When Hermione awoke a few hours later, she sat up completely disorientated. She could hear banging and yelling and rubbed her eyes.
God, I need some tea. About fifteen cups if possible.
She tried reaching out to Severus automatically, and as her thoughts bounced back to her, she was suddenly completely awake.
"Malfoy?"
She tried to get her tired eyes to focus. Her eyes landed on the sleeping form of Draco Malfoy, curled up on one of her chairs. As quietly as she could, she padded towards him, her bare feet not making a sound on the stone floor. She carefully reached into Draco's pocket.
A hand suddenly shot out and grasped Hermione's wrist. She shrieked and jumped back.
"I sleep very lightly," Draco said, stretching. "I'm not completely stupid, you know."
"No, not completely," Hermione said, glowering. God, she felt sick. She needed a drink of water and something to eat, fast. Or she'd probably throw up all over Draco's incredibly expensive robes.
"Are you alright? You look a little green," he said, getting to his feet and peering out of the window. He yelped and jumped backwards as the angry face of Harry Potter suddenly appeared at the window.
"If you don't give me Hermione now," Harry said, only slightly muffled through the window, "I'm going to find a way to get in there and I'm going to Crucio you until you are begging for death."
Hermione looked at Harry, impressed. That sounded almost like something Severus would have said.
"Hello Harry," Hermione said with a small wave from just behind Draco. "Isn't it a bit cold for Quiddich practice?"
"Don't worry, Mione," Harry said, still hovering near the window. "Dumbledore's got Aurors here and we're all working on a way to get you out."
Draco sighed impatiently. "This is all very touching, Potter," Draco said, opening the window and wincing as the freezing cold air blew in. "But I think your friend here needs something to eat and drink. Fancy playing waiter for us? What do you fancy, Granger? Lobster? Caviar? Sausages and mash? May as well make the most of it."
"Don't, Malfoy," Hermione said, screwing her face up. "I feel sick enough as it is."
Draco pulled a vaguely sympathetic face. "Bring us a nice selection of food and drink," he told Harry, who was looking like he wanted to throttle Draco with his bare hands. "If you bring it to the window, I'll pull it in when it gets near enough."
"I already brought something for Mione," Harry said, through gritted teeth. He pulled a packet of crackers out of his pocket and Hermione had to resist trying to throw herself through the window to hug him.
He leaned forward with the packet in his hand, going as far as he could before his hand hit the barrier. When Draco reached out and grabbed the very end of the packet, Harry let go.
"You're a life saver, Harry," Hermione said, immediately grabbing the crackers off Draco and tearing them open.
Harry shot her a smile, and then turned to look at Draco. "I'll bring you the food, Malfoy," he said, quietly. "After that, will you let me in to talk?"
"Sorry, no can do," Draco said, slamming the window shut and drawing the curtains. He surveyed Hermione who was nibbling on the edge of a cracker like a hamster, or a mouse. "What the hell is all that noise?"
"I'm assuming it's Ron, Ginny, Luna and co," Hermione said, pausing in her nibbling. "Probably trying to get in. You know, this is all pretty pointless – you've got no where to go from here and they'll get in eventually."
"I've got a portkey – I can take you to my house and my father could hide both of us before Dumbledore even realizes you're gone," he said, his eyes cold. "I could break you given time and I don't think even you are stupid enough to doubt that."
"So you break me, hand me in to Voldemort, I sign on the dotted line. Then what?" Hermione asked, fighting the urge to be sick. "Voldemort kills me, then you go on your merry way and live happily ever after?"
"That's pretty much it, yeah," Draco said, grabbing a cracker out of the packet Hermione had clutched in her hand. He bit into it and pulled a face. "How do you eat these?"
"It doesn't work like that, and you know it."
"What do you know about it?" he asked, sneering.
Do they teach sneering as an extra subject in Slytherin, or something? she wondered vaguely. First Severus, now Draco. It must be given to them along with their green robes and their superior attitudes.
God, she missed Severus. She even missed his bloody superior attitude. Anything could be happening to him right now, and she wouldn't know. What if she managed to get out of this room and suddenly he wasn't there anymore, and she couldn't contact him? What would she do then? Her hand clutched Severus' mother's necklace and she closed her eyes for a second.
"I know more than you think, Malfoy," Hermione said opening her eyes and starting to pace. "I know that once you're one of Voldemort's Death Eaters, you belong to him. And it's not just you who belongs to him, everything you have and everything you care about is also his."
She looked Draco in the eye, stopping right in front of him. "If you chose to disobey an order, or he's not happy with you for any reason, he'll hurt you, and anyone you care about."
"I repeat: what do you know?" Draco said with a glower. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Granger. The Dark Lord doesn't hurt the people who are loyal to him – just those who betray him, or are stupid enough to annoy him."
"Doesn't he?" Hermione asked, sending up a prayer to Severus to forgive her. "On the day that you're initiated and branded, do you know what your final task will be?"
Hermione closed her eyes, knowing that Severus would never want her revealing what she had seen in his memories, but also knowing that he'd understand. He'd let her do this if it meant saving herself and his baby.
"How do you know about these bloody tasks?" Draco asked, impatiently.
"Your final task is specific to you," Hermione said, closing her eyes and letting her mind drift back to the various images she'd seen in Severus' head. Except the things she was seeing now she had never seen before. "Voldemort makes you prove your loyalty to him, by giving up the thing you care about most."
She could actually hear Voldemort's voice in her head. "Kill one of them – either one. It's up to you – I will leave you a choice Severus. Prove I am your master and chose one to die!"
She could hear Severus' pleas and feel him as he desperately tried to get to his feet. She could hear Voldemort telling Severus that he was nothing now, and everything he had was his. If he didn't choose one of his family to die, Voldemort would kill them both. She could see the terror on Severus' sister and mother's face, see them clutching each other and sobbing. Where was she getting this? How was she in Severus' head when she couldn't hear him at all?
Suddenly she knew what she had to do.
She took two steps forward until she was standing so close to Draco that she could feel the breath on her face.
"Do you really think you're so different? Do you really think your father hasn't lost so much precious to him that he's stopped caring about anything but himself? That your mother hasn't screamed in agony under Voldemort's curses? That you won't suffer what everyone else has suffered, and much worse?"
Suddenly her lips were on Draco's, her hands tangled in his now messy hair as she kissed him and tried to feel for a way into his mind, somehow knowing how to do it, even though she'd never done it before.
She felt something give and pushed with all her might.
Pictures she had already seen started to go through her mind, before they started to change to new ones. She could feel Severus' nausea as this time she saw his sister held down and raped by Voldemort. She could feel the helplessness and the anger as he screamed so hard Hermione's own throat hurt. She tried to somehow shut out the image as Voldemort performed Avada Kedavra on Severus' sister, before he carried on raping her. She watched as Voldemort came to a climax, before smiling maliciously at Severus, who was vomiting on the ground, still held down by Death Eaters.
Suddenly there was Lucius on his knees in front of Voldemort, half hidden from view by rows of other Death Eaters in their heavy black Robes. At a murmured spell from Voldemort he was screaming incoherently, writhing on the ground in agony, blood starting to drip from his eyes as his blood vessels ruptured.
She saw someone who could only be Draco's mother, although quite a bit younger. She was on her knees before Voldemort's throne and Hermione could hear her begging. Then in a matter of seconds, her arms were bound behind her back by what seemed to be long, thin snakes. She lay on her tied arms on the grass as a group of Death Eaters tore off her clothes and took turns at brutally raping her.
Then she saw Lucius again, in the same dark clearing as before. He had hold of a young girl by the wrists – she couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen. She was pretty, with dark curly hair that cascaded over her shoulders and down her back in a way that Hermione almost envied. She watched as Lucius threw the girl to the ground and then stood over her. He performed Crucio on the girl until she started to vomit blood. Hermione tried to distance herself to look closer. The girl was quite obviously pregnant and Hermione could see the blood seeping out from between her legs, staining the trousers she was wearing.
Oh my God.
Suddenly Hermione was on the floor; somehow Draco had forced her from his mind. She gasped and retched onto the floor, trying to clear her mind and breathe deeply. She finally got control over herself and looked over at Draco – he was somehow still standing, staring ahead, his face so pale he looked dead.
"Malfoy?"
"Eleanor," he whispered, before his legs gave out and he fell to the ground. He sat on the floor, still staring ahead. "He tortured her. How did you see that? How did you do that? How did you see my mother?"
"I didn't see that, someone else did," Hermione said, quietly. "I had to make you see what you're getting yourself into."
"How do I know any of that was real?" Draco finally looked at Hermione. "How do I know it wasn't some pathetic trick to save your own worthless life?"
"How would I have any idea what Eleanor looked like?" Hermione asked, wondering when Severus had finally managed to work out who the girl had been. "How would I even know what your mother looked like?"
She crawled over to Draco, carefully avoiding the pool of sick on the floor.
"I might resent the hell out of you for the things you've done to me," Hermione admitted, "But that doesn't mean I don't care what happens to you. If my life wasn't on the line, I would still want to stop you making the mistake you're about to make."
"I already belong to the Dark Lord, Granger," Draco said, dropping his face into his hands. "That isn't a choice I have to make any more. Now the only choice I have is whether I take you and your baby down with me and have a chance at happiness, or whether I sacrifice myself now."
"Do you really think being a Death Eater will make you happy?"
"He betrayed me," Draco said, lifting his head from his hands and looking at Hermione. Tears were running down his face. "I could have had a family of my own and my father stole that from me, all for the sake of appearance. He tortured her, just because I cared about her."
Hermione stared at Draco. She had expected him to get upset, vomit, scream and shout, and she had expected him to blame Voldemort, not his father. She put her hand out and tentatively touched him on the shoulder.
"Draco, do you want to talk to a friend about this? Pansy maybe?"
"I don't have bloody friends," Draco snapped. "I'm not a bloody Gryffindor – the people I have around me are useful, but they're not friends."
"Malfoy?" Harry's muffled voice came to Hermione's ears. She looked up at the windows, still covered by the curtains. Harry was there, hovering on his broomstick, waiting.
"Do you want me to tell him to go away for a while?" she asked.
"Let me in, Malfoy."
At a muttered word and a strange hand gesture from Draco, Harry, the broom and the basket of food appeared in the middle of Hermione's bedroom.
"You're better at spells than I thought you were," Harry said, climbing off the bed. "I'm impressed."
He walked over to Draco and knelt beside him. His eyes met Hermione's and she knew then that Harry had been outside the window for a long time before he'd called out to them. He'd heard everything.
"I don't want you thinking I've gone soft on you," Harry said, mimicking Draco's words from the night before. "But I'm about to hug you now. I just thought you'd like some warning, so you can prepare yourself."
He put his arms around Draco and to Hermione's surprise, Draco turned into Harry's arms. He buried his head in Harry's shoulder and his shoulders started to shake as he started to sob brokenly.
Hermione watched in part horror and part fascination as Harry lifted his hand and started gently stroking Draco's hair, whispering comforting words to him as he did. Draco's arms were suddenly wrapped around Harry's waist and Hermione watched in confusion as Draco's worst enemy held him and rocked him gently while he cried.
"It's alright," Harry murmured into Draco's hair. "I'll make sure you're safe. We'll work this out."
"I'm going to Azkaban," Draco said, his voice muffled as he was still speaking into Harry's neck.
"I won't let that happen," Harry said, looking up at Hermione for confirmation. She nodded slowly. "You'll be safe here. Dumbledore will make sure of that. If he doesn't, I will. You're not on your own."
Harry reached into Draco's pocket, still holding Draco close with his other arm. He picked Draco's wand out of the three and waved it in a circle.
"Finite Incantatem," he said, then looked at Hermione's puzzled face.
"The barriers can only be taken down with Draco's wand," he explained, oddly amused to find something he knew, but Hermione didn't. "Dumbledore explained it earlier."
Harry threw Hermione her wand, still refusing to let go of Draco, who was finally starting to calm down.
"Can you go and get Dumbledore? He's outside."
Hermione nodded, feeling a little dazed.
Severus? She reached out with her mind as she got to her feet. Severus? Where are you?
Hermione suddenly screamed, clutching her side and falling to her knees. The stabbing pain was almost making her black out as she clutched her side and screamed again.
"What's happening?" she gasped out loud.
End the charm, Hermione. Now. The voice was weak and horse and sent shivers of terror down Hermione's spine.
I can't lose you again, she gasped back to him. I can't.
She screamed again, writhing on the floor as she felt someone kick Severus in the face. She felt the blood pouring from his nose and reached up to touch her own face, her hand coming back sticky with blood.
End it. Don't make this worse for me, Hermione.
I will get you out of there, she promised, pulling the chain from around her neck and gasping as all the pain suddenly receded.
"Hermione? Hermione!" Harry was on his knees next to her, Draco was standing close, looking panicked.
"I'm not doing that," he said, an edge of terror in his voice. "I swear I'm not doing that to her."
"I didn't think you were," Harry said, cupping Hermione's face in his hand.
"Malfoy, you have to fix this," Hermione said, using Harry's shoulder to pull herself to her feet. "Professor Snape is in your dungeons and you have to get him out."
"How do you know about that?" Draco asked, bewildered. "No one is meant to know."
"You knew and you didn't try to help him?" Hermione asked, her eyes flashing. "Oh forget it, there isn't time. You have to help me get him out. You have to get me into your house."
"What?"
"He's dying Malfoy. They're killing him, and I have to save him. You owe me this much."
"I don't owe you anything, Granger," Draco said, glaring at Hermione, his previous misery temporarily forgotten.
"Then you owe Severus," she said. "Do it for him. For God sake, he could already be dead."
"Severus?" Draco asked, bewildered. "Since when do you call him Severus?"
The door to Hermione's bedroom opened and Albus stepped into the room.
"They're killing him," Hermione said, turning to Albus. "We have to stop them."
Albus took in her bloodied face and turned and warded the door. Ron walked straight into the barrier and fell backwards, a bemused and pained look on his face.
"I want to see Hermione!" he yelled from the other side. "Let me in!"
"Draco, are you prepared to help us get Professor Snape out of your dungeons?" Albus asked. "Are you prepared to lead us in there."
"Would my family get hurt?" Draco asked, quietly.
"They will probably end up in Azkaban, at the very least," Albus said, truthfully. "You have to decide whether you would rather have the capture of your parents on your conscience, or the death of Professor Snape."
Draco stood still for a moment, looking at his feet. When he looked up, his eyes were a curious shade of silver.
"I can't get you in undetected," he said. "The alarms would go off the second you set foot on the grounds, and only my father can disable them. I can try to stop my father myself, but I don't know if there would be even a small chance of that working. I am willing to try. Professor Snape has been there for me more than my father ever has."
Whether it was revenge on his father for killing the only girl Draco had ever actually given a damn about, the fact that he would do anything to stay out of Azkaban or the fact that he really did give a damn about Severus, Hermione wasn't sure. But she was hugely grateful.
"I think I know a way we could get everyone past the alarms," Hermione said, hoping to God and any other Deity out there that Severus was still alive. "But we have to hurry."
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I just want to say a quick congratulations to Tainted Elf, who got engaged yesterday :o) Aww :o)
I also want to send a hug to NobisSolomNon. Hope you're okay. x
