Sold-Chapter 18-7:29 AM

By Marmalade Fever

A.N.: To those of you who were lost last chapter, here is a brief explanation of Willow. It is a movie from the 80's about a dwarf named Willow (Warwick Davis, aka Flitwick) who goes on a mission to restore an infant princess to her people. Along the way he receives a wand, runs into brownies, fairies, and big people. One such big person is Madmartegan (Val Kilmer) who offers to take the infant in exchange for freedom from a gigantic cage. Chaos ensues when two stowaway brownies use some love powder on Madmartegan and the evil daughter of the evil queen. Etc.

Lucius just didn't get it. Why was he the only one who could read the mysterious scrap of paper? And now the Dark Lord must think him insane. He might never be trusted again. He went home and settled in for the night with Narcissa. Her health was obviously failing. She seemed to be under the impression that she had hallucinated earlier in the day. He really did hope that Draco would hurry and produce an heir before Narcissa's inevitable demise.

…

Draco sat as if he were a hostage in his own house, tied to a chair in the dungeon as Evander, the Potter girl, and Granger ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Granger had levitated one in front of his mouth so that he could eat without his hands. She had purposefully rammed it at his nose on several occasions, making him increasingly sticky and irritable.

"It is too bad, Malfoy, that you don't own any torture devices. Your father sounded so disappointed," Granger said conversationally as she wiped her mouth daintily with a cloth napkin.

Draco glared. How he hated her! To think, he actually kissed her only the night before. He watched as she patted her lips again with the napkin for good measure. Those accursed lips… It irked him how the upper one curved in delicately while the lower budded out, as if they were not lips at all, but rather like an orchid. Some men spent their entire lives in pursuit of the perfect orchid, going to the deepest jungles and bogs to find it. Yes, that was exactly what Hermione Granger's lips reminded Draco of. Though he would never admit it to himself, he had at last found his orchid, but it seemed to hang higher up and further from his grasp than imaginable. Hermione Granger was not one easily plucked.

"We should get some sleep. If all goes as planned, Dumbledore will retrieve us first thing in the morning," Granger said, and there were nods in agreement. The two children and Granger spaced themselves out on the uncomfortable dungeon floor and fell asleep long before Draco. He was not accustomed to sleeping while sitting up, and the ropes felts as if they were cutting into him. They were far from the sounds of the night, being so deep underground, and the usual howl of wolves didn't reach them.

Draco woke to the sound of scuffling, and opened his eyes to see Granger, sitting up and concentrating. It was hard to tell the time. His watch wasn't facing him. Granger's head lifted and she gave him a scathing look. There was obviously something troubling her, but what?

"Go back to sleep, Malfoy. We have two more hours. I'll wake you up before it's time."

"And why aren't you asleep, Granger?" Draco asked, skeptically. "If this new world is all it's cracked up to be, then there's no reason why you should be looking so concerned. You aren't the one leaving the lap of luxury, after all."

"Believe you me, Malfoy, I am not dreading to say good bye to this filthy place your Lord has created."

"Then why so worried?" Draco asked, though he doubted she would trust in him enough to divulge.

"First you answer a question for me. If you call this world the lap of luxury, then why are you leaving?"

"Simple," Draco said, twisting himself beneath the cords, "there is no room for improvement. And what is the use of being mighty without anyone below you?"

"And your parents? Your friends? Are you willing to leave them to fend for themselves? Your mother is very ill. Are you so heartless that you'd leave her to die of a broken heart?"

"There is another, better version of my mother on this alternate world. I'm upgrading," Draco added, to impress upon her just how heartless he could be. "And that's what's troubling you, isn't it? There are still friends of yours left here. Potter, for instance?"

If looks could kill, hers would have. "Just because you're heartless enough to leave your friends when they need you, doesn't mean that I have to be."

"Wait," Draco said, turning his head, "you are coming, aren't you? You haven't changed your mind?"

"I'm still deciding," she said, simply.

"Maybe you should make a list; that seems Granger enough, doesn't it?" She rolled her eyes. "Well, consider this dear mudblood. There is very little you can do for Potter, or anyone for that matter. You are still a traitor. The moment you step outside, they will recognize you and you'll be dead. Even if you managed to stay hidden, you'd still have to find Potter. He might be in Patagonia for all you know."

"Why so concerned for my well-being? And don't pretend that I'm not the reason you're coming with us. You are attracted to me," Granger said, smoothly.

"I'm going to sleep now. Wake me when it's time," Draco said, equally smoothly. Draco pretended to close his eyes, but watched through near-closed lids as Granger continued to weigh her obligations.

…

Draco was awoken at 7:25 by Granger. Evander and the Potter girl were already up and groomed. "We're going to untie you," Granger informed him. "But don't try anything. I've placed a restraint spell on you. You won't be able to move more than three feet until we get there."

Draco nodded in annoyance. Typical of Granger to think of everything. "So, have you made up your mind then?" he whispered, as she unbound his cords.

"I'm going," she replied, simply. She averted her eyes and he tried his best not to smirk. "Some of the things you said… albeit tactless, were good points."

Draco nodded. "This had better work, then."

"Of course it'll work. It's Dumbledore." Granger straightened and took three steps back to keep outside of his allotted space. Draco couldn't help but notice how much leaner she looked after only a few short days of being released from the Death Eaters. Her eyes had regained much of their old warmth, no longer making her look like a dead woman.

"One minute," Evander muttered, and Draco's eyes were torn from the mother to the son. He was so like both of them in so many ways that it was truly uncanny. Draco's hair had always been as straight as a bone, so had his father's. He admitted to himself that curls did in fact compliment the Malfoy facial structure. The boy promised to be quite handsome in the future. "Ten," he counted, "nine…" Draco struggled to keep his eyes open, "five, four…" it was almost time, "two, one." Almost instantly it was as if they had been surrounded by living energy, a thousand lightning bolts encased them. Draco felt himself being compacted, as if in a very tight ball, and then… they had arrived. It took a moment to recognize the old headmaster's office. Draco's knees buckled as he struggled to stand. Across the room, holding hands, was a shorter-haired version of himself, and a longer-haired version of Granger. He acknowledged several squeals as the children were caught in their parents' arms. A few feet down, hugging Lily to him, was none other than the Boy… Harry Potter.

A.N. Surprised that I updated? School has now started and my schedule is erratic. I'm trying to take every chance I get to write.