Chapter Five: Break Me, Shake Me

Draco had watched Hermione leave, and turned to his own work, sighing at how little work he had gotten done today, and swore to not pay quite so much attention to his new female partner. This kind of thing had never affected him before. Why now?

-Because you're in love with her, you git,- he thought to himself, shaking his head slightly, knowing that was indeed the reason why.

Draco had stayed at the office until about ten-thirty that night, poring over files and thinking. Everyone thought "Lucien" was a workaholic because he always stayed later than the rest of the workers. The truth was, however, that he stayed there because he didn't want to go home. At the office, he never felt alone…

Especially not tonight.

While he was working on one of the files, planning out how he was going to take care of this, he felt a prickling at the back of his neck. He turned around quickly, to see no one behind him.

"Strange," he muttered to himself, turning back around to pack up his briefcase, having had enough of work for the moment. He picked up his briefcase, opening the door with his left hand pressed flat on the door.

He made his way out of the Ministry with quick, brisk steps. He had to control his breathing; it was becoming fast and harsh. He walked quickly, in the same direction Hermione had a couple of hours before.

He kept glancing behind him, feeling as if something, or someone, was following him. He shivered, though the night was temperate and glanced behind him again. He couldn't shake the feeling.

"You always were a twitchy little ferret, Malfoy," came a very distinct voice. He looked around him and saw two people clad all in black. The voice he'd heard was the voice of his old professor, Severus Snape. His eyes widened in shock, but he regained his composure.

"Who's this Malfoy you speak of?" he asked in his most daring tone.

"We know who you are, Draco," came the other voice, silky and snake-like. It froze Draco's insides into ice. "You're too much like your father for us not to recognize your traitorous filth."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped, turning his back on the pair. "I'm nothing like my father."

"Crucio!" cried the snake-like voice, and Draco fell to the ground, writhing in pain. He wouldn't scream, however, and that seemed to be what the man wanted. "Scream for me, Draco, like you did that night. Bow to my will. Surely you don't like being my enemy."

"I'd rather be your enemy than fight with you for a ruthless cause," Draco replied through gritted teeth. "You took everything from me! Sectumsempra!"

The man bearing down on him suddenly screeched in pain, his robes and the front of his body split, blood spewing from his torso. Draco got up quickly.

"You insolent fool! How dare you use my spell against the Dark Lord!" shouted Snape, but Draco had already stumbled up.

"I'll use it on you too!" Draco shouted. "Stupefy!" he shouted, pointing his wand at his old professor, and red sparks flew at him, knocking him over. The Dark Lord was moaning in pain on the ground in front of Draco.

Draco suddenly got incredibly dizzy, and his knees buckled under him. His head began spinning and he fell to his knees. His vision began to blur and black out. He saw Voldemort raise his wand toward him.

"Avada…" he heard his voice echo in his head, and he shut his eyes, which wasn't a very good idea. He passed out instantly, thinking that he would never wake up and he would never tell Hermione Granger the truth.

Speaking of Hermione, she heard the commotion (as the squabble happened in front of her flat), placed a silencing spell on the rest of the complex, and rushed down to see what it was. As soon as she reached the ground level, and descended the steps, she saw Lucien on the ground and a figure in black robes, raising his wand, chanting the beginning of the infamous Killing Curse.

"Expelliarmus!" she shouted, and the figure's wand flew away from him. She took the wand, and pointed it at him, her wand beside it. "Petrificus Totalus!" she chanted, and the figure went rigid, flat as a board on the concrete.

She ran down the stairs to meet Lucien, his eyes rolled back in his head. She bit her lip and slipped her arm under his and attempted to lift him up on her shoulder. She sighed and pulled her wand out again, glancing to make sure no Muggles were about.

"Mobilicorpus," she whispered, and Lucien began levitating beside her, and she guided him up the steps of the apartment building, all the way up to her third floor flat.

She guided him to her small couch, mumbling the countercurse and he landed with a soft "thump" on her couch. He groaned and his face contorted as if he were in pain. She furrowed her eyebrows and glanced him over.

There didn't seem to be much of anything wrong with him, except that his movements were rather stiff. Whoever it was had obviously used some sort of spell on him. –Cruciatus Curse maybe?- she thought. –Looked enough like Death Eaters. They almost used Avada Kedavra on him.- She sighed, looking around. She ran her hand through her hair, pondering what she was going to do next.

"Might as well let him stay here for the night," she muttered. "He's in no condition to go anywhere."

She grabbed a spare blanket from her linen closet and put it over Lucien's sleeping body. She touched his face softly, and he moaned softly, almost nuzzling it in his dreaming state. She smiled and stroked his head a moment, before walking back to her bedroom.

Her mind wouldn't stop working as she pondered what she had seen. Two men, she presumed, in black, attacking Lucien, for no apparent reason. –Unless he has something that he hasn't told me.- She sighed and turned over, trying not to ponder it more. She needed the sleep. But it was rather bizarre.

"Strange," she muttered, same as Lucien had about an hour before. She fell into bed promptly and curled up into the fetal position, resuming her rather fitful sleep.