Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author: Londra

Title: Dignity

Summary: Draco Malfoy was a man of dignity; when he made a choice, he remained loyal to it. No matter how hard she made it for him.

Betas:

Prologue: Wevvles and Lyras.

Further Chapters: Rizzle and Serenity.

Thanks ladies!

Information: Hermione's middle name is Jane. If not now, it will be mentioned in future chapters. I didn't make it up. J. K. Rowling said it in an interview. As obsessive as I am, I searched for it all over the internet, and found out that, that is, indeed the truth. If you don't believe me, and wish to see it with your own eyes, please contact me, and I will be more than happy to give you the link.

Warnings:

1) I want to sort this out before you even begin reading. This is NOT a story in which Hermione suddenly turns gorgeous and becomes a slut. Draco is not Head Boy. Hermione is not a pureblood. If you are looking for that kind of story, please hit the back button immediately, and don't even consider reading any of my stories. You just won't like them. Thank you.

2) This is a multi-chaptered story (estimated 15), and the D/Hr action won't come rushing in. It has a sub-plot and I don't like two-dimensional characters. I like detail. I ask for patience.

3) Please enjoy reading Dignity, but be aware of the fact that Draco and Hermione aren't two people who can get together easily. There are bigger issues. This story is not fluffy, and it takes hatred and jealousy as its main themes. I advise you to skip onto another story if you are only looking for D/Hr fluff or smut.

4) This story was started before the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and therefore some parts may not comply with the current canon.

"When a wizard goes over to the Dark Side, there's no one and nothing that matters to them anymore..."

Rubeus Hagrid

DIGNITY

Prologue

It was going to be good.

It was going to be perfect.

Everything was sorted out. Nothing would be able to stand in the way of the Dark Lord. Virtually every aspect had been covered: potions were brewed; books were sorted through. Worthwhile sacrifices had been made to produce the ultimate result—the creation of the perfect curse that guaranteed the inevitable victory over Harry Potter.

It wasn't a killing curse. They no longer desired to destroy the body. The curse had been designed to annihilate the mind.

After the curse struck, Harry Potter would never be the same. The serpent inside him would awaken and every power the Dark Lord had given him when the first curse failed would once again awaken.

Throughout the years, Harry had managed to elaborate them. There were reasons as to why his body had declined Occlumency. He wasn't meant to shut his body down. If only things had been different in the past, Harry Potter would have been just like the Dark Lord.

However, things hadn't been different. However, things hadn't been different. Thus, it was now the Death Eater's assigned task to make them different. They would awaken the dark side of Harry Potter. Then, with Potter on their side, they would finally be able to destroy the so-called good side for sure.

Harry Potter was powerful, and they wanted him.

They had made many attempts to lure him to their side, but all had backfired. First, they had told the Malfoy kid to offer him friendship. Their first plan had been destroyed when the boy recklessly insulted him before he even knew his name.

Next, they had told Bartemius Crouch Jr. to develop a friendship with Harry Potter as a professor, and slowly draw him to the dark side, but he had failed too.

Thus, they were left with no choice. They had to do it by force.

For the last stage of the curse, they needed blood. The blood of a Death Eater who was cunning, intelligent, powerful, loyal, and who carried all of the characteristics a proper Death Eater should.

The only two candidates were Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy. They were both very powerful. They were both very intelligent. They were both very eager to show their loyalty to the Dark Lord. They were both perfect.

The Dark Lord chose Lestrange.

Once her blood was added, the curse was ready. She was now proven to be the most important Death Eater. The Dark Lord gave everyone the order to protect her even if it meant they would die instead. All agreed, if reluctantly.

Anything for the Dark Lord.

Later, all the Death Eaters in Hogwarts were summoned to help create a plan to break into Hogwarts. The young Death Eaters were already eager to provide help. The weak points of the castle were carefully mapped: the secret entrances, the faulty wards, and virtually anything else they could think of.

It was perfectly planned out. The break-in was scheduled for the 21st of July, through the statue of Wallace the Weak in the Slytherin Dungeons. They would Apparate from thirteen different strategic spots in Hogsmeade, under disguise, and then enter through the secret passage located under the window of the third dungeons, facing the lake.

All magic performed within sixty yards of the Hogwarts grounds was detected, so they had to make sure all the necessary spells were cast upon their entrance to Hogsmeade.

After they were all inside the castle, they would cast a basic stunning spell to lure a professor on duty towards them. The alarm would be raised. As soon as people understood that there were strangers in the Slytherin Dungeons, they would start coming down, most of them dying as they did. Then, the Order would arrive and try to defend the students. Finally, Harry Potter would come in, because the Voldemort in him wouldn't let him just sit above and watch. They didn't know how long it would take him to, but eventually, he would come down.

Until then, the Death Eaters would prevent the Order from doing anything to ruin their plans. When Harry Potter finally came, the Death Eater located closest to him would aim the curse at him, and – wham - Harry Potter's inner serpent would take him over. His brain would begin working like that of a Death Eater, and then before people even knew what was going on, the Death Eaters would seize him and escape through the way they came.

There were two main goals of the plan: make sure the curse hit Potter, and keep Bellatrix Lestrange alive. One wouldn't be successful without the other. However, there was one nasty problem to the curse. Once used, it couldn't be repeated anymore.

So, The Death Eaters drew back, and they waited. As 21st of June slowly approached, the plan was etched into the mind every single Death Eater.

Finally, that night arrived.

l…l…l…l…l

The night of 21st of July was a rather warm one. The material of the Death Eater masks was already causing many of the black hooded figures to sweat. The air was so still and humid, that they shifted uncontrollably in their thick, cashmere robes.

Nevertheless, they continued walking determinedly towards the castle, somewhat comforted by the thought of the cooling charms that would surely have been put in place inside.

When they finally arrived in front of the window of the third dungeon facing the lake, they were soaked in perspiration. Dolohov had to drag the pathetically whimpering Macnair by the right leg to stop him from running towards the lake. Their theatrics caused such a kafuffle that Lucius had to throw a silencing charm and a horrible look towards their direction.

Suddenly, they all fell silent. There were sensitive detectors all around the castle, which meant they had to act faster to get in than they had originally planned. It was not something to worry too much about, but they had to be more careful.

Even though Crabbe and Goyle had difficulties getting through the window, all the Death Eaters had successfully managed to break into Hogwarts. They slowly headed towards the main corridor, where Mulciber threw a Stunning Spell towards the wall, causing a few portraits to groan out loud.

As they had expected, they heard footsteps heading towards them. A loud "Lumos" accompanied by a "Who's there?" which was repeated three times. A few seconds later, a very feeble "Nox" was heard, followed by the sound of quiet footsteps climbing stairs.

Jugson stifled his laughter when he saw Malfoy glaring at him from behind his mask. There was no mistaking those cold grey eyes. His smile vanished and he forced his straight face.

Moments later, they heard the sound of people heading towards them. The shadows reflected on the wall behind the staircase showed a large crowd of witches and wizards; all that had their wands at the ready.

Suddenly, the lights turned on. The Order had arrived, well armed and ready to fight.

l…l…l…l…l

Their plans were succeeding. Students arrived, one by one; killed before they could cast a single spell. Screams echoed through the hallways and body littered the marble floors. The Death Eaters grimly triumphed, unfaltering in their killing spree. Soon, Harry Potter would come down.

Lucius Malfoy sent a killing curse towards one of the students just as Harry Potter stepped into the scene. His hair was messier than ever, his emerald eyes were burning with anger; and his knuckles were almost white from his tight grip on his wand.

When Harry saw Ginevra Weasley lying in front of Lucius Malfoy who was busy trying to push her off his feet, his fury broke loose. His fellow students tried to stop him. The Order tried to restrain him from doing anything foolish. He didn't listen. The serpent inside him had risen, and he was reckless.

He stepped forward and hurled a killing curse towards Malfoy.

It all happened in a flash of a second.

As the curse drew closer, Lucius Malfoy leapt to the left, causing it to fly past him and hit Bellatrix who was duelling with Remus Lupin. She collapsed on the floor, and her mask fell off. Her jet black hair was scattered around her face, her eyelids were loosely shut and her lips were growing paler as seconds passed.

Horror-struck by what just happened most of the Death Eaters stopped what they were doing, something for which Mulciber paid with his life. Dolohov was the first to recover, and he threw the curse towards Harry Potter. A white light flew from his wand and rushed towards Potter.

That was when she came in.

While everyone else was watching the curse, she jumped in front of her friend, and the curse hit her. She suddenly felt an odd emotion flow through her, as if there was a snake inside her, and fell on the floor. Harry stared down at his bushy haired friend, but failed to notice the sudden flash in her eyes.

After that, she fainted.

The Death Eaters fled, appalled at what had just happened.

Hogwarts was left to heal its wounds.

l…l…l…l…l

Saying that the Dark Lord wasn't pleased by the night's events would have been an understatement. He was furious. He was raging. He was more than disappointed in Lucius Malfoy, and he made sure everyone knew that. He lowered him in position. He was no more than a piece of filth. He was still rich of course, but there were things more important than money, such as respect, pride and nobility. He was drained of those.

Then, the Dark Lord set off to find Hermione Granger. He knew she had changed.

When he found her, the first thing he did was to look straight in her eyes. She had indeed changed. Her vision had altered. The serpent inside her had awakened. Unlike many others, she didn't even flinch when she first saw him. She had been expecting him to come. She told him that she had understood there was no such thing as good and evil. There was only power and those too weak to seek it.

He offered her the chance to become a Death Eater. He proposed that she take the place of Bellatrix Lestrange. She accepted gladly.

She would be a spy for the Death Eaters. She would be respected. She would be protected. She would be the highest of them all.

It was a hard job, but she was determined. She would do it to prove herself. She would do it to prove that blood wasn't the only thing that mattered. She would do it, and she would be powerful.

Behind all this, there was Draco Malfoy. He watched everything. He saw how his father fell; he saw how the Mudblood rose. Predictably, he got angry. He got furious. He vowed to take revenge. This girl had stolen everything he was, everything he would be. He would get it back, and he wouldn't do it nicely. He would make sure she paid.

However now, he had to wait.

So he would.

Just for a while.