Gamble Everything for Love Chapter 3: Gamble Everything for Love, a harry potter fanfic

a/n: I am so so so so so incredibly sorry this has taken so long to update. Combination of uni exams, learning Chinese, best friend's boyfriend dramas, my own boyfriend dramas, illness (stupid glange) and general exhaustion. Here it is, the final installment of Gamble Everything for Love…

Disclaimer: JK owns Harry & Co. and Ben Lee owns Gamble Everything for Love

Chapter Three - Gamble Everything for Love

Hermione screamed, and almost had a heart attack. Her heart pounding, tears pouring down her face, she snatched up her wand, ended all the charms surrounding her bed, and ran to the sixth form girl's dormitory. She shook Ginny awake, and whispered to her to go to the common room. She ran up the staircase to the boy's dorm and woke Harry and Ron as well. Hermione gathered the four around the fireplace in the common room, pulling all the arm chairs in closely. The other three were sitting, half asleep, but also more than a little worried as to why Hermione had woken them up at three thirty in the morning.

"What's up Her-ermione?" Ron asked through a huge yawn.

"Ok, this might take some explaining. Ginny first of all, you should know that Malfoy is actually a member of the order, he's spying for us." Ginny looked shocked, then a little put out that she was the only one who didn't know, then confused.

"Why are you telling me this now? When I could be sleeping."

"Ok, please don't anyone yell or anything. The fact is, I have been dating Draco since January. We got together just after last winter break." The reactions were predictable, Harry and Ron looked shocked and disgusted, and more than a little pissed off. Ginny meanwhile looked as though something had just been explained to her, and that everything made sense again.

"Malfoy? Hermione, seriously, you and Malfoy?" Ron asked, exchanging a look with Harry which clearly said Hermione's gone insane.

"Seriously Ron. Draco and me. Ok I know that this is a shock and it's out of nowhere, but it's not actually the focus of the conversation. Which I'm sure you realised because why would I wake you at three in the morning to tell you."

"Hermione," Ginny interrupted, "is this why you've been so down lately, because you guys broke up or something, or is it because he's gone off somewhere."

"Well we broke up, but not because anything real. And yes it's partly been because he's gone."

"Why didn't you tell us before now. I mean obviously there is a reason why you're telling us now...but why didn't you say anything when there was no reason?" Harry's voice was soft, a little hurt seeping into his tone.

"I just couldn't. Not because I didn't trust you as a friend or anthing, I didn't think you'd abandon me or anything. But if Draco was going to be a good spy for the order, then Voldemort would have to think he was a real follower. Which meant that dating a muggle-born was completely and utterly out of the question. We just figured it would be easiest if no-one at all knew. But this isn't the point. You're getting me off track, I can explain all this later when we've got time. Draco and I can communicate using this locket he gave me, but when we were talking just now, someone came into his room and caught him. I don't know how much they heard or anything but I don't feel good about this at all. They said something like "What the fuck are you doing Draco?" then the connection ended, but I think they must have heard him say my name."

Harry summed up everyone's thoughts in one word.

"Shit."

"Yeah," Ron agreed.

"This is bad guys, I don't even know where they are, but Draco is in a big house somewhere surrounded by death eaters, one of whom I think heard him say 'Hermione love'. So I think you understand why I am freaking out."

"Hermione, like you said, you don't even know where they are…did Draco describe the house at all?" Harry asked.

"It's a big old abandoned mansion, windows boarded up, overgrown garden, it's near a Muggle village, so the house was probably a Muggle house. That really doesn't help at all does it. And Draco and Snape apparated there so it could be in Australia for all we know."

"It could be, but I reckon it's in England. I know this is a little far fetched, but it sounds a little like the Riddle Mansion." Harry waited to see what the others would think of his idea.

"Harry you have never been to the Riddle House."

"I have."

"In a dream."

"So? It wasn't a real dream and you know it. The house was big and boarded up, the garden was everywhere, and it was a Muggle House. There was a Muggle caretaker who used to live there until Voldemort killed him. It could be the place. No one from the ministry has been staking it out since the end of fifth year. They never supposed that Voldemort would use the same house twice for hiding out. Plus, I saw it in Dumbledore's pensieve last year."

"It's so far fetched, but at least it's something to start on I suppose," Hermione said uncertainly."

"What do we do now? Go to Dumbledore?" Ginny asked.

"Of course," Harry said at the same time that Hermione said,

"God NO."

"What? No? Hermione if we go to Dumbledore-"

"then he'll take hours to plan an attack, summoning people, debating the location…by the time they decide anything Draco could be dead. And you know that if people attack the Riddle Mansion, the Death Eaters will know they're after Draco and probably just kill him."

"What do you propose we do then Hermoine?" Ron asked, looking puzzled.

"Go ourselves."

"You're joking," Harry almost shouted, "you know what happened last time we did something like that. Sirius died. I am NOT going to let you go rushing to God knows where with no idea what you're up against where you could be killed. I am not losing anyone else to this fucking war. We are going to Dumbledore and that's that."

"Fuck that Harry. You can't order me around. The sooner someone gets to Draco the better."

"Hermione, we can't just go rushing in to anything," Ron was a little taken back by the violence of Hermione's reply, and by the look of determination on her face.

"Ron is right," Ginny piped up, slipping her hand into Hermione's and squeezing it.

"Don't side against me and then try and comfort me Ginny," Hermione said as she dropped Ginny's hand.

"Sorry, but I don't think rushing into anything is a very good idea."

Hermione glared at her three best friends, angry that they wouldn't agree.

"Look Hermione, you want things done fast, then come to Dumbledore with us. I'll go and get my invisibility cloak, you guys throw on some clothes, and be back here in two minutes," Harry smiled encouragingly at Hermione who glared back, but went to get dressed all the same.

As the four were scuttling through the entrance hall, Hermione stopped suddenly, whipped the cloak off the other three and ran towards the door.

Gamble Everything for Love, Gamble Everything,

Put it in a place you keep what you need,

You can gamble everything for love if you're free

You gotta gamble everything for love.

"If we wait for Dumbledore, it'll be too late," Hermione whispered coldly as the shut the door on her friends. Harry, Ron and Ginny wrenched the door open again, trying to get Hermione before she was far enough away to apparate, but the pitch darkness and the invisibility cloak did not work in their favour, and it was evident that it would be useless.

"We have to go to Dumbledore right now, we can't catch her, but Dumbledore might be able to," Harry looked angry that he hadn't kept a closer watch on Hermione. Although, it he really thought about it, running off to save someone with no plan whatsoever was really something he'd do.

Hermione sprinted towards the school gates, hoping the others wouldn't be able to catch her. She glanced back at the school's main entry doors and was glad to see no-one was following. They were probably rushing to Dumbledore's office. As soon as she was off school grounds, Hermione thought to herself The Riddle House The Riddle House The Riddle House over and over before a sense of airlessness engulfed her and she vanished with a crack. She reappeared in a huge overgrown garden, stumbled a little and walked straight into a tree.

Baby are you cold, are you cold baby,

I could wrap you up with my love if you wanna,

You can gamble everything for love if you wanna,

You can Gamble everything for love.

Hermione regained her balance and glared at the tree while she rubbed her forehead. She looked down and realized that the cloak had gotten caught up and the bottom of her legs were showing. She untangled the fabric and made sure none of her was showing. An icy wind whipped a branch into her face, and Hermione beat it off, wrapping her cloak more firmly around her. She shivered as she looked up at the house, both from apprehension and from the cold. It was too bad she couldn't have worn a real cloak, but the others would have wondered why the hell she was wearing her winter cloak to go to Dumbledore's office. The hallways are cold wouldn't have cut it as an excuse, Hermione thought to herself, grinning at the incredulous look that would have been on Harry's face, before turning her thoughts to the huge house in front of her. Where the hell am I?

Tell me are you feeling lost, have you crossed

Into places that you never knew to get through,

Tell me are you gonna cry all night,

Tell me the truth and I'll tell you the truth

If you gamble everything for love you're gonna be alright.

Alright.

Alright, Lets assume that this is in fact the Riddle Mansion. If so, then that's really cool, since I didn't think you could apparate somewhere if you couldn't actually picture the place you wanted to go physically in your mind so that's cool. Either that or my mind just conjured up an image of what the Riddle House could look like and I was transported there which is actually just a haunted house in some theme park and any second there are going to be tourists tramping all over this place. Ok let's assume that this is in fact the Riddle House and go from there. Hermione crept quietly through the garden, picking her way around the brambles towards the house. Hearing a loud thud, she froze and stared up at the house. On the bottom floor something banged into the boards on the window and one fell into the room beyond. Someone walked swiftly past the window, and then the board flew back into place. Hermione smiled and mentally congratulated herself on her apparating skills. At least one person in the house had magic and that greatly increased her chances that she was at the right place. Hermione continued towards the back door of the house pausing everytime she heard a noise. The wind that night was both a blessing and a curse, a blessing because any noise she made could have been due to the wind, but also any other noises could be the wind, or could be someone else creeping around. Hermione reached the back door, and careful not to disturb her cloak, held her wand out and thought Alohomora. The door clicked open softly and Hermione stepped back, holding her breath to see if someone would come rushing out. A minute passed and no-one had come out, so Hermione cracked the door open a tiny bit, looking to see if there was anyone there.

Make a list of things you need, leave it empty,

Except for number one write love: gamble everything.

Keep it under lock and key if you wanna

You can gamble everything for love.

What appeared to be a coat room was deserted, so Hermione opened the door just wide enough to slip through, then shut it softly behind her, remembering to draw the bolt again. She turned around and almost had a heart attack when she saw a huge figure standing behind her, before realising that the figure only had one foot, and was in fact a cloak and an old gumboot. Forcing herself to smile at her silliness, and the fact that another sign that this was a magical house, a wizard's cloak, had been found. Hermione had a sudden thought, and reached up to check the tag on the cloak. It was an ordinary robe, not a death eater outfit, but the tag was encouraging: Nott. Hermione turned to leave the room, amused by the fact that a death eater's name on a cloak was encouraging. I am in the right place. Thank God. She began to pad along the corridors, hoping all the while that she wouldn't meet anyone. At each door she came to, Hermione put her ear to the keyhole and listened for any signs of life or movement. Heavy breathing came from behind most of the doors, indicating that someone was sleeping, but to be sure, Hermione cast a complex charm on the doors of all the rooms, which allowed her to see through the door momentarily. It only lasted about 10 seconds, but it was enough in most cases to reassure herself that Draco wasn't in any of the rooms. Finding nothing on the bottom floor, Hermione crept towards the stairs. She kept to the sides of the staircase but still each creak from underneath her feet had Hermione's heart beating in her throat. The second floor corridor was almost identical to the one on the ground floor, save for a lone light coming from underneath the door closest to the top of the stairs. Hermione stooped to the keyhole and with a jolt heard Lucius Malfoy's voice speaking in a low tone.

"I know he is my son My Lord, I thought I knew him better than this. Nott tells me he heard Draco talking to someone in his room, and heard him say very clearly Hermione, Love. The only Hermione at that school" Lucius spat out, "is that Mudblood Granger. Draco is a skilled Occlumens but he could never hide anything from me, I know his mind like my own. He's been dating that bitch for almost a year now."

Love me with an open heart,

Tell me anything. We can find a place to start

To gamble everything.

We can set this thing apart, cause we're gonna

Gonna gamble everything for love.

Hermione tasted something metallic in her mouth and realized she had bitten her own cheek in an effort not to go in and demand from Lucius an explanation as to why he was most probably signing his own son's death warrant. His own Son, I knew he was a real dick but this is the worst imaginable. Hermione pricked up her ears and listened again as Voldemort began to speak. The sound of his voice sent shivers up Hermione's spine and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"I would have hoped your own son would have known better to consort with mudblood filth like that. I must confess myself disappointed. However I know he is a willful child…what has been done about this?"

"Only a minor punishment so far My Lord, we decided to await your verdict before anything was done. He is in his room down the hall, bound of course."

"I will see the boy in the morning…" Hermione stopped listening as soon as she heard Lucius say 'down the hall' and swiftly and silently she moved through the corridor, casting her charm on each door, looking for a flash of blond hair. The last but one door on the left showed a figure, lying bent on the wooden floor, blond hair streaked with red. Hermione took a fearful look down the corridor, before unlocking the door with her wand, closing it behind her and rushing to Draco's side. Running her wand over his bonds, the ropes sprang apart and Draco fell limply to one side. He was semi-conscious mumbling about ham when Hermione turned him onto his side, and stroked his hair off his face. She let the cloak fall back from her head, so Draco would know who she was, and revived him to full consciousness with her wand. This was minor punishment? Was Hermione's first thought when she was Draco's wounds. His shirt was in tatters, his back criss-crossed with long slashes. His arms had what looked like cigarette burns dotted up their length, and one of his ankles was puffy and bruised. His face had several cuts across it, and he seemed to be having trouble breathing.

"Hermione?" Draco asked softly, the dried blood on his lips cracking as he spoke.

"Shhh, I'm taking you back to school. We'll have to go under Harry's cloak together, unless we can apparate from here?" Draco shook his head, and winced as pain throbbed in his temples.

"I didn't think so, otherwise I would have apparated to somewhere in the house instead of the garden. You'll have to walk a little, I'll try and carry you as much as I can. Can you manage?"

"Look who you're asking Granger, of course I can manage. I'm alright." Draco attempted his usual uncaring drawl, but didn't quite pull it off when he gasped as Hermione wound his arm around her shoulders.

"Sorry."

"S'ok."

Tell me do you lose your way each day.

Are there people you recognise, do they lie?

Tell me do they make you feel too real,

Tell me the truth and I'll tell you the truth.

If you gamble everything for love you're gonna be alright.

Alright.

Hermione had just finished arranging Harry's cloak around the two of them when the door creaked open and Lucius Malfoy walked in. He looked shocked, then angry when he saw the empty room, but wasn't quick enough to react when Hermione's wand appeared apparently out of mid air and a voice whispered Petrificus Totalus. His fall to the ground was cushioned by Draco's blankets which were lying in a tangled heap on the floor. Hermione and Draco moved swiftly towards the door, but weren't quick enough, and a man they both recognized to be Theodore Nott's father walked in. He took one look around the room, saw that Draco was gone, Lucius lying bound on the floor and something red flashed out the end of his wand. The red jet of light flew out the door, and Hermione could see parts of it breaking off and sliding underneath each door. Nott pointed his wand at Lucius and his limbs sprang apart again. He jumped to his feet, seething with anger.

"She's here. They're still in this room, or they're not far." Nott didn't have to ask who, he began firing curses around the room at random, hoping one would hit something solid. Hermione tugged Draco towards the door, hoping to slip past while Nott and Lucius were firing spells, basically destroying the tiny bedroom. Before they could get out the door, five other men piled into the room, as well as a woman who Hermione recognized to be Bellatrix LeStrange. Stopping herself from reaching out and slapping every inch of Sirius' killer she could reach, she pulled Draco back from the new group of Death Eaters.

"We got your rubix Nott, so the boy has escaped?" Bellatrix glared at Lucius as though it were his fault.

"Lucius thinks they're still here somewhere…maybe still in this room." With a nod from Nott, the eight death eaters formed a line against the left hand wall of the room and slowy began to advance across it, arms touching. There was no way that Hermione and Draco would be missed. Thinking quickly, Hermione grabbed Draco's hand and performed a levitation charm on the two of them. They floated slowly towards the ceiling, Hermione's left foot just missing the tallest death eater by a centimeter. Problem was, she didn't think to stop them before they reached the ceiling. Draco's head hit it before Hermione's with a soft thump, but a thump nonetheless. Bellatrix froze in her tracks and stared upwards.

Ooh you can go your own way.

Ooh you gotta go your own way.

If you gamble everything for love

"They're up there," she hissed. Draco's heart actually skipped a beat, but he reacted quickly all the same, ignoring the tightening sensation in his chest, and pointed his wand at the wall opposite the door. He propelled them towards the door, and once they were there, Hermione ended the levitation charm. Problem no.2, the edge of the invisibility cloak caught on the door frame and for a split second two sets of legs flashed into the visible spectrum. Abandoning all stealth, Hermione hit the ground half running, still holding tightly onto Draco's hand.

"Out the door! GO!" Shouts followed them down the corridor, along with heavy footfalls. Racing down the stairs, Hermione forgot everything but getting away. The invisibility cloak billowed around them, the two figures flashing in and out of visibility. Hermione had almost reached the bottom of the staircase when someone grabbed Draco's arm jerking both of them backwards.

"Stupefy" Hermione yelled pointing her wand at a man who could only by Goyle's father. He dropped to the floor and they continued running. Jets of red and green light flashed past them, but it was a lot harder to aim at a target who was a) moving around extremely fast and b) only visible half the time. When they reached the cloak room, Hermione sealed the door behind them, knowing it would only buy them a little more time, and turned and watched Draco unlock the back door which lead to the garden. The invisibility cloak had slipped down and both hers and Draco's heads could be seen. They swung the door open to run out into the garden, only to be stopped by the sight of someone standing in the doorway

"Miss Granger I presume. I can't believe we haven't been properly introduced yet, what with you dating my son and all. I can't believe Draco hasn't bothered to bring you home to meet Narcissa and I." Lucius twirled his wand lazily in his hand, unperturbed by the fact that both Hermione and Draco were pointing wands straight at his heart.

"You know what Lucius," Hermione ignored his previous comments and spoke airily, as though she wasn't facing the Dark Lord's second in command and didn't have six other death eaters only separated from her by a wooden door. "I think on some things, the muggles know what they're onto." Still holding onto Draco's hand, Hermione stepped forward so that her wand was touching Lucius' chest, then quick as a flash, put her hands to his shoulders, brought him towards her and kneed him in the groin.

"Didn't need magic to do that, and I certainly don't need to be a seer to know that you're not going to be having any more children to fuck around." She stamped on Lucius' wand, breaking it in two, and accidentally kicked him in the groin as they passed where he lay on the ground.

Gamble Everything for Love, Gamble Everything,

Put it in a place you keep what you need,

You can gamble everything for love if you're free

You gotta gamble everything for love.

Hermione and Draco apparated back to outside the Hogwarts gates again, and only when Draco collapsed upon landing did Hermione remember the extent of his injuries.

"Oh God Draco…can't believe you made it this far in the state you're in…me pulling your arm practically out of it's one we've got to get you to Madame Pomfrey." Hermione wrapped her arm around Draco's waist, draped his arm across her shoulders and pulled them both to their feet, whereupon Draco's face turned a whiter shade of pale, save for two angry looking cuts across his forhead, which still bled sluggishly. Hermione heard Draco's sharp intake of breath, followed by a succession of short, shallow breaths before he spoke again.

"I'm-" his voice cracked as he tried to speak, and he had to summon enough saliva into his mouth so it wouldn't happen again.

"I'm alright," he tried again, but winced as the cut on his lip broke open and began to bleed again.

"You're obviously not alright," Hermione commented as dryly as she could, trying not to let her desperation show in her voice, "but I'll let it pass." Hermione and Draco began the slow walk up the hill towards the castle entrance way, and were a third of the way up the hill when Hermione gave an exclamation, pulled out her wand, thought of Draco, of Harry and Ron, and watched happily as a silver otter shot out the end of her wand.

"Find Harry, Ginny, Ron, Dumbledore, anyone." The otter swept off towards the castle and Hermione stopped walking. Draco turned his head towards her, his eyes clenched shut from pain.

"Why are we stopping?"

"I'm getting help to come to us. I sent a Patronus to get someone, at the rate we're going we'd be lucky to get to the castle before lunchtime. It's dawn already." Hermione pulled off the invisibility cloak, folded it and set it on the ground. A portion of the grass vanished and an expanse of blackness appeared, but Hermione still steered Draco towards it, sitting him on the now cushioned ground. Transfiguring a rock into a large crochet blanket, she wrapped it around Draco's shoulders, noticing him beginning to shiver.

"Draco, you're probably going to go into shock. You need to stay warm, give me your hands." Draco had given up talking at this point in time, but wearily pointed his wand at Hermione. The shirt she was wearing transfigured into a thick jumper, and Hermione smiled at his concern for her. She grabbed his hands, and began rubbing them, his fingers were white from the cold, and icy to touch. Draco lay on his side, his head resting in Hermione's lap, and Hermione quickly cast an engorgement charm on the blanket to make it big enough to cover the both of them. They sat waiting for someone to arrive, Draco almost dozing off, when Hermione prodded him in the temple with her wand.

"That should help you stay awake, you can't go to sleep you hear me, you might have a concussion." Draco nodded, his face still screwed up in pain. Hermione heard shouts from the castle and the sound of people running down the hill towards them. She turned sleepily, the adrenalin she had been running on well and truly exhausted, and saw Dumbledore, Harry, Ron and Ginny racing towards them, Fawkes flying along side them. The surge of anger when she saw he friends vanished the moment she saw the worry on their faces. They had don't exactly what she would have done had it been anyone other than Draco. And she had done exactly what Harry had done to save Sirius.

"Professor," Hermione began, her eyes drifting closed, "Draco is hurt. He has whip marks across his back, what look like burn marks up his arms, and lots of cuts all over him. And he's having trouble breathing. And I think his ankle is sprained if not broken."

Dumbledore instructed all five teenagers to hold onto each other and grabbed Harry's hand in one of his, Fawkes tail in the other. A flash of fire, and all seven (including Fawkes) arrived in the hospital wing, where Madame Pomfrey, startled as she may have been at this group appearing from nowhere in her ward, laid Draco, who it appeard despite Hermione's warning had fallen either asleep or unconscious, out on a bed, and began to examine him. Hermione watched tensely as she muttered things under her breath,

"wand burns…whip lashes…good god….two bruised ribs….fractured skull…" She glanced up and saw Hermione's white face standing out from her mess of hair, and smiled.

"I can fix him. Don't worry dear. You look terrible, take this, it's just to calm your nerves. You're more tightly wound than a violin." Hermoine gulped back the blue liquid and instantly felt sleep wash over her.

"Liar! That was….sleeping…" Hermione was asleep before she could finish her sentence, Harry and Ron, moved her so she was lying on a pillow, and pulled the blankets up to her chin.

As soon as Hermione was asleep, Madame Pomfrey turned to Malfoy to begin healing him, only to find that Fawkes had already begun her work, pearly tears dropping onto each cut on Draco's face, the wounds closing over leaving only dried blood behind. She smiled at the bird, and began to work on Draco's ribs, skull, back, and ankle. Fawkes healed the burn marks up and down Draco's arms before flying to rest on Dumbledore's shoulder.

Tell me are you getting hurt, is it worth it?

Tell me are the people strange, do they change?

Tell me are you letting go, do you know?

I'll tell you the truth if you tell me the truth.

If you gamble everything for love,

Gamble everything for love

If you gamble everything for love you're gonna be alright.

Alright.

When Hermione woke up it was late in the afternoon, the sun already dipping below the window sill. She blinked groggily a few times before everything came rushing back to her and she sat up in a panic. Where was Draco?
She looked around her wildly, then saw him in the next bed over, his face and arms unmarked, his breathing regular and even. Hermione let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding, and got out of her bed, only to crawl into Draco's with him. She slipped her hand into his, her touch waking him from his sleep. He turned his head and saw Hermione smiling at him, and whispered to her.

"I'm alright."

a/n: Hope you enjoyed it, despite the (sorry) huge break between chapters. Review please and let me know what you think, and hopefully check out some of my other fics. I just wrote this one because it came into my head while listening to Ben Lee, loved the song so here we go…hope you enjoyed it.