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Evening: Malfoy Manor

"What are you two doing?" Zabini asked Crabbe and Goyle.

"We found Draco's mud blood. Seems she got out of her cage. We threw her down the chute" Goyle replied still laughing.

"Bloody hell, Goyle!" Zabini pushed past him and lifted the trap door. "Granger!" he called. "Granger, don't look into its eyes!"

Zabini's robes billowed behind him as he rushed towards Draco's office. Whether or not Malfoy cared, or whether he had authorized them to do this had to be verified. There was a reason Malfoy had wanted Granger alive, he wouldn't be at all surprised if the moron twins had decided to kill her without permission. He didn't bother knocking before entering.

"Malfoy, Granger escaped. Goyle tossed her down to the basement" he stated briefly.

"Granger! Can you hear me?" Malfoy shouted down the chute. There was a faint sound, a cry.

He turned to Goyle. "Stay here. I'm going to need your help to get back up. If Granger dies, Goyle," Malfoy sat at the edge of the opening. "I'm going to assign you to personally guard the artic for rebels" he hissed.

Goyle looked nervous. Malfoy slid down, landing hard on the wet basement below.

"Granger" called softly, keeping his eyes cast low.

"Malfoy, I feel it besides me" she replied in a weak voice.

"Don't look at it" he ordered.

"Its going to bite me" she chocked.

How could he aim a curse as the Basilisk he couldn't even look at? Suddenly he realized how stupid he had been. What on earth had he been thinking coming down here?

'How incredibly Gryffindor of me' he thought bitterly.

"Malfoy, its tail is right by you" she told him.

He dared to look around, keeping his eyes low. Granger was facing a corner a few meters from him, the snake was moving towards her.

"Coverta!" he aimed at the head of the snake.

The snake hissed, recoiling violently. The tail swung at him. Malfoy slammed against the wall with incredible force. He felt his nose break as his face came crashing against the solid concrete. He fell to the ground, his head spinning. The creature was now blinded, its eyes crystallized. It could still smell him, though. Malfoy did not have a second to regain his composure, the snake's mouth came diving down to him. Malfoy rolled away quickly.

"Stupefy!" he shouted.

The flash from his wand repelled the snake back. It would not be enough, however, he needed a lot more than that to hold off the basilisk.

The snake slammed its tail against him again, reeling its head back, as it hissed. Malfoy fell from the heavy weight and watched as the giant snake coiled itself around Granger. She screamed, fighting as the snake began to crush her.

"Stupefy!" he repelled the snake's fangs when they were inches from Granger's head. The basilisk, however, did not let her go.

"Kill it!" she shouted.

"Stupefy" he chanted right into the creature's open mouth. It collapsed on the ground.

He could hear Granger sobbing as she pushed frantically out of the basilisk's coils. There was that one moment of silence and weightlessness as the adrenalin in his body began to fade- that moment when one feel weaker than every.

Granger's cry of frustration made him snap back to attention. He went to her. She eagerly wrapped her arms around him as he began to pull her out. Malfoy thought it was ironic; it took a choice between him and a basilisk to get her to ease into his touch.

"You stupid girl" he hissed once she was out.

He pushed her off him so hard she fell back on the cold, wet, scaly basilisk

"It's still alive!" Hermione cried out in disgust moving away from the thing.

Her face was wet with tears and sweat. Her hair, never really giving off a kept appearance, was tangled knots and frizzy curls. She met his eyes and grew silent. He clenched his hands into fists, to control the urge to slap her. For someone who claimed to be so smart, she really was so incredibly stupid.

"Malfoy, its still alive" she ventured.

"Of course its still alive!" he shouted. "That basilisk is worth ten times what you are! The Dark Lord would lose it if I destroyed that creature. You know how rare they are? I hope I can reverse the bloody blinding spell" he was growing increasingly agitated. "What the hell were you thinking?"

She had no reply. Whatever she was going to reply would only serve to get him even angrier. In all honesty she would have welcomed death just a couple of days ago, now there was something she had to fight for.

"We have to get out of here before it wakes" he growled and pulled her roughly by the arm.

Hermione saw a body laying at the other side of the basement.

"Who is that?" she asked. His grip was becoming more painful as he kept his hand there. She tried to pull away from him.

"You don't want to know" he replied letting her go as they got to the tunnel they had slid down. "Goyle!" he shouted up.

The body was laying face down, from here she could not even tell if it was male or female.
"You are lucky that thing is kept well fed" he told her. "GOYLE!" he roared making Hermione jump.

"You can't apparate out of here, I take it" she whispered.

"Yes, because being trapped in a dark dungeon of death would be so fearsome if you could just apparate yourself out of it" he stated sarcastically. He wiped some of the blood from his face. His nose had stopped bleeding, but he was filthy now. Draco grimaced accepting that he probably looked as disgusting as Granger did.

A half melted wax candlestick rolled down. A portkey.

"Well, well, well" Mc Nair smiled. "Been Basilisk wrestling, Malfoy?"

The portkey delivered them into the living room.

The crowd laughed. Draco shot him a dirty look.

"Oh, a new toy" Bellatrix walked up to them. "You want to join your friends in the dungeons?" she touched Hermione's face, caressing her.

Hermione pulled her face away defiantly.

"I don't understand why you risked your life for her" McNair continued. "Seems like you like rolling around in the mud too much"

Draco pointed his wand at McNair. His eyes were dead serious.

"Now, now, dear boy, don't get carried away. Avery is just being a fool" Bellatrix cooed gently lowering Draco's wand. "Let me take this filthy little thing from your hands while you get cleaned up"

"My house is not Azkaban, Mrs. Lestrange" Malfoy pulled Hermione possessively by one arm. "I told you I want those prisoners out of here. You can do what you please with them, but not in my home. I want them moved"

"Our Lord has given me more time. Its more convenient here, you see" she smiled.

'The bitch,' Malfoy though. 'She went around my orders'

"I told you that I want them out of my home" he intoned every word forcefully. "Therefore, I expect them to be gone by the end of the week" with that he led Hermione out of the room, towards the her prison.

"How did you get out?" he demanded tossing her inside the room.

"Why don't you drag it out of my mind?" she asked defiantly. "I see why you come here, it's the only place where you have some control…well, at least a hint of control" she mocked.

"Its falling into place, Granger, don't you worry your pretty little head" he smiled walking towards the window. He ran his hands through his platinum blond hair and nodded gently to himself as if accepting something.

"What are you going to do with my friends?" she asked.

"What do you think I'm going to do? Execute them"

"Then why are they still alive?" she demanded walking up to him.

"The Dark Lord wants a public execution to commemorate our victory over the Light" he crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned on the window sill, now facing her. "It will be a grand affair" he raised his eyebrows to emphasize it, still smiling.

He could feel the hate in her eyes. He relished in it, letting her eyes burn his skin.

"Weasel will die first, of course. But it's good for you, now you don't have to make up your mind about which one to shag, you will only have one choice"

She rushed to attack him but he caught her hands mid-air. His reflexes were sharp, the war might be over in the scheme of things but the battles were still raging on. Malfoy laughed, his cold eyes watching Granger struggle to hurt him. He spun her around by the wrists, pulling her into him. Granger's back crashed against Malfoy's chest. He snaked his arms around her, still holding on to her wrists.

"I so enjoy our time together Granger" he whispered into her ear.

Malfoy's breath felt hot against her skin, it made her shiver. His voice was low and deep. Her breathing was sharp and unsteady, while his was calm and even.

"However" he continued softly, menacingly "there is a spy within my home. Actually there is more than one. Whoever helped you get out might lead me to the other"

Hermione stiffened.

"Although I have an idea who the first one is, he is rather inconsequential to the one who is within my peers"

Hermione reigned herself in, composing herself internally. He was not about to intimidate her.

"I don't know who your spy is, if there is one" she replied tartly. "Although, Malfoy, I would recommend you sleep with one eye open if living is what you want to do. It seems everyone around is ready to step on you"

"So who is my first little traitor, the one you know?" he asked.

"Afraid of using the spell again?" she shot back and laughed.

Malfoy tightened his hold, his face darkening in anger.

"Oh, come now Malfoy, when it comes to being an evil genius, you must admit, you are a poor and faded imitation of your father…although" Hermione kept pushing. "Didn't help the old albino much when Harry threw that Avada curse on him"

The smile on her face was deep and true. Malfoy hated it. He wanted to shake it off her, the smile her little Hero-Potter brought to her soul. But he wasn't about to let her win this one. He gripped her neck and began to squeeze.

"Come out little traitor" he called. "Or I'm going to pop heard head off her neck"

Hermione struggled, but his hold on her was too strong. She tried to pull away but it was no use, her hearing was becoming tunneled.

'Bloody Malfoy! You're not going to kill me!' she thought to herself as she kept trying to pry his fingers from her neck. There was a sense of urgency, of panic as she began to realize that he was by far much stronger than she was.

A 'pop' sound echoed in the room, but Hermione did not hear it. She felt herself fall to the ground with great force. Malfoy had tossed her aside and reached for the small house elf that had appeared in the room.

"Doby" Malfoy smiled. "So good to see you're doing well"