Disclaimer: All hail Jo Rowling for giving us Harry and his world.

Come What May

Chapter Ten

Lucius stared at her with his merciless, cold grey eyes. So much like Draco's. . .but emptier. . .

He smirked at her as he stepped over the threshold and further into her room.

"How nice to finally see you," he sneered as he closed the door behind him, muttering a curse. "Just in case my dear son decides to come see what all the fuss is about."

Her feet were glued to the floor. She couldn't have moved if she wanted to. Her knees shook as she struggled to remain upright, to fight off any sign of weakness. She couldn't make a noise, he had robbed her of her voice, and without, she felt so vulnerable. . .

He walked around her several times, and every time he passed in front of her, he gave her the once over, something she found revolting.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did you have to wear the black mini skirt with the low cut blue tank?' She yelled at herself.

'Although I must say, it looks rather nice on you. Very. . .alluring,' a voice burst into her head as Lucius stopped in front of her and stared into her eyes.

She opened her mouth and would have screamed had it not been for a lack of a voice.

"Yes, that's right, Mudblood, I can delve into a person's mind at will and hear what they are thinking. It does you no good to attempt not to think. I can hear your fear, your panic. Much like I could hear your parents' fear and pleading after I silenced them." He sighed. "What a rush it was to hear what they were thinking as they died."

Her mind spun. The world was falling out from under her. He was taunting her with her parents' deaths. He was going to drive her to madness.

She looked up at him, the fear apparent in her eyes. She couldn't hide it. She was tired of the charade. She just wanted it to end.

"Maybe I will end it for you, Granger. You can be reunited with your parents once more," he sneered. "Then you can all commiserate with each other about how you had the pleasure of being finished off by the Death Eaters, Malfoy and Greyback. Won't that be fun?" He mocked her.

Her knees were shaking worse than ever. It was getting harder and harder to stay upright with her worst fear standing in front of her. All she could keep thinking about was the dream she had last night and how there was a damn good possibility that something to that effect was about to take place. She tried hard not to think about the dream and to not let flashes of it skate across her mind, lest Malfoy see and decide to fulfill it. . .

She stared up at him with renewed fury. She couldn't say anything, but she could certainly think it.

'Go to hell, Malfoy. You're a slimy concept of man, do you know that? Bound for hell since the day you were born, in my opinion. You killed my parents. You took them away from me before they or I was ready. But you know what? It's only made me stronger. I'm learning to deal with it. And you know what else? That damn curse you placed on that note may have put a fucking voice inside my head, but I've figured out how to stay sane, and it certainly isn't going to make me kill myself. So, feel free to just go to hell, because you can't hurt me.'

He surveyed her through those eyes, and she found herself desperately wishing that they belonged to Draco. He was so much more different now. It was weird, how she was longing for him.

Suddenly, Lucius raised a hand and backhanded her across the face.

It was enough. She crumpled to the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks. The tiny spot of hope that she had allowed to grow within her flickered, and died. Lucius kicked out at her, but she rolled over on the floor and attempted to scramble to her feet. She had just realized, and he must not have noticed, the bathroom door. It was hidden in shadow at the moment, and he hadn't seen it.

She flung herself forward and tried to reach the door. She was just mere centimeters away from it and had her hand outstretched to grab the knob when Lucius grabbed her around the middle and threw her away from the door.

She flew across the room and slammed into the low back of her desk chair, which succeeded in knocking the breath right out of her. Her head spun as she gasped for air, but then he was back again, bringing his hand back and bringing it across the same cheek.

She collapsed to the floor again, feeling her energy drain away as she thought of how much longer she could deal with this.

But then, just as she was about to concede to her lack of determination and give up, a knocking sound filled the room.

"Hermione! Are you all right in here? I heard you scream, and then thumps and stuff. Are you okay? Hermione? Are you in there?"

'Draco!' She yelled in her head, knowing it would do her no good.

Lucius whipped around as the banging continued.

"Hermione! Answer me! I'm worried about you!"

Lucius let out a disgusted snarl and pointed his wand at the bathroom door.

"That will take care of him!" He exclaimed triumphantly. He turned around to face Hermione but. . .

"OY!"

She was crawling slowly past him as his back was to her, trying to get to the door and figure out how to get it to open.

He lunged for her, but again she rolled across the floor and sprang to her feet, launching herself at the door as Lucius struggled back to his feet.

She threw herself onto the door, hammering and beating on it, trying to get the blasted thing to open. She couldn't speak, but she could make a hellish racket, and that was what she was going to do.

Lucius let out an ominous snarl as he yanked her away from the door.

The door knob rattled, but Draco couldn't get in.

"Hermione! HERMIONE! What's going on in there?" He yelled in agitation.

Hermione was flailing away as she struggled against the death grip Lucius had on her arm. She whipped around and smacked him across the face, hard.

"You bitch!" he roared in anger.

The door knob stopped rattling.

'No! No, no, no! Draco come back! Come back!' She screamed in her head.

Lucius let out a cackle. "Looks like my son has given up, Mudblood! You're all mine now! And I do believe I'll have some fun with you, much like I had fun with your mother and that blonde secretary of theirs, what do you say? And I do believe I saw a flash of something like a dream in that pretty little head of yours. What do you think of me fulfilling it?"

Hermione lost all hope then. She knew she was done for. She was a lost cause. Draco left, she didn't have a voice to scream, she had no energy left to fight, and now Lucius was telling her that he was going to take the last of her innocence away from her.

The world was coming to an end, and there was nothing she could do. She began to tremble all over in the most imaginable fear. Lucius cackled again and picked her up around the middle, throwing her over his shoulder.

'This cannot be happening. It's a dream, just like last night. This is not happening. I am not going to go through this, it's a dream, just a dream. . .' she thought helplessly as he threw her onto her bed, pulling out his wand again and conjuring ropes around her wrists, tying her to the bed.

But she knew it wasn't a dream once he climbed onto the bed with her. There was no escaping this nightmare, not this time.

Draco sprinted down the corridors and up several flights of stairs, until he found what he was looking for. That accursed painting that signified Gryffindor tower. He skidded to a halt in front of the painting of a very fat woman in a pink dress.

She looked down loftily at him. "You, young man, are not a Gryffindor."

"Like I didn't know that," he said coldly. "I need to speak to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, it's an emergency."

"Oh, an emergency, is it? Your girlfriend break up with you?"

His face turned bright red, quite an accomplishment for someone as pale as him. "So help me God, woman, if you do not find Harry and Ron for me, I will go psycho on your ass. And it won't be pretty. For your information, their best friend Hermione is in trouble, and I need them, NOW!"

All at once, at the mention of Hermione, her face rearranged into a look of concern. "Is she in much danger?"

"GODDAMN IT, YES! WHAT DO YOU THINK I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU WOMAN?"

"What the hell is going on? And what are you doing here, Malfoy?" came a female voice from down the corridor.

It was the she-Weasel, Ginny.

Draco could have cried with relief.

"Ginny! Ginny, it's Hermione! She's in trouble! I need Harry and Ron now! And someone needs to go find McGonagall and tell her that my father's somehow managed to get into the school! He's locked himself in Hermione's room with Hermione in it! I don't know what the hell is going on because he's Silenced her voice!"

He was on the verge of hysterics. His father, alone with Hermione, in a bedroom. . .with a bed. . .it was enough to make him want to tear his hair out. His father couldn't get any from Narcissa anymore, so he had to find other ways to get off. And using people that would hurt Draco or Harry was usually his favorite thing to do. And now that Hermione had changed so much. . .

He groaned. "Ginny, please! I'm not lying!"

Her face took on a serious look. "I believe you! I believe you! I'll go dash in there and tell them to get their asses out here, and then I'll go tell McGonagall! Wait here!"

Draco waited impatiently as she ran into the Gryffindor tower. Seconds later it seemed, Ginny rushed back out with Harry and Ron on her heels.

"What's going on Malfoy?" Harry said urgently.

"No time! We have to go now! I'll explain on the way! Ginny, McGonagall!"

Ginny took off running down the corridor without a word.

As the three boys ran along, Draco filled them in.

"Somehow my father's gotten into the castle and has locked himself with Hermione in her room. And he's Silenced her voice, and I have no idea what the hell is going on in there, and I don't know what the hell he's going to do. I think Nemesaris might have tipped him off. . ."

"What do you mean, Nemesaris tipped him off? You seem to have left that out somewhere along the line!" Ron yelled as they sprinted down the stairs.

"Nemesaris is working for the Dark Lord! She's hoodwinked the staff into thinking she's good, that's how she got the job! She's a spy, a double crosser who's been sent to keep an eye on me because I was supposed to kill Hermione! But I can't do it! Not now!"

Harry shot him a furious look for not telling him this stuff earlier, but there was no time for a good telling off now, they had to save Hermione from that sick, sadistic bastard that Draco called a father.

Draco yelled the password to the painting of the lion and snake from down the corridor as they approached. They ran without stopping into the common room and up the stairs, stopping outside the door to Hermione's room.

"What's that middle door there?" Ron whispered furiously, looking around.

"The door into the bathroom."

"And is there a door into her room from there?" Harry questioned.

"Yes. But he'll have sealed that one off too," he whisper-called as Ron marched purposefully into the bathroom, his wand held aloft.

He emerged several seconds later, looking worried. "Locked. I tried everything. Nothing worked."

Draco had his ear pressed up against the door, trying to hear what was going on inside Hermione's bedroom. Since she could speak herself, he had to rely on what his father was saying to know what exactly he was doing to her. . .

Horrible images flashed through his head as he tried to get a clue as to what was going on. He really, really did not want to think of his father doing that to Hermione. . .

". . .the question is how to approach this? Yes, do I go easy like I did with the secretary? Or not so nice, like your mother? Hmmm, yes indeed, quite a dilemma. . ."

Draco felt the blood drain from his face. "Oh dear Merlin," he gasped out, sliding down the door several inches.

"What?" Harry and Ron demanded.

Draco shook his head, his breathing labored. How dare that evil sadistic bastard! He never said anything about that. . .

Harry shoved him out of the way and pressed his ear up against the door, followed closely by Ron. Draco knelt down to listen near the floor.

The ripping of what sounded like cloth. . .as in clothes. . .the squeak of a bed spring. . .some more ripping of cloth. . .

". . .what a waste of a body on a Mudblood. They don't make them like that in the pure blood standards. . ."

Harry and Ron went as pasty as Draco.

"Dear God. . ." Ron muttered, his breathing labored.

"We need to get in there now!" Harry said wildly.

The sudden thumping of footsteps announced Professor McGonagall's arrival. She was closely followed by Ginny and professors Slughorn, Flitwick, and Sprout.

"Malfoy! Are you sure your father's in there?" McGonagall asked quickly.

He nodded, sick with apprehension as to what his father was doing to her in there.

"And you haven't been able to get in there?"

He shook his head no.

"But do you know what's going on in there?"

He nodded.

"Well?"

He and the other two shifted aside to let the professors take a listen. The way their faces changed rapidly indicated that Draco's worst fears were confirmed.

"Everybody try everything they know to get the counter curse! We need to get in there before. . . before something else happens!" McGonagall cried.

The air was thick with whispered charms and counter curses, the professors trying everything they knew. After several minutes of furious mutterings, the door suddenly flew open with a click. The professors charged in, yelling, "STUPEFY!" as they went.

The three boys rushed in after the teachers, their wands held defensively. What they saw nearly broke their hearts.

Malfoy Senior was keeled over on the floor, unconscious. The sight of him brought the literal meaning to the phrase, "caught with his pants down." Draco glared at his lifeless form as they turned to Hermione, who had hastily been covered up by Professor McGonagall, and who was now sobbing unrestrainedly into Ginny's shoulder, her voice restored by a quiet counter charm from Flitwick.

"This is disgusting. How did he get in here?" McGonagall said, cold fury in every syllable.

"The castle is protected with enchantments! It's impossible to get in!" Flitwick squeaked. "I placed half of them myself!"

A sudden, dawning comprehension hit Draco.

"My. . .father. . .is an Animagus. He can change into a sparrow," he said quietly, wishing he could kill his father at that moment.

Hermione looked up from Ginny's shoulder. She looked terrible. She had a livid bruise on her right cheek, her lip was split, and she had a black eye. She drew the blanket around her more tightly as Draco's gaze rested on her.

"I. . .I saw. . .something. . .moving in the shadows. . .near the ceiling. . . as I went up the stairs. . ." she said, her voice cracking as renewed sobbing took over. "I should have kn-kn-known!"

Ginny tried to quiet her, and allowed her to bury her head in her shoulder once more.

"Professor McGonagall, I think I should be allowed to remain with her tonight. She needs someone with her. Someone female," she said, emphasizing her last as Harry and Ron looked up furiously.

"Very well. I need to go alert the Minister of what has happened. And someone needs to get this filth out of here, before I am seized with the urge to do something I know I will regret," McGonagall said venomously as she kicked Malfoy Senior away from Hermione's bed. "I shall send Madam Pomfrey up to tend to Miss Granger's wounds."

She turned to the boys. "My suggestion to you three is to steer clear for tonight. Do not bother her. She's been through the mill."

They followed her out of the room and back down into the common room, where they collapsed onto the couches near the fire.

"This is fucking ridiculous. I take it that you have yet to tell McGonagall about Nemesaris. . .and yourself?" Harry said pointedly, staring at Draco.

He gulped. "I need to get to that. I'll do it later, once McGonagall's talked to Scrimgeour."

From the looks on both boys' faces, they didn't seem to think much of this, but didn't say anything. They merely contented themselves with furious looks at Draco.

"You guys think this is my fault, don't you?"

Ron nodded vigorously, but Harry didn't.

Ron stared at him. "What do you mean, you don't blame him for this?"

Harry shrugged. "I just don't. How was he supposed to know that Lucius was going to show up and do. . .that to Hermione?"

"Yeah, but, he knew about Nemesaris being a Death Eater!"

Draco nodded. "I would have never thought she would have betrayed me like she did. I knew she was reporting to my father, but I didn't think she was going to tell the stupid git to show up out of the blue and take care of what I was supposed to do."

"So you're supposed to kill Hermione?" Harry asked finally.

"Supposed to, yes. But do I want to? No, I don't. If I couldn't bring myself to kill Dumbledore last year, then you know I could never kill anyone. Even as much as I despised the whole Muggle loving thing. But," he added quickly, seeing the furious looks on their faces, "I no longer think that way. After everything that's happened to Hermione, I don't think I could bring myself to hate another Muggle-born. There's no way I could ever kill her, not now."

"What are you saying, Malfoy?" Ron asked quietly, his eyes flashing in anger.

Good question. What was he saying? Was he realizing that there was a growing attraction for the girl that his father just violated? Did he suddenly realize that the only thing that was holding him back from killing her was the tiny bit of. . .love growing inside him for Hermione?

Draco looked up at Ron, almost frightened for what he was thinking. It was true, he did feel something for Hermione after all.

"Weasley. . .Ron. . .I guess, I mean, what I'm trying to. . .okay, look, I don't know what the hell has gotten into me, but I, er, I feel something for Hermione, okay? And I'm sorry, because I know that I'm not supposed to, seeing's how she's your friend and all, and if anyone has the right to be with her, then the hell is it going to be me. But that's what I'm saying, I feel something for her, and I care for her, and I would never let anything bad happen to her."

Ron looked at him for a few seconds, studying him, and then said bluntly, "You just did."

Draco bowed his head. He did just let something bad happen to her. He had let the unimaginable happen to her. And he hated himself for it. He couldn't stand to be in the common room for a second longer, and pushed himself up, heading for the door.

"I'm going to go talk to McGonagall."

They didn't try to stop him, and it was just as well, as it wouldn't have worked, and he really did need to go speak to the Headmistress.

He walked along the silent corridors, keeping an eye out for students lurking out-of-bounds this late at night. After all, he was Head Boy, and it was his job to keep the school "safe."

He reached the stone gargoyle that once belonged to Dumbledore and studied it for a second. He had no clue what the password was, and since there was a new Headmistress, he knew that all the magical candy words would probably not cut it.

He cleared his throat. "I, er, need to see the Headmistress. It's urgent."

The gargoyle remained immovable.

"Okay, um, I, Draco Malfoy, Head Boy of this school, need to speak to Professor McGonagall about a teacher, and it's very important."

Just when he thought it wouldn't work, the gargoyle suddenly sprang to life and moved to the side to reveal the revolving stone stairs. He stepped onto them and allowed them to carry him upward in tightly winding circles.

He stepped off once he reached the door, and was about to knock when he heard another voice, quite unlike the Professor's, speaking loudly.

". . .security measures need to be heightened, Minerva, it's a question of student safety now. We can't have Death Eaters breaking into the school, and, well, doing what happened to Miss Granger, now, can we?"

"Now, see here, Scrimgeour, there's an explanation as to how Malfoy got into the castle. He's an Animagus, and my guess is, an unregistered Animagus. He can change into a sparrow. He must have flown in through a window or something."

Not really wanting to speak to McGonagall with the Minister of Magic there, Draco felt compelled to turn right around and leave, but he knew that his chances were greater of getting something done if the Minister heard what was going on. Raising a fist, he knocked three times and waited.

There were footsteps, and then the door was flung open. McGonagall stared at him with wide eyes.

"Mr. Malfoy, what is it that is so urgent at this time of night?"

He took a deep breath. "Professor, I need to speak to you about something important. It concerns the school's safety."

She stared at him for a moment, but then moved aside, motioning for him to come in.

"Sit down, Draco, and let's talk."

Draco returned to the common room an hour later, having spoken himself hoarse before McGonagall and the Minister. Though they were unwilling to believe him, he managed to convince Scrimgeour to give his father Veritaserum to force the truth out. Feeling it was a foolproof plan, he felt slightly more relieved as he walked back into the common room.

Harry and Ron were still there, now staring broodingly into the fire. They looked up when he sat down in the armchair nearest the fire.

"Well?"

"I think they believe me. Scrimgeour was there, and I convinced him to give my father Veritaserum to force the truth out of him. McGonagall said she'd let me know when they had a definite answer."

Harry thought for a moment, then burst out savagely, "Voldemort will have seen to it that there was no possible way for your father to divulge that information. I can feel it, he can be force-fed all the Veritaserum in the world, and it won't work. He'll still be able to lie because there's something to work against the potion, I know it!"

Ron and Draco both started.

"Harry, mate, calm down. We don't know that. Let's just hope for the best and pray that it get's Hermione some justice, okay?"

Harry flung himself further back into the couch and resumed staring into the fire. Draco and Ron exchanged a look before settling back into their seats and staring into the fire as well.

Somewhere along midnight, Ginny descended the stairs and flung herself into the other armchair.

"She's finally asleep. She only just stopped crying. I feel so bad for her. It took me ages to convince her that Lucius wasn't going to jump out of another dark corner. She won't let me shut the overhead light off, that's how frightened she is."

They all exchanged miserable looks and let their thoughts wander to Hermione and her misery. They all came to the same conclusion: if more things like this kept happening to her, sooner or later, she was going to crack, and when that happened, they feared for her life.

"I don't know how she can keep going. If something else happens, or if the Voice convinces her to cut herself one more time, it could well be the last thing she ever does," Ginny said tearfully, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"Let's just hope the Veritaserum does some good, and in the meantime, let's hope that someone will be able to prove her soul's other half," Harry said tiredly, wiping a hand over his face and giving Draco a pointed look.

Draco understood it to mean, "Figure out how to fix this and prove yourself her match, or I will personally castrate you."

They were all just starting to drift off to sleep along two thirty when a blood curdling scream awoke them.

Ginny looked utterly woebegone as she pushed herself tiredly from her chair. The others got up as well, but she cast them a defeated look.

"Not a good idea. She needs someone female. She'll kill you or herself if one of you walks in there."

She dragged herself up the stairs and distantly, they heard a door open and shut. They turned to look at one another.

"Guys, I swear, I will figure out how to make this work. I may look like my bastard father, but deep down, I'm nothing like him. I will get her through this, and I will break that damn curse if it's the last thing I do. I'll do it, or die trying," Draco vowed.

Harry and Ron looked at each other. They knew that it would have to work. It was the only way, and they missed the old Hermione.

Without her, their world would end.