Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. All credit must be given to J.K.

The Cradle Will Fall

Chapter 12

"Where are we going?" Hermione whispered to Harry. "I'm guessing the exit is somewhere on the first floor. Not wherever we're going." She tried to explain her worries without Draco overhearing them. Harry tried to keep calm and be rational, but she was right. They had followed Draco up many flights of stairs and he assumed they were at least on the third or fourth floor. And though he and Draco were enemies, he had never seen him act like this before.

Draco watched the two from the corner of his eye, trying to catch what they were saying. 'Well, aren't they the perfect couple?' Draco clenched his fists but continued walking.

"Right here." He stopped abruptly, causing the two to fall silent quickly. Draco set his hand on the doorknob and, squeezing tight, turned and pushed the door open. Hermione and Harry followed Draco into the bright room, the door slamming shut behind them. Harry turned and tried the doorknob. It was locked shut, though. He reached for his wand but remembered it had been taken.

Draco walked towards a chair and sat down, shielding his eyes with his left hand. Hermione looked over the room once. It was small. It was also very well lit and littered with chairs and sofas. There was a set of glass doors that lead out to a balcony, and from what she could see, it was still dark out. A couple hours past midnight, she guessed.

"Daniel!" She nearly screamed when she noticed him. He was sitting on the floor and playing with blocks behind one of the many chairs in the room. She walked quickly towards him, happy to know he was safe. 'That's why Draco brought us here!' She smiled and began to reach for her son.

"I don't think so." Someone stepped between them at the last moment, causing her to stumble and fall back. She crawled backwards and pushed herself up.

"Macnair." Harry forgot about the doorknob when he heard Hermione speak. She stood in the middle of the room and not far from her was Macnair, grinning like a moron. He also noticed Lucius Malfoy near the back of the room, which was hard, since Malfoy's complexion almost blended in with the white walls. Draco continued to sit in his chair, unfazed by the appearance of the two men.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione demanded, though she knew she'd probably get hurt speaking in that tone. Macnair laughed.

"I was McGonagall! Twas fun too! I touched my own breasts. They weren't as perky as I'd hoped, though." Hermione cringed at what he was saying. He was so foul; she couldn't even imagine what his parents must have been like. She noticed Malfoy behind him, walking slowly over to where she was.

"Draco." She tried alerting him while keeping her eyes fixed on the two men. Malfoy stopped behind the chair and bent over for a second. He reappeared, carrying Daniel in his arms and smirking. Hermione could feel her eyes brimming with hot tears.

"Don't hurt him. Draco!" She whipped around, hoping Draco was trying to help her out of the situation. He wasn't. Draco remained sitting in his chair, his eyes covered by his hands. He had not budged since they had first entered the room.

"Traitor!" Harry yelled now, not able to control himself. "You-are-a-traitor!" Harry's face was bright red and the cut on his head began to bleed fresh blood.

"So I've been told." Draco replied without moving his hand. Harry moved towards Hermione, pushing her behind him.

"Cute. Like your skinny little body could protect anyone." Macnair laughed at his own findings.

"It's unfortunate, really," Lucius spoke now, his voice calm with aristocracy, yet menacing like a killer, "that the first half-blood in the Malfoy bloodline started with my grandson." Malfoy advanced slowly towards them now. Daniel was waving at Hermione and didn't seem to notice the danger she was in.

"But family is family, am I right?" He gave a stiff, fake smile to them. "I do wish Daniel were a pureblood, though. Even his name rings muggle. It would make everything much easier on my behalf. But, as I've learned in the past, you can't have everything. No one has to know about this, I suppose. And I don't plan on people knowing either. Seems a little complicated." He stopped in front of Draco but continued to speak.

"He has the potential to become a pureblood. Maybe not in blood, so to speak, but in quality. And the way to do that? Anyone?" He raised an eyebrow, knowing his question was rhetorical but still trying to amuse himself.

"You stomp out the problem from the source. We've got to destroy what he has left of the muggle world." Hermione nearly fainted, frightened Malfoy was going to hurt her child.

"Don't hurt him. I'm begging you." Hermione was crying now, not able to hold anything in any longer. Lucius simply laughed.

"Silly girl. Have you not been paying attention? We've got to stamp the problem out from the source...That means you, you idiot!" He dropped Daniel into Draco's lap. Draco uncovered his eyes and carried Daniel to a remote spot of the room where he wouldn't be distracted by the others.

Lucius walked quickly towards Hermione, pulling out his wand to curse her. Harry lunged at him, though, grabbing his wand and throwing it towards the wall.

"YOU STUPID—" Harry kneed Malfoy in the groin and shoved him onto the floor. He was quickly retained by Macnair, though. He held Harry tight and was unfazed by his kicking and flailing arms.

Lucius stood up quickly and walked towards Hermione. She was unsure of what to do, unable to think. Her only savior was literally in the arms of the enemy. She did the only thing she could think of. Run.

She ran to the opposite side of the room, Lucius slowly walking towards her now, knowing he had won the battle. Hermione threw herself at Draco's feet, openly sobbing and hysterical. She took hold of his hands and kissed them over and over again.

"Please...please..." She sobbed this over and over again. Daniel laughed at his mothers actions.

"I'm going to die!" She tried to say through her crying. She lifted her right hand to his cheek, trying to make him understand. He pushed her hand gently down, though, and covered his eyes with his hand once more. That was when Lucius grabbed her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hoisted her up over his shoulder. She kicked hard and her screams became louder and more hysteric, but no one would save her now.

Lucius opened the glass doors and walked out onto the balcony, Macnair following behind. The two men nodded and held the teenagers legs, dangling their upper halves over the railing. Three or four stories below were six to eight trolls, all of which were grunting angrily.

"You know," Lucius spoke again, "the trolls haven't eaten in two days. You two will be very welcomed. I'm not too sure how long you'll last, though." Both men were laughing now. Hermione started to shake violently and Lucius began to lose his grip on her legs.

"Too bad the Dark Lord couldn't be here tonight. I'm sure he'll be pleased that I've rid the world of Harry Potter and company. You have only been a nuisance to his rise to power." He could feel Hermione's legs slip from his grip a little more.

"Well, this is where we say our goodbyes. You were good for about fifteen minutes. " Lucius nodded to Macnair and they both let go.

Draco became violently sick all over the floor. Their hysterical screams when they were released sent a cold shiver down his spine. He couldn't believe it. They were gone. He wasn't about to disobey his father, especially after he betrayed him to Aurors last year. Lucius Malfoy had too much power.

Draco wiped his mouth off with his right sleeve and with his left he wiped the newly shed tears from his eyes. 'Father despises tears.'

"Come Danny." He lifted Daniel and walked silently out of the room, avoiding conversation with his father.