICK about the love of my life," I informed the Slytherin angrily. "And if you don't tell me RIGHT now, I'm afraid I'll be forced to..."

"He's over there," Draco yawned, pointing to a prison cell across the room.

"Oh, Ron," I cried, staring at the crumpled figure around three hundred feet away. I grasped the strong metal bars of our jail so tightly that my knuckles turned white. "What have they done to you?"

"Took the Cruciatus a good ten times after you blacked out." Draco winced. "It's a miracle he's even alive."

"And the reason we're alive is..."

"Yet another thing you missed while you were asleep. The Dark Lord plans on enjoying the company of one Saint Potter quite soon and has some lovely plans that just so happen to include us. Until that cheery time, we have been thrown into this Godforsaken cell to ponder our last thoughts."

"Ponder our last thoughts?" I asked with dread.

"He means to murder us, Hermione," Draco informed me hoarsely.

"I'm only 18!" I sobbed. "I'm too young to be murdered!"

"I never said we were going to be murdered," Draco sighed. "That is just his intention. Neither you, nor I, nor Ron, nor Harry should die this evening if all goes according to plan."

"Plan?"

"And they call you clever. Honestly, Hermione, you really think that Order would allow the Golden Trio- and I, their greatest spy- to walk to their deaths? I think not. There is a back-up plan. A bloody good one, if I say myself. I helped create it, by the way."

"I'm very proud of you. But if there is a so-called 'back-up' plan, why were you hoping so feverishly that I was going to think up some brilliant way of escaping our imprisonment?"

"Back-up plans can fail. Now, since we will be here for at least a half an hour longer, I reckon I should start at the beginning of the story..."

"That'd be good."

The handsome bloke took a deep breath, his musuclar chest expanding and contracting.

"Well, as you know, Cassandra is a Death Eater."

"Duh."

"I didn't ask for any comments, did I?"

"No."

"That's better. Anyway, she is the illegitimate daughter of Bellatrix Black. You know, that wonderful aunt of mine..."

"Eww...you tried to seduce your first cousin?"

"Well, I obviously didn't know she was my first cousin at the time. Do you remember what I said about making comments?"

"Sorry."

"Apology not accepted, but who gives a ----? So, Cassandra is the result of the Dark Lord, Aunt Bella, and too many Firewhiskeys."

DEAR MERLIN! My mind was going to be corrupted for DAYS! Scratch that, WEEKS! MONTHS! YEARS!

"But, as you see, I only learned that much much later in the year, because obviously neither Aunt Bella nor the Dark Lord wanted that information publicly known. Anyway, this past summer shewas introduced to the Death Eater circle as a young woman very skilled in Dark Magic and the bedroom. As you can probably guess, her popularity grew quite quickly and she was accepted and trusted immediately by the others. The Dark Lord..."

"Can you please stop saying 'the Dark Lord'?" I asked politely. "Voldemort is a sick bast---, not a 'lord.'"

"Fine, fine. Voldemort gave her an assignment right away- to pose as an exchange student at Hogwarts..."

"And this slipped past Dumbledore..how?"

"Because she actually did come from Beauxbatons, that's how. She'd gone there for the past six years. Anyhow, you can easily hypothesize what her exact job was..."

"To break Ron and I up," I said quietly. "To divide the Golden Trio. Then to lure Ron out here, which in turn would lure me, which in turn would lure Harry, which in turn..."

"Precisely."

"But how do YOU fit into this equation?"

"Eh, I scarcely had any role at all at first- for either the Death Eaters or the Order. You see, the main problem was that Voldemort suspected a traitor in his midst the whole time and had thus placed an extremely complicated charm on the whole plan in general. None of us could speak of it to those without the Dark Mark. We literally could not. We could hint, yes. But reveal the full outline? No. That's why I couldn't tell you Cassandra's true purpose for all those months."

"Er...I'm getting a smidgen confused here..."

"Anyway, I just knew I had to do something subtly to try to keep her from breaking you two up..."

"You tried to seduce her. Incestuously, may I add..."

"May I add for the second time that this was before I knew of her true parentage? But unfortunately, as you know, that plan backfired miserably. And got me into some deep dragon dung, if you excusemy word choice. I had to think up an excuse- and fast!"

"You claimed that you were trying to gain my trust and befriend me," I said rather cleverly, if I say so myself. "And then in the end, betray me and lead me to my death."

"Exactly. You see, for the past four months Voldemort has been assuming that I revealed my involvement in the Order to you..."

"You're a double agent," I breathed. "Just like Snape."

"It's not THAT impressive," Draco shrugged. I still stared at him in awe, my opinion of him rising yet another ten percent, if that was possible. "But yes, I indeed am a double agent. And I was able to use that status to pull off this whole shiebang..."

All the pieces of the puzzle suddenly fit neatly together.

"So the whole time Voldemort thought you were doing it for him." I said excitedly. "Being my friend, helping me save my relationship..."

"Simple, yet clever," Draco winked. "Oh, he had his supsicions. Cassandra too. She never trusted me- for a good reason, I reckon. But I am, pardon my lack of humility, a quite accomplished Occulmens. That saved me."

"But today..."

"Today was a self-sacrifice," Draco sighed heavily. "I knew that the second I walked in here there would be no way to hide what I had done. Betrayal would hang so heavily in the air that good liar and mind-blocker or not, Voldemort would see right through me. That's why I hid the wand in your dress. I knew he would discover it and just where my true allegiances lie.."

"That's very noble and everything," I said slowly. "But I don't understand..."

"You see, this frees Snape up," Draco said cheerfully. "Voldemort knows there a spy in his midst, but since he's caught me, he has no reason to assume that Snape is anything but loyal. And, best of all, since the plan has been completed- bringing you and Ron to headquarters- he can speak of everything to Dumbledore and other key members of the Order. They'll be here any minute now. Voldemort thinks that Snape will be leading them in the front entrance where an ambush is set up. But, in reality, they'll be sneaking in the back door.The one only Death Eaters know about. The one...right over there."

I glanced over at the thick wooden door for the hundredth time. My companion was restlessly pacing around our prison.

"They should've been here by now, those prats," he grumbled.

"It's not nice to call people names," came a familiar voice. "Especially your soon-to-be-rescuers."

"Tonks!" I smiled with relief.

"Hermione." She grinned. "Nice to see you. Alive, I may add."

"But not for long...unless you GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"Relax, Hermione," Harry said soothingly as Professor Dumbledore went to work on the extremely complicated locking charm on our cell and Mad-Eye Moody on Ron's. "Everything will be alright."

Everything will be alright," I whispered softly as I tightly held the wand Bill handed me with one hand and Ron's cold hand in the other (a Healing Charm had done wonders, but he was still quite shaky)as we followed the thirty-some Order members into what would soonbecome the most horrifying time in my- our-life.